This Saturday, August 13th, Our friends at Arris Productions (who not only chronicled our #OhioTakeover Tour a few posts below, but will be handling the majority of my upcoming videos for the new record) have completed their first official independent feature film, “The Enemies You Keep”. I was brought on to collaborate on the Score, as well as handle the majority of sound-design for the film.

This has always been a dream of mine, and it was more than I could’ve hoped for. They’ll be premiering the film in Columbus, OH (with future screenings set as well) on Saturday Aug. 13th at the Gateway Cinema on High St. This film will officially put me on IMDB.com which is insane to me.

RSVP & GET YOUR TICKETS HERE

Peep The Trailer Below:

The Enemies You Keep | Trailer from Arris Productions on Vimeo.

Pics Courtesy our friends @ Self Diploma

Click More to see the rest

I think I speak for everyone on this tour when I say that Cincinnati was my favorite show of the run. Personally, it was one of my favorite Cincinnati shows period. Very surreal. One of the folks I hung out with at the merch table was a guy by the name of Antonio, who’s mentor/teacher is one of my heroes Kathy Wilson (google).

He wrote a really amazing review for the Cinci News Record, and I just wanted to post it up. Appreciate the kind words!!

I’ll be posting an entire tour diary in the coming days as well, in conjunction with the Citybeat Website. For now, hit the jump or CLICK HERE to read the full article.

MORE VIDEOS, PICS, AND FUN TOUR STUFF COMING SOON!!!

The Drinkery OTR welcomed the Underground Why? and Ohio Takeover Tour to Over-the-Rhine Friday night. The high-energy performances rocked the packed venue steadily into the night.

The night opened with local artists Da 3rd Element and Moxy Monster. Local hip-hoppers Gold Shoes shined as one of the most promising bands from the area. Their hip(ster)-hop/alternative rock physically raised the heat of the venue, getting the crowd jumping as the band gave themselves completely to the performance. They set the tone for the headlining acts with a sophisticated and well-structured amalgamation of sensible hip-hop and suspenseful, unrestrained rock.

J. Rawls’ tracks filled the air and sparked the ignition of the Ohio Takeover Tour’s “Cincy Stop.” Rawls’ beats built a strong foundation of energy as his familiar, well-sampled tracks fueled Ill Poetic and Illogic’s collaborative raps. Their lyrics showed no mercy, leaving patrons grooving with the music while wincing at the tactically formulated verses. Their raps were reminiscent of old “Rocky” flicks where the heavy-lipped Stallone would eat seven to eight unrelenting haymakers to the head in rapid succession. They pulled no punches.

“This tour is kind of all about that, about becoming peers with the people you look up to,” said Ill Poetic, drawing a connection with his work at CityBeat admiring “Your Negro Tour Guide” columnist and University of Cincinnati teacher Kathy Y. Wilson. “It’s like when I started writing for them as a columnist; it was amazing to be in the same level as Kathy, now it’s amazing to be working with Illogic, making records and touring with him,” he said. “I can only imagine what it is like to L.E., who is so new to the scene but still so skilled.”

L.E. for the Uncool held his own among the established artists that flanked him. His high-pitched voice and tongue-in-cheek delivery took command of the crowd at will. His track “Polo on My Body” engaged the crowd more than almost any other song that was performed that night. His voice might seem tiny, but it has a huge Napoleon complex that shoots lyrics with pinpoint accuracy. His confident aura and lyrical craftsmanship made him a stable pillar to the trio who performed interwoven sets, as if to be a single unified entity.

“This was the dopest spot on the tour. Columbus was hot because Talib Kweli was there, but this was dope,” an exhausted L.E. said after his performance.

Each of these artists could have delivered a solid show on their own, but seeing them collaborate in such a close-knit fashion made them unstoppable. The crowd could really see the level of respect, skill and comfort L.E., Illogic and Ill Poetic had working together. The three unique artists and styles flowed seamlessly within one another, stitched by the commonality of their irrefutable talent. From introspective poetry to raw club bangers, the Ohio Takeover Tour tallied its Cincinnati stop as one of its most devastating attacks on the spoken word/hip-hop scene.

This April,  I’ll be hitting the Road throughout Ohio with some of my favorite artists period:

J. Rawls
Illogic
L.e For the Uncool

CLICK HERE to get full details on each city and RSVP

Rawls will be dropping his new album “The Hip-Hop Affect” (f. Stalley, Diamond D, Pete Rock, Sadat X and much more) this Spring.

I will be touring in support of my upcoming free EP “Synesthesia: The Yellow Movement” dropping later this Spring.

We’ll be hitting most of the major cities in the state, college towns, and more (Details below).

GET FAMILIAR WITH THE ARTISTS

Here’s a care package to help you get more familiar if you’re not hip to any of these dudes:

J.RAWLS

An Ohio Hip-Hop Legend, Rawls has produced such classics as “Brown Skin Lady” by Black Star, as well as a multitude of records with such artists as Madlib, Aloe Blacc, Slum Village, and Diamond D.

