JAY-Z X NAS

We have heard a few rumors circulating about about Jay-Z's new record label, the Carter Music Group. The newest rumor is that that Jay will be collaborating with Nas on a duet album called "The Kings of Hip Hop." Judging from the strength of the tracks "Success" and "Black Republicans", this album might possibly be the album of the year! Let's keep our fingers crossed that these rumors are true!

DJ MUGGS VS SICK JACKEN

If you are in the Los Angeles area on March 1st, be sure to check out DJ Muggs and Sick Jacken live on stage at the Key Club. Their album "The Legend of the Mask and the Assassin" was one of my favorite releases of 2007. I got a chance to catch them on stage a few times last year, and I will definitely be making it out to this show!

YOUNG DE

Yesterday I went down to the studio to do some work with Young De. I'm producing a few tracks for his upcoming mixtape with Ca$his (Shady/Aftermath). For those who haven't heard of Young De, he is about to take the rap world by storm. He moved to Cali from Philly a few years ago and hooked up with Kurupt. In 2007 he released "Kurupt presents: Tangled Thoughts Philly 2 Cali" featuring guest spots from Freeway, Gillie Da Kid, Roscoe, Ab Liva, Sen Dog of Cypress Hill & Mellow Man Ace (Reyes Bros.), Gail Gotti, AK and more.
Since then he hooked up with B-Real of Cypress Hill, and he just released DJ Skee and B-Real present: "Young De Audio Hustlaz Vol. 1 hosted by Kurupt which you can download for free from Young De's Myspace.

ESTEVAN ORIOL

Estevan Oriol stopped by the shop today. Estevan is the CEO of Joker Brand Clothing, a full time photographer, and directs music videos for groups including Eminem, Cypress Hill, D12, Linkin Park, Blink 182, Paul Wall, P.O.D., and Xzibit. He devised shooting campaigns for Nike, Rockford Fosgate, and Cadillac. He has directed new media projects for My Cadillac stories, MTV, and Apple Computers. This year Estevan Oriol will release three separate publishing book projects that he has been working on for the past decade: Ink, a retrospective of his last ten years with Mister Cartoon, Adidas 1979, a collaboration with Adidas originals chronicling street ball through his lens in an 80 page custom book, and East of Havana, a book about Cuban hip-hop. He is one busy man! Estevan also helped put together the collaboration tee that we did with Mr. Cartoon and SA Studios.

RIOT ERUPTS AT DEAD PREZ SHOW

According to The Olympian, a concert by the controversial rap group Dead Prez at Evergreen State College ended in a riot early Friday morning. The riot broke out after the crowd questioned the arrest of a concert goer. Riot police eventually ended up at the scene, but only after a squad car had been vandalized, overturned, and looted. You can read the whole story here.

"If you claimin' gangsta
Then bang on the system, and show that you ready to ride
Til' we get our freedom
We got to get over, we steady on the grind"

SLEEP AT WORK

How creepy does this guy look? Haha... Some weirdo invited these stick on eyes that give the illusion that you are awake when your eyes are shut. These are every narcoleptics dream... Ever show up to work hung over and tired, and just needed a quick power nap to help you make it through the day? These are for you... The fact that you look like a psycho tranny with Botox doesn't really help though...

FREE PRODIGY

The Village Voice has an interesting article about Prodigy from Mobb Deep's last days as a free man. Prodigy was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after an arrest for weapons charges in October of 2006. The article details his final weeks leading up to his incarceration, his plight with sickle-cell Anemia, and his alleged police targeting due to his affiliation with 50 Cent and G-Unit. You can read the full article Here.

MIXHELL

MIXHELL is Iggor Cavalera (formerly of metal heavyweights- Sepultura) and his wife Laima Leyton. We caught a short DJ set by them and their friend Data (France) last monday at The Beauty Bar. They are currently on a U.S. tour. You can catch them at the following dates:
Feb. 09 - Echoplex Los Angeles, California (w/ Data)
Feb. 11 - Beauty Bar Los Angeles, California
Feb. 12 - Vice Party, Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb. 14 - Hiro Ballroom New York, New York (w/ Moby)
Feb. 15 - Click @ Fluid Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar. 13 - AM Only SXSW showcase at Beauty Bar Texas
Mar. 13 - SXSW - Vice Scion Metal Show at Stubbs Texas
Mar. 13 - Vice SXSW showcase at Vice Texas
Mar. 15 - Vice Scion Dance Show at Stubbs Texas
Mar. 15 - Vice Late Late Night Party Texas
Iggor is currently playing drums for the Cavalera Conspiracy with his brother Max. Their debut album, Inflikted, is by far the metal album of the year!

