About 4 minutes ago I received an email in my inbox that said:

The time has come! Click the personalized link below to download
THE INEVITABLE RISE AND LIBERATION OF NIGGYTARDUST!

If you decide at any point you’d like to directly support the artist for this work and feel it’s worth what we’re asking, you can always click this button. It will also allow you to re-download the record at audiophile rates if desired.

To me this is an inevitable course on the distribution of music television and film.
I havent purchased a CD either online or in a music store in 6 years.

I either have the leisure of of knowing someone at the label or get an advance copy sent,etc.
Now that I have 2 record contracts in front of me for my music efforts, I’m beginning to look on the other side of the fence. I still feel like CD’s are only good for storing data.

I really don’t want to release our album on a dying format.

I learned about the Saul Williams project online, signed up, blogged about it and it just took 2 minutes to download the 116MB zip file.
It contained 17 files which included 15 songs, the album cover in jpg and a 33 page PDF of the linear notes which includes some great artwork.

No shrink wrap, no crazy sticker or taking the risk of snapping the CD case.
No trees were killed. No plastic to put in a landfill.
No throwing anything away, its just another folder on my computer.
Yet, I had the same experience of getting new music.

Years ago I took all 800+ CD collection and digitize them which resulted in something like 40GB, roughly 22,000 songs, most of the CD;s were scratched up anyway.

I don’t think I listen to 10% at one given time. I think it nice knowing that I have it all in one place.

It surprises me to see someone with a case for CD’s and shuffling through them and putting them in a CD player on the subway. (Not as shocking as the guy who had a cassette player)

We are all undergoing a cultural shift in how we access our content, the same way we don’t listen to vinyl or 8 tracks.
Speaking of 8 tracks, I remember circa 1978, when my father drove up in the brand new electric blue Cadillac, with all white leather interior.

I ran up look inside got a wiff of the new car smell and father told me to run inside the house and get him an 8 track from on top of the stereo in the living room.

I’m don’t remember who the artist was, but I remember when I sunk into the passenger seat and handed my father the tape. He stuck it in and pressed play and a switch went off in my head that something that seem to be restricted to only being listened to in our house was being played in our car as we drove to Mc’Donalds and realized almost anything was possible.
It’s the same thing now, I’m dragging this album from one folder and dragging to my mp3 player while typing this blog, pressing play…

…this is the inevitable rise of digital distribution

The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust
A project by Saul Williams, produced by Trent Renzor of NIN.
Saul told my partner Tyren once that he wouldn’t need music to get heard.
I don’t know about that, but this definitely prove that he doesn’t need a record label.

Head over to www.niggytardust.com for all the details.

The long story short:
Users can download a 192kbps MP3 version of the entire album for free, or pay $5 to support the artist and be given the choice of downloading 192kps MP3 version, 320kbps MP3 version or lossless FLAC version.

This what Trent Renzor had to say:

There are obvious similarities in how Radiohead just released their new record and the way we’ve chosen to. After thinking about this way too much, I feel we’ve improved upon their idea in a few profound ways that benefit you, the consumer. You obviously will be the judge of this in the end. One thing that IS very different in our situation is that Saul’s not the household name (yet!) that Radiohead is, and that means we need your support on this more than ever. If you like what you hear, spread the word.

Saul Williams not a “household” name? In what households?
He was the star of the movie Slam, which won both the Sundance Festival Grand Jury Prize and the Cannes Camera D’Or, introducing Williams to international audience.
His album Amethyst Rock Star was produced by Rick Rubin.

This just proves my point that with traditional and non-traditional promotion, this will be THE way music will be released by both independent and major artist, and killing the preferred CD format at the same time.

I found this track in my inbox a few weeks ago and have been bumping it in my mp3 player almost everyday. The horns are so damn catchy. Jay-Z calls it “black superhero music…”

It’s from Jay-Z’a new album “American Gangster”, music inspired from the film of the same name starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

Click the play button to listen

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This was in a paper from the West Coast

Snapped this with my Treo when I attended the Satsumatic show at the hpgrp gallery.
Denen Shuzo, the original Shochu company of Satsuma, presented the first group of illustrators from Satsuma, currently called Kagoshima prefecture, located on the southernmost tip of mainland Japan.

