I just finished my first record. I took a year to make it and I am only selling a limited amount of hard copies hand to hand. I think I did a good job on it and I am proud of my work. I am primarily going to use it to help build a fan base locally in Minneapolis. My shit isn't emotional or introspective. as for content my subject matter is based around what entertains me. Musically I think that i am trying to do something that appeals fans of strictly hip-hop as well as the heads that are interested in the art form. The people are interested in what i am taking from and how I am flipping it. I am starting to work on my next record, where I am trying to create something a little more dynamic without over thinking it. Rap music at its best is simple and catchy and I don't want to lose that in my music.
Sounds good! Are you distributing it yourself? On that note, are there any rap labels in MN besides Rhymesayers? I've been here a while, and never heard anything non-rhymesayers besides "Rep Minnesota" by Fic.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
ANY AND ALL RAP PRODUCERS OUT THERE NEED TO JUST GROW SOME BALLS AND PUT ALL THEIR FUZZY EGGS IN A SINGLE BASKET OF MAKING BEATS THAT Z-RO AND TRAE CAN DULY WRECK. NOT THAT ABN NEEDS BEATS BUT YOU NEED ABN IN THE WORST WAY. NO MORE COLD NAKED NIGHTS FOR YOU AS YOU DINGLE HOP YOUR WAY TO CIRCLE JERKED MEDIOCRITY. STILL REIGNING, STILL DEMON, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I'M MEANING.
That's pretty much where I've always been, but I'm in a different situation from you in that I've never made music (be it DJing or production) my career, and I doubt that I ever will. I would insist on doing it my own way, and as such, a career is very unlikely to happen.
Basically, I make music that I want to hear, knowing full well that its marketplace appeal is going to be severely limited. But I'm OK with that as long as I can still listen to whatever records I put out and say, "Yeah, I'm proud of that." I make music that satisfies me and hope that it might satisfy some other folks as well. To me, the best feedback is when a DJ tells me, "I played your song the other night, and the crowd dug it and danced to it."
I do find it interesting that the Great Democratization of Music (i.e. the incredible ease with which anybody can make and distribute music these days) has created such an either/or situation. I like to think that eventually, people will tire of the either/or shit and start exploring that vast middle ground in between en masse, but that may be wishful thinking.
ditto, i am still yet to release anything, but working quite seriously on some projects just now, trying to keep a balance between being original and relevant(with out doing what has been done and over done), who knows if it will ever see the light of day but at least i know i will be happy with it.
i honestly dont think cats who made classic records went into the studio with a mindset that "im going to make a classic record". folks just made some shit they were feelin. sometimes it hit, sometimes it didnt. i think a lot more preparation and energy went into the music making process than it does now and thats why things arent as varied these days. ive been workin on an album for the past couple of years and have fucked my own money up by thinking too much about where i want to take it and who i want my listeners to be instead of just doing me. like a lot of you i make music i want to hear. some tracks i experiment on more than others. it gets boring making the same kind of beats all the time. as for rhymin, i dont have a complex like a lot of yall mufuckas on here about what yall call nerd rap or dork hop or whatever that shit is that doesnt sound like a 4th grader wrote it. if its niche, so be it.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
I saw some dude at the club with a ABN shirt. I highly doubt he know the origins and was just wearing it because it was "dramatic".
Harv:
i got a few "southern beats", srsly. I'd mess with Z-Ro and all of that. I'm trying to do some of that stuff as well.
That's cool...I can respect that. And as you do that, do consider that when it comes to Texas shit...we're still very much into the g-funk sound i.e. all those creepy synths mixed in with our bottom line shuffle drum country rap tunes repertoire.
Dallas is trying really hard right now to turn us into Atlanta with all that simpleton shit. But rest assured that Houston, Austin, and San Antonio are still very much Screwed Up IV Life.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
ABN needs beats, heck all of Texas needs beats. Please world, heed Harvey's plea & save Texas hip hop. Cali, NYC, stand up.
Nah dude, Texas is striaght. I didn't say that mess really thinking that converted boom-bap producers from Wisconsin are really going to place a beat on an ABN album. I'm just saying, get off the cornball Bronx fantasy shit and produce beats that the lil Z-Ro in your town can get with. I honestly think that there is a cultural divide that too many hip-hop purists are frankly not prepared to cross. So I'm saying let your beats become what takes you from a retro novelty to actually relevant in the here and now.
I saw some dude at the club with a ABN shirt. I highly doubt he know the origins and was just wearing it because it was "dramatic".
