DJ AM x Travis Barker x The Knux

Whoa buddy... I wish I was in LA tonight for this one. Should be very special... yes, I'm biased. Who cares it's gonna be incredible!

The Alchemist Feat. Prodigy- "Key to the City"

Here is the video for The Alchemist's "Key to the City". Check out Prodigy's son kicking the currently incarcerated HNIC's verse. Al produced, directed and edited the whole thing himself. Talented guy, that Alchemist!

Chemical Warfare Snipes

If you have been around LA lately, you may have seen these posters up on the streets. They are the Banksy inspired snipes to promote The Alchemist's album Chemical Warfare which is due out this fall on Koch. New York will be hit next!

The Knux- Bang! Bang!

Below, check out the new single from The Knux "Bang! Bang!". Their album, Remind Me In 3 Days..., is out on 10/14 on Interscope. Buy this single on Itunes on 8/5.

Crown Jewels

The private auction house Phlllips de Pury & Company is holding an auction this fall to coincide with this year's VH-1 Hip-Hop Honors show. This will be an awesome, first-of-it's-kind auction of jewelry owned and worn by hip-hop artists. Imagine owning one of DMC's gold ropes, Big Daddy Kane's Nefertiti medallion, or one of Slick Rick's awesome rings. Better yet, how about Ghostface's falcon gauntlet? Wow... I'm not gonna miss this one.
Part of the proceeds will be set aside to fund the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American History Hip-Hop initiative. That sounds like a very official and proper treatment for such an original American art form. Go out and cop some dookey ropes, in the name of hip-hop (literally).

Mash Out Puppets

This is fantastic.

The Hip-Hop Shop

Eminem footage from Detroit's legendary Hip-Hop Shop. This freestyle was against D12's Kuniva. Check out Proof in the background with his trademarked dreads. Can it be that it was all so simple then?

Classic WWF

This is totally random but I was thinking about old WWF stuff the other day and I looked up some old clips. This one from Piper's Pit is a classic featuring 80's star Cyndi Lauper and the legendary Captain Lou Albano. Watch Lou catch a bad one from Ms. Lauper in this classic footage. There is a clue to the future in this as well..

Whole Foods Tribeca

In New York City's Tribeca neighborhood, we were in dire need of a decent grocery store. Before last week, all we really had was a terrible Food Emporium, which was small & dirty with a horrible selection and high prices. But on July 9th the long awaited and hyped Whole Foods opened up! This is second largest Whole Foods in NYC at 70,000 square feet.

It has an incredible selection of groceries and a huge prepared foods section complete with a sushi bar, pizza station, shwarma bar, and several buffet style stations. One of the stations has salad items, there is a desert bar, Indian food, Italian food and even a chicken wing section.
But as you can see, one of the most remarkable features of this store is it's beer selection. There is a 20 foot+ long refrigerated case of just magnums of chimay and ale beer from all over the world. There is a huge dairy style case of just 6-packs. and an unrefrigerated section of various large bottles of all types of stuff.

I know that the Bowery Whole Foods on the lower east side has a whole beer store with a separate entrance. But this new Tribeca outpost is walking distance from the Rosenblog Residence. Just what I needed, another excuse to drink more beer! It's like a beer candy store... the selection is staggering. Way to go, organic guys.

The Dark Knight

I am a lucky guy sometimes. Doing what I do for a living allows me to get some pretty awesome hook-ups once in a while. Like tonight, I got to see a screening of The Dark Knight at the Imax theater in NYC.
Let's just start by saying that I'm a HUGE (literally and figuratively) Batman fan. I read and collected the comic when I was a kid and stood in line for hours to see the Michael Keaton Batman film back in '89. Loved it. The Val Kilmer nippled version not so much. George Clooney... so-so.
Batman Begins was my favorite super hero movie from the world of comics ever. Chris Nolan absolutely killed it and turned this franchise based on the Dark Knight Returns Frank Miller Batman series style into a real film, not just a superhero movie. So, my anticipation for the next Christian Bale film was at a "super" high level (so to speak).
I hate spoilers, so I'm not gonna be that guy. But this film was nothing short of spectacular. Heath Ledger's Joker was legendary. The Imax filming was literally stunning. This is an instant classic... I'm going back next week.

Summer Bangers Hour 3

Well folks, here it is. Hour 3 of the Summer Bangers, leading up to the Top 5! As promised, here they are....

5. Notorious B.I.G. "Big Poppa"
4. Naughty By Nature "Hip-Hop Hooray"
3. Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg "Nuthin' But a G-Thang"
2. Public Enemy "FIght the Power"
1. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince "Summertime"


The above pic was take from my rooftop during the "company BBQ." We got lucky and had a beautiful day.

Blackberry Thunder Keyboard

If you are like most blackberry users, the main thing that freaks you out about an Iphone is the lack of traditional button based keyboard. There is something to be said for the tactile feedback of pressing buttons. Hell, it's the way we are taught to type without looking. So at first when the Blackberry Thunder stuff leaked (see below) I was concerned that there wasn't a keyboard. Well, this little update is a real confidence booster. Check out the reasons (clicks, a button feel, electric impulse) that this might actually work! Sounds a bit far fetched but let's trust the RIM people for now (assuming these rumors are true). Thanks to Neilchemist for the link.

