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momentsinsong · 5 years ago

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Moments In Song No. 021 - Tromac Pineapple

“Moments In Song” asks people one simple question, “What are you listening to?” For every installment we ask someone to make a playlist of 10 songs they’re listening to, whether it be something new they stumbled upon, or a song they’ve always loved, and explain the story behind their choices. We aim to show that no matter where we come from, what we do, or what we look like, music has the ability to bring us together.

DMV producer/rapper/DJ Tromac Pineapple reaches every corner of Hip-Hop and brings it together in his playlist. We talk to him about digging through Bandcamp for music, what makes a good DJ, and his new project the Velour Vandal EP.

Listen to Tromac’s playlist on Apple Music and Spotify.

Words and photos by Julian.

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Julian: First thing I wanted to ask you is what the thought process was behind making your playlist? People always say it’s hard picking 10 songs to squeeze into it.

Tromac: Well I wanted to spread across my taste as wide as possible. I actually had a hard time once I got to like 7 songs because I was like, “Damn, I can only put in three more of those joints, but I know 5 that I could pick.” I pretty much just wanted to touch on the different types of music I like. I still didn’t even get across all of it.

I noticed that a majority of the playlist was Hip-Hop, but different types of Hip-Hop. You have some boom bap stuff with “Free (Type Shit),” Dilla, and Anderson. Then you have more turn up stuff like WiFIGawd and Ghostie. That Ghostie song caught me off guard. It has a little house feel to it that I wasn’t expecting.

Yeah see I had to add that, because Ghostie is one of the most versatile artists I know. As versatile as this playlist is, he’s six times as versatile as that. As a fellow producer in this area, I have a whole lot of respect for him. And that’s my mans, so I’ll be listening to it anyway. Shit be cranking, no matter what genre he tackles. And then I also have the “Free (Type Shit)” joint because it’s just so smooth and it hits. The beats, the boom bap. That’s one of my favorite things in Hip-Hop. It’s just so powerful. That’s also why I got the J Dilla joint on there. That’s like my favorite Dilla beat of all time. Straight slap, the drums, the snares. The whole thing. It's just hard. Classic. Undeniable.

When did you first really start listening to music and developing your own taste, instead of just listening to what was on the radio?

Pretty much when I was in 9th or 10th grade. Back then my main taste was just mixtapes and shit. The first favorite rapper I ever had was Lil Wayne, and he’s still like top 5 to me to this day. I would just listen to endless mixtapes, because before I graduated High School I just loved to listen to underground shit. I literally didn’t listen to albums and would only listen to mixtapes. I would listen to the first three Droughts, Sorry 4 the Wait. That was my favorite mixtape of all times for like 18 years (laughs).

Were you on DatPiff and all those sites?

Oh bruh, I had a DatPiff account, LiveMixtapes, Sprinrilla, all of that.

So how did listening to mostly mixtapes branch off into listening to other types of artists and other types of music?

Well basically every now and then I would look into what was new that week…

Still on the mixtape websites, or is this on something else?

Yeah still the mixtape sites but at this point I also got into Bandcamp, and that was some real underground type shit. When I got into Bandcamp I was also making my own music at this point and was posting it on there. I would hashtag that shit and then click on them to see who else was posting music from Laurel, MD, or PG County, or just Maryland in general. That’s how I found a bunch of other local artists, like my homies Fonlon and Kente from NASA8, Tek.Lun and other guys. They had the same hashtags because we were all from Laurel. And then from there I would look at other hashtags like #HipHopBeats, and I would discover artists like Madbliss. Searching through hashtags led to me finding a bunch of random bands on Bandcamp, and I feel like that really opened the door for me to be on the lookout for other genres of music.

You said earlier this is when you started making music?

Yeah I started making music in 10th grade.

So is that writing rhymes? Making beats? Both?

Making beats. I mean I was freestyling with my friends all the time, and writing rhymes down in my notebook, but I wasn’t rapping on beats until 11th grade, which was around 2013. I didn’t rap on my own beats until 2014 because I knew my shit wasn’t good (laughs). But it eventually got to a point where I could hit my own stuff instead of YouTube “type beats.” I knew early on “type beats” wasn’t the wave. It is the wave for some people, but it wasn’t the wave for me. And I knew that early on because you can’t really build a solid body of work just taking random beats. Even if you get a bunch of random beats from different producers, it’s more that needs to go into a project than that.

When you first started making music, who were some of your influences when it came to producing? I would assume Dilla is one, or did that not come until later?

I knew about J Dilla because I would hear my parents listen to Erykah Badu and Common, so when my Dad found out that I was making beats he would be like, “Oh so you wanna be like Dougie Fresh and J Dilla?” and I was like, “Who the hell are these people?” All I knew was like Mike WiLL Made-It because that was what I was hearing. I wasn’t too keen on producers at that level. The producers I did know were like Flying Lotus, Tek.Lun, Kaytranada, Sam Gellaitry and that was all through Soundcloud. Some of my favorite producers would be the ones I randomly found on Soundcloud.

Can you talk more about how discovering these local artists’ music on the internet led to you linking up with them, and not just working with them but them becoming your homies.

Literally just through showing love and support through the music. I started coming out here to Baltimore for events and chilling with the homies as a way to immerse myself in the scene. Of course, you met people, you tell people you do music, and eventually the link forms itself. And if you’re good the link grows with a lot of people. When you’re genuine, genuine things happen for you. I’ve never been a “clout chaser” or anything like that. It’s always been, “This dude is really dope. He’s the homie of my homie.”

I agree with that 100%. I feel like every connection or relationship I’ve made with someone in the arts scene has been on some person to person type stuff. Not even like artist to artist, or creative to creative type stuff, but just like as a person. And I feel like you were saying it just grows from there.

Definitely. People who are just creative in general. Photographers, painters, dancers, even like fucking bartenders. Athletes, anyone who’s mind moves faster than the normal individual. I remember when I was learning how to drive my driving instructor told me that people who are athletes and artists tend to get adapted to driving easier, because their brains work more than the average individual because they have a craft they need to constantly focus on. Whatever activity you’re involved in, your brain works harder to adapt to that.

So beats came first, and then the raps. Where does the DJing come into that?

So the DJing came in because I had probably performed 3 or 4 times rapping, but then I was really confident in my beats and I wanted to start performing my beats. By this time, 2015/2016, I would be seeing videos of dudes like eu-IV, j.robb, other producers I looked up to, random Boiler Room videos, and was thinking, “Why can’t I perform my shit?” So I started creating mixes in FL Studio, and learned to DJ through that. It was tedious as fuck, but I had time because I was kid and didn’t have shit to do (laughs).

I feel like that shows in your sets now. The last one I saw from you, you had a transition from some house song to a Gucci Mane song that was crazy. Never would I have thought to put those two tracks together.

Literally when I DJ, I just play the music that I like. That Gucci Mane song just came back into my rotation like a week ago and I was just like, “Damn I don’t remember this shit being so hard. I gotta play this at a show!” A lot of it is on the fly. I don’t really plan too much outside of downloading the music. I always go off of the crowd and how I feel. Sometimes I’ll download 30 songs for a set and only end up playing like 13, and the rest of the set would’ve been made up of songs I’ve played at other shows.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a show, and have been practicing the week before, and had a playlist ready, and you go in and the crowd is totally different, the energy changes, so you have to play off the cuff. I feel like as much emphasis you put on practicing and preparing, you also need to have the skill of being able to be on your toes and change on the drop of a dime.

I feel like if you’re a good DJ, that should already be a thing. You should know. You pick up on things like that automatically. The shows are practice. You’re not gonna get the same experience at a show, practicing at home. That’s why I feel like if you’re just starting out you should take as many opportunities as you can, and get a feel of what your lane is. I used to take any show I could. I would DJ baby showers, college pools parties, everything. You gotta find your lane, figure out what type of crowds your best in, and switch it up every now and then.

What can you tell me about the new project you got coming up? What kind of sound and themes can people expect from it?

So the new project is called the Velour Vandal EP, and it’s basically establishing myself as a rapper in the game. I’ve had rap projects before, I’ve had beat tapes, but this is my first official EP. I want people to hear this and think, “Ok, Tromac is actually trying to make it type shit.” It’s really just a lot of crank on this joint, but it’s not like I was in this joint like, “Fuck your bitch…”

You put some thought into it.

