Showing posts with label Milwaukee Hip-Hop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Milwaukee Hip-Hop. Show all posts

Friday, April 20, 2012

TMB x Uni-Fi Records Presents: Monster House "Raiders of the Lost Art"


Back in February the homie Audio Pilot sent me a track that had been recorded that weekend by SPEAK Easy and Panic. It was among a few that had been done with him on production and the two emcees on the mic. What started as an email introducing me to the newly formed crew going by the name Monster House, became a partnership with TMB and Milwaukee based Uni-Fi Records to present the project. TMB has had ties with MKE since we started back in '09 and we're excited to be part of this LP. With a series of well received singles, we finally present the final product, eleven solid tracks, recorded over the course of six weekends or so. This is Monster House and welcome to the Raiders of the Lost Art. This is storytelling at its' finest. Chea!

Stream / Download via AudioMack


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Friday, April 13, 2012

Monster House "Maniacs" feat. Dana Coppa & DJ Butter Tooth


After two well received singles, Wisconsin based SPEAK Easy, Panic and Audio Pilot aka Monster House are back with the third and last single from their upcoming project. Joined by Milwaukee's Dana Coppa and DJ Butter Tooth on the cuts, the collective are determined to prove they are Maniacs. Raiders of The Lost Art, presented by The Mad Bloggers and Uni-Fi Records is due out April 20th. In the meantime, enjoy the music. Chea!

Stream / Download via AudioMack

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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

What I'm Watching: Logic & Raze "EYE GEE OH"



With direction from Jack and Nick Packard, Logic & Raze deliver up the video for the Raze produced Eye Gee Oh track off their ...STILL untitled project. To me it's always dope when underground / indie heads create better videos than their mainstream peers, when the budgets are so vastly different. This is an example of a better video. I definitely respect what the Milwaukee duo did with this new set of visuals. I dig this highly addictive video/track combo. Dope.

I'll let the homie JC Poppe take the rest from here.
Milwaukee's semi-psycho, semi-party hip-hop group Logic & Raze have just released their latest music video, this time for their song "Eye Gee Oh."

The song is a bar fight anthem and the music video, directed by FunnyOrDie's Jack and Nick Packard, takes the visual representation of the song to a creepy new level of cinematic doom.

I imagine that a lot of people who don't live in Wisconsin like to believe that all we have in the state is beer, brats, Packers fans, and cannibalistic serial killers (Ed Gein and Dahmer), and the music video for "Eye Gee Oh" does nothing to disassociate Wisconsin from latter. 
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Thursday, March 08, 2012

Monster House "Love Me"


Following the release of their debut track Clips, the Wisconsin collective Monster House return with a new cut off of their TMB x UniFi Records presented Raiders of the Lost Art. AudioPilot on production, with SPEAKEasy and Panic serving up solid verses. Hit play and enjoy. Chea!



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Sunday, March 04, 2012

MKE's BEST (2 Years Later)


Two years ago we released what is probably one of our biggest projects ever presented by The Mad Bloggers (and was the start of our bandcamp page). We teamed up with WMSE 91.7 in Milwaukee to pull together the MKE's Best compilation, featuring many Hip-Hop acts out of the area. The project came at the end of our Journey to Hip-Hop series spotlighting the Brew City. Many folks were surprised with the talent coming from the area. We weren't. We had been covering MKE Hip-Hop for a few months before the series kicked off. Having never traveled to MKE before (or even after for that matter), we were committed to showcasing the quality of the music from their artists and producers.

In the two years since MKE's Best we've continued to build great relationships with many of the folks out of the Milwaukee area, including BLAX, Maal Himself, Signif, SPEAK Easy, Haz Solo, Dylan Thomas, Dana Coppa, Audio Pilot, KingHellBastard, Reason, Dima, Michelle of UniFi Records, Melissa Czarnik, Raze, JC Poppe, Eric Mire, AUTOMatic and many others. We're fortunate to have this cool connection to Milwaukee.

We thought on this anniversary we should repost this important project that was a pretty big moment in TMB history and part of our ongoing relationship in Wisconsin. If this is your first time checking this project, enjoy this music. Chea!









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Thursday, July 07, 2011

Tay Butler "I Came Up" feat. Prophetic and Mac


It's been a year since Tay dropped UMG Summer League. That was a solid project. Now the Milwaukee based emcee returns with a dope track featuring Prophetic and Mac. I dig it. Hit play and enjoy. Chea!



