R.I.P Pauly Fuemana aka OMC:

This is a tough one. Pauly put South Auckland on the global stage and for that alone he will never be forgotten. Rest In Peace my dude.

My sincere condolences to the entire Fuemana family.

**UPDATE this post was quoted by STUFF. Check the link to see what they had to say about Pauly's untimely passing.

DERTY SESH release info:

Love him or hate him, our man Sesh has got the comment sections on blogs going haywire. So i figured it was probably time to update you on his project. Here are some dates that we have attached to his upcoming album:



* The album SIC LOVE is out March 29th

* The "Really Don't Care" bundle will be available February 1st

* The "Really Don't Care" video will debut on February 8th

* His REVENGE CITY mixtape will launch February 22nd

* Second single "Forever" and video will launch March 15

SMASHPROOF coverage in Germany:

The Smashproof German campaign has started and our crew in there have been doing a great job for us over there. Shout out to Jörg, Teoman, Udo, Corie, Renski & Jesse.

We put together this mixtape to set the foundation for "Brother" and The Weekend in Germany.

Check the links and cop the download if you feel so inclined.


HIPHOP.DE

HIPHOP.DE

WILDSTYLEMAG.COM

ALLESREAL.COM

ITSRAP.DE

RAPSPOT.DE

HIP HOP JAM

RAPCHECK

16 BARS

MIXERY RAW DELUXE

BACKSPIN

YOUNG SID - Australian dates:

KIDZ IN SPACE, MC Riz, Derty Sesh & Sir T live in AK:

SMASHPROOF at Summer Slamz:

DERTY SESH - "I'm Fallin'":

Taken from Sesh's album, Sicc Love; and his forthcoming "Really Don't Care" bundle.

"Really Don't Care" remix video and digital single launching Feb 1st.

Sic Love is released March 29.

DERTY SESH - I'm Fallin' by KirkMTC

DERTY SESH bio:

Derty Sesh is New Zealand Hiphop’s brightest new star. Not only does the young rhyme protégé rap with ferocity and extensive wordplay akin to his contemporary heavy weights, he also produces his own beats, has a great work ethic, and produced his own debut album, right through to the artwork. This, combined with his signing to MTC makes him local Hiphop’s most exciting new talent.

His debut self-produced horror themed album ‘Sic Love’, which will be released through MTC/Universal in March/April has been described as “A Hiphop Rock Opera Show”

A product of central Auckland, Derty Sesh has experienced the sights, sounds, up’s and downs, tragedies and turmoil’s that come with life in New Zealand’s largest city and his often melancholic songs show his unique perspective on music and life in general.

Aligning himself with Auckland’s most driven record label – MTC – seemed a natural progression for the young artist. The signing has enabled Derty Sesh to hone his craft surrounded by today’s biggest players in the local Hiphop scene.

Derty Sesh’s debut single “Really Don’t Care”, and the Remix (featuring fellow MTC wordsmith alumni Young Sid and Ethical) has been blazing radio and causing a wave of controversy and praise throughout the national Hiphop community. His brazen attitude and lyrical conviction have seen him rise from relative obscurity to center stage virtually over night.

Already a seasoned performer, Desty Sesh has seen the length and breadth of the country with Smashproof, performing to a variety of audiences in a myriad of age groups garnering great exposure and response from his songs.

Armed with an arsenal of new inspiration and opportunities coupled with his self-produced album ‘Sic Love’, another album is already in production with the guidance of Kirk Harding.

Derty Sesh is sure to make himself heard in 2010.

YOUNG SID Creating "As The World Turns" In The Lab:

Young'n & Twice As Nice in the lab...

KIDZ IN SPACE at Waitangi:

YOUNG SID's "Made" bundle featured on iTunes homepage:

DERTY SESH - Behind the Scenes At The "Really Don't Care" (Remix) video shoot:

K*NERS on the BBC:

MTC's UK affiliate, K*NERS gets some love on 1Xtra, look out for this dude, he's about to really bring it!

KAESON on Blow It Up TV:

The homie on the check in from Philly...



And shouts out Smashproof, Kidz In Space and Sesh during this interview...

Photos of KIDZ IN SPACE at the 42 Unheard gig:

Props to Isaac Owens for the pics.

