Skillz: Call Him Crazy

Skillz is still at it. This is the first video from his forthcoming album, "The World Needs More Skillz," shot in part the Richmond institution and tourist trap, Croaker's Spot.

WOWI's DJ Law Dead

Virginia's music community lost one of its most popular and constant voices over the weekend. DJ Lawrence “Cool DJ Law” Brown died after suffering a heart attack on Sunday. The 40-year-old radio personality had been a fixture on 103 Jamz in Norfolk for many years.

Law is survived by his wife, mother, father and sister.

Bazerk in Boston

Son of Bazerk started their run as the support act for Public Enemy's tour at House of Blues in Boston last night.

Trey Songz Show Tanks on BET

A month ago, former music industry executive Kevin Liles was on a roll. The former Def Jam records president received the "Medaille de la Ville de Paris," for hip-hop's cultural contributions to the French capital on July 8. A few days later, he wed a fairly attractive woman named Erika Jones in Birmingham, Liles has had a lot of success in his life, (and you can too, if you buy this.), but I would think that first week of July will have to be one of his best ever. Congrats, Kevin. But it's August now, so don't expect it to be as hot as July.

Liles, who at a low point in his career regularly returned my phone calls, left his record company days behind him and is now the manager of Virginia singer Trey Songz. The popular R&B artist, born Tremaine Aldon Neverson, has a reality show called "My Moment," on BET. The show recently received a unique distinction, as the lowest rated show on cable televison on Aug. 4., according to Shadowandact.com. That's a staggering feat, when one considers just how many cable channels there are. It's doubly bad news for Liles, who was planning other reality show projects.

Like most of America, I haven't seen the show and probably never will. So if you have witnessed this historic program, please let us know. What when wrong with Songz?

She's a Scene Stealer

BET Videos

Former Wavelength host Yasmine Weaver appears in this recently released short for BET's Lens on Talent Scene Stealers.

Black Eyed Baptist

Years ago, a young man came to the campus newspaper I edited in Richmond, Va. and pretended to be a journalist. I had my suspicions about his motives, but I needed help so bad I couldn't afford to picky. Besides, how dangerous could a guy wearing sandals and wishing everyone "peace and blessings" be? He would later admit he posed as music journalist to meet other musicians, a ruse that eventually paid off.

While waiting around for an Outkast interview, the artist now known as Jean Baptiste struck up conversation with Will.I.Am and they stayed in touch over the years. After the Roots-style hip hop band he led disbanded, Baptiste headed to he left coast and went to work with Will, doing music production. The above clip features Jean on vocals along with Kelis, whose new album features his work. The clip underneath is the stuff he used to do while trying to make a name for himself in Richmond and Philadelphia.

Soulz on Ice

Not many rappers have been able to escape the gravitational pull of Richmond's local music scene. A decade after his debut on Atlantic/Big Beat, Skillz is still the only rap artist from the city to drop more than one record on a major label.

Two duos came close to establishing themselves; Shadez of Lingo, who dropped a album on Capitol in 1994, and Dirty Soulz, a group backed by Richmond's favorite musical son, D'angelo. The latter group never released any music, despite being signed to East/West and appearing in The Source magazine. Their label lost interest in them for some reason and let them go. The music they created never saw the light of day and allegedly lives in a closet somewhere at Micheal Archer's house.

Enjoy one of the few songs from Dirty Soulz that you'll probably ever hear, an ode to masturbation set to a popular Christopher Wallace tune.

Gary Shider, P-Funk Vocalist Dies

Gary Shider, one of the original and signature of voices of P-Funk died today. Shider had been battling cancer for several months.

They're Here: Bazerk Single Drops

It's finally here. The new Son of Bazerk single "I Swear on a Stack of Old Hits." is available at slamjamz.

Can Her Marriage be Saved?

Yasmine Weaver is the former host of Wavelength, the failed video show that inspired this blog. Since her exit from the show, she's kept busy, but I think this spot for Ladies Home Journal might be a turning point for her. Lucky dog.

Full Clips: The Gangstarr Files

Here's every appearance of a member of the Gang Starr clique on Wavelength, the failed video show that inspired this blog. The last clip, a long talk with Guru and Premier hasn't been seen since it originally aired in 1992. For more on these interviews, with Big Shug, Jeru Da Damaja, DJ Premier and Guru, hit the links like Gary Player.

RIP Guru.

Gang Starr 2003


Jeru Da Damaja - 1996


Big Shug - 1996




Gangstarr - 1992



RIP GURU.

Rap Legend Guru Dies

MTV UK is reporting that Guru, one half of the legendary rap duo Gangstarr, died yesterday. The channel's web site says that the rapper suffered with cancer secretly for several years.

After Guru slipped into a coma on March 2, knowledge of his condition became public. Information about his health was hard to obtain as family and friends fought over access to the 43-year-old rap vet. It was a unfortunate public battle, waged with over twitter, youtube, press releases and radio interviews. It is also one that will also likely continue, given that his producer has him writing a letter from the grave, but that's not where my focus is right now.

