Very limited, import-only Vinyl LP edition of Pip’s SFR debut!
Each LP will come SIGNED by Scroobius Pip! Includes lyric sheet.

Click here to order yours

***While Supplies Last: All “Distraction Pieces” LPs will be shipped with a FREE 1″ Scroobius Pip Button!

Scroobius Pip has broken ranks from his beat-making sparring partner Dan Le Sac to release his solo album, ‘Distraction Pieces’ via Strange Famous Records in US/Canada. This Vinyl LP is a UK-only edition only available in the US at SFRstore!

“Introdiction” is produced by Renholder, aka Danny Lohner, (Nine Inch Nails / A Perfect Circle). The album features collaborations with fellow SFR crew Sage Francis and B. Dolan, as well as P.O.S. of Doomtree, plus extra production from Richard Russell of XL Recordings, Radio 1′s Zane Lowe, Aupheus, Worgie, and Steve Mason. Yila served as the project’s executive producer.

“I grew up listening to punk and hardcore so bringing some of those influences into the hip hop/spoken word world in which I write has
 been a pleasure. Hope you all enjoy it!” – Pip

Tracklisting

1. Introdiction (produced by Renholder)
2. Let ‘Em Come (ft Sage Francis & P.O.S. Produced by Worgie & Yila)
3. Domestic Silence (produced by Worgie & Yila)
4. Try Dying (produced by Worgie, Yila with programming by Richard Russell)
5. Death of the Journalist (Produced by Zane Lowe)
6. Soldier Boy Kill Em (ft B Dolan. Produced by Aupheus, Worgie & Yila)
7. The Struggle (Produced By Steve Mason)
8. Broken Promise (produced by Worgie & Yila)
9. Feel It (ft Natasha Fox. Produced by Yila)

2/16 Madison, WI at HIGH NOON SALOON
2/17 Minneapolis, MN at TRIPLE ROCK (SOLD OUT)
2/18 Chicago, IL at BOTTOM LOUNGE
3/15 Las Vegas, NV at DADDY MAC’s
3/16 - Los Angeles at Troubadour
3/17 - San Francisco  at INDEPENDENT
3/18 - San Diego  at BELLY UP

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To make sure you don’t miss out on future announcements, please sign up for the newsletter at Strange Famous Records. This is the only sure-shot method of catching a show announcement as sometimes they pop up at random.
♥
-Uncle Frank

2/16 Madison, WI at HIGH NOON SALOON
2/17 Minneapolis, MN at TRIPLE ROCK (SOLD OUT)
2/18 Chicago, IL at BOTTOM LOUNGE
3/15 Las Vegas, NV at DADDY MAC’s
3/16 - Los Angeles at Troubadour
3/17 - San Francisco  at INDEPENDENT
3/18 - San Diego  at BELLY UP

 SAGE FRANCIS will be playing the MidWest shows with Kristoff Krane & Metermaids!

*CHICAGO UPDATE* Dark Time Sunshine has been added to the bill! THESE SHOWS WILL SELL OUT, SO GET YOUR TICKETS AHEAD OF TIME!

Hitchens Tribute “THE GODCAST IS NOT GREAT” by Strange Famous Records

We lost a great writer, journalist, debater, intellect and free thinker to cancer on December 15, 2011. Much can be said about Christopher Hitchens, some good and some bad, but rather than speak in his defense I’d rather just let the man speak for himself. No one can do it better.

This 38 minute tribute is a collection of audio clips taken from Hitchens’ debates, interviews & speeches. Similar to previous Godcasts, the music is a mishmash of various genres and song clips, ranging from the familiar to the obscure, all arranged and edited by yours truly. You can download it for free by clicking the “down arrow” on the Soundcloud audio player.

TRACKLIST:

Offended Every Day
Hitchler
F*ck ‘Em or Fleece ‘Em
Genital Mutilation
Vicarious Redemption
Breech of Taste
A Most Subtle PSA
The Argument that Never Goes Stale
It’s Called Culture
Limerick Roll
The Original Repudiation
Theresa Cult Vs. Empowerment of Women
The Clever Clever Question
Dropkick Me Jesus
A Final Note

THIS IS THE THIRD INSTALLMENT OF THE GODCAST SERIES. CHECK OUT THE FULL GODCAST SERIES BY CLICKING HERE.

A man in the US Army sent me this photo of his LI(F)E tattoo just as the Iraq War was declared officially over. As this war was predicated on false information, I didn’t have to ask what he meant when he said, “I wanted to send you this because I’ve been living the worst kind of lie.”

Our brothers and sisters fight wars over seas and they’re told that it’s to preserve our freedom, but then they come home to see things like the National Defense Authorization Act have passed, stripping Americans of MORE civil liberties. The madness continues and Li(f)e goes on for now.

Please get home safe, sir.

 
Click here to see all 200 Li(f)e tattoos.

This free MP3 features a reconstruction of Dr. Dre’s original beat, brilliantly reanimated by UK producer BUDDY PEACE. Label CEO, SAGE FRANCIS, opens the song by picking up the gavel where Dr. Dre left it 23 years ago, introducing a blistering, true-to-style flip of Ice Cube’s original verse by SFR cornerstone, B. Dolan. TOKI WRIGHT (Rhymesayers Entertainment) follows up by stepping into the shoes of MC Ren, penning the people’s struggle against cops as a case of “Goliath Vs. a bigger giant.” Finally, Jasiri X (Pittsburgh rapper/activist) rounds out the track by filling in for Eazy-E, reminding us that police brutality disproportionately affects poor people of color.

