mighty hungry.

i'm acting the patr irght now

2007-09-26T05:31:00.001-12:00

F**CK typos

i aint editing
and fkcuk puncutation too
who needs them niggas
anyway...

i'm acting the part right now real hard

'cause my chest aint ni it

i havent made a beat in like 2 or 3 months

i tried the other day on my shiny new $2000 macbook + $untold hundreds other equipment and i failed miserably

i know why i failed but still, that doesnt bolster the self esteem at this point

i need somethin to crack soon man, before i do

((yes, it's one of those blog updates, for the few of you that do read this))

i'm losing steam
being that i'm currently displaced
and without all my sounds and without a turntable and without my beloved fruityloops (i'll be resolving that tonight btw)

the entire beat hustle/music grind completely disinterests me
not bored
more like put off
the self deprecating realities it makes me consider make me sick to my stomach

am i not good enough? am i not good? am i bad?? if so, did i really spend the last five years trying to turn profits on this non-talent i have? WHEREDOESTHATLEAVEMENOW?!?!??!

yes i'm being a sobby phag right now

i just want to slap music in the mouth

music is my boo but right now it's treating me like it never knew me

and i don't like it one bit

if you do music and you think your music career is on a pathway to nowhere, come read this blog and realize that hey, YOU AINT DOIN SO BAD AFTERALL

sometimes ijust wanna take my brain out and throw it in the ocean, have a friend drive me to the brain store and buy an empty one, start this process all over again

jesus christ
(where are u?)

VOTE!

2007-09-21T06:32:00.001-12:00

YES!

2007-09-20T12:47:00.000-12:00

YALL AINT READY!

ayo.

2007-09-16T11:44:00.001-12:00

quick hits.

i bought that, which is gonna help me get my shit back on track with the beats, and i can start laying these OMGz verses down too, as the preamps on this are supposed to be awesome.

worthwhile investment.

so far the laptop ain't made me a dime. that's not gonna work!

should be changing soon though.

keep your eyes open for the new new shit.

1.

KanYe & Writing.

2007-08-24T06:45:00.000-12:00

i love the way ye writes. amazingly, of all the dope mcs currently doing it, he's one of the few that makes me just wanna get up and write some dope shit.

i think it's cause he writes shit with total disregard for convention (and proper english); it totally matches his production styles and overall aesthetic, over the top braggadocio and peacock-esque antics. but he manages to get in little nuggets of poetic jewelry amidst the flim flam he be launching. it's just highly enjoyable to listen to.

i need to get to that point where it's just like, i hear a beat, and i say whatever the fuck i want to, no regard for the mc rules, no interest in convincing somebody i'm the second coming of whoever, just say what's on my mind in whatever form it decides to present itself and be happy with it, accept it as it is. at this point it takes me forever to write a verse and then i hate it after i'm done because i'm so particular about every syllable... i don't even take myself seriously as an mc anymore because i'm so unimpressed with my output.

anyway.

just some random thoughts... i might try to get some bonkers off the wall shit out over the weekend. we'll see.

1

posting

2007-08-14T14:22:00.001-12:00

from my macbook!!!

welp, i went ahead and did it.

2007-08-08T06:33:00.000-12:00

i am quite excited.

HUGE outlay for the bastard, but hell.

i'm mobile, powerful, & cool now.

in the next few weeks i'll cop the sound interface and another external, wipe my other PC clean and get started on converting that one into a digital tape machine, with Pro Tools LE 7.3.

the macbook is gonna be my day to day-er for the time being, as well as pre production (what i bought it for). eventually i may get another barebones vista laptop for simple stuff like email and web stuff.

now i'ma need a subscription to Mac User.

i am so f$cking cool.
not.

btw: my boy chris put this together for me.

2007-08-03T12:32:00.001-12:00

SICK!

i been remixin.

2007-08-03T02:44:00.000-12:00

that's what i been doin. © clarence "strokin" carter

first up:

TI's new single, You Know What It Is (featuring Wyclef Jean). i'm in the habit now of remixing songs that i hate. i don't know that i hate this song, but i think the beat blows. Wyclef alligator armed this one.

not that i flipped it that much better, but most people say my version is at least enjoyable. i'll provide a downloadable link later. i'm secretly hoping that one of these artists hears my take on their work and decides they'd like to hear how well we'd work in a real situation.

i figure if compile enough of these remixes, i can start to mock up that remixtape thing i was talking about doing with jamad.

i try to keep it current and top 40, so that it at least registers with people who are otherwise not very inclined to hear out my kind of music.

i also worked another remix out, hurricane chris' Ay Bay Bay.

this one has a decidedly different feel as well, as i'm trying to establish a sound that people can get familiar with. i don't know that it's there yet, as i have a lot of places i like to venture to musically, and i do whatever it takes to get as close as i can.

there's my typical dirty drum samples and record samples, but i kinda thicken up the drumloop with some kicks and hats from a new VST i just grabbed, Nepheton. it's an emu of the classic TR-808 and yo. it sounds fantastic. i ran the remix through the waves SSL master bus compressor (another emulation that IMO sounds super) and the kicks doubled up sounded so good, i kept the song on repeat and played it through my head phones just to hear the break play.

the remix itself isn't that dope, and probably in the minds of most doesn't hold a candle to the original, but it's my spin. *shrug*.

i'm excited to try to bang a few more out this weekend. remixing is fun. just as long as you can find the bpm, and the bpm HOLDS throughout the whole song.

______

in other news, i'm closing in on getting that macbook.

it's gonna change the game man. it's a huge investment, but well worth the $. i'm still gonna see what's good with a few more pc laptops before i devote my hard earned cash on a mac... specially since i'm gonna be using FL studio on it...

iono. we'll see. i really just want the portability of a laptop with good processing power and a big drive.

______

i did a song with donwill this weekend, ostensibly for the OMGz project. it uses a sample though, and to date, che grand ain't on it, so. it may have to find it's way elsewhere. but after a long ass writing session (i'm rusty) a few drunken takes (i was hungover from the night before, what up HOY)

i got my 16 down.

of course, i did the beat.

don murked it too. i'm basically the producer rappin on his own beat. donwill is clearly the mc.

all in all, good coupla days considering i haven't really been focusing on creating.

i'll holla!

so.

2007-07-13T01:37:00.000-12:00

nothing back from hitco.
as to be expected. i'm impatient.

i need to work on that.

i haven't sat down and worked on music for what seems like weeks.

my head is sorta out of it.

i'm nervous about up-coming changes.

those changes make me nervous about the choices i'm making.

those nerves make me worry about whether i'm making the right choices.
i think i just said the same thing 3 times over.

just a state of uncertainty. trying to make the most out of what ever creativity there is to be found amidst it all.

...i need my motherf%ckin' macbook. i'm putting it on my amazon wish list. the one NOBODY CARES ABOUT.

good morning.

i finally did it.

2007-07-03T03:19:00.000-12:00

i prepared my package for Hitco. it's been stamped and everything, and now it's ready to be mailed.

i'm nervous. i just want it to do well. it's funny, i actually included more tracks that i played out, as opposed to my usual sampled tracks. i hope she/they like it.

*crosses fingers*

Pea's Gotta Have It

2007-06-21T01:26:00.000-12:00

if my contributions and the songs built out of them are in any way indicative of the way this album is going to sound, it's going to be some dope shit.

he tore into one beat, and made 2 come alive, and then one song... is gonna be an earth shaker. i never thought i'd personally know an mc so dope.

now i know like 5.

i really need to get a grip on songwriting.

2007-06-14T01:30:00.001-12:00

at very least, hooks. optimally, full songs.

to date, i've toyed with it, had a few days where i thought i could write my way to a grammy, and other days where i felt like i should stick to what i know.

i keep meaning to bring my thumbdrive to work full of grammy winning r&b songs, so i can just beat that shit in my head, but i keep forgetting until the last minute.

i still haven't send ms. knight my tracks for review, and my mission statement. i'm holding on to it until i feel fully comfortable with what i include for her. i'm not really putting a rush on it, but i do want it to be out there soon, so maybe if it's some shit dope enough for her to push on it, she can put some money in all our pockets.

i'm really bent on placing one track in the next 2.5 months. it's very important that i do that for a couple of reasons, most important being the money, and next to that, proof that somebody other than people with no budgets (nttawwt) want to perform music with me. i could use that confirmation right now, cause at this point i'm throwing everything but the kitchen sink up against this creative wall and seeing what sticks. i wanna get to the point where i can develop a formula and work in that construct, and not be floundering hoping i can make some pop shit.

really what i need is a single.

a single opens it up for all involved, especially if it takes off.

man... i'll be back later. bout to go have breakfast.

you know what the craziest part of this shit is?

2007-05-17T05:27:00.000-12:00

besides no money of course-

it's the constant fluctuation. the back and forth, the up and down, the good and bad happening at the same damn time, and all the confusion that this sort of constant bipolarity creates. i feel like i'm about to type a lot of the same stuff i've typed in previous entries, and i'm running out of new ways to say it.

point is, i think i'm getting better at maintaining a positive approach to things even when shit gets mega funky. even when i'm stuck at work, unable to make beats, i find ways to support the movement. i send out emails and try to build relationships. i do dry-runs shopping for equipment, create budgets, assess my projected purchasing power and try to create other avenues to supplement the income. i take a little time out to write hooks to beats now, 'cause that's supposedly a way to become a more marketable commodity. i read about how to put chords together, do a little music history, etc etc.

when i had that deal crash & burn at the top of this month, i didn't weep, and i didn't mourn too long. i didn't let myself. i couldn't... there's too much to complete, and i'm looking at the whole venture like there's a window that's slowly closing. moping about shit like that is a waste of time. and even though it's a substantial hurtpiece, $2000 isn't a devestating finishing blow. man, please. the checks i'm after make that look like pocket lint. like a night on the town.

anyway...

not many new developments since the last real entry about my music.

i've spent more time just playing around with different combinations of drum sounds that i have stored away on my drives. honestly, i have a LOT. i'd say 75-85% of them are usable, quality samples that i have tucked away. and you don't realize it, but drum sounds basically command the feel of a song. and these are just one-shot samples that i have on the drive, i've also got synths and the sampletank/sonik synth samplers with kits built in, as well as these e-mu sound fonts (proteus, phatt and orbitz) that also have drum kits. it's been fun exploring them. i could make millions of songs literally, before i would successfully cover half the potential combinations all these pieces offer. good drums are a producer's best friend, man. so, theoretically i should be golden.

been trying my hand at more r&b flavored pieces, too. something tells me that my r & b shit might pop before the hip hop shit does. dunno why. but i'm writing hooks to these tracks now. even enlisted the help of some of my comrades to write with me, and lay down the vox for some stuff, so that i can have a skeleton for singers reference off of. i'd do it myself, but-- nah. i'll get a professional. lol

you know, it's crazy. it's may 17th, and as much as i be complaining in this blog about where i haven't been, and what i haven't been paid, and every other ostensible failure i may have had--

i'm steady making progress!

thousands upon thousands of people have heard my music this year. that's amazing! i'm in the credits on projects.

couple that with contributing to a few more joints, including raw poetic's solo... like, i'm doing okay. obviously the goal is to start seeing money as a result of the work i'm doing, but like i was telling keshia last night, money is usually the last thing to come. you will get props, accolades, awards, shouts, love, groupies and pussy, free gear, whatEVER-- before you start collecting regular sizable checks that can support your needs. god forbid your needs and your wants.

so i gotta be patient, and keep building up the credits. credits are my resume.

*sigh*

just a lil' off the chest. let's get money, niggas.

2007-05-13T18:26:00.000-12:00

if you havent downloaded this yet, please do.

i laced it, TM blessed it, and the rest is history.

we goin harder!

rap ain't shit.

2007-05-08T03:32:00.000-12:00

niggas is testing my mettle, trial by fire style.

basically the first real payday i worked knuckles to bone for has all but fizzled into thin air.

my manager says "put that situation to the side."

how the fuck do you do that when the situation in question concerns thousands of dollars?

i don't even wanna talk too much about it because the pain is endures, but it deserves mention. this is not a business for the faint of heart or the easily excited. right now i need work in both areas.

one good thing though- i'm going to spend these upcoming weeks and months devoutly dedicated to putting songs together for major label artists. for movies and commercials. for anything that has real money behind it. it's hard in situations like this, 'cause i know what it's like to want to fund a project that costs real live dollar bills, only to be thwarted by the realities of life.

and you wanna help people out. i wanna contribute. if this person needs a break on the price, lets work. just be honest. don't sign a fuckin contract and take a fuckin cd full of separated tracks and have me believing that everything's a go, and then not show up when it's time to pay the piper.

ANYWAY, as i was saying.

this whole fiasco has inspired me to get on my big time grind, start making tracks with the degree of competence that i know i have. try to incorporate the huge selection of instruments i've compiled over the years, and figure out this mixing thing for once and for all. get to know my shit a little better, and then i'm blasting every a & r and every open project with a collection of my best shit.

again, the goal still is to place 3 beats before september. i think my shot is fair.

so...
now that the laptop is all but a distant memory, i'm going to take a few bucks and upgrade my pc. new mobo and processor. put all my samples and sampled instruments on the 160gb drive and keep the external as a mp3/video drive.

and i'm about to dump close to 1000 beats never to be seen again. if anybody wants anything they've heard over the years, holla now or forever hold your piece. i'm moving on.

do i sound mad?

good.

you wanna know what a producer is?

