Freeway & Jake One, Joell Ortiz At Highline Ballroom NYC

Freeway & Jake One - The Stimulus Package Album Release Party with Joell Ortiz & Brother Ali & DJ Snuggles opening the show at the Highline Ballroom, NYC Tuesday, February 16.

Photos:
Prefix Magazine
MetroMixNY

(Video courtesy of beatmakersedition.com, TheLSC & miss info)

Freeway: Philidelphia Hometown Newspaper Feature Interview

via Philadelphia Daily News

What made you decide on the name "The Stimulus Package" for this album?

I feel as though our whole operation is hip-hop recovery. We want to bring back the real hip-hop to the forefront. That's why we call it "The Stimulus Package." We're stimulating hip-hop.

How did you originally hook up with Jake One?

I did some work with Jake One on my last project, "Free At Last," and I also did some work with him on his last album, "White Van Music." The chemistry was there. And after those albums, he continued to send me music and I kept knocking songs out, so we were like, "let's do an album together," and we made it happen.

In the past you worked with a number of different producers on each project. How was it working with just one?

It was cool. It was exciting. He did a good job with the production and everything turned out crazy.

What was it like working with Rhymesayers in contrast to Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam?

It's more intimate. I feel as though Rhymesayers worked closer with me on the project and were more hands-on with things. Def Jam is different from that.

On the album, you shouted out to the Roc-A-Fella and your State Property family frequently, and had tracks featuring Sparks, Young Chris and Beanie Siegel as well. Is this the sign of another State Property album in the future?

I mean, hopefully we can get it done. Right now there's no plans, but hopefully with projects like this, there will be a push forward for us to do another State Property project.

How did some of the other collaborations come together?

I just reached out to them and they showed the love. I bumped into Birdman in Miami, him and my man Cee Lo. I told them I needed them on the album and [they were] like, let's do it. I reached out to Raekwon because I had actually done some work on a project of his, and then he did that with me. Everybody from State Property, you know that's family, so it's all love.

What was your favorite song on the album?

I like the whole thing, man. It's a body of work that needs to be together. The way it flows together, everything fits perfect.

On "Throw Your Hands Up" you pay homage to a number of influential hip-hop artists. Who would you say has been the most influential in your career?

I used to like Naughty (By Nature). I used to like Trech a lot. I used to love Dres from Black Sheep. Just their flows, the different flows you know? They really inspired me.

Tell us about your tour plans?

We've got a couple of things in the works. First we're gonna start with album release parties. We've got [them] in Philly, Boston and New York. Then we're going to take it from there.

What can fans expect from Freeway in 2010 and beyond?

I don't even know right now. Right now I can't see past "Stimulus Package." We're just trying to make that successful. Then we're going to figure out what's the next move ... I'm definitely still working. I'm already 50 songs in toward the next project, so whatever that is, I'm going to be ready.

Read the full article here:
Philadelphia Daily News - Music: North Philly's Freeway is back in the fast lane

Eyedea & Abilities, P.O.S. And Martin Dosh Keepin' It Independent

via The University of Oregon / The Daily Emerald

A diverse array of rap and hip-hop artists will hit the stage at WOW Hall this month. While many students have never heard of names like Eyedea & Abilities, P.O.S. or Dosh, they are part of an up-and-coming underground rap movement. And while they don’t have million-dollar contracts with Def Jam or Universal, that’s exactly how they want it.

So why would underground artists not want the fame and big-money benefits of corporate labels? The advantage that these artists have over mainstream stars such as Jay-Z, Game and Lil Wayne is self-evident.

First and foremost, big labels rarely grant unlimited artistic freedom to their musicians. In an industry focused on amassing capital, creative proclivity must be restrained in order to appease the masses and bring in cash flow. Independent labels however, tend to focus more on their artists, granting them more, if not unlimited, freedom in regards to creativity.

Rhymesayers, Eyedea & Abilities’ and P.O.S.’s independent label, meets that criteria.

“The beauty about Rhymesayers is that it’s an artist-based label and within that context, we’re allowed and even encouraged to do whatever we want,” Eyedea said.

Eyedea, whose real name is Micheal Larsen, and DJ Abilities, Gregory Keltgen, have been working together since 1998. Their latest album, “By the Throat,” came out in late July after a five-year hiatus. Their new record incorporates new elements such as free jazz, which emphasizes drums and bass.

“A lot of (free jazz) influence comes from my other band, Carbon Carousel, where I don’t rap,” Eyedea said. “I still improvise every day,” he said, “but it’s not any battle rapping.”
If students have heard of Eyedea, it’s probably been in connection to his freestyle and battling abilities. He’s won titles at Scribble Jam (1999) and Blaze Battle (2000) among others.

Purportedly, he’s been offered contracts by the likes of Eminem and P. Diddy, but Larsen still chooses to stay with the Minneapolis label Rhymesayers.

