Hit The Spot!

 The return of Magma Taishi is getting closer and closer!  I'll be doing a little touring of Japan this month and the first stop is in Osaka for "Hit The Spot" Special All Nighter spinning 45's with DJ's Taizo and Tanico with a live show from The Fabulous Vibrations!

Those "Little Big Things"

It's not often that I get to spin in my hometown (that that seems to be changing slightly), but it's even more rare that I get to rock a 45 set for the people that enjoy those Funk & Soul tunes.  So if your one of those people that haven't been out to hear me spin in a minute then here's your chance because I'll be playing those "Little Big Things" at the legendary Tressle Inn Whiskey & 60's Go Go spot on June 8th with the homies Froz One, Case Bloom and Personify.  Strictly 45 on the night as always!

Kodoja Is Here!

We're 1 week away from the release of our newest project Kodoja: Terror Mountain Showdown which makes it's debut on June 1st at Wizard Word Comic Con in Philly and available world wide on the Record Breakin website.  This is a limited edition item with a run of only 300 copies and with the amount of pre-orders that we've already received  that number is now lower. 

A Hot & Sticki Summer

Someone say pool party?  Well that's exactly what we've got in store you this Summer, the Rover x Hot Peas & Butta "Hot & Sticki" Pool Party thrown in conjunction with the launch of Stoli's brand new flavored Vodka.  Every 2nd Monday of the Summer DJ's Lee Jones (Sundae), Royale (Rover) and myself will be spinning tunes while you soak, drink and socialize at the brand new North Shore Beach Club in Philly!

It's The Sure Shot

Seems to be alot of people complaining about the state of and lack of good music coming out these days but in my opinion I think those people just aren't looking in the right places to find it.  There are several independent labels releasing good tunes especially the Sure Shot! label ran by fellow Kung Fu film lover and beatsmith Paul Nice.  His new collaborative 12" with the one and only dig king, MC extraordinaire Soulman aka Phill Most Chill make up the duo known as The Fabreeze Brothers showed up at my doorstep today delivered by J. Jonah Jameson himself as he was on his way to the Daily Bugle.  The two cuts "Power Man & Iron Fist" and "Phyllis Diller" are just what the doctor ordered in these lackluster times of petty rappers and cliche overly used synth / Electronic Dance Music producers, The Fabreeze Brothers are hear to fight the power and bring justice back to the ear drums!

I have to give extra credit on this one to Hot Peas & Butta lead designer The Elroy Jenkins for really coming correct with the art and design on this one.

Check out this and other Sure Shot! product at http://sureshotrecords.bigcartel.com/

Kodoja: The Prequel

It's been a minute in the making but it's finally time to unveil a little more of what the Hot Peas & Butta x Big Pimp Jones project Kodoja: Terror Mountain Showdown 45, Album and Comic Book is all about.  With the official release being June 1st on Record Breakin Music and debuting at Wizard World Comic Con in Philadelphia we thought we should hit you with a prequel mix of exclusive non album tracks to get you geared up for what's in store.

Good Morning world! With the increasing threat and alarm of destruction to speakers and sound systems worldwide less than 2 weeks away with the invasion of the Big Pimp Jones' Sci-Fi epic, cinematic funk laiden masterpiece Kodoja: Terror Mountain Showdown we thought it necessary to present to you a sort of prequel to this madness. 

This pre-emptive strike comes in the form of a short mix of several exclusive tracks that don't appear on the soon to be released 7" or Album but were done for the sole purpose of reworking it's arrangement and given the Hot Peas & Butta cinematic feel to compliment what Big Pimp Jones delivers naturally, heavy drums, strings, organs and drama. Being as though we're deep rooted in not only Funk & Soul music but 70's Grindhouse Cinema as well, we took every measure necessary to keep this score funky but also true to it original concept of paying homage to 70's Japanese films such as Godzilla, Rodan, Gamera and others.

So sit back, relax and enjoy the show, this is Kodoja: The Prequel!

German Burger Quest

Seems like more often these days when I visit other countries they've all found it necessary to adopt the new trend of high end gourmet burger joints and actually getting it right.  This past week while visiting Germany for a couple Hot Peas & Butta dates my homie Scarce One took me to a spot that had opened up a year or so back called Fette Kuh (Fat Cow) and swore that it was official.  We'll I gotta say it damn sure is official!  Everything from the selection to the quality of beef, the bun and presentation down to it being a rather small spot sitting only about 30 people with seating for 8 outside made this feel like something I would see in Philly or New York on a bustling center street.

Checking off another destination from my list!

Stone By Stone

Had an ample amount of down time in between gigs last week in Germany so it was great to do a little sightseeing and explore the deep history that the country had to offer.  One of the most amazing sights was visiting Germany's most famous cathedral and being wow'd by the size and detail of this man made giant.

