The New Hotness Vol. 6

The New Hotness YouTube playlist is better than television.

1. Kendrick Lamar - "Humble" 2017  This video has gotten fifty million plus views in eleven days, congratulations King Kendrick! Grey Poupon scene for the win.




2. Princess Nokia - "Mermaid Girl" 2017  Please go see Princess Nokia at The Crocodile on May 11 and tell me all about it. She's killing the game so hard right now.




3. A Tribe Called Quest - "Dis Generation" 2017  Waiting patiently for a "Mobius" video... "Conrad Tokyo" too. A Tribe Called Quest is now part of the Umbrella music video crew; so that's awesome.




4. Run The Jewels - "Legend Has It" 2017  I'd say these two are at the top of their game but I'm sure they'll surprise us with more awesomeness very soon. Watch the Def Jux documentary from 2002 to see what El-P was like fifteen years ago.




5. Brother Ali - "Own Light (What Hearts Are For) 2017  So many feels about this one. I love that he dedicated this to the late, great, Jonathan Moore; his decades of love and endless support for the Seattle (and beyond) Music Community will never be forgotten. I'll be selling merch for Brother Ali on his upcoming tour; I'll see you there.




6. Evidence - "Throw It All Away" 2017  I'm loving the first release from the upcoming Evidence album and I can't wait to hear the rest. I can really relate to all this rain.




7. Oshun - "Sango" 2017  Can't say enough good things about these two. The following is what they said about this song/video on their Facebook page:

Often times us women engage in romantic situations that we know aren't healthy, dreaming that we can be enough to make things better. In our newest release, the official music video for "Sango", we explore the destructive themes we witness so often in modern relationships. We go through a journey toward the most powerful Love, Self-Love, demanding to rise rather than fall 🌻💛🙌🏾




8. NxWorries (Anderson.Paak + Knxwledge) 2017  This video director, Calmatic, is also the genius behind the Karriem Riggins video you'll see below. I've gushed about Anderson.Paak enough in the last few months...




9. Toro Y Moi - "Omaha" 2017  I've added this to the upcoming list of music videos with bathtub scenes; check out part one here (Toro Y Moi is on that one too).




10. Karriem Riggins - "Bahia Dreamin'" 2017  STONES THROW  I love the painting on the wall in the dining/drumming room. Can anyone tell me who painted it?




11. Aminé - "REDMERCEDES" 2017  PORTLAND MUSIC  This Portland artist got over two million views in four days AND he doesn't suck. #RARE

Ten More Music Videos With Skateboards

20 Skateboarding Music Videos Playlist is here.

1. Yuna feat. Usher - "Crush" 2016  This was an epic move for Yuna; Arsher's been dope since before 1997's "You Make Me Wanna." She's been killin it for awhile now but this is my favorite track from her so far. Yuna is also the only female presence in the sausage fest of a category.





2. Fashawn - "Guess Who's Back" 2015  I was blessed to be able to work with Fashawn and his team when they came to The Crocodile for "The Ecology Tour" last year. One of my favorite parts of working with musicians is meeting the teams that support them. The standout most interesting person from the tour, besides Exile who was the Super DJ for Fashawn, was his visual wizard Punit Dhesi. It is through his work that we are able to feel connected to Fashawn. This is best shown in this sixteen and a half minute Mass Appeal Documentary.




3. The Sky Division feat. Darius, Sk8God + Muzikk- "AK Kidz Get The Biz" 2012  Seattle was blessed with Sk8God's Alaskan presence for a bit. While in Seattle, his camera was always on and he was a vital part of our music community. I really love his video series collaboration, "7 Slaps In The Sack" with Carrick Wenke and Miss Casey Carter which lives on through the lens of Wiggy.



While recently on duty at his new job in LA, Kid from Kid n' Play came through and this happened.

4. Joey Bada$$ - "Daily Routine" 2013  Love that they have a Handsome Boy Modeling School sample at the beginning; Prince Paul and Dan The Automator are some of my superheroes too. I have mad respect for Joey and the Pro Era crew. Their life's journey so far is the stuff of legends.

5. Wiki, Dev Hynes, Sporting Life, Onyx Collective and Show Me The Body - "MARKET" 2016  This project is dope as hell; Blood Orange and Ratking together blows my mind. Props to the New Yorkers for this project and for staying true to themselves in their art. I am very much looking forward to the day when I first roam the streets of New York.



I found the "Market" video on the Ratking website, Letter Racer. They have a bio video embedded in their About section that is worth a look. The video captures what Ratking are all about in the most entertaining way possible. I love that shit.


6. Kaytranada - "Lite Spots" 2016  He kinda blew up the internet with this one. Kaytranada deserves all the attention he gets and I can't wait to see what he'll do next. A great music video (or dozens) is the only difference between Kaytranada and many of my favorite Seattle-based producers.




