I OWE THIS GUY. . .

 First off, I can't say enough how cringe old/young me was. Jesus, lol. I started this blog when I was 28 and now I'm 44. Maybe that youthful goofiness was due to real life not tearing me apart yet. Or the fact that I was so buttoned-up in my real life that utter ridiculousness bled onto the page via my creative outlets. At any rate, SHEESH. (If it helps at all, I think that I was imitating Lupe Fiasco with my online persona. I recall him writing in a similar silly vein on okp). 

That aside, I love that guy. I love that he documented my musical journey. I was two years past my initial mixtape drop, The Real 10, and had yet to make a follow up. Now I'm 6 tapes deep and finally about to drop my debut album. I love that guy, and I owe him, me, what might be my final blog entry*

It's surreal to finally be here. It almost validates the axiom "the journey is better than the destination". Now that the moment is here, I'm almost ready for it to be over with. Not so much so that it can be "over with", more than so the work can be out there. My initial blog was titled "How can I be anonymous when it's my job to be famous", echoing the sentiment of Emcee Joe Budden. I still feel the same way. I want attention, but I don't. I want people to tell me how dope I am without really telling me, which makes no sense, unless you can relate. 

The amount of time it's taken me to get to this point is notable. I started rappin in 03/04, dropped The Real 10 in 2006, The Realer 10 in 2008, and the Realest 10 in 2015.  Realistically, my debut album should have dropped somewhere within that 7 year time span. 

I could defend myself in court and say that "real life" was the reason behind the delayed progress. The year after I wrote my first blog entry, I met the Wife and things went quickly from there. engaged the following year, married the year after that, got a Masters Degree somewhere in between, studio equipment starts failing on you, the whole nine yards. But none of that was the reason the album didn't drop. 

I was unorganized. Plain and simple. It's plagued me forever. I'm plenty talented, hard working, All that. I just had trouble putting it all together. "Too much time strategizing, not enough time executing", to quote my brother LRG. I'm a bit better about it now, especially when necessary. I recently illustrated an entire children's book (covertly at that!) within a two month time span. I was mainly able to do this because the person who was spearheading the project is ultra organized. The deadlines, painful as they were, kept me on track. 

I didn't have, nor want, that type of guidance in regards to my debut album, A Narrative of the Life. I allowed it to grow organically, unorganized. The result is a project that is as beautiful as it is disjointed. What was originally intended as 12 songs has now ballooned to 30. I already know that sound quality is going to be an issue because I'm collaborating with DOZENS of artists from all over the country and different times. But I still love what I'm about to deliver. 

I dropped my third mixtape, The Realest 10 around 2014 and started working on my album in 2015. So yes, this joint is 10 years in the making. *(I dropped 3 valentines day mixtapes and a collab tape in between here, too, but those were more like compilation)

Too much time for one project? Maybe. In my defense, I do have three albums worth of material, so maybe it evens out. On the plus side, the amount of great material I got from all that time is astounding. I'm serious when I say I believe it's the greatest assembly of talent ever. And again, the experience has been wonderful. The studio sessions, hearing dope beats for the first time, that spark that you feel when you come up with a dope bar. I've been going through that process for the past decade plus. 

I'm still not sure if my time as a Rapper is coming to a close. I could go on forever if I wanted. What I do know is I'm thankful to that 17-year-old me who decided to take us down this road. That 23-year-old who fought his fears and did the open mic at AAMU's Poetry club. The 28-year-old me who did the open mic at Joi Tiffanys open mic. The 44-year-old me who finally put it all together. 

Look at us. Who woulda thought?

-Shaz 

*Now that I know how to write and publish books, This might be a nice little momento to myself. 

**60-year-old me might look at this and think that I'm goofy, too, loll. 

ALBUM REVIEW: IKARUS RISING

                                               pictured (left to right): D. Lanham, Ronesh

REVIEW : IKARUS RISING

HERE'S THE BEST WAY TO DESCRIBE THE PAIRING OF OF EMCEE D. LANHAM AND PRODUCER RONESH: IMAGINE KYRIE  AND IVERSON IN THE SAME BACKCOURT. NOT A SPORTS FAN? OKAY, IMAGINE SAITAMA AND GOKU ON THE SAME SIDE. NOT A NERD? UMMMM, IMAGINE WEARING BLACK AND BLUE FOAMPOSITES WITH A BLACK FITTED POLO T-SHIRT. . . .

