Music Collectibles Guide

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This Pittsburgh-born rapper has cultivated a steady fan base since the release of his first mixtape, Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania in 2005. He has established himself as one to watch in the rapping arena; his combination of hip-hop, rap and techno sees him regularly at the top end of the download charts. His most recent album release, 2009′s Deal or No Deal, rose to number two on the iTunes store chart, higher than many of today’s most prolific music stars.

Khalifa fans will be pleased to know that all nine of the Wiz Khalifa Mixtapes can be downloaded free on wiz khalifa.

Following the success of Prince of the City, Khalifa was signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007 and that same year he put out two more mixtapes, Grow Season and Prince of the City 2. In 2008, Star Power became his fourth mixtape, as his fan base continued to grow.

2009 saw the release of the next mixtape, Flight School to critical acclaim, however it was a year of change for Khalifa as he and Warner Bros. parted ways, following lengthy delays in the release of his intended debut album for the label. However, his relationship with Rostrum Records continued and the mixtape How Fly was released in August 2009. How Fly was a departure from his previous tapes – it was a collaboration with the New Orleans rapper Curren$y and incorporated singing as well as rapping for a more melody-based sound than his earlier work.

In November 2009 Khalifa’s seventh mixtape, Burn After Rolling saw him experiment further with his musical style, rapping over recognizable beats from artists such as Beyonce, Empire of the Sun and Drake.

This year has already welcomed another two Wiz Khalifa Mixtapes: Kush x Orange Juice and Cabin Fever. There is no doubt that this talented artist is on a roll!

Remember to go to wiz khalifa mixtapes for your free downloads.

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For those who are obsessed about sound quality the name MFSL will sound familiar. If you’ve ever heard one of their gold coated CDs before, you’ll know that their name is synonymous to superb quality. The company also has a history of releasing the best of the best in as good quality as technology allows. When you set out for the best sound quality that can be played in ten or twenty years from burning, you’ll find out that their CDs are the ones to get. Pink Floyd MFSL CDs are available for around $60, which may sound a bit high but for those who know what’s behind the scenes it’s all worth it.

Until the unfortunate financial problems in 1999 Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs produced the best records for more than twenty years. In 2002 Music Direct took it until its wings and the usual attention to detail can be spotted on all their releases ever since. If you’ve been looking for a good record of The Dark Side of The Moon, look no further than the UDCD-1-517. It’s the code name for MFSL’s Ultradisk edition of Pink Floyd’s album from their early years.

This issue was first made available in 1988, but the company had the technology to make it a year before. It wasn’t the first thing they ever put on digital storage media, but it’s definitely sought after by collectors. A well known technique that is used by MFSL is half speed sampling. This, combined with 99.99 percent pure gold reflective layer on the ultradisk gave unprecedented levels of sound reproduction. If you’ve ever been to a concert that was made by proficient technicians, you know what is it like to hear the little sounds the band makes, to receive all the details.

It’s rather interesting to see why Pink Floyd MFSL CDs sound much better than anything else that’s digitally recorded. Ultradisk is a regular CD with some extra features that make recording of data more precise and allow for an error margin that’s up to the highest expectations. A pure gold coating is used to reflect the laser beam, which gives better reception than aluminum. The pits are formed in a moment rather than molding slowly, on the microsecond scale, of course. It gives better pit edges which reduce glares thus less photon bounce away.

Whether you’re a fan of Pink Floyd, or never heard a note from them apart from The Wall, you’ll enjoy these records. It’s no wonder that they’re on sale for $60 in a scratched case. Don’t think that affects playback the least bit, though, Ultradisks are made to last and a scratch here or there doesn’t kill the disc as it would a normal CD-R.

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Welcome to volume.2 of the “hip-hop remix” series where we break down the significance of the Hip-Hop remix, and what it the act of “Remixing” Hip-Hop is.

The act of Remixing Hip-Hop  is the to take the art form of Hip-Hop and then add your own personal elements, such as culture. This would involve your incorporation of cultural sounds and ideas to the art to form your version of hip-hop or you “remix”. One of the most infamous and interesting results of this “remix” process is Reggaeton.

Reggaeton is a mix of Jamaican Reggae, mixed with Spanish lyrics and sounds that could range range from merengue to salsa to bachata; topped off with delicious dose of hip-hop. Some argue the genre started in Panama others say it was Puerto Rico (where the majority of the “successful” artists reign from).  Whatever your belief may be about its origin there is no doubt about it’s power and potential to become a major player on the music scene.

Artists such as Tego Calderon, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Lapiz, Zion, Arcangel, Pitbull (for the most part), and up and coming star “Capitol” (www.myspace.com/elcapitol) all exhibit the definition of what it is to Remix Hip-Hop. When Hip-Hop was created, it was created as a voice for the people that didn’t have a voice, it was their particular sound for their particular struggles. So it is only natural that a person of any culture would be able to relate to the message. Hip-Hop is supposed to be about originality and how you express YOURSELF through the art. The very act of Tego Calderon spitting some spanglish mixed lyrics over top a reggae/hip-hop/merengue/rock beat IS the ultimate form of hip-hop in the flesh. It proves my point that Hip-Hop IS the largest genre of music there EVER will be.

