What's upper? Ok so I'm still a bit oldschool still rollin' with a walkman while everyone's down with an Ipod! Well I'm steppin' into the Y2K with Rap Attack thanks to DJ Kazzeo who designed our all new "RAP ATTACK MESSAGE BOARD!" Just go to the upper left hand corner on this page & click on "MESSAGE BOARD" or simply log on here at: http://rapattacklives.proboards41.com/index.cgi?. Enjoy fam!...

Props to my sweetheart, Kate Livingston for giving me my first big break when it comes to droppin' some serious poetry called, "Haiku" in the newest issue of "Beautiful / Decay" magazines (on stands now-Issue J). Peep out my Hip-Hop Haiku along with other Haikus much better than mine from Rakaa (Dilated Peoples), J. Sands (Lone Catalysts), Vast Aire, Murs, Pete Miser, Sage Francis, MF Doom & Jean Grae to name a few!...

Once again congratulations to the following Rap Attack DJ's who picked up a dope Bum Squad Award a couple weeks ago at Miami's Core DJ's Retreat. And the winner issssssssss:

 College Promoter of the Year: Nasty-Nes (RapAttackLives.com)

 College Radio DJ of the Year: Chill Will (WCBN-Ann Arbor, MI)

 West Coast DJ of the Year: DJ Scene (Rap Attack Mixtape DJ/KUBE 93-Seattle)

 Thank you to all who voted & especially to my Nicuaraguan PIMP, Latin Prince & the Bum Squad Djz for their love & support...

Our AK fo' life, Nathan "Nash" Sheard has left SONY Urban & has left NC & is back home in NYC.  He's a free agent so labels who are hiring, this guy has got so much respect in this industry & gets the job done. Labels & friends of Nathan, give him a shout at: (917) 763.5539...

Cleavon Shuler has left Atlantic Records & is back with SRC Music. Stay tuned for more...

The Urban Network Conference is just around the corner, March 30-April 3rd at the Riviera Resort in Palm Springs. Log on to: www.UrbanNetwork.com for more info...

A lot of our Rap Attack heads got a sneak peek listen via MP3 with the new Buckwild presents Kurrup Money Inc & featuring Biggie with "Bondage" (Kurrup Money Ent.). Yo, this track is straight up heat! Vinyl ships to our panel next week. For more info, hit up DJ Kristyles from HBN.Org online at: djkristyles1@aol.com...

Barak Records is about to drop some serious R&B/Hip-Hop/Dance heat with their new artist, Emelee. I got a chance to peep her new track "Head Over Heels" & this 17 year old artist has got a promising future after peepin' this joint out. Stay tuned...

Our boy Hahn Solo is back in effect with his number one priority, The Fat Killahz! Their new single "Get Ya Paper" is shipping this week & heads get ready for some fiya from Detroits own! You reach out to Hahn Solo at his new contact info: SideKick is: disavowed@tmail.com... Email: hahnsolo@raptureenterprises.com... Cell: (734) 945-5156. Big ups to King Gordy & the Fat Killahz...

Sway & Tech are also bout to drop their new album "Back 2 Basics" (Bolo Ent./Bungalo). This album from my boys reppin' "The Wake Up Show" features exclusives from Chino XL, Common, Kam, Crooked I, Canibus, Sly Boogy, Royce Da 5'9", Self Scientific, our own DJ Revolution on the wheels & more! Stay tuned as our Rap Attack panel will all get laced with "Back 2 Basics" next week. If you haven't yet, you can watch Sway, Tech & Rap Attack's own, DJ Revolution on the "Wake Up Show" for free! All you gotta do is have a Windows computer with a cable or dsl modem & you can watch the "Wake Up Show" 24/7. Log onto this link at http://www.nft-tv.com/clients/wakeupshowTV.zip.

The infamous Nervous Records continues their comeback in 2005 with the debut release of Big Six "Get Rich" b/w "In My Hood." Reppin' his hometown of Asbury Park, NJ, Big Six comes correct lyrically with some serious lyrics & story lines behind his A & B side singles. Peep it out & stay tuned for more on Big Six!...

Here is our new address for 2005 to send material for review, etc (vinyl & cd's)! Same address, just a new Ste. number:

 RapAttackLives.com

4750 Kester Avenue, Ste. 11

Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

Attn: Nasty-Nes

Rap Attack takes a "WHAT'S UPPER" look this week with:

D_ Cas (WRFG #2-ATL): " What's up fellow dj's. I know I am a little slow on the dj technology, but I finally bought some cdj's this weekend. I have been holding out for quit some time. Partially because of the cost, but also because I think using 1200's felt a little more natural. I know converting to cd's & mp3's is the norm now, but does anyone prefer using vinyl? I cd's are alot lighter than carrying 60 pound record crates around to gigs now but I still like being able to find your cue when you want. Nothing beats dropping a needle on a record exactly where you want it rather than having to press the search button to find the hook in a song. I dont know. Maybe I am too old school for the 2005 dj. What do yall think? Is the cdj taking over? Will 1200's eventually go into that big dj equipment graveyard in the sky?

