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jon Braman
Hip Hop / Funk / Acoustic

"the godfather of ukulele hip hop"

new york, New York
United States

Profile Views:  18270




Last Login:  10/6/2008
View My: Pics | Videos

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   jon Braman: General Info
Member Since10/6/2005
Band Websitejonbraman.com
Band Members

Order one copy of Climatastrophunk: $12

Order two copies of Climatastrophunk at holiday discount: $20

Order THREE copies of Climatastrophunk at holiday discount: $26

Get Climatastrophunk on itunes.

Get songs from 'Sprouting daisies out of my hair' on ITUNES HERE
Pick up "Sprouting Daisies Out of My Hair" from CD BABY, click on this
Buy the CD

InfluencesStay posted on Jon's ukulele hip hop happenings:
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Sounds Likeandre 3000 playing a ukulele rapping about saving the environment? i don't think i'm joking. g-love, jack johnson...big boi playing a ukulele rapping about condiments and the human condition?
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   Upcoming Shows ( view all )
Oct 31 2008 8:00P
Jammin Java Vienna, Virginia

jon Braman's Latest Blog Entry  [Subscribe to this Blog]

news, previews, reviews  (view more)

new album on the way  (view more)

VOTE 4 VERSES - limited time posting!!!  (view more)

GURU video/lyrics  (view more)

COUNTDOWN TO CLIMATASTROPHUNK  (view more)

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   About jon Braman
Order 'Climatastrophunk' now!

Read the album's first review in OnTap magazine.

Guru video has been selected to be in a film festival! Check it out: Foursite Film Festival

Ukulele folk hip-hop - how did that happen?

Well, I found the ukulele in a garbage can when I was in high school and carried it everywhere. The hip-hop? That came after college, one rough summer in Hartford, CT. I was working 80 hours a week, organizing with students for clean air and power. It was the kind of thing where you talk and talk all day long about democracy and justice and health and change. You take it door-to-door and people keep slamming them in your face but you just keep talking, keep believing. On top of this, I'd just been through a couple kamikaze attempts at true love that left me raw and hungry. I turned to music, but none of my favorites, not the Beatles, not Miles Davis, not Bob Dylan were up to the task of getting me through. I needed something that just rocked. Something I could lean into, wail out at the top of my lungs; something to pour full of the gritty, buzzing exhaustion and hope of those days. My ukulele was with me, serving as my best friend, bodyguard and security blanket. But I couldn't plug it in or strum very loud. It’s hard to be hard-hitting with a small instrument most people think of as a kids toy. So rapping was really the only choice.

I started listening to hip hop radio, even the commercial crap, I started stuffing my brain with as much outkast, biggie, common, the roots, erykah badu, jay-z and lauryn hill I could get my ears on. On saturday mornings I would wake up with words & rhymes sprouting in my head and walk out with my uke through the streets, flowing by the sleeping houses. Late at night, I tested my new songs with my team over trays of greasy pizza. I've been writing songs and poems and playing music my whole life, but these songs were a totally new experience. People kept thanking me, telling me I had hit something, even telling others. Maybe I was delirious from lack of sleep, but I felt like people needed these songs - songs that are unabashedly political but also intimate, funky music to move to, laugh to, get dumped and fall in love to, music that got to the heart of what was happening to us.

A few years, a few cities and a farm later, I’m devoted to this sound. I want to build it, develop it, and get it to more of the folks who could use it. I’m now living in NYC, not sleeping much. I can’t stop writing rhymes and songs, I can’t stop playing and performing. I’ve recorded a couple albums, played with a roving cast of incredible musicians (check ‘band members’ box), who’ve lent their style and skill to my tunes, and joined forces for some unforgettable shows and recordings where, musically, it all, so to speak, came together.