Gangstarr was one of the most consistent rap groups of all time. They maintained a formula for their music over the course of six albums, but never fell victim to the law of diminishing returns that plague other acts. While some artists see their careers as a sprint, Guru & Premier were long-distance runners, building endurance with each journey. The left behind a track record that is untouchable.

Gangstarr appeared on the failed video show that inspired this blog twice. You can read about there first appearance here and here. Watch the second here.

Defari Focused Daily in '99

Even in 1999, a former high school teacher seemed out of place in a the hip hop world. Now that the industry has tilted sharply toward ignorance and indulgence, it's hard to fathom a rapper who would confess to having an education ( Defari has his master's from Columbia) and teaching experience. But then again, some people think being a former corrections officer is no big deal.

Defari was promoting his first album ("Focus Daily") when we met him in 1999 on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. I remember enjoying album and regretting that I gave it away to one my associate producers. He would release two more albums, the last one, "Street Music." in 2006.

Not sure what he's up to these days. We could use someone like him right now. Dumb rappers need teachin'.

David Mills 1961-2010

I met David Mills in 1997. He was working on a book about Parliament Funkadelic and I had just graduated college. We were both in Cleveland for the band's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Once David found out I wasn't just a funk fan, but a writer as well, we exchanged information. We kept in touch via a funk newsgroup that was popular at the time, but once that fizzled, we rarely touched base. I found him again a few years ago on his blog, undercoverblackman.

Since Dave's death a few days ago in New Orleans, much has been written about him and his writing. He wrote scripts for E/R, Homicide: Life On The Street, The Wire as well as news and music articles for The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. One article he wrote changed the course of popular culture. While working for The Washington Times, Mills interviewed Public Enemy's Professor Griff and reported some anti-Semitic comments the group's "minister of information" made. The fallout from the article gave weight to the band's critics and Griff was ultimately booted from the group. Bitter PE fans still refer to this as "Enemygate."

Back then, as a die hard PE fan, I often wondered what kind of brother would let Professor Griff hang himself like that, considering the incredible impact the group had on black popular music. One day I realized that the David Mills I knew was the David Mills. As readers of his blog will remember, David's politics were a tad right of center and he viewed black nationalism as failed ideology. He posted on white supremacy web sites and they sometimes commented on his. One commenter on his blog charged that they shared some of the same views.

David's blog was one of the few that I frequented that didn't reinforce my own opinions and notions. His writing challenged me to think and rethink my positions. I rarely budged but sometimes he could sway me just a little. I'll miss that.

Wyclef Jean's Mistress is a Charity Case

You have to hand it to Wyclef Jean. Just as the Chile earthquake threatened to make the Haiti disaster vanish from the front pages, he continues to make news, keeping his homeland and its struggle on our minds. Unfortunately, his reputation continues to suffer body blows and we find out more about the charity organization called Yele Haiti.

In addition to recent allegations of mismanagment and unpaid taxes, Jean's charity is now accused of funnelling $105,000 to Zakiya Khatou-Chevassus, a woman who is allegedly the guitarist's mistress.

From the Miami-Times:

That $105,000 represents about one-third of all management and general expenses Yele paid out in 2008.

A Gawker source also says that's about three times what Suzie Sylvain, the program director, earned even though she's credited with keeping Yele running and planning the charitable efforts.

D'Angelo Arrested in New York

Former R&b superstar D'angelo was arrested in New York Saturday after he allegedly approached a female police officer for sex. He was reportedly cruising the West Village area when he made contact with a woman, offering $40 for oral sex, according to reports.

In the photo above, the artist formerly known as relevant leaves Manhattan Criminal Court.

via New York Post

DJ Premier Speaks

This is first official statement regarding the condition of his former partner, Guru.

Listen.

What's Really Going On with Guru?

The news that legendary rapper Guru of Gangstarr lay in coma in a New York hospital last week was shocking. As the story unfolded days later, it got stranger and stranger.

In addition to being a substandard producer, Solar, Guru's friend and business partner appears to be as shady as a lady in a mustache. He's reportedly barred some of Guru's family members from seeing him and issuing statements in his name. Recently he's taken to twitter, where "Guru" has been leaving tweets very similar in syntax and content to Solar's own comments. He issued a press release with quotes from Guru that just don't sound right. There have been some other unusual developments as well.

Statik Selektah raises some important issues in this video.


Pray for Guru.

Moments of Truth from Guru's Nephew

Guru's nephew Justin Nicholas-Elam Ruff details the drama behind his uncle's hospitalization. This is not easy to watch.

Gang Starr's Guru in Coma

DJ Premier confirmed yesterday on a radio programs that, Guru, his former partner in the group Gangstarr, is in a coma. The rapper reportedly suffered a heart attack in New York City yesterday and fell into a coma. Premier added that Guru is scheduled for surgery soon.

The duo appeared to have broken up after 2003's "The Ownerz," but their may have been a reconciliation, according to a recent report in The Guardian. The UK media outlet claims that Guru recently hinted on twitter that new Gangstarr music was on the way.