Krs One gives BIG RESPECT TO MISTAH FAB

                                           DECEMBER 17, 2008

LIVE @ THE PYRAMID CLUB -NYC - 101 AVE. A (BTWN 6TH & 7TH)

DOORS OPEN 8: 00P.M.

 TRUE SCHOOL  UNIVERSITY SECOND ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION LIVE @ THE PYRAMID CLUB -NYC

HOSTED BY SHADESRADIO.COM PERSONALITY - GRASSHOPPER

             MUSIC BY DJ BEDTYME 357

PERFORMANCES BY.......THE MIGHTY BURN -U MOVEMENT, HOMEBOY SANDMAN,THE CUSTODIAN OF RECORDS ALL STARS- SAJJMOROC & SOLZALEZ ,FROM THE LEGENDARY GROUP,LORDS OF THE UNDERGROUND- DOITALL, PLUS A VERY SPECIAL PERFORMANCE FROM  PUNCHLINE  & DJ FOCUS of EMC.....IT'S GOING TO BE BIG!!! AND FINALLY TO PAY BIG,BIG RESPECT TO OUR CEO AND FOUNDER OF SHADES OF HIP HOP, OUR MAN, YOUR MAN, THE ILL VISIONARY- KURT NICE.....WHO IS THE FATHER OF THE VIDEO MIXTAPE, BEFORE VIXTAPE- BEFORE SMACK DVD- & BEFORE THE COME UP, THERE WAS SHADES OF HIP HOP. STAYING TRUE TO THE GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT OF HIP HOP....PEACE & SEE YOU IN THE BUILDING

TRUE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY- DEDICATED TO THE PRESERVATION OF HIP HOP KULTURE.

Last week's True School University (TSU) Sunday session was a tremendous success. Many artists stopped by to get their assignments for the upcoming Shades of Hip Hop Radio.com 1 Year Anniversary. First off let's run down the list of who was in the house!

TSU Staff – Haneef Allah (Bro. Thoth), Jah Jah Shakur (Revolution Radio), Shy-U (Smoker's Blend), Grasshopper (On The Spot with Hop) and myself Kurt Nice (Program Director, Founder).

Kareem from Spit Ya Best Verse.com stopped thru to confirm for the 24^th and The Hot Girls from Raw Diamondz and Buzzthis.net repped for the Just Grab Da Mic showcase they will hold at Club Love on the 29^th in Manhattan. Producers in the house included J. Aragon for Fresh Produce, Sour P of Pifferey Goods and Super Producer Cast Merc who has been supplying us with background gems for the past couple of months. Artists included: Reggae/dancehall performer Solo, A-Hood Ent, KGB artists Dutch 40, Chief12, Whatshisface and Flonightheart. RSQ members Smoke and J-Swiff, Jeazi, DJ Amazing, Optimo, S. Korners, T-Bone, Snipes and a few other brothers who I don't have the names of right now. As I conducted drop sessions in studio 1, the above mention artists participated in a rhyme cypher in studio 2 that you will hear soon.

This weeks new drops included Brick Mu and Sour P for Pifferey Goods, Prophetess, Wyze and Waters from the Get Money Gang. These artists laced us with a nice 16 as well which are already in rotation on shadesradio.com.

Before we concluded the TSU Sunday session and headed to Harlem for the Zulu Nation program, we were joined by Nems Muderfest the All Time/Reigning Fight Club Hardcore Champion with 25 wins and 5 losses. Not only is Nems the only person in Fight Club History to have over 20 wins but he is the only person besides Serious Jones to have double digit wins.

He noted that, "Certain people (like 40 Cal and Murda Mook –no disrespect) will be in there on the wall and be like 'nah I'm not battling tonight'. If you see me at Fight Club I'm not there to watch. I go to Fight Club to thrash a nigga (lyrically) and leave…I beat Rainman (MTV winner) with my front tooth extracted and jumped up on the table afterwards like whoever want can get it!" He also talked to us about End of the Weak, the longest running open mic showcase in NYC, which he said is like his second home.