7. Cake + $alad - "New Wa$hington Order (N.WA.O)" 2014 (SEATTLE MUSIC)  Steelelakejake and Rene Vivo did a great job on this video. I'd really love to see them step their internet game up so the world can see what they're all about.




8. Step Brothers (Alchemist + Evidence) - "So Fresh" 2008  This might be my least favorite Step Brothers song but these two can do no wrong in my eyes. I have been blessed to see Dilated Peoples a few times and so far I've only seen Alchemist as DJ for Action Bronson at The Neptune Theater. I've yet to see these two share a stage and I hope that changes very soon. Their "Step Masters" video showcased their personalities so well that I've been crushing on both of them ever since.




9. Left Brain + Lije Sarki - "Belong" 2014  Lije Sarki did an incredible job on this video. I'd really love to see more of the SIFF types working with local musicians; magical things would happen. Maybe Filthy Fingers United X Cornish?

10. Hail Mary Mallon (Aesop Rock + Rob Sonic) - "4AM" 2015  I love that Aesop Rock makes so many music videos and wish that more of my musician friends would follow in his example. This track is from Hail Mary Mallon's "Bestiary" album, formerly one of the best promoted albums ever in my opinion. The promo for Aesop Rock's latest solo album, "The Impossible Kid" was even better than Bestiary. Rhymesayers X Aesop Rock = World Domination.

Ten Music Videos with Swords

I compiled all the Sword Music Videos I've found so far on YouTube playlist for you. #YouTubeNchill

1. Action Bronson feat. Chance The Rapper - "Baby Blue" 2015  Action Bronson is doing everything right; he's made a career out of doing the things he loves the most. Plus, Coming To America remake is killing it.




2. Grimes feat. Blood Diamonds - "Go" 2014  I don't normally think that wearing Adidas sandals is that styley, but, in this video it's perfect.




3. Hail Mary Mallon - "Garfield" 2011  I'm sure we've all had a campfire machete experience, I know I do.




4. Homeboy Sandman - "Refugee" 2014  This knife is swordlike enough for me. This video is a trip, literally.




5. Diamond D feat. Alchemist + Evidence - "Its Magic" 2014  They've found some pretty great stuff while digging in those crates.




6. Mobb Deep - "Peer Pressure" 1993  Crazy that this video was made 22 years ago.



The first time I ever sold merch was for Mobb Deep at The Crocodile on April 22, 2014. Here's 15 seconds of their performance, I love shows where everyone knows the words.

#tbt To earlier this year when I sold merch for Mobb Deep

A post shared by Liz (@206liz) on Oct 9, 2014 at 7:50pm PDT

7. The Bar (Prometheus Brown + Bambu) - "Barkada" 2014  These guys will be at The Crocodile on July 21 for the Beatrock Music Five Year Anniversary Left Coast Tour with the whole crew.



Here's the flyer for the show.

8. Ghostface Killah feat. Kandace Springs - "Love Don't Live Here No More" 2015  I love videos with a storyline. Ghostface killed it with this one.




9. Astro King Phoenix - "Yarn" 2015  Video by Malcolm Procter AKA Wolf Delux. These two are some seriously high quality human beings.




10. Quadir Lateef - "The Quickening Arts" 2012  He's aight but I'd love to hear the instrumental.

Ten Reasons Why Rhymesayers Kick Ass

1. Step Brothers (Alchemist + Evidence) - "Step Masters" 2013  This is one of my favorite music videos of all-time and as you can see, I watch a lot of them. It's great to see how much fun Alchemist and Evidence had while making this video. How could you not like them?





2. Prof Signs To Rhymesayers 2013  They announced the signing of Prof with a video that showcases why he is worth paying attention to. I would love to inspire artists to make more promotional videos like this because if you don't go all in, you'll never get to step out of a plane like this.




3. Brother Ali feat. Bambu + Mally - "Home Away From Home" 2014  Brother Ali's tour was kicked off with a video made in the bus at the start of their adventure. My team at ReignCity hosted them at The Crocodile in Seattle and Bellingham's Wild Buffalo. Rhymesayers knows how to help you help them, this video is great proof of that.




4. Grieves - "Fifth Element In-Store Recap" 2012  This video shows how well Rhymesayers artists treat their fans. Grieves and his team always kill it with the social media and are truly great people. The Winter & The Wolves tour made for another great ReignCity show in 2014.




5. Evidence - "You" 2011  If Evidence is on your team, you know you have something good going.





6. "Go Hands On with Lord Steppington! 2013" The Lord Steppington vinyl and CD have a fuzzy cover. You can't caress an mp3 while listening to it. I love that it had a big poster inside, extras like that are what make people want to buy physical copies. Vinyl with download cards included are perfect. No one should ever play a show without merch; if you make it, they will buy. Making a video about the quality of your merch is pro-style. There is still a huge lack of high quality women's clothing in the merch department. Don't you want the ladies wearing your name on their chest to look good?




