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
O.I.S.D.uary is coming to a close this week with the last, but certainly not least, member of O.I.S.D. to be featured here, Showtyme. For those looking in recent Artist Of The Week history and only seeing four of the members of O.I.S.D. you might be wondering “where’s J.Monopoly?” He was actually featured in 2009 back when “Right In The Kissah,” his collaboration with Top $ Raz and Kalil Kash, was tearing the roof off shows all over NYC.
With O.I.S.D. prepping a new album, and with them having become one of NYC’s preeminent underground hip-hop groups, I decided to dedicate the entire month’s worth of Artist Of The Week features to them. I asked the members of the group the same questions so their distinct personalities could shine. One of my favorite results from this are the different stories of how each member came to be a part of the group. J.O. led off the series of interviews, E.Y.E.Q batted second, Khid 2 Che was featured last week, and now Showtyme is closing things out and tying up any loose ends.
Adam Bernard: Start me off with your history in O.I.S.D. How did you land in the group and how do you know the other members? Showtyme: Me and Khid 2Che grew up on the 40th (North) side of the Queensbridge Housing Projects. We started rapping in a group prior to O.I.S.D. when we were younger. We met the rest of the members of O.I.S.D. while attending Long Island City High School around our junior/senior year and came together as a group around the time I was graduating.
Adam Bernard: What do you feel makes you five emcees coming together as O.I.S.D. special? Showtyme: The important thing about us is that we’re all close because we pretty much grew up together. We’re a family outside of just being a rap group, so our vibe with each other isn’t forced, it’s rather natural. Also, we each have our own individual styles and personalities that appeal to different crowds, which accommodates our fan base.
Adam Bernard: What has been your favorite moment, either in the studio, or on stage, with the group? Showtyme: My favorite moment was our first full set performance at Dylan's Candy Bar.
Adam Bernard: Have you had any strange, unexpected, or downright crazy moments yet? Showtyme: A couple moments with gossip about our crew that I wasn't feeling. People acting, saying tricky things behind our back.
Adam Bernard: What makes you unique within the group? How do we know when it’s your verse on a song? Showtyme: What separates my style from the rest of the group is I’m a real punch line oriented rapper. I'm real flashy with it, and real confident, while also being humble.
Adam Bernard: Let’s take it to high school for a moment. You know how in yearbooks you have people who are voted “class clown,” “most likely to succeed,” “most likely to love their virginity at a Comic-Con?” OK, maybe not that last one. Create your own high school yearbook descriptions for the other members of the group. Showtyme: Khid 2Che - Most missed days. Celebrity lookalike - Will Smith. E.Y.E.Q - Celebrity lookalike - Mos Def J.Monopoly - Emcee of the year. Celebrity lookalike - KRS-One. J.O. - Basketball team. Celebrity lookalike - Dwayne Wade.
Adam Bernard: Tell me a little bit about your next group project, as well as any other projects you’re currently working on. Showtyme: We're currently working on an EP called Houston & 1st that should hopefully be out by the end of this month. We're also working on an album called School's Out that should be coming out late spring / early summer.
Adam Bernard: Since I like to have at least a little fun with every interview, close this one out by revealing one album that you’re totally ashamed to have in your collection. Showtyme: I’m ashamed of maybe 2Official.
Premonition is an emcee who's been blessed with a voice that makes people stand up and take notice. The fact that he combines dope, intelligent rhymes, and a fantastic flow, with that voice is what makes him such a great artist. "The Writer's Block" is a perfect example of this. The song has a classic hip-hop feel and illustrates why so many people in the NYC area are excited about his work. Seriously, who else name drops Dostoevsky and Bukowski in the same verse?
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 two pop stars being killed off on television shows, to an unexpected inspiration for an opera, to a former American Idol runner up getting the boot for a second time, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
Last month New York City emcee Jesse Abraham broke into both Outkast’s “Bombs Over Baghdad” and Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff” while performing at the Acoustic Cafe in Bridgeport. The crowd went wild for both songs, rapping along and showing the kind of appreciation a DJ normally receives when he, or she, throws on a classic cut.
Abraham isn’t the only emcee covering past hits nowadays. Cover songs have slowly worked their way into a number of hip-hop artists’ sets.
Hip-hop has always been a culture of authenticity, with a huge onus placed on emcees writing their own rhymes. Pretty much the worst offense for an emcee, short of wearing a shiny suit and letting your producer dance in the background of your video, is to be known as someone who doesn’t write their own songs. For many artists that idea of authenticity is also linked to why they perform the occasional cover. The basic feeling being - what could be more authentic than showing one’s inspirations?