Yeah! There’s some lyrics that you gotta ask about. I’m trying to make something that’ll hit, stick, and has good content. All the people I’m working with on it are people I know care and are passionate about music. The intro is produced by me and Koleco, I’m recording all of the songs with Martin J. Ballou, I got Vlad on a song, I got Ghostie. Pretty much have all people I know are serious about music. I want this project to be something.

Yeah it’s like your introduction as a whole artist.

Yeah. And the whole thing behind the title is for like the last year or so, I’ve become really fond of velvet and have been buying a lot of it. People would always tell me I’m a bear, because I’m big and shit, soft and cuddly, just a cozy ass nigga. I have a thing where I give myself a bunch of alisas, and Velour Vandal just happen to be one of them, and I was like, “Hmm. I can do something with that.”

Any last words about your playlist and what you want the people to get from it?

I want people to go into it with a blank slate. Almost pretend like you’ve never heard music before, be reintroduced to all the different genres and aspects of these songs, and cultivate a new taste from that.

Connect with Tromac Pineapple:

https://twitter.com/TromacPineapple

https://www.instagram.com/tromacpineapple/

https://soundcloud.com/tromac

Connect with Moments In Song:

https://www.instagram.com/momentsinsong/

https://twitter.com/moments_in_song

https://tinyurl.com/MISAppleMusic

https://tinyurl.com/MISSpotify

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famedroleplay · 3 years ago

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gold star media » platinum

HAON main dancer, lead rapper, & vocal 1993 april 22

character information

faceclaim: kim taehyung (v), member of bts

legal name: chung gyujeong

stage name: haon

pronouns: he/his/him

birth date: 04/22/1993

hometown: seoul, south korea

position: main dancer, lead rapper, vocal of platinum

established career claims:

120803: partial lyrics, melody, and partial arrangement on lily’s “into the new world” (8+14 = 22)

130828: partial melody, partial arrangement on selene’s “up and down” — +14 points

140701: partial lyrics on platinum’s “it’s okay”(6)

141013: feature on equinox’s be natural (15)

150330: partial melody, partial arrangement on titan’s “call me baby” — +16 points

150909: partial lyrics, partial melody, and partial arrangement on equinox’s “dumb dumb”(7)

170815: partial lyrics (rap making) on an in-group b-side, “different” — +4 points

170815: partial lyrics, melody, and partial arrangement on platinum’s “empty” (6+10+6 = 22)

181114: melody on equinox’s “peekaboo” (12)

190111: partial lyrics, partial melody, partial arrangement on catalyst’s “baby don’t like it” — +15 points 190111: partial lyrics, partial melody, partial arrangement on catalyst’s “good thing” — +15 points

190128: partial melody, melody, and partial arrangement on equinox’s “bad boy” (7+7 = 14)

190619: lyrics, melody, and partial arrangement on catalyst’s “cherry bomb” (7)

190619: lyrics, partial melody, partial arrangement on catalyst’s “whiplash” — +19 points

190805 — partial arrangement, ultraviolet’s “whistle” +7 points

191203: partial melody, partial arrangement on selene’s “ddd” — +14 points

200501: lyrics (english version), melody on catalyst’s high way to heaven — +24 points

210123: lyrics, melody on cloud’s “hug” — +22 points

210625: partial melody and partial arrangement on ultraviolet’s “ddu-du ddu-du” (7+7 = 14)

biography

triggers: underage drinking tw, smoking tw

he never falls in love with the golden spoon in his mouth. not when his first cries are heard inside seoul’s heart, and not when he’s already turned his back far from the family that he dissociates himself from.

it’s easy to be a chung. easy to walk in the patterns of what’s strung across all the paths lined up, marching along to the rhythm of money flowing through. at least, that’s what his father tells him when he’s old enough to comprehend what his family’s world entails.

his mother preps him from an early age — from the elementary years comes cross-continental schooling, ‘studying abroad’ in a boarding school that gives him his roots. it’s here where he learns his first love of boom bap inside the gridwork of the large cemented cities. it’s the first time he finds himself jotting down words and making it flow against the rudimentary taps of his roommate’s knuckles. it’s a first lesson in learning how to create music.

when he’s back in korea, it’s another break. it’s filled with monotony, the lessons of back and forth scheduled lessons. from piano to art classes, all the way down to math and chinese lessons. he’s booked, heavier than a nine to five office worker on overdrive — that is, if he’d ever attend his lessons.

tardiness comes key when he slips out of class, skips a few lessons. stumbles down the cyphers of hongdae where it become evident he’s no longer a rich boy looking in. he trades in the designer goods of gucci and burberry for some run-down second hand jerseys and a pair of us levis that leave his frame drowning from the drapery of oversized clothes. it feels like home. it feels comforting. it feels unlike the rich boy he’s expected to be, lost in the music of loose limbs falling freely to the sounds of music.

(he learns to freestyle early on, the group of b-boyers next to the line of rappers).

it’s here where life lessons are taught. how to puff a cigarette chest heavy, let the smoke linger in your mouth before blowing out. how to pour in the first few shots of soju, just so it reaches 6.5 when the bottle’s done, and how to distinguish bars from rhymes to expedite a sweet flow that hits. with hyungs years older, festering inside the makeshift studio space and the endless struggle — it’s here he makes a home for himself, and here that the sharks call him “haon.”

first comes the hints of cigarette smoke lingering inbetween the threads of his ragged clothes, and second comes the calls from the irate teachers calling his bluff. and last comes, when he’s caught red-handed with a mic in his hand, spitting bars inside a musty club, underaged and shit drunk. his mom catches him, suddenly — haon becomes stripped away and what’s left is gyujeong.

call it a taste of teenage rebellion or a late case of middle school blues — he raises ire. let’s the jagged edges created by the detailing of the underground scene come to life. a rage of thrown chairs and slurred slews, a middle finger up to the parents with nothing more than a backpack full of his favorite worn in t-shirts, his phone, and a set of headphones. nowhere to go, he resorts back to the only place he’s called his home — the clubs.

he’s a doe-boy, young and looking. too young to notice that he’s got a natural penchant for music or that his easy flow of rhyme boasts something that catches the eye of a recruiter behind the auditions for some shitty rap program.

(he doesn’t audition for the program, he ends up auditioning for the company instead when they promise some independence and freedom, lost in his family home).

it’s here they give him an offer to train.

it’s here he sells his soul.

—

selling your soul goes a little like this: pretending to give a shit on stage, as the cameras roll to pick up every small reaction. fighting tooth to tooth, nail to nail — no alternative when it's cross company competitions, and you're given a chance to reveal your ten seconds for public consumption.

little do the fans give a shit about each hardened dance move shot angle to angle, nor is it assuaged by the signs in the crowd. it all draws down to one thing: his looks. enough that gold star wins, and platinum becomes the crown fastened onto his head when 'debut' becomes a reality.

platinum is all but promises, but what do you know when you’re barely eighteen still underage pulled string by string of the company. the concept? out of his realm, he’s lost and out of place — the fans know, he knows. still, he sucks it up underneath the grit of his breath, and continues on because where else does have left to go?

it all goes to shit the second interest in him peeks, and there’s recognition of the skeletons he keeps himself hinged to.

idol A was an underaged drinker, caught smoking in a club — that idol’s haon.

it gets reprimanded when he’s caught on strict order underneath gold star — a hawk eye reception, leaving him on house arrest. no solo schedules, and no solo opinions. the less the public sees, the better. at least, the remedy doesn’t soothe all the broken fragments of his past when scandal two happens a year later.

idol A rumored to be dating idol B — idol A’s haon.

another rumor, this time unrestrained by the lack of evidence and the company’s hush hush. let it blow over, and they’ll forget — too bad the relationship was already a facade to begin with.

idol A caught stumbling out of a pub, running curse words with another customer

they catch him red handed, his face turned a shade of crimson from the one too many droplets of alcohol scathing his throat. he coughs it up to what the public makes of him by now — a beloved group, with one sore thumb of a member. yet, now when the pictures surface, it does nothing more that force his lips wide in a cheeky smile — it might have been his happiest moment of his career.

funny, how he’s no longer human and now subject to public scrutiny.

funny, how this sets the pace for the years to come.

