Therapy - Check The Resume Vol 2
1. Mark My Worlds Intro
2. Geronimo - Therapy & the Black Gestapo
3. Peep Game - Akrobatik feat Willie Evans & Therapy
4. Beat 1 "The Osmonds"
5. Supa Dynamite - Asamov feat Mr. Lif
6. The Return - Locution ESQ
7. Beat 2 "Seven"
8 Slow Adrenaline - Willie Evans Jr
9. Friends - Therapy
10. Beat 3 "Word To Mutha"
11. Worldwide - RedRock
12. Serious Bidness - The Smile Rays
13. Beat 4 "Black Velvet"
14. Floodwaters - Therapy ft Malecule Jones
15. Cooley High - Camp Lo (Therapy '98 Remix)
16. Beat 5 "Timewatch"
17. Get Out The Game - Therapy
18. Bonecrusher - Akrobatik
19. Beat 6 "Superlover"
20. The Evil 1/2 - Asamov Radio Drop
21. Mo' Checks - Waxwell
22. Beat 7 "Mo' Power"
23. Amaze - Therapy & the Black Gestapo
24. Backdown - Rasco ft Planet Asia
25. Beat 8 "Honey Tree"
26. Standing Room Only - Asamov ft J-Live, Wordsworth & Cass Diggy
27. Maturity - Therapy
28. Beat 9 "Zap That Ass"
29. Don't Stop (Remix) - Asamov
30. Smart Mouth - Therapy
31 Beat 10 "Britt & Diasey"
32. Rap Battle - The Smile Rays
33. Beat 11 "OG Box"
A collection of some of Therapy's previous work, from the AB's aka Asamov, to some early Smile Rays material. It features both production and his MC contributions.
Batsauce - 1971
01 The Anthem
02 Almost
03 Ask
04 The Jam
05 Commitment
06 Easy
07 You Don't Know
08 Sex Ed
09 Find Joy
10 Heart
11 Green
12 Beautiful
13 Coffee
14 Late Night
15 The Bust
16 Consciousness
17 So Glad
18 More Good
A great beat tape from Batsauce. I gave it a listen last night and it was great music to chill to, with a few ass shakers sprinkled in as well.
Heavenly Noise - In The House
1. Goes Down Like - Lady Daisey
2. Passion Is the Key - Heavenly Noise
3. Seduction - Heavenly Noise
4. Alleycat - Heavenly Noise
5. Magical - Lady Daisey
6. Coffee & a Kiss - Lady Daisey
7. Lucious Lullabye - Lady Daisey
8. Summertime - Heavenly Noise
9. Hurricane - Heavenly Noise
10. Tapestry Delicious - Heavenly Noise
11. Can't Resist - Heavenly Noise
12. Fruit - Heavenly Noise
13. All By Yourself (With Me) - Heavenly Noise
14. Big Brown Eyes & Outro - Heavenly Noise
15. Perfect Words - Heavenly Noise
16. As It Is - Heavenly Noise
17. Zookeeper - Heavenly Noise
18. Games We Play - Heavenly Noise
19. Cheers - Heavenly Noise
20. Thank The Universe - Heavenly Noise ft Patrick Evan
21. What If - Heavenly Noise
22. Room For Two - Heavenly Noise
23. Sunshine & Butterflies - Heavenly Noise
24. To Find You - Heavenly Noise
25. Hometown - Lady Daisey
Not your typical hip hop stuff, but as I said before, good music knows no genre boundaries. This is Daisey doing her thing over Batsauce beats.
5/07/2008
Therapy, Batsauce & Heavenly Noise Music
5/06/2008
WYDU Presents: A Week With The Smile Rays, Day 2 (The Batsauce & Daisey Interview)
As we step into day two of the Smile Rays week here on WYDU, we talk to the crew's producer Batsauce and the soulful Daisey. The husband and wife team make up two-thirds of the Smile Rays with the AB's Therapy. To me, it's these two that make the group stand out and make the group rather unique. Batsauce's beats are simply incredible and is possibly the best producer that you've never heard of. He covers everything from the smooth background for Daisey to sing to, to the dirty, stankin, stinkin', cosmic slop funk found on the title track of "Smilin' On You". Extremely versatile as a producer in a group that already contains one gifted producer in Therapy, Bat really adds a "sound" to the group. A sign of a good producer to me is someone that can be diverse, but still carry that signature sound that makes you go, "Oh ish, that's so&so", which Bat does.