Abraham feels “for the artist, it’s a chance to not only convey a sense of gratitude towards another musician’s work, but also to encapsulate whatever energy he, or she, may have felt when experiencing that song as a fan.” He adds that it’s that idea of the fan experience that inspires such performances. “We’re still appreciators of work just as much as we are generators of our own work,” he explains, “and the idea of celebrating our shared efforts to create is rather special.”
In Abraham’s estimation, cover songs are also an extension of a time honored tradition in hip-hop. “Hip-hop’s roots were founded in sampling other artists’ music to create break beats.” For many artists, covering the songs that inspired them is their way of making history have an impact on the present.
Something that’s a huge aid to this is hip-hop’s age. Hip-hop was born well over 30 years ago, and that amount of time passed is something Dyalekt, of the Brooklyn based hip-hop band Deathrow Tull (pictured above), feels is an important factor in all of this. “The idea that something is classic,” he explains, “classic enough to cover the song without looking like a biter, is new.”
Abraham feels another important aspect of a good hip-hop cover is the disparity between the style of the artist and the style of the artist he, or she, is covering. “The wider the breadth of distinction that exists between the two artists, the more engaging the cover usually is.” Perhaps this is part of the reason why the crowd at the Acoustic Cafe went so wild when Abraham broke into “Bombs Over Baghdad.” Abraham, a native New Yorker, sounds nothing like Andre3000, a native ATLien, and usually sports a slower flow than the frantic “Bombs Over Baghdad.”
For fans, Dyalekt notes cover songs give “an insight into the artist.” Brooklyn based emcee iLLspoKinN, who has recently thrown A Tribe Called Quest and Outkast tribute shows with Baldi of Tru Statement Entertainment, where current underground acts cover the songs of the group they’re paying tribute to, seconds this, saying “I think it’s important to show love to our influences,” adding, “we make original music and we don’t have a problem spittin some Outkast or A Tribe Called Quest... hell, we do it every time it’s on anyway!”
Performing a classic song that’s influenced the artist does more than just give an insight into that artist, though. iLLspoKinN points out “a group like Outkast has younger fans that may not be exposed to their first albums. Older fans may not follow hip-hop anymore, but love what made them fall in love with it. Both generations (get) exposed. Win win.”
Those major differences between younger and older fans were what was on Baldi’s mind when he was coming up with the idea for the tribute shows. “I think in hip-hop more than other music there’s a large generational divide, and we’re trying to make sure these artists continue to span over that divide by providing an outlet for people to experience their music live.”
Baldi also notes there’s an added bonus for the artists performing in such tribute shows. “These events help introduce people who don’t know about the scene to all the characters and artists involved in it.” This is because the people who don’t know Jesse Abraham or Deathrow Tull might be huge Outkast fans, go to an Outkast tribute show, and suddenly see all the talent their local hip-hop scene has to offer.
The one thing that’s imperative if an emcee is going to attempt a hip-hop cover is the same thing that’s imperative if an emcee is going to attempt to write a song of their own - they need to have the skills. “The skill of an emcee will allow him, or her, to do nearly anything they want,” explains Abraham. “If an emcee is remarkably talented, they could rap the alphabet and it would be dope.”
Rapping the alphabet might be considered a Sesame Street cover. If that’s the case, Big Bird better break out his shell toes and get ready to show some moves.
Whether you did, or didn’t, feel the love on Valentine’s Day, the latest installment of The Adam B Experience is giving you plenty to love. Ten new songs, including a couple ABX artist debuts, fill this nearly 40 minute show, and by the end of it all I guarantee you’ll be motivated. Your neck may even be sore from noddin your head so much.
Guante & Big Cats - Bring Out Your Dead (Remix) G.T.P. - Next Up The MC Faceman & M-Tri - wordemup YO!!! Jesse Abraham - Spiderman On Vitamins Chronikill - Drinking On A Tuesday YC The Cynic w/ Homeboy Sandman & Niles - Suicide Tah Phrum Duh Bush - Always Silent Knight - Stayin’ Busy Final Outlaw - You Will Betray Me Kosha Dillz - Cake Smasher
I hope everyone has been enjoying getting to know the emcees of Operation Industry Shut Down during this very special monthlong series of interviews. This week O.I.S.D.uary continues with Khid 2Che. In addition to revealing a little bit of his background, Khid 2Che discusses what he feels makes O.I.S.D. such a great team, why you’ll never mistake him for Drake, and what Sisqo has to do with his album collection.
