I feel that's what good hip hop does. It grabs the listener, entertains them, opens their mind. Solid, classic samples line the background, while a smooth flow lines the foreground. The group pays respect to the borrowed music by creating something new and worthy of skilled ears.

Odd Future member Domo Genesis has always been somewhat overlooked coming from the Los Angeles collective that has produced Frank Ocean, Tyler, The Creator, and Earl Sweatshirt. On the MC's latest track, "Table Tennis", Chicago producer Thelonious Martin lays down a smooth soul sample that drives the song forward while Domo delivers passionate lines about being slept on by the hip hop community and staying focused in his vision for success. The rapper's laid-back, stoner rap style is put aside as he brings unprecedented intensity to the track, the result of which is a fiery flow that serves as a reminder of why he and the rest of Odd Future caught our attention in the first place.

Part of being an adult is knowing when to ask for help.

I'm approaching 30, and I've got to set a good example for my boy. So, here goes:

I hate hip-hop.

I can't stand rap.

I need help.

Well, that's not entirely true: back in the nineties, when that movie came out about Michelle Pfeiffer teaching inner city kids how to write poetry and ride roller coasters, I enjoyed that one Coolio track. I even memorized the words to "Amish Paradise."

Finally, I thought, a rap about my people.

I'm not entirely clueless - I am vaguely aware of some hip-hoppists: Tupac and Biggie, of course; there's Nelly and Eminem and whatever else the kids were listening to at the roller skating rink between Savage Garden songs and the Limbo. Then there are the Lil's: Kim, Bow Wow and Wayne; and that guy who dropped out of college and gave guff to George Bush and not-Beyonce; also, whatever this is.

But none of it makes any real sense to me. And I want it to. I'm an educated man: I know there's a whole world of music I'm missing out on, a rich culture that's passing me by while I sit here listening to the Dead Milkmen for the eighty-ninth time and wondering why, oh why, with my vast knowledge of country and the uncanny ability to identify the used-dental-floss-thin line separating pogo and street punk, hasn't Spin magazine emailed me about my Swingin' Utters review; nor has Rolling Stone gotten back to me about that Chris Gaines retrospective.

Is it because I'm racist? I don't know - not overtly, anyway. It takes effort to care what people look like, and I'm a busy, busy man. But I did grow up a prejudiced hillbilly in a proper Christian mobile home, and living in those close quarters, there was every opportunity for some of the insidious earwigs munching on the brains of my forebears to burrow into my own head unnoticed. These bugs are so deep by now, they just might be a part of the way I think.

Here's what I mean: whenever I go home, I'm always taken a little off-guard by how dumb people sound. Then I get back into the rhythm of the speech. What seems at first like a lot of stupid thrashing eventually morphs into a kind of music and the words start to make a deeper kind of sense. When mom says she "almost stepped in a meadow muffin traipsing through the back forty - way out in the jingweeds" I know she almost stepped in cowshit in the clearing behind the house, but way, way the hell out there. Now, mom hasn't been in the deeper-place since Old Dan kicked off and his garage went to pot, but that's another story.
 
But why even bother with the argot if you're just talking about poop? Well, in short, what's it to you? If you need to know, you will, and if you've spent a few decades living next to the slow trickle of an antediluvian creek in the hills of an upstate hamlet - a town never forgotten because it never existed - then you'll understand why cow crap matters; you'll probably catch the infinitesimal torque on "jing" in "jingweeds" that hint at why anyone was way the hell out there in the first place, and, given the glacial pace of this tiny world we call home, you've got time to hear the story - or read the first few chapters on mom's brow, anyway.

So I love and understand, more intimately than most people ever will, the hickish brogue of my mother tongue. My intellectual brain can make the connection between the way I learned language and another vernacular - I know there's probably a music and a deep sense to speech I don't understand; and if I don't get it, that might be part of the point. "I'm sure," say the better angels of my nature, "that there's a lot going on in the swagger and pacing of any rap artist worth his salt." But the stump of my brain that grew up on a cornstalk in a field next to Route 305 says "it don't sound like good English."