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Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Element Everest "What I Do" Feat. The Rusty Ps & A Biz


I blog about Milwaukee like I live there. Funny thing is I've never been there but ever since stumbling on their Hip-Hop scene, I've tried my best to cover it. Recently I caught this Element track featuring The Rusty Ps and A Biz. You gotta love summer because everyone is out trying to make the summer anthem. You can add this jawn to the list. Hit play and enjoy. Chea!



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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Artist Profile: The Arrival of Maal Himself


This is a moment I've been waiting for.

I'm sure there are many in Milwaukee that would echo my sentiments. Maal Himself has stepped out as a solo artist and he's doing so on his own terms, as he delivers up his first track from his upcoming project.

I've been following Maal since I first stumbled on the MKE Hip-Hop scene and I've been a fan of his work. Part of the dope crew Misen Lync, this will be his first solo offering since becoming active in the scene three years ago in July. I'm sure I'm not the only person excited about the forthcoming project.

I connected with Maal to talk about stepping out as a solo artist and what we can expect with the new project. Peep the Q&A after the jump.

Saturday, September 04, 2010

Check It ... @NacidoNegro "Handling Business"


I caught this track from Milwaukee emcee Nacido Negro. It's the new single from his Ear Food project coming in October. Enjoy.

<a href="http://themadbloggers.bandcamp.com/track/handling-business">Handling Business by The Mad Bloggers</a>

www.twitter.com/nacidonegro

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Check It ... Melissa Czarnik "Anattitude"


Melissa Czarnik is back. She returns with "Raspberry Jesus" available for pre-order and out officially on July 31. Her first single, "Anattitude," is really fresh and shows that the Milwaukee based emcee hasn't been just chilling since her last album. Yeah, between shows overseas, locally and working on this new album, the last thing Czarnik has been doing is chilling. You should be excited about this new project. Melissa Czarnik isn't a joke musically and always delivers. I'm excited for her. And I'm excited for you to discover "Raspberry Jesus" and Melissa Czarnik.
(Milwaukee,WI) On Saturday, July 31st, 10pm Milwaukee based poet-emcee, Melissa Czarnik will release her long awaited sophomore album, Raspberry Jesus (Hyperdrive Motivator Productions, 2010) at Stonefly Brewery, 735 E. Center Street, Milwaukee, WI. Czarnik will be backed by the Eric Mire Band, a five-piece hip hop/jazz/soul band made up of bandleader, Eric Mire (guitar), Chip Baily (drums), Maurice Cotton (keys), Brad Bloom (sax) and Don Bradshaw (congas). Other acts include the DJ duo, Him & Her (Milwaukee); the Eric Mire Band will also open the night playing a selection of instrumentals from Czarnik’s 1st album, Strawberry Cadillac, as well as the Eric Mire Band’s 2009 release, Spooky Love. There will be a collection of Midwestern themed drawings and photographs on display from the brother-sister duo, Dominic and Erica Heisdorf. The evenings happenings will be photographed by the Milwaukee based photographers, Shaku & Mindy Mays.
From the depths of her soul, Melissa Czarnik delivers audiences an album strapped with power, love, and struggle. With bolder lyrics, bigger beats, and more collaborations, Czarnik has proven yet again, that hip-hop is not dead, but indeed, underground. Her first album, “Strawberry Cadillac” was released in July, 2008 and since then she has gained recognition in notable publications such as Bitch Magazine (USA) and Anattitude Magazine (Europe). She has toured increasingly throughout the Midwest and has gone as far as Brussels, Belgium to rock the Supafly Women in Hip Hop Series in June 2010.
With a blend of hip hop, poetry and jazz, Czarnik’s Raspberry Jesus offers up yet again, a bigger and better sound that is organic in feel, original in sound, and intimate in content. Working side by side with producer and composer, Eric Mire, the album features a wide range of collaborations from musicians like Aaron Gardner and Eric Jacobson of Kings Go Forth; gospel music director, Maurice Cotton produced and composed a full-length gospel track; and members of the Eric Mire Band can be found sprinkled throughout several tracks on the album. Czarnik also worked with hip-hop producer, Dylan Thomas on a track that features, R&B singer Patrice Downey.
Czarnik’s diversity on Raspberry Jesus is exemplified in her musical flow and hard punchy lyrics that are layered with the same musicality as that of an instrument. Czarnik can go from bold and boastful on one song to soft and romantic on another with the same ease as artists such as Lauryn Hill or Ani Difranco. Growing up on Milwaukee’s working-class North Side, she is street wise, compassionate and community aware. She completed two years of service in AmeriCorps and has spent the past 3 years working at Woodland Pattern, a non-profit literary arts center. Together, Czarnik and her label mate Eric Mire founded Hyperdrive Motivator Productions, a label that prides itself on DIY artistry and has brought audiences albums such as Strawberry Cadillac (HMP, 2008), the Eric Mire Band’s Spooky Love (HMP, 2009), and most recently Melissa Czarnik with the Eric Mire Band, Local Live EP (HMP, 2009). Raspberry Jesus is now available for pre-order sale at www.melissaczarnik.com.


