Februrary Heat

Friday, February 17, 2006

Peace Everyone
What’s good? Hope this finds all of you well. Been a long time since I sent this mailer out, and with good reason. Kindred Spirits USA is alive and well now, and we got tons more good music and parties for you throughout 2006. In the moment, my debut album, “Connecting The Dots” is in stores and doing pretty well. The European and Japanese releases, as well as remix 12”s from PPP, DJ Kemit, Phil Asher, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Afrosreet, Brother Mark and more will follow this spring. Alma Horton’s debut LP, Lady Alma...Get To Know Me, coming summer 2006 as well. At any rate, it’s good to be back online with you all, and here’s to more for everybody this year. Stay tuned for announcements on live shows, new parties, and other random opportunities to shake your ass.

I am writing you today from Los Angeles, preparing for our first LA Connecting The Dots Loft Party. One love to Mike Adasko and Peggy Jean-Louis, for helping me pull this event together. Love y’all! The party will be at Hangar 1018, 1018 S. Santa Fe Ave, on Saturday, February 18th. Special guests on the set, Blue Gemz, Garth Trinidad, and Alma Horton. Other guests TBA. Hopefully Sy Smith will creep up in the place after her live set? Hope so. The location is just north of The 10 Freeway, 1 block from Alameda. www.hangar1018.com. One love to Kindred Spirits USA, Urb Magazine, Okayplayer.com, Studio Distribution, Turntable Lab 04, Asya Shein, and all our family in LA.

Rob Rizk is still the illest dude in Vancouver too homie. Know that. Thanks for a great night last week at Ginger my man. Check you at the conference.

I’m back on the east coast this coming week, to rock the spot at APT next Wednesday night the 22nd, and Jump N Funk at SOB’s on the 23rd.
One love to my mans Koga and them, for rocking the spot, so vi – cious – ly in my absence this week.
Next Wednesday night is our next installation of Turntable, VOL. 11. At APT, before Little Ricky’s. 8pm to 11pm, No Cover til 1045. Swalla!
Thursday night special guests on the set at Jump N Funk will be Kahil El’ Zabar and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble.

Respect
Rich

Rest In Peace Izrael Ramirez

Friday, February 17, 2006

One of the coolest, most level headed bouncers I’ve ever worked with. Thank you for always being a professional in a business full of tough guys. I always admired your way of handling stressful situations in the club when we worked together at Fun years ago. Know that you are missed by more people than you could imagine brother.

Rest In Peace James Yancey

Friday, February 17, 2006

Dilla changed the game for hip hop producers, as far as I’m concerned..Period. From Keith Murray to The Pharcyde, The Ummah to The Soulquarians, Jaylib, Spacek, D’Angelo, The Roots, Frank & Dank, SV and PPP, and the zillions of other remixes and originals he blessed us with before leaving us, for a better place. His drum programming sensibilities and sample chopping techniques were second to none, and everybody and their momma knows that. When we lose our pioneers so young, it’s disheartening to us all on a fundamental, human level. Many of us also have extremely personal reasons why losing Dilla hurts us so badly, us specifically meaning the musical community most of us share, and even more specifically, my fellow Young Black Mavericks as a whole. We have less and less of those Mavericks by the minute these days, and when one dies so young, due to physical failure, rather than a bullet, or the other dumb shit we’re used to seeing kill our men, it hurts even more... because death becomes a bit more tangible to the average person at that point. I just hope to God that his passing reminds those of us who are musically conscious that there is great work to do, in continuing the lost art of penetrating the mainstream without compromising our creative license, and sticking to our guns by allowing our style to guide our path, rather than be guided by our “need” to be embraced by the musical Ivory Tower. I personally think that Dilla was a shining example of the idea that the truth will indeed come to light one day... that artists in the music business need not chase industry standard pipe dreams in order to be heard, and hopefully be respected and admired, as Dilla so incredibly was, by a wide and diverse audience of people. The work he put in in his short time with us is to be honored and remembered, and that work deserves Hall Of Fame credentials immediately, in my opinion. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I have a hard time remembering when another producer created so many “me too” followers of the light he shined on people with his work, in such a sincerely short period of time.

Shine On Dilla,
Rich Medina
Kindred Spirits USA