Whatever you do, don’t funk with my crew: THEEsatisfaction

By Jimmy Ness

Originally published at passionweiss

Do I sense a funk revival? “Trippy Mane” is the best recent ad-lib, TDE are the coolest black hippies around and Dam Funk has been making undeniable cosmic jams for years. Maybe we won’t be wearing flowery headscarves anytime soon, but these two Seattle ladies are definitely onto something a young John Travolta would enjoy.

Catherine Harris-White and Stasia Irons urge listeners to “Leave your face at the door” and “Turn off your swag” at the beginning of this carefree joint. “QueenS” is about nothing but groovin,’ boasting an extremely danceable beat that Daft Punk should’ve made post-Homework.

Multiple hazy vocal layers and background ‘ooh aahs’ remind us of the importance of enjoying music with drugs — with the afro’d pair telling everyone to shake their groove thangs in a way which comes off as genuine rather than nostalgic.

You might know THEEsatisfaction from their guest features with label mates Shabbaz Palaces on Black Up. But this particular track has no dark conscious raps or deeper meanings — this is simply some cool futuristic funk. You should probably get your platforms with goldfish in them ready for the release of their mixtape Awe Natural3 later this month.

In defense of: Chip Tha Ripper

By Jimmy Ness

Originally published at

passionweiss.com

Cleveland’s coldest is too often dismissed as Kid Cudi’s lesser sidekick. Undoubtedly Chip’s affiliation with melodramatic Mescudi has grown his fan base, often at the expense of his credibility. But he’s also a talented and likable rapper worthy of individual praise.

Charles Worth claimed to decline appearing on this year’s underwhelming XXL Freshman cover, and who could blame him? The 25 year old was part of the underground circuit before Cudi became a hipster hit and comparing him to the likes of

this

, proves he’s disrespected.

On Chip’s first mixtapes he rapped with an unremarkable Southern style, which sounded sleepier than a sedated Z-Ro. His albums suffered from the traditional pitfalls: bloated posse cuts, weak hooks, unoriginality etc. But like most early projects, talent was hidden amongst cliché talk of guns and girls. Charles soon took an evolutionary leap after his fourth project You Can’t Stop Me and left his Chopped and Screwed days behind for a more light-hearted style.

Nerdy humorists from the popular SomethingAwful.com forum helped turn Chip into a minor internet celebrity after his 2007 S.L.A.B freestyle. His absurd “Interior Crocodile Alligator, I drive a mobile Chevrolet theatre.” line spread everywhere and has millions of Youtube views. From videos of National Geographic crocodile documentaries to typical internet fuckery, it proved he knew how to write catchy and sometimes humorous lyrics.

Chip showcased his impressive flow and unique style on 2009’s The Cleveland Show, but his real magnum opus was released two years later. Gift Raps has thirteen solid tracks without a single false move. The coldest sounds better than anyone over Chuck Inglish’s inspired beats and has enough charisma to carry the project without guest features. From smooth double-time rhyming on intro “The Entrance” to boom-bap raps on the triumphant “Light One Up”, it’s still one of the most cohesive and replayable albums in recent memory.

The ménage a trios fantasy portrayed in “Plural” is one of Chip’s best tracks period. Charles tells an uncomplicated tale about hanging out with two females before a drug-induced party. Instead of focusing on lyrical dexterity, he keeps the rhymes simple which strengthens the imagery.

“More girls arrive to my surprise. They had a bag of shrooms and kush and didn’t bring no guys. Here we go, get ready, good thoughts and fly colours.”

And finally we have a hypnotic chorus, which threatens to stay in the listener’s brain forever.

“Two going at once, I like my girls like I like my blunts (wherever, whenever). And that’s two going at once.”

Yes, Chip is not covering deep subject matter or rhyming the elements on the periodic table. But rappers often forget that music is meant to be enjoyable. Charles doesn’t over-extend himself and covers well-tread topics with a new perspective or vocabulary. He switches from comparing Cleveland and Jumanji to warning listeners not to eat high fructose corn syrup, all with the same light-hearted tone. His feel good raps have more in common with the Run DMC’s of the 1980s, than today’s jaded generation.

Teenage skateboarders and trap-stars reuse each others lines while Chip spits under-utilized slang. Who else still says fresh or talks about handing out money instead of making it rain? 

“Forever I’ll be F R E $ H, chillin’ up in I-Hop with that country fried steak, super smooth Kenny G and these raps be the sack, shined up in the wax, bet them panties gon’ collapse.”

This year’s project Tell Ya Friends had a little too much filler and not enough Cbuck Inglish, but there’s still some of The Ripper’s magic on tracks like the audio smoker’s session “Soothing” or Lex Luger produced “Out Here”. The latter sounds surprisingly unlike “Blowing Money Fast” version ten and you can hear the beat maker was also inspired by the glorious Gift Raps production.

