While at the Norva in Virgina on the "All 6's and 7's" tour the guys from DGTLX WW dropped in on ¡Mayday! and here's what came of it. Reality show anyone! LOL

The305.com: Crazy Hood is a name that should be familiar to you if you’ve been a long time follower of The305.com and/or a longtime follower of the local Miami hip hop scene. They’ve dived deep into the music industry from the artistry side and in the marketing and promotions side. Well, you can add another notch to Crazy Hood as they are now jumping into film world with the launch of the Crazy Hood Film Academy, a subdivision focused on video production. Just recently they directed a few videos including one with Mayday and another with N.O.R.E. And earlier today, they released a behind the scenes they filmed at N.O.R.E.’s shoot for “Finito”. I recently caught up with DJ EFN and Garcia, both who run Crazy Hood Film Academy. Garcia was deep into the filming world years ago, and just now recently resurfaced via this new venture. Click below to see what we can expect from these guys and their new venture…
 

305: So explain what exactly is the Crazy Hood Film Academy?
DJ EFN: Crazy Hood Film Academy is the visual arm of C.H.P. (Crazy Hood Productions Inc.).

305: What inspired you guys to jump into the film side of things? And who’s part of the company/crew? DJ EFN: Over the years C.H.P. (Crazy Hood Productions Inc.) has worked closely with many of Miami’s top directors and film companies prior to their reaching a certain status. So early on we knew the importance of visuals to our business. Several years ago C.H.P. artist GARCIA went to film school and had directed early videos for Wrekonize, ¡Mayday!, Heckler and others. Garcia put down the camera to focus more on his music and family life and it wasn’t till recently that I told him it was time to pick it back up. I myself started dabbling in visuals and was working with Dre Films on a series I called “DJ EFN Visual Mixtapes”. The series consisted of high quality made for web street videos. Both myself and Dre got a lot of acclaim from the blog world for our work but not long after, Dre got the call from Maybach Music to join their team. So it was only natural for myself and Garcia to partner up in what we now call the Crazy Hood Film Academy. We both collaborate creatively but Garcia is the director and editor and I am the executive producer and producer on the projects. We are not closed to collaborating with other people or companies and have already done so. We also work very closely with another Miami film company by the name of Film Heads which people will start seeing a lot of their work soon!

305: Garcia, you’ve definitely stepped back from the film side of things for a few years, so glad to see you back. What’s your take on the state of the music video industry now and the whole expansion of filming in hip-hop and music in general?
Garcia: Thanks man I’m glad to be back. As far as the question, I think its a good thing that every artist has a camera by their side now. For marketing aspects that’s great. The flip side to that is this: does every guy with a camera know what their doing? I mean honestly some of the videos we have been seeing coming out, could be done with so much more taste and creativity. I like what Dre films has been doing a lot with Ross because I know he knows his camera and takes pride in the editing process. Its apparent in what he shoots, and I don’t say that because I know him. But a lot of cats think just because they buy a camera they can call themselves a director. It’s far from the

Here is a recent interview Heckler did with WRBITV on the G Spot Show. In this interview Heckler talks about his recent solo album release as well as the current state of Hip Hop. Heckler also talks about his music maturing with him. Check out Heckler's debut album "No Joke (da album)" HERE.

Here's am interview that Tech N9ne did with LP33 TV right before he murdered the stage at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, California. Our very own ¡Mayday! is currently on The All 6's & 7's tour with Tech N9ne so check for dates and cities nearest you.

Our homie Al Lindstrom interviews Tech N9ne while Tech was in NY last month. In part 1 Tech talks about the early years in his career, Quincy Jones, 2Pac, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. In part 2 Tech talks about the creation of his label Strange Music and signing new acts like our very own ¡Mayday!. Tech also talks about the 'All 6's & 7's' tour. Tech N9ne's new album 'All 6's & 7's' is in stores now and is has already reached #1 on Itunes Rap releases and #3 top release. The album is also expected to come in high on the Billboard charts. Above is pt.2, hit the jump for pt.1.

Check out this interview LA Weekly did with DJ Quick. Quick goes through his old stomping grounds in Compton and talks about coming up in the game. Spotted at 2dopeboyz.

NBC's Nitecap with Peter Bailey talks to Cool & Dre about their humble beginnings as well as working with Game, Ja, Cash Money, and new commercial with Spike Lee. Hit the jump to see Peter Bailey's interview with our very own ¡Mayday! a few months back.
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I found this Premo video at Imflashy. Premier talks about putting together the B.E.T. Cyphers and more. Here's what Imflashy had to say:

DJ Premier made his way to Chicago a few weeks ago for the Red Bull Big Tune finals and we had the opportunity to sit down with him to talk about what he’s been up to lately. In part one of our exclusive interview with the legendary producer, we discuss his role with the BET cyphers and how BET is sitting on exclusive footage of Busta Rhymes’ cypher but didn’t put it out because he didn’t want to. Premier also discusses his upcoming project, his new artists and to wrap up, he mentions possibly doing some work on Drake’s upcoming sophomore album and that Drake is currently working with 9th Wonder. As you can tell in the interview, when we mentioned Premo and Drake working together we got the classic “cough” method from Premier’s manager. Now does that mean he was signaling to Premo to be hush hush on how much he reveals about the two of them working together or was it simply a coincidence that he had to cough at that moment. I guess we’ll see in time, but I’m pretty sure they’re cooking up something extra dope.

Part one of TheWellVersed interview, check out the rest by going HERE. Spotted at 2dopeboyz, so good lookin' out!

