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If I had $6.00

June 30th, 2009

I would order Mr J’s Art of Broken Glass EP.  I caught a track off the latest Sphere Podcast which reminded me how much I loved Of gods and girls plus all his legit work with the Procussions. I’m sure this piece of work is a gem as well. I steer away from downloads usually because I just prefer the hard copy (check the background of the site) the, but this work is worth the instant gratification. I’ll hit this up as soon as I get a job. Who could argue with this talent?

Partial Procussions gooey goodness. You know what IS free though? Change’s new The Stimulus Plan album. Check it out at the Sphere. Be prepared for some really pretty beats plus a track with Manchild and Sintax. When (not if, I mean, it’s legitly free) you download this album be sure to check out Not a Stranger. Real nice.

Speaking of the Sphere, Josh has been on top of the HHH news scene lately. Odd Thomas signs with Syntax Records. Now you won’t have to beg at him through his myspace, offering your first born and praying for a response just to get some recorded material! It’s tough (though not impossible) to bump youtube videos in your car.

Breaking news: Just in case you needed more reason to spend $6. Wow. This is Holding On off Mr J’s upcoming Friends Enemies Apples Apples coming out soon. I guess Up isn’t the only thing that will make me well up this summer…

Mr.J.Medeiros’ single: “Holding On”

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Vinyl

June 16th, 2009

Quick post. Vinyl is an important part of  hip hop. From sampling, to juggeling, to just scratching, it’s an instrument. Here’s a tribute that features Lightheaded’s Ohmega Watts and some cool cinematography. Enjoy.

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Been a long time coming

May 29th, 2009

Wow I have been sleeping. I’m going to drop a few hot raps to make up for my absence.

First: The Train Song music video from Listener. Heavy and real:

Serious implications.

Lots of other stuff going on in HHH. Bad news about CM’s Ambassador. Yes, rappers are human. Grip of new stuff to come out this summer from Lightheaded, Theory Hazit, Othello, DS5, Ahmad… You name ‘em and it’s probably coming out soon. New dope Podcasts from the Sphere…

Short post, but I’ll leave with this. It’s a gem I discovered while searching through Youtube. You might remember Adam L from his Ohmega Watts and Lightheaded guest appearances, but here’s him live:

Impressive. Peace.

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The scoop

May 2nd, 2009

Word. Another late post, but I’m still dropping info on hot raps for the masses. This installment will focus on Odd Thomas. I caught a glimpse of him at the PBJ party and I’ve been trying to find out more. He’s sort of hard to track down with no central site but I’ve been piecing together info from all over the place. If you want the back story on Odd Thomas, check the HHHDB page on him. You can also peep his facebook for some more tracks or you can roll the dice on crashing your browser and check his Myspace.

Now that you’re acquainted, here’s what I was able to piece together from youtube:

Odd Thomas brings sick mic control and a dark sound while reppin’ the gospel. Father Figureskating is a pretty legit song with deep and witty lyricism. Television Evangelist takes sharp (but well deserved) criticisms at trademarked and telemarketed Christianity. If you’re a fan, be sure to check out Gun Control from the Sphere Mp3 site.

If you’re completely sold on Odd Thomas and want to buy his album, The Divine use of Animosity and Ridicule, I think you’re going to have to go the digital route. You can search iTunes or you can check it on Napster. I think i might hold out to try and find a hard copy somewhere or find another vender to get the mp3s from. I’ll keep you in the know. PEACE.

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What you missed

April 21st, 2009

FRESHLY back from the fresh Peanut Butter and Jelly Party put on by Syntax and Illect recordings. I think I’m just going to list off the things you missed. There was too much happening to put it in a succinct post. To start it off, check out this video from the event:

You can see Me and Bobby pretty well during Braille and Redcloud’s sets (at the end of the video).  What you will not see on the video is sintax.the.terrific dropping all new material (minus one track that was on a Sphere Podcast) from the next DS5 record. All I have to say is: freshness. I got a chance to talk to sintax and he said they were still shopping for a distributor so no word on when it will drop. Same goes with the music video from the album. Leaks are starting to pop up on the internet but I say let the crew get their hype when their record drops and wait for an official release.

At the PBJP you would also have seen Odd Thomas RIP the microphone. He was perhaps the best single performance. Maybe his sound just worked best in the cramped gym (rain location) but his set was intense. I need to pick up some of his work stat.

