Tim Althaus

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Reflection Eternal to reunite for SXSW

Posted in News with tags G.O.A.T., Hi-Tek, Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop DX, Reflection Eternal, SXSW, Talib Kweli on Saturday, January 10, 2009 by Tim Althaus

reflectioneternal In an article I read over at Hip-Hop DX it was mentioned that one of the greatest duos in Hip-Hop history are getting back together for South by Southwest. Reflection Eternal jumped on the scene in 2000 with one of my favorite releases of all time Reflection Eternal: Train of Thought. Kweli & Hi-Tek have this chemistry that is absolutely unparalleled by anyone. Kweli is one of my favorite emcees of all time and Hi-Tek has been a trademark for great beats in the Hip-Hop game for over 10 years ever since his days with MOOD. I had heard wind of a new Reflection Eternal album a while back but I really didn’t know what to think. Kweli has been busy with all of his work with Idle Worship and Hi-Tek has been busy with solo albums and beats for other people so it didn’t really look to feasible to me.

All I can tell you is: If Kweli & Hi-Tek release another album coming up this year, I think that the game might be over. Judging by the impact that the original Reflection Eternal project had, this one might change the game forever. These two comprise one of the greatest duos ever, and I’m very interested to hear what they have in store for us next. I can honestly say that those of you who are going to SXSW are going to enjoy an incredible show.

Check out some classic material:

Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek: “The Blast”

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Review: Cymarshall Law & Mr. Joeker, Hip-Hop in the Soul

Posted in Music Reviews with tags Best of 2008, C.L. Smooth, Cymarshall Law, DJ Premier, Gang Starr, Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop in the Soul, Mr. Joeker, Pete Rock on Friday, January 9, 2009 by Tim Althaus

hip-hop-in-the-soul-front I have to start this post off by saying that this is an album that I found out about way too late. If I would have listened to this album last year right away when it came out I can guarantee that it would have made my top 5 last year. The chemistry that is shown on this album is absolutely amazing, somewhat similar to a Guru/Premier (Gang Starr) or Pete Rock/C.L. Smooth. Putting these two together on an album was a god-send for the soul of Hip-Hop (no pun intended) because they really take things to a whole new level.

The first thing that I want to point out is that Mr. Joeker is a very talented producer (from Hungary), and I haven’t heard a producer that can mimic so many different styles of production. This guy can go from a DJ Premier sound into a style of his own in one track flat. To be honest the beats on this album are so hot, they may put the sun out of commission.

Cymarshall Law is an emcee that is in a league of his own, and he is from New Brunswick, New Jersey. One thing is for sure about Cymar, and that’s that this guy can rap his ass off and very well at that. Cymarshall Law is going to be a benchmark when it comes to great emcees in the future. With the mic skills that Cymar possesses, it’s only a matter of time before heads start to notice.

When I listen to an album the intro usually means a great deal to me, because in my opinion it should set the expectation for the rest of the album and the tempo as well. The intro on this album “Intro to the Soul” does just that setting the bar for the rest of the album with Cymarshall Law kicking an ill flow over a straight fire laced beat by Mr. Joeker. “The Takeoff (Getting It)” might be the highlight of the album with a beautiful backdrop full of strings, enchanting vocal samples and as usual Cymarshall’s razor blade sharp flow. Every track on this album is absolute quality, I don’t think that there was a better collaboration album last year to be honest, with guest appearances from KRS-One and Supastition it only adds to the ensuing chaos.

Please do yourself a favor and check out one of the best Hip-Hop releases of 2008, like I said I wish I would have heard this album earlier last year because it would have easily charted on my list.

9/10

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The Second Supper, Your Local Press News

Posted in Culture, Media with tags Alternative Press, Coulee Region, free, La Crosse, Second Supper on Friday, January 9, 2009 by Tim Althaus

second-super-2 I want to tell all of you out there about an alternative newspaper called the Second Supper that is distributed in my area of residence. Most of the people that post on this blog know about it, but those of you readers out there that aren’t from our area (La Crosse, Coulee Region area) probably don’t know about it. They write about a variety of issues and have regularly syndicated columns (“Smock Talk”, “College Sucks” & “Y Marks the Spot”), as well as introspective features such as “Social Networking” and funny editorials like “The Top 5”. There are also reviews of music, beer, albums & books. Many of you may be saying, “Well Tim, that’s fine and dandy, but we don’t live in your area so we can’t read The Second Supper.” That is where you would be wrong.

The Second Supper has their own website on the Internet where you are able to view the most recent issue of the paper as well as issues for the last 4 weeks. That’s right folks you get everything on their website that you would otherwise be able to get in their weekly tangible publication. It sounds like a great idea to me to go checkout their website and see for yourself. The website also can show all of you readers out there what is going on in the area, so if you are ever thinking about coming to the Coulee Region for a vacation you can be ahead of the game.

Please go check out the Second Supper website and let me know what you think, I would greatly appreciate it!

You can also jump over to their page on MySpace

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Madlib & J Rocc’s Homage to J Dilla to drop February 10th

Posted in News with tags Beat Konducta, Hip-Hop, J Dilla, J Rocc, Madlib, Stones Throw on Friday, January 9, 2009 by Tim Althaus

beat-konducta-5-6 When I heard about this project I was overly enthused about it. J Dilla is easily my favorite producer of all time, and Madlib definitely ranks at the top of the list as well. Jaylib is probably my favorite collaboration of all time, so when I heard that Madlib and J Rocc were going to be doing a tribute Beat Konducta series for Dilla I was overcome with joy. This Beat Konducta volume is 42 tracks long and pays respect to the greatest mind and producer of the modern era. Dilla was “your favorite producer’s favorite producer”, and this is a dedication that you cannot miss. I can tell you right now that I will be going to the store to grab this immediately on February 10th, if you are a fan of beat tapes I can tell you that you honestly should be to. You can be sure that I will have a review of this album up once I have a copy and have had a good listen.

