The earliest musical influences in my life were Bob Dylan and John Lennon. I think these two musical poets were ahead of their time and two of the greatest song writers of all time. Jazz fused with hip hop is the perfect blended sound for me, however I'm not very musical when it comes to jazz, but progression is inevitable and I hope to soon grasp that mixture better. Pharcyde was crucial in early leaders of this sound. Canonball Aderly is a musical genius in my book and another favorite. As far as strict emcee influences, I'd say my favorites at least are: Immortal Technique, Last Emperor, Vakill, Craig G, C Rayz Walz, Juice, Eyedea, Brother Ali, Eligh, Masta Ace, Big Daddy Kane and the Genius. Labeling an influence to the sound of my music is difficult because I still consider myself a novice producer/emcee, therefore I'm not established enough yet to make the exact sound I'd like, but I'm breaking this down into a science and progressing towards that goal. However, below are banners for friends of mine who HAVE acheived their sound and define the vast range and scope of Northwest hip hop very well. I encourage you to click on their pages and take a listen if you have the time because they make incredible music.
I'm not famous enough to write in the 3rd person yet so I'll just keep it simple. I hail from the cold, cloudy and damp Northwest (Eugene, Oregon), but have relocated to Hollywood, California. As much as I love my home I had to leave it behind me in search of more career opportunities, but rule 1: Never Forget Where You Come From and I definately don't intend to.
I was born into this world the son of a poet and grandson of a 9-time author, but like most children of Reaganomics the home(s) I grew up in were of broken origins. So naturally I spent the formidable years in the not-so-nice Daneland Mobile Home Park with a dysfunctional mother who birthed 6 children with 5 men. Therefore the foundation for my strength grew out of my instinct to survive, some might refer to it as Social Darwinism. So the story went for many, many years, until I was relocated by my father, a former SDS Leader in San Francisco in the 1960's. Thanks to his stern hand and unwaivering discipline I only spent a little bit of time in the system and no matter what was happening in my life learned to cherish education.
Fast forward several years I landed at the University of Oregon, where I studied Political Science and Business Administration. Thanks to the ever-soaring costs of higher education, I enlisted in the Army Infantry in 2002 to pay for books. So I spent 6 years in the Army, 18 months of which was in Baghdad, Iraq. For more details on that deployment by the book : The Devil's Sandbox. It was a book written that documented my unit's combat tour. While in Baghdad, my boys Lafa Taylor and Domique Dillkins copped me everything I needed for a portable studio and mailed it to me and so the journey began. I also documented 82 hours of footage and took over 10,000 pictures as well. All of which is the basis for the untitled DVD I am producing that will accompany my debut LP.
Now in 2008, I'm pursuing career interests in corporate America and trying my best to get the rest of these uncompleted projects up off the ground. Music is my passion, but unfortunately in such a shaky economic system there is no way in hell I'd be willing to put all my eggs in that basket. So, I do what I do for $ and make music as a hobby and creative outlet first, and for extra revenue and fame 2nd. I have managed to find myself around amazing talent over the years and prefer to put most of my efforts towards helping them achieve their goals. Some of the cats I think you should check out from the Northwest include: Lafa Taylor, Endr1, the Sandpeople Crew, Runaway Slave, Animal Farm, the Phormula and many, many others (peep my top friends space).
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wooohooo! I'm SO excited. . . just waiting for the kids to get to the hotel, they're sleeping with us tonight cause of cat's surgery in the morning, but I'll call you soon! MUAH!
Haha yeah but mine's prettier :) Except I wanna fix it so the writing's not red. . . But I love you! I'm just gonna get in the shower, gotta get ready for pictures tonight! Talk to you later bebe
This is true. I am an Irish Catholic. My paternal grandparents and maternal great grand parents came over on the boat, both from County Cork. Are you Irish Catholic?
like the new pic...your a daddy now huh? j/k lol. so jrock and I decided to go downtown last saturday night and skateboard from bar to bar instead of driving....was fun till I ate shit and separated my right shoulder from my clavicle! I'm gettin too old for this shit son!
sometimes those high paying jobs just arnt enough to pay for all the bullshit down there. why do u think my stomach doesnt hurt anymore. im making a third of what i did down there and still less stressed
Na its kinda like saying wow were real good at raging and having way more fun that NOHO loosers. Really tho u are jus ignorant to judge if u havent been. There deff is that pretentious vibe out there but it is also counter balanced with dope awake kids too. I found 3 thousand dollars on the ground on the playa and laid a pipe or two, life good. I still needta send u that painting unless u gonna be in oregon soon. Thanks for havin me over there for a few, had fun. keep it tryyyl godi
