Thanks to BamaLoveSoul, and The Nobody Who Knows, for all the LOVE this week (dap)… SANCT EP Pre-order Season is Near!

Wifey x Back x Story

Raised in what felt like a household full of books and vinyl in Washington, D.C., and then Garland, Texas, my parents gave me a fairly well-rounded musical education from day one. Even before day one, my mother says Hugh Masekela’s “I Am Not Afraid” was my favorite album in the womb. When I heard it in passing on a trip to Texas last month, it didn’t bring back any memories. But, still, I understand.

I Am Not Afraid.

I always remember having thousands of records around the house, but my dad says it was only 1,500 or so. Then again, I remember him naming our massive collection of arts and literature the Bob Marley Memorial Library. He doesn’t.

I also remember when certain albums came out, and we basically had release parties to celebrate them. Stevie Wonder’s Hotter than July release was an event when I was 9 or 10 years old. Steel Pulse’s Babylon the Bandit. Gil Scott-Heron’s Re-Ron single. Even the 7-inch vinyl of Run, Jesse, Run that commemorated Reverend Jackson’s two presidential campaigns. It all shaped me.

The books were everywhere, too. But let’s just say I could understand and enjoy the vinyl and detailed liner notes on the record sleeves way before I felt like reading How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney.

We never listened to much classical, rock, bluegrass, country or gospel. But pretty much everything else — jazz, soul, blues, reggae, pan-African — was fair game. The Righteous Brothers and Gil Evans are the only white artists I ever found in Marley Memorial, but the culture was still rich and deep at the Blakes Estate. There was one Ornette Coleman joint I’d play over and over again, because that groove was just plain funky!

Fast forward to 2010, when I was planning the SANCT EP with producer Reggie “The Genius” Coby. Like Smiley Faces from S1 and Go Blaze from Picnic back in 2007, the song that became the only instrumental on SANCT — Wifey — had already been appropriately named by the producer/composer when it first hit my gmail account. I loved it from the first listen, and as I listened I never envisioned myself rapping over it. It was already what it needed to be, give or take some enhancement from my band, the Extra Plairs.

Reggie respected my wishes, possibly taken aback by a rapper who doesn’t feel the need to rap on every song. This was around the time of Kanye West’s Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy LP, which I’d listened to two or three times. My general assessment of it was very nice music and way too much rapping. So I practiced what I preached [shrug], eventually sending Carter Arrington (guitar), D-Madness (bass) and Jon Keyzz (keys) to record with Reggie at his home studio.

My lead strategic consultants on the SANCT EP, besides Mr. Coby, were my super-model-student-wifey Tif and my soul brother Easy from Mojoe. One night I was going thru the reference music and chatting online with Easy, who lives in Atlanta. Tif was working at the desk on the other side of the room. They were basically consulting me in stereo, a front channel and a rear channel.

I’d had a month or so to pick the beats from Reggie and chew on the concepts. At this point I knew I was going to call the project SANCT, and was just starting to tell Tif and Easy about it. When I suggested that Wifey should be an instrumental featuring the Extra Plairs, possibly the last song on the EP, they both quickly agreed.

My first and only solo album, Create and HUSTLE, ended with an instrumental called Farewell. Ten years later, the SANCT EP ends with Wifey!

As the song was produced and arranged to completion, I could see the video in my head. Plus I’d just bought a Macbook Pro and an HD camera, so why not shoot it myself? This SANCT EP is all about how things changed after I left Texas in February 2009. The Wifey video was the perfect opportunity to quietly explain it all from behind a camera on a couple of gorgeous Southern California beaches.

Written by L. Smith & B. Blakes, haaanh

A seed originally planted in 2009 [ the 25th second of the 10th minute of THIS ] grew into this hook delivered by B.L.A.X.Smith. I’m pretty sure my wife was out of town when Sade dropped her first single in a decade or so, Soldier of Love.