 Advantage of CDJ’s vs 1200’s:

 Increased music selection. I am now carrying 500 plus songs in one cd case. Inventory grows as I convert my vinyl to cd’s. This is the equivalent of 10 crates of records.

Average number of songs per cd is 17. Average vinyl single is one song unless it’s a bootleg.

 Compact Discs don’t wear out. Can keep a back up disc should one scratch. Records can warp, bend, break, groove can wear out in record based on how much/hard you scratch..

 Can create loops of singles that have no instrumental using pc.

 Can get music sent via the internet, be the first to break a single especially if it is a remix from overseas (Djs you know what I am talking about)

Mix quality is as good as 1200’s.

 Needles can break in the middle of your set.

 Disadvantage of CDJ’s vs 1200’s:

 Sometimes you can tell when a CDJ is being used versus turntable.

 More susceptible to shock and travel damage. Some use a hard drive like a pc to create the scratch manipulation.

 CD player can break in the middle of your set. Mine are removable and replaceable but most of us would not carry an replacement cd player like we would extra needles.

 CD’s scratch easily or not play during your set. I have two of every cd with me and I check them after I burned them.

I have a compatibility problem at the station. There is a hum from the power supply getting into the RCA’s. I have determined I need shielded cables from the board to my mixer and will have to buy some and ask Wanique to install them. This only happens at the station, never at home or when I am doing a set.

 Conversion from vinyl to cd takes time, you may have to bring a turntable for the latest releases or bootleg (white label) songs.

You have to remember time stamps versus vinyl visuals when trying to get to a specific point in a song. You would jump to the middle of a record but on the CDJ you have to move the “needle” using the elapsed time window.

Hard/impossible to find accapella’s and instrumentals for unique mixes.

Chela (WXDU-NC): "I had the best time catching up with Corporate Ken, Dove, Buddha and OJ as well as meeting and interviewing Jae Millz, Corey Gunz and yes, PETER Gunz while they were in NC this past week. Both Jae Millz and Corey Gunz are some of my favorite artists right now in terms of their mixtape work and I'm looking forward to hearing their albums. Big ups to Raleigh NC native AG Thomas on the single out right now on ABB, he's definitely got my cosign! I will be in NYC wed-fri this week for Justo's Mixtape Awards. Although the nominations are still not posted on the website, Justo promises that they will be soon. In the meantime, I still need your votes! Thanks for the support! "Best New Mixtape DJ/ Best Female Mixtape DJ/ Best Underground Mixtape DJ/ Best Mixtape of the Year." Congrats to Nasty Nes, Chill Will and everybody that won bumsquaddjz.com awards! My next mixtape, "Embedded Reporter: Live from the Front Line" is dropping this week, stay tuned"...

DJ Kazzeo (KHDC-CA): "So the thing everyone is talking about is the 50 /Game beef. To which I say, why? Honestly, I thought Game's album was average at best. It didn't move at all. I've heard 50's album already and there are a couple decent songs but he has no versatility. Every song sounds the same with the same flow. On a couple songs, he sounds like he's mumbling in his sleep. Now we have these two guys and their crews blasting at each other and shooting up the Violator offices. Actions like this only prove the pint that they don't deserve the success they have attained. These are the actions of people who need help. And fast.

So speaking of shootings, how many more times can Hot 97 be the center of a violence or ignorance before someone shuts that station down? It's almost as dangerous to go there as it is to o to the offices of Death Row in LA.  Who really gives a damn about the Academy Awards? I know I don't. I mean everyone is all goo goo over Jamie Foxx now. Sure, he did a great job in "Ray", but the guy has lost it mentally. He's always crying when he speaks and he even thinks he is the reincarnate of Ray Charles. C'mon man. Weren't you the same guy who dressed up like a hoodrat on In Living Color? In your own words, "I'm read to go".

So they caught some dude called the BTK Killer. When I first heard this, I thought me prayers had been answered and somebody finally knocked off B2K. But unfortunately, that wasn't the case"...

