Quick, name a celebrated group of Hip-Hop’s past where a member went on to match or top their former troupe’s success on a consistent basis. The correct answers are few and far in between and the former Slum Village pillar by the name of Elzhi is well aware that taking complete control of his solo career is a necessity for building his brand in today’s industry. Read the rest of this entry »

When thumbing through a list of rappers known to juggle the varying degrees of human emotion in their music, few would conclude that Torae was a prominent speaker on the matters. The Big Apple bomber earned his stripes in most fan’s eyes with his tough-as-steel collaboration album with Marco Polo: Double Barrel, a project that chafed the eardrum just from experience. But Torae maintains he’s a multifaceted fellow and this past Valentine’s Day, he released a more lighter affair with DJ Blazita in Heart Failure.

TSS Crew’s TC caught up with Coney Island’s lyricist on the helm of his heartbreaker to factor out the inspiration behind the tape and his career overlay as a whole.

Graphics by Anthoniaa

TSS: So…no one would go out of their way to send blatant shots at Valentine’s Day if there wasn’t some sort of backstory there. So…what did she do?

Torae: [Laughs!!!] Nah…it’s nothing like that! Definitely not aimed at one person. It was a number of things. First and foremost, I always get the questions from my female fans and followers like “we love you” and this that “but when are you going to talk more on our speed?” And I didn’t want to be conceived as a one-trick pony basically. And I kind of saw myself getting put in a box since I did the Double Barrel album, which was real hard. And being associated with Duck Down which is a traditionally underground and raw label for rap. So I wanted to show people that I’m an all-around artist and not what they probably think I am.

Everybody goes through different emotions. Sometimes you want to be in love, sometimes you want fight, play ball, listen to music—you know what I mean? People go through different feelings and I feel like it should be reflected in the music.

TSS: Absolutely. So Heart Failure is more of a personal expression then?

Torae: Yeah, I think it’s a testament to my storytelling abilities which I don’t know if people were able to get from my previous material. So you know, it’s just me kind of conceptually telling a story between me and a female, dating, getting intimate, having different disagreements, breaking up to make up. It tells a story. If you listen to tracks 1-11 straight through, you’ll see the storyline and I think it will come across clearer that way.

TSS: Speaking of Double Barrel, would you see this is the complete opposite?

Torae: Yeah! It’s the polar opposite of Double Barrel—in content. Obviously the effort and ability are the same and I think the conceptualizations of it is the same just like Double Barrel. But I didn’t go soft; I’m still spittin’ and it’s still real rap. I’m still using my same producers like Khryris, Eric G. Vitamin D., you know the usual suspects that people no more. I didn’t stray too far from what people know me for. I just wanted to tell a different story.

TSS: When you were recording the project, did you explicitly tell them that’s where you were going with it?

Torae: Yeah, they knew! Because I needed a certain sound with a certain feel. So I let ‘em all know what it was and they were like “Oh word? That’s what we doing this year?” [Laughs] But you know, it’s Valentine’s Day and what better gift to give the world than new music?

TSS: And you have “Outta Here” which is pretty fire. We haven’t seen Mike Shorey’s name in a minute.

Torae: Yeah! I figured if I was going to jump in the Fabolous lane, I was going to go all the way with it!

Both: [Laughs!!!]

TSS: Is that going to be a single with the video treatment?

Torae: Yeah, I plan on it. I think it will have a shock value for people not expecting it but it’s not sappy, it’s not corny and I think it showcases my song-making ability on a different level like “O.K. he doesn’t just do hardcore, boom-bap records. He can do stuff with a broader appeal.”

TSS: It seems like New York has struggled as of late to balance the commercial realm with the lyricism. You think this is an example of what needs to happen more?

Torae: Yeah, I hope so. At the end of the day, I can’t compromise my integrity to make a trendy record. But I love “chick songs,” I love feel-good music. I like to party. Obviously I can’t listen to Freddie The Foxxx and M.O.P. all day. It’s just not logical. Like I brought up Fab a few minutes ago, who gets a lot of flack for making commercially geared records. But don’t get it confused: you put that boy in the booth and he’ll spit. Same with Lloyd Banks. He spits and still makes those records. Or look at Skyzoo’s success with “Speakers On Blast.” We all know Sky as a MC’s MC; he can rap all day.

