What's upper! I hope you all are enjoying this three day Memorial Day weekend. Last Friday night here at L.A.'s Universal Bar & Grill was the spot to be at as Strange Fruit (featured on Rap Attack's Rock The Beat Volume 1) rocked the entire house with tracks that kept everyone throwin' their hands in the air & wavin' them like they just don't care. Their dj, 3-D was found rockin' the wheels on the cd tip cuttin' & scratchin' on two cdr's! Strange Fruit has that special magic touch that will take these kats to the next level in Hip-Hop stardom! Also sharing the stage that night was the original Cassidy from the "818" & Buckwheat throwin' down some serious Hip-Hop ish...Now on a sad note, one of our most loyal Rap Attack reporters & a true friend, Danny Munoz aka D-Real outta KCRH in Hayward, CA is calling it quits after spending 12 years at KCRH. Danny & I go way back to my days in Seattle, through my days at HITS till now. I've watched this young man grow up into a hard working family man & become a proud poppa & husband. He's always on point with sending his playlists on time, shares his feedback on new records & overall a very nice person who I'm proud to have as a friend! We're gonna miss him but it ain't goodbye as D-Real will keep his feet in the Hip-Hop doors doing some publicity work on the side with a few upcoming new rap artists. Here's an exclusive farewell letter from our own Danny Munoz: 

"It is with great sadness that I am announcing the end of my stint at KCRH 89.9 FM. I have been with the station for over 12 years and have a lot of great memories from my time there. My decision to leave is based on a few things including my hectic work schedule that includes a full-time public relations job, family priorities and the desire to pursue other opportunities.

Rest assured that this is not the end of my radio career, but I will be taking a break for now. I plan on doing guest spots at the station from time to time, but I will no longer have my own show. This was a difficult decision, but I believe this is the right step. I hope to come back to radio sometime in the future, but for now, I will concentrate on PR and I will also take on some part-time publicity work. (Be on the look-out for the Infamous MC album dropping later this year.)

I would like to thank everyone throughout the years that contributed to my show. From all the promoters, labels and my fellow deejays and of course to you.

Anyone interested in getting in touch with me, can hit me up at 510-276-2839 or via email; drealive@aol.com

Peace, Danny “D-Real” Muñoz... True O.G. heads will remember our dawg Ty-C aka Ty Campbell from his days at Red Ant & of course MCA Records. Now, Ty is reppin' Delicious Vinyl Records & he's got some hot new heat ready to drop soon from Fat Lip and Mr. Vegas. If you want to be down on Ty's exclusive mailing list to get serviced, hit him up at (310) 925-2116 or online at: TyCamp2004@Aol.com or 2 Way: tyc@tmail.com. Tell him Rap Attack sent ya'... MTV's "TRL" is having a fun, exciting and a positive show airing June 4th a Friday with one of their best shows ever featuring surprise guest celebrities right here in Long Beach California  from
12:30pm-6pm ! Be on CAMERA, SEE CELEBRITIES and HAVE FUN!!!! So ATTENTION High School Students in the California area. If you want to bring your ENTIRE high school to celebrate & be on "TRL," please contact Shemia Miller online at: Shemiadotcom@aol.com to receive tickets. Please rsvp with your name and high school you are from. If there is a group that you know will come, and you can guarantee that they can come, please list them in the same email. Log on to: http://www.mtv.com & join in the fun live on Friday, June 4th from 12:30pm-6pm in da LBC...Artist Dujeous is hitting the road again heading out to the Midwest and Philly areas to promote their latest release, "City Limits." For the first five dates, Dujeous will be rolling with Vast Aire of Cannibal Ox who recently released his banging new solo LP. For the last date in Philly, Dujeous will be rocking along with Wax Po's own Equilibrium, Chief Kamachi and Tangled Thoughts.

