Friday, September 26, 2014

Welcome, Fall

Hello, everyone. Right now, you might be thinking, "Wow, it took a long time for someone to post here since Fiasco last did." You're right. Nearly a month, sheesh. But, here is what happened. The other blogger was supposed to post after him for the first week of September, but, whatever the case, that didn't happen. The second week of September was supposed to be my week, or so I thought. I was talking to Poe, and he told me that after three weeks of blogging (where each of us had a turn), there's supposed to be a resting / catch-up week for you readers, so he told me not to blog again until the week of the 21st. So there you have it, and here I am. I am about to catch you up on 3-4 weeks worth of material. Here we go!

POETIC DEATH / VON POE VII:

As you may already know, Poe dropped the music video for "Tight Rope" not too long ago, from his VONPOEVII album. It's a personal, emotion-driven track that finds Poe putting his heart and deep thoughts up on the first verse. He uses his poetry to illustrate his passion for music, life, and hope for his family/friends to be proud of him. But, on the flip side, he tries to wrap his head around people that use the "love" word too loosely ("It wasn't really love if you ain't meant the words you said"). Vida Killz follows that same path, by telling a story about a close friend, turned distant friend, turned foe. Their lyrics, and the tone in their voices, are both fueled by hurt and pain. Cameo from EmptySev. Produced by Ruman. As expected, it was directed by Poe himself. "Definitely one of my favorites. "GUTTA" or "Cowboy Bebop" will be next, haven't quite made up my mind just yet. Enjoy," says Poe. Watch the video in the mini player below, or click THIS LINK to watch it on Youtube, on a bigger player and in HD.


On September 19th, Poe met up with GZA. He didn't say much about their meetings, other than lending some advice about working hard for what you want in life (which could lead to you building with someone you look up to and deeply respect), that it was unbelievable, and that he got to vibe with the Wu Tang Clan as a whole (except Method Man). That's huge! Have a look at a picture of the two, with a little story below.




Between September 23rd and September 25th, Poe was in Vegas to network and personally connect with fans if they wanted to buy any merch. Make sure you stay tuned to his Facebook page, to find out when he'll be in your city... because that's a travelin' man!

A couple of weeks ago, Poe brought up something that I've been thinking about for awhile now: "When I was coming up, I use to study the lyrics of a lot of artist in the 90s / early 2000s. When was the last "mainstream" album you actually sat down and memorized? I'm talking from the intro to the outro? Again, the last album I memorized front to back was 50's "Get Rich or Die Tryin" and Nas's "Street Disciple"." Remember the days when we, as music consumers, would listen to an album continuously, from front to back, memorizing every lyric? Whether you listened to a song on repeat to get the words correct, or read from the lyric book that came with the CD (or went to the internet in search for the lyrics), or whatever. Remember that? I'm not just talking about one song either, but a whole album. You could put it on, push play, and rap/sing along to every word, on every song. I've come to find that that's becoming less and less of a thing lately, especially when talking about the rap/hip hop community. There are substantially more people becoming rappers/music creators in this field, with everyone wanting a piece of the metaphorical rap pie, and everyone is constantly putting out new material to stay relative (especially because it takes a lot for an artist to stand out amongst the massive pack). Time is fleeting, and there are just so many songs/albums/music videos/etc coming out every 10+/- minutes, and it's sometimes hard to keep focused on one album for a long(er) period of time--unless, that is, if they executed it in the best way, making every song a hit (you know, those albums that you don't hit skip on any song). A lot of people have short attention spans (no diss, just being real), and move on to the next. I find that true for me even, as a blogger/writer, because I receive hundreds of emails a week from music makers. I'll hear a really dope album, listen to it for a couple of weeks, and jump to the next one (I have to, it's part of my "job")... while also trying to remember to listen to/remember that dope album again, so it doesn't get lost in the ocean of albums on my external hard drive. There is just so much music. I think the last album that I memorized from beginning to end was Bambu's "I scream Bars For the Children," which came out in 2007. There are probably other, more recent ones that aren't coming to mind, but that's the first one that I thought of. (Side Note: That's not saying that I haven't heard awesome, 5/5 star albums by talented musicians since then, but more so the last one [that I could think of] where I know every word/lyric). What about you and yours?

Poe has a good head on his shoulders, and is always spreading knowledge and his thoughts on various subjects. Aside from the thought pieces such as the one above, he most recently touched base on the "beef" between him and other people/musicians (read here or below). Without going too in depth with what he said, he basically let everyone know that those type of situations are strictly between him and the other person(s); that his fans, or their fans, shouldn't let their own lives revolve around the beef of other people. That you shouldn't jump on the follower wagon of hating someone, for no other reason than they're beefing with one of your favorite artists. Read it here:





PAPA J. RUIZ:

On September 2nd, Papa J announced that his forthcoming album, titled HR-1955, will be releasing in 2015. "This Nov 2014 iii will give you guys the actual date. Still Expect NEW VIDEOS NEW MUSIC... maybe another mixtape for the streets you never know how iii will feel! Spread the word." He also shed some light on what the album means to him, and what he hopes it will do for you:

