New York, NY (January 5, 2009) - Canadian emcee Eternia stopped through the SRC offices with partner in noise Chesney Snow and laced some ill spits for the camera before opening up a little bit about her place in hip-hop. Don’t get the pretty face twisted tho - girl can rap. A Toronto transplant now living in New York City, she’s got a show Sunday, January 11th at The Pyramid for the latest installment of EOW, too, so if you’re in the area, check, check, check out the meloday. For more, peep the joint she did with Ill Poetic and Reef The Lost Cauze called “Souled Out.”
New York, NY (January 4, 2009) - Got this email from Niki the other day, Loud.com all over the place and one of our own is getting it in! RapDreamsRadio.com interviewed super-producers and Loud.com mainstays Play-N-Skillz over the phone and, afterwards, check out Niki Damez with the No. 1 song on the countdown the last three weeks! Props to both parties for their hustle.
New York, NY (November 4, 2008) – While he was tired from a long day of traveling and interviews, the Living Legend took some time to chop it up with us before his Nokia show in NY last week. He revealed his methodology behind the opening track on “Murs For President,” the 9th Wonder-produced “I’m Innocent,” delved into the reason “You Think You Know Me” sounds like a Dr. Dre beat, gangs vs. music and the integration of both, balancing the walk out of the hood with staying down and, of course, his favorite track on the album, “Everything.” Watch for the Interview dropping soon, only on Loud.com. We appreciate you Murs!
Download his joint with 9th Wonder called “Sweet Lord” right here.
New York, NY (October 30, 2008) - We caught up with Boston transplant J The S (formerly Jake The Snake) at Columbus Circle during a warmer time in NY, but wanted to wait for the perfect moment to unleash this. With the debut of his latest single, “My Will,” it seems only right. Now staying in NY, son is one of the better lyricists you’ll hear on the indie circuit because the intel on this guy is that what he raps about… he does. A novel idea, eh?
Tune in as he spits two of his favorite verses and drops gems on both the heavy topics and that flossy ish the people like. Very talented cat, watch for him in the future. If you missed his track/video with with XXL coverboy B.o.B. called “Another Round,” click here.
New York, NY (October 23, 2008) – What, video segments can’t have a B-side? Get right. Abstract goes in with a new verse from the song “Renaissance Rap,” a verse from “Excursion” and he talks about “Award Tour” as being a crowd favorite. In the interview portion, Tip talks about finding the right mood for his new album (due November 4th, FYI) “The Renaissance,” working with Norah Jones and more.
New York, NY (October 9, 2008) – Killer Mike is one of the most intelligent cats in the game right now. He’s also one of the most consistent. From his guest spots to his mixtapes to his Sunday Morning Massacre series, Mike is consistently dropping science that he feels often goes overlooked. He took the opportunity on Part 1 of his Loud.com Favorites to spit the first verse from his song “God In The Building” from his “I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind” record. Listen close, and find out how YOU can walk on water. Part 2, he goes into it with “Bang” and talks why he’s one of the most lyrical emcees in the south right now. Shout out to World Star Hip-Hop helping out on this one.
New York, NY (September 25, 2008) – We caught Chuck up in Harlem at Frederick Douglas Academy prior to a photoshoot for his group, and he sat down with us to spit a few of his favorites verses. He addresses Byron Crawford, success, “unrealing” himself, working against self-doubt, why Nas should have kept the original title of his record and using music to fight for artistic integrity.
New York, NY (September 2, 2008) – Talent is undeniable. The fusion of that talent with appeal and humanity is the tough part. Homeboy Sandman is putting it all together. Perhaps it’s due to forces otherworldly, perhaps it’s due to the crunchy bread he loves so much; but either way, his Full Volume segment should be loud enough to convince you of at least one of the three. This cat is DOPE.
We got up at Fat Beats last week and enjoyed some freestyling, some writtens, some impromptu performing of unoriginal music (here’s where Sandman says, ‘Yo, shout out Black Thought!’), some spilling of water, some Sirius Satellite Radio people tuning in to a Sandman gem and a little insight on the hustling genius of The Source’s recent Unsigned Hype, Homeboy Sandman. Follow along, he doesn’t sit still for long…
Here, Boy Sand gets open for an interview and discusses the finer points of his beard, his latest record (”Actual Factual Pterodactyl”), touring, his Unsigned Hype column and Double Dragons (yes, the video game). The second vid reveals more about his marketing grind here in NYC and all over the web (aka, being interplanetarily known). Say word!
