happy new yearz.

I won't be interwebbin' for a couple of days as I celebrate the new year. I predict that 2007 will be the year of amazing. I strongly suggest that you get some champagne* in your face this weekend. I'll try to keep this going throughout winter break, but you'll have to wait until April for The Moneyshot! to be back in full gear. My thesis calls. Perhaps I will update with photos of my progress.

Before I head out, I'd like to thank Port O'Brien for the shout-out! AND I'd like to direct you over to scattermish to hear his remixes and mash-ups featuring artists such as M.I.A., Spank Rock, Three Six Mafia, T.I., and more.

* Sparkling cider for the under-age youth who may be reading this.

port o'brien: lovely lady lumps.

PORT O'BRIEN is old news in blog-time, but I liked their tunes enough to show them some love here at The Moneyshot. I discovered their music when looking up the west coast tour dates for Belly Boat, which you can view here.

I credit them for temporarily breaking my compulsion to listen to nothing but hip-hop and electro-indie biznass. Now, I shall embrace the delicate folksy sounds of the acoustic guitar. I suppose the sound isn't the only thing I love. Confession: I'm a sucker for bands with a good amount of self-awareness and humor. It all starts with their bio-- "Writing bios is so completely ridiculous because you are forced to write in the third person." FACT. Paired with a not-so-guilty pleasure involving Star Wars and a cover of "My Humps" by The Black Eyed Peas, I have fallen in love with this band. DOUBLE FACT. I am a bit sad that I'm not on the west coast. Otherwise, I would have loved to see them with Belly Boat. I would have learned all the words to "My Eyes Won't Shut" just for the occasion. If the music in this post sways you, check out more tour dates at their blog...perhaps you can learn all the words instead so I can live vicariously through you.

DOWNLOAD: PORT O'BRIEN- My Eyes Won't Shut
DOWNLOAD: PORT O'BRIEN- Don't Take My Advice (demo)
DOWNLOAD: PORT O'BRIEN- My Humps

BONUS TRACK: PORT O'BRIEN- My Eyes Won't Shut (live)

BUY When the Rain Comes LP or Nowhere to Run EP

BLOGWATCH: Silence is a Rhythm Too highlights some of the forgotten female hip-hop artists of the '90s featuring Bahamadia, The Lady of Rage, and Nonchalant. They tell us we lost our tails has two new songs from Natalie Imbruglia's little sister Laura, including one called "My Dream of a Magical Washing Machine". Pop Tarts Suck Toasted has an outstanding and diverse collection of "best of 2006" songs including The Pipettes, T.I., Cat Power, Hot Chip, Joanna Newsom, Justin Timberlake, TV on the Radio, and more. le

hardfeelingsuk: exclusive yo majesty mash-up

HARDFEELINGSUK (Freeform Disco 1) is composed of David Alexander and Richard Winstanley. They are mixing the full length LP of Yo Majesty, and David was the kind soul who allowed me to preview the new tracks.

However, if female rappers aren't your cup of tea perhaps you should aurally dive into "Chronic Happiness", a mellow electro-track featuring David's vocals. For those of you who are dangerously feeling Yo Majesty, he also created a fun techno mash-up of their track "Club Action". If you didn't think he was talented enough already, he is also the artist behind the image to the left. Props to him! You can check out more tracks produced by David and his collective at their site.

DOWNLOAD: YO MAJESTY- Club Action (Freeform Disco 1 Mash-up / Remix)
DOWNLOAD: YO MAJESTY- Club Action (original mix)

DOWNLOAD: FREEFORM DISCO 1- Chronic Happiness

BUY Yo Majesty/Freeform Disco 1 music at site

BLOGWATCH: You Ain't No Picasso brings us the 12 days of mixmas, featuring selections by members of Oh No! Oh My!, We Are Scientists, Page France, Apples in Stereo, and more. Toya showcases her highs and lows of 2006, particularly within the R&B genre.

skillz: rap it up 2002-2006.

EDIT: If you are looking for the "2007 Rap-Up" as well as active links for the rap-ups from 2002-2007, please see this post!
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SKILLZ has been on the hip-hop scene since around 1992, but has yet to become a household name despite brushing shoulders with some of hip-hop's hottest (and not so hottest) stars.

You may know him by his previous name "Mad Skillz", changed with his 2002 LP I Ain't Mad No More. Perhaps you've heard one of his freestyles, or you remember him from his verse on the remix of Aaliyah's 1998 hit "Are You That Somebody?" when he talks about others crying like the baby in the background.

If that doesn't ring a bell, perhaps you have heard his words...but not his voice. Skillz is notorious as a ghostwriter for the hip-hop community. In his 2000 single "Ghostwriter" he claims to have written hits for Foxy Brown, Jermaine Dupri, Ma$e, and Diddy. If you've ever heard any of those artists rap, you'd understand why they need a ghostwriter. Diddy is the only artist who has acknowledged that Skillz has written for him in the past.

