Photo from ANIMAL
When the Notorious BIG said, “I hope you niggas sleep,” he didn’t mean it literally. But Jamal “Gravy” Woodard took those words to heart and was caught napping while “Notorious,” the Biggie Smalls biopic, was filming in Brooklyn. He’s either tired of early call times or of playing the blunt smoking Bed-Stuy bandit. [ANIMAL]
Video For Wu-Tang Clan “The Heart Gently Weeps Featuring Erykah Badu, Dhani Harrison and John Frusciante” from this past winter’s “8 Diagrams”.
Production of the Notorious B.I.G. biopic Notorious continues, with filming taking place outside today at the corner of St. Marks Ave and Franklin Ave in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. In preparation, a team of set dressers came through to give the block a slight makeover; storefronts are boarded up and a church is hidden completely. The local graffiti has been supplemented with Hollywood approved tags, which fit in fairly well if you don’t notice the lack of Blood and Crip tags or the protective plastic it’s painted on. By the looks of it, they’re staging a scene inspired by video of Biggie rapping outside a Bed Stuy grocery store at age 17.
If you want to be in the production and you’re between the ages of 17 and 35, they’re looking for unpaid extras for a few concert scenes being shot this Thursday and Friday.
Hip hop was born in the Bronx, at 1520 Sedgwick Ave, when DJ Kool Herc started throwing parties and playing the breaks, something nobody had done before. But for the last year, the future of 1520 Sedgwick Ave, or Sedgwick and Cedar, has been in question as the landlord tried to remove the 100 unit apartment complex the Mitchel-Lama housing program, which gives landlords tax breaks for renting below market rate. Fortunately for fans of hip hop and affordable housing, the city has made an unprecedented move to block the sale because it “was not viable under current rent restrictions,” protecting the building from being bought and turned into luxury hip hop condos.
Here’s a piece of documentary with a British narrator and DJ Kool Herc explaining how hip hop was born. It also features Grandwizard Theodore, more recently caught performing the little known blindfolded-record-on-the-head scratch.
On his own personal blog, Prodigy, the soon to be jailed Queens rapper from Mobb Deep, is claiming responsibility for some of the biggest trends in music, fashion and entertainment. Basically, if you have tattoos, wear Timberland boots, use slang, drink Hennessy, use Pro Tools, or blog, Prodigy wants you to know you’re biting. “#26 I COULD JUST KEEP GOING BUT NOW I’M TIRED… HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MY TREND SETTING, LOOK AT WHAT I BRING TO THE TABLE.”
It looks like Graffiti Research Lab helped AZ, Stiles P and Large Professor laser tag their names up for “The Hardest Out” music video. The video looks really good, like a Hip Hop Sprint commercial. That’s us saying we like it. The track is off AZ’s album, ‘The Undeniable’ coming Out February 5th, 2008.
Friday night in a Bed Stuy basement. Tickling the keys in honor of Biggie, because the sky is the limit and you know that you keep on, just keep on pressin on.
Remembering Biggie. May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997
The Notorious BIG - Juicy
There’s a new video for “Classic (Better Than I’ve Ever Been)” DJ Premier’s remix joint with KRS-ONE, Nas, Rakim, and Kanye West to celebrate the 25th birthday of Nike Air Force Ones. Download it on Nah Right.