There’s 3 feelings I get from music I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of – that I’m not sure I could live without. The first, and maybe the most addicting, is the thrill of writing a song, finding a new hook, or rhyme, or beat, when it just feels right, you know it’s going to rock, and immediately you can’t remember what life was like without it, because it suddenly puts everything in perspective, makes it all understandable, and you could just play the chorus all night in a room by yourself until your voice runs out or you just collapse from exhaustion or thirst or break a string. The second is the feeling of playing a song for the first time with someone else, another player, when all of a sudden they start playing the parts you could hear in your head but couldn’t play by yourself, the bass drum hits or the harmony or the bass line or horn part, and the song comes out into the air and the groove is just what you imagined and it pops into existence for the first time, and you think, ‘yeah, that’s it.’ The last feeling, and maybe the best, is when you play a song for someone else, maybe they’ve never heard it before and you can see the mixture of surprise and relief in their eyes, like it just hit the spot, because people don’t expect good music, they just need it… or maybe it’s someone who really knows your tunes, and they’ve been waiting all night or all week for you to play a particular song, and you can see them mouthing the words along with you, and you know that feeling, because it’s the feeling you always have listening to music you love, and you realize you’ve just given them that feeling, and for a moment, in just this one small way, you feel like you’re giving back.


   jon Braman's Friend Space (Top 8)
jon Braman has 906 friends.
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 Arthur Lewis - If We Were EP Now on iTunes 





jon Braman's Friends Comments
Displaying 50 of 357 comments  ( View All | Add Comment )
FUTURE





Sep 30 2008 1:43 AM

hey jon,
diggin your music and message. really looking forward to experiencing it live. halloween is going to be a straight riot.
tony of FUTURE
FrOiNdPaRk





Sep 9 2008 11:00 PM

aloha jon!yeah the cd is already here and i hear it every day in my car!just great!thx so much!greetzas MistaPista
Spellbound





Sep 4 2008 6:05 AM

hola! we still love you & have a new song "rhythm of mi corazon' for you to enjoy. from the new spellbound cd 'brighter days ahead.' "..paz y amor.."
FrOiNdPaRk





Aug 20 2008 6:59 PM

thx for da add! ive ordered a cd!love your music and the barri-uke :)
D-bug





Aug 15 2008 6:48 AM

I got peeps jammin' to ya in Alaska! When are you coming to visit?!
brendan on drums





Jul 30 2008 12:25 AM

Last Try (IS WRITING A NEW RECORD!)





Jul 18 2008 4:05 PM

Hey, just letting you know our EP Oh Hello is available online at Smartpunk. com!! So let us know if you get it, its only $6.00
Click here if your interested!

Thank you!
Babas





Jul 24 2008 2:42 PM

Hey Jon!!!
Nice performance at the barfour!! I really like the Guru video.
Hope that we'll stay touch.
Bless
*FireFly*





Jul 4 2008 8:56 AM

Aloha.... i remember you and your tunes from Puna and when you would come eat at Tina's. I still listen to the daisy album all the time and just wanted to give thanks from me and my love.... we agree that your words are powerful and wholesome! I Give thanks for your spirit and your voice. Much Love brother and hope you are well!
-Maria aka Firefly
Eli





Jun 25 2008 5:07 AM

hey man. just wanted to say i really admire your music and what you do. your lyrics are really inspiring
keep on doing what you do, its great!
Sweet Hollywaiians





Jun 21 2008 9:39 PM


ALOHA!!!
Uwe Felchle





Jun 5 2008 6:04 AM

!all the best from vienna..in funk we trust!
one love
uwe
GypsyTravelersSong a FeatherInTheWind..





May 29 2008 9:58 PM

Please join me in this fight to save the land of Ancestral Kings, TARA VALLEY, IRELAND.
You can visit www. tarawatch. org for more information and please sign the petition while your there.
Mahalo, Maureen
http://www. causes. com/myspace/cause_memberships/recruit?cause_id=71127&recruiter_id=14873765&t=pasted
Stephen


Is Online


May 27 2008 3:17 PM

Hey Jon.
We met at your show at Bar 4. Come check out my band tomorrow night if you get a chance.
-Stephen

SAVE YOURSELF!
Hop On the Next Rocket To Mars Before It Is Too Late...

