Hasta La Gadget!

Photo Credit: The Heatmakerz

Production is an undeniable and absolutely necessary skill in music. In hip hop it might be an even more integral as part of the culture because certain sounds have become tied to artists and even to an era in general. A production group by the name of The Heatmakerz has a sound that has been a staple for certain artists, and to a time period in hip-hop as a whole. The multiplatinum group has produced for Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne, Beyonce, and most notably, the Diplomats. I had a chance to sit down with Rsonist of the group to ask how he got into music, what his thoughts are on technology breakthroughs in music, and where he feels hip-hop is headed. Hearing from such a veteran highlighted some things I had never thought about before, and he even told me a bit about what to expect from the new mixtape the Diplomats will be releasing.

Ironically, Rsonist did not grow up listening to hip-hop music at all. His family is Jamaican so he always had a much better knowledge of Reggae music. The first hip-hop record he explicitly remembers listening to is “Cop Killer” by Ice-T, which he embarrassingly said, knowing that he got into the genre late in life. Originally he had gotten into hip-hop because he had a friend who was a DJ, and would pick up on hearing different records from him. From there he thought it would be fun to starting being a DJ himself, and that is when his knowledge of the genre really started to take off.

He realized that hip-hop was more than a hobby the first time he was sitting in a studio with the legendary Big Pun and his protégé Fat Joe. He was doing a listening session with them on beats he had made, and asked Fat Joe what new producers typically get paid per track. He was told that $5,000 and up was what he could expect. Rsonist says that at that moment he was having a flurry of thoughts,

“When Joe said $5,000 I just realized that if I take this seriously I could really turn this into something. Because even then I knew it was all about relationships. You know, for a producer who’s only been doing this a few months to be in the studio with these guys was huge. I knew people who had been doing it for years, and could never get this meeting. From there I knew it was always just going to be about figuring out that six degrees of separation. It was common sense. That’s when I knew.”

Photo Credit: The Heatmakerz

For an artist who has been in music so long, he says that he never makes tracks with a specific artist in mind because he believes it stifles his creativity. Instead, he will make the beat, and then think about whom he thinks would be well suited to it. A big problem with hip-hop today is that people are not worried about creativity, but are too worried about jumping on the trends that are popular. The Heatmakerz themselves are known for a particular sound, and he says they kept it that way because it is more true to who they are. He realizes certain sounds just are not meant for certain artists, and even though it may preclude him from working with certain people, it does not bother him in the long run.

Curious as to his views about how technology changed music, he was extremely passionate, saying,

“Technology ruined music. It opened the floodgates. Yes, the gatekeepers have been eliminated, but it diluted the quality. It’s just too easy now. You can download a program, and do drag and drop to make beats, which makes you a DJ. If you decide you don’t care for it anymore, you delete your hard drive. I could have never deleted my 13 crates of records I carried around from show to show. Also, since it’s so easy now people don’t have to pay their dues anymore. Everyone feels entitled to fame. Technology just really f*cked up the music game.”

On the evolution of hip-hop since he started over a decade ago, he says he is not upset with how things are. Part of him is protecting his childhood wishing things would stay the same, but he realizes it could not have stayed that way. It needed to evolve. He said since hip-hop had no guidelines, everyone was able to come in and change things to the way they liked. The lack of referees has been good and bad.

An issue he thinks may arise from the lack of guidelines is an implosion of hip-hip. Because there are no rules, it has been increasingly going from what he defined as music, which was sound combined with feeling to a state of sound alone. Soon he feels people will ask themselves why they are listening to something that is just noise.

Instead of worrying about those things though, Rsonist has been busy at work. These days he has been focusing on a new artist they have been working with by the name of Mally Stackz, and have been putting all their energy into the new project that will be dropping by the Diplomats in the near future. He said he really believes this will be what true hip-hop fans have been waiting for.

One would imagine that a group who has sold millions of records, worked with the biggest artists in their genre, and had every success possible with their profession would be content, but that is not the case. The Heatmakerz have been hard at work to put out the music they know their fans love. He said there are things in the pipeline we should really look out for, and that we will definitely be hearing more about them in 2015.

