All Night Long Keely Smith and now...

I think Keely looks super hot in this clip. Well I guess she always looked hot when she was with Louis, but this particular tune made her hotter. This is some good singing here! Why don't they have singers like this anymore?



Oh of course she isn't as hot as she was, but to think that even in 2007 her voice is still a force to be reckoned with!

IF MANE RULED THE WORLD ...NAS/CLIFFORD

There is nothing like listening to Clifford Brown while you're relaxing in bed. He's in my top 5 trumpet players of all time. I cut out Lauryn's choruses. This beat took a good 6 hours to make. I know that's nothing for some, but I guess it's a long time for me.

Ms. Fat Booty remix (Ms. Fat Mannie)

I get jazzed whenver I find a Louie track that works well with some drums. I was running out of acapellas, so I used Ms. Fat Booty. Mos is an MC I like, so why not. I thought the mood of the beat fit the lyrics to the song. It was hard syncing the music to the actual video, that's why only half the song is used. I was happy with this beat, hopefully I can find an MC that could do it some justice.

La Vie En Biggie (Everyday Struggle)

I made this remix this morning..
I was happy with it...It's a combination of Biggie, Louis Armstrong, and a whole lot of garage band instruments...

blackitolism remix w/video

video with a beat I made with the help of Ole Pres.

Rajh More than Rap

Heres a beat I made for Rajh, the ex Super Bbeat Show intern!
MORE THAN RAP...RAJH

TARGET TURNTABLES

I was in Target the other day and saw that they had a wide variety of turntables.
Some looked cool and some looked crappy. They were even selling a jukebox for 700 bucks.
I liked this one:

This one also looked fresh



OTHER TURNTABLES AT TARGET

OCT. 11TH ZULU THROWDOWN

Estelle and Cee Lo Pretty Please

This is a song I wish I could've produced. Yeah I still got a good ways to go. I really don't care about Estelle's singing but Cee Lo's (from Gnarls Barkley) voice is pretty dope. If they ever played this at a club, I'd get down to it.

Amy Does Gershwin

I found this on youtube. I'm a fan of this song and Amy of course.....Yippeeee!

and in case you want to hear a great version of it.....Take it away Ella!


I didn't think Amy's version wasn't too shabby...

Thinkin' of you Remix Buddy Miles/Mane One edit

DOWNLOAD Thinkin' of You BBOY edit w/break

MIGHTY MANE

QUASIMOTO'S RAPPCATS

I thought this video and song as a whole was pretty cool. It's a collage of old rap video clips and bits put to quasimoto's song.
check it out..

GOODFOOT FOOTAGE

This is footage from a jam I through last Thursday. Hardly anyone showed up. Bad promotion on my part.
This is the first time I tried widescreen on iMovie. The picture looks stretched. This will be the last time I use
this function. I love Storm's opinions at the end of part two.

PART 1


PART 2

BOTY BOTY BOTY

My Music used in Chor Boogie interview

Thanks to Sake, Chor asked me to give him one of my songs for his Australian tour. "Meet You By The Park" begins at 3:41 of this clip. Thanks Saratoga!

MY TOP 5 SOUL SINGERS OF ALL TIME

1. RAY CHARLES


2. JAMES BROWN


3. SAM COOKE


4. STEVIE WONDER




5. MARVIN GAYE

FINALLY

I'm djing at freestylesession.....10 years of waiting..hahah
finally

IRONWOMAN TRISTA

PROBABLY ONE OF THE FRESHEST OUTFITS AT COMIC CON..BIGGUPS TO TRISTA FOR MAKING ONE COOL IRONMAN OUTFIT!
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL JAMES ARMSTRONG

Refused. Kinetic/Mane Collaboration

My friend Storm suggested that his old friend Kinetic get down on a Mane One track. This was nothing serious, just to see what kind of track we could make together. This was pretty fun to do. He emailed me the acapella and I got to work. Tell me what you think.

MANE AND KINETIC

Bad Ass Dancing

My number 2 favorite bboy of all time.

EVS INTERVIEW

I had the chance to meet up with an old friend of mine. I've known EVS since the early 90s and got a chance to listen to his newest productions and talk to him about his new album Convenience Store.
PART 1

PART 2


Convenience Store can be purchased at Access Hip Hop and at LA 2 THE BAY.