Here’s the latest road tour itinerary & log on to: www.dujeous.net for more info:
Monday, May 31st Indianapolis, IN @ The Patio w/Vast Aire & Karniege
Tuesday, June 1st Bloomington, IN @ Bluebird Nightclub w/Vast Aire & Karniege
Wednesday, June 2nd Cincinatti, OH @ Top Cat's w/Vast Aire & Karniege
Thursday, June 3rd Philadelphia, PA @ Pontiac Grille w/Chief Kamache, Equilibrium & Tangled Thoughts

Remember Ill Al Skratch from back in the 90's? Yup, yup they are back & back in effect with their bangin' new joint "Raise'M Up (Press Play Recordings). It's great to hear our Brooklyn Uptown heads back in effezy. For more info on gettin' laced with the vinyl, hit up Greg Burke outta Shocksound Promotions at (716) 578-0097 or online at: shocksoundpromo@yahoo.com . Tell em' Rap Attack sent ya'!... The Longshots are back with "Reality" b/w "AudioRiot" and Ready For War Part 2 produced by Metaphysics of the Beat Bandits. Make sure you get laced by hittin' em up online at: longshottomakeit@hotmail.com... Virgin Records has got some serious heat droppin' the new Guerilla Black tracks, "Compton" featuring Beenie Man b/w "Trixx." This Biggie sound-a-like gets his props on both sides. Peep da ish...Shure Incorporated announced today that it will introduce a new competition to the U.S. DJ battle circuit, Vinyl Kombat. The unique aspect of this competition is that it will operate under a “Keep it Clean” premise to offer a safe and positive environment where competitors and audiences of all ages can participate. “We created Vinyl Kombat as a way to highlight the DJ element of Hip-Hop culture,” said Bill "Needlz" Oakley, Marketing Specialist/Phonograph Product Manager for Shure. “We also hope to expose new audiences to this dynamic form of artistic expression.” The “Keep it Clean” rule extends to all of the Vinyl Kombat hosts and performers. Each of the competitors will have to be very creative and articulate their responses without any profanity or vulgarity when battling their opponents. In addition, Shure is staging each event in venues that have agreed to admit participants of all ages. Shure, which manufactures industry-leading phono cartridges and has been intimately involved with the Hip Hop scene and its artists for almost 10 years, is presenting Vinyl Kombat because most DJ battles exclude the bulk of turntable music enthusiasts who are under the age of 18 by staging events at nightclubs which only admit adults or by accepting sponsorship from alcohol and/or cigarette companies. By strictly adhering to a ‘Keep It Clean’ rule, Shure is literally opening the doors for more young people to discover the DJ element of Hip-Hop culture. In addition to the competitions, the Vinyl Kombat tour will feature performances from DJ A-Trak, of the Allies crew, who won his first World DJ title at the age of 15 and retired from battling by the time he was 18 years old, after winning four more World titles. Other headliners include Shure endorsers Mista Sinista, D-Styles, DJ Nu-Mark (Jurassic 5), DJ Klever (Allies), and the Beat Junkies, whose members include Melo-D, J-Rocc, Rhettmatic and Shortkut. Also performing will be some of the nation’s most respected turntablists, partyrockers, and emcees including Supernatural, Wordsayer, Gunkhole, DV One and D.O.A. (from our Rap Attack MixTape Panel), The Original Jazzy Jay, GrandMaster Caz, and GrandWizzard Theodore, the inventor of the scratch.

Here are the NATIONAL DATES FOR The Vinyl Kombat DJ Battle & for more information go to: www.vinylkombat.com:
July 1: The El Rey, Los Angeles
July 11: Fox Theatre, Boulder, CO
July 16: The Parish, Austin, TX
July 18: BB Kings, New York City
July 30: SomArts Cultural Center, San Francisco
Aug 5: The Showbox, Seattle
Aug. 8: Nation, Washington DC
August 19: The Metro, Chicago

DJ & artist Danger Mouse has been officially added to this years "Lollapalooza" tour which begins July 14th in Auburn, WA.. It's been an incredible year so far for Danger Mouse who has received massive critical acclaim for his Danger Mouse & Jemini CD "Ghetto Pop Life" debut on the Lex label, featuring Tha Alkaholiks, J-Zone, Prince Po and The Pharcyde. His recent follow-up Danger Mouse & Jemini "26”" EP includes additional guests and remixes with Cee Lo and Sadat-X amongst others. Danger Mouse, who NME hails as “The Hottest Hip-Hop Producer in the World”, received global attention for his production of the infamous, controversial "Grey Album." Here are the current Spring tour dates & cities for Danger Mouse & Jemini:

May 31^st Toronto, ON @ Opera House

June 4^th Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues

June 5^th Minneapolis, MN @ The Quest

June 8^th Los Angeles, CA @ The Viper Room

June 9^th San Francisco, CA @ The Independent

Additionally, Danger Mouse will make an appearance at this years Bonnaroo music festival June 11^th in Manchester, TN.