image

haon’s image is often the ‘sore thumb’ or ‘bad egg’ of the group. however, it ends up being oddly neutral by the general public / platinum fans. on one hand, there are always the haters who say that his scandals have brought the group down a bit but other hand there are fans who say that his scandals are minuscule and that everyone is human and has dabbled in vices due to curiosities. as a result, haon has remained relatively under the radar till 2021 — this is gold star’s restraint on haon as a ‘punishment’ and partially in hopes for the public to have forgotten about his past deeds.

haon’s general audience / fan base is based on the girls who consider him a bad guy. it’s the alluring nature of someone who seems really bad on pen and paper, yet when you see his off-moments where he’s not paying attention to the camera or doing things absentmindedly on v-live, fans see his softness. it’s the real emphasis on the softness that has the public confused as to whether the scandals and rumors are true.

as he hasn’t been in any recent scandals, the general public looks at him with good spirits similarly to how they oversee the group. they like seeing him in the group, and he makes a weird time for variety with his often weird surprise expressions and uncanny ability to always have a ‘deer in headlights’ look — which also adds to the thought that he can’t be a bad guy after all.

they see him as an artistic guy, well dressed. pretty elusive to the public since he’s been mia all these years — this in turn adds to the fashionista factor with his clothing line and his deal with chanel.

his popularity within group is weak at best, as platinum fans opt for the other members instead of ‘stanning’ him. however, with non-platinum fans, often times lots of non-fans are fans of haon because of what he brings to the table.

#famedfollow #goldstarmedia #platinum #queued post

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hadarlaskey · 4 years ago

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The Forty-Year-Old Version

The question of who gets to tell Black stories and who decides how they are told has been a constant challenge for Black artists. These are just a few concerns grappled with in The Forty-Year-Old Version as we follow a struggling playwright who rediscovers her creativity on the eve of a milestone birthday. Written, directed and starring Radha Blank, this semi-autobiographical tale offers a lively exploration of art and self-fulfilment.

Once an up-and-comer, spotlighted with an acclaimed ‘30 under 30’ playwriting prize, Radha (Blank) is pushing 40 and teaches dramatic writing to inner-city kids who remind her of her has-been status. With the support of her best friend and agent, Archie (Peter Kim), Radha is determined to secure a regional production for her new play.

This pursuit forces her to navigate the distinctly white world of theatre, where New York’s metropolitan elite, rather than entirely shutting out Black stories as they had done for decades past, run towards them, but with a cheerfully sinister preference for tales of Black pain and trauma.

Frustrated by her play about gentrification being labelled ‘inauthentic’, Radha begins to rap her truth. Aching joints, spotty periods and further hallmarks of middle age pepper her passioned freestyle. This moment of clarity sets her on a path of forging a new sense of self as RadhaMUS Prime. Hip hop doesn’t require her to make the creative sacrifices she is having to make in order to have her play debut on Broadway.

Blank is in her element when fashioning the satirical noose for liberals to whitesplain their way into as they fawn over Black stories with all the ‘I-would-have-voted-for-Obama-a-third-time-if-I-could’ energy of the Armitages’ in Get Out. Yet rather than taking over the bodies of Black people, these white people co-opt their stories. With well-meaning white women taking a particular satirical skewering, some scenes are so hilarious it’s a wonder the actors themselves were able to utter their lines on soy milk’s intricate connection to life’s purpose while maintaining a straight face.

Blank also excels when telling the story of New York. The roaming shots of Brooklyn and Harlem, almost entirely shot in black-and-white, are reminiscent of Spike Lee’s career-launching She’s Gotta Have it. Blank served as a writer on Netflix’s 2017 series adaptation of the film and it’s clear she shares Lee’s nostalgia for the New York of old. The boom bap of early ’90s hip hop underscores Radha’s New York as the soundtrack of her search for self.

Expertly sprinkled vignettes involving different members of her neighbourhood capture these characters airing their unsolicited opinions about Radha’s predicament while also acting as an important reminder of community. Each element serves to illustrate New York as it exists, in the voices of its residents, despite taking place in an environment where true authenticity and diverse voices are often stifled and overpowered.

Even with a few pacing issues, and some subplots that are slightly undercooked, The Forty-Year-Old Version is an enjoyably heartfelt film about the artist’s struggle. Suitably sharp when it needs to be, its discussion around the right to tell stories is woefully underserved in mainstream Hollywood – as are roles for plus-size Black female protagonists over 40. Blank’s directorial debut is a triumph and should excite anyone who believes the best in life is yet to come.

The post The Forty-Year-Old Version appeared first on Little White Lies.

source https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-forty-year-old-version/

#movie

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fuforthought · 7 years ago

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She betrays cliche. A soul embedded with freestyle jazz, her percussion thumping with punchlines. And sometimes, sometimes… Her resonance is that ol’ boom bap. That soothing sound you used to know. And her heart? Her heart? It thumps from the chest…loves…adores… Pause. See its cracks, woes. But don’t say a damn thing. Just view. Her hardships sit deep in the shadow of her mask. And you can ask. Sure. You can love. Pure. But that closed door? That closed door? It opens outwards. And that’s hard. She takes your template and splays it. Dope. And she elopes with the smoke. Watching it? Watching it? You want to purse lips and hit it from her own lungs. Taste her dreams, taste her vision. Cradle that incision that pierces her self-confidence. Heal her scars that jut. Ragged and raw. Speak Spanish so candid that my own respect for her can’t be understood at all. And she’s strong. Her horizon sits, lying, on the crescendo of a song. My belle. Belle of the ball. Whose strength is…nestled in the soul. She’s wrestled with the whole. Love…romance. And yet I watch her soul dance. It hits me like the beat of that Motown. Slow down. Heal. Feel the rhythm of your own heart. Because a poem is a poem but you? You are your own art.

#Poem #Poetry #Love poem #Mine

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throwedgenji · 1 year ago

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FREESTYLE RAPPING WORDS IN CHAT ON THE FREESTYLE FORUM 🤯🔥 #shorts

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thefreshfinds · 5 years ago

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Savvy The Savior

By: Natalee Gilbert

Amid high pitched-registers, soulful, angelic cries and beat breaks, Savvy The Savior approaches the beat with his signature boom-bap style, letting it roam free over a range of lively instrumentations. Hopping straight out of a time machine, you'll come to know that he was born in the '90s. His take on transitions and loops range from jazzy to funk-ish, then faces classic, gold-slated hip-hop head-on!

Considering these points, Savvy The Savior's strategy behind the sound leaves listeners anticipating more, "It's very cinematic, and it will take you through a movie in your mind!" Savvy The Savior adds, "I produce and I rap on a lot of boom-bap beats but also I produce original uptempo, trap, trap/soul beats. I have to keep practicing rapping on fast-paced beats; then, I'll be good." His lyrical prowess serves truth, understanding, empathy, motivation, and what it's like to be, well, Savvy The Savior.

Regardless of the environment, you can flip through his discography. Since 2017, he's been consistently pushing out new records and projects, releasing his 26th project, DIAMOND FLWRS, this year! It's the perseverance that keeps his music's momentum high. So flap your ears open, and experience sounds that'll awaken your soul.

His moniker, Savvy The Savior, wasn't the first to be chosen. First, he went with Raiden DaGame (Raiding The Game) at 15, but shortly after, Savior deemed himself as Regal Aces. Then, by chance, he came across the word 'savvy,' and it sparked something off. Eventually, Savior integrated 'Savvy' into his moniker. Before, the official add-on, he opted for 'Savvy Beatz' because he focused on producing. But after turning 19, he found his real name's calling: Savvy The Savior. "I call myself this because I'm saving hip hop, myself, the people, and the world."

Savior's way of creating music involves flowing from his spirit. Around the clock, he's inspired, so it doesn't take much time for him to lock-in. Life lessons give his artistry wings, along with other samples.

He continues: "I listen out for loops to catch, or if the song I'm sampling is perfect and has great transitions, I'll chop it up and flip it. You're putting markers in any spots on the song and slicing that section off. Then soon, you'll have parts of the song you can play on your drum pads. Eventually, you'll be able to get creative and flip the pieces of the songs around. I am momentarily rapping lyrics flow in my head. Beats give me goosebumps and just high amounts of energy! I have to push myself to write every single day, though, because I do get blocks sometimes, but I have a lot of songs and lyrics were written. If I don't write, I have parts of songs written I put together, and it just all synchronizes. If I'm in a session, though, I can write a song on the spot because the creative energy gives me all the power I need!"