If Chip‘s strong points aren‘t enough to convince you, feel free to stick with Slaughterhouse reciting dictionaries. Sometimes less is more.

Nez and Rio Interview

This is my first feature at Fake Shore Drive. Makin moves!

Producers Nez and Rio recently worked with Schoolboy Q on his acclaimed Habits and Contradictions project. They showed their talent when the collaboration resulted in fan favorites Druggy’s With Hoes Again and NiggaH’s Already Know. The young duo has also made beats for Chicago’s new school of hip-hop alumni including King Louie, YP, and Chance The Rapper. We chatted about their recent Treated Crew affiliation, their musical inspirations, the lack of Chicago artists on the XXL freshman cover and Rio buying an early Kanye West tape for $5 bucks.

By Jimmy Ness

How did you two start working together?

Nez: One day we were at Rio’s crib and we were like let’s make a beat. It just happened randomly and from there it was kind of organic. It was never like oh “we about to be a group” off top. We were chillin’ on some cool shit, then we would be making beats and it just kinda grew from there.

Rio: We were both producers separately first and we were fans of each other’s work, and then one day when he came over it just happened organically. We started to work.

Nez: It had to be like 2005 so that’s a long time. It’s been a minute.

What music did both you grow up listening to?

Rio: Man everything. I came up in a house where there was never really a moment when my family wasn’t playing music. I really got into old soul, funk and jazz from my dad and I was really pulled into r&b and hip-hop by my older brother. I was lucky enough to have an older brother who was able to get the more graphic versions of the music that kids my age weren’t quite able to listen to. There was never really a dull moment when it came to music being played because we all were into it a lot.

Nez: For me, it was my father who was into hip-hop. He was playing hip-hop, jazz, funk, same type of shit and African music too. I’m from Kenya so he brought a lot of that influence and then my mother would always play heavy r&b and gospel. So between those two they really put me up on a lot of music early and got me hip.

How did you guys get into beat making?

Rio: When I got a little bit older and went to high school, I took a music class which was concert choir and they had this computer lab. In that computer lab some friends of ours used to have this program called Fruity Loops. It was music production, but it was Fruity Loops 1. It was like the first test demo version of the program, so it was free and in order to make music we would actually install Fruity Loops at the beginning of our class period. It was a computer class so they would allow us to work with headphones and we’d make beats during class and then delete the program and save all of our beats to floppy discs and shit. This was at Kenwood High. I guess it kind of just grew from there. Then we started to become more musical and put more into it. That and being heavy hip-hop kids too, I don’t really know too many hip-hop kids that were like breakdancing and doing graffiti and shit like that at our age. We were doing all that shit in like Elementary School so it was like a big progression for me.

Nez: For me it was like a similar act, I had been shown fruity loops when I was around 15. My homie Aaron had it at his crib and I was blown away I was like “Oh shit, you can make beats!?” I had always wanted to make beats when I was young, but when you’re in 8th Grade your mother wasn’t getting you no MPC or nothing like that.

Rio: It was too expensive.

Nez: Yeah, it was too expensive for her and you know it’s like a toy. She’s not spending a thousand dollars, it was like two grand back then. But once I got shown that program I was hooked, from there it kept going and I kept building on it.

Rio: It’s kind of funny. Looking back on it, I was always the kid that when my rap friends had a cipher, I would be the kid that was beat boxing. And I look back years later and I’m still that kid, it just kind of progressed.

Who were you inspired by in the Chicago scene?

Rio: I guess in terms of Chicago musicians, I would say the big Chicago producers like R-Kelly, Traxster, No I.D and then in terms of musicians Quincy Jones. In terms of hip-hop musicians it was like Common, Do or Die and Crucial Conflict. Listening to Kanye, I was I guess fortunate enough to have an older cousin who was kind of close to that camp, actually a part of that camp. I kind of watched that as it was happening, Kanye was like blowing up in front of my face.

I had to be one of his first hardcore fans. I remember my cousin Jua’s friend Don [Don C] tried to sell me his mixtape and at first I didn’t buy it. He was like “yo, it’s like five bucks,” and I was like “na I don’t want it.” You know cause I passed it off as just some random guy, and he said “trust me man it’s good, take it and if you like it then you know give me the five later.” And of course the next time I saw him I gave him five bucks to hold onto my part of the bargain. Jua, just his network of friends is just ridiculous. He’s friends with everybody it seems. Shout out to Jua.

You are part of the Treated Crew, tell us about the group and how you got involved with them?

Nez: The Treated Crew is basically a group of cats that were already cool. We were already friends, we already worked together and did music together. But basically everybody decided to unify, to come together, to come in this game stronger. Million $ Mano came to us both and was like “yo listen this is the movement.” He had just come back from the first leg of the Watch The Throne tour and was like “this is the movement G, let’s do it,” and everybody was just like down with it, you know what I mean. It was just a dope idea for all of us young dudes from Chicago to come together and show people that we all rock together and do some positive shit.