Diggin In The Bins

I've missed my last two Wednesday's of my usual comic shopping due to the travel schedule but was actually very excited when I stumbled upon a shop called Fantastic Store in Koln Germany this past week.  At the initial observation the shop looked small and well stocked but after walking inside I noticed that it actually connected to another area which doubled as an art gallery.  Was nice to see some original works from local artists as well as German pressings of various pre 80's comics.

This framed Ben Grimm pieces was actually made of textured stone to give it depth and feel!

Even more now looking forward to Wizard World Comic Con in Philly where Big Pimp Jones & Rory Smith will be displaying works from the upcoming Hot Peas and Butta x Record Breakin project.

10 Years of Flow

Seems like time really travels at the speed of light when you enjoying life so it's without surprise that 5 years have passed since I celebrated Flow Mo Crew's 5th anniversary in Helsinki and now repeating history in celebrating their 10 year anniversary next month.

Droppin Mad Yen

The older I get the younger I seem to feel so it's no wonder I've been heavy on my video game mission lately, and I'm talking PS3 or Xbox, I'm talking, Sega Genesis, Dreamcast, 80's Standups, and Japanese Fighters.  Maybe it's because I know I'm heading back to Japan next month for 3 weeks and my trip will heavily consist of playing 45's, diggin for gold and dropping Yen into the insane amount of arcades.  Every few days I resort back to this soon to be released documentary from Hot Peas & Butta fam Christopher Laporte that keeps me itching for this trip to happen and never end.

For The Record

Looking forward to rocking our new monthly party every last Thursday of the month in NYC.  "For The Record" is an all vinyl, all genres, no requests party that we've started and is a colabo between Hot Peas & Butta and Elite Camp DJ's.  From time to time we'll bring in a guest but for now we'll be enjoying all of the fun dropping vinyl goodness.

Every Last Thursday at Fat Buddha!

Patterns

Finally getting around to posting a few pics from last weeks trip to Porto Portugal for the Red Bull BC One event.  Shout's to everyone in Porto for showing me a great time, definitely looking forward to returning soon to do a little more sightseeing. 

One of the things that I really loved about Porto was the incredible usage of ceramic tiles used on the outside of houses, apartments and other buildings.  You can tell that most of this was done years ago and even though pieces may have fallen off it still has a character that I have yet to see anywhere else in my travels.

Kodoja: Terror Soon Cometh!

I'm excited to finally be able to announce all the details on the new Hot Peas & Butta x Record Breakin project that we're doing with funk band, Big Pimp Jones and visual artist Rory Smith.  Back in October of 2011 we collectively set out to introduce our brand to the comic book world in which we displayed some of the visuals at New York's Comic Con.  Today I bring to you first look at what became of that project which will be available June 1st in the form of a 7" record, CD and Comic Book called Kodoja: Terror Mountain Showdown!  The Kodoja project is equal in part Funk, heavy drum breaks, giant Japanesee monsters (ala Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan) and all around visually bad ass.

This project will appeal to multiple groups including those who love to hear funk and drum breaks, fans of Kaiju cinema , comic book fans and those who love to collect limited and unusal items.  This is a limited edition package of 300 items world wide and is sure to sell out.

Here are images from the Kodoja: Terror Mountain Showdown set (7" Labels / 7" Jacket / CD (Album) Jacket

Pre Order this package at Record Breakin. 

http://recordbreakin.com/rbm037.html

Since we've relaunched the Hot Peas & Butta site we've also started a new monthly mix series called "Behind The Red Door". Every month we will present to you an all 45 mix by resident HP&B DJ's as well as special guest DJ's. To kick the series off I've put together the first episode for your listening pleasure!

Be sure to check out the new site as well for all of your Funk, Soul, Kung Fu, Blaxploitation and cultural goodness. http://hotpeasandbutta.com/

Enjoy

Back To The Con

Looks like Hot Peas & Butta Artist collective's Rory Smith and Big Pimp Jones are set to open up shop once more this time in Philly at the Wizard World Comic Con. Rory has drawn an exclusive print available for sale at the show which you won't want to miss. In addition to this print they will also be debuting issue #1 (of the 5 part series) comic which is drawn by Mr. Smith and written by Big Pimp Jones' Keith Foster!

Behind The Breaks "Fela"

Recently had the opportunity to judge the Behind The Breaks "Fela Edition" producers battle here in Philly. An amazing night of producers reworking samples from Fela's legendary catalog and really bringing the heat. You can always tell which producers are using hardware (ie SP1200, MPC etc) versus those that use computer based methods, there's definitely a BIG different in sound and bang factor. In the end the homie Kush Shalimar pulled out the victory on the night.