Tomorrow my first official album drops called “Ascension” on itunes and everywhere. Peep my video for “The Wheel” where I go UFO hunting and get chased by the FBI, and check my promo single “Mandela”
“I was patient like Mandela in prison/ cell sittin but never fell victim cause you can’t jail wisdom”
Below is a list of 500 Female Emcees and the first thing that everyone reading this should know is that the list is not complete. To be honest there’s more than 500 names, much more, but still the list is not complete nor will it ever be. There are too many places and spaces that I have never been nor have the incredible artists like Aisha Fukashima the Raptivist, Mad-lines, Aima the Dreamer, Raw G, Ximbo, Invincible and D’Labrie who over the past year contributed greatly to this list.
The list is not complete even as we have other wonderful lists like; the Illest Female Rappers, Women of Hip Hop, Female Rappers Tumblir, The Female Rappers Network or more recently Patrick McNease‘s Ultimate Female Emcee List. If we really think about it, we don’t want this or any list to be complete. There will always be more emcees to add as long as this culture call Hip Hop is alive, well and is global. If the list stops growing Hip Hop stops growing..
With that being said, the reason why the list came about in the first place was out of frustration and a realization that many within this industry , in particular my male brethren needed to be enlightened.
It was a frustration that many of my women friends within Hip Hop were having when they would hear some pompous music critic or ‘industry expert’ say some ignorant crap like; ‘all women sound the same‘ or ‘these women need to put out hit songs‘, women need to grind harder and promote themselves better or ‘there aren’t a lot of quality women emcees out there‘. All those statements are gross generalizations and reflect a laziness on the part of those making the claim or extreme bias.
The frustration many were feeling was one that would come after hearing announcement after announcement for some huge mega-Cochella-Sumer-Jam-Rock-the-Bells-Spring-Bling type concert that would feature 20 plus acts and only one woman would be on the bill. It was frustration that was felt after pointing out such egregious oversights only to be ignored and ridiculed.
It was the frustration of hearing promoters doing smaller shows claiming that women won’t attract an audience and hence would not be a sound business move even to have one open up a show.
It was frustration of going to a club featuring a popular deejay lauded for being a Hip Hop icon with a reputation for ‘digging in the crates’ and turning audiences onto new music from far off lands and forgotten times only to discover that they rarely dig in crates and ‘discover’ a dope female emcee…
And don’t get it twisted, this refusal to share space has been going on a for a while and many women have expressed frustration the ones I know have not been sitting around waiting for miracles to occur. Many have started doing their own shows and put on vibrant events..From Invincible out of Detroit who I saw do several all women showcases at SXSW and have them packed with lines out the door to Aisha the Raptivist who has traveled the world and and done her own tours to Raw G who promotes here in the Bay Area locally and always brings out incredible women emcees like Alika from Argentina Dunay Surez from Cuba or Ximbo from Mexico, folks are steady grinding and making moves
Where I think folks are getting short changed are in male dominated spaces where female voices, POV and approaches toward Hip Hop are not readily present. Its a cipher that’s incomplete and that has got to change.
The list below was ideally to serve as a guide of sorts to anyone who had this female emcee blind spot.
Its a guide for started yapping about there ain’t no good female emcees hence they couldn’t rock any during a deejay set or mixshow.. Out of all the emcees featured on this list there are are some hard hitters out there they can not and will not be denied.
The list below is guide for promoters who say there’s no market out there for women emcees. A quick look at some of the folks on this list crushes that assertion down to its very last compound. No matter what city. No matter what country, there are emcees listed for you to check out.. From Brooklyn to Oakland to Russia to new Zealand to Pakistan and beyond..
The list is a guide for academic types who can speak at length about male artists over various eras in Hip Hop but when it comes time to referencing women, they only know MC Lyte, Queen Latifah and Nicki Minaj.. This list is for them to check out and help exapnd their hip hop vocabulary. Try referencing dynamic artists like; Sa-Roc, Stahhr, Rocky Rivera, Shadia Mansour, Keny Arkana, Cihuatl Ce, Kellee Maize or Farrah Burns. Rock their songs, play their videos, examine their lyrics
The way the list works is each name is linked to a video and in a few cases to a sound cloud page.. Some of the names are linked to 3 Dope Song series page or a 500 Female Emcee page. In putting this list together it was noted that one song or video often didn’t do artists justice. They are much more complex. As you will note I included in the list some singers who and spoke word artists whose presence and influence in Hip Hop can not be denied. They can’t be easily categorized.