. . .i explained that perfect, right? No? How about this: Some people are "cheat codes". With respect to their work ethic, some people/things/institutions have built-in advantages over their contemporaries. An "it" factor that makes them a little bit better. Thats the best way to describe Georgia emcee/vocalist Darias Lanham and Cali based producer Ronesh. Lyrically, D. Lanham is a monster. If you need proof, watch him effortlessly run through Jay-z instrumentals on "Hov Dedication (Don't Count the Bars)"--------> https://soundcloud.com/ohini-jonez/hov-dedication-dont-count-the-bars
Ronesh is a producer that can seemingly do everything. From 90's boom-bap to layered jazz instrumentals, Ronesh can do it all. He's the type that you go to the studio with a make a song from scratch. If you want to see his versatility on display, check out his "Beats for Sale" beat tape----------->https://soundcloud.com/roneshsofresh/sets/beats-for-sale


The two collaborate on an excellent album that displays their uncanny synergy. The aptly titled Ikarus Rising is one part skill display, one part technical marvel. The 5-song project plays like a collaboration between to two people that have been working together for years. Artists that know exactly what they expect from each other. Its almost as if the emcee produced beats for himself or the producer wrote rhymes to his own tracks. Every song is thematic, but each in a different way.

The intro, "Super Freak" is a bar fest accompanied by Ronesh' sparse snares and jazzy horns. The beat gives the southern emcee plenty of space to show the world how easily he can spit consecutive haymakers. The piano-driven "Rapture" sounds like it's straight from a smoky 1950's Jazz club as D. Lanham waxes poetic over a track that makes its' presence known without ever getting in the rappers way.

Things get more dramatic as both emcee and producer intensify on haunting "Rise Infinite". As the chorus proclaims "Heaven can wait, Hell rushes brothers", the song is sonically and lyrically the polar opposite of the the first two tracks. On "Self Reflection" the tandem tackle a classic trope of self-versus-self as D. Lanhams' optimistic side attempts to reason with his pessimistic side. The juxtaposition of harps, horns, xylophone (?), snares, and samples are a perfect backdrop for a person deep in conversation with themselves. 

The outro, "Letter to the Infinite Self", is a bar fest like the intro, but its a content display as opposed to a lyrical display. "Whats your frequency? Did you let them turn it down?", the emcee asks over Ronesh' lush production. He provides a track that sounds light and heavy at the same time, which is prominently displayed as Lanham stops rhyming mid way and allows the track to play for the final minute and a half.

Overall, this is just an excellent piece of artwork. Its lyrical, insightful, and creative. The production is diverse, yet still cohesive. While I'm still not totally on the bandwagon of super-short projects, this (along with Roc Marci's Behold a Dark Horse) felt like a complete album to me. I walked away from it wanting to hear it again. If youre tapped in to same type of hip-hop that I listen to, I highly recommend you give this album a spin.

You can stream the project here and also find more of Roneshs' work: https://ronesh.bandcamp.com/album/ikarus-rising

You find out more about what D. Lanham up to, check here: https://ko-fi.com/darias


-Shaz

TINASHE/SHAZ "Pretend" Remix

The girl Tinashe had a contest to see who could remix her song "Pretend" the best. I wasn't gon mess with it until I listened to one of the entries. No disrespect, but it's alotta confident, garbage rappers out there, lol. I jumped on it, did pretty good, I think. I recorded the joint right off the Mac (got that from my homie C. Dot, probably common knowledge to y'all, though). Not to sound overconfident, but If they basing the contest purely off skill, I should win it. If I do win, Im gonna use that prize money for studio time. Might buy the wife something nice, too, lol. Anyway, click the pic below to peep the song....

ALBUM REVIEW: FURIOUS STYLES

photo credit: SNS Photography


There are three very important things that you need to know about Alabama emcee Black Native. The first is that he is very intelligent. You'd be hard pressed to walk away from a conversation with him without learning something new (I learned the word "despotical" by listening to the intro). The second thing that you need to know is that he's extremely multi-faceted, hard to categorize. He's a gamer, frat member, military brat, PK, and music enthusiast (all of which make its into his music). The last, and possibly most important thing that you need to know about Laz, aka The Black Native is that he looks exactly like Laurence Fishburne...........no punchline, he's the spitting imagine of Morpheus. Like to the point that if he started a rumor that Fishburne was his father, people would run with it. Check the album promo poster if you need proof..