A good friend of mine once undertook to teach me how to appreciate rap. He started with The Roots and got as far as Wu Tang. But we didn't cover much before whatever angry old prick is controlling the levers of our fates decided my friend was better off in a coma.

This is the same guy who taught me to watch hockey. I can't imagine living without it now, but at some point, I was just staring at a bunch of mullets on skates chase a black dot. But after watching Scott watch the Sabres chase the finals in '05-'06, learning when to get up and scream at the refs, when it was better to scream at Danny Briere going fetal on the ice, and when it was best just to shake my head in general disgust, I figured out how to watch hockey. I learned to love it. These days I shake my head when folks don't know what the trap is, or when they whine about not being able to follow the puck.

All of which leads me to believe, if I had the right person show me what's what, I'd be able to trip through the annals of hip-hop and rap like Afinigenov on a breakaway. As it is, I can sooner tell the difference between silage and a cow turd - all of which smells like shit - than I can separate Soulja Boy from Weezy.

Where do I start? Where do I go from there? What's good, and what's just noise? If you've got any advice, dump it in the comments below. 

Seriously, I need help.

Tonight Duke's on Allen has a killer lineup of up and coming indie hip-hop artists for your listening pleasure when Coolzey and Raashan Ahmad's Tour De Force tour takes over. These dudes have travelled from all over the country to be here with us tonight, with Dallas Center Iowa's Coolzey and the Bay Area's Raashan Ahmad bringing their sharp, off kilter and left field lyrical stylings and interesting beats to the heart of Allentown. Also on the bill will be Toronto's Philly Moves (making a Buffalo debut), Brooklyn by way of Buffalo mc Rabbi Darkside, and representing for Buffalo will be Koolie High. Tickets are $5 and the show starts at 10 PM.

If someone mentioned to you the names Buzz Trillington and Shooter McNappin, you may think that there is a new thug version of Looney Tunes.  Instead, these are the new aliases developed by Steve Brown and Dom Calvello, more known locally as the duo SwaggleRock. They have just released a new mixtape entitled Brassknuckles. Really, the work is an EP. It is called a mixtape because it was released on ClubTapes.com, which is a mixtape hub that contacted them to release their new work. Together, the duo got their start spinning for the college crowd at Ultra nightclub on 3rd Street in Niagara Falls, and moved to become resident DJs at various nightclubs on Chippewa. They have come a long way in a short time period. We sat down with the two to discuss their new release, and among other things, branding and social media in the artistic community of Buffalo.

SUN Dec 23 Saturnalia @ Soundlab
TUE Dec 25 Main Room-MNM presents The Christmas Party 8 @ Pearl Street Brewery
FRI Dec 28 DJ Craze @ Sinful Nightclub
SAT Dec 29 TOATS ORIG presents WE'RE ALIVE @ Soundlab
MON Dec 31 2 am-NYE @ DBGBs
SAT Jan 5 @ The Vault-Niagara Falls NY
THU Jan 31 @ Dubland Underground-Rochester NY
SAT Feb 16 Loki DnB presents Terravita & DJ Shiftee @ Ukranian Home

BuffaBLOG's pilgrimage to Pitchfork Music Festival is out of respect for the voice that Pitchfork Media provides for independent music all over the world. It's no secret that their media facilitates the exploration of music while also providing opinionated reporting that allows the readers to decide what they like and dislike. Because Pitchfork reaches so many unique individuals across the world, they and their readers help to expose the freshest Artists.

When it comes to Hip-Hop this is most certainly the case. While not ignoring the Commercial Hip-Hop industry, Pitchfork's coverage tends to lean towards the Rappers of the underground. Focusing on up-and-coming individuals with unique talents.

