RH First Look: Chevy Woods
Chevy Woods may not have always dreamt of becoming a rapper with fans in other nations and 100K twitter followers, but that is the reality. “I didn't really get serious until a year or two after Wiz and I met and were recording. Like I was really just running around, doing sh*t in the streets still while he had something bigger for me to do, and he had a dream, ”states the Taylor Gang MC who only recently began taking this rapping thing seriously. Chevy has calmly sat back and watched his label-mate and good friend Wiz Khalifa define blowing up, so after that what would you do? Exactly, drop a mixtape feat. Wiz with production from Cardo & Big Germ, while opening up sold out Wiz shows across the globe.
With 2011 coming to a close, Chevy Woods is readying his next project Gang Land. I spoke to the Taylor Gang freshman on his latest mixtape The Cookout, the realization of his future success, and his upcoming project Gang Land.Read more
RH First Look: Asaad
"I want people to know that when you are f*cking with me you are f*cking with greatness, and to anyone out there who has ever felt they were great, and they didn't have anyone to speak for them, I'm that motherf*cker, because I was a motherf*cker like that too. I didn't have that voice." After hearing this sentence you may think think to yourself, who is Asaad? Why is he great? And lastly, why should I care? Let me answer all those questions, even if they weren't floating through your mind. In my short, but saturated career writing and speaking with artists I have come to find a certain humble confidence that only a few artists emit. This confidence usually stems from a strong belief in their music, seeing success as their destiny. Yet, there are always those who say they will succeed, but either don't have the skill, determination, or that "it" factor to do so. Flash forward to Asaad, a 20-year-old MC from Philadelphia, PA. Growing up in a lifestyle built around music, it is no surprise the position he is in at this point. From his room being a studio at age 3, to being babysat frequently by his cousin Ab-Lava (Re-Up Gang) during their time of prominence, and having mentors such as producer Bink and Black Thought, Asaad is living proof of a budding MC with his eyes set on the top floor and all the necessary skills to get there.
Having released a few projects over the past 2 years, Asaad could have hit the "easy" button and released singles produced by Will I. Am or Bink, and who knows between having to fit a certain style and utilizing his industry contacts, in 2008 Asaad could have found himself a record deal and a healthy 6-figure advance. "I always knew I would do this, I imagined it but I never really saw it become a reality. At this point I just want to take it to another level every time. Every time I do something, every time I accomplish one thing, try to knock down the next, you know." States Asaad, who makes it apparent not only in his words but his demeanor, the significance of growing as an artist, understanding the importance of learning from others, and not leap frogging into unknown territory. Now, standing aside his long-time friend Troy, the two have concocted the Dirty Middle Class faction, and are releasing a mixtape based on this movement which features Casey Veggies, Mac Miller, Gilbert Forte + more. Having dropped two top-notch tracks produced by Nascent & QB, off Dirty Middle Class, Asaad's time is nearing. Read on for this exclusive look at someone you'll guaranteed to be hearing from plenty over the years, as Asaad speaks on his beginnings in music, living with his cousin Ab-Lava, his next solo project, and why this year was unquestionably the best year of his young life.
RH First Look: Boy and Bear
Lollapalooza is always a hectic weekend, and no matter how you plan it, things do not always work out the way you'd hope. Yet while traveling from Sydney to LA to Chicago in a matter of 30 hours, Australia's newest indie success Boy and Bear had a very content beginning in a city brand new to their eyes, and music especially recognizable to their ears. The band's founder and front-man, Dave Hosking, who I chatted with as the other four members sat back patiently, said that the band was very satisfied after catching My Morning Jacket's performance earlier in the festival. With the media tent bustling on the final day of another wonderful August weekend at Grant Park, I spoke with Dave on the band's beginning, as well as their work with esteemed producer Joe Chicarelli (My Morning Jacket, Beck, The Strokes) on their latest critically acclaimed LP Moonfire and much more.
Having heard their names thrown in with the likes of Fleet Foxes, and Mumford and Sons, Boy and Bear are representing a fresh brand of Australian indie rock, as electronic based music has been more prevalent recently in Australia. Hosking stated "I dunno, now there are lot of cool bands like Empire of The Sun, doing more electro based stuff, and more indie/folk indie bands, you know really great bands who are sort of moving away from that traditional rock feel, It's cool, it's really exciting. It feels like it's thriving, a bunch of great bands coming up the ranks, and we're happy to be a part of it."
With one LP down, and their first visit to the states behind them, the group is only looking ahead, which for them means simply returning stateside for a larger nationwide tour and recording, recording, recording. Read on to gain the First Look at indie newcomers Boy and Bear.
RH First Look: Rich Jones
"And even just walking down the streets, my mom would point out people rapping in front of me, just cyphering while we we're walking down the street. I'm sure she regrets pointing that out now, haha," says Rich Jones, recounting the earliest moments that Hip Hop reached his life. Now in his early 20's, Rich Jones grew up on Chicago's northwest side where without any knowledge of the genre he now knows as Hip Hop, he definitely experienced it in some fashion walking the streets as a child in Jefferson Park. From gaining information of the local Chicago scene through the Gravel Records Chicago Project at age 15, Jones dug deeper to discover The Molemen crew, and other prominent underground acts in the scene. With a strong passion for the music building during his high-school years, Jones began the real grind while in college.
Now a recent graduate, Jones has formed the 4-man crew Second City Citizens who have just released their Sophomore project titled SpliffNotes. With chilled out, melodic beats, meshed with "summertime Chi" focused lyrics, Second City Citizens offer a noticeable brand of indie Hip Hop, suited for those warm July nights, where the porch is the only place to be. "And I can say that the people I have associated with, is on some family type sh*t. Not on some business like, cold and calculated type... We do this because we have mutual respect and are actually friends." Jones says about his SCC crew as they prepare for what's next. For Jones, solo EP's are coming soon, and with production from Tony Baines on deck for Jones and his team, this is only the etchings of a promising musical career for the passionate MC. We put him under the First Look microscope below. Check out the interview, and a new song "Swing For The Fences".
