June 19, 2007

Don't Call It A Comeback

As previously announced, I have a new home now at illdoctrine.com, where I will be making videos of some sort. This doesn't mean I'm retiring from this site, but I expect my already sporadic posting here to become even more sporadicated. So I have assembled some of my favorite writers and thinkers, and handed them the keys to the joint.

The new starting lineup for hiphopmusic.com is as follows:

Janine McCargo - DC native, now based in NY. Studied Art History at Oberlin, focusing on Russian Symbolism and Decadence. There's a joke here about how that relates to hip-hop, somebody please fill it in for me. Been aware of her for a long time as one of the sharpest commenters here and elsewhere, and always thought she should be doing her own blog. Clearly this called for assimilation into the blog collective, and thankfully she recognized that resistance is futile.

Just Blaze - Noted collector of Rico Tizio gear. Also makes beats. One of the coolest and most genuine people I've met in this business, and I cosign everything Saigon said on the topic (except the stuff about bleeding, I'm not built for that). Don't expect he'll have much time to hang in here, but maybe I'll start some rumors to get things moving.

Joe Schloss - AKA Joe Twist, the author of Making Beats: The Art of Sample-Based Hip-Hop. He currently resides in Brooklyn where he enjoys uprocking, digging for breaks, and arguing with people. Sets the standard for properly representing hip-hop in "the academy." It is quite rare that I disagree with him, on any topic.

Brandon Soderberg - Our youngest crew member, and my favorite of the newer bloggers on the scene. Sharp, funny, too abrasive for my tastes sometimes but always in service of ideas that he actually believes in and is taking seriously. It is not rare that I disagree with him, on any topic.

Dan Charnas - One of the first writers for the Source back in the days, still one of the best writers and thinkers in this hip-hop thing of ours. Has done too many other cool things to list here. Got Chino XL his record deal, and oversaw the making of the "Baby Got Back" Video. I disagree with him on the relative cinematic merit of "Soul Plane" and "Undercover Brother.

And last but not least, gotta give a shoutout to all our regular commenters, especially the infamous Black People. I think of y'all as contributors too, for sho. Please be kind to our new generation of Degrassi students!

(P.S. Tamara if you're out there, you're welcome to join in too)

Posted by jsmooth995 at June 19, 2007 10:33 PM