2007-04-26T08:49:00.000-12:00

there's one for ya.

i love quincy jones, i love jimmy jam & terry lewis, i love teddy riley and so on and so forth, but yo.

arif mardin is the shit. ptblnk.

from aretha franklin to sonny stitt to norah jones to culture club?

all those grammies? all those records sold? all that good music?

and yo, reading him talk about his craft has truly been enriching. although he was from a time when analog was the only way, and had every right to be a dinosaur about the progression of technology, he embraced change. protools til the day he died.

the man knew how to make good records in EVERY TIME PERIOD; he understood music.

rip (albeit very late) to one of the greatest music men of our time.

2007-04-09T18:15:00.000-12:00

http://www.rappersiknow.com/

free download niggas. support my mans.

by june 07

2007-04-07T21:12:00.000-12:00

in order from top to bottom:

-macbook black (gotta have the black one)
-focusrite saffire le (getting great reviews and is dumb portable)
-protools digi002 rack

imperative.

i did my research today and the saffire pushed the m-audio 410 right off the cliff.

making beats on the fly where ever i go? please.

it's gon' be a wrap, niggas.

i rarely post here on the weekends.

2007-04-07T11:06:00.001-12:00

but, since this weekend's fund reservoir is kinda dictating that i stay inside, i've got time and energy to burn, and i don't feel like sleeping.

so, it looks like my first real, legitimate payday is on it's way later on this month. that's great news cause niggas was SCRAPING PENNIES.

i'm putting some of that money on my macbook. yep. if i don't have a macbook by the first of may, something awful has taken place.

then, i think i've decided to go all in and get a real protools LE rack setup. the 003s just hit the retail market, so we should see a substantial drop in price on the 002s, which are still more than capable. i mean people are still making classic stuff on the 001s. so yeah. strip the desk top down and rebuild as strictly a DAW, 2 500 gb internals in raid, firewire that to the 002. it'd be even better if i could afford the 002 with control surface, but that adds almost a G to the price. so barring any more windfalls, the rack will do.

that's exciting though. coupled with the macbook and a good portable soundcard like possibly the 410, i'ma be GOOD.

so yeah. i'm going in. hard.

_____

music is really getting exciting these days. life is, but particularly music. i feel like i'm getting way better at creating what i hear in my head.. my limitations feel like they're mostly technological. like i don't own some of the pieces (yet) needed to really dig my fingers in and sculpt the stuff that's in my head. i feel like my talent level has, to some extent, exceeded my equipment. and that's bad- but it's good too. equipment is only dollars man. you can't buy skills.

plus, projects that i've tried to have a hand in for months now are finally preparing to see the day of light. somebody across the world can now know who i am.

i mean, that's fantastic. and again, i feel like the noise we've made (myself and the mgr) has been the result of minimal effort. we still spend more time at our jobs than with this. we haven't quit our jobs and took our lifesavings and thrown it to the wind to see where it lands-- yet. i feel like i'm kinda ready to go all in, though. it's like, what else is there? this is what i believe in. i don't want to do anything else. and guess what, i'm broke as it is. why not be broke and do what i love doing, and take a risk at possibly gettin' some dough in the process?

slopfunkdust said it best. i can be broke and do music and be happy. who cares.

(best part is: i have this nagging feeling that i will not be broke.)

so what's to lose? i'm quitting this job reeeeal soon. trust.

ALSO: 4/10

2007-04-04T17:23:00.000-12:00

track # 7.

i'm trying, yo. really i am.

cop these when they are available.

already april.

2007-04-04T05:06:00.000-12:00

part of me feels like things are going to pick up very soon.

part of me feels like every bit of energy i have in me has to be used to get through this current financial droughtspot i find myself in currently. i have no idea how long it's gonna last.
anyway.

no sob stories.

peep!

new mixtape for amanda diva's fine self that my man DJ Jamad put out. check the tracklisting:

1.	DJ Jamad - Intro
2.	Amanda Diva - Style
3.	Amanda Diva & Q-Tip - 40 Emcees
4.	Primeridian - Hold On (Nicolay Remix)
5.	Mobb Deep - Survival of the Fittest (Damaj)
6.	Dwele - Wanna be Starting Something
7.	Amanda Diva - Styl-Ish Freestyle
8.	Whodini - Big Mouth Edit
9.	J Dilla - F**k the Police 2007
10.	Notorious BIG - Juicy (De La Beats Remix)
11.	Gangstarr - I Manifest (Primo Remix)
12.	DJ Jazzy Jeff & Rhymefest - Jeff N Fest
13.	JB - Bring it Up
14.	Lupe Fiasco - I Gotcha Blendo
15.	Gangstarr - Blowin Up the Spot
16.	DJ Mitsu & Count Bass D - Untitled
17.	Mystidious Mysfits - Upside Down (Flashback)
18.	Amanda Diva - Hip Hop Chick Freestyle
19.	MF DOOM - Money Folder
20.	Rich Boy - Throw Some D's (CookinSoul.com with Locsmif Remix)
21.	El Micheal's Affair & Unk - Walkin' Sh*t
22.	Young Jeezy & Hassanah - What You Talkin' Bout
23.	Luda & Pharrell - Shake (VMXD - Vast Mixed Remix)
24.	Little Brother & Carlitta Durrant - Life of the Party (Damaj / Waajeed Mix)
25.	Waajeed Exclusive - Act Like You Know Remix
26.	Termanology - 50 (Marley Marl)
27.	Nas with Kanye, Rakim, & KRS-One - Classic
28.	Lil Scrappy - Money on the Mandrills (Damaj Work'd)
29.	Amanda Diva - For The Money
30.	Shouts - Steve Spacek Beat

see #23?!

that's me!

how exciting.
and recently i've been stepping my remix game up. once i find the bpm for an acapella, the rest comes fairly easily. in fact, it's something i really enjoy doing, for some reason the beats come way faster with lyrics than if i'm creating something completely from scratch. SO. i have a new project idea (as if i needed anymore)-

i'm gonna start a regular mixtape series. i won't put any names out yet, cause i don't wanna get shanghai'd, but it's gonna be dope. and worth checking out.

___

blu & exile's "Below The Heavens" is the best rap album i have heard in 6 years.

period.

hi

2007-03-19T01:30:00.000-12:00

so, another weekend has passed, and we creep closer to spring. i can't believe so much of the year is already gone, it seems like just yesterday i was sniffing hi-grade coke off strippers' titties and getting head in the bathroom of a seedy NYC club for new year's. you know, the whole rockstar treatment.

that was so long ago, and the memory has been all but displaced by the fruitless hunger of the starving artist, again left to his devices, ambling aimlessly through the thickets of despair and sunbeams of hope, knuckledragging along happily and baring a toothy grin and confused eyes -- hoping to reach the Greener Pasture.

peace to my co-conspirators, the backpack clan with dreams of the fistful of c-notes, the fashion forward stylefucks that bemoan bad music.

i don't know what i'm talking about.

bring it back.

i made lots of new isht this weekend. did a song too. i did NOT however, track out the songs i need to track out. i'ma put it like this. i hate retracking old beats man. i hate going back and editing. that's part of the job, so i need to get over it yesterday, but when i sit down at my machine and fire up the tools, the last thing i want to do is go into a beat that i'm *so* over and make it longer, add changes, and dropouts, or whatever. i need to start doing that from jump because what ends up happening is that i get lazy and do a crappy job.

so anyway, i'm gonna try to focus on doing that today.

while i'm at work though, i'm going to make some very necessary purchases. i think. maybe not the monitor, or maybe, but i really want to get a new hard drive or 2. i'm running out of space by the gigabyte, and at record speed. when you're rendering 5 minute long .wav files for 5-10 tracks of audio, the size of a song increases exponentially. couple that with the fact that i've been downloading movies (LOVE IT BTW) we've got a problem on our hands.

i'm kinda thinking of revamping the insides too, that motherboard i bought last year sucks balls at this point.

in due time though.

why is it that this blog is obsessed with spending money?

whatever i purchase today, i'll post later.

1!

money on the table

2007-03-14T08:27:00.000-12:00

it's IMPERATIVE that i go after this money on the table for whatever it's worth.

niggas don't talk dollars at this level very often. when they do, you make sure your end of the deal is met with speed and accuracy. give scared money a chance to walk and it will RUN.

___

i'm not planning on staying in my apartment beyond the end of my current lease. with that said, while i'm here i'm going to try (again) to configure its' setup to best accommodate the music.

one of the 1st orders of business is to create a workable vocal "booth". the closet thing doesn't work. it especially doesn't work in the summer. walk-ins they're not, plus the acoustics stink. i've done far better takes with the sound bouncing around in my bed room. i hate acoustics and i never learned how to really tame them down on a budget, but i know that i can do better than what i have now.

i'm going to buy a nice heavy blanket and drape it across the wall adjacent to my bed, hopefully that will kill some of the bounce back coming back at the mic. i might try to get some carpet to dead the floor too.

couple that with a quality stand and a good pop filter, and i should be able to at least get a clean signal. i want to get a new pre-amp too, nothing too fancy (yet) but something that can give me good clean gain.

i have to find some way to make my computer stfu. the power supply fan and hard drives are entirely too loud and they color every vocal take i do. i need quiet drives and silent fans.

second on the list is the work station. i'm currently using a desk that i found as it was being discarded by its previous owner. also, to support my midi keyboard, i'm using my aluminum file cabinet, which i dented beyond repair taking that stupid myspace picture over and over. my heart sank when i felt it crumple beneath me...

so. a real stand would probably save space and be much more ergonomically apt. as of now the turntable and mixer can stay as is, i imagine that once it starts to get unbearably warm though... that will change. until then.

the desk could use the old heave-ho itself, actually. the height is great and i love its' footprint, but it's just falling apart. the pull out drawer gave out a few days ago, it's just not very useable now. i can't afford a new desk though, so i will stick it out with this one until that changes.

finally i have to get that monitor, man. i've been shook to pull the trigger on that purchase because it's such a large tax on the pockets, but what has to be done has to be done. no way around it.

that's all for now, i think. hopefully that won't be too difficult.

_____

i ain't been liking the beats ive been making the past few days. not a huge problem, but it's getting on my nerves. i need to just stop trying and focus on getting these beats ready for Emoni and Raw Poetic, as well as Che Grand's 3 piece. thankfully those beats are done and picked, so all i have to do is get them studio ready.

this is all about building the calling card.

putting in that work now so down the line i can point to these projects and say this is what ive done. point of reference.

i have some opportunities to present myself at the next level... must capitalize on them.

oh, for anybody that doesn't know. i came in third on that beat contest. ask around though, your boy was robbed blind.

1.

so today's the day.

2007-03-05T03:57:00.000-12:00

oh btw.

you KNOW i aint finish mixing the instru album right?

i prolly coulda. but i needed to get out some this weekend. i paid for it though, came back home and had to put that midnight oil in the burner to get these beats done for the show tonight. amazing. 1 5 minute track, 5 beats in 1 minute snippets... took me nearly 6 hours to finish!

music is fk'n TEDIOUS.

anyway. it's done. and i think it's pretty bulletproof... i've done what i can on my end. hopefully it carries at the club and people get what i tried to do with my beats.

i ain't gonna lie either. i wanna win. but i don't expect to. but then i kinda do. maybe i should say that i don't WANT to expect to. cause the letdown might be overwhelming.

ima just get there, have a drink, and try to focus on connecting with people on the network grind.

i guess i'm sorta nervous though. mainly because i never had to have my music play in front of so many people at once. people checking for stuff online, or if i pass one person a beat cd, that's on thing. but hundreds of people?

*shrug*

prolly over thinking it.

i do want it over with though. i'm trying to get to this weekend! black milk! guilty simpson! tanya morgan! tadow!

___

27.

. . .

oh yeah lol

2007-03-02T08:07:00.000-12:00

i meant to say that i've been playing black milk's "About Me" nonstop for the past hour.

i wanna write to it. it's making me feel like i wanna write some sht about proving myself. i mean. what black is spitting is nothing memorable. his flow is dope, but it's nothing to write home about. i'd open up a new portal to the netherworld on this beat though. not on some flow sh1t, just on some "dude spilled his guts on this track" isht.

i'm gonna start writing more. i had a stint a few months ago where i was writing to make deadlines for a couple of joints, and i kinda found a groove. i gotta find that groove again.

ima see if i can block out black's verse and get my thing thing on on this beat. 'cause work is slow as a b1tch right now.

who's next, you say? black milk.

2007-03-02T07:26:00.000-12:00

three one three in the building.
cop that popular demand.

_____

i need a phillies cap.

_____

btw. . .

2007-03-01T08:21:00.000-12:00

i'm almost scared that i'm going to miss my date for the cooler side.

this is gonna be a busy weekend.

sigh.