In summary, he goes through phases so he'll produce beats, write songs, title songs, and hits (in specific ways). He'll also write hooks, choruses, and chants on how he's feeling. "Emceeing is an art, so I like to have bars, wordplay, phrases, lyricism, catchy hooks, big words, flow, a bit of storytelling, storytelling is something I want to get better at though, and I'm still learning how to freestyle."

Moving forward, Savvy The Savior will be pushing out a debut and beat tape, along with more marketing, performances, and out-of-state trips. "Music is healing, and it saved my life. I don't know where I would be if I couldn't create music."

One line he resonates with is: "My biggest enemy is my inner me" from Lupe Fiasco and Yummy Bingham's "Much More."

LINKS:

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momentsinsong · 7 years ago

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Moments In Song No. 019 - Victor

“Moments In Song” asks people one simple question, “What are you listening to?” We believe that you can learn a lot about an individual and their experiences based off of the music they love. For every installment we ask someone to make a playlist of 10 songs they’re listening to, whether it be something new they stumbled upon, or a song they’ve always loved, and explain the story behind their choices. The person’s playlist is then uploaded, giving them the chance to share it with others. Each post aims to profile someone from a different walk of life, whether they be an artist, a student, the mailman, a school teacher, an athlete, a nurse, your next-door neighbor, anyone with a love for music; showing that no matter where we come from, what we do, or what we look like, music has the ability to bring us together.

With an ethereal set of songs that accompany his pensive thoughts, pharmacy student and rapper Victor gives us a track by track breakdown of his playlist. We talk his musical influences, Clams Casino productions, and what he thinks is the greatest song of all time.

Listen to Victor’s playlist on Apple Music and Spotify.

Words by Julian | Photos by Tayo

What was thought process behind putting your playlist together?

I just made a playlist of almost all the songs I listen to when I’m in pensive thought or songs that have a cool ethereal mood to them. I’ve always been in tune to that kind of music. That’s why I have two songs from Clams Casino on there. For me, Clams Casino is probably one of the best producers of the past decade. Very influential. His influence spans what most people can even fathom. If I look at his work with Lil B in 2009, 2010, and then look at the type of beats all these rappers are rapping on now, or their style, and how they rap, Clams Casino and Lil B were very influential.

Without Lil B and Clams Casino partnering, Clams Casino doesn’t have the platform that he has today. Then someone like A$AP Rocky probably doesn’t hear him, and so his first two projects don’t have that Clams Casino sound. You look at so many artists that started to blow up in 2010, 2011, A$AP Rocky, Mac Miller, Lil B, they were really coming out with that “drop your top, relax and cruise to music,” and I think Clams Casino is a big part of all of that.

Other songs that I put on my playlist from underground artists like Reva Devito, Thatshymn, Abhi//Dijon, these are artist I listen to when I chill, or when I study. That’s what I’m trying to go for with the playlist. Just a type of sound that you don’t have to necessarily have move to it, you can just sit back, relax, and get into your own zone.

I put my song on there at the end because I thought it helped tie everything on the playlist together.

I was listening to your playlist earlier and I noticed there weren’t any real dance or turn up kind of songs on there. I felt like they all fell into either a boom-bap category, with like eu-IV and Reva Devito, produced by Tek.Lun, the old school Kendrick, and on the other half, that Clams Casino, Abhi//Dijon, Sango, kind of relaxed and melodic category. Did you know from the start that this is the kind of theme you wanted your playlist to encompass?

Yeah absolutely. Even though some of these songs are kind of old, like “Ignorance Is Bliss,” “Realest Alive,” and “Moments In Love,” which is from the 80’s, I listen to them either every day or at least once a week. Especially times when I’m in school, studying, or in the mood to delve into my thoughts.

“Ignorance Is Bliss” is one of Kendrick’s best songs to me. Overly Dedicated does not get the recognition it deserves as a cumulative work. I personally do believe that Overly Dedicated is on the same tier as Section.80 in terms of Kendrick’s bravado and lyricism, because he’s really rapping something serious on that song. I still go back to those to projects a lot. I feel like a lot of the themes on there are universal. There’s no filler on them. You know exactly what you’re getting.

“Moments In Love” is a long song, it’s like 10 minutes long, and that version has always been my favorite. People don’t know how influential The Art Of Noise are, just to music in general. When people listen to Yeezus or My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, or some of the stuff from Michael Jackson’s HIStory album, The Art Of Noise did that stuff back in the 80’s.

I’m not super familiar with them, are they a pop group? Electronic?

They were an experimental band in the 80’s from the U.K. So many things that people are doing today, they did 30 years ago, which is mind blowing. The way “Moments In Love” is structured, you have a lot of different part, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of different breaks. And all of these breaks evoke a different emotion, and plays into the emotions that someone might feel in a relationship. When I was making this playlist, I knew it had to be number one. In my opinion it’s the best song of all time.

Wow, that’s quite the claim.

Honestly. Out of everything that I’ve ever listened to I can’t find anything, at least in my personal opinion, that really…

Evokes that same kind of emotion,

Yeah emotion, the techniques they use for the time era they were in. If you listen to other stuff from the 80’s compared to this, this is just crazy. It’s still even really different compared to music out today. Along with that, its influence that people may or may not know about is amazing.

And then after that I went to “Realest Alive.” Lil B’s version isn’t on any streaming sites, but it’s a great song.

What era of Lil B is that?

That’s 2010 Lil B. So that’s when Lil B was just really starting to get out there. This was back when Lil B would release 5 songs a day. Literally he would release 5 different songs a day, and he would have 4 troll songs, and one song that was great. And he would do that on purpose because when he tries he’s an extremely good rapper. The thing is that he’s a deconstructionist. If you listen to Lil B from 2008/2009 he’s rapping on perfectly on the beat, but towards the end of 2009 he released “Like a Martian” and started doing all his based freestyle, stream of consciousness stuff. So during that time, this would be the 1 out of the 5 songs he’d be serious on. By 2011 he was legitimately a well known phenomenon.

Yeah I feel like around that time he was doing a lot of work with Soulja Boy, and influenced that way he made music after that. And even guys now like Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi, there’s definitely some Lil B DNA in them.

For sure. So from “Realest Alive” it goes to “Ignorance is Bliss,” which has Kendrick rapping about a whole range of different topics. I feel like that streamlines very well into ��Numb” by Clams Casino. Now from “Numb” I wanted to lighten up the mood a little bit so I went into songs that are love related. Once you get to “IVyou Pt. 2,” “Rose Gold,” “Therapy” those songs show more of a positive side of what one can feel in a relationship.

You go to “How Do You Love Me” by Xavier Omar and Sango. That song is actually about Xavier Omar asking God, “How could you even love me, even though I am the way I am, even though I am this imperfect being?” I think it segways nicely from “Therapy” because Thatshymn talks about how weed, drinking, and sex can be a form of therapy, but for Xavier Omar he’s talking about how God can be a therapy. For me. I feel like that’s a great contrast, and shows two different forms of love.

And I just finished things with “Stu Pickles.” It’s a good mellow track, talking about relaxing with friends and everyone working together to achieve their goals. For the lyrics I say, “I’m way to blessed to not stress right now,” it’s just me talking about God blessing me to be in the situation I’m in.

I think in our society we take a lot of things for granted. I saw a crazy statistic one time when I was younger. It said if you have a house with electricity, a roof over your head, a bed, and all these other commodities, you’re already richer than 75% of the people in the world. If you think about that it’s crazy. Everyday really is a blessing, and you try your best to fill it out, and find your way to where you need to go.

What songs and artists made you want to start rapping and making your own music?

If I’m thinking about my favorite rappers growing up, Tupac is number one by a mile. Tupac was extremely influential to me. All Eyez On Me, I know that entire double album back and forth because my dad had the OG double CD that was released in 1996. So after Tupac, it’s Nas, all of his stuff. The first album I ever bought with my own money was his Untitled album. That and the Wu-Tang Clan’s 8 Diagrams. Wu-Tang Clan was also very influential to me. Enter the 36 Chambers I know that album so well. ODB was so ahead of his time. You listen to “Brooklyn Zoo” and the way he’s rapping is so crazy, but somehow he’s perfectly in pocket, he’s perfectly on the beat. In order to rap like that is extremely hard. ODB to me is just an extraordinary rapper.