Rio: It was also at a perfect time because we were already talking about doing something else that was unified, kind of like a collective. Those are really just our homies growing up. For instance when we were young we were all breakdancing and rapping together, and those were all the same dudes in the cipher. This is really just kind of like a label. You know at the end of the day, we were really already on that same shit. We were already rocking together, it’s just a label that visibly works. It makes our individual work a lot stronger as eclectic music.

Obviously there’s a lot of young talent coming out of Chicago. What did you think of the lack of Chicago artists on the 2012 XXL Freshman cover?

Nez: You know with those things it just seems to be the outside looking in. A lot of times it seems like those things seem to be label pushed or whatever. I don’t think that’s the end or be all. Because the XXL cover came out and no one from Chicago is on it, that really doesn’t mean anything at the end of the day, it’s just publicity.

Rio: The XXL cover to me is like a weather forecast. How often is your weather forecast right? You know what I mean? So really at the end of the day like sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s not. And if you feel like it’s not, that should serve as your personal motivation to turn up your situation. If you’re not making enough noise personally then you need to turn it up, make people realize what’s going on.

You’ve worked with YP, King Louie, Chance the Rapper, Freddie Gibbs etc. Do you have any favorite collaborations?

Rio: I would say actually (Treated Crew’s) Mr Take Your Bitch is one of my favorites because it gives us the chance to work with all of our homies on one record. That has a lot people from our crew on there.

Nez: The Louie shit is hard too I like that. Louie has this joint we did with him called Band Nation. It’s going to be one of the next singles coming out real soon. That was dope too. But yeah everybody man. It’s cool working with everybody, I really like what’s going on in Chicago right now. It’s good energy. Everyone seems to be working and just on it, trying to get better.So that’s really dope.

You recently produced two tracks on Schoolboy Q’s album, how did that come about?

Rio: We gave the beats to him in person. Him and Kendrick Lamar came to Chicago. We tried to find out a way to actually get to their camp. We knew that they were coming in town and sought out their contacts and tried to find out who’s bringing them in and all that kind of stuff. 

A good friend of ours is Hustle Simmons, he actually linked us with J Script and he told he was going to have a listening session for Kendrick to come here and listen for beats, I think for Section 80. I guess this was his last chance to listen to beats for Section 80 from Chicago artists or whatever. The whole TDE clique came through and Q was actually there. I was familiar with Schoolboy Q through Setbacks and Michael Jordan. I was already a fan of his too, so when we were in the session exchanging contacts and music after we were chosen as a beat to listen to, I reached out to Q as well.

I was like “Yo Q, you know what’s good with you?” Cause you know, he was right there. And he was so dope to me even then that I wanted to work with him. We exchanged contacts with him, so he was like yeah “I’m going to choose some beats out of that group” and Druggies With Hoes Again was actually one of the beats that got played that night, that they chose. He ended up taking that and then we kept in contact and that’s how NiggaHs Already Know came to be too.

Do you ever feel disappointed with the way an artist has used your beat?

Nez: There has been sometimes when you’ve felt like maybe it could have been executed better, but I think recently the artists we have been working with have been knocking the beats out of the park.

Rio: I guess the more you do, the more artists tend to trust you and trust your opinion and your artistic direction for what the song should sound like. The more communication and trust that’s thrown around, usually the better the record. Sometimes you have the opportunity to work with a phenomenal artist like Schoolboy Q, where you can send a beat in an email and you know that it’s going to come back dope. But every artist isn’t quite like that, some people need you to give them the flow or give them a hook.

Who are you working with in the future?

Rio: Ourselves. We’re actually working on our second mixtape. As of right now, it doesn’t hold a title. We’re not positive that it’s going to be a Let’s Get Ill 2. I’m not quite sure if we want to do a sequel or something different, but the music that comes out is going to determine what kind of project it’s going to be. Look for more collaborations with Treated Crew and Schoolboy Q.

You both rapped on your mixtape Let’s Get Ill instead of using guest features, which is quite a surprising choice for producers. Why did you decide to rap personally on the album?

Nez: We always had the idea of being artists, because we’re the kind of producers that when we make the beat we are thinking about the entire song as it’s going along with the hook, the flow, what it should sound like. We already have that idea in our head and then a lot of times where it just got to a point where we felt like we had something we wanted to express in another outlet. It was just a time where we felt like we wanted to get an idea off and that was what came out.

Rio: Yeah, we’ve been rapping, writing and singing for a while. It just wasn’t public. That’s kind of like the thing with us, we like to work on something behind the scenes until we feel like it’s ready to be exposed. I think that’s one of the good things about us, until we feel like something is good enough to put out there we’ll just let it cook.

You guys are also making a documentary. Can you tell us what that’s about?