Then there is Daisey. She adds a different scope to the group. Her beautiful crooning, and soulful singing adds another dimension to the group. Daisey is one of those interesting hippy chicks that sees things in a different light than the normal person (that's a compliment!). She's seen the country as a child traveling with her parents as a musical group themselves. That background that she brings to the table really makes the group what it is. The two together also form the backbone for Daisey's solo project, Lady Daisey, which was recently changed from Heavenly Noise. Daisey does her soul singing over delicious Batsauce beats. It's a different style of music that might not be for the average hip hop head, but for those with open minds, and can accept that good music knows no genre boundaries, then you will enjoy the music.
You combine what they do with Therapy's "at your throat" rhyme style, or perhaps his "chilled as a cold 40oz" flow on other songs, and you have a group that is both diverse and classic hip hop all in one.
I had a chance to converse with Daisey and Bat recently and here is what transpired....
Open Your Mouth and Let Your Teeth Shine; Daisey and Batsauce of the Smile Rays
WYDU: Big thanks to Daisey and Batsauce for sitting down to talk to us. I’ve been a big fan of the group as well as Bat’s beats and Daisey’s beautiful singing since discovering their music on myspace a couple years ago, as I mentioned in yesterday’s post. Let’s start with the proper introductions, can you tell the people who you are and what exactly you have going as far as musical projects?
Batsauce: Hey-Hey-Hey! Peace & love to all my fellow earthlings. My name is Batsauce, but my mama calls me Britt. I make music, beats, produce, & write songs. I engineer because no one else would. I am in the Smile Rays, Heavenly Noise, and produce & write for Lady Daisey... I also did a project with singer Patrick Evan called Spooney. I try to sell beats... I cook & like to eat. Yes, I am married to Lady Daisey... Yes, I smoke too much weed but gave up cigarettes. I am also working on solo project(s). I love that I get to make music with my friends!
Daisey: That's the best part... doing something you love doing with people you admire. Batsauce and I have been doing the Heavenly Noise thing for the past 6 years now. Then we hooked up with Therapy and started rockin' the Smile Rays. Then I realized "hey, wait. There's Therapy. There's Batsauce. And then there's - that chick that sings in Heavenly Noise & the Smile Rays" And then out of that, it just made sense for me to come out as Lady Daisey, so I can have my own identity to work with as a solo artist.
W: First off, let’s go to Bat, how long have you been producing? What were some of your early influences that made you want to take that career path?
B: I have been producing for about fifteen years...hip hop for ten years. I actually started out with experimental music and free jazz. I drifted into hip hop after meeting some cats in Count Basie's Bigband. They told me that ultimately people had to be able to tap their foot to the music. At that time, what they said really f'ed my whole head up. Its funny to me that some old jazz cats are the ones that really got me into makin' beats & hip hop. As my friend Patrick said..."Aint that something, from the past, we create the future." My influences are every sound, some more than others. Jimi Hendrix, Public Enemy, & Sonic Youth was my youth. Then Coltrane & Funkadelic. Then World Music. Then Lee Scratch Perry. Then Duke Ellington. DJ Premier was essential--and still is. And I love singers, especially Aretha Franklin....& Lady Daisey...
D: (Laughing)
B: Really, I love music...and beyond that, sounds. Screeches, howls, whistles & chirps.
D: I remember when we first hooked up, we were walking down by the river and I said "shhh... listen to this..." and there's this weird soft clucking noise I can make with my tongue, so I did it in his ear. He started bouncing around and said "ohhhh SHIT!!! she even comes with her own SOUNDS!!!" I knew I won him over at that moment... (laughs)
W: (Laughing) Nice....Now I know why I love Bat's beats so much. I'm crazy about weird sounds in production as well. Bat, what kind of studio set up do you have? I’ve heard you use computer software, but your beats are so much “fuller” than a lot of the computer based beats I’ve heard.