The featured artists are three native Satsuma illustrators working in computer media, fashion and picture books. Their work is inspired by the natural beauty and cultural history of Satsuma.

These three illustrators created the art movement “ Satsumatic.” It is an escape from numbing relationships, polluted air and Big City bustle back to their quiet home of Satsuma. The vivid colors of sun, ocean, clouds and forest as well as the power of the ultimate source of life have great influence on these illustrations.

I had a conversation with one of the artist, Chinatsu, about one her of paintings.

Chinatsu’s motif depicts the “boldness of a woman who finds strength, beauty and an emphasis on tradition while living in the new age of Satsuma culture.”

It took a while, but I finally understood why one of the high heeled shoes was missing from her subjects while a train was coming towards her.
this only means one thing, I need to brush up on my Japanese.

I wrote this blog post 2 hours ago, lost my wireless and the server timed out on me, so it probably won’t be as bubbly when the thoughts went out the first time around:

It’s CMJ this week in NYC.
Thanx to our new family at Om Records I got to see Black Spade perform at the Lion’s Den on Tuesday.
he rocked it as he describes his music
“sounds like music my old dude would listen to when he used to smoke weed and play chess”
We then bounced to Club 205, although i was on the list, the doorman was skeptical that my real name was “Jonn Nubian” and after he saw my id we became quick friends.
When I got in the Cool Kids were on stage. I never heard of them but they seemed to have a following.
after listening to “Gold and Pagers” I am now a fan. Here is the reason why:

After they wrapped up and no free drinks in sight I was ready to leave.
Angelo from Imeem told us that MOBY was downstairs DJing.
So we go down, i say hello and then its cool. I’ve always liked Moby from his masterpiece “PLAY” which 9,000,000 records worldwide and music in the Bourne Movies..oh and that novel “Moby Dick” , which was written by Herman Melville,his great-great-great-great uncle.

His set was cool, except when he put on Run Dmc’s “Sucker Mc’s” with a 130bmp techo beat behind it.

Last night I went to the Samsung Store at the Time Warner building.
There was a hip hop band “Spokin Movement” who were n top of the charts on Itunes with no label.

The event was hosted by Spectrum Music artist Layla Davias.

Later on she performed and was phenomenal.

I have to say with all the ills an the music industry, good great talent shines through regardless.

I was invited to attend this years,UNA-NY 2007 Humanitarian Award is presented each year in observance of United Nations Day. It;s on October 25th, which I cant make but I figured I’d post something about it.

This year’s theme is the “Global Water Crisis,” recognizing that 1.1 billion people lack access to clean water resulting in disease and premature death, particularly amongst children. A portion of the proceeds from the dinner will be donated to organizations working to alleviate the water crisis.

The scope of the Global Water Crisis is staggering. Every 15 seconds, a child dies from drinking contaminated water. Water scarcity already affects every continent and more than 40% of the people on our planet, and more than 2.2 million people, mostly in developing countries, die each year from diseases associated with poor water and unsanitary conditions.

it’s a good cause, click here to donate

Special Thanks to Ubiquita/Dubspot and Missbehave magazine for the invite to The Urban Mix Suite yesterday as part of the VH1 HipHop honors weekend (no one couldn’t get me tickets to the actual show?)

My homegirls, The Ladies of Ubiquita (DJ’s Reborn, Selly and Moni),were spinning

and Spinderella (Salt-n-Pepa) at Charlotte Ronson (C. Ronson) showed up later.

