Eighteen year old Archy Marshall aka Zoo Kid aka King Krule has been going by yet another moniker. Since January of 2013, the U.K. native has been releasing hip-hop oriented music under the name Edgar the Beatmaker. Marshall has uploaded a small collection of tracks to a Bandcamp page.

Back in 2011, Marshall described himself more as an MC than a vocalist and proclaimed love for East Coast hip-hop acts like D.I.T.C. and Gang Starr. In addition, the Beatmaker has a SoundCloud page which includes more beat-driven and rapping under the name DJ JD Sports.

Stay tuned for the next alias of the king of cool kids, Archy Marshall.

Check out FEOTUS by Edgar the Beatmaker here

On Oct. 23, Cat’s Cradle was the place to be for Triangle hip-hop fans. 9th Wonder and Phonte were performing in addition to The Away Team, Rapsody, HaLo, and Median. The night even featured a surprise performance by King Mez. Not performing, but seen, were Actual Proof and Nicolay, producer from The Foreign Exchange. It was an obvious N.C. family affair.

The first half of the night was DJ’ed by Justus League’s DJ Flash, who scratched over performances by HaLo, Median, and The Away Team. All performed some of their newest material. Sean Boog impressed the crowd with his dexterity and entertained them with his antics.

Rapsody was on stage next, and DJ Flash was replaced with 9th Wonder. Rapsody inundated the crowd with her motto, “culture over everything,” and thanked the crowd for supporting her newest album, Thank H.E.R. Now. Rapsody had a solid performance, rapping to both her composed tracks and off the dome on beats created by 9th Wonder. Jamla R&B singer Heather Victoria came out and helped with the performance.

Following her, and introduced with accompanying Star Wars music, was Phonte. He performed some of the tracks off of 9th Wonder’s The Wonder Years album; “Band Practice Pt. 2” was performed by both him and Median. This was later followed by “The Life of Kings,” with King Mez, toward the end of the show. “The Life Of Kings” was one of the few new tracks from Charity Starts At Home that he performed.

9th Wonder and Phonte are getting older, but have shown they can still put on a hell of a show. It’s nice to see that their music has matured along with them. During the show, Phonte took a moment to talk about their dramatic feud and mentioned how special it was that they were now performing together. Both have new albums out that are worth a listen.

Phonte twitpic'ing the event while on stage

A few hours before Kooley High performs at the Pour House for their farewell Raleigh show, Foolery and Charlie Smarts wanted to come in and chat about their hip-hop legacy in North Carolina as well as their expectations for their futures in New York. The band plans to continue to make new music up north, but not before they have a great send-off tonight which will include classic Kooley High tracks mixed in with some new surprises.

Kooley High's Charlie Smarts and Foolery with Special K and the Sajhammer

Listen to part of the interview here:

Part 1: Introductions

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Part 2: A Changing Environment

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Raekwon at Cat's Cradle

During a year in which hip-hop seems to be coming back into the hands of actual emcees and leaving the hands of industry-supported artists, an album was dropped on September 8, 2009. An album that many, after 14 years, thought would never see the light of day. That album was the highly anticipated sequel to Raekwon the Chef’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, the album said to introduce the mafioso aspect to hip-hop back in 1995. Definitely being one of the hip-hop albums released this year, and in a very long time, it was only fitting that the Chef go on tour to promote his album. After a month or so in Europe, he finally hit the States and landed in the middle of North Carolina on December 6, 2009 at Carrboro’s Cat’s Cradle, when Raekwon, with the help of two special guests, put on a show just as equally dope as the album.

Of course, before getting to the main show, it must be brought to the attention that not all things started off with a bang at Cat’s Cradle. One of the opening acts, recently signed by Raekwon’s Ice H2O Records, came on stage for their performance. Having been to quite a few shows at Cat’s Cradle now, this was by far the worst performance I had ever seen. The name of this group is easily forgotten, as was their performance. Five guys bouncing on stage, bringing rhymes that you would hear from Gucci Man or Lil Wayne — and they were straight from North Carolina. Definitely not a great way to start the night. But thankfully, Raekwon’s arrival on stage pushed away all the horrible memories of that performance.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to see the God MC on stage, kicking a hole in the speaker, pullin’ the plug and then jetting. And I thought that was the greatest show I had been to. And while Rakim will always be the greatest rapper in my opinion, Raekwon destroyed the live show. The hunger was there — the drive, the passion. It was like watching a ghost from the past. And it reminded you why the members of the Wu-Tang clan still have the one of the biggest followings of any rap group in the world.

