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It’s A Shame: RIP Chris Kelly

ill poetic — Fri, 03 May 2013 16:10:05 +0000

Kris Kross is the reason I rap. Easily. I don’t know too many people in my age range that CAN’T cite them as a major influence. They were just a little older than me and I and my friends idolized them. I had posters in my room, cassettes in my little boombox and I’m positive my career was birthed in the bathroom mirror trying to lock down the Miggedy-Miggedy-Mac Daddy/Dax EFX flow. EVERY kid in our grade school was a rapper after Kris Kross came out. I wore my clothes backwards, too. I’m sure of it. I’m sure anyone older than me thought they were a gimmick (they were), but the trick with Kris Kross is that they could rap their asses off. And shit, people discount “The Bomb” as a flop, as they may have been aping the west coast hard, but that album, for better or for worse, is a big reason I hopped into the Snoop, Dre & G-Funk Universe. “The Bomb”-era Kriss Kross, Da Brat & SoSoDef were the kid-safe Death Row that led me proudly over to the dark side with the quickness (I still have my ‘sneak-around-my-parents’ Maxell tape of “Doggystyle”). But anyway…

Usually hearing about a celebrity’s death makes me sad for a second, but then I kind-of forget when the next day’s news cycle rotates in. However I was especially saddened to hear about Chris Kelley passing. And even more saddened when it was found to be a drug overdose (I was sure it was the rumored disease we all thought he suffered from when we were kids, Alopecia turned into AIDS or cancer in our circles rapidly).

Selfishly, I don’t think I’m sad just because a human being with a soul passed away and under these specific circumstances. I think I’m sad because I always remembered Chris as 1/2 of a huge childhood memory taped on my walls and sparking my earliest creativity in music. I’m sad because I still picture him as a 14 year old kid with a backwards A’s jersey and I wanted to be him. I’m sad because I picture that kid overdosing, not the 34 year-old grown up. I’m sad because we were kids and now we’re all grown and forced to realize that our heroes are humans.

I don’t want to end this on a sad note though. It’s really sunny out, and for the first time since I was 11, I actually want to break “Totally Krossed out” out the deck and blast “Warm It Up”. Today would be a really good day for that.

Illogic & Blockhead “Capture the Sun”

ill poetic — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:13:10 +0000

This week, my friend Illogic drops a new record with NY producer Blockhead. I’ve been a fan of Blockhead since hearing Aesop Rock’s “Daylight” EP, one of the key ingredients in my youthful indie hip-hop exploration period that left me hungover somewhere in the middle of “Cold Vein”. I never recovered.

Even moreso I’ve been a fan of Illogic since high school and actually did an album with him as well.

I’ve heard this record through pretty much every stage, and it’s great to watch it see the light of day and get such a great response.

Enjoy a full stream below and buy it HERE.

Also, listen for a song called “Beautiful Sunday”. I wrote the hook and my dude Tyler Francis (who you can hear on “Synesthesia Yellow” as well) sung it perfectly.

Most importantly, this record houses some of Ill’s best writing since his “Celestial” days and Blockhead provides him a really great backdrop.

FINALLY, see them live @ their Columbus Release Party/Buggin’Out #12 at Carabar this Friday the 19th.

Enjoy.

#BeCool

Ill Po w/ Evan Oberla Project (EOP)

ill poetic — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:50:56 +0000

This Saturday, April 13th, I’ll be dropping by the Newport to perform with my dude Evan Oberla & his band EOP (Evan Oberla Project) at the Newport alongside W6 & The Regrettes.

If you’ve been to one of my live shows in the past six months, you’ve seen Evan in my band on on trombone, guitar or keys (or all at the same time).

His band is amazing, and I’ll be rocking on a song I’m featured on from their upcoming EP. I’m also looking forward to seeing the Regrettes live as well.

RSVP or purchase tickets HERE

Coltrane on Coltrane

ill poetic — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:55:32 +0000

I know it’s been a very long time since I’ve written anything on this site. For the past few months, I’ve found myself on the other end of the spectrum, tearing through books at a pretty rapid rate. It’s been a really amazing experience, as each book has led me naturally to the next book. I haven’t been this excited about reading in ever. It’s rejuvenated my creative spark to a level I haven’t felt in years. I’ve found myself letting go of the cycle/addiction of reading online articles and music blogs, and using that time more effectively reading these things that open up and have words in them instead. Plus, they’re free, as there is apparently a place that lets you borrow them for as long as you want. It’s a pretty awesome deal, and I’ve been taking full advantage of it.