Harv:
i got a few "southern beats", srsly. I'd mess with Z-Ro and all of that. I'm trying to do some of that stuff as well.
That's cool...I can respect that. And as you do that, do consider that when it comes to Texas shit...we're still very much into the g-funk sound i.e. all those creepy synths mixed in with our bottom line shuffle drum country rap tunes repertoire.
Dallas is trying really hard right now to turn us into Atlanta with all that simpleton shit. But rest assured that Houston, Austin, and San Antonio are still very much Screwed Up IV Life.
No hate, but I appreciate what Dallas is doing. The Dallas sound is far more club friendly than 90% of the other Texas cuts. Alot of the houston stuff falls flat on it's ass outside the vehicle.
That's where I'm at though. A return to Ambershine, for those in the know...
I just found that tape the other day. A return to that is what's really. That stevie sample track is my favorite, although I think I've told you that on more than one occasion. b/w lol at bad batz maru. haha
I need a tape deck to digitize a bunch of my old casettes.
And yes this thread has gone from five stars to 2 mics.
Apparently making a beat with a sample in it is some "bronx fantasy shit"
man keep doing you i think you already got some classic shit in your discography. you on the right path. it does sound like you are trying to figure out a way to keep up with the younger generation's tastes or something. just keep pushing yourself and your sound further
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
And yes this thread has gone from five stars to 2 mics.
Apparently making a beat with a sample in it is some "bronx fantasy shit"
Look, if you want to stand in the way of a Mack truck...then who am I to stop you?
Meaning, that no one said a damned thing against using samples.
It's just that not changing with the times that is annoying. Wait, that's really not annoying in and of itself. What's really annoying is 1. making some old day derivative bullshit and then 2. following that up by acting as if your "purist" mentaility and how that limits you is somehow higher and mightier than what is actually hitting in the streets/clubs.
And by this point, the audience for this half-assed crap really speaks for itself.
Oh no never that man, i could care less what the kids listen to... it just cracks me up how dudes on here have such a deep seated hate for whatever they deem "dork rap" or "backpacker" whether it is or not.
I been making beats since i was 14 and you could pull stuff from then that sounds pretty similar to some shit i made yesterday. I'm just moving in my own direction and it's humbling anyone cared to tune in over the years. At the same time it's a trip when you have fan expectations possibly impeding your creative growth. I am way secure in what i do, like i said before big things in '08 and thats about it. In our extended crew we got engineers lawyers, drug dealers, ex gangbangas and a whole slew of mismatched cats who get down because they love music, and that's all that matters.
I don't sell crack and so crack rap is not "relevant" to me. I make music that IS relevant to me, and that may or may not be to someone in the hood, depending on their individual situation. Trying to make music relevant to a whole generation of kids means making ringtones and it aint going down like that. I hate jewelry.
bottom line
Word to the homie george, the mind has been freed! everythang is a thang. OH!
And by this point, the audience for this half-assed crap really speaks for itself.
SKIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT...................
?!
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Oh no never that man, i could care less what the kids listen to... it just cracks me up how dudes on here have such a deep seated hate for whatever they deem "dork rap" or "backpacker" whether it is or not.
I been making beats since i was 14 and you could pull stuff from then that sounds pretty similar to some shit i made yesterday. I'm just moving in my own direction and it's humbling anyone cared to tune in over the years. At the same time it's a trip when you have fan expectations possibly impeding your creative growth. I am way secure in what i do, like i said before big things in '08 and thats about it. In our extended crew we got engineers lawyers, drug dealers, ex gangbangas and a whole slew of mismatched cats who get down because they love music, and that's all that matters.
I don't sell crack and so crack rap is not "relevant" to me. I make music that IS relevant to me, and that may or may not be to someone in the hood, depending on their individual situation. Trying to make music relevant to a whole generation of kids means making ringtones and it aint going down like that. I hate jewelry.
bottom line
Word to the homie george, the mind has been freed! everythang is a thang. OH!
Reducing the SOUNDS I'm talking about to ringtones, crack, and jewelry is where you really lose me.
And yeah, you obviously don't give a shit what kids listen to. You are too busy trying to woo 28 year old men instead.
I'm really just kidding with that last comment and I hope you can handle the jab...but you are basically saying such a thing yourself.
And again, it would be all well and good if you just made the music you made and that was all. But no, it must constantly be referenced against what you don't respect in rap music today. And unfortunately for you, you are lumping far too much of the good, let alone the dominant general direction the music is going in with or without you, in with the bad.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
And by this point, the audience for this half-assed crap really speaks for itself.