It’s hoped that folks will peep the music, read about the artists click on the links associated with them and start digitally digging in the crates. Not everyone is gonna be great. Not everyone is gonna have a masterpiece of a song or album, but many will and as lovers and protectors of this culture we all should be pushing ourselves to do a better job bringing forth ‘new finds’ vs having it be dictated to us by corporate interests and their mouth pieces.
-Davey D-
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Posse Cuts
Team Backpack female Cypher #2
Rocky Rivera, Plane Jane, Oh Blimey, Raven Sorina ‘Girlz Rmx‘
Nowadays it’s hard to turn on the radio and not hear music from one of Chicago’s many music superstars. Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Rhymefest, Twista, Da Brat, Shawnna, Doe or Die and Crucial Conflict seem to have firmly positioned themselves over the years as household names within the mainstream..In recent days many have come to know Chicago rappers via the exploits of Chief Keef.
If you dig a little deeper and check out Hip Hop’s underground, you’ll discover that very few people are willing to roll up and do battle with esteemed Chi-town lyricists like M’Rald and of course Juice. On the political front acts like Rebel Diaz and Lah Tere have proven to be no joke..Others like DJ Third Rail, DJ Illanoize, and the late DJ Pinkhouse to name a few have not only made names for themselves as deejays not to be toyed with but also provided important platform for local artists.
Yes, the Chi seems to have established itself in the world of Hip Hop, but it wasn’t always like that. In fact much of the Chi-Town’s success is a direct result of organized effort by it’s pioneering Hip Hop community that grew frustrated from being locked out by the industry that saw Chicago, more as a consumer market as a opposed to a place where stars are born.
Many within the music industry were only willing to embrace the nation’s third largest city as the Mecca for House Music and somehow managed to disconnect that music form from Hip Hop when in many ways the two are intertwined, especially along the lines of deejay culture.
The battle to establish ‘Tha Chi’ within Hip Hop was about as brutal as its political landscape. Unsung heroes like Dr Groove, Lord Cashus D, DA Smart, Black Allies, Sugar Ray Dinky, George Daniels, World wide Posse, God Squad, The Chi Rock Nation, Ill State Assassins, and the late DJ Pink House all played crucial roles in organizing, pushing the envelop and seeing to it that the Windy City get its respect. They used to roll up on nightclubs, radio stations and even label executives demanding to be recognized. Many will forget that back in the late 80s there was a movement called the New World Order which brought many of Chicago’s Hip Hop community together as they fought for change and respect.
Sadly despite those heroic efforts of the past, today, many local artists who are not signed to a major record label or coming out of Kanye or Common’s camp find that many outlets like radio and even nightclubs are closed to them. This is now spurning up a new generation of Chi-Town Hip Hoppers to start organizing to bring about change.
During the recently held National Hip Hop Political Convention (2006) we sat down with one of Chicago’s premier pioneering emcees, Jitu the Juggernaut of the group Ten Tray. For those who are unfamiliar ten Tray was the first group to be signed to major label. Back in 91, Jitu the lead rapper was and to this day remains an activist who saw the power of Hip Hop and decided to use his talents to spark political thought and hopefully change.
In our interview he gave a serious rundown of the city’s history. He also cleared up a lot of perceptions. For example, he talked about Hip Hop first emerging in the Chi around the late 70s. He talked about how Afrika Bambaataa’s Universal Zulu Nation set up a chapter under pioneer Lord Cashus D in ‘78.
Jitu broke down the important connection between Hip Hop and House. He reminds us that House is a Black music genre that at least in the Chi was enjoyed by cats that lived in the hood. He talked about the Hip House movement that came about in the late 80s with key players like Fast Eddie, Tyree, JMD and the late Kool Rock Steady being not only household names in the Chicago, but in many ways ambassadors for the city around the world. Jitu goes into depth about the important role Kool Rock played.
