Name: Adam Bernard Home: Fairfield, Connecticut, United States About Me: Entertainment journalist w/ over a decade of experience. Lover of good music, fringe movies, day baseball & chicken shawarma. Nerdy, but awesome. See my complete profile
Sometimes it takes doing something a little different to get noticed. The MC Faceman knows this, which is why at the last Bondfire he jumped on stage with a megaphone for his time on the mic. I’d known The MC Faceman for a little while, and knew he was a talented emcee, but in a sea of artists, it was the megaphone that made me remember him most out of all the amazing acts I saw that night. Earlier this month The MC Faceman released the free downloadable EP 2010: The Year of The Worker Bee, and this week I caught up with him to find out more about his music, how the internet helped give him his name, and why he’s much more interested in meeting contractors and lawyers than famous people.
Adam Bernard: Not a lot of artists have a “The” in front of their name. Tell me, how did you become The MC Faceman? The MC Faceman: I started to seriously rhyme, as in record, and build up my skill in the online battle scene on several different websites. No freestyling, just back 'n forth written dissing. Sometimes I'd even start "beef" with other artists just so I could really put my skills to the test. When things are personal, both artists work harder and elevate higher. I started out as -_-' on the Spinner forums when I was about 15. I chose -_-' because I figured it'd be harder for my opponents to diss me. Eventually people started calling me Smiley Face and then Faceman. It had a nice ring to it so I ran with it. The "The MC" part I added a couple years ago mainly to make myself more Google-able, but I now feel that it gives me an air of authority. {laughs}
Adam Bernard: Where are you originally from and what has the path been like to where you are today, both geographically and musically? The MC Faceman: I was born in Maspeth, Queens and moved to Cypress Hills, Brooklyn after my parents separated when I was two years old. I've lived in the same area ever since. I grew up on classic rock like Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith via my father and discovered 90’s hip-hop from my cousin and other kids from the block. The Fugees, Onyx, DMX, Lost Boyz, House of Pain, B.I.G. and Big Pun put my tape and CD players to work! I had a brief period in junior high where all I listened to was trance music, like DJ Scooter, and when I hit high school I was all about dancehall and reggae since I was in my "clubbin” phase. During college I got back heavily into the underground scene and dug cats like Necro, Jedi Mind Tricks, Non Phixion, Atmosphere, Apathy and Canibus. From high school to college I was battling online, but eventually grew out of that and started making my own actual songs. Since that point, I've released half a dozen mixtapes. Nowadays I listen to a lot of new underground music since I review for Above Ground Magazine. Also, I listen to a lot of progressive rock and metal like Dream Theater, Tool and Metallica.
Adam Bernard: You have a wide range of musical tastes. What first drew you to hip-hop and is that aspect of it still present in the culture today? The MC Faceman: As a kid, what first drew me to it was all the cursing, but what keeps me enthralled is that it's such a liberating medium that allows artists to express whatever is on their mind and in a dense way. You can say so much more and go into so much more detail in a hip-hop song than in a rock, trance, or reggae track. There's definitely A LOT of true hip-hop artists out there doing their thing and I love the artists who keep it going not for money's sake, but for the sake of the art itself.
Adam Bernard: Speaking of the art of hip-hop, and creativity, I saw you on stage at a Bondfire show rhyming into a megaphone. First off, how much practice did it take to get the distance right in terms of how close you should hold the megaphone to the mic, and second, what inspired you to do this? Was it an homage to Rage Against The Machine? The MC Faceman: It was just an idea that came to me one night. I might have been high, that could explain it. I didn't practice with it at all at home, though, I was just winging it {laughs}. I figured it wouldn't matter anyway because it was more of a visual tool than an auditory one. That's why I planned to use it only for the first 12 or so bars.
Adam Bernard: With hip-hop being the genre of music most affected by the digital age in terms of becoming overcrowded with everyone being able to make an album, do you think you have to do something different to get noticed? The MC Faceman: I feel like everyone could be a hip-hop artist if they really wanted to, and that if you have some kind of skill there IS a market for you somewhere. People always like to hear something different and original. I consider my brand, or sub-genre, to be progressive hip-hop. By that I mean I switch up my flow and delivery in ways most people aren't used to hearing. You may notice that sometimes I use melodies within my rhymes. That's just one example of how I bring something new in that area. When it comes to lyrics and content, I give people topics they may never have heard covered on a hip-hop song, or maybe put a clever twist on a preexisting subject. For example, "Proof of Purchase," on my Penetration mixtape, is an allegory comparing a man who gave his love to a woman to a purchase from a store. I do make more typical songs like "Piff Wit It," which is on my upcoming debut album, but even in that song I do something different by spitting different choruses after each verse. They all have the same structure, but they have different lyrics. Not only that, but it's a dual-layered chorus. Behind my bars is singing that completes the understanding of every line.
Adam Bernard: “Piff Wit It” is off of your upcoming album, but for people who want to hear you now you released something earlier this month. Tell me about the 2010: The Year of The Worker Bee EP. The MC Faceman: Actually, I like to call it a "minitape" since I'm not selling it. 2010: Year of The Worker Bee is essentially a taste of what's to come. It's to let people know that I'm actually doing something! I feel, especially being relatively new to the scene, that people have no idea who I am or what my music sounds like, so I decided on doing a project that was easily digestible.
Adam Bernard: The first song on it is over the beat to Wu-Tang’s “Triumph.” Picking such a classic beat to rhyme over, you leave yourself open to be compared to everyone who was originally on it. Are you worried about any potential backlash from Wu fans? The MC Faceman: No sir, I don't really give a fuck what people think. Obviously, I'd like recognition, attention... a CAREER in this industry, but those are just wants. I NEED to rhyme. I do it for myself, because if I didn't rhyme I'd be in a grave, one way or another.
Adam Bernard: Let’s say you blow up and get super famous. When that happens, who are the three people you most want to meet, and why? The MC Faceman: As in other famous people? I suppose I'd like to meet Canibus, Immortal Technique, the members of Dream Theater, and a bunch of other artists who I currently dig, but when I blow up I'm going to be more worried about building up my community. In that case, I'd rather meet my head building contractor, my number one lawyer, my program director, and the other people I'd need to put Cypress Hills on the map.
Once again X-Plane is back and recording in his top secret video filming location. Is it a warehouse? Is it a construction site? The world may never know. What I can tell you, however, is that X-Plane’s old school flow matches up perfectly with the beat to Big Daddy Kane’s “Ain’t No Half Steppin” as he tells the world about puppet emcees. Hip-Hop heads are gonna love this.
One is a Chicago trance artist that has an intense love of all things Star Wars, the other is a Virginia rapper who found out three really is the magic number. Both are artists that stat down with me recently for Diamonds in the Rough features for 101Distribution.com.
For more on the man who keeps his music smooth, his “Chicago swagger” on high, and his lightsaber at the ready - click here.