Photobucket



The next shuttle takes off tomorrow, Wednesday, May 28th, at 9P.


Don't Get Left Behind
(if it is the end of civilization you need an escape plan)


REBEL
51 West 30th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues)

--
www. primaprimo. com
www. myspace. com/primaprimo
www. rebelnyc.
com
Live Humans in DC - The Variety Open Mic





May 25 2008 4:33 PM

FUTURE





May 20 2008 12:47 AM

thanks for the add. we truly appreciate the interest and support.
spread love massive,
FUTURE
WiLL SPITWELL





Apr 24 2008 9:40 PM

Thanks for the add.

New Mixtape available for Free Download!

Just right click the Image below!

benny wiwi





Apr 12 2008 1:11 PM

http://pagesperso-orange. fr/bennywiwi

this is a new website ;)
mel flannery trucking co.





Apr 8 2008 2:02 PM

word nerd!
(iNiQUiTY)*





Apr 4 2008 1:27 AM

yea! that would be fun
my bday is this weekend...
address and time?
(iNiQUiTY)*





Apr 2 2008 4:00 AM

i heard you on the subway.
i like your music.
=)
Mal Starx @ Iota Friday night with JTG, big show!





Apr 2 2008 2:49 AM

JB!!! I went to leave you a comment and realized we weren't myspace firends... how'd we manage that?
How've ya been bro? Great video by the way. Tell the Mrs. I said hello.. We miss you down here.

p.s.
Pet Lupe' for me
Live Humans in DC - The Variety Open Mic





Mar 30 2008 9:57 PM

MeiRav





Mar 16 2008 4:18 AM

aww shucks i'm out of town! but keep my updated and i promise to make it, some day, some how. keep hearing good things about drom. good luck and have fun!
Tommy Lombardozzi





Mar 14 2008 2:28 PM

Thanks, man... and thanks for taking the time out to listen!

I'd definitely be interested in playing a show together sometime in the near future. I dug your stuff, and I've listened to the CD a few times, too.

I can't make it this Sunday, but keep me posted for the next one, man! Thanks!
Michael Wagner





Mar 13 2008 4:43 PM

hey hey my man! I'm free on sunday so I should be able to make it to drom.

You are the king of uke hip hop, fo' real.
joyful sarah





Mar 10 2008 3:35 PM

Hi,I'm a Korean woman learning Ukulele. And I came across your UCC on Korean internet site. I think you are so innovative musician. I love your music. Cheers!
Sweet Hollywaiians





Mar 9 2008 7:06 PM


ALOHA!!
Live Humans in DC - The Variety Open Mic





Mar 2 2008 6:31 AM

Hi again jon - new flyer. See you.
-Andy
ChilltownTV





Feb 18 2008 3:53 PM

ChilltownTV in the house! Big up and thanx for the add!! I really like what you do. Your music is very unique and sounds great.



Click Diddy's head for a very special ChilltownTV message... please kick diddy's ass

Charles Stuart





Feb 18 2008 8:05 AM

Hey Jon,
really like the songs..
Greets from London
C
Sue





Feb 15 2008 4:20 AM


Get free graphics at BlingyBlob.com!
Michael Wagner





Feb 13 2008 8:40 PM

man you gotta email me when you're playing. I would have been at sidewalk last night had I known! hope the show was fun!
Live Humans in DC - The Variety Open Mic





Feb 13 2008 6:18 PM

Hi Jon - if you happen to be round DC again on the 26th, now you know about this. See you some time soon I hope.
Dave Ihmels (debut album out now!)





Feb 11 2008 4:42 AM

Jon,

New cuts posted on my site... hope to see you up there over summer..

-Dave
The UkuLady





Jan 20 2008 7:51 PM

jon Braman I am so excited! I wanted to write you and let you know that my very first album "Banned from Canters" just arrived!!! You can hear the songs or buy the CD on my myspace page. Please check it out and tell me what you think. You can also download my CD at www.digstation.com/theukulady

xoxoxoxo, The Ukulady
Tommy Lombardozzi