<a href="http://themadbloggers.bandcamp.com/track/anattitude">Anattitude by The Mad Bloggers</a>



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Thursday, June 24, 2010

First Listen: @Razetastic "Living in Technocolor"


I've had "Living in Technocolor" for a few weeks now.  In between random other releases, I found myself going back to the project and blasting it. It's a great listen. Lyrically, the production and the overall concept is dope and delivers yet another layer of the Milwaukee emcee.

"Living in Technocolor" is the follow up to Raze's "Dreaming in Greyscale", coming almost two years after that release and fresh off the success of House of M’s "The Alternate Reality Of…"

The Prologue sets the stage. The Epilogue raps it up nicely. And all the tracks in between deliver on the 21 track LP. And from tracks like "One Hunnid" (talking about all the fakeness in music) to "Rosie Palms" (talking about "self love"), Raze brings a colorful spectrum to his music and this project.

Raze is one talented dude.

Raze has been featured on the blog a few times but we've never interviewed him. So, I reached out to Raze to talk about the new project and one of his favorite subjects, women.

Enjoy.

The Mad Bloggers: What's the difference between "Dreaming In Greyscale" and "Living in Technocolor"? As an artists, do you think you've grown between the two projects?

Raze: DiG (Dreaming In Greyscale) was essentially the story of the man behind the music. LiT (Living in Technocolor) is the music behind that man. DiG was a "how I got here" of sorts. My life experiences, whereas LiT is the product & artistic application of those experiences. Yeah, I feel I've grown, I've had to! As a father, husband, group member/leader, baby daddy, etc. (LOL) The maturity of this album I think really shines through. I've learned how to say some pretty direct and sometimes crass things, in a much more digestable way.

TMB: It's been a while since Dreaming In Greyscale, why so long?

Raze: Well, I started working on LiT in December of '08 right after DiG dropped (that July) after I left my former crew. Shortly after I started recording (4-5 songs in) I OFFICIALLY joined the House of Mutants. I did some work with Gambit & SoulMatikk (formerly D'Matikk) exclusively, and those demos turned into some of the tracks for "The Alternate Reality of..." (The House of Mutants group album of '09). I also put out a "mixtape album" called "Lust Love Hate" comprised of some older material and some new material around those subjects, cuz I felt it really hadn't been explored that deeply in my genre. That was well recieved, but really I took a break from the solo album to focus on the group album and to help put out JC Poppe's debut album "Sleep Therapy". It was definitely a good move because I learned a lot during the recording/producing of those albums, which I applied to LiT. It made sense because we wanted to springboard the solo albums of the House of Mutant emcees off of the group effort, instead of the other way around. It fit the "House of Mutants storyline" better that way in the long run...You'll all see soon after it plays out.


TMB: How long did it take for you to put together "Living in Technocolor"?

Raze: Like I said, I started recording in '08, but took essentially ALL of '09 off. So I guess it'd be fair to say I worked on this album maybe 6 or 7 months total?

TMB: Who did you work with on this new project?

Raze: Well, who DIDN'T I work with is more like it (LOL). I can honestly say minus a VERY few names, I worked with some of the most talented artists in Milwaukee and one in particular beyond. It was great to be able to have so many dope cats down for MY project. I worked with the House of Mutants crew (Lou Tang, Soulmatikk, Trellmatic, myself) plus FINALLY linked up with Miltown Beatdown legend Jihad Barakus. I got a track by Edward Cayce of The Hollowz and my boy SosaDaGr8 who's been a web homie for years. To help with the R&B/Poetry side of things, I got my sister Elle Razberry, Patrice Downey, Bobby Drake and Ms. Cream. I was blessed with gettin verses from APRIME, Frankie Flowers & SPEAKeasy on various songs as well. Plus I got some cameos from Gambit and JC Poppe and this cat named Yung Lil Bullshit that's doin big thangs right now. I've never been one for too many guest appearances on solo albums, but I truly needed these artists to complete the vision and they came thru amazingly for me and I'm beyond grateful for it!