When Soldier of Love dropped, I immediately started dreaming of lyrics and rushing to where I knew someone could record them. I wanted to remix that song Wes Sanders style by morning. [ And Tif had to have been out of town, because in my verse I blatantly mentioned the life-changing late night West Texas blizzard we'd recently driven through in a Celica. ]

When I got to the Treehouse, aka Burro Magic’s crib, he and Smith didn’t look at me crazy. They were up, and they asked if they could record on it too. I said yes. But I finished mine that night, and had a good enough version to show for it by morning. Burro went to town on the arrangement. On short notice, no less (dap).

I didn’t do much with it besides put it on a podcast I did at Matt’s house shortly after that, and randomly email it to FWMJ and V-Zilla. Because.

Smith never let go of that one line from the Soldier of Love Fleaux — that one bar, those four counts, 11 words “and if you know you’re blessed / then what’s better to be”.

So eventually I sent him a beat and challenged him to make a hook out of it. This challenge came about a year after that late night session, by the time I was settling into Long Beach life, running 10K’s for breakfast and putting together what would become the 2012 SANCT EP produced entirely by Reggie Coby. Which, by the way, is coming out in ohhh… 10 weeks!

[ the hook in this video did not exactly make it ]

BETTER 2 BE

[chorus] sometimes we open our eyes and can’t see / the feeling of our heart, inside, with no beat / open up a window outside, with no breeze / and if you know you’re blessed, then what’s better to be
open up a window outside, with no breeze / the feeling of a heart, inside, with no beat / sometimes we open our eyes and can’t see / and if you know you’re blessed, then what’s better to be, haaannh…

if you know you’ve got it then what’s better to give / get ahead on your biz, how’s better than if / gotta pass down what we put together to kids / we investing in them, they need better to live / and we got all we need, so all excuses aside it takes a man to provide / who’s ready to ride instead of playing pinnochio being nosy and wishing / sometimes we open our eyes with no vision / condeming ourselves, feeling depressed / even if you don’t feel it yourself, really you’re blessed / it’s like we say we’re alive but can’t breathe / believing lies between the lines but can’t read / sometimes we’re hearing the message but can’t do / complaining as if the solution ain’t you / think of eternity, spending it beautifully / and if you’re blessed then what’s better for you to be

[chorus]

[B.L.A.X.Smith] now, i’ve been traveling here for a few years / i can cut the tension with a few shears / had a couple rainy days forecast clear / potholes in the road, it’s over now, last year / they say I’m getting too old, they’re counting class years / not to mention what i’ve done these few past years / pay attention, listen, learn to what you have here / negative energy’s an enemy like a bad peer / so, why you knock it, judging me by what’s in my pocket / you tried to hock it, instead of sticking to the knowledge / this ain’t the kind of information that you get from college / this is the art of salvation from when you’re paying homage / i’m on the right road, i got a light load / getting heavy in the chevy, climbing heights though / i’m still in fight mode, until it’s time to go / control your own and be careful for what you’re fighting for.

Church of the Living Body in effect (dap)

My son got to visit with most of his grandparents. I got to eat my parents’ food, and also steal away to Austin for 40-something hours. I ate Love Veggies at Magnolia Cafe, and some Kim Phung. I got to visit with Matt Sonzala on the eve of his birthday. And above all, I got to fellowship with lotsa folks at the All Rise Event on Sunday night. Check this out…

Matt Recapped It Here with nice photos, after first discussing his family trip.

Rochelle Terrell, believer

And here’s a video recap by HotBox254

And here’s a video recap and MLK tribute by Boycott Mag

BIG Bright Future

And, finally, here is photo coverage by Austin360.

Peace.

ALL RISE, as recommended by Austin360 (dap) this Sunday 1/15/12.

[ photo by ricardo braziell ]

For the Nobody Who Knows, we’ll be live with the Extra Plairs, led by D-Madness, shooting videos and such.

Sivion’s 2006 Spring of the Songbird LP gets lots of play to this very day at BavuBlogs headquarters, and even in our Accord and Camry. It’s that banging soulful Hip Hop style popularized by groups like Slum Village, Common and Strange Fruit Project.

Sivion, who studied architecture at the University of Miami, has personalized the genre through his presence on the Dallas underground scene by adding two unique elements — his saxophone skills and his embrace of the Christian gospel. But he’s not the guy who only raps at churches, more like a man of the people.

