Hot Raps for the Masses

… Here is another piece NOT to sleep on.

Michael Manasseh – Mikestands (Click to download)

Three reasons why this album is great:

1. The beats are on point. Not overly complicated but catchy, representing a wide variety of moods. At 21 tracks you won’t get bored.

2. The raps are solid. Michael have a scruffy voice, kind of like Buck 65. He stays on pace with the diverse beats by switching up his pace and delivery.

3. Adam L. I posted a video I found of some live footage of Adam rocking a set (ironically with Michael Manasseh too). Mike is another 1/3rd of BSIDES. Adam kills his guest spots here. So smooth and fresh. If I find more BSIDES stuff I’ll post up the info for sure.

Plus it’s free. Check it out and drop a donation at the Sphere if you feel so inclined. Michael also has a pretty decent blog.

—

In other news, this statement from Syntax Records concerning RedCloud. This is the second of these types of statements to come out recently (first being Ambassador) and this one hits closer to home. It’s hard to know how to treat these situations. Are labels to follow church models for discipline spelled out in the Bible? Do these statements release too much information to people who don’t really need to know? There’s some really good discussion with multiple viewpoints going on at the Sphere boards right now. Check out JustMe and Heath McNease’s posts for some good insight. I pray the RedCloud’s humbleness carries him and his family through this season.

Peace.

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

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.

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.

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:

• Ahmad (4th Ave. Jones)
• Braille
• Redcloud
• Kaboose
• Scribbling Idiots
• sintax.the.terrific
• more

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.

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.

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.

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.

Nah, no double time here, I just have time for a quick update. I’m currently listening to the Sphere’s Podcast # 25. I gotta say, this one is a banger. ALL unreleased songs from albums dropping this year hosted by Cas Metah. Mellow Drum Addict is apparently dropping a CD produced entirely by Maker. I’m psyched to hear some new Maker beats. Here’s the track list for the Podcast:

1. JustMe “A Willing Vessel”
2. theBREAX “For What?”
3. Sojourn “Definitely Special”
4. Kings Of Tragedy “Real Flack”
5. The Remnant feat. Alex Trackstar “(in case of emergency) Take The Stairs”
6. Scribbling Idiots “Look In My Eye”
7. Mellow Drum Addict “Songs For Love”
8. Sivion “Rise Up”

Not sure how I missed this one, it came out at the end of December. Don’t make the same mistake I did, listen HERE. Number #26 is out too and just started spinning on my hard drive. Make sure to subscribe if you’re an iTunes’er so you’ll never miss a phat beat. PEACE.

I think I’m going to post without a hot rap this week. I’ve been listening to some Ohmega Watts a ton lately, even dancing to his instrumentals in my second grade class, yet it’s Sintax.the.Terrific who led me to my pondering. This will not be a musical post, just what I’m currently chewing on. This passage comes from Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling, though I was first attracted to it on Sintax’s track Isaac (off Simple Moves, a CD you should invest in). Here it is:

Would it not be best all the same to stop with faith, and is it not disturbing that everyone wants to go further? When people nowadays – as is in fact variously announced – will not stop with love, where is it they are going? To worldly wisdom, petty calculations, to paltriness and misery, to all that can put man’s divine origin in doubt? Would it not be better to remain standing at faith, and for the one who stands there to take care not to fall? For the movement of faith must be made continually on the strength of the absurd, though in such a way, be it noted, that one does not lose finitude but gains it all of a piece. I for my part can indeed describe the movements of faith, but I cannot perform them. When learning how to make swimming movements, one can hang in a belt from the ceiling; one may be said to describe the movements all right but one isn’t swimming; likewise I can describe the movements of faith but when I am thrown into the water, although I may be said to be swimming (for I’m not among the waders), I make other movements, I make the movements of infinity, while faith does the opposite, having performed the movements of infinity, it makes those of finitude. Lucky the one who can make those movements, he performs a marvel, and I shall never tire of admiring him. Whether it is Abraham of the servant in Abraham’s house, whether a professor of philosophy or a poor serving-maid is for me absolutely immaterial, I look only at the movements. But those I do indeed look at and let myself be fooled neither by myself nor by anyone else. The knights of infinite resignation are readily recognizable, their gait is gliding, bold. But those who wear the jewel of faith can easily disappoint, for their exterior bears a remarkable similarity to what infinite resignation itself as much as faith scorns, namely the bourgeois philistine.

This is what I’m racking my brain on. I don’t read many books. It’s not that I don’t like books. In fact, I love Maniac Magee and To Kill a Mocking Bird. I do, however, hate spending a ton of time reading a book only to find out that I don’t really like it. I have high standards for the quality of the lyrics in the music I listen to; I have higher standards for the books I read (there’s no beat helping the book along). Lately I’ve sort of been on a theology kick. I read a good deal of C.S. Lewis over the summer and really enjoyed it. Last fall I read much of John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life but didn’t finish it because I thought it was pretty repetitive. Now I’m on some Kierkegaard but it’s pretty thick. Maybe some day I’ll take a class on Kierkegaard. If you’ve got any suggestions for something to read, let me know.

Here’s to real faith, which stops with love rather than babbling on and complicating life to it’s own destruction. Maybe I should pay more attention to those who make the movements and take faith seriously so I can learn something. Peace to the lyricists who rocked without a beat.

WORD. It’s been awhile. I’ve been busy chillaxin and getting engaged and all. It’s been nice, but I’m ready to drop some more hot raps. I’ve decided to come back with a vengeance too. I left with days of music for HRFTM followers to check out but I’d like to return with a few crucial tracks from a crucial group. This group is what I started off HRFTM with and looking back I’m surprised I haven’t presented them more. I am, of course, talking about Mars Ill. Here’s a FRESH video.

Mars Ill – Sound Off

This is a veteran crew showcasing what they can do. Manchild kills his verses (especially the double time) with a flawless flow. Dust also rips up the track with nice production and choice cuts. So not only can this group create a dope song, but they can also make a dope music video. I’ve previously posted their video for More featuring Ahmad (from 4th Avenue Jones) which is another great one. I’ve got another in my back pocked for a future date. This video is nicely synced and has enough cuts to keep up with the action of the song. It’s a good representation of Mars Ill.

To add to their arsenal, they also put on a great live performance. I’ve seen them three times with each performance being better than the last. I drove 4 or 5 hours to see them in a tiny town in PA the first time, and that performance was enough for me to buy all their albums and convince me that HHH was where it’s at. The last time I saw them was in Richmond with DJ Maj for some tour they had (Virtual Frequency Tour?) which was the best performance I’ve ever seen. Better than any of the shows I saw before 10’s of thousands at Creation Festival (though it does rival 4th Avenue Jone’s performance there). The pinnacle was Manchild (MC of Mars Ill) doing the Abolition of Manchild. It’s such a good song that I wish it was available for me to put up here. I want HRFTM followers to hear it and I know you’re probably not going to get a whole CD just for one track (though there are some other bangers on it as well). I’ve still got two (I think) iTunes downloads I never used. If you’re the first or second person to drop a comment here saying you want to download The Abolition of Manchild I’ll try and hook you up.

If you’re a fan of this track, be sure to check out Mars Ill’s Album ProPain. I’ll be dropping a more classic Mars Ill track next post and talking about the grittyness that is Raw Material. If you liked the video, be sure to check out SphereofhiphopTV which is where I first saw it. Tons of other fresh videos there too. Happy New Years. Rap on.