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“Gone” Official Video

ill poetic — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:13:07 +0000

Nearly a year in the making, here is the official video to “Gone”, directed by David Damen// of Arris Productions & Walter Nini, and Premiering through my friends over at Citybeat.

This is the first definitive release for my new EP “Synesthesia: The Yellow Movement” , which will be dropping later this Summer. It’s also the first domino we’re tipping over in a *very* long line of dominoes (be on the look out for new songs, videos, tour footage, shows, documentaries, etc.)

To quote my twitter timeline from yesterday, as I’m too lazy to write more today:

This video was made for people brave (read:stupid) enough to jump off the cliff and follow their dreams & passions. Leaving my job and life behind to do this as a potential career is easily the craziest, scariest, dumbest, smartest thing I’ve ever done. The video is also a token of appreciation for all the people, places, and memories Cincinnati has given me. Thank You.

If you genuinely dig the music and video, I just ask that you share, RT, post and spread this as far as possible. If not, don’t;)

Below is a full list of contributors who made this possible:

David Damen // + Walter Nini presents

Ill Poetic | Gone

Produced by Ill Poetic

Directed by | David Damen // + Walter Nini

Edited by Walter Nini Chris Cloud

Additional Vocals D’Yenna Dukes

Camera Operators Walter Nini &Chris Cloud

Appearances by Mr. Dibbs, Rare Groove, Apryl Reign, Huntor Prey, BJ Digby (Holmskillit), Dj Tree, Sharp One, Nati Kid (Animal Crackers), Jarvis Tubbs , Becca + Nadia Burling & Mc Forty

Additional Footage Scribble Jam 2003 & Cincinnati Riots 2001 (Courtesy of ‘Panic City‘)

Addition Photography provided by Ill Poetic

Special Thanks Dive Bar & Selectas Choice

Ill Poetic “Gone” Video Cincinnati Debut Friday 4/27 @ Northside Tavern

ill poetic — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:03:43 +0000

This Friday, we’ll be debuting the video for my song “Gone” at Northside Tavern as part of DJ Pillo & DJ Apryl Reign‘s Selectas Choice series.

The whole evening will be amazing automatically, as Pillo, Apryl & DJ Rare Groove are spinning all night long. The video is really just the bonus.

Plus, it’s my Birthday weekend, so come out and kick it. 21 & up, FREE.

Friday, April 27, 2012
@ Northside Tavern
4163 Hamilton Ave., Cincinnati

#SynesthesiaYellow

#BeCool

Stalley Homecoming Show this Thursday 4/19 + OU Show Footage

ill poetic — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:11:49 +0000

This Thursday marks the return of Ohio Hip-Hop artist Stalley to his hometown of Massilon.

As part of the Ohio Takeover 2012 Tour, myself and LxE for the Uncool will be joining Stalley for his Homecoming Show at Lion’s Lincoln Theatre on Lincoln Way (hence the “Lincoln Way Nights” album).

This is a pretty unprecedented event, and I think it’s going to be really special. Our homie Jean P will be opening alongside Maaly, L Jordan & CORE.

Buy your tickets HERE

While you’re anxiously waiting, enjoy a quick recap of our show @ OU w/ Dom Kennedy & Big KRIT, and featuring footage of myself, LxE & Stalley. Just a quick summary – a full documentary will be on the way soon.