But sometimes you have to make records to show people it’s bigger than showing you can spit for hours on end. It’s bigger than having the ill bar count. You have to make records. This is a record business and if you want to stay in the business, you have to make records for the record business. [Heart Failure] shows that side of Torae.

Clout and credibility seems to be something of secondary importance these days, however when earned, it can serve as an unequivocal testament to one’s caliber of an artist. Which makes the capacity of Earl Stevens Jr.’s situation that much more interesting. Known to the bulk of you as Droop-E, the 22 year old maestro just so happened to be named after a figure you’re likely even more familiar with: E-40, a reality Droop-E doesn’t shy away from yet doesn’t allow to be his own means of securing said clout and credibility. Read the rest of this entry »

The lines of fact and fiction in Hip-Hop have been blurred indefinitely with no clear exit strategy to the gateway of infallibility. Yet and still, Brooklyn emcee PUSH! Montana remains true to the values instilled in him during the period of his lengthy tenure in the streets. As of recent, he’s been hitting the music scene with intense vigor like a determined beginner, although PUSH! is technically not a rookie. Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes when we listen to music, it’s easy to get taken away to a lifestyle that will never be feasible to great majority of us. Popping bottles every week deals more with Miller High Life® than Patrón. Partying with video vixens is cool when its written on paper and constructed in your mind. And driving the latest luxury cars sounds great, but most would settle for a job that pays $50,000 a year and no student loans. Read the rest of this entry »

Doing what you want usually conflicts with doing what’s expected of you. Such was especially true for Ayah, the Palestinian singer/songwriter by the way of Toronto. Armed with a sultry voice, she forwent school so she could pursue her true passion: music. It was a risky move as so many walk down the same unbeaten path only to reach a dead end. But with a mixtape, a debut album released and a collaboration LP in the works with the legendary DJ Jazzy Jeff, let’s just say she’s turned some heads. As Radric Davis would say, “bein’ indie ain’t easy,” but Ayah sure doesn’t give off that impression. The songstress sat down with the Crew’s S. Cadet to discuss her projects, upbringing and the pros and cons of being independent.

TSS: How did you first get into music? Moreover, what were your musical influences?

Ayah: I think that everybody starts as a fan of music and that’s definitely where I started. Just culturally, I’m Middle Eastern.  Living between the Middle East, Toronto and Seattle I was exposed to a lot of different kinds of music. I’m into everything from Arabic music to Rock music to Soul, Hip-Hop and even Country. My dad grew up in England in the 70′s and 80′s so he brought home everything from Bob Marley to Fleetwood Mac and James Taylor. My mom would bring home all the Pop CDs; you know the Madonna’s, the Whitney Houston’s, the Mariah Carey’s and stuff like that.

So that’s really where it started and I’d just be home, reading the lyrics on the inside and singing along. My dad got this CD player and you could actually dub vocals. So I would mute out the vocals and I would have a mic. Me and my friends would get together and I was Scary Spice and all that stuff (Laughs). I took piano lessons and from there the whole thing kind of evolved into what it is now.

TSS: From what I remember reading, you made the decision to push forth with your music and take a leave of absence from school. How did that affect your life at that point?

Ayah: My whole life I’ve been raised that “you finish high school then you go to college. Then, you finish college and get married and have kids” and that’s basically it, right? But since I was 14 or 15, I had been looking at different university brochures and trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. By high school I knew that I could sing, I wanted to sing and people enjoyed hearing me sing. But I still went to school because I do have aspirations outside of music.

Not everybody has to make a choice between school and music. But for me, I was at school and I really wanted to focus on music. I’m really ADD and if I don’t have a task at hand then I want to do everything. Then, I was like “I’m either gonna give both of these half of myself or give one all of myself.” And at the time I was like “You know what? I don’t have any real responsibilities at the moment. I don’t plan to get any right now so let me take this time out and do this music thing and really buckle down and try and work just as hard as I would in school. And if and when whatever happens, I can go back to school.

TSS: Was that a tough decision to make?

Ayah: It was a really, really hard decision but it was made for me personally, not everybody.

TSS: First off, congratulations on 4:15. Could you tell me about the creative process behind it, what it’s about and who you worked with on it?

