Jay-Z Construction Set

CLAIRE CHANEL AND SCARY SHERMAN have created the new Jay-Z Construction Set. It’s a CD-ROM that collects 9 remixes of Jay-Z’s Black Album (including the Grey Album) along with the a capella vocal track, hundreds of samples and breakbeats, and photos of Jay-Z, his rivals, hot cars, and picturesque scenes– all the pieces you need to make your own Black Album remix and the cover art to go with it. The Construction Set is already blowing up like you knew it would. You can get a copy using bit torrent, and then burn it for your friends.

Big things are happening in music right now, and the Grey Album and its fallout represent the cutting edge. The Construction Set is another shining example of ways that people are starting to take music and music culture into their own hands– from the bottom (production) to the middle (distribution) to the top (redefining the entire industry). Grey Tuesday showed that these new developments are not just internet curiosities; a huge number of people are getting involved, enough to challenge the major labels head on. How much longer will it be before the entire dam bursts and the major labels wash away in a flood of freed music?

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Grey Tuesday continues to receive incredible press coverage: Village Voice, NYTimes follow-up, The Guardian, much more.

And we’ve got some new Downhill Battle projects that we’re hoping to get underway this week, so please stay tuned.