Any final thoughts on your playlist?

It’s a microcosm of me throughout the years. It represents the type of music I listen to when I’m in a pensive mood. It’s “sit down and think” music.

Connect with Victor:

https://twitter.com/viceroy_o

https://www.instagram.com/victorolalekan_/

https://soundcloud.com/victorolalekan

Connect with Moments In Song:

https://www.instagram.com/momentsinsong/

https://twitter.com/moments_in_song

https://tinyurl.com/MISAppleMusic

https://tinyurl.com/MISSpotify

#Moments in Song #what are you listening to #music #hip hop #electronic #alternative #instrumental #pop #art of noise #clams casino #Kendrick Lamar #eu-iv #reva devito #tek.lun #abhi//dijon #thatshymn #sango #xavier omar #vic flair

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cenkdurlu · 6 years ago

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“BreakDans’ın Kökeni üzerine.”

“Break Dans nedir?” sorusunun cevabı maalesef beklediğiniz kadar kolay bir cevap değil.

Aslında, ’70’lerin ortalarında New York’Ta doğmuş olan Hip-Hop kültürü ile ilişkilendirilen bir “Sokak Dansı” olan Breakdans, önceleri yani 70’lerden 80’lerin ortasına kadar baskın olarak “Breaking” olarak adlandırılıyordu.

Breaking, Bronx bölgesinden başlayarak, Wild Style -Beat Street ve Breakdance : The Movie gibi filmler sayesinde dünyaya yayıldı, aslen isminin “breaking” oluşunun sebebi de en başında dansın, Funk ve Rock parçalarındaki solo diyebileceğimiz “Break” bölümü üzerinde yapılmasından geliyordu.

Breaking, 80’lerin ortasından sonuna kadar yavaşça ölmeye başladı çünkü aynı zamanda kültür değişmekteydi, Müzik yavaşça yavaşlıyor, kafa sallama müziğine veya “Boom Bap” sounduna evriliyordu. Bu değişim, Hip-Hop Freestyle olarak adlandırılan, müziğe daha uygun hareketlerden oluşan bir dans türünün çıkmasına neden oldu, Hareketlerin isimleri ve tarzlar o dönem Populer Kültür içinde parlayan olaylar çerçevesinde isimlendi. The Prep, Fila, Roger Rabbit, Steve Martin, Cabbage Patch, Humpty Dance, Robocop gibi hareket isimleri ortaya çıktı. Sıklıkla, bir filmde yapılan basit bir dans hareketinin abartılması veya taşlanması da yapılırdı ve bu “Cakewalk” gibi erken dönem Afrikan-Amerikan danslarıyla bulunan ortaklıklardan biriydi Break Dans için.

Oldukça hızlı şekilde yeni hareketler ortaya çıktı ve repertuar hızlıca büyüdü. Buddha Stretch, Link, Shaik gibi dansçılar bu dönemlerde bu yeni tarzın öncüsü oldular, aynı dönemlerde Break Dans artık şarkıcıların sahne şovlarında görülür olmuştu. Ayrıca o dönemlerde, bir çok alt dans daha medya tarafından Hip-Hop çatısı altında tanımlanmaya başlamıştı. “Locking” “Popping” “Krump” bunlardan bazıları.

“Locking” ve “Popping” aslında 1970’lerin Kaliforniya’sında, Hip-Hop’tan bağımsız olarak yaratılmıştı. Ancak olayın Medya tarafından yanlış anlaşılması sonucu, tüm dünyada Hip-Hop dansının bir parçası olarak görülmeye başlandı, aynı “Breaking” gibi funk müziklerle yapılan danslardı. O dönem Yakalarda düzenlenen yarışmalarda tanışan genç dansçılar birbirleriyle yeni şeyler paylaşıp yeni tarzlar ortaya çıkarıyorlardı.

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“Krump” ise bunların en yenilerinden biri, 2000’lerin hemen başında Los Angeles’tan Ceasare “Tight Eyez” Willis ve Jo’Artis “Big Mijo” Ratti tarafından yaratılan tarz çok hızlı bir şekilde kültürün bir parçası haline geldi. Krump en basit haliyle, Enerji dolu bir şekilde dans yoluyla öfkeyi, saldırganlığı ve hayal kırıklığını dışarı atarak, çete hayatından kaçmanın bir yolu olarak görülen etkileyici bir dans kolu.

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21. yüzyılda BreakDans ya da daha net ismi ile Hip Hop Freestyle, tüm bu stillerin ve daha fazlasının bir birleşmesidir. Sürekli gelişmeye ve zamana uyum sağlamaya devam ediyor.

\\\\Bu yazı, BBC ARTS için DJ RENEGADE tarafından 2015 yılında yazılan “The History of Hip-Hop Dance” yazısının çevirisidir\\\\\

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aleksabove · 4 years ago

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Some consciousness flow for ya weekend 🧠 Sub if you’re feeling it, and regardless sending you good vibes ❤️

#aleksbeats #flow #hiphop #time machine #aleks #art #edm #marketing #music video #technology #Aleks above #boom bap #freestyle #verse #poem

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richmegavideo · 6 years ago

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Nas & Travis Scott Discuss The Power Of Hip-Hop & Why Its Messages Cannot Be Stopped

Erick Sermon sometimes gets more credit for his production than his rhymes. However, for more than 30 years, the double-threat has penned some lyrics that are forever tattooed on the Hip-Hop consciousness. That has been true with EPMD, Def Squad, and alone. The MC who once proclaimed “I wish music would adopt me” has more than proven his dedication.

Now, only two months removed from a freestyle single that saw him pair with DJ Gumba on “CHILL” (embedded below) the Long Island, NY spitter is at it again. Appropriately, “Give It To Em,” a signature Erick Sermon-produced track, bleeds the funk and flair we’ve grown accustomed.

Erick Sermon & Big K.R.I.T. Join Forces To Celebrate Southern Women (Audio)

After warming up his vocals and shouting out his return to form alongside Gumba for the second time in as many months, the legendary talent takes time to address emcees who have lost their way. “Ya time’s up/ you were hot a couple of summers / Yes, the kids used to look up to you / What happened? (that’s not the way to do it) ya singin’ now, you ain’t rappin’,” spits the Green-Eyed Bandit.

Immediately after that, he admits to being a workaholic – a trait that has seen him continue to push the envelope in various musical environments (Fresh, Priority, Dreamworks, Universal, etc.), and collaborations, including his most renowned days with EPMD. More than 30 years removed from his first musical endeavor, work ethic is something The Green-Eyed Bandit’s still respects:

“I love my job, yes, I go to work all the time / I puts in hours with the rhyme / So when I relay it, no need to okay it / They play it when I say it / Any place they’ll pay it / The Rick Rubin of the new school… but who cares, new cars are driven / They ask for more, and more is what I give em.”

Erick Sermon Details EPMD’s Terrible 1st Contract & How They Got The Big Payback

Having been away from the game since his 2015 release, E.S.P. (Erick Sermon’s Perception), E Double provides a fitting reminder of his consistency as he cruises through the second and final verse:

“I stepped away from the game / I wanted back the fame / I wanted back the name / Holla back, I’m the same with a stack / I’m the same in person when I rap / The same muthaf*cka in the trap / I got money, but no need to waste it / I did buy my girl a new bracelet / But not from Jacob, somebody else laced it.”

Diamond D’s New Album Features Erick Sermon, Pharoahe Monch, Talib Kweli & More

“Give It To Em” and “CHILL” are fitting appetizers to the main course that will be his eighth solo album, Vernia, an ode to his grandmother who died two years ago. The record, which he began recording around the same time period, boasts features among the likes of Styles P, AZ, Shaquille O’Neal, David Banner Too Short, Devin The Dude and more. Last month, E-Double released the Big K.R.I.T.-assisted “That Girl.”

If Gumba and Erick Sermon’s working rapport feels just right, expect more. The Long Island-bred DJ is set to combine the aforementioned tracks with other Def Squad efforts to produce an official mixtape featuring the entire crew.

