Foundationmag.com

The Hip Hop world has come out in support of the victims of Haiti through the Hip Hop Helps Haiti Mixtape. Hosted by Aphilliates DJ Ace McClowd, features tracks from numerous well known hip hop artists. There will be a donation link on HipHopDX taking you to the Red Cross Haiti Relief & Development site where you can make a donation to the fund.

Download link - http://mixtapes.hiphopdx.com/Hip_Hop_Helps_Haiti-HHDX.zip

1 Freeway - Time (Produced by Jake One)
2 Joe Budden - 40/40 f. Royce Da 5′9″
3 Donny Goines - No Apologies
4 CNN - Exhibit CNN
5 JR Writer - Who The Hell Are You
6 Ras Kass - Since You Been Gone f. Tracy Rhey & 40 Glocc
7 Roccett - How We Roll f. Dae One
8 Jay Rock - Ballin’ f. Kendrick Lamar & Bow Wow
9 The Game & Nu JerZey Devil - We Stand Alone
10 Method Man Ghostface & Raekwon - Our Dreams
11 Bobby Creekwater - Pardon My French
12 Fashawn - Father
13 Sha Stimuli - What Are We Living For
14 Skyzoo - Salute That
15 Nottz - Shine So Bright
16 Copywrite - Aftermath
17 The Illz - Come In
18 Ali f. Nelly & St. Louis - Sum n’ Bout it
19 Murphy Lee f. Seven Li - Age of 21
20 Ben Jacobs - Hundreds
21 Wordsmith - The Daily Word
22 Lil’ Flip - Feel It In The Air (Haiti Version)
23 Jay-Z Rihanna Edge & Bono - Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour

So we did the photoshoot for the cover-story with the guys of Slaughterhouse up in Astoria a few weeks ago. They were shooting the video for Move On, so me, Rob and the writer Mike Cohen spent the day up there with the new Fab Four.
Here’s the results from both ends.
You can catch Rob at the 2 minute mark of the video on drums.
You can catch the cover at the end of the video.
Shouts out to Mike and John.

(BTW: We know about the typos in the cover. This was just a proof and not the version being printed…)

Interview from Issue #9 of Foundation Magazine.

Studio Science: Kickdrums

Alex Fitts and Matt Penttila are standout producers in a genre full of soundalikes. These two collectively comprise the production team that carries the name Kickdrums, and even if that doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve definitely heard their work before. They landed a beat with 50 Cent in 2004 (”When Death Becomes You”, from the Get Rich or Die Trying soundtrack), doing what many other producers can only dream of, and they did it by virtue of their own hard work and dedication. From the local rappers on Cleveland scene (which serves as homebase to them), to major artists, they’re well connected, and it is no surprise to learn that they have surprising musical depth and production knowledge.

The day that I get in touch with them is shortly after the release of their newest mixtape, Things Don’t Change, and by all appearances, it seems like a little bit of a left turn for them. Electronica-influenced patterns, thumping straight-ahead kicks and distorted synth sounds chase each other around, interspersed by cosigns from MCs you wouldn’t think would cosign something like this…but they do. (more…)

Issue #9 of Foundation Magazine is printing as we speak. Be sure to subscribe or visit FYE, Borders, Walden Books, Barnes and Noble or your favorite newsstand in a few weeks to cop it. This is a big issue for us, we’ve got Obama on the front cover (photo by Marc Nozell used under a Creative Commons license), and of course the inside is full of everyone who has made or is making a mark on the mixtape game. We’ve got DJ Envy, Juelz Santana, Chamillionaire, Swishahouse, DJ Teknikz, Mistah F.A.B., Charles Hamilton, DJ Bedtyme, Coast 2 Coast, Freck Billionaire, Chip tha Ripper, Cory Gunz, Care Bears, DJ E Stacks, and many more. Thanks to all the DJs, artists, and everyone else who made time to get down with us.

For our 8th issue, Mike Cohen got up with T.I. to pen the captivation cover story, “God, Guns & Gangsta Grillz”. Chris Malo caught up with Freeway to talk about his Philly roots, his life now and where his career is headed. Plies schooled Mikey Fresh to the true nature of the rap game. Tony Touch took time between traveling to Holland by way of Puerto Rico to let Andrew McIntosh know about how real DJs move. Blake Avalone and DJ Fine$$e chopped it up about the finer details of crafting R&B mixtapes. Blake also caught up with all the members of Bang Bang Boogie to get the story on the Bronx’s new dream team.

For our 7th issue, Mike Cohen spent some quality time with 50 Cent, Tony Yayo and Lloyd Banks. The resulting story, The Unit, is a must-read for 50 fans. Mike also got up with G-Unit’s legendary DJ Whookid to talk about the life of an international jetset DJ. Chris Malo’s controversial interview with Lil Wayne, where Wayne dis-misses mixtape DJs with a big “fuck you!” stirred up the hip-hop world. Mikey Fresh and Clinton Sparks talked about having a plan for success and Spark’s own experiences in the industry. Nu Jerzey Devil talks with Phillip Mlynar about coming up in the game alongside Game, and his style of crafting hit records.

Issue 6 was a huge turn for Foundation Magazine. The magazine got a make over and took us into 2008. This issue featured DJ Khaled, HNIC Prodigy, Sha Money XL, Dirty Harry, and Bun B.

Foundation Magazine is back with Issue #5 featuring DJ Kay Slay. This issue contains interviews with Cassidy and DJ Thoro, Styles P, Saigon, Chamillionaire, and Joell Ortiz.  There is also a great article on a panel held at NYU entitled “The Present State of the Mixtape DJ”.