Adam Bernard: Start me off with your history in O.I.S.D. How did you land in the group and how do you know the other members? Khid 2Che: We all went to high school together. We all use to freestyle in our lunch room during breakfast time. During the summer of 2006 Monopoly came to me and Showtyme and presented us with an opportunity to be part of a group he was making. We agreed, J.O. joined that fall, and the rest is hip-hop history.
Adam Bernard: What do you feel makes you five emcees coming together as O.I.S.D. special? Khid 2Che: I feel what makes O.I.S.D. special is our history with one another. Showtyme and I have been friends since we were 12 years old, and been rapping since we were about 14 or 15. I’ve been friends with the rest of the O since I was 16, so it’s been a long time of friendship. Since we know each other so well we understand our personal style, so we are able to develop a style that compliments each other’s rhyme and performance style perfectly.
Adam Bernard: What has been your favorite moment, either in the studio, or on stage, with the group? Khid 2Che: Wow, let me think. I gotta say my favorite moment with the group by far was the whole month of December ‘09. We recorded a good part, hell I think almost all, of the Leaders of The True School album at Koncept’s (of Brown Bag Allstars) home studio. They (BBAS) were very cool and welcoming and we learned a whole lot from them that we now can adapt to our future music. Also the photo shoot for Leaders of The True School. All of the people who came and showed their love and support showed that they had faith in us and our music. Phat shouts to Jessica Estevez, aka IHEARTDOLLA lol, Amanda Velez, Dremur, Alicia, Joe Columbo, YC the Cynic, Liz on the photos, VIYTHM, Kalae All Day, and Nora Symphony!
Adam Bernard: Have you had any strange, unexpected, or downright crazy moments yet? Khid 2Che: A few drunk people came on stage but nothing major... yet. I'll let you know the moment get flashed or something. Trust I wont run away and scream like Drake did in that video. {laughs}
Adam Bernard: What makes you unique within the group? How do we know when it’s your verse on a song? Khid 2Che: Well, physically it’s my sense of style. I’m definitely a Jordan fanatic and an uber Hypebeast, but hey, I'm proud of it. As far as my flow, though, people say it’s my enunciation that lets people know it’s me. I personally think that I say “Khid 2-che” in a lot of my verses. {laughs}
Adam Bernard: Since the groundwork for O.I.S.D. was laid in high school, let’s take it back there for a moment. In yearbooks you have people who are voted “class clown,” “most likely to succeed,” “most likely to love their virginity at a Comic-Con.” OK, maybe not that last one. Create your own high school yearbook descriptions for the other members of the group. Khid 2Che: Monopoly would be “Most likely to literally talk his way out of a paper bag.” That dude can talk his ass off. Showtyme would be “Most likely to be on Dancing with the Stars.” If he could, dancing would be his mode of communication. E.Y.E.Q would be “Most likely to own a chain of dispensaries.” Need I say more? {laughs} J.O. would definitely be “Most likely to have a full sized basketball inside his studio” basketball is embedded in this dudes DNA.
Adam Bernard: Tell me a little bit about your next group project, as well as any other projects you’re currently working on. Khid 2Che: We have a EP coming out this month called Houston & 1st. We also have our second album, School’s Out, coming in the spring. I also have a little solo mixtape that I plan on having out by July called Khid Tested Mother Approved. There are also several solo project from J.Monopoly, E.Y.E.Q, J.O., and Partners in Rhyme, which is myself and E.Y.E.Q). Needless to say, we have a whole lot of music coming your way in 2011.
Adam Bernard: Since I like to have at least a little fun with every interview, close this one out by revealing one album that you’re totally ashamed to have in your collection. Khid 2Che: That has to be a tie between Will Smith’s Willennium and Sisqo’s Unleash The Dragon. I never listen to either of them anymore, but never thought to throw them away. *throws CDs at the Wall*
Everyone has those great moments with old friends where they reminisce about the past. Kidd Russell's "Backyard Heroes" will take you to that place as he rhymes about growing up and a very special football game he used to play with his friends. The video is really beautiful as it switches back and forth from childhood to adulthood while Russell raps about how everyone grew up differently but can still come together as friends. This one should spark some memories for ya.