Fabled Deliciousness

Fabled Deliciousness

To those who frequent the Sphere, you know what this is. It was delicious.

You also missed the Scribbling Idiots shred their set. Every video I’ve seen of them has some kind of mic issues. At the PBJP it was 4 mics for 5 MCs. No sweat, they worked it out and brought the back and forth play that was on a professional level. I would have liked to see a longer set from the SI crew, but with only 3 hours and 8 artists to work in I can understand. I’ll just have to catch them again sometime.

You also missed Josh, aka Plastic. Dope guy. Gave me a cookie and asked me to punch Patrick in the stomach.

You also missed MuzeOne, Propoganda, and Kaboose on the mics. Dope collab of Kaboose and MaxOne on Build It Up. Strong beats and raps were brought.

You also missed Braille. You missed Keep On. You missed balancing on one foot and collabs with Theory Hazit. Plus a new track coming up on his next joint with Syntax. Plus about a million copies of CloudNinteen.

You also missed Redcloud freestyling for at least as long as his prepared set. He rocked a good set of tracks, from Good Will Chopping to Tapitio. Throw in the Kaboose collab on Intercontinental Grand Dragons. Very fast. Very talented.

You also missed PB & J and milk served in plastic champagne glasses.

You also missed $5 Illect recordings CDs.

You also missed CloudNinteen.

You also missed Kballa and ThaRealNC from the sphere boards. Kballa ended up staying at the same hotel we did.

You missed Nashville, a 10 hour drive filled with what I think is a pretty good introduction to the underground Christian Hip Hop scene, but you’d have to ask BobbyO about that, RAIN/SUNAMIS, the Marks sisters, Rockstar energy drinks, a comfy Super 8 motel bed and free wifi. Also many SNL references and green screens. Also Spoken Nerd offering his house for me to stay in for the night.

To not miss out on this, and more, next time stay tuned to HRFTM for more central east coast opportunities to get your HHH on. Peace.

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Long overdue

April 4th, 2009

Word. With the PB&J party only TWO WEEKS away you can imagine that I’m pretty pumped. There’s still one slot open too if you’re up for a 11 hour car ride one way for a 4 or 5 hour show (though this will be the best 4 or 5 hours of your life). I’ve been busy finishing up student teaching (wow that went by fast) but now I’ve got a moment so I’ll drop a post.

Today I bring Glue. You may remember them from my Non-Traditional Christian series (part 1 or part 2). I’ve worked out a way to include one of their gems in this blog. I try really hard to only throw up legitimate copies of songs that were promoted by the artist. You can easily find any song you want to listen to on sites like youtube or imeem but I want to keep it legit. There are a lot of dope artists breaking their backs to make music and make a living and there are also a lot of people working hard to promote that music and ensure a sustainable industry. I want HRFTM to add to the scene, not take away. This is why I believe in investing in a CD rather than downloading a free copy off rapidshare or mediafire. All this to say that this post comes close to that fine line.

One of my favorite songs by Glue is Fighting Ends. There are no live renditions that I could find, there’s no MP3 copy at the Sphere, but it is available on their myspace. Using a little net magic I was able to pull it and embed it to this post. Both myspace and glue are credited but if I get any angry letters/e-mails I’ll take it down and just put up a link. This works in Firefox on linux, not sure about anything else but it’s really not that complicated so it should. Worst case it autoplays the song or maybe the internet will collapse. (Cross-browser and cross-platform are not my areas of expertise.)

Wow this is going to be a long post. This is a pretty crucial song. Take notice though that I threw up the explicit category for this post. The worst you’ll hear in Fighting Ends is “damn”, but some of Glue’s other songs in the player are more colorful and the myspace player randomly chooses the next song. Here’s the player. Don’t click till you’re ready to hear the song.

The Player

Alt link: myspace popout player or Glue’s myspace.