B: Thanks! I run everything on a laptop. I use computer (pc) software as well as live instruments and my MPC stays on at all times. I got keys, basses, guitars, drums, percussion, a few mics, but none of it is fancy. Everything's on a show string budget! No matter what I use to make music, I always strive to make it sound organic. It makes my ears happy. I want you to wonder if its live or what...especially them drums!
W: Daisey, Therapy mentioned something about you growing up with parents that performed, can you give some insight on your background as a child and how that factors into what you do today with the Smile Rays as well as your other projects?
D: I grew up in a Winnebego I called home / The US of A my backyard / like riding in the seat of a shopping cart / up and down the aisles, the flavors the styles / from city to city coast to coast / what I dug the most / was constantly being on the go... I'd have to say the biggest impact my childhood had on my life is that I'm ALWAYS ready to pack it up and head out. My parents were in a top 40 band during the 70's-80's. They played whatever was popular on the radio at the time, so it covered disco, the 80's (both good and bad - ha!) I grew up listening to them practice, so I'm like a walking jukebox when it comes to lyrics from that era. My pops played keyboard and had the full wrap around piano deal with racks and racks of digital things around him, he was WAY ahead of his time! My mom played drums, ranging from the full set with embedded twinkley lights to Roland octapads, whatever was hip at the time. They both sang. Of course, back then, hotels used to hire house bands for a few weeks at a time, and that included room and board. So we bounced around the country - a few weeks here, a couple weeks there - living in hotels and eating well! I was home schooled by my mom, which was great because if we were studying geology, we would actually go outside and find rocks, break them open and really get into the nitty gritty of whatever it was we were studying that day. I'd fall asleep in one state and wake up and say "mommy, what state are we in NOW?" I started singing with them when I was like 5. It started with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and over the years, developed into doing Michael Jackson, Sister Sledge, Cindy Lauper, Donna Summers, etc. At one point, I knew enough songs to do my own set, but could only get by with it when we were playing outdoor venues. I'd pass a big pickle jar around and make mad tips!!
W: Not to often in this genre you see a husband and wife team working together. You work together as the Lady Daisey as well as part of the Smile Rays. How does that add to what you guys do? Are there any disadvantages to being married and working together?
B: Its the icing on the cake. We love the fact that we get to go out together and do all of this together. And with the Smile Rays, we get to make music with a great friend and in doing so, it has enhanced our music, all of our music. Really, music has enhanced my life. I hate to get too corny about it, but most of my best friends have come through music. A lot of the truths I hold dear came through music. So, in the end it all feels right.
D: I love it! It goes back to doing something you love with people you admire. And really, being in a band IS a lot like being in a relationship... so if you can really nail down the relationship aspect of it, then the rest is, as Batsauce said "icing on the cake". I hear a lot of musician's girlfriends griping about "all he ever does is make music! uarghgh!!" and all I can think is "damn sister, you need to either find something you're equally as passionate about, or set a brother free!" We both understand it's time consuming, it's a full-time job, it's good times, bad times, halfway times... but because we're both in this together, we can work through it together and we don't have to waste time explaining what's up... it just IS. We feed off of each other. It's nice to have an idea bouncing around in my head at ANY given time of day and just lay it down, without having to be like "ring ring, yo! i've got an idea for a hook! let's... oh, you can't until Thursday?" Nawww... none of that. It's right there, on-the-spot. Plus, we have the BEST talks on the way home from gigs, on so many levels.
B: As far as any disadvantages... I can't say really. I try not to think or dwell on these things, y'know?
D: Ha! The ONLY disadvantage is there's no one to hold the camera cuz we're BOTH on stage!!! (Laughts)
W: You know I have to ask how you both met….
