Okay, so our dollar is getting stronger but our buying power has always been high. The Lyrical Lounge’s favorite Canadian recently found her way backstage on a snowy Monday night to interview both Classified and Shad after their sold-out show. And yeah, Tim Horton’s fans, the title is a shoutout to how we do our coffee (the closest compliment to the NYC deli coffees). -Angelica LeMinh
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Welcome to our new series that (obviously) highlights our contributors! First up, our priestess of the Lyrical Lounge, hip-hop reviewer and interviewer Angelica LeMinh.
Angelica hails from Canada, and she’s presently extremely busy up there. She writes a monthly sex column for “a lovely glossy” in Monteral called Nightlife; here’s a sample. Angelica also writes for Pound, which is the national Canadian hip hop magazine.
You can also check out stuff from Angelica at these NY based e-ventures: The Industry Cosign and natcreole.com (I wrote a big essay a little while ago called “Hip Hop is not dead, bitches”).
Her home away from Shotgun is her own blog, www.trueurbanlegends.blog.com
If you have a moment, show some love for the work of the constantly-writing Ms. LeMinh, all right?
Mr. J. Medeiros (of the Procussions) talks to your favorite Lyrical Lounge interview queen about “hurt(ing) this pride, murder(ing) this ego”. Here’s a look inside the mind of a (Super)man who ain’t too proud to eat humble pie, just hold the milk - Angelica LeMinh
ALM: Rappelles-moi ton histoire avec la langue francaise….
Mr J: I am still learning French. I know just enough to keep the show going and some extra phrases to get around town. France was the first place I toured (with The Procussions) outside of the U.S. and that was 4 years ago. We go twice almost every year, in fact, I’m here now, about to finish about a 7 week tour…of France.
Angelica LeMinh goes into the locker room with one of the only 3-
time Shotgun Reviews’ champion interviewees, Eternia (Miz Green Eyes), who still holds one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios to date. Following the NBA’s groundbreaking lead, The Lyrical Lounge has annointed a Canadian MVP.
ALM: So, you’re DJing with Prince Paul and shit. What’s your libation of choice on and off the decks?
MIZ E: Aww man, everyone who knows me knows it’s Bacardi Gold rum and coke, though recently I been switching to Grey Goose. Not because I like Grey Goose more, because I don’t, but Jean Grae once told me personally that “dark liquor is a no no”. I agree, but then again, maybe all liquor is a no no.
ALM: I love that you haven’t forgotten your home (sweet Screwface) on your whole Underground From Canada journey. Did it take moving away to really feel it?
MIZ E: Yes. Anybody that claims that Canada doesn’t have an identity, that “Canadians” cannot be typified, is dead wrong. Or they just haven’t moved away. We most definitely have our own identity and it is uniquely ours. I miss Canada, especially Toronto, too much to fully express on any track.
It’s hard not to be noticed when you drop a video like “Y’all Should All Get Lynched”, but NYOIL is pleasantly humble and effervescently funny when he meets the little Lyrical Lounge Interview Queen that could, Angelica LeMinh, as she travels across international borders and domestic waters to chat with him on his side of the Staten Island ferry.
ALM: Is NYOIL an acronym?
NYOIL: It used to stand for “New York’s Original International Lover” but I had to retire that because it became too ridiculous (laughs). Now it’s NY Oil, oil is black gold, we’ve been at war for oil, the youth has been dying for oil. I think the youth is black gold, and that’s what I’m going to war for, the youth, this hip hop.
http://www.timbalandmusic.com - $$
Review by - Angelica LeMinh
Dear dope producers, please do us a favour and JUST PRODUCE. Somebody had to say it, and lest I date myself here like a little old lady remember the days when teenagers held doors open for us, does anyone remember Puffy and Jermaine Dupri back when they didn’t scream their own names over everyone else’s tracks, date Janet Jackson, or design clothes/run marathons?!
Angelica LeMinh has bragging rights for life that the one and only Ursula Rucker called her phone, talked to her for two hours, and commended her on her stalking techniques (she likened it to “the perfect amount of persistence”). Philly’s most poetic Supasista waxes lyrical (for the lounge) about politics, street credibility, and raising her babies.
ALM: You just finished playing the Sistahood Celebration in my hometown with one of my best girls (Amalia Townsend www.myspace.com/sekoya). You’ve also been through Montreal a few times. Tell me about the crowds and the difference between playing Canada and the United States.
Ursula: Vancouver was great this last time, but I never have a bad show in Canada, I’ve also played Toronto. Like Europe, the audiences tend to be more open and progressive about what they know, and their awareness of culture and art is more acute. I haven’t performed extensively in the States, but I don’t think the current climate is too encouraging. I still don’t have a booking agent, and women doing poetry are always going to be beneath the radar. I was excited last summer to perform in Atlanta, a city renowned for being musically progressive, but the crowd was so unresponsive that I was almost bored. I’ve played in Ohio and Chicago, and it was like performing on a space ship.
ALM: Can you talk a little more about the current political climate and the war that hasn’t ended?
