http://www.freethedjs.com Fri, 10 Aug 2007 05:20:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en As we await news of Drama and Cannon's legal situation, keep your eyes on the News section of the Gansta Grillz website for continuing updates: "Police raiding the Aphilliate office and going on television and saying, 'DJ Drama and Don Cannon are bootleggers.' [Given] what mixtapes have meant to hip-hop ... http://www.freethedjs.com/2007/08/10/drama-took-the-fall-for-hip-hop/ I'm getting ready to do a mixtape for about 15 indie artists and need a contract. Anyone out there got one I can look at or use? http://www.freethedjs.com/2007/08/07/mixtape-contract/ Yesterday's Sunday Times Magazine features an article about the on-going DJ Drama drama: "Drama and Cannon’s studio was not a bootlegging plant; [...] they were part of an alternative distribution system that the mainstream record industry uses to promote and market hip-hop artists. Drama and Cannon have in recent years ... http://www.freethedjs.com/2007/02/19/nyt-gets-into-the-mix-you-bastids/ This right here is an Op-Ed piece I wrote about the situation for the Boston Globe. It's kind of playing catch-up at this point, mainly because the original version focused more 50/50 on Drama/Cannon & the 2 Boston guys. I wanted to use the "hoax" to more specifically point up ... http://www.freethedjs.com/2007/02/13/boston-globe-op-ed-piece-21207/ It's good to have a dude like MattSoReal on the case. He dug up some unreal text from the RIAA's anti-piracy files: TIPS FOR CONSUMERS: STEERING CLEAR OF ILLEGAL CDs · Remember the Adage “You Get What You Pay For”: Even if you are hoping to get your favorite albums at ... http://www.freethedjs.com/2007/01/23/riaa-to-music-fans-avoid-blurry-graphics/ "Mainstream analysis" continues: Today's NYT features another well-informed, somewhat sympathetic piece on the Drama drama. This one was written by Jeff Leeds, who's shown himself to be a pretty sharp industry analyst of late. Plenty of juicy quotes in there, though some could be juicier. For example, rather than naming ... http://www.freethedjs.com/2007/01/22/now-thats-what-im-screamin/ Aishah Shahidah Simmons, sister to Tyree "DJ Drama" Simmons, lays it bare in an open letter on Davey D's blog: "No one will ever be able to explain to me why the hell a SWAT Team of at least 30 strong went charging into the Aphilliates Music Group studio as if ... http://www.freethedjs.com/2007/01/22/mixtapes-are-just-the-beginning/ As the news of the RIAA's raid on Drama and Cannon makes its way across the net, it's clear that people outside of hip-hop simply don't understand mixtapes. Case in point, consider the following comment from digg.com: Just a guess here... but it sounds like they were probably rapping over ... http://www.freethedjs.com/2007/01/21/mixtapes-matter/ Brad Buckles, executive vice president of the RIAA's Anti-Piracy Division in Washington, D.C is quoted in another MTV article vaguely declaring war on the mix tape scene. We don't consider this being against mixtapes as some sort of class of product. We enforce our rights civilly or work ... http://www.freethedjs.com/2007/01/20/9/ Accding to this MTV spot, Lil Wayne, among others, appears totally unwilling to challenge the RIAA's position on mixtapes (despite them playing an essential role in launching or revitalizing many a rapper's career). Pull quote via the Diplomats' DukeDaGod: If they had a mixtapes seminar, that would be hot. Have the ... http://www.freethedjs.com/2007/01/20/d-day-or-we-day/