Jason-D (KHDC #2-CA): " Oh man. What a week huh? Shouts to Kazzeo for basically hitting all the hot topics (Game vs. 50, Oscars, etc) in his wrap up. I think we are opposites though in that I actually liked the Game album and think most of 50's new stuff has been formulaic. If you haven't heard the actual Hot 97 50 Cent interview discussing Game, go to www.allhiphop.com and scroll to the bottom of the page where they have audio links. Since I'm older and wiser now, let me share some basic math:

 1) Rappers in studio at Hot 97 + you standing in front of station = better wear a vest

2) Dr Dre beats + 50 Cent jingles = Game platinum in 3 weeks

3) 0 + 0 = Game not platinum in three weeks

4) Dr Dre beats + Ras Kass = What I'm really trying to hear

Edgie Kokoski (WUNH-NH): " I didn’t find the Oscars as interesting as usual, since the only film I saw that was nominated was “Tupac: Resurrection” (which of course got ganked on the award). If only they nominated more triple X or Mary Kate/Ashley Olsen films, I would be more familiar with the nominees. Although everyone is raving about it, I think that “Million Dollar Baby” is possibly the worst title for a movie ever. It sounds like a film about some 5 year old kid who finds a winning lottery ticket or something. Nonetheless, I’m down with Clint and Morgan Freeman so kudos to them. My big question for Jamie Foxx is: Why in the living fuck would someone get a tattoo on the back of their head? First off, you can’t see it yourself. Secondly, it’s retarded. Thirdly, I’m sure that it hurt like hell. At least he didn’t pull a Mike Tyson and get the warrior mask tat.

 Is it just me, or does the hook on 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop” sound just a little too much like that of “Magic Stick”? Can “22 Questions” or “Stunt 102” be far behind?

Speaking of 50, I was probably as surprised as any of you to learn today that 50 has kicked The Game out of G Unit. 50 is claiming that he wrote most of “The Documentary”, and that The Game is disloyal since he stated that he would be willing to work with artists beefing with 50. Plus, Game didn’t stab the shit out of anybody at an awards show like Young Buck. I can’t help but wonder if this is a big publicity stunt with 50’s album release mere days away. I have a strong feeling that all this G Unit related beef is going to come to a head real soon and don’t be surprised if more bullets start flying"...

Lt. Dan (Mixtapes-DE): " I will be spinning 2 shows at next month's SXSW (South by Southwest) conference in Austin, TX:
- Tuesday, 3/16 at the BACK ROOM with producer/rapper extraordinaire CHOPS
- Wednesday, 3/17 at ZERO DEGREES with DJs Rapid Ric, Diplo & Nick Nack. Hopefully I will see some of you at the global conference...come on
out and see ya man LT. DAN get busy in the dirty south!!! I have 2 CDs set for release in the next few weeks. First, the sequel to last year's Westcoast Mix CD of the Year, "Going Back to Cali...Again!" hosted by Young Maylay. The second installment of the series sponsored by ROCKSTAR GAMES hits you over the head with nonstop West Coast exclusives, remixes, and world famous LT. DAN blends...

Next up will be the "It's Goin' Down" collaboration with CHOPS and hosted by PAUL WALL. "It's Goin' Down" will be one of the highlights of the SXSW conference and all Southern style mixtape lovers, with CHOPS remixes of new and classic south bangers from artists like Ludacris, T.I., the Geto Boys, Slim Thug, Bun B & more! I will be dropping at least one West Coast and one Dirty South CD every month, as well as other sure-to-be LT. DAN classics!!! I'm always looking for freestyles, exclusives, and drops, so get @ me!!! I'm still not receiving service from a few labels while some are still getting sent to my old address. I moved a few months ago, so please update your vinyl mailing list with the following info:
DJ LT. DAN
1336 Riverside Dr.
Wilmington, DE 19809

Meddafore (Mixtapes-Philly): " Justo's Mixtape Awards are goin down THIS WEDNESDAY, March 9, 2005 in NYC. Please vote at www.themixtapeawards.com and click on the words "vote now" at the bottom middle of the screen and vote for Meddafore in the following categories:
1. Vote Meddafore for Best Underground Mixtape DJ category
2. Vote Meddafore for Best Freestyle Mixtape DJ category

Kiz-One (WickedKarma.com): "I came across a thing that I would like to put everybody up on and I really believe that it is cutting edge with todays DJ's It's called Podcasting. It's a 2 part article the first part I wrote about the advantages and software and i'll try to crank out part 2 in a week. Here is the first part of my article:
Whatz the deal! I want to share a little info on some projects that I'm currently working on. Last year my crew and I "The Soul Providers" were putting out a free monthly mix CD called "THE AGENDA" on WSOL radio. This was a take off of a fake radio station, which played what we wanted to play. No PM or music director, full unedited versions, unedited call-ins, that was made by us for us! The CD was a success, but we couldn't keep up with the demand and the numbers of people that wanted the cd. So I sat down and thought of a better way to do this but to be on the cutting edge of technology. I knew that you could put your show online but heads would be forced to sit at the computer, download, and then listen to them at their computer. This is ok if you're at work, school or working on some projects or "IM'n"at the computer. But, wonder if you want to take what you down loaded with you? Yell you can burn a CD of the show, but then you would have tons of discs just laying around of past shows taking up space. So I though it has to be a better way to make it more available to everyone all over the world with out forcing heads to be locked at the computer. So what better way then to incorporate the use of an mp3 device (I pod, I river, mp3 players etc…) which would allow you to down load a show and listen at your own convince. No more being locked to your computer. You can down load the show; listen to it on your way to work, on the bus stop, what ever. The idea came from doing a podcast.