I FINALLY FINISHED THE GET PAID VERSE

2007-03-01T08:03:00.000-12:00

wow. lol

if people knew how long i was working on finishing this verse...

i should be ashamed.

this makes me wonder though. am i an mc? or beatmakerdude?

i guess once OMGz is finished, i'll be both. i've been doing the rap thing way longer, but i've been doing the beat thing way harder. i feel like i may be better @ beats, but i have a much better idea of what i want to sound like as an mc. *shrug*

but yeah. elation. this verse is finished... now i have to record it. *dread*

between my lingual limitations and my poor recording set up, this is gonna be interesting... i'll prolly end up compressing the bullsh1t out of it. as long as i can step into the booth with my swag and keep it on high for 16 bars though, i should be good.

then i gotta fix the beat. it still needs a bassline and maybe a little funk on the hooks... i don't want to over produce it though. i like how it feels loose and kinda sparse. we'll see.

i know donwill is like "this nigga on that bullsh%t" lol

patience family, this gonna be a jammy jam!

countdown to showtime.

2007-02-28T04:05:00.000-12:00

i'm a little nervous.

i wanna do well; i wanna win.

part of me expects to. but when you're going up against unknowns, it's hard to be sure. couple that with the fact that i don't make typical radio music, it's up in the air. technically speaking though, i know my drums will knock, i know my samples will be dope in their own right.

we'll see.

it's also that i hate crowds of people focusing on me. ever since my younger days putting on a little suit and tie and standing up at the kingdom hall giving talks all the way up to this. it's just not in my nature to be up in front of people, especially people i don't know.

BUT I BETTER GET OVER IT. IN FACT IM GETTING OVER IT AS I TYPE.

this is the life i want, right? fame hoes and clothes? cash and ass? car crashin' high fashion?

lol

so yeah.
i'm at least confident that my music is good music. that's really all i can & want to count on.

____

these past few weeks have made me feel sorta... i dunno. vindicated. or...maybe validated. both.
about my choices with music. even though, there's nothing really to show for it but a buttload of promise and potential, it's like i'm actually doing something with my life.

i won't go into a long spiel about how i used to be and how i am now being total polar opposites, but yeah they are. making this music happen is as much about loving music as it is about showing myself the hidden ability to make things happen and to show that i belong as an individual in this world.

it's also about getting respect. lol it's dramatic and far too involved with psychological bolstering & self image. that's the way it beez though, everybody's just trying to make a name.

____

i got the most awesome birthday gift yesterday!

i'll post a pic when i get home. AWESOME!!!

really truly deeply.

thanks again yo. sincerely touched, i was.

(it's relevant to music too, so it belongs in this blog)

tonight after work i'm going to the record store, i think. i need sound bad.
or. maybe not. i dunno. i'll decide on the fly. but i really gotta score some wax soon... i'm running through records like cheap rubbers at an orgy. lol

____

next week is busy. monday is my birthday/showcase day, and also *crosses fingers* cooler side is supposed to "drop"... then thursday is the TM/Guilty Simpson/Black Milk concert in nyc.
i'ma drop dead son!

i love music tho, fam.

sh1t is the best. ever.

i just realized that i dated my instru release 3/5/05

2007-02-15T06:52:00.000-12:00

lol

momentary lapse.

3/5/07. you knew that though.

_____

so i've been kinda tallying up my experiences in the "game", though few, and seeing what i can gather from them that will stand true in the long run; stuff i can benefit from.

there's been a few things.

like i said last entry. it's a game of who you know. the average moderate music consumer can tell you that you don't have to be very good musically to make a successful career for yourself in the music business. musical talent is about 10 percent of the equation. unfortunately.

my and my comrades? our responsibility to ourselves, and our music, is to promote it to death. otherwise we're not gonna be heard. there's alot of concessions to be made, a little selling out, a little annoying promotional over-saturation to be done. there's some broke man chronicles to be written, alot of work being done for next to nothing monetarily... depending on the angle of incline for the launch ramp into the industry, this climate can persist for years.

but the number one necessity is dogged determination. it's almost cliche, but you can not give up. evolve as your surrounding and circumstances change, build workarounds, get creative, market yourself, make beneficial deals to convince otherwise nonplussed people take a chance on you, whatever, just never completely take no for an answer, never accept that you hit an impenetrable ceiling.

go harder. always.

also, don't look your successes in the mouth, man. don't take em for granted by obscuring them with your ridiculous overshooting expectations. i did/do that.

i mean, don't get me wrong, i'm shooting for the stars by tomorrow afternoon, but i'll be proud if i hit the 5th floor of my building too. it's better than being on the 3rd. you feel me?

i've had a few oppportunities to self promote present themselves in the past few weeks. at once i was excited because i felt like people were starting to notice me, and also disappointed cause well. i get depressed sometimes. this shit is hard work on its own, and having to go to work everyday and have all your creativity completely displaced or drained is a hard necessity to reconcile.

but i can't contiue in that manner. the $ will come when it's supposed to. not a moment sooner. lol

so.
first half of 2007 is dedicated to building the resume, and self aggrandization in the name of promotional prowess. gotta get that name out, make niggas believe that they need you. i'ma be one up on the competition hopefully because i am actually *that*good.

its a long year. i still barely know what i'm doing, but i'm learning the ropes... gotta be patient.

_____

i'm still looking for that mpc. i get paid tomorrow and i'm almost ready to drop the $ for one, or something else equally benefical to the setup. i think i'ma go head and invest in a preamp and a pop filter for the mic. i wanna lay some respectable vocals too, in these next couple months.

i also will look at these:

http://www.turntablelab.com/production_tools/94/148/17687.html

the monitoring situation in my apartment is an issue. i could use a better pair of headphones too.

oh, and i'm considering a new lcd monitor too. i have to get rid of the 19" behemoth CRT on my desk now.
the pc needs upgrading.
still need that laptop.

sigh.

if somebody just gave me $5000, i'd never post about stuff i needed to buy again. this is an expensive grind.

so i THINK things are starting to locomote.

2007-02-12T04:15:00.000-12:00

that's a word, now. use it at will. just give props to the originator.

um, yeah.

i pseudobelieve in the power of a jinx, so i'm careful not to put too much unfinished business in the air, but there are real, structured, well-founded projects afoot. people are interested not only in my beats, but my ideas, my visions.

i'm getting the opportunity to rub shoulders with people in the industry, and although the merit of that on it's face is negligible at best, it can't be understated that the music business is a business of contacts and connections. anybody worth their salt in this industry has compiled a massive rolodex of names...and has made sure that there was a mutual exchange. that's a hard hustle, especially for "creatives" who think their time is better spent sitting in their studio and doing what they do best.

schmoozing is a tedious affair.

so, suffice it to say that i'm not starstruck. i'm fairly convinced that most musicians/music business movers and shakers see right through most of us upstarts-to-be until we finally make some noise on our own. so i aint sweating it. just putting in my work and propogating the brand.

at this moment (since my feelings are apt to change dramatically at any instant) i'm excited about things in general. i think the showcase will be a really good look for the team. i'm not worried about anything other than having everyone in that room remembering my name. i have five minutes of facetime...alot can happen in five minutes. and although it's not a live routine like a beat society, it's gotta play like a 5 minute movie; well timed edits, vocal samples as glue...nothing to overcook it, but everything to maximise my 5 minutes.

i've also gotta step my promo package game up. the cats at the meeting for the showcase, although (at least some of them) having less than stellar production skills, made a real effort to present themselves professionally.

i need new cards and a working logo until i get a real designer on the job. i need better bio sheets and a list of projects that i'm working on to be put together so that i at least APPEAR professional.

i don't have much time, but these things need to be ready for the 5th. it's not my only opportunity to shine like this, but it is the first real one. i'ma let it do what it do.

i'll keep it updated.

instrumental album available 3/5/05

2007-02-05T18:17:00.000-12:00

yo'z truly.

buy it for zero dollars!!!

and pass it to your friends!

show & tell

2007-02-05T06:12:00.000-12:00

so, last year sometime (around december) i submitted for a spot on- and was subsequently contacted via email to participate in- the iStandard Producer's Showcase held every few months at Fluid night club in Philly.

i couldn't afford the entry fee though, so i did not participate in January's event. i told them if they could fine me a spot on their next showcase, i would do all i could to participate.

mark your calendars, march 5th (yes, my birthday) i will be showcasing my music for industry types. i'm not expecting anything big to happen with it, but should i take first place, it would be a nice addition to the slowly growing resume. we'll see.

As you all know, an official panel of industry judges will bepresent…so far some of our judges have included Sha Money XL (G-Unit),Lenny S. (VP A&R Def Jam), Conrad Dimanche (Senior VP A&R Bad Boy),Corey Smyth (CEO Blacksmith), Devo Springsteen (A&R G.O.O.D.), KKRosemund (A&R Universal), Roscoe P. Coldchain (The Neptunes artist),Bonsu (editor in chief XXL), Jerry Barrow (editor-in-chief SCRATCH)established producers EASY MOBEE, BUCKWILD, DAME GREASE, ALL-STAR,CHARLEMAGNE, AMADEUS, ROCKWILDER and many more!!!

i'ma try to make my sht dramatic so that wow factor sways them judges.

there's no money in this, so i'm basically trying to let 'em know i'm bout to be in the building. if anybody reading this cares, wish me luck.

______

real big fam. don't miss it if you don't have to. i aint. even if i should.

_____

i want a beat on

2007-01-30T05:03:00.000-12:00

von's new joint(s)

donwill's new joint(s)

elzhi's new joint

t3's new joint

50 cent's next joint

so i've focused on creating a working setup for the forseeable future.

2007-01-29T03:26:00.000-12:00

i'm going to get a new laptop.

i'm thinking that i'll run soft synths & FLstudio with Battery 3 primarily off this machine.
it will also double as my "dj" laptop when i try to go for some small gigs by this summer. once i get a suitable midi controller (here) i'll try to put in 40-60 hours of study time with traktor and get my blends to a solid level... haterous real djs can get the diddick.

eventually i'll move on to the vestax midi jawn, but for now.

secondly i'm going to add an mpc to the mix. a full blown, sampling midi production center.
i've been subconsciously longing for a machine that consolidated the pieces i use some. like i hate having to sample into the computer, save the sample, then chop it, etc etc... i mean honestly i'd like to try out the mpc for a week before i BOUGHT one but hey. in this business you take risks.

the desktop is going to get a new motherboard and 2 350-500GB drives in RAID, windows xp pro and a clean wipe down. 1-2GB of ram. hopefully i can get rid of the 19" crt monitor i currently have and move toward a 17-19" LCD. i'm going to get an external 300GB drive for the laptop so i can store my music on it.

i figure once it's all done, i'll be looking at a $2k or $3k bill.

______

i'd give my balls for this set up.

2007-01-10T06:42:00.000-12:00

ok, maybe ONE ball. but still. testicles on the table.

ProTools LE 7.3 & Digi002 Rack:

http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?langid=100&navid=103&itemid=4944

SSL Duende:

http://www.solid-state-logic.com/music/duende_home.html

MacBook Pro 17" Laptop:

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html

Access Virus TI Polar:

http://www.audiomidi.com/Virus-TI-Polar-P5929.aspx?CPID=392&AFID=3#

Akai MPC-4000:

http://www.midweststereo.com/catalog/Screen=PROD&Store_Code=midweststereo&Product_Code=AKAMPC4000PLUS

i mean of course, this would be the central set up, preamps, mics, mixers and etc else would complement this.

but wow. the duende coupled with the mpc makes me the most erect... it's all hearsay, but all the experts say that the duende is as close as youre gonna get to a $100k SSL 4000.

i'd like a big studer tape machine to track everything on out of protools, but that's another extra that i don't feel like searching for pics of or even imagining the price for. it's a beautiful piece of machinery, though.

i'd probably stick a Numark TT-1x or two in the mix for good measure, a Rane TTM going straight into the MPC...

man. it'd be a complete and utter wrap. macbook pro with a set of 500GB externals paired in RAID...

jeez. that's a clean $15k. well spent though.

2k for the protools, 2600 for the macbook pro, 1600 for the duende, 2800 for the mpc, 3k for the virus, that's $12,000 right there.

i love doing lists like this, perhaps a bit too much. MEH! anybody that's paid out the booty and looking for a good cause to donate a few grand to, get at me! you won't regret it, the return is unfathomable, that's my werd! © ghostface

_____

i been in a funk. the lack of response after circulating my third beat cd has taken its toll on my creativity. i cant help feeling like i need to be utterly formulaic and that's stifiling my desire to take time to push my own limits and be funky as i see fit. i didn't bargain for any of this. it's confusing and frustrating. especially considering the timeline and deadlines that exist now.

i had to take a step back from it all and regain some kind of perspective on the entire situation. talk to some comrades and let them smack the cobwebs out of my head...or at least let 'em remind me that i'm not alone in the struggle. in all honesty i probably need more time to REALLY get to the bottom of my issues, but it's time that i just don't have, so whatever. hopefully this is training me to cope quickly and be more adept to get back on track sans long periods of stagnancy. is that a word?