Nez: That’s basically going to give you a little insight into how we live, our personalities, get a chance to see who we are as people, as artists as producers. Just like more of a day to day insight to what we are about, you get to learn more about Nez and Rio.

Rio: Yeah, more about our creative process. Some stuff has to stay classified like as a result of us being evil wizards that just come up different techniques or whatever. Some stuff you just want to keep to yourself. But other things you know, there are definitely going to be windows into our world when it comes to our lifestyle.

Sounds like you are very busy at the moment. Are you both producing full time or working on the side as well?

Nez: Right now we are still working regular jobs to make ends meet. The artists that we have been producing, you know most of the stuff is digital. Digitally released. So we are still up and coming, very much so. But that’s temporary, we are working pretty hard to make this happen. I always say we are producing full time, that’s what we’re doing. Everything else is just part time

Boldy James interview

Boldy James avoided stale drug dealing clichés and showed he had a knack for gritty storytelling on last year's mixtape Trappers Alley: Pros and Cons. The Detroit rapper exposed his guilty conscience over warped soul production and showed an unheard side to hustling. James spoke

through a thick haze of marijuana smoke about being physic, trying to leave the streets and collaborating with Alchemist.

By Jimmy Ness (originally published at Passionweiss)

Who introduced you to rap music?

My two big homies from my block on the East Side where I used to live, actually we just came from over there. They call themselves Rich Gamble and Doc Proctor and they do beats. 

They used to rhyme and shit. I was like five or six when I jumped off the porch and started fucking with them.

What was your first rap album?

It would have been some Heavy D & The Boyz, MC Hammer or Dj Quik's Born and Raised In Compton. 

Were you inspired by any local acts?

Locally I would say just the dudes I ran with, like my fellow Concreatures and probably the late great Blade Icewood. He was a Detroit legend. He got murdered in my neighborhood about seven years back and he was the best thing smoking around here. 

Detroit was in a crisis on the music tip so I guess the Street Lord'z and Juan, they brought us back for a minute. But most of us, we really be in the streets around here. So most of those boys couldn't pull their rap dreams off. Like I said Blade got killed and now Juan is in jail, it's the same old story around here man. I'm just trying to break the mould.

Did you see a future in music?

Na I never did anything but write raps to help me temporarily escape my reality, that’s all. I was going to write raps whether I made it or not because that's just something I always did.

I got a big family man. I got three little sisters, I aint got no brothers but I got a whole lot of cuzos and shit. We mostly come from broken families so we be meeting each other all the time. If my people need me I gotta do what I gotta do to be there for them. So they don't have to resort to doing anything against their morals and do nothing crazy for money like sell drugs to the little fellas in my family, or turn tricks and be out here stripping in clubs.

I guess I'm the sacrifice you know. That's all that really mattered to me, everything I do is for my family.

You released your first project Trappers Alley: Pros And Cons in your late twenties, why did it take you this long to put an album out?

I just never got focused enough to take the music seriously. I used to think someone was going to hear me and think I was this great rapper, and possibly just drop a stack of money in my lap. But you know, that aint how this work. You got to put the work in first and you get the payoff later down the line.

I was in the streets not knowing that this could possibly change my life and I wouldn't have to take things to such drastic measures all the time. My younger cousin Chuck Inglish from The Cool Kids, he's been doing his thing for a minute now and we been doing music way before we knew any of this shit was going to pop. He stayed focused enough to pull it off for himself and his family, so I had to buckle down and realize the things that were important in my life.

You know how some people go school to have something to fall back on if whatever they are shooting at don't work? That's how the street is. She always has open arms. If ever anything wasn't working for me or if I needed to get some fast money or something, that's what I ran to.

Chuck Inglish supplied the majority of the production for Trappers Alley, did you grow up making music together?

I've been making music with Chuck forever. That's the first person I ever made music with other than a few people from the neighborhood like Proctor and Rich. I've got so many songs with Chuck and over Chuck beats that are in the archives, you would be surprised. 

We talking about hundreds of Chuck songs, no joke.

Brains also laid down some beats, how did you two link up?

See Brains is from Jersey originally, he stays out in the Chi and I met him through Chuck. I've only known Brains for the past four or five years or whatnot, but that's my people.

Brains he's my in-house producer, my personal lil' engineer you feel me? He help mix my tracks and we smoke a lot of weed, just get it in the studio, just create. That's my dude.

How did you feel when The Cool Kids blew up, were you still hustling at the time?

It motivated me more than anything. But like I said, whether I did this shit professionally or if I never touched a Cool Kids track and you'd never heard of me man, I'd still be writing these same raps. 

This is what I do bro.

You're talking about was I hustling then? Shit I aint never stop hustling. I'm trying to crack the code on this rap shit so I can pull this miracle off for my family and get out the streets.