A video of the up and coming reggaton star CAPITOL is posted on this page you can also find it here www.todocapitol.blogspot.com / or / www.myspace.com/elcapitol. Watch this video and you will see the mixture of music genres this article has explained. Capitol weaves in and out of Spanish and English lyrics showcasing his versatility as an Artist and also expressing his culture as a Dominican-American. Many criticize saying that they cannot understand what the music is saying other than the words in English, which is a perfectly feasible argument; my only question is…if we listen and dance to reggae music in the club why can’t we do the with reggaeton?…the music is HOT point, blank, period, it will make you move, dance and feel alive. Come experience yet another side of Hip-Hop; another Beautiful Monster that urban city living has created.

I would advise for A&R’s and investors to look into reggaton because it is about to blow up larger than life, just the loyal Hispanic audience alone should be a lucrative enough idea for the industry heads to jump all over it..don’t sleep!

-you heard it here first (crracie.com)

The “Hip-Hop Remixed” articles are a series of articles that displays the different elements of hip-hop from the power of an actual hip-hip remix to hip-hop being used in forms other than music, thus “remixing” the purpose of hip-hop.

CRRACIE.COM IS HIP-HOP REMIXED

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The Hip-Hop remix is the driving force behind the massive success of Hip-Hop as the remix is responsible for the expansion of the music genre and culture world-wide. What is special about Hip-Hop is that you can transform ANY type of music into a hip-hop song; only if done correctly of course.

Hip-Hop originated from the sounds of reggae, jazz, and disco. Since then it has been remixed and remade into almost all genres of music while still keeping its original form. From Run-DMC and Aerosmith with “Walk this way” to Nelly and Tim McGraw with “Over and Over”; Hip-Hop has extended its boundaries farther than any other music genre ever.

A “Hip-hop” remix is an original form of music in its own, there is no other music genre that remakes a song that is still fresh on the market and make it into a “remix” and receive more airtime for the same song. The song usually contains the original beat just slightly modified with a either new artist or several new artists on the song. This has been done countless times through several world wide stars such as P. Diddy who is infamous for remixes and remakes. Jermaine Dupri is another super producer who is infamous for remixing hip-hop songs. A lot of hip-hop producers have been able to branch out to other music genres because of this, such as DJ Premier producing tracks for Christina Aguilera or J.D. himself producing songs for Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson.

Another element to a hip-hop remix would be it’s sister music genre; R&B. More than often the two merge together for an original song, tracing it’s grand exposure back to Mary J. Blige ft. Method Man with “You are all I need”. A Hip-Hop remix usually adds a form of R&B if it fits the song or the aim of the dj/producer making the remix. R&B now actually often has remixes adding in its brother genre Hip-Hop to make it an official remix. Many songs, Hip-hop and R&B, could have many different remixes. As a matter of fact so many remixes that there would be an “Official Remix” or Master Remix, as opposed to a remix made by a third party where the DJ/Producer would mix and match Rap and R&B verses with an instrumental that could be from any genre of music.

The Hip-hop remix is a major component to the success of Hip-Hop today. It has allowed hip-hop to merge with other music genres and form new fans (i.e. Jay-z & Linkin Park). Hip-hop is the LARGEST and LONGEST running music genre in history because of its ability to reshape and adapt. Every other music genre has its “time” but as for hip-hop has no time, it will be here as long as music is alive. Hip-hop is NOT dead…that’s impossible.

The “Hip-Hop Remixed” articles are a series of articles that displays the different elements of hip-hop from the power of an actual hip-hip remix to hip-hop being used in forms other than music, thus “remixing” the purpose of hip-hop.

CRRACIE.COM IS HIP-HOP REMIXED

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by a Guest Author

For whatever reason, the style of one’s guitar says a lot about their personality. Although guitars share a fairly common shape, the shapes, designs, and looks could not be more different. Choosing the right combination of sound, design, shape, and function becomes almost a lifelong quest. The most difficult part of the whole process is finding a guitar that both sounds right and feels right while playing. Once this has been determined, a lot can be done to the visual style of the axe.

Some of the easier customizations come from the guitar neck. The neck can be customized to look a number of different ways. As long as the play and action are right for your playing style, the look can vary drastically between pieces. Whether it is playing a fretless guitar or simply having a unique paint style, the variations are nearly limitless.

One of the easiest parts to change out on your guitar, one that even a novice can figure out, is the guitar neck plate. The neck plate is one of those unique identifiers on your guitar. It can either mark a vintage make and style, or can signify your unique custom design. Engraving shops that specifically manufacture neck plates are often able to take your own design and etch or print it onto the plate. Band names, slogans, quotes, graphics, and other customizations are quite easy to imprint on the plate, allowing you to specify exactly how you want it to look.

The neck plate comes in a variety of different materials, but is most often made from either chrome or gold. Although different in look, both varieties can be customized as you would like. Some shops even offer the option of printing an image taken from a camera onto the plate. Most plates come in a standard size, though some shops may be able to tailor the unit to your specifications.

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