WORDSMITH can claim many areas around the globe as his home. The son of a former Full Colonel in the Army, he has resided in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Delaware, Texas, Kansas and even Germany to name a few. After moving around so much, Word found rap as an outlet when he started saving his lunch money each week throughout high school to buy classic tapes from Redman, Big L, Nas, Eric B. and Rakim, Jeru the Damaja, A tribe called Quest, Da Bush Babees, Krs One, Gangstarr, Das Efx, Public Enemy, Ice Cube, and his cousin Roc Marciano. Though, Wordsmith is a versatile MC, he is also a theater trained actor graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts from Salisbury University in Salisbury, Maryland. Performing in plays like “All my Sons” and the Musical “1776,” Word was able to translate his acting skills to his music and live shows. He refers to his stage shows as “Hip-Hop Plays” and his dream is to put together elaborate shows with scenery changes, props, and stunning movements. As the years go by, look for Wordsmith to explore his artistic side in music and acting equally. However, as he always says “I’ll do one thing at a time to make sure each craft exhibits quality and gets the attention it deserves.
Wordsmith’s debut album, “Vintage Material” is going to lay the foundation for the type of music Word will be releasing in the future. Everything from Soulful undertones, 90’s Backdrops, unparalleled lyrics, and head banging commercial appeal, will make this project a classic on your shelf for years to come. On the show tip, Wordsmith created this project to be performed in large arenas, so get ready to experience a stage show that will closely resemble his Theater background. He will follow this album up with “The Next Level Experience,” “The Soundscape Experience,” “The Golden Era,” and two Rock/Hip-Hop albums called “Rockstrumentals” and “R2: Ground Zero.” Word’s plan in the future is to have one of his Hip-Hop projects drop on the same day as one of his Rock projects, so he can dominate two separate genres of music at the same time. On the mixtape circuit, Wordsmith has released an official mix album called “Statements & Stipulations,” which was sponsored by 730 from HipHopgame.com. He followed that up with a remix version of the project called “Statements & Stipulations” Special Edition. Not too many people put out mixtapes that sound like albums and MTV’s Mixtape Mondays seemed to agree with him as they dubbed his Mix Album a notable selection in 2005. This project ultimately spawned interviews and reviews with The Baltimore City Paper, Hip-Hop Weekly, The Atlantic City Press, ABC’s Official Heat, HipHopgame.com, HipHop.org, RapTalk.net, Rago Magazine, Who Mag DVD, Hoodlife DVD, King Size Magazine, HHNLIVE.com, Soundslam.com, Grind Mode Magazine, Critical Beatdown Magazine, The Noyse Magzine, Okay Player, HipHop Weekly and more. Word definitely feels like he led a revolution with the way Mixtapes are being presented today, so he describes some of its inner makings below.
“Statements & Stipulations” was considered a mixtape; mix album and studio album all rolled into one. 18 tracks deep, this project is very experimental by the variety of tracks touching the east coast/party heads (Ode to tha Pioneers & Pleasure Palace), west coast lifestyle (Hydrolic Theory), and down south crunk (Countdown). It is not in Wordsmith’s repertoire to do some of the tracks on this mix album, but the opportunity to touch the many places he’s lived was a welcomed challenge. Noticeable, Wordsmith is using this mix album as a platform to show the industry that he can create mainstream bangers along with potent album tracks. Continuing with the title of the mix album, Word also chose the title, “Statements & Stipulations,” as a means to make statements and place certain stipulations on the game with each and every track. Stocked with 3 to 4 legit singles, Wordsmith would like to set a new bar for DJ’s and MC’s dropping mixtape projects in the future. Moreover, Word’s love for classical beats and 90’s era hip-hop are not prevalent on this project, but his diversity and capability to do music that define a certain culture are in the forefront.
In 2006, Word knew he had to take his music to the Next Level as he put it and he did just that by releasing a Radio Smash called “Mami Chula,” which features Universal Recording Artist Rob G. It debuted on Canada’s Number one urban station 103.7, The Monster and Japan’s number 1 urban station, Joint One Radio 76.1 FM, on the same day, October 24th, 2006. Word’s underground single, Season of the MC, debuted on Comcast Cable Music Choice in October to complete the package. Overall Word currently has well over 6 tracks in rotation on Comcast Music Choice and that afforded Wordsmith the opportunity to debut his next level stage show he calls a “Hip-Hop Play” Adelphia/Comcast Cable’s Backstage Pass Show brought Word in the studio January 22nd of 2007 and he displayed a Live stage show that involved numerous props ranging from fake snow, fake rain, umbrellas, tables, chairs, leaves, confetti and more. Wordsmith doesn’t want to wait until he has access to a major set as he feels like he can accomplish his vision right now by being very persistent in his craft. 2007 is definitely looking like Wordsmith’s year as he opens the doors to more business ventures.