_____

i got a course book and listing for the spring semester from community college today at lunch. i know, its kinda too late for spring semester, but i'ma see what can be done. them piano classes are honestly out of my budget, but its a sacrifice im thinking i'm willing to take.

_____

i wanna be a producer, b. not just a beat maker. i wanna be in the studio telling cats what to do and where to stand, conducting the entire orchestration. i was reading about some of the classic production teams, like holland/dozier/holland and the corporation (mizell/perren/richards/gordy)... gamble and huff, etc. man those dudes were amazing. the bodies of work they compiled in their heydays, that's the kinda legacy i wanna leave. outside of hiphop. i wanna be the kind of cat, and collab with the kind of cats that, when you see my/our name on the production credits, without even knowing the artist you can prepare for something amazing.

i spent a few hours digging through old 45s monday afternoon (didn't go to work). i picked a few really good records out strictly because of knowing the producers and the label. its so dope how you can get a good clue and read on an unknown record with that little bit of knowledge.

"oh wow. so and so produced by the mizell bros. in 1975? i'll take it."

i pray i'm there sooner than later.

_____

i wanna go home! 2 more hours.

peeze...!

new year, new sh%t.

2007-01-02T08:37:00.000-12:00

wishlist for '07 time!

#1- new laptop.

MUST get a laptop this year. i've got 3 budgets worked out- ranging from moderately workable to strenuous- which will have me kitted out in the flyest portable power no later than march '07.

i'm looking for something dual core with a big drive and a lotta ram. i found this HP for just over a $G that has pretty much the stats i'm looking for.

i'm thinking i'd partition the drive (the hp's was around 120 gb) for a dual boot; use one boot for business stuff, email, web, movie watching and everyday whatever, and the other would strictly be for beats- that means no AIM, no Firefox, no resource hogging apps sitting in the ram and fingerf$cking the CPU. just FL Studio, Wavelab and the drivers for my external gear (usb midi/audio interface)

i'd want to get a pair of big external/portable drives too- somewhere in the 250-350gb range- for my downloaded music and movies and samples.

#2-bigger keyboard controller.

yeah i'm thinking in the 61-76 key range. something with semi-weighted hammer action keys, something with playability and real multioctave range.

#3-music theory and piano class.

man, as i've gone deeper into the pop aspect of production, it's one thing i've realized without a shadow of a doubt: the rodney jerkins and neptunes and jermaine dupris and everybody else that puts together bonafide r & b tracks can play. and they have the pop concept down, automatically audible. i wanna know how they do it.

#4-M-Audio Firewire 410/1814.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWire1814-main.html
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWire410-main.html

i don't think i'd need both. probably one 410 and maybe a lesser box for the laptop. see, i wanna upgrade to protools. i think it's best i start learning it now. the plan is to start making my beats directly on the laptop, and then track them into the desktop which would be running a DAW strictly. since most (if not all) studios are running protools, having native protools files to walk into the studio would be a really good look, plus knowing the system is fantastic; theoretically i won't have to employ too much in the way of engineers when it's time to really mix a beat. it's killing 2 birds with one stone.

if you didn't know already, m-audio runs protools m-powered, which for all intents and purposes is protools LE. i'm sure it will do everything i ask of it. and by the time i start turning over some real dividends with this stuff, i'll be able to afford a real LE (or better) system.

#5-17-19" LCD monitor for the desktop.

lol i need this so very bad.

i have a 19" CRT monitor at home, and it just dominates everything i sit it on. it's stupid. i hate it! i love the screen size but it's just way too big and heavy and space consuming. wow... breathing room on my desk... i wouldn't have to hold my keyboard on my desk!

wish me luck.

forth & back.

2006-12-19T03:08:00.000-12:00

yesterday i finally spent a few moments applying for my BMI membership. it was well overdue...i had actually been sitting on ASCAP's doorstep, waiting for a reason to go inside, but i was hipped to BMI's beneficial points, so i decided to roll with them. them and ASCAP are pretty much the lion's share of publishing and royalty collections for artists, so should the app go through without hitch, i should be in good hands.

this is the part that's kind of exciting, getting myself prepped and in position to make money off of the music. don't get me wrong, i make music 'cause it's an enjoyable pasttime for me. but making money? that makes the effort so much more worth it.

i think i'm maturing on the artistic side of it, too. like...it's not just good enough to hear somebody rapping over an amalgam of samples and drum sounds, etc. like. i made this beat on sunday, off of a rack of 45s i grabbed from the Record Exchange. the first thing i imagined when i had finished laying down the ground work, was how automatic this track would be if i had a roy hargrove-esque trumpeter lay about 2 or 3 tracks down over the beat, maybe on the hooks. how good a live bassist would sound just playing in the pocket. what female singer would kill the track, what kinda harmonies i'd suggest... i don't know where that comes from? maybe it's a natural progression for producer-minded beatmakers...but i definitely want to work with people now.

i need studio space. more equipment and the ability to multitrack vocalists and instrumentalists. i need session guys and gals to make these tracks come to life. unfortunately all of that costs money. but wow. i got ideas fam.

a production team sounds great in theory, and would probably be a tour de force, but production teams gotta split up the winnings. i aint tryna split no winnings son!!! lol

ah well. it will work it self out. the dream is to have studio space with at least 2 rooms, a big old analog desk (SSL) and a drummer, a horn player, and a keyboardist who knows his or her chops down pat. wheni have that kinda stuff at my disposal?

it's a wrap.

________________

SON!! i don't know why i slept so long.

if subURB ever reads this, he'd prolly try to slap me in the head. or von, haha.

45s!!!

the future!

i used to never buy 45s man, i guess it was because an LP has between 8 and 12 songs on it, and a big pretty album cover.
i went to the record exchange over the weekend with a few bucks in pocket and figured i'd get on some 45s, as i'd had some luck with a few at Marvelous a few weeks before.

man i hit home runs. 10 cents a f%ckin piece! they were dirty, some were scuffed, but that little expedition thru some raggedy crates turned up some great stuff. that's definitely gonna be an every weekend (that i have money to spend) move. find 45s where ever. almost always cheaper than lps, and the b-sides be crazy.

_____

man.
we're what? 12 days from the new year?

that's bugged, yo. for real. i'll be 27 before i know it.
i was up this morning, probably around 4 am, just laying in the bed thinking.

like.

this HAS to be a big year. not a progressive year where i inch closer to being for real. like i gotta place shit. create working relationships and see dividends off that. mess with folks who can pay advances. step my music game up so that it's viable in the pop realm. i gotta make noise. cause i can bubble quietly for the next decade, always on the cusp, if i don't let the dick hang and do what i gotta do.

it's scary. i never been this far out on my own limb before. i talked shit and said there was a million things i wanted to do, before. but i took this random ass thing, and ran way out with it and now it's like, i'm here, i wished myself into the arena, and all of a sudden i'm fighting with people who make millions of dollars a year, trying to be on big name albums. my manager's handing my beat cd to jim jones' people, to ghost face killah's people, i'm doing mixtapes with big time djs and producing tracks for artists that have dreams as big as mine, and possibly the talent to back those dreams up. it's time to get over the infatuation with the novelty of it all, though.

i notice that alot of times i talk about it all like i don't REALLY belong. its hard to remember that you're just as liable to explode as the next person, that your shot is deserved as anybody elses. i know about the man hours i put into this. i should expect it, right?

i'ma get on this in the other blog, but...

i gotta start acting like and believing that this shit is mine.

i'll holla.

new developments.

2006-12-05T09:45:00.000-12:00

people are starting to get the beat cd.

lotta broke niggas want beats. lol

i aint mad at that though, we all broke, and we all love music. it's part of the struggle. whatever.
BUT-
i got my cd in the hands of one of the best mcs doing it today.
i got my cd in the hands of a person who is trying to get one of the dopest up and coming mcs on a track.
i got my OMGz stuff still cooking.
i'm trying to get on a showcase for producers that could open up mad doors.
my link in Atlanta is really looking out, and called me today with an established artist in the room, go betweening for us and discussing the beats she would like to hear from me.
and we're gonna give this mixtape another shot.
my manager has his work boots and hard had on (he's fully dressed, you pervs) and he's out in the field making things happen for me.

slow start, big finish. that's what i need.

$ in 07 niggaz!

SCRATCH THAT

2006-11-16T03:24:00.000-12:00

i'm feeling creative as fock.

i lied last entry.

it comes and it goes honestly, and it comes more often than not like a porn star. last night i was up til 4 am doing a beat and writing a verse.

i think i'm going to do the OMGz shit myself. i'm the only one who gets my time schedule, who gets completely and thoroughly what the OMGz is about, and who loves every beat i deem OMG worthy.

plus the song i did yesterday pretty much fingers me the sole culprit of OMGz rifraffery.
them niggas can guest spot if they want to. nothin personal, i just know they got a lot on their plates, and im way to excited about the possiblities of this thing to let it sit while they clean it up. plus i'm only 40 % sure that they really wanna be a group with this.

plus i just work better alone.

so i got my man RES on tap, ima do some promo shotties and get the myspace page rolling, cut about 5 or 6 songs and get a buzz going. i don't have a time line for this. again, my deadlines are as spastic as my sleep schedule.

when it do what it do, consider it did, and that's all im say.

but yo.
i wrote a bad ass verse last night man. i ain't even gonna be coy, that shit was dope, and if i follow through with a couple more bars it could be epic. maybe. or wack. who knows. im just trying shit now. nothing to lose cept my job, and i wont be mad if that happens, makes my choices alot easier for the future. lol

i'm only askin the world to knuckle up for the first round. - me

ughz.

2006-11-13T07:03:00.000-12:00

i ain't been feeling too creative.

i havent made a drop dead dope beat in like 2 or 3 weeks now.

i got my manager knocking at the proverbial door and i feel like i'm standing him up. BUT. i'm not down or depressed. it's just a slow period. i'm trying to work through some technical kinks at home (fl studio deciding to revert to demo mode TWICE in the past 2 weeks) and my beatblock, while also trying to figure out the best working environment.

my brother came over to listen to/play some beats, and my neighbor comes to my door banging on it, asking me to keep it down so she could study. i had to respect that, even though it was a saturday evening, around 6:30 pm.

ugh.

just a lil dark cloud looming, though. we'll fix it.

so a few months ago i bought a 160gb SATA drive for my computer and i have yet to install it. oh, ive tried, but for some reason it's not even recognizing that the drive is connected to the SATA header. it's pissing me off, but in a stroke of luck i also managed to get my old 60gb drive with all the old samples on it up and running. that was great, because about 60 % of the beats i sent Nate yesterday were from my old drive.

thank god for superproductive weeks past.

i really really need to get organized tho.

not just with music, but everything in my life is all over the place. the problem is, i don't know where to start or how to STAY that way. i guess the only way to figure out what works for me is to try everything until something sticks...but this crap i'm doing now is not what's good in the least.

whatever. i'm going to get myself a corkboard and an agenda, and keep better records on my outlook/pda, get an ING account or 2 and save some money, get my focus on the right things. all these side projects is gonna have to take a backseat to the beathustle til i start moving product at a higher rate than this. also i'm hella focused on a laptop. i was trying to get some investors to speed up the process, but it looks like i'm going to have to stack my own dough for this one, which is fair. bad thing is that the laptop is just the beginning of having a mobile production system.

i'm still gonna need an audio interface (a GOOD one, i hate latency like nobody's business) and at least 1 external drive for samples. probably a 250+ gig joint. this is money i ain't close to having.

*sells self on the corner*

when i get it going and good though, this beat shit is a WRAP.

until then, though...

at this moment i'm waiting impatiently on an email.

2006-10-16T05:44:00.000-12:00

the business of the business sucks balls sometimes.

i'm not pressed or anything, especially since i know that this stuff rarely EVER goes like clockwork, but i'm still checking my email account every 5 minutes for an update.

walt should have received my cd by now, and at the very least given it a listen. i'll keep you updated.

conversely, my man Nate is also trying to manage me. he'd be more of a rookie in the business, but he really believes in my music, my sound, and we're friends. there's alot to be said for that partnership.

add to that that he's already found a buyer for 2 of my beats and will be talking prices and legal etcs. this week... he's really giving walt a run for his money. whoever can place the most beats for the most money in the shortest amount of time, that's the person that gets a 15-20% cut off top as compensation for services rendered.

i'm going to knock out 2 beat cds before wednesday, a hip hop joint and a r & b'sh joint so he can parlay em accordingly. it was dope, i was over my homie Mo's house, and i had to interrupt our movie watching to take a business call. haha. and we talked dollar figures! it was great. a taste of the life.

Nate works where lots of big big name artists come through. he just saw Jim Jones last week. that's sick. if he can land a few beats with those cats... i don't even want to dream too much.

it's crazy.

next few months is gonna be a crazy ride. i expect "business trips", lots of phone calls and industry parties, and lots of money spent. but if it works out like it should... by my 27th birthday i should see my first big payoff.

here's to the hustle.

the return of the jedi.

