Airport Master World Premier!!

This is a classic 2007 track from the basement studio featuring a drunken, half asleep friend (Green Byl) who has to drive his mom to the airport at 5:00 am.  Gammaray and Fatgums on the beat, and perfect pitch singing by Icecream.  Please enjoy and cherish this gripping display of artistry.

-ray

A new short film by Randruff of the Novelists (Randall Park)

Druff ain't just a rapper!


But he's a pretty damn good rapper to though:


Novelists all day baby!


-Fatgums

"Crooks & Rooks" Full Version

Bambu "Crooks & Rooks" Music Video (Short Film Version) from Kid Heroes on Vimeo.

-Fatgums

TNO's Song of the Week!!! 12/27/08

As the year winds down to the end, I just wanna give thanks to a Hip-Hop O.G. who passed away late this year, MC Breed. His contribution and impact were felt from coast to coast and he is widely regarded as a pioneer of the Detroit rap scene that would later produce, Eminem, J-Dilla and Black Milk. Shit, I heard of Flint Michigan years before Michael Moore put it on the map with his Roger and Me documentary because of Eric Breed!

Here's a little track called "Gotta Get Mine" featuring some dude named Tupac Shakur (I think that's what they called him!). Breed's 2nd verse truly highlights his genius and smooth flow!

-em see tee noe

Merry Christmas From Our Garage To Yours!

-Fatgums and Gammaray

Bambu's "Crooks & Rooks" Video

Lookin' good Bam! Props to the homie A.J. Calomay for another dope video.

Bambu "Crooks & Rooks" Music Video (Broadcast Version) from Xylophone Films on Vimeo.

The video premiered on the OkayPlayer website a few days ago.

If anyone is reading this, PLEASE go to okayplayer and leave a comment to support Bambu. We gotta let 'em know about fam!

Also, go get Exact Change!

Fatgums and Bambu EP - COMING SOON!
Here's a sneak peek:


"Gunslinger" - by Fatgums and Bambu

-Fatgums

Album Sneak Peek

Sorry Ray, I'm letting the world in on this one. This is one part of the six-part CounterPart track we're working on for the album. T-Know and I just got through laying it down a couple of days ago. Hope you all enjoy it...

-Fatgums

Fatgums' Favorites - Part 4

YouTube Clip:

I know it's not right to laugh at other folks' mishaps, but the noises this lady makes after she falls will always get me.

-Fatgums

Sights and Sounds at Beatrock

Big-ups to Dave and the folks at Beatrock for having us again.  Look out for the next Sights and Sounds event coming soon.  We see you Flow Ethics - y'all rocked it!  ET, man that shit was fun, and K9, it was an honor to be on stage with you homie! Dude has to be one of the dopest beatboxes I've seen in my life!  Here are some clips from the performance:

Our beat-jackin' intro (shhhh - don't tell Khalil):

K9 on some iller-than-Rahzel shit:

ET and T-Know performing our impromptu "Here We Go" track:

Guns of Wilmas sans Buck Taylor:

Universe with a drunken DJ:

Fatgums and ET on some college '02 scratch biz.  Beat by the great DJ Gammaray:

And finally, T-Know's closer:

Big thanks to the homie Jimmy Murley for making CP shirts, and peace to Bambu for introducing us to the crowd! 

-Fatgums

TNO's Song of the Week!!! 12/13/08

This week's song of the week comes from Oakland's own, Mystic. This song, "Beautiful Resistance" is on her upcoming album of the same name. In it, she describes the hardships and "collective strain" of ghetto life(and life in general); drugs, no jobs, and even the cold of the night. But, by her third verse she explains for her there's "no retreat, no surrender" and through her writing she leads a "beautiful resistance" not just for herself but everyone dealing with the same issues.


here's a cool recent article on her:
Mystic Article

-T.Nizzle

Hey Thanks Aileen...

Eric Strand Baseball All-Star....... in High School. from Aileen on Vimeo.

Aileen, your only video posted on Vimeo is THIS!? Geez Louise!

-Fatgums

Exile is my new hero

Tayo put me onto this:

Exile - Watermelon Man from Okayplayer on Vimeo.

Gat DAMN!

-Fatgums

My Post-Exam Feeling Inside...