Photo Credit: The Heatmakerz

* ECB launches bond-buying program with new money

* Amounts to 60 bln euros a month together with existing schemes

* Program to run until end-September 2016

* National central banks to shoulder bulk of risk

* Euro tumbles in response

* Road to QE graphic: http://link.reuters.com/jum83w (Adds link to factbox, details Greek debt status)

FRANKFURT, Jan 22 (Reuters) – The European Central Bank took the ultimate policy leap on Thursday, launching a government bond-buying program which will pump hundreds of billions in new money into a sagging euro zone economy.

The ECB said it would purchase sovereign debt from this March until the end of September 2016, despite opposition from Germany’s Bundesbank and concerns in Berlin that it could allow spendthrift countries to slacken economic reforms.

Together with existing schemes to buy private debt and funnel hundreds of billions of euros in cheap loans to banks, the new quantitative easing program will release 60 billion euros ($68 billion) a month into the economy, ECB President Mario Draghi said.

By September next year, more than 1 trillion euros will have been created under quantitative easing, the ECB’s last remaining major policy option for reviving economic growth and warding off deflation. The flood of money impressed markets: the euro fell more than two U.S. cents to $1.14108 on the announcement, and European shares hit seven-year highs.

“All eyes were on Mario Draghi and he has delivered a bigger bazooka than investors were expecting,” said Mauro Vittorangeli, a fixed income specialist at Allianz Global Investors, adding that the news marked “an historic crossroads for European markets.”

The ECB and the central banks of euro zone countries will buy up bonds in proportion to its “capital key,” meaning more debt will be scooped up from the biggest economies such as Germany than from small member states such as Ireland.

The prospect of dramatic ECB action had already prompted the Swiss central bank to abandon its cap on the franc against the euro. Denmark cut its main policy interest rate on Thursday for the second time this week after the ECB announcement, aiming to defend the Danish crown’s peg to the euro.

Draghi has had to balance the need for action to lift the euro zone economy out of its torpor against German concerns about risk-sharing and that it might be left to foot the bill.

WILL IT WORK?

Economists noted that Draghi had said only 20 percent of purchases would be the responsibility of the ECB. This means the bulk of any potential losses, should a euro zone government default on its debt, would fall on national central banks.

Critics say this casts doubt over the unity of the euro zone and its principle of solidarity, and countries with already high debts could find themselves in yet deeper water.

“It is counterproductive to shift the risks of monetary policy to the national central banks,” said former ECB policymaker Athanasios Orphanides. “It does not promote a single monetary policy. This path towards Balkanisation of monetary policy would signal that the ECB is preparing for a break-up of the euro.”

A German lawyer who has been prominent in attempts to halt euro zone bailouts said he was already preparing a legal complaint against the bond-buying program.

Draghi said the ECB’s Governing Council had been unanimous in agreeing that the step to print money was legally sound. There was a large majority on the need to trigger it now, “so large that we didn’t need to take a vote.”

“There was a consensus on risk-sharing set at 20 percent and 80 percent on a no-risk-sharing basis,” he added.

One euro zone central banking source said five policymakers opposed the expanded asset-purchase plan: the central bank chiefs of Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Estonia, along with Executive Board member Sabine Lautenschlaeger, a German.

Guntram Wolff, head of the Bruegel think tank, said the plan’s size was impressive. “But the ECB has given the signal … that its monetary policy is not a single one. That’s a bad signal to markets and a bad signal to everybody in the euro zone.”

The ECB is trying to push euro zone annual inflation back up to its target of just below two percent; consumer prices fell last month, raising fears of a Japanese-style deflationary spiral. But there are doubts, and not only in Germany, over whether printing fresh money will work.

Most euro zone government bond yields are at ultra-low levels and the euro had already dropped sharply against the dollar. Lower borrowing costs and a weaker currency could both help to boost economic growth but there is a question about how much further either can fall.