You might wonder what a podcast is or you might know. But the whole idea behind a podcast is to allow you to download a podcast to your I Pod, I Tunes or what ever program that you use to get files onto your mp3 player. This can be done with out having to down load it to your computer and then having to load it to your mp3 player. It also allows you to do all this in a small amount of time and it will load automatically to your I Pod as if you were down loading songs.

You might say what is so special about this but here is the beauty of podcasting. Podcasting is special in that it allows you to publish (podcast) radio shows that interested listeners can subscribe to. Before podcasting you could of course record a radio show and put it on your website, but now people can automatically receive new shows, without having to go to a specific site and download it from there. So you could literary produce a show in a week and have anywhere from 1 to infinity listeners that subscribe to your show (feed) this cut's out the whole process of people who missed the show because they weren't able to sit down at a computer and listen live. But it all so makes the possibility that you can supplement your weekly shows with a subscriber only special show that only people that subscribe to your feed(show) can hear.

Ok now the tech side of the process. What do you need to listen and what do you need to make a podcast. Ok the first thing which is the easiest: How to listen to a podcast. To listen to a pod cast you need to download a program that will allow you to download a raw podcast and listen to it on your I Pod. There are a ton of different podcasting software here is a list:
http://ipoddernet.sourceforge.net
http://www.nimiq.nl
http://www.dorada.co.uk
http://jaeger.blogmatrix.com
http://jaeger.blogmatrix.com
http://brandon.fuller.name/archive ...
http://www.dopplerradio.net
http://rubyforge.org/projects/podcatcher/
http://www.bradsoft.com/feeddemon/index.asp  (this one will allow you
to use any type of mp3 player)

After you download the software you will be able to subscribe to different feeds (shows) that are out there on the net. I have to be honest, a lot of the feeds(shows) are a little techie(geek) but there are a ton of feeds(shows) that are not,such as sports, cooking, etc.., just plain crazy joints out there. To find shows you can go to:
http://www.podcast.net , here you can find cast by genres like intertainment, music, movie reviews etc.

New week I'll show you how you can get off the couch and make your own shows. But in the maen time feel free to ht up my page and test out the software that you down loaded and subscribe to my pod cast at: http://dabeatdown.blogspot.com/...
                    

DJ Toast (WRPI-NY): " The 16 Year Radio Anniversary Celebration for DJ Toast is scheduled for March 12, 2005! Last year's show made the "Best Of 2004" lists here by many music critics and publications.
---Toast's 16 Year Radio Anniversary---
------Saturday March 12, 2005----------
---------The Hudson Duster-------------
----------40 3rd Street ---------------
-------------Troy, NY------------------
---------------9pm---------------------
---------------$10---------------------

IT'S BACK: EXCLUSIVE NEW RAP ATTACK OFFER: $50 SIDEKICK II - 2WAY DEAL:  I've got the exclusive hook up if you're lookin' to buy a "Sidekick II" 2 way. They normally retail for $300 plus. TMobile is offering our Rap Attack DJ's & affiliates (friends & readers of RapAttackLives.com & business associates) the following special:

$100.00 plus a $50.00 rebate ( $50.00 for the unit)

$39.00 monthly fee for cell & unlimited text messaging & online, etc.

Contact Alex Nguyen at (408) 310-3933 or online at: vtxguy4O8@yahoo.com.

Tell him Nasty-Nes from RapAttackLives.com sent you & save yourself up to $250 on a brand new "SIDEKICK II."

SHOUT OUT TIZIME: Happy Birthday to Aaron Wade (WMSE in WI) celebrating on March 10th, to DJ Earthquake (Live365.com) celebrating on March 12th and to Mr. Choc from L.A.'s Power 106! Mike Soul outta San Diego (good seeing you again homeboy)! To my new family in Christ over at AMS (Monica, John, Raymond, Kevin, JoAnne & everyone I see every Sunday!). Diane & Kate from ABB Records (see photo above-thanks for hangin' with me & I'll see you in Palm Springs in a few weeks). Suspens (welcome home homie! I got your back. Stay positive always aiight).

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

Nasty-Nes

(Pinoy Pride4Life / John 3:16)