For more on the emcee who hails from the infamous Bad Newz section of VA and has stories worthy of the Penthouse forum - click here.
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from why Miley Cyrus shouldn’t be anywhere near your mouth, to why Justin Bieber might be at the BET awards, to why two 80’s icons have been spending a lot of time in hospital beds, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
Since 1969 The Wailers have been feeding people’s souls, but when they perform at FTC Stage One on June first and second they’ll also be looking to feed the hungry of the world.
After partnering with the United Nations’ World Food Program two years ago and creating the I Went Hungry campaign, the seminal reggae band has continued to donate the unused funds from their daily hospitality riders, which are the lists of requests a band makes on the day of the show for things like food, transportation, etc., to the charity. Aston “Familyman” Barrett, bassist and one of the original Wailers, says “we’ve been at it over two years now and we make a lot of income for them from charity shows and we sell things at our merchandise stands, like t-shirts that say I Went Hungry. We love it. We love to help people globally, trying to save lives.”
The lineup that will be coming to Fairfield includes some fresh faces in the group, including singers Danglin, Koolant and Duane Stephenson. The latter two penned a song called “A Step for Mankind” that will be used in the next World Food Program campaign that launches on June 6th.
Familyman loves whenever The Wailers family expands, saying “the vibe is positive. Rastaman vibrations are always positive, and all my new members, they all grew into that.”
Of course, it’s pretty easy to grow into it when you’re surrounded by it 24/7, and with The Wailers, if you’re a part of the group it means you’re on the road. “Every year is a world tour for me,” Familyman explains, “I’ve been on the road before Bob (Marley), with Bob, and after Bob.”
So how many years has Familyman logged traveling? He puts the number at somewhere around 41, saying “I’ve been on the road since 1969 and I’m not stopping yet.”
With the 30th anniversary of Bob Marley’s passing coming up this year, there’s going to be a lot of nostalgia in the air, but according to Familyman, The Wailers never need a special occasion to remember the legendary singer. “We’re always reprinting and promoting the Bob Marley and The Wailers catalogue year in and year out,” he explains. Because of this, new generations are discovering the music. “The youth who were born after the passing of Bob take on to the message and the music. We always have a wide audience.”
One thing much of that audience has in common is a love of a certain green leafed plant known as marijuana. Familyman says marijuana isn’t the correct name to be calling it, though. “Marijuana is a name of a favorite lady in Amsterdam,” he says with a laugh, “sometimes they call it ganja, but ganja is a parrot bird from Australia. It’s really herb, and it is written in the old book that the grass of the fields are for the animals and herb is for the use of mankind. In World War II, they made a ban on it in 1942, and World War II didn’t finish until 1945.”
Familyman feels America is finally opening its eyes to the decriminalization of “herb,” saying “they’re coming to the consciousness now. They allow the plant in the west coast. Around the US it’s catching on, (but) they’re late with it.”
Being late isn’t something Familyman recommends for The Wailers’ two shows in Fairfield. His message to fans is to “come out early and stay late.” If you’re thinking about enjoying some of that lady in Amsterdam, or Australian parrot, though, you might want to remember how close the FTC is to the Fairfield PD.
We’re fast approaching the end of the month and you can admit it, your playlists have become a little stale. You’ve played your favorite songs so much that you’re now questioning whether you even like them anymore. Well, good news, I’m back with a band new edition of The Adam B Experience! This months’ show features ten new songs with no expiration date, so you know they’ll always be fresh. Enjoy!
OISD - Jiminy Coolzey - Enjoy Your Holiday Top $ Raz - Get Up Get Her Dessa - Alibi R.Me - Please Smoke Weed B4 Rapping Deathrow Tull - Friday Night godAWFUL w/ L.O.G. & Alley Hood - With The Kick Big Stat - Only The Beginning Mr. Beatz w/ M-Tri, J.Arch, Niles Davis, PreZZure, L.I.F.E.long, Oxygen, Poison Pen & Solomon Jazz - Underground’s Finest Domer, Ryan-O’Neil, iLLspoKinN, Kats, Jake Lefco - Little Man
This week's free song from Coolzey's Coolzey and the Search for the Hip Hop Hearts - Volume I: He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper is "Do." Headnodic from Crown City Rockers produced the track, which features snippets from a live show Coolzey did the day he wrote the song, while Jason Hennesy, Geoff Boothby and Jay Johnson created the video.
Don’t let the name fool you, there’s nothing BS about BS. A part of NYC’s next generation of up and coming emcees, BS has rocked the mic with a litany of former Artists Of The Week (aka B-Listers, for the uninitiated), including Chaz Kangas, Jesse Abraham, and Premonition. In fact, the first time I saw him perform it was with a group of artists I’d known for a while, so it was almost as though he’d arrived on the scene already co-signed. To BS’s credit, he’s never taken advantage of that feeling and continues to work his ass off to get heard. This week I caught up with BS to find out more about the man behind the initials, including what those initials stand for, where you’ll never find him, and why instead of sneaking into shows he now has to sneak out of them.
Adam Bernard: Before we even get to your background check, why do you go by the name BS? They’re not your initials, and BS doesn’t exactly have the best connotations to it. BS: I chose the name BS because it's a fluid identity. Two letters can become anything that I want them to be. BS could be bull shit, yes, but BS could also be Basic Strategy, BS could be Better Sober, Buck Shot, Bitch Slapped Backstage By a Salty Biggie Smalls in Bed Stuy. It even encompasses my last name, Bradshaw. That's the beauty of the name, it's so malleable. At the same time, if I say something wack it's "just BS." It's the ultimate loophole. I’m "The Only BS You Can Trust." Also, I talk a lot.
Adam Bernard: OK, so now that we have that sorted out, hit me with the background check: where are you from and what brought you from being a baby BS to the BS who rocks Bondfire on a near monthly basis? BS: As a kid I moved around a lot. I was born in Brewster, New York, moved to Alabama and then West Chester, PA. From there I ended up at NYU, where I met Nyle. He and my friend Shorty CC, who’s a graff writer, took me to Sin Sin around sophomore year of college. Up until that point I'd only done a random lunchroom battle in high school, which was really more of an "ooooh, look at what I can do" kind of thing. I loved hip-hop, but it never seemed like something that I'd engage in creating at the time. I didn't really start writing rhymes until after freshman year of college. I did the “closet writer” thing until I started going to Sin Sin regularly. From there I manned up, stopped being shy, and continued writing until it became constant. About a year ago I started taking rhyming more seriously. I made it a point to be everywhere I can - events, cyphers, open mics, shows. As Premonition put it to me once, "a night rocked is better than a night not rocked, any day of the week." From Sin Sin I met Jesse Abraham who told me about Bondfire.
