sgt. sass: drop the glass.

dl: SGT. SASS - Drop The Glass (alt)

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After releasing the Double S 4 Mayor mixtape over a year ago, Sgt. Sass are following it up with a new EP entitled Body Rock. "Drop The Glass" (produced by Steven Bloodbath) is the first song off the EP to reach the world's ears, and it's joined by "Demonstrate", a b-side sampling the guitar riff from Hole's "Celebrity Skin". Both tracks epitomize the party-laden theme of Body Rock, but don't think that every song on the EP will fit into the same sonic soundscape as these two. The title track has a little bit of an ol' skool vibe with crazy electronic elements stitched in, and the poppier sound of "Never Again" will have you doing some crazy elbow dances. Or at least it'll have me doing some crazy elbow dances.

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BONER TRACK: SGT. SASS - Demonstrate (alt)

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- SPACE IT - HYPE IT -

benni e: la di da di rock da party.

dl: BENNI E. - Take These Girls To Church (Z)

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I try to stay away from metablogging about the status of this blog, but an unannounced September hiatus was necessary in the ITMS!! universe. Sorry yall, now we're back...

You may remember Philadelphia rapper Benni E. from a lil ol' post I wrote in April, and now she's gearing up for her NYC debut tomorrow night at the Original Sessions Art House (17 John Street, between Broadway & Nassau). She'll be on at 10PM as part of the band/DJ series La di Da di Rock da Party, hosted by Shunda K of Yo Majesty. This week's party will be a listening session for Yo Majesty's Futuristically Speaking...Never Be Afraid, featuring an eclectic set of performers-- Benni, Old Money Crew, The Vanguard, and Elza. The October 11th line-up is not something to miss with Leif , Bunny Rabbit + Black Cracker, Boy Crisis, Tha Pumpsta, Black Peter Group, Living Days, Stay High, and Leb Laze.

But forget about the party! Well, don't forget about it...go to it. Let's pay attention to the audio in this post. "Take These Girls To Church", affectionately known as "Girls 2 Church", is a cut from Benni E.'s debut mixtape Microphone Influenza. Unlike "Call Me Daddy" or any of the songs you may have heard on I Wanna Fuck Dirty Harry or terf- work, Benni's flow on this track departs from her usual hard-edged faster flow to deliver us from evil in a sing-songy manner. It's a perfect blend of critical, political, and playful. When I saw Benni open for Yo Majesty and Does It Offend You, Yeah? at Johnny Brenda's, the crowd broke out into some church-inspired dances, spinning in circles with their hands in the air testifying. Swagger, charisma...whatever you want to call it. Benni's got it. She's been recording some incredible new material, and I've heard rumors of a new mixtape being in the works. YESSS.

Oh, and remember that time I erroneously posted DJ Orion's remix of Yo Majesty's "Booty Clap" as the original? The tune, actually produced by Basement Jaxx, has been making the rounds lately. Check it below if you haven't already. Reminder: Futuristically Speaking...Never Be Afraid, the debut full-length of Yo Majesty, is now streaming on the space. I'm proud of the girls for finally getting that album out, though a little sad about some tracks that became casualties along the way.

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BONER TRACK: YO MAJESTY - Booty Clap (Z)

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- SPACE IT -

japattack: anoraak & sgt sass remixes.

dl: ANORAAK - Nightdrive With You (JAPATTACK! remix) (Z - YSI)

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I have to confess that I've been stalking West Philly's up-and-coming electro remixers JAPATTACK! through their blog ATTACKTHAT! They first came to my attention when I heard their remix of "Faggot Snappin" by my boys Sgt. Sass, and I've been keeping my eye on them since. Beyond my favorite fag-rappers, they've been keeping the blog world busy with their remixes of Thunderheist, Rye Rye, Spank Rock, South Rakkas Crew, Amanda Blank, Pase Rock, and a very popular mix of MGMT, Pitbull, and Justice.

It recently came to my attention that they had been vying for a spot on the new ANORAAK EP and would be submitting a remix of "Nightdrive With You". The duo seemed a little uncertain about remixing a song with singing (up to this point they've only dealt with rapping) and are having a laugh "over remixing a love song", but it turns out that they've made one of their best remixes yet. I know this as trite as far as blogger-talk goes, but it really keeps the spirit of the original while bringing something entirely new to the table. I'd even go as far as saying that I enjoy this a little bit more than the Adeyhawke or Fear of Tigers remixes. You know I wouldn't lie about these things. I have such a music-boner for ANORAAK, so this is serious business.

Of note, this past Monday JAPATTACK! dropped Attack That Sass, a collection of Sgt. Sass remixes which includes the "Faggot Snappin" mix and more. They're also starting to record some tracks with original vocals, so it ain't just about the remixes! Keep tabs on these boys by adding their blog to your RSS feed. These boys have a lot of potential, and they're seemingly getting better with each day that passes.