D: Ha! Batsauce always gives this question to me... And I never get tired of telling it. It was open mic night - Tuesday at the Voodoo (downtown Jacksonville '02) and Batsauce was up there slingin' beats. I was pretty new on the scene and I had enough of a buzz that I jumped up on stage and just started scattin', doing my thing... and Batsauce said he was pushing buttons, doing whatever and he heard this voice and was like "WOAH!! What's THAT!??!" So after the set, he came up, we exchanged our stories and email addresses. I've got a studio plus you sing equals let's hook up. That sort of thing. Then I get this email from Batsauce "yo, let's get up and make a heavenly noise" -- uh huh, you see where THIS is going... hahaha!!! (that later became the name of our band) So we did hook up, under the pretense of making music, but... after a couple days of hanging out... I LOST MY VOICE!!! For a MONTH!!! Like, all I could make were raspy beeps and clicks like some broken sci-fi robot. But we hung out anyway, listened to music, he'd play in the studio, I'd sit by him and draw/paint/whatever, we just hung out and really started digging each other. Then once my voice came back, we were like "hey, now... how about that music..." I'm truly grateful that I lost my voice, to be honest. Who knows how it would have worked out otherwise. I mean, we could have hooked up, I could have laid down a track or 2 and then we could could have gone our own separate ways. But we were given that month of silence, almost like a test.
B: Yeah, its true. Its not a soundbite. We met onstage. People think we made that up. See, I told you the great things in my life have come through music!
W: Daisey, from listening to your other musical projects, I have to admit that it is somewhat surprising to see you in a hip-hop group. What is your background with hip-hop? Is it something that you have always been into or was it something that Bat got you into?
D: Well, I definitely dug old school hip hop back before it was "old" if you know what I mean -- Biz Markie, De La Soul, Grandmaster Flash, Run DMC, Afrika Bambaataa... but then in high school, I took the alternative route, wore a jean jacket full of patches and safety pins, painted my nails black and listened to Portishead, the Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Bjork. Then I switched it up again, busted out the patchouli and followed the Grateful Dead for a minute, Phish, Widespread Panic, etc. Then I was a jazz junkie: Keith Jarrett, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk. I guess I just went with whatever felt good at that time of my life. Whatever my soul was searching for, music filled that spot, and since our souls are forever changing, I suppose my taste in music changed as well. Then Batsauce came along and flipped my shit. He made mixed CDs for me with Aretha Franklin, Roy Aires, the JBs, James Brown. So yeah, I suppose Bat did come along and get me on a path leading back to hip hop, although it was already an integral part of my musical being. A funny story... we were dating for a couple of months and Bat realized, "if I'm going to be coming over here on the regular, this girl needs a record player" I was a huge Hello Kitty collector at the time. He bought me a Hello Kitty Japanese Columbia portable record player!!! Then it was ON!!! I bought my first James Brown record at the thrift shop for 25 cents!!
W: (Laughing) Hmm, how was that for scratching? haha....Bat, how is it different working as a hip hop producer, to working as a more “traditional” type of musical producer, when working on Daisey’s solo music?
B: I have to keep it in the pocket no matter what! but I suppose with hip hop you can't compete too much with the emcee. You have to boil melodies down to their essence. Like sampling, you take the best pieces of songs and use that to express the meat of the matter. Really though, when I'm makin music, I don't really think about who its for...I just try to capture the vibe. And the mood of a track sometime wo
rks better for emcees than singers, or vice versa.
W: Talk about the initial conception of how the Smile Rays came about. Therapy discussed some of the beginnings, but what’s your guys take on it all?
B: Well, we recorded a few songs first. I think it was "By Design Three" first. It was easy and fun and on playback, we all really liked it. We all kinda knew it was special. We didn't really say too much, but we all felt it, for sure. Then, Therapy said we should form a group--do a side project from Heavenly Noise & the AB's. He joked about being in a band with white people.
D: Hey! I'm Puerto Rican! (laughing)
B: But we were all excited, and realized the possibilities.. And I was personally honored because Therapy makes dope beats, not to mention being nasty on the mic. We recorded seven songs in three weeks. And then, abruptly, Daisey & I moved to China for six months.