Adam Bernard: You recently dropped an internet-only release. First tell everyone about the album, and then let me know why you didn’t press up CDs for us old school heads who love the physical format. Will you eventually have something for us? BS: I released That Jawn Vol. 1 a couple months ago. If it were an album I'd press it up, but it's really a collection. I was hoping the Vol. 1 label would distinguish it from an album. A couple of those joints are a couple years old. I'd been sitting on them for too long and had to get them out. You'll find work I've done with Kamikaze Picnic and his monthly Junk Island pulp-rap series in addition to some exclusives mixed with collaborations and features. It's the first in a series of mixtapes I want to put out showcasing our community; "here's my community, check out how dope my friends are and then listen to everything they do." But I digress, I don't think I'll be pressing any up. Truth Now and I have a mix-EP coming out around the beginning of June, The Truth About Bull Shit. It's a much more focused effort than TJv1. I'm really hyped on that. Also, Albert Rhymestein and I have been working our asses off on a full-length, BS+AR = BARS. That's due end of summer. That one we're going to get pressed up, as it will be all original production.
Adam Bernard: You mentioned Kamikaze Picnic, and I know you’ve done a lot of work with him. What about your styles do you feel meshes so well? BS: KP and I have a very good basic understanding of each other's respective madness. From there, the method's just mesh. I like to think of us as the Pinky and Brain of hip-hop done in Ren and Stimpy animation. It's a lot of fun. We both like to be as creative and original as we can. We do conceptual, narrative-driven character rapping all taking place in the fictional sixth borough of NYC, Junk Island. The albums are concepts within concepts wrapped in a story with emcees rapping in character. I'm at his place every Saturday, at least, and usually end up on four to five joints an album, which drop monthly. They turn into ensemble projects with a gang of dope emcees. KP makes the beats, writes the stories and concepts, writes his verses, records and mixes everyone, and puts super ill scratches on top of it. He does this every month. On top of that, we do shows together. The man's work-ethic inspires me. He's the hardest working person I know, period.
Adam Bernard: Being part of the next generation of NYC emcees, what about the scene surprised you most when you first become a part of it? BS: It's a scene, but at the same time it's really a community. There are so many dope people you see regularly at events. Everyone's cool, supportive, and always willing to share knowledge. From Sin Sin, to Bondfire, to the Hip-Hop Subway Series, to the entire open mic scene, to the Union Square Cypher regulars, everyone shows love to emcees who “do them.” Originality and creativity receive so much more praise than I would've previously expected. Everyone knows each other to the point where you know at least half of a packed event and when you need to leave on some "shit, I've got work at 7am tomorrow and it's 1am and I need to get to BK on the F," you can't properly say bye to anyone because it'll be at least half an hour before you exit the building.
Adam Bernard: You’ve mentioned a few of your hangouts throughout this interview, but where are three places that a person will NEVER see BS? BS: You'll never see BS on CBS. You'll never see BS asleep in bed. You'll never see BS on Junk Island... although, you may happen to see Butter Shots, Brodie Stroker, Buster Sanchez, Bowser Samoa, or Bradford Snarlsburg.
Adam Bernard: Finally, since this is the internet, and anything written on the internet is the truth, and because this could make Google searches REALLY interesting, get your tabloid on; BS, who was that we saw you leaving the club with at 3am and where were you two going? BS: Truth Now, being a very good friend of mine and incredibly vocal about his strong political beliefs, held a political press conference/album release party denouncing Big Brother at the 40/40 club. In attendance were President Obama, Perez Hilton, John Cena, EPMD, a few zombies, and the ghost of Zorro. An Illuminati hit squad sequestered Truth and I, dragging us out of the club at 3am. We awoke from a chloroform nap in an abandoned slaughter house, tied back to back on bright red flamingo lawn chairs. The lone lightbulb swinging above our heads revealed a sleek, lingering silhouette darting across the room. After heroically escaping the clutches of Megan Fox and halting the NWO's viral-animal artificial insemination scheme, we grabbed dinner with Albert Rhymestein and the rest of fam!LL at Taco Bell.
I gotta admit, the first time I watched this video I wanted to know what was up with the shaky camera work. After a second viewing, however, I realized it wasn’t shaky, it was actually very consistent in the way it moves from side to side. Also consistent are the incredible rhymes from three of KRU Records’ finest - Scandal of 40th Dimension, Jake Lefco and Side Effect - and the amazing production from Happ G. Click play and vibe to this one.
For more on Happ G check out our interview on RapReviews (1/10).
One is an electronic artist who went from being a psych student to a psych patient. The other is a Tennessee rapper who chose the studio over the streets and hasn’t looked back. Both are artists that sat down with me recently for Diamond in the Rough features for 101Distribution.com.
To find out more about the electro artist who says that while his doctors call him mentally disabled he prefers “mentally the illest” - click here.
For more on the emcee who loves the studio so much people have to padlock it if they want to keep him out - click here.
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. For this week’s edition of Pop Shots I’m going to be taking a look at an addiction that is sweeping the nation, and by the nation I mean my living room, but I know if it’s in my living room it’s probably in many of yours, as well. That addiction is teen TV. It started innocently enough in the 90’s with Saved By The Bell, where we learned the dangers of caffeine pills and that school dances should be held a minimum of 50 times a semester. In 2010, however, with Nickelodeon having it’s own teen oriented channel, and Disney making teen oriented programs, as well, the airwaves are loaded with teen TV. With that in mind, this week I’m taking a look at three teen TV shows that are actually pretty good, and qualify as reasons I don’t have a DVR, because I did, and I was recording these programs, I’m fairly sure I’d be put on a list of some kind.
Over 300 hours of footage. After eight years of shooting, including two filming his television show, Live with Pete Finch, at UConn, that was how much video Bridgeport native Pete Finch had taken of himself. To say the camera had become one of his best friends wouldn’t be that much of an exaggeration. “I had to talk to somebody,” he says with a laugh.
Finch has edited all that footage down and turned it into a documentary titled My Hustle, which takes a look at the many obstacles he’s had time overcome while trying to continue making his television show, which ran for two years at UConn until he graduated in 2004.
Of course, there were also obstacles when it came to making My Hustle, and there were even obstacles for Finch after it was done, the biggest being getting people to want to see a movie about his struggle. “It would be naive to think that most people would care about me,” he says, adding that despite his high profile interviews with some of the hip-hop world’s most popular artists, including Lil’ Wayne and Ice Cube, he feels “most people still have no idea that I even exist. There are people who I grew up with, or people in my family, who don’t even have a clue what I do. This movie just kind of says hello, this is what I’m doing, I’m competent, I’m not just dreaming.”
Finch knew if he wanted to attract a large audience he was going to have to find a way establish his credibility very quickly in the film. He did this by creating a five minute promo that features various celebrities from the world of hip-hop shouting him out, and placing it right after the two opening scenes of the film. My Hustle then dives into the past half dozen years of Finch’s life, chronicling everything he’s done to try to take his show to the next level. He feels the film is along the same lines as HBO’s breakout hit How To Make It In America, noting, “they talk about 20-somethings out there hustling, finding something they really believe in, going through all types of ups and downs, snags in the way, obstacles, but just finding their path and sticking with it.”