Reducing the SOUNDS I'm talking about to ringtones, crack, and jewelry is where you really lose me.
And yeah, you obviously don't give a shit what kids listen to. You are too busy trying to woo 28 year old men instead.
I'm really just kidding with that last comment and I hope you can handle the jab...but you are basically saying such a thing yourself.
And again, it would be all well and good if you just made the music you made and that was all. But no, it must constantly be referenced against what you don't respect in rap music today. And unfortunately for you, you are lumping far too much of the good, let alone the dominant general direction the music is going in with or without you, in with the bad.
Dude wtf are you talking about rashied? I haven't said anything about not respecting anything in rap music, as far as I'm concerned cats can make and play whatever the hell they want, we're sold out tomorrow night. PEACE
Im just trying to keep things kinda dancable yet deep. thats where I think things are going personally... In LA I see lots of stuff going kinda a dark big beat sort of direction. IS this stuff even hip hop tho? These are a few selections offa my debut 12" coming out sometime soon.
This one is called enojo... its kinda a party re-edit of a Curtis Amy track.
This one is called inner circle.
B-boy martians fake jaxx. This a mash up a kid did with a song off my new 12" called b-boy martians.
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
Reducing the SOUNDS I'm talking about to ringtones, crack, and jewelry is where you really lose me.
And yeah, you obviously don't give a shit what kids listen to. You are too busy trying to woo 28 year old men instead.
I'm really just kidding with that last comment and I hope you can handle the jab...but you are basically saying such a thing yourself.
And again, it would be all well and good if you just made the music you made and that was all. But no, it must constantly be referenced against what you don't respect in rap music today. And unfortunately for you, you are lumping far too much of the good, let alone the dominant general direction the music is going in with or without you, in with the bad.
Dude wtf are you talking about rashied? I haven't said anything about not respecting anything in rap music, as far as I'm concerned cats can make and play whatever the hell they want, we're sold out tomorrow night. PEACE
I'm talking about the way you talk down here...
I don't sell crack and so crack rap is not "relevant" to me. I make music that IS relevant to me, and that may or may not be to someone in the hood, depending on their individual situation. Trying to make music relevant to a whole generation of kids means making ringtones and it aint going down like that. I hate jewelry.
What the fuck is "crack rap"? How about crack neighborhoods? Or crack schools? Or how about crack people?
Glad to know that none of those are you...but you seem to be orienting to a whole wide array of perfectly viable music as if it is afflicted with a sickness that is beneath you or some shit.
And the only way to reach kids is through ringtones and jewelry? Glad that you can decide that for everyone...too bad it's not even remotely true.
"Crack Rap" is a term i learned on here, and it is used to describe alot of groups cats ride for, including you. I seen you post in those threads so relax. I have addicts in my family and have lived in afflicted neighborhoods so i apologize if the fetishizing of dealing is not appealing to me. That shit hits home every holiday so i'm not trying to hear it in music. Strung out friends, death, dudes disapearing, locked up, all that stupid shit sucks and because of the amount of pain it has caused to me and the people around me surely you could understand why i'm NOT trying to hear that in music nowadays. That's a personal choice and if you can't understand that then i'm happy for you, you have managed to stay arms length from all that bullshit and that's something to be thankful for in your life.
As far as "wooing 28 year old men" how old are you? As hard as you ride for these texas dudes couldn't one make the argument that they did pretty good at wooing a 30 something white dude 'sheid? Let's not point fingers here.
I have no animosity towards you or what you like; do you. I was just wondering in this thread where people are trying to take their art and here you go, looking to start shit as usual. PEACE I'M OUT. (feel free to post the last word with some sarcastic or snide comment below this, you are going on ignore)
HarveyCanal"a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
"Crack Rap" is a term i learned on here, and it is used to describe alot of groups cats ride for, including you. I seen you post in those threads so relax. I have addicts in my family and have lived in afflicted neighborhoods so i apologize if the fetishizing of dealing is not appealing to me. That shit hits home every holiday so i'm not trying to hear it in music. Strung out friends, death, dudes disapearing, locked up, all that stupid shit sucks and because of the amount of pain it has caused to me and the people around me surely you could understand why i'm NOT trying to hear that in music nowadays. That's a personal choice and if you can't understand that then i'm happy for you, you have managed to stay arms length from all that bullshit and that's something to be thankful for in your life.
As far as "wooing 28 year old men" how old are you? As hard as you ride for these texas dudes couldn't one make the argument that they did pretty good at wooing a 30 something white dude 'sheid? Let's not point fingers here.