BETTY WRIGHT IF YOU LOVE ME REMIX

When I started diggin' for 70s soul, rap samples mainly, in the nineties, I took a fondness to Betty Wright. Her music had a Pop feeling to it, while still having that funky rhythm. Kinda like Sam and Dave's Soul Man. Her popular tracks were Clean Up Woman and Tonight Is The Night. Here's another Betty Wright track, with an additional break created by yours truly. If Sake had his hands on my version, I know he'd play it. Hehe. To save space on my mac account, I uploaded it to my myspace.
IF YOU LOVE ME remix


I was dreaming that if I ever remade this song with another singer, one of these pictures would be the cover of my 12inch single.
This one Stacy appears sad but is trying not to show it.

Here she's depressed and sexy. A combination that goes well sometimes with hot chicks.

Forever In a Mane Remix

I made this this morning.. The idea is there, I think it sounds cool, but the band changes tempos in the middle
and the beat is thrown off just a tad bit...
FOREVER IN A MANE

Doin' It In the Park

Yesterday, The San Diego Zulu Chapter celebrated their 2 year anniversary at Embarcadero Park. The weather was nice. The view of Coronado was awesome. It was a good day for bbq and bboying.







Dyno Rock always seems to look fresh (clothing wise) each time I see him at every jam.






It was a pretty decent turnout.





Nothing like some fresh burgers on the grill. I partook of some veggie burgers (not shown.)







Kari, Julz, and Auren getting some beads ready for our new graduates. Biggups to Raff, Bookum, and E-Swift for going through the whole Zulu Nation Process and becoming official members that day.

On another note, check out Kid Nasty from Cypher City Kings. He got his hair permmed. E-swift told me that he's going to grow his out now.

Happy Bday Louie

Although Louis Armstrong was born on August 4th 1901, he believed that he was born on the 4th of July. Hehe, old Pops knew he was great so he wanted to share the same birthday at the United States. His trumpet solo in this clip blows me away everytime.

SET UP BBOY BATTLES

The Son of Jarel and I probably talking smack after we've witnessed yet another crash by those fearless crowd pleasers. I gotta give them credit though, they've got a lot of heart.


Last Thursday, I dj'd at a bboy class and open floor session at Hot Monkey Love with some minimal Internet promoting (myspace, yelp, message boards, etc.) Four people showed up. Alma, the owner of the place, asked how we can get people to come. I told her that we'd throw some type of bboy battle to see if people came. Dat, the organizer of the jam, decided to his 3 on 3 battle for 50 bucks to the winners, and I decided to incorporate The North Vs. South battle (Northside bboys vs. Southside bboys). I made an internet flyer for the event and did the same amount of minimal internet promoting within a weeks time and 51 people showed up last night. Still not a great amount of people, but it was a drastic change from last week's class/jam. Of course this isn't new for me. I've tried throwing jams without set-battles and still get a low percentage of people that come those nights. Maybe I have to learn to accept that Bboying has always been a dance based on competition. Is Bboying really a "fight dance?" Most of the bboys looked like they were ready to kill their opponents especially during The North Vs. South battle. Hey, to each his own.

Btw, I'm growing less and less interested in DJing for bboys, and it's not because of the bboys. I dunno, maybe I do it too much. For the last 5 weeks, I've dj'd something bboy related. The thing that keeps me content is being around friends at jams. There's nothing like hanging out with friends.

This is a real battle.

Round 3 Joys of Filtering

I filtered bass sounds from Garage Band. Noticed they do sound less fake from the stock keyboard sound.
Guitar sounds maybe subject to removal from this rough draft. I also filtered some of the drums, so that they
have a dirtier quality. Next mission, to get rid of the monotonous melodies I'm creating. The majority
of sounds came from the keyboard. Drum sounds sampled of course.

MURDER ROCK SWING

FREE DOWNLOAD FROM WYNTON

FREE MUSIC NEVER HURT ANYONE. :)
HERE-NOW

On another note, doesn't Scarlett look hot here? Yikes...Woody, the mastermind for the hotness...Heheh..



Listen to Wynton and find all of the Scarlett and Woody pictures on google. Be a man while you're at it.