When we returned, we started right back at it, with a sense of renewed purpose. No record deals, no recognition, no shows, no nothing. Just camaraderie and blunts, oh and lots of talks about Dilla and life. We recorded the next twenty or more songs over the next fifteen months.
All the songs were made the old fashioned, time-honored way. We hung out day-in, day-out makin music...listening to music together. Eating together. Smoking together. Just like a band is supposed to. Most days, I felt a great sense of purpose.
5/05/2008
Smile Rays Interview Part One......The Therapy Sessions Part Two
Tonight we kick off part two of most enjoyable interview I've had the pleasure of doing, and possibly the most hilarious. Therapy is that dude when it comes to hip hop knowledge and just repin' the culture period. In part two, we discuss the two Smile Ray albums, how the Smile Rays got their name, the role of the internet in the future of hip hop and how it's sold to the masses. His stance on that last issue just might surprise you. It's a great read.
Tomorrow morning, we have his band mates, Daisey and Batsauce kickin' the knowledge in an equally entertaining interview.
The Therapy Sessions Part 2
W: You guys were included in the whole Rawkus 50 promotional thing. How did that all come about? How do you feel about it? I've heard some grumblings about some of the things going down with that, any problems with that?
T: You know, no, we haven't. If you are looking at your Rawkus album to be your "be-all-end-all", then I guess you could have gripes, I don't know. We knew exactly what we were getting into. For us it was a great promotional tool, it was with a great brand. We already had our debut album out in Japan. In Germany we already had shit out. We were looking for that opportunity to get out state side and domestically. We looked at it as a good opportunity to do something here. Something to download in the states, let's take 10 songs and do that. We didn't look at it like "oh ten songs, what are we going to do?" It's no big deal, I mean 10 songs, shit, who cares, I don't even care, it's 10 songs, we are going to make thousands more. They are good songs, but we got more.
W: Like you said, you got the two albums out currently, Smilin' On You and Party...Place. Let's talk about Smilin' On You, how do you feel about that album?
T: That album is supposed more collabo heavy, more.....I don't even know how to put it....more like a mixtape. We chose songs for that album. The song "Chicken" we did specifically for that record. The thing about that one of my favorite things about that record is the cover. 6 Hole Records, who put out 9th Wonders shit and put out the AB's is going to be putting out the physical version of "Smilin' On You"...
W: Ahhh, cool, I was going to ask you about that...
T: Yeah! And the best thing to me is the cover. I just love the cover. We had this artist, Megan Murphy do it and I just love it. I think the record just bangs. I mean, I'm no means not a fan of our shit, I like our shit. I think Party Place is a more cohesive record though. More of what we want we want to put down for a debut, so I encourage people who really want to hear what we are about that the Party Place record is more "us"....maybe not the way it is now, because Japan has its own track list, but those group songs are more us. "Smilin' On You" is more to show people what we can do with Rawkus. When you got a name like the "Smile Rays" you really gotta think about that....(laughs)
W: (laughing as well....) Do you have a favorite cut from the album?
T: Probably "Chicken"....yeah, "Chicken"
W: Yeah, that's probably mine as well, or "Smilin' On You". You mentioned Smilin' On You coming out in the physical form, but how did you feel about it originally being a digital only release and how do you feel about digital only things in the future now?
T: I'm the purist that's not going to play himself. I'll embrace it. I'm playing the game, I want to make great music, but I also want to feed my family. It doesn't matter how the people get it. I love vinyl personally, I love tapes and I love long box CD's. I collect those stupid things. No matter how matter records I have, I collect mp3's too. It's all music to me. Personally though, as a consumer, I'm into packaging. If I like a record, I'm going to buy a physical copy. Digital is what it is.
W: Yeah, I know what you mean. Actually Smilin' On You is the only digital release I've bought. I'm the same way as you, I'd rather have the physical copy. Digital to me is just....wrong. (edit note: since then, I've also bought Bat and Daisey's Heavenly Noise albums digitally along with J-Zone's Remix EP he put out recently as well).
