Bounced around last night to the sounds of old-school junglist Gavin King (aka Aphrodite) at hipster hot-spot Tuzrakter.  Although I was never more than a dabbler in the rave scene, the abundance of post-adolecsent crackheads still getting down after what, 10+ years of this stuff was enough to make me glad I never rolled too deep with the homies.  But the scene itself was authentic -sweaty, smoky and swinging- and brought back (good?) memories.

A word about the music itself: Aphrodite’s sound hasn’t changed a bit since he blew up in ‘95- it’s still hip-hop and ragga samples over rat-a-tat-tat beats and nimble basslines.  He even played some of those old classics like the Ready or Not remix and Western, plus of course the title of this post, much to the crowd’s pleasure (the “I got five on it” remix would have been a little too much to ask for however).  There was a day (and there sometimes still are) when I envisioned the rock-star life of being “just” a DJ, but when I see some of these guys who are my real favorites, I think again.  They’re just all a bunch of 40-ish overweight white dudes with a ciggy hanging out the side of their mouths and a beer wedged between the Mark V’s and the CD-J who look like their main profession is riding around in red convertibles in Ibiza chasing underage European girls.  Why that sounds negative I can’t exactly say. Maybe I’m getting old.

“I heard the city breathe in its sleep, a reality I’ve touched but for me it’s hard to keep.”

Skateboarding in traffic I normally get honked at. Comes with the “image” and is usually associated with an extended middle digit and some wise and helpful words of advice. Today was different, as instead of an SUV-driving nimwit with “size-matters” issues, I got flagged down by a couple of hotties in a Red Bull VW Bug (new school, unfortunately), from whom I received said artificial stimulant free of charge. I guess being a lawbreaker has its perks after all. Oh, and speaking of the nouveau-Gatorade, my sister and co will be performing in a NYC gig starting Thursday sponsored by the Taureau Rouge; also in attendance will be Trinity Hip Hop Fest co-conspirator Ben Herson.

Pics from the Freemans trip (and corresponding blog post) coming soon.

Whew!  Spent the last two weeks charging the sights and sounds of central Europe with the Freeman parental unit.  It had been a while since I’d seen them and E and I had both a mix of anxiety and excitement before they arrived.  Not only would we be tour-guides and general entertainment providers, but this would also be the first “meeting of the parents”.  To save those of you who detest my story-length posts, I’ll say now that it went fine and there were no REALLY crazy stories.  But there were MANY moments of interest.  Read on for the play-by-play.  If you just want to see the pictures, HERE is the link. (more…)

Some of the first pictures from the Trinity International Hip Hop Festival have been posted online and they look great.  They could use some SERIOUS editing though.

Check them out HERE.