I don't want to put my family through the same stories you hear about, the shit most black parents in my predicament go through on the regular eight to nine times out of ten. You know nigga get locked up, shot over some stupid shit, crippled, catch a disease, be out here strung out on drugs or some shit. You know that affect your kids. I'm just trying to let my kids see what a real man is by example. You can't be out here talking people to death, if you want to lead you gotta be a leader.

I really like how there's a lot of personal reflection on the album and you aren't afraid to admit weakness. Why did you decide to include this stuff rather than go the typical rapper route?

I'm a humble dude. Being in these streets, it took me through a lot of ups and downs. I've been through it all, so I know what to do in any situation. But for the most part we real easy going people over here man. We don't want to do nothing but make sure the family eat and make sure we happy with just the simple things in life.

Fuck all that other shit, it aint about that man. For the most part it's about what makes you happy. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy. As long as everything in line, I'm good. I'm easy.

Like I tell everybody man. It's just music. You believe what you want to believe. I'm just writing from a Donald Goines standpoint. I really live this shit so it's nothing for me to pick up a pen and tell you about how my day went or about a situation that just occured or some shit. I don't have a real broad imagination. I just be kicking it and I just tell it how it is man. I be humble, because that's really me.

Why did you call yourself Boldy James?

That was my big homie. RIP to my man Boldy James, James Osley the third. The significance in the name was he was my neighbor and we grew up across the street from each other. 

The streets took his life away from his family and all his friends, and we miss him.

Before he died my homeboys always told me I got this type of physic shit or something. I be seeing shit sometimes, I be calling it and it just be that down the line. Divine intervention or whatever you want to call it.

I picked the name before he died because my dude didn't rap he sold cocaine. So when he passed it was just weird that I took his name and ran with it, and my dude was like there you go on that same shit again.

So now he just live through me because he was my family and I really loved him man. He really took care of me and looked out for me. He showed me a lot of things and that's the reason I'm still here to be able to have this interview with you today.

Your album is extremely localized and talks about a lot of specific people or places in Detroit. How does it feel that people all over the country are enjoying it?

That's beautiful to me because all I do is write the music to make sure it hit home with me first. I feel like I'm a people's person for the most part you know what I'm saying? I deal with a lot of hands on shit with people on the regular so I know how to deal with people. When I write the music I expect it will touch real people in a certain kind of way and hit a certain spot in their heart, and if that's what it’s doing then I'm doing my job. That feel real good man.

I hear you've been recording a full length with Alchemist in LA and you are hoping to get a Prodigy feature?

For sure, we got like 10 done now. We just got some more work to do cause I work different than a lot of people man. I just crank the joints out then I sit back and smoke a million blunts, then listen to the the songs.

[On the Prodigy feature] That aint no problem man it's the family. What up Big Noyd. We the mob. Real talk. Everywhere I go that's the only activity I know, criminal activity. Mob life. All that. That's how we live, Detroit city to the rest of the US man. Every city I touch down in, that's all love. 

It's all good, if I aint got it I can get it.

You're also releasing a new project on February 27th?

Consignment: Favor for A Favor (The Redi-Rock Mixtape). It's going to be crazy man. I got my man School Hustle from the Drugzone, my neighborhood. Someone I knew personally for over 20 years. I got my man Rich, J.P. I got Blended Babies on a couple tracks on there. Brains is all through the joint, you know we put a couple of classics together for ya'll. LEP Bogus boys are on there and more.

Anything you want to add?

Concreatures #227. We here man and I just plan to keeping making good music for you all, and I hope you enjoy the show that's all, you know. Roll up.

Boldy James : Concreatures and Crack Spots

Here's my first article over at my favourite website 

Passionweiss

, in case you missed it: 

Boldy James has a love affair with the block. He sounds like Prodigy, flows like Curren$y and creates the kind of grimey tracks that most 90s rappers should be making. 

The 29 year old bares his wounds and retells days of struggle in a similar style to last year’s gangsta poster boy Freddie Gibbs.

Boldy’s proud of his hood conquests and the small triumphs that come from making illegal dollars. But he’s also unflinchingly honest in his failures. 

The Detroit native isn’t playing Scarface and importing Cocaine straight from a Mexican cartel. He’s trying to get off the ground while fighting with family and thinking about the consequences of life in prison.

Last year’s mixtape Trappers Alley: Pros and Cons snuck under almost everyone’s radar. It had enough of an East Coast sound to get the old heads jumping in their rest homes, if only they had listened. 

Chuck Inglish (James’ younger cousin) supplied the majority of production with help from relative unknown Brains. The album features raw soulful beats which allow room for Boldy’s slurred flow. At 30 tracks deep it’s too long for a single listen, but he carries the project surprisingly well for his first full-length.

While Young Jeezy and Rick Ross are busy being millionaires, James keeps his raps authentic with regional name drops and enough cryptic dope slang to make Raekwon smile.

