Not sure if you've heard, but the Winter Olympics are starting next week, and they are in Canada! Vancouver to be precise. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get that Winter Olympics fever pretty bad - there's nothing that heats up my February like some hot Biathlon action.

So then, how about something a little patriotic to get us all fired up to dominate all those Estonians and Slovaks who are heading to Vancouver next week to try and deprive us of our destiny of winning the overall medal competition. Well I can't think of anything more suitable for such a purpose than Classified's Oh Canada. Last month, Class put the call out for folks to come out and help him film the video for this very pro-Canada song from his last album, Self-Explanatory, and the results are pretty fun.

However, the point of this series is to post some of the remixes we're sent, and it just so happens we have one that's Classified-related. Halifax native, and DJ extraordinaire Skratch Bastid has flipped a rather ubiquitous radio favorite from Iyaz with Classified's The Maritimes - not a likely combo by any means, but the results are rather enjoyable. So, enjoy.

VIDEO:: Classified - Oh... Canada

MP3:: Iyaz - Replay (Skratch Bastid Classified Maritimes Remix)
MYSPACE:: www.myspace.com/hiphopclassified
MYSPACE:: www.myspace.com/skratchbastid

Labels: Classified, Remix, Skratch Bastid, What's This A Party?

There's a chance you might have gotten this impression if you've been reading my curmudgeon-esque posts for any length of time, but when I lived in Toronto, I was not "up in the club" all that often. Bars, pubs, even the odd tavern - sure, I was in my fair share of those, but attendance at the city's dance-oriented establishments was rather poor. However, were I still in T.O., there's an event coming up this weekend that might have gotten me to go against the grain.

Skratch Bastid Presents: Scratch, Skratch, Scratch goes down this weekend at Revival Bar in Toronto. The show features, of course, Skratch Bastid, who will be joined by the legendary Scratch from The Roots, and Canadian DJ vet Starting from Scratch. The three of them have been working on a number of live routines that blend the the two DJ's scratching & mixing with the beatbox wizardry of Scratch, as they re-work a number of classic beats & breaks. The Stopper. The Screamin' Jay Hawkins sample that biggie made famous. A Spoonie Gee/Run DMC mash-up. If you're a fan of classic hip hop, you'll like think it's awesome stuff, so check the videos of their practice routines below.

Before the videos though, we've got another Skratch Bastid-related treat for you: his new remix of Kardinal's hyper new hit, Clear. It's only right that Canada's hardest working DJ should do a little something with the ever-hustling Kardi, and this Planet Rock-sounding remix is really solid, so enjoy!

MP3:: Kardinal Offishall - Clear (SKRATCH BASTID REMIX)
MYSPACE:: www.myspace.com/skratchbastid

Skratch Bastid & Scratch - The Stopper


Skratch Bastid, Scratch, DJ Starting From Scratch - 'Screamin Jay Hawkins'


Skratch Bastid & Scratch - Spoonie Gee/Run-DMC

Labels: Kardinal, Remix, Skratch Bastid

It's Thursday, and that means one thing here on the hill: videos. Well, at least it does on weeks like this when we get ourselves organized and manage to compile a few of the best clips we're sent into post format. I think it's appropriate that on the week it was announced that the hill will be crashing the Polaris Prize this year and bringing some Maritime flavour to the festivities (Ack as a Grand Jury member, myself as the Ack's Weed Carrier), that we give you an all east coast edition of Video Hits. With videos from Classified, The Danks, The Novaks, and a little bonus footage from DJ Skratch Bastid, we've got a little something for everyone, so lets get to it.

It seems like Classified has been putting out quality videos for years now, and that's all the more impressive when you consider this latest record is his first with any kind of major label support. That kind of hustle likely explains why Classified is one of the most successful hip hop artists Canada has produced. This is a simple video, for a fairly straightforward, but very catchy, autobiographical song, and it works quite well. Class is in the studio pulling an all-nighter, and the maintenance man is kind enough to hang around to sing the song's hook. Class's dad sings the hook on the record, but I have no idea if that's him in the video.

Classified - Up All Night

MP3:: Classified - Up All Night
MYSPACE:: www.myspace.com/hiphopclassified

Watching The Danks new video for Planet Beach made me realize that we haven't posted a review for their debut full-length, Are You Afraid of the Danks, which is unfortunate, as it is summer-ready indie pop at its finest. So we'll see if we can't do something about that (and they will certainly be on our PEI mixtape when that drops in the hopefully not to distant future), so for now you should watch their rather sharp looking video, and then go check out their album.

The Danks - Planet Beach

MP3:: The Danks - Die Young
MYSPACE:: www.myspace.com/meetthedanks

From one east coast island to another, The Novaks rep St. John's to the fullest, and they check in for a rather stylish effort for There Goes The Night, which was one of my favourite songs from their latest release. I have to say, although I like the look of this video, I have no idea what to make of it. I think perhaps it's some kind of commentary on corporate greed, but then again I could be completely wrong. Doesn't much matter really, so just enjoy the sights and sounds.

The Novaks - There Goes The Night

MP3:: The Novaks - There Goes The Night
MYSPACE:: www.myspace.com/thenovaks

** Bonus Time **
There aren't too many more enjoyable hip hop-ish things I can think of than an awesome DJ driving a crowd crazy and having a ball whilst doing it. Well this here video is exactly that, as Halifax native Skratch Bastid does the "Out Here Grindin'" rountine from his new %110 mix, and the folks at the Paragon are very appreciative of his efforts. Perhaps you feel the same.

Skratch Bastid - "Out Here Grindin" Live - from 110% mix

MP3:: Skratch Bastid - Out Here Grindin'
MYSPACE:: www.myspace.com/skratchbastid

Labels: Classified, Skratch Bastid, The Danks, The Novaks, Video hits