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

danacoppafeel.bandcamp.com
www.cdbaby.com/cd/dcoppafeel

Follow the madness: twitter.com/madbloggers
Check out more from The Mad Bloggers

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


Follow the madness: twitter.com/madbloggers
Check out more from The Mad Bloggers

Check It ... @SlimIsGOLD "In For the Kill"

Check out this joint from STS, "In for the Kill" [click to download] Produced by MPIII. It's pretty dope.

slimisgold.com/blog
TWITTER.COM/SLIMISGOLD


Follow the madness: twitter.com/madbloggers
Check out more from The Mad Bloggers

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


Follow the madness: twitter.com/madbloggers
Check out more from The Mad Bloggers

The Journey to Hip-Hop ... Milwaukee: The Hollowz

I caught this EP a few weeks back when we first started this series. A fan of the crew had hit me with an email and a few tracks from Premonition. The project is dope.

Edward Cayce (producer) and Logic (emcee) make up The Hollowz.
It took me a little while to track down .

I was able to get in touch with Logic for a quick Q&A.

The Mad Bloggers: Born and raised in MKE?

Logic: Ed is born and raised on the north side of Milwaukee. I was born in Milwaukee, raised in a lot damn places but rooted on the south side.

TMB: How long have yall been doing musically collectively?

Logic: Ed has been producing locally for over a decade, and I am on about eight years performing and since the first cd release. Been rapping for quite some time I guess. Together as a group we have been working for probably the last two years.

TMB: How can people get the new project?

Logic: Garage band should let you download for free. If not, hit up The Hollowz facebook page or shoot us an email the.hollowz@yahoo.com. We'll next day air you a free copy with a free keychain and a membership card to The Hollowz fanclub .... or we'll just email you the EP and call it a day!!

"It's You"



www.garageband.com/artist/TheHollowz
www.facebook.com/pages/The-Hollowz
soundcloud.com/the-hollowz

Follow the madness: twitter.com/madbloggers
Check out more from The Mad Bloggers

TheMadBloggers.com and Milwaukee's @WMSE presents MKE's BEST...

TheMadBloggers.com and Milwaukee’s own 91.7 WMSE have teamed up to bring you “The Journey to Hip-Hop…Milwaukee” (also known as MKE’s Best), a compilation of some of the dopest Hip-Hop artists and producers in the Milwaukee area.

The “Journey to Hip-Hop” series is a new feature on TheMadBloggers.com, spotlighting a city/region’s Hip-Hop scene over the course of a month. They decided to dedicate the first series to Milwaukee.

At the beginning of February 2010, The Mad Bloggers set out on the journey with a simple goal in mind: feature Milwaukee’s best in Hip-Hop. They had always been impressed with the lyrical emcees and talented producers that Milwaukee had to offer since stumbling on the city back in April of 2009.

The Mad Bloggers love Milwaukee, though they've never set foot within city limits or even in the state of Wisconsin. However, something about the Hip-Hop scene there had spoken to them.



The compilation will include The Lab Partners, KingHellBastard, Scott Knoxx, Kid Millions, Melissa Czarnik, House of M, Yo-Dot, Ka$h, Prophetic, Haz Solo, JC Poppe, Frankie Flowers, Taiyamo Denku, Signif, Dana Coppafeel, A-Biz with production from Dylan Thomas, Adlib, Eric Mire, Dave Derrilykt, Trellmatic and several more emcees and producers.

"While no list is ever complete and we're sure we missed some artists with our compilation," said Q of The Mad Bloggers, "we made a humble attempt to spotlight and feature as many artists as we could find and could find us. We hope we did the city's Hip-Hop scene some justice."

With so much music to share, “The Journey to Hip-Hop … Milwaukee” will be a two volume compilation, dubbed “MKE’s Best, Draft” and “MKE’s Best, Light”. The compilation will be available for free download starting March 4, 2010.

Written by C. Noelle





Follow the madness: twitter.com/madbloggers
Check out more from The Mad Bloggers

Rhymefest & Skyzoo - "Crack The Code"

Gotta love when we get good music in the inbox. Here goes Rhymefest and Skyzoo doing what they do and well. Wanna hear it? Here it go. Haha...

Rhymefest & Skyzoo "Crack The Code" taken from Closed Sessions Vol. 1 which will be released on 3-2-10.

DJ RTC Commentary On "Crack The Code":

"I really dug into Skyzoo's material while making the first Brainiac Mixtape with Naledge. He put two Skyzoo tracks on the mix and I was more than impressed. I went back into Sky's catalog and eagerly awaited the release of his debut LP, The Salvation. Shortly before the album's release, I had the chance to interview Skyzoo and he told me that he heard about Closed Sessions, and our Dimes and Dozens party in which we bring out of town artists into Chicago and have them perform at our monthly event. He expressed interest in doing the same and I was definitely with it. We organized a show for Skyzoo at The Darkroom, and setup a Closed Session for him the following day. Virgil and Ruben took Sky all around the city before his show, and when he hit SoundScape we could all tell that Chicago had made an impression on him. Rhymefest ended up just being at the studio during Skyzoo's session, the two hit it off very quickly with help from this K-Salaam and Beatnik track and the concept for "Crack The Code" was born. Skyzoo's verse centers on the intricacies of Chicago, while Rhymefest raps about the nature of New York City. It's an homage to two great homes for Hip Hop, and a pairing of two great emcees."


