DJ Semtex takes J. Cole through London. They talk his new album, eat at a chicken joint, and buy some new shoes. Semtex got a chance to hear Cole’s album and said it’s a cross between Illmatic and College Dropout. Should be dooooope then.

J COLE | LIVE FROM LONDON from DJ SEMTEX on Vimeo.

There are very few things I hate more than the Los Angeles Lakers: OJ Da Juiceman, Waka Flocka Flame, Birdman, and Mondays. Regardless, I felt the need to post this song by Ron Artest, now a back to back world champion, because it’s pretty good. I remember a few years back when he asked for a clause in his contract that would allow him to take some time off during the regular season to work on his music. Everybody laughed at him and I assumed he was terrible at it. Since then I’ve only heard positive feedback. People say he’s a legit producer, making all his own beats and the production on this track is pretty impressive. This is coming from the thug that used to drink liquor instead of water at half-time and that missed most of the season in ’05? because of the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills when he went ballistic and started punching fans. Check it out and give it a listen. It’s not phenomenal, but it’s surely not horrendous.

Champions (right click and hit save to download)

Cleveland native Chip Tha Ripper talks about Cleveland hip-hop, working with KiD CuDi, his upcoming Gift Raps album, and more.

Mike Posner talks about his upcoming debut album, 35 Minutes to Takeoff. I was pretty surprised by a lot of what he said (no guest features?!), but I trust Mike and I think it’s gonna be a really good album.

“HardKnockTV caught up with Nas and Damian Marley to talk about how K’naan influenced the making of Distant Relatives, why they picked Nneka as the opening act of the tour and about Nas jumping on the remix to Heartbeat. The interview concludes with Nick Huff Barili asking Nas about his lyric on Ludacris’ I Do it for Hip Hop “(They say I’m so low key, I’m socially awkward”). After the credits Nick asks Nas about the possibility of him doing a hip hop/jazz album with his father.” – HardKnockTV

He did it. The teeny bopper that took over the internet with his rendition of Paparazzi by Gaga that we posted a few days ago has officially inked a record deal with Interscope Records. I wonder if he knows what German means. Here’s an interview with Ellen, his conversation with Lady Gaga herself, and a performance of the cover.

A couple days ago, The MuSiK Box got a chance to catch up with Cleveland rapper MGK on one of his school tours. The interview’s pretty quick, and we apologize for the poor quality, but that’s what happens when you gotta do a last minute interview with a cell phone video camera. MGK talks about his mixtape, his upcoming album, and more. Hit the link to preview and download 100 Words and Running for yourself.

Download Mixtape Free | LiveMixtapes.com Mixtape Player

I love hearing interviews with J. Cole because I know he’s the future of the hip-hop game. He’s humble, yet he knows he’s the shit. He’s simple, yet so complex. Check out this interview at the Levi’s/FADER Fort

Check out this interview of Tech N9ne with XXL. Tech N9ne is dirty and should receive a lot more recognition than he does. If you don’t have any Tech N9ne music, go cop some right now.

The MuSiK Box got a chance to have an exclusive one-on-one chat with Start Your Own Rebellion, an awesome new virtual band signed to Dreamville, J. Cole’s own record label. They’re definitely one of our favorite new artists out right now, and their upcoming mixtape looks like it might be one of the year’s best. Check out two of their songs below, and click the link to go to their official website to listen to all of their music and find out more about the band.

“Million Miles Away”

“Special”

www.startyourownrebellion.com

1. Start off by giving us a little background on yourselves and your band. Where are you from, what kind of music would you classify yours as, etc?

Maza: We currently reside in the Desolate Zone Surrounding Octagon City, before that I lived in Octagon Tower. Kid.Digit-Ø was the first person I met when I moved out to the Desolate Zone…

Kid.Digit-Ø: I’ve known Maza for years actually…from way before we met in the Desolate Zone. Our parents ran in the same circles so I’d run into him here and there… But Maza’s ego is so ridiculous he don’t remember that I guess…Ceddy and I left Octagon City together then me and Maza bumped into 07017 shortly after.