Also check out the lyrics:

Kill these distractions that keep me from my loved ones,
Who tell me that I’m on the humble road to being someone,
People talk about, people reach out too,
People are my business so I’m blessed to have a mouthful
Of advice, but at what price, do I start to pay the overdue fees?
Challenged by the mortal power to set all the zombies free,
It doesn’t come easy when you lose the angel strength,
Numb to your bleeding elbows you lose a lifetime off your reach,
To catch the glimpse of your purpose, to make eye contact with death,
To finally have an answer, dealing with the pitch black left,
By the big unknown it took 66 books to describe,
Without mentioning our obsession with asking the question why?
The tortured ones walk endless with a set list in their pocket,
Because every song is a commandment rarely broken to be cautious,
Of the monsters holding a candle under sleeping eyelids,
Relighting when the flame fades, jaded from the human virus,

They will never understand, the curse of giving guidance,
One day we won’t have to use all these excuses,
They will never understand, how much we take for granted,
Keep its back to the wall keep the strength death refuses

Chances are you’re gonna see it in their eyes,
But don’t be surprised when the volume of the voice starts rise,
I can’t believe I’ve been standing here all night,
What kind of insight, can talk theology,
Without starting a useless fight,
From the makeshift pulpit, 3 feet off the floor,
With every glass of water I drink, the liquid recycles through my pores,
So I’m ready to begin digging graves and playing records,
On a second wind provided by the search for something better,
I swear in this environment the world always spins backwards,
The jukebox pays you, to drown out rooms crowded with laughter,
But I won’t start until they are all paying full attention,
I can’t find a compromise or give myself a deadly weapon,
To end the evening with a bang, with ghosts in my words,
To make god smile just once with no favors to return,
Never mind, what kind of sacrifices we all had to be make,
Let the burden blend into the drums as your backbone breaks,

They will never understand, the curse of giving guidance,
One day we won’t have to use all these excuses,
They will never understand, how much we take for granted,
Keep its back to the wall keep the strength death refuses

The spectrum is exhausted, costing millions piece of mind,
The bi polar angst of a world constantly wasting it’s time,
Conquering your rebellions to better the wealthy cause,
By brainwashing role models to give you drugs and bruised jaws,
We suffer now so blatant; songs start to get repetitive,
They sell you life for $20 dollars but never included medicine.
And we hardly have patience for the first scratches to heal
But we’re convinced the last 5 years haven’t been real,
We’ve experienced it all but haven’t lost the will live,
We’ve seen people take their lives but something’s got to give,
If no one told you to keep fighting, then let me be the first to say,
The promise holds weight no matter hour, second, or day,
The connection pulls us closer, we all relate to getting older,
Whether protester or soldier someday these wars are over,
Life never leaves but stays away from changes burn,
Death will answer questions but has to wait its proper turn.

The message at the core of this song is an almost jaded exhaustion from being called to rap. The feelings can be extended beyond to include any debate or any suggestion of advice but Adeem is mostly speaking as Glue’s front man MC. I love the way he displays the gospel in his message. Never does he use the word Christ, but it’s like looking into the Grand Canyon. The rocks don’t spell out “Jesus”, but to those who believe God created the universe it couldn’t be a clearer picture. The references are subtle, but they’re there (finally having an answer, setting zombies free, “66 books”, strength death refuses, etc).

The first verse sets up Adeem’s struggle with even just finding his purpose. Welcome to just about everybody I ever come in contact with. This is why Purpose Driven Life sold millions of copies. It really is a struggle to find what you’re supposed to do and simply becoming a Christian doesn’t automatically answer those questions. God doesn’t just hand out career cards to everybody. I suppose it’s an effort to produce simpler lives in us that much more often he lays out daily tasks rather than 10 year goals. However Adeem has caught a “glimpse” which was to rap. I feel I’m in a similar boat with my call to teach.

You also start to get a sense of the difficulty of the task in the first verse. Strong language like “tortured” shows some of the jaded feelings:

The tortured ones walk endless with a set list in their pocket,
Because every song is a commandment rarely broken to be cautious,
Of the monsters holding a candle under sleeping eyelids,
Relighting when the flame fades, jaded from the human virus

This goes directly into the chorus which again is not so cheery.

They will never understand, the curse of giving guidance,
One day we won’t have to use all these excuses,
They will never understand, how much we take for granted,
Keep its back to the wall keep the strength death refuses

Never understand, Curse of giving guidance. Harsh words. Yet it’s finished with Keep the strength death refuses. Sounds hopeful to me.

