Labels We Love: !K7 Celebrates 27 Years With Free Music From Motor City Drum Ensemble

One of our favorite record labels is celebrating their 27th birthday and throughout coming weeks they'll be rolling out some special FREE EPs from electronic music artists like Motor City Drum Ensemble, Apparat, Wolf + Lamb Vs Soul Clap and more!

The first free offering is retro-fueled funky treat from Motor City Drum Ensemble which you can grab HERE

Special Thanks: To !K7 for all the incredible installments in their esteemed 'DJ Kicks' series, SF Giants back in the playoffs, The Cabin in the Woods breathing new life into the horror genre, 2 Chainz, New Submotion Orchestra album and it finally feeling like Autumn in LA.

Kicks #2 - Nike Air Flight 89

I had to put up a post on these shoes. Earlier today I noticed a kid rocking a pair of these babies. Notice to the kid whose parents buy them these shoes:

Your parents are the coolest.

Special thanks to: Fantasy football, eBay, iPod, Digital DJ programs, iMac... but not the iPhone, that things is just evil.

Madlib and Freddie Gibbs at LACMA - September 2012

Duke Du Rock found out about a free show at LACMA starring performances by Blu and Exile, Madlib and Freddie Gibbs.

Here are stills from the night.

Be on the lookout for future film photos I took from this show.

 

 Madlib in front of LACMA street lights

 

Madlib and Freddie Gibbs

 

Madlib in front of LACMA street lights

 

 Thuggin!

 

The 'G' is for Gibbs.

Special thanks to: MURS for hosting the show, Blue and Exile, Exile is an amazing MPC performer! (oh yeah, he can rap too),  Madlib and Mos Def album dropping soon, Freddie Gibbs was a little too thugged out for my liking at a super white place like LACMA but don't hate the player hate the game, Madlib throwing one of his CD's he used during the performance... it lands one foot from me.. I don't realize until it's too late... some kid has it in his hands... I offer to buy it from him... $100 dollars he says... too much. Next time!

Stephon Marbury, do me a favor and shut up.

I don't know if I'm more annoyed at ESPN for posting yet another non-story as a headline or the fact that someone still cares what Stephon Marbury has to say. 

Recently Starbury came out to vocalize his dis-belief in the ability for Amare Stoudamire and Carmelo Anthony to co-exist on the same team and win.

First of all... no shit Sherlock. What? do have a team of specialists working around the clock to figure that one out?

We all know the Knicks franchise is a disaster going back to 2001 and Isiah Thomas. 

Stephon Marbury has no business discussing chemistry and co-existing on any level.

Stephon Marbury chain of events:

1. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and grew up loving the Knicks.

2. Spent 4 years at Georgia Tech before being drafted 4th overall in 1996 by Milwaukee to be traded to Minnesota where he would spend the next 3 years 

3. Bounced from Minnesota to NJ, then to Phoenix, then finally landing on his childhood team, the NY Knicks.

4. Considered to be the savior of the Knicks as a point guard and learning under Larry Brown, the wheels fell off pretty early. 

5. Has massive public feud with Larry Brown, and is quoted by the New York Post as the, "most reviled athlete in New York".

6. Gets Larry Brown fired, bring in Isiah Thomas.

Wikipedia synopsis:

"The pivotal incident involved Marbury leaving the team after learning that Thomas planned to remove him from the starting lineup. There were reports that Marbury and Thomas actually came to blows on the team plane, and that Marbury threatened to blackmail Thomas for taking him out of the starting lineup—both in the presence of Knick teammates. Following the incident and Marbury's return to the team in mid-November after one missed game, Knick fans consistently chanted "fire Isiah" at home games and constantly booed virtually all of the Knicks, especially Marbury."

Foul and the Bucket goes to Upperhands. 

Booyah.

Special Thanks to(New York Knicks Edition): NY Knicks become a team in 1946, Red Holzman as head coach, Willis Reed coming out of the tunnel limping and leading the Knicks to the 1970championship in and also earning All Star MVP - League MVP - and Finals MVP - first player to ever do so, Walt Frazier, the NBA rigging the 1986 draft so that NY could attain Patrick Ewing, Patrick Ewing's knees, John Starks, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, growing up a Michael Jordan fan and hating the nicks still to this day, John Stark's dunk over the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan's dunk over Patrick Ewing, the Spring of 1994 when in Michael Jordan's absence the Knicks made it to the finals to only lose to the Houston Rockets, Losing the 1999 NBA Finals to San Antonio and starting their Tim Duncan dynasty, Larry Johnson, Isiah Thomas yeeesh, Larry Brown, Madison Square Garden, losing seasons galore from 2000 to 2008 and counting, Jeremy Lin's 3 weeks of amazing play, losing Jeremy Lin to Carmelo Anthony's big mouth, and the current debacle that is the New York Knickerbockers... good luck with Jason Kidd as your point guard.