He also talked about how the House music deejays forced everyone to step up their deejay skillz and that it was not unusual to have b-boys and b-girls at House music parties and events. He also drew parallels to how the lack of public school after school programs and music classes forced many to turn to deejaying as a way to express themselves musically. A good part of House music was born out of that void.
Jitu also talked about The Chi’s early graf scene with pioneers like Warp One.
What really stood out in our conversation was Jitu talking about the early club and open mic scene. He talked about how the now defunct El Rukins street gang (originally the Blackstone Rangers) had a building on the Southside complete with an auditorium where they would hold weekly emcee battles.
Jitu details the influence Chicago’s highly organized, legendary street gangs have had the scene. He also talks about how other groups like the Nation of Islam and the legacy of the Black Panthers which had its largest and most organized chapter in the Chi have also had influence on folks as they were coming up and into Hip Hop.
Lastly Jitu goes into detail about the politics and the layout of the city. He talks about the differing cultures that exist on the historic Southside, the Westside and the Northside of the city. He also runs down a report card of sorts about some of Chicago’s famous people and organizations and the role they played or ‘have not’ played in terms of elevating Hip Hop.
Jitu finds himself back on the scene after coming out of retirement and ready to drop a new album called ‘Necessary Ingredients’ which is being backed by the Universal Zulu Nation.
Here is our 2006 Interview which first aired on Breakdown FM..
We also posted this interview on Youtube..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WnAZFgCBAY
Below is a brief timeline of Jitu and his career courtesy of decentexposure.com http://www.decentx.com/artist.asp?id=472
Jitu is an African name, given to him in 1995 meaning “A giant among men.” Jitu is a youth program coordinator and community organizer on the south side of Chicago. He swarmed the game in 2002, entering battles and open mics. Leaving crowds in a state of disbelief, Jitu has humbled emcees all over the country, blending a once in a lifetime voice with an expansive vocabulary and ferocious delivery. On the underground, many call him the best they have ever heard! A short look at his accomplishments: • 1986-Winner of “Battle of Chicago Rappers” at El Rukn Fort
• 1989-2nd Place-“Battle of Chicago Rappers”
• 1989-Formed “New World Order” along with Cashus D of the Universal Zulu Nation, to organize rappers, dancers, singers and dj’s in Chicago. Was the largest such organization in the country with over 200 members.
• 1989-Organized, with Dr. Groove (Source Magazine) and DA Smart, a massive hip-hop community protest of the opening of “Sarafina” at the Regal Theatre for refusing to recognize DA after he won a national talent competition with his rap, “Black People ain’t Prejudiced, They Just Mad.” They recognized DA as the winner of the contest.
• 1991-With group Ten Tray, signed to Smash Polygram records to become the first rap act in Chicago on a major label.
• 1992-Appeared on Rap City, The Box and Yo! MTV Raps.
• 1992-Album, “Realm of Darkness” recognized as album of the month in Rapmasters magazine.
• 1992-Song, “Ain’t Nothin’ Like a Sister” was number one song in Las Vegas region and other west coast markets for 4-9 weeks.
• 2003-Winner-“Battle of the Iron Mic”
• 2003-4 Time Champion-Emcee Battle @ Wild Hare
• 2003-Winner-1st Annual Kool Mix Emcee Battle
• 2003-3 Time Champion-Microphone War @ Subterranean
• 2004-Represented Chicago in national BRAINSTORM rap battle in Seattle (semi-finalist)
• 2004-2nd Place-Rhyme Spitters emcee battle and documentary (see enclosed DVD…we got shafted!)
• Joined and helped develop veteran hip-hop alliance, “FIGHT CLUB”
• 2005-Begin work on album, “NECESSARY INGREDIENTS.”