New York, NY (August 29, 2008) – New Jersey native Rasheed Chappell has been grinding for a minute. He readily admits there was a point in time when it didn’t look like it was going to happen, and he began to think of Plan B. But sometimes things just work themselves out. And so after a few brushes with labels, a grip of ciphers, radio shows and live events that had people wanting more, and numerous late-night studio sessions that provided some classic material for his hood, he’s finally landed with a label that understands his vision and has the means to realize it.
Ill Friction Records, headed up by Grammy-winner Kenny Dope, has invested in Sheed’s upcoming album, “Nostalgia,” and the results have been monstrous. Before we got into the interview and spits, I was privy to a few tracks, bumped through the speakers of a car that struggled to do their job. Nevertheless, the music found a way out. It evokes an early 90’s vibe, but with accessible, modern lyrics and the mature touch of a producer (Maleet) that’s given an artist the perfect soundscape for his style.
We got up for a good hour and chopped it up about “Nostalgia,” following through on dreams even as they seem nearly impossible to reach and also the night he got to spit with Nas. Be sure to check the last verse in his Full Volume segment, too, it’s probably one of the realest verses you’ll ever hear. All the old-school heads yellin, “Go Rasheed!” HIP-HOP.
New York, NY (August 19, 2008) – I’m a fan of creativity. Always have been, always will be. The problem is, there always seems to be a fine line between creativity and madness. And nothing embodies that principle more than Free Jazz.
I took a History of Jazz course at my college (Florida Southern, shout out to swimming in November with blonde chicks), and if you’ve ever listened to Jazz, you know there are all kinds… the danceable, 1940’s swing shit that I couldn’t do with a gun to my head, the crazy, up-tempo, holy-shit-did-you-hear-that-solo at 180bpm where the drummer looks like he’s got two sticks in each hand cuz he’s movin so fast, the Kenny G/CD 101.9 smooth garbage that used to lull me to sleep driving home with my dad as a kid after Yankees games… and of course, the aforementioned Free Jazz, which, to be blunt, sounds like a bunch of drunken 8th graders getting together in their band room after hours and playing whatever the fuck they want, possibly in key, usually not, recording it, and calling it a song.
The point is, there’s creativity I can get down with, and the rest is often so inaccessible that it never achieves what perhaps it’s intended purpose is. It’s a struggle all artists fight against. But there are some exceptions…
Cerebral Knievel Sha Stimuli is madness, but he doesn’t fall into that inaccessible category. In fact, he’s in the complete opposite stratosphere. It’s pretty impressive. I’d heard some of duke’s music before, but to be in his presence and hear the delivery of it live, you get the sense there’s something extra to the kid’s spits. Charisma. Personality. SOMETHING. Indeed, he’s a veteran in the game and been exposed to a lot (chillin with Biggie in the studio – WHAT!), he’s had numerous brushes with mainstream greatness (ahem, the Jay-Z “fiasco,” as he labeled it), he’s honed his artistic craft (a gentleman and a scholar)… but to approach music with such a creative drive and pull it off so AUTHENTICALLY is tough. In the same way I mentioned last week that Hasaan’s greatest ability was to reveal conviction in his words, Stimuli channels the artist’s inner-most task of creation and flips it so well, you actually FEEL enlightened when you listen to his music. Perhaps it’s because he’s so… free… that the madness, then, BECOMES accessible? Funny how that works.
Sha took some time out from recording his seventh (yes, 7th) mixtape this year to kick it with us up in the SRC offices and downstairs at Columbus Circle for a segment of Loud.com Favorites. Just watch… dude is on his hip-hop shit…
Part 1 – Sha kicked it with us up by Columbus Circle and talked about hosting, acting, bein in the studio with Biggie as a little kid and the fall-out with Jay-Z and Def Jam. Stimuli!
Part 2 – Amidst dog fights and the smell of hot dogs, Sha goes in with three of his favorites (ignoring my request for that “Back of The Bus” joint), one from the Stevie mixtape, a brand new gem no one’s heard yet, and the fatal blow, the monstrous, “Look at You, Look At Me.”
