Luke Rudkowski of WeAreChange ran into D.M.C. (Darryl Matthews McDaniels) this week in New York. Rudkowski told D.M.C. of a stunt he was filming at the time: “When bankers come out of the banks and try to grab this money, we pull it away from them and ask them ‘when’s enough enough?’ and ‘weren’t the bailouts more than enough?’” D.M.C. responded with this rap:

Forget about the politics
It’s all about the music
Not just a vocalist for your amusement
Things that Obama did – there’s room for improvement
Bailing out executives
Our schools are getting ruined
Why you thinking all the kids are always being truant
Hey Mr. President, what the hell you doin?
Hate to bust your bubble but a trouble is a’brewin

Run DMC – Christmas In Hollis

The latest free mixtape from The Weeknd is here. Echoes of Silence follows up the great House of Balloons and Thursday. It’s been a busy 2011 for The Weeknd but music fans are definitely grateful for The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye.

The Weeknd – D.D.
Echoes of Silence features nine tracks including a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana.” Need any more convincing? Head over to The Weeknd’s homepage and scoop up your own copy of Echoes of Silence. If you slept on Thursday or House of Ballons, you can download the mixtapes there as well.

If The Weeknd’s homepage is slow, the direct link to Echoes of Silence is here.

Echoes of Silence Track List
1. D.D. (Dirty Diana, Michael Jackson Cover)
2. Montreal
3. Outside
4. XO/The Host
5. Initiation
6. Same Old Song
7. The Fall
8. Next
9. Echoes of Silence

Thievery Corporation has unveiled a new pro-Occupy track and music video. “Unified Tribes” prominently features rapper Mr. Lif, and its video features Lif touring the Occupy D.C. camp and various protest footage.

Mr. Lif said the track is “another sonic molotov aimed straight at the belly of the beast” and “our attempt to offer inspiration, energy, and hopefully a morale boost to the Movement, as it will take persistence and resilience to bring about change to the collective consciousness of our culture.”

He continued: “The Occupy movement is important to me because it is the people’s massive response to the unsavory aspect of human nature known as greed. Occupiers have come together in an attempt to bring about better conditions for the many as opposed to the few.”

Dwight Arrington Myers, also known as Heavy D, has died at the age of 44. TMZ reports that he was brought to an LA hospital today after collapsing in his home.

The actor, rapper, record producer, and singer was well known as the former leader of Heavy D & the Boyz. The group gained fame by creating the In Living Color and MADtv theme songs, and with classic 90s R&B tracks like “Now That We Found Love” (below).

Further detail in this Wikipedia clip:

Heavy D performed the rap on Michael Jackson’s hit single “Jam” as well as sister Janet Jackson’s hit single “Alright”. However, the group’s next album, Blue Funk, was not marketed as well as their previous albums[citation needed], but is widely viewed as an underrated gem.[citation needed] Heavy D then began focusing on his acting, appearing in the television shows A Different World, Roc and Living Single before returning the music charts with Nuttin’ But Love.

More here. RIP Heavy D.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNEgUPKxk7A