Aaah! Zombies!! is one part zombie movie and two parts comedy. The plot starts with group of young men and women who eat some tainted beer/ice cream mix and become zombies, BUT they don’t know they’ve become zombies. In fact, no zombies know they’re zombies. They look, act and speak like normal people to each other. Only non-zombies can tell who is who. The way Aaah! Zombies shows this is by switching the film to black and white to show us what regular, non-zombie, people are seeing.
The comedy is really on point in Aaah! Zombies!!. The makeout scene in the bowling alley, the time when Tim, as a zombie, tries to get approval from Cindy’s parents to date her, and Mike’s discovery that he has a newfound hankering for brains, are some of the funniest moments. Oh, and did I mention there’s a scene where a severed head heroically leads them into battle? Yeah, awesome!
At times the character of Nick Steele, who at first thinks he’s a super soldier, is a little too tragic. You actually feel bad for the guy, which is good writing, but sometimes takes away from the flow of the comedy. As long as viewers understand the need for well rounded characters, and that this isn’t all comedy, that’s OK.
The movie climaxes with the zombies attempting to get away to settle a land of their own. Sort of like the pioneers, except, you know, dead.
All the actors are really great in Aaah! Zombies!!, but as much as I want to say this could be a breakout project for Matthew Davis, who plays the uber-hilarious Mike in the film, something tells me his role as Alaric Saltzman on The Vampire Diaries might have that title. That being said, Aaah! Zombies!! is a really cool flick with a unique take on the zombie genre.
Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week, with “Born This Way” dominating every radio station’s playlist, Pop Shots is taking a look at the disappointing turn the music of Lady Gaga has taken. From The Fame, to The Fame Monster, to “Born This Way,” it’s been been quite the downhill slide, musically, for the superstar.
Emcee, poet, painter, musician, community leader; iAreConscious is all of these things. Whether he’s hosting the monthly Bondfire shows at the Bowery Poetry Club in NYC, inspiring other artists to join him in his regular pilgrimages to neighborhood soup kitchens to volunteer, or showcasing his art, both of the musical and fine art variety, iAreConscious is constantly reaching for the next level. Recently, iAreConscious made a trip to Japan to perform a number of shows. Upon his return I caught up with him to find out more about his work, including his Konnichiwa (K)ninja compilation, what special meaning going to Japan had for him, and why his next project is going to be named TRAP.
It’s officially week two of O.I.S.D.uary, where I’m featuring a different member of O.I.S.D. (Operation Industry Shut Down), New York City’s most explosive group of up and coming emcees, every week for the entire month. I’m asking each artist the same questions so everyone can see how truly unique each emcee is as individuals within the group. They all rock shows collectively, but this week E.Y.E.Q, aka JohnNY Storm, takes center stage as he discusses the formation of the O.I.S.D., how the unexpected can be beautiful, and what he thought might happen to him, or more precisely, for him, at a Comic-Con.
Adam Bernard: Start me off with your history in O.I.S.D. How did you land in the group and how do you know the other members? E.Y.E.Q: I am the co-founder of O.I.S.D. I transferred from Boys & Girls High School in Bed Stuy out to LIC High School in Long Island City when I moved out to Queensbridge to stay with my father. In my second year at LIC I met J.Monopoly. From there I hung out with him a lot, got to see my first cyphers, whether they’d be in the hallways or the lunchroom, and just watched and listened. After being exposed I started to become hands on and make beats on lunch tables that'd he, and later on Khid 2Che and Showtyme, along with other spitters in the school, would rap over. After hearing all these ill spitters I became interested in penning my own rhymes around the end of 2005, beginning of 2006, which is the year me and J.Monop came up with the idea to start O.I.S.D. Khid 2Che and Showtyme were on our list to be included in the group from prior cypher sessions we were impressed with. I started recording when I found out J.O., another good friend that I met chillin in the lunchroom, recorded at his home. It wasn't the greatest set up, but we figured we'd make lemonade out of limes {laughs}. From there me and J.O. made a collaborative tape called O.I.S.D. presents: The Blues Brothers, our two man group name, which was more of a project we made for practice/to test out. The songs were tracks we recorded from the day I started coming to his house. The rest of the group heard the project and from there the rest is history.