The Miseducation of Central State University

ill poetic — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 20:42:23 +0000

My name is Tim Gmeiner. Those of you who read my blog know me as “Ill Poetic”, a Hip-Hop artist based out of Cincinnati & Columbus, Ohio. Over the past 4 years, I’ve had the amazing opportunity to pursue my artistry as a full-time career; touring and performing everywhere from Skate Parks in Germany to Community Centers in Cincinnati. One of the greatest gifts this winding career path has given me is the prospect of meeting so many people from so many different walks of life, all tied together through our common experiences and love for Hip-Hop Music and the culture surrounding it. From scene to scene and city to city, we become families of different races, genders, creeds, and sexual preferences. We’ve become a generation of kids who’ve peeled away our forefathers’ ugliest stereotypes without even realizing we were doing so. We are a culture with a wide range of values, beliefs, and life experiences, capable of exhibiting artists with messages from all ends of the spectrum; those positive, as well as those with the negative. Yet and still, a recent experience with Central State Universities Administrative faculty has shown that 25 years later, Hip-Hop as a genre, culture and community still finds itself defending its music and lifestyle to a population of people who group millions of complex, creative and intelligent people into a single negative image of the likes that Mainstream television and radio outlets project hip-hop to be.

A couple weeks ago, Central State University reached out to the “Ohio Takeover 2012 Tour” and requested we be brought in to perform at their annual Springfest Concert. We were set to be the sole headliners on the bill. For those unfamiliar with the artists on this tour, I’ll supply a quick rundown:

Myself – a Cincinnati-bred emcee & producer who has (hopefully) built a reputation for thoughtful lyricism and an overall positive message in my music, persona, image, and actions. I’ve volunteered and performed at numerous community events, local fundraisers and food drives and have actually taught a class on Hip-Hop at Miami University (there’s a reason I’m mentioning this beyond sounding like I’m full of myself, I promise).

LxE for the Uncool – A Columbus-based emcee who is nationally known for his heartfelt and introspective writing, as well as his progressive approach to hip-hop, choosing to exclude all curse words from his lyrics. A little known fact; LxE also spends time in Columbus’s Southside working to mentor at-risk kids. Not that he puts it out there like that, I just know him enough to know that this is how he chooses to spend his free time.

Finally, headliner Stalley – Not that Stalley is the first Ohio emcee to ever gain mainstream industry attention, but he may be the first overtly positive hip-hop artist to do such on his own terms: an artist who secured a major label deal with superstar Rick Ross because he told him he wanted to invest his future earnings into farmland for his family and future generations; an artist who builds his fanbase off of the Midwest Blue Collar aesthetics of staying humble, and working hard and honestly to reach one’s goals and aspirations.

Ok, back to Central State.

Our booking company, VoiceOfRzn Management, has been handling the booking for this Ohio Takeover 2012 Tour. 2 Weeks ago, the president of Central State’s Student Government reached out to VoiceOfRzn with interest in booking this tour. They connected our booking agent with their Office of Greek Life, who put the order in motion to make our tour the official line-up for CSU’s Springfest on April 20, 2012.

As of Thursday, April 5, all things were reported to be a go, VoiceOfRzn was waiting for the final signature of approval from CSU’s Vice President of Student Affairs. Instead, our agent received an email stating CSU was no longer interested in bringing our tour their campus. This seemed highly odd, as they’d been all for it up until that point, and to change course two weeks away from the show at the last possible second didn’t sit right.

Sooo….

I was informed last night (Friday, April 6), that the Vice President of Student Affairs chose to veto our show because we’re Hip-Hop artists, and he didn’t want “our negativity” influencing the CSU Student Body. Instead, he preferred them to just “put some R&B artists on” instead. We would continue to find out that the VP has not reviewed any of our music, videos, or bios and is not interested in finding out who we are and what any of us stand for. He would be more comfortable canceling CSU’s annual Springfest Concert than having us perform.

Now, I only know this to be the deciding factor by the reasons given to myself and our booking agent, and if so I commend his efforts to be cognizant of images and influences they subject the CSU Student Body to, but to deny access to an entire preeminent form of art solely off of an unwarranted stereotype of what “Hip-Hop artists” are and represent comes off as a very close-minded opinion to say the least. If he had taken the time to do any research on us as artists, it would be clear to him that we are precisely the type of artists that they should want the student body to be aware of, which present an alternative to all of the negative examples rampantly available to them each day. Not to mention, R&B isn’t exactly a beacon of piousness and purity rings. But I digress.