DL Link to Rhymefest & Skyzoo's "Crack The Code" (produced by K-Salaam & Beatnik) from Closed Sessions Vol. 1: http://usershare.net/8d02hgn3w9cv

Follow the madness: twitter.com/madbloggers
Check out more from The Mad Bloggers

The Journey to Hip-Hop ... Milwaukee: ¡OYE! - In My Mind EP

Got this in our email at TheMadBloggers@gmail.com:

¡Oye!, an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is gearing up for the release of his solo music debut. The project features Milwaukee’s Klassik, a fellow emcee, songwriter, and producer as well as Rafael Casal an emcee, playwright, and director from the Bay Area. It’s scheduled to release by the 9th of February.



MKE, Wisconsin – February 10th, 2010--Karl Iglesias, the man better known as Oye, is a Puerto Rican emcee from the Southside of Milwaukee. He is currently a sophomore student at UW- Madison and member of First Wave Arts Ensemble. The In My Mind EP is the first time the world will get to hear Oye’s solo musical work.

The five-track EP takes a holistic journey inside the head of Oye as he travels from aspiring emcee, to a boisterous artist developing his own name and securing himself in Hip Hop. Mid-way through the EP, Oye gives us, “Not Even” a fun and hard-hitting track that exemplifies the self-proclamation “I’m here.” Klassik, the producer responsible for all of the EP’s musical arrangements, also delivers an impressive feature on the record. The title track, which features HBO Def Poet and Bay Area Monster Rafael Casal, gives a personal look into the struggles of being an artist and holding on your relationship.

“Working with artists such as Klassik and Rafael Casal has been incredible. They understood the vision of the project entirely, which was to give a haiku style introduction of myself in the form of an EP. Taking you in my mind, even if it's briefly.”

Oye has shared the stage with the likes of Wale, Lemon, Denizen Kane, Rhymefest, Young Chris, Rafael Casal, Colin Munroe and Ludacris among many others.

Oye is, also, the premier artist sponsored by Chicago based InkRed Clothing, a grassroots clothing company dedicated to highlighting the best up and coming artists from around the country.

Upon release, the EP will be accessible via the artist’s site, OYE414.COM.

¡OYE! - In My Mind (Title track)


Follow the madness: twitter.com/madbloggers
Check out more from The Mad Bloggers

"WE GOT A RECORD DEAL!!" Eternia & MoSS EP#15

Yeah, you already know what it is, another episode of Eternia and MoSS "Road to Release".

"In Episode #15, Eternia does the radio show rounds and announces on air to the world, "We Got a Record Deal!!" The Record Label remains a secret, however, as Eternia promotes the "AT LAST (We Got a Record Deal) JAM!" on Friday February 26th @ Sputnik in BK!. A.G. (D.I.T.C.) and El Da Sensei (Artifacts) extend their congrats, and E gets open on the 'Exhibit C' track @ Beatminerz Radio w/ Crazy DJ Bazarro."

Check Episode 1
Check Episode 2
Check Episode 3
Check Episode 4
Check Episode 5
Check Episode 6
Check Episode 7 & 8
Check Episode 9
Check Episode 10
Check Episode 11
Check Episode 12
Check Episode 13
Check Episode 14

Follow the madness: twitter.com/madbloggers
Check out more from The Mad Bloggers

Download ... Avery Storm & The Heatmakerz "Diary of the Takeoff"

Caught this from my email via DJBooth.net

"Avery Storm, the rising R&B star who brought us reader-acclaimed mixtape Category 5, is back to take fans on a musical journey to destinations unknown with his latest project, Diary of the Takeoff. The street album consists of 12 brand new, previously-unreleased tracks, all featuring the boardwork of Bronx production duo The HeatmakerZ (R’sonist, Thrilla). Fans of Avery Storm should keep it locked to the Booth for the latest release details on the singer’s debut studio album, Shotgun Love, “coming soon” via Universal Motown/Deerty Entertainment."

Avery Storm & The Heatmakerz "Diary of the Takeoff"


Follow the madness: twitter.com/madbloggers
Check out more from The Mad Bloggers

The Journey to Hip-Hop ... Milwaukee: Raze

Peace to the homie JC Poppe for putting this together for me. We've featured Raze by way of House of M and Elle Razberry. This joint, "Welcome II the Show" is dope. Enjoy!

"Raze, also known as the International Sex Symbol and a major creative pillar of House of M, is another Milwaukee Hip-Hop artist setting himself up for a return to the solo side of making music, developing his follow up to 'Dreaming In Grayscale', entitled 'Living In Technicolor', and 'Welcome II The Show' (produced by D'Matikk) is a perfect introduction to this new project."