With the Occupy Movement bringing various forms of injustice to the forefront of people’s consciousness, “Film the Police” is a reminder that cops have been a continued and increasingly militarized presence in public streets. Thanks to the widespread use of smartphones and video cameras, along with the popularity of social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, the power of the media has been put back into the people’s hands as they document the injustices perpetrated by those who have sworn to serve and protect them.

For the next 2 weeks, all SFRstore orders will include a limited edition “FILM THE POLICE” sticker!

Click the ‘down arrow’ icon on the embedded Soundcloud player to download your FREE MP3 of the unedited version!

If you wish to download the clean Radio Edit version of “Film the Police” you can do so here.

*CHICAGO UPDATE* Dark Time Sunshine has been added to the bill!

Feb 16 – Madison, WI - HIGH NOON SALOON - Tickets at: http://tinyurl.com/SageMadisonTix

Feb 17 – Minneapolis TRIPLE ROCK. THIS SHOW HAD ALREADY SOLD OUT!!!

Feb 18 – Chicago, IL - BOTTOM LOUNGE- Tickets at: http://tinyurl.com/SageBottomLoungeTix

If you are on Facebook, the events page for this tour is HERE. Please “attend” and share this event with friends. Thank you!

For our second issue of Label Spotlight, we caught up with Strange Famous Records front man and lead artist Sage Francis, who founded the indie label in 1996 as a way of self-releasing his own material.

One Thirty BPM: First and foremost, could you briefly describe Strange Famous as a label? How many artists and releases are credited to the label, and how would you define its ‘sounds’?

Sage Francis: When I began pressing my own music I decided to use the name “Strange Famous Records.” Because, you know, having a label name makes a photocopied, hand-cut cassette tape cover look all that more official. I had to learn the business side of things through trial and error, but common sense and intuition go a long way. Eventually I had all sides of the business situated and I decided to start using my knowledge and resources to help out other artists I was working with. At that point, the SFR staff grew and the roster grew. I have no desire to expand into a monster company though. I want to keep things small enough where I can overlook each item and maintain as much quality control as possible while still having fun and doing interesting/unexpected stuff when I feel like it. I also don’t know if we’ll even be operating as a “label” down the line as no one knows how the industry will end up. To date, we’ve signed about 15 artists and we’ve taken on about 25 projects.

As for our sound, I suppose we’re mainly a collective of lyricists with an introspective lean. It’s underground emcee shit. We also have instrumental albums though, and some projects are just for fun. If you inspire and entertain me, and if I think you’re a trustworthy person who could benefit from having me obsess over every aspect of your art, you’re a good SFR candidate. Of course, you’ll eventually want to ring my throat or vice versa.

What was the drive behind heading up your own label?

It was basically out of necessity as there weren’t any labels checking for artists like me. Not until I proved I could build a strong fan base and, eventually, outsell most of the conventional artists they were previously jocking. Of course, at that point, after I had already done all of the dirty work, I didn’t really need a label’s help. What I mainly needed was distribution. I made some concessions along the way, working with various labels on various projects, but if I had enough capital early on I would have saved myself a lot of trouble. A lot has changed since back then, and I often feel overwhelmed with label duties, but it’s nice being able to make decisions to play the game or hate the game whenever I want.

What has surprised you most about running your own label that maybe you weren’t aware of as a signed artist?

I think I’m most surprised at how unreliable, lazy, and shady people are on all sides of the business. People are so desperate to get what they don’t deserve while doing as little work as possible. From “publicists” to “promoters” to “distributors” to “managers” and on and on and on. I know this shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it still blows my mind. Honestly, it doesn’t take much to move up in the system if you’re a competent and trustworthy person with a good work ethic.

Are there any unique release methods that Strange Famous either has pursued or is currently pursuing, be it digital or physical?

Everyone is obviously moving toward digital now, which means a lot of the old school methods of releasing albums are going the way of the dodo bird. Honestly, it bums me out. I like physical packaging. I enjoy the process of creating it, putting it together, handling it, and everything else. I don’t want to come up with digital package deals or thinking up innovative ways of pushing digital media. That’s not how I grew up experiencing and appreciating music. Alas, that’s what we have to do. In the meantime, I’m still going to come up with ways to make physical product enticing and available, even if it means going back to jailbreaking Kinkos machines. Currently I’m on a “personalize as much product as possible” kick.

What can we expect from you in the next few months? Long-term?

With the holidays coming up we’re going to be putting together specialized package deals which is usually what we do at our online store. I haven’t talked about the SFRstore yet, but I’ve found that dealing directly with our fans has been essential in keeping afloat as an indie label. This has been increasingly important as all the indie stores close down. Other than that, I’m working on a mixtape as well as an official album for 2012. Same with B. Dolan. We expect a collaborative album from Prolyphic and Buddy Peace. Cecil Otter is still working on his follow up album to Rebel Yellow which he says should be ready by next year. There are a couple other tricks up our sleeves as well, some crazy videos in the works, but nothing I can divulge at the moment. I expect next year to be very busy for us as far as music and shows are concerned.

This drab pamphlet that they offer at casinos for people who have overextended themselves should also be offered at shopping malls. Heck, why stop there? Put them in schools, churches, banks, etc. There should be an old, crotchety man in a black hooded robe handing these out at the entrance and exit of all hospitals. I’ve been told that this pamphlet looks particularly fitting in my hand. Well, let me tell you something…I’m a survivor. I survived the big fun.

Always remember, never forget: “Slow and steady wins the race, fuckface.”

Trading in your bungee cord for a Li(f)e line = When the Fun Stops.

Playing “HipHop Guess Who” with B. Dolan & Scroobius Pip = When the Fun Begins?