DD172
Jan 29, 2010 etc.
Here’s something else I have been meaning to post about.
DD172
It’s part of the arthouse collective assembled by none other than Damon Dash. Yup, that Dame Dash. Also called the 24 Hour Karate School, he has put together an art gallery, recording studio, art studio, television studio and magazine all under one roof. It’s very Warhol-esque. And from the looks of who hangs out and what is produced, it’s kind of exciting. From what I have read, the focus seems to be on creativity and not pressure for product. Everyone from Curren$y to Mos Def to Jay Electronica to Mars Volta to Mickey Factz turn up to hang out and collaborate.
The first official release was the album BlakRoc. Consisting of the Black Keys along with guest appearances from Raekwon, RZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Jim Jones, Mos Def, Nicole Wray, Pharoahe Monch, Ludacris, Billy Danze and Q-Tip.
To be honest, I haven’t heard the whole record. So much leaks on the interwebs, when an album officially drops after all the pushbacks, I miss it or assume I have already heard it in its entirety before it was released.
They have been doing some late night talkshow appearances and the performances were pretty good.
There’s also video from Dash’s video production arm of DD172, Creative Control, for the BTS stuff.
Here’s another video from Creative Control, filmed at DD172 and a few pictures of the space after the video.
The Village Voice blogged about DD172 a few weeks ago.
The name BlakRoc is obviously a shot at Jay-Z and the “DD172″ is Dame Dash from 172nd & Lennox Avenue, Harlem.
There’s been a boatload of negative press at Dash over the last few years and I don’t want to get into all that. I have heard nothing about what a dickhead he is, but we won’t get into that either. I applaud him for the hustle and thinking outside the box, keeping it moving, and trying to fuel artists and their creativity instead of draining or exploiting it.
The fact he is supposed to have a magazine makes me wonder too…
Tags: Billy Danze and Q-Tip, Black Keys, BlakRoc, Curren$y to Mos Def, Dame Dash, Damon Dash, DD172, Jay Electronica, Jim Jones, Ludacris, Mars Volta, Mickey Factz, Mos Def, Nicole Wray, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Pharoahe Monch, Raekwon, RZA, Village Voice
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