Posts Tagged ‘Clan Destined’

Yamin-never-leave

You can always count on Yamin Semali to bring freshness and innovation to his art.  His new video, for one of my favorite tracks off his project YAMIN, “Never Leave” is no exception to that freshness.  Directed by everybody’s favorite indie film creative W. Feagins Jr., the visuals for “Never Leave” play out as a fun, easygoing, reciprocal relationship between Yamin and his love, his MPC.  Yes, it’s an ode to his beat machine.  With the way this track flows and knocks, you can feel how much Yamin is feelin’ his MPC.  Check out the video below:

 

Cop that YAMIN as well!

Hip hop is a funny thang.  We’ve got rappers that spit bars about money, cars, clothes and hoes, as if these acquisitions are the fulfillment of all their desires.  Rappers that strive to cop a label deal in hopes that all of those aforementioned things will be bestowed upon them with the simple mention of their names.  Thankfully, somebody has come along to talk some sense into these lost souls.  Visual artist and hip hop head Fahamu Pecou  has released an EP to complement his All Dat Glitters Ain’t Goals exhibition, which is currently on display at Lyons Wier Gallery in New York City.  One part case study, one part satire, all around poignant, All Dat Glitters is the impetus for a much needed discussion about hip hop’s role in pop culture and its massive influence through media depictions.

Hence, Fahamu Pecou is The Shit! The Shit is Pecou’s alter ego who exploits hip-hop vernacular to address the oversaturation of false images and mislead ideals of wealth and success. Appearing as a blinged-out, tatted-up rapper gracing the covers of art and pop culture publications. Fahamu Pecou is The Shit’s over exaggerated persona and swagger of is heightened by the use of subversive commentary, wordplay and colloquialisms scrawled atop these large-scale works. These quips directly engage the erroneous posturing proclaimed by today’s black pop culture icons and role models.

The EP provides the soundtrack to Pecou’s hard hitting displays of hip hop grandeur and extravagance.  Pecou recruits some of Atlanta’s most enterprising MCs to assist in ushering in some dialogue about what’s happening in hip hop culture.  Produced by Illastrate, the All Dat Glitters EP has been blessed by the likes of Stic.Man of Dead PrezClan Destined, L.I.U.N.S. Den, StarChile, Boog Brown, Great S.C.O.T.T., Methuzalah, Mike Flo and more.

Not only do you receive an awesome EP (for free!), Pecou has added a digi-book which includes art from his exhibit and lyrics from each dope track.  That’s the shit, right?

AmDex and DT of Clan Destined, part of ATL’s finest, are back with the long-awaited video from their last year LP release Self-Titled.  While the very fly Stacy Epps comes through with melodies and rhymes, the Clan D duo keep their cool under the pressures of everyday livin’.

“Scream” is the joint you play after a day where your boss has used your brain as a paperweight, the gridlocked rush hour traffic incurs a $25 late pickup fee at the baby’s daycare, the bill collectors are calling at dinner time and you just received a text telling you to come into work an hour earlier.  You know, the type of blue-collar bullshit we adhere to on a day-to-day basis.  But no worries.  Let Clan D tell it, “Just let it out and scream!”  Or, you know, you could just go all Office Space on shit (not entirely recommended, though).

Check it out below.

Last week, I had the privilege of attending one of the dopest hip hop shows my body has rocked to.  The Do For Self Initiative hosted its first show of its 2012 concert series.  According to the website:

“Do For Self is a community initiative aimed at promoting all humans to be self sufficient.  Free from brain wash, and tyranny of the mind, and body.   Applying the philosophy of “Every Option Every Variable” to every decision… I present direction – organized from each according to ability, to each according to need.” -GBK

Hosted by Methuzulah with special guest DJ Trackstar, with performances from the rhythmic collective Capacity Demo (DJs Illastrate, AmDex and DT, and flutist Rasheeda Ali), Tef Poe, Ekundayo, Gotta Be Karim, Clan Destined, Sha Stimuli, and Boog Brown, every act that hit the stage brought fire.

This showcase was what the culture of hip hop is all about: connectedness, vivid storytelling, self-sufficiency, and rhymes that move the crowd.  If what went down at 529 is any indication of what Do For Self has in store, I would definitely recommend anyone in ATL to check out the next show.  Check the website for any upcoming events.

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