The CDs are now sold out, so Add-Vice has decided to put up hs album for free download! Get it here.

Tracklisting
1-Get High
2-Broke Sellout
3-Who Flips The Mic ft Chris Plus, Chazmo
4-Lifeline
5-Stone In The Ocean
6-Where You At ft Chazmo
7-Top Choice
8-Get Smashed
9-You Can’t F**k With Us ft Max Prime, Ben.E Elim, Conspiracy
10-Bargain Bin Disaster
11-Casino Lights
12-Cinnemaddict Destruction
13-Release The River
14-Vice’s Odyssey
15-Digital Liquid ft Conspiracy, Max Prime, Mindbender
16-Rat
17-United In Death
18-Sidekicks Are My Heroes: Sinkhole Version
19-Going Out On A High Note ft Cadence Weapon, Touch, Stray, Chris Plus, Chazmo

Beats:
1, 3, 19 by Chris Plus
2 by DJ Nato
4, 7, 8, 16, 17, 18 by Balzac
5, 9, 15 by Beat Jesus
6, 14 by Chazmo
10 by Maki
11, 12 by Max Prime
13 by DJ Weez-L

Cuts:
3 by Chazmo
10, 13, 18 by DJ Weez-L

See Also:
UGSMAG: Add-Vice - First Times Free! now up for download
UGSMAG: HHC Review: Add-Vice - Blunt Trauma
UGSMAG: Low Budget Affiliates Interview

For more info and material from Add-Vice check out:
myspace.com/addingvices
myspace.com/lowbudgetaffiliates
myspace.com/apophis2029
 busshaak.com

New video from The Streets, filmed on Mike Skinner’s walk from England to the south of France. Look for the new album Everything Is Borrowed dropping sometime in the next couple of months. (read more)

Everybody is getting their own shoe these days.

Aesop Rock explains the design concept behind his Stan Smith sneaker: “The faded green and gold colors have a strange eerie-meets-regal vibe that I liked when designing the art for last year’s None Shall Pass album. I wanted to continue that color scheme, and keep it pretty simple. I didn’t want anything too intrusive. Basically I just wanted something that I’d rock, and my mother might even wear them.”

More info here

Lexington + Whatevski’s new album Customer Appreciation Day is now available for free download courtesy of Hand’Solo Records.

Tracklisting:
1. Crackheads On Bikes
2. Picture of You
3. Good People (Nato mix) feat. Touch
4. 19 Trillion Miles feat. Planit
5. Swanky Flashy Hoes feat. Hollohan aka G.O.D., B-Money & Ryan Crack the Dirt Dogg
6. Dick In Ya Drink feat. Hollohan aka G.O.D. & Mr Grim
7. Back When
8. Dead And Famous feat. Planit
9. Single File feat. Lingo
*. 5 Min to Kill a Family of 4 feat. Hollohan aka G.O.D. (CD only bonus cut)
10. Sum Alberta Spit feat. Touch
*. The Machine (CD only bonus cut)
11. Your Kid’s Got My Eyes
12. Rolemodel
13. Movin On Up (interlude)
14. Big City
15. Good People (Whatevski Mix) feat. Touch
16. Preggers Can’t Be Choosers radio ad

* Note: these tracks are exclusive to the soon to be released CD version of the album.

Also see:
UGSMAG: Lexington + Whatevski, Meet Junkyard
lexingtonwhatevski.com
 handsolorecords.com

Photo by Robyn Cumming

Shad and I finally got together over email after months of broken correspondence and Noyz getting on my case. He’s a real slave driver that Mr. 319. In any case, peep the interview, Shad seems like a cool Homosapien, cop his new, Juno nominated album The Old Prince.

Introduce yourself, crew affiliations etc…

Shad. Shadrach Kabango. I grew up in London Ontario.

Your album The Old Prince was nominated for a Juno award. How does that come about?

I dunno exactly how getting a Juno works. I was honored to be nominated. A lot of people worked hard on the album and on getting the music out there in the media and through shows so it was great to share that with everyone.

What are you studying at Simon Fraser University?

I’m doing a master’s in Liberal Studies. Doing it part-time right now. It was the only school that offered the program and it seemed really well-suited to my interests and stuff so I headed out.

Your Master Degree studies seem pretty broad, what specifically interests you? Does any of this come out in your music?

A lot of things – that’s why I chose such a broad program. I don’t know if I’ll find a specific area that interests me most. My goal for this degree is more just to have fun learning and develop my thinking and communication skills. It doesn’t really show up in my music – I don’t make any references to Dostoevsky or anything – but it probably affects it indirectly. Some of the people and ideas we learn about can be inspiring.