DJ Premier Discusses The Making Of Gang Starr’s Hard To Earn 25 Years Later

#BonusBeat: DJ Gumba and Erick Sermon’s “CHILL”:

Erick Sermon & Big K.R.I.T. Join Forces To Celebrate Southern Women (Audio)

Erick Sermon Details EPMD’s Terrible 1st Contract & How They Got The Big Payback

Having been away from the game since his 2015 release, E.S.P. (Erick Sermon’s Perception), E Double provides a fitting reminder of his consistency as he cruises through the second and final verse:

Diamond D’s New Album Features Erick Sermon, Pharoahe Monch, Talib Kweli & More

DJ Premier Discusses The Making Of Gang Starr’s Hard To Earn 25 Years Later

#BonusBeat: DJ Gumba and Erick Sermon’s “CHILL”:

In 2017, Nas and Travis Scott worked together alongside DJ Khaled for video single “It’s Secured” (embedded below). On paper, these artists may seem to represent different corners of Rap music, even while both have close collaborative ties to Kanye West.

Nas burst on the scene in the early 1990s. His debut album, Illmatic, appeased many purists, from The Source magazine to the readers of Ambrosia For Heads (who crowned it the Greatest Rap Album Of All-Time back in 2016). Nas’ most beloved music fits in the canon of East Coast boom-bap. The 45-year-old MC paints vivid pictures with words. Although he tends to shun the spotlight at times, his art often presents introspective lyrics deal with a bygone era of New York City, street crime, and overcoming a grim existence to becoming a mogul.

Nas Sounds Truly Inspired On A Beautiful New Song With Amy Winehouse

Meanwhile, Travis Scott is from Houston, Texas. His music often defies genre. This 26-year-old sings, raps, and sometimes breaks into an all-out Rock Star display in his elaborate stage shows. Scott has a child as well as an ongoing relationship with Kylie Jenner, making him part of the globe’s most prominent celebrity family. Last year’s Astroworld topped the charts with a concoction of music that blends Rap, R&B, Psychedelic Rock, EDM, Screw music, and more. AFH selected it among last year’s best.

However, Nas and Travis Scott have plenty in common, as a conversation moderated by Playboy‘ Marcus Reeves shows. These two artists sit together in the back of a Bentley with L’s burning. Their discussion is about Hip-Hop, and how it continues to evolve and move with the same principles and purpose.

Cormega Breaks Down His Evocative New EP & Why The Fans Matter The Most

Scott praises Nas’ era. “I’m guessing Hip-Hop used to be about bars and just a unique flow over beats. It was like straight soul, and man, you’re telling your story; it was just bar to bar, killing it, and not really about anything being catchy. It was just really raw,” he says. “The past generation knocked down so many doors where, you know, they were spitting a lot of pain, man. They was dealing with a lot of police stuff. We’re still dealing with that now, but it wasn’t so free. Now we got more of a voice at the label. We can kind of put out our own music whenever. You and I could do a song during this interview and upload it right now if we wanted to.”

Nas reacts, “That’s right. Being an MC or a rapper, you got to change with the times. I can stay me, sure, but the challenge is to stay with what’s going on. If you look at the great ones from back then, a lot of them have four albums; they had short careers. That’s changed now.” He also comments, “You said it was once about writing down the pain and all of that. Nowadays the pain has changed. We’re after different things. We broke past the barriers. We understand what we need to do and we’re in control of what we’re doing, and no one can stop it now. No one can tell us what to do, what we can’t do. Rap music can’t be stopped now.”

Nas Demands A Second Look At His Album With A Stunning Short Film (Video)

Mentioning Scott’s action figure, Nas tells Travis he wishes he could execute things like that during the ’90s. He also explains how he admires the artist’s attitude towards the spotlight. “You [have been] doing something I wish I did when I was in my twenties, which was not giving the camera much. If you go back to one of the interviews I did on Video Music Box, I don’t look at the camera that much. Through the years, I would do award shows or whatever, and then I would skip the red carpet. The record label would be mad at me, that I’m up here and I’m selling all these units, and I won’t even walk the carpet. When you cover your face, so you don’t look down, I think, Damn, I wish…I live vicariously through you when you do that, bro, because I feel you on that. You [are] here to do the music and leave your stain on this world. Whether you be in front of them cameras or not, you don’t even care.” Scott agrees, despite his defacto celebrity status. “I don’t care. That’s my whole sh*t, bro. It’s about the music. I just express what a kid my age is going through in a time.”

Scott goes on to describe his expressive nature. Whereas Nas has made songs like “Sly Fox” and “What Goes Around,” Scott admits that he is careful to be about activism in his bars. “I wouldn’t say I don’t feel compelled to speak on political issues; sometimes you just don’t want to speak too much on stuff you don’t know much about. It’s not like I��m not thinking about what’s going on in the world. I’m an expressive artist, but with media and sh*t, it gets misconstrued. As I’m sitting with you right now, I’m still figuring this out, you know?”

Travis Scott’s Sick New Visual Shows How Great Music Videos Can Still Be (Video)

Nas responds, “Politics definitely affects the way I think, but the way I write is my day-to-day life. I did a song talking about daughters, because I have a daughter. ‘Daughters’ was nominated for a Grammy. I feel it—that’s why I wrote it—but I had no idea it would be acknowledged like that when it came out. So I write about day-to-day stuff, and I don’t plan to write anything political, because then it’s forced. It ain’t a natural expression.” Moments later, he adds, “Ray Charles and Billie Holiday and all of those great acts were entertaining and going through worse times than now. They were inspiring us. When Michael Jackson did Thriller, that was during Reaganomics. He gave us something to look at other than the politics, the propaganda, the lies. He gave us inspiration.” He praises efforts like Astroworld in a challenging political climate. “The politicians want our full attention. They’re hustling. I’m not getting caught up in that. I make music about life, and life comes before politics.”

The conversation closes with the two men talking about the sport of Rap. “This sh*t is a blood sport,” says Nas. “This sh*t ain’t easy. This is one of the hardest games ever. I love it right now because it’s testing you. What are you made of? Can you survive? What do you have to offer in 2019?” The MC who famously called sleep “the cousin of death” has not shifted his stance. “Because the moment you sleep, the moment you blink your eyes too long, your spot is taken. And that’s the excitement of it.”

Dave Chappelle Teaches Will Smith How To Do Standup Comedy (Video)

Travis reacts, “There’s no barrier. There’s just so much of a flow of things that we’re trying to—we’re gettin’ it out, and we’re expressing it in a different way: what’s happening during our time in life, what’s happening in the streets.”

Heads who want to see vintage footage from Video Music Box can experience and support it at AFH TV. We are currently offering free 30-day trials.

Andrew Yang Is The Rakim Of Politics (Video)

#BonusBeat: DJ Khaled, Nas, and Travis Scott’s “It’s Secured”:

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Nas Sounds Truly Inspired On A Beautiful New Song With Amy Winehouse

Cormega Breaks Down His Evocative New EP & Why The Fans Matter The Most

Nas Demands A Second Look At His Album With A Stunning Short Film (Video)

Scott goes on to describe his expressive nature. Whereas Nas has made songs like “Sly Fox” and “What Goes Around,” Scott admits that he is careful to be about activism in his bars. “I wouldn’t say I don’t feel compelled to speak on political issues; sometimes you just don’t want to speak too much on stuff you don’t know much about. It’s not like I’m not thinking about what’s going on in the world. I’m an expressive artist, but with media and sh*t, it gets misconstrued. As I’m sitting with you right now, I’m still figuring this out, you know?”

Travis Scott’s Sick New Visual Shows How Great Music Videos Can Still Be (Video)

Dave Chappelle Teaches Will Smith How To Do Standup Comedy (Video)

Heads who want to see vintage footage from Video Music Box can experience and support it at AFH TV. We are currently offering free 30-day trials.

Andrew Yang Is The Rakim Of Politics (Video)

#BonusBeat: DJ Khaled, Nas, and Travis Scott’s “It’s Secured”:

youtube

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weeklyrapgods-blog · 7 years ago

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Legendary Underground Emcee, Shabaam Sahdeeq has dropped a “60 Seconds Of Flame” freestyle video Tuesday morning for Us (WRG) and our partners at Wrap.Fm. Over the instrumental for “Made You Look” (made famous by Nas), ‘Double SS’ (as he is also known as) spits that tongue-twisting flow in his immediately identifiable vocal tone. Peep it!

