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Underground Rapper of the Week: Spy MC

August 7, 2012 / Ezra Stead

Underground Rapper of the Week is a new feature designed to raise awareness of rappers from all over the world who, if that world were a perfect place, would be more famous than they are. It will be updated every Tuesday before the sun goes down. Feel free to email suggestions of slept-on rappers from your city or wherever to: ezra.stead@gmail.com

I can personally attest that Spy MC is one of the hardest working underground rappers in the game right now. A San Antonio, Texas, native who started rapping at the age of twelve and came up as a drum & bass MC in the Texas rave scene of the early 21st century, Spy moved to the Twin Cities of Minnesota in 2006. Along with his deejay brother and two producers also hailing from San Antonio. Together they formed the group SF Wrecks, which then morphed into the huge super-group Death Ray Scientific (DRS), with members of Wide Eyes, Matching Wits, Dialogue Elevaters and other underground Minneapolis rappers, deejays and producers.

Along with his own formidable work on the mic, Spy has always been a tireless promoter of not only himself (as most rappers are), but also of other artists he considers worthy. He has proven this time and time again in various ways, such as the open mic series “Switch,” run by DRS at Minneapolis’ legendary Dinkytowner Cafe. Largely organized by Spy, Switch gave many up-and-coming Twin Cities artists their first real sets, opening for more established headlining acts like Kanser, Carnage and even the late, great Eyedea and his group Face Candy. Spy continues to help build the Twin Cities’ underground Hip-Hop community through its otherwise largely stagnant battle rap scene. Having brought GrindTimeNow to Minnesota in June of 2009, he is now the Promotional Coordinator and co-host of The Loud Mouth League, which keeps GrindTimeNow’s tradition of a capella battle rapping alive.

With so much organization and promotion on his plate, it’s amazing that Spy manages to put out his own music, let alone music as dope as the work he has done with fellow DRS alumni Sean Anonymous and Shelltoe as Bottom Feeders, and his upcoming solo EP, Unfinished Business. Produced by MoonDoctoR and debuting online by the end of the summer, Unfinished Business is the kind of self-assured but still hungry solo debut you would expect from someone who got in the game at the age of twelve and hasn’t slowed down since. As he says on the Juice-featuring grind anthem, “Twenty Four Seven,” Spy is “planning domination / Verbally, locally, most certainly globally / Heard of me? Know me? Show-murdering dope emcee.” Bottom Feeders homie Sean Anonymous and Chicago’s Phillip Morris also pop up on “Room and Space,” which finds Sean and Spy seemingly competing for the fastest, freshest flow on the second and third verses. I’ll leave it to you to decide who wins that one, but rest assured that Spy MC does what he does, and likely always will.

Artists, Get to Know, Hip Hop, Indie, Rap

Bottom Feeders Carnage Chicago Death Ray Scientific deejays Dialogue Elevaters Dinkytowner Cafe drum & bass Eyedea Ezra Stead Face Candy GrindTime GrindTimeNow Juice Kanser Matching Wits Minneapolis Minnesota MoonDoctoR open mic Phillip Morris producers rap battles Room and Space San Antonio SF Wrecks Shelltoe Spy MC Switch Texas The Loud Mouth League Twenty Four Seven Twin Cities Underground Hip-Hop Underground Rapper of the Week Unfinished Business Wide Eyes

Underground Rapper of the Week: X:144

July 31, 2012 / Ezra Stead

As I’ve said before, Orlando (also known as Ozone), Florida, is one of the most exciting Hip-Hop scenes in America today, and X:144 is one of its forefathers. A modern-day renaissance man whose skills encompass emceeing, beat production, mixing, mastering and now even film and music video directing, X:144 has a vital, energetic sound that practically commands the listener to move. Along with his deejay, SPS, he is one of the most futuristic and forward-thinking artists working today, while still capturing the old school feel of ’70s soul and golden age ’90s Hip-Hop.