I’ve been diving heaviest into the life and music of John Coltrane, and I wanted to take a brief moment to highlight a book I just wrapped up titled “Coltrane On Coltrane: The John Coltrane Interviews”

This isn’t an in depth review or anything, but of all the Coltrane material I’ve read, on and offline, this book does a good job at capturing a musician of the highest form in his own words explaining his constant process of exploration. Coltrane was consistently unsatisfied with his current musical benchmarks, and was in constant search for an ultimate means of expressing his voice through his instrument. To hear it in his own words and read the maturity of this process through his life is pretty profound. This is by far my favorite read on Coltrane, and I think the collective interview style is a great structure in general for artists and minds of this caliber. It’s currently led me into the Miles on Miles Interview sessions as well.

If you don’t want to pay for the book and don’t feel like downloading it, you can go to one of the buildings that has a bunch of free books you get to borrow. Best part is they have computers, too.

Ill Poetic Cincinnati Homecoming Show @ Mainstay Rockbar March 9

ill poetic — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 00:51:54 +0000

Rome and I have been working to book this show for over 4 months now and we’ve finally set a date and venue.

This Saturday, March 9, I’ll be bringing my band from Columbus down to Cincinnati @ Mainstay Rock Bar.

It’s been soooo long since I’ve played a full show in Cinci, and I’m REALLY looking forward to playing out these new songs from “Synesthesia Yellow”, as well as live versions of a lot of my material from “The World is Ours” and “Illumination”.

Just to make sure I get to see all my friends this Saturday, we’ve made the show FREE (!)

To make sure you have my music beforehand, you can download Synesthesia Yellow for FREE HERE

If you don’t have my older material, or haven’t listened in a while, revisit it for FREE with a free download of “The World is Illuminated” (with choice songs from TWIO and Illumination)

As far as the actual show…

We have a full night of live bands, ranging from Ohio Funk & Hip-Hop to Reggae:

w/ additional performances by

Those Guys

Junya B & Wazali

Citoak

RSVP on Facebook HERE

HUNTOR PREY “THIS WAY” VIDEO

ill poetic — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:13:14 +0000

My partner and label-mate HuntorPrey has been waiting a LONG time for this moment. We all have.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time here talking about what an amazing artist I think HuntorPrey is. I don’t have to. There’s a video below for that. And an EP coming around the corner. And release parties. And touring. So you can see for yourselves.

For those who aren’t familiar with HuntorPrey but are familiar with me, you’ve heard Huntor on Illumination’s “Imagine Reality”. You’ve heard him along myself, Piakhan & Illogic on The World is Ours’ “As I See It”.

He’s performed around Ohio and beyond for years now, most recently at my Synesthesia Yellow Release Party.

Watch the video to “This Way” below. Then read about him, his music & his perspective. It’s worth it.

Congrats dude.

HUNTORPREY

OHIO EMCEE/SPOKEN-WORD ARTIST PLANS SPRING 2013 RELEASE OF DEBUT EP & VIDEO.

Emcee. Poet. Writer. When one seeks to master all three, choosing which art sees light first can be both complex and revealing. With the release of his debut EP “Motion Sound Picture” (Spring 2013, Definition Music LLC), Toledo/Cincinnati, OH artist HuntorPrey aims to balance these aspirations. Recently nominated for Best Spoken Word Artist at the Ohio Hip-Hop Awards, Huntorprey has toured the country both as emcee and poet. Years of performing and writing has allowed Huntorprey to carve a unique and respected voice, building him an organic and dedicated following throughout spoken word and hip-hop scenes.

“Growing up, I spent a lot of my time watching movies, paying attention to the music and soundscape of films” says Huntor. “I began to use my own imagination, connecting these films to the everyday events of life. When I saw something happen around the block, I would subconsciously score the moment in my mind. I began to make cinematic scenes out of real life experiences.”