On this album, entitled NECESSARY INGREDIENTS, Jitu brings pure, unbridled passion and energy with ridiculous beats provided by the likes of Harvy Allbangers, Tony Baines, Joe Blaque, Ty Hill and Issues. Jitu blends real street cuts and bruises, consciousness, passion and skillz to deliver the gz-noods on this project. This album is a holy book for emcees, as Jitu blends subject matter, lyrics, delivery, flow, energy, breath control to give you what we believe, is ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS IN THE HISTORY OF HIP-HOP.
Contact Information: Jitu tha Jugganott 4356 S. Lake Park, Suite 1N (yeah, right!) Chicago, IL 60653 (773) 317-6343 jitubrown@yahoo.com (Respect the Art of Emceeing!)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Rich Cason & FormulaV
When it comes to Hip Hop every city has its own pioneers and their own unique special history.. Some of it was influenced by what was going on in New York, a lot of it was homegrown and came to light once things started to bubble up from NY in the early 80s.. In other words, in places like LA and the Bay Area there was already a thriving street dance scene where people were tutting, popping and roboting which had nothing to do with New York.. Funk and later Uptempo dance records were the gems that galvanized people..
Below are some of the first records I recall hearing out of LA back in the early days of LA rap, which I should add was different from the Bay which has its own unique history.. What I liked about LA’s history was many of the artists started off as DJs.. People like Arabian Prince, DJ Unknown, Egyptian Lover, Chris The Glove Taylor, Tony G, Joe Cooley , Julio G, Uncle Jamms Army etc..
It’s important to note that LA Hip Hop history is by no means the totality of West Coast Hip Hop History.. There were simultaneous scenes going on in the Bay Area 400 miles away and in Seattle which is good 1000k miles away during those early days. Each had their own unique origins, pioneers and influences..The sounds were also very different at least in terms of early records.. This is not to say folks in the Bay or Seattle weren’t jamming to early Ice T, Uncle Jamm’s Army or KDAY which because of its AM signal could be heard up and down the coast, but the early sounds coming out of LA represented a vibe, mindset and overall attitude that was unique to that city..
In the video below you see Chris the Glove who produced the cut Wreckless and featured Ice T is shown in this 1983 video along with Egyptian Lover demonstrating deejaying..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj8hPyIAKfU
A lot of the music in LA’s early Hip Hop days was classified as electrofunk and is often associated with the sound Afrika Bambaataa established with his song Planet Rock. However, when speaking with the early DJs from LA, they say they were already into that sound way before hearing Planet Rock.
Egyptian Lover explained that he was influenced by early Prince and Kraftwerk.. and that he had been deejaying in a crew since the mid 70s.. Folks in LA will recall how Egypt who was part of Uncle Jamms Army used to do huge parties at the LA Coliseum where they would work 4 turn tables at a time which was pretty major back at that time..
Here’s an interview we did with Egypt on Breakdown FM where he breaks all this down:
Below is a more in depth interview done in two parts where Egypt gives a lot more details as to his career and the early LA scene..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85xqcGgc4a4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tSheNRTs-c
Uncle Jamm’s Army ‘Naughty Boy’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3IGJAVtMZQ
Other pioneering figures had already been playing in bands and were producers.. Rich Cason is a one such pioneer. You can’t talk about LA Hip Hop without proppin him up.. He’s a key foundation… The first records I heard from LA that I associated with Hip Hop was Killer Groove by Formula V, Gigiolo Rapp and Bad Times by Captain Rapp were all produced by Cason. His legacy goes way back to the 60s. In fact his group Formula V had been putting out records since 1973.
Killer Groove by Formula V w/ producer Rich Cason
Captain Rapp Bad Times..
Captain Rapp Gigolo Rapp
Arabian Prince
Arabian Prince who was an original member of NWA is another pioneering figure in LA Hip Hop who was deejaying in a crew since the 70s. He started out as a DJ and later went on to produce. He’s unique in the sense that he was a pioneering figure in Hip Hop’s electro-funk movement as well as pioneering figure in Hip Hop’s gangsta rap movement. A quick look at his track record will show you that he produced landmark tracks for everyone ranging from JJ Fad to Bobby Jimmy and the Critters as well as NWA. Here’s an interview he did with him on Breakdown FM
Tons of things have been written about the World Class Wrecking Crew which was home to Dr Dre… They had a bunch of hit songs and Dre helped elevate the deejay game before he went on to start producing..