For Finch, his path in entertainment started at UConn in 2002 when he started Live with Pete Finch. He says his goal for the show was to create something that would be a mixture of Larry King and Arsenio Hall. He notes that’s a combination he still likes to try to embody, saying “I want the people who want to have fun, but also want to keep it real and see the world be better.” All of this fits into Finch’s overarching goal for everything his does, which he says falls under the umbrella of “making a difference through the media.”
Finch comes by his love of arts and entertainment, as well as his love of public speaking, honestly. When he was growing up his mother, who now works in education and runs a non-profit organization, was a ballet dancer, and constantly exposed Finch to the arts. Finch’s father is the mayor of Bridgeport, and has been a mainstay in the local political scene for a number of years. Pete notes “it’s almost like I’m a funny science experiment based on my parents.”
If he’s a science experiment, he’s one that’s gone very right. Finch is even following in his mother's footsteps in education, teaching an after school film class for middle schoolers in Bridgeport. By reaching out to the youth he hopes to instill in them the idea that it’s important to develop yourself fully, and not settle. “It’s easy to go and get hired for a job that you just show up at,” Finch explains, “but to create something and have these types of life skills, that’s something that people can’t take away from you. That’s the message I want to relay. If you have things to offer and you’re passionate about things, no one can take that away from you. You can get fired from any job, but if you have a foundation of skills, and recognition for things that you’ve done, and you’re out there in the world, no one can take that away from you.”
This is an ideology that affects Finch not just in his work, but also in his every day life when people who don’t understand his goals try to push him in different directions. Just a few weeks ago he was a passenger in a friend’s car when they were pulled over for speeding. Finch remembers the police officer telling him to consider a career in law enforcement. “He was like ‘hey, you know, you should really look into being a cop.’ I’m like, really? C’mon man. Do I really need to be a cop? Am I really on the wrong track here?” For Finch those were all rhetorical questions, easily answerable with the word “no.”
Not only does Finch have no interest in doing anything other than what his hustle has been for the past eight years, he notes “I’m a filmmaker and a TV producer and I’m lecturing the students at UConn about achieving their dreams and alternate ways of finding success and I’m almost feeling like I can’t ever not do what I’m doing. I can’t ever stop, because if I stop it’s like hey, you can go try to be successful alternatively like I did, but it really doesn’t work. How can I live with myself and talk about anything if I give up?”
Giving up isn’t in Finch’s vocabulary. In fact, in addition to continuing to pitch Live with Pete Finch to television networks, and looking for film festivals where he can screen My Hustle, Finch is also putting together a show called Park City Live, which he describes as “something like Live with Pete Finch, but more dedicated to the greater Bridgeport area’s arts and entertainment.”
Although he’s come a long way from the opening scene in My Hustle, which is a recreation of his first hustle, selling baseball cards as a middle school student, it’s clear one thing has remained the same and that’s Finch’s passion for doing things his way. It’s done him pretty well, so far, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him on our TVs sooner rather than later.
Funkmaster Flex has worked his way up to being, arguably, the most well known DJ and radio personality of his generation. From his radio show on New York’s Hot97, to his car customization business, to his TV shows, Funk Flex has his hand in just about everything that interests him. With Flex’s new television show, Funk Flex Full Throttle, having debuted on MTV this month, I caught up with him to learn more about the show, his thoughts on the current state of radio and payola, and where his last album advance went (hint - it didn’t go to making an album). Funk Flex also revealed his very interesting prediction for hip-hop’s three hottest rising stars, which artist disappointed him greatly during their first interview, and why he’s following Justin Bieber on Twitter.
This week's free song from Coolzey's Coolzey and the Search for the Hip Hop Hearts - Volume I: He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper is "Life is a Wheel." JRawls of Lone Catalysts produced the track for Coolzey, while Jason Hennesy, Chloe Hennesy and Jay Johnson created the visuals, which star Walker Allen as "the kid."
The first time I heard Premonition was the remix to “Double Time” that was on the Spills & Jesse Abraham album Alphabutter. The song featured half a dozen of NY’s finest and when Premonition’s verse came on my initial reaction was “damn, who’s the dude with the deep-ass voice of God?” Then I started listening to his lyrics and thought “damn, the voice of God has some serious skills!” Over the next few months I’d run into Premonition at a number of shows and find that in addition to being able to shine on a track he can also rock a mic live. A truly passionate emcee, this week I caught up with Premonition to find out more about that passion, who’s going to end up on his future tour bus, and his strange connection with comedian Judah Freidlander.
Adam Bernard: Let’s start with a background check: where are you from, when and how did your path in music start, and how did you end up in the position you’re in today? Premonition: My background in music extends to a very young age, probably around age nine when an older kid in my neighborhood gave me a cassette of 36 Chambers, which I hid from my mother successfully for years. The album changed my life. I was a nine year old white kid in the burbs reciting every quip from the Genius and every drunken rambling from ODB. From then on I basically did everything possible to find out more about hip-hop as a whole. I was born and raised in a pretty average suburb outside of Philly. I collected vinyl and taught myself how to make beats at about 16. I ran with my mellow Dark Merlin and formed a crew called Central Intelligence, which is still intact with a third member, Nuisance. We’re dropping an album this summer titled Beautiful Dystopia. Together we stole records from yard sales and practiced our skills over blunts and every now and then drank a whole lot of booze and went down to Philly to catch whoever was coming into town and, of course, jumped in the cypher! I recorded semi-seriously during college while I "studied" journalism and PR. We were lucky enough to able to open up for some dope cats that came through during that period, like Killah Priest, C-Rayz Walz, Edo G, Slaine and Reef the Lost Cauze, but it wasn't until I graduated in 2008 that I realized I had to break out of the frame of the small town. I made the move to NY, more specifically, Washington Heights, with little more than two months rent and a new job. My most vivid memory was moving every item I owned on the train from 163rd and Amsterdam to Jefferson St. in Bushwick after a tumultuous two months, knowing one day I'd be telling this story to a journalist. I was determined to spread my name and work as hard as possible at this music. It was my first endeavor as a solo artist.
Adam Bernard: A premonition is a forewarning. Why is this a fitting name for you? What’s Premonition’s premonition? Premonition: I’ve always loved the power of words. Certain words conjure up powerful connotations and I always felt Premonition was one. I was attracted to the fact that it is a forewarning. It may be good, it may be bad, but it is always right {laughs}. My Premonition is I will be successful, and in life or in death my music will eventually reach the ears of many many people.
Adam Bernard: I know after making guest appearances on a number of songs you’re now working on a solo album. What can you tell me about the album? What’s the vibe going to be? What can people expect from it? Premonition: The album is a labor of love, without a doubt. It’s attempting to paint the portrait of myself to people who haven't the slightest clue about me. It’s part autobiographical, part braggadocio, part conceptual, but it never strays from the elements of hip-hop. Shouts to Willie Green for being the chief engineer, a hell of a producer, and a great dude. Shouts to Sleepwalkas, Cavalier, L.I.F.E Long, C-Rayz Walz and Dyalekt for blessing me on the guest spots. And mega-shouts to Willie Green, KO Beatz and Spills for the illest of the soundscapes. You can expect a front to back album that will captivate you with it’s personality and diversity in late June. The Build shall be built.
