Trio From the Bay Believes In the Rule of Three 3:30PM ET May 20th, 2012 Contributor : Malcolm Strong A Rocky Williform Company
The hip-hop group seems to have gone the way of Cross Colour outfits and four-finger rings. While the genre was once dominated by acts like Run-D.M.C., OutKast, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest and Wu-Tang Clan, the hip-hop landscape since the mid-2000s has been mostly populated by solo artists. Hip-hop collectives like Black Hippy or label crews like YMCMB are prominent—but full-fledged groups have dwindled.
Oakland, CA-based trio Fly Street Gang could be the act to change all of that.
Tah, Jay and Phantom are a rap group in the truest sense of the term. The Bay Area natives came together musically and sought to be a trio from Day 1. “You can do a lot by yourself, but when you have people that you’re always around anyway with you doing it together, it’s something different,” says Tah. “I like being in a room bouncing off ideas,” Jay adds. “Having three minds is better than one.”
That adage has been at the core of Fly Street Gang’s approach. And the bond that the three have is evident in the way that they make music and how they view their career. “Me and Tah [are] cousins,” explains Jay. “Tah wanted to really start a group. I was around him at that time and we was naturally always together. Phantom was his schoolmate. So that came together that way. We always knew each other. It wasn’t solo artists coming together—we all started in a group.”
“We don’t have any problems with each other,” Jay continues. “It’s a good rapport with us. We don’t have problems with any one of us wanting to go solo or who’s the best or none of that. We just go forward as a group and hold each other down.”
And holding each other down has done wonders for their career. FSG has gotten more than 100,000 downloads of their tracks “Guns and Rosegold,” “Flight School” and “Fly Nonstop.” Singles like “Knock It Out” and “Step on the Gas” have gotten national radio spins.
“Around the time we had our first single on the radio, that kind of confirmed what we already knew,” shares Tah. “That’s when we knew that we were spreading further and it was kind of a defining moment. At that time, that was the biggest thing we’d done together.”
“You wouldn’t find any other group that sounds like us and we can pretty much do anything,” he adds. “We just try different things--just to see how good we could actually do it. It works really well because everybody [in the group] is so different.” Jay agrees that their uniqueness is their greatest strength. “We don’t sound like anybody else. And we’re a group that started out as a group. We can make party music, smooth R&B music, we have lyrical content—we’re a well-rounded group.”
But that individuality is all a part of the Bay Area’s hip-hop legacy. Acts like Too $hort, Digital Underground and Souls of Mischief all became stars without ever seeming to cross over into each other’s’ respective “lanes.”
“It was always unique styles and unique personalities,” Jay says. “It wasn’t always East Coast lyrical and it wasn’t always in the gang mentality. It was just coming from the streets, just your background and things you’ve been through. It’s unique in itself.”
Follow FSG on Twitter at twitter.com/flystreetgang
And check the crew out at FlyStreetGang.com
Florida-Born Emcee Is Focused & Ready 2:30PM ET March 7th, 2012 Contributor : Malcolm Strong A Rocky Williform Company
E Dott’s musical journey has been interesting to say the least. Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, the rhymer recognized the power of music early in life, even though it would be years before he committed to rocking the microphone. “I started out as a drummer when I was really young--In the southern Baptist church,” he explains. “[There’s] a lot of soul in the church in the south where I’m from. I developed this love for music on Sunday. I went to the hood church [and] they’d bring their problems and express their emotions through the music in church. I embraced the emotion.”
Apart from drumming in church, E Dott also recognized the energy of the secular sounds Florida was becoming famous for; namely, raunchy bass-heavy club rap. “In Tampa, it wasn’t always big on lyrics. We grew up on 2 Live Crew and jams like that and everybody jumped on that Miami movement and as we got older it turned into the jook movement. We called Tampa ‘Jook city,’” E Dott says. “I think I developed that love for the party in Tampa. But when I moved, I developed the love for lyricism.”
That move took the soon-to-be-artist north to Pennsylvania, where living in the Philadelphia area gave him a newfound appreciation for rhyming—and sharpened his focus. “It was like everybody on the block was spitting. They go around in a circle and everybody rapped. It was more involved in the culture for people to lyrically rap. It was a high standard for freestyles and cyphering. I knew I had to step my lyrical game up.” And after the fateful killing of his best friend and rhyme partner in 2008, E Dott committed himself to achieving his dream and making hip-hop his career. “When he got killed, it was definitely like...sealed in stone that this is what I gotta do,” he shares. “I gotta go after this.”
And E Dott has gone after it, wholeheartedly. He focused his attention, talent and energy into recording “Letter of Intent,” a mixtape that reflects his life and reality and showcases his gifts as an emcee and vocalist. The title is more than just a clever nod to E. Dott’s past as a basketball player, it always references his perspective on where his career is today and where he’s heading. “[It’s like] the process of becoming a college athlete--you sign your letter of intent to go off to school and accept your scholarship. To me, it’s like the come-up. I’m not necessarily there yet. I’m right there, though and I’m hungry and I’m waiting. I see this big opportunity—just like when you sign the letter of intent to play a college sport.”