Are people on the west coast responsive to your music?

Yeah so far the response has been pretty good. I’m still building out West and trying to get my music out there more, but the shows I’ve done so far have been alright. Kelowna’s been a fun place to play. Victoria crowds have been great (although someone needs to stop jacking people’s gear out there!). Passed through Alberta and Saskatchewan recently too and heads showed love, which was mad cool.

Does your level of success surprise you or are you following a clear trajectory?

For me it’s always a surprise. Not that I don’t make plans for my career, but I never expect things to go according to plan because you never know how people are gonna take to what you do and so on. There’s lots of variables with music. I’m glad things have progressed to this point.

So since you’re in school, does that mean that this rap shit is temporary?

99.9% of music careers are temporary – just a matter of how temporary. I can’t say how long I’ll be making music for. I just know that for now, this is what I’m into doing and fortunately I have the chance to do it. At some point I might not be as into it or I’ll have to stop for some reason. I’m pretty cool with that.

Do you think that you add a unique perspective to hip hop? Is that your aim?

Yeah, I definitely don’t have the intention of affecting an entire genre. I just want to share what I got and my creative energy and contribute something real and positive to the lives of the people hearing me.

Did you find yourself coming up in the London rap scene, or did you concentrate more on Toronto?

Well kind of both. I started playing shows in both cities around the same time (fall 2005), but I’m from London. Like that’s where I grew up and I always rep London. People there have been mad supportive. Toronto’s been good to me too and I was given a lot of opportunities there starting out which was great, so talking strictly music, you could say I started out in both scenes, but London is the city I rep.

What/who inspired you to rap?

I think I started rapping just for something fun to do. I didn’t learn any instruments ‘til the end of high school so freestyling and rapping was just a way for me to have fun with music, have fun with my friends, get people excited. I always loved listening to music and it was cool to be able to create something musical myself. Later it became a way for me to share something about who I am. I never heard a guy rap and thought ‘man, I wanna do that.’ Like almost anyone who listens to hip hop, I think one day I just tried it… ended up liking it more and more.

So if music turns out to be temporary, what is your fall back?

I don’t really think about it like that. Right now I’m doing music and other things that I love and I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to do them. When/if I no longer love what I’m doing now or I don’t have the opportunity to do those things, I’ll move on to something else, but I’m not really thinking about that now. For now, all I know is I’m cool with what I’m doing.

Is there a stigma attached to being a Canadian hip hop artist?

Haha yeah – that we’re no good!

Shouts or last words?

That’s about it from me. Thanks Jon.

For more info on Shad check out myspace.com/shad.

A selection of Moka Only videos from the past couple of months. (read more)

New video from Politic Live’s Adaptation.
(read more)

Ill-Legitimate Productions, 2008

Edmonton is a strange place for hip hop. You never know what to expect when someone new steps up to bat; and you probably have no idea what to expect from AOK’s debut CD, If you don’t buy this CD the terrorists win. You read the title and think it might be a revolutionary-themed album, influenced by greats like Public Enemy and KRS-One. Then you look at the cover and see a picture of AOK with his glasses on, and 64 of his friends wearing those same signature glasses pasted over every flap of the cover slip, all laughing and being quirky. It is now obvious that AOK is simply trying to make you pay attention to his CD any way he can; or at least be humourous about it. But even that isn’t quite what he’s about. The truth is that he does have something quite serious to say and to prove.

“Walk Like a Man” serves as the introduction for the whole album and presents himself as a person who stands by what he says. Of the things he says, one of his most recurring topics is his disgust for people adopting the gangster life for the sake of fashion and insecurity. While that style of life might make more sense occurring in depressed poverty stricken areas, if your from anywhere else you know that theirs a ridiculous overabundance of copycat gangsters. AOK constantly attacks this phenomenon, especially in songs like “Fake I.D.” and “Planet Grolic”.

Other topics include some personal ones, such as his cynical tale about coming-of-age sexual encounters in “Miss Greenlay”, his angst-ridden negative opinion on religion itself in “Unintelligent Redesign”, and of course his obsession with girls in the coffee shop industry in “Coffee Shop Girls”. The most important topic though can be found in his last two songs, ”You Are A God” and “Freedom is a State of Mind”, where he declares that your beliefs, freedom, and happiness are entirely dependent on your own thinking and mind state. I believe this is where his most revolutionary and important message comes out; about how we can redefine any of the terms that both religion and political philosophy present to us in any way we want.