The second verse goes to the stage, the makeshift pulpit. Frustration ensues, what kind of insight can talk theology without starting a useless fight? Ever felt that way? Ever read a Christian forum or seen disputes in the comments of youtube videos? I think we have done an injustice to God and to children today in letting them assume that their part in the gospel is always offensive, on the attack, rather than letting the Holy Spirit attack while we respond with meekness and fear. Wise words take insight. Despite this frustration Adeem sticks fast to his convictions:

The jukebox pays you, to drown out rooms crowded with laughter,
But I won’t start until they are all paying full attention,

While ultimately it’s out of his control:

I can’t find a compromise or give myself a deadly weapon,
To end the evening with a bang, with ghosts in my words,
To make god smile just once with no favors to return,
Never mind, what kind of sacrifices we all had to be make,
Let the burden blend into the drums as your backbone breaks,

The third verse starts with a Listener-esque tirade against some of the claims of the world. We suffer now so blatant. However, Adeem ends with more hope:

If no one told you to keep fighting, then let me be the first to say,
The promise holds weight no matter hour, second, or day,
The connection pulls us closer

I’m not sure if the connection is referencing Christianity or merely humanity in itself (which, as an extension of God’s creation, ultimately would pull us closer to him). Stay encouraged in your advice giving which you have been called! Arguments will ensue, advice will be ignored, but if you have been called what else can you do? Remember the promise.

I’ve made it this far into my analysis without referencing the beat of Fighting Ends. Phenominal. Driving and complimenting Adeem’s emotion. I especially like the interlude between the verses and hook. The play between the vocal sample cuts and piano are nothing short of beautiful. Maker’s talent is pretty much unparalleled in my book. DJ DQ tears up the cuts as well.

So word. Most epically long post on HRFTM yet. This track comes off Seconds Away, which is most definitely a CD you should invest in. I’ll leave with another lyric to stay encouraged in your struggles:

Whether protester or soldier someday these wars are over. Peace.

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PB & J party part 2

March 13th, 2009

Word. Here’s the youtube promotion but embedded this time:

So I found a hotel with room for 4 for $70. And it’s only like 8 minutes from where the show’s going to be. Here’s the linup:

This lineup is killer. I’d drive at least 5 hours to see any one of those artists, but you get them all in one night, plus it’s the whole SI crew, so a 10 hour drive really isn’t a problem. This will be the best show I’ve ever been too. If you’re free, you really can’t miss this.

Here’s the plan. Drive down Sunday morning (7 or 8 AM). Get to the hotel (so far it’s $70 for a 4 person room with two beds). Hang out till the show (7 PM). Rock. Back to the hotel to sleep and check out Monday morning. If you want to join the party and have a couple bucks for gas and the hotel, drop me a comment.

Check out this video review of last years PB & J Party:

Peace.

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Listener reprieve…

March 7th, 2009

Today I’m thinking about what really holds humanity together. What keeps people from slipping into whatever it is that some do fall into be it isolation, insanity, obsessions, etc. Naturally my thoughts turn to Listener. While searching youtube for a legit (live) copy of Death By Shotgun I came across two gems. First, what I was looking for which happens to come over footage from the second annual “Manfest” in Austin (Texas?). The video is gold but don’t forget to give the lyrics a chance too.

Listerner Project – Death By Shotgun

This next video is about a year old but I still find it hilarious. Two props to anyone who makes it through the almost 9 minutes.

My conclusion? Only grace. What else could spare us daily from death by shotgun? I need to lean on the strength of the absurd instead of my own abilities. How fitting that we’re reading James 2:21-26. Here’s to the perfection of faith. Peace.

PS – Who wants to go with me to Nashville, TN April 19th for an extremely dope show? Check the Peanut Butter & Jelly Party.

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My .15 seconds…

March 2nd, 2009

Wordup. SNOW day which means I HAVE to post an update. School has pretty much been keeping me busy. On this snow day I’ve got lots to talk about, more than can really be contained in one post. New snow day tomorrow so who knows what will happen. First to hit HRFTM is my fame spreading on the national circuit. Check this dope video with Braille rocking the self-titled track off his last album, The IV:


Braille – The IV

If you check the 15 second marker in the song you’ll see a black and white flier that says “Rap the Campus” with a pic of braille looking up. That poster is from the show I got Braille to do at MY campus. I picked out the picture and got a friend (props to Erin) to do the border and text. So there you have it, my work is in a professional music video which is streaking across the interweb. Check out the comments (”real talk”, “real rap”) that obviously caught the faux post-modernism I was trying to attain with the poster. You can get a t-shirt commemorating the worldwide launch of HRFTM at http://www.hrftmrapthecampusbrailleivvideolookatminute0point15.com.