Without even saying a word,  the presence of Raekwon on stage was enough to send the crowd in a frenzy. The Chef had arrived and the symbol of the Wu-Tang Clan had immediately gone up, with choruses of “Wu-Tang!” echoing through the venue. And then the saga continued. From the legendary joint, “C.R.E.A.M.” to “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’”, Rae kicked it off properly with joints from the classic Wu debut, 36 Chambers. And then, getting the crowd pumped up and talking about bringing real hip-hop back to the scene, Rae went straight into Cuban Linx I, grooving on stage to the song sampled in “Ice Cream” before launching into the actual song, accurately taking on verses by both himself & Wu-Tang brother, Ghostface Killah. Then it was on to the next one, ripping apart the song, “Criminology” and takin’ us back to “the good ol’ days”. But the Chef, already down with a cold and slowly losing his voice, decided to take a brief intermission and introduced to special, special guests on to the stage…

CNN. Capone-N-Noreaga. Bringing us a special “War Report”, and serving us up with classic tracks, including the amazingly dope cut, produced by DJ Premier, “Invincible.” For about 10 to 20 minutes,  CNN tore up the stage, leaving none in their path. And you could tell they were going hard. Capone came back on stage for a brief minute to talk about iPhone apps, of all things, and could barely speak above a whisper because he lost his voice from the performance. And for all of you looking for the next CNN album, keep on the lookout for The War Report 2, due out on Ice H2O records sometime in early 2010.

Of course, after the brief intermission, the Chef came back up to the front and got right back in the swing of things, giving praise, respect and love to his brother, Ason Jones, also known as Ol’ Dirty Bastard and then destroying track after track after that was on the Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II, from “House of Flying Daggers” to “10 Bricks” and “Black Mozart”, Chef ended the saga with a bang, effectively closing up the sequel and conclusion to the original Cuban Linx album.

by DJ Wise

I’ll admit I don’t really know much about the Internet, other than it’s a great place to find videos of walruses playing saxophone. So, I really didn’t really know too much about WKNC blog until very recently. I guess I was just so enthralled watching those walruses. But, when a series of skateboarding injuries plagued me over the past few weeks, I decided that now would be the time to start contributing to this thing.

As I just alluded, I skateboard. I skate just about every day and it is truly my first love in life, as sappy as that sounds. I even got my DJ name because my girlfriend suggested using some trick terminology for my on air moniker – “DJ Inward Heelflip” never quite caught on. But, getting back to skating, I figured my first post could be a playlist to skate to. You see, I usually listen to music while I skate, and in the eight or so years I’ve been riding, I’ve amassed quite a collection of tunes that complement some shred sledding.

You’re going to see a lot of different types of music in these mixes. When people think skateboarding, they generally think punk rock, and that’s true to a certain extent. Punk rock has definitely played a role in skateboarding’s history and it will continue to do so in the years to come. But other forms of music, such as heavy metal, hip-hop, and alternative rock, are just as much a part of skateboarding culture. Who could think of anything better to blast than gangsta rap while sliding some ledges? What complements hitting huge handrails quite like Slayer? Variety is the spice of skate life, and so are these mixes.

So without further ado, here’s Switch’s first skate mix. I’ll try to put one of these up every few months or so (along with a photo of yours truly), in addition to blogs about grunge, punk, and whatever else. I know it’s not walruses playing saxophone, but hopefully this mix will put some gnar back in your bloodstream.

1.) Valient Thorr- “I Hope the Ghosts of the Dead Haunt Your Soul Forever”- What a way to kick off a playlist! These guys are Triangle locals, even though they claim to hail from the planet Venus. With how hard they play, I believe they really do come another planet, because few Earthlings can step to Thorr’s brand of full speed ahead rock n’ roll. They got their start playing skateparks in rural North Carolina and one of their songs made it into the soundtrack of the world famous Skate videogame. You can’t get much more cred than that.