Returning from his European tour only a month ago, this hip hop veteran recently dropped his best project yet — Timeless: of the Collection. Like fine wine, SS’s flow gets better with time. Best known for killing Lyricist Lounge in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, Shabaam released his first album Arabian Nights in 1997 with Rawkus Records. He went on to release Sound Clash in 1998, and a host of mixtapes. Over the years, SS gained a loyal fan base. This esteemed Brooklyn rapper has worked with hip hop legends like Mos Def, Common, Busta Rhymes, Kool G Rap, Eminem, Redman and Method Man, to name a few.

Timeless: of the Collection is a testimony of how Shabaam has mastered his craft while maintaining his strong presence in the game. The beats are melodious and raw, the lyrics are on point, and SS always bodies the delivery. This is boom bap at its finest. The project features a bunch of hip hop greats (Keep reading to find out who). Shabaam has received rave reviews on this latest body of work. And he was gracious enough to take time out of his day to chop it up with us at Weekly Rap Gods.

Timeless: of the Collection — Album Cover

Weekly Rap Gods: Who are your musical influences? Shabaam Sahdeeq: All the musicians, producers, emcees and DJs who came before me. Legends of the game. Way too many to mention.

Weekly Rap Gods: Tell us about how you got your record deal.

Shabaam Sahdeeq: My first record deal was with Rawkus Records in 1997 as a solo artist, but I got another deal at the same time with a group called PolyRhythmaddicts on Nervous Records. The deal with Rawkus came about through a manager I had named Ruby Red. We went to Rawkus, but they weren’t all the way believers till I dropped an independent single called “It Could Happen to Anyone” on my label Synista Voices distributed by Freeze Records and radio stations started playing it. Mainly Red Alert during the 5 o’clock free ride on Hot 97, and Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito on WKCR (college radio). Stretch & Bob invited me up to freestyle for the first time on Colombia College Radio and I went back and forth with Black Thought of The Roots when they had their fist album out, and I did real good. After that, I got more meetings. My boy Ed Rivera was doing radio at Def Jam at the time so every single that came out at Def Jam he promoted my stuff with it. When they were doing mail outs to DJs, he stuffed my vinyl in with their artists like, Redman, DMX, Foxy Brown, etc. lol After that, Rawkus gave me two single deals both 12 inch records did good. One of which I had Eminem on before he got really big, called “5 Star Generals”. It was a B-Side to a song called “Sound Clash”. Then they gave me a full album deal. I dropped a bunch of classic singles that appeared on the Soundbombing series of albums. But my solo album never came out. I went to prison shortly after for 3 years.

Weekly Rap Gods: How did you start painting? What inspires your art?

Shabaam Sahdeeq: I’ve been doing graffiti since I was a kid. But while in prison, I really started to perfect my skills in fine art. So when I got cut loose, I really started to paint on canvas and selling my art. I recently started doing art shows in 2014 though. Music inspires my art. Art is frozen music.

Here's a slideshow displaying some of SS's paintings

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Weekly Rap Gods: What was your best experience on a tour? Where were you?

Shabaam Sahdeeq: My last tour in Europe this past November in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The crowd was so live and packed! They made me feel like a superstar. So I gave my all. I rocked for 1 hour and 30 mins holding a bottle of Jack in my hand. lol!

Weekly Rap Gods: What do you think of the current state of hip hop?

Shabaam Sahdeeq: I think it’s wonderful. I listen to and support what I like. And I don’t pay attention to the rest. It’s useless to complain about what you don’t like. The internet makes what you like accessible. So that’s what I rock with. As far as what’s on tv and commercial radio, it don’t concern me till I’m on there. Right now it’s strictly underground for me.

Weekly Rap Gods: What’s your creative process when putting together an album?

Shabaam Sahdeeq: I’m constantly recording and making songs. So I always have a large pool of songs to choose from when I’m ready to release an album. So depending on what the album concept is, I just pull songs from that.

Stefan Nitschke Photography 2011

Weekly Rap Gods: Tell us about your current project.

Shabaam Sahdeeq: Timeless: of the Collection is the first of a four-part series of albums that I’m dropping within two years. This album features production by Haze Attacks, DJ Ready Cee, Nick Wiz, Pete Twist, DJ Doom, Jake Palumbo, ThoroTracks, Rkitech, Supa Ugly, J57 & Ice Rocks. Guest appearances by Masta Ace, Planet Asia, Milano Constantine, Ras Kass, El Gant, El Da Sensei, Pawz One & Swayze artwork by Dread Solo. Cover art by Dread Solo available on Bandcamp and Audiomack but will be available on iTunes, Spotify and other digital outlets on my birthday — Janurary 13th.

Weekly Rap Gods: What’s next for you this year? Upcoming projects? Art shows? Tours?

Shabaam Sahdeeq: My next releases will be a full album entirely produced by J57, a full album with Nick Wiz, an EP produced by DJ Modesty, another EP produced by DJ Concept and “Keepers of the Lost Art Part 2”. I also have a European tour of 19 cities this May 2018 put together by 6 Feet Deep Entertainment and the Underground Store in France. As far as art shows I will be planning some events for spring after the tour!

Shabaam Sahdeeq always delivers that raw edgy boom bap with with heavy hittin’ bars. You heard it here first. So mark your calendars for Shabaam’s 19 city tour in Europe this May. The fans overseas can’t get enough of the lyrical vet, and neither can we here in the states.

Weekly Rap Gods would like to salute Shabaam Sahdeeq for this interview and his contributions to hip hop worldwide.

MUSIC

Stream/buy Timeless: Of The Collection via Bandcamp here:

Shabaam Sahdeeq Is Timeless (Interview) Legendary Underground Emcee, Shabaam Sahdeeq has dropped a “60 Seconds Of Flame” freestyle video Tuesday morning for Us…

#60 seconds of flame #boom bap #hip hop #interview #shabaam sahdeeq #timeless of the collection #underground hip hop #wrapfm