TMB: You seem to tackle a lot of things in your music (Rosie Palms for example off the new project), where does that boldness come from?

Raze: Fam, if people only knew what goes thru my mind half the time...LOL. I've always been outspoken and opinionated. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes not so much, but I've accepted that THAT'S ME. So I just put my thoughts/feelings out there and see what happens. Like "Rosie Palms" for example, WHO DOES THAT?!? It's somethin EVERYBODY (don't be a fkn lie) has had an experience or 1000 with, so I wanted to spit on it (PAUSE). But I ain't wanna do it on some regular ish, so I took it to a storytelling/personifying tip. I love that track.

TMB: I've heard you be called, "a creative pillar of House of M", so how is Raze the solo artist different than Raze the member of House of M?

Raze: When you're in a group, its a democracy. So each member has a voice, but each voice is really just a different octave of the OVERALL vocal. A "Rosie Palms" or "Oh Baby" prolly would've been veto'd prolly on a group album, but "Starz at Nite" (from The Alternate Reality of...) wasn't because THE WHOLE could connect and relate, plus be comfortable rhymin bout it.

TMB: What's the hardest thing you're finding out with promoting/pushing your music?

Raze: That the game ain't what it used to be. I mean, I've BEEN known this, but it's kinda disheartening now because as an indie artist, our legitimate ALBUM RELEASES are outshone by web leaks of major artists. Sure, the internet has somewhat levelled the playing field to a degree but there's still so much financially and promotions wise we still can't compete with...unless we pull some Kat Stacks type BS or get a hood model chick to be our girlfriend...LOL


TMB: I've heard the ladies love Raze (LOL). What's that all about?

Raze: Back in the day I was a hoe...no lie. I mean I can't reiterate that enough. I am probably the Wilt Chaimberlain of Milwaukee's hip hop community. I can't say I'm proud of that, but can't say I'm ashamed either. All I know is women have always been attracted to me. I think I've always been a strong, leader type dude that doesn't sugar coat, so amongst an ocean of dudes tellin them what they WANNA hear, I'm givin 'em the real and maybe that built some kinda intrigue or somethin. I dunno, but I'm appreciative of them all....errr, MOST of them (LOL)

TMB: Random question, if you were stranded on an Island with three women, who would they be and why?

Raze:  Jill Scott, Kelly Divine and my wife. Jill could sing to me, spit that dope poetic angelic ish. Kelly Divine (porn star) could basically fuck my brains out CONSTANT and my wife could join in with Kelly PLUS keep me fed wit the "white girl chicken" or white girl coconuts...or white girl wild boar...or...you get it (LOL)


TMB: Right, right (LOL). And well, back to the music, if there was one thing you'd want people to take from "Living in Technocolor," what would it be?

Raze: My biggest wish for Hip Hop, and really urban music in general is the return of THE TRUTH to the forefront of it all. I'm tired of gimmicks, tired of rappers gettin exposed, all because they just couldn't "keep it one hunnid" in their songs. If you're a truly talented person, your highs and lows of your past will be forgiven. Because ultimately, it's all about the music, right? Life is vivid, multi-dimensional and colorful as hell. So take advantage of all life gives you. Or, maybe I'm still Dreaming...


Preview "Living in Technocolor"

<a href="http://raze.bandcamp.com/album/living-in-technocolor">Prologue by Raze</a>

twitter.com/razetastic
www.houseofmutants.com
www.cdbaby.com/cd/raze1

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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Check It ... Panic "Beating Fast"


I caught this joint from producer Dave Derrilykt (who was featured on MKE's Best). Panic (who was also featured on MKE's Best on a track with SPEAK Easy) is an emcee out of Milwaukee. Dave produced the track and Panic laid down a dope flow. Enjoy.



www.myspace.com/panicofficialpage


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Saturday, March 06, 2010

What I'm Watching ... @DanaCoppafeel featuring Michael Mic Check "I See Now"


Check out the new Dana Coppafeel video for "I See Now" featuring Michael Mic Check and shot by Darren Cole. "I See Now" is available on both MKE's Best and Coppa's Welfare Foods. Enjoy.


