Closed Sessions: DJ Babu Edition
"We ended up with a beat that... probably a lot of people wouldn't even expect that I would have done."
We're proud to present the latest in our Closed Sessions documentary series featuring none other than DJ Babu of Dilated Peoples and The Beat Junkies. Flipping the script, DJ Babu made the producer the focus of this Closed Session and rather than an emcee going through the Closed Sessions production catalog, it was Babu who paged through our Rolodex of talented Chicago artists for which to collaborate. DJ Babu centered on up and comer ADaD as well as veterans GLC and Rhymefest. In a marathon session that stretched over 12 hours, two studios, and served as the last Closed Session at the old SoundScape Studios (RIP 2010 S. Wabash), DJ Babu, GLC, and Rhymefest created a soon to be classic, "Bionic Jaws". With a heavy bass, and biting chorus, "Bionic Jaws" is the ultimate answer to those that just can't stop running their mouth and also represents the coming together of storied veterans of both the Chicago and L.A. Hip Hop scenes.
The documentary below tells the story of "Bionic Jaws", and what happened during the Closed Session with DJ Babu. The full song will be available for free download on August 16th via RubyHornet.com and Closed Sessions.com.
Big K.R.I.T.: Long Time Coming
Overnight celebrities are in style these days. Tomorrow's most about buzzed about artist could literally show up tomorrow thanks to numerous blogs, countless aggregates, and dare I say, the speed of information. Artists such as Freddie Gibbs and Yelawolf seem to come out of nowhere to attract major attention and major deals. Certainly Big K.R.I.T. can be categorized as another future star who's rise was rapid and almost unexpected. But, as the title of his breakout project (K.R.I.T Wuz Here) suggests, the road to the public eye is often much longer than the public perceives. "For a lot of people in the industry such as A&Rs, street teams, DJ's, producers, a lot of them have seen me grinding since 2005 to get here," says K.R.I.T. "A lot of people treat me like, 'you've been trying to get on.'"
Indeed it's been a long road for the Meridian, Mississippi native as well as the aforementioned Gibbs and Yelawolf, who both had previous major label deals that didn't pan out prior to their resurgence. As K.R.I.T. told me via phone, even a year ago at this time he was unsure any kind of stardom was in the cards. "A year ago I was definitely grinding. I had a couple mixtapes out that I was pushing and I was just trying to figure out if I was going to continue rapping or not." Patience is a virtue, and after connecting with Curren$y, and the whole Creative Control movement, K.R.I.T. got the proper platform for his music, inked a deal with Def Jam, and his future's so bright he's gotta wear shades.
I caught up with Big K.R.I.T. for an in-depth interview in which he talks about his persistence, his humility, as well as his peers that represent a new class of Hip Hop artists. Check out the full interview belowRead more
Novel: "Walking on Air" ft. Joell Ortiz and Colin Munroe
Novel announced tonight via Twitter that he was going to release a song off of his upcoming album, Calligraphy, even though his mixtape, Legato Blues Summer, is still in the works. He joined forces with very talented Joell Ortiz and Colin Munroe to bless us with an incredible sounding, mellow song about having a special someone. The song was written and produced by Novel himself.