-gums

J*** in My Pants

This had me rolling. - Ray

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Back in the Dizzay

This is a fun list to look at.. somehow I made the cut all the way back in 2001..

http://www.bayareadj.org/list.html

-ray

The Tenderest of Loins..

For those who don't know, the Tenderloin District is in San Francisco.  A neighborhood such as this is where all the grime and grit of a metropolis takes place.  If you ever want to know what's crackin on Taylor Street, check out this website that streams video 24/7...

http://adamsblock.com/

and here's how i found out about it..

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/06/BANM14ITI9.DTL

-Ray

here's an update.. could this be a preview of a big brother society??

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/13/BA7Q14N5S6.DTL

-ray

I'll be joining you soon Martha...

Let Cube tell it:


-Fatgums

CounterPart Painters

In the broad spectrum of visual arts, to me painting will always be the rawest shit. Paint applied to a surface - that has to be one of the most unadulterated forms of expression. From my own knuckleheaded perspective, painting is like making beats using strictly flea market records and an SP-12. I've been blessed to know (and be related to) some super talented painters, and I'd like to share some of their work with y'all. So here you go, the work of Mark Canto, Derek Chan, and my beloved brother Patrick Strand - some of the rawest painters out there.

Mark Canto (aka Roots):

Mark's work is currently on display at Beatrock in Long Beach. Go check out the new store and pick up a Roots piece before you can't afford one!

Derek Chan:

The homie Derek stays in Chicago now, but I know his heart is still in the 'Sco! We all miss you D!

Patrick Strand:

Check out his website: http://www.patrickstrand.com/

-Fatgums

TNO's Song of the Week!!!

Check every week as I'll be posting my pick as "Song of The Week"!

The inaugural pick is Chicago's own, All Natural and their song "It's O.K."
I just recently came across my old "No Additives, No Preservatives" CD (1998) and was quickly reminded how DOPE they are!
Take a listen!

All Natural: "It's O.K."




-Tno

Fatgums' Favorites - Part 3

CMC Videos:

All About My Fetti - by Young Lay, Ray Luv, and Mac Mall (from the New Jersey Drive Soundtrack). Remember Rickey Waters was in this shit?! That's a damn good trivia question right there.

Bounce To This - by RBL Posse (R.I.P. Mr. Cee and Hitman). Look at good ol' Sway in there. I didn't know there was an uncensored version - cover your eyes kids!

Ghetto Theme - by Mac Mall. Pac's directorial debut?

For those folks not from The Bay, CMC (California Music Channel) was the main source for Bay Area Hip Hop videos for little knuckleheads like me back in the day. Big-Ups to Chuy Gomez, Trace DOG and Franzen!

-Fatgums

Bambu "Crooks & Rooks" Teaser

Go get Exact Change y'all!

Look out for the Fatgums and Bambu EP - COMING SOON!
Here's a sneak peek:

"Gunslinger" - by Fatgums and Bambu

-Fatgums

Fatgums' Favorites - Part 2

Action Figures: Blaster and Soundwave

I love these, love 'em!...and find myself obsessed with getting all of their little homie cassette tapes. Don't have them all yet, but I'm getting close!

According to T-Know, the creation of the character Blaster was inspired by a letter from a young b-boy in Wilmington, California. The boy wrote that the Autobots should have their own version of Soundwave, and that instead of a Walkman, it should be a Ghetto Blaster. So thanks to young Florentino, who grew up to be a pretty good rapper, my favorite action figure was created. Thanks T! I sure hope you get some royalties one day.



Did you know they make Soundwave MP3 players in Japan?! Those crazy, crazy Japanese...

-Fatgums

Elephant Tracks

Yo, look what Russ found @ Target!
There's some early Gammaray and TNO on this mug!
A.M.E. anyone?

Check it out here:


-TeeNoe

Proposition 6 Video

I know the election already passed but I just wanted to share the homie Alex "Sneaky" Ortiz's Anti-Proposition 6 video. This Proposition would have significantly and unjustly, increased our already overcrowded penal system. It also targeted our youth by allowing anyone 14 years old or older (including NON violent offenders) to be tried as ADULTS! Thankfully, the CA population realized the ridiculousness of this, and the proposition was DEFEATED!
-TNO

Fatgums' Favorites - Part 1

Sneakers:

Nike Air Raid II "Peace" colorway. Please, PLEASE retro the black ones of these Mr. Nike!