The ECB could create the basis for growth, Draghi said, but he put the onus on governments to follow. “For growth to pick up … you need structural reforms,” he said. “It’s now up to the governments to implement these structural reforms. The more they do, the more effective will be our monetary policy.”

Draghi was echoing the view of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said: “Regardless of what the ECB does, it should not obscure the fact that the real growth impulses must come from conditions set by the politicians.”

The ECB has already cut interest rates to record lows and left its refinancing rate, which determines the cost of euro zone credit, at 0.05 percent.

Greece and Cyprus, which remain under EU/IMF bailout programs, will be eligible for the ECB program but subject to stricter conditions.

In practice, Greek debt does not currently qualify as another rule stipulates that a maximum 33 percent of the bonds issued by any country may be bought. The ECB and other euro zone central banks already own more than this, although they may start purchases once enough of their Greek bonds have matured to take the total below the 33 percent threshold.

Greece votes on Sunday in an election where anti-bailout opposition party Syriza is on track to emerge as the biggest party in parliament.

($1 = 0.8752 euros) (Writing by Mike Peacock and Paul Carrel. Additional reporting by Noah Barkin in Davos. Editing by Jeremy Gaunt and David Stamp)

On the flight back to Rome from the Philippines, the papal spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, indicated that Pope Francis was ready for another of his now famous airplane press conferences. And this one did not disappoint. He covered a number of topics, including his future travel plans to the United States — the East Coast, yes, California and the Mexican border, no. He longs to see Africa and plans another trip to Latin America.

But none of that made news, not after his comments about “responsible parenthood” and “breeding like rabbits.” In deciding how many children to have, he urged Catholic couples to take account of the concrete realities of their lives and form their consciences accordingly, in discussion with their pastors. Catholic couples, he said, are under no duty “to breed like rabbits.”

Let’s explore the implications of this statement. First, strictly speaking, Pope Francis was not saying anything new. In 1968, Pope Paul VI, in promulgating Humanae Vitae, the encyclical on birth control, used the language of “responsible parenthood” to tell Catholics that they were free to limit or space the number of children they wished to have. There is no obligation on Catholic couples to have large families. In truth, there never has been, although certainly that has been the tradition in many places and times.

What Pope Francis did, however, was to use unforgettable language to encourage parental responsibility. Paul VI’s carefully-crafted language about responsible parenthood — like most papal language — was lost to the public, buried as it was in a densely-written, tightly-reasoned document accessible to experts but not to the laity at large. There are few Catholics with the training, desire, or fortitude to read an encyclical. But when a Pope tells Catholics that the Church does not require them to breed like rabbits, now that gets people’s attention.

So, let’s assume that the Pope knew just how much attention his “breed like rabbits” remark would receive. Why did he say this? Who was he trying to reach? I might guess that he was appealing to the average Catholic couple. What do we know about average Catholic couples? That they are very, very likely to use artificial means of contraception. It is commonly said that 98 percent of Catholic women have used contraceptives at some point in their lives. This figure is rightly viewed with skepticism, but still it is the case that the vast majority of Catholic women probably have.

So, how to interpret what the Pope was saying to that vast silent majority of Catholic women? It is fair to conclude the following: he is endorsing their sense of responsibility in using birth control, urging them to take another look at the Church, and encouraging them to form their consciences by talking to pastors. He is not changing doctrine. He has not altered the Church’s stance on contraception, but he has opened a welcoming door to those who have chosen to use contraceptives for purposes that are not wrong.

This reading of the Pope’s remarks is in keeping with his repeated emphasis on the conscience of the believer. Pope Francis wants an adult Catholicism. He does not want a spoon-fed, clericalized faith, with lay Catholics meekly nodding and following priestly directives like brain-dead automatons. He does not want rule-bound robots. He wants Catholics who think for themselves, who pray for guidance, talk to spiritual directors, and consider how the Church’s teaching fits the reality of their lives.

