Just in time for New Year’s resolutions, Elephant Man releases Part 2 of his Dancehall Gym workout series. I’ve been waiting for this, I’ve got all of Part 1 down pat, minus whipping myself with my own bling. E-man can keep that move! Check out Part 2, now with more sexy ladies! If this doesn’t get your heart racing, you’re not doing it right! ([More →])

Loads of peeps are loving The World According To Pretty Toney by Ghostface Killah! I know I couldn’t get enuff of it at first, I listened to that audio over and over again. Well, hopefully y’all will get a copy for Xmas, but if you’re like most peeps I know, you’ll have to wait until Xmas day and see if there is a gift certificate or some cash under the tree to go out and cop that book. To help make the wait a little easier, I hunted around for some more audio. I wasn’t able to find anything as good as what I posted earlier (sorry!) but I did find some treats. ([More →])

To celebrate the release of his new single, “Bonafide Girl,” Shaggy is having a party in Second Life. That’s right, Mr. Lover Man is going virtual so he can hang out directly with his fans! It takes place in a secret location in SL early in ‘08. Giant video screens will be set up and playing videos from Intoxication until Shaggy arrives.
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T2 hit the bigtime with Jodie Aysha and “Heartbroken.” These days, the lucky lad is working with the lovely Addictive ladies. The vocal duo were in the BBC studios recently along with T2 in sesh with Cameo. Here’s video of the BBC 1xtra sesh: ([More →])

What did Mavado once say about tryin to steal from him? Oh yeah, it’s the chorus to “Dreaming” and he repeats it twice every chorus:

I was dreaming that I’m floating on a thousand dolla bill
And if you touch my paper
And crush my dream up
Then you gonna get kill

So, Wud Was Dis Guy Thinkin? ([More →])

Have I ever mentioned how f*kkin rad I think Mr. T is? How could anyone question him? You’re just beggin to be a Foo!

YOU TELL EM, T!

Aaaaaahhhhh, nothing like a long weekend to reboot the ol’ relax-o-meter… I’m not big on celebrating the supper that kicked off 500 years of occupation and genocide, a.k.a. Thanksgiving holiday in amerika. However, I do celebrate extra long weekends any chance I get! Turkey Thursday was my first real day off since Mutant Fest in June, so I had some hardcore chillin to catch up on… I started with a few comic books, a Metalocalypse marathon, spinning records for hours and watching old music videos. Escaping into alternate realities eventually led to deeper explorations of my own world - messing with my live gear, pondering life/work/existence/snow conditions, making mixtapes, etc.
Ahhh, this is the amerikan dream in action right here - the 4 day weekend!

This is the reason why not much changed on HearingTest over the weekend. It also explains why I am about to post a few blast-from-the-past type rewinds in addition to the usual forwarding of fresh news content. Now get ready for something old, something new, something remixed and Mr. T’s modded warrior class is blue! Stay tuned for some delightful sounds to Test Yr Hearing on!

How was yr weekend? Did you celebrate Buy Nothing Day in style? Any crazy turducken stories? Gather round the comment campfire if you have a story to tell!

A love song to Julie’s babylons by fave youth correspondent (Ali G) and Mr. Lover Man (Shaggy)…

Ali G is insanely clever. (Don’t be fooled by the low-brow character he portrays in this video). He possesses the ideal combination of charisma, satire, intelligence, wit, insight and pure niceness that’s necessary to get away with the ridiculous situations he sets up. I can never get enuff, so I’m dropping this video into the archive for endless enjoyment.

BOOYAKASHA! Respek!

I guess I missed it when Kanye West was on 60 Minutes. I don’t watch much regular tv, so I’m not surprised. I was happy to find this video of Kanye showing some reporter how to make a dope-ass beat on the Akai MPC drum sampler. He even had to define “dope-ass beat” for the reporter! ([More →])

This audio that is included with Ghostface’s new book, “The World According To Pretty Toney” totally made my day! No matter how gloomy you might be feeling, hit play and see if Ghostface can turn that frown upside down!

Not only is Ghostface a riot, but the little tone to let you know it’s time to turn the page is so classic! It’s almost like being 7 again and somehow Ghostface is the substitute teacher for the day….

The book markets itself. I want one for Xmas, there’s no doubt about it.

You can buy yours right now on Amazon.com - just click the cover:

Alicia Keys stole the show at the American Music Awards on Sunday night by turning it into a dancehall party! She invited reggae legends Junior Reid, Beenie Man, Chaka Demus & Pliers on stage for a medley of BIG TUNES! Keys kicked off with her new hit, “No One,” but then switched gears into a dancehall medley with Junior Reid singing his smash hit “One Blood,” Chaka Demus and Pliers adding their biggest number, “Murder She Wrote” and Beenie Man came out with his “Who Am I?” Most viewers probably had no idea what hit them (but enuff in the live audience did - the crowd roared when airhorns introduced Junior Reid to the stage), but this 5 minute performance shows a deep love and respect for Jamaican music and a few of its biggest players! ([More →])

Kotori Mag made a video with RZA of Wu-Tang Clan discussing the making of “The Heart Gently Weeps.” The song features Dhani Harrison, John Frusciante, and Erykah Badu. RZA also mentions that the guitar that Dhani plays is a mint condition Gretsch from 1961 which was given to RZA as a gift from Russell Crowe after he finished filming “American Gangster” the movie that inspired a new Jay-Z album. You can also get the first legal download of the song from LOUD.com ([More →])

This week there have been a number of good interviews and articles posted online from stellar writers immersed in the UK music scene. Rather than rehash what’s already been said, I’ve decided to resurrect the Rewind! (Rewind! is simply a roundup of links to what’s good, what’s new, wha gwaan on the web, and it used to be a regular feature here on HearingTest.) This particular Rewind! features links to some great articles written by a few music journalists that I enjoy reading: there’s a T2 interview, a Durrty Goodz interview, Grimewatch, proof that Grime’s Not Dead, plus video of Skepta in the BBC radio studios with Mary Anne Hobbs, Wiley clashing Ghetto, and a dubstep documentary! ([More →])

I’m startin to think that a few high-profile rappers tallied up bar tabs they can’t handle! All of a sudden, everybody is affiliating their star-style with a liquor brand. Well, everyone except 50 Cent who is a renowned health nut, hence the Vitamin Water deal. (Rumour has it 50 was buying cases of the elixirs before getting involved). Now, Sean “Diddy” Combs has signed on to a multi-year deal to develop the Ciroc vodka brand. This news follows recent news that Vybz Kartel will be the face of a new rum (called Vybz Rum and distributed by Pimp Juice) and Pharrell’s addition to the Hennessy whiskey team for the Flaunt Your Taste campaign. I guess high-grade liquor is the new Land Rover in the hip hop scene…. (So why is Jay-Z on Budweiser’s wagon?) ([More →])

This video is hilarious! It’s obvious that the Vice chick is clueless about dancehall or Jamaican culture. In fact, she sounds like she just moved to the city last week! But, if it weren’t for her, we might not have gotten Ele’s explanation about why he wears so much bling. Scope the video of Elephant Man in the Bad Boy studio, recording his album Let’s Get Physical and chatting with Vice TV… ([More →])