Ayah: It was the first real album I ever put out. I don’t know if I promoted it too hard. It’s hard as an artist to put out your first album because you never feel like it’s where you want to be. You feel like you definitely want to grow, you have all this potential and you have this vision or image of what you want this first album to sound like. Or to have your greatest album be your first album. I’m at a point at my life where if this music thing doesn’t really blow for me, I have to put this album out for myself, you know what I mean? Just to say “I packaged the album, it looks like a real album, it looks like a real CD and I put it out,” so I accomplished something for myself.

So that was my number one goal with that record: to be like “this is where I was at.” I put this together and put thought into it. I did everything myself from buying my barcode to getting my photographer to dealing with the graphics to getting the distribution deal and just everything. I was like “this is what I really wanted to do” and it was kind of an introduction to a lot of people. A lot of people heard me from Problem Woman but hadn’t heard my original stuff or where I was going. So the creative process was cool. I think it’s like I’ve been trying to do (the album) all my life because it’s like before you do your first album, every song you do before that is like a potential song for the album.

Basically the creative process was really cool. I hooked up with different artists, local artists from Toronto who are dope and from elsewhere like Jazzy Jeff. The first record we ever did was on 4:15 so that’s really cool. I shot some videos, did some promotion, and put it out.

TSS: For the videos, were you involved in conceptualizing the shots and creating them or did you just let the directors you worked with do their thing?

Ayah: A little bit of both. I don’t know if you guys know Mr. Dexter, but that’s my business partner. Me and him are really cool and we talk a lot about what we’re about to do, come up with some ideas, go back and forth and just conceptualize. And once I have an idea of what I want to do then I’ll approach a director or a director will have already approached me and say “let’s do something.” Then we’ll shoot ideas back and forth for a game plan. When we get into it, things will happen like accidental shots will look really cool and we’ll use those. The plan is always subject to change but we always go in with one. In all aspects of my business I always have a plan but the plan usually gets tweaked a lot because you never really know.

TSS: How did the production for 4:15 come about?

Ayah: For 4:15, I kind of orchestrated the whole thing. I’d reach out to different producers. I met Jeff (Jazzy Jeff) through MySpace a couple of years ago and he sent me a beat, which was the “He Don’t Want It” beat that we did for 4:15. I wrote to it a month later and sent it back. He was like “Yo, this is dope.” I said “Cool, I’m using it for my record,” and he said “Cool.” Then he said “ Hold on Ayah, keep doing what you’re doing but we’re gonna work on something soon.” So two years later we’re going to do this record. But back then it was really me soliciting beats and all the funding was from myself. There’s a team I work with that is really cool and I’m really close with a lot of people. So obviously, as an independent artist you have to bargain and try to figure out ways around getting things done because you don’t have a big ass budget. But you make it work.

TSS: Going back to the Jazzy Jeff album, what’s the status on that right now? When is it coming out, how many songs have you guys done, are there any features and basically what’s going on behind the scenes for that project?

Ayah: Well that project is awesome and I’m really excited about it. We’re almost done. I’d say we’ve been working on it since last January. That’s the first trip I took down to Philadelphia to the studio. That’s where it all began until the end of the year now and it’s pretty much almost done. It’s wrapping up so it’s just a matter of editing what we have to edit and doing a couple more songs and making sure it’s right and taking our time to put it together properly and make the plan. So that’s really the status on that now.

TSS: Do you know when we’re gonna see some songs from it pop up on TSS?

Ayah: We’ve been compiling some stuff. We’ve been filming in the studio and things like that. We’re getting ready. I can’t really say cause…I can’t really say. I don’t want to say something and then it’d be a month late. But we are doing it independently. We’re doing it ourselves and we’re going to make sure we have full control over it. So when we’ll say we’re going to drop it, we will drop it and there will be no push backs. There will be no games around the project and it is what it is. It’ll be sometime this year. I’ll say that because we’re wrapping up.

TSS: As an independent artist it seems like you’re able to link up with whoever and make it happen. But do you ever wish you had a major label push behind you to make things happen for you, at least for financial purposes?

Ayah: For financial purposes it would be great to have the bank at your disposal. But the truth of the matter is that even with a label it’s not really at your disposal. You just think it’s at your disposal. But obviously it would be really nice to have this big promotion machine behind me and everything just be a given. Like “All you have to do is get your single and everything will be great.”