KIDZ IN SPACE join the Gin Wigmore tour:

Gin Wigmore is getting 2010 off to a smashing start with her first ever headline tour of New Zealand.

The past year has seen Gin in some rather amazing situations. She got to record her first album Holy Smoke at the legendary Capitol Studios in Los Angeles with mega producer Mike Elizondo at the helm. She got the legendary Cardinals not just to play on her album but also to play shows with her in NZ and Australia.

She got to support her musical hero David Gray at his Australian shows and is currently on the road in New Zealand as special guest for another of her long-time musical inspirations, Dave Dobbyn.

Her song ‘Under My Skin' became Air New Zealand's new theme tune and a massive hit on You Tube (over 4m views!) and her collaboration with Smashproof ‘Brother' spent a record-breaking 12 weeks at #1 in the NZ singles chart.

Holy Smoke entered the NZ charts at #1 and was double platinum within two months, spending 9 weeks in the NZ top five by Christmas. Her singles ‘Oh My' and ‘I Do' also both spent the Christmas week in the top 20.

In March Gin will head to the USA for several months to support the release of Holy Smoke but before she goes, there's something she wants to do...

"I'm dying to come home and spend some summer days singing for my fellow Kiwi's. About bloody time I say! The support over the last year for my music from so many New Zealanders out there has been an absolute mind blow for me. It feels like the family are proud, and that my dears is all I could ever ask for. So get your dancing shoes on and your handclaps ready to sing the night away with me in Feb, for what I promise will be a ridiculously awesome night out!"

Adding a dose of interplanetary entertainment to the tour will be those spaceketeers and special guests Kidz In Space. Having commenced their conquest of NZ with the hit ‘Downtime', the cosmonautical crusaders are looking forward to touching down with Gin in the year twenty ten.

SUNDAY 14 FEBRUARY
WELLINGTON – THE OPERA HOUSE
TICKETS FROM TICKETEK or call 0800 TICKETEK

TUESDAY 16 FEBRUARY
NAPIER – MUNICIPAL THEATRE
TICKETS FROM TICKETDIRECT 0800 4 TICKET www.ticketdirect.co.nz

FRIDAY 19 FEBRUARY
AUCKLAND – BRUCE MASON CENTRE
TICKETS FROM TICKETMASTER 09 970 9700 www.ticketmaster.co.nz

SATURDAY 20 FEBRUARY
CHRISTCHURCH – ISAAC THEATRE ROYAL
TICKETS FROM TICKETEK or call 0800 TICKETEK

YOUNG SID on SHADE 45:

'Nuff said...

The Slow Fade Of The ALBUM & The Rise Of The E.P:

I'm not one to ever take Ryan Tedder or Bill Corgan seriously, but this is an interesting read nonetheless...

As fans increasingly cherry-pick their favorite tracks online, the music industry looks to shorter records for salvation:

By Ricardo Baca
Denver Post Pop Music Critic
Posted: 01/03/2010 01:00:00 AM MST

The full-length album used to be king of the mountain. But now major labels are learning that shorter may be better.

EPs — originally extended-play "single" releases that are shorter than traditional albums — have long been popular with punk and indie bands. But some industry insiders predict that major-label acts will follow the lead of artists like Lady Gaga, who released "The Fame Monster" EP in November, and watched it soar.

Why? Consumers' buying habits are evolving faster than the arrival of the latest iTunes software upgrade, and the industry's big players are being forced to adapt.

Imagine a wonky world where Susan Boyle releases her music via digital-only singles while My Chemical Romance puts out three EPs in place of a full-length record. While U2, Green Day and others of their stature will likely stay strong on the full-length CD train, others — maybe T.I., Kelly Clarkson or the All American Rejects — might resort to releasing shorter records.

Those are just hypotheticals, but music-biz leaders noticed when "The Fame Monster" peaked on the Billboard charts at No. 5.

Surely, the full-length record isn't dead. But it's clearly ailing.

"If people want their music in a box, you don't give it to them in a suitcase," said Ryan Tedder, the Denver-based frontman for OneRepublic and a prominent pop songwriter and producer. "Some big artists will be putting out singles or EPs this coming year, and it's all about them trying to meet their fans where they're at."