“

Might as well give it all to me, I can move it all, magical with the wand, don’t panic when it dissolve, that’s just it’s purest form, no additives but the arm and hammer.”

When Boldy states “I sold dope my whole life” on track six, it seems entirely believable. His knowledge of local spots, characters, and jargon portrays an intimate knowledge of his craft. Despite a few missteps such as the boring sex talk on Killin’ In The 5

TH

, there’s a refreshing lack of unnecessary bravado and over-exaggeration.

The concrete king doesn’t spend too much time talking about imaginary guns or girls. Each of his detailed stories is mixed with a grim touch of self-reflection. Many lyrics seem autobiographical and he doesn’t shy away from rapper sore-points such as feeling scared or alone.

On ‘Optional’ James openly states that selling weight wasn’t his choice of career.

“

I deal drugs, because the money come much quicker. But I never wanted to be a drug dealer. Giving sacks and satchels to the young critters, setting a bad example for my little sister.”

These small hints at vulnerability make Boldy more interesting than most trap rappers. Admitting that he’s not invincible brings him closer to the listener. 

We can empathize with personal worries about safety and relationships, more than we understand putting rims on a Maybach.

James later personifies his street corner as the feminine Connie (from concrete) and dubs himself a concreature. They are separate entities, but have formed a tangled relationship.

“

My old lady steady bullshittin’ telling me to stop, but I’ll leave her fucking ass before I leave this fucking block. She loves me, and you ain’t gotta love me. Cause if you don‘t, the block will hug me.”

The duo have an unhealthy alliance, which is doomed from the beginning. 

Boldy relies on his neighborhood alleyways for income, but he also knows they’ll be his downfall. By focusing on the personal strain of selling drugs, the concreature enters under-explored rap territory.

Boldy James might be a feared dealer, but he’s also the first to admit he’ll be sleeping in jail cell sooner than a mansion.

The Crystal Method interview

Disclaimer: I was a kid when I wrote this so please withhold any judgements on quality :)

Dance duo The Crystal Method rode the commercial boom of electronica in the 90s and haven't let up since. Their music has appeared in more than 30 films and currently serves as the soundtrack to TV crime series Bones. Groove Guide magazine tries to discover the secret to making a decade of toe tapping beats.

By Jimmy Ness

Glow sticks and sweaty pill-poppers are the first things that come to mind when you imagine dance parties. But Ken Jordan, one half of iconic duo The Crystal Method, says there was more to the electronic scene in the 1990s.

"Early on it was kind of renegade. It was still a lot of raves. They were not that well organised, they were not at normal venues. You wouldn't even be sure the event was going to happen."

"For us, we were interested in the whole thing. Yeah there were drugs on the scene, but we were more interested in the music, the lights and the big stages. You have to make music that sounds good to sober people too."

Ken sounds remarkably grounded considering how far The Crystal Method has come. Before co-creating one of America's most popular electronic groups, he met music partner Scott Kirkland while they were working at a supermarket in Las Vegas.

The pair made their own studio dubbed "The Bomb Shelter" in a house they owned together.

"We built it inside of a garage. We didn't know how to build anything so we weren't very good at construction, but somehow those walls and the ceiling stayed up for like 13 years," Ken laughs.

"It was a real amateur job and it kind of looked a mess, but it sounded pretty good and it was soundproof. Early on we had no air conditioning. It was pretty rough in there, it was tough to invite people to come over to work."

Their first album Vegas came out four years after they started The Crystal Method in 1993. It was a breakout success reaching platinum status in the states with many songs used in film, advertising and game soundtracks.

Unlike dance acts who are good for a ringtone download and forgotten a minute later, they proved themselves to be a group worth knowing about.

The Crystal Method were invited to provide music for Hugh Jackman's latest film Real Steel and recently worked on a Nike soundtrack designed specifically for exercise. The group is also famed for their collaborations and have worked with Tom Morello, Scott Weiland and Pete Hook of New Order.

But what lead them to DJing? Ken says, in his casual way, that electronic music was "sort of like a natural progression."

"We liked Depeche Mode and stuff like that. It was just something you could do with samples, synthesisers and drum machines. So it just kind of lead down that road and then we went to some raves, and we were like wow this is great music."

The duo further ensured their longevity with a broad sound which included experimentation with rock and heavy metal influences.

Ken says that's not likely to change either.

"Rock is what we grew up listening to before we started making music. That's what Scott's dad played for him and my older brother for me. We love it then, we've always loved it and I think that will always be a part of our sound."

Sounds fair enough to me.

The Music Surve

First album: Space Jam soundtrack.

I loved the movie so it made sense that I got the album too. My first introduction to Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, LL Cool J, Method Man and D'Angelo, so not a bad start really.

This was my favourite track and I still know it word for word:

Note: Technically my first CD was actually the self-titled album by cheesy 90s group All-4-One, but my mother made me return it because it had subtle masturbation metaphors. I brought it because of the strength of this uplifting and revolutionary ballad. I was like eight or nine so give me a break.