But I like where I’m at because I never approached a label. I’ve never really tried shopping. I have friends on a label that we’d have meetings with but they’ve never been meetings to get me signed. I’ve never reached for that. I’m not going to rule it out and say I’m never going to get a deal. But I’d like to have a deal that’s on my terms. I’d like to not have to sacrifice everything I’ve worked for. Every decision that I’ve made thus far has worked out for me. For whatever reason, maybe I just over thought the situation a thousand-billion-trillion times. I’m really careful and I just feel like every step that I’ve taken has worked out in my benefit, so I like where I’m at.

TSS: At the end of the “In My Lifetime” video, the viewer can see a plug for the Remix Project. What’s that organization all about?

Ayah: I know all around the world there are youth initiatives where people in the community or youths in the community, even the elder youths (twenty-somethings) that reach out and put together art programs, community centers and things like that. The Remix Project started that way and has evolved into something that is so amazing. Basically it’s a group of people who are in their twenties, been through their own life struggles and have put together a lot of government support, sponsorships and corporate stuff so they can have a huge facility that can take 30 kids every semester: 10 in the music sector, 10 in business and 10 in the creative arts sector. And, basically, they give them all the resources they can ever have or need to accomplish whatever goal they can dream of. So if I want to start a cleaning company, I can do it. If I want to be a singer the studio is there.

Everybody that works there is heavily in the industry and really successful at what they do. I was a youth worker there at one point and in the music sector. It’s amazing because they give them mentors and they have all the resources. They have a business center (and) everything you could ever want. If you walk in there with a dream they’ll help you plan it and show you how to get there along the way. So it’s a really dope place in Toronto.

TSS: Are there any downsides to being a professional singer? If so, what are they?

Ayah: Of course there are. You sacrifice a lot of shit. Your life is basically on hold until you “make it” or make some money. Not even make money but until you’re in a position to do it until you’re comfortable in your life. I’m not even gonna lie. It’s a great thing to do but it’s really hard especially if you’re serious about it and that’s really what you want to do. Your life is on hold (Laughs). I feel like I’m in pending. Like you send a message and I feel like I haven’t been read yet.

It’s cool, you make things happen but money gets in the way when you don’t have enough money or networking, where you don’t that person to get this to happen or to expose you. A lot of people out there are looking for cosigns cause that’s all they need. It’s really hard and you want to quit a lot but you have to keep on going because you can’t help it. And then it’ll happen (Laughs).

TSS: Do you have any other projects lined up other than the Jazzy Jeff collaboration?

Ayah: I got a side group secret project that’s not really a secret but the music is a secret. I’m doing something with Slakah the Beatchild that’s really, really dope. It’s like this sick ass fusion something…I don’t know how to really explain it but it’s not what I normally do and it’s not what he normally does. I don’t think it’s what anybody normally does. But it’s really cool and we’re ready to put that out. We’ve been working on that for awhile. It’s called “Sandy Black”– that’s the group. And I’m just working on some other separate music so I got a few more albums after the Jeff one.

TSS: So with that, are you getting into other genres outside of R&B and Soul or are you still going to stick to them?

Ayah: I’m always gonna be soulful and meaningful in the way that I sing and the lyrics that I write. But shit, sometimes I want to write a Rock song and sometimes on like 4:15 a little bonus skit or a Country thing. The music is music for me. Whatever music I might hear may inspire me to write something and if that’s in a different genre then cool.

TSS: Anything else you want to say before I wrap this up?

Ayah: Check out DJ Hero, Jazzy Jeff on the Michael Jackson tape (He’s the King I’m the DJ), Tona’s Direct Deposit, Richie Hennessy’s Bubbles In the Tub & check out 4:15 at ayahmusic.com. There ya go, that’s the family.

As you saw, Bobby Ray brought his show to Chicago last week. This, of course means that my homie and fellow Outkast aficionado, Playboy Tre was in attendance. I was able to pull him to the side and talk about his new projects, the resurgence of “real” Hip-Hop and his own definition of the word “ham.” He also opened up about how important the Goodie Mob reunion was to himself and Atlanta as a whole and the reason one absence from the show left a sour taste in his mouth.

TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With Playboy Tre (Part 1) from The Smoking Section on Vimeo.

TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With Playboy Tre (Part 2) from The Smoking Section on Vimeo.

TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With Playboy Tre (Part 3) from The Smoking Section on Vimeo.

Wordplay, complex deliveries and unpredictable rhyme patterns. All qualities least likely to be heard in today’s rap music but Termanology, the Boston bred cipher titleholder, keeps it true to original form with his stylistic branding of verbal skills. Ready to take fans back to the glory days while keeping one foot in the present door with his latest LP, Time Machine: Hood Politics VI, Read the rest of this entry »

With jerk fever gripping the nation with fluorescent, polka-dotted fists, it’s safe to the say that the New Boyz have successfully carved a niche that has earned them recognition as well as enough dollar signs to set the standards on weekly allowance. But is it gimmick or geniality that’s got them to this far? Read the rest of this entry »

With his towering frame, unconditional loyalty and voice of a thousand Newports™, Barksdale enforcer Slim Charles became a fan favorite on The Wire. Anwan “Big G” Glover, the Washington D.C. native who so capably portrayed the street soldier, is proud of his breakout role. But like Slim inheriting Marlo Stanfield’s coveted drug connect, Glover is ready to expand the franchise. Glover has long been involved in the music business as a member of the D.C. Go-Go group Backyard Band. Now that he’s making solo moves with Sony/BMG music producer and fellow-D.C. native Chink Santana, Glover landed a spot on a song called “Girlfriend” with Jim Jones and Juelz Santana. He’s also appeared in numerous music videos like many alumni of The Wire. In addition, Glover hosts a show every Saturday on D.C.’s #1 Hip-Hop/R&B radio station, WKYS 93.9.

Acting, however, remains one of Anwan Glover’s strongest passions. He’s starring alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs in a feature film called Shoe Dog, slated to hit the silver screen this fall. Although the gangster role is one Glover embraces and seems to be built for, the actor is vying for new types of casting. Aside from his entertainment endeavors, Glover also works with the non-profit organization Peaceoholics to provide D.C. youth with constructive alternatives to drugs and crime. After his own brother was gunned down in the streets of Columbia Heights in 2007, Glover addressed the press along with D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, stating, “We’re tired of seeing the yellow (police) tape” and called for an end to revenge shootings.

Anwan Glover sat down and chopped it up with The Crew’s Khalid Strickland, who couldn’t stop calling the actor Slim Charles. Glover laughed it off discussed his new projects, his humanitarian work and how he felt about The Wire never winning an Emmy award, among other things.

TSS: Talk about Shoe Dog, the new film you’re in.

Anwan Glover: Shoe Dog, we’re going to shoot that. We were supposed to be shooting it in July but they pushed it back to August. It’s going to be in Toronto with Michael Delfay, Dominic West (who played McNulty on The Wire) and myself, Anwon Glover. I’m playing a character (named) Jackson. It’s gonna be a good film. It’s not like my character that I played on The Wire but it’s a gangster role, na’mean? A gangster with a smile and I’m real manipulative, I just bait people into doing what I need them to do just for my purposes, na’mean? It’s gonna be a good piece for me just coming out from getting off of The Wire and moving on. Just being a young African-American actor out here in the struggle. Just trying to put my face out here for these different roles because they you’re so much getting typecast a lot. Coming off the best television show, The Wire, I get typecast a lot. I go read for a lot of those different gangster roles but I’m really trying to break out of that. You do what you got to do to get the bills paid.

TSS: Speaking of which, what’s good with the music? You’ve got something poppin’ off with Juelz Santana, Jim Jones and Chink Santana.

Anwan Glover: Yeah, it’s called “Girlfriend.” We just left satellite radio with Angela Yee. I was on her show before, on Lip Service. She got the morning show, it’s hot; we just played it on there. I got a lil’ sixteen on there, I’m killin’ it. It’s called “Girlfriend” and it’s gonna be on Jim Jones’s album. I’m trying to work out a deal and get signed with Sony, so we got stuff on the table. I’m doing magazine ads, just tryin’ to jump out there. I also got a good look on this piece (a new series) for HBO. It’s supposed to be like five or six episodes they’re writing me in for, so you can look out for Anwan on that should be like sometime in the fall. So I’m just hustlin’ right now, man. Read the rest of this entry »

Too often, MCs claim to be incorporate that “nineties feel” into their music but rarely deliver on such promises. Thankfully for most older fans, Truck North doesn’t know any other way to bring it. In fact, the Philadelphia freestyler was so headstrong, his mixtape — the stellar Truck Jewels — almost didn’t happen because mixtapes have become “too flagrant” as he so eloquently put it.

