RH First Look: Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire)
Baseball stars such as Carlos Lee, and Jermaine Dye are just two of the 99 that have hit homeruns in their first major league at bats. While they have followed up their debut dingers with many other homerun trots, clutch RBI's, and built solid careers, countless other hitters such as Bill Roman and Andre David hit one out of the park out of the gate, and then dwindled into baseball obscurity. Similarly, the music industry has seen more than its fair share of artists hit it big, then hit the ground. So many, that the phrase "one hit wonder" is regular vernacular, and shoveled upon artists who go from no-name to top of the charts until they can prove otherwise.
Actress/Model Freida Pinto has done the movie equivalent of a first at-bat homerun with her role in "Slumdog Millionaire". After struggling to turn a successful modeling and TV career into big screen appearances, the Mumbai-born Pinto was cast in Danny Boyle's independent Oscar nominated film, "Slumdog Millionaire" as Latika, a scrappy child orphan turned beautiful woman locked into a world of power and violence. Latika is 'the third musketeer' so to speak, and the love interest of the film's protagonist, Jamal, the Slumdog turned Millionaire.
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Crème De La Crème 12.27.08
RH teamed up with dubFrequency for the last Crème De La Crème of '08. RTC and Double O held down the tables, while Naledge and GLC hosted. Benny Rocs was behind the lens. Check them out below...
GLC and DJ RTC: Similar To The Letters Mixtape
I am very happy to present GLC and RTC: Similar To The Letters. The mixtape features unreleased GLC material, live performances, new joints, and a guest appearance by Taterchip. Similar To The Letters is a mixtape born out of talks I've had with GLC, our shared philosophies, and of course, the three letter monikers that we both employ.
GLC's full length debut, Love, Life, and Loyalty, also speaks to the principles that define him, and this mixtape serves as a perfect table-setter. The songs presented offer up trials, tribulations, and triumphs in the life of Leonard Harris, with a few touches from RTC. The track list is below as well as the download link.
*Special thanks goes out to Michael Kolar at SoundScape Studios for sitting with me through what seemed like endless sessions until we got everything just right.
Similar To The Letters Mixtape Release Party
On Friday night we hosted a release party for GLC X RTC's Similar To The Letters Mixtape @ The NV Penthouse. The night included dope DJ sets by Rock City, Million $ Mano, and Hollywood Holt, and a good time was had by all. If you don't believe us or weren't there to experience it yourself, Benny Rocs was on his A Game and has the pics to prove it. Check them out below, you might just see yourself...The mixtape drops for DL on Weds, and Imeem hooked up an exclusive first listen. Check it out below.
First Look: Chester French
"The idea here is sort of that the music speaks for itself," says Max, one half of the Star Trak signed Chester French. "We'd sort of prefer people know the music before they know anything about us. That way they can judge it as music, without biases."
So far, we know this much of Max and D.A. of Chester French. They are named after a famous sculpture, met at Harvard, got the attention of Pharrell Williams and signed to Star Trak/Interscope. Their first single, "She Loves Everybody", tells the story of a girl who gets around the scene, and its packaging implies just how D.A. and Max interact with her. Chester French are currently readying their debut LP, and just finished a tour with Common and N*E*R*D. We caught up with the duo to find out more. Check out this first look as Chester French talk Ivy League musicians, pop music, and leaving Los Angeles.
RubyHornet: So, how many interviews start off with a question about going to Harvard (not including this one)? Does that ever get annoying?
D.A: Most of them start by asking how we got started, which inevitably includes some mentions of Harvard. That doesn't get annoying because it always affords us the opportunity to insinuate that we're geniuses.
RubyHornet: Do Ivy League groups stick together? You ever talk to Naledge and Double-O of Kidz In The Hall? Related question, anyone confuse either of you for Asher Roth?
D.A.: We met the Kidz in The Hall in Texas last year. They were nice guys. We don't get confused for Asher, unfortunately. We'd probably get some of his residual girls if they did....
RubyHornet: Your first single was packaged like a condom. In terms of presentation of your material, has that always been a thought of yours along with the music, or has that come since joining Interscope and making music on a higher visibility level?
D.A.: We've always tried to entertain our supporters and uninitiated listeners as much as possible. If we can have fun with our packaging, style, etc, we try to!
RubyHornet: You are signed to Star Trak, which may first make people think of you guys as a Hip Hop duo. How would you describe the music that you make? Does Hip Hop fit in anywhere into the equation?