Dana Coppafeel ft Micheal Mic Check "I See Now" Music video from Darren Cole on Vimeo.




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The MAD KIDS! Milwaukee's #1 Hip-Hop Radio Show & The Mad Bloggers Interview


So last Tuesday, my partner Q got a chance to be interviewed by The Mad Kids (coincidental, we swear, haha) on Milwaukee's only Hip-Hop radio show in the state about our "Journey to Hip-Hop ... Milwaukee" series. DJ Kid Cut Up, whom we've featured on the blog here and here, and DJ Bizzon bring you numerous amounts of good Hip-Hop music you could only beg and dream your radio stations to play. A format I myself wish I got to experience more in my home state. But....that's neither here nor there. Haha.

These guys did a great job, not only with providing you great music to nod your head to but they also gave a great interview with Q asking him what seemed like every possible question about our project on Milwaukee Hip-Hop. It's great to get love from them as we show love for their music few outside their state lines have gotten the privilege to hear. Happy to collaborate with these guys on the MKE's BEST compilation they helped us promote and push.

Anyways....let's get to it. Here's the rundown of what was on their show and check the download at the bottom!


WSME 91.7 - THE MAD KIDS (DJ Kid Cut Up - DJ Bizzon) - 03-02-10

  1. B. Dolan - 50 Ways To Bleed Your Customer
  2. B. Dolan - Earth Movers
  3. POS ft Cadence Weapon - The Fall of Troy
    -Mad Kids
  4. Awol One & Factor - Glamorous Drunk
  5. Awol One & Factor - Stand Up ft Myka 9 and Aesop Rock
  6. Awol One & Factor - Up Downtown
    -Mad Kids
    -The Mad Bloggers Mention
  7. Gorillaz - Super Fast Jelly Fish ft De La Soul
  8. Kaydee - Right Here
  9. Frankie Flowers - Koolness
  10. Lupe Fiasco - Lean
  11. Lab Partners - Reach Out
  12. Zion I - Coastin’
  13. Statik Selektah - Do What I Believe ft Bahamadia
  14. Kice Of Course - My iPod
    -Mad Kids
    -The Mad Bloggers Mention
    The Mad Bloggers (Q’s Interview) - [1:06:37 - 1:23:00]
  15. Salt-N-Pepa - Push It (Kid Cut Up Remix off TMB)
  16. Method Man & Redman - City Lights ft Bun B. (UGK?)
  17. Rusko - How Low Can U Go ft Chali 2na
  18. Murs - God’s Work
  19. Boot Kamp - Fresh Fest
    -Mad Kids
    -The Mad Bloggers Mention
  20. Chief Kamachi - Little African Girl
  21. Vinnie Paz - Street Wars ft Clipse
  22. Boom Bap Project - 1, 2, 3, 4
    -Mad Kids
  23. Kidz In The Hall - Go Ill
  24. Statik Selektah - So Close, So Far ft Bun B., Wale & Colin Monroe
  25. Nas - Represent
  26. Non Prophets - Damage
  27. Black Eyed Peas - Hot
  28. Brand Nubian - Always Mine
    -Mad Kids
  29. Statik Selektah - Express Yourself ‘08 ft Termanology, Talib Kweli & Consequence
  30. A Tribe Called Quest - Check The Rhime
  31. Dilated Peoples - ClockworkFreeway & Jake One - Throw Your Hands Up
  32. Redman - Freestyle, Freestyle
  33. Kanye West - Diamonds From Sierra Leone ft Jay-Z (Remix)
  34. Atmosphere - Puppets
    -Mad Kids
www.wmse.org


The MAD KIDS! Show on 03/02/10


Or download entire show: The MAD KIDS! and The Mad Bloggers



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Thursday, March 04, 2010

The Mad Bloggers & 91.7 WMSE presents ... Milwaukee's Best

And it's finally done.

After weeks of featuring and spotlighting Milwaukee emcees and producers, we are proud to present, "MKE's Best", a compilation of Milwaukee Hip-Hop in partnership w/Milwaukee's own WMSE 91.7.

We are very pleased with this final product.