RH First Look: Calez
I met Calez for the first time while shooting the video for "Natural High". He showed up with the rest of his 2008ighties Crew. I didn't really know how he got there, and had never heard his music. During a break in shooting the party scene, he approached me, introduced himself, and asked me about submitting to RubyHornet. I gave him my email address, and told him to send away. A few days later he emailed me some music. After that he texted me. Then he called me. This routine repeated itself several times in a short span. At this particular time, I was probably at my busiest and most burned out. I sincerely didn't get a chance to listen to it, and then the rounds of emails, texts, etc... made it even easier to ignore. But, Calez stayed persistent, even making a song and video for "Middle Finger", a song centered on his frustrations in getting exposure, and pretty much a direct response to not being featured on RH. The thing about it though, the song and the video were both really dope. I posted the video, helped it get on a few other spots, and reached out to Calez about his music and his persistence.
Calez and the rest of his 2008ighties crew are all talented. They run the gamut of activities, rapping, shooting videos, handling production, and more. And they're only getting better and wiser. With one ear on the past sounds of Hip Hop's golden era, and the other firmly in the present, the crew pays homage to Hip Hop's past while working to shape it's future. We put Calez under the First Look microscope as an artist to watch. Get to know him in the interview below. Also check out his new record, "Rapping Habits" of his forthcoming LP, Kid With Raps.
RH First Look: Thelonious Martin
Before I hopped on the phone with Thelonious Martin a couple weeks back, I was expecting a talented young producer to speak on his success at such a young age, throwing stories at me about the exciting lives of teenage musicians thriving in the urban metropolis of New Jersey and New York. I was not expecting quite possibly the most grounded young musician I have ever spoken to. Thelonious Martin just graduated high school and is already primed to take the next step in his young career. "Within the first few years of me being in school, I always told myself, I want to go to school… I saw that fact that going to school is more important than anything," states Thelonious who claims that while he's at school this coming year at Columbia (Chicago), you will be able to find him in 1 of 3 places: the classroom, his dorm room, or the studio. After releasing countless beat tapes, Martin is ready to move on from that part in his career, wanting to focus more on mixtapes and albums.
His collective, Tastemakers NJ, is a lifestyle brand comprised of artists, musicians and business savvy teenagers that have recently released the compilation Summer Ale, proving they are yet another young collective poised to make their brand known to the larger Hip-Hop Community. "We have people to handle the marketing stuff, people to handle all the photography, artwork, and like in terms of small operating things we don't need a big corporate head saying 'oh we gotta do this and that today,' because if we're really passionate about making music, we are going to handle our business."
Equipped with a check-list of goals he'd like to accomplish by the age of 25, this 18-year old musician operates at a much more mature level. Striving to never take a day off, Martin has all the skills, aside from the music itself, that molds a young musician into an internationally acclaimed artist. Oh yeah, you don't get those skills without a strong passion for the music at a young age (middle school), and when you start that young, the music takes care of itself. Dropping his last beat tape (ever?) Super about a month ago, Martin just wrapped the mixing for fellow Tastemaker Topaz Jones's debut LP Hello My Name Is. The beats thump and the MC's always come correct, as Thelonious and Tastermakers NJ both will definitely be around just as long as they please. Read on after the jump.
RH First Look: Vic Mensa
"The only way it's really affected me personally is by making me feel like I have to get it popping ASAP while I still am so young, but a bit of motivation never hurt anyone," says Vic Mensa, the youngest member of Brainiac Society a collective of artists, DJs, and producers handpicked by Naledge of Kidz In The Hall.
Mensa was added to the crew in the winter of 2009, attending studio sessions as soon as the final bell rang at Chicago's Whitney Young where he is still a student. "I’ve pretty much always been able to get by in school without having to do too much, so I've really just kept on doing what I've been doing. There have been those nights when I miss homework time because I'm in the studio, but it's all good."
It's all good because Mensa displays "better than good" emceeing abilities. Put in his music and it's very easy to forget that he's not old enough to vote. On the heels of his first release, an EP titled Straight Up, we turn our First Look spotlight on Chicago's youngest hopeful, Vic Mensa.
RH First Look: Jose James
This is a somewhat special First Look for RubyHornet. The column, which has run on Mondays since our inception, usually highlights very, how do you say, up and coming artists. Many of them have been without a proper debut record, ones we've seen on blogs and websites, those that who's buzz has been building on the e-streets and/or the streets of Chicago. Today's First Look is different not only that is it our first one featuring a Jazz musician, but also in that Jose James, while perhaps new to our audience, is on his third release, a recently dropped album entitled For All We Know on Impulse Records. That LP follows up the re-release of Blackmagic, a fantastic LP that caught our attention and thus propelled this First Look. While the title may conjure up images of brewing pots, gypsy spells, and vodoo dolls, the title means something different to James who told us, "I literally mean the magic of Black people and the power of music and culture."
Coming to music at a late age, James was inspired by the works on Blue Note, his recording home Impulse, A Tribe Quest and De La Soul. For James, being a performer is a dream come true, one from which he does not hope to awaken anytime soon. "I listen really obsessively to whatever I'm working on," he said. "There are so many steps - writing, recording, editing, mixing, mastering. After all that you make it live, which is completely different - you are living your own material and performing it night after night. When it's so internalized, you don't need to listen anymore, because it is you."
Keep reading to learn more about Jose James and his music in this new RH First Look.
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