Hip-hop officially turned 50 this year. And since its entire history is a book’s worth, I’ll just talk about what hip-hop did for live music, based on my own experience.Though not many people know it nowadays, some of the finest and most important moments in hip-hop history actually occurred in Philadelphia during the turn of this century, at a jam session called the Black Lily. I was there, so take my word for it: None of us realized how important this would become in the future, or what it would do to transform live hip-hop. Photo by Mika VäisänenWhen it comes to music and culture—and certainly Black American music and culture—it’s exceedingly difficult/near impossible to say when a particular sound “began.” New sounds and genres emerge organically over time; there is always something that came before, which transforms into the next thing. The idea that one person started this or that sound is usually inaccurate. Still, the Black Lily began in the late ’90s when the Roots, up-and-comers at the time and under the guidance of their manager, Richard Nichols, decided to begin a movement. What they started actually had as much to do with the Sun Ra model, as it did with anything hip-hop related.The Black Lily was built upon a long tradition of Philly jam sessions. But the thing that made it different from the outset was that it was actually made for and run by women artists. Tracey Moore and Mercedes Martinez, collectively known as the Jazzyfatnastees, grew sick and tired of having to fight to get on stage at jam sessions, so they pitched the idea to Rich to create their own.This live hip-hop jam session began in Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s basement. At the time, nobody could afford to rent a venue, and the basement gave us a chance to see what this could be. Within a week or two, the event had grown so rapidly that Ahmir and his neighbors were complaining about how many people were attending, and the event moved to the Five Spot, a two-story nightclub in the Old City neighborhood.At this time, live hip-hop was not common, or something that emcees even wanted to be involved in. Producers like DJ Premier were sampling classics by artists such as Nina Simone, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonoius Monk, and this eventually paved the way for the crazy idea to have a live drummer playing behind an emcee instead of a DJ. At the same time, hip-hop production had changed out of necessity, so it was now almost impossible to hear which songs a particular producer sampled to create a track. However, this still didn’t prevent publishers from trying to take everything on the few occasions where they figured it out. As a result, producers began to use less samples and more live musicians, who could sound like samples, which brought bands like the Roots, the Fugees, and the Black Eyed Peas (the first incarnation) into the light. All of this laid a foundation for live-music events like the Black Lily to come into existence.The Black Lily soon became one of the main weekly scene-building events in Philly, and musicians on all kinds of instruments started playing to hip-hop audiences, with an authentic hip-hop sensibility. Every Tuesday beginning at 9 p.m. for around eight years, this event redefined the idea of a hip-hop show. Picture an audience of 250 hip-hop heads watching emcees and vocalists trade on stage with live drums, bass, guitar, Fender Rhodes, a tuba, maybe a vibraphone—all in the pocket, sounding like something that J Dilla just whipped up. If that wasn’t enough, Jill Scott, Common, or Amy Winehouse might also jump up. There was never a dull moment, and none of what took place was planned. People just got on stage and did their thing. And this would often happen while the Roots were on the other side of the world spreading the gospel of live hip-hop by dominating some stage in Paris.Eventually, having 10 to 15 audience members flying in from Paris, Tokyo, or Rome on a Tuesday just to experience this event became the norm. More than 40 artists, who later went on to sign major record deals, were first discovered at the Black Lily. Lots of musicians, who are now musical directors for the biggest names out here, got their start at the Black Lily. Most importantly, entire approaches to playing hip-hop with a live band were refined there.Like jazz, hip-hop is actually a massive universe, covering everything from Black dance to literature. There were so many regions and people involved over the years, but for me, the Black Lily was a special and transformative period within the history of hip-hop that everybody should learn about.

This week’s new releases include the latest in cold, merciless brutality, including Krieg, Overthrow, Seraphic Entombment and more!
The post Five For Friday: October 13, 2023 appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

This Friday the 13th could be your lucky day! Enter below for your chance to WIN a StewMac Ghost Drive!Stompboxtober 2023 Day 13 – StewMac Ghost Drive
StewMac Ghost DriveMore than a “klone”—it’s the closest we’ve ever seen to the real thing! Few pedals reach mythical status like the Klon Centaur Professional Overdrive. StewMac scoured the world for the EXACT right components to recreate this “holy grail” circuit as a kit. No you can build your own version of this incredibly hard to find pedal.Considered the finest transparent overdrive ever, the original Klon is shrouded in mystery, epoxy, and hype—but amazingly, it delivers. It’s a guitar player’s dream come true: saturated tube tone from your amp at a reasonable volume. It doesn’t change the character of your amp, you get just the right amount of overdrive without losing your unique tone. It’s relied on by countless players like Joe Perry, Mike McCready, Joe Bonamassa, John Mayer, Nels Cline and more.StewMac dug deep to find the identical pair of 1N34A germanium diodes just like the original. Many claim these diodes were the heart of the original Klon and why so many of the imitators fall short. This pedal is extremely easy to use: just gain, treble, and output. The gain is where the magic is by adding sweet saturation and harmonics while retaining the character of your amp. The treble acts as a boost or cut, allowing you to dial in the perfect mid-range for your tone.Nobody does instructions like StewMac—they wrote a 40 page step-by-step instructions made for the first time builder. They left no stone unturned, you’ll see every solder joint and resistor value to make sure your build is perfect from start to finish. And if you get stuck, StewMac’s team of techs and players is here to help! This is a fun weekend project where you’ll learn a lot and get a legendary pedal.

Last month filming wrapped up for the sequel to the Finnish movie “Heavy Trip” about IMPALED REKTUM, an underground blackened death metal band and their search for their sound: symphonic, post-apocalyptic, reindeer-grinding, Christ-abusing, extreme war pagan, Fennoscandian metal. The 2018 film, a tr…

International power trio THE CARDS, featuring original, founding SAXON guitarist Paul Quinn, has released a new single, “King Kong”. The track is taken from the band’s upcoming second album, “Generation Jukebox”, which will arrive on November 10.
The group, also featuring American singer/bassist Har…

BLINK-182 has released its latest single, “Fell In Love”. The track is taken from the band’s new album, “One More Time…”, which will arrive on October 20 via Columbia Records. It marks the first album to feature the group’s classic lineup of Mark Hoppus (bass, vocals), Tom DeLonge (guitar, vocals) a…

Get “Feral” with Philly deathpunk crew Concrete Caveman.
The post Track Premiere: Concrete Caveman – ‘Feral’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.