2006-10-11T06:18:00.000-12:00

yeah, i'm back.

think my last post here was back in july, and i was exclaiming over the purchase of a new midi controller.

it's integrated into the workflow quite nicely, and i routinely use it before anything else in my set up, save for the computer. coincidentally, on of my hard drives (the one with about 20gb of samples from wax and other source material) apparently went bad while i was trying to install a brand new 160gb SATA drive.

85-90% of the beats i had made prior to that moment were suddenly rendered useless. it was a traumatic experience, but from cataclysm rises awesome change. i went to tower records and bought some quick guides on chords, fired up the endless synths i had installed and tooled around.

now, i won't pretend that i'm anywhere near a good keyboard player, but the combination of midi technology and my rudimentary skills/ceaseless keyboard fondling/studying of those books has brought out the beauty of sample-less music. of course i sample my drums, i don't imagine ever stopping that, and i will continue to buy and sample records, but wow.

i love making keyboard beats.

not that 1998-99 swizz beats stuff either, although i can and will do that from time to time. here's a hint, i've been listening to Prince's 1978 "For You" album incessantly. yep. that and various Neptunes offerings, including pharrell's "In My Mind".

i've got a group in the oven. i also have been soliciting mcs for my producer's record a la Welcome 2 Detroit. i finally sent off my beat cd to Walt Liquor, a manager holding the reigns on the careers of the likes of Jake One and Planet Asia.

that last sentence didn't sound right.

anyway.

something is gonna go down, i can feel it. i feel better at this than i've ever been, and i feel like i'm STILL nothing compared to what i will be. i'ma own this feeling right now, 'cause it's pretty bleak without it.

______

Battery 3 is on it's way. this program has become a staple of my way of working, far beyond it's intended use of drum sampling.

the new version promises alot of the things that previously drew a line between it and the industry standard drum sampler, AKAI's MPC series, best of which being able to sync the machine to a tempo. since battery's software, you'd obviously sync it to the sequencer's tempo. if i can figure out how to mimic the MPC's note-repeat, it's safe to say that it's a wrap.

it drops some time this month. it's looking so good- and i'm getting so good- that i might actually drop cold hard cash for this one. i owe NI my career, for real. NI and Imageline, of course. once this grind starts paying dividends, i'm going to make it all official. it feels much better that way, anyhow.

________

to say i'm excited would be an understatement.

i feel like i have a real chance at this music thing. but it's more of a nervous excitement where i'ma be scared as fuk if it don't work. it HAS to. i haven't literally given up health and home for this grind, but mentally, i'm so far gone into it that anything less than a home run with this at bat is pretty much a failure.

batter up nigga.

keys hath arrived.

2006-07-29T18:24:00.000-12:00

YEAH, NIGGAS.

making moves.

2006-07-11T02:59:00.000-12:00

so last night i finally got to see my first (hopefully of many) proper j*davey show. they were incredible. along side nouveau riche and the slack republic, the 5 Spot got blessed.

i really wish slack had the opportunity to play for the entire crowd that ended up showing up, their set was DOPE. mec even sang to me! ha!!!

one of the main reasons i go to shows these days (outside of going to support the artist and enjoy the show) is to feed off the energy and peep game, pretty much. get a clue on stage presence, but also see people in my peer group taking their dreams by the reigns, so to speak. last night was a prime exammple. i've been cool with mec from TSR since before the band was even conceieved. we were trying to do some joints together.

to see the culmination of that in people doing a string of shows all over the country (even Toronto) and selling cds, getting a good reaction from the crowd... it's fantastic to watch and it's intensely inspiring.

i'll say it again because it needs to be said: brook d'leau is a BEAST. and i want me a roland jp 8000 son.

SPEAKING of keyboards:

ordered my new baby!

that and a new DVD RW. all i need is my tascam and the firewire controller and i'll really be out of excuses.

____

i've been coming up with alot of ideas, but i'm gonna stop typing them out, cause it only makes me cringe when they don't come to fruition. i've mentioned the mixtape and the beattape, which are still on the list, but have taken back seats to life in general and other things i'm trying to complete. at this point it's like, things will get done when they get done.

i talked to some folks last night about collaborative efforts, and i've possibly got some interesting opportunities bubbling in the pot. i haven't made (or been offered) any real money recently, so i'm good with perfecting my craft and letting the rest take place naturally. i'll concentrate on getting my production rate up, and really networking with people who can get my career on its feet.

captain's log: stardate 62706.11.38a.

2006-06-27T03:41:00.000-12:00

making moves.

yesterday i finally decided to make some upgrades to the pc.

the 2200+ chip was getting a bit long in the tooth, and was really starting to struggle under the weight of things i do with my computer, so an upgrade's really been long overdue. it's just hard spending so much money at one time. much easier to spend it on a pair of kicks and some records, maybe a shirt and some jeans.

anyway. it's going towards my small business tax break, so i'm going for it.

so far, i've put a few hundred into a new motherboard and cpu. i'm dumb stoked, AMD Athlon 64 3500+ processor (2.2ghz) and an ASUS socket 939 motherboard (which i've read mixed reviews about. pray that my purchase goes well, pc building can be fickle and unpredictable when you're treading the line between budget and power)

i'm also shopping for a dvd burner so i can get...er...my unmentionables off the computer and free up that drive for other more important things. my unmentionanbles are starting to swell to ridiculous proportions. darned torrents.

i still need to holler at a few sticks of dual-channel ram, probably a large capacity drive or 2 (250gb+), a flat panel monitor and new keyboard/mouse combo before it's all said and done, but it all depends on the money. thankfully, this motherboard provides headers for IEEE1394 (firewire), so i can move on to the tascam. this set up, though, should hold me for the next 2 years or so.

i'm thinking about upgrading to winxp64, as well. if anybody knows what the benefit of this would be, get at me.
_______

other than that, though, all is quiet on the music front. still putting together the mother of all beat tapes, and i've got some requests for submission of beats for some new projects. i got a track i did years ago (literally) in my email yesterday with vocals laid, and though i've improved exponentially with technical and creative skills since then, the cut actually sounded good. i'm hoping it makes these guys' album.

first and second week of july, i'll be in the park buying up records. i have alot of beats to get done... just got a ridiculous payload of drums that are ready to be flipped too, so i'm not wanting for inspiration right now, at least not from a sample standpoint.

these next few weeks should be productive. keep an eye on the myspace page.

OH YEAH!

the goodness got a website on the way.

check!

let's get serious!

2006-06-09T02:18:00.000-12:00

alright fams.

i figure i can share this with anyone who still visits regularly for updates, as it is close to nil, i won't be shooting myself in the foot with the ubiquitous jinx.

but i do wanna talk about it because i feel like i'm on the cusp, on the verge of something real big.

i've noticed recently that mental preparation has been key as far as being successful goes. i've also noticed that that's been a huge part of my process in setting myself up for the work involved in making this thing work- it's been sort of a philosophy building process that i can apply to all areas of my life, but specifically with my music.

it's a mental thing, 80% of any risk-laden venture is a mental challenge, where you've got to outthink your own insecurity and take fate by the balls so to speak. i'm my biggest obstacle at this point, 'cause on the real, there's a gaggle of niggas getting steady work who CAN'T do what i do.

musical talent is a SMALL percentage of the game, fam. cats who's aspiring to do this for a living, hear me OUT. the most gifted musicians sometimes are the ones with no jobs, always hoping the next gig is the big one. kool dj red alert said it best a few weeks ago, it's about figuring out how to market yourself for the most success possible.

this selling one beat every 6 months for $500 minus the paypal transaction charges ain't working, so i gotta shoot for bigger things.

so this is the situation.

i got something i'm working on. not a nebulous something, something specific and concrete. it's new and it's a bit different from my usual productions... it's basically me brandishing my various skills in flurry-punch fashion.

so it's gonna be like an album, but not.

more like a glorified beat tape, but that's okay if that's how it's recieved. i want it to feel like an album though.

and here's the killer:

it's gonna be FREE and limited edition!

i stand to make ZERO dollars on it. in fact, i'll spend more making it than i'll recoup distributing it. and i have a short list of folks whose hands need to be holding this disc.

i'm going to pay somebody a fair price to do some great artwork, too.

it's all marketing, fam.

you show niggas what you can do, niggas who have mobility that you don't, and hopefully they'll want to help you get into a position of mobility too. it's the dilla model. dilla had a beat tape circulate through some helping hands before he blew. cats like ?uestlove, q-tip, d'angelo, etc etc.

next thing you know, dilla's working with all of them. and niggas say that i've got it. i've been told that too many times by too many different UNrelated people. i'm not fronting on that anymore... i'm riding with it until somebody tells me that somebody lied to me. lol

for some reason though, i don't think i'll be hearing that.

GMFB nigga. it's about the dough now.

music is life.

2006-05-22T05:13:00.000-12:00

point blank peri-odd © phonte

it's been an interesting few days since my last entry. whirlwind of experience type deal.

i went to new york city to see the roots and co. at Radio City Music Hall. one word: incredible. i have plenty other adjectives for the experience, but there'd be no point in typing them out. it was just incredible.

i've had the good fortune of attending some really great concerts. there was the blackstar reuninon concert in 2001, the tribe reunion in 2004(?), sundry roots concerts over the years, the awesome okayplayer tour in 2000... i can say without much reservation that, had i been in the front row as i usually am at concerts i pay to attend, this would have been the best concert i've ever been to. it may have been, regardless.

music concerts have always been a triple+ edged sword of sorts for me. a duality in experience that makes them bittersweet... basically because i hate *just* being a fan. it's hard to explain, but if you've ever read any of my concert recap entries at my other blog, you'd have a basic idea of what i mean. it's like i belong up there, performing and driving a crowd into emotional overload. so when i'm just chilling in the stands very inconspicuous and average-joe, i've always felt some type of way about that.

also, falling under that umbrella, i feel incredibly inspired when i leave a good concert. i suspect that the average concert-goer leaves with a satisfied feeling along the lines of "wow, that was a great show!". i'm on more of a "wow...time to get in the lab again!!!!!!!!" type of deal.

but friday, man. i honestly just enjoyed the concert for what it was. of course i was inspired, but i wasn't mad that it wasn't me up there, and the inspirational rush didn't come til well after the concert had ended. i just danced and sang and rapped and partied on the second mezzanine of the Radio City Music Hall like i was standing in my living room stark naked, with my iTunes playlist jumping around on shuffle.

(i do that alot, no homo)

i won't break down the exact procession of the show, i'm sure that can be found in a more professional recap (see: okayplayer, village voice, etc etc) but the build up and subsequent money-shot was so clinical and well thought out, well... i mean, everybody put their foot into their performance. and it was one great artist after another.

props to j*davey for doing a GREAT set, even though the crowd wasn't nearly as receptive as they could have and SHOULD have been. getting up in front of a crowd of 5000 plus, peppered with snob-lamebrains who'd rather play tetris on their phone than dance, in new york city (at RCMH no less) and doing a kickass performance like that deserves a giant soul clap or 3.

it was just a big deal for the crowd AND the performers. a huge deal. mos def was as starstruck with the platform for the event as we were. erykah badu was incredible. the roots were the roots. hub, the most unsung and soft spoken band member, got to blow the brains out of the entire crowd with an 5+ minute solo spotlight performance. jazzy jeff destroyed the turntables. questlove didn't miss a beat.

and then...

as the show begins to wrap up, an eerily familiar 2 bar piano riff begins to play, and a tall hooded figure saunters on to the stage as he's introduced by black thought to the crowd as a "good friend".

folks. i can't explain the electricty that absolutely engulfed the auditorium. i lost myself for a second, and if i knew i had a chance of surviving, i would have swan-dived off of my perch on the 2nd mezz. no lie.

i don't know why, maybe it was the first jay-z concert for most of us (considering the roots fanbase has historically been anti-establishment, regardless if niggas make good music) or maybe it was the visual coming of age we were all watching, seeing the hometown favorite underdog-esque roots pull one of the biggest musical phenomenons since MJ on stage to close out their show in new york city (i was feeling an emotional surge resulting from an ill combination of the two)

but...

4 minutes was all i needed to finish losing my voice and approach hyperventilation.

my god.

____________

sunday night, i was invited via myspace to a red bull academy info session/chat & party with Kool DJ Red Alert.

the chat was really good. Red seems to be a good guy with humility and respect for the music he plays. he was dope to listen to, and the video that was shown got me really excited about applying for red bull. it's a long shot, but nothing beats a failure but a try.

but the night was sullied a bit by something i've noticed as rampant in the music community in this beautiful city of philadelphia, and i'm sure elsewhere as well.

scenesterism/cliquism.

I HATE THAT SHT.

like... after i settled in for the Q & A with Red Alert, i found myself surrounded by posers and disingenious scensters asking blahzay questions, dapping each other up and just making the night a typical SCENE night in philadelphia. UGH. i HATE SCENESTERS!!!!!!!! just hanging around waiting for the next event to happen so they can show up and talk to each other and the various persons of the hour. it disgusts me!

and then! the so-called "musicians". the rappers and producers, the "djs"- on cue, they show up and dickride/eat like it was going out of style, pissing me off every step of the way. it's bugged, yo. of course, i'm sure my face is relatively familiar in these spots as well, but it's something tangible about their lack of sincerity that protrudes like a sore thumb.

philadelphia's music scene is filled with talented individuals who could align and make wonderful things happen. a serious resurgence of TSOP proportions is only a few years away, on paper. but like my nizlet karas said as we made our way to Lorenzo's on south street...

