Winter Breaks by Bop Alloy

winter breaks

My favorite jazzy hip hop group, Bop Alloy, released a new EP for the holidays. The album comes as part of their Kickstarter stretch goal for the last album, Another Day in the Life of. The new album is entitled Winter Breaks and can be downloaded from their bandcamp page.

According to the site, ‘Winter Breaks’ compiles 6 sonically vintage Hip Hop tracks. Producer, Marcus D handles the live instrumentation mixes masterfully while infusing jazz, soul and a pinch of Afro beat samples. Lyrically, Substantial touches on the personal, social, and economical effects of the Holiday season, using thoughtful lyricism, wit, and a variety of flows to paint a different portrait of Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year’s.

Best of all, it’s name your own price (but support good music and throw some dollars their way).

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Rick Rubin Returns to His NYU Dorm Room for Def Jam’s 30th Anniversary

Def Jam is 30 years old this year. Yes, 30. Rolling Stone sat down with co-founder Rick Rubin, returning to the very dorm room in which he started the label 30 years ago, to discuss how Def Jam began.

For more on the historic record label, check out Russell Simmons’ (co-founder with Rubin) book Life and Def or The Men Behind Def Jam by Alex Ogg. Both are great reads.

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Ohio State Marching Band’s Awesome TV-Themed Halftime Show

This performance was from a couple of weeks ago. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it. It’s pretty awesome (as are all their performances). They cover everything from The Simpsons, to Dragnet to Game of Thrones. I wonder how long it takes to choreograph something like this.

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The inside story of the ‘Ghostbusers’ music video

One of my favorite films of all time is Ghostbusters, celebrating it’s 30th anniversary this year. Screencrush has the inside story of the cameo-filled music video for Ray Parker, Jr’s song Ghostbusters. The cameos, featuring the likes of John Candy, Al Franken, and Chevy Chase, among others, are pretty random. You can watch the music video below.

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Miles Ahead

A Miles Davis biopic has been floating around Hollywood for years, but has never been made. With movies like Walk the Line and Ray hitting theaters, I thought for sure the film would be made. Mile Davis is one of the most influential musicians in American history, after all. Sadly, the script has been sitting idle after several false starts. Not anymore. Don Cheadle (in a role he was born to play) is now turning to Indie GoGo to help get financing for the film.

So why a movie about Miles Davis? Cheadle writes

I want to tell a story that Miles himself would have wanted to see, something hip, cool, alive and AHEAD.

I’ve taken my marching orders from Miles’ mandates (“Play what’s not there.” “Fear no mistakes. There are none.”) and focused in on a very specific point in his life to explore his relationship with his muse, his voice, his fears and challenges to come out of his silent period and return to the music. I’m hopefully making a movie that tells a story many people can relate to, jazz fan or not.

MILES AHEAD is not just about the music. It’s about what we all face at one time or another in our lives; questions about who we really are, what we have to say and how will we say it. How will we ultimately be defined and who gets to say so?

Watch the campaign video below. You can support the project here.