File: March 2009
TO NYC AND BACK
Last August, Chicago high-school student and beatmaker C-Sick wasn’t even sure he would be allowed into the Metro to compete in Red Bull’s renowned Big Tune beat battle. Despite his age, the then 17-year-old wound up taking home the Chicago title, thanks to his punchy, desktop-born hip-hop. Then, four months later at New York’s Highline Ballroom, the young, reserved South Sider became the national champ.
“In New York, I felt like I was in a movie!” C-Sick recalls. “Everybody was there, from known artists to hip-hop heads.” Since taking the beat-battle crown, C-Sick has no doubt gathered increased interest in his production, which is rooted in boom-bap, Chicago juke, and more. “At the time [of the battle], I was really low-key but now people are actually starting to know what I do and what I have accomplished,” he says.
In 2009, C-Sick has already worked with Common in addition to other established acts. Still, the student is in no hurry to soak in the limelight. Instead of focusing on selling his beats off Myspace, he’s opting to open up his repertoire to “improve the diversity” in his production and gain appreciation from a “different group of people who have a different taste in music.”
– Max Herman
REAL AMERICAN HERO
The United States Military recently broke its own Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy when it awarded Kip Winger an honorary memento, officially announcing its smoldering man crush on the pearly-toothed hair metal frontman. It also proved someone actually did listen to Winger‘s last record, 2006’s IV (Shrapnel), a concept album about our current military engagements, without all the liberal, right-wing, puff-ball politics. During a February surprise ceremony, General Harold Cross gave Kip a plaque in appreciation of “Blue Suede Shoes,” a song from IV that honors “the service and sacrifice of our United States armed forces and their families.”
In fact, the man famous for singing “She’s only 17/Daddy says she’s too young/But she’s old enough for me” has become such an asset to the military, he’ll be passing out pamphlets at shopping malls around the country in attempt to up enrollment in the 35-year-old- caucasian-women demographic.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?
Heavy popular music is on life support nowadays, Fred Durst says, but fear not because Limp Bizkit is here to revive it. In rock-reunion news second only to Led Zeppelin’s 2007 gig, the original Bizkit lineup (Durst, Wes Borland, Sam Rivers, John Otto, and DJ Lethal) allegedly plans to tour and record this year. “Allegedly” is used because though a “joint statement” by Borland (who quit the group in 2001, rejoined in 2005, and quit again the same year) and Durst was released announcing plans to re-dominate, the guitarist doesn’t seem all that psyched. The same day news of Bizkit broke, Borland told Rock N Roll Experience, “I’m only doing the shows overseas with them and we’ll see what happens.” Hmmm. And what about the new album? “With those guys, don’t believe it until you see it. As of right now, there’s nothing happening.”
Nothing except new publicity photos, apparently.
— Trevor Fisher