Get inside the head of a traditional MC who hates ringtone rap and where he thinks he measures up with Black Thought in terms of bar for bar explosiveness. He’s appeared on the last three Roots’ albums come to think about it…

TSS: So you’ve established your own footing with Truck Jewels. How do you feel about that?

Truck North: I feel good about it! I was an anti-mixtape dude. For obvious reasons of course. The game just got fucked up. I was like “Man, fuck it. I’m not gonna do a mixtape. I’m not gonna be like everybody else.” But it was dope though cuz it was all based off of people actually wanting to hear something.

TSS: And it stayed true to the actual mixtape format with some songs clocking in a little over a minute…

Truck North: Oh definitely! In and out! I know how my attention span is and I can’t expect somebody to devote an hour and forty-five minutes to my ego (Laughs). Thirty songs and shit…c’mon man.

TSS: Backtracking a little bit, where did you get your first national spot on a record. You were on The Roots’ [The Tipping Point]. Was that the start of it all?

Truck North: Nah, that was my first Roots album. The first thing I ever did that ever came out was some joint called “Bang, Bang” that ended up getting used for OkayPlayer’s True Notes Vol. 1 and subsequently ended up getting used for NBA 2K5. Read the rest of this entry »

Felicia Pearson was born to play her eponymous character “Snoop” on HBO’s The Wire. Discovered by actor Michael K. Williams (b.k.a. Omar Little) in a Baltimore club, the street-certified Pearson had no buffer zone between putting in work for her set and putting in work on the set. But cast as drug lord Marlo’s loyal assassin, Pearson and her riveting performances are forever seared in the memories of Wire aficionados.

Her tough life, five years of which were spent doing a bid for second-degree murder, provides a background story many rappers would sell their souls for. Instead of glorifying her checkered past, Felicia has transitioned into more positive things. She volunteers as a prison-visitor, works anti-violence and literary campaigns and runs a youth drama organization with Wire alumni Jamie Hector. Pearson is also an author, penning her biography Grace After Midnight. The inspirational book, which held down the #1 spot at the Essence Magazine Book Club, is in the midst of being reprinted. Felicia Pearson is also a rapper which immediately brings to question if there’s room in the Hip-Hop game for another Snoop?. The baby-faced actress thinks so, recruiting R&B singer Lil’ Mo for the single “Lovely” on her forthcoming yet-to-be-titled album. In addition, Pearson has the lead role in a new film helmed by Ed Burns and David Simon, the salient writing duo that produced The Wire.

The Crew’s Khalid Strickland hooked up with the laid-back Felicia “Snoop” Pearson to discuss Grace After Midnight, her pearls of hood wisdom and the line between reality and fiction on The Wire.

TSS: Congratulations on the success of your book.

Felicia: Thank you.

TSS: Explain the title Grace After Midnight. What’s the science behind that?

Felicia: Grace is my accomplishments now and midnight is my past history… just coming through the struggle, you know? And I just came up with Grace After Midnight.

TSS: What are your goals with this book?

Felicia: Just so people can understand me and my history and where I came from. Hopefully everything that I say, some of it will touch somebody and change somebody’s mind about something. It’s a lot of things out there that kids and adults go through that they can relate to in the book. They read it and hopefully see that I overcame a lot of things and hopefully they think they can do the same thing. That’s all.

TSS: Back when you were in the streets heavy did you have aspirations of being an author or actor? Or did you just go where destiny took you?

Felicia: I just went where my destiny took me.

TSS: What do you say to hood folk who can’t picture life beyond the block, as if that’s all they’ll ever have?

Felicia: Don’t think that at all because there’s a lot out here in this world. There’s a whole world out here. Like around my way, I used to think about that myself. Like, “This is all I’ma accomplish… just huggin’ the block” and this, that and the third. And God said, “Nah, there’s another way out and I’ma show you.” So just keep the faith and if you can dribble a basketball up and down the court or run a football… soccer, anything… just keep on praying on your dream and it will come true.

