Ok, as many of you know Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek will be performing at the Granada Theater this Thursday. This is a must see show for any Hip Hop head. Seeing how times are rough and tough like leather, I know you would like to get in the show for free. Well, you might be in luck, my friends over at Granda laced me with two pair of tickets to give away. All you have to do is email me your favorite Talib track with a little explanation why to: decadepromo@gmail.com please include Talib Kweli in the subject line.

Los Angeles legend Mr. Cartoon was in Dallas yesterday doing some work with Metro PCS. The Sour Grapes linked Chunk & Mr. Cartoon up with a local wall here in Oak Cliff. Above are some flicks I grabbed earlier of the finished product. Big shout out to Oink Ink for donating the paint! The Sour Grapes have footage as well as a few pictures of some throw up action on the way. Check up on it!

My good friend Brek One just dropped his new mix “7PM Pacific Time” available for download right hurr. I have been bumping this mix since he sent me a version of it a few weeks back. Super fresh uptempo vibe! Perfect for the whip, house party, or poolside boombox action. You can catch up with Brek and keep tabs on his where abouts here. Also, look out for a Top Notch appearance in the near future.

7PM PACIFIC TIME – SOUNDCLOUD

7PM PACIFIC TIME – MEDIA FIRE

The photos are up from last Saturday at Boondocks. The night was a great success. Big thanks to Nick Nack for coming through and ripping it! Next month is the 1 year anniversary and the Gemini Birthday blowout. Keep your eyes peeled for the poster. I have some exciting things planned.

PHOTOS – ONEOCTOBERNIGHT

The  Homie and fellow Dj Nick Nack will be joining the Top Notch line up in Houston tomorrow. If you are in the H or close by, roll through. This is going to be a blast. We will be rocking 4 turntables as usual and blazing through tons of tunes. Below are some questions I asked Nick during our conversation last week. There are also some links to several of his tracks and live mixes. Peep game.

When did you first get in to the Dj game? What sparked your interest?

1989 when my ears first heard the sounds of DJ Aladdin from Low Profile. There was a song on their “We’re In This Together” debut album called “Aladdin’s on a Rampage” that just blew my mind. He was doing intense phrase scratching like I’d never heard before.

It wasn’t long after that when I bought my first turntable a Technics SLDD33 which had just come out and a Gemini PDM 3008
Crazy, I still have both of those pieces of gear.

You are originally from the Dallas metroplex. When did you make the move to Austin? How did the scenes differ at that time?

In 1995 I moved to Austin to attend The University of Texas.  In Dallas, just prior to me moving I was big into DJ battles.  I had recently competed in 2-3 Sound Wars battles (hosted by Hooman from Spinmasters) and was shocked to find that nobody in Austin was battling except my man Cassanova.

It didn’t take long for me to find out that the real “scene” at that time in Austin revolved around a KVRX hip-hop radio show called “House of Phat Beats” (every Thur night).  MCs, DJs and producers would gather up at the station and build on shows, projects, etc. I met cats like Bavu, Xman and several other good friends up there.  It had way more of a community vibe than I had ever known in Dallas.

Tell us a bit about Crowd Control and your forthcoming projects.

Well, I founded Crowd Control Records around 1996 with the first mixtape I did while in Austin
“N Cohearent” After hanging out at KVRX and I was inspired to push myself into music creation and the label was just a way of making my business dealings more legit.

Early on the focus was putting out mixtapes, then around 1999 I started to release original produced material on vinyl.  The latest project I have coming out is my new album “Dearly Departed” around early summer 2010.  You can catch a preview of the album’s sound and visuals here. I got remixes coming from the likes of Bird Peterson, The ARE, Adrian Quesada, Ernest Gonzales, Objektiv One, DJ Ayres, Inf and several others.

Oh and the lead single “Strangest Secret” is available now on a limited edition 7″ vinyl and name your own price mp3s.

After all these years in the music game, what keeps you motivated and excited?

Good music.  I don’t have a specific genre in mind.  I just love experiencing quality music.

What are 5 records you bump on the regular? It doesn’t have to be stuff you play in your sets, just tunes you like to listen to.

Here’s a random grouping of excellent tunes I’ve been jamming this past week…

1. The Chocolate Tunnel – Ostrich People

2. Kraftwerk – Das Model

3. Albert Malawi – Children of the Emporer

4. Soft Machine – Live at Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971

5. Gangstarr – Question Remains

Any shout outs, plugs, links, recipes etc…

R.I.P. to Guru.  Dude was such a tremendous influence on my life and music. I remember listening to Gangstarr on my headphones on the way to middle school. His music will live on.  Much love and respect to him, his family and close friends.

NICK NACK – MIXES