Adam Bernard:What do you feel makes you five emcees coming together as O.I.S.D. special? E.Y.E.Q:: It’s special because it’s more than the coming together of awesome emcees; we've grown together as artists, people and brothers. I don't know if there's a group as tight as ours, honestly. We've experienced life together; the ups and downs, growing pains and everything. We're so cohesive when it comes to emotion and our thought process, and we're always on the same page when it comes to creativity.
Adam Bernard: What has been your favorite moment, either in the studio, or on stage, with the group? E.Y.E.Q: Hmm, the first time we did “Get Stupid” at End Of the Weak. It was me, Monop and J.O. I felt like that was our official introduction, like “oh shit?! Who are theses guys and where'd they come from?”
Adam Bernard: Have you had any strange, unexpected, or downright crazy moments yet? E.Y.E.Q: There have been occasions where we've had some people on the stage that aren't supposed to be on the stage, dancing while we perform {laughs}. It’s been very strange and unexpected, but we enjoy seeing people have that much fun during our sets.
Adam Bernard: What makes you unique within the group? How do we know when it’s your verse on a song? E.Y.E.Q: I feel like I bring the poetic side to the group. I love to paint images with my words so the listener can see what I'm seeing. You can definitely tell my verse is coming up, whether it’s my eased up tone of voice, or if I say E.Y.E.Q, or J.Storm, flame, on! {laughs}
Adam Bernard: Since the groundwork for O.I.S.D. was laid in high school, let’s take it back there for a moment. In yearbooks you have people who are voted “class clown,” “most likely to succeed,” “most likely to love their virginity at a Comic-Con.” OK, maybe not that last one. Create your own high school yearbook descriptions for the other members of the group. E.Y.E.Q: I used to think I'd be the Comic-Con kid. {laughs} J.Monopoly - Most likely to write a hip-hop encyclopedia/dictionary. Khid 2Che - Most likely to date Ms. America. Showtyme - Most likely to choreograph movie dance scenes. J.O. - Most likely to be a NBA/streetball legend.
Adam Bernard: Tell me a little bit about your next group project, as well as any other projects you’re currently working on. E.Y.E.Q:Houston & 1st is the next scheduled project for the group. It drops this month; a lil’ EP of some smooth/jazzy type tunes to hold the people down until the School's Out LP drops this spring. I have a two part solo mixtape I'm working on that I'm not releasing the title of until I've recorded all of it. I have the names, just not putting it out there yet. After that I plan to release a solo LP sometime in the summer/fall of this year.
Adam Bernard: Since I like to have at least a little fun with every interview, close this one out by revealing one album that you’re totally ashamed to have in your collection. E.Y.E.Q: I remember when my pops bought me LL Cool J's Mr Smith on cassette. I never listened to it cuz at the time I was “too young” {laughs}. It has since disappeared. I don't miss it, at all.
"Gifted," by Otis Clapp, is a classic, pull yourself up by your bootstraps and make something of yourself, type of inspirational song. Clapp uses his life stories to show how he made it to where he is today and it really gives hope to anyone feeling down in the dumps about their situation. Sing the chorus, realize your own gifts, and make something happen!
If you’ve been at an area hip-hop show recently and seen a DJ cutting up not just records, but videos, you were probably at an event that featured Danbury’s DJ Mo Niklz.
From music videos, to scenes from classic stoner movies like Half Baked and Friday, to the occasional SNL skit, Mo Niklz cuts, scratches and manipulates the clips with his turntables and a program called Serato Video-SL. “It’s something I’m trying to build on,” he says, “I’m really trying to evolve that.”
Evolution for Mo Niklz involves not just proficiency with the program, but also branching out with the program in mind “I’m trying to get into some video editing, and even some of my own animation, so I can hopefully create my own material that I can work with.” His own material, he hopes, will include music videos that will feature animation that he made.
Currently, Mo Niklz DJs for a host of Ant Farm Affiliates artists, a crew of which he is a member of. He’s been the resident DJ for the AFA’s monthly Enter The Cypher shows at Cousin Larry’s in Danbury for nearly four years, and Sketch Tha Cataclysm, Roc Doogie, d_Cyphernauts and Pruven all use Mo Niklz as their personal DJ. Even artists outside of the crew, like Duece Bug, have been working with him on a regular basis.
Mo Niklz’ DJ career started back in 1997 when he was a 17 year old spinning progressive trance and hardhouse music. A mixtape by Jon The Dentist was an early inspiration for him as he recalls “the way he was able to beatmatch everything... I remember me and my friends, we would just get high and listen to it and try to figure out when one song started and the other ended.”
