Traveling across the hip hop world the past two years especially has given me a perspective that I know that would expand the game of rap. Being in St. Louis at a book fair with the incomparable Kool Moe Dee made me realize how Americans still are ill informed about how deep this form goes. I was honored to write the forward on KMD’s ‘There’s a God On The Mic', where he breaks down the 50 top rappers in 17 categories. This is the only book of its kind as far as I know and I’m a collector. For a worldwide culture, this thing goes as far as organization goes, and now I feel is the time to bring cats up to speed about what’s out there to build, maintain or just dig the information. At least from a standpoint of where I can help. Radio since I deal with many countries across the world, the radio soundscape in America often does not apply. Owned by 3-4 corporate situations, the urban tag really doesn't support independent releases. It’s ridiculous for an act in a particular city to have to get signed to one of the LA/NY major labels in order to get airplay in that region. Cats may quickly point to a Chicago scene now with Kanye West, Twista, and Common and ATL for Lil Jon, Outkast, Luda ...but they all had to have corporate backing before they blew up hometown .....yeah ridiculous.

What I can do to help 2004; although I spend half my time internationally this year I’ve decided to cut serious path in the radio soundscape. April 1st I started doing a daily morning talk show on the airamerica network (www.airamericaradio.com). More important there’s a 2-hour culture show hosted by Kyle Jason and yours truly that will take time expose and dialogue about some indie music. Yeah, its AM radio but don’t sleep, right now airamerica Radio has 8 markets and looking to get 35 stations by November. On top of this, XM satellite also handles the network at channel 167. This is just the AM, FM wise I’m debuting in May 'Chuck D’s Worldwide Countdown Show', again 2 hours of exposé .. it will be, I promise, the first rap countdown show done right. It will support independent and interpendent situations within a flexible mainstream context. More on this down the line.

Myself to the acts in the other cities and even countries … still I say this is a great time, use webradio ... I’m relaunching www.bringthenoise.com with 7 weekly shows, starting May. There will be at least 2 programs that will expose independent labels and artists. If your song gets play on webradio save the link and distribute it around. You can also find bringthenoise on www.rapstation.com

Web

in 1999 I assembled www.rapstation.com as a service to the genre. I’m a big fan of ESPN and I dug the way they encompassed the sports world TV, radio, and webwise. I had to wait for technology to catch up to my initial dreams and ideas. I simply got weary of submitting songs and videos that I had spent a year’s time and money to create, only to get judged in a week. I envisioned a web supersite that could supply, audio, visual, and info text as well as interactivity. Now just think … a recording can be e-mailed, as well as a video. There’s no excuse today for artists to not have a website and to not have some of their songs converted to mp3s. The growing popularity and portability of music in mp3 players should show budding or regional recording companies the way to head. My problem is that typical greed keeps them from benefiting from this. Peeps looked at the web 5 years ago as this big get rich quick money scheme. This is why they no longer exist. Make no mistake the web is an incredible asset to independent promotion and visibility. Again

What I Suggest, And What I Can Do; For Hip Hop From The Bottom Up

I have an mp3 section that has been in effect at rapstation.com for 4 years now. The mp3 upload section was launched about the same time as mp3.com, who’s no longer in business. For the ill informed, just because you put your music up there, don’t expect it to work automatically for you. Instead you have to work it. Before, I gave all this service for free, and I dealt with my server costs. Now, I offer a free 3 songs, and 1 year. And a cost after 3 songs up. What this means is that you use the links, send them around to expose your thing. Anyone passing out CDs seems out of touch; in fact passing out 7' 45s is more innovative. Lastly, inspired by www.BeatSociety.com by Okayplayer.com, rapstation has started www.remixuniverse.com as a workshop for beatcats, producers, rhymers , remixxers, to interact and share their creative space. Again, I suggest use the links. For example if somebody uses an accapella by a company and sends it back up remixxed ... the plan is to flood the company with the many versions. As in Dangermouse’s JayZ-Beatles merge it created a wave of publicity completely out of left field. All I’m saying is that the business is LA-NY-London biased, and this is a tool for Stout Wisconsin, Erie PA, Malmo, Sweden to literally attack and enter the game. So understand that when I write in this magazine it’s always to expand and provide opportunity and thought to the rapgame. But one must be thinking ahead to realize that tool is to be understood before it’s to be used. So use me.

Sonoma state...beautiful drive up the 101.the beauty of the land there is so stunning ...Tom Waits brought his son down to the school to peep yours truly vibe session, signed my book and stayed the entire 3 hours...

