TDK - Life On Record - Nas

This is dope, tapes were a way of life. TDK was ubiquitous in those days, as a brand of choice, but also in graffiti where I grew up near the 23rd street yards. Those yards were the center of Oakland's graffiti culture and inevitably someone, usually Dream, would hold court and tell stories and we'd end up listening and laughing rather than painting. Dope to hear Nas look back on the days when cassettes were the method of capturing and sharing music. Nas and TDK better hope the RIAA isn't listening.

-wm.

Daft Punk - Drezzed

DP-DRZD
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So geeked for the new Tron! The Tron future has had huge influence on me from my youth, helped inform my sense of aesthetics, and was my favorite arcade game... totally wide eyed and excited all over again. Hope cheezy Hollyweird one liners don't ruin it for me.

New Willie Maze Logo(s)

I been kicking around some designs for a new Willie Maze logo… The DJ handle comes from my favorite and perhaps the best baseball player ever to do it, Willie Mays. I’ve been staring a the MUNI logo since i first rode the damn thing as a kid, baffled by the super summer of loveish logo, and once I figured it out, decided it was so appropriate for the city, and was reddish and later orange for the Giants.  I always wanted to flip it over, and with a few adjustments, you got a perdy good WM logo. *baang*  That's gonna be make a sick sticker for a record label.

 

Ambigrams! They're called f*cking ambigrams. The first two letters of my handle also have an ambigrambic quality, when stacked and create hella possiblities for design. Here's one...

Here's a tune in honor of my style idol, and the best to ever do it.

Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)  - The Treniers

 

Ason Jones - Raekwon

Raekwon - "Ason Jones" from kinetikcinematix on Vimeo.


Rae puts it in perspective. We all know the feeling.

Dj Willie Maze - Sister Music (Music Er'Body Sister Like) cir. 2001

What up Fam... in 2001(pre-Serato) I recorded this mixtape (really a tape!) in honor of my sister Adeline, using records I figured she'd dig (thanks for  put'n me up on Tribe when we were kids!).  It's a trip looking back at old mixes... I can hear how fun this was to make.  It's got an ORIGINAL Goapele track we recorded in Dj Fuze/Namane's basement closet that was also my first time behind the boards mixing her vocals, also what we usta call "remixes" mixed live that are now 'mashups' or 'blends,' and a grip of dynamite soul and rappity rap that has stood the test of time. Yowza!

All told, it was a good project that never saw a whole lot of daylight. If you like it, please share it and spread love. Thanks!

 -Willie Maze

WillieMaze - "Sister Music" mix

Download it here.
Tracklist:
Erykah Badu - Bag Lady
Angie Stone - Keep Your feat. Guru (R.I.P.)
Pharoah Monch - The Light
Jill Scott - Love Rain (WilieMaze Re-Work)
N'dea Davenport - Sweet Misery
Talib Kweli - I'm On My Way
Musiq - Sunny (Just Friends)
Outkast - Ms. Jackson
Dj Quik - Well
Whitney Houston - Fine
De La Soul - All Good? feat. Chaka Kahn
Angie Stone Everyday (WillieMaze Remix)
Common - Funky For You
Raekwon - Ghetto
Goapele - Low Down (WillieMaze Exclusive)
Lenny Kravitz - I Belong To You
Zion I - Venus
Toshi Kubota - Nothing But Your Love
Wycleff Jean feat. Mary J. Blige - 911
Bilal - Soul Sister

ps. Wish I still had the tape jacket! If you got one, please holler.

also: GOAPELE has a show coming up in Oakland May 13tha & 14th @ The New Parish!  Don't miss it! Get tix here!

"...Master of None" Art Exhibition by WillieMaze aka Marty Aranaydo

What up Fam, I've been painting alot lately, and somehow talked my friends at Somar Bar where I spin Fridays into letting me show some new work. I was really inspired by the big walls and good lighting, and created a series of new, big works that will be exhibited at their space for the month of May. The show opens officially today, with a reception from 5pm-9pm. I'll post photos of the work soon!
Ugh, i hate writing Bios, but had to craft one for this show. Here it is, I'm presenting it in an effort to get accustomed to doing so... please forgive.

"Martin Aranaydo is a mixed media artist with a strong focus on painting.  A descendant of Native American and Philippino dissidents, his work navigates the universes he walks in.  He has made art in Oakland, San Francisco, and many American cities for a lifetime and has written graffiti for 20 years as a protégé of the late Mike “Dream” Francisco.  His work can be seen on Bay Area walls and in protests and direct actions across the US and Canada.  Martin Aranaydo lives and paints Oakland, and is soon moving to Hawaii to contribute to the freedom struggle of the Hawaiian people."

This show will consist of a series of paintings.

Layers of "Self Portrait" from Willie Maze on Vimeo.

Hope you can stop by and check 'em out! They'll be up thru the end of May.

"...Master of None" Art Exhibition by Martin WillieMaze Aranaydo
Somar Bar
1727 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland, Ca!

Welcome Home AKIL!

First and foremost, massive love and hellllla respect to everyone for supporting Dream Day 2010. I wanted to tell this story when Dream Day was happening, but kept it tight in lieu of legal repurcussions.  Now that this tough situation is resolved,  I'm more than happy and proud to tell you EXACTLY where your hard earned and heartfelt $upport went. . Now that Akil is home where he belongs, Lil John, Dreams brother, thought it would be good to let yall know.

Akil's mother, Nikki Sellers, moved with Akil to Wisconsin to be with her family as soon as she found out that she had breast cancer and she didn't have long to live. Tragically, when she passed, Nikki's  father and mother wanted to keep Akil and raise him, contrary to Nikki's wishes and as stated in her will. Akil who was held against his wishes, wanted desperately to come home and cried every night to Lil John, who has raised him with Nikki ever since Dream was murdered. A custody battle ensued, and legal fees amassed (and still a ways to go). Akil only 10 years old, had lost both parents, and was being held against his will in Wisconsin, away from his family and all he knows. By the time I heard, Dream Day planning was already in motion, and the pressure was on to make Dream Day amazing and raise money the family needs. The money raised from Dream Day 2010 went DIRECTLY to paying the lawyer who got the case thrown out, and Akil was brought home in a few days after Dream Day! I'm really proud to be a part of the community of people who tweeted, facebooked, commented, blogged, attended and dropped money in the milkcrate and made Dream Day a success. You've transformed a tragedy into a good and beautiful deed. Your support brought a kid who had been through more than his share, home to this community who will continue to raise and support him... in his mother and fathers honor.
Thank You.
The Dream Kontinues....
-Willie Maze aka Marty Aranaydo.


Extra huge thanks to:  The New Parish fam, Dj Apollo, Dj Sake One, Dj ShortKut, Dj Platurn, Dj Qbert, Dj Myke One, Fresh Analog Music Experience (F.A.M.E.), The Bangerz (Cutso & Squareweezy), Equipto, Bored Stiff, Mike Marshall, Big G of the 808 Band, TDK dudes for the art, Estria, Bam, Gilad of Live Venu,  Namane, Sele Nadel-Hayes, Oakland City Council Woman Nancy Nadel, and the thousands more who supported...

Catch some of the performances and goodness courtesy of LiveVenu.com (THANKS GILAD!)