What Did You Expect?
When Donnie Walsh took over as GM of the Knicks he inherited a team that was in pretty much the same state as the economy that Obama inherited. His first move was to hire a marquee coach and immediately the games at the Garden were fun to watch even if we did continue to lose.
Now say what you will about D’ Antoni and defense but his record with the Suns was 253-136 in five years so some defense was played.
Over the years Walsh was able to make miracle trades and get us under the cap room to give us a shot a LeBron, who took his talents elsewhere. Along the way, however, we built a solid team with Gallinari, Felton, Chandler(Wilson) and Fields and in place of LeBron landed Stoudemire.
Walsh was in process of building a team. Imagine Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Wilson Chandler, Gallinari and Felton (or Lin) as your starting 5 with Smith, Jeffries, Novak and Fields off the bench. This is a team built for D’Antoni’s run and gun, pick and roll style.
Also to all of the D’Antoni detractors he never had a full team for a single year to prove that his system could work in New York.
Enter Dolan, the poison behind the Knicks woes. He decided it would be best for the team (or as a reason to raise ticket prices) to bring Carmelo Anthony to New York. Walsh was against it for obvious reasons and Dolan let him go, in spite of all he achieved. I think the results are starting to speak for themselves.
The problem with bringing in Melo the way they did means we have to rebuild, again. Maybe it’s fortunate that Mike Woodson is a coach who favours isolation plays but what do you do with Stoudemire or the rest of the team who were assembled to play in D’Antoni’s system.
Now with all the injuries I fully expect the Knicks to be swept by a team that the core of which has been together for two years. Including the coach this Knicks team has been together for about six weeks. The thing that scares me most is that now Isiash Thomas is unemployed Dolan will find a way to hire him.
I’m not a basketball expert and I’m pretty sure that there are probably reasons why we wouldn’t have been able to assemble the team I mentioned before but I am a Knicks fan and I believe that unless we take the time to truly build a team and give them time to develop chemistry we’re going to continue to have sub par seasons.
More Than Just Another Trayvon Tribute
On a sunny Sunday morning Ja Biggs walked into my studio and handed me the beat. As usual I asked him the name of the song and when he told me the title I knew I’d be blogging about it.
Tribute To Trayvon isn’t just a simple account of what happened. Of course this song tells the story but it’s also a wake up call, a cry for justice and a reminder that blatant racial inequality is very much prevalent in America.
A True Artist
There are so many people that label themselves an artist because they sing or rap. I disagree, I think an artist is someone who creates because they are compelled to and who creates regardless of where life finds them.
In the wake of the worst tragedy to befall a parent, Nym Dot was in the studio the following morning recording a tribute to his son. Probably the hardest session I ever had to engineer yet even through all the hurt I couldn’t help but marvel at how well the verse was written.
Nym Dot (along with Mook and all of Dot Mob) is one of my oldest clients and definitely a friend after all these years. I’ve seen him grow as a man and a rapper and even through the worst pain in his life he still pushes on, releasing this video and making music.
A true artist.
Conquer Rap
Boom Blake of Money First is a man on a mission. He intends to be successful in the rap game by any means.
He has decided upon consistency. He has just released ‘Conquer Rap” the second single and video from his first solo project. In a time when the audience attention span is at an all time low it seems the consistent approach might be the way to go.
DOWNLOAD: Boom Blake – Got It On Lock
DOWNLOAD: Boom Blake – Conquer Rap
Studio B Now Open
We are all aware of this never-ending recession and we are all on a budget but we all still have songs to write, beats to make, and tracks we want recorded. It is with this in mind that I’d like to announce the opening of Studio B at Stush Studios.
Studio B is a demo room, a place to record freestyles, write songs and make beats. We are currently running Logic Pro and Pro Tools and have plans to incorporate Reason and FL as well as an mpc, sound modules and an 88 key weighted digital piano. This is a space where you can write your verses, toss around ideas, and also record whatever you like.
At $25 an hour Studio B includes an engineer who will record and mix your songs as well as tend to all your beat-making and production needs. With the creation of this second studio we aim to provide you with the financial freedom to take your time to be creative and to perfect whatever it is that you’re working on.
Feels Like Yesterday
Ja Biggs is a lyricist. He’s a rapper that prefers clever wordplay over snappy punchlines and he longs for a return to the days of rap where you would re-wind a song just to catch a bar you may have missed.
Hot on the heels of his Universal Records distributed “The Professional”, his new mixtape is an ode to 90′s boom bap; banging beat, dope lyrics and no-gimmick-necessary hip hop. “Feels Like Yesterday” is a throwback mixtape worth the listen.
Biggs didn’t just take a bunch of old school beats and rhyme, he sought out modern beats with that 90′s flavour and laced them with lyrics and flows befitting of that era.
“Go” is a standout track for me but the whole “tape” is worth a listen.
Getting Money
The title you’ve probably heard in a thousand different rap songs. The theme has become the status quo. The beat almost indistinguishable from others in the same genre. So why am I blogging this? What makes this different?
The marketing. His name is Borey Bills and he has printed $100 bills with his face (Borey bills) to hand out. This works on three levels.
1. At first glance they look like real 100s so the chances that someone will look at them are high.
2. The song is about getting money so it fits with the theme.
3. His name is Borey “Bills”.
I know this isn’t an original approach but kudos to Borey, he has taken something fairly commonplace and made it his own, literally.
Download the song here.
Can rap beef get old?
I was going to start this post with a brief history of rap battles and beef but instead I’ll say just that this is a 40 year old rapper dissing a 50 year old rapper.
Swagg is the rapper who has taken exception to something that was posted about him on Facebook. True to the essence of Hip Hop he has taken his grievances to the mic and not the streets (or social media). Once part of the same crew they are now foes and Swagg is letting the world know.
The pace is relentless and really funny sometimes. I think my favourite line is probably “put down the microphone and pick up your SSI” and he also talks about putting him in the old folks home.
I’ve been told there is more to come and I’m looking forward to seeing how this unfolds.
It seems the spirit of original hip hop lives on in all its forms.
Victim Of Valentine
Fate Live is part singer, part rapper. Though the cover makes him look more like the archetypal R&B singer he is, to me, more rapper. On this project he’s put away his arsenal and tales of an illicit lifestyle and shows a gentler side of Fate Live.
Not all songs were recorded and mixed by me just the ones that are really crisp and clear.
Download it here.
A Perfect Freestyle?
I’ve never been a fan of the rap freestyle, not to be confused with free-styling “real hip hop”. The former is a rhyme that has no real structure and often no consistent concept and the latter is spontaneous, improvised rapping off the top of the head.
That said, yesterday Nym Dot recorded “Coolin“, the first release from his upcoming 2012 AD and pretty much a rap about nothing.
However, what made this freestyle different was the solid beat, multiple flows and clever punchlines.
He didn’t rely on shocking the listener with how violent or sexual he could be just, how intelligent a street rapper can be without sounding like a professor.
As I said, I prefer songs but this is a freestyle I would definitely listen to.