As a producer and recording engineer, X:144 has worked with some of the best of the past and present, including Kool G Rap, MF Doom, Saigon, Joell Ortiz, and his Orlando homies Solillaquists of Sound, and he is currently at work on an undisclosed project with Lauryn Hill. He is also the champion of several beat producer battles, including the first ever Scribble Jam Producer Battle in 2007. As a lyricist and emcee, he leans toward the socially and politically conscious style favored by Solilla, but with his own unique sound and delivery. His carefully enunciated but pleasantly drawled flow gives the impression of a man who is both smarter and harder than you, but with the self-confidence not to feel the need to flex either.

The debut album from X:144 & SPS, M.E., begins with a brief and profoundly silly goofing-around-in-the-studio intro track before launching into “The Call Out,” a banging, fast-paced track that showcases the versatility and intelligence of both artists. As the title suggests, it is something of a manifesto song that explores X:144’s many social concerns, as when he raps “Nigga, nigga, nigga, Mister Cracker / Stop actin’ like we got those differences, it don’t matter.” Many of his songs find him in this mode, but he is at least equally concerned with self-exploration, preferring to point fingers within rather than outward. As he says on “3 Degrees of Ventilation,” he is “very comfortable in my suit / Not wearin’ this shit because it looks cute,” and he is equally comfortable with all sorts of subject matter, as he proves on the wonderfully funky and insightful love songs “If the Shoe Fits …” and “Almost.”

The M.E. album’s closing tracks, “From Self” and “P.O.M.,” find X:144 stating his purpose to continue moving forward and evolving, as he clearly hopes all of humanity will. For his part, he has certainly continued to grow as an artist, branching out into the field of filmmaking by directing excellent, highly cinematic videos for two songs from Solilla’s No More Heroes album, “Gotham City Chase Scene” and “Marvel.” Since then he has also made a very funny and thoughtful short film, “That’s Kinda Gay,” which nicely skewers the absurdity of homophobic rhetoric, and a more serious short documentary, “Export to Egypt,” about his experience of the recent Egyptian revolution. He is currently at work on his first solo album, but until that’s finished, enjoy some more fiya from X:144 and fellow Ozone rapper Synopse.

Artists, Get to Know, Hip Hop, Indie, Rap

Almost deejay Export to Egypt Ezra Stead Florida From Self Gotham City Chase Scene If the Shoe Fits ...Joell Ortiz Kool G Rap Lauryn Hill M.E.Marvel MF Doom music videos No More Heroes Orlando Ozone P.O.M.Saigon Scribble Jam Scribble Jam Producer Battle Solilla Solillaquists of Sound SPS Synopse That's Kinda Gay The Call Out Underground Hip-Hop Underground Rapper of the Week X:144

How to Customize a Guitar for Your Needs

July 26, 2012 / Staff

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When a person is fist learning to play the guitar they are usually content to use the instrument as it was originally manufactured. Eventually, however, the desire to customize the guitar to suit one’s musical and personal styles occurs. The musician with an unlimited budget can take their guitar to a professional shop and have it revamped. However there are several modifications that can be done by the owner:

The String’s the Thing

The easiest way to customize is to change out the strings. Because strings are made of several different materials and come in a variety of gauges, the tone of a guitar can be altered with different types. Classical guitars, which used to use catgut, now typically have nylon strings. Acoustic guitar strings are made of bronze or brass with different base metals. The type of metal influences the sound. Electric guitar strings must contain at least some steel due to the need for magnetism in generating sound.

The gauge of the strings influences the ease of playing and the tonality of the instrument. Lighter gauge strings are a good choice for jazz musicians. They are also an excellent choice for beginners, since they are easier to play. Electric guitar strings can also have different types of wrappings that influence their tone.

Pickup and Party

Another way to change up and add power to the guitar’s sound is to change out the pickups. Depending on brand of guitar and the type of pickup, a fuller brighter sound can be obtained. Adding a pickup can amplify the sound and add clear tones that aren’t harsh. Adding chrome pickups creates the tight tones that perfectly compliment rock or rockabilly music.