TSS: Many Wire fans will see Grace After Midnight and say, “Yeah, it’s a continuation of The Wire. It’s gonna be some straight gangsta, drug shit.” Is that what the book is about or should they curb their expectations a bit? Read the rest of this entry »

You probably hadn’t heard of Finale prior to his A Pipe Dream And A Promise release. He didn’t have the blog buzz, he wasn’t throwing out music for free as fast as he could record it, and he wasn’t forcing himself onto the masses in an effort to win folks over with everything but music. Instead, he has utilizing the the Bob Wylie approach; taking it one step at a time ensuring that each move is correct and not premature. It’s a method the Detroit native has used throughout his career, which as he describes in this interview is one unique to the rest of his peers in Rap.

Finale’s patience and self-discipline laid the foundation for his debut, the bluntly titled A Pipe Dream And A Promise. Recorded over a 5 year period the album plays out like a meticulously crafted collage. Boasting a dream team of producers from Nottz, Dilla, Flying Lotus, Black Milk, Oddisee and others there is surprisingly high level of cohesion that carries throughout, which is a direct reflection of Finale’s vision. The same precision carries into his lyrics, with each word in each bar playing a specific position and covering a wide range of topics rooted in reality. All the elements of a great album are in place, and it’s just a matter of time before listeners catch on. If it happened over night it wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be Finale.

TSS: I gotta kick it off with the most basic question; what originally sparked your interest in Hip-Hop?

Finale: I used to write a lot. All the way through High School I was always writing, but not even rap lyrics. But uh, after I graduated High School I went to Morehouse. When I was out there I linked up with a crew called who now goes by Shaman Works. I don’t really do the whole crew thing, but that’s my family. They showed me the ropes and taught me how to write bars and structure songs. That’s when I fell in love with rhyming and that’s when I knew that this is what I wanted to do. I remember someone gave me a tape of OC’s Jewelz and I just listened to that non stop for like two semesters straight. That album really made me want to write. Read the rest of this entry »

Ladies and gents, Wale has arrived.

After a few years of putting in work on a regional & underground level, his music was thrust into the spotlight with the release of several critically acclaimed mixtapes. And now, the D.C. spitter is ready to take it mainstream with his Attention Deficit album around the corner.

Even though his world has grown larger & his options expanded, Wale is steadfast in his determination to stay an individual in a world of collaborations and co-signs. Early one morning recently, he got on the phone with the Crew’s David D. to talk about this dilemma, the reception to his single, “Chillin” and which character from The Wire he is most like.

Wale: Hello?

TSS: Hey, Wale?

Wale: Hey, how you doing man?

TSS: What are you up to right now?

Wale: I’m on my way to New York from D.C. right now. (Brief yawn) I got a couple of photo shoots to do and interviews.

TSS: I hear you yawning, they wearing you out man?

Wale: Yea, man, I didn’t get home till late. We had a crazy show in D.C. last night.

TSS: Yea, I ran into you here at the Jugrnaut in Chicago a few weeks ago. You were doing an in-store and you seemed pretty tired then too. Has the tour kind of taken its toll on you physically?

Wale: Absolutely. I got two shows tonight and one tomorrow in New York. It’s been a lot of tough work.

TSS: Have you looked at this like boot camp for the tour you’re supposed to be going on with Jay this summer?

Wale: I think this is actually the hardest part right now. It’s just a lot of early flying. (Simulates a yawn) Going to bed late. Not eating right. Y’know, just eating whatever you can get your hands on because everything is closed.

TSS: Now, your “Chillin” video recently came out then didn’t come out and as soon as it came out you went to Twitter to kind of explain it. Do you feel like you have to justify a single like that to your core audience?

Wale: Naw, I mean. Not necessarily explain it. I think it’s important just in case everyone is not hip to what’s going on. I just gotta get them a little hip to it because some people understand what’s going on and some people don’t. Sometimes you gotta throw a little bit out there to say “look” so people get it now.

TSS: And you have this “Family Affair” video also coming out at the same time. Is this to reach some sort of balance to reach that side that doesn’t get it?