"did you see how as soon as the Q&A was over, everybody went to their little circles and stayed there?"

yup, sure did.

it makes me sick. it's crazy that one of the first people to seriously reach out to me was DJ Jamad in ATLANTA, GA. i can see why he left philly. it's disgusting! a certain person who shall remain nameless was at this show, and knowing i live to make music, neglected to introduce me to their music-making friends. on purpose? not consciously, i don't think so. but this person is unquestionably a scenester posing as a musicmaker.

don't get me wrong. i could very well have networked myself, but i'm not throwing myself at anybody's feet, especially amidst the obvious disinterest in networking that in the air, thick enough to slice with a bread knife. but if i was in a position to put one of my peoples on to somebody in the area of work where they excel, i'd do it in a heartbeat.

what i'ma sequester my peoples for in that situation? it benefits me none.

i'm not entirely mad though, even if it reads like i am. i'm proud of what i've accomplished with very little effort... people know who i am. via myspace and word of mouth. i've sold beats, i've gotten invites to work on projects... and i'm really good at what i do, with the potential to get exponentially better. WITHOUT the networking. so that's not bad at all.

but philly, man. the outlook is horrible if these scensters and movefakers aren't supplanted at the helm of our music scene.

anyway. rant over.

____________

oh, f*ckin' canada.

2006-05-17T06:18:00.000-12:00

yo.

i'll talk more in depth about the generalities of my trip at the other spot, but i'll just stick this here for now.

i could live there, dog.

that's my word. i could see myself living there. the city- at least what i saw of it- wasn't particularly spectacular, but i could see it being a great place to get your create on. 'specially if you're a music fiend. i'd need mad appendages to count the number of record stores and music related boutiques on Queen St. ALONE.

anyway.

i went up there to connect with my Goodness homies, and i did. them dudes showed me a good time and i'm crazy appreciative. if you cats are reading, thanks again. i'm really excited about what the future holds for us, yo. we're *RIGHT* there. just a few strategic moves away from being in the position to live off this stuff.

needless to say, this was definitely a good trip, if only a teaser for trips later on. i'ma try real hard to make it back up over labor day. this time i won't forget my passport, either. lol

business is doing good. i've been contacted about work from 3 diff sources, and thru the fine orchestration of C. "The Executive" Dyce, i have an opportunity to submit music for a remix of a certified classic artist. i just sold 2 beats and the checks are "in the mail". buzz is good, i think people at least know i'm serious about what i do, and for the most part, when it comes down to it:

i love creating music more than everything else. we'll see how true that statement holds when i start making my small fortune, but at this point, it's rock solid. hearing beats i did with verses on them being blasted in another country is better than a few dollars in the pocket, yo. y'all don't hear me though.

___

so it's about time to start adding to the equipment arsenal. my kit list on the far right has been sitting idly at mediocre since i started this blog, with a few excelsior additions here and there, excluding the mic. i mentioned copping the tascam fw-1804 and the ART Digital MPA Gold pre-amp, but as those are high ticket items, it's taking me a little longer than expected to cop. besides, to make the tascam a working component, i've gotta upgrade the PC to be firewire ready. it's due for an over haul anyway, so i'm going to drop a few dollars on a new motherboard, max out the ram (4GB son, fuk with that) stick in a new h/d and pop a AMD 64bit chip in there, something in the 2.2ghz+ range. i expect that will run about 3 or 4 bills.

when i was up in toronto, i saw the most beautiful midi keyboard controller: the novation remote25.

the keys feel great. it's not very expensive and it's got plenty of knobs for automation and what not. it's battery/usb/AC powered. handsome design and it's 2 octaves of REAL KEYS (up until this point i've been playing EVERYTHING on the pads, including basslines and simple lead lines. i even played the rhodes part on "To Detroit With Love". not fun. )

secondly, i have to cop this:

the akai mpd 24. this is a thinly veiled reaction to being trumped soundly by m-audio's triggerfinger, the versatile, tactile, expressive alternative to akai's first offering, the no frills mpd16.

the mpd 24 has transport controls, a complex multi-line lcd display, 8 knobs and 6 slider/faders, and i'm sure a plethora of other midi control message modulation tools. if it has a flam button like the korg midi drumpad or a note repeat like real mpcs, i don't really think it can be beat. i'm hoping the pads are soft, i'm pretty used to that, but if not, i'm sure i can work around it.

i'm going to skip the brand new laptop now. i probably will still end up getting one, but i really only need it to handle the business/play side of my computer life, like checking emails, downloading music, web activity and other online correspondence. the desktop has to be come a full-fledged workstation. i almost had a malicious bug crash the whole system for good last week, so i'm really ready to stop playing split duty with the main machine.

it's all jokes til that tascam gets here.

but man... that mpd and the novation? together? pff. niggas is not ready, dog. plus virtually no latency? multiple ins and outs? cmon man.

_____

this has been best year ever for my music. and i ain't done a thing, yet. all praise due to di mos' 'igh.

let's go!

got so much work to do.

2006-04-15T19:53:00.000-12:00

i *kinda* sold two beats.

i've yet to be fully paid for either.

i'm heading up to t-dot next month to work on some music with my peoples. i have so much equipment to purchase. i gotta step my game up, too. i got this mixtape to get popping, a dj set to ace, a EP to finish and so many other verbal commitments that i've opened my fat mouth and agreed to.

plus i got creative branch-outs that i have to explore. plus i gotta keep the network game on full tilt. that stuff is HARD.

man. no rest for the weary, for real. where's a manager when you need one?!

___

this is sorta other-bloggy, but it's on my mind now so i'ma talk about it. besides, it has everything to do with my music.

i just want my peoples to know that i really do love you all. i'm working really hard to chase a dream that has a race car engine and sticky tires. i'm running down the street after it in some busted prokeds. you feel me? this is a 25/8 type of deal. hopefully, only for a short period of time. if it takes me 5 years to get to a point where i can live off this, why front on me in my first year?

why give me hell now?

i'm tryin man, really i am. i hope yall understand. 'cause at this juncture, it looks like it may only get worse. and believe me, i'm not faring any better than you guys are... sometimes i feel like i'm going crazy with all the pressure i put on myself, and there's barely a ripple in the proverbial lake. just gimme some time to myself to work this out... i swear i'm good for it.

thanks.

____

4am. sunday morning. i'ma get me some pineapple soda and hit the sheets.

love me now!

...& please say the baby.

2006-04-11T07:29:00.000-12:00

j*daveybaby, that is.

yo.

i will readily admit that i slept on these cats pretty hard.

i don't even know how long i've been sleeping on them, but it's been a good while. and it was on purpose. there's a saying that much of what okayplayer cosigns and hypes up has a strong chance of not being very good. it's unfortunate but it rings true all too often.

besides, look at them. the look makes me wanna roll my eyes. ubercool hipsters with funky hair, tight jeans and a MicroKorg. spare me!

well.

a friend sent me the demo they did, maybe a good 3 months ago at least... i never listened to it, of course. totally not like me, because i don't keep stuff i don't listen to. i have an excuse though, it was sent over AIM and it sat in that stupid download folder AIM creates, running the chance of being forgotten forever.

fast forward to this weekend, when said friend forwards me a copy of kudu's album. i go to retrieve it to put on my dell dj, and lo & behold, there's the j*davey record. i had already heard no more and let it bleed... so i'm like, yeah, lemme throw this on as well. can't hurt.

man.

consider me thoroughly ensconced. i love the ideas this brook d'leau cat has for music. he is THE ying to jackdavey's yang (briana cartwright/whatever she's calling herself). it made me think of prince and/or neptunes getting in a studio with jdilla, REDUX of course. they aren't THAT good, but they are very good.

one thing i found very refreshing is that the music is completely and utterly devoid of the hipster pretense that i expected to hear. don't get me wrong, she thinks she's cute and she thinks everybody else does too, but it only manifests as an assured confidence that bangs along happily with great music. no more, in my opinion, could EASILY be on the radio. we're talking about a indie group with no particular superlabel grooming (outside of briana's studio experience), dressing and looking like troubled youth circa 1986, making a song that could without question be a summer anthem.

gotta respect that.

_____________________________

expect to see me with a hot singer chick, a tight shirt and some 80's synths making some banging beats soon!

lmao

is it too late to make Duck, Sneak?

2006-04-03T05:51:00.000-12:00

duck, sneak...

duck, sneak and paint...

nah, seriously. i'd like to make a song about going on mission. i just hate to see a healthy subculture appropriated the way it goes on these days. not saying that lupe is faking the funk, he's actually 3 times as believeable as pharrell (who i believe as well).

and for every real cat who's doing it because he or she loves it, it's 5 ova niggas watching them, drunk off the quirky sex appeal that counterculture undeniably has, and a pocket full of the monies necessary to fund a full fledged biting extravaganza.

tres wack.

all that being said, Kick Push is a great song. i loved the video, too. response has been weird. reaction to things like this give you a real good idea of what sort of thought process the general public is working with. for instance, on our favorite message board, people were saying such retarded things as "i wish he would have had some real cool skaters doing crazy tricks, jumping over him while he was rapping"

like, are you serious?

did you listen to the lyrics?

the song isn't about tricks. unbelievable.

anyway. i should start writing that, even if only for posterity's sake.

_____

so i've been networking, trying to keep the name afloat. the logical next move is to have something to refer people to when i start dropping my name in various circles. i need a website. i need a logo. i need an identity, a brand. i'm fortunate enough to know a gang of talented designers that can do far more than i could wish to, to that end. time to tap the resources.

i'll keep posts on the blog regarding the progress, and launch dates.

i also need photography, and i've kept in contact with one cat in particular, because i think he's an amazing talent behind the lens... i hope i can still afford him, as he's had some major blowuptuation in the years since we first bumped heads.

this is the weird part of it all; the new learning process for me, the business side of things. making yourself official to the common public. like, to this point it was all about banging on drum pads and sampling records. now i gotta get paid.

i'm trying to get my work on a released project to that i can get my ASCAP membership. i need a brand to explain the name, and make it stick. i've been skipping on beat making sessions, burning the candle at both ends trying to network through the various available channels. getting and giving phone numbers, keeping appointments. shameless self promotion (i really need to get better at that, being an a$$hole comes with the territory) etc/etc.

it's fun, but it's hard. i'm glad i do enjoy it. ive come to the conclusion that this is how you know you're really in something for the long haul, for the love. every excruciating hour of toil and trouble in the name of moving up in the ranks is welcomed. you're dedicated to your craft and it wakes you up in the morning. a day is incomplete unless you're putting every free hour into it.

i'm almost ready to quit my job. ALMOST.

i almost wish they'd fire me. i'd like to see where i'd end up after 6 months of unemployment, virtually unlimited time and access to my music, and time to network on top of it. haha.

*sigh*

until that day, yo.

And then he showed these men of will what will really is."

2006-03-15T08:01:00.000-12:00

familiar with the cult classic "The Usual Suspects" ?

if so, you'll remember this line as part of Verbal Kint's (Kevin Spacey) monologue telling the myth of the infamous Kaiser Soze.

i'm not one to try to emulate characters from movies, but i think in this instance, the writers had it right.

"One story the guys told me, the story I believe, was from his days in Turkey. There was a gang of Hungarians that wanted their own mob. They realized that to be in power, you didn't need guns or money or even numbers. You just needed the will to do what the other guy wouldn't."

yep.

the will to do what the other guy wouldn't. or won't.

talent is abundant. lots of people got skills. the thing is that success is largely a conscious and premeditated orchestration. that's why the amount of has-beens and also-rans in any field dwarfs the number of successes. 9.5 out of ten niggas DON'T have the will.

sometimes i'm scared i don't have the will. that's why i go at it as hard as i do. i don't like feeling like i don't have the will. and i'm in a rush. to me, in this game, the will would be working when other cats would rather sleep. or holler at girls, or go to a club, or argue on message boards.

dilla had an interview where he mentioned being inspired to get back in the studio to work, when he'd call up pete rock and he'd be in the studio. to him, that meant it was time to get back at it.

so.

what won't these other up&comers do?

*kills them all, their families, their friends, business partners, people that owe them money, employers, burns their beats*

HOV!

To Detroit With Love.

2006-02-27T20:06:00.000-12:00

http://rapidshare.de/files/14324900/Ode_to_JayDee_Final.mp3.html

a beat i did in memoriam this morning.

rip Jay Dee.

what a weekend.

2006-02-27T06:07:00.000-12:00

between me needing an EKG early friday morning, and me finding out that i was making beats the hard way...it was pretty interesting.

see the EKG story at the other spot.