The official next single from Detroit's own, King Gordy will be "Fat-Tastic 4" featuring the Fat Killahz (Fat Father, Marvwon & S. Bango). This is guaranteed to be a big record for WEB Entertainment so lookout for the new vinyl dropping soon. In addition, WEB Entertainment is looking for college marketing reps! If you know a sophmore or junior that has a passionate desire to learn about working within' the record industry, please email your resume to Hahnsolo at: hahnsolo@webentertainmentrecords.com as well as their Media Coordionator at: heather@webentertainmentrecords.com. This is a campus based internship position with the possibility of turning into a paid position based on your performance. Students are also eligible for college credit. King Gordy has just been added to the D-12 tour as their opening act! For now, here are the cities you can catch D-12 & King Gordy:

Milwaukee

Chicago (2 shows)

Minneapolis

Atlanta

Myrtle Beach

Norfolk

DC

Philly

New Jersey (waiting on city)

NYC

Providence

New Haven

Pittsburgh

Cincinnati

Detroit

Rap Attack takes a "WHAT'S UPPER" look this week with: Tyrone Francis (WDCE in Richmond, VA) who's a proud new daddy of a 7lb 11 oz. baby girl! Her name is Kennedy born on May 22, 2004! CONGRATS to Tyrone & his wife... Lee L'Heureux (WMHB in ME): " As you know the ESP site is now off and running. If you haven't done so yet please check it out at: www.espmediagroup.com where you can read about our new partnership with NAPA and their Speed Show Series. Thanks for the continued support and please feel free to reach out at (207) 314-1765 or online at: hiphopnation897@aol.com or by 2 Way: lheureux@tmail.com... Chela (WXDU in NC): " I am now working on becoming a delegate to the "National Hip-Hop Political Convention" (http://www.hiphopconvention.org) registering 50 people to vote. If you want to register to vote or are also planning on going, definitely let me know! Also, if you're in the NYC on Sunday, June 20th, check me out guest dj'ing at the Pyramid (101 Avenue A between 6th & 7th Street). Doors open at 8:30pm, show starts at 9pm & $7 admission. Log on to: http://www.endoftheweak.com which is a weekly open mic event that has been going strong for several years now in New York & home to the most elite form of MC Battling. Also peep out the Southeast Music and Entertainment Summit is in its third year and will be going on in Charlotte NC, Friday August 6-Sunday August 8. For more information check out www.smes04.com, and to nominate anybody for College DJ of the year (wink!) email smes04@yahoo.com... Big Rube (KOOP in Austin, TX): "What’s happenin’ industry heads? Hope alls well, it’s been a minute since you all have heard from me; none intentional. Its funny, as soon as school is out, it begins again, summer school, hmmm, fun huh? This year went by so fast and yet it kicked my ass. That’s ok; because one year from now we're going to walk across that stage. Thasswassup!!. Things have been simmering and this next week I’ll be heading out to NY; shout out to all the people that looked out for me when I was up there during spring break. I will be picking up my bags and leaving for the summer. So if you in New York, holla, let me know wassup. Still looking for a roof over my head but that is all in time. If you know of anything, holla back. Shout out to Poncho Stickland, AK, D Train, LP, Big Chunk, DAH MILLZ (good Luck bro), CLEAVON SHULER (damn how can I be a rapper too?) J, Chixo Gibbs, Chris Alonzo, NES, Matt @ damagecontrolradio.org, RAHK, Chris Washington, DJ Yoshi, Karl (good job ON THA REAL), Bavu and my whole staff at UA, lets keep up that hard work this summer... DJ Herk (MixTape-Lancaster, PA.): You can catch Herk in the mix on the Sirius Satellite, "Wax Channel with DJ Ace" everyday between 10am-2pm... Darin Gloe (KDRU in Springfield, MO): " Make sure to tune into Friday Nite Fiya on www.thehiphopstation.com, all underground 2 hours cd quality, get your tape decks ready, 6-8 central time every Friday Night. Peep my new website at: www.latenightrecordpool.com , updated and ready for your viewing pleasure... F-Sharp (KSPB in Salinas, CA): " Well it's definitely been a while since I've sent one of these bad boys out but I'm glad to know people still have faith in me even though I haven't sent much feedback. I am no longer the Urban Director @ 91.9 KSPB