Invert Signal

When I started making beats there were always particular songs I wanted to sample, but had difficulty doing so because the artist's voice was in it. I always wished there was that secret machine out there that allowed you to take out the shitty vocals from a song. I never found it. I even tried using Kareoke machines, it didn't happen. Well 12 years later, I've come the closest to taking out the vocals to a song. You can still hear the artist's voice in the background, but barely. With Pro-tools, one of the Audio presets is Invert, which allows you to split the stereo tracks and have some sounds cancel each other out. Interesting isn't it. I'll probably never use this technique in any of my songs, but I guess it was fun coming across and finally coming close to doing so. Now I just have to practice my windmills.

Albert Jone's Mother Nature Test w/o vocals


This is a good example of mastering the skill. Some person took Stevie's voice out completely. Crazy huh?


I've never heard Stevie put out an instrumental album of his songs before. It seems unlikely that he would. Who knows?

Test 2 Big Band (Gettin' more confident)

No keyboard sounds used here. Raised tempo from Devil In The Deep Blue Sea. Used piano, horn and bass sounds.
Turned down drums drastically, but they still appear somewhat loud. Eh....Round 2.
Not singing over this one. I've learned my lesson from the last fiasco.

Round 2

Young Mane, according to Starberry Sweet..


Thanks for finding this flick Storm.

NOT WONDERFUL......Round 1

Trying to make Big Band Swing when you don't have a Big Band is difficult. Some say it might be impossible, but I believe it's possible. Quality-wise, well that's another story. But I figured I'd give it a shot and take time with this one. I took Basie's S'wonderful and filtered it to make it my bassline. I figured I'd probably never sound like Walter Page with Garageband bass sounds, so I'd just sample it. Listening to it again, it's way too loud. I'll make a note to turn that down. I've rearranged the horns from the song to fit into the song. The cheesy piano and tenor sax sounds are from Garage Band, and are ideas I have for background improvisational sounds if I ever hire real musicians to play it out or if I decide to purchase some real instruments myself. Drum programming is from the drum major. Horns were sampled from the original song and arranged on the MPC. The incredible singing (haha not) is from no other than the Crown Prince of Rhythm. I wish I had Starberry Sweet here to sing the tune. But it was fun. It was fun, hearing myself with a nice microphone. But hearing yourself through the microphone and listening to the end result is totally different haha. It's like when I break, I think I'm the shit when I go out, but when I watch it, I look really wack and slow. Any ways, here's a sample. Feel free to tell me what you don't like.
ROUND 1 WONDERFUL

NEW UPGRADES

I guess Mikey can get off my back now about getting a new microphone.

I TRIPLE DOG DARE YA MIX

This was always a memorable moment in this movie. I love the expression in all the boys faces especially Ralphie's. Enjoy the break mix bboys.
TRIPLE DOG DARE YA MIX

WHAT IS STYLE BY WYNTON MARSALIS

Beggin' Remix Rough Draft. Valli meets Mane One

Last time I saw Poe, he asked me if I had the Frankie Valle. I was thinking in my head, Big Girls Don't Cry? Walk Like A Man? Can't Take My Eyes Off of You? Hahah. After that jam I DJ'd, I researched some Frankie Valle tracks that I wasn't familiar with. Beggin' was the only logical song that sounded like a bboy type track. It didn't sound like the other pop type songs Frankie Valle and The Four Seasons sung. But it didn't sound like a great bboy track either. It was so so, mainly because of the funk drums. I couldn't really hear them that well. But I can understand how a bboy could see that this was a bboy track. I added some of my own drums, and amplified piano sounds. I'm still in the stages of piecing it together and getting my ideas down. Just wanted to share what I have so far. Let me know what you think. It's okay to give me a verbal beat down with constructive criticism, I won't cry , give up, or get mad about it like most.:)
Mane meets Valli BEGGIN

Chicago

I've spent the night in Chicago. Plane rides are so annoying. I hate that most airlines don't create a wide enough aisle for passengers. When passengers board the plane, it takes a while for everyone to sit down, because there are frequent stops when people put their carry-ons into the compartments. I hate it when the people that are sitting down already stare at you, like you're some loser that hasn't found a seat yet. What about the people that feel the need to have a glass of wine on the plane? Hahaha. Flying does have it's advantages, and malls do to. But each one contains the scum of the earth, and that's the drawback. Now off to look for some Deep Dish, the diet will have to hold off for a couple of days.