7. Dilated Peoples - "Show Me The Way" 2014 (Produced by Jake One)  This is one of my two most overplayed songs of the summer. Dilated Peoples had been on Capitol Records but released Directors Of Photography on Rhymesayers earlier this year.




8. Hail Mary Mallon - Behind The ... A Three Part Series 2014  They truly made the release of Hail Mary Mallon's Bestiary album an event by helping us get to know the artists and their creative process. My team at ReignCity and I get to host them January 23 at The Wild Buffalo in Bellingham with Homeboy Sandman, Darktime Sunshine, and DJ Abilities on January 23.




9. Dilated Peoples - 3 Part Promo Video for Directors Of Photography 2014  We already know and love Dilated Peoples and they still made a three part video to help us remember why they are on top of the game. If you tell people your story and you're making music that is unique and high quality, people will want to pay attention to you.




10. Atmosphere - "God Loves Ugly" 2002  The newer artists on Rhymesayers get the priceless guidance of the seasoned veterans Slug and Ant, who have been successful musicians and entrepreneurs since 1989 and are showing no signs of a slowdown. They founded Rhymesayers in 1995 with the help of Musab Saad and Brent Sayers (Siddiq) and have turned it into one of the best Hip Hop labels in the world. Almost twenty years later, they remain to be chart topping artists. Their chart-topping Southsiders album brought them to Seattle for another great ReignCity hosted show.

Slug - Photo by me at Holy Cow Records in Pike Place Market

Ten Music Videos featuring Special Effect Twins

Here's a YouTube playlist of ALL the Special Effect Twins I've found so far. #YouTubeNchill


1. Evidence (Produced by DJ Premier) - "You" 2011  *Evidence, Alchemist, and DJ Premier in the same studio, you know it's going to be good.





2. OCnotes feat. Cat of Thee Satisfaction - "On A Clear Day" 2011  *Not an actual video, but, OCnotes does have a special effect twin and the song is amazing.




3. Anna Lunoe and Flume - "I Met You" 2012  *Some keyboards were drowned in the making of this video. This song is only sort of cool.

4. AlunaGeorge - "You Know You Like It" 2011  *This is the original version of this video and is a prime example of the special effect twins team.





5. Adian Coker - "Cream" 2013 (UK HIP HOP)  *I like this beat, it makes me forget that I'm not into scenes of destruction in my music videos. I found this on Pigeons and Planes.




6. Michael Jackson - "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" 1979  *Michael Jackson remains to be the King Of The Green Screen.

7. Azekel - "New Romance" 2014  *I need to step my slip mat game up.




8. Grieves - "Recluse" 2014  *I like how he opens a beer for his special effect twin.




9. Georgia Anne Muldrow - "Dimension" 2014  *This is the epitome of Special Effect Twin Videos.

10.  Signif - "Like My Style" 2012  *The Milwaukee artist Signif released her first EP in 2009.

Ten Music Videos featuring Bridges

1.Jehst - "Starting Over" 2011  *I watch around 20 UK Hip Hop videos before I find one that is good enough to post. I watched this video 7 times before I was sure I liked it, now I love it. He has been making music since the late nineties and, I would imagine, has a large following in the UK. His 2002 song "High Plains Drifter" can be found by clicking on Jehst on the right side of the blog.




2. MC Lyte - "Ruffneck" 1993  *I don't think ladies are looking for ruffnecks anymore, however, good man skills (like building fires, fixing cars, keeping a job) are a plus.




3. Phonte feat. Evidence and Big K.R.I.T. - "The Life Of Kings" 2012  *Rapping moms can be cool, this is one of those times.




4. Jake One feat. Freeway and Brother Ali - "The Truth" 2008  *This video also has clocks, train tracks, a staircase scene, Adidas, street signs, and a guy playing with some balls.




5. Todd Sykes and EvergreenOne - "90s Shit" 2010  *I love smiling rappers, which makes this a great video for me. These guys are from Tacoma.  ***Sadly, the original video was removed by the user.




6. Emily Wells - "Passenger" 2012  *This is actually a pretty good song. I found her because she worked with Dan The Automator (Respect!) on the 2013 Pillowfight album which you can link to on the right side of this blog.



7. Dilated Peoples feat. Guru - "Worst Comes To Worst" 2001  *This song still goes (that means good).



8. Roxette - "Listen To Your Heart" 1988  *Before we see their awesome concert venue, we get to see the bridge that earned this video a place on this list. I've never been to a show with sparklers, but there's still time. I thought I remembered liking Roxette but this song is weak.



9. Dyme Def - "Timeless" 2011  *This is the only Dyme Def song that I have wanted to listen to more than once.



10. Action Bronson - "Shiraz" 2010  *This guy doesn't suck and his video is hilarious, especially the end.