A$AP Rocky: photo by Brock Fetch

This year's Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park in Chicago July 13-15 will feature many of those same buzz-worthy artists. Most notable is A$AP ROCKY who came into the light last year as a young buck with a high-talent ceiling. His interesting music on the mixtape LiveLoveA$AP excited many and caused him to get so much attention via the internet. Likely because five of the tracks on that mixtape was produced by another critically acclaimed Pitchfork Music Festival artist CLAMS CASINO. He gained notoriety for his brilliant genre-bending productions for both A$AP Rocky and also The Based God, Lil B. Many will tell you that both he and ARAABMUZIK are two of the best Hip-Hop style producers outside of the mainstream right now. Along with producing, AraabMuzik is an incredible performer. Using multiple samplers as live instruments he precisely plays unlike any other.

Young Southern gentleman BIG K.R.I.T will also get to display his talents. His sliding country style is definitely influenced by his predecessors Outkast and UGK. He is one of the unknown true talents in the Rap world, producing tracks for artists like, Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, Smoke DZA, Ludacris, and Chris Brown.

Kendrick Lamar: photo by Jeff Forney

Additionally getting the nod from Pitchfork are South-Central Los Angeles rappers KENDRICK LAMAR and SCHOOLBOY Q from the 'Black Hippy' Hip-Hop group. Lamar's Independent release of Section.80 last year turned many heads and was revered as new Alternative Hip-Hop. It's a smooth laid back style, very California, but more importantly lyrically relevant. Unlike the Commercial Rappers of the world these two artists, and for that matter all of the Hip-Hop Artists at the Pitchfork Music Festival, are spitting lyrics that tell a story about humanity today. Not Diamonds, nor Yachts. And who couldn't that be more true about than DANNY BROWN? His "Radio Song" is a original slam at Rappers who are complacent making songs for profit only rather than creating meaningful music. He will be front-and-center on Saturday night to show off his zany personality.

Danny Brown: photo by Ysa Perez

One commonality of the Hip-Hop artists at this year's Pitchfork Music festival is that they all are going agains the grain of what Rap music has become. So although people can tend to scoff at the terms used to describe these branches off like "Alternative Hip-Hop" "Trillwave" or "R-Neg-B" it may very well be these sub-genres that save Hip-Hop from itself. Pitchfork Music Festival has curated the best of these acts to showcase the potential of where Rap music can go in the future.

The Pitchfork Music Festival is July 13-15 at Union Park in Chicago, IL. For the entire schedule and lineup check out their festival website HERE.

The original track for this week's remix is probably one of the hottest Hip-Hop songs in the world right now right now, topping the Billboard charts since it's release several weeks ago. New York and L.A. producers RL GRIME and SALVA have teamed up to bring this remix to the people. The original song is a trap bass anthem produced by Kanye West, Lifted, Mike Dean, and Mike Will with some of the instrumentation provided by Hudson Mohawke. This remixed version of the song is chopped up and twisted for the atmosphere of the dancefloor while still keeping some of the feel from the original. Below you'll find the video for the original, and the RL Grime and Salva remix.

The final day of the 2012 North By Northeast Music. Film. Interactive. Conference concluded with a powerful message of unity and awareness. The music at Younge and Dundas square centered around Hip-Hop on Sunday. Those who attended the week of long activities resiliently gathered along with a new crowd of Toronto's Hip-Hop connoisseurs. The mood was undefinable and tense.

On Wednesday night last week the NXNE showcase for SmashMouth Entertainment which was to be held at The Rivoli was canceled at the request of the Toronto Police and the Toronto Gang Unit. They cited potential gang affiliation with some artists in the showcase, and the potential threat for gang related violence that evening. This incident obviously created a stir of displeasure from fans. Rich Kidd, local Toronto Rapper, along with other artists on the bill are involved in community programs. It appears as though there was a gross misunderstanding and singling out of Hip-Hop artists and fans as those who promote gang violence. The festival released no other statement than that the event had been canceled due to unforeseen events. Really it was two events prior that likely had the cops tight. The fatal shooting at the Eaton Centre on June 2nd (close proximity to Sunday's events) and the fatal shooting of an attendee at a Young Jeezy concert at Sound Academy back in April.