Something life altering happened during one of those hang out sessions, though. Mo Niklz would lose his best friend, someone he described as “a big brother,” to a drug overdose. “We were all messed up,” he remembers, “we knew something was wrong, he just didn’t want to go to the hospital. Every time we mentioned the hospital he got up off the couch and acted like he was fine and passed back out.”
Knowing a little bit about what do in such a situation, Mo Niklz says “we tried to make sure he was going to be OK. We rolled him on his side, but his lungs filled up with fluid and I guess he got a little restless at one point and he flipped himself back onto his back. He threw up at that point and drowned on his own vomit.”
For Mo Niklz, that was the moment everything changed. “Waking up to him just, boom, dead right in front of me, that was a big eye opener to me like damn, maybe this isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” Mo Niklz turned over a new leaf. “I stopped doing drugs and I don’t know, all the trance and stuff, all the hardhouse, it just seemed kind of boring after that.” It was at that point that Mo Niklz stopped DJing.
Taking time away from the turntables, Mo Niklz went to Sacred Heart where he studied business, and earned his degree, but after he saw the 2002 movie Scratch the urge to DJ returned. “I had never seen guys like Qbert, Mixmaster Mike and the X-Ecutioners. I saw them doing their thing and I thought that was really cool, so I picked it back up and started doing hip-hop.”
In addition to spinning hip-hop, and adding the video element to his sets, Mo Niklz has also been working funk and rock records, some of which are slightly obscure, into his mix. He notes “when I see a DJ I want somebody to help push me in a musical direction, something that I haven’t listened to a hundred times before.”
If you happen to approach him at a show and ask him to play a song that everyone’s heard a hundred times before, expect a slightly snarky reply. “I’m a very sarcastic type of guy,” Mo Niklz says with a laugh, adding “don’t be too offended, I think I’m funny.”
With all the music and videos he has going while working the turntables, just giving him some props for his originality might be the best idea.
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 Christina Aguilera killing our national anthem, to The White Stripes calling it quits, to the death of the cassette format in our cars, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
Doomtree is one of the biggest reasons Minnesota has become a prominent place in hip-hop. Sims was one of the founders of the crew, and although other members may have more material out, he’ll be releasing his second full length solo album, Bad Time Zoo, on February 15th. I caught up with Sims to find out why it’s been five years since he released his last full length effort, what listeners can expect from it, and the advantages to being an artist in Minnesota. An avid sports fan, Sims also broke down the Vikings' current stadium and quarterback woes, and let me know the kind of player he hopes they select in this year’s draft.
In September of 2009 I featured J.Monopoly as an Artist Of The Week. Since then, the group he’s a member of, O.I.S.D. (Operation Industry Shut Down), has made great strides, becoming one of the premier groups in NYC’s underground hip-hop scene. Realizing that I’d only featured one of the five members of O.I.S.D. as an Artist Of The Week, I decided to right that, which is why I want to welcome you to O.I.S.D.uary. For the entire month of February all of my Artists Of The Week will be members of O.I.S.D., and in a break from the way I normally do things here, I’m asking them all the same questions so everyone can see how truly unique each of them are as individuals. First up to bat is J.O., who, interestingly, was the last member to join the group.
Adam Bernard: Start me off with your history in O.I.S.D. How did you land in the group and how do you know the other members? J.O.: It started in high school. We were all somewhat cool from a distance early on, around freshman / sophomore year, then the more we saw each other the more we got cooler with each other. We would sit at breakfast and oftentimes lunch and chill, talk shit, play spades. This was way before I started rapping at all. Around senior year we would chill at lunch and Jonathan (E.Y.E. Q aka JohnNY Storm), who was known as Crackman and other nicknames at the time, would make beats on the table as J.Monopoly, who was known as James at the time, and Khid 2che would freestyle. I think Johnny had JUST started at that point. I would always be at the table to see them, and enjoyed hanging with the crew, but never really tried or thought about rapping before. I was into basketball and was on the school team at the time. After the school year was through, and after hearing my friends tear shit up at the lunch rooms, and hearing wack shit on the radio, I felt like (rapping) was something I could possibly do. I started recording songs into a small microphone about the size of a earphone and posted those songs on MySpace. After graduation we weren't really in contact with each other, but MySpace brought us back after E.Y.E. Q discovered that I started rapping. He told me him and J.Monop were assembling a super crew called O.I.S.D. that had Showtyme, who went by J-Blue at the time, and Khid 2che. I was first an honorary member, and once in a while we would record songs at my crib. About half a year later they decided I had proved myself and I would be the fifth member to make up the crew.