Adam Bernard: Other than painting a portrait of yourself, what do you want to make sure gets across on The Build? Premonition: I want people to know how serious I take this art form. I want them to know that there isn't a second of my life that I take this culture for granted. It’s cliche to say, but it saved my life and I am beyond thankful to be a participant in it. I hold the elements of hip-hop very closely and I am having fun doing this! Oh yeah, and I truly believe my skills are world class. You will find something you like about this project, unless, of course, you currently have Nicki Minaj in heavy rotation.
Adam Bernard: Thankfully, that’s not an issue here. Something that’s always an issue, however, is the sheer number of emcees in NYC’s scene. In what ways do you feel you stand out? Premonition: I’d say my versatility and consistency. I can write a narrative story, a personal song, stick to concepts, or just flip some intricate wordplay to get a response. I want to be known as one of the most consistent cats on the scene, not only in NY, but throughout hip-hop in general. This scene makes you check your ego. If you don't come with it at every show, open mic, or collabo, you can fall behind. My reputation is being built on the strength of my attention to this craft.
Adam Bernard: I know you don’t want the paparazzi finding you everywhere, but give me a few of your favorite homes away from home. Are they all music related? Premonition: I love the parks in NY. They can really inspire you when you’re feeling uninspired. I enjoy watching people from all walks of life congregate on a daily basis in the greatest city in the world. And if all that fails, I enjoy dive bars.
Adam Bernard: Let’s say you’re world famous and touring the country. What goes on in the Premonition tour bus and with whom does it go on with? Premonition: Oh man, well I would bring my crew Central from back home, without a doubt. Then I would probably bring some of the artists from my album because me and the Sleepwalkas can get it in, me and L.I.F.E. kick it outside of music quite frequently, Dy is my homeboy, Cav is just too ill and criminally underrated, Willie Green because he's my man, and C-Rayz Walz is the most unpredictable cat I’ve ever caused trouble with. Outside of that I’d bring the homies Jesse Abraham, Warren Britt and Spills vs feleciacruz because I got tons of love for them in and out of music. And you, Adam, because someone has to document the carnage. There would be a high level of shenanigans going on almost round the clock. We would channel the mayhem of 80's hair bands through indie hip-hop.
Adam Bernard: I’m looking forward to being on that bus! Finally, what’s this I hear about a weird connection with comedian Judah Freidlander? Premonition: I just run into that cat on the randomness. A few times on St. Mark’s cuz I work and live near there, then randomly in my gym, trademark cheeky trucker hat and all. Good dude.
Have you ever seen a music video that was so radically creative you couldn’t take your eyes off of it? I know, that’s a rarity, but Azeem and & DJ Zeph released such a rarity last year with their video for “Latin Revenge.” Live action mixed with with animation mixed with some fantastic lyrical content, “Latin Revenge” is pretty much the perfect music video. Hit play and I think you’ll agree!
Let me preface this review by saying I think Raheem DeVaughn is a fantastic singer with a voice that could be one of the best in R&B. The Love & War MasterPeace, however, isn’t going to be the album that cements his place among the R&B elite. Instead, it tries to be too much to too many people, lacking any sort of real direction.
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from new roles for Miranda “iCarly” Cosgrove and Jordin Sparks, to new goals for Bret Michaels, to the new, untamable, video by Miley Cyrus, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
This week's free song from Coolzey's Coolzey and the Search for the Hip Hop Hearts - Volume I: He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper is "Uh Huh." The rhymes are provided by Coolzey, while the music is provided by Alex Newman from Giant Panda, and the video, which features public domain footage from 1968 government film, Marijuana, was done by Jason Hennesy.
A couple months ago I was at an event in the city when a friend of a friend started telling me about Jon Braman. Now, bear in mind, I hear a lot of people telling me about a lot of artists, so it takes something really interesting to get my attention. As soon as she said Braman was a rapper who played the ukulele, getting my attention was no longer an issue.
After what seemed like dozens of missed opportunities to check out Braman’s work, his album, Climatastrophunk, finally arrived in my mailbox. Really interested in knowing if combining the ukulele and hip-hop could work, I put it on. It was an oddly perfect marriage, at least with Braman at the helm. His lyrics are meaningful, and at times downright beautiful, and his vibe matches those qualities perfectly. Braman describes some of the inspiration behind his music, saying “being able to sing out your fears as well as your hopes and dreams is a pretty good feeling.” This week I caught up with Jon Braman to find out more about the man, his music, and what exactly a Climatastrophunk is.
Adam Bernard: Let’s start things off with a background check. Where are you from and what’s your path in the music world been like up to this point? Jon Braman: I grew up in Port Washington, NY – Long Island, where I found my uke in the garbage around the age of 15. I started rapping after college while living in Hartford, CT, and working going door to door for clean air. I really started performing my uke-rap tunes while living on the big island of Hawaii and working on a sustainable goat farm. Briefly I had a band there called Jon and The Jungle Funk. Then I lived in DC for two years, building my tunes, playing all over DC, MD, VA, trying to learn what I could from local hip-hop/neo-soul scene down there. I recorded Climatastrophunk in DC just before moving to NYC, where I’ve been for a little over two years now. I’d say my path in the music world is basically a non-stop drive to write songs. Writing songs is some kind of nervous tic for me. I’d probably have some kind of breakdown if I stopped. When I started realizing that my tunes actually mean something to other people, which is pretty cool, it made me want to perform and record as much as possible to keep getting it out there.
Adam Bernard: From your personal timeline the ukulele came before rapping, but were you always a fan of hip-hop? Jon Braman: I didn’t even like hip-hop when I found the uke, but once I found my way to hip-hop, and realized it was the culmination of all the jazz and blues I’d been listening to my whole life, and the perfect way to combine my wordplay instinct with music, I feel like the hip-hop became primary, even though it came second. I listen to hip-hop, I don’t listen to much ukulele music, with the occasional exception of IZ, I just happen to carry a ukulele every where I go and I’m not able to put it down.
Adam Bernard: Was it a challenge to bring them together, and what made you think it would work? Jon Braman: You know, the combo of uke and rap seemed totally natural to me. No different than playing a Beatles song, or some other music, on the ukulele, where you don’t have all of the sounds in the real song, but have to just find the essence of it that you can play on the uke and then bang it out and wail convincingly enough over it so people can bop their heads to it. I’d already been doing that for years, even if it wasn’t hip-hop. The thing I wasn’t sure about, but really wanted to try, was rapping. As soon as I realized how cool rap was I thought, “I have to try that.” Not because I thought it would work for anyone else, but I just thought how good it would feel if I could do it for myself. So once I started rapping, the ukulele was my instrument, so it was natural.