Wale: Naw, that’s what I do. Mixtape About Nothing is kind of my niche. I’m the creative song-writing guy. Or the go-go party record guy. I want to do something different because the concept of this album is attention deficit. It’s left. Or not necessarily left. It’s just to bring you in my world.

I feel like that was the best way to do it, because most people send out an invitation to go party and get the most popular girl to send out invitations. When you hear the album, you’re gonna hear a lot of those records that are like “wow, that’s an amazing record.”

TSS: It looks like you have Slim Charles from The Wire in the video.

Wale: Yeaaaah. Well, I grew up listening to him and his band growing up. He’s in one of the biggest bands (Backyard Band) in D.C. history. So, I grew up watching him and we became cool like three years ago. It was kind of a no-brainer when I got the record. I saw the treatment and I knew who I wanted to play that role.

TSS: How closely did you follow The Wire?

Wale: Oh, I’ve seen every episode.

TSS: Which character from the show is Wale? Read the rest of this entry »

Props if you know him from Emanon, and if it wasn’t until Below The Heavens with Blu that convinced you of Exile’s musical genius, welcome. Since the early 90′s the Los Angeles-bred and buttered producer has been steadily building a resume of work few can rival. From underground 12-inches to commercial gems (think: Mobb Deep’s “Pearly Gates”), he covers all ground with a sound identifiably his. Not to be outdone by his works with other artists, Exile has two solo albums of his own: Dirty Science and his latest conceptual masterpiece, Radio. Sampled purely from the radio (yes, you read that correctly), the aptly titled album is his first purely instrumental endeavor and without the use of vocalists.

Yet, Exile is able to say more than most rappers choose to. He is a true master of the MPC, with turntable skills to match. An innovator. A visionary. Smart. Humble. Funny and for real with it.

If my words sound bold, check the facts, and without further adieu…

TSS: What was the first instrument you got your hands on?

Exile: The first instrument was an accordion. I was living in my Grandfather’s garage and he would give me accordion lessons. It didn’t really stick though.

TSS: Have you applied some of those lessons to your music later in life?

Exile: Yeah, definitely. That was my first time really learning keys, and I still play keys today.

TSS: What about in terms of beat machines?

Exile: It was actually tape loops first. I had one turntable and two tape decks and I would loop em up. I think it was the “Genius Of Love” sample (Hums beat). Rewind it and then leave a silent part. I’d do that for like three minutes, so I’d have a tape of that playing over and over with silent parts that I had to fill in. I’d play that and then fill in the gaps. So I could take a full loop, put it into the other cassette deck and play that. Then I would record on the other one and put stuff on top of it. I pretty much had infinite tracks.

TSS: Damn. How long were you doing that?

Exile: I did that for a couple of years and then eventually I got a push button sampler and a 4-track. That was when I first started putting out music. Making tapes and I even pressed it up on vinyl like that. Then I moved to the Roland MS1 and then eventually the MPC.

TSS: How are old were you when you were looping the tapes?

Exile: Eighth grade, but I actually started scratching on one turntable in sixth grade. I had one one of those home stereo component systems with the tape deck, radio and turntable up top. What I’d do was press the tape button down while hitting the phono button so it’d act like a transformer button. I used to scratch Star Wars records and stuff like that.

TSS: Since you were creating and cutting up sounds so young, when did the idea of being producer really resonate?

Exile: I always wanted to be a Hip-Hop producer and DJ. Ever since Junior High I knew. I used to fantasize, like when I was getting ready to scratch, I used to fantasize that I was at a KRS-One concert and Kenny Parker was sick or something and KRS would call out, “Can anybody DJ!?!” And then I would start scratching like I was on stage with KRS-One. I don’t know if that has to do with anything, but I thought I would let you know that (Laughs).

TSS: So it’s always been in the plans?

Exile: Yeah, I mean I know this sounds strange, but I used to think like if I had to make a record with just noises from my mouth, like a record label said that’s what you have to do, then I would do it. Again, I don’t know what that means (Laughs). I guess it just shows how much I really wanted to do it that I would just fantasize on some weird shit like that.

TSS: Was there a turning point in terms of your sound and productions? I ask thinking about the earlier mellow Emanon stuff to the “Algae” joint and the more upbeat or electric stuff. Read the rest of this entry »