Adam Bernard:What do you feel makes you five emcees coming together as O.I.S.D. special? J.O.: We bring all elements of hip-hop together at once; intelligence - everyone, b-boying - Showtyme dances at a professional level, graffiti - me and Khid have bombed a couple of things, emceeing - everyone, and Monopoly DJs his ass off.
Adam Bernard: What has been your favorite moment, either in the studio, or on stage, with the group? J.O.: When all five of us are in one place at one time. When one or two is missing it’s cool, we still can manage, but when we’re all there we’re unstoppable.
Adam Bernard: Have you had any strange, unexpected, or downright crazy moments yet? J.O.: We won an E.O.W (End Of the Weak) award last year. That was very unexpected for me. I never thought I would ever be rapping, let alone win anything for it.
Adam Bernard: What makes you unique within the group? How do we know when it’s your verse on a song? J.O.: I’m a really aggressive, don’t give a fuck type of person, but at the same time I’m kinda nonchalant. I don’t really have deep metaphors, but my delivery has a lot of energy and a lot of times I create SOME of the choruses, so you’ll hear me on that part of the song.
Adam Bernard: Since the groundwork for O.I.S.D. was laid in high school, let’s take it back there for a moment. In yearbooks you have people who are voted “class clown,” “most likely to succeed,” “most likely to love their virginity at a Comic-Con.” OK, maybe not that last one. Create your own high school yearbook descriptions for the other members of the group. J.O.: Showtyme - Most likely to be the most well rounded entertainer in the group. E.Y.E. Q - Most likely to write a book(s). J.Monopoly - Most likely to be in the hip-hop hall of fame, or be qualified as a hip-hop historian. Khid 2che - Most likely to run a very successful fashion / hip-hop blog / website.
Adam Bernard: Tell me a little bit about your next group project, as well as any other projects you’re currently working on. J.O.: I don’t have anything solo planned. Every once in a few I’ll throw some freestyles out there. Right now we are workin on a small project called Houston and 1st, which is real jazzy type of feel good music and should be completed February. Our main project is the School’s Out album, and we’re shooting for an early spring release for that.
Adam Bernard: Since I like to have at least a little fun with every interview, close this one out by revealing one album that you’re totally ashamed to have in your collection. J.O.: Lil’ Bow Wow’s first album.
Jesse Abraham has made quite a few appearances in this section of Adam's World and that's because he makes freakin fantastic videos to go with his freakin fantastic music (why do I have a feeling at some point I'm going to be quoted in one of his press releases with just the words "freakin fantastic" attributed to my name? Hey Jesse, it's all good if you do that!). "Spiderman On Vitamins" is the latest in a long line of great songs and videos by Abraham, and with a chorus that includes the line "you can't see me" John Cena should holler at him ASAP.
Poor Sara Matthews. Matthews, played by Minka Kelly, is a girl who was a serious loser in the random roommate lottery at the University of Los Angeles. She got stuck with the psychopathic Rebecca, played by Leighton Meester, as her roommate. On the plus side, she did get one heck of a nicely furnished dorm room. The place looked more like the University of Raymour & Flanigan.
To play Rebecca I’m guessing Meester spent a little extra time with Cobra Starship because she's a girl who’s gone very very bad. Unfortunately, that’s Rebecca’s only quality as The Roommate suffers from a lack of any sort of character development. Everyone seems to have one quality, or in the case of a few characters, none. Sara is naive. Stephen, Sara’s boyfriend, played by Cam Gigandet, is kind of unintentionally creepy (attempts to be adorable at the age of 28 just don’t work, even if you’re playing a college student). He actually seemed less creepy when he was evil bad boy Kevin Volchok on The O.C. Perhaps a reversion to Volchok and that character’s vehicular manslaughter days would have spiced things up a bit. Everyone else in the film is just sort of there.
The Roommate also doesn’t give very much of a back story on any of the characters. We know Sara is from midwest, has a deceased sister, and wants to be in fashion, but that’s about it. We learn Rebecca is on medication, but the writers really blew quite a few opportunities to give her more depth, most notably the scenes at her parents’ house and the scene involving a former high school classmate, played by Nina Dobrev. There are one paragraph bios on Facebook that have more to them than these characters.