Adam Bernard: What were the reactions of your friends and family when you told them “I’m going to be a rapper who plays the ukulele?” Jon Braman: I think there was some initial shock because I’d been so much about acoustic music and not into hip-hop before, but after that faded I think I became a constant party trick, which I don’t really mind. I’m not so good at parties without the ukulele. Sometimes I make annotated hip-hop mixes for my parents, or friends who aren’t into hip-hop, to try to help them see what it is that’s so compelling to me.
Adam Bernard: There’s really no blueprint for this, and no albums that can put on to learn from. How did you develop your style and practice it when you were first starting out? Jon Braman: The way I think about it, there are lots of blueprints. The Blueprint by Jay-Z is a pretty good one. As is Aquemini by Outkast, or Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan, or Natty Dread by the other Bob (Marley), or Steamin with the Miles Davis Quintet. Not to mention Ready to Die. I listen to music I love and learn it by heart. In terms of rap, I learn every single word and try to match their rhythms and cadence exactly. Same goes for great songwriters like Bob Marley, or Bob Dylan, or the Beatles, or Miles Davis. I try to get inside what they do, and get the rules and patterns drilled into my subconscious, so that when I sit down to write or wail about my own life what comes out is trained by those other great voices. When it comes to recording a uke-rap album, or trying to market ukulele hip-hop to the world at large, there’s certainly no blueprint there, but I’m open to suggestions.
Adam Bernard: I was about to ask, being such a unique artist, is it difficult to book gigs? Jon Braman: Sometimes it is. I’ve had people ask me if it’s a comedy act. I tell them no, it’s real music! I’ve never tried to book gigs as another kind of artist, so I don’t have much for comparison, but I do think there are some places that just don’t respond because it sounds like a joke. I once got a show listing in Time Out New York that said something like “two things we never wanted to hear in the same sentence: ukuleles and hip-hop,” and then proceeded to give info for one of my shows. To be honest, I don’t blame them, but in other crowds the ukulele is a ticket in. My biggest gig yet was opening for ukulele star Jake Shimabakuro at the Blender Theater in NY as part of an all ukulele line up. So you never know. I generally call my music Ukulele Hip-Hop, but try to play up the jazzy, catchiness of it. I’m also open to ideas.
Adam Bernard: You album is titled Climatastrophunk. What is a Climatastrophunk and does it show up on the doppler radar? Jon Braman: Climatastrophunk is the funk you feel, or the musical sound of it, when trying to come to terms with the current ongoing global catastrophe of climate change. Not come to terms with it in scientific, or political, terms, but in your bones and your ears, and then getting to the scientific and political and even business terms, because that’s the world we live in and you can’t actually transform much without going through those routes, as well.
Adam Bernard: So you’re strumming on your ukulele, talking about climate change... I have to ask, are you a dirty hippy? Jon Braman: I’m not a dirty hippy, but sometimes I wish I was. It might be easier. Instead I play a ukulele and rap, and during the day work for an energy efficiency company trying to help people figure out the nuts and bolts of how to use less energy. I spend a heck of lot of time working on the computer, though most of the time I’d rather be barefoot in the woods. For better or for worse I’ve come to the conclusion that we’ll never make a better world if we don’t attack issues like climate change from every angle, which means being able to talk to everyone, including bankers, politicians, and people from different cultures, whether they live across the world or around the block. A lot of people think hippies are perhaps just a little bit off their rocker, which isn’t the best way to start a conversation. I think we’re discovering that hip-hop is a whole lot more universal, to be honest. Of course, although I cut off my ponytail before I started rapping, I still love hippies. It was my greatest ambition in life to become a hippy until about age 22.
Adam Bernard: I’ve never heard that as a life goal before. You are truly a unique individual. Before you go, I have one last pressing question for you; do chicks dig the ukulele? Jon Braman: I’d have to say yes, though you should ask my wife what she thinks.
When one of the queens of NYC’s underground hip-hop scene links up with one of its kings for a musical endeavor the result is pure awesome. Take, for example, “O.G.LYRIKALBOOKBAGGER.” It’s by Kalae All Day, features Homeboy Sandman, and exemplifies some of the best the scene has to offer. The video is also jam packed with B-Lister cameos. I do NOT suggest doing a shot every time you see a B-Lister. If you do, you won’t make it to the end of the clip.
The other day I was having an in-depth discussion with a group of people regarding arts and entertainment and one prevailing conclusion that we all came to regarding “the good old days” of anything, whether entertainment related or not, is that reminiscing is almost always done through rose colored glasses. In other words, everything looks better in the rearview mirror. With this in mind I started thinking about the supposed Golden Era, or Golden Age, of hip-hop. The conclusion I came to is that regardless of what years one has falling under that distinction, The Golden Era, as we consider it now, is more of a myth than a reality.
Before I get a ton of angry emails telling me how great A Tribe Called Quest was, please continue reading. I know how great Tribe was. I was rockin to their albums when they first came out, and even bought The Love Movement (which was not good). The artists of that era are some of my favorites of all-time. The idea, however, that hip-hop was on a higher level, or that we had better rappers during that time and it was more pure and more representative of the culture, is ridiculous, and more to the point, it’s incredibly lazy.
When people try to reason that there was a Golden Era of hip-hop they’re essentially showing people the lack of effort they’re putting in to find the great hip-hop of today. In the years most people consider the Golden Era there were a ton of great artists, no doubt, but there were just as many awful artists flooding their airwaves and music video shows. While we may reminisce fondly over tracks such as “Rump Shaker” and “Whoomp! There It Is,” if we honestly took a look at those songs we’d see them for the trite nonsense they were. Yes, they were our trite nonsense, but that’s where those rose colored glasses come in. It's easy to think of any era as great as long as you only focus on the aspects of it that you liked.
Another contributing factor to the fallacy of the Golden Era are the number of artists who use the phrase to try to convince people they’re something they’re not. Most artists who claim to be “channeling the Golden Era vibe,” and the writers who far too often use such a phrase to describe said artists, are really just reasoning the fact that their production sounds fifteen years old and they have nothing new to say. I’m sorry, but if everyone who is claiming A Tribe Called Quest as a huge influence actually listened to Tribe back in the day, Phife Dawg and crew would have gone diamond.
The Golden Era of hip-hop is a misplaced concept. People want to attach it to the music, but we have just as much good music coming out today as we did then. If you want to attach the Golden Era tag to anything, it should be hip-hop radio. I firmly believe the years that many consider to be the Golden Era of hip-hop were really the Golden Era of hip-hop radio. Atmosphere, MF Doom, P.O.S., Homeboy Sandman, and a litany of other artists could easily go rhyme for rhyme and song for song with our favorites from the past, the only difference is they’re not getting the airplay, and that’s the main difference between then and now. It wasn’t that the artists were better back in the day, it’s that we were able to hear more of them and be exposed to their greatness. If radio played more of what was coming out today people would realize there’s no such thing as the Golden Era of hip-hop because it’s something that’s ongoing.