As an MC he keeps his rhymes simple and straightforward, and employs a flow just a notch above the average rapper. Though he does really step it up in one my favorite tracks “Hip Hop a la Mode”, employing a skillful vocabulary set. The song does have a rather trite chorus, but is an impressive song for AOK. For the most part though, he rhymes bar-for-bar in a natural everyday Canadian voice. The production sticks close to a New York approach, featuring many soulful samples and upbeat drums. All the beats bump, though none completely stand out.

I’d have to say the most impressive thing about AOK’s CD is his strongly presented no-bullshit common sense beliefs. And if this is his debut, it’s a very promising start for him and his crew; Ill-Legitimate Productions.

Fourteen years overdue, Freddie Foxxx, aka Bumpy Knuckles, is finally ready to step back into the spotlight with the official release of his 1994 demo tape, Crazy Like A Foxxx, as a two CD set on July 29th via Fat Beats. The album is a veritable time capsule from the early 1990’s, with guest spots from legends such as 2Pac, Chuck D, and Kool G Rap.

The original Crazy Like A Foxxx album was recorded in New York and intended for an official release by MCA. However, for reasons unknown, the album was shelved after promotional cassettes were serviced to radio and press. This newly remastered release includes both the 1993 demo version on Disc 2 and the 1994 completed version of the album on Disc 1. Largely written for the emcee’s friends in prison, the album has ominous overtones and provides insight into Bumpy’s dark state of mind at that time period. The previously unheard demo album (Disc 2) features production exclusively from D.I.T.C.’s Showbiz, Lord Finesse, and Buckwild.

DISC 1: JAILHOUSE VERSION
1. Can’t Break Away
2. Crazy Like a Foxxx (Ultramagnetic dis)
3. Interlude
4. So Tough (video mix)
5. Daddy Boot Knock
6. Project Mice
7. Jailhouse Rock
8. Killa (feat. 2Pac)
9. Meet Some Skins
10. Interlude
11. Shotty in the Back
12. Interlude
13. Funk in yo Brain
14. Step (feat. Chuck D of Public Enemy)
15. Do What You Gotta Do
16. Pressure on the Brain
17. Rev Glock (skit)
18. Rev Glock
19. Crazy Like a Foxxx (alternate mix)
20. Amen

DISC 2: DITC VERSION
1993 Demo Version Produced by Showbiz, Lord Finesse, & Buckwild
1. Intro
2. Call of the Wild
3. Can’t Break Away
4. Click Click
5. 8 Bars to Catch a Body
6. Project Mice
7. Rev. Glock
8. Crazy Like a Foxxx
9. Man Destroys Man
10. Pressure on the Brain
11. Who is the Middle Man
12. Cook a Niggaz Ass (feat. Kool G Rap)

Photos by Jon B

This auspicious pharmacist from Toronto, (a.k.a. Anonymous Twist) is a producer, DJ and rapper who recently dropped an album called The Crucible, an impressive LP for all my “boom-bap dinosaur” brethren. It features some guest spots from Planet Asia, Oh No! and the cameo king: Sean Price (no Weezy, sorry). Some might perceive the style as played out, but Anonymous Twist proves that there are still some dope samples out there. Although Twist’s been on the grind as a DJ for almost two decades, it was his Eugenics or Through the Looking Glass LPs which have garnered the major fame he enjoys today. My wry sarcasm aside, The Crucible is a refreshing example of an artist making quality music simply for the love of the art.

Is there such a thing as an “Asian Rapper”?

A lot of the stuff I hear is really weak. When you go on the net and you hear Asian rappers, it sounds under-developed. When I hear someone and they are Asian, I tend to kind of know, there’s a sound, something about their voice that I know. I like Jin, I like Mountain Brothers…

Are you spear-heading the Asian rapper revolution?

I can’t really say that, because I’m the last Asian guy to really jump on that ‘Asian pride’ shit. You can use that as a tool to be heard, maybe not in mainstream media, but in smaller avenues. I feel weird about gearing the music toward an ethnicity. I just don’t see things in those terms.

You did the Hometown Heroes show here in Toronto and I’ve never seen anyone beat-juggling and rap at the same time live…

There’s a handful. The first person I saw do it was J-Live. [When I saw it], he actually changed records while rapping (this is before Serato) and he’d go back-to-back over the same two bar loop. When I saw that, it made me curious because I come from a DJ background. I heard later that Grand Master Kaz did something similar too.

Is that shit hard?

Initially it’s awkward. It’s the same thing as people playing piano and singing. At first it’s awkward; you have to separate it so that [your hands and mouth] are doing separate things.

You have Serato and vinyl, what do you think of this whole digital vs. analog debate?

