RH First Look: Rockie Fresh
He's too hipster. He's just trendy. I just don't like his music. Say what you will about the kid, and all those previous statements have been, but Rockie Fresh has definitely created a buzz for himself. His point was proven December 15th when he released his debut mixtape, Rockie's Modern Life, which recorded over 1,000 downloads in just one day. Not too bad for a cat who just started rhyming in 2006.
"All of these new age rappers are changing the direction of the genre and creating something for our generation to call our own," said Rockie on the new generation of artists to hit the Hip Hop. RH correspondent, Ashydakid, caught up with Rockie Fresh for a full interview, digging into his family background, the new generation he identifies with, and the importance of versatility. Check it put right below and see why another thing people are saying is, "that kid's got talent."
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RH First Look: Lazlo Supreme
Lazlo Supreme is a Hip Hop band from Minneapolis, and contrary to some preconceived notions, it's not Atmosphere and Rhymesayers that have had the most influenced on the aspiring trio. The band's leader and emcee, Toussaint tells us, "The main inspiration for our direction comes from The Black Keys... heard them while The Blend was on tour in Philly. I came back to Minneapolis and saw them in concert. I thought, 'Damn, these two dudes can rip it up by themselves, there has to be a way to roll with just drums and keys.'"
Toussaint found a way in Lazlo Supreme, a band also composed of keyboardist Linden and drummer Patrick. The band is readying their official debut, and will be releasing an EP, Evil Made Easy, in late January. All of their music appears to come with healthy doses of comedy and cynicism, something which Ashydakid explores in this exclusive RH First Look. Learn up on Lazlo Supreme via the full interview below.
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RH First Look: Kam Moye
"I've always taken pride in being a humble person. That's just how I was raised. Even when I was making those cocky Supastition songs, I was a humble person in real life." Those words pretty much summarize the man that we know as, Kam Moye. Fed up of dealing with the stresses of being the everyday label artist, he jumped ship and decided to start his very own label, Reform School Music. From marketing, booking shows, fan merchandise sales, and even some of album sales, Kam Moye controls every business aspect. No middle man, just him. The business change accompanies his name change (Supasition to Kam Moye), which is a representation of his inner growth. All of that is on display on Kam's most recent piece of work, Splitting Image.
RH correspondent Ashydaykid caught up with the Charlotte, North Carolina native, Kam Moye for this week's First Look. Check out the full interview right after the jump.
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RH First Look: BBU
Is revolution music supposed to be this live? The answer is an emphatic yes for Chicago's BBU. The three-man trio who's three letter moniker stands for Bin Laden Blowin' Up use the vehicle of Hip Hop mixed with Chicago house to "make music with the hope in mind that it will inspire people to want to change the world," at least that's the mission according to BBU's Jasson Perez, who like his fellow bandmates, took time to speak with us for a fresh First Look. Finding time isn't something that comes too easy for the Jasson or fellow members Epic and Illekt. All three members devot themselves to music, as well as a variety of day jobs and community work.
"We have full time jobs and still put our blood sweat and tears into it because we feel making music, and making good art period, is just as important as going to a rally to stop the war or knocking on doors for people to come and vote, or setting up a free HIV clinic," Perez continued. The group has been making headway using their name to grab people's attention and their unique flavor of music to keep listeners intrigued. After building their name through performances and word of mouth, BBU is readying their first official release for a winter release. Before the BBU blitz is in full gear, take some time to get to know BBU and their music in this week's First Look.
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RH First Look: Diamond District
Diamond District is three man wrecking crew made up of Oddisee, X.O., and yU. The three come from the DMV, a tri-state area of D.C., Maryland and Virginia. The area is becoming or more correctly, becoming recognized as a new hot bed for Hip Hop and depending on what the success of Wale's Attention Deficit does in terms of opening the door for other DMV artists, could be on the verge of capturing Hip Hop's full attention. After the physical release of Diamond District's introduction LP, Diamond In The Ruff, we caught up with Oddisee and X.O. to find out more about the group and the region on the rise. Check it out below in this week's First Look.
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RH First Look: D. Black
D. Black came up in a musical family. Both his mother and father were member of the Emerald Street Boys and Girls, Seattle's first Hip Hop crew. The music took permanent residence in D. Black's heart, and at the young age of 14, he went under the guidance of Seattle's Vitamin D. and later Jake One. When asked about his relationship with D. Black, Jake One, who featured D. Black on his own LP White Van Music, describes D as his little brother that he didn't necessarily want to listen to who then became the little brother who couldn't be ignored. Any reluctance Jake had about putting D. Black on the album quickly disappeared after DJ Premier and others would ask the Seattle beatsmith, 'yo, who is that kid on the track "God Like".
With last month's release of his sophomore album, Ali' Yah, Damien Black caught our attention as well. The album's title is Hebrew for "ascend", and as Jews know, and Black explains, the word "is used when a Jew migrates back to the Holy land (Jerusalem) or when one is called up to read from the Torah," he tells us. "In a sense they are ascending to commit a very Holy act, both in the physical and spiritual...Ali’Yah is a reflection of my heart and nature just as the “Torah” is a reflection of G-d’s Heart and essence." Our own Ashydakid goes heart to heart with D. Black in this week's edition of RH First Look. Check it out below.
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RH First Look: A.J. Crew
My first meeting with A.J. Crew came at SoundScape studios, where I was working with Michael Kolar on something or other. I asked the kid if he was working on something at the time, and he said that he wasn't, that he was just at SoundScape to hang out. What he really meant was watch and learn. Many times at SoundScape I would find the unassuming Crew sitting on various couches while working on his lap top, sitting in during studio sessions, and of course, working on his own Nightmares and Daydreams, his first formal project that will see it's release on September 1st. Crew's first run is similar to many starts nowadays, with a free collection of work, spread viraly to gain an audience. However, Crew is quick to point out that Nightmares and Daydreams is a free-album, not a mixtape. He tells us, "Calling your project a "mixtape" gives it a certain connotation. People instantly think a DJ, drops, other people's beats, remixes, poor recording quality. A "free album" is what it is. It's a project that was went about like creating an album."
There's another, more pronounced difference between Crew and others his age that are just getting started on presenting music to the public, Crew's studio-ratness allowed him to soak up technical skills and the engineering talent of one of Chicago's top studios, as well as let him build with the studio's other clientele, including Rhymefest, who heard Crew's "Destiny & Desire" and decided to provide the upstart with a guest verse. We learn the story behind that encounter, as well as much more as Crew goes under the First Look microscope.
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RH First Look: Jet Audio
Biting wouldn't be an issue if it wasn't prominent. Proven methods wouldn't last the test of time if they didn't work. While the middle ground between pure biting and pure originality is where most fall, and perhaps where the new innovations emerge, it is the biting that kills promising trends, and makes something creative into something boring and repetitive. We all know the story how the labels live in worry, which causes them to latch onto anything popular and hit the repeat button as if it is the only button. It stems from fear, a fear that is a basic human element: fear of leaving one's comfort zone. That fear holds people back in a variety of situations, from approaching a woman at a bar or party, accepting a challenging job in a new city, or, in a producer's world, trying new sounds, all at the risk of possible advancement.
"If we didn't take risks, music would never evolve", says producer Jet Audio, who recently released his own compilation, The Stand Alone Complex. Sensing something new and original in his production, we sent Ashydakid to talk to Jet about his own risks and rewards, the meaning behind the title, as well as his own background and history. Check out the full RH First Look below, and also check back later in the week, as we'll have some new music from Jet featuring Kardinal Offishall and Donnis coming later in the week.
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