Wrecking Crew w/ Dr Dre Surgery
Here are some other early cuts I recall from back in the days..Now please keep in mind this is just a taste of a city that is steeped with stories.. No, we haven’t touched on the dance scene and influence. We haven’t talked about KDAY and the Mixmasters which go back to ’83 and 84.. We haven’t touched on the Good Life or any of that.. This is just a sample.. A great place to go to get some good info on early west coast is my folks from germany who run www.westcoastpioneers.com
Ice T the Coldest Rap Ever.. produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis 1983
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDo1DqolHOg
Ice T and Chris ‘the Glove’ Taylor‘ Reckless
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mc3pTmiCHI
LA Dream Team ‘Rockberry’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KElKcfgzN5I
Ice T 6 in the Morning..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka0yBdZh46E
As I noted 1580 KDAY was the station that set it off with the Mixmasters..Below is an old aircheck from 86 but there was dope mixes on the radio for years prior not just on KDAY but also KACE and KJLH
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80-d8vreH4Q
Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner
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This is an important conversation where Hip Hop pioneer Grand Wizzard Theodore speaks for himself and explains the origins of the Scratch.. Up to that point, many had come to believe that Theodore was trained by Grandmaster Flash who started off in a crew called the L-Brothers (L=Livingston which is Theodore’s last name). I recall interviewing Flash back in 1996 at length and he broke all this down..noting that Theodore was his student..
I ran into Theodore a few months later and he was livid and said that the story was absolutely not true.. Back then he explained as he does in the interview below, how he came into his own.. GM Flash to my knowledge hasn’t retracted the story, so those two will have to sort it out..
Here’s a excerpts from a 2005 interview w/ Troy Smith of Tha Foundation
http://www.thafoundation.com/gwtheodore.htm
TS: I read in an article that Gene originally didn’t want you to DJ, you ended up having to sneak it to do it. Flash put you on to it. Flash showed you how to do it?
GWT: Gene and Flash were down together and people were trying to say that Flash taught me. I taught myself how to DJ. Nobody taught me how to DJ. The only thing Flash taught me was, you know, there are so many different mixers out there..you have to know how to turn the mixer on, turn the mixer off..,this is this cross fader, for that turntable, this cross fader for that turntable..these are the ear phones.. that’s about it. He never sat me down and said, “O.K. This is how you mix these two records together. It was nothing, never like that. All the skills that I have I taught myself. Nobody taught me all the skills that I have. That is why my style is like no other. If anything, Flash taught me – this is the left turntable, this is the right turntable, this is the mixer, this is that for the mixer, and this is that for the mixer – but I pretty much knew all that already, just by watching.
TS: Your brothers were already doing this before Flash even came to your house, didn’t Flash stay at your house for a minute as well?
GWT: Flash was down from day one with Gene. Flash couldn’t keep the equipment at his house, so the equipment was at my mom’s house. Flash was able to come any time he wanted to DJ. If he came and he stayed till 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning, he had a room were he could just stretch out. My moms was like,”You can come and go as you please.”
Below Theodore speaks for himself..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-JBa6w0OHI
Theodore shows off his patented Needle drop technique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D6JooB-yVg
A classic cut that captures the essence of Theodore from back in the days
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz-ViANjpoY
The other unintended story that needed to be put to rest was Theodore spilling beer on a turntable and inventing the scratch while wiping the record clean.. This came about after a humorous Heineken commercial aired a few years back depicting that. It was part of a series of commercials the beer company did where they fictionalized how the accidents around the beer created the Peace sign, the Lighter, the scratch etc.. Unfortunately because there had been so much historical distortion around the legacy of Theodore, many didn’t find the humor in the commercial resulting in an open letter and protest to the beer company.
Whether you’re in Jamaica, Canada or Japan, when the piano chords of Vybz Kartel’s“Summertime” chime in, it tingles your warmth senses and immediately transports the listeners into party mode. One would never expect that the catchy Dancehall anthem, recorded by one of Jamaica’s premiere artist, was birthed from a studio in Sweden, over 5000 miles away.