Maza: ummm yeah anyways, It’s hard to classify ourselves musically….like we’re the only ones doing it, StartYourOwnRebellion and a few others in our circle…I’ve heard rumors that there are others scattered in different Desolate Zones throughout the world that do music also, but as far as I know it’s been banned for the last 700 years and we’re bringing it back.

2. You guys have a mixtape coming out soon. Do you have a specific release date for it?

Kid.Digit-Ø: We’re waiting for our camera man to chop up various clips of our run in’s with Cozack Corporation. When that is done we’ll put the end result to music and drop the mixtape.

Maza: Basically, we’ll have it done within a month or so…give or take a week or two.

3. Can you give us any other details about the mixtape? Should we expect any guest features?

Kid.Digit-Ø: The only feature we have is from J.Cole.

Maza: The mixtape is incredible if I do say so myself. LP3020 is gonna signify what’s going on in the year 3020. We get a chance to express what everyone feels in their hearts but never speak on because they are afraid of the repercussions.

4. All of the songs you’ve released so far have been using Ratatat beats? Can we expect to hear a lot more Ratatat on the mixtape?

07017: The whole project was created from Ratatat music we found in our archives. Kid.Digit-Ø uploaded it into my Operating System.

5. You guys hail from Dreamville Records, which was J. Cole’s label before he signed to RocNation. What can you tell us about Dreamville?

Kid.Digit-Ø: Dreamville Records is J.Cole’s label. He owns it. He’s family… He supports what we’re doin’ and vice versa.

Maza: Shout out to Ib, Mike, Elite and Omen…..oh yeah, Shout out to me to….I’m dope.

Kid.Digit-Ø: Shout out to me…I’m doper than Maza.

6. You guys have 4 band members? What is each band member’s specific role when it comes to making the music?

Maza: We all write…I normally come up with the melodies then Kid.Digit-Ø helps me get them tight..we both write the words to capture the mood we’re aiming for…Ceddy is the enforcer, he handles the business end (Pounding fist into palm) if you know what I mean…07017 does the Production. Any music you hear is being run through his Operating System.

Kid.Digit-Ø: Oh and I engineer everything and do all the real work while Maza’s  out bullshitting… I’m the brains ya dig?

Maza: What can I say…I am the star.

Kid.Digit-Ø: That’s True! You’re like the global president but I’m like the chip in his arm that controls everything Ha ha.

Maza: Next question please….

7. Where does your inspiration for making your music come from?

Maza: I’m inspired by life, everything I see and experience makes it’s way into my music.

Kid.Digit-Ø: We draw our inspiration from the oppression we see in Octagon City and our urge to change it.

8. Who are some of the other artists you guys enjoy listening to/draw inspiration from?

Maza: J. Cole, SoundwaVVe, Canei Finch, Elite, Omen, Bryan Ellis and ummmm other musician down with the cause.

Kid.Digit-Ø: Besides that we also listen to all the old music we have stored in our archives…the database is extensive.

07017: Database: Music: Artist:  Radiohead, DeathCabforCutie, Led Zeppelin, The Ramones, Outkast, Beatles, The Fugees, Bob Marley and the Wailers,
Wu Tang Clan, Rage Against the Machine, Arctic Monkeys, Bob Dylan, Erykah Badu, Gnarles Barkley, Gorillaz, Micheal Jackson, Rolling Stones, Tupac, Justice, Ratatat.

Maza: 17, Cut it….don’t get him started, that list will literally go on for weeks.

9. Where do you guys hope to go with your music? Are there any specific plans for what you’ll do after the release of your mixtape?

Maza: We’re working on an album. We’re also going to be releasing lots of footage of us running throughout Octagon City . We’re gonna do it big.

Kid.Digit-Ø: Aside from the music look out for more video’s, also we document our travels in book form so check for that!

10. If you guys had to compare yourselves/your music to another artist, who would you chose and why?

Maza: No one compares to the mighty SYOR Outlaws…STARTYOUROWNREBELLION!!!!!!!!

