Alien Nation Radio

This song is the third and title track off an album entitled Zero or just 0.  At first we just had this track and thought it was just a single. Recently someone, although I can’t remember who, over at the Phila Flava forums posted up the whole album which featured classic cuts like ‘Decimal 7‘, ‘Space Junk’, and ‘What Is?’ which Hymnal mentions in his verse.

On June 10th, 1999 at Seattle’s 700 Club, the winds of fate and Funky Joint Entertainment formed Chef Salad & the Crew Tones for an exciting, one night only performance. With members: Abstract Rude (ATU), Michael Shrieve (Santana), Lonnie Marshall (Weapon of Chaos), Reggie Watts (Maktub), Zac Hendrix and Leland Jones (Insult 2 Injury), and Dread Eye. The Chef Salad brought something special to the table by showcasing the different styles of it’s talented players. With impressively versatile Ab Rude at the helm, the Salad moved effortlessly through funky upbeat hip-hop, intense soul, reggae, and more. This recording captures the moments from that special evening, from new versions of ATU favorites like “The Renaissance” and “Them That’s Got”, to the gut-wrenching “You’ll Eat Those Words”. Chef Salad & The Crew Tones will have you doing the “Lion Shank” at the dinner table!

Here we have some classic cuts off of the True Sound Sampler. For a while we thought the sampler was only on vinyl and had just a few tracks but we we’re all wrong, very wrong. We recently received a tape from Danny Holloway which turned out to be the full version of the True Sound Sampler with 12 tracks on it! Full of cuts from Vooodu! and the Western Hemisfear crew along with others such as Unit One Poetry and Super Natural Thang…Here’s a little snippet of the tape.

P.S. Bird’s Eye View is Meen Green’s proffesional debut…

Now we’ve had this recording for a while and its been one of our favrorite tracks. I believe my cousin (rudejade) got this recording along with about 15 other perfromances at the good life from his good friend, Satatay23, and now its your for your listening pleasure. Eve and Jyant just completely killed it that night and you can tell from the reaction of the audience…..

In celebration of the release of the documentary, This is the Life, there will be a big reunion show on March 10th at the House of Blues on Sunset Blvd. Along with the show they’re also going to have a one-week theatrical engagement at the Downtown Los Angeles Independent Theater from March 11-17 for LA fans. This film has already caused a stir among the independent film festivals and its release on DVD has been long awaited. There will also be 70+ minutes of bonus footage that was not used in the film.

Here is a synopsis followed by a quote from Chuck D. about the film.

In 1989, a collective of young artists gathered at a storefront health food cafe in South Central LA. Their mandate? To explore and expand the musical boundaries of hip hop.

Directed by Ava DuVernay, THIS IS THE LIFE is a feature-length documentary chronicling “The Good Life” emcees, the alternative music movement they developed, and their worldwide influence on the artform.

Featuring new interviews with: Myka Nyne and PEACE of Freestyle Fellowship, Chali2na and Cut Chemist of Jurassic 5, NgaFsh, Riddlore, Tray-Loc & Wreckless of CVE, Abstract Rude and Zulu Butterfly of ATU, Ellay Khule of Hip Hop Klan, Medusa of S.I.N, Born Allah, Ganjah K, Fatjack, JMD, Omid, Pigeon John, 2Mex of OMD, Jyant & Eve of Figures of Speech, Big Al, T-Love of Urban Props, Sheena Lester & B+ of Rappages, Mear One, Mike Nardone of KXLU’s We Came From Beyond, Garth Trinidad of KCRW’s Chocolate City, Monalisa Murray, Jah Orah, Hines, Busdriver, Monique Matthews, Keen and B. Hall & R. Kain Blaze, co-founders of The Good Life.

“Upon watching this film, a time-honored hip hop statement rings loudly - ‘If you don’t know, now you know.’ This is a story that has been missing from our cultural consciousness. The LA Underground scene has been “slept on” and passed over when it comes to its important contribution to the hip hop art form. Their styles and language, as well as the gymnastic vocal twists, symbolize the highest standards of rhyme. This film keeps their highly relevant music fresh and in its purest form, letting the stories be told from the mouths and minds that lived it. THIS IS THE LIFE is exceptional, a documentary not to be forgotten.”

- Chuck D, Public Enemy

You can find this one in the gallery.

Freestyle Fellowship

You can find these in the gallery.