Cali-raised artist Aloe Blacc discusses with us his musical influences growing up as a first generation African-American, his definition of soul music, his upcoming collaboration with Exile, his record label Stones Throw and how they are pushing the envelope and finally his success with " I need a Dollar" now featured on HBO's series "How to Make it in America" . New album "Good Things" dropping in September. Something else to look forward to...

Shoutout to Nu-Soul, Downtown Unplugged the new event put up by Sketch the Specialist & B-52 for facilitating the interview.

-photography by kasey stokes

Got 'em runnin' scared, tryna catch up/57 Heinz Gregory the dance legend/make music I'm steppin' out at a major event/best dressed in attendance and I never left the house

The Big Easy-turned-Big Apple rapper is no newcomer, already having been signed with both classic NOLA labels, No Limit and Young Money/Cash Money Records.  I first heard him sounding a lot like Lil' Wayne on the 2006 track "Where Da Cash At," a rather uninspired ode to pimpin'. 

That was obviously an ill fit.  After he and Weezy went their separate ways, he hustled on his own until he and former Roc-A-Fella Damon Dash started hanging out.  Curren$y so roused him, Dame decided to resurrect the label and make "Pilot Talk," Curren$y's third studio album, its first release. Though Curren$y added the dollar sign to his moniker, he's now much more interested in gettin' high than runnin', uh, honeys.  

His "This Ain't No Mixtape" was easily one of the best, and out West, most slept-on, rap releases of 2009. Playing with a "J.E.T.S.ons" theme (yes, a lifestyle mantra, "Just Enjoy This Shit"; yes, a riff on the cartoon; yes, I told you he likes the green), the album's production is spacey, breezy, and even a little jazzy.  Pack Curren$y "The Hot Spitta's" easy southern drawl in, and "This Ain't No Mixtape" was so sticky hipsters and 'heads alike had trouble removing it from their iPods.  

The Don Cannon-produced mixtape, "Smokee Robinson," dropped on the eve of the Saints' Super Bowl win and was downloaded 96,000 times in 14 hours. That portends well for the almost-completely Ski Beatz-produced "Pilot Talk" (Monsta Beatz and Nesby Phips contribute two minor-key, other-worldly beats for Spitta to snap on), a dreamy trip whose cloudy haze is cleared by Curren$y's easy lyrical flips.  

And those Creative Control videos just keep comin', and comin' clean.  

Follow Spitta's hilarious similes/metaphors on Twitter until "Pilot Talk" is released July 13th. It's Chex Cereal, indeed.

No need to introduce  Fab 5 Freddy here. I was fortunate enough to spend a lttle time with him in his studio during my short stay in NYC.

It's hard to resume Fab's fundamental contribution to hip hop culture. In a few words, Fab talks us through his relationship with Basquiat and Warhol, his vision as a producer on "Wild Style", his role in the birth of hip hop as an international movement, Yo! MTV Raps, and hip hop the culture vs its more mainstream appeal.

A big shoutout to my friend J Kevin Swain for setting up the interview.

In this interview I conducted with Nneka, she talks about her journey, how her music fits in America, her spiritual connection with Nas and Damian Marley, the internet and the lingua she uses in her music.
Her album "Concrete Jungle" is out in America, cop it now, this lady is in for the long run.

Shout out to Cary Gallagher for filming the interview.

In this interview with Belvi. Bilal reveals how he relishes being an independent artist, how the inernet has helped his career and  how he's produced a new sound on his upcoming album with Plug Research. Performance include a cover of Led Zeppelin "Since I've Been Loving You".

M Boogie on camera and edit.

some of the team! Belvi,Rebecca,M Boogie & Me behind the camera Reggae Fest 2010

Wiz Khalifa LIVE " Deal or No Deal" Tour
"Ink My Whole Body" + performing"I don't fucks with them" by Curren$y
Interview coming up soon.

More to come throughout the week including our interview with Wiz.

In this interview Curren$y tells us who he kicks with when in LA, who's featuring on his upcoming project "Pilot Talk" (look out for the mention of LA cats), his relaitonship with Damon Dash's Creative Control, the evolution of his career since Young Money Entertainment, and his view on the independent game.
Shout out to Rebecca for conducting her first on screen interview for us and Curren$y for taking the time to chat.
"Roll with us, or choke on the jet smoke"

the interview is coming soon!.. but I took a lot more photos during paid dues last week.. visit our lastereo.tv flickr page! |here|

Strong Arm Steady + Planet Asia & Tri-State come to drop "In Search of Stoney Jackson" at Fats Beats with J. Rock. Hawdwerk interviews them about their collaboration with producer Madlib. They discuss the organic process behind the making of the album and the several meanings of the album's title. Check them out also performing "True Love".  Shot and edited by yours truly.

We are proud to present Vann Clayton in our first webisode featuring a producer. He's behind many of the Spliff alumni's hits and we used his beat "Get Large" for our intro directed by Phil Davis. I've been a fan since. You can usually catch him at the bi-monthly BANANAS event organized by VerBS where he's produces mean beats live.
Vann talks us through some of his collaborations with H.O.P.E, Kail, VerBS and CP. He also tells us about his relationship with acclaimed producer Warryn Cambell and his school years with Nipsey Hussle.
A big shout out to Stephanie Rennie who did a great job editing the webisode.

It only takes one video... Shout out to Blu for giving us an "exclusive"  kind of interview, I know it's quite rare, and shout out to Val for conducting it with passion. Shout out especially to the Pac Div team for welcoming us at their Xmas Toy drive. It was an event on behalf of the Hollygrove agency and we're grateful to have been a part of it.

Blu talks about his 2010 projects, sounds kinda exciting and inspring for hip hop (is not dead). For all those out there who don't know us yet, stop sleeping and come and connect!

Peace