I’m not sure why people knock it. I can see kind of where they’re coming from with people who are just getting into the music, buy Serato and get a Rapidshare account and download every album that’s been encoded. I say that because not everything has been encoded into mp3s. I can see why people might not like that, but that doesn’t really hold much weight for me, it’s just another way to find music, another way to use music. One reason I don’t understand why people don’t like it is that is doesn’t make you a DJ. It makes mixing a bit easier…

Do you think that ubiquity of music desensitizes people in a way?

That could be part of it, in terms of the perception of the music and whether it’s worth keeping. More often than not when I hear something, I feel like it’s been done before, it doesn’t grab my attention, it’s just kind of there. If anything, I buy CDs, if it’s on an independent label, major label releases I don’t even bother. The whole machine behind it, I can’t support that. If there’s a way to support the artist directly, then I’ll do that.

The Crucible has Planet Asia, Oh No, Sean Price, how’d you get these guys on? Was it just money?

Yeah, it’s not like any of us know these people. This is kind of a way that I can support the artists directly. The only one that was kind of straight through the internet, with no real contact was Oh No. I sent him the beat, the next day he had all the tracks laid out for me. Sean Price I got through a radio promoter. Asia was the most interesting because he actually came to my place to record it, he was supposed to be here for a show, but it fell through, but I got word that [Planet Asia] was looking to get on some guest spots. That was amazing, he picked a beat and within 15 or 20 minutes he wrote it, with a hook.

So is this rap shit a hobby for you?

Of course, yeah, I got a mortgage, daycare payments [laughs]. I treat it like a serious hobby. All my free time is geared toward doing music related stuff. Looking back I kind of regret it, I feel like at the end, there’s only so much you can do with sampled music. I wish I had picked up something more serious like guitar or piano, something I can call my own. If you try to use your catalogue to the next level for licensing, you can’t do any of that, without the sample clearance. In that way it can only really be a serious hobby.

You ever try to open up to coworkers or is it easier not to say anything?

I just have to feel them out. Some are cool with it, some of them make fun of you or they don’t care. A couple of people at work know, a couple of my bosses.

You went on a little West coast tour with Aceyalone, what was that like?

The tour really opened my eyes. You hear a lot of things about promoters and how shady they can be. You never know until you’re in that situation. To be honest, after hearing about what this guy’s reputation was like, I don’t know why we were on it. I guess you just need to find out who you can trust. I don’t even think that it’s bad mouthing someone…it was a shit show.

So L.S. was the one who organized the whole thing?

I’m a serious hobbyist…I don’t mind cutting ties [or] burning bridges with people; he’s…[Laughs]…I really don’t care. There were so many fucked up things from day one. Work permits for Acey – not taken care of; he wasn’t even there at the airport taking care of it, I was there. Lyric1, Deezuz, I.P. – we were there. Lyric1 was the one who paid for the work permit. Getting to Victoria that night…we missed the ferry to get there at a reasonable time to do a sound check. We get there, no sound check, but it went off without a hitch. We were happy. That night, no money. I wasn’t expecting any money, but that night none.

Did nobody show up?

A guarantee is a guarantee regardless of how well a show does. And it was the same for the next few nights. The money wasn’t right; I remember Acey was…not having doubts about L.S., but just the way [L.S.] was conducting himself…it was very strange. I guess little things, like who was organizing rides and all that. It was soon after that that we had enough, it was really only 3 shows that we stayed on for.

How do you feel about your daughter listening to the stuff you do and rap in general?

I really don’t want to steer her in any direction, I just want to expose her to as many different types of music as possible and see what she likes. One thing I wish I had done for myself is take up an instrument professionally.

Is there stuff you don’t want her to hear?

I’ll wait until she’s older, but I wouldn’t censor it. I don’t want her saying that stuff in school. I think as long as you try to raise your kids in a stable environment…you don’t want them sheltered. Once they leave, they’ll go nuts. I’m not sure I’d want her to listen to rap…yeah, I don’t know.

I hope she takes up guitar or something. My ultimate dream would be to do music for TV or film; a lot of people who are in it are doing really well. One of the reasons why I got a new keyboard and working with a lot plug-ins, is trying to do stuff that will ultimately take me part time with pharmacy, so I can spend more time at home, doing music and with family. My pharmacy shifts are 12 hour shifts, I can’t leave the store…it just kills me, no contact with the outside world. It really is isolation. I work 9 to 9, my daughter goes to bed at 8, so that day I don’t see her. It really fucks me up. That’s more incentive for me to do pharmacy part time, if I can supplement it with music.

For more on Anonymous Twist, check out www.anonymoustwist.com or myspace.com/anonymoustwist