Looking forward, Pope Francis’ comments on responsible parenthood may be hinting at a theme he will be exploring in his impending encyclical on the environment. We know that he has been working long nights and days for months on this document. We know that it is well-researched and will address issues like man-made climate change. After all, Pope Francis has said as much in many of his public comments.

But his encyclical runs the risk of not being taken seriously if he fails to address questions about population. Large populations consume significant natural resources. The environmental literature makes this point over-and-over again. Pope Francis must come to terms with this argument. My guess is that he may even try to link “responsible parenthood” with larger concerns about the environment and that he has provocatively initiated that conversation with his “rabbits” remark.

Why does Pope Francis continue to use press conferences at 30,000 feet to make so many thought-provoking comments? It seems he is doing so because he wants to change the ways popes talk. Popes for centuries have spoken in a technical vocabulary and then only in carefully circumscribed conditions. Insiders call it theology, those on the outside might call it jargon. The Church’s canon law even prescribes the appropriate degree of weight and seriousness particular types of papal speech should be given.

There is no provision in the canon law governing the papal airplane interview. And that may be precisely Pope Francis’ point. Jesus did not speak in obscurantist prose under carefully-guarded conditions. And neither will the Pope. He is using these airline interviews as a way to step outside the established conventions and to say things that have always been off-limits. He wants to get conversations started and many of these conversations are about first principles. Let’s not forget, when Pope Francis asked that famous question about gays, “who am I to judge?” he did so in an airplane interview.

My hunch is that the Pope relishes the chance to reopen these debates. For too long the Church acted as if major questions had been settled for all time. Questions like the goodness and legitimacy of gay relationships. All that remained was to pronounce anathema. By asking, “who am I to judge?” Pope Francis changed all of that. He did not change doctrine. But the Church also can never go back to business as usual. We are watching a newly-engaged laity see to that.

“You don’t have to breed like rabbits.” No, Pope Francis has not changed doctrine. But he has started a debate. The contraception question will never be viewed in the same way again. I was in college in the 1970s when my lagging faith was revived by the vigor of internal Catholic debates. The richness, vitality and diversity of an intellectual tradition really and truly engaging the problems of the world was attractive to me. Pope Francis is doing his level best to rouse that tradition from its long midnight slumber. And he is certainly causing many people to give the Church a fresh look.

Malfoy is back. Scared, Potter?

Image: Giphy

Some know him as Hogwarts bad boy Draco Malfoy. Hermione Granger knows him as a “foul, loathsome, evil, little cockroach.” In real life, however, he’s actor Tom Felton. Since the last “Harry Potter” movie hit theaters in 2011, Felton has appeared in various projects, including “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” “The Apparition” and recently coming to TV in “Murder in the First.” Now, you can see the actor as bombardier Tony Pastula in the upcoming film “Against the Sun.”

The movie tells the true story of three World War II pilots whose plane crash landed in the South Pacific. They had nothing except a small raft, each other and thousands of miles to civilization. Felton recently spoke with HuffPost Entertainment about the role, his time at Hogwarts and even which wizarding houses some famous faces might be sorted into:

How do you think you’d do in a real survival situation?
Oh my lord, I’d be awful. I mean, the three of us, everyday on set, between Jake Abel, Garret Dillahunt and I, thought how did they do this? Bear in mind, we are on a very strict diet. We had to lose a lot of weight for the job. So just to even imagine what it would’ve been like for these guys to have nothing. It was a real reminder that although we were struggling in our own realm, we had nothing to complain about at all.

Wow, so you couldn’t eat candy or anything?
I didn’t quite understand the diet at first. When they said, you know, you have to eat every two hours, and it has to be just X-amount and Y of this. I had to have daily searches in my hotel to make sure I wasn’t smuggling away treats and chips.

Image: Giphy

What was the best thing about growing up at Hogwarts?
Oh, I mean, where do you start? It’s a hell of a lot more interesting that normal school. I actually went back and forth during my time there from my real secondary school back to Hogwarts, and pretty much everything about Hogwarts is better. I mean, the wardrobe for one. The robes had huge pockets, so I managed to stuff them with candy and chocolate and chips, and, in fact, come the fourth film they sewed the pockets up for most of the cast thanks to me leaving chocolate in there and melting it. So I have sort of a reputation for that.

