Song of the Day: Dio - I Could Have Been a Dreamer

I remember quite clearly where I was, when I heard about Ronnie James Dio's death. I don't suppose many people do, but it was a strange night for me, that one night. You see, I was outside of Webster Hall with some friends, waiting to get into a show... in the basement, of course. Cool people go to the basement, don't you know? It's underground. (Yes, I made a hipster joke. Moving along, now.) Now, it was about 6:30pm, and the sun was setting, and it was a lovely May evening, and my friend was checking his facebook when he nearly shit himself and announced that RJD was dead.

Song of the Day - Shazna - Sumire September Love

Ah, the 1990s had certainly been a great decade. Lately, I have been feeling nostalgic for that time - watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed, and listening to Savage Garden and such... ah, yes. It had been a great time for music and a fascinating time to be alive. Thus, coming back to RSF after my hiatus as I am, I thought I'd start with one of my favorite songs. Shazna were one of the first bands I encountered, and their Golden Sun and Silver Moon compilation is one of my most prized albums to date. 

Regarding - Politics - The Way It Looks ( US Election 2012)

Due to a very disheartening revelation I must make a correction to the statement I made earlier.

Mitt Romney will be the next President of the United States. Mitt will be the next president thanks to no actions of his own. Mitt Romney will be the next president thanks to the voter suppression ID laws, cut backs on early voting (especially in Democratic leaning counties/districts and in Florida for instance have an 10 page voting ballot. 

Few people, excluding hardcore voters I.e. few young people and the sick, disabled, elderly will not spend a lot of time in line and if you're older you may very well have eyesight issues. The turn out will be lower than usual if it's raining or even snowing in some states like Colorado.

All of this makes for a perfect storm of rigging an election in the GOP's favor. The system has never been more rigged than it is this year. It will be amazing if Obama gets a second term.

Regarding a Personal Matter - 30 Days in Seclusion

Last month after seeing my routine matinee movie in the form of The Bourne Legacy, I decided that was the last time I would go anywhere for the rest of the month. Little did I know it would be the beginning of a routine that would be very powerful.

Song of the Day - Purple Swag Remix PV

Watch "Purple Swag Remix feat. VITO, KUTS DA COYOTE, ERA, Cherry Brown, PUNPEE & DJ TY-KOH" on YouTube

Another great PV from EillyHustleHard. It's got some great rappers on it!

INTERVIEW - CRAZY-T

Recently I had the opportunity to interview American-Born, Hip Hop artist living in Japan, CRAZY-T. I can't say how much I appreciate him taking his time out of his busy schedule to do an interview, it was via email, but he replied just a few hours later and that I am very grateful for. Where was I? Oh right! On to the interview!

ALBUM REVIEW - SHINGO☆西成 - ブレない (Burenai)

Where to begin...SHINGO☆西成 is a rapper from Nishinari, Osaka Japan and is signed to LIBRA RECORDS and SHOWA RECORDS, one for management, the other for distribution purposes. SHINGO☆西成 has made a name for himself as one of the top emcees in the game and the face of Hip Hop in Osaka. Anyway, on to the album!

Song of the Day - Triga Finga - Level 7 (Subbed) PV

Very good song with a great message behind it.

SONGS of the WEEK MONDAY-WEDNESDAY SPECIAL!

Japan's Top R&B - A.I.

I love music. It's simple. Unfortunately, finding new music I like is often impossible. Either it's too "poppy" for me or it lacks a certain element of the underground, which I so desperately crave. In recent years, in terms of the music I've been listening to on a daily basis, most of the music I listen to these days were orchestrated by friends I've made in real life. Today's featured artist is no different, allow me to introduce you to Japan's top R&B singer, the beautiful "A.I.".

Born in Los Angeles, California in 1981, AI would go on to become one of Japan's top R&B artists. In 2000, she signed with Universal (BMG) Japan, and moved to Def Jam Japan in 2002. It wasn't until 2005 when AI found major success with her single, "Story." Since then, AI has gone on to win numerous awards from Billboard Japan, Space Shower and MTV Japan. No matter what AI does, there is just no stopping this sensational singer.

Megadeth - Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!