The second part of the “A Star is Born” series of interviews. J. Cole talks about who’s producing his new album, what it’s like to be in the studio with Pharell, and Jay-Z.

Kid Cudi dominates everything that he touches, and acting appears to be no exception. His show, How to Make it in America, premiers February 14th at 10 p.m. on HBO and chronicles the life of two twenty some year old dudes trying to make a hustle in the fashion game. Cudi co-stars. Check out the trailer below and the interview where he gives us his take on his first acting experience and keeps it real by telling us his favorite part of it all is the partying and the hot chicks. Way to keep it real, Cudder.

Here is the behind the scenes video for Asher and Consequence’s dope song “Childish Games”.

If you haven’t yet heard of E-603, you probably will soon. Anyone who’s into mashups or sample-based music should know that E-603′s one of the best artists out there now, and it won’t be long before this guy is put on the same level as Girl Talk. We got a chance to have an exclusive one-on-one chat with him about his music, touring, his current listening, and more. Easily one of the chillest dude’s you could ever meet, he was also hilarious. Did you know that the name E-603 comes from his actual name which is Ethan Ward and his area code is 603? Now you do. Be sure to download Torn Up, E-603′s latest album here.

(Download the nasty album here)

Dirtbag Baby

1. So give us a little background on yourself and how you got started in music.

I started making music when I was young cause there were always a bunch of instruments lying around the house, and I taught myself to play a bunch of different ones. Then, when I was about 12 years old I started making actual recorded music, but it was all super experimental and bizarre stuff that was pretty odd. In high school I started making electronic music, and that was also when I started sampling other artists to put new lyrics on some of my instrumentals. Then, about 2 years ago a friend of mine suggested that I make a completely sample-based album, and I thought it sounded like kind of a cool idea. So I started working on it and spent, like, 15 hours a day working on this album, and that became Something For Everyone.

2. So you made this album while you were in college. Were you studying music at the time?

No, I was actually a film major in college. I had studied music in high school some, but I decided that I wanted to study film in college.

3. What sort of equipment and software do you use to make your mashups? Have you always used the same equipment?

When I first started making music, I was using tape recorders and stuff, but when I started doing sample-based stuff I got Cubase. Now I use the best version of Cubase and also Pro Tools a little bit. I’ve actually dug up some of my old stuff that I did before I had this good software, and it’s not too good.

4. Are you a Mac or a PC guy?

You know, I’m really sort of split down the middle? I do all of my producing on a PC, but that’s not cause I don’t like Macs or anything. I own a few macs and I like them a lot, but I started out producing on a PC and sort of just continued using them because it had all my music and stuff on it. I don’t know, though, I might use a Mac for my producing in the future.

5. How many songs do you have in your iTunes library?

Well I have a couple different computers, and they all have iTunes libraries, but I think that on my primary computer I have like 12,000 songs.

6. Does that include all the acapellas and instrumentals you have for your mashup work?

No, those are kept in a separate library.

7. Your mashups seem to have a lot of hip-hop influence. Is that the type of music you listen to most?

No, I actually listen to a lot of punk rock music, but it’s hard to sample that stuff because it’s so noisy. So I listen to a lot of good stuff that you won’t hear in my mashups because it’s really hard to sample.

8. Is music a full time job for you or do you have any other line of work?

No, I don’t have any other job. Right now I’m spending about 9 hours a day doing music. I’m finishing up a remix for a band called Southern Belle, who I met at a bar a while ago. I also did a remix of “Hot and Cold” by Katy Perry with some samples and rap lyrics that I threw in there.

9. As a mashup artist you probably don’t get as much recognition as other artists. Do a lot of people know you as E-603 in everyday life?

Yeah, I mean I definitely don’t get as much recognition as a lot of the other guys, but people will recognize me in the weirdest places. Or some people will just see my face on a show poster or something and they’ll know me from that.

10. Are most of the shows you play college shows?

Yeah, the majority are definitely college shows. I think I appeal to that demographic a lot. It’s a good crowd because it’s got a lot of people my age.