First concert: Blindspott

I can’t remember exactly, but New Zealand nu metal band Blindspott played at my high school and I still remember the vocalist pretending to scream as a pre-recorded track played in the background.

Pathetic.

Last album: Big L: Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous

I had a big gap in my music knowledge so this album was on my to-listen list for a long time. Pretty entertaining album thanks to Big L's wordplay, despite the samey beats with shouted hooks.

Last concert: Kanye West and Jay-Z: Watch The Throne.

My first time seeing both of them and my first show at The Staples Centre. Say what you want about Ye's arrogance or the declining quality in Jay's music, but they are amazing live.

Favourite albums: A ridiculously hard question.

I’d say the holy Wu trinity: Supreme Clientele, Ironman and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx or Tool`s Anima album. Maybe throw in some Chip Tha Ripper, Vintersorg, *Shels, and B.I.G as well.

Musical guilty pleasure: More cheesy 90s R&B or power metal I liked when I was angry and 13.

If you're reading, share your survey answers!

Excuses...

I know I haven't been updating much lately, but it's not another case of a writer running out of steam.

I've been travelling from New Zealand to Brazil and across America. I'm currently in Miami, but will be settling in Canada soon, so more updates to come then.

Opeth - Heritage review

3/5 Stars

Heritage is a unique cosmic ride. Opeth might have ditched the roaring death vocals and replaced drum maestro Martin Lopez, but they still can't make a bad album. 

Instead of merely paying tribute to bands like Camel and King Crimson, the scruffy Swedes have fully embraced their prog-rock roots. Mikael Akerfeldt's clean singing sweeps perfectly over a mixture of 70s psychedelica and Opeth's signature sound. 

Acoustic guitars, flutes and pianos foster a murky folk atmosphere, which provide an eerie backdrop to poetic personal lyrics. Scattered heavy sections create an abrupt change of pace, but listeners waiting to hear mind-boggling drumming and technical fretwork will be disappointed. 

Heritage also loses some impact during the last three tracks which sound like an anticlimactic jam session. 

Despite not reaching the quality of their previous work, Opeth have pushed into a brave direction, one which might make you appreciate your dad's dusty old records. 

By Jimmy Ness

John Butler Trio

Saturday 7 May, The Frontroom, Wellington.

During the John Butler Trio’s stellar two and half hour performance, you couldn’t help but feel a little teary eyed at how good it was.

Beginning with Mystery Man, the group worked through their discography and also showed their political side on tracks like Revolution and Treat Yo Mama.

The concert reached several peaks with the audience singing their hardest during Better Than and Used To Get High, but it the instrumental Ocean that was truly magic. Butler showed he might be one of this generation’s best guitarists during the twelve minutes of fervent fingerpicking.

The Australian musician, who started his career busking on the streets of Freemantle, used a new guitar on almost every track as he switched between acoustic, slide and banjo. Band mates Byron Luiters and Nicky Bomba enjoyed themselves as they joked with the sold-out Wellington audience and Butler playfully criticised a fan who had requested Ocean for a second time.

Despite an annoying drunk trying his best to ruin the mood by shouting “Christchurch” during song breaks, the intimate atmosphere had everyone captivated.

Butler had the crowd under his command, even asking the audience for complete silence during a duet with his wife Danielle Caruana, who played in support act Mama Kin.

With so many adored tracks, it’s inevitable a few fan favourites such as Daniella or Media were missed, but those omissions aside, their lengthy set was near perfect.

This kind of talent raises the hairs on your neck.

By Jimmy Ness

Big Day Out 2011

Friday 21 Jan, Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland.

I’m proud to say this was my fifth Big Day Out, and despite the torrential downpour, it was one of my favourite years. Especially since I’ve made rookie mistakes other times such as not drinking enough water or drinking too much, causing me to be stuck in a mosh pit with the unbearable urge to pee.

Any who, here are the top picks from someone who spent literally nine hours in front of the orange and blue stages.

I Am Giant

After waiting two hours for my moment of glory, where I met Deftones (very friendly bunch), I headed over to the orange stage. Admittedly, I’m not really acquainted with this band or their music, but the audience were enjoying themselves and singing along word for word. Their sound was definitely reasonable from where I was standing, and even though I’m not a huge fan, they did a good job of holding down their spot on the main stage.

Rating: 3/5

Airbourne

This is another band I’m not really into because I think they do a little more than just pay tribute to AC/DC. You could say I think they are musically more suited to the pub than the stadium. But in terms of performance, they were definitely entertainers. From synchronised head-banging, throwing cans of Tui into the crowd and drinking cheap wine, these guys did all the right stuff. Mine and possibly everyone else’s favourite moment was lead guitarist Joel O’Keefe climbing dangerously high on nearby scaffolding to perform a solo as paramedics looked worried underneath.