As one of the biggest hits in 2011, along with Popcaan’s “Ravin”, the “Summertime”Riddim, infectiously entered the party season, dominating charts local and internationally as well as receiving a nomination at the 2011 Soul Train Awards for “Best Caribbean Performance”. In Jamaica alone, “Summertime” and “Ravin” saw accolades from Youth View Awards, Jamaica Star, OutaRoad.com and Jamaica Observer.
All this popularity and yet, the producer, remains an enigma, a foreigner to the shores of Jamaica, but an architect in riddim creation.
His name is Andreas Nilson, and he is the force behind Adde Instrumentals. Composing such riddims as Summer Wave, Corner Shop (with JR Blender), BBQ, Happy Daze, Sweet Sounds (with So Shifty), building riddims for singles like Vybz Kartel’s “Bike Back” “Bubble Hard” and Mr. Vegas “God On My Side”, Adde Instrumentals has contributed gingerly to the sound of Dancehall within the last few years.
From childhood, Adde was destined for music, receiving his first piece of equipment (a synth/sampler) at the age of seven. By highschool, Adde was producing tracks and deejaying receiving his Audio Engineering Diploma in 2005.
Influenced by many genres of music, Adde’s early productions range from RnB and Hip Hop to Pop and House, with a passion for Dancehall always present. As his strengths in production grew, so did the diversity of his creations. While parring with a few local Dancehall acts, Adde began his dance with riddim production, and it instantly grew into success.
Those first dancehall riddims later became the backdrops for Vybz Kartel’s “Bike Back”and “Open Up”, although it was instant connection for Kartel lyrics and Adde’sinstrumentals, the process didn’t go so smoothly. Adde explains, “With all the scamming going on, when I received my first contact from Vybz Kartel, I thought it was a joke. He even sent me a rough demo of “Bike Back” but the vocals were so distorted I STILL thought it was a joke. It wasn’t until Kartel sent me a video message to prove it was him. After that, well you listen to the results!!!”
Having “Summertime” become such a huge success, Adde Instrumentals has been working feverishly to keep up with the fast pace of Dancehall. Currently composing the“Bad Gal” riddim for Hapilos Productions with such talent as Chino, Di Genius, Demarco, RDX and Stylo G, Adde Instrumentals has a busy year planned for 2013, as he conquers infusing authentic sounds into a foreign land.
Connect with Adde Instrumentals on Twitter @AddeProd on Facebook /AddeMusic
Source:http://thatish.com/2013/03/14/swedensdancehallproducer/
Peace World….Good Morning and Good Day….
Many of you have asked us how you can help The RDACBX after our collective and space was violently evicted..well we have finally launched our IndieGoGo Campaign in which we are seeking to raise $50,000 to recover from our losses and trying to get into a new space…….check out the campaign here and please donate what you can and please spread the word!!!!!…
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/i-am-rdac-bx?show_todos=true
Below RDAC BX is speaking about the violent eviction they endured
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuQeAJCCDYA
This is one of my favorite songs and oldie but goodie from Rebel Diaz shot in Chile..
If you are an avid hip hop music fan, you should not miss out on listening to Bryan King’s work. Bryan King is one of the most prominent new Hip Hop artists in the world and is slowly taking the world by storm with his innovative music. He is not just a Hip Hop artist, but, he also produces music. He is a student and has achieved enormous success at a very young age. He currently resides in Malibu, California but his career took off first when he was studying abroad in Shanghai.
In between 2010 and 2011, while studying abroad in Shanghai, his talent was recognized and Bryan King was signed by Black Box Records. This was highly prestigious accomplishment as Black Box Records was the first hip-hop record label out of China. Thus, Bryan King became a pioneer of sorts. But, unfortunately, after shooting two music videos for MTV Asia in Singapore and recording half of an album, the deal ended due to contractual complications. Yet, King found huge recognition as a Hip Hop artist in China and Singapore and his music videos became very popular. King is fluent in Chinese and is just 21 yrs old. One of the videos King shot in Singapore featured Stumik of Raekwon’s Icewater label. The song, called ‘Overseas’, also featured a French rapper named ‘Proff’.’ He has been rapping for about 6 years in all now, and has been producing music for about 4 years. King’s exemplary success at such a young age is an inspiration for many.
