Jurassic 5

Cut Chemist

Cut Chemist rocks the UN

Cut Chemist: Outro (Revisited)Cut Chemist: Outro (Revisited) (A Stable Sound, 4/10/12)

Earlier this month, Jurassic 5 producer/DJ Cut Chemist released “Outro (Revisited) f. Blackbird,” his first single in six years.

Following its release, the United Nations called upon the turntablist to perform in New York in support of One Day on Earth, a video series that captures individuals and musicians from every country across the globe performing their own indigenous instruments — all on the very same day, October 10, 2010.

The film was screened globally on Sunday, coinciding with Earth Day. Below, you can see an original piece that Cut Chemist created for the video series, rendered from thousands of hours of recordings.

The Groove Seeker: Freestyle Fellowship’s The Promise

On a biweekly basis, The Groove Seeker goes in search of killer grooves across rock, funk, hip hop, soul, electronic music, jazz, fusion, and more.

Freestyle Fellowship: The Promise Freestyle Fellowship: The Promise (Decon, 10/18/11)

Freestyle Fellowship: “Step 2 the Side”

[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Freestyle_Fellowship_Step_2_The_Side.mp3|titles=Freestyle Fellowship: “Step 2 The Side”]

After two decades and three LPs under its belt, the Freestyle Fellowship has turned into one of the longest-running hip-hop crews with the release of its latest record, The Promise. Previously the vision of innovative new-school rhyming in what seems like the old Wild West of hip hop, the Fellowship embodies the progressive early-’90s West Coast movement when hip-hop culture wasn’t an international trend, and when nation-conscious raps imbibed a certain sense of freedom and lyrical style reigned supreme.

But it’s been quite some time since those open-mic nights at the Good Life Café in South Central Los Angeles, where the Freestyle Fellowship, like many others (Chali 2na, Cut Chemist), got their start. Comprised of Aceyalone, Myka 9, PEACE, Self Jupiter, and producer J Sumbi, the Fellowship maintains a relevant influence as one of the initiators of jazz-rooted hip hop, aimed to challenge the art form with new approaches to rhyme, rhythm, and meter. Along with East Coast counterparts such as A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, and Gang Starr, the Freestyle Fellowship filled a niche between commercialized radio rap and hardcore gangster rap, elevating the game with highly intellectual and esoteric prose.