A Look at Godoyski Rock So Fresh

Probably the most interesting member of Rock So Fresh. Godoy is into a lot of manly things. This artist, boxer, and bboy tells his story in breakin in my latest interview.

JUS JONES, PAULSKEE, KID DRAGON AND RAICHOUS

I Used To Love Mane Common Remix

I made this tonight.
I like the feeling of it.
I put Common's acapella over it.
hMM.. I dunno... You tell me..
The vocal and instrumental track isn't eq'd. This is more
like a rough draft.

Ma I Don't Love Mane

I made this yesterday. Possible slow jam track I could use someday. I used an acapella from Clipse to see how it would sound.

EL PASO 2001

I found these clips put up by CRAYONE. Sake and Chyna make a load of appearences. Ahh some good times.


clip 1




clip 2




clip 3

I LOVE YOU MADLY BREAK

I was listening to this Ella record, when I came across this sample. Ella and her band made Duke's song kinda funky.
I had to do something with this sample. Let me know what you think.
I LOVE YOU MADLY BREAK

Swing Deluxe Mix Part 1

I made a Big Band MIX. For the last year I was always talking about doing one. Here's 30 minutes of some good ol' Big Band and R and B music. Hope you enjoy.

SWING DELUXE MIX PART 1

Practicing

I try to practice 4 times a week. I usually practice after work for 45 minutes.

COOL OR CRAP? BE HONEST!

Gettin' Back to Work. Drumming

I've often thought about purchasing a drum set. I'd like to have that sound you get from a live drummer as oppose to something that sounds like it came from a drum machine. Although it is possible to grab live drum samples and play them out on an mpc, it still isn't the same. Until I purchase that drum set, I'm still practicing on that mpc 2000. Lately, I haven't been looking for sounds or samples I'd like to play with, I've only been working on drums and how my rhythms should sound. Feels good to hit the mpc again. Here's a short two bar drum rhythm I made this morning.
MID TEMPO DRUM SAMPLE

Gettin' Up

My friend Ann told me that I was on the cover of a book. Kinda Cool.

A Look At Saso Rock So Fresh

A look at one of San Diego's baddest bboys.

DANCETERIA DANCE MIX VOL. 4 DOWNLOAD

DANCETERIA MIX VOL. 4

DANCETERIA IS TOMORROW.....My Latest Debacle :Trailer

Danceteria is tomorrow. I've heard that there is a big bboy event called BBOY UNIT in LA. I've heard that the event is a big event. WIll there be crickets at my jam tomorrow? I'm hoping for at least 80 people to come through. Right now, even the day before, I'm doing what I can to get a good amount of people there. Here's a trailer I made. Initially in my head it was going to be some cool and funny trailer. I think in ways it's still kinda funny just minus the cool part. Bad acting, bad dialogue, the use of a bad camera, and it's just bad (not meaning good). But I wanted to see what I could create from some of the things I shot for it, regardless of how it came out. I thought of this as a learning experience. WHo knows maybe it will have some kind of effect to the public? You never know until you try.



to check out clips from past jams click here

DANCETERIA COMMERCIAL FEB. 16

DANCETERIA INFO

BEING LAZY

So I remember starting this blog about me making beats. Well initially it was supposed to be a show that Storm and I were going to a comedy but I ended up not wanting to go through with it (my laziness again the problem). I've done some interviews here and there and I don't really know where the mane one show is going. Making this clip, made me realize how much weight I've put on. I use to be a bit leaner. I guess when your lazy already, and you're in a relationship, you become a wacker and fatter person. I'm heading to the gym right now.

Frank and Dinah Medley

I found this on myspace today and watched it about 10 times. It must be nice, being the man, singing, having fun and goofing off with a cute singer like Dinah Shore. Ahhh...Someday.
Dinah Shore and Francis Alberto Sinatra

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Danceteria Commercial by Stormko.

Thanks to Stormko for directing the latest Danceteria commercial for this Saturday Jan. 5! You guys better go!
DANCETERIA commercial January 2008

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DANCETERIA INFO