There are manufacturers who specialize in replicating the sound of vintage guitars to recreate the roots sounds of the early days of modern rock and blues.

Scalloped Frets

A more radical way to alter the guitar is to scallop the neck. Scalloping removes the wood between the frets so that a light touch is all that’s needed to create a big sound. A scalloped neck also allows easy bending for the blues and metal rock player.

Scalloping the neck can be time consuming and requires some tools. It’s important to take care not to damage the frets when filing out the wood between them. This can be done by hand with a round file. There is a great deal of sanding and buffing involved to create a smooth trough between the frets. Power tools simplify the various steps in the process.

Changing out the head or the whole neck can alter both the appearance and sound of the instrument. There are other cosmetic modifications that can be done to personalize the guitar’s look. Cosmetic changes like adding a new pick guard, painting or adding decals will change the look without changing the sound. Although many changes are easily done at home, for more complex alterations, local guitar teachers or music store personnel can provide references.

Songs

guitars learning to play the guitar play the guitar

Underground Rapper of the Week: Eyedea

July 24, 2012 / Ezra Stead

In general, the purpose of this column is to bring attention to living artists you might not have heard before, but the influence of Michael “Eyedea” Larsen on the underground rap community is simply too large not to explore here. When he died on October 16, 2010, less than a month shy of his 29th birthday, a huge and vitally important part of the Minnesota music scene was lost. Ask any young underground rapper in the Twin Cities, and they’re sure to testify that Eyedea was a major part of their decision to get into the game. His victories battling at Scribble Jam in 1999 and the Blaze Battle New York in 2000 basically put Minnesota’s Hip-Hop scene on the map, and his legacy can still be felt in the scene today.

I first encountered Eyedea as a teenager, in a high school talent show where he was breakdancing, and subsequently freestyling in the courtyard of Highland Park Senior High School in St. Paul. When he began releasing music in my senior year (he was two years ahead of me), I instantly became a fan when I heard lines like “I didn’t watch the Super Bowl, don’t drink alcohol / Don’t carry I.D., don’t go to the mall” and “I like Jimi Hendrix more than any rap shit / My favorite movie’s Dr. Strangelove – that’s a classic” from the song “Weird Side” off his 2001 concept album The Many Faces of Oliver Hart (or: How Eye One the Write Too Think). Here was a rapper I could really identify with, a self-proclaimed weirdo who didn’t fit into any of the expected boxes and, because of his strange and unique approach, was suddenly the most exciting thing happening in local music at the time.

Eyedea and his partner DJ Abilities created something new with their first two albums, 2001’s First Born and 2004’s E&A, making Hip-Hop songs that showed a respect and love for the tradition from which they came, while exploring new territory and concepts on fascinating tracks like “Birth of a Fish” and the crowd favorite “Big Shots.” Eyedea’s distinctive flow and extraordinary storytelling ability proved he was more than just a battle rapper, and he was one of the few rappers able to make songs that could bring you to tears (like the devastating “Bottle Dreams”) or reaffirm your faith in life (like the beautiful, heartfelt “Here for You”).

Don’t get it twisted – Eyedea was probably the best battle rapper in the world in his time, and his freestyle ability was practically unparalleled. It’s just that he was never content to stand still and do the same thing, which is why he continued to experiment and grow with new projects like his rock group Carbon Carousel and his freestyle/jazz group Face Candy. His final album with Abilities, By the Throat, showed the influence of this experimentation, and the result is a heavy, abrasive, and simultaneously beautiful album that more than lives up to its name. Eyedea’s ferocious unwillingness to be just another part of the status quo can be felt throughout the album, especially on tracks like the sonic assault “Junk,” where he warns the listener “Don’t push me, ’cause I’m ready to jump.” At the same time, though, he never seemed to stop loving life, despite all its frustrations and disappointments; as he says in his guest spot on Kristoff Krane‘s song, “Best Friends,” one of his last recorded releases: “Whether five, twenty-five or eighty / As long I’m alive, I’m in love and forever changing.”