We enjoyed the EOW experience recently during the screening of the new independent film called Transformations by HipHop representa Latin. This multi-media event at the Pyramid Club featured the movie screening and the most consistent above par Hip Hop show hosted by two wicked MCs in the form of Big Zoo and Vice Verses with DJ Kalabrash on the cuts. While we there, we were treated to a diverse showcase which included performances by T-Weaponz, Katana, ZAQ Coldly who played a part in the movie Transformations which required him to 'powerbomb' another character on the sidewalk in front of a bodega. After choppin it up with 9^th degree black belt in freestylin, and co-host of EOW, Big Zoology, we found out some important facts. That is End of the Weak has been running every Sunday for 7 years, non-stop, thru 911, Superbowl games, and mad episodes of the Wire. Big Zoo doesn't regret the hard work, though, because performing a minimum 52 weeks a year, has made his skillz sharp. Beware the unprepared emcee who goes on after them. R.I.P. shouts to their DJ Joey Ty who help start EOW but tragically died 1 month after they began. Also big up to James Bond the manger for hookin up the interview during the week. Along with Nunzio, Big Zoo collaborates as the duo Solid Ground and with Vice Verses and Propayne they make up the trio the Three Kings.

Big Zoo explained about touring overseas, "when I go into store in NY my album is behind Biggie's old album but when I go to Paris it's next to Jay-Z's latest album…it's definitely the battery in the back for my NY niggas who are burnt out with this 'crabs in a barrel shit' over here. Rather than being culturally motivated, we are motivated by money in America. So early on we realized the MC could sell records which could make a lot of money. People are not buying DJ compilations, or lining up around the corner to see a Break Dancing show. You might have Rock Steady once a year where people come out but in other countries they're not as into the money. They're more into building the culture and preserving the culture whereas we just look at it like 'how can I get some money'."

            He added, "we're students of the True School of Hip Hop. We go back to Big Daddy Kane, G Rap and Rakim, which inspired us. Then with the 90's Wu-Tang, Nas and Biggie era made us feel that what we say and put out there means something to us. If we were tryin to sound like every trend we would have to get the shiny suit when Puff was out. I'd have to shoot somebody when 50 came out and I'd have to be doin a song tryin to make you dance right now….It's been our mantra to stay true to that real, raw Hip Hop boom bap kinda era where lyrics meant something and beats were kinda hard."

            Also this week we attended Media Fusion at Galapagos in Brooklyn, another multi-media event featuring live performances and projected video samples. The event put on by A.D. of Elegant Hoodness, featured Kush DVD, Spityabestverse.com, IAUniversal.com, Meet the Block .com, Protégé Magazine, Rap Fanatic magazine and NAN TV. The best performance came from Jersey City native Haiku who took it to some real lyricism. Also putting in work was Sky's Da Limit who presented us with the Dre Nathan EPK a professionally packaged EPK on DVD. Nice!

            Lastly we were in attendance, if only after the event, at the Zulu Nation Hip Hop History panel discussion on Sunday night. There we met up with NY Oil, an MC who graced us with a performance at this year's Hip Hop Appreciation Week event. After he accepted our invitation to the True School Reunion on the 24^th we spoke with Immortal Technique who told us that he was currently working on a new project that would be finished soon. Our biggest moment came when Haneef Allah was able to engage in a one on one discussion with the Godfather of Hip Hop, Afrika Bambataa. Details on the conversation were sketchy but over the course of 30 minutes Bambataa was attentive and open to the deep questions Haneef always has in mind. Jah Jah Shakur of Revolution Radio caught up with Elijah Shabazz, junior FOI instructor for the Nation of Islam at the world famous Mosque 7 in Harlem. Also stopping by this week were Ali-Mu, Budamunk (good lookin on the noodles), Nick Nova and Bumpy Johnson who also called during the conference call, early and reviewed the American Gangster movie with us.

Join us for networking, multi-media promotion, live performances and recognitions for all eras of the True School on the 24^th of November at Ideal Lounge 219 Frelinghuysen Ave. Newark, NJ. For more info  call 973.622.7752

SHADES OF HIP HOP RADIO ARTIST DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE (WK 4 101407)

On the conference call, which can be joined by anyone around the globe, Wordsworth elaborated on topics ranging from traveling the world thru Hip Hop to working with other lyrical masters such as Masta Ace and  Punchline. They're upcoming EMC group project, which also includes rap artist Strickland from Milwaukee, WI is sure to be a banger. He gave us two exclusive tracks: "EMC – What It Stands For" and "Git Some" featuring EMC and guest Sean Price. Both songs are True Hip Hop to the core, as per usual for these Hip Hop virtuosos. On the phone call, Wordsworth, who checked in from the 'batcave'( an undisclosed location – possibly in Florida) was an informative guest, and even delved into to conversation about R.Kelley, Michael Jackson, Kanye West and the Souljah Boy ringtone rapper phenomenon. Words was also joined on the call by Hip Hop Rock Star, ZAQ Coldly, an unsigned  goldmine of musical talent. Zaq talked about his travels as well and spoke about working with European born DJ Mobster and M.O.P for a new Hip Hop/Rock project.