King has had some excellent collaborations with other artists. After coming back to America in 2011, Bryan King was introduced to rapper & producer Scottie Spits. Spits was based out of Las Vegas. King spent about 6 months experimenting at Spits’ studio in an attempt to find his sound. During this period, he recorded about 30 songs at this studio, with several produced by and featuring him. He has worked with several prominent artists throughout his career, most recently, an hip hop artist on Pitbull’s label named Jamie Drastik. King is soon to collaborate with many other prominent figures in the music scene of USA.
In late 2009, he worked with Public Enemy’s Professor Griff. Before the meeting, a mutual friend mentioned to Griff that Bryan King was an up and coming hip hop artist and Griff sent him some of his productions. King wrote some tracks and went into his home studio to record. They collaborated and had planned on completing a project together but his basement unfortunately blew up from what was expected to be a pipe leak, and the project was discontinued. This project is all set to resume soon and is being eagerly awaited by the fans of both artists. King’s music is fresh and packs a solid punch. It stands out from the rest of the hip hop projects and is a whole new kind of sound. Some of his most popular new tracks are Hello, Monster free download Animacide, Party Life, X-Plode, Comin’ With Me, etc. You should definitely check these out.
http://www.reverbnation.com/bryanking
https://twitter.com/aBKdef
http://www.youtube.com/user/enpassantproductions?feature=mhee
http://Bryan-King.com
So last night 7 people got shot during an album release in Chicago for Lil Mouse and King Samson. It’s heartbreaking to see the continued carnage in the windy city with seemingly no end in sight.. It’s also heartbreaking to hear these stories on national news ala CNN.. You go to Google to look up the story and here’s whats listed as the number 2 story for all to see..
Stop the Violence March in Chicago
Now before get into a free speech argument, which I clearly understand.. this issue here is not that..For me its how Google goes about listing stories in its vaunted news feeds. There are lots of folks who covered this story.. Why was this number 2? Why is it that we have some sites that put out consistent stories of note that can never get listed.. Case in point the Black Agenda Report who deliver compelling articles on issues with the intent of holding the President accountable.. Their stories don’t get listed and they been around more than 10 years.. Maybe there’s a simple explanation or maybe the most vile and most racist among us have a tight SEO game.. who knows.. Middle finger to google for making that their number 2 story..
On another note, we still have the very real issue of seven people being shot at a nightclub. This is happening so much that even Presidential visits addressing the violence has done very little to deter this disconnect and disdain for life that many seem to have in the Chi. Is there a simple solution? It’s not like we don’t have scores of groups and organizations in Chicago working diligently to turn things around..From the outside looking in, it seems like there are other forces at work.. It just seems like there is no real investment to change the systemic conditions that are leading up to this ongoing violence. It’s all about more police and more jails.. and obviously that’s not working..It seems like that hard work we see folks doing to bring about peace is being continuously undermined.
Maybe this generation and a few others are permanently lost..Perhaps all hands gotta be on deck to reach the youngest and the most impressionable with us pushing a steady diet of peace, affirmation for life, social upliftment, social justice, conflict resolution and love..
With the 10th anniversary of the War on Iraq upon us.. I wanted to take a look abck at antiwar songs.. Below is an article penned a few years ago for the San Jose Mercury News
Give Hip Hop Credit for Anti-War songs
by Davey D
The other night ABC News did a special report on the growing popularity of anti-war protest songs. The report focused on how all these musicians were now coming out and providing a sound track to the growing discontent many of us are having with the war in Iraq. It talked about how people are more accepting of such songs and how major record labels were loosening up in the aftermath of the Dixie Chicks who got lambasted and later boycotted for speaking out against George Bush and his policies in 2003.
The report also brought to light the impact anti-war songs had on fueling the Anti-war movement against Vietnam in the late 60s and the question was raised as to what sort of impact todays rash of songs would have.
