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Hey folks, so I know it’s been a few weeks since the Project Korea III event featuring Clara Chung, Decipher, Johnnyphlo, Ailee, and Art of Movement went down but we didn’t want to leave you guys hanging without a recap (in case you haven’t read about the event already). We had some pictures and footage to share but quite frankly none of it came close to the quality of the photos and videos put out by the folks of AllKPOP, one of the major sponsors of the show. So just as a disclaimer, all visual multimedia content we are using here was actually captured by AKP. However, any editorial content presented (TEXT) reflect my opinions and thoughts and do not necessarily reflect those of AKP. Just thought we’d clear that up.

Continue reading about Project Korea III after the break!

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A couple days ago we posted about how Legaci had the opportunity to do their thing in front of world pop star Jay Sean, well it looks like James Ha had a similar experience when Boyz II Men traveled to Korea for a concert event. Here’s a clip of James doing his body beatbox magic for the R&B legends to the tune of Usher’s “Caught Up”. The fellas didn’t know what beatbox was before James started but it looks like they left truly knowing wassup. Way to go James!

Although Johnnyphlo debuted with a mini-album last year entitled The Notebook, he is making his first feature length album debut with his latest release, Basic Strategy. His mini-album was a very strong, albeit short, collection of songs that showed a lot of potential and promise for the relatively new artist. Though he’s spent a lot of time behind the scenes in music, only in more recent years has he stepped into the spotlight and he’s really had a strong start to his career since then. With the release of this album, the biggest question to be answered was whether he could sustain the quick pace of his artistic growth and development or would his progression stagnate? Looking at the track listing it’s clear that Johnny’s enlisted the help of a lot of other artists so let’s jump right in and see if all the work and collaboration paid off. Note: The album includes a couple re-releases from The Notebook, which I will not include in this review since I commented on them in the last one.

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Even though James Ha has made the move to Korea, he’s still got time to drop new music. He recorded this track back in the summer but just now released it after being pushed to do so by a family member. It’s a pretty good R&B track, and James sounds real smooth as always. Vandoza spits with a quick flow that switches up the track pretty nicely. I’m liking this one. You too? Great cause you can grab it for free here!

so i made this song in the summer while i was in a very emo state
and was never going to release it…

but my older cousin in korea is sitting next to me and she is forcing me
to upload it RIGHT NOW… HAHAHA so here it is…

“Meant to Be” – James Ha ft. Vandoza

don’t worry i’m ok now^^… everything happens for a reason

o.y. Happy Valentine’s day yahl^^

After thanking all his supporters at his album released party, Johnnyphlo goes on to announce that his debut full-length album ‘Basic Strategy‘ has been officially released today.

The album is on sale for $10 via paypal but 50% of the proceeds will go towards the relief efforts in Haiti. It will also be available via different online retailers in the near future.

Like I explain in the video blog, I’m going to donate 50% of my sales to Haiti. I’ve never been the type to really go out of my way to help the others around the world. I was always caught up in my own life and lives of those around me that I never bothered to look around to help those that’s really, really in need. With everything that’s happened for me for the past year or so, I just feel so blessed and felt like it was only right to give it back to the world, no matter how small it may be. Also to be honest, I did feel like it will motivate some of you to purchase the album to support the cause. It ain’t about the money. It’s more important to me that you listen to my music and I hope you can feel better knowing that part of what you pay for will go to help those in need!

If the album is as strong as the singles he’s dropped so far, it should be a great listen. We’ll have a review for you as well soon.

Tracklist after the jump:

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James Ha and company do it again. Their cover of ‘Insomnia’ by Craig David is a great mix of acoustic guitar and James’ trademark body beatbox and mix together Craig David & Wheesung’s  version of the song.

Man the youtube cover game is getting tough! These fellas prove you gotta really have your act together to stand out. Good stuff. And I noticed James is rocking a Manifest t-shirt, gotta love the support!

Johnnyphlo’s has just announced the release date for his upcoming debut full-length album ‘Basic Strategy’. It’s all set to drop January 19th, 2010, nearly a year after the release of his mini-album ‘The Notebook‘. This time around he’s collaborated with a list of artists that reads like who’s who of all the top Asian American talent.

We’ve been informed that Ailee, Decipher, DJ Zo, EXP (aka Explicit Linez), James Ha, JL, Lyricks, Manifest, Sam Ock, Schoolboy DUKE, Shogunna, and Viruss 44 are all on the album! A couple of the tracks have been released already like ‘One of the Best‘ and ‘‘Too Late‘ but it seems like there’s a lot more to look forward to.

JP is also holding an album release party in NY, so if you’re in the area you can find out more details at his site.

It’s a pretty cool rendition as James Ha takes AJ Rafael Band’s pop rock hit ‘I Just Want You‘ and turns it into a trippy auto-tuned techno version. I’d like to hear the body beatbox recorded and seperately so its not filtered through auto-tune as well but overall I’d say its a pretty neat remix. James definitely adds a unique flavor to it.

Word has it he’ll be moving overseas soon. Let’s hope the videos and music don’t stop!

I just wonder what’s up with the weird spiderman doll in the closet?

Don’t you love collaborations? Cause we sure do. Johnnyphlo has teamed up with Philly’s James Ha to create a real smooth track entitled ‘Too Late’. After a couple listens I think this is one of those sleeper hits. The melody kind of sticks with you after a while.

Best of all, it’s a free download, so make sure you grab it!

Note: If you pay attention you may notice some additional background vocals from the very talented Ailee. Also some of you may remember them performing this song at the NY Chuseok festival a couple months back.

Lyrics after the jump!

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Veteran + the New School, doin their thing on youtube. James Ha does his body beat box magic as Jin spits off the top. It’s a quick verse but definitely cool to see.