"I'd Fund THAT for a Dollar!!!"

Yeah, kid... these cats want to build a statue of Murphy, better known as Robocop in Old Detroit (otherwise known as just Detroit), and personally (believe it or not), I'm all for it!

In case your mom didn't raise you right and you don't know what I'm talking about, Robocop is an ultra-violent sci-fi action movie set in a near- future dystopic & crime ridden Detroit. Of course, we in the DFW area take pride in the fact that when director Paul Verhoeven (Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Starship Troopers) needed to create his vision of a near- future dystopic & crime ridden Detroit, he came to Dallas to shoot, but that's beside the point... The point is Robocop tells the story of a good cop cut down in his prime and resurrected as a half- man, half- amazing one man war on crime, and spawned a trilogy of films, a pile of comics, a bunch of videogames, a 2013 relaunch in development, and now hopefully a weatherized 7 foot tall iron statue.

This dude MT set it off on Twitter by making the eloquent argument for a Robocop statue, and Detroit native John Leonard started a Facebook group called Build a statue of RoboCop in Detroit and galvanized the effort to bring Robo to life. The Imagination Station in Detroit is offering a piece of its property on Roosevelt Park facing Michigan Central Station as Robocop's new home, but the crew is still weighing its options.
You can help fund the project for as little as (you guessed it) one dollar!

Now, I'm normally pretty robophobic, but I'm actually down with Robocop, because his story is more a cautionary tale against rampant technology than a fable in support of it. The movie paints corporate greed and privatization of government (in the form of super-company Omni Consumer Products) as the motive for replacing cops with machines, culminating in the creation of the fully robotic and gun- clapping killing machine, ED209. 

After taking a butt-whooping from ED and OCP's pet drug kingpin, Robocop rediscovers his humanity and inspires the police who had been on strike to return to their jobs and help restore sanity to the streets. Of course, he kills the drug kingpin, blows up the soulless robot, and ventilates the evil corporate exec for good measure.
I can definitely approve this message...  
Anyways, for more information, or to make a pledge, click here!

holla!

-samax.

ghettoManga.com

comics. hiphop. news. art. culture

"Brown Study" is Stores NOW!

If you've been hanging around here very long, you know I loves me some Boog Brown. So you might also figure out on your own that I'm happy to report that Brown Study, her collabo plate w/Apollo Brown (no relation) is in stores now, waiting to separate you from your hard-earned scrilla.


If you- like me- pick the rappers you follow by their ability to hold the mic, regardless of gender, then you need to get next to Boog Brown and the motley clique of midwestern ne'er-do-wells she rolls with on these tracks.

Apollo shows he knows how to evoke a range of emotions on this record, and Boog introspective lyrics and knowing vocal delivery makes the most of it, taking advantage of the opportunity to drop some well-composed wisdom on listeners.

Far from dropping a bunch of that idiotic handbag rap that today's girl rappers are famous for, Boog effectively walks the line between personal and relatable, between explicit and ambiguous, adding tons of weight to Apollo's moody tracks. I won't try to tie Boog and Apollo together permanently, but everyone knows I like the consistency of longstanding emcee-beatsmith duos (Gang Starr, Mars ILL, Soul Position), and Brown Study has the ring of those classic pairings. Hope to see these two collab more (and more) in the future. As for right now, get to your online music provider of choice (iTunes, UGHH.com, Amazon, etc), or drop in on your local record store and demand this one!

holla!

-samax.

ghettoManga.com

comics. hiphop. news. art. culture

Eminem's on 60 minutes this Weekend!

Anderson Cooper has mad middle-aged chicks swooning... I'm sure he will add a few yamps* to his Twitter following after watching him chop it up with Marshall Mathers on 60 Minutes this Sunday...