I want to write this to the CSU student body population: Before the CSU faculty announces that we will be unable to perform at your Springfest, I as an artist set to be on this bill would like to tell you we were stereotyped out of performing at your college. We were all extremely excited to give you an amazing and positive experience on April 20^th. We’ve already begun work on band rehearsals, set visuals, lighting and other performance elements designed to give you all as great an experience as we can.

So I ask all CSU Students who were looking forward to your Springfest Concert this year to peacefully and eloquently write, call, email and converse with your Student Affairs Office (specifically the Vice President) on why he feels a group of artists he’s never actually researched would cast a negative influence on your delicate college minds. Present him and them with examples of progressive hip-hop. You have the power and right to demand of your faculty an open mind to all forms of art, music and culture. You have the power and right to demand of your faculty the same things they demand of you: a dedication to learn about that of which they’re ignorant.

If you enjoy Hip-Hop you are Hip-Hop. When Hip-Hop as an art form is stereotyped, the entire culture is stereotyped, regardless of race, class, or gender. I’m not writing this out of anger, but out of a need to help those with outdated and false views of what we represent to see what and who we are. We are a complex, thoughtful, creative and intelligent population and deserve to be treated as such.

Central State University Facebook Page

Department of Student Affairs Contact Page (office numbers are available)

Department of Student Affairs Email Address studentaffairs@centralstate.edu

- P.S. – In my years of performing, I’ve never once called out nor do I ever plan to call out a promoter or institution for poor business practices. If something isn’t handled properly, we settle it behind closed doors. However, I felt compelled to write this because an entire genre and culture, not to mention the CSU student body is affected by this decision for practices I feel to be bias and unfair.

Ill Poetic x DubMD x Prefyx x SoulStice x Truth Universal “S.O.S”

ill poetic — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:49:11 +0000

A while back, my homie DubMD reached out about hopping on an EP he’d be dropping titled “Requiem”. The record is now prepped to see the light of day this Summer, and he decided to leak our song as one of the first singles. I’m really glad this beat found a home (I always wondered how an emcee would’ve approached it).

If you’re not hip to DubMD, he’s done mixtapes for everyone from Columbus’s Dominique Larue to SlaughterHouse’s Royce the 5’9″.

Enjoy the song and download free HERE

Stalley “Savage Journey to the American Dream” Free Download

ill poetic — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:28:06 +0000

As we prepare to announce a few more dates for the Ohio Takeover 2012 Tour w/ myself, LxE & Stalley, I figured I’d pass along the link to Stalley’s new free “mixtape” (read: album) “Savage Journey to the American Dream” (insert Hunter S. Thompson reference).

Download HERE. Hit the jump to stream live and watch the “Party Heart” video that was packaged alongside the album release.

New Interview up at PaulMeara.com

ill poetic — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:27:34 +0000

Our show at Athens a couple weeks ago was pretty epic. We’ll have tons of footage en route.

After the show, we all took interviews. I specifically spoke w/ Paul Meara of PaulMeara.com. First interview I’ve done in a while, so there are lots of new little updates for folks waiting on any album updates or people who may care as to why I haven’t been releasing albums for a while. All your questions will soon be answered.

CLICK HERE to hit up Paul’s site, or keep reading.

Also, catch his first installment of the “Ohio Takeover Tour” Interview Series w/ Stalley.

(PS – The pic above is a quick screenshot from the “Numb” video shoot – I’m excited about this one)

During the second installment of the Ohio Takeover Tour, Stalley, Ill Poetic and LxE for the Uncool made their first stop in Athens, Ohio.

The three took the stage along with Canton native Jéan P and headliners Big K.R.I.T. and Dom Kennedy for an collective better than Ohio has seen in recent memory during Ohio University’s Sibs Weekend Concert.

Recently, I was able to sit down with two of the Ohio Takeover Tour performers. In the first installment of my Ohio Takeover Tour Exclusive, I spoke with Stalley about his recent endeavors. I was also privileged to talk with someone who’s rhymes are abstract but nevertheless dope. Ill Poetic has been quiet for the last few years on the Ohio hip hop scene. Ill Po has taken time off from touring and dropping projects but don’t let that fool you, he’s been working on music all the while.

