Kosha Dillz & His Hustle To Happiness

Over the last several years I've had the opportunity to get to know MC Kosha Dillz and the privilege of watching his career and character evolve and blossom.  The man also known as Rami Even Esh has come along way from the formerly incarcerated KD Flow.  Graduating from freestyles and CD-R's to commercial releases in record stores and characters in video games.

2012 was quite the rollercoaster for Kosha Dillz - starting with a Super Bowl commercial and grinding through Paid Dues Festival, Warped Tour, Rock The Bells, tours with RZA, Matisyahu and Alex Clare, being in the BET Cypher and ultimately ending with what he does best - freestyles on stage.  All of his traveling certainly took a lot of effort and money, and also provided a platform for a lot of content creation.  Now he needs to edit all that content and he's reached out for donations so he can complete the documentary of his trials and tribulations - a film he calls Kosha Dillz Is Everywhere: The Hustle to Happiness.

Check out his clever Kickstarter video and then figure out if you've got a buck or two to send his way.  His Kickstarter campaign is here.

Tonight in L.A. (October 24, 2012)

A week before Halloween goes down - you can already start giving your costumes a taste of nightlife if you're going as a ninja by celebrating the pending release of the latest Tarantino influenced Kung fu film, The Man With The Iron Fist, with RZA as he takes to House of Blues Sunset.  He is joined by the Guerilla Union family and a cast of rapping characters – including some Wu brethren (rumors of U God, amongst others) as well as freestyle veterans Supernatural and Kosha Dillz.  Check out the superdope new video from RZA and Black Keys for a song from the film's soundtrack.

Head west on Sunset – and get even more use out of your costume - where you'll find Black Crystal Wolf Kids finishing up their residency of cover (or costume) music at The Viper Room with Ninja Betty and The Nunchix and The Damselles & TC4 -  making it their best line-up yet.  Flume continues tearing up L.A. locals – this time at Low End Theory with Eprom topping the bill.

The jammier set can get down with Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons at The Mint.  We have a pair of tickets to dish out - so hit us at contest@supergoodmusic.com if you are interested.  Otherwise - dig through the list below to find something else that suits your sonic proclivities.

• The Darkness, Heaven’s Basement @ Club Nokia

• Rhiannon, Otmaro Ruiz, Abraham Laboriel, Alex Acuna @ bluewhale

• Calexico, The Dodos @ Fonda Theatre

• RZA, Supernatural, Kosha Dillz & More @ House of Blues – Sunset Strip

• Mike Stud @ Troubadour

• Staff Benda Blill, DJ Glenn Red @ El Rey Theatre

• Jason Lytle w. Sea of Bees @ Largo

• Black Crystal Wolf Kids, The Cool Table, The Damselles & TC4, Ninja Betty and The Nunchix @ The Viper Room

• Tori Kelly, Travis Garland, Brandyne Burnett @ The Roxy

• Eprom, Slugabed, Flume @ Low End Theory (at The Airliner)

• Freaks N Treats w/ Fista Cuffs, Manics, Robot Factory @ Los Globos (FREE for 21+)

• Here We Go Magic, The Dig, The We Share Milk @ Bootleg Theater

• Sierra Swan, Charlie Wadhams, Diana @ The Satellite

• Unicorn Kid, Jerome LOL Teams @ The Echo

• Dub Club @ The Echoplex (FREE)

• The Young Romans, Jesse Thomas, Clues & Codes, Nighttime Adventure Society, Wardell @ The Hotel Café

• Jenna Bryson, Morgan Leigh, Kelly Paige @ Room 5 Lounge

• Aaron White Band, Barley Legal, Nick Shattuck @ Saint Rocke

• Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons, SonnyBoy & Guests @ The Mint

• Tangent Transmission, Naked Walrus, Dollface, Kiven @ The Central SAPC

• Bassjackers, FYOR, Doc Rez @ Yost Theater

• Winter People, Speechwriters LLC, Dawn Mitschele, Ryan Dilmore @ WitZend

• House of Vibe All-Stars @ Harvelle’s

• Blok, Death Hymn Number 9, Dead Terror @ Alex’s Bar

• Kim Free @ Amoeba (FREE)

• Melvins (LITE) @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery

• Taking Back Sunday, Bayside, Man Overboard @ Fox Theater Pomona

• Toadies, Helmet, Ume @ House of Blues – Anaheim

• Graham Parker @ The Grammy Museum

• Ni Modo, One Tribe Nation @ Redwood Bar

• Koffin Kats, Los Creepers, The Silver Shine, Sandbox Bullies, The Trenches @ SLidebar (FREE)

• Kreayshawn @ The Observatory

• Cory Feldman’s Truth Movement @ Whisky A  Go Go

• The Wingard Manor, Bird of a Black Feather, Polari, The Valentine Killers, Elux @ Three Clubs

• Kiki Ebsen, Grant Langston and the Super Models, Nominee feat. Storm @ Molly Malones

SSMF - Day 1 Recap of The Doors/Day 2 - Rap on The Strip

Sunset Strip Music Festival 2012 is now well under way...

