the dope report

Prominent legalization activist Jack Herer, author of 1985 book The Emperor Wears No Clothes died Thursday, April 15. He was 70 years-old. Herer passed away after months of serious health complications from a massive heart attack in late 2009. California NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer said Herer was an idealistic, hard-headed pioneer who had a voice louder than any P.A. system.

“Jack’s big contribution was to raise awareness of hemp and the importance of hemp in American agriculture and industry before the mid 20th century. I saw an immediate impact when his book came out around 1990. I had just gotten involved in the marijuana movement and it was the height of the war on drugs. People would just avoid you like the plague. Then when Jack had his book come out, hemp suddenly became an environmental issue.”

We lost one of the most talented and gifted emcees to ever bless the mic. Bang your head to “Code of the Streets” and pour one out for Gang Starr’s Keith Elam, better known as Guru, who passed away yesterday after a yearlong bout with cancer. Guru’s legacy will live on through decades of vital hip-hop recordings. [MTV]

TDR fave Deer Tick shares the first MP3 from The Black Dirt Sessions, track “20 Miles”.

Recorded late last year at Black Dirt Studios in upstate New York, lead vocalist and songwriter John McCauley proves all you need is a couple chords, a trashed voice and more heart than the next guy. Called the country-rock breakthroughs of 2009, Deer Tick live is a boozey, swaggering affair – like the dude from The Hurt Locker started a band; an especially apt comparison given that the Providence, RI act has performed for Pentagon TV several times, and hence become a huge favorite for military men and women. A documentary film about the band, City of Sin should come out this year 2010. Tour dates and June 8 album release details after the jump.

Apparently the upcoming album from LCD Soundsystem is so good that one of TDR’s favorite comedians, Aziz Ansari, posted a link to stream it right now. This is Happening hits U.S. stores May 18. [Aziz is Bored]

Maybe it’s because we grew up on the NES and SNES, but the beats of Flying Lotus register as 8.3 on the richter scale of dopeness. This Tuesday at Noon PST, the Los Angeles producer spins a set for L.A. net radio all-stars Dublab. Tune in, listen and drift off. FlyLo just released Daedelus’s EP on his own label Brainfeeder. And here’s a track with him and Thom Yorke.

Hey, we all hate the shit they play on the radio (if you don’t, leave now because we hate you too). Not all of us go ahead and make up our own radio like DJ Shadow did. If you prefer better music and absolutely no annoying morning show hosts giving out tickets to local junior college theater productions of A Raisin in the Sun, then listen now.

“I was upset when I heard the news, as I’ve always had a soft spot for Malcolm. I knew him since I was 17 before the Pistols formed—I used to drive him around in Vivienne Westwood’s car to the tailors in London in the days of the ‘Let It Rock’ clothing store. Malcolm was definitely the Brian Epstein of punk—without him it wouldn’t have happened the way it did. I stayed friends with him throughout the years despite some of our differences. He came on ‘Jonesy’s Jukebox’ a couple of years ago, and that’s a good memory. But my fondest memory of Malcolm, and I loved the guy, was his birthday gift to me when I turned 21—he got me a hooker and some heroin.”

—Statement from Steve Jones, 4/9/2010 about Malcolm McLaren, who passed away yesterday

Spring is in the ear and LA producer Daedelus’ new “Righteous Fists of Harmony” sounds like an absolutely darling fit for the season.