I cant remember all the singers they profiled, but I did recall seeing country singer Merle Haggard, Rock-N-Roll icon Bruce Springstein and pop sensation Pink. What surprised me was not seeing any mention of Hip Hop especially with the exception of KRS-One, since it was artists in the rap community that up to date have released more anti-war songs and were the first to unabashedly do so right after 9-11.
The late June Jordan
If we take a short walk down memory lane, folks may recall that the day after 9-11 Bay Area Hip Hop activists from organizations like Lets Get Free, The Ella Baker Center and Minds Eye Collective put together a rally that was held in Snow Park in Oakland. Close to 500 people attended this event which focused on the loss of human life and questioned the foreign policy missteps of the Bush administration. It was at this rally that many of us heard our last poem from the late June Jordan.
We also heard an incredible song from Michael Franti & Spearhead calling for healing and peace. A couple of months later, Franti appeared on Conan O’Brian and performed the anti-war song Bomb the World to Pieces only to find that his sentiments angered producers who threatened to censor the song when the show aired. Community outrage lead to OBrian’s people eventually showing the performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA8p_BV7uD8
Early on we heard anti-war songs from acts like the Beastie Boys (World Gone Mad), Nas (Rule), Wu-Tang Affiliates Known Associates (World So Cold), Talib Kweli (the Proud), J-Live (Satisfied) and Mr Lif (home of the Brave). All in all there are more than 150 anti-war songs that have been recorded by Hip Hop artists.
Paris
The song that really made heads turn was by Bay Area artist Paris who came out of retirement and released a 6 minute missive called What Would You Do? that went into great detail about The Caryle Group, Bush’s relationship to the Bin Laden family and the hawkish action plans of the Neo-cons serving in Bushs cabinet. Paris gave the song away for free and then followed it up with an entire antiwar album called Sonic Jihad which went on to sell over 200 thousand units. Another great anti-war cut off that album was ‘Sheep to Slaughter‘.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcxkw6ChKE0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaCPUIfr8PY
Another stand out effort came from San Francisco based Freedom Fighter records who released the first anti-war compilation featuring Bay Area artists called War Times Report From the Opposition. A year later LA based Hard Knock Records followed up with a critically acclaimed anti-war compilation called What About Us. It featured stellar songs like US History By Flipsyde
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQi4BTaYLj0
The most visible anti-war effort to date came from former San Jose resident Fredwreck who has produced tracks from everyone ranging from Eminem to Snoop Dogg and Ice Cubeto name a few. Using the name STOP Movement he gathered up a number of popular artists including Mobb Deep, WC of the Westside Connection, Daz of the Dogg Pound, RBX, Defari, Soopafly, Cypress Hill, Mack 10, KRS-One and Dilated Peoples just to name a few and released two anti-war songs called Down With Us and Dear Mr. President.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKC9-9BQO5Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiBI9TJ_iQs
Fredwreck
Fredwreck like Paris gave away the songs for free and even held a press conference only to find local commercial stations would not touch the record in spite of the big name artists he had assembled. In fact sources inside one popular station in LA, KKBT, noted that their deejays were instructed not to play those songs because they were too controversial. Whats even more ironic was Fred was supposed to be profiled in the ABC story. He was flown to NY but not shown in the report that I saw.
The other irony was after ABC aired the report one of the anchors decided to comment and naively noted that she never heard any of the songs from the artists they profiled on the radio therefore they must not be hits. We could do an entire column on what goes on behind the scenes and what it really takes to get records on the commercial airwaves, but suffice to say if what happened to Fredwreck is any indication of how key power brokers at radio get down, then of course we would not hear any of these songs on radio. However, it does not mean those songs or those artists are not popular or that people are not appreciative of their songs.
A couple of other songs that got overlooked was Snoop Dogg‘s Sister and Brothers and Dilated People’s War and Channel Live‘s Mr President. There is also a powerful more recently made song from Lowkey and Immortal Technique called Voice of the Voiceless
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZO0FXMFgRY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atovUH3dCgA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-mh-oAlr9c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w6rK4OkUhs
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