11. More than anyone else, we’ve heard you being compared to Girl Talk a lot. What do you think of those comparisons?

I like Girl Talk a lot, and it’s a pretty obvious comparison because we’re both sample-based artists and our music’s similar. I honestly never thought I would be compared to Girl Talk, so it’s pretty cool that people are putting me in that light. I would say that my music is more similar to his first album in which it’s really choppy and electronic. With Feed the Animals, he started dragging out samples more, but Torn Up is more like his earlier stuff.

12. Have you ever met Girl Talk?

Yeah, several times. We hung out a while back. We like to kick it if we’re in the same area.

13. What exactly is your area? Are you a Boston guy?

Yeah, I sort of live there. I don’t have a house there, but I’m there a lot of the time and I have a bunch of lifelong friends who live there.

14. Are you doing a lot of touring now?

Yeah, I’m touring all over the place. I’m sort of taking it day by day, but I’m doing like 1-2 shows per weekend. Nothing too extensive. I’ve been focusing a lot on producing lately.

15. What music are you listening to a lot lately?

I’ve had Julian Casablancas’ album on repeat lately. I also played a show with Passion Pit and their keyboardist turned me on to The Joy Formidable. And I listen to Paul Simon a lot.

16. Have you had any contact and/or feedback from the artists that you’ve sampled?

Yeah, and all the feedback has been 100% positive. I sampled Passion Pit and they invited me to do a show with them.

17. Are there any copyright complications with using only other artists’ material?

You know, I try not to worry about that. I haven’t had any problems so far and most of the artists appreciate the fact that I’m creating a new piece of art.

18. If you had to choose your favorite song that you’ve ever done, what would it be?

Hm…that’s a tough question. I would probably have to say “Lights Out” from Torn Up. It’s partially because I really like the way it sounds and partially because I really worked hard to get that song to sound the way it does.

19. Okay, so we’ve got one last question for you. If you could play a show with any other artist, who would you play with?

Wow, that’s a super tough question. I don’t know if I can even do it. I guess if I had to say I would probably want to play with The Misfits. And then probably She and Him with Zooey Deschanel. I’d love to shake her hand, maybe kiss her on the cheek.

Smash That

To get E-603′s music, hit up his website for free downloads (or pay what you want) of both of his albums.

http://www.e-603.com

Or, check him out on Myspace.

http://www.myspace.com/e603

Here at The MuSiK Box, we love J. Cole. He’s a modest genius, a real stand up guy. He’s changing the hip-hop game by proving some stereotypes are not necessarily true. The dude not only went to college, but he graduated and with highest honors! How often does a rapper do something like that? His education shows through his intelligent rhymes and uncomprable flow. Check out this interview where he addresses getting dissed by Jay-Z the first time he met him, what it was like to become the first artist on Roc Nation, and his upcoming album.

Watch this hilarious video of rapper 50 Cent giving his thoughts on Tiger Woods’s situation on “Lopez Tonight” with comedian George Lopez

What’s the difference between Santa Claus and Tiger Woods? Santa stops after 3 hos.

Check out Drake’s interview where he discusses his upcoming album Thank Me Later, his relationship with Nikki Minaj, how things have changed since his smash mixtape So Far Gone, and more.

Check out 50 Cent’s softer side on this new interview with Chelsea Lately where he talks about his new album Before I Self Destruct, cologne, a new movie, and a new book. He’s a Twilight fan?

The MuSiK Box got a chance to ask Chiddy Bang, one of The MuSiK Box’s “Bound To Blow: 2010″ artists, about their recently released mixtape The Swelly Express, future plans for the duo, and more. The group is made up of lyricist Proto and DJ/Producer Xaphoon Jones. They are quickly proving themselves to be one of the best upcoming duos in the business, so keep an eye on them. Check out “All Things Go” from their new mixtape for a nice example of Proto’s creative lyrics and flow and Xaphoon’s producing skills. The song is just one of many great songs on the mixtape, so be sure to visit their myspace page to download the entire album.