Also on the check in were rapper Wiz, of Crash Clik (Brick City) who called in from a studio session, and DJ Aspekt representing Frank Black outta Miami, FL., who has a new weed song debuting this week on Smoker's Blend, as part of our Sunday Night Cypher. Plus, Mike Samm called in from Chicago, giving us the latest on Niagra Falls native Phathom, a wicked mc who recently relocated to the Midwest to further his career. He now resides in Chicago reppin a group known as Past Due. Shouts to: Phathom, Sicky, Clandestiny, Ben Broke, Menace, Restizu, ...Although underground legends like Wordsworth, Punchline,  Masta Ace and Sean Price have been putting in verse after eloquent verse of critically acclaimed artistry, they receive little or no exposure on mainstream radio. On shadesofhiphopradio.com, however, lyrical ability is ranked above all else and we greatly appreciate Wordsworth checkin in. To see why we take this approach, listen to True School In Session this week for the full conversation, exclusive new tracks from EMC and gems from  the Wordsworth catalog of music.

Shouts to  our new host/mc, Grasshopper for putting it down in the studio. He taped segments for two shows this weekend that will be up very soon.  First up is the takeover of an older format, first given to Jasmine aka Jaitease, who has apparently moved on to other things. That is – On The Spot with Hop, where our host calls an unsuspecting rapper and has them spit a verse wherever they are, on the spot. His inaugural show featured Brown Suga, a female rapper from Newark, NJ. Also in production this week was a brand new concept formulated by G-Hop and myself called the Power Hour. During this segment, guest mcs takeover the Shades of Hip Hop airwaves to "say what they want to say and play what they want to play." Once called 'The Rapper's Studio' now revamped and ready for any skilled mc to participate in. In fact, Grasshopper, himself, was the first up to takeover and all went very smoothly. Sittin in on the session was Ali-Mu who also provided us with some new drops for the station. Plus look for a new Smoker's Blend intro crafted by G-Hop as well.

Other drops this week included ones from Smoke aka ZMK, J-Swift and J Flames who came thru to represent RSQ outta the Bricks, plus Budamunk, and Swan repped 232 to the fullest. Peace to Knowledge from Elizabeth, NJ, Ox (RSQ) and D-Nast(RSQ), Dot.com and Sal (Crash Clik). Special shouts to Smoke(RSQ) who has been holdin down the studio upgrades real tight! Keep them CDs and DVDs pumpin, ya heard! RSQ definitely be reppin for the street Entrepreneurs. Hustle til ya Bubble!

Til next week B E Z, One – Kurt Nice

Check us out every day on myspace.com/shadesofhiphop for a link to our streaming worldwide radio station!

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...Click the link above (or copy it into your browser) to listen!

Its FREE!!! To listen just register if your first time on the station. If it asks to download the player click download. It takes 2 seconds. Listen to the station, give the tracks a thumbs up or thumbs down to help wit the ratings and feedback we give to unsigned artists. Submit your tracks to kurtnice@aol.com Leave a message on the myspace and comment if you're a friend so I can preview your page on the air during the Myspace Review.  We always play good Hip Hop from old to new. Plus listen to the special talk features, interviews and special media blasts from cyberspace

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Join us this Sunday and every Sunday for a Hip Hop Culture Conference Call. 4pm EST. Just call 712.432.5555

One – Kurt Nice

This week we had another open-call meeting at TMG Building, and for the third week in a row, it was very productive. Several artists came thru to build, and we recorded new drops and radio segments that will be up this week. We tested our new conference call system and though there are a few kinks, the overall feel was positive. We had several call ins, including producer Cast Mercury from Plainfield, NJ who produced about 12 quality tracks available thru our Beat Shop (coming soon - hit us up for details). The tracks can be heard during the following segments:

True School in Session (TIS) : SOB's - All Hip Hop Week 2007

True School in Session (TIS) : Myspace Music Review 9/07 - 10/07

Smoker's Blend : AD the General presents Elegant Hoodness

Cast Merc showed his dedication to the Hip Hop cause when he  offered a  beat, free of charge, to Wiz, member of Crash Clik, after he spit a hot sixteen in studio over a beat made by Cast who listened via conference call . Cast Merc is also the beat provider for Reverend LaDonna Clarke's Hip Hop Church in Plainfield, NJ where beats are spun, spiritual words are recited and uplifting, positive talent is showcased each month.