A sincere thanks to the talented emcees and producers who lent their tracks for this compilation. Milwaukee has amazing talent and we're happy we could be a part of spotlighting it.

We know we may have missed some people but this was our humble attempt to spotlight as much of Milwaukee's Hip-Hop as we could find.

A special shout out to @EgyptoKnuckles and @ladyblogga for helping us put together the "The Journey to Hip-Hop... Milwaukee" series! And WMSE, thanks for your support!

In Pursuit of Realness,

-Q & OC









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Monday, March 01, 2010

The Journey to Hip-Hop ... Milwaukee (late pass): JC-TRAX & ANTHAMATIC

JC-TRAX, a producer out of Milwaukee hit me with this track he produced for ANTHAMATIC, an emcee also out of Milwaukee. Check the joint out on another Journey to Hip-Hop late pass.

"Pretty Lady"


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The Journey to Hip-Hop ... MIlwaukee (late pass): DJ Kid Cut Up, Part 2


We did a piece on Kid Cut Up a few days back but didn't have a track to share. Recently I did an interview with Kid Cut Up for his The Mad Kids Show on Milwaukee's WMSE and we exchanged emails. He hit me with these two tracks. I felt the need to share with a late pass. Enjoy!

"It Takes Two to Rock" DJ Kid Cut Up remix


"Push It" DJ Kid Cut Up remix


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Sunday, February 28, 2010

The Journey to Hip-Hop ... Milwaukee: @DanaCoppafeel


Dana Coppafeel was among the first Milwaukee heads that we featured on the blog. He was surely the first interview. At the time it was Dana's video for the track "88" that caught my attention. His rhymes and style were fresh, with that old school Hip-Hop feel to it. That his music contains that old school feel shouldn't be a surprise from the self proclaimed "old head" who is in his second childhood.

There was something cool about his lyrical flow and it’s not just on one track. It carried. Coppafeel has been blessing my inbox since we first exchanged emails online and is among the cool heads from Milwaukee that I've never met outside of the matrix. He's my connection to the House of M, KingsHellBastard, Uni-Fi Records and more.

But now Coppafeel is in the midst of his first project, "Coppa's Welfare Foods", and the timing couldn't be better considering our spotlight on Milwaukee this month. He hit me with the advance copy a few weeks ago and I'm very pleased with the new joint (which is available for purchase on CD Baby and preview on Bandcamp.com).

"Coppa's Welfare Foods" is dope from beginning to end. I sat through two solid listens after I unzipped the file. Joints like "Another One", "Chemistry" and "I See Now" speak to the smoothed out side of Dana. Then there are joints like "Damage", "Keep the Motor Runnin'" and "Welfare Foods" that bring that hard-hitting side.

It's all dope Hip-Hop.

Whether it's the smooth side or the hard-hitting side of Dana Coppafeel , it's all lyrical and he has a great handle of word play, plus his features compliment many tracks. As with other joints, "Coppa's Welfare Foods" boasts solid production too.

I reached out to Dana for a Q&A. Here's what he had to say about making music, the new project and what's been going on since the last time we spoke.

The Mad Bloggers: It's been a while since we spoke, what's new?

Dana Coppafeel: To tell the truth, a lot... right now I'm gearing up to push my first ever solo project called "Coppa's Welfare Foods", which is dropping March 13th but you can get it right now on CD baby. I just got done shooting a video for "I SEE NOW" which is what I'm trying to lead off with. I try to stay away from calling it a single. ya know, its Milwaukee, so here it's just some music. My friend D Woods of Alpha Bang Productions is putting it together for me.

At the same time, one of the groups I'm in, KingHellBastard, is currently working to wrap up a vinyl EP with some dope features. We've got Sadat X of Brand Nubians, White Shadow of Norway, Arkobatic, Raashan Ahmed of Crown City Rocker and Strick of EMC. We are on the brink of finishing that... as well as an album called WarRoom, which we are knee deep in already.

The House of M, my other group, we just launched our website www.houseofmutants.com. Everybody in the M is working on solo or other inner group projects at the time.

Last but not least I'm working on another joint project with my homie Da Ricanstruckta. We got a nice size chunk of songs done, we just need to polish them off. So, that's pretty much everything in a nut shell for the most part.


TMB: How do you find time for all your projects?