He’s toured the world a few times over, keeping his brand of the Ohio sound alive and spreading it across genres and generations.

Download his newest Mixtape HERE

ILLOGIC

Another Ohio Hip-Hop Legend. With over 20,000 albums sold, Illogic has toured and performed alongside such acts as Atmosphere, The Roots and Rakim.

Alongside Rhymesayers artist Blueprint, their group “Greenhouse” is a Columbus Hip-Hop staple.

Recieving Press everywhere from URB Magazine to Rolling Stone, his last album “Diabolical Fun” was voted a Top 10 Independent Release by BET.com

ILL POETIC

If you’re on my site reading this, then you may know me at least a little bit. Feel free to hit the Bio or Press Page for any info on me. My last project was the presentation of Marvin Gaye & Pink Floyd’s “Requiem For A Dream”, which you can download HERE

L.E. FOR THE UNCOOL

After releasing his acclaimed mixtape “The Anti-Parachute Theory” in 2009, L.e. returned with a more fully conceptualized album “The Measure” in 2010, produced by Columbus-Native Rashad.

After a notable performance at the 2010 CMJ’s in NYC, L.e. is officially an artist to watch in 2011.

Download “The Measure” HERE

CLICK HERE TO GET DETAILS ON THE SHOWS & RSVP

For press, questions, or booking requests, please contact voiceofreazon@gmail.com

Catch some of our tour press:

Theblackurbantimes.com
Ifelicious.com
TheHigherPlane.net
KevinNottingham.com
donewaiting.com
The Examiner
ACRN.com
The News Record
Citybeat Magazine
Cincinnati News Record Show Review

A couple weeks ago, I was out in Cincinnati. I got an offer to hop in on this Cincinnati Cypher (a la the BET ciphers at the award show a couple months ago). The homie Ilyas shot the video and host of Cinci emcees all got down, including some really good friends. Part 2 is after the Jump.

Some Background Details:

The first installment of the Cincinnatii Cypher.
Hosted by Barry Bondz & DJ Clockwork.
Shot by Kristina Roach.
Directed & Edited by Ilyas Nashid

Part 1
Aviator Hughes
Vincent Vega
i-EL
Ill Poetic
CJ The Cynic
Juice Lee

Part 2
Skandal
Buggs Tha Rocka
Macho Means
Devan Rmoni

I came up on this interview at like 3 in the morning.
If you’re from Ohio, specifically Dayton (my original hometown), a lot of what he’s saying is really relateable and inspirational. Specifically in part 2, which is after the jump. These are our parents. Crazy.

A recent unfortunate circumstance brought about an interesting text conversation with my friend (and sometimes DJ) Rare Groove.

A friend of his had passed and he was reaching out to the people close to him just to remind them that he loved them all.  At the time, I appreciated it but hadn’t fully digested it. A day later, it really sunk in. Now I find myself writing to you as I road trip through all these Midwest Autumn colors on a trip to New York.  And it really hits me more.

None of us are promised anything, let-alone tomorrow. I don’t have to be here writing this, but I’m blessed to be. You don’t have to be their reading this but you are. And for this moment, we connect.

With that I want to take this time out to really thank all of you for building me and my life up to this point. Just in case you never knew it. I won’t mention names on a letter this broad, I don’t want to leave anyone out (which I will).

But I just want to say Thank You:
Thank You to the Artists and crews I’ve EVER been involved with. Every one of you. Those Who’ve taught me and given me insight since I was a teenager. I wouldn’t know my head from my ass if it wasn’t for all these peoples training and teaching

Thank You to all the people I connected with in the Dayton and Cincinnati scene. From the folks who let me spit and battle in their open mics to the people who (still) let me sleep on their couches when I come into town and treat me like family.

Thank You to my closest friends, family, musicians, and business partners who have been actively saving my life on a daily basis with their energy, passion and overall unconditional belief in what I and we do. I don’t know what I would do without any of you

I also want to apologize to all the people, specifically in Cincinnati, that I don’t get to keep in touch with as much as I’d like since making this life decision to pursue music full-time. I really hope you guys understand the reasons I’m going in on all this for, and know that I think about all of you on pretty much a daily basis since leaving. I still write for you and about you.

With that said, I wanted to give you guys a song that accurately depicts my conflict and feelings on leaving Cincinnati to pursue my dream and how appreciative I’ve always been of your support.

“Gone” (featuring Deannah Dukes on the hook)

VoiceOfRzn Presents “The Rhythm Room”
A night of Hip-Hop, Soul, Spoken Word and More…

Saturday, October 9th
@ Kobo (formerly Oldfields on High)
2590 N. High St.
Columbus, OH

Featuring
Illogic
Middle Child
Searius Add
DJ Pos 2
DJ Manwell
Hosted by Ill Poetic

RSVP Here

New Citybeat Column
CLICK HERE For Full Article

If you haven’t seen any previous Unsung’s I definitely advise changing that. It’s like VH1 Behind the Music for Artist’s who don’t have VH1 Reality Shows.

Music Documentaries – Viacom =