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Video: Buff1, “Dream Streets”

Posted in Video with tags Ann Arbor, Athletic Mic League, Best of 2008, Buff1, Hip-Hop on Friday, January 9, 2009 by Tim Althaus

If any of you don’t know who Buff1 is, you better find out fast. Buff1 is from Ann Arbor, Michigan which is no big surprise, (Michigan is taking over the game), and in my opinion he’s one of the best emcees in the game right now(he’s also a part of The Athletic Mic League). This is a video for a track on his latest effort There’s Only One for the track “Dream Streets”. This video is very sentimental and has a real message to it, to be honest you don’t see to many music videos like this one. The video shows Buff doing volunteer work and feeding homeless people (I’m guessing either in Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti) for the better of the community. This is a great song and video from one of the strongest releases of last year.

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Skillz: The Wire 5 Minute, 5 Season Rap-Up

Posted in Video with tags HBO, Hip-Hop, Skillz, The Wire on Thursday, January 8, 2009 by Tim Althaus

For those of you out there that are huge enthusiasts of HBO’s series The Wire this one is truly for you. If you have listened to any of Skillz’s end of the year Rap-Up’s, you know that this guy can spit about a lot of information in a short amount of time. He single handedly goes through a summary of each season of The Wire with that razor sharp flow that Skillz is known for. I personally have been listening to this guy a lot lately and I have to admit that I wish I would have started listening to this guy earlier, he has some serious mic skills (no pun intended). To be honest there aren’t many guys that can sound as natural on the mic as Skillz.

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Blu, “TilWeDie”

Posted in Downloads with tags Below the Heavens, Blu, Evidence, Johnson & Jonson on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 by Tim Althaus

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Here’s a new one from the cat known as Blu. This guy is going to be one of the emcees that you want to be looking for in the near future. He’s had a buzz about him in the underground circle for the last two years, and it’s well deserved because not many emcees work as hard as this guy does (next to Evidence I don’t think there really is anyone). This track has Blu molding himself to a track with beautiful strings and vocal samples. The thing that makes Blu different from a lot of emcees is that he can pretty much flow over anything that you throw at him.

Listen: TilWeDie

Also, if you haven’t done it yet go out and get Below the Heavens & Johnson & Jonson both of them are straight fire!

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Skillz: The 2008 Rap-Up

Posted in Downloads with tags Detroit Hip-Hop, Okayplayer, Rap Up, Skillz on Wednesday, January 7, 2009 by Tim Althaus

skillz1

It’s the beginning of a new year and that means that the boy Skillz has his 2008 Rap up. If any of you have ever heard the year in Rap Up by Skillz, you know that shit is usually hilarious. This guy is a monster on the mic and never disappoints when he is rhyming. Skillz also plans on making a video for the Rap Up so you know you better stay tuned for that because you know I will have that up when it’s out.

Download: 2008 Rap Up

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All Zune 30GB freeze at once?

Posted in News with tags Bill Gates, Brick, Happy 2009, Microsoft, Zune on Monday, January 5, 2009 by Tim Althaus

zune-30gb I was at work on Wednesday (for those of you that can’t remember it was New Year’s Eve) and one of my co-workers came up to me and asked me how to reset his Zune (I have an 80gb). I immediately took the player and tried to reset it with no resolution. I thought that this was very odd considering it always worked for me. My co-worker then went to the computers at work and checked the Internet, it turns out Bill and the boys over at Microsoft announced that every 30gb generation one Zune froze at the exact same time. Message boards and blogs were lighting up with posts from people that were absolutely irate about their player “biting the dust”. I don’t know about you people out there reading this, but I literally have no idea what I would do if I had no means to play the music I love. I would probably reach for the nearest shank and end my misery.

Apparently the freeze has something to do with the leap year and once the clock got ready to strike 2009 the player was doomed for freezing. There are a few DIY tutorials online, but they seem to be way to much work just to get your player working again. I read somewhere that they were calling this “one of the biggest software failures in history”, if you think about it, there are potentially millions upon millions of these players out there. Bill Gates and company could have a very serious issue on their hands for the near future.

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Free DJ Set: DJ Concept Live J Dilla Mix!

Posted in Downloads with tags DJ Concept, J Dilla, Ruff Draft on Monday, January 5, 2009 by Tim Althaus

dilla-dj-set

This is a link to a live mix by the man known as DJ Concept, and he did this set live in NYC. This is a great collection of music from my idol and favorite artist J Dilla. This mix covers everything from the Pharcyde/Tribe Called Quest days all the way up to Ruff Draft and everything that was in between. J Dilla was an absolute genius, and the impact that this man and his music have had on my life is remarkable.

If you are unfamiliar with Dilla please take a listen to this mix because it really is a great collection of tracks that Dilla was featured on and produced. At just under an hour long this mix will not disappoint.

Download: DJ Concept Live Dilla Set

Spotted at Ipso Facto

One more thing folks: TURN IT UP!

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