Megadeth's first album. Definitely my favorite! It keeps to amaze me the fact that their first album is so good, usually first albums are not necessarily bad, but not the best either. It amazes me even more the fact that they managed to record such a great album even after they spent half of their already limited budget in drugs/alcohol, I wonder what it would've been like if they didn't... but I guess we can see some of that on the remastered version, which I recommend over the "original" if you're looking for sound quality. This album enters my top 3 Megadeth albums right next to Countdown To Extinction and Youthanasia

ALBUM REVIEW - V.A. BLACK SWAN 3 -In the Case of BES from SWANKY SWIPE-

You've probably never heard of BES, unless you've heard him featured on a track or happen to know who SWANKY SWIPE is OR have the 2008 Ultimate MC Battle DVD, otherwise you could have very well missed out on one of the best young MC's in the game today. Now that you have an idea (albeit small) of who BES is, I'd like to introduce you to the label that has made this album come to be. BLACK SWAN INC is an independent record label based out of Tokyo, which was created for the sole purpose of exposing those who people tend to ignore, the "BLACK SWAN's" of the music basically. Since May BLACK SWAN INC have been releasing monthly albums in the form of BLACK SWAN 1/2/3, which typically deal with multipe artists, which makes sense, seeing as their slogan is Music for Multiple Fanatics. BLACK SWAN 3 features just one artist though, with multiple track makers with all lyrics by BES from SWANKY SWIPE.

Magenta Beach

Some bands make it, some bands don't. Some bands have great music, and terrible PR. Other bands just don't give a f*** and make music for the love of it. Magenta Beach is one of those bands...

Magenta Beach has 5 members:

Ali (Vo,)

Candy (Bass, Vo.)

Kosuke (Guitar)

Maro (Drums)

Chemizalfa (DJ)

I can't accurately recall the first time I met these guys. I want to believe it was in 2008, at a show at Club Asia in Shibuya. At the time, I had no idea their music would find its way to my iPod, but flash forward to 2012 and I can't help but smile every time I hear one of their songs come up on shuffle.

Hakai Hayabusa ( ハカイハヤブサ )

While waiting in the clubs for the headliners to play, I've often discovered new bands I would have otherwise never known existed.  I've been introduced to some really great bands, and really great people via this method. One such notable group I've met via a random encounter is the band Hakai Hayabusa (ハカイハヤブサ).

Pictured: KZ (Gu./Vo.)

Hakai Hayabusa was formed in 2002 and was originally a three piece band. Hakai Hayabusa currently consists of four members:

KZ (Guitar, Vocals)

Nori (Drums)

Moby (Bass, Chorus)

WACK (Guitar, Chorus)

I've rocked out with Hakai Hayabusa live a few times. I remember first seeing them (meeting them, and partying with them) on August 8, 2008 at a show in Tokyo. I was at the show to support my friends in the band Chokesleeper, but before they were due up to the stage that evening, this super chill, surf-punk band ruled the stage (Hakai Hayabusa).

Song of the Day - CRAZY-T X SPENCE - チンコ ft. 鎮座DOPENESS PV

East meets West to make for a great song/pv.

ALBUM REVIEW - KOWICHI (enmaku) - The Chips

A few days ago I bought KOWICHI (enmaku)'s latest album The Chips off of iTunes. With a glance you can find a lot of Hip Hop from Japan on there. KOWICHI is a member of the group enmaku with fellow rapper d.u.g. from Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan and The Chips is his first solo release. I decided to get this after watching some trailers of the music videos that are to come from the album, which feature some of the best producers around. The trailers can be viewed via Street Official's YouTube channel. Okay, without further ado, lets dig into The Chips!

Song of the Day - KULO - MAGMA PV

Props to EillyHustleHard for ANOTHER great video!

ALBUM REVIEW - 迷子 & TOMOZ - Yellowish Green Radio EP

After religiously following 2Dcolvics music blog I discovered this album and the artwork caught my eye, very urban in feel. Now on to the artists. 迷子 (Maigo) & TOMOZ. 迷子 is an emcee from Saitama, Japan who started rapping around 2001 and was part of an group called KUROCODAiLL and is currently signed to G.M.P. (Get More Props) Records. TOMOZ is a Hip Hop/R&B producer, DJ and CEO of bull star Records, also a part of G.M.P. 

We are not dead.

I've been dealing with sickness (colds/headaches) and power outages lately *not fun*, but it is no excuse honestly. The other contributors here are busy with things like work and finding a job, etc. I've been holding off and waiting for things to arrive in the mail, I've spent a lot of money this month on CDS but when they're the best of quality of Hip Hop from Japan, it's worth it. I've been gone, but as anyone who reads this knows, I always come back with one hell of a surprise. This will be the same.

Song Of The Day: Braveheart - Pipes & Pints

Reaching to my Celtic roots with bagpipes and my rock n roll soul with roaring guitars and thunderous beats, Pipes & Pints is one of my new favorite bands. Hailing from the Czech Republic with ties to California via vocalist Mike House, the way they describe their sound (via their Facebook) is "Melodical punkrock music mixed with sound of highland bagpipes, influenced by infinite portion of punk, rock, folk, bagpipe music, country and rock'n'roll."

This track is off their 2009 debut album, Until We Die. They are currently touring Europe as well as working toward putting together their lastest album. 

Pipes & Pints Official Facebook