Pretty Buoyant Society: "Schizophrenic Love"

World premier "fusic" (and lego art) from the boys Drizz and Phatrick of the Pretty Buoyant Society. I was going to properly introduce PBS myself, but I think I'll have to defer to the horse's mouth. Adriel writes:

Across cyberspace, and all up in your interface--it is with technically-advanced pleasureness that we present to you, Pretty Buoyant Society: a hi-octane force of musical extravagance that finds its roots in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and perhaps some corners of America. PBS ambassadors Drizzletron (of iLL-Literacy) and DJ Phatrick serve a first taste entitled "Schizophrenic Love," a tale of romance so forlorn, the volcanic powers of the lava lady Golda Supernova had to be summoned. Add the eruptive heat from the b-side "Hot Chocolate," and you have the most delicious download your hard drive will ever coax into its cache.

Aside from being a dope track, I think we can all relate to the concept of schizophrenic love. How many of us have realized that the "she loves me/ she loves me not" extremes are overly simplistic and that our relationships are often mired in our own dualing desires and indecision? I think Golda Supanova hits the nail on the head when she tells her boo "Hold me close, now set me free." Can we ever have both?

DL: "Schizophrenic Love" & "Hot Chocolate"- PBS

"Oakland Winter" & Peaceful Protest

Check out this mezcla of sound and soul courtesy of Jon Reyes & iLL-Lit's Drizz. He addresses Oakland and the Oscar Grant injustice and upheaval. Definitely worth the download (Click link below. Then on the pg that opens, right click link and click "Save link as" on the menu to DL)

"Oakland Winter"- Drizz

Also Peep Drizz's montage of the protest at City Hall yesterday. Props to all the folks who made it peaceful and successful. Womps to all you knuckleheads who think you can masquerade as opportunistic wannabe revolutionaries and idiots in my Town. Now sip on that molotov for me young squire.

Also, check out Too $hort's speech at the rally, in which he implores the crowd to be peaceful out of respect for The Town we love so much. That's real. If you rep it, respect it!

The Yay’s iLL-Lit Crash the Mansion in NYC

I’m running a bit late, but I caught a dope show by Oakland based spoken word/ hip-hop collective iLL-Literacy this past weekend out in NYC. iLL-Lit’s Dahlak Braithwaite, Nico Cary, Ruby Veridiano-Ching, Adriel Luis and their band The Hi-Lifes tore down Manhattan’s Crash Mansion with a vaudevillian fusion of poetry, hip-hop, comedy, rock, oratory and soul. If you’re familiar with the Bay’s performance scene, think of their Natural Electricity Tour as one part poetry slam, one part Tourrettes Without Regrets, one part Ashkenaz jam session and one part La Peña hip-hop showcase. Put it all together and you have an amazing bouillabaisse of underground Bay splendor.

The foursome transitioned easily between Ruby’s searching soliloquies, Dahlak’s riffs on race, Nico’s witty musings, Adriel’s poignant social commentary and the Hi-Life’s versatile musicianship. That said, they also came together for rumbling jam sessions, cuts off Dahlak’s new mixtape Commencement (available for free download!) and group pieces like the scroll unraveling crowd favorite “Fuck You List.”

iLL-Lit is one of a few up-and-coming crews that have grown out of Youth Speaks’ farm system of dynamic young writers and performers. All four of them are extremely accomplished and their iLL-Literate empire encompasses albums, mixtapes, books, plays, and much more. Though this leg of their tour has just ended, I just received word that they will hit the road again in the spring to help thaw yall out with a little hotness.

Below is a little promotional appetizer of iLL-Lit's solo stylings.

Reviews of Ruby's new book Miss Universe by Oh Dang! & Venuszine

Venuszine review of NYC show by the esteemed Niema Jordan