The album opens with "Undivided Attention", which has Laz giving us straight bars over a banger crafted by Rafeal Andres. Fans of Black Natives previous projects (Inuk Chuk and The Goatee, respectively) are treated to a bit of bonus insight, seeing that all of the intros on his projects are somewhat intertwined. When he raps "I look at my fiancee' and I want to give her everything/But this time, I can finally afford the engagement ring", you realize it's the connective lines to an intro from almost 5 years ago. 

The next song that you hear is without a doubt the most controversial record of Black Natives career (which speaks volumes when you consider the Klu Klux Klan parody that he and partner in rhyme Frank Yeiger put out a few years ago). 

"Black Confederate" finds Laz on massive double-duty as he attempts to both strip the ever controversial Rebel Flag of it's power, while at the same time separating himself from droves of southern rappers who rap about redundant subject matter. raps like "They say, rap like them, rhyme irrelevant/Do some B.S. to get on, I'm screamin' f it, mayne" let you know early that he's not the typical trap rapper.. The second verses' breakdown of the makeup of the Confederate Flag is worth the price of admission, regardless of how you feel about the topic. Natives Black Confederate movement includes merchandise that he has created, which displays the Confederate Flag in all black and white. There's also an accompanying video for the song. Check it out below. 

BLACK CONFEDERATE MUSIC VIDEO

The quasi title track of this album is the hilarious "Laurence Fishburne". Props to you if you caught that "Furious Styles" was Fishburns character in Boyz In The Hood (I can understand if you youngsters didnt, though). Before the song starts, there's an interlude of a live recording during one of  Natives performances, where as soon as he gets off stage, the DJ goes in on him about looking like Tre's daddy. "GIMME THE GUN, TRE!!!! GIVE ME THE GUN!!!!!!". The frenetic beat then comes in, with Black Native describing the constant comparisons that he gets on a daily basis. he raps "If I got compensation every time I had that conversation/I could pay my bills by walking outside as my occupation". Comedy. 

"If" is a heavy mental song in the same vein as Jadakiss' "Why". this TRUEscribe  crafted track starts off about as expected with lines like "What if Adam wasn't approached by Eve? slapped the fruit out of her hand and told the Serpent to leave". The song takes on a new life as the third verse get extremely personal. "What if I, missed out on blessings, cause I thought I knew best/What if God was tryna teach me and I just failed the test?". 

The standout track on the album is the stellar "Hard Work". Aptly produced by The One N Only, the track discusses the hardships that aspiring artists face in the pursuit of their dreams. Lines like, "Friends and associates, they pay me no mind/But be the first to claim me when I get that famous co-sign" will resonate with those who know the frustrations of trying to get on.  S.L.A.S.H., whose probably the best rapper in the state of Alabama, delivers the best guest verse on the album. She serves as a Devils advocate of sorts, telling Laz that fame and fortune shouldn't be an emcees ultimate goal. "have a deeper purpose, for your beats and verses".  On its' surface, the track comes off as being  conversational, but it's really two very dope lyricists sparring with each other. 

The album isn't without it's flaws, though. The most glaring of which come from the guests Black Native allowed on his project. "DSA PSA" was supposed to be the triumphant  return of Alabamas most talented rap group, but a slightly off beat verse by Shaz (me, lol) takes away some of the songs thunder. "The Chase" is an excellent song about the rules of engagement between the sexes, but there's something missing. I personally think that the second verse would've been perfect for a female to jump on a tell her perspective, but instead we get newcomer poet/singer P.E.D.Z., whose verse isnt bad by any means, it just seems to reflect the same thing that Laz says on his verse. I'd love to hear a remix. On "Rideout", Native and longtime partner .EXE get open on a lyrical free-for-all. Lyrically, they both impress, but EXE doesn't sound completely comfortable on the track. If anything, Black Natives biggest fault is being too loyal to his people. Good flaws, I suppose.


Of course, this is all nitpicking. The bottom line is that this album is full of dope beats and dope rhymes (which is all I care about, honestly). Beyond that, there is plenty of content (the very relevant "N*gg@ Season"), comedy ("?!"), story telling ("Game Goofy" will make you hate the opposite sex for the duration on the track), and trunk music ("The Groove"/"Christmas Groove"). Overall, I rate this album a 4.5/5.0, with standout tracks being "Undivided Attention" and "Hard Work". definitely worth the purchase. Follow the link below to checkout this album, as well as the rest of Black Natives catalog.