Cube talks all things West Coast, including why "Are We There Yet" is more powerful than "Burn Hollywood Burn."

What can you say about Ice Cube that hasn’t already been said? If Gangsta Rap had a Mount Rushmore, you’d expect O’Shea Jackson’s infamous scowl to be chiseled on it somewhere. As far as Hollywood is concerned, the likes of Chris Tucker, Bernie Mac, and Eva Mendez all owe Cube a debt of gratitude for getting their initial big screen buzz courtesy of a CubeVision project.

Musically, people want another Kill At Will or another Death Certificate, but once you go to verbal war with the LAPD chief of police, chin check some of the most high-profile emcees of the era and catch the attention of the FBI, how much more do you have to prove? It’s almost as if Cube wrote “The Nigga Ya Love To Hate” two decades too soon.

Ice Cube could have easily sat back, and played it safe on his albums. Instead he’s still kicking up dust—laughing at newcomers who feel entitled to his endorsement and discussing Hip Hop, Hollywood and race in candid terms while the country is divided between party and bullshit and Tea Party anger. Having just released his eighth album, Cube explained how “Are We There Yet?” and I Am The West can both be weapons in the same fight. Both should give people plenty to say, and as usual, that’s just means everything is working as planned.

HipHopDX: Your movie career and the transition to being an independent artist set the tone for your last two albums. How did your Internet presence, especially your blog, do that going into this album?

Ice Cube: To be honest, there still isn’t that guaranteed connection between the people you reach on the Internet and those who are going to support the project. Everybody’s really trying to figure out how the computer helps you in the long run and if you can really measure it. You never really know how much time to put into it or how much to push it to get maximum awareness. I think all you can ask for now is maximum awareness. But it did pretty good, I guess.

DX: I Am The West and Raw Footage were released within two years of each other, while Laugh Now Cry Later came after a six-year layoff. Do you have a preference on how often the projects are released?

Ice Cube: Nah, I just do it how I feel it. I’ll tour off this record for a little while, then I’ll get to a point where I feel it’s time to start recording. When I do start recording, I never really put a time limit on myself, because that always makes you go kind of crazy. If you start working on a record and you go, “Oh, it’s coming out in May,” that puts you on this time clock and you start to press.

I always just start working on the [album], and once I get enough records to feel like things are coming together, I pick a date. It makes it easier to complete the record and meet the release date.

DX: How much does you being in control of the label and being independent factor into all of that?

Ice Cube: A lot. When people give you money to do something, they want it done as soon as possible. If I was on a [major] label, the record would probably come out a little faster, but the music

Straight from IAmAshleyOutrageous: During Donnis' Miami debut, at LIV nightclub, I sat down with him to discuss whats going on after 'Fashionably Late' has been released, rumors about him having beef w/ B.o.B, becoming a fan of music & more!

24: What made you want to produce compared to being an artist or singer, manager, etc.? I’ve always had a love for music since a young age. When I was about 12, while others were recording "Yo! MTV Raps" videos on their VCR’s, I was actually extracting audio from the TV and recording it on tape so I would have all the exclusive hip-hop music at the time. That’s when I started making mixtapes. I then started MCing at about 16 in high school and eventually production at 22, so yea I have had a love for the music since an early age.

24: What other producers, songwriters and/or artists do you see as your primary inspirations? I have a heavy influence of 90's hip-hop from the whole Wu-Tang movement to the whole Queensbridge movement, Organized Noise, Rap-A-Lot in the south and Deathrow in the west. As far as production, I gotta say Dr. Dre, RZA, DJ Premier, Alchemist, Just Blaze, Timbaland just to name a few of the producers I respect highly.

24: How would you describe your production style? I consider my style to be very versatile and unique at the same time. A Hazardis production can range from a sample heavy boom bap east coast sound to a 808 heavy southern style melody or somewhere in between. One thing you can always expect is heavy bass and top quality. That’s one thing I always make sure of is that its quality sound.

24: What is distinctive about a Hazardiz Soundz production? Well most of the joints I work on, I’m hands on from beginning to end meaning. I produce it, record it and mix it. There for giving heavy input in the whole process and giving ideas as well to the artist while recording. Since I am a certified engineer, it’s always a perk because I know how to always accomplish the sound the artist and I are after.

24: Do you consider yourself a producer or a beat maker and explain why for either answer? I definitely consider myself a producer basically because of what I just mentioned in the last question (laughs).

24: How do you approach making your beats, do you start with the drums first or a kick? It really depends sometimes. It could be a melody or a sample, other times could b a bass line. All depends on where the inspiration is coming from.

24: How did you first connect with DJ EFN and CNN? I first connected with EFN back in 06, I had just released my mixtape/compilation "Hazardis Material Vol. 1", so I was in the streets heavy, I had a joint on there with EFN's artist Garcia which also featured B-Real from Cypress Hill, so I was already on his radar because of that joint. Then I kept working with Garcia going down to Crazy Hood like every Wednesday for a few months, then I landed his next two singles which were both on heavy rotation on the radio so EFN then decided to make me part of the team. A few months later, I was at Crazy Hood and EFN longtime friend, artist Noreaga came through for a studio session and I was the engineer, me and N.O.R.E. had good studio chemistry from the beginning, working fast and knocking out joints with ease. N.O.R.E. was happy with the sound and the way we worked, he then recorded 2 joints over my beats "My Name is N.O." and "Cocaine Cowboys". The rest is history! CONTINUE READING....