Chiddy Bang- All Things Go

1. First off, what has Chiddy Bang been up to lately? The last we heard from you was a while ago.

• P- We been grinding man, tryna make some things happen. Just dropped “The Swelly Express” mixtape and it’s doing real well out there. Look out for more stuff coming soon.

• XJ – Finished a tape, and now we’re playing lots of shows. Also got some super-secret projects in the works.

2. To start off with some general questions, how was Chiddy Bang first formed? And where exactly did the name come from?

• XJ – Chiddy Bang was our logical extension of Chidera’s first name. It started when we were freshman in college and we found we had a mutual desire to not let school get in the way of making music.
• P- Chiddy Bang has extensive origins. Back in high school I started a label called Chiddy Bang Entertainment…We put out mixtapes and made some money. Fast forward to Drexel University….We linked up with the help of some wonderful people and were able to create magic…. When I started working with Xaphoon we decided to call ourselves Chiddy Chiddy Bang Bang. We shortened that for obvious reasons and just decided to go by Chiddy Bang. It worked out.

3. Xaphoon Jones, your solo work is great stuff. We especially like “I Wanna Know Now” and “Testify.” How long have you been producing?

• XJ – Muchos gracias. I have been making recordings since I was 10 and producing hip hop since I was 14.

4. How exactly did you get the names “Proto” and “Xaphoon Jones”?

• P- Proto is just an alias that I’ve had since high school….It was short for “Prototype.” One of the definitions of prototype is an original copy….I felt my rap style was influenced by a lot of people but at the same time delivered in a very original way…It stuck, and people been calling me Pro since then.
• XJ – Xaphoon Jones is just one character, one alias, of many. The name was created by my good friend Tennis Brown, who named me this when we were playing many open mic nights in South Philadelphia. If you open up the Malstrom synthesizer in the software program called Reason, you will understand the name. A Xaphoon is also another word for a bamboo Saxophone.

5. Now, about your new mixtape that came out on October 29. How would you describe the immediate feedback?

• XJ – Extremely positive overall.
• P- Download the mixtape here. http://www.myspace.com/chiddybang

6. Have you guys worked with any high-profile artists or producers lately? And Xaphoon, did you produce the whole album yourself?

• XJ – Yes. I produced the whole album myself. I’m currently producing a mixtape for an artist that I can’t say his name in this article, but if you’re familiar with DJ Premier and M.O.P. and the golden era Brooklyn stuff, you will know him.

7. How would you guys describe this mixtape, The Swelly Express? How does it compare to the stuff you guys have done in the past?

• P- The Swelly Express is really a documentary of the day in and day out ordeals of two kids following their dreams in an effort to make an impact in a industry that is ever changing…It’s really conceptual compared to our previous work…We wanted to give people a clear image of what we’ve been up to and I think we accomplished that.

• XJ – The swelly express is a pretty cinematic mixtape. It tells a story. This would be the first time I’ve worked on anything like that.

8. Who are some of your favorite artists and producers? Who would you consider your major inspirations? Who are you listening to most right now?

• XJ – I really like Tony Baritone, Dr. Lukasz Gottwald, and Theodore Grams.

A message from Proto: “We are on the grind….Got a wonderful team behind us, and the sky is really the limit. Big shout to our management and everybody that has invested time into making Chiddy Bang music easily accessible to the public. Stay tuned!”

The Opposite of Adults (MGMT “Kids” Remix)

http://www.myspace.com/chiddybang

http://www.myspace.com/xaphoonjones

You may have never heard of chief waKiL, but it probably won’t be long before you do. The upcoming rapper from Missouri has spent the last few months working on a mixtape with big-time producer Brian Kennedy, and the two are now working together on waKiL’s debut album.

The MuSiK Box got a chance to ask waKiL a few questions about his mixtape, his future career plans, and more. If you haven’t downloaded the mixtape yet, you can get it here . Be sure to check out his song “Hack This, a remix of Jay-Z’s “Hate,” below. Also check out the mixtape for some great songs by waKiL himself as well as a few cool remixes of his. 

• Start off by telling us a little about yourself. (Ethnicity, Background, Family, Birthplace, etc.) 