2.) Zebrahead- “Check”- This one I remember hearing on a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game when I was younger. Ever since then, I’ve associated it with getting gnar- either in the real world or the pretend one. “Check” also shows how that 90’s rock/rap thing could have worked out pretty well, given the right circumstances.

3.) GOB- “Can I Resist”- I first heard GOB when I was watching this skateboarding show on T.V. when I was like twelve. Ever since then, I’ve been stoked on these Canadians. Yes, I like pop punk. I don’t care what you think about it.

4.) Pearl Jam- “God’s Dice”- Vedder and company hit the jackpot with this post-90’s return to hard rocking. Hey, I couldn’t help but throw in some grunge love in here.

5.) Beastie Boys- “Triple Trouble”- Quick straight rhymes and some British accents over a beat sampled from the Sugarhill Gang’s legendary “Rapper’s Delight”? Only New York’s favorite sons could pull that off. Perfect for some skateboard break-dancing, B-boy.

6.) Aerosmith- “Back in the Saddle”- This was probably the first band I ever listened to while skating. Back in those days, I would strap a CD player around my hand when I went out in the streets. Needless to say I broke about five of those things. Thankfully we have iPods now, so I can get my classic rock outlaw vibe from Aerosmith worry free.

7.) Flogging Molly- “The Kilburn High Road”- I don’t condone skating while under the influence, but if you’re going to do it, this is you song, laddie.

8.) The Pixies- “Alec Eiffel”- Trippy, but with all the melodic power that made this group the godfathers of modern rock music.

9.) Queens of the Stone Age- “Go With the Flow”- Alternative rock, whatever that means anymore, with lots of muscle behind it. I recommend you take the title literally.

10.) Bad Brains- “Don’t Bother Me”- A classic hardcore punk anthem. Seriously raw skating needs seriously raw music, and Bad Brains never fails to deliver the latter.

11.) Children of Bodom- “Triple Corpse Hammerblow”- I’m not a huge metal head, but when I heard one of my favorite skaters, Chris Cole, going on and on about this band in interviews I had to check them out. I have to say, I’m pretty impressed. Put this song on before laying waste to some big stair sets and handrails, Viking style.

12.) Bad Religion- “Requiem for Dissent”- This track from the Los Angeles old guard is another solid tune meant for fast skating. Activism never sounded better.

13.) The Ramones- “I Wanted Everything”- A skateboarder’s staple band since the 70′s. Somewhat heavier than the typical hits you hear by the Ramones, but this one’s still just as catchy.

14.) Anti Flag- “Got the Numbers”- Probably one of the most positive players in punk rock music today. Great music loaded with the proactive messages we seem to be lacking these days. And with skateboarders well outnumbering all the branches of the United States military combined, we’ve got the numbers as well.

15.) The Heartaches- “Rock n Roll UFO”- There’s just no better song with which to end this list. Clocking in at only two minutes, this is complete skate-inspired rock n’ roll chaos. If dropping in to the deep end of a backyard pool has a sound, it’s “Rock n’ Roll UFO.”

Hope you enjoyed the first of Switch’s skate mix. Now stop blogging and start shredding!

The long-time music critic for The News & Observer, David Menconi, has released the 2009 version of the “The Great 8“.  The Great 8 is an annual list of local music talent that shines above the rest.  This year’s list is wonderfully diverse, with acts from the classic indie format to the old-school 90s punk scene to screamo to hip-hop, and he even threw in a video game music guru (because everyone needs kick ass music to listen to when taking down Bowser).  Not to toot the “WKNC is better than your mother” horn or anything, but 2 of the 8 artists featured this year where apart of 88.1′s Double Barrel Benefit 6 line-up from this past weekend!  If you missed DBB6, you still have a chance to catch some of these bands at a special “Great 8 Showcase” concert at the Local 506 on February 13th, 2009 including 4 of the 8 bands featured (HNMTF, Lonnie Walker, Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, and Double Negative). Here is the full list:

Jason Graves, Raleigh

There are people who do absolutely no work and get all the credit.  Jason Graves does not fall into that category, in fact, he is quite the opposite.  As a video game track composer, Graves says that it does not phase him that his work is simply the background sounds to a usually much more complicated and interesting video game (unless we are playing PaRappa The Rapper, arguably the worst video game of all time).  Graves says that his contributions add to the overall entertainment value of the product, and that can evoke a lot of pride.  Graves also says he tries to tell a story in the lyric-less music he creates and I must say, some of his stuff evokes very strong emotions for being merely background music.  My personal favorites are his Star Trek compositions…THEY ARE EPIC!