I used to be a HUGE Eminem fan, but I'm finding it hard to trust him anymore after listening to Encore... and I haven't heard anything from his new record that makes me feel like the hardcore lyricist from his early days has returned full-time. There's reason for even hardened Anti-matherists to be encouraged though, since he seems to be serious about rapping in this clip. But maybe he's just showing out for Anderson...
 *Shrug*

HOW CAN I EVER TRUST YOU AGAIN, MARSHALL?!?!?!  WHEN I TRY, THE TRACK JUST LOSE IT POPS INTO MY MIND. I CAN'T LET YOU HURT ME ANYMORE!!! DAMN YOU, MARSHALL!!! DAAMN YOOOOOUUU...
(runs outta the room, slamming the door)

-samax.

ghettoManga.com

comics. hiphop. news. art. culture

DOWNLOAD THIS----> "Constructicons" mixtape by The Lyricists!

One of my favorite crews returns with the Constructicons mixtape.

It was love at first listen for me when I discovered the dynamic Detriot duo of Ill-tone and Rym- (B)enda on mySpace back in 2007... I've been collecting mp3s from these dudes ever since, and they are mustard, fammo! The Lyricists make hip hop the way I fell in love with it back in the day. These cats write rhymes and spit fire, bringing the combination of cleverness on the mic and battle-sharpened fearlessness that today's 'buzz'-addicted rap fans just don't seem to require anymore.

Even though these dudes could probably make dope records spitting over metronome ticks, they scoured the globe for beats that compliment their rhymes, gathering producers from Germany, France and Sweden to enhance the sonic experience on this mixtape. Constructicons also features several tracks with other emcees rhyming 'longside the Lyricists and living up to the group's moniker, including a couple dope tracks with Mike Melton (track 10 Flowgasm and track 15 Man on Fire), who rhymes like a freaking monster. I can't say enough about Constructicons. In the free mixtape era, a lotta crews drop them and don't give you your money's worth... I hope Constructicons will put the Lyricists on a lot more people's proverbial rap radar, so I'm happy to help get the word out! So do yourself a favor and click here to snag Constructicons off the Lyricists' bandcamp page before they come to their senses and start making people PAY for it!

holla!

samax.

ghettoManga.com
comics. hiphop. news. art. culture

Black Milk + Elzhi + Royce = HELLYES

As my dude 8thLight pointed out on his blog, Black Milk pulled out the BIG guns for Deadly Medley, the first video off his upcoming long-player Album of the Year.


As you (should) know, I was already psyched about Black Milk's new record before hearing this song, and this only raised the bar...Elzhi can do no wrong in my eyes, and Royce is a solid addition to any track. The next person to say anything about hip hop being dead in my presence is getting slapped in the face. If they take me to court, I will plead "Black Milk"...
no jury would convict me...

holla!

samax.

ghettoManga.com

comics. hiphop. news. art. culture

Motor City Black Age of Comics Joins African World Festival

If you were planning on attending the Motor City Black Age of Comics Convention in Detroit, you should know that they are linking up with the African World Festival of Detroit. August 20-22, 2010 and will continue to be a part of the festival in the future. Here's an excerpt from a letter I received about the change today from Andre L Batts of Motor City Black Age:

"This venue will provide many opportunities for all the artists and writers involved. The African World Festival is Detroit's premier festival of the summer, bringing in at least 350,000 people for the weekend. This is an opportunity to shine and reach 10's of 1000's with our rendition of art which is overlooked quite often by many. 

Those that might be interested in participating as an Artist,Creator or Writer should contact Andre L. Batts of Motor City Black Age for more information. 

Let your girl get Kanye's new one... YOU need THIS!

Here's Welcome, to get you ready for Black Milk's new album...

Because the kid from Detroit loves a challenge, he's dropping his new joint Album of the Year on the same day as Kanye's Good Ass Job (September 14th).  Until 'Ye gets over his autotune infatuation, I'll go with Milk for my beats-and-rhymes-in-one combination...

until then peep this track, and click here to get more Milk in your diet.

holla!

samax.

ghettoManga.com
comics. hiphop. news. art. culture