“Letter of Intent” has gotten the emcee tremendous online buzz, and it’s shown him how his own words can resonate with listeners in the same way that those choirs resonated with folks in his younger years. “I get tweets and Facebook statuses and people hitting me about ‘Letter of Intent.’ Just knowing that my emotions and my experiences and me expressing that through my craft is really touching people and they’re vibing…[and] it’s getting them through their day. That’s a helluva reward.”
Follow E Dott on Twitter at twitter.com/edottanswer
And check him out at EDottAnswer.com
No Love Lost
7:00AM ET February 12th, 2013
Contributor: Todd Williams
A Rocky Williform Company
Rating:
Joe Budden's turn as a reality star on VH1's "Love & Hip Hop" series has raised his profile and his constant bickering with ex-girlfriends has ensured that the Jersey City native has remained a fixture on hip hop gossip sites for the better part of two years. Musically, his tenure with the supergroup Slaughterhouse has kept his knack for clever and sometimes-dark rhymes from being obscured by the drama of his personal life, but it is worth acknowledging that no one probably predicted Budden to deliver an album as musically-focused as his latest effort, No Love Lost.
The tough guy posing of his Slaughterhouse persona is downplayed this time around, with Budden opting to showcase more of his introspective side. One can't help but think that this is reflective of the new fanbase he's likely garnered from starring on a reality show about dysfunctional relationships; but it doesn't feel like a coldly calculated move here--even if it is. Budden is tapping into his inner Drake, inviting the listener in to his sometimes-melancholy world of heartache and redemption.
The track "You and I" is one of those mellow moments that's guaranteed to be a hit with his female fanbase, as is the smoothed out feel of "Skeletons." There is an organic vibe to the music here, with Budden opting to go for "Grown and Sexy" without foregoing his knack for wit or without sounding less-than-earnest when talking about his own inner demons.
"N.B.A." is fairly standard baller-rap, with its staccato hook of "Never broke again, never goin' broke again" and trunk rattling production and guest turns from Wiz Khalifa and French Montana. And, of course, this is still a 2010s mainstream hip hop album--so you're going to hear strip club music, best typified by the Lil Wayne and Tank-assisted "She Don't Put It Down."
A heavy mix of party anthems and somber moments, the album does drag on a bit long at 17 tracks. The remix to "She Don't Put It Down" feels unnecessary and the title track feels a little redundant and forced. But Budden sounds clear-headed and sharp throughout the album.
No Love Lost is probably the latest in a series of albums from Budden that feature him opening up; and the rapper's well-documented problems with women and drugs make him a prime candidate for such a project. While it's not necessarily "classic" material, it's definitely a strong release from a gifted rapper who's talents shouldn't be ignored or forgotten just because he's being beamed into your living room once a week.
Midwest Rapper Is Ready To Put St. Paul On the Map 6:30AM ET December 20th, 2012 Contributor : Malcolm Strong A Rocky Williform Company
Born and raised in St. Paul Minnesota, Taylor J. knew from the moment he decided to pursue a career in hip hop, he was going to have to fight an uphill battle. When you’re not based in New York or Atlanta or Los Angeles, it takes a special kind of determination to get yourself out there and noticed.
“[The St. Paul hip hop scene] was non-existent,” says the 21-year old with a laugh. But that all will change if Taylor J. has anything to do with it. He was inspired to pick up a pen by his brother, who was forced to abandon an attempted hip hop career after a prison sentence. A 2003 phone call to the then-11 year old Taylor forever changed his focus. “I was sitting at my mom’s house and got a call from the Douglas County Jail in Superior, Wisconsin from my big brother,” he recalls. “He called me and let me know that he got himself in some trouble--in a situation. But at the same time, he was giving me a lot of positive sh*t.” Up to that point, young Taylor didn’t realize his brother was writing rhymes. But after rapping to him on the phone, the youngster was inspired to make his own attempt and a hip hop career. “The moment he rapped that verse to me, I knew that was it,” he says. “I knew it was it. He insisted that I wrote a verse very day. He’d call me and ask me to rap it to him. That phone call, that’s when I knew—this is what I was doing. I felt like it was my job to finish what he couldn’t finish and allow him to live through me.”
Since that day, Taylor has grown into his own. Since moving to Atlanta, he’s been focused on taking over the game and with the success of singles like the Gucci Mane and Dose-featured “No Good” have helped him cut a path through hip hop and slide into his own niche. “It’s an artist’s job--an entertainers job--to entertain, but as an artist, I feel like I’m giving people exactly what it is,” he says bluntly. “I’m not sugarcoating sh*t and I’m not a flashy type of guy. I’m not really a singles-type of rapper. I’m bringing that life experience content to the industry right now; [what]the average nine to five n***a that’s waking up every morning to go to work can actually [relate to.] Not being so far over people’s heads and talking about shit that’s unattainable.”
“Being from St. Paul, you’re coming from the bottom,” J explains. “And you appreciate sh*t when you come from the bottom. You gotta work that much harder than everybody else. And you appreciate it. You teach yourself how to become a hard worker. I think that sh*t was great for me to be from St. Paul. Nothing was given to me.”