Ursula: Well, it’s no secret, and people would do better if they refused to accept trying to keep it secret. I remember I was in Vienna on tour for Supa Sista, and I already had a fear of flying, but this was just after 9/11 so it was exacerbated. I was pregnant with my third child, had left the other two at home and when I saw that night vision shot, I just started crying and wanted to come home. When people heard us speaking English and knew that we were American, the reactions of how they perceived us were completely different. Now, it’s only getting worse and worse for peace. I’m not a punk, but I’m for peace. I realize that as a super power, a First World country (if we’re going to rank), we can’t just sit back and do nothing in the face of such an attack, but what we’re doing right now is not protecting our country, we’re trying to oppress and control another one to fully participate in capitalism. But I appreciate the opportunity to travel and get the truth, because our media here is totally skewed. I think that people have lost that instinctual feeling to see something and react as aware folks and question further. I want to throw something everytime I see our president on the television. There is nothing elegant or eloquent about anything that ever comes out of his mouth, and I am ashamed.
ALM: Are you going to vote for Senator Obama?
Ursula: I don’t know who I’m going to vote for. You’re never actually voting for anyone, it’s just the lesser of evils. It’s like the police officers, you can’t be that good of a person if you are a cop. At least not in Philly, with the corruption that’s involved.
The Lyrical Lounge gets an exclusive peek into the minds and personalities that represent Animate Objects, a crew that sets out to call attention to questioning accepted social norms of work (music), love and life. Their name and music is an active social commentary, and Angelica LeMinh gets to the sum of their hearts:
www.myspace.com/hawino - $$$
Whatever Happened to The 5-Footaz?
Review by Angelica LeMinh
The more things change, the more things stay the same. Warren G will always be a dope beatmaker, but he never was the strongest lyricist. This effort is ambitious and scattered as Mister Griffin could’ve benefited from the advice of an editing consultant. The sheer number of tracks on this album (18 mostly full lengths, there are no Wyclef style interludes here) is enough to floor the average conditioned listener with ADD tendencies.
He tries to tackle some tough issues like war for oil and relationships but overshadows himself with the same old “weed and hos” talk (it doesn’t even seem like he believes it anymore) and allusions that he makes to his own work, “I’m still Warren G, it’s time to regulate” and “this DJ be Warren G”. There just comes a point when it’s grasping at straws when artists have to remind us of why we love them and not the other way around.
www.myspace.com/mudkids - $$$(1/2)
Dig-Dug Hip-Hop
Review by - Angelica LeMinh
It always ceases to amaze me when I come across hip-hoppers who manage the feat fusing humility and irony. With the title of this joint, we can deduce that the breakdown of “base mentality” is to be read as one that is getting back to basics, as in something created with the love of that from your basement that is mental with vitality.
www.k-osmusic.com - $$$$
Miscegenation Station
Review by - Angelica LeMinh
Yeah. So, I wonder what the hip hop purists might have to say about this one. For all intents and purposes, K-OS should be in that “Gnarls Barkley” category, but because he’s Canadian, I think the label has been trumped. He sings on damn near every track, there are reprieves on at least three (he leaves then comes back), and he’s playing with genres and instruments/vox like there’s no tomorrow. While I must argue against the statement that he’s Canada’s answer to Kanye West, his use of violins on “The Rain” (as well as chords and sustain in general on what is one of the album’s strongest tracks), his cross-over appeal (though he’s more Roots than Ye on this tip), and penchant for self-reflexive reflection (my only enemy’s inside me) could argue that case.
He differs though, as he doesn’t use a single sample, and for the most part, his tracks are audio adventures into space (broadcast from the Universe) and time (“Flypaper”-he’s loving that upright bass, though he’s really riding the motif of “Crabbukkit” on this one). He succeeds where Electric Circus and Phrenology confused folks, they just weren’t ready for it yet. That psychedelic, he musta been listening to some Beatles Revolver shit, a perfect example; “
Greetings and welcome to the new ShotgunReviews.com. Since 1999, we’ve done our best to give you worthwhile (and often funny) reviews and columns, and it’s time to shake off the rust and do it a little differently. We’ve kicked around a few ideas regarding how we’d do this new thing, and we hope you like what you see.
The new design comes to us from Barb Hallock, a student of mine with the appropriate attitude for this place (that is, bad). The more bloggish format puts us more on par with the current landscape. After all, we’ve been doing this almost eight full years. It was time for a big change. I think that you’ll agree that the new format, with a huge list of categories and easy searching, is a good one.
As part of that big change, we’ve brought in an influx of new talent from a variety of places. The entirety of our Best Shots team, responsible for the Best Shots column that runs every Monday at Newsarama.com, is now operating here in several capacities. You’ll also meet several talented young writers, including Barb herself, who will be tackling a variety of topics.
However, if you’re one of the rare folks that has read us since 1999, don’t get too worried. Shawn Delaney will still grace us with terrific music reviews, as will Jonathan Birdsong and the Lyrical Lounge crew. The Russ is back on wrestling coverage in full force. L.I. Rapkin’s already kicking in some culture. Eric Barker’s already opened the film vaults. And they aren’t the only familiar faces lurking around.
In the next few days and weeks, you’ll see the roster expand a little more and you’ll see some new recurring columns and features that we hope will become favorites. If you want to check out the old stuff, the old site currently still exists in its full glory under the archive button. If you want to talk about any of the stuff, old or new, visit our newly established forums.
So there’s my big speech. Enjoy yourselves, express yourselves, and invite friends. ShotgunReviews.com never went away, but we are most certainly back. Thanks for your time.