Eyedea & Abilities isn’t the only group under Rhymesayers that fuses and meshes different genres of music.



Stefon Alexander, better known as P.O.S., short for “Product of Society,” “Piece of Sh*t” or just “Pissed Off Stef,” grew up in the Minneapolis punk scene, listening to bands like At the Drive-In, Minor Threat, Refused and Kid Dynamite.

“People sometimes read articles and they write me off, like, immediately because they hear about punk rock roots or aggressive beats.,” P.O.S. said in a Seattle Times interview.
He produces about half the tracks on each of his albums, including his latest, “Never Better.”

A dichotomy exists between the punk philosophy that anyone, regardless of experience or talent, can rock out, and the rap philosophy that spitting rhymes and laying tracks takes real skill. However, P.O.S. is living proof that there can be crossover. He tips his lyrical hat to rapper Nas in his opening track, saying, “They out for presidents to represent them/You think a president could represent you?,” then later to punk rockers Fugazi, quoting, “This one’s ours, let’s take another,” from their song “Five Corporations.”



He’s toured with everyone from Aesop Rock to Cursive and is scheduled to perform at this year’s Coachella music festival. Martin Dosh will be opening for Eyedea & Abilities.

And although Dosh isn’t a rapper, he’s signed to Anticon, a genre-defying label whose roster of indie rappers and electronica artists indicates a connection. While his music doesn’t have a thumping bassline in every track, he’s able to beautifully integrate multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird’s violin and whistling into his songs.

Like the aforementioned artists, Dosh’s style spans many genres. The ability to work with the precision of Bird, yet to also complement the gritty reality of Eyedea’s lyrics shows considerable talent. For those people who have never been to an underground hip-hop or rap show before, all they have to do is throw their hands up, yell a chorus or two and feel the beat.

Jake One: Producer Talks To Seattle Times About Upcoming Freeway Album & More

Seattle superproducer Jake One recently released 40 minutes of hiphop with rapper Freeway, one of the most original voices in rap, on a free downloadable mixtape called "The Beat Made Me Do It."

The compositions are simple: looped samples of funk and soul records Jake likes from the late '70s and early '80s. He made the whole thing in three or four hours, he estimates.

"I just grabbed some records and looped 'em up. [Freeway] wanted to do a mixtape and I didn't want to do what everyone else does, rap on 'A Milli' or whatever beat is hot at the moment."

Jake and Freeway are a team; the mixtape promotes "Stimulus Package," the duo's album coming out Febrary 2010.

Jake says during the week the mixtape came together, he would email Freeway a track, and Freeway would make up little bits of rhyme off the top of his head and record them as he went along, stitching together verses, then email the tracks back. That's how most of the mixtape happened, with very little writing or planning.

"For him to do that, it's basically nothing. It's an exercise for him."

Really? Off the top of his head?

"Yeah, four bars, eight bars at a time and go back and do another. He's more about style. He has a really unique style. It's more about his rhythm and flows than what he's saying sometimes. It's about patterns."

Read the full article here:
Seattle Times - Catching up with Seattle superproducer Jake One as he works with Freeway, Dr. Dre, Brother Ali, Fatal Lucciauno

Download Freeway's mixtape here:
"The Beat Made Me Do It."

Felt 3 'Permanent Standby'

From the upcoming Felt 3 - Slug/Murs/Aesop Rock album 'A Tribute To Rosie Perez' on Rhymesayers in-stores November 17.

Slug, Murs, and Aesop Rock Schedule 'Felt 3' Minneapolis In-Store Appearance

Attention People of Minneapolis/St.Paul: Slug, Murs, and Aesop Rock announce an in-store appearance to support their new album 'Felt 3' out on November 17 at Fifth Element on the eve of the release (would imagine at Midnight.)

Fifth Element
2411 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55405
(612) 377-0044

More details here:
City Pages - Slug, Murs, and Aesop Rock announce Felt in-store appearance

Related:
Aesop Rock, Atmosphere's Slug, and Murs Heart Rosie Perez With New Album

Rhymesayer Rapper P.O.S. Live In London, UK

P.O.S. at the Electric Ballroom in London, UK Friday, October 9.

Fan shot footage below.





Check out PHOTOS of P.O.S. and act The King Blues from the London, UK show:
Rex Features

P.O.S. 'Never Better' out now on Ryhmesayers Entertainment.

(video courtesy of tabzywabzy and Manak1982)

Davey D speaks with Toki Wright

Hip Hop historian, journalist, DJ and community activist Davey D speaks with Toki Wright about his involvement in the Minneapolis hop hop scene and culture.
The intro is a bit too long, be patience the interview is well worth the wait.



Toki Wright's 'A Different Mirror' on Rhymesayers is out now.

Atmosphere plays Soundset 2009 Minnesota footage posted

Minneapolis rapper P.O.S. talks hip hop and punk rock

This Summer catch P.O.S. on the 2009 Warped Tour coming to a town near you.