D.A.: Hip Hop has been a major influence on us as musicians and playazzzz4lyfe. We describe our music as Pop because we try to make songs that anyone can appreciate and enjoy.
RubyHornet: "She Loves Everybody" is the big single that has introduced the music world to Chester French. What was the deciding factor to go with that song?
D.A.: People really seemed to instantly "get" it. And DJ's can bump it for rumps to hump in da clubz.
Max: It was the first song on our Myspace page. It chose itself by virtue of that placement.
RubyHornet: The song appears to be about a girl that gets around the scene. The dude knows she gets around, but still can't shake her. That's definitely
something a lot of guys can relate to. Did that come from personal experience? Any tips for our male readers when dealing with a girl that "Loves Everybody"?
D.A.: It came from personal experience. The only tip I can offer is the obvious one.
RubyHornet: You recently went on tour with Common and N*E*R*D. Did watching the crowd react to Common or N*E*R*D leave any lasting impressions on you guys that you can apply to your growth and stage show?
D.A.: Absolutely. Pharrell and Common are both amazingly energetic and engaging front men. They both had great bands. Both elements were inspiring.
Max: People went to those shows to have fun and show love for the performers. It was a great environment to be working on our show in.
RubyHornet: You were living in LA, then moved out. What was the deciding factor in leaving Los Angeles? How did living there affect your view of the music industry? Did you see any affects (good or bad) on your music or creative process?
D.A.: We just got tired of L.A. and of paying rent when we were on tour a lot of the time. We got to see the music industry from the inside there a bit, and the only conclusion I left with was that it's easier and more fun to create outside of that world.
RubyHornet: Would you describe your relationship as Stockton/Malone, or more Shaq/Kobe, or insert your own famous duo here.
D.A.: Rodman - Louganis.
Max: Agreed.
RubyHornet: What's up next for Chester French as '08 goes into '09? Tell our readers a little bit about the LP.
D.A.: We're getting really excited about putting it out and finally letting people hear what we do. We'll be touring a lot after that, I imagine.
Max: Our LP has thirteen songs on it, and only 8 of them suck. It's amazing.
RubyHornet: Lastly, for some of our readers, this will serve as an introduction. What are three things you want listeners to know about Chester French before going to check out more of your music?
Max: The idea here is sort of that the music speaks for itself. We'd sort of prefer people know the music before they know anything about
us. That way they can judge it as music, without biases. That said, it'd be cool if people knew we wrote, produced, and engineered pretty
much the whole thing ourselves. Yep. Yar. WHOA! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
First Look: Keelay and Zaire
Keelay & Zaire came on the RH radar with the release of "The Times" featuring Blu, Fortilive and Nino Moschella. After doing some digging on the Cali production duo out of the Sole Vibe camp, we decided to put the microscope to them in the latest edition of RH First Look.
RubyHornet: Who is Keelay & Zaire?
Zaire: Kee & Zee are a production duo/team whom collaborates on multiple projects within the Sole Vibe Camp. Given the artistic foundation already established within the squad, we utilize that and create a style of music that's pretty unique.
Keelay: That sounds like a Websters Dictionary definition..lol. We're just two regular cats who try to make music we like..not much more to it than that.
RubyHornet: How do you guys compliment each other? Is it a ying and yang thing?
Keelay: I would say ying and yang is actually a good description. We both have our strengths and weaknesses, so it balances out. We both have different influences and perspectives so it's easier to cover more ground. Plus, it's always nice to work with people who share a common interest for fine lager, shout out to St. Ides..
Zaire: Def a ying & yang thing...though we have our own ways of structuring beats/songs etc., our production style really shines off of each other. These days we share production duties on most projects and, so far it's been really comfortable working that way. It's really a lot of sending sessions back and forth
RubyHornet: Your upcoming LP is called Ridin' High, is that just a motto or also a practice?
Keelay: Hmmm..
Zaire: Plead the FiF!
RubyHornet: I've heard that the album is conceptual, speak on the concept and what ties the tracks together.
Keelay: Well, it's somewhat conceptual I guess..It's not like Prince of Thieves conceptual, but basically we just wanted to make it feel like it was a car ride. When you roll around your city with your peoples and see different folks and situations, you may hear different songs on the radio or stop at the liquor store.. It's more like a theme to the album.