That Midwestern work ethic has served Taylor J. well, but he admits he’s had to get used to some of the shadier aspects of the music industry since moving to Atlanta. “The first thing I was disappointed in was just the personal relationships throughout the industry. There are a lot of good people in this industry, but a lot of people who are false and manipulative,” he says. “And their intentions are 100 percent bad. It wasn’t really a shock. You always hear rich muthaf**kas saying ‘these n***as is fake,’ so you already expect some bullsh*t. But when you experience it firsthand, it’s a wake-up call and sh*t’s real and you can’t trust these muthaf**kas.”
Despite those negative experiences, Taylor J has been able to navigate through some treacherous waters to get his voice to the people. His new “Control” mixtape, with famed hip hop journalist/historian Shaheem Reid, represents the pinnacle of all of his hard work up to this point. “I guess the mixtape term is to say ‘hosted by,’ but on the cover it says ‘With Shaheem Reid,’” he clarifies. “He’s not screaming all over my sh*t--he’s actually presenting this body of work with me. And I think it’s the best I’ve ever put together and I think the songs individually are all the best songs I’ve done at this point in my career. It’s the first project with major placements and features on it. Gucci, Dose, a couple of more people. This was my moment of truth.”
And it’s a moment that Taylor J most definitely earned. But he’s not resting on his laurels. And he knows exactly who he is as a man and as an artist. “When I moved to Atlanta, it was a bigger situation,” he recalls. “I’d signed my deal and I felt like everything was about to change up. But really—it’s the same sh*t I was doing in my mom’s basement. The same amount of time I spent in that basement is the same amount of time I spend in the studio. The best advice I’ve gotten so far is don’t switch up your method and stay strong behind that. And that advice came from just about everybody I ran into.”
Sounds like wise words to follow.
Follow Taylor J. on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorjtakeover
And check him out at Youtube.com/taylorjtakeover and his "Control" mixtape is [HERE]
Brooklyn B-Boy Breaks Musical Barriers 8:30PM ET December 13th, 2012 Contributor : Malcolm Strong A Rocky Williform Company
A devout hip hopper that can sing as well as the best R&B singers with a musical and biological link to class P-Funk instrumentalism; L*A*W* is living proof that genre is an illusion. The Brooklyn native has become renowned for his high-energy live shows and eclectic musical releases. Born Lawrence T. Worrell, L*A*W* (Lyrical Assault Weapon) is the nephew of legendary Parliament/Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell, and coming from such impressive stock instilled him a love of music that is unquestionable and unrestrained. A lover of music’s rich history, L*A*W* seeks to bridge generational and cultural gaps with his craft; though he has had to fight his share of industry battles due to his unwillingness to pigeonhole his sound.
“When you’re a black artist—[pigeonholing] is the automatic thing,” says the Grammy-nominated emcee/singer/instrumentalist. “Considering the fact that we created so much of American music, when we started to mold to certain things, i.e . Berry Gordy creating Motown, a lot of us forgot certain things.” L*A*W* skills as a guitarist and love of classic rock music weren’t exactly embraced by an industry that believes that a young Black artist should cater to urban radio. And he knows that there’s an entire history behind that stereotypical mindset. “Jimi [Hendrix] didn’t get the props from our community until after-the-fact,” he says. “. The worst thing that happened in the ‘70s was the ‘Black music division.’ Morris Day told me that in Minneapolis, in the early ‘70s, they had one station that played everything. That’s why that ‘80s Minneapolis sound was so diverse. So thank God for Fishbone, thank God for Bad Brains, thank God for Death, thank God for Prince, thank God for Lenny Kravitz.”
L*A*W*s love of hip hop is also evident in his stage show. A student of Golden Age legends like Big Daddy Kane, he doesn’t subscribe to the point-and-wave approach to performance that many contemporary hip hop acts have adopted. ”I look back to Young MC and Kid and Play and Hammer—and as much as the streets would diss them, I dug them. As much as they would make fun of that, I would give anything to have that back,” he reveals. “When 1994 came and cats stopped dancing, I kept on. I do a lot of choreography--just straight-up hip hop modern dance. And all my cousins that used to break, they stopped. I made a whole other hustle out of it. I have people from other countries that want me to show them how to dance like that.”
All of those rich influences have kept L*A*W* one of the most raved about indie artists in music and onstage. His release The Planet 12 Syndrome has generated tremendous buzz, he won this year’s Brooklyn RAW Artists Showcase, and his “Planet L*A*W*” Movement is real--with everyone from actress Rosanna Arquette to famed songwriter Dianne Warren raving about his music. Nonetheless, he never takes for granted the success that he’s gotten—nor is it lost on him how he’s gotten it. “I think the number one reward is being able to be with the legends that are still here,” he says humbly. “I’m able to build with them and tell them how much their music means to me. Chaka Khan is like family to me--and that’s my favorite female singer. To be able to tell her how much she influenced me is crazy. Also, just seeing our audience is such an amazing thing. The audience has been receptive to us doing these different genres of music. Record labels told us no one wants to see a rapper/singer/musician all in one. But if that’s the case—who the hell are all these people coming to see?”
Check out L*A*W* at planet12law.com And follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/planet12law