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BONER TRACK: SGT. SASS - I'll Take Your Man (JAPATTACK! Runs This remix) (Z - YSI)

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- SPACE IT - READ IT - HYPE IT -

patty crash: toast 2005.

dl: PATTY CRASH - Toast 2005 (YSI)
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As if she was suspicious that I was going to write about her, Patty Crash removed her bio on the space over the weekend. Here's what I know or remember.

• She's originally from Iceland, but now resides in North Philadelphia.
• She was discovered by Black Thought of The Roots.
• Her sound is a mix of punk and hip-hop, but not in an annoying sort of way.
• She'll be performing with Slick Rick on July 24th in Brooklyn at Europa. [[GET TICKS!!]]
• After a name change from Patty Kake to Patty Sue, she's finally settled on Patty Crash. At least we think she's settled.
• Her friend Nikki Jean has sung on tracks by Lupe Fiasco and Lil Wayne. Nikki and Patty have a Youtube show together.
• Her influences and favorite artists include Lauryn Hill, Iggy Pop, Devin the Dude, Nirvana, Patti Smith, Outkast, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Patsy Cline, Erykah Badu, and others.
  

I'll be seeing her and Slick Rick on July 24th, so I will return with a full report on her awesomeness.

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- SPACE IT -

benni e: call me daddy.

dl: BENNI E - Call Me Daddy (YSI)

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Say hello to Benni E. Back in November, she busted on stage out of nowhere at a Sgt. Sass show to deliver a verse over 50 Cent's "I Get Money". And hell...this mysterious lady in a pink-wig spit so hard that I imagined Fiddy was somewhere crying about his inferiority. I was immediately starstruck, feeling a need to go shake her hand and churn out a compliment of no substance like, "Woooow, oh my god. That was SO AWESOME." I relived this day over and over as I listened to the Sgt. Sass mixtape Double S 4 Mayor, continuing to be intrigued by this self-proclaimed "vegetarian hype girl".

Two weekends ago, she celebrated the release of her mixtape Microphone Influenza at Make Yr Break's April partay (The Bubble House, Philadelphia). Upon arriving to the space, I was greeted with a big hug and then reprimanded for not visiting sooner. There was some chill time with tunes provided by DJ Bunnystyle, and then we all finally got some new flavor in our earrrrrrs! I don't even have words to describe how "SO AWESOME" the performance was. I mean, if my ears could taste, they'd be like "DAMN THAT JAM WAS DELICIOUS!!"

How delicious? Well have a taste yourself! "Call Me Daddy" is rapped over the instrumental for Spank Rock's "Backyard Betty", and it's totally better than Spank Rock. If you're hungry for more after that, check out more tracks on the space, including a free download of the mixtape's title track "Microphone Influenza".

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- SPACE IT -

sgt. sass: i'll take your man.

"SGT. SASS is back and we came to out-rap you. Fags talk trash, back up cause we'll slap you"

If you're a fan of Salt N Pepa's Hot, Cool, & Vicious album, these lines may sound familiar to you. However, if you're assuming that the use of the word "fag" here involves a homophobic slant to the 1986 jam, you got things all wrong. The end of the chorus remains the same-- the claim that "If you mess with me I'll take your man." The boys of Sgt. Sass like men. And if you mess with them, they will take yours.

Got a problem with them using that oh-so-debated "f-word"? Well, they think you got it wrong. "A lot of people have an issue with us using the word 'faggot,'" says Sgt. Sass member DT when interviewed by Philadelphia Weekly. "But I hear that word every day and I probably will for the rest of my life. So you have to own it." The article goes on to explain that they're reclaiming "faggot" in the same fashion that female rappers such as Lil Kim and Missy Elliott reclaimed the word "bitch". Even if you don't agree with their usage of "faggot", you've got to admit--- that shit takes balls.*

This usage is most apparent on "Faggot Snappin'", a snap music track that begins with the statement "If hip-hop is dead, then we givin' it life, two down ass faggots done picked up the mic." This song will be accompanied by a dance, a common criteria for recent songs by southern rappers. The lyrics reiterate the point mentioned above, "Some don't like the term I use to label this brand new dance, I hear the word every day they call me it at every chance." I'm still not sure what this dance involves. First you limp your wrist with attitude and snap it back. Flip your hair and roll your back? The 75% of whiteness within me is confused by this. Can't I just throw in a soda on the side? I'm really good at that.

Get your ears ready. These boys will soon be releasing an EP with the help of their producer Johnny Woods, and these "two down ass faggots" are ready to bring some new life into the hip-hop world. Do yourself a favor hip-hop fans. Have a listen to some male rappers who don't submit to the machismo-homophobe bullshit and actually admit that they like men. Yeah, I said it.**

dl: SGT. SASS - I'll Take Your Man (YSI)
(Philly homo-hop)
- space it -

* Okay, so Missy Elliott and Lil Kim don't have balls and they reclaimed "bitch". I suppose I could have just said "that shit takes guts" but I really just like saying "balls". I remember one time in high school, I was talking to a male friend about his crush and said "You totally want her BALLS." She was standing directly behind me, and did not take kindly to the fact that I implied she has testicles.