MAGIC

We didn't make it out to Vegas this year for the bi-annual Magic trade show. For those of you that have never been, Magic is a fashion trade show where buyers and brands from all over the world travel to do business for the upcoming seasons. Magic is a notorious place for people with outlandish off-the-wall style to come and show it off. I couldn't be there to document it myself, but the Arab Parrot was there taking pictures off all the ridiculous fashions. Check it out Here and see for yourself!

TRADITION ANNIVERSARY PARTY!

For those who missed it, Tradition celebrated our 1 year anniversary on February 2nd. I want to thank everyone that came out to the event and made it such a success. As you can see from the pics, a good time was had by all. See for yourself...

The Crowd



Pacific Division and Diamond Diz

Scott (10 Deep) and Dante Ross

DJ Myron and Quay (Q104.7)

The Hundreds in the building

DJ Jamie Strong (Stones Throw)

Catered by In and Out Burger...



Thanks to Kilos and Grams for some of the photos!

DJ MYRON

Our big homey, DJ Myron (Q104.7) and Fat Joe reppin' Tradition to the fullest!

IT'S STILL DRE DAY

According to Rap Weekly Dr. Dre has launched a legal bid to view documents belonging to his former label Death Row Records in a dispute over unpaid royalties.
Dre started up Death Row Records with music mogul Marion 'Suge' Knight in 1991, but sold his 50 percent share in the company in 1996. However, he retained the rights to royalties on recordings released before the agreement.
Deathrow folded in 2006, but with the news that Warner is making a $25 million (GBP12.5 million) bid for Death Row's back catalogue, Dre is seeking reclaim rights to his 1992 solo debut, The Chronic.

THE GRAMMYS LOVE SLAYER

We all know how boring awards shows are. The Grammys are no exception. I could barely sit through The Time reunion without changing the channel, and every other performace was equally as painful. The one cool thing that did happen wasn't even televised. SLAYER won a Grammy! Thats right, Slayer!
SLAYER was nominated for the track "The Final Six", from the band's 2007 "Christ Illusion". The song was written by Tom Araya and Jeff Hanneman and produced by Josh Abraham. The track made its debut last July as the "Single of the Week" on MySpace where it has since accumulated some 750,000 plays, an astounding number for a song that received no commercial airplay.

DJ MUGGS PRESENT: THE AFTERMASH

DJ Muggs and Mash Up Radio present The Aftermash" mixtape. The Aftermash was done by Mashup Radio DJ, Erndogg, and includes production from him, Muggs, and many of the show’s contributing mashup DJs. If you don't have Sirius satellite radio, this may be your first chance to hear what Mash Up Radio has to offer. Hip Hop verses over classics from Slayer, the Deftones, David Bowie, The Beatles, and more. The Aftermash is available as a free download from the Soul Assassins site.

WE GOT IT FOR FREE!

The Re-Up Gang’s We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 3: The Spirit of Competition just dropped, and it is available as a free download on their site! As an added bonus, they also posted a version without DJ Drama yelling all over it! If you are a fan of The Clipse, or just sick of the bullshit you hear on the radio, you need to get this mixtape ASAP!

REBORN EMPOWERED

Everyone's favorite Christian metal band, Living Sacrifice have reunited. Founding members Bruce Fitzhugh (Vocals / Guitar) and Lance Garvin (Drums) have reunited with Rocky Gray (lead guitar) and Arthur Green (bass). The band will be on tour this summer and they are already writing material for a brand new album, which will be released in 2008.

IAN MACKAYE INTERVIEW ON BLACK LODGES

Black Lodges just posted a pretty interesting interview with Ian Mackaye. For those who don't know, Ian Mackaye is the owner of Dischord Records. He has also been involved in some of the best bands to ever come out of the hardcore/punk scene. From Minor Threat, to Embrace, to Fugazi, to The Evens, everything Ian is involved in is nothing short of amazing. I am sure that most of you are familiar with Minor Threat and Fugazi, but if you have never heard Embrace or The Evens you should definitely seek them out. Embrace was a short lived band ('85-'86) featuring Ian backed by former members of the band The Faith. Their self titled album is a perfect blend of hardcore aggression and emotional melody, and it is one of my favorite records ever! The Evens is Ian's current band with drummer and singer Amy Farina of The Warmers. This stripped down two-piece is bare boned and intimate, but still possesses the same emotion and melody of some of Ian's for mer work. Check out the interview Here.