I must admit I thought there would be more cops around Younge and Dundas on Sunday evening. Their presence was felt but they weren't getting ready for a riot or anything. When we arrived Tasha the Amazon came out on fire, high energy and whipping her long thin braids around. After two songs, she expressed her disappointment with the Law Enforcement of her own city's decision to facilitate the shut down of Wednesday's showcase. Tasha did so diplomatically. In stride brought out Rich Kidd and allowed him to do one of his tracks during her set! You could tell it was a personal scar for her as she is a voice of Toronto's scene. Then she got more ramped up and rode that energy through the rest of her powerful material.
Next up was Tre Mission, another Toronto rapper of international notoriety because of his association to the UK Grime style. His beats were strait future, and that particularly rapid style of spitting sounds so fitting over bass music. We left during Action Bronson out of spite for his skipping out of his show in Buffalo. Got that one back. Smartly we fueled up on ethnic food and returned for the thralling set of Killer Mike. His performance may have been my favorite of the entire week. Seemingly a large man such as Mike would have little control of his body or give the appearance of apathy, but absolutely every cell of his being was completely engaged in his performance. Talk about someone who is grateful for what they have. He loved the love! Mike also buffered the tension between the Police and crowd, but speaking the truth about people under pressure will rise up and "burn this motherfucker down."

When Mike walked off the stage that's when the Wu Tang fans began to get excited. Now I've experienced a couple Wu Tang reincarnations, and one thing that's always true is that the die-hards go apeshit when they play Wu classics. Personally I would've preferred to hear a couple more of Ghostface and Raekwon's  respective solo songs, but when they came out the plan appeared to be go back-to-back and mix in heavy hitting Wu Tang songs here and there. Since its two of nine members doing other guys' verses  the highlight had to be when they brought up two random people from the crowd to do Mehtod Man and ODB's parts in "Protect ya Neck." The guy playing Meth didn't fair to well, but ODB's stand-in did a hilariously good job! The mid-level Wu-Tang song "Triumph" which features Raekwon was probably my favorite on the night. And towards the end of the set they let the DJ play out Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" while they sang in unison with the fans. A fitting and friendly fuck-you to the haters associating all of Hip-Hop culture with gang violence.

Hailing from East Toronto, Tre Mission is the flag-bearer for Grime music in North America. He will be performing live on Sunday June 17th on the main stage at Young and Dundas Square as part of  the 2012 NXNE Conference. The youthful MC has gained real notoriety in the UK as one of the best spitters from across the pond. With beginnings in Hip-Hop, he became influenced by Grime music and Dubstep; adapting stylistically to rap over those types of sounds. Tre has pride in his music by producing good quality lyrics over good quality music, which is evidenced in his first release the Maxin Everything EP. The 'evil-eye' wearing Tre Mission deserves accolades for the fresh presence and versatility. Check out some of his tracks below and be sure to catch him performing live on the last day of NXNE at Young Dundas Square from 6:00-6:40 pm. and maybe you'll find out what NoSuch Thing means.

The Queen City Cartel has been having their monthly event "Friction" for over two years now.  This month they're teaming up with DeepThinka Records (DTR45) to host a special hip-hop event.

Tonight at Duke's Bohemian Grove Bar (253 Allen Street)
10pm-4am $5 cover at the door 21+

Headlining the night is Billy Drease Williams, a local hip-hop emcee and producer.  He began his career in a group called The Elements alongside Soulive members Alan and Neal Evans.  Eventually five tracks from his duo group Raw Intel were featured on the ESPN NFL 25K video game.  A man of many trades, he has also opened Gallery 51, an art gallery in Buffalo.

Other performances include DJ Cutler, Kinda Like Dreamin', DJ Sandpaper, and Natural Ingredients.

Check out the Facebook page for more information.