A serious tribute to The Doors, which included Ray Manzarek playing a keys solo on "Light My Fire" as if he'd never play again, upped the bar on this still young festival.   Joined by a parade of musicians including Billy Morrison, Matt Sorum, Mark McGrath, Emily Armstrong (Dead Sara), Linda Perry and Franky Perez - as well as Door's members Bobby Krieger and John Densmore - the third SSMF launched with a big blast off.

Early close time at the Tribute meant other Sunset Strip enclaves opened their doors to the parade of festival-goers for the likes of Lady Sinatra at The Viper Room, Peter Murphy at The Roxy and more.  Finding my way over to The Viper Room - Murphy's vocals pierced the air for a crowded house of rock fanatics and I got spent on a bit of a Roxy family celebration.  Big shout outs to @nicadler for not only operating one of L.A.'s top venues and being so hospitable, but for also playing such an instrumental role in bringing the entire Sunset Strip Music Festival (@ssmf) together.

Tonight Festival goers can grab a healthy dosage of hip-hop - from Hollywood scene rapper Mickey Avalon at The Viper Room to the Shaolin stylings of RZA at Key Club.  RZA will be joined by rising Jewish MC and freestyle entertainer - Kosha Dillz - so make sure to get their early....

Peep videos from RZA, Mickey and Kosha Dillz here.



RZA



Kosha Dillz Freestyling at The Mint on Wednesday with Erick "Jesus" Coomes' Peasant Party 



Mickey Avalon - "Tight Blue Jeans"

SSMF - Day 1 Recap of The Doors/Day 2 - Rap on The Strip

Sunset Strip Music Festival 2012 is now well under way...

A serious tribute to The Doors, which included Ray Manzarek playing a keys solo on "Light My Fire" as if he'd never play again, upped the bar on this still young festival.   Joined by a parade of musicians including Billy Morrison, Matt Sorum, Mark McGrath, Emily Armstrong (Dead Sara), Linda Perry and Franky Perez - as well as Door's members Bobby Krieger and John Densmore - the third SSMF launched with a big blast off.

Early close time at the Tribute meant other Sunset Strip enclaves opened their doors to the parade of festival-goers for the likes of Lady Sinatra at The Viper Room, Peter Murphy at The Roxy and more.  Finding my way over to The Viper Room - Murphy's vocals pierced the air for a crowded house of rock fanatics and I got spent on a bit of a Roxy family celebration.  Big shout outs to @nicadler for not only operating one of L.A.'s top venues and being so hospitable, but for also playing such an instrumental role in bringing the entire Sunset Strip Music Festival (@ssmf) together.

Tonight Festival goers can grab a healthy dosage of hip-hop - from Hollywood scene rapper Mickey Avalon at The Viper Room to the Shaolin stylings of RZA at Key Club.  RZA will be joined by rising Jewish MC and freestyle entertainer - Kosha Dillz - so make sure to get their early....

Peep videos from RZA, Mickey and Kosha Dillz here.



RZA



Kosha Dillz Freestyling at The Mint on Wednesday with Erick "Jesus" Coomes' Peasant Party 



Mickey Avalon - "Tight Blue Jeans"

Rock The Bells 2012

Saturday marks the launch of the 9th annual Rock The Bells Festival - as it returns to San Bernardino's NOS Events Center for the first of three weekends around the country.  The hip-hop mega fest is slated to deliver a hefty dosage of current heavyweights, veterans and artists who are clearly on their grind.  

From the opening words of Dom Kennedy on Saturday to the final verse from Nas on Sunday - Los Angelenos and hip-hop heads from far and wide can rejoice in a celebration of the culture and some undoubtable surprises.  Some of those we can spoil for you - like the fact that Biz  Markie will join DJ Lance Rock (of Yo Gabba Gabba), Saafir and Ras Kaas reunite wth Xzibit for a special Golden State Warriors performance and Psycho Realm opens up Paid Dues Stage!  Staring into my crystal ball of festival forecasting - I also predict a few guest appearances from Travis Barker (Yelawolf), Kosha Dillz (some stage somewhere with RZA) and Chip Tha Ripper (Kid Cudi) are bound to happen....

The full official line-up includes all of the following: Kid Cudi, J Cole, DMX + Eve, Method Man + Redman, KRS - One, Nas, Wiz Khalifa, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Ice Cube, Xzibit, Golden State Warriors, Kid Ink, E-40 (& Too Short, Deltron 3030, Chief Keef, Machine Gun Kelly, Atmosphere, Killer Mike, El-P, Immortal Technique, Casey Veggies, Dipset, Kendrick Lamar (w/ Black Hippy), Common, 2 Chainz, Tyga, Yelawolf, Future, Dom Kennedy, Jadakiss, Wu Blok, Naughty By Nature, Curren$y, Prodigy, Zion I, Grouch, Eligh, Sean Price, Watsky, Black Knights, Salt-N-Pepa, DJ Quik, Big Daddy Kane, Mix Master Mike, DJ Lance Rock & Friends , I Self Devine, Slim Da Mobster, and Psycho Realm.

You can cop your tickets at www.rockthebells.com and check out a word about the festival from one of its creators - Chang Weisberg.