LISTEN/PURCHASE BLACK NATIVES MUSIC HERE

"KEPT YOU WAITING, HUH?" -David Hayter

a) That's Keifer Sutherland, not David Hayter b) Kojima wack for that c) I haven't kept YOU waiting,   have I?! In actually, there is no "you" per se, as in my listening audience. I've really only kept myself waiting, for various reasons, to re-enter the blogsasphere or blogaverse or whatever.



MORE "GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS" THAN "GROUND ZEROES"!!!






It would be fair to ask why I would return to this blog after a two-year hiatus, especially considering that no one was really checking for it when it was active. I've had about 115 views in 5 years, "That's a one-hot-album-every-ten-year-average" -Jay-Z*

Ah, "Takeover", what a special time in hip-hop it was. Alotta people don't realize that Takeover was a better song, but Ether was a.....wait, I'm way off topic, I digress (we'll revisits this later). The reasons I returned this blog are two-fold**, one simple and the other complex.

The simple reason for returning is nothing more than unfinished business. The reason that I started this blog was to chronicle my experience as an aspiring rapper. Putting together mixtapes, getting recognition for the music, collaborating with other musicians. I was documenting everything. About two years ago I fell off, hard. The reasons for said fall off can best be described as a nice mixture of circumstance, laziness, and complacency.

And now here stands a totally different man than the one who recorded his his first verse over the "Vagrancy" beat over 8 years ago. Here stands a man with a totally different mission: create Metal Gear Solid 4....

"What the h...?" -David Hayter

*not that I'm in the habit of bigging up Jay anymore. More on that later
**three-fold, actually. I also remembered my password, lol....

Mixtape Review: Black Native "THE GOATEE"

Words by: Mar'tel Merriweather

by: Ellis Photography



People love labels. We love stereotypes, groups, and affiliations. Its human nature for us to try and put everything in our lives in its own little box so that we can make sense of it. This is especially true when it comes to the music we listen to. Despite what lies people tell you, most folks only really love one singular type of music. Of course, if you ask anyone what type of music they listen to, they'll inevitably hit you with the "I-listen-to-all-types-of-music-as-long-as-it-sounds-good" foolishness. This, of course, is.......foolishness. Theres a huge difference between enjoying various genres of music as opposed to enjoying singular songs from various genres. This ESPECIALLY true when it comes to hip-hop

Rap music is bascially divided into to major Genres, with sub-genres within those. Essentially, hip-hop is either Gangsta rap or Consious rap. Some would argue the validity of that statement, but if you consider the relative newness of swag rap (Soldier Boy) and Emo rap (Drake/Kanye) with the steady decline of lyrical rap (Canibus/Elzhi), the theory rings true. As previously stated, most people only listen to one particular type of music, the same type of hip-hop. But what happens when you have an emcee who encompasses all of these genres and non of them at the same time? Enter Laz aka The Black Native and his 2nd mixtape, The Goatee....

Native, the emcee reppin Alabama by way of Virginia by way of Maryland by way of Germany, is an algamation of all things......everything.....and it all shows up in the music. In the course of this 12-track project, Black Native references, Osama Bin Laden, Goku, Osiris, Jesus, The Mom from Bobbys World, Archie Eversole, and the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, just to name a few. Here's a track-by-track analysis of the mixtape..


1. Behold- After a hilarious intro from George Lopez, Native opens the mixtape on a religious note, reciting the 133rd Psalm.

2. The Goatee- The proper intro for the mixtape, and really an embodiment of the entire project (Editors Note: this is my favorite track on the mixtape). Over Drakes "Thank Me Now", Native waxes philosophical on everthing from non-responsive band members to financial obligations. as he raps "my baby sister bought a house.......I'm payin' rent", you can't help but appreciate his candor on the mic. As "bluesy" as this song begins, it reaches a victorious climax as it ends, he takes us on vacation with him. By far the standout track on the mixtape.....

3. Plan of Attack- The most experimental song on the mixtape, Canadian producer Tron lends his talents on the original track. The off-kilter production sounds like some the Neptunes would produce for themselves, with the track switching tempo mid-song, totally ingnoring traditional hip-hop song structure. Native handles the track quite nicely, ajusting his flow and dropping some hilarious Canada references (if youre paying attention).