Rohn Padmore, owner of Enigma PR, made a huge splash during the 2007 Oscars when his “gift suite” concept was the only one sanctioned by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
“People involved in the Hip Hop industry are known for setting trends and making a huge impact on pop culture. Our sponsors and participating brands know that getting product into these hands is going to pay off for them ten-fold. Hey who knows, someone may even write a song about it,”
says Rohn Padmore.
I dont know about that Rohn, you could use some VICELOUNGE music for atmosphere…lol but this thing is taking the “goodie bag” concept to a whole new level
…” by inviting VIPs and ultimately giving them an opportunity to get their hands on the latest lifestyle, fashion and music technology products on the market from the leaders in these industries.”
Bottom line..FREE shit is always good in my book! especially if its Full Metal jacket earphones from Skullcandy plus free drinks too,
(even though Hennessey isn’t my first drink of choice)

I did find out something I did not know about the drink:
In 1971 Hennessy merged with Moët et Chandon.
In 1987 the drinks group then merged with fashion house Louis Vuitton

speaking of fashion, I got to speak with Marc Hobson briefly about these shoes, that to me were very anime-inspired.

The designer corrected me and described the shoe as a cross between a
Manolo Blahnik and an Air Jordan.

Very interesting, but if you’re not out fighting crime, what outfit would you wear with these ladies?

Just an update the the Jena 6 situation that I wrote about last month.
Thank you for the email and the comments on that blog.
If you haven’t signed the petition, please sign it here.

Today, David Bowie has donated $10,000 to a legal defense fund for six black teens charged in an alleged attack on a white classmate in the tiny central Louisiana town of Jena.

“There is clearly a separate and unequal judicial process going on in the town of Jena,” Bowie said Tuesday in an e-mail statement. “A donation to the Jena Six Legal Defense Fund is my small gesture indicating my belief that a wrongful charge and sentence should be prevented.”

(I wrote about MY brief David Bowie encounter in ’02)

Bell was found guilty on second-degree battery charges June 28 by a six-member, all-white jury. Before the case was overturned by the state 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal, his sentencing had been set for Thursday.

The court said Bell, who was 16 at the time of the alleged December 2006 beating, shouldn’t have been tried as an adult.

As Danny Charles wrote in his comment:
‘When the Duke lacrosse case was going on, the media had something on the news on a daily basis, while the Jena Six case has been basically swept under the rug….”

Where is everyone else with the donations and support?

There will be a Jena 6 rally in Brooklyn tomorrow morning:

DEMAND JUSTICE

FOR THE
JENA 6!
“Justice for Jena”
Rally for Peace & Justice
THIS THURSDAY
September 20, 2007
9:30 am

Steps of BROOKLYN
BOROUGH HALL
209 Joralemon Street • Downtown Brooklyn
(2,3,4,5,A,C,F,M,R trains to Borough Hall)

No More Jim Crow Justice!
In Jena, Louisiana, white students hung nooses in a tree at the public high school, to warn black students not to sit under the “white tree.” The school dismissed this hate crime as a harmless prank. When black students protested, the local District Attorney threatened to take their life away with a “stroke of my pen.” After a schoolyard fight broke out between black and white students, the District Attorney responded by charging six black students with attempted murder. This does not just happen in Jena, Louisiana. Youth of color are treated this way all over America. Help us build a justice system that truly serves all our children.

The organizers of the rally, Assemblyman Karim Camara, Ms. Donna Nassor of Friends of Justice, and NYC Council Member Al Vann, will speak and have invited a number of other leaders to participate, including NYC Council Member Charles Barron; Rev. Herbert Daughtry of House of the Lord Church; Rev. Dr. Johnny Ray Youngblood of St. Paul Community Baptist Church; Hazel Dukes, President, NAACP New York State Conference; and activist/writer Kevin Powell.
There will be commentary, healing prayers, artists, and words of solidarity from various leaders and activists.

Info about various ways to support the Jena 6 will also be available.

To Learn More:
Friends of Justice website:
http://friendsofjustice.wordpress.com/jena-6

Watch Democracy Now
http://www.democracynow.org

Questions? Contact:
For more general information, please contact
Lauren Baranco of Assemblyman Karim Camara’s office
at 718.756.1776 or barancl@assembly.state.ny.us.

All media inquiries are directed to
AKILA WORKSONGS Public Relations
at 718.756.8501 or at pr@akilaworksongs.com