The singles scene

Today's pop-music fans are more technologically savvy than ever. They know how to download singles — and whether they're paying or not is another issue. More important, many fans only want the single. They've sampled the record in its entirety on music sites like lala.com , and they're OK with owning only two songs off the album, even from their favorite artists.

The trend is as alarming for major labels as it is for the artists who call those labels home.

"As an artist, I'll do whatever it takes to respond to where this country and industry are at," said Tedder, who penned and produced his group's hits "Apologize" and "All the Right Moves." "For OneRepublic, this new album could be the last full-length we ever release. If this record only sells singles, then that says something, and our next album might be split into two EPs. If this album grows and grows and becomes a monster, then it might mean that we have the kind of fans who buy albums."

Tedder knows of multiple major-label acts that will release EPs and singles in 2010, though he's not at liberty to name names just yet. It's a new world for the big dogs who aren't known for their ability to adjust and adapt.

And that's just one of the reasons Billy Corgan took his group, the Smashing Pumpkins, away from the big-label system in the past decade.

The Pumpkins announced a few weeks ago that they would release all 44 songs of the upcoming record, "Teargarden by Kaleidyscope," as they are finished. The first of these songs, the low-fi piano ballad "A Song for a Son," is available at smashingpumpkins.com as a free download. And if Corgan is to be believed, 43 others will follow in the months to come.

"I think every artist should choose the model that they feel best expresses their vision and not get too caught up in what is popular at that moment," Corgan said last week. "I would add to that, however, that the album as a way of compiling your music seems to have lost its weight in the world, which is why I've gone off it for Smashing Pumpkins."

The Pumpkins are all too familiar with the art of crafting a thorough CD. They recorded five-plus records for Virgin throughout the '90s, one of which was the epic, 28-song, two-disc majesty of 1995's "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" — a set that moved more than 9 million copies in North America alone.

That success put the Pumpkins in a position to be able to release their material in an unusual fashion. But there is an idea floating around that says these nontraditional releases could help break new acts, as well. It's all a part of a greater plan.

"There is a general feeling in the music industry that now is the time to try new things," said Nick Heliotis, one of the folks behind Seattle-based label Hardly Art. "One of the great things about being in an industry where the walls are crumbling and everything is crashing down, so to speak, is that it allows for a huge amount of creativity and rewriting of the norms. When the old ways aren't working, people are much more apt to try out new things."

One such possibility: the digital EP. It costs less to create — fewer songs means less time in the studio, and digital distribution is done with the press of a button.

"It has been talked about a lot, and I think it is, to some extent at least, true that the advent and subsequent domination of digital sales — and specifically the iTunes sales platform and the way they promote releases there — has put the focus back on singles in a way that was never the case during the CD era," said Heliotis.

"I think driving sales around the release of a single or an EP is possible again because of these new realities — if iTunes gets behind an EP, it can take off in a way that would be extremely hard to replicate in the physical-sale market. And matching that sort of promo in an indie or chain retail is very expensive — definitely not cost-feasible for an EP with an $8 price tag."

It comes down to the numbers. At what point is a band an album band? And at what point does it become an EP/ single band?

"Let's be honest," said Tedder. "I won't name the acts' names, but I could name 10 acts right now who, when you look at their single sales versus album sales, you want to ask them: 'Why even make an album?'

"I'm not saying every act is like this, but a lot of iTunes artists sell 200,000 albums and 4 million singles. And when you have that kind of, not a disconnect but an unweighted balance, of singles to albums, do the math, and you'll see what we're talking about."

So it's realistic that some of these pop bands and hip-hop groups will go in the direction of releasing EPs or singles instead of full albums?

"Is it going toward that direction? Yes," Tedder said. "I know a lot of artists right now who have gotten record deals recently that are single deals — and I haven't heard of single deals since the '70s, and I wasn't even alive then."

It's a throwback of a situation indeed — and it's one that doesn't place a lot of confidence on the musicians. Imagine a band getting a $20,000 advance to fund the recording of four or five songs. It's released digitally, and if there's a hit in there, the label will then release the EP physically. If there's another hit, then the band might be signed to make a full record.

