February 13th 2:16 AM
i just left the studio with Tony Baines. Today I spent most of the day in studio playing the album for select people in chicago. I played the album for Andrew from Fake Shore, Suli from Blind I, RTC, Kyra from the Red Eye and pretty much anyone who had a 3 hour block to hear me play records and rant about why I believe this is the album that will change my life..AND yours.
It’s crazy to think that we have a finished product that has been sitting around since October for you to hear and we didn’t blow our brains out getting restless. Ever since the album has been done we have been soo eager to sit any blogger or journalist down and let them hear the album that I almost feel like I work for my publicist and not the other way around. From New York to LA and now Chicago, we have been telling all the people we know about our concept for the Land of Make Believe and why this project is a WINNER.
The truth of the matter is that I have been on this campaign-like trail to let people know that Kidz in the Hall are not coming back to just give you an album, but to try to win your hearts. I think the general concensus among many writers was that we are “tweeners” in the world of rap. Most critics would never ever bring themselves to say that we blow chunks, but a lot of them also wouldnt rush to say that we will blow up. We took alot of what it means to be a “buzz artist” for granted and now I think we just want to win fans…I think the Land of Make Believe finally is a definitive statement for our group and will leave critics and fans alike with NO grey about whether they like our music or not.
We took an entire year and crafted an album that is sample free and relatively low on features but heavy on emotion, passion, soul and instrumentation. Lyrically, I basically went for broke and allow for listeners to get more of the gist of who Jabari Evans is as a man and not just Naledge the rapper. It dawned on me today that the reason why I like to talk about the album so much is because I truly think that this project has the potential to be considered a classic. We are the consumate underdogs who almost always find a way to overachieve. With the state of music being at a place where the internet has allowed for indie artists to share space with those on major labels, I think we have put together a record that will be able to stand up against any album that will come out this year or the next 5 years. Even writing this blog I feel like a politician selling you on me just as much my music. My art has officially fell in love with my life not just imitated it. I feel free as a bird and happier than ever. I promise you we will not let you down…..JUST YOU WAIT!!!
PS. – Shout out to Rockie Fresh. I had an interesting conversation with this young man. He is from Chicago and he is buzzing locally with his music. The kid seems really humble and really focused. I haven’t heard a wealth of music but he definitely has a star energy about him…