(worth mentioning though, is that even the smallest of events can godsmack you back to reality, and make you cherish those nights when you can't create, and it seems like your art was lost somewhere back. )

but sunday.

my mans and 'nem came through to check out how i worked. i ended up learning quite a bit from him, and finding out that the way i make beats is slightly longwinded.

he's a Sony Acid/PC dude who's recently decided to go the way of the MPC 1000. i can't even front. after piddling with it a bit a few weeks ago, and knowing that it's the technical equivalent of an MPC 2000XL, i want it too. can't beat the cuteness/portability of it, either.

anyway. as i'm showing him my set up and explaining the drawn out process of going from taking a sound from a record to making a beat, he notices that my samples don't cut each other off. this is known as monophonic sampling, where a sampler will play a sound, but as soon as a key (that same one, or another, loaded with a different sample) is triggered, the new sound will cut off the previously played one, giving the traditional feel of chops. think DJ Premier on Common's 6th Sense.

i say "yeah..." not really thinking much of it, because i had success working the way i do. he was dumbfounded.

"yo, if you could figure out how to do that man, it would really be a dope set up."

apparently, the mpc does this by default.

i had tried to figure out monophonic sampling before, in Kontakt 2, with no success, and i lost interest before i got to really study the massive PDF manual. he was hell-bent on figuring it out, though. so we study the manual. we get confused, we look some more, we push buttons, we try literally everything remotely worth trying. i'm thinking to myself, as good (and EXPENSIVE) as kontakt is, you mean to tell me i CAN'T play my samples monophonically?

it frustrates us, but we move on.

i'm pretty familiar with the sampler that comes standard in FL Studio, and i always thought that if i had more control over FL slicer, i'd probably use that instead of Kontakt, but again, being lazy, lost interest in trying to figure it out. (fatal flaw. seriously.)

but, with chris being there and being so determined to show me the light on monophonic sampling, i stayed with it and tried to figure it out.
turns out FL slicer does pretty much everything i want it to. INCLUDING playing samples monophonically.

take that, Native Instruments.

after a few tweaks, i figure out that this type of sampling is very easy with FL slicer. between kontakt taking forever to load, being an incredible processor hog, and not doing exactly what i want it to, i'll pass. only thing it has over the FL slicer (right now, at least) is that i know how to map samples and it's incredibly intuitive. the built in effects (albeit very good) aren't even much of a plus, since i have crazy 3rd party effects like flangers, filters, compressors, eqs, granulizers, whatever.

kontakt lost. yikes.

that was just the half. we spent the next hour or two chopping up DRUM BREAKS- maybe one or 2 chops on a full 2 bar loop- and playing them out of sequence on the pads.

oh. what. fun.

i had sworn off of using breaks because the extent i used them was simple as looping them up and using the break as my drum pattern. very elementary, very wack. drum breaks always sound good, but hearing impeach the president- as banging as that break is- gets old quick. and it really tends to date the song. and. well. it's just lazy.

but this is a whole new world! i'm excited to get home to day and chop some up in recycle, throw em in FL slicer and bang out some crazy rhythms.

only problem i was still having was, the way FL maps out slices in slicer, it starts on a weird point on a keyboard, where my pads weren't assigned properly. up until 1:30 this morning, i had forgotten how to program the trigger finger. now it's all about pad # 05. chea. it's programmed, things work beautifully...the funk is just around the corner, yo.

lets all put one in the air for chris.

*buck!*

work ethic.

2006-02-21T06:19:00.000-12:00

listening.

trying.

failing.

learning.

doing.

my work ethic admittedly leaves much to be desired. recent events have shown me that i can't go on in that matter if i'm serious about anything in life.

i'll put it like this.

i've spent the last 3 entries talking about dilla. listening to where he was when he left, how exponentially better he was than your current top billing producer as far as an ear and having a signature and technical soundness... how many transititions his production style went through while most other dudes sat stagnant- listening to that- then listening to how much better those dudes are than I am-

it's like, wow.

lol.

loooooooooooooong way to go.

i've had people dap me up and say "yo, you've got fire", etc. but i know i'm still a baby at this, man. and a weak work ethic is only gonna keep me here.

so my ascension as a beatmaker is gonna require a bit of personal reform.

i mean...i'm in my apartment listening to records day in and day out, til the music is nearly seeping out frmo under my eyeballs... and i can't get a beat out to save my life. i be struggling man. i wouldn't call it being blocked, because i have done about 12 beats in the last 4 days, but i'm stuck on stupid at the moment. sometimes it makes me wonder whether i'm even cut for it.

i'm just trying to keep focused on working extremely hard right now.

the most slept on since pepto biz

2006-02-17T03:55:00.000-12:00

or time warner let go prince...

there's a great interview/article at geneisquest that should be read. the interviewee and i share very similar appreciation for dilla's work.

i think i'm just about through my mourning phase, now i'm getting into the mode of preparing to celebrate the music. i apologize if i've turned any readers off with the sentimenal e-shrine i'm building.

anyway.

here's my jay dee story.

way back in '95, my favorite new artist was a cat named Mad Skillz. (i find it terribly ironic that Skillz would end up being a featured artist of a very clandestine website i virtually lived on for the last 6 or 7* years.)

Mad Skillz's debut album From Where???!!! - a nonstop flurry of hilarious but lyrically devestating punchlines and battle-ready braggadocio- went largely unheralded, but he released a radio standout track, the bouncing "Nod Factor", which made a little noise.

enough noise for me to take notice, as i was entering the "backback" phase that overtook so many young hiphop fans who were growing weary of the murder/money trend the genre was starting to assume as its main descriptor. Nod Factor had me nodding, but it wasn't until i bought the single on tape from the local mall, that i was sold on Skillz'...well...skills.

fast forward a few months, & my cousin Courtney (who bought every cd that ever came out) has a copy of From Where???!!!. of course, i'm asking to borrow it and she obliges as usual. she's always pretty free with her cds, just don't let her borrow one of yours. you'll never see it again.

i fall in love with the record. it becomes my inspiration to really start writing raps, and along with my friend Terrance (who also swore by Skillz, and ALSO would later go on to start producing), we write battle verses and compare during Mrs. Macintosh's English II class. (i'd go on to fail the class miserably. English! and you see what amazing control i have over the english language now, right? what a disgrace.)

little did i know that a certain young Detroit beat maker had a hand in crafting two of the tracks on one of my obscure favorite albums. i didn't care about producers then, i don't remember ever seeing his name in the credits, but Jay did "It's Goin' Down Baby" and "The Jam". i wouldn't find this out until many years later, but i find it pretty significant. on some who'da thunk?! ish. to think, Dilla was 21 or 22 when he did those tracks.

wow.

that same year, A Tribe Called Quest's album Beats, Rhymes & Life would be released, as well as The Pharcyde's Labcabincalifornia and De La Soul's Stakes Is High. all three albums were on my radar, in fact, select cuts from each album, particularly BR&L's Stressed Out and 1nce Again, De La's title track and Lab's Runnin, Drop and the Y? (Like That) remix, were all Dilla productions that graced my top ten list for the year. at this point i had no clue who did the beats, i just knew they knocked and were each amazing backdrops for my quite a cadre of talent.

i wouldn't hear much from- or pay any attention- to J Dilla's work until 1998, when ATCQ's The Love Movement would drop. 4 tracks there and infinite influence on the whole album's direction gave ATCQ new direction that rent the groups' fanbase in two, lost a gaggle of fans and gained another. it'd be their last studio release as a group.

the next year, he'd dump a truckload of work into the solo debut effort of ATCQ's frontman, Q-Tip. Amplified would get a total of 11 tracks from Dilla, who's input into Tribe's various new directions was garnering mixed reactions. some viewed it as a blessing, but the general consensus was that he was watering down their sound. i was one of those folks. when Amplified dropped i was appalled. the club ready bounce and bare chested dancing Tip disgusted my now solidified backpacker stance against anything with glitz. i would watch the Breathe and Stop video for the voluptuous dancers, but i would always have a snide comment about Q-Tips attempts at mainstream success.

(it's ironic that now i'm feeling around blindly trying to find that album. criminally slept on.)

the same year, he'd also stick a contribution on one of the most influential albums in my decision to try a hand at music. my favorite hip hop group ever, The Roots, put out their seminal release Things Fall Apart. the janky and fun Dynamite was part of one of the best rap albums to be released in the past 10 years, and arguably in the history of the genre. The Roots would win a Grammy with the record, and again, Dilla's influence is greater than his actual production credits would suggest.

things get exciting in 2000.

Common's Like Water for Chocolate is released. man. what an album. beautiful music, folks. sharp and intelligent rhyming, deep and incredibly layered melodies over headache inducing drums. again, people were mad at the striking difference between Com's last two releases and this one, but i fell in love with it. Nag Champa was my anthem that year. i worked in a machining factory in Jenkintown, PA- 7am to 3pm, and this was my soundtrack that summer.

Also that year, Jay Dee would finally do a proper release with his group, Slum Village- the absolutely incredible Fantastic Vol. 2.

folks, i could literally sit here for the rest of the day and type until my fingers were nubs, and still not get out everything i could possibly say about this record. i don't mean to overhype it, if you haven't heard it, it's unquestionably worth taste-testing and considering. all i can suggest is:

1) listen with an open mind. this album isn't about rapping as much as it is about having fun. the raps are generally whimsical. if you're listening for a dope mc to wax philosophical, tell you about the revolution or share his love for women, you're gonna miss the point. if anything, listen for the rappers' cadence, which is impeccable, especially considering the way the beats move. otherwise get over it. Jay is the star here, and his raps and beats steal whatever show the T3 and Baatin could ever hope to have.

2) if you have an EQ on your stereo, iPod, walkman or whatever, turn the highs down. the drums are processed to POP, and pop they do. they really will hurt your ears.

this was Jay Dilla's defining moment. i'm sure it didn't have the mainstream success he would have liked, and it was largely a collection of older material compiled and redone. (Vol. 1 was basically a demo tape. if you ever hear it, compare it to the studio release and you'll see the glaring improvements.)

this album, was unlike anything i had ever heard. i was a backpacker with newly adopted "conscious" sensibilties (see mos def, talib kweli common) , yet i was losing my mind to simplistic misogynistic rhymes about bitches, money, threesomes and...Conant Gardens in Detroit, MI? it didn't make sense, and it didn't matter to me. there was a then unapparent element that had the rapt attention of true music lovers across the globe.

the beats on this record were out. of. this. world.

wow.

Fall In Love and Players, two of my favorite tracks from the album, are moody and thick; a boom bap head nodder and a dance floor filling jam, respectively. the album packed so many different versions of the K.O. punch. from the moment you cue it up to the very last 30 seconds of Go Ladies, (an incredible outro instrumental thrown on the end for good measure) the album is an experience.

by this point i'm sold. Jay Dee became my favorite hip hop producer. he'd get edged out periodically by Pete Rock, but there's no doubt in my mind what spot he holds now.

i would go on to be on top of every release or project he'd have a hand in (with the exclusion of Common's Electric Circus, which i dismissed as a bad Andre 3000 rendition. the album now stands on it's own in my head, and Com hasn't rhymed like that since. )

Welcome 2 Detroit was the first in a series of Beat Generation producer albums, released through the british label BBE in 2002. noticably absent were his SV partners, Dilla instead opted to let some other Detroit mc's get shine, and handled the rest on his own. it was the best release of the Beat Generation canon, followed closely by Pete Rock's Petestrumentals. stand out tracks include Shake It Down, Come Get It (featuring Elzhi) and Think Twice, an incredible take on Donald Byrd's original by the same name. this is when i started to figure out the extent of Dilla's talent. a complete recreation updated for the hiphop ear, replete with live instrumentation and Dilla's signature punchy drums and lazy hi hat programming. i swore by this album as well.

between 1999 and 2006, he'd produce tracks for an amazing range of artists including Erykah Badu, Bilal, Busta Rhymes, Mos Def and Talib Kweli (together and seperately), Vivian Green, Lucy Pearl, Jazzy Jeff, Spacek, Oh No, Dwele, Amp Fiddler, Platinum Pied Pipers, Royce the 5'9" and Madlib.

he owned every track he did. his own releases were often experimental envelope pushers that had biters licking their chops and duplicating. check the discog and cross reference it with the chronology. Dilla was largely responsible for the Neo Soul movement that took over the world before it became overdone and jumped the shark. of course, by that time, Dilla was making his signature Detroit synth bounce with frank and dank, something like Trans-Europe Express slowed down and bouncing along with kicks on the 1s, 2s, 3s and 4s.

incredible.

i hope to upload at least a few of these tracks in a .zip file for you, sometime over the weekend, as a kind of introductory guide to the breadth of Dilla's skills.

all respect due.

yeah. let's get live with it.

from stonesthrow:

2006-02-13T03:13:00.000-12:00

J DILLA
February 7 1974 - February 10 2006
---
It is with great sorrow that the Family and Friends of J Dilla announces his spiritual transition on the morning of February 10th, 2006 in the loving arms of his mother, Maureen Yancey.
J Dilla had suffered for over three years with an incurable blood disease, and had also been diagnosed with lupus.
A public viewing (closed casket) will take place Monday, February 13, 2006, 430PM-900PM at Forest Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries, 1712 South Glendale Avenue, Glendale, CA 91205.
A private funeral will follow.
---
Mrs. Yancey relocated to Los Angeles in order to care for her son J Dilla during his lengthy illness. On behalf of Mrs. Yancey we ask that in lieu of flowers, any heartfelt donations be made payable and sent to a fund which has been established in her name:Made Payable to Mrs. Maureen Yancey
Donations can be mailed to:Maureen Yancey132 N. Sycamore AvenueLos Angeles, CA 90036