Lonnie Walker, Greenville/Raleigh

Being a Double Barrel Benefit 6 performer, naturally, Lonnie Walker kicks ass.  This down-home feeling rock/Americana band signed to Raleigh based Terpsikhore Records has been compared to artists from Bob Dylan to Modest Mouse.

Double Negative, Raleigh

This old-school, hard-hitting, punk rock compilation sounds like, in terms our friend Jason Graves would understand, a band pulled directly off the soundtrack of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.  Yes, I mean the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater from the Playstation/Nintendo 64 era.  If that description is not your bag of chips, maybe you will just have to listen.

Violet Vector And The Lovely Lovelies, Chapel Hill

The second of the Double Barrel Benefit 6 bands on the list.  Pop on steroids with a whipped cream and cherry topping (after bathing in a rainbow shower).  That is my best description of Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies.  You can tell that these guys & gals truly enjoy what they do, and it shows in their music.

Alesana, Raleigh

If you could get as far from the type of music we just explored with Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, Alesana would be right there smiling (well, maybe smiling isn’t quite the appropriate word).  This rift crunching, double-bass pedal pounding, mosh-it-out-over-breakfast screamo band is sure to have you with your hand in the air, fist clinched, and head banging all night.

The Loners, Raleigh

The Loners have a unique history in the Raleigh music scene.  They can be considered the diamond in the rough (the rough being the closing of King’s Barcade in downtown Raleigh in the spring of 2007).  After reuniting to play the last show at King’s, the band decided to stay together because of the outpouring of support they receive from the show.  Fast forward almost two years and The Loners are getting set to release their first album since 2002, entitled “Revolution!” (hmm maybe a reference to THE Revolution, 88.1fm…okay probably not, but I can dream).

Inflowential, Raleigh

The beat boxes are crazy, and the live show is amazing!  If you have not seen/heard of this group and you have been in Raleigh for more that a year, then you need to catch up.  Inflowential (not to be mistaken for Kooley High, another hip-hop group that has crossover members) can be seen at  local venues or maybe you remember seeing them place in the top three nationally in mtvU’s Best Music on Campus (a competiton with rising new music artists) last year.

Hammer No More The Fingers, Chapel Hill

Classic indie rock at its best from the town that cranks out indie-alternative like it is a day job.  Its very interesting to see how three driven musicians that grew up in Chapel Hill in the 90′s turn out musically given the crazy musical scene in the town during the past decade or two (I am trying not to dwell to much on a place that is home to the ever so horrible Tar Holes, but it is hard in this case).

“One Day, introducing Kooley High,” is a 38min documentary that chronicles a day in the life of Triangle-based rap group Kooley High and their desire to be heard. The documentary is filmed throughout Raleigh-Durham, N.C and was filmed, edited and directed by Napoleon Wright II, founder of Becauseus.org ,in association with M.E.C.C.A Records.

The Rise of Underground

As a self proclaimed music head with my ear to street, the emergence of “Underground Hip Hop” sites are both good and bad. They are pushing to the forefront the unheard artists free of charge and giving pretty good insight on what’s hot and what’s not. Even Myspace is a good start for an upcoming artist. A quick visit to these sites and you’ve got a light dose of the rap or underground or hip hop scene. The bad things are obvious; too many uneducated hands in the cookie jar. “Ol’ heads” used to dictate the game, with their wisdom and experience. Now almost anyone can talk like they know their music with these sites without fully understanding where it came from or why it’s written like that. It also does the worst thing possible, commercializes underground rap. It can make people greedy until they aren’t spittin’ about real issues anymore, they are talking about whatever will sell. Now us as the listeners must dictate the market; should we accept pointless music and use the internet like everyone else or push against the norm by recognizing lyricists and not falling for the hype?

Here’s a few examples of the websites;
Mzhiphop
PJButta
All Hip Hop
Mixtape Monster
Mixunit

-Buck Nasty