“I’ve spent this time diving into sound design, scoring off Broadway plays and working with musicians, bands, songwriting, arrangements and all these new tools and visuals that I’ve never had before,” Ill Poetic said.

The Cincinnati native dove back onto the stage during the 2012 Ohio Takeover Tour debut in Athens and what better way to do it than during such a big set…

“This is easily, by far the best show that I’ve been blessed to be a part of,” he said. “It was cool, Athens always knows what’s up.”

You can read the full interview with Ill Poetic Below:

Paul Meara: Down here in Athens with LxE, Jéan P, Stalley, Big K.R.I.T., and Dom Kennedy, what did you think of the show?

Ill Poetic: Oh man, I’ve not been to Athens in a few years so this is easily, by far the best show that I’ve been blessed to be a part of. It was cool, Athens always knows what’s up. I mean OU is like the get down spot of Ohio and possibly of the Midwest region and possibly of the U.S. (laughs) Possibly of the western hemisphere (laughs). But yeah it was great. I’ve been looking forward to this show. Personally, I took a break from performing, which I’ve never done before, for the past six months. I had to get started and get everything wrapped to actually start diving into building a sound that I would be able to bring onto a platform like a campus and a stage like actually something bigger than just a hole in the wall bar down the street so yeah no complaints.

PM: You are a part of this Ohio Takeover Tour with Stalley and LxE. You are going to be hitting more destinations so what do you think about that?

Ill Poetic: I’m just looking very forward to it. It’s a lot of pressure. We did one last year. Last year we put together the first Ohio Takeover Tour and we had a lot of Ohio venues and mid-level venues like 200/300 capacity venues and for the most part, we had good turnouts, we had really good shows, great energy for all the artists involved. Everyone’s fans just showed out and when you combine all of them together, it made us able to pack out a lot of spots. So with that, we’re definitely looking to expand and try and figure it out. When Stalley’s manager reached out to do another Ohio Takeover Tour with Stalley, it was an obvious no-brainer for us and we saw the opportunity to try and see what the next level was and for Ohio artists, to try to set up a tour and involve actual college campuses and the higher level venues and theaters and just the things that aren’t apropos to hip hop shows in the state with Ohio independent hip hop artists. So I’m looking forward to the rest of them and the thing is going to be a multitude of different types of venues. Me personally, I finally have a new record coming out and I haven’t had a record out officially since ’07, five years. I’ve spent this time diving into sound design, scoring off Broadway plays and working with musicians, bands, songwriting, arrangements and all these new tools and visuals that I’ve never had before and so I wanted to try and throw these into a gumbo and present it to a crowd in something totally different than I’ve been able to do before.

PM: Speaking of that new work, what do you have coming?

Ill Poetic: Um, like I said, I haven’t put out a record in five years. I’ve been working on music religiously to near desperate sacrificial level that I never knew I could for the past five years. So with that, I pretty much let my entire buzz die down to nothing so I could re-build from the ground up. So I have about three years of music on the horizon and it starts this spring and in my head I expect nobody to care right now and I’m totally cool with that and by the end of it, I expect everybody to care and that’s my job. So in the spring I have a record, first of a three-part, like a first EP and it’s called Synesthesia: The Yellow Movement. Synesthesia is basically something I have where you see colors in music so there’s the “Yellow Movement,” there’s the “Blue Movement” and then there’s the “Red Movement” and they all kind of come together to form the entire record. Right now I’m working on the “Yellow Movement” and getting the stage and the visuals right, diving into 3D mapping. (They’re) a lot of things people see full scale with like Kanye and Watch the Throne do, things you don’t expect the independent, small, underground artists to do. So we’re really trying to create a stage that’s on par with Kanye West.

PM: What were those artists that made you want to get into hip-hop originally?