Almost the entire movie is an anti-climax. We know Rebecca is a psycho early on, but we never find out why, and until a fight scene at the end there’s really very little action. The movie tries to be a psychological thriller, but without letting us into the psycho’s psyche that can’t happen. I will say, Meester does a fine job of playing a psychopath and the lighting and makeup team really made her look creepy, which is a pretty difficult feat.
If The Roommate proves one thing it’s this - mere mortals should not stand next to Minka Kelly. Meester, Alyson Michalka, who’s one of my favorite Hellcats, and Nina Dobrev, who are all gorgeous women, all looked almost regular next to her. Damn you Derek Jeter!
Everyone has at least one TV show they watch that qualifies as a guilty pleasure. I happen to have a lot more than one. I don’t actually feel guilty about watching any of these shows, though. In fact, as this post will prove, I’m willing to say loud and clear that these shows routinely take up space on my DVR. Heck, I even reference them in conversation. So even if you’re still huddled in a fort of couch cushions with the shades pulled down hoping no one sees you watching your favorite guilty pleasure show, here are four of my favorites that I watch with the shades, and the volume, up.
Jersey Shore
As ratings have proven, everyone watches Jersey Shore, whether they want to admit it or not. The men and women of MTV’s biggest hit, and dare I say the show that saved the network, have given us new language with GTL and DTF, helped us celebrate t-shirt time, and reminded us that we should all have a little fun in life. The latter is one thing that I think really draws people to the show. Throughout the fights and the drama these men and women are having fun (with the noted exception of Sammi, who doesn’t look like she knows how to have fun). All the critics who call them mindless just wish they had it in them to engage in such mindlessness.
Degrassi
Originally immortalized by a line in the Kevin Smith film Chasing Amy, Degrassi has become one of the biggest guilty pleasure hits on television. It’s a show about high school kids that I swear, at this point, has an audience with an average age of about 30. It’s produced some real stars with Drake, Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries) and Shenae Grimes (90210) all being Degrassi grads, but I think the real reason I, and others, watch is because high school drama is a memory to us now. Sure, it seems like the end of the world to the kids who watch the show, and that’s the point, but for those of us who've already come of age, watching the many characters of Degrassi come of age is pretty great. Plus, their drama is way crazier than ours ever was.
Pretty Little Liars
I swore I wasn’t going to watch this, I really did. I thought the girls were too young (they’re not, they’re playing young), and I didn’t think the storylines could possibly interest me. Then there I was last month, tuning in because ABC Family had a marathon on and I had a little bit of time to kill. It was like the first little hit of a powerful drug. I was hooked. It helped that this was the first time I saw a commercial for The Roommate, and I figured that any show that would advertise that movie probably caters to me (talk about advertising working in reverse!). This one’s definitely for my DVR as its timeslot is awful, going up against How I Met Your Mother (arguably the best half hour show on network television), but with a killer plot, both literally and figuratively, and lines like "you look like a strung out Powerpuff girl," it's well worth the space on the hard drive.
Hellcats
I know what you’re probably thinking, “of course Adam likes the show where pretty girls are being thrown in the air.” Well, yes, but that wasn’t the original reason I tuned in. After Hellcats’ first episode aired and received good reviews I decided, having nothing in particular to do on the night it was airing, to give it a shot. One of the names I saw in the opening credits was Jeff Hephner. I’d interviewed Jeff Hephner a number of years ago (I’m pretty sure it was in 2005) for the now defunct Soak magazine (which I really miss). Stoked to see him in another role I settled in for the show. Then I saw Alyson Michalka, Heather Hemmens and Ashley Tisdale and stayed for the long haul. So yeah, I like pretty girls being thrown in the air. Sue me.
So, now that I’ve admitted my TV guilty pleasures, feel free to emerge from your fort of couch cushions and admit yours!
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 the Super Bowl’s musical lineup, to a super odd collaboration that could turn out great, to my pick for an artist that should have a super 2011, and since it’s Pop Shots you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.
Verbal Kent doesn’t want to engage you on Twitter. He wants to engage you with his music. Ten years, and six solo albums, into his career he’s carved out a place for himself in hip-hop where he’s been able to do just that. His fan base has grown steadily since his first release and he anticipates it expanding even more with his latest album, Save Yourself, which he feels is his most accessible yet. This week I caught up with Verbal Kent to find out what Save Yourself is all about, why he’s never shopped his music to a record label, and the growth he’s seen in Chicago’s hip-hop scene.
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.