Morley in Los Angeles

Street artist Morley can be seen putting up work from Venice to Downtown. 

Always pairing a self-portrait drawing of himself putting up the street art and a quote, Morley gives us a glimpse into his psyche and also a hint at who he really is.

How do I know it is actually what Morley looks like you ask? 

Well during the summer of 2011 I was taking photos of some mural pieces on Melrose Avenue, when I realized I was unknowingly standing right next to the man. Brandishing a paint brush, some wheat paste and a roll of future pieces, Morley quietly and swiftly flattened the piece onto an electrical box and moved off into the sun.

I am pretty sure I got a snapper of him doing it, but like alot of my film photography, there are 2 to 3 other shots layered on top of it, so you may have to do some searching for him.

Do enjoy my Morley dedication.

Special thanks to: Free hip hop at LACMA, Freddie Gibbs is Madlib's Tupac, replacement refs, Space Shuttle Endeavour flying over my head, everyone else in the country's summer is ending and Los Angeles' is just getting started, idiots needing to buy the iPhone5 so bad that they will waste nearly $600 on it, starting to hear the Tim Tebow chants, thrift store deals.

Premonition of things to come?

With many regards to Ryan Simoneau and his pursuit of not 1 but 2 World Series titles

in less than 5 years:

San Francisco Giants 

Double Rainbow salute!

Hit and Run Screen-printing Crew Website / Calndar of Events

Downtown Los Angeles based silk-screen printing crew "Hit and Run" have been collaborating 

and actively printing as many surfaces as possible since 2003. 

This crew of artists work hard in their studio to create some elaborate screen prints which are then used at various events throughout Los Angeles and the world. 

If you are so inclined to head over to one of their events, bring a blank t-shirt!

They will gladly work with you to design an original printed shirt courtesy of their one 

of a kind printmaking techniques.

Please log on to: www.thehitandrun.com

to check out when and where the print crew will be in your neck of the woods. 

Special thanks to: Peyton Manning is back, it's still scorching hot in Los Angeles in September.

MF Doom Special Herbs Volumes 1-10

I dedicate my weekend music selection to the man in the mask,

MF Doom : Special Herbs Volumes 1- 10

72 track instrumental compilation that represents all of MF Doom's production from his earliest releases "Operation Doomsday", "MM Food", "Viktor Vaughn" and his work with MF Grimm. 

Even though I would much rather hear him spitting over these tracks,

you could definitely appreciate Dumile behind the boards.

Also noted in the series is the artwork portraying the MF Doom character. Originally altered 

from the Fantastic Four comic books, the Victor Von Doom character is portrayed in 

a Roy Lichtenstein layout featuring word bubbles to aid the narrative.

As the series move on into Volumes 7 and 8, I do feel there is a bit of a drop off of 

the comic book quality of the earlier editions. 

Special Thanks To: Obama speeches, Kale Juices, Fantasy Drafts, Burning Man Wedding Proposals, Jneiro Jarel and MF Doom - JJ DOOM "Key To The Kuffs" album (sick), The "Gov'Nor" video by MF Doom - Nice to see someone is still doing hip hop videos right, Art Modell, Baseball Slumps, 

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and John Clayton's "This is Sportscenter" commercial.

These guys should be the next Slapshot!

If you know me by now... you understand that there are two things I love:

Ice Hockey and Trailer Park Boys.

Recently the Trailer Park Boys, John Paul Tremblay, Robb Wells, and John Dunsworth,

wrote an NHL column for ESPN NHL. Go figure that ESPN actually cares about hockey.

With the looming CBA lockout upon us in the NHL 2012, I wanted to give the readers of Upperhands the chance to imagine a happy NHL where the Trailer Park Boys had their own team:

The Sunnyvale Piss Jugs

Special Thanks: Donald Fehr the former head of the MLB Players Union who was responsible for allowing the whole steroid issue to become super prevalent in baseball, is now in charge of helping the NHL player's union work out a deal with the owners... Looks like this season is screwed... not good. If there is a lockout... the NHL is doomed and I am even more miserable than being an Islanders fan for my entire life.