I did a show with him around 2005 at the Gypsy Tea Room in Dallas, and have kept up with his music ever since. And even though I have three Sivion CD’s and a cassette of he and his twin brother’s old group, Phat Kats, something about the Spring of the Songbird LP stuck to my ribs.

This album has endured, and there’s always been something special about the song So Perfect produced by the ARE. I was playing it as I typed this, and my wife said “what song is that again? I like that one.”


[ click the words "So Perfect" above to read the lyrics ]

B: I love the track, and I definitely understand the “seven ways to love you” concept based on the seven-bar musical sequence. With that said, what are you addressing in the hook?

S: Actually the song’s about being perfect in Christ. Seven is the number of completion, due to the seven days of creation. So, “you think you’re so perfect, so complete? Well I have seven ways to love you.” There’s a “perfect” and “complete” that’s better than what we think fits those categories in our daily lives. I’m striving for God’s level of perfection, which to man would look like flawed imperfect organic produce! [laughter]

The seven-bar loop on the track inspired the whole thing. When I finally counted the bars I was like HOW SICK IS THAT?!?! Praise Him…..all day! [smiles]

B: So the chorus speaks directly to anyone who’s listening to the song?

S: It could be for those listening, or it could be directed at people who think they have all the answers in and of themselves. The idea is that no matter where you are in life, God’s grace creates a perfection greater than what you think you already have. That’s really all. No deep hidden meanings. Just simple faith in who’s really runnin’ thangs! Haha…

B: Makes sense, and perhaps listening to it in rap song form makes it seem a bit deeper. So are the “seven ways to love you” anything specific, or just a poetic way of saying “God’s perfect love”?

S: I think we as humans try to make things out to be deeper or more complex than they really are [d'oh!]. The “seven ways to love you” are just as you said, a metaphor for God’s perfect unwavering love for us. God speaks in simple truths and as I get older I’m trying to equally simplify my life and the way I communicate with others. Easier said than done, though.

B: Easier said than done, but worth the effort. This is one of my favorite beats by The ARE but i always felt like the cymbal crashes sound weak in the mix for some reason.

S: Well, I think the cymbal crashes are part of the sample, so there wasn’t much that could be done to bring them out. But all in all, I agree, this beat is really fresh. I fell in love with it immediately. The ARE really came with it on both tracks he did. This one and The Spring Show.

B: So glad you mentioned that, because the Spring Show intro is a great burst of energy that sets a proper expectation for the rest of the project. On the new Butterfly Sessions project, did you intentionally duplicate that energy on Here We Go?

S: Haha. That must have been God’s doing. Here We Go just sounds like a “jump-off” joint. So I put it first. Dert’s a beast on the boards, so I tried to go beastly on the raps, which isn’t my normal steez [style]. I remember the reviews when the single dropped. Cats were like, “Sivion’s attacking’ the mic like he’s been dying to spit that verse for years!”. [loud laughter]

B: Those two are parallel to me, in a really good way. So don’t let us down on your next project!

Changing topics a bit, what comes to mind when you hear/read the four words, 12 letters HipHopGrewUp?

S: I won’t let you down on the next project, because The ARE’s setting that one off too. Word up.

But in regards to the phrase, HipHopGrewUp — to me that means Hip Hop matured a bit, in content and age. All of the cats that were old enough to enjoy Hip Hop’s golden era from about ’91-’96 are getting old now. Hip Hop will never be the same now that the almighty dollar has taken the place once occupied by the heart. Hip Hop used to be considered a fad that would pass, and one that would only apply to the youth. But that’s not the case. As those golden era peeps grow older, they’re taking that good music with them. And it’s a beautiful thing.

B: That answer was So Perfect. Thanks for your time, and we’ll catch up later (dap)

Welp, thanks to the lady who brought Paul Wall all the way back to his 2004 People’s Champ form in 2011…

[ image jacked from rap-up.com ]

Courtesy of the same lady that wrote the hook that Erykah Badu re-sang with the Roots to win a y2K Grammy… We present to you, via her old label…

…the remake (dap)

[ found on soulbounce ]

first 200 downloads free ^ (dap)