photo by Kevin Moore

2016 has been a decidedly difficult year for most people…we would be remiss if we let the year pass without acknowledging the death of someone close to TGP.

We met Mike Pinkney aka Mike the Mover around 2002 when we were located in Berkeley.  At the time, he was doing jobs for VC groups and a number of notable Bay Area families.  He started out giving us extra furniture, and then he helped us move our warehouse to Oakland (and later Alameda).   He had an extensive knowledge of wiring and completely rewired two separate offices for us.

Mike would always tell us stories about his life…growing up in New York with neighbors like Lena Horne, moving out west, working for much of his life at Pac Bell, and losing one of his children in a terrible accident.  He was a biker who enjoyed having an Irish Coffee at Brennans. He survived cancer and rehabbed himself after a stroke.

We will miss his kindness and wit, rest easy Mike.

Lyrics Born joins Blackalicious for a few year-end shows.

Dec 28 The Fillmore, SF
Dec 30 Nectar Lounge, Seattle
Dec 31 Star Theater, Portland

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Christmas came early: Dave Paul is giving you a free download of all 7 volumes of Bomb Hip Hop’s Return of the DJ series.

Rappcats is releasing a new Madvillain vinyl figure with a bonus 7″ of the song, “Avalanche”.  Hop over to rappcats.com to preorder.

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If you’re in L.A., you really don’t want to miss the Rappcats Record Sale going on this Saturday.  Michael McFadin from Ubiquity is bringing records from “Boston” Bob Gibson’s collection, with a focus on rap records/records that influenced and were sampled for hip hop  from the 80’s and 90’s.

Saturday, December 3rd, Noon-6PM
Rappcats, 5638 York Blvd, Los Angeles 90042

Rappcats x Ubiquity Records Pt. 2: Rap, Disco and Rare Grooves and Beats from the Dealer who Influenced the Hip Hop Sound of the 90s.

More info on Rappcats.