Also on the check in was Robyn of SoSexy Magazine who gave a lot of behind the scenes details on some hot upcoming projects for artists trying to shine. One of which included info about a Ringtone* promotion....

Checking in from Manhattan via St.Louis, MO was Red Burd Jr., Hip Hop mc on the come up. His telephone interview was insightful and impressed all present in the studio. His song "Fool 4 Hip Hop" received a unanimous thumbs up from those present and was commented on by all. This turned out to be a new ray of hope for the movement, when he confirmed that there is a thriving culture of True Hip Hop fans in places like St. Louis. Coming from NJ it's sometimes hard to see real Hip Hop in other areas because of the commercialized BS that we end up getting. Sometimes we can't tell if there is for-real Hip Hop in a particular part of the country because all we end up hearing are the commercially viable cornballs. After seeing an underground cat from St. Louis perform like Red Burd Jr did at the Forbidden Bike Club in Brooklyn., I'm more relieved to know cats like him are out there. He was definitely our pick for best Hip Hop artist at Elegant Hoodness presented by AD the General for September 2007.

This weeks drops included, YD aka Y Dizzle, Wiz of Crash Clik, Swan – 232 ent., Rhino CMZ, Budamuink – 232, ChiefKashGitta, KGB affiliates Deuce5, Flonightheart, Blackout40 and Chief12, plus North Newark's Young Face reppin 7^th ave, Kool Kel – MulitiMedia Productions, Dancehall, Rockers, Reggae artist Solo spit two hooks during his high energy drop with partner Snipes, and special shout to Uncle S Thompson aka Ya Favorite Scumbag…….

We also kicked off Revolution Radio, a new political talk show format with journalist/host Jah Jah Shakur. His in-studio guest was Dennis Porter, community welfare advocate, and organizer of a group called Prodigal Sons and Daughters.

Over the course of 7 hours, we discussed many topics including: BDS Nielsen tracking in mp3 files, copyright cataloging by volumes, how to interact at a showcases out of town, the congress hearings about Hip Hop, the artistry behind mcing and producing, and much more. To be a part next week's meeting contact kurtnice@aol.com

Allow Me to Re-introduce, shadesofhiphopradio.com..

            It seems like everybody and his brother has a DVD these days. And for the most part they're whack. Some are intriguing and everything, niggas flashing money, talkin shit. Chicks wit fat asses, and ill lookin whips at the Funk Flex or whoever's car show. And the mcs, are too much. Every niggas carryin the hood on his back, and is a stone cold killer underneath the rhyming. What about the hosts? The niggas just happy to get the interview, waitin to see some ill shit happen. Encouragin the bullshit so their DVD can sell. Encouragin niggas to put incriminating video taped evidence on the bootleg distribution circuit for any narc to see. What's with valuing a nigga throwin up gang signs and flashin some big, illegal within the city limits type of firearm, under the street sign on their block while they tell the location of their building to the camera? Are niggas still tellin on themselves on DVDs cause I stopped watchin those shits?

            When I started doing video mixtapes nobody was doin that shit on any kind of level. Just to say you were doin a tape (not DVD), you had to have it in the major spots for mixtapes in the city. Those were Beat Street Records 2 locations, Music Factory's 2 spots and Harlem Music Hut. And if you were really official your shit was in Dream Team in ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Harlem, Brokenia in Manhattan, and in every store in your own hood. During that time in the 90's Shades of Hip Hop was setting the trends for a lot of shit on video, some bad some good.