And yeah, still actually as we speak, I’m wearing a pair of Slytherin socks. So yeah, I’m definitely not forgetting about where I came from anytime soon.

I have a list of celebs. Think you can sort them in Hogwarts Houses?
Okay, I’ll do my best.

1. Kim Kardashian
Slytherin. For sure.

2. Justin Bieber
Ah, wow. I can see a trend coming here. He’s gonna have to join me in Slytherin as well. He’s a bit of a bad boy.

3. Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is far too good. We’ll say Gryffindor.

4. Ariana Grande
Um … that’d be Ravenclaw. I know she’s a Potter fan. I’m not sure. She seems very sweet. Let’s go Gryffindor again.

5. Kanye West
Hufflepuff. Definitely. He confuses me a bit, but that’s the house I’d go with.

6. Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus is definitely part of Slytherin. Absolutely.

7. Harry Styles
He seems like a cool guy. I’ve met him a few times. He’s very sweet. Let’s stick him in Gryffindor I think.

8. Gwyneth Paltrow
She’s Ravenclaw. Very loyal. We’ll go with that.

9. Pitbull
He’s got to be a Slytherin. Hasn’t he?

J.K. Rowling said she was “unnerved” by young girls being attracted to Malfoy. What do you think about that?
I think it must be an allure for the bad boy. I think people actually hated him for a lot longer. He was the victim in “Half-Blood Prince.” That kind of maybe changed people’s perceptions about him, gave him a little bit of sympathy. I thought a lot of people liked the black suit. It maybe has something to do with his dapper wardrobe. But yeah I think it’s just everyone loves the bad boy a little bit I guess.

Have you ever taken a “Harry Potter” character quiz? If so, who did you get?
You know what I did. I’m sure it was someone that I did not want to be at all. Not a bit. Filch for some reason. I’m definitely not taking the Pottermore quiz anytime soon for the sorting hat because I’m just too terrified that I’d end up in Gryffindor or something like that. I’m just proclaiming that I’m a Slytherin and that’s the end of it. [Ed. note: For the record, Felton’s worst nightmare recently came true.]

What was it like being punched by Emma Watson?
Uh, pretty hardcore. She’s got a mean right hook, that girl. It was originally a slap I think, so I said, “Let’s test it out now. Give me a slap and try to work on it,” meaning give me a screen slap, a fake slap. But she actually smacked me on the face pretty hard, and I walked away from that rather listening impaired with my tail tucked between my legs.

Image: Giphy

What was your favorite line?
The one the fans seems to come back with is, “My father will hear about this.” They like that one. Anything with the word “Potter” in it. The one about the hippogriff, “Bloody pigeon,” I believe is a fun one. I like that.

Was it weird adjusting to Muggle life after the movies?
Not so much immediately. I really honestly thought that the “Harry Potter” flame would die after the film stuff. So it’s just seemingly getting more and more popular as the years are going on. And it doesn’t seem like fans are tiring of it anytime soon. It’s fantastic.

What was your favorite moment from filming?
It really is impossible to pick one. I met my girlfriend of seven years on the set at the Great Hall. She was playing an extra one day. So that’s pretty special. That, and I’d say getting to have a good wand fight in the bathroom with Daniel was pretty fun. We spent the day in there blowing the hell out of that place, so that was a lot of fun.

Are you really a wizard?
I don’t want to say because I don’t want to ruin fans’ expectations. I gotta keep it quiet. Only at Hogwarts.

10 points to Slytherin for outstanding moral fiber!

Image: Giphy

This interview has been edited and condensed.

A federal judge just sentenced journalist Barrett Brown to 63 months in prison and ordered him to pay nearly $890,000 in restitution for charges related to the 2011 hack of Stratfor Global Intelligence. Brown’s supporters maintain that the young writer and activist was “merely linking to hacked material.” For that, he’ll spend about five years behind bars. That sucks.

Read more…