With “Motion Sound Picture”, HuntorPrey unites a distinctive personality with raw emotion and genuine heart, turning the details our eyes gloss over into an epic piece of audio cinema and engaging narrative. Constructed entirely by Ohio-based producer & label-mate Ill Poetic (The World is Ours, Synesthesia: The Yellow Movement), HuntorPrey lends a distinctive and desperate blue-collar Midwestern voice to a varied and gritty sound collage. The EP sets the stage for a wide spectrum of lush backgrounds, with influences ranging from MOP and Nine Inch Nails to movie scores and 80’s power-chord classics. Huntorprey navigates the terrain deftly with train-of-thought lyrics drenched in layers of metaphors and stark imagery, creating a vivid cinematic experience.

HuntorPrey leads his release off with the stunning David Damen-directed “This Way” video (Ill Poetic “Gone”, “The Enemies You Keep”). “This song is best described as CNN through the perspective of a 20-something black man in the midst of a very real recession. It’s kind of a precursor to an EP that represents the heart and struggle of my region, but also the soul that lies inside. Even the most mundane events are filled with hope and pain” explains Huntor. “I can’t help but see life cinematically.”

BOOKING & PRESS: voiceofreazon@gmail.com

HuntorPrey Website

HuntorPrey Twitter

HuntorPrey Soundcloud

Definition Music LLC x VoiceOfRzn x Arris Productions x SoundRzn

#BeCool

New Song “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (Produced by The Kickdrums)

ill poetic — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:09:24 +0000

Before I get into this new song, I want to thank everyone for the ongoing support you’ve given the “Synesthesia Yellow” EP. From the press write-ups to the touring, to the label deal and video shoots, it’s awesome to see the beginning of this vision catch on. Thankfully, we have WAAAAY more to bring your way. Which brings me to “The Nightmare Before Christmas”.

This song was produced by an extremly talented duo from Cleveland, The Kickdrums. You may have heard some of their tracks or songwriting on some pretty notable tracks of the past 5 years (Most recently MGK, Lana Del Rey, A$AP Rocky, Slaughterhouse, and a bunch more). Their production is amazing, but as a fan, I’ve mostly admired their versatility. They’ve released plently of projects on their own, blending multiple genres pretty seamlessly (I’m usually a pretty big fan of the genre-bending).

I, however, met 1/2 of the duo (Fitts) in the early 2000′s as part of the Cleveland super-collective “12 Monkees”, featuring Cleveland notables Edotkom & Iyan the Anomolie (some Ohio hip-hop history for y’all). So it’s even MORE amazng to see where they’ve taken things since then.

I’d been holding on to this track for a while. It didn’t quite fit the “Synesthesia” sonic field, but I loved it too much to let it just sit here. Plus, I love performing it, so now I have a reason to throw it back into the setlist with the band. So enjoy: This is a good old-fashion ‘snap-for-three-minutes-on-a-beat’ type shit.

If you dig it, please share, RT, and spin it. We still have much more in store on this “Synesthesia Yellow” campaign. See y’all after the holidays.

#BeCool

Black Spade “Nobody’s Fool” Video

ill poetic — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 20:06:30 +0000

If you visit my site at all, you know I’m a big Black Spade fan. As part of the Converse Rubber Track series, Black Spade presents visuals to his dope-ass “Nobody’s Fool”.

Enjoy. He has a new record dropping early 2013, which I will be first in line for.

Synesthesia Yellow: The Artists

ill poetic — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:01:31 +0000

There were 2 artists contributions used to form the layout of “Synesthesia Yellow”.

Up top, we have the front cover piece done by Jennifer Hunt. I met Jennifer on the Aloe Park Tour of 2010. She had some amazing pics and agreed to let me use this one in particular. I initially planned on using the woman below as the cover, but the symmetry and imagery in this pic just stuck with me. It felt more like what “Synesthesia” looks like to me.

Finally, we have Randy Reuther, a really fresh Cincinnati-based painter. A few years ago, I rode the bus out to Randy’s house with a crapload of rough mixes of the “Synesthesia” records. Randy has an interesting psychedelic style to his work, and I love his use of bright colors. Ironically enough, Randy initially painted this entire piece, but his black-and-white rough sketch became more fitting of the vibe I was going for with the record (I’ll debut the full painted piece in the next couple weeks on a separate project). The inspiration for this piece comes from the Ohio Players “Jam” cover.

