Kensho Kuma 
Urban Art War @ Johnny V’s in San Jose, 10/13/12…
This show features a highly unorthodox format, where all artists are on stage the entire duration of the evening, and the DJ blends songs in an unannounced order. Not even the MC’s know who’s track is coming up… As organizer Luck Loosh puts it, it’s similar to “musical chairs.”
Yours truly will be rocking with some of the hardest working local underground Hip Hop acts @ Brainwash in San Francisco on 10/20/12. This is a free event, so be sure to come through and support!! Also, you can get your laundry done at this venue…
The Line-up thus far:
Kensho Kuma
Skinny Hendrix
BP of OTD
The “Swordz Up (Jovian Remix)” has been getting the crowd hyped recently, so I look forward to rocking it at a more intimate venue.
I will be performing with my comrades Orukusaki (Zulu Nation) and Joey Mousepad (Slayer’s Club) on 10/06/12 @ the IGOT5ONIT event @ the Icon Lounge in SF. Orukusaki and I will be premiering our tag-team set, so be sure to come through.. Tickets can be purchased here. I went to this monthly last month when A-Plus rocked it, and it was one of the more enjoyable nights I’ve recently had… would describe it as the good intersection where boom-bap meets Electronica… by Electronica, I mean Dubstep, Glitch-pop, and all those other genres I don’t have much schematic knowledge about, but enjoy nonetheless…
This time around in Japan, I witnessed a very special memorable performance by an up-and-coming female MC 072, pronounced “Natsu.” The Sapporo representer emitted an extremely unique, deep vibe which successfully transported the entire audience into her pleasantly twisted world. So many artists strive to be different and heartfelt in an abstract manner, and the result is just confusing nonsense which the traditional rap listener fails to enjoy, however 072 isn’t one of them. Her debut album, Inquisition, recently dropped from my long time friend KK’s label Lo-Vibe, and it’s definitely worthy of a listen.
Ear Peace Records and some of the hardest working independent MC’s are celebrating the end of the ’12 summer!
Free party! Come support your local artists! Everything on sale! New Mexican cuisine!
Confirmed Performances by:
Tantrum (KOTD Fresh Coast)
Rahman Jamaal (Projekt Seer)
Rymo (Backhand Entertainment)
Kensho Kuma (We Nod Records, Tokyo)
Orukusaki (Zulu Nation)
Patience
Candle Spit Collective
One Werd
Premuium Tokyo is my comrade Shux Wun`s event in Shibuya and has been one of the strongest international Hip Hop events in Tokyo for a while.
Yours truly will be performing 08/02 there and will be performing tracks from the upcoming the Program EP.
Please come by if you`re in the area.
Throughout my journey and development as an MC since the mid-nineties, there are few artists that I have studied as much as Vinnie Paz from Jedi Mind Tricks; I would describe his style as “controlled aggression,” where the syntax, syllable placement, subject matter, and pattern, are thoroughly calculated within every bar. Beneath the frequent references of hardcore violence, distrust for the government and organized religion, and alcohol indulgence, there exists a tortured bipolar soul that looks to Islam for the answer.
His lead-off single for the upcoming “God of the Serengeti” album is certified traditional banger… I mean, how can you not respect a dude that names his single after his favorite sandwich, features his mom and barber, rhymes about being manic depressive, and gets it produced by the Beatnuts?
A FREE Summertime Hip Hop show featuring in-store performances by some of your hardest working MC’s in the local Hip Hop scene… (It’s also an unofficial bash to celebrate Kuma’s upcoming one-month Hip Hop sabbatical to Japan.)
Confirmed Performances by:
Dregs One, Tantrum, Rahman Jamaal, Kensho Kuma, Orukusaki, Pure, Citizen, JB Nimble, Gee, B. Durazzo
Support your Independent Record Store, Ear Peace, and Independent MC’s by coming to their FREE show and buying their music!!
A new music video for 2012 is in production and these are some preview stills from the shoot!
Back in ’98-ish, when I was just beginning to MC, there was a group that just blew my mind…
I had stumbled upon “Venom” by the Arsonists on a mixtape that I copped out in Tokyo; I remember rewinding Freestyle’s verse over and over… I vote for the Arsonists as the most underrated group of MC’s of our generation.
Fast forward more than a decade… One of the Arsonists’ MC’s reemerge with German production team the Snowgoons on this one and has got me rewinding again… These brothers epitomize perseverance and timelessness. Respect to the Arsonist MC’s.