From Papa J.'s Facebook post: "HR1955: iii have done a lot of growing & getting to Know me, who iii am... iii want to speak for the underdogg the person (male or female) that is under a lot of pressure at this current time in life... "Dont give up" iii tell myself this every day, of course iii see my peers smiling & doing great things even artist that are so called "relevant" accomplishing great things.... so do iii give up cause iiim not there? Naw iii say my grace & stay pushing for my spot, everyone has their time & when myine comes believe me ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THEN WORDS! iiim working so hard on ‪#‎HR1955‬ so hard... iii want this body of work to speak for every underdogg of this time for the person struggling trying to walk the straight line while the streets are right outside your front door, for every person or young couple struggling to pay bills surviving off $1 pizzas & food stamps, this project is for anybody raising a child in the world we live in now a days! HR1955 will be a representation of who iii was at this time in age a representation of YOU and everyone else who is a THREAT to whomever or whatever is on top! 1 Love yall! "

He then followed that statement with a couple of new songs. First, there was "Bomb Dropper". Produced by Joogy Music (previously known as Joogy Jugg), Papa J. spits raw raps, with an aggressive flow, that lets everyone know that he isn't worried about the negativity and obstacles that try to knock him down, because it won't stop him from what he wants - he has a great work ethic and he'll get where he wants, despite what anyone says. He also raps about the love and protection he has for his family, his vices, his desires, and the "nonsense" he was once engaged in. Stream it below, and look out for it on his new album!


Second was "Controversy of the iii", also produced by Joogy Music. Unfortunately, it can't be found on Soundcloud, but it is still up on his Youtube page. To hear it, follow this link. Let's end this with a picture of Papa J when he was just a shorty! See?!


JMEGA:

A brand new True Masterz music video surfaced earlier this month, for the song "Dark Water," from the Tree of Life album. The song also featured a verse from Von Poe VII, with cuts by DJ Grazzhoppa. Over MighGawd's beat, JMega is on the first verse and Poe is on the second. The two kick around dark thoughts of violence, nightmares, negative energy, death, and the sacrifices one has to make sometimes. The grimy, underground vibe is delivered in the video, too, as it looks like it was filmed in underground tunnels. Watch it in the mini player below, or click this link to watch in HD.


Aside from that throwback joint, True Masterz also dropped two new singles. "Starman" is a reflective song over a jazzy, boom bap beat. It finds JMega rapping about his life and what made him into who he is today. "And if I only had one wish // There's no doubt, we'd all get rich // And this is for whoever you are // N**** tell 'em, that the world is ours." STREAM HERE! The other song is called "Keep On," and it's a motivational track about keeping your head up in difficult situations. STREAM HERE!

YARAH BRAVO:

The beautiful and talented Yarah Bravo celebrated her birthday two days ago, on September 24th. If you didn't wish her a happy birthday then, you should wish her a belated one now! Aside from that, she's been doing her usual thing: rocking shows, sharing words of wisdom, posting silly (#2) and fly pictures of herself, letting her fans know that she has a lot of messages to catch up on, and embarking on a new journey. She also recently became VERIFIED on Facebook! It's about time, huh?!




VIDA KILLZ:

Earlier this month, Vida asked for your help, regarding her new music video. She asked anyone to participate in choosing a positive affirmation, words of encouragement, or something you miss about someone you love who has passed away. Write one sentence about / to them on a piece of paper, and take a picture or film a couple a video for a couple of seconds (both must be in landscape orientation). It was optional to show your face or not. You were then tasked to send what you created to her email (vidakillz@vidakillz.com). Since then, she has received a handful of submissions (see them here and here, so far), where people have shared positive words of encouragement or documented their love for someone they've lost. It's become a beautiful thing to see, and I'm looking forward to the video for "Untitled (Rough Cut). If you'd like to participate, follow her rules listed in THIS EVENT!

On another note, started school a couple of weeks ago, and is in her last semester - you go, girl! She also let everyone know that Daydreams & Nightmares won't come out until 2015, because she doesn't want to rush the process. In the meantime, though, she's working on the third and final EP in the trilogy, produced by GRIEF8; a lot of music videos will come out; and, early next year, you can also expect another DeathKillz (Poetic Death + Vida Killz) album!

Lastly, look at how lovely she's looking! Rocking that flower head piece.

SOULCAT E. PHIFE:

Miss Soulcat recently solidified the first tour date in her "To Be Fly" European Tour this fall. First on the list: Madgeburg, Speicher B, at Olo Bianco, on October 25th! Look out for that, and more dates as the weekend and forthcoming week unfolds. She said, "Look out for YOUR city! And most importantly: Tell me WHICH city you wanna see me rock next!" You heard it, folks! Tell her where you want her, so she can come perform there!

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Welp, that's all, folks!
See you next time, and have a wonderful weekend!
Live Long And Prosper/
XOXO, TIFFOLOGY