Finally, I worked these 2 pictures into the overall “Yellow” aesthetic and texture you see on the poster and album cover. You’d be surprised how many drafts of these I went through to come up with the final layout.

This is the first time I’ve worked with additional artists to create my album artwork. It’s been a really awesome experience. I’m already brainstorming what to have them work up for “Blue”.

As always, if you haven’t checked the EP out yet, you can download it for free HERE

“Synesthesia Yellow” The Musicians

ill poetic — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:39:50 +0000

THE MUSICIANS

A couple weeks ago, I dedicated a post to the singers featured on “Synesthesia Yellow”. This time around I wanted to highlight the musicians who helped make these records possible as well. One of the ideas that makes this sound so special to me is the fusion of funk/soul musicians from the 1970′s Ohio Funk era with modern era Ohio-based musicians. We wanted to merge together both eras of the Ohio sound but not in the corny “hip-hop/funk crossover” way most people would expect. This sound needed musicians who really understood that concept and knew how to play into it. So here goes:

TERRY COLE

I’ve known Terry for years now. Fans in the funk community may recognize his bands Soundscape or Jive Turkeys, or moreso his label Colemine Records, which releases dirty funk & soul 45s and 12″ LPs throughout the country and overseas. I’ve been crashing Soundscape shows for years, most recently last November in Cincinnati. Terry is an amazing bassist. You can hear his work all through “Be Cool” as well as the song “Hourglass”, on which Soundscape emcee Rideout makes a guest appearance as well.

DONNIE MOSSMAN

You can find Donnie’s bass on “On My Way”, though we have WAAY more on deck for release. I’ve known Donnie for years. We’ve played live together as well as recorded, and in both areas he’s a beast, plus he’s just a good dude. If you’re in the Columbus Music Scene, keep an ear out for him and visit any venue you see his name attached to.

DEAN SIMMS

I was introduced to Dean Simms b/w of Dean Hummons, Sr. Mr. Simms can be heard playing trumpet on “Be Cool”, “On My Way” & “Silhouette”. I was really intimidated the first time we had a session together, as I’d never recorded horn sections, let alone with a touring member of the Ohio Players. Needless to say, Mr. Simms was cool as hell and you’ll be hearing much more from our sessions in the future.

STAN MIDDLETON

I met Stan alongside Dean Simms, as he would accompany with Trombone. He leads his own Reggae/Ska band, Demolition Crew, and is active in the DYT Funk & Blues scene. And just like Mr. Simms, a great musician to record with and just absorb from in the studio.

ERIC MUMMEY

I met Eric years ago at my “World is Ours” Dayton release party. Eric had a studio above the venue and invited me and my partner Zone up to listen to some of his music. Eric was a bit older, so he had a firm grasp on the Ohio Funk sound and was directy influenced by Roger Troutman. Eric was set to collab with him just days after Roger’s brother would subsequently take his life. Eric, however, still continued to keep the Dayton Funk moving. You can hear his talkbox, guitar trickles and synth lines throughout “Silhouette”, though you’ll be hearing WAAY more from him on future releases as well.

DEAN HUMMONS, SR

Dean Hummons, Sr. (2nd from the right in the pic above) is my partner Zone’s dad. Funk heads may recognize him from his work with SUN, Dayton Sidewinders & Heatwave‘s Johnny Wilder. I’ve known him since high school. He was the first person to ever professionally record my vocals and re-produce my little keyboard beats in high school. If you go back and listen to “The World is Ours”, you’ll hear his keys turn up on songs like “Soul Electric”. You’ll even hear him speak on the last song “Inside Looking Outside”.

The further that Zone and I dove into this idea of re-creating the Ohio Funk Sound from the ground up, but reinterpreted with a more futuristic twist, Dean Sr. would play an instrumental role. I worked with him more than any other musician to help carve out the sounds, synths, basslines and keys that I wanted for these records, which is why he played on nearly the whole EP. He’s kind-of like my “music dad”. He lets me know when something is out of tune. or when the drums don’t snap enough. He’s the person I probably try to impress most when I finish a project. Thus, you’ll definitely be hearing more from him as well on the future releases.

Again, here is the link to download “Synesthesia Yellow” for free

And remember, we have deals on the physical CD, signed poster and more at the Merch Table.

#BeCool