4. Get it- If you listen to this mixtape long enough, you'll start to catch on to some underlying themes. One of those themes is recognition. Black Natives has no reservations about his desire to be a force in the industry. This song (and the one following it) go along way express his intentions for rap suprmecy.

5. Apex- The book-end song to "Get It", we see Native step out of his usual laid-back personality. The aggressive track (and even more aggressive chorus) comes off as motivation music for anyone trying to get to that next level in life.

6. Go Go The Sto'- The most hilarious track on the mixtape (peep the Dragon Ball Z intro), the song is an interpolation of Fiascos "Go-Go Gadget Flow", dedicated to everybodys favorite super-store. Here, Native displays the midwest "sniper" flow that he first displayed on his 1st mixtape.

7. Something To Cruise To- The only southern sounding song on the mixtape, Black Native lets us ride passenger side as he takes a day to himself to ride and let the speakers bump. This is also the first track where Native puts the intricate lyricism on the back burner and lets the slow flow take precedent.

8. In The Streets- Based on a true story, the subject matter is about troubled youth in the south, faced with the issues of growing up too fast and too hard. Native raps from the perspective on himself and a troubled youth as a haunting "In The Streets" sample ruminates in the background of the track.

9. Don't Do it- A song about depression, in which he consoles and counsels a female friend on the verge of hurting herself. On the 2nd verse, he puts himself under the microscope before advising anyone with similar feelings to "play some videogames, do something constructive". Another surprisingly transparent and soul-bearing song.

10. Big Sister, Lil Sister- Natives flips Ye's "Big Brother" to dedicate a song to his two biological and one adoptive sister. His ode to older sister who always let him hang out with her friends is especially touching.

11. Defending My Religion- Controversy, contreversy, contreversy!!! "If I'm the white mans bitch, then you mis-informations hoe" shoots Black Native at internet detractor. The most controversial (and heady) song on the mixtape. It deals with the problem of religion and hip-hop

12. The Go-owtro- The straight lyrical display thats becoming a lost art in hip-hop, Black Native ends the mixtape with a spastic barrage of lyrics, announcing that this mixtape is the begining of the endin of him being the slept on

All in all, this mixtape is excellent. If you like lyrics, you wont be disappointed. If you like an emcee who can switch flows, you wont be disappointed. If you like dense content, Black Natives gotcha. Its all here, and it all flows well. Besides the very conspicous absence of a "girl song", the only complaint I have about this mixtape is that it should have been mixed properly by a professional engineer for maximum enjoyment. But if you love good hip-hop, The Goat is definitely worth a download.


Rating: 4.75/5

direct link:
http://blacknative.bandcamp.com/album/the-goatee?permalink

Putting The Mic Down: The Maturation Theory (Part 2)

So last time out I was tellin ya'll how I've seen my affinity for hip-hop (as a listener) diminish. Not checkin for much new music, not buyin albums (Food and Liquor may have been my last purchase), and a general lack of excitement as a fan.

Lupe Fiasco "Theme Music To A Drive By"

http://www.zshare.net/audio/68104387b6112535/

Now lets talk about how that relates to emceein'.

Emcees (I wont speak for any other genre) put music out for many different reasons. In my opinion, all of these reason can be condensed into three major categories. The "3 F's", if you will. Fame, Fortune, and Fun.

You can plug in replacement words for the ones that I used (Fame=recongition, Fortune=a living, Fun=love, etc, etc), but it all boils down to the 3 F's, which I need to copyright cause it sounds dope.

For me, the fame was most important to achieve. I needed to know that people actually could like the things that I thought about in my little home studio. I needed that more than anything, the validation. The fun was 2nd most importatn thing to me. I wasnt the most important because my need to be liked meant that I would end of "working" to write and recite great lyrics, which isnt always fun. Fortune was distant 3rd on my list. This is because, by this time, the digital age was already eating away at the profitability of rap music (ironic that I give yall music digitally in this very blog, ah well).

This is where the meat of my maturity argument lies. *Carl Weathers* HEREWEGO!

As I said, I wanted the fame more than anything. I wanted people to listen and be impressed by what I had to say. Tragic thing is, I had no way to show the world my talents. Passin' out mixtapes hand-to-hand just wasnt gonna do it.........and then came

..........Myspace

http://www.blogger.com/www.myspace.com/shazmusic

Beautiful, beautiful myspace. The social network marvel, Designed by the homie Tom, that advented (and perhaps ended) my career as an emcee. Part 3, the conclusion to The Maturation Theory next time, folks.....