Artists are doing new, creative things in hip-hop right now, the masses just aren't hearing them, and since people have become accustomed to having their music spoon fed to them they have no idea of the breadth of what's really out there. The sad fact is it’s easier to be disgusted with the present and reminisce about a “better time,” a time that people seem to forget also included A LOT of wack rappers, than take the time to find the greatness that’s out there today, hence people created, and now long for, a Golden Era that’s more myth than reality.
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week Pop Shots is hitting you with thoughts on everything from all the unexpectedly positive talk coming out of Bret Michaels’ camp, to the Country Music Awards’ totally unexpected, and totally fantastic, choice of a host for their show, to something very unexpected coming out of a woman’s nether regions, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
There’s a big controversy going on up the road involving a Boston rapper who’s currently a senior at Trinity College and shares a name with an award winning lager. The young man is Sam Adams, he claims to be a direct descendant of presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, and his actions, most notably the questions surrounding how his EP, Boston Boy, debuted at number one on the iTunes chart with first week sales of nearly 8,000, are of great concern to many of hip-hop’s veterans.
Boston native Slaine of La Coka Nostra, a group that also includes Everlast, Ill Bill, Danny Boy and DJ Lethal, heard the rumor that the bulk of Adams’ album sales came from none other than Adams himself; that the aspiring rapper artificially inflated his own sales numbers to falsely generate a buzz and get noticed, and it incensed him.
Making matters worse, in a recent interview with Billboard.com, while steadfastly denying he bought his way to the top of the iTunes chart, Adams added that even if he did “who cares?” Slaine cares, and so do plenty of other hip-hop fans who still believe the music should come from a place of authenticity.
In a statement released by La Coka Nostra’s label, Suburban Noize Records, Slaine called Adams “a threat to the foundation of real hip-hop street music,” adding “he’s never paid a due and has no respect or knowledge of the culture.”
Every once in a blue moon an artist like Adams comes along, someone who makes the true school hip-hop artists and fans worry that the culture is going to be co-opted by a group of people who know nothing about it, will change it, and then once they have the power, will rewrite the history of it. After seeing what happened to jazz once mainstream society got their hands on it, these worries don’t seem so far fetched.
As an artist, Adams’ rhymes don’t stray very far from the life of a frat boy, and it’s a charmed life, at that. He first gained fame on YouTube with his song “I Hate College,” which was a response to Asher Roth’s “I Love College” and to date has more than two million views. His Auto-Tuned raps aren’t any worse than what Ron Browz assaulted the world with on songs like “Pop Champagne,” but they also aren’t anything that will make a hip-hop fan stand up and take notice. Adams has a huge market, though, and that’s what scares so many people. He appeals to the frat guy and sorority girl populations of America, and that’s A LOT of people with A LOT of disposable income. That being said, this still just makes him a niche rapper, and he hasn’t shown any ability, or want, to leave that niche.
When I was in college frats were still bumping The Chronic at their parties. A few years later it was Get Rich or Die Trying. In an ironic parallel to how rap started as a form of music that spoke to the inner city community, Adams has found a way to use it to speak to his own community, which happens to be one that likely has never seen an inner city. His growing popularity may actually lead to a little less poser-ish behavior by frat guys. Believe me, nothing was lamer than a bunch of drunks with Greek letters on their chest giving themselves a false sense machismo and acting like they had hood credibility by reciting “Dre Day” or “What Up Gangsta.” If Sam Adams can get those kids acting a little less like wanna-be thugs he has my blessing.
The question about his album sales still lingers, though. If Adams had the money to buy his way to the top to get noticed, and did it, it was a stroke of genius in terms of working the system to his advantage. It’s something major labels have reportedly done for years to boost the notoriety of their artists. Would it have been a hip-hop move? Absolutely not, which is why he’d have a very hard time ever earning anyone’s respect if it were found to be true.
There’s another aspect of this issue that bothers me almost as much as the potentially inflated sales numbers, though, and that’s the huge emphasis on the iTunes chart as if it’s of some importance to hip-hop. When did the iTunes chart, or charts in general, become a place where you developed your rep? Last time I checked Vanilla Ice sold a ton of albums, as have a lot of rappers nobody would refer to in the same vein as Rakim, or Kool G Rap. It never made any of those rappers dope, or respected, emcees. Despite what some mainstream rappers may try to tell people in their rhymes, album sales have nothing to do with skills, or respect, in the rap game.
Maybe Sam Adams is right when he says even if he had bought his way to the top of the charts, “who cares,” because artists can buy a lot of things, but the one thing they can’t purchase is respect, which is why Slaine and all the other artists and fans worried about the future of hip-hop should rest easy. Even if you consider Sam Adams the enemy, when you come right down to it, he’s essentially an unarmed one.
Everybody wants something for free (as long as it’s not a disease), and with that in mind I’ve combined forces with midwestern emcee/producer Coolzey of Public School Records to give away the album he’s currently working on, Coolzey and the Search for the Hip Hop Hearts - Volume I: He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper, one song at a time, over the next twelve weeks. Each song features production from a different beatsmith. The first, available today, is titled “Enjoy Your Holiday,” and was produced by Will Tell of Brooklyn Academy/Word a Mouth. The video was done by Jason Hennesy of Miracles of God/Public School Records.
Who the heck is Ron Contour? The title of his 2001 album Moka Only Is... Ron Contour led people to believe that he and Moka Only are one and the same. Now, however, Moka says that’s untrue, and that Ron is his mustachioed cousin. A mustachioed cousin that he’s been working hard to put on for nearly a decade. With Contour’s latest album, Saffron, which was produced entirely by Factor, recently hitting stores, I set up an interview with both Ron and Moka to clear the confusion. Did I? Well, read the words of Ron Contour and Moka Only and you decide.
I first met Idris Tate of Invisible Bullies back in 2007 when he was drumming for Rue Melo and they, along with the rest of the band, were on tour with Lyrics Born. We hung out a couple times after shows and stayed in touch. A few months ago he told me he had just finished up his own project, under the name Invisible Bullies, with bass player Doug Gild. The album, Westworld Volume 1, is a decidedly hip-hop effort, and this week I caught up with the southern California native to find out more about the project, how long it had been in the works, and his reaction when he found out Rue was moving back to France.
Adam Bernard: Start everyone off with a little background info. What’s your path in the music world been like up to this point? Idris Tate: I started out as a kid playing drums, but the funny thing is I never played anywhere, just at home. My mom used to buy me these cheap acrylic drums from the Sears catalog and I used to bash those up every year, trying to force her to buy me real drums, but that never happened. Once I became a teenager I gave up the drums and got into rapping and producing with my cousin. We would raid my mom’s old records and make beats on an Ensoniq 16 keyboard that my cousin took a loan out to buy. I had no idea at the time what it meant to produce, or what made sense, but we were heavy into A Tribe Called Quest and the Native Tongues family, so we basically copied that sound, but with a West coast flavor, which was not cool living in a city like Long Beach where gangsta rap was just blowing up. We got frustrated and decided to move along and do something else. I decided to go to college, then, by luck, I saw this drum set in a pawn shop I was actually trying to get a job at and ended up buying it instead of applying for the job. That's what got me back on the path that I'm on now.