"Typical albums cost a half-million bucks before marketing," Tedder said, "and you can get this for $50 grand. It's the new paradigm."

BEATKAMP - "Beatkamp Music" video:

Sighted over at Full Disclosure

BEATKAMP - BEATKAMP MUZIK from Artifact on Vimeo.

BRUCE EMERY To Be Freed After Less Than 12 Months:

Taken from STUFF

He has served 11 months of his 4+ year sentence!!! Huh?






Tagger killer Bruce Emery is to be freed from jail this month - less than a year after being sentenced for the manslaughter of a 15-year-old he caught tagging his garage.

His release from prison on home detention will be decided as early as Tuesday.

Neighbours spoken to by Sunday News have mixed reactions to Emery's return to their south Auckland suburb.

"I certainly won't be going down there to wish him all the best on his release. If anything, he should sell up and leave," said one who has known Emery for 16 years.

Family of Emery's victim, Pihema Cameron, live just 33 houses away from the 52-year-old businessman's Manurewa home.

Emery's wife, Sotju, and their three teenage daughters are believed to be on holiday.

A large dog was patrolling the two-storey house, fitted out with an array of sensor lights, on Wednesday and Thursday.

Emery received death threats in the wake of his headline-grabbing charging and trial. Prison sources said Killer Beez gang members and associates discussed putting a hit on him in jail.

But police were not planning extra patrols around his Mahia Rd home after his release.

"Things are often said in the heat of the moment," Counties-Manukau police detective senior sergeant Gary Lendrum told Sunday News.

"The reality is that the house has never been damaged. And I don't believe there is any real threat to Mr Emery.

"The [Cameron] family has been portrayed as these kids who roam the streets, tag and are down-and-outers. But they are really nice people.

"That is the tragedy of it. The victim has been portrayed as this evil little kid that has been running around. But that wasn't the case at all, he was never in trouble with the police. I know everyone gets frustrated with tagging, I do myself. But the Camerons are nice people.

"And I don't think any one of those family members are likely to cause Mr Emery any harm."

However Lendrum said police surveillance would be upped "if any information comes to light at a future date".

Pihema's father, Pihama Edmonds, a tetraplegic, did not want to comment. Other family members, including Pihema's mother Leanne, have moved to Australia since his death on January 26, 2008.

About 11.30pm that night Emery spotted Pihema, who was under the influence of alcohol and cannabis, and another teen tagging his garage. He raced down from his upstairs bedroom, grabbed a knife and chased them 360 metres into a dead-end street. Moments later, Pihema was dead from a single stab wound to the chest.

On February 13 this year, Emery was sentenced to four years and three months jail for Pihema's manslaughter - a sentence attacked by the schoolboy's family as too light.

The case grabbed national attention, and featured in a No. 1 hit by New Zealand hip-hop band Smashproof. Their song Brother featured the lyrics: "Man, take away a kid's life, just because he tagged? Damn."

Emery's release on home detention could be decided on Tuesday, when the Parole Board has its first hearing of 2010.

His lawyer Chris Comeskey said Emery had been an exemplary inmate during his 11 months in prison. "It has been a tragedy for the family of the victim, equally it has been tragic for Mr Emery and his family," he said.

"He is not an evil person. He received a punishment which was in line for similar sorts of cases of manslaughter - the whole sentencing process is about like sentences for like offending. This was a tragic, spur of the moment matter. He has always regretted it."

But Emery's imminent release was described as a "disgrace" by one of his closest neighbours.

The man, who has known Emery for 16 years, described him as a "bully", who would only confront youths near his property as long as they weren't in the presence of other adults.

"What did this kid die for? He died for a stupid piece of paint.

"It was only paint and that is what all the neighbours said at the time," said the man, who did not want to be named.

YOUNG SID on DJ SEMTEX's BLOG:

The homie Semtex shows Sid some love...

NIKKI MONTANA presents The Epiphany:

Nikki Montana is dropping The Epiphany on January 6th, and has put together this teaser video to promote it...

YOUNG SID - "MADE" Video:

Let's get this party started right! Welcome to 2010!

"MADE" video directed by Tim Van Dammen.

Sids album "What Doesnt Kill Me..." is released on April 10.