Dana: [Hahaha] I don't even know. I ask myself that sometimes.. maybe super powers. I guess its just being focused and mainly that I will things to happen. I just feel right now is the time for me to let the me that knows what I'm capable of doing take control. I've been doing this for years in Milwaukee, like 93... so, the knowledge of following something through is quit relevant right now. It gives me perspective on ideal time frames for projects. So, time is nothing but the catalyst. We don't got forever just right now...

TMB: "Coppa's Welfare Foods" is your first solo project, how did it feel putting it together?

Dana: It's a good feeling... this collection of songs, I never really meant them to be an album. Maybe, a free online mixtape or something like that. When I first started this project it was '07 and I was just recording. I wasn't recording for anything, I just wanted to get better at recording and see how other people did their thing. I really just had the Royallton booked every Wednesday night to record. I got a lot of features from all over on the album. Germany to the UK, I got heads from Jacksonville, Savannah, Phoenix, Rockford, Pittsburg, Milwaukee, Madison and New York. I want to connect people with different heads. So, at one point I had like 27 songs all recorded, my friend Dima thought I should turn those songs into an album. I was like NO, lets just do it as a mixtape or something like that. I just thought it was too random a collection of songs but, once we got them mixed a few of them turned out real good and had a great vibe together.

"I See Now" featuring Michael Mic Check






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Saturday, February 27, 2010

The Journey to Hip-Hop ... Milwaukee: *hitmayng


I caught this a few days ago from *hitmayng, a young producer and DJ out of Milwaukee. As we begin to bring things to a close for our Journey to Hip-Hop series featuring Milwaukee, I felt the need to share. He's been DJ'ing since '04 and as he said, over time he got into producing. Last summer he released a compilation of remixes featuring acapellas from Lupe Fiasco, Common, De La Soul and others. He's got an ear. Check out "Mighty Healthy."




www.myspace.com/hitmayng


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Thursday, February 25, 2010

The Journey to Hip-Hop ... Milwaukee: @EricMire


Eric Mire is a cool dude.

Many may know him as the sound behind Melissa Czarnik but Eric is a musician in his own right, with two albums of his own available.

Eric is a band leader, a fan of Hip-Hop (and music in general), a producer (composer) and runs his own label.

I recently reached out to Eric for a Q&A for our Journey to Hip-Hop series.

The Mad Bloggers: How long have you been doing music?

Eric Mire: I’ve been into music a little over twenty years. I started with piano as a kid, picked up guitar in middle school and got really into composition and recording during high school. From there I went to school for music to study composition and wound up in a program that exposed me to more recording and music technology. In terms of Hip-Hop, I've been in and out of the scene in Milwaukee for about 10 years. Back before Melissa and I started Hyperdrive Motivator Productions, I was the producer for a group called the Nowhere Mine.

TMB: When did you form the Eric Mire Band? Who are the members?

Eric: The Eric Mire Band formed in 2007. I recorded and released a solo album and created the group and started performing shortly after. It began with Maurice Cotton phenomenal Gospel/Jazz keyboard player and producer, whom I met while we both worked at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. He played on one of the tracks off the album and was a natural first step when I put the group together. Maurice helped bring Don Bradshaw on board for congas and aux percussion, whom we both knew from the Conservatory and who also played with at Maurice's church. Eventually Brad Bloom, who I went to school with, joined on saxophone. He recorded with us on Melissa's Strawberry Cadillac album and started performing with us after that. And finally we have Chip Baily on drums. Chip was on the church scene with Maurice and stepped up after other drummers didn’t work out.

TMB: How would you describe your music?

Eric: I like to just call it good music. To be more technical it's a blend of Hip-Hop, jazz, gospel, folk, soul and classical. The beauty of the group is that we have such rich and different backgrounds. It's kind of a Hip-Hop/soul band with a jazz methodology. We tend to rehearse a very basic framework for our music, put it in motion and let it go where it needs to.

TMB: What do you see yourself as more, a producer or ...

Eric: I think of myself mostly as a composer.

TMB: What led you to form Hyperdrive?

Eric: I think it grew out of being in the scene for a while and trying different things and realizing that I needed a place that I could pursue my own ambitions. I had very a very clear idea of the music I wanted to create and the business model I wanted to follow.

Check out the Eric Mire Band's video for "Saturday" featuring Melissa Czarnik and shot by my favorite Milwaukee director, Darren Cole.



www.cdbaby.com/cd/ericmire
www.cdbaby.com/cd/ericmire2


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