-Gums

BraelanB On Some Real-Life WIZARD SHIT!

Damn B, I didn't see you do that at the show!? When did you get a house Elf?
-Gums

The CounterParts Crew Trading Cards - Series I

COLLECT ALL SIX!

-Fatgums

DJ ET - The Best Party DJ EVER!

Yup, I said it. ET IS THE BEST PARTY DJ OF ALL TIME!!!

Here's a quick snippet mix:

For booking, please contact DJ ET: erictandoc@gmail.com

-Fatgums

CounterParts: 2008 Flag Football Champions

I got the game ball.

-ray

Novelists in the Netherlands!

More Novelists news..

I found a Dutch blog spot where they seem to be taking a liking to "Bookends".. heres some quotes that I translated with google translator:

"Oldskool wonderful atmosphere on this album. But also occasionally as a delicious Jazzy Treats on beat with live instruments. The Raps are excellent care and the album is a beautiful whole."

"Hmmzz, then I go this soon but try!"

"Indeed, this sounds fun."

"Find the MC at times against what traps. Is not to say that this does not listen to more falls. It all has something refreshing. And, unlike the majority of the HipHop that suits today. I think this is the next time I agree more often go to listen to. Maybe it grows into something fun ..."

"I came back to veels little hip-hop albums from 2008've heard, so there was some change.
This is very nice. Indeed, a free oldskool sound, a fine rapper and not so full production. It all sounds Friday and spontaneously generated. Very promising act!"

Heres the link with it already translated:

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.musicmeter.nl%2Falbum%2F127286&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=nl&tl=en

-ray

The "O" in Obama

I have to give props to my big brother Sol Sender for helping to make Mr. Obama president a reality.  Read about the infamous logo he and his team created in an article from the New York Times:

http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/the-o-in-obama/

happy turkey day!

-ray

"Like Us" by Bambu

This is another great video put together by the homie Tad Nakamura. I see my brother ET put in some work on it too!

CZA comes hard on the beat, Queen Herstory blesses the intro, and damn, don't those vocals sound clean?! - at least cleaner than the closet they were recorded in... hmm... but maybe not as clean as the Jordans above the mic!

Go get Exact Change y'all!

Look out for the Fatgums and Bambu EP, which will be coming out soon. Well, at least hopefully soon. Actually, probably not for a minute, unless we knock it out this winter break! Here's a sneak peek:

"Gunslinger" - by Fatgums and Bambu

-Fatgums

-Gums

"Livin' Right" by Bored Stiff - feat. CounterPart Otayo Dubb

Bored Stiff's new album The Sad Truth was released TODAY. What I've heard so far sounds dope. Support Independent Hip Hop! Pick it up over at RapBay.com or at your local record shop.

-Fatgums

Posse Cut

Listen to the first track we were all on together - before we formed the crew!

This is from Bookends by the Novelists (Ajax and Randruff). Bookends was the first Fatgums and Gammaray-produced full-length album. The track also features Buddha, Gavin, Niko Pag-Asa, Bambu, and Nicodemus.

Listen to more of the Novelists: http://www.myspace.com/novelistsmusic

-Fatgums

Fatgums' Med-School Factoid of the Week

Jamie Lee Curtis has testicles inside of her abdomen. She is genetically a man but her testosterone receptors don't work. This made it impossible for her to develop male secondary sex characteristics. During puberty, the high levels of unused testosterone in her body got converted to estrogen, causing her to develop her "bangin'" body. Sorry to all of those who crushed on her back in the day.

-Fatgums

Keelay & Zaire "The Times" ft. Blu and Fortilive

Thought I'd share this with y'all. This is my dude Keelay who did the "All I Need" and "Bang Ya Head" tracks on my upcoming album, "A Wolf In Sheep's Music." They got their vid on mtvu.com... check it out!!

-Otayo Dubb

The CounterParts Crew Live at The Knitting Factory 11/15/08

Thank you to everyone who came out! The show was a huge success.

Even "Old Man Strand" was bobbing his head!

-Fatgums