I have no animosity towards you or what you like; do you. I was just wondering in this thread where people are trying to take their art and here you go, looking to start shit as usual. PEACE I'M OUT. (feel free to post the last word with some sarcastic or snide comment below this, you are going on ignore)
Oh no, don't put me on ignore...not that, never that...aaaaaaaaagggghhh!!!
But anyway, on crack rap...who are you talking about that I like or that I've referenced here that promotes crack in a positive way? Z-Ro mentions selling as a youngster and constantly addresses the struggle to move away from such bullshit. I've had serious addicts in my family too. It's painful shit and listening to someone like Ro who has also suffered through similar shit actually helps me through the pain. Not to say that it would do the same for you...but to just dismiss such a deep artist wholesale just because he talks about crack issues is wack as fuck on your part.
Furthermore, it doesn't address the SOUNDS of the music...the beats (and in many cases the soul) behind the messages...which is what I thought this thread was about. Purists don't look at dudes like Mannie Fresh and Juicy J, let alone a Salih Williams or Mr. Lee, as skilled as their boom-bap counterparts...and that's grade A bullshit through and through.
Whether you want to realize that, at the same time that you could realize that me saying respect your neighbor doesn't necessarily imply that what you are doing on your own is wrong, is completely up to you.
And for me, harboring anymosity (which isn't what I'm doing here) and calling them like I see them...are not the same thing.
are you secretly z-ro's undercover lover? everything i see you write includes something about the dude even if that was your close homie, niggas dont talk like you do about their homeboys i dont think ive ever seen anyone dick ride so hard for some dude would you stop jocking dude so hard if i can schedule a meeting so you guys can chill and shoot the shit?
Comments
Rain Barrels and Hot Pepper Plants
Harv:
i got a few "southern beats", srsly. I'd mess with Z-Ro and all of that. I'm trying to do some of that stuff as well.
^^^^^^^^^^^
sore winner
ditto, i am still yet to release anything, but working quite seriously on some projects just now, trying to keep a balance between being original and relevant(with out doing what has been done and over done), who knows if it will ever see the light of day but at least i know i will be happy with it.
ive been workin on an album for the past couple of years and have fucked my own money up by thinking too much about where i want to take it and who i want my listeners to be instead of just doing me.
like a lot of you i make music i want to hear. some tracks i experiment on more than others. it gets boring making the same kind of beats all the time. as for rhymin, i dont have a complex like a lot of yall mufuckas on here about what yall call nerd rap or dork hop or whatever that shit is that doesnt sound like a 4th grader wrote it. if its niche, so be it.
That's cool...I can respect that. And as you do that, do consider that when it comes to Texas shit...we're still very much into the g-funk sound i.e. all those creepy synths mixed in with our bottom line shuffle drum country rap tunes repertoire.
Dallas is trying really hard right now to turn us into Atlanta with all that simpleton shit. But rest assured that Houston, Austin, and San Antonio are still very much Screwed Up IV Life.
Nah dude, Texas is striaght. I didn't say that mess really thinking that converted boom-bap producers from Wisconsin are really going to place a beat on an ABN album. I'm just saying, get off the cornball Bronx fantasy shit and produce beats that the lil Z-Ro in your town can get with. I honestly think that there is a cultural divide that too many hip-hop purists are frankly not prepared to cross. So I'm saying let your beats become what takes you from a retro novelty to actually relevant in the here and now.
No hate, but I appreciate what Dallas is doing. The Dallas sound is far more club friendly than 90% of the other Texas cuts. Alot of the houston stuff falls flat on it's ass outside the vehicle.
Apparently making a beat with a sample in it is some "bronx fantasy shit"
I just found that tape the other day. A return to that is what's really. That stevie sample track is my favorite, although I think I've told you that on more than one occasion. b/w lol at bad batz maru. haha
I need a tape deck to digitize a bunch of my old casettes.
man keep doing you
i think you already got some classic shit in your discography.
you on the right path.
it does sound like you are trying to figure out a way to keep up with the younger generation's tastes or something. just keep pushing yourself and your sound further
Look, if you want to stand in the way of a Mack truck...then who am I to stop you?
Meaning, that no one said a damned thing against using samples.
It's just that not changing with the times that is annoying. Wait, that's really not annoying in and of itself. What's really annoying is 1. making some old day derivative bullshit and then 2. following that up by acting as if your "purist" mentaility and how that limits you is somehow higher and mightier than what is actually hitting in the streets/clubs.
And by this point, the audience for this half-assed crap really speaks for itself.