Check out set times below.  

Rock The Bells 2012

Saturday marks the launch of the 9th annual Rock The Bells Festival - as it returns to San Bernardino's NOS Events Center for the first of three weekends around the country.  The hip-hop mega fest is slated to deliver a hefty dosage of current heavyweights, veterans and artists who are clearly on their grind.  

From the opening words of Dom Kennedy on Saturday to the final verse from Nas on Sunday - Los Angelenos and hip-hop heads from far and wide can rejoice in a celebration of the culture and some undoubtable surprises.  Some of those we can spoil for you - like the fact that Biz  Markie will join DJ Lance Rock (of Yo Gabba Gabba), Saafir and Ras Kaas reunite wth Xzibit for a special Golden State Warriors performance and Psycho Realm opens up Paid Dues Stage!  Staring into my crystal ball of festival forecasting - I also predict a few guest appearances from Travis Barker (Yelawolf), Kosha Dillz (some stage somewhere with RZA) and Chip Tha Ripper (Kid Cudi) are bound to happen....

The full official line-up includes all of the following: Kid Cudi, J Cole, DMX + Eve, Method Man + Redman, KRS - One, Nas, Wiz Khalifa, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Ice Cube, Xzibit, Golden State Warriors, Kid Ink, E-40 (& Too Short, Deltron 3030, Chief Keef, Machine Gun Kelly, Atmosphere, Killer Mike, El-P, Immortal Technique, Casey Veggies, Dipset, Kendrick Lamar (w/ Black Hippy), Common, 2 Chainz, Tyga, Yelawolf, Future, Dom Kennedy, Jadakiss, Wu Blok, Naughty By Nature, Curren$y, Prodigy, Zion I, Grouch, Eligh, Sean Price, Watsky, Black Knights, Salt-N-Pepa, DJ Quik, Big Daddy Kane, Mix Master Mike, DJ Lance Rock & Friends , I Self Devine, Slim Da Mobster, and Psycho Realm.

You can cop your tickets at www.rockthebells.com and check out a word about the festival from one of its creators - Chang Weisberg.

Check out set times below.  

Foster The People (SUPERGOODMUSIC Exclusive Remix) & Other Summer Gems (Kosha Dillz & Tic Tic Boom!)

It seems like light years ago that I predicted Foster The People’s smile music was the sound of the future. Having premiered “Pumped Up Kicks” in SUPERGOODMUSIC’s Concert Blast in early 2010 and claimed it would be the next big thing – its been validating seeing it rise up the charts.

The bands two consecutive sold out shows tonight and tomorrow at El Rey Theatre shouldn’t come as a surprise given their album Torches blazed to number 8 on the Billboard charts, the album moved over 50,000 units and “Pumped Up Kicks” climbed to #1 on the alternative charts. That said, the sell out happened long before those sales figures were in – perhaps a testament to the band's vast array of festival performances on the calendar (Coachella, Sasquatch, Glastonbury, Outside Lands, etc.) or their home grown hype fueled by not only our blog’s love, but support from influential stations like KROQ. BTW, if you dont have tickets to their show - they are doing an after party with the Dance Right crew at La Cita. RSVP if you want to get in.

If you were part of the clan that got tickets to the shows – then you’re in for a glance at one of today’s emerging electro indie rock dance-pop acts. Foster The People’s electro rock-pop (indie doesn’t befit a band signed to a subdivision of Columbia) performances bear clear influence from electronic bands like Miike Snow, Cut Copy and others, as do the directions of some of their remixes – including this exclusive SUPERGOODMUSIC hosted gem “Pumped Up Kicks (Polaris At Noon Remix).”

The intro keys portend the dreamy danceathon that explodes at forty-six seconds into the song and from there, the anti-hero jam takes flight. If PUK was the Song of Summer 2010 as we, BlackBookMag and countless other bloggers had suggested, this remix might just be the right rework of that hipster anthem – ready to bear the title of Song of Summer 2011.

For another local LA band that is pumping out music worthy of consideration (and are friends of Foster The People’s drummer Mark Pontius) check out Tic Tic Boom! Their latest release “Bees” is a cute little indie offering that is ripe for summer. Their recent acoustic performance on Hunnypot Radio turned a lot of ears and brought questions on when their acoustic EP will be recorded (soon) and when their next performances are (The Central SAPC on July 27^th with Kissing Cousins and Correatown). If you have not checked this band out yet – visit their website at www.ticticboommusic.com and get "Bees" for free from their bandcamp page.

Also worthy of summer rotation, but of a totally different music vein, are Weapons of Audio's "If You Want Me" off of their Bipolar record and the just released RZA track that features new LA resident and rising hip-hop MC, Kosha Dillz as well as the legendary Kool G Rap. RZA dropped “Operator” on his facebook and soundcloud page for #WuWednesdays yesterday – giving crowds of heads a hot potato to marinate over after July 4^th BBQs were officially over. The unexpected release of "Operator" came on the same day as Kosha's teaser for his documentary dropped that follows him through some of his trials and tribulations as one of the hardest working MCS in hip-hop.

Read more about Kosha Dillz on his website Kosha Dillz World.