Rating: 4/5
 

Deftones

While Airbourne were playing I could see the Deftones sound technician ripping his hair out trying to set things up. The main problem for them, and later for Iggy and the Stooges, was they couldn’t hear properly, which meant it was very hard to tune their sound. Chino’s vocals on the opening track were a bit off, causing him to shrug exasperatedly at the technicians and perform a masturbatory gesture with his microphone. However, despite my worst fears, this problem was soon fixed.

They didn’t play their White Pony classics and unsurprisingly, Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan didn’t come out for a surprise rendition of The Passenger. But there were still plenty of great tracks thanks to Minerva, Be Quiet and Drive, Rocket Skates and an acoustic performance of Sextape. Chino hit all the right notes and new bassist Sergio Vega seemed to be truly enjoying himself with his crazy facial expressions and constant grin. Sadly an hour slot meant it was all over too quickly.

Rating: 4/5. I shed a tear.

Lupe Fiasco

Firstly, I am a huge Lupe fan. I went to BDO in 2009 just to see him perform and meeting him is still one of my favourite musical memories. But as much as I love Lupe, this performance wasn’t great. After the show began with two false starts caused by sound problems, he performed a mixture of new songs like Beautiful Lasers and fan favourites Kick Push. Usually when an MC premiers a new song live the crowd goes insane, but Lupe played about five tracks from the album which seemed a few too many. The set list was also lacklustre, the crowd would be pumping and seconds later there would be a new track no one knew whether to dance or sway to. However, he did do a great job of playing hip-hop to an audience who had just seen Deftones and Airbourne.

Lupe later told the audience he had to wait a few seconds because his next song Go Go Gadget Flow was physically tiring, fair enough, but I vividly remember him launching right into the song last time. Hearing an artist tell you to wait before he does a high energy track just seems strange.

The show also featured a very average guitar solo which caused my bogan friend to look at me in disdain, and embarrassingly I had to agree, it was weak and unnecessary.

Mr Fiasco later apologised for any sound issues and said it was because it was the first show their Steppin Lasers tour. I also think he would have been better suited to the Boiler Room. He seemed to agree when he told TV3 he was annoyed he wasn’t playing there.

Rating: 3/5

Iggy and The Stooges

I had no idea what to expect for this one, but I was pleasantly surprised. Iggy took several trips down the front row and sounded great on Raw Power and I Wanna Be Your Dog. 
He was definitely his unpredictable self with the usual crazy rambling and dancing.

Returned guitarist James Williamson was obviously still trying to get to grips with his instrument, but the whole band played their guts out.

Iggy later invited fans to come up on the stage and join the band. I could see for some people who were hugging band members and dancing with Iggy, it was a truly amazing experience.

Rating: 4/5

John Butler Trio 

My feet were numb, I was damp and my ribs were being crushed by the crowd, but I loved this band and it’s a sin their set was only 50 minutes. Relative newcomers Nicky Bomba and Byron Luiters filled the shoes of Butler’s former band mates perfectly. Everyone was having a good time, with Butler and Luiters throwing a banana at one another while still managing to play and later, all three musicians having a go on Bomba’s drum set.

Finally, John Butler’s live rendition of the instrumental Ocean was seriously moving. One of the best live performances I’ve ever seen. Look it up.

Rating: 5/5

Rammstein

I couldn’t see Rammstein that clearly from where I was standing. But they sounded fantastic and their special effects were top-notch. The band barely spoke to the audience, which is often a bad thing but in this case it just added to their mystique.

Amazing show and I’m not usually a fan.

Rating: 5/5

Tool

Let me start with a little explanatory statement:

With the most albums sold per person worldwide, New Zealand is big on Tool, and I’m not afraid to admit, I’m no different.

I know some people don’t like them or their fans, because of the sense of elitism that comes with the music and I can fully understand that opinion, but you have to admit these guys are excellent musicians with a unique sound.

Their show was slightly toned down from 2007s Big Day Out performance, which featured surprise vocals from Serj Tankian on Sober.

However, it was still a masterpiece. Yes, I used the word masterpiece.

Third Eye and The Patient were surprise additions to a set list which also included Lateralus, Stinkfist, Schism and Vicarious. The crowd were singing songs word for word and Tool’s visual show was impressive as always.

I read a few reviews which said vocalist Maynard James Keenan messed up the words to Aenima, but I couldn’t tell. He’s a weird guy, he didn’t say a lot, and it ended as abruptly as it started, but that all adds to the mystery of Tool.

All three remaining members waved to the crowd after the show with Danny Carey throwing pieces of his drum kit into the audience and Adam Jones teasing us with his whole guitar.

As I gingerly walked away from Big Day Out soaking wet and stuffed, I knew the nine hour wait was worth it.

Rating: 5/5

By Jimmy Ness