            We were the first to show cats on the block actually makin sales to fiends as they talked shit to our camera. On one of our first tapes there were cats who did the usual speech about how nobody was getting it except them and they had the ruggedest squad in they hood. The main clique featured actually could rhyme though despite all their shit-talkin. And they little man was the nicest out the clique which foreshadowed a trend of niggas hustling to support rap careers, something Master P mastered in the mid 90's. After releasing that video tape, Time to Shine (which featured Lil Kim on the cover) in 1997 with the aforementioned footage of the cats on the block, the younger Hip Hop fan narcs  who happened to watch the tape too and be from that hood took offense to some of the statements they were makin. So they ran down on them repeatedly until they locked up at least 2 members of their team. Meanwhile that crew, who for the purposes of this conversation will be known as the West End Posse, were not the only crew of niggas talkin shit on the tape about who they were and how other niggas aint getting no money. Infact another crew, we'll call the East Side Crew, went so far as to actually throw up wads of money in the air while they burnt rubber on a hot lookin ninja-type motorcycle which created clouds of white smoke under the tire. Ofcourse after seeing the tape, along with other heads on the West side of town, the West End Posse felt offended by what the East Side Crew said on the tape. So after a week or two of niggas getting knocked out, windows getting broke out of stores, and people getting shot at in their house, the West End Posse sees me on the street and decides to confront me. After recounting the tales of what transpired because of the tape they placed the blame on me for "putting those whack niggas on the tape". At this point I was forced to remind them they were not censored in any way either and it was Shades of Hip Hop's format of mixing unsigned cats with celebrities that allowed either of them to get on and let everybody know who they were.

            It was at this point, in 1997 that I resolved to deemphasize the miscellaneous bullshit if it could incriminate somebody or get somebody shot and just continue doin forreal Hip Hop. MC battles and rhyme fights were a different story.

            When we taped a round table discussion with hot new emcees about to do their thing that featured DMX, Big Pun, John Forte, Mos Def and Canibus, we didn't get stuck on the road of strictly doing 'Beef' tapes. Realizing that we had the first live 'Beef' on video in circulation as it happened (Canibus vs LL) could have inspired us to go the Jerry Springer route like some of these other videos but we chose to stick to Hip Hop.

            After pioneering the manual video remix on video mixing equipment, our efforts were given notice by Noreaga of CNN fame who was about to do his debut solo album N.O.R.E.. After handing him a copy of  Hot 2 Def which featured the roundtable footage, a tribute Master P, our man of the year for 1997, and among other things a remix of his video for T.O.N.Y., he called us for an exclusive taping at the Hit Factory. Not only did he provide an herb-laced interview but he hosted a segment featuring Track Masters, Kid Capri and a first ever uncensored VIP rhyme cypher with Consequence, Punchline and a young 50 Cent before he got shot. Naturally we didn't get sidetracked with doin remixes, because we had been steadily documenting the kind of material we were striving for; Real Hip Hop footage.

            As it turns out the Rap game switched from Real Hip Hop to something based more on image. The niggas talkin shit on the video became the hot thing. The miscellaneous shots of fat asses, cars and mounds of weed became the hot thing. Even whole DVDs of videos and remixes became the hot thing. So instead of switching I stopped doing video tapes and DVDs. I said "let them niggas have it." The whole genre was becoming whack to me. Like so many of the Hip Hop pioneers of the past have done. (not that I feel I have pioneered anything besides video mixtapes) I took the stance that you can't force cats into your style even if you think it's hot. Instead, I decided to play the law of karma in what goes around comes around. I decided to wait until real Hip Hop came back around.

            Rather than go the route of DVDs 7 years after we did our last fully original volume, we did not come back with another DVD. Instead, we'd like to welcome you to the world of Shades of Hip Hop worldwide, 24 hour, internet radio. With our new format instantly accessible to the world thru the internet we can transmit True School Hip Hop material in our archives from back in the day up to now. Our original formats are filled with gems that others are sure to imitate. In the same way that Shades name became linked with the innovation of a new Hip Hop format on video, we seek to innovate internet radio in 2007.  So far you have heard of terrestrial am/fm radio, pirate radio and satellite radio available to people who buy the service. Internet radio is free to anyone who now has access to the internet. Although there are no commonly known sources for internet radio, you now have at least heard about shadesofhiphopradio.com.

One – Kurt Nice

The 8 Point Platform for the Hip Hop Movement

as expressed by shadesofhphopradio.com

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1. Expose Bullshit masquerading as Hip Hop for what it is… bullshit.
2. Redefine and re-illustrate what Hip Hop is thru the use of categorization.
3. Bring back Originality, Concept and Skillz.
4. Inspire the true critics of Hip Hop to elevate the bar of critique.
5. Showcase Real Hip Hop.
6. Align with those who appreciate Hip Hop around the World.
7. Intermingle with other genres on a level of mutual artistic respect.
8. The re-introduction to the ideology of the 5% Nation of Gods and Earths as it relates to the Kemetic Philosophy for the foundation of a Peaceful civilization.