Adam Bernard: I’ve always known you as Idris Tate, amazing drummer. While you were doing all that drumming, was this Invisible Bullies project in the back of your mind? Idris Tate: Yeah, man. I had the IBees on my mind back as far as 92-93. The whole time I’ve been touring and recording, I always was thinking of doing the Invisible Bullies project, I just never had the time to really concentrate on it. Also, one of the problems of being known as a drummer is that most artists you work for only see you as that, and most drummers don't do a lot of producing, so when I tell an artist that I produce music on my own they kinda don't believe it, or just brush me off, or in some cases are brainwashed by their current producer so they don't wanna hear anything else at the moment.
Adam Bernard: What about you is invisible and what about you is a bully? Idris Tate: The invisible part is the fact that the music kinda comes from this unknown entity, like who are they? What do they do? The bully part is mainly smacking people over the head with good music and forcing them to listen to it, plain and simple. I always think that good music is good music no matter what form, or how many times it's played on the radio, but in this day and age you have to hit people in the mouth to get there attention and that's what I'm trying to do.
Adam Bernard: What you’re hittin people in the mouth with right now is Westworld Volume 1. Tell me about the album. Is this purely a west coast thing? Idris Tate: It's sorta a west coast thing. It came about with my obsession with the 1973 movie Westworld. I originally was going to do this CD with one artist and we were going to only do five songs. Every song was going to be this hybrid, hip-hop, rock, futuristic thing, but then I was like, hmmm, I don't think that should be my first showing as a producer. Plus, I didn't have the right artist to pull that off, so what I did was get some of the best unknown emcees in LA and kept the concept of Westworld, so technically it's an homage to the West coast as well as saying “hey, we’re still here doing our thing out West,” but not in a beef/battle kinda way.
Adam Bernard: As you mentioned, you work with a number of vocalists on the album. Was it a conscious decision to stick to production and not lend your own vocals to the project? Idris Tate: Oh yeah, I knew I did not want to be on it vocally. The only thing I wanted was to control the concepts of the songs. Any time I would send out a beat I would also give the artist a concept to write about, as well. For instance you got "CL Provider," which is about CraigsList hookers, which I think is an interesting topic to say the least, and “We Won't Drown,” which is about female emcees on the grind, and not giving up no matter how many people may try to drown them out. I made sure I had my homegirls Nebluv and Medusa on at least one track together on the CD. I wish I had the time and funding to get them on a lot more.
Adam Bernard: Rue Melo is also on one song, “So Fly (my j’s).” You had been drumming for her for a few years when she up and moved back to France. Since she’s on the album I’m guessing there’s no beef between you two, right? What went down with that whole situation? Idris Tate: Awww man, yeah, Rue is my girl. She’s kinda like my littile sister in a way. As far as her situation, I'm not to sure what happened. You know industry rule #4080, so I’m sure that could have played a part, but I don't really know. Sometimes, though, it's just timing, because she had a good look, dope band and good people behind her, but... My biggest regret is that I didn't work with her on more tracks production-wise. Regarding “So Fly,” I originally did that song for her second CD because we used to always jam during rehearsal and she would kinda put this Air Jordan idea over some drum beats I would do and we would say it would be cool to do a song about Jordans from a girl’s perspective, so I went to the lab and did that beat just for her, and she was like, OK, I’m gonna write it. We did that song in one take, in about two hours. Just me, her, Gil Levy on the boards, and my boy Coexist, who came through with a one take feature. That was the thing I liked about working with her most. If she had an idea we could get it done without BS being involved. I also had more songs I wanted to present to her and her manager, but once I got everything worked out as far as studio time and the right beats I got a call saying she was headed back to France. In the back of my mind I wanted to say “hey, don't go, just work with me and we could make a whole CD/mixtape and just put it out on our own,” cause to be honest I really felt that her style fit perfectly with what I was trying to accomplish with "So Fly," but for some reason I didn't say anything when I got that call. I don't know, maybe I was just kinda shocked cuz I never for one second of the four years we spent together thought that we wouldn't blow up in some way, but there is no beef at all. We still communicate by email as much as possible and if she called and said “hey, I'm headed back,” I would, without a doubt, work with her again.
Adam Bernard: What’s your ultimate vision for Invisible Bullies? Idris Tate: I would like to continue to put out full albums with guest artists. Hopefully the level of known names will grow. The closest artist I can mention that kinda has the same concept would be Danger Mouse. He works with a bunch of artists, from MF Doom, to The Black Keys, to Ceelo. That would be my ultimate vision for Invisible Bullies. I'm also trying to figure out a way to brand it with my drumming. I just did this really cool show with DJ Skee called Skeetox and we had a full band playing over vocals. We also brought out special guest like Snoop Dogg, Mike Posner, and Ya Boy. I want to brand Invisible Bullies to the point where when I get gigs they’ll be “featuring Idris Tate of Invisible Bullies.”
Adam Bernard: Just in case they’re reading, shout out a few artists you’d love to work with, and why they interest you as potential musical partners. Idris Tate: I would definitely love to work with Camp Lo. I truly believe they are an innovative group and criminally slept on. Also Murs, because he’s a different style of LA rapper. Proper, who you featured a couple weeks ago, is just dope to me, and he’s on the come up. Saigon. I don't think I even need to explain that one! Kooley High from North Carolina. I also hope to work with Freddie Gibbs, or The Knux, who I think are just on some whole other type steez!
Those of you who know me well know I think the Muppets are awesome. You also know that I love great music. The Bohemian Rap CD team of Jake Lefco, Kats, Ryan-O’Neil, Domer and iLLspoKinN have combined both of those things with the video for their song “Little High / Little Low,” and it lives up to every expectation one might have for such an incredible undertaking. Click play and enjoy.
For more on the Bohemian Rap CD crew check out my interview w/ them at RapReviews.com
B-Listers are a select group of artists that were featured in my Artist Of The Week series that ran every Monday from April of '06 to April of '11. All of these artists have two things in common; extreme talent, and a flight path far too under the radar for my liking. They took on the title of B-Listers as they embraced being featured by me, Adam B. Check out the AOTW Archives for all the interviews.
For more on the man who keeps his music smooth, his “Chicago swagger” on high, and his lightsaber at the ready - 
For more on the emcee who hails from the infamous Bad Newz section of VA and has stories worthy of the Penthouse forum - 
To find out more about the electro artist who says that while his doctors call him mentally disabled he prefers “mentally the illest” - 
For more on the emcee who loves the studio so much people have to padlock it if they want to keep him out - 