Well I’m half nigerian and american. I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. I’m the 3rd of 4 children. I have an older brother, older sister, and a little sister. I was born on August 8th.

• What was it like growing up in Missouri?

Growing up in Missouri wasn’t too rough for me, I was kept away from bad stuff that went on in my city, I didn’t have to witness any murders or anything. I just seen alot of crackheads and fights breakout and couldn’t stay outside too long in my old neighborhood due to gunshots that would be heard around he corner. But that was only when we would return to our Grandmother’s house which we would go to all the time, it was like our second home. I lost my cousin to the street life and I decided at a young age I didn’t want to involve myself in that stuff. I grew up with my parents separated because they divorced when I was 2, that was probably the hardest thing for me to deal with, i wanted a normal family like everybody else.

• How did you discover your talent as an artist? Did you play instruments growing up?

I started playin the keys at like 3 or 4. I just saw one of my step brothers do it and i was so anxious to do it i believed I could play. So I told my family at a young age I wanted a keyboard for X-mas, ALL BECAUSE I wanted to play the Power Rangers Theme Song. Then I would listen to the radio and mock the songs to the best of my abilities.

• How long have you been writing rhymes?

I started writing lil rhymes at like 7 years old, I would write a page and then go show my brother to read it. If I didnt get the reaction I wanted I would go and do another one and another and another until I got a different reaction. 

• What is your situation with education? 

I dropped out of College. I have a high school diploma of course. 

• Where does the name Chief Wakil come from?

waKiL came from my last name WAKILI and the chief was just added on. Then I found out that my family many generations ago went by either “Chief” or “Wakili” because ‘chief’ was one of the definitions of our last name, when I found that out I just kept the chief on there. I’ve been contemplating on dropping the ‘chief’ but not now, IF I ever do.

• Where do you draw inspiration from?

My BIGGEST musical inspiration is Michael Jackson. Besides coming up with clever raps and making people oooo and awwww over them, I wanted to be able to touch people or have people be inspired by or feel good about my music. I wanna touch people. I really like EMINEM, he’s my favorite rapper. I grew up listenin to A Tribe Called Quest, CL Smooth, Wu Tang, Mobb Deep, and Mase and more. In high school other than Eminem, I was very drawn to Kanye West, I felt he was just like me…then atleast. I loved how he (like the EMINEM AND MICHAEL JACKSON) could not only make good music but put on a good performance. I love performing and I appreciate a good performer…THATS AN ARTIST! 

• Describe your music for fans. Are there any artists you would compare yourself to?

I really don’t know how to describe my music. I really want someone to describe it for me. I switch from style to style and I don’t know what to call my music other than honest. I don’t write stuff that ain’t true unless its from imagination. I CAAAN say my music is somehow Non-Vulgar, BUT its not corny. The roughest people can still get into it at the same time a little innocent kid and as well as their parents. I don’t think I can be compared to any artists really. YOU TELL ME!

• What type of music/What artists do you listen to alot?

I listen to ALL types of music ROCK/POP/COUNTRY/RAP/HIP HOP…EVERYTHING!!! I listen to myself alot too. 

• Are you pursuing any type of record deal right now? If so, any specific labels?

Ummm, yea definitely but me and BK want to finish this album first. I want the labels to be pursuing me if you know what I mean. I really have no speciic label I wanna sign with though. Just whoever has the best offer IF I go to label. So, for those who want to know WHY I’m not signed to a BIG label yet…thats the reason, I want to wait it out and develop myself and have a bit of a following first. I refuse to rush into a deal and allow them to change me as an artist and I come out the way I don’t want to.

• Should we be expecting any new mixtapes or albums soon?

HACK THIS!!! Available now. Get it tell a friend to get it…ITS FREE. I really hope this mixtape gets tons of listeners cause it may be the last bit of work I put out for the rest of this year. I got to work on my album with BK. It’s not yet named but it’s going to be great. Keep in touch with me people. 

For more of chief waKiL, check him out here: 

http://www.myspace.com/chiefwakil

http://chiefwakil.wordpress.com/