So far 2007 has turned Wordsmith into a Bookie and he has taken on the burden in full force. Starting on April 1st, 2007, Word started his “Bridging the Gap” Concert Series that featured himself, Chubb Rock, & Jaz-O. This marked the first time Wordsmith booked a series of events from scratch and he knows it will further his name on the business side of the industry. A month later, it did just that as Word was offered the opportunity to run his own Hip-Hop nights at a local Baltimore Club called Coco’s in May of 2007. Being Unselfish, Word used the opportunity to book Hip-Hop artist in Baltimore he felt didn’t get enough shine on a regular basis. His ideas were imaginative again as he theme nights ranging from “The Blackout,” Poetry Patio,” “Summer Sessions,” and “Pleasure Palace.” Word continued to grow on the show circuit as he opened up for Rass Kass, Souls of Mischief, Boot Camp Clik, Brand Nubian, LadyBug of Digable Planets, and Wise Intelligent of The Poor Righteous Teachers and Chubb Rock.
In late 2007 or early 2008, the legendary “Chubb Rock” & up and coming artist “Wordsmith” will team up to release an album called "Bridging the Gap." The project will fuse the old school Hip-Hop of the 90's with the new school Hip-Hop of today. Everything from Jazz, Blues, Step Music, Underground Hip-Hop, and Mainstream singles will accompany this album. Chubb and Word even have a two part story called "Chocolate City" that is similar to R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" series. The production is being handled by Professa, Strada, Capish, DeMo, & Street Level of Wordsmith’s Nu Revolution Camp with outside production from One Condition and Daren Joseph. Mr. Joseph produced Juelz Santana’s biggest hit “The Whistle Song” last year, so everyone involved in the project is excited about its possibilities in the market. Word even managed to work with the legendary Jaz-O on a track called “A Rap Retrospective” “For the Nasty Remix” with Q-Tip and Busta Rhymes in 2007 as well.
With Chubb and Word’s album almost finished, the rest of 2007 looks promising for the up and coming MC. as a track called "Ode to tha Pioneers" is currently number 10 on the RapNetwork National College Radio Charts Top 30. This track is the prequel to another song that’s only been released on Wordsmith's myspace page called "As the Art Fades Away," and it seems the track has garnered its own attention as well. Recently, fans and underground Hip-Hop heads have voiced there discrepancies about a Nas track titled “Surviving the Times” that closely resembles Word’s track “As the Art Fades Away” The story got so big that Wordsmith and Nas A&R, Mike Brink, did a conference call to discuss the issue and clear the air. HipHopdx.com played the mediator and dropped the follow up story to satisfy the delight of the many fans that were looking for a conclusion to the story. Needless to say, the PR has helped both MC’s and Wordsmith will move forward with the official release of his single when he can lock down a recording contract with a independent or major label. In the meantime, Wordsmith will be releasing his HipHopdx.com sponsored Mix Album, “The Revolution Begins with a Takeover” Vol. 1 to help promote his debut album. This Mix Album will also give word a forum to introduce the inner makings of his Nu Revolution Camp, which is very diverse to say the least.
Since 2005, Wordsmith has been building a nice circle of musicians, producers, Graphic Designers, and Web Techs to support his theory of presenting himself as a signed MC, while he is unsigned. He calls this group of partners the Nu Revolution Camp and they are a diverse group to say the least. Word’s production company consists of Producers Professa, from Kansas, DeMo, from Boston, All Biz, from New York, Strada from Canada, Street Level, from Sweden, and Capish, from Poland. Strada, DeMo, and Capish double as engineers as well. DJ Andrew serves as a part time Graphic designer and a full time Web technician. D-Dub serves as the camp’s voice specialist as he can imitate over 50 different voices. Finally, the camp has 6 top notch MC’s to stand next to Wordsmith. He has put together a two man group called Kontact & SoL, while solo MC’s, RhymeZwell, Black Knight, Deeda Man, and All-Biz round the camp. As an affiliate, Wordsmith signed with a new clothing company called “Vintage Clothing Limited (vintagelimited.com) to provide him with outstanding urban wear for his shows. Preparation like this makes Word look like a signed artist, but he is more focused on putting out quality music that can stand next to the top selling artists in the game right now; let’s go to the next level!!!
KONTACT is a business associate, an R&B singer, and recently entered the ranks of an MC. You will hear Kontact & SoL this summer when their Mix Album, Wordsmith Presents Kontact & SoL “Forgery Complete” drops, but you can hear Kontact’s smooth vocals on Wordsmith’s unreleased album “Masterpiece Collection.” Overall, Kontact and Wordsmith have been close friends for a number of years and their friendship has helped them begin a venture of powerful music in the right direction.
