Not a fan of the shoes but this commercial is hilarious

Interview by Jamie Benson
Ever wonder who the genius was behind the infectious track that helped catapult Wale to worldwide fame? The producer responsible for “Nike Boots,” Osinachi, is far from a one hit wonder. Even before you caught the black-and-white masterpiece video all over MTV, Osinachi had impressed Rodney Jerkins with his beats and signed with Darkchild Entertainment. Now he’s ready to open up – with a brief interview exclusively from elitaste.

From an up-and-coming producer in the DC area to an established producer with Darkchild Entertainment…was it easy?

[It wasn’t] easy at all. It was a tough journey to get where I am at Darkchild. It’s actually even tougher being here, because you always have to be on point at all times.

How’d you link up with the Darkchild team?

I linked with Darkchild through a series of events consisting of me hustling down in Atlanta. I was on a serious grind trying to pass my CD onto somebody – anybody that would listen. The CD got passed around enough until it reached Darkchild’s engineer. The engineer (Tito) gave it to Rodney Jerkins and he wanted to do a deal right away.

Production-wise, which do you prefer: Samples or straight beats?

I prefer straight original beats. I can do both but you’ll appreciate the originals more when those royalty checks come in.

Any big name projects you’ve got coming out soon? Perhaps an album/mixtape on your own?

Well I’m currently working on Ciara’s project, Jordyn Taylor’s project, and I also did some work on Brandy’s new album. There’s plenty of other projects I’m working on but I’ll let those out of the bag a little later. As far as albums/mixtapes…[nothing] at the moment. I’m just focusing on the priority projects here at Darkchild.

When we caught up with Southeast Slim, he told us a great story about meeting Wale at Virginia State. Were all three of you working together?

Not actually. I’ve worked with Wale; I’ve never worked with Southeast Slim before. [Although] Wale and I went to the same college.

The “Nike Boots” video premiered last month and has received an overwhelming positive response from fans in the area and across the world. Was it your mission to capture the essence of the DC scene when you produced the track?

Honestly my goal was just to make a good record. I wanted to make a record that everyone would gravitate to. But I love the response it’s receiving from DC, of course.

Can we expect to hear you on Wale’s debut album?

[Laughs] I’d better be on the album.

You’re in LA now; did you have any trouble adjusting to your new home away from home?

At first yes, but now I’m loving it. Being around celebrities, good weather, women, and palm trees…..can’t complain about that [laughs].

From Elitaste

MTV didn’t have the chyron on the video when it first debuted but they’ve since added it. The video came on last night and I took a picture just so I could address how ridiculous it is that we have a video that Wale paid for himself, directed by Chris Robinson, off a Mixtape About Nothing on MTV. Does anyone else find this as ridiculous as I do? And by the way, the title graphics are called a chyron. Lower thirds are also often known as chyrons in North America and astons in the United Kingdom, after the major suppliers of lower-third editing systems. Other common terms include superbars (or simply supers) (US) and name straps (UK). You learn something new on elitaste everyday!

I don’t think people realize how revolutionary this Naughty By Nature video was. First off, Treach was a straight up sex symbol rapper back in the early 90s. Second, the padlock on the chain link around the neck…so powerful. 3rd and possibly most monumental are the snowboarders. Snowboarding…in a rap video…in 1995. Today that might not be THAT big of a deal but remember when Stevie Williams was one of the first pro black skaters to get like super sick? Remember when Pharrell had black skaters in the “Frontin” video…don’t front like you weren’t kind of surprised by that a little. That was only a few years ago. Naughty By Nature had black snowboarders in 1995! Now…correct me if I’m wrong…but not until 2003 did another rap group feature snow resort activities in a music video; a Wale and elitaste favorite: Young Gunz f. Rell in “No Better Love.” This is one of those few videos where I actually would love to be hanging out and doing what they are doing. They are keeping it real grown and sexy in the lodge with a few select ladies; none of this out of control club nonsense. Clearly they brought the chicks skiing for the weekend and they’ve committed to being with them for a couple of days, perhaps it’s love? Not only that, they probably aren’t going to bed super late because they want to hit the slops in the morning; maybe some Irish coffees after dinner and some Scattegories. “Hey Chris and Neef…can me and this girl who I kinda like come to the ski house this weekend too? Yeah? Can I hitch a ride in the range and maybe borrow a thermal? Sweet!”

EDIT: Thanks to Pierre, I stand corrected about this…Silkk The Shocker f. Trina “That’s Cool” (1999…notice the Dreamcast reference). I’d never seen this video before but this is great. It’s like a Ruff Ryders video but instead of Yonkers it’s Juno, Alaska and instead of motorbikes, it’s snowmobiles.

Daniel Merriweather ‘Change’ – Making Of

So that’s how they did it!!! Click HERE for video

From Elitaste

I had high hopes. I really did. The trailer gave me goosebumps. I grew up in LA listening to both Pac and BIG. I’d been to museum where BIG got murdered. I felt emotionally attached, like I’m sure many of you do. But this movie just did not do him justice. Was it bad? It wasn’t good. It could have been worse. It’s definitely worth seeing just to catch Naturi Naughton playing Lil Kim. I had no idea she was in 3LW, but damn has she grown (she gets naked a few times in the movie)

Click HERE to download

The Linkin Park MC-Producer shares his top nine from ‘08 (even though “Let’s Ride” was from 07’s 100 Miles & Running).

1. “Dr. Carter,” Lil Wayne
“I had to limit myself to songs from this year—otherwise, it’s just too hard to narrow down. Lil Wayne is killing it right now, but this song proved to me that he isn’t just the hot rapper of the moment. The concept is genius, and the rhymes are just ridiculous.”

2. “Rising Down,” The Roots feat. Most Def and Styles P
“For a while it felt like they were trying to do the mainstream commercial thing, but the Roots and mainstream commercial aren’t really meant for each other. This song is a monster: very conscious, very dark, very political. I don’t think, like, Soulja Boy could pull it off.”

3. “Use Somebody,” Kings of Leon
“No disrespect, but I always thought they had this cool factor that took priority over everything else. Now they’re just making good music, period. This is soulful, rootsy, bluesy and universal.”

4. “Swagga Like Us,” T.I. feat Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Kanye West
“When I first heard M.I.A. sing the ’swagger like us’ line in ‘Paper Planes,’ I knew it wouldn’t be long before someone sampled it. But this lineup is just incredible.”

5. “Cyanide,” Metallica
“An absolute monster. Welcome back, guys—we missed you.”

6. “Waiting Room,” Fugazi
“This song came out in 1989—an all-time favorite from the first band I fell in love with. Literally everything about it is great. Just download it, trust me.”

7. “Black President,” Nas
“Of all the celebrity Obama endorsements, this one felt the most real. It’s honest, conflicted and complicated.”

8. “M79,” Vampire Weekend
“I heard about these kids on Current TV. I saw the name and thought they were some
kind of hardcore metal band. Then I heard the music. It’s good to have some records in your collection that are upbeat and fun, for when you’re hanging out in the backyard or driving
to the beach. It’s a perfect summer song.”

9. “Let’s Ride,” Wale
“I check out music blogs a lot, which is where I first heard Wale. He’s part of this D.C. scene—it’s all very loud, the opposite of that spare, minimal old-school vibe–and he’s got a great flow. And his Seinfeld mixtape is hilarious.”

10. “Body Snatchers,” Radiohead
“One of the best bands of our generation. I wasn’t crazy about Kid A—it felt like they were wandering off a little too far into space. It’s good to have Thom Yorke orbiting planet Earth again.”