but I've worked out with the current staff that I will still report hip hop to RapAttackLives.com and other trade mags. I am also starting to do more guest spots on local BDS station 102.5 KDON on the weekends, and now that Im done with school until the fall, I should be able to start doing regular gigs there soon. If ya didnt know, I'm still in high school and Im currently a junior but I guess now I'm a senior because school just ended. For the past 3 weeks I have been booked with term papers, last minute tests, AP Exams, and Final Exams so of course I had to deal with that first. That has taken up a lot of my time and now thank god I can write feedback for records and still report to CMJ and RapAttack. I apologize to all record promoters and Nasty Nes and RapAttack for not sending in any playlists recently but I will be on time from now on, now that I have a lot less obligations (ie: fuckin junior year of high school). Special Thanks to Jess @ Spectre, Alma @ Room Service, Nes, Latin Prince & my Bum Squad comrades, Jen Boogie, Rebecca @ Conspiracy, EQ and all others who still sent me records on the regular even though I have been a lil late on the feedback"... Kate Livingston (WOZQ in MA): " To all those who’ve holla’d at me regarding Vans Warped Tour: I NEED THOSE COMPLETED WARPED TOUR INTERVIEW APPS!!!! I recognize that the info I’m requesting is pretty in depth- but remember that the people who we’re working with at Code of the Cutz will be on a hectic 47-show summer long tour….The paperwork for press passes and interviews needs to be in place before they ship off in order to make sure that YOU get your press comps and interview opportunities! TUESDAY JUNE 1^st is the DEADLINE! Holla at (614) 668-7390 or online at: kate@doomsdaypromo.com... Nate Abney (WKDU in Philly, PA): " It was hot as 30 slaveships in the city of brotherly love this week. People tend to act up in this kind of weather. My youngest brother graduates from college and the president of the school addresses him as b-money and not his government name. Euphoric Soundbites will have a new time in June. I will keep you posted. The Flyers lost a tough game 7 but the Phils are starting to hit stride. There is also no truth to the rumor me and Michael Jackson were spotted at Chuck e Cheese's last week either. Until the next Wu-Tang album dissappoints (i.e. Method Man, but Masta Killa's joint looks hot though), peace!... Edgie Kokoski (WUNH in NH): " I'm trying to pick up the shattered pieces of my life, health, and bank account after spending the weekend in Atlanta. The dirty south will definitely make a guy come home feelings like he had 10 years taken off of his life. I wouldn't trade it for anything though, as I went on a 2 day party binge, took in a Braves/Dodgers match up, and soaked up 85 degree sunshine.
Allhiphop.com is reporting that Ice-T is set to produce a rap album from David Hasselhoff? In my opinion, this story is even worse than the Randy "Macho Man" Savage rap album. Hasselhoff will be rapping under the MC name "Hassel The Hoff", and if there is a God in heaven, he will be run over by a bus before the albums release. And what the f*ck is Ice T thinking? What's next, a rap album from William Shatner produced by Chuck D? I was reading on CNN.com about how a Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey circus clown named "Spanky" was arrested on child porn charges. You know, when a guy has a job named "Spanky" and he plays with children all day, it's time to check his credentials. I can only wonder what Spanky's balloon animals looked like?...                            Start checkin' your mail this week for our debut "Rock The Beat Volume One" double vinyl promo featuring exclusive & new tracks from Strange Fruit, Hill-B, Specifics, NSS16 & J-Bully! The deadline for "Rock The Beat Volume Two" has passed & we're already ready to start pressing vinyl for that! We'll announce who's on Volume Two shortly. Thank you for all your support with this & let's make some BIG noise first with this aiight fam?! WORD...

SHOUT OUT TIZIME: Happy B'day this week to d. Lorand Jackson (WCSB in OH), Felli Fel outta L.A.'s Power 106 & to my Seatown homeboy reppin' KUBE 93, DJ SupaSam! Props to my lovely homegirls Princess & Monique.

PEACE, LOVE & HIP-HOP UNITY (God Bless & Isa Mahal),

Nasty-Nes

(Pinoy Pride4Life / John 3:16)