I have to say, at, 24, I was probably one of the youngest people in attendance. even thoughI saw a few kids running around and even heard a baby crying at one point.

I don’t remember when I met Jason Noer or his wife Bethany, probably at Soundset or another rap event. Jason was a friend of Eyedea’s and has been an intergral part in the Twin Cities hip-hop scene since the early days. He spends his time living the life of a b-boy and teaching the art to the next generation. He also appears to have at least 47 pairs of Pumas.

I came to the show alone, mostly because I wanted to experience the night with no attachments. What I thought was a good seat at Cowles turned out to be taken by someone else, as someone in the front row had messed up the arrangement and made it so I couldn’t grab my seat. The staff at the venue was great and let me sit in the “accessible” seat at the top of the stairs with plenty of leg room and a great view. No complaints here. The usher who assisted me comments on my new Nike Air Max 90s and told me he was ready for a good show. I was down with him.

The night started out with an introduction of each of the dancers. Each member of the troupe had a “day job” and this was all part of their routine during the night. They each also had their individual style of dancing whether it be classic breakdancing, “tutting”, “waacking” or other styles. Despite having many friends who dance, I learned a lot about the various styles this night.

As an independent hip-hop kid, my favorite part of the night was seeing several people at once dance to some of my favorite artists and songs…Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan, Busdriver, Eyedea & Abilities, Aceyalone (at least 3 times), KRS-One, and more were all on the playlist. The same feeling I get when a DJ puts on a favorite track of mine was felt all over in my body, the feeling that someone other than you knows a track THAT GOOD is a very special one. With breaking being one of the elements of hip hop, that shouldn’t have surprised me. I guess I’ve seen too many orchestral shows in fancy theaters…

The pinnacle of the performance (besides the incredibly entertaining beginning and ending) was when the lights went out and Jason came on stage, all one. With only a dim spotlight shining upon him, he answered a phone call and then began to cry, apparently in complete shock of what he had just been told on the other end. Not completely unexpected, the call was to let him know of Eyedea’s tragic and unexpected passing in the fall of 2010, a shocking blow to the worldwide independent hip-hop scene.

Behind Jason was a wide swath of empty canvas, which was soon filled with VHS-style video from a projector. The images projected (with only the sound from the video – no background/venue music) were those of Micheal Larsen breakdancing as a youth and young adult. Jason watched 3 or 4 different dance sequences and proceeded to copy the dances movement by movement. My friend Janessa (a lifelong friend of Eyedea’s) and his mom were sitting up in the balcony at this point, and I could both hear and feel their reactions to this display of love, affection, and admiration from Jason. 20 years deep in the breakdancing game – and it was almost impossible to copy what Mikey was doing in XXL t-shirts and pants, just as no-one will ever be able to match his intensity, skill, and passion on a microphone 100 years from now. There’s something special about what Mikey gave to the world, and I can’t think of a better way to honor it than pure, public imitation as Jason displayed in front of a full house at Cowles.

I left that night with an incredible sense of realization of just what this city has to offier. I moved here almost 21  months ago but haven’t really explored everything I probably should be exploring. For little or no money, every night of the week, there is something alive and prospering in the Twin Cities. Minneapolis and St. Paul are incredibly special places that are aching to be explored, and I’m glad watching people dance and listening to my favorite music was a catalyst for me to explore this.

Thank you Jason, Bethany, and all of the people involved in the production. See you soon!

Brother Ali is offering up a FREE 7 song EP for your listening pleasure. The Bite Marked Heart features Phonte (Little Brother, Foreign Exchange), Stokley Williams (Mint Condition), Singer/songwriter Nikki Jean and Aby Wolf. Beats provided by Jake One and Ant. Ali is currently putting the finishing touches on his 6th studio album Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color. Join the conversation on twitter – #thebitemarkedheart.

Stream below, or DOWNLOAD for FREE.

I guess I missed the boat on this not being from France, but they celebrated their 20 year anniversary of a group in Egypt in 2008 in front of some pyramids, with a complete live band and plenty guests. Some of the most beautiful hip hop I’ve seen performed. Check out everything I could find on YouTube below…

What have I been doing? Here’s a little list:

Soundset Festival
Atmosphere – The Family Sign
Blueprint – Adventures In Counter Culture
Face Candy – Waste Age Teen Land
Hail Mary Mallon – Are You Gonna Eat That?
Grieves – Together/Apart

That’s what. FIVE albums and a 20,000+ person rap festival. Things have slowed down now while we prepare for the (absolutely incredible) new album from Dilated Peoples member Evidence.

Gots a fresh lady. @sallytherose …yes, we only talk in twitter terms. She speaks French and has bright green eyes.

Here are some things that I like a lot right now:

My favorite band on earth, Stars, released The Bedroom Demos, the sessions that led to their classic In Our Bedroom After The War album.

AnimalsBeingDicks.com

Action Bronson. Often called “The White Ghostface” (which makes sense if you close your eyes and listen to him rap), he’s from Queens and cooks a lot. Peep this stuff:
“Shiraz”

“Action In The Kitchen: Seared Ahi Tuna” (it’s a cooking show…kinda great)

That’s it for now y’all. Catch you later.

Enjoy these two live videos shot and produced in a way that only La Blogotheque can seem to make work. Incredible website – I’ve gotten lost for hours in their sea of music.

Buck 65 | Part 1 (Gee Whiz) | A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Buck 65 | Part 2 (Paper Airplane / Cold Steel Drum) | A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Meanwhile, on the internet, Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, and DJ Big Wiz have been dropping little tidbits on Youtube for a couple years regarding their project Hail Mary Mallon. Ever heard of Typhoid? Google Typhoid Mary. There you go.

Here’s the first single and the best rapping-in-a-car video yet.
Ladies and Gents, “Smock”! Please click Mary below and buy the song!

WIRED Magazine picked up on the 2011 Winterclash. Pretty awesome. Check out this Be-Mag re-cap video below, it’s absolutely incredible how the sport has progressed in recent years.

Nice work, Karsten.

Stars | A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

First video off of the new album dropping March 8th. Pretty damn fresh. Very cool how they mix the real-life with old-style illustration and mix the modern with the vintage. Wuuuu.