Bank Wires can be sent to:Wells Fargo Bank of Los Angeles, CARouting Number: 122000247
Account Number: 6043250676 1-800-869-3557

Please note that donations made to Mrs. Yancey are not considered a charitable deduction. This will be considered a gift of help.
---
He leaves behind a body of work which will be loved and rediscovered for years to come. His most recent album "Donuts" on February 7th, the day of his 32nd birthday. Two other projects, "The Shining" and "Jay Love Japan" are completed. Other production work has been completed for artists Madlib, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, A.G., Visionaries, Truth Hurts, Phat Kat, MF DOOM, Skillz, and Frank N Dank.
---

reading this really messed with me. lupus and blood disease. 3 years.

then, Feb 7th being the release date for Donuts & his birthday. him passing on Feb 10th.
him performing at that concert from a wheelchair. him working in his hospital bed.

infinite respect for a man who his finishes work before he bounces.

this makes me so sad.

everything has been compounded by the things ive experienced since his passing. what he did with music is...
unexplainable. you have to hear it. jigsawing songs.

imagine taking a photo of a rural town, cutting it into small and singularly ordinary pieces. now imagine re-ordering those same pieces into an absolutely beautiful aerial portrait of new york city.

seem impossible?

i agree. this is the closest equivalent i can fathom of what jay dee did with a sampler and records.

i'm going to be spending the next few days sharing thoughts and favorite cuts from his massive body of work, and what ever insight i can offer into how he did what he did. he's been so integral to my own aspirations and skill development, not to mention inspirational fodder, that it fits perfectly into the scope of this blog. whatever i accomplish, i owe in great deal to jay dee's legacy.

i can't think of a death that's affected me more. i've been lucky not to have to experience death very close to me in relation, knock on wood if you're superstitious. this one is starting to sink in though, and it's a slow twisting of the proverbial knife, inside my gut, each time i experience some undiscovered genius from the man.

hopefully i'll get over it soon and continue with what i have to do.

but for now...rip dilla.

bang it! bang it in your jeeps!

i wish i believed in heaven.

2006-02-10T15:15:00.000-12:00

this is officially the worst day of my musical life.

i can not begin to express the deep sorrow that's consuming me right now, and i couldn't care less if i'm revering this man too much...

Jay Dee/J. Dilla/James Yancey died today at the young age of 32. just a few days removed from the release of Donuts. just one day after a young lady in my office asked me who's i had plastered on my desktop as wallpaper.

jay dee is unquestionably my pick for the greatest beatmaker of our time. undoubtedly. his discography is unbelieveable. his skill was immeasurable. he eclipsed the collective stretches of imagination of his listeners and fans on a regular basis. he was one of the few sampling producers that took it beyond looping up samples and laying drums under them. he was an artists' artist, in that the simple a+b = c format of beatmaking wasn't enough for him.

he was infinitely creative with it.

nobody i can think of comes close to what he did with music. he commanded respect from producers who had much more mainstream success than he, he was to the MPC what Jimi Hendrix was to the guitar. you could listen to some of his beats and get chills from the the sheer amazingness of what you were hearing. he ran the gambit as far as style goes, going from laid back grooves with pretty chords, to nasty bangers with sinister basslines, to club ready tracks, to loose drummed simple-sounding cuts that could make any mc tolerable, to avant garde synth driven four on the floors and the ridiculously mutilated soul samples that had been spliced and sliced beyond recognition-

it was obvious that jay dee did what he did because he loved to do it.

i looked up to the man. i can't even lie. jay dee was the single most important figure in my musical life. by far. i'm so sad that i can't wait on him for a new beat. the fact that he'll never make another beat is unfathomably depressing to me.

i hope i'm half as good as he was.

god bless his life.

RIP JAY DEE
1974-2006

err...yeah.

2006-02-07T07:57:00.000-12:00

keeping up with this thing is harder than it seems.

i've been writing like crazy. trying to nail down the skill of tying up my verses, getting what i wanna say out in 16 bars, and observing typical hip hop structure. it ain't easy. i'm so used to writing on the fly and then having these ridiculously long verses with indeterminable conclusions; working my way out of that is going to be interesting.

whatever though. at least i'm finding time to rhyme and make beats.

i feel hella creative right now. crazy ideas for beats, great music for sampling purposes at my disposal, and the words are coming. not mad at all.

so...where's the recorded evidence, right? mic'd up, i should be laying tracks down at this point.

true, but not really.

i've been playing with the mic. lets just say that without proper soundproofing and pre-amping, you might as well record through a Labtec computer mic/headphone combo. the cheapie joint.

the more you know. it's cool, this is a learning process and the experience is- piece by expensive piece- improving my studio, and my knowledge is expanding exponentially.

now i've got a wish list for new equipment a mile long. wanna hear it?! here it go!

TASCAM FW-1804:

this would replace my Terratec sound card, which is showing it's age and limitations, now that my needs are expanding. it's amazing how cheap i've seen the tascam go for, considering how glowing the reviews i've read have been. i wanna say 12 ins/18 outs, 24bit/96khz operation, word clock in and out, rack mountable... it'd be a huge upgrade for me. apparently the drivers are so good that you can really push it in the virtual realm with out having to submit to latency issues. lord knows that's been a problem for me, i'm the herbie hancock of virtual synths. it's firewire too.

this is the ART Digital MPA mic pre. it's also gotten good reviews. thing with mic pres is that price REALLY determines what kind of quality you're getting, there's no sneak arounds like with mics and digital interfaces like the TASCAM above. in my price range, though... can't argue with this. 2 channels, tube operation, word clock i/o, s/pdif and ADAT outputs. it's high low end, runs about $500. i could theoretically use the pres in the FW-1804, but i'm scared of built in mic pres. i'll take my chances and mess with the ART, at least until i can get my filthy mitts on a Focusrite channel strip.

these are the Behringner BCF and BCR 2000s. BCF is a motorized fader midi controller, and the BCR has illuminated rotaries. the BCF would be for mixing in FL and Cubase, and the BCR i'd probably use for automating synths and mixing. they're really cheap and are supposedly excellent quality. copped.

i think that'd be enough money spending for the moment. i was looking to pour either 12dp money or tax return money into the cause, but that's not happening, on either count.

*saves and eats pb&j for the next 2 months*

you're reading dedication in print.
viva la spit, yo.

____

the track i'm doing with donwill started to take shape last night. it's almost over, kids.

-23

intro.

2006-01-20T18:16:00.001-12:00

id like to thank yall...

for allowin me
to bring some reality
into the situation.

this is my dissertation...
niggas is outta pocket, 'cause its no one at the top-and it seems
that dreams need shattering.
your wax gets on the platter- now you feelin mighty flattered, thinkin you really matter-

...when you dont.
you wont.

yall careers is a *joke*.

and im *laughin*, need a aspirin, guffawin' at this nonsense,/niggas is busy actin/ like i wont third reich 'em-GAS em!

i will concentrate my camp til we auschwitz these b*tches.
out ship these b*tches, convert units to riches...

niggas trippin on semantics, its wild/ im dumbin out over beats that i made, i gave em new style,/back in 2 thou/ i was hurtin em, on the low tho,
bubbled silent, on my dolo,
new millenium and im pinnin em back, now- here's my promo:

walk in the door cocky, just knowin niggas dont want it... to make it a fair fight, yo, im spottin niggas a hundred! ANYTHING you dudes is sayin, i been done it- restructured the flow.

stay optimistic. try spittin in triplets.

'cause right now my whole style is sickness defyin' physics,
mark of the beast, triple sixes - all hits, no misses
when the pen is in the fist its no slack in the wrist, its/

just

magical artistry, yall gonna have to pardon me,
but this rap sht is a part of me
yall better man up
ladies get them hands up
niggas put them grands up

im comin!

mic hath arrived.

2006-01-18T18:26:00.000-12:00

it actually got here last thursday, but wasn't able to take pics of it or use it for a few days, plus i was otherwise engaged over the weekend.

i've done some real loose recordings with it, and it does pick up just about everything there is to be heard. it's an inumerable amount of times better than my old mic, which was basically a cheap dynamic i got from an overpriced record store.

ah, the days of blissful innocence.

so yeah. now i have no excuse.
there are a few things i still need to get. since i've been practicing with recording over my beats, i've noticed that the mic pics up the echos and reverberations in my room very clearly, so i'm going to have to devote some funds to sound proofing, at least a little bit. you can't process a bad vocal take, so i've got to do everything to make sure the first part of the sound chain is as clear as possible.

but man.

i can't tell you what a relief it is to have the Rode here. $160 well spent. i ordered a mic stand last week, and pretty soon i'll have the pop filter for the mic.

now i'm looking for a midi keyboard controller. i've been ebaying off and on, and i hadn't found one in my price range; but alas, i think my price range has just expanded considerably, so that's due, as well as a major cpu overhaul. i've gotta quiet this thing down, if i'm going to be doing vox in the same room as the pc, it's gotta drop a few decibels. i knew it was loud, but WOW. its gotta add at leasty 5 db of white noise to every recording i do.

beats are going well. they pretty much fly off the rack now. my process is slowly cementing itself. once i get a laptop to kind of seperate the every nonsense from the actual music making, my workflow will smooth out that much more, and i'll be wrapping up this EP in no time. i need to get back on the writing, though. i'll admit that i haven't been doing nearly enough as i should in that department.

meh.

out.

-d

[tonight's treat: Okproducer's Medley]

word.

2006-01-10T05:14:00.000-12:00

i'm giving the beats rhymes & life blog a shot, once again.

this time i'm serious, though!

it's pretty simple, really.

i'm a philly cat with a dollar and a dream, a computer and a rack of music creation tools, and i'm on the lowbudget hustle for a name and a claim. short and to the point.

i've had the mc idea swirling around my head since 93. rapping made me feel good. i'd spit along with Dre, Snoop, Daz and Kurupt on The Chronic, and wrote my own little westside raps, tryna match their cadence and swagger. it never left me.

here i am now, thirteen years removed from my first 16 bars, jaded and grizzled, finally deciding to give this rap thing a shot. sometimes i feel i'm in over my head. sometimes i feel like i'm the golden child, the promised one, the messiah... sometimes i feel like i'm just an average bum sharing a common childhood fantasy with a grillion ova niggas. any of these could be true. thing is, i'ma let the people decide. if it dont work by the time i'm 30, i'm bronzing the dream and archiving it.

so... over the past 5 years or so, i've really been working at making myself into a self contained creation/production/presentation vehicle. it's been a slow process... the first 3 were littered with tons of doubt, my own and others', and lack of funds and experience necessary to go at it full throttle. my biggest push was getting a clue regarding computer music production, and getting my hands on a bootleg copy of Fruityloops. since then, i've taken recording classes, slowly pieced together my own studio, created and sold beats, and studied as much as i possibly could.

at this point, the thought of it consumes me. and it's perfectly timed, because currently, the music industry is such that independents like myself have a real chance to be heard, and even greater, to make it. the monolithic model of the big league record label has given way to hundreds upon hundreds of upstart indies and the incredible outreach power of the internet and downloading/file sharing. conclusively then, there's no reason why i shouldn't give it a try.

that leads us here.

i wanna chronicle it. not just recording sessions, not just pictures of the shows i'll ostensibly be doing; i wanna track the whole event, ups and downs, highs and lows, purchases and the like, everything. every nuance of the struggle is exciting and inspiring to me, so i'ma regurgitate it for public consumption here.

so.

to the far right of your screen - a links menu and a kit list. the links menu is pretty self explanatory. kit list is a list of my current music equipment. hopefully i'll be updating regularly, as new stuff comes in. that, though, has less to do with me remembering to update, and more with money.

i hope it's enjoyable, and i hope i'll be able to wrap it up with a big bang.

gyeah!

____

1st new purchase:

RODE NT-1A studio condenser!

yo.

i can not begin to tell you how long in the making this has been. you'd think an mc would have a mic first right?

anyway.

ive always been scared to purchase mics because they're so tempremental, and it's really hard to guess (without hearing it) how good the mic's going to perform in a real world setting, like my small, but echo-y apartment. i still really don't know, but the price/performance ratio (gathered thru professional and amateur reviews) have been consistently stellar. so, i took a shot and copped one. it should be here no later than next week.

for now, my pre-amping is going to be left to that MX402 board, until i can afford a nice pro-level preamp, or a nice multi channel board.

i have some plans for a new motherboard/cpu and soundcard for the PC, so expect to see those documented in here at some point.

i can't wait to get my first track laid with that mic tho. viva la spit!

-d

first post.

2006-01-09T14:06:00.000-12:00

ok, trying this beat blog thing again.

1st post.