Shady Baby

A new Rosenblog is entering the world very soon. As such, I have been thrust into the world of baby products head first. While checking out a store in SoHo today, I saw this product. I guess it's some sort of mesh net for portable baby caves or something. But, Phil, Ted- what's up with the biting? We got baby beef now? Sheesh.
Seriously though it is very cool that Marshall has permeated culture to the point that he has influenced mass market baby products. One day I will show the little Rosenblog. And she wont really care. But all of you can tell her one day- your dad was cool at one point, little Rosenblog. He was.

Summer Bangers Hour 2

Here, ye faithful can check out the second hour of the Shade45 Summer Bangers special. I need something with a photo for these posts. But I don't have anything relevant really. My rule on this blog is that I only post photos that I've taken myself or that were taken of me or by someone I know. That way we stay 100% unique. Like you care.

Summer Bangers Hour 1

As promised, press play below for the first hour of the Shade45 Summer Bangers special from 4th of July weekend on Sirius hosted by yours truly along with Reef and Lord Sear. The list is posted below, and the top 5 will be revealed when I post Hour 3 this weekend. Stay tuned, so to speak...

Blackberry Thunder!

Wait, hold the smartphone! Just when we thought we were gearing up for the summer release of the Blackberry Bold, this article was sent my way (thanks Do Ro) about the Blackberry Thunder! I'm not that keen on the virtual keyboard concept, as most Blackberry lovers aren't, but I'd give RIM a shot with it (2nd pun intended). This thing looks insane.

Summer Bangers List

I'm sure many of you didn't have a chance to check out the Shade45 Summer Bangers Special with myself, Lord Sear and Reef yesterday evening on Sirius. So here, as a tease, is the list of our top 30, omitting the Top 5 of course... Those will be revealed next week when I post clips of the show.

30. Warren G./Nate Dogg "Regulate"
29. Erick Sermon "Music"
28. Busta Rhymes "Put Your Hands…"
27. The Notorious B.I.G. "Juicy"
26. A Tribe Called Quest "Check The Rhyme"
25. 2Pac "I Get Around"
24. Ahmad "Back In The Day"
23. LL Cool J "Boomin' System"
22. N.W.A. "Express Yourself" Remix
21. Craig Mack/Various Artists "Flava In Ya Ear" Remix
20. Crooklyn Dodgers "Crooklyn"
19. Snoop Dogg "Gin & Juice"
18. Raekwon/Wu-Tang Clan "Ice Cream"
17. Ice Cube "It Was A Good Day"
16. Three 6 Mafia/Various Artists "Stay Fly"
15. Eminem/Dr. Dre/Xzibit/Snoop Dogg/Nate Dogg "Bitch Please II"
14. Outkast "Elevators"
13. Jay-Z/UGK "Big Pimpin"
12. 50 Cent/Mobb Deep "Outta Control" Remix
11. EPMD "You Gots To Chill"
10. Smif-N-Wessun "Bucktown"
9. Main Source "Live @ Tha BBQ"
8. Youngbloodz "Damn!"
7. Black Moon "I Got Ya Opin" Remix
6. Group Home "Supastar"

The pic above was taken from my rooftop Friday night. The Macy's fireworks on the eastside were cool for about 10 minutes, then the smoke combined with cloudiness got so thick you couldn't even see them any more. Oh well, cheap thrills for a few.
Stay tuned this week for segments from the special, and the TOP 5!

Dog Day

Every 4th of July at Coney Island's legendary Nathan's Hot Dogs they hold the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on Surf and Stilwell in Brooklyn. I've always been pretty fascinated by eating competitions. Its utterly ridiculous that they are broadcast on ESPN as a "sport" (but I feel the same way about Poker). But there is something seriously bizarre about people who force their stomachs to the limits by eating massive quantities of food as quickly as possible. So I watch it. Every year. The broadcast is full with sports announcing cliche's and comparisons to other sports. "It's a game of fractions", "this is like 4th and inches", "true competitor's spirit" and "who wanted it more" were some of my favorites from this year. So, the competition is to see who can eat the most cooked hot dogs, with buns, in 10 minutes. Last years champ, Joey Chestnut, ate 60 dogs. His only real competitor is Japanese competitive eating pro Kobayashi, who won Nathan's and various other eating contests (eggs, noodles, pie) for like the prior 10 years. This year, for The Mustard Belt,Joey Chestnut and Kobayashi TIED at 65 dogs. It was a photo finish!So what's the tie breaker? Who can eat 5 dogs the quickest. Joey took Kobayashi out in the sudden death overtime in truly disgusting form. Next year I want to be there in person. I say that every year. Dart, we gotta roll.
Editor's note: this entire entry is hereby "paused."

Summer Bangers on Shade45!

Tune in this 4th of July on Sirius's Shade45 for the Summer Bangers Special hosted by yours truly along with The Mighty Lord Sear and Reef! The show airs tomorrow, July 4th from 4-7pm. We will be counting down our favorite top 30 summer rap songs ever and running down memory lane to get everyone in the summer holiday spirit. Check out the promo below. Later next week I will post the list along with segments of the show. If you miss the show on Friday, it will be re-aired on Sunday, July 7th, from 5-8pm.