On the real, the video is actually pretty dope and helps me move into the next topic which is Braille and S1’s Cloudninteen which I was able to scoop up a digital copy of today. I posted my thoughts on the Sphere Boards:

Spinning this now. Got the e-mail (thanks Plas) and have just started listening to this on the snow day I have (tomorrow also, score). I’m really liking what I’m hearing. I honestly wasn’t too much a fan of Frankenstein or Skepticold but the first couple tracks have changed my opinion. The production is on point. I’m really digging Braille’s flow too. My favorite Braille album up to this point has been Shades of Grey. It’s really hard to argue with the solidness of that album. Scatter Brain has a nice gritty style and Box of Rhymes and The IV have some great tracks but I think Braille was still growing, trying to define his style. Cloudninteen is real consistent. Couple guest spots but a whole lot of Braille. The beats are bangers. This is only my first listen through but it’s got me excited to hear Braille back with Syntax again this coming year. Dope work.

Check the topic here.  The back story on this album is pretty nice too. Braille and S1’s goal is to give away some 25,000 copies of their CD away to those who wouldn’t normally get to cop it. They’re doing shows across the western US in correctional facilities, schools, community centers and anywhere else that they can grab.  Check the Sphere topic on that dopeness here. Looks like he’ll be coming to the east coast in May too. You can’t miss that show if he comes. I’ll keep HRFTM’ers in the loop.

In this post I also had to throw in a tease for my official rap name which will debut on me and my bro’s next project. I got the opportunity to spit with a few people Saturday night and Bobby O hooked me up with a great one. Look out for that in the future.

Finally I’ll leave with another tease for the next post: the Sphere Podcast #29. Really is another banger. Josh and Cas Metah do a great job of keeping it fresh for every episode. Some great tracks in this one. I’ve enjoyed them all thoroughly and had only heard The Procussion’s – Life of Brian previously. You really need to subscribe. Check it: Sphere podcast 29 (iTunes).

Until tomorrow, PEACE.

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The Mars Illist

February 16th, 2009

Word. Here’s a real update. As promised, I’ll be bringing more Mars Ill goodness. I’m going to drop a little history but still bring the dopeness. To start, here’s a song not by Mars Ill:

John Reuben – Move

Why start with a post on Mars Ill with John Reuben? If you watched closely you probably caught Mars Ill’s Breathe Slow on the tv at the beginning. That’s because both John Reuben and Mars Ill used to be on the record label Gotee. Gotee is probably most notable for housing Relient K and Reuben’s current mix of rap and rock.  There was a time where the Christian Hip Hop underground made it to the mainstream (well, Christian mainstream). I’m sure there are other examples as well but I’m no database of all that is HHH. (Check the Holy Hip Hop Database if that’s what you’re after.) I think Gotee was a nice partnership. Mars Ill was able to drop two albums with them and get a good amount of exposure. There were some sample clearance issues that delayed the release of Propain (sometimes popularity bites) but two classic albums were widely released to the fans so who can argue? You could actually pick these albums up in stores (Family Christian but major retailers too like Best Buy). Novel ideal huh? Maybe being a part of the mainstream limits your ability to be creative but Mars Ill is proof that an underground crew doesn’t have to compromise their fresh sound when hitting the mainstream scene. Here’s the video evidence that they could hold it down in the spotlight:

Mars Ill – Breathe Slow

So what’s this legendary crew doing these days? After the Gotee chapter closed they put out a couple rough, gritty sounding albums on their own. As far as I know they aren’t “broken up” but have just been working on projects independently. The new Deepspace5 album which drops this year (hopefully) will reunite them at the very least. Here’s some of the latest work of Dust with Poems:


“Will Not Be Sold” Poems and Dust from Dust on Vimeo.

Classic Dust sound. Manchild spent a year selling individual tracks through his own subscription service. I’m anxious to hear any of his latest work too.

Final thoughts on the mainstream: If you’re a dope crew, you’re going to rock any venue. Sure the mainstream screws up. Hip Hope 2009 (Gotee) called Braille a newcomer (5 released solo CDs to date with two more dropping this year and two group projects out). If it gets the message out, cool. Rock on. There is much frustration and miscommunication but both serve their purpose. Peace to the crews who hustle and peace to those who get the spotlight. To each shepard there is a flock. Rock rock on and thank God for what you have.

P.S. PLEASE check out the Sphere podcast 28 (iTunes). Another real banger. 30 minutes of hot raps. Peace.

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