I been making beats since i was 14 and you could pull stuff from then that sounds pretty similar to some shit i made yesterday. I'm just moving in my own direction and it's humbling anyone cared to tune in over the years. At the same time it's a trip when you have fan expectations possibly impeding your creative growth. I am way secure in what i do, like i said before big things in '08 and thats about it. In our extended crew we got engineers lawyers, drug dealers, ex gangbangas and a whole slew of mismatched cats who get down because they love music, and that's all that matters.
I don't sell crack and so crack rap is not "relevant" to me. I make music that IS relevant to me, and that may or may not be to someone in the hood, depending on their individual situation. Trying to make music relevant to a whole generation of kids means making ringtones and it aint going down like that. I hate jewelry.
bottom line
Word to the homie george, the mind has been freed! everythang is a thang. OH!
SKIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT...................
?!
Reducing the SOUNDS I'm talking about to ringtones, crack, and jewelry is where you really lose me.
And yeah, you obviously don't give a shit what kids listen to. You are too busy trying to woo 28 year old men instead.
I'm really just kidding with that last comment and I hope you can handle the jab...but you are basically saying such a thing yourself.
And again, it would be all well and good if you just made the music you made and that was all. But no, it must constantly be referenced against what you don't respect in rap music today. And unfortunately for you, you are lumping far too much of the good, let alone the dominant general direction the music is going in with or without you, in with the bad.
95% LAMES.
Dude wtf are you talking about rashied?
I haven't said anything about not respecting anything in rap music, as far as I'm concerned cats can make and play whatever the hell they want, we're sold out tomorrow night. PEACE
This one is called enojo... its kinda a party re-edit of a Curtis Amy track.
This one is called inner circle.
B-boy martians fake jaxx. This a mash up a kid did with a song off my new 12" called b-boy martians.
I'm talking about the way you talk down here...
What the fuck is "crack rap"? How about crack neighborhoods? Or crack schools? Or how about crack people?
Glad to know that none of those are you...but you seem to be orienting to a whole wide array of perfectly viable music as if it is afflicted with a sickness that is beneath you or some shit.
And the only way to reach kids is through ringtones and jewelry? Glad that you can decide that for everyone...too bad it's not even remotely true.
I have addicts in my family and have lived in afflicted neighborhoods so i apologize if the fetishizing of dealing is not appealing to me. That shit hits home every holiday so i'm not trying to hear it in music. Strung out friends, death, dudes disapearing, locked up, all that stupid shit sucks and because of the amount of pain it has caused to me and the people around me surely you could understand why i'm NOT trying to hear that in music nowadays. That's a personal choice and if you can't understand that then i'm happy for you, you have managed to stay arms length from all that bullshit and that's something to be thankful for in your life.
As far as "wooing 28 year old men" how old are you? As hard as you ride for these texas dudes couldn't one make the argument that they did pretty good at wooing a 30 something white dude 'sheid? Let's not point fingers here.
I have no animosity towards you or what you like; do you. I was just wondering in this thread where people are trying to take their art and here you go, looking to start shit as usual. PEACE I'M OUT. (feel free to post the last word with some sarcastic or snide comment below this, you are going on ignore)
Oh no, don't put me on ignore...not that, never that...aaaaaaaaagggghhh!!!
But anyway, on crack rap...who are you talking about that I like or that I've referenced here that promotes crack in a positive way? Z-Ro mentions selling as a youngster and constantly addresses the struggle to move away from such bullshit. I've had serious addicts in my family too. It's painful shit and listening to someone like Ro who has also suffered through similar shit actually helps me through the pain. Not to say that it would do the same for you...but to just dismiss such a deep artist wholesale just because he talks about crack issues is wack as fuck on your part.
Furthermore, it doesn't address the SOUNDS of the music...the beats (and in many cases the soul) behind the messages...which is what I thought this thread was about. Purists don't look at dudes like Mannie Fresh and Juicy J, let alone a Salih Williams or Mr. Lee, as skilled as their boom-bap counterparts...and that's grade A bullshit through and through.
Whether you want to realize that, at the same time that you could realize that me saying respect your neighbor doesn't necessarily imply that what you are doing on your own is wrong, is completely up to you.
And for me, harboring anymosity (which isn't what I'm doing here) and calling them like I see them...are not the same thing.
everything i see you write includes something about the dude
even if that was your close homie, niggas dont talk like you do about their homeboys
i dont think ive ever seen anyone dick ride so hard for some dude
would you stop jocking dude so hard if i can schedule a meeting so you guys can chill and shoot the shit?
Lumin revealed?
you posted an old pic of me chillin with my boy
my white side shows in the winter in philly