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sl7ventime · 7 years ago

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SIGN UP Hot 97 Freestyle Black Thought HOT 97 FREESTYLE LYRICS [Verse] Uh, I'm sorry for your loss It's a body dead in the car and it's probably one of yours The writing all across the window and the walls Whether it was true or false, we shouldn't have got involved Remember, we walked past the teacher, take the chalk and laugh We wrote punishments: "I will not talk in class" Now it's pistols punishing people for talking fast And all these innocent bystanders is hauling ass I hate to say I told y'all, but I told y'all Things fall apart when the center too weak to hold ya'll I'm just collecting what you owed to my old jawn You 'bout to get swooped down on and stoled on Fools swear they wise, wise men know they foolish Well, we was headed for the web even before computers I never thought you'd give me a reason to do this Cain and Abel, Jesus and Judas Caesar and Brutus, I see intruders, avert your eyes I told you keep out of the hood, circumcise How could you sleep? I thought you always was the first to rise Ay, yo, you heard the line, "Everybody plays the fool"? Well, I'll be that exception to the rule The principal that hand-deliver lessons to the school I was making major moves, my dollar déjà vu My mission was my ambition was brandishing a tool To be a' icon, wearing slippers made of python Get mine quicker 'cause I'm slick as a pipeline Transportin' the oil, tribulation and toil Hit the operation, but I'm back in the soil Got my crown tilted, my gown quilted, silk with cashmere Burning Rome down in a minute, built it last year Newsflash, I dodged the bullet that killed the cashier My homie told me to come with him to the masjid Them brothers said, "Don't go from written bars filled with rage To primetime television and your gilded cage Then forget it's people in the world still enslaved" I barbwired my wrist, and let it fill the page Gun fire n' flares, sirens glare I'm in a iron chair where people who care Don't get the lion's share When I don't give a fuck, then I ain't fair I'm on a higher tier with people gettin' money like the financier Cash the herald I'm fresh chopped, A Bevel Rap on a doctorate level, so F. Scott Fitzgerald Maybe I'm the new Rakim, maybe I'm fat Pharaohe Undergarments or armor be my intimate apparel Pre-Kardashian Kanye, my rhymeplay immaculate Same cadence as D.O.C. pre-accident Maybe, my acumen's on par with Kool G. Rap and them Give me the proper respect, mothafucka', we back again For a couple things we lost in a fire The drive, the desire to perform on a higher plateau I'm at that show, lost in a mire Wondering how we got so far from inspired Look, when photos were sepia-toned And record players were somethin' you would keep in your home Yo, the traveler, the meaning of Tariq, he was known For the exemplary performance, uniquely his own I made the twenty-one pound for some a newfound religion Where money's put down, it's only one sound that make OGs and young lions equally proud to listen The secret amalgamism, a algorithm Coming from where only kings and crowns permitted the darkness Where archaeologists found my image in parchment Rolled into a scroll, holding a message for you It said, "The only thing for sure is taxes, death, and trouble" The anomaly sworn solemnly, high snobbidy Freakonomics and war policy, dichotomy That's Heaven and Hades, Tigris and Euphrates His highness, the apple of the Iris to you ladies As babies, we went from Similac and Enfamil To the internet and Fentanyl When all consent was still against the will I got that detox for y'all The microphone doctor, black Deepak Chopra I'm a griot that make you wanna peacock your arm Every heavy dignitary paying me top, regards Boy, I'm three optics far from your binoculars So, that smart money finna get the heat out the car Yo, I'm K-Dot Lamar meets 2Pac Shakur Got profiled by a few cops, too hot to charge Listen, somebody said a price tag was on a rapper's head So we gon' see a nice bag when the rapper dead The mask black, the flag green, black, and red They'll probably wave a white flag after plasma shed No doubt, yo, the game went they own route I can't explain what these lame kids is talkin' 'bout Or how they fit they whole foot into they own mouth I put a couple bodies in a brown bag, then I'm on route I'm sneaker shoppin' with my son, a size 8 Prior to they release, 'cause why wait? Look, in my estate I got electrified gates For these blasé guys hating at a high rate 'Cause I dodged fate then got great, the fly's straight If we ain't family or friends, then we don't vibrate And I'm that gun in y'all face, none of y'all safe If I catch you at the right time in the wrong place, slippin' Sippin' on something with a strong taste Like Whiskey or bootleg Bourbon with a corn base My Levante resemble a vehicular threat The mic I spray, resemblin' the sickle of death It ain't strenuous to come from a continuous breath I set fire to the venue, I'ma spin you and step Rinse, repeat You checkin' for the sound of the beast I'm the hound, I'ma creep, I get down, I'ma eat I'ma keep somethin' to lay a naysayer to sleep Playin' with heat, nobody and nothin' fucking with 'Riq Yo, these weaklings is claiming they cutting up in the street Nigga, peace, you ain't working with nothin' but the police Listen, you ain't finna be nothing but the deceased Listen, you in a tournament with a permanent crease I strike fear in the hearts of rap figures Who mind bare the stigmas of time, no black privilege From boom bap niggas to trap niggas You in the trap with us, when the lines is as Vivid as the walls on the graph Autographed by the Lord of Wrath I reside between the seconds on the chronograph How much more CB4 can we afford? It's like a Shariah Law on "My Cherie Amour" How much hypocrisy can people possibly endure? But ain't nobody working on a cure, my young boul Y'all just regular, I'm a' apex predator Brim stay fresh, feathered up, etcetera Nevertheless, I got a message and left One dead messenger, yep My pen is Henry Kissinger, Buzz Bissinger Look, my caporegime is to no redeem And my oldest son Ahmir Saleem out of New Orleans Took a golf cart to the Baccarat from the Waldorf What was on the wall? That depend on what you call art I'ma say 300k ain't even in the ballpark I charge more just for awkward small talk So yes, who's fucking with it if it's not the best? I get the lobby painted fresh upon my request It's Kafka-esque, His Holiness, stop the press That Cobalt blue, reminiscent of Makkaresh Lord, we got Padma Lakshmi for you Let her massage your back with black seed oil The foundation is firm, the flags need soil Me? I need Royal Tea because I bleed royal Go through the vein to the brain, fabulous and strange My journalistic range is a catalyst for change It got anybody that listen pissin' flame And 'cause the Hall of Fame got so many missing names I'll acknowledge the original People's not Oliver Y'all will get the next challenger for Excalibur I'm more policed for my core beliefs They tried to capture me and brand me on the cheek With a fleur-de-lis The side of my heart'll be more discreet I'm international, my passport page is like War and Peace I've always played my part from the start Back in Philly where the triggers is mandatory to spark With a slightest inflammatory remark I have you enter living a category apart Listen, a grain of salt'll tip the scales, it never fails Walk on egg shells, sleep on a bed of nails Criminal records like record sales Making heads or tails We like Henrietta Lacks up in the cells My mother was a working class, very loving woman Who struggled, every dinner could've been the last supper I come home, chasing good-for-nothing half-cousins And then walk in the crib to the smell of crack cooking She was introduced to that substance abuse On some of the strongest drugs that the government produced Look, I even got excused by the principal My story is out of the dub dub interview I've seen some ice cold summers, hot winters too I never thought I'd win Grammy Awards with The Roots I never thought I would be getting long in the tooth My OGs told me, ''Boy you better go and live your truth'' I am a walking affirmation, that imagination And focus and patience gets you closer to your aspiration And just 'cause they give you shit don't mean you have to take it My words capture greatness, sworn affidavits Yours truly, the celestial being You stay seeing pulling up in the fresh European High-stepping out of it, dressed to a T And not another got more soul, 'less you Korean I’ve been having visions of Nat Turner holding his master’s head Like Yorick and Horatio in Hamlet Smacking it like a tennis racket, underhanded Send a message through the Gram: ''The Eagle has landed'' Dressed in a military jacket made of canvas I am no gorilla, I just make 'em go bananas Outstanding, red, black, and green bandanas Cocked hammers, hairs on my chin is outstandin' Can't manage the weight of war, they're just out ballin' Look, I'll fall up from the sky to see my calling I'm not crawling, I'm a free man like Morgan Seeing manhood in the hood is a damn good bargain If a black man don't tap dance And every girl that got a fat booty don't lapdance Well, I guess it's somethin' wrong, huh? Niggas completely uninformed I don't burn bridges, yo, I keep the haters' runnin' for em' I ain't one of y'all peers, I'm the sum of all fears Somebody stronger than me? Who that? I'm all ears Like Obama, I wish he had another four years Y'all some jolly good Hollywood Squares I'm like, ahem, approach the altar with your offering I spoil rappers rotten like my only offspring Being His Excellency gets to be exhausting You in the residency of the one they call King Dada, Ali Baba, the talented Mr. Trotter Inside of my right palm, the mark of the stigmata Big Poppa, wig chopper, emperor Jaffe Joffer, mufucka' I'm stronger than the coffee out in Kafa All y'all niggas vagina hop, remind me of Icona Pop I step in the booth, I'm a bull inside a China shop, mollywhoppin' Watch another cotton pickin' body drop Every time we rock, yo, they acting like it's Mardi Gras 'Til the party stop, skirt off like she that Ferrari drop Soul Cycle pumping that Earth, Wind and Fire ba-di-ah Coolin' 'pon the dock, à la marina, hard body yacht You seen another rapper cleaner, mami? Probably not How it feel to be the best that did it, I admit it I'm visiting from planet Bring-These-Niggas-Death-In-Minutes And y'all know I'm exquisite, wicked as Wilson Pickett The sickness I exhibit, I'm too legit to quit it I don't fake it 'til I make it, I take it to the limit and break it Never timid, what I'm about, I represent it Infinite just like Chace is, been a million places Conversation is how beautiful my face is People hated on how sophisticated my taste is Then I pulled up on these mothafuckas in a spaceship Panther mind, I'm made of elements you can't combine I'm at a level of intelligence you can't define Einstein, Shakespeare, Voltaire, Tesla Recording artist slash psychology professor I preach for the East, never fold under pressure The beast from the East and I glide like Clyde Drexler Ay, yo, my new name is eighty five X's 'Cause I'm the rap game certified specialist When I was reckless I was worried 'bout the guest list I'm helping rappers everywhere fulfill a death wish Yo Flex, I'm glad we made contact My nigga also know this shit for Combat Brain matter contain too much data I tell a story like fingerprints and blood splatta' WATCH MORE BELOW https://youtu.be/tiRPlCguqEc

#black thought funk flex freestyle lyrics #black thought #best funk flex freestyle #hot 97 Freestyle

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