Zaire: I don't know 'bout Kee, but I was bankin' on tying the whole album together with a sponsorship from St. Ides(©, ®, AND ™), but when I called up their corporate offices they said that they don't sponsor rap dudes no more. You do the math lol.
RubyHornet: In terms of the artists you have on the album, they differ in styles, but in your opinion, do they share a common vibe or quality that ties them together and served as almost a pre-requisite to be included?
Zaire: I think the common vibe that the artist share is that both Kee and I were big fans of the artists that we reached out to, and fortunately for us, they all really came correct on the collab tip. We all know that a lot of guest appearances on an album can end up with a mediocre effort from artists, but this time around, we felt folks brought their a-game. The LP's rhythm is set by Kee & I, but all of the artists played their own role perfectly.
Keelay: We really just sat down and thought about who we would like to get on the album, that was reachable for us. Some folks came through and laced us, others didn't work out as planned..that's how it goes, I guess. We almost got John Brown..Ghetto Revival, holla! We couldn't afford him tho..lol. From there it became a process of sending songs back and forth between both Zaire and I after they had been recorded, to really create the songs. For the most part, we pretty much had the whole album mapped out how we wanted it before anything was recorded, almost like a script with a cast that we wanted. We had planned different roles for different people. From there it was just following through with what he had planned out.
RubyHornet: What producers had the biggest effect on your own styles and development?
Zaire: My biggest influence is DeVante Swang of Jodeci. Of course, they were one of the heavy hitting groups back in the 90s, but I always heard the left field elements of Jodeci's joints back then, and that's still true today. He, along with his crew of musicians, hit a sweetspot that I think hasn't been rivaled until this day, in my opinion at least.
Keelay: Man, all the regulars Dre, Premo, Dilla etc.. That's a lame answer I know, but cats outside the regulars would be Quik, Battlecat, Nottz.. I'd say really the biggest effect on my development would be my peers. Listening to them on internet forums and stuff like that, Zai, Jfish, Illmind, Mphazes, Chuckelz, croup.. this cat Styalz I remember him bein ill.. I used to study them cats man..haha
RubyHornet: What is the 'go to' thing if you're stressed or experiencing a block?
Keelay: I just try to do something else creative or listen to records or practice the keyboard. Most of the time that usually means I need a break though...
Zaire: Aw man, I go straight to the whip and blast some crazy music. Nothing more inspiring than riding around the city banging some music from ya favorite artists.. Jeezy!
RubyHornet: I'm digging the song with Blu, "The Times", what role does music serve for you in terms of dealing with the ups and downs of life?
Zaire: Music is def therapeutic from my perspective...I know for a fact that if I don't get to create some kind of music in brief a period of time, then my equilibrium is all messed up, lol. Most of the time I get cranky as hell.
Keelay: Music is like my soundtrack to life, it's like when you listen to a song and you remember the crazy details of when that song came out.. what girl you liked, what you did that summer, what you were going through when you made a certain beat or song or whatever.
RubyHornet: What does the end of '08 and top of '09 hold for Keelay and Zaire?
Keelay: We got a bunch of stuff lined up. Our video for "The Times" featuring Blu, our label mates Fortilive and Nino Moschella is out now on mtvU.com, definitely go check that. We got like 4 videos for the album, so we are gonna try to put those out there as well. We have a free project we are putting out before the year ends with cats like Torae, Supastition, Nightclubber Lang, Khizman..got the whole Sole Vibe squad on there.. Then early '09, Feb. to be exact.. we'll drop our album Ridin High..
Zaire: Well in '09, besides planning to break a few New Years Resolutions, I hope to get down with more artists, especially R&B artists, especially if Keysha Cole is reading this, and ESPECIALLY if she see's my email addy in the interview. If not, she can just page me, I got T-Mobile..lol...
RubyHornet: Three things you want listeners to know about Keelay and Zaire before listening to the music.
Zaire: First and foremost we're fans of music, second, we are fans of versatility, and last but not least, We wanna work with everybody, so holla for some beats, or let's do a project!
Keelay: Neither of us rap. We are not the second coming of Riggs and Murtaugh, and we drink Crown on the rocks, so if you see us at the bar holla...
MGD Presents The Roots & Cee-Lo
Photos by Virgil Solis
The Roots and Cee Lo Green (Goodie Mob) hit up Chicago 's Vic Theater for the Miller Genuine Draft "Genuine Flow" concert series. The legendary crew played a two hour plus show playing tracks from their whole catalog. Check out some of my photos from the night.