With that out of the way, let's talk about his rap-ups. Skillz has been lyrically re-capping current events in hip-hop, R&B, pop culture, and beyond since 2002. The 2006 rap-up includes such prized lines as "Gnarls Barkley dropped 'Crazy' to the web on purpose, that song was everywhere even Foxy heard it" and "Nas said 'hip hop was dead' but northern cats spit all year tryin' to bring New York back. Yall need to lighten up son, get a hug. The only time New York came back was on Flavor of Love." He delivers his flow over Dr. Dre's instrumental for Jay-Z's "Lost Ones" referencing The Stealers, Eminem, Obie Trice, Dave Chapelle, Cam'ron, Jay-Z, Three Six Mafia, Terrell Owens, Shawnna, DMX, T.I., Yung Joc, Nitti, Tom Cruise, Dick Cheney, myspace, DJ Webstar & Young B's "Chicken Noodle Soup", Russell & Kimora, Dallas Austin, youtube, Rick Ross, Rihanna, Christina Milian, Cool & Dre, Janet Jackson & Jermaine Dupri, Gnarls Barkley, Foxy Brown, Young Dro, Lil Kim, Cassie, LeToya, Wyclef, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Bobby Brown & Whitney Houston, Kevin Federline & Britney Spears, Nas, New York of Flavor of Love, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Lil Wayne & Baby, Mel Gibson, Playstation 3, Beyonce, Carmen Bryan, Unk, Michael Richards, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, J. Dilla, Gerald Levert, and others. All is tightly packaged into 4 minutes and 55 seconds of memories. Skillz keeps it real for the most part, showing props and dissing as necessary, but he throws in a tiny bit of gossip to remind us what had people talking.

I don't really intend to compile a "best of 2006" list, so this will have to do.

DOWNLOAD: SKILLZ- 2006 Rap-Up

DOWNLOAD: SKILLZ- 2005 Rap-Up
DOWNLOAD: SKILLZ- 2004 Rap-Up
DOWNLOAD: SKILLZ- 2003 Rap-Up
DOWNLOAD: SKILLZ- 2002 Rap-Up

BONUS TRACK: SKILLZ- Hip Hop Died

BUY Confessions of a Ghostwriter

BLOGWATCH: Cable & Tweed pays tribute to the great musicians we have lost this past year. The Blue Walrus has all the remixes you need to pretend you are a huge Hot Chip fan. I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS promotes giving in the spirit of the season while bringing us back to "We Are the World". Lil Mike's Last Known Thoughts & Random Revelations gives you a complete listing of New Years gigs to check out.
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EDIT: If you are looking for the "2007 Rap-Up" as well as active links for the rap-ups from 2002-2007, please see this post!

yo majesty: coming to a hood near you.

YO MAJESTY are no strangers to this blog. I posted about them back in June, and since then they've received attention from bigger blogs such as BIGSTEREO and stereogum. The latter blog marked the three ladies as a "band to watch" in 2007, and I can't agree more.

I've had the privilege to hear rough mixes of seven new songs not appearing on the Yo EP. With them in my ears, I have received confirmation that hip-hop is, in fact, not dead.

Sure, it doesn't seem like Yo Majesty is about to spit some socially conscious lyrics on the level of "The Message" or Public Enemy. They're no Shakespeares of the hood. However, Shon.B, Shunda-K, and Jwel B are a complete breath of fresh air. They bring the party without needing any help from Scott Storch, Pharrell, or will.i.am. They spit sexual lyrics without needing to show any skin. Quite simply, instead of just talking about the glorified early days of hip-hop, they go there musically. While the rest of the south was occupied with chopping and screwing, snapping, and pumping out mediocre crunk shit, Yo Majesty was busy perfecting their throwback Miami bass/electro-hop sound. This sound is dominant throughout the tracks currently recorded for their full-length debut. If the new track "Old School Shit" is any indication, I anticipate that the final product will be a you-can't-even-handle-it-all buffet of booty-dropping.

You'll be hearing more about Yo Majesty here at The Moneyshot. Until then, I'll leave you with two mp3s-- "Warning" and a presumably older song "Don't Fuck With Me" (courtesy of hardfeelingsuk freeform disco 1).

DOWNLOAD: YO MAJESTY- Warning
DOWNLOAD: YO MAJESTY- Don't Fuck With Me

BUY Yo EP on iTunes

HEADS UP: Perhaps I'm biased, but my pick for "artist to watch" in 2007 is Denver native Laura Goldhamer. Her upcoming albumYe Olde Leave Behind has blown my mind. I will keep you posted about the release date.

RIP: Sadly, "The Godfather of Soul" James Brown passed away this Christmas. He was an incredibly influential artist, laying the grounds for funk, disco, and hip-hop.

BLOGWATCH: Culture Bully takes a jab at Jay-Z. soul sides ponders the power behind Jennifer Hudson's "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" from the film Dreamgirls. Between Thought and Expression has a great new tune by Robyn, Diplo's remix of Justin Timberlake's "My Love", and a track that can only be described as an "electro pop update to Khia's 'My Neck, My Back'." Honorable Media gives you a taste of the new Chamillionaire mixtape.