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Follow the madness: twitter.com/madbloggers
Check out more from The Mad Bloggers

The Journey to Hip-Hop ... Milwaukee: Streetz N' Young Deuces

Editor's Note: Due to some technical problems, I had to repost this piece. It's written and compiled by the homie Egypto Knuckles. Enjoy.

Meet Streetz N' Young Deuces. They've been pretty much featured on as many press outlets a rapper could dream of: being featured in such publications as The Source, being played on Sirius, So So Def Radio and sponsored by the Lil' Jon caffeinated juice, Crunk! But aside from that, they are Milwaukee's own and they are poised to bombard their fans and media alike with the current mixtape titled Straight Drop Muzik and the upcoming release of their album, Hustlers Never Sleep. Here, the duo took some time out to talk to The Mad Bloggers, so let's hear what they have to say, shall we?


Egypto Knuckles: Talk about your first memories of music, especially Hip-Hop. What was the exact moment in time where you said "This is what I want to do"?

Streetz: Seeing my heroes at the time Pac, Jay, Nas, Big, Mase around 96- 97, I think I just fell in love with music. Those years a lot of those albums help shape me into the artist I am today but the moment I knew I wanted to do it is when people started telling me I was good [lol]. That's when I started working on my craft hard.

Young Deuces: For me, I was always the person to be on stage in the spotlight. I started writing and rapping when I was young, mimicking my Pops. But the moment where I said this is what I want to do, was when I was younger me and my cousins were walking to the mall, we started a cipher, and I was WACKKKKK!!!! After that I said I got to step it up!


Egypto Knuckles: Being a figure in the Milwaukee scene, talk about some of your history in Milwaukee. What life experiences shaped your world view and helped shape your subject matter in your songs?

Streetz: Well, just coming from a city with a thriving music scene dying to be heard it just made me come at music differently. I try to put as much of myself in my music as I can and to be visual. Seeing first hand at what being raised in bad situation can do to a person, I try to be very real and truthful in my music when speaking about my self and my views on things.

Young Deuces: Me being a military brat, I’ve seen so many things at an early age and then BAM! I was back in the hood! So I went from good, to bad, to good, so I experienced life differently. Milwaukee is just so overlooked and even some of the people from here will tell you they hate it here…it’s crazy. But me I love the good and the bad of Milwaukee…this city is Me, this is my shit, my love, my enemy, my baby, my mistress, Milwaukee is my inspiration at all times.


Egypto Knuckles: What are some of your thoughts on the Hip-Hop scene in Milwaukee? What makes it unique?

Streetz: Well my thought on our city is we have a lot of things going in our favor. There’s a lot of artist making moves and getting the respect that we deserve so at the moment I’m happy with it I jus hope it continues to grow.

Young Deuces: Yea our time is coming. We’re about to be the next Chicago. There are a lot of good people out of here and I’m telling you, Milwaukee is coming! We have an untold story and it needs to be heard! Just pay attention!


Egypto Knuckles: Talk about your discography here. What projects have you released and what makes each one its own body of work?

Streetz: Well our first album “The Future” was us getting our feet wet, it was practice we were coming into our own yet still finding ourselves as artist. But we had “We Want In Vol. 2” which was a mixtape that got us our respect as lyricist. People seen us in a different light after that. “Money Marathon” was us showcasing every talent we have with our music that tape taps every angle.... Then we have “Straight Drop Muzik”, which is my favorite, I feel like we sound like we have something to prove and that’s exactly what we were going for.

Young Deuces: “We Want in Vol. 2” was a big project for us because it earned us a lot of respect among some good lyricists in the game. People don’t think about Milwaukee to much so when we came, we had to represent but “Straight Drop Muzik” was a classic, it’s like the Midwest “Trap or Die”. When we dropped that we gained a different level of respect. We gained that type of respect like, “Hell yeah, now we got some dudes from Midwest who are really about to do this!”


Egypto Knuckles: Say you were showing a person around Milwaukee and its different locales for Hip-Hop. Which places to you are worth frequenting?

Young Deuces: Well if you trying to get your ice game right you got to holler at “Pak’s Jewelry” they’ll get you right. Hit up “618 Live” or “Onyx” if you’re trying to hit the clubs but if you need to get your eat on, hit up “Kopps,” the best burger joint in town, hands down!


Egypto Knuckles: Anything else you'd like to tell the folks out there?

Streetz: “Straight Drop Muzik 2” on the way! EMP Ent. watch us grind and you will understand. Look out for all EMP projects, we comin yall stay tuned!

Young Deuces: Make sure ya’ll check out our websites too www.Streetz-n-YoungDeuces.com, www.EMPEntertainment.net, www.TheRealMidwestRadio.com and follow us on twitter @StreetzEMP and @Young_Deuces and get ready for that STRAGIHT DROP MUZIK 2!




Follow the madness: twitter.com/madbloggers
Check out more from The Mad Bloggers