We have liftoff...Air America Unfiltered now one of the few networks on both XM and SIRIUS satellite network. My co-hosts Rachel Maddow and Lizz Winstead hold it down well and we call ourselves a 3 headed diverse bureau...honest as anyone on the air. Peeps can catch myself and Kyle Jason doin the thing with the BRINGTHENOISE show on Saturday nights 10-12midnight ...it’s a very eclectic mix .. Bob Law who I’ve been consulted by in regards to keeping black talk radio from being absorbed by corporate situation. In the case of airamerica there’s been a little backlash of Inner City Broadcasting leasing space to it. I've been running into Bob all over the place recently like in St Louis and Long Island ...so the hopes is that Bob continues to be the force and voice blackfolk need to see thru the weed of the USA..

Baseball ok, I’m digging that new PHILLIES stadium ...flying over it I caught a great view in the last days of the vet...the amazing thing is that smaller cities have torn down newer and better stadiums than Shea where the Mets play…

Koolmoedee book signing was a success in the STL, where I also spoke and signed. Later he stopped by airamerica to bring light on hip hop via expose' of his book ‘There’s A God On The Mic"...

Stout, Wisconsin … After flying into Minneapolis after my first week on airamerica I drove out to Stout, Wisconsin to speak at the state University there. It was the first of my Friday night speaks. Again it was a solid time and I was amazed by the stayover of students. As I drove back I noticed the gigantic lake in Stout was still frozen even though the weather was warm...

.it’s amazing to see how Minneapolis is laden with blackfolk from Somalia, Eritrea, Kenya.... especially the airport .

Source jail issue; Again I was flabbergasted to peep the cover of serious cases...I remember how wack it felt when Steady B and Cool C got locked with life sentences in PA ...as with Tupac I asked many rappers why? And wasn’t success as a rapper and film something they had asked for? The problem is still lack of nurturing, and development. Then again the real stories may scare a chunk of young heads away from the glorification of gangsta, streets and lockdown itself. Now LIL KIM is in madd trouble with the shooting last year she claimed to know nothing about. Here’s the crazy part, I’m repeatedly asked if the hip hop cops suspect deeper ties into the underworld, when in reality it has just been over dumb shit ... like she got dissed in a record or a song.

Denver ... again was a brilliant time, warm weather in Colorado ... on the way into town I caught Quiznos at a convenience store and ate possibly the best tuna sandwich I’ve ever had. I had to pull over on the side of the road...the heated parmesan bread sorta set it off.....

All EMINEM has to do to clear his name is go to bet and issue a press conference, and the Source heat would be over. His advisors are probably telling him to stay dl and it will all disappear...which goes to prove like Justin Timberlake.

Hot ... and the measure of heat. Unfortunately, what we have now is judgment calls made from a boardroom. Calls that end up dictating to the streets. The streets can’t see it, cause they’ve returned to their original ownership. Like a rat a box... Corporations is like Americanization which is in turn like mcdonaldization ... McDonalds will give you fast food, and when its hot it may be considered good for the moment. But don’t let it get cold. Even your dog won’t want it. Little nutrition. Different from a meal prepared carefully from scratch whereas you can heat it up 3 months later from freeze and it damn near tastes the same on the reheated tip. Well this can also be compared to art.

Feel good music rode with Pete Rock and CL Smooth on flight on my way out to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. They were on the way to do a gig in San Diego. Pete told me they’d done 31 dates in Europe and really enjoying the touring thang. It’s so good to see so many veteran rapcats hit them places we'd been touching for years. Maybe this is the thing, like Australia has seen more rapacts this past year than in all their time combined. Mature acts ain’t got time to waste on childlike games, they wanna come, play music, drop the bucket and do work. That's what it should be about ...and PETE ROCK-CL SMOOTH reflect that and more, providing the best feelgood music ever in rap.

Just wrote liner notes on the new box set from Universal MONUMENTAL FOUR-CD RETROSPECTIVE "THE HIP HOP BOX" CELEBRATES THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF RAP’S FIRST MAJOR HIT WITH HIP HOP CLASSICS FROM MORE THAN 50 OF ITS GREATEST ARTISTS. IN STORES 4.20.04! Look here for more info http://www.hip-o.com/releasedetail.asp?id=4400695882 it’s a definite History On Hip Hop and you can go to www.hip-o.com

The great saxophonist Gene Barge plays on 2 PE records, Escapism, and Superman’s Black In The Building .. recording at Hinge studios deep in the night ... Mr. Barge is best known as the A&R, and executive producer during CHESS Records realm between 1959-1970, then moved on at STAX then on to producing peeps like Natalie Cole and touring with the ROLLING Stones. Of course his daughter the lovely, tireless Gina Barge pulled it all together as she did with the Electrik Mudcats for the Marc Levin directed Godfathers and Sons film on PBS last year. Gone in 20 seconds..

mistachuck@rapstation.com