Ill Poetic: What really made me want to get into hip-hop was a kid named Kris Kross, which I am sure you will find one of the best of emcees and biggest inspirations. Any thing else would be wiggity wiggity wack but primarily for me, my biggest influences have always been OutKast, I’ve loved them since [Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik] and Players Ball since I was a grade school kid. It was just something that sounded really different. They’re south but had a real Midwest reflection. They sample all our people, the Isley’s, Rodgers and all the Ohio funk that came from our land so I was attached to them early. Andre 3000 is my favorite emcee of all time, favorite artist of all time and he’s down across the boarder. Every emcee like Nas going through the early runs. The west coast, Dre, Snoop, all the way down to someone like The Bums someone to pay attention to. East coast, Nas Biggie, Jay, Wu, and folks lower than them. Rotten Rascals. Then the south, the Outkast’s, 8 Ball & MJG, Scarface and then of course the Midwest, Bone Thugs, Twista, Common, Mos Def, Kweli, The Roots and the entire Tribe, just every branch of hip hop. I’ve pretty much fell in love with every branch of hip hop that I could.

Jason Dhir Presents “Velocity” This Saturday

ill poetic — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 13:26:15 +0000

Tomorrow Evening, I’ll be @ Bluestone in Columbus for Jason Dhir‘s 9th Annual Mega-Party “Velocity”. This party is considered the counter-show to the Arnold Sports Party with the Pros (which we event coordinated last year). Needless to say, this is the fun one. Carmen Elektra is hosting. So…yeah.

Jason’s brought me & others in to help sound-design the main event, titled “Rush 360″. I, along with a small symphonic ensemble, will orchestrate the soundtrack to a series of crazy events, involving but not limited to: Acrobats, Catwomen, Firebreathers, and College Graduates. Sound confusing? Yup.

I have no idea what to expect, and I’ve been told what to expect. That’s how crazy this is. Needless to say, it should be fun.

So swing out tomorrow evening if you want your mind blown.

Ohio Takeover 2012 Tour featuring Stalley, Ill Poetic & LxE for the Uncool

ill poetic — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:04:06 +0000

It’s that time of year again.

Last year, VoiceOfRzn worked our asses off to bring you guys the OhioTakeover Tour, featuring myself, J. Rawls, LxE for the Uncool & Illogic. It was an amazing experience and overall one of my favorite tours ever. You guys really showed out to these shows, which gave us enough confidence and momentum to try this again.

So this year we’ve decided to re-up for a second season. The new cast consists of myself, LxE for the Uncool & recent MMG signee and Massilon, OH-nativce Stalley. Needless to say, we’re very excited about this line-up and this tour in general. We’ve never approached a tour quite like this, and I’ve never approached performing a set like this (more on this in a later post, though if you saw the SLAM Festival show in Cinci this past August you caught a preview). For now, enjoy our Tour Trailer, courtesy our friends at Arris Productions. Keep reading to get details on our jump-off show next weekend @ OU.

Our Jump-Off Show will be at Ohio University next Saturday, February 18th alongside 2 of my favorite artists: Big KRIT & Dom Kennedy. You can buy tickets HERE. Other dates will be announced very soon. But for now, swing out to Athens to get an idea of what our full tour will consist of.

More Details Coming Soon…

Ill Poetic “Instrumentals” Vol. 2

ill poetic — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:32:18 +0000

I make beats.

Then I flesh the beats out into productions. Then I bring in musicians to play my ideas, and vocalists to accentuate the song-writing. Then I begin the process of mixing, post-producing and anal-retentive analysis that leads to months in a basement working on a single song.

I can’t use them all. Some of them have to just stay beats and semi-fleshed out ideas. These ideas need homes. They’re orphans with empty bowls of porridge, looking for a singer, emcee, or musician to nourish them and put a blanket over their sad, cold bodies.

Enjoy!

Oh, and here are some more from before.

Ps – Shouts the homie David Perez for the always amazing pictures of pretty ladies. And shouts to this coffee shop I’ve been in ALL DAY designing the cover.