Music

Clangin' and Kickin'

Kickdrums and Ray Cash hit the streets.

By D.X. Ferris 

With two hot singles under their belt, the Cleveland hip-hop production team the Kickdrums have just made their full-length collaborative debut with Ray Cash's new Clangin and Swangin street album.

Kickdrums Alex "Fitty" Fitts (also of Spittin Image) and Matt "Tilla" Pentilla are the in-house mixologists of Cash's Rec Reel Entertainment and contributed five tracks to Cash's Sony debut, C.O.D. , including current single "She's a G," which has broken the top 100 of Radio and Records' urban chart.

"The people of Cleveland just need to know that we put Clangin and Swangin together strictly for them -- and to prove to the world of hip-hop that Cleveland and Rec Reel is to be respected," says Cash.

Distributed through www.mixunit.com, the new mixtape was produced independently of Sony's Ghet-O-Vision imprint. Cash fires back at haters on the Cleveland-centered disc, and the producers are able to play fast and loose with samples. A reworked snippet of the "Cash rules everything" chorus from the Wu-Tang Clan classic "C.R.E.A.M." reportedly impressed Wu mixmaster RZA. Other big players have contacted the production team after hearing its work.

After making a splash with 50 Cent on the rapper's Get Rich or Die Tryin' soundtrack, the Kickdrums made their second appearance on Billboard's album chart with The Champions: The North Meets the South, an all-star LP by Greg Street and DJ Kay Slay, the New York City tastemaker DJ. The disc debuted at number 57, buoyed by the single "Pop the Trunk," produced by the Kickdrums and featuring Bed Stuy's Papoose and southern rhymers Yung Joc and Chamillionaire. Fitts and Pentilla have supplied tracks for upcoming Young Jeezy and Juelz Santana albums, and recorded an exclusive cut with Little Brother for a new mixtape by Cleveland's Mick Boogie. Cash is already recording his sophomore Sony release with the Kickdrums in Cleveland.

"Their sound stands out," says Cash. "Damn near everywhere I go, they know about 'em."

· Political punk group Strike Anywhere performs an exclusive in-studio acoustic set on the Sunday, October 1 edition of The AP Show, the new satellite radio show hosted by Alternative Press editors Jason Pettigrew and Scott Heisel. MxPx performs the theme song. For more information, visit www.altpress.com/theapshow.

· Punk-thrash riot squad 9 Shocks Terror performs a 10th anniversary show Saturday, September 30, at the latest incarnation of DIY venue the Tower (9521 Madison Avenue), with Cider, Drop Dread, and No Peace. Expect old favorites, some surprise covers, and guest appearances by former members.

· Favorites from Cleveland's rock-pop past will reunite for the third annual Tommy Amato Rock Relief cancer benefit, featuring sets by Souvenir, Blackened, Intense, Tri-V, State Fair, and others. The show kicks off at 4 p.m. Sunday, October 1, at the Funky Frog (7865 Plains Road, Mentor-on-the-Lake) .

· To warm up for that night's Houseguest CD-release party at Akron's Lime Spider (207 South Main Street), indie rockers Trouble Books will play a set of Houseguest covers at 5 p.m. Friday afternoon, September 29, at Square Records (824 West Market Street, Highland Square). Purchase of the High Strangeness CD includes admission to that night's show.