SOL'S love for hip-hop stemmed from a 1986 Def Jam concert featuring Run-Dmc, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy. Even though he didn’t attend the concert his brother and father painted a vivid picture of what we all consider today pioneers of the game. You can see a true MC when they know their rap history and SoL spits what he knows. A good friend of Wordsmith since their College days, they definitely have come full circle. Hailing from the legendary Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, “Home of the Engineers,” SoL studied in all phases of engineering and is a true math Wiz! An analyst in school and with his rhymes you will see where the name SoL (Slave of Logic) originated.
“Forgery Complete” stems somewhat from the meaning of “Wordsmith.” Word was the overseer of the project and like a blacksmith he chipped and chiseled away at Kontact & SoL’s flaws as MC’s. After all the dust had cleared, Kontact & SoL had become more knowledgable about crafting verses, hooks, bridges, and songs overall. This spurred on the name of their mix album “Forgery Complete.” We like to call the project a mix album because Word and the Nu Revolution Camp are starting a trend of changing the regular mixtape format of using other peoples beats and doing nothing but freestyles to top quality album tracks. With saying that, Forgery Complete is a project made up of all original beats and it takes you on a roller coaster ride just like an album does. There are three stages: The intro, which is full of club bangers like Nightlife Miss-Conception & Music to grab your attention. The middle of the project is the underground portion of the mix album with tracks like Microphone Bully 3 & We got this and the outro takes on a serious tone with tracks like Call of Duty, Generational Curses, and Life Cause Effect. Moreover, Kontact & SoL have always been fans of Hip-Hop, so they are glad to lyrically express themselves through music!!!
Coming up with the cows on his family’s farm in Coventry, Connecticut, RHYMEZWELL (a.k.a. Tucker Wood) is definitely not your typical rapper. Raised by two loving parents, including one accomplished musician, RhymeZwell avoided guns and gang-banging and instead spent over a decade developing true lyricism in the spirit of hip-hop’s forefathers.
By 11-years-old, hip-hop had infected his soul, surrounded by the sounds of Tupac, Nas, Snoop Dogg, NWA, Cypress Hill and the Notorious BIG. Mama RhymeZwell was supportive of her son’s talent, but not of explicit lyrics, and so a close cousin often educated RhymeZwell through smuggled mix-tapes. He learned to write hard-hitting rhymes that left an impact on his audience, without the need to fill his lyrics with gratuitous violence and curse words.
RhymeZwell’s “Cave Sessions EP” was conceived in a haze of blunt smoke in Boston’s own Feel Good Cave. More recently, he has recorded with Steel Gates Productions, as well as with Chance of the revolutionary MuzikMafia (www.MUZIKMAFIA.com) in Nashville, Tennessee. No two RhymeZwell tracks are alike. He is fearless in his instrumental experimentation and in the originality of his wordplay. “I’m trying to bring back the essence of an MC, with true lyricism that can speak to people all over the world.”
BLACK KNIGHT is an up and coming MC looking to build on very promising skills. A native of New York, Black Knight, has that swagger about his flow and is a close cousin of Wordsmith and Professa. You can hear B.K. on Wordsmith's albums "Rockstrumentals," "Classic Material," and "The Masterpiece Collection". Starting in November Black Knight will be dropping the "Myspace Maxi Series," which will strictly be unreleased tracks posted in B.K.'s audio player. Look for Black Knight to officially debut in 2007 as a feature on Kontact & SoL's next project in 2007 and his first official mix album, "The Allure," will debut in mid 2007 as well.
Hey all! My name is Darian aka "PROFESSA" and as you might be able to tell by my audio section above... I am a music producer. I specialize in experimental and rock music production, but I also have lots of tracks geared towards r & b and some hip hop as well. I mainly do production work for an artist named Wordsmith who just so happens to be my brother! Look out for Wordsmith (www.wordsmithmusic.com) in 06' as he is really bringing something fresh yet reminiscent of the days of good ole hip hop. Besides that I've been a life long student (finishing up my Ph.D in the next eight months in Sports Education and Leadership) and my day job is as a personal training instructor for a career school out here in Kansas. However, with momentum steadily building for Wordsmith and the Nu Revolution Camp I hope to one day make music production my full time profession. Overall, I'm just an easy going and self-motivated guy who loves his wife and the opportunities God has provided in this life. Humbleness and hard work are my motto. If any artists are interested in working with some great music then just contact me at darianparker@gmail.com. Best wishes to all of you.
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