T: Man, thanks. Even now, I'd still like to have a physical copy of something, I'd still rather buy the 12 inch or whatever. Ultimately, in the end though, I'm a fan of the music than anything else. I'm one of those hip hop artist that is still a fan. I'm aware of everything going on in the game, from the underground to the most mainstream. I love my music. I was one of those dudes that bought new releases every Tuesday. I still want to do that. I still want to buy all the new shit and hear all the new shit. I'll do that anyway I can. I don't care if it's a MP3 or whatever the fuck. As long as it's not one of those M4P's or whatever the fuck those things are.....M4Z, or some shit, fuck that....(laughing) or some shit.
It's funny, I DJ all the time, but even that is changing. When I DJ for Ak and Lif, I don't use vinyl obviously, because most of their beats or not on vinyl. A lot of them are, but a lot are not, so I spent a lot of time DJing for them and not going straight off the vinyl. I mean it's time changes, I can't do nothing about it. I don't want to be that dude who is like (in a funny voice): "Yeah, yeah I remember the times when blah blah mmmph". Ya know? I don't want to be that guy, that dude is going to be mad, old and grumpy.
W: You basically answered the next question. What do you think about the internet? It's obviously changed how music is promoted, how things are released. It's a lot different that the times we grew up in. You can find anything you want online in a couple clicks of a button, how do you feel about that overall?
T: You know.....(sighs).....As many conversations I've had and the many different ways I can go with it, I'm personally fine with it. Once again, it is what it is. The internet has now taken over, there is obviously positives and negatives about it. The one thing I really don't have a problem with is the downloading music and all that shit. I just feel like it's music and that's what you should be doing it for anyway, to create music. If you are really trying to make a million dollars off of it and get super paid, or just getting paid at all, then the way things are right now will weed all those people out and the good music, hopefully, will remain. That will be because of the internet, because of the easy availability of to find music. Hopefully people will just drop out the game that are bullshittin'. The money is not going to be there like that.
Me personally, I haven't a "real" job in ten years, I've been able to eat off of this. I've really done hip hop as my life, I've never prioritized it to where I wanted to get paid and be rich, but it's kept me eating. That's why I do a bunch of different things. I'm not trying to get rich, I'm just trying to exist. I do alright, I think I do alright because I don't look at it like I need the sales, this, that and the third. BITCH I OWN PROPERTY!!! (crazy laughing ensues on both ends of the phone). When chumps ain't doing it for the almighty dollar, thats when music will come back and people don't have the pressure of fuckin' of gettin' rich, they just have the pressure like me, the "put food on the table" pressure. The internet is turning it around. The internet is like "whoop, it's not in your plan to be rich, because we downloaded your album for free"!
W: I feel you on that, you are not going to make a million dollars off of just album sales anymore. Let's get back on track and jump into the other album you have out currently, Party....Place. That's an import only album, correct?
T: Yup, at this point.
W: What is the buzz like in Japan like? How is it being received over there?
T: Apparently, the vinyl sold out. The record is doing as expected, it's doing fairly well. Not even really a full release, we did it as a boutique release with these people in Japan. We got fans there now and that was the idea. And I hope to accumulate enough funds to do a trip over there. It was just one of those things. We had a wealth of material and this guy from Japan was interested and offered to cut a check so we figured why not see where it goes. Right now as far as overseas goes, the biggest response is coming from Germany and other parts of Europe. We have a 12 inch single out over there with us and Jakarta records in Germany and we seem to be getting a good response over there.
W: On the subject of overseas, it seems like a lot of artists can make a lot of money overseas touring and the such, what do you think about that?
T: Interestingly enough, the Smile Rays are going to be over in Germany for about a month. In that month, I'm personally going to be there for about three weeks. We are actually going to hole up there for awhile. We have connections over there, so we figured we would just do it. Should be heading over there the end of May or so. We'll be doing some shows and make some connections. It's about the experience to as well. The three of us, the Smile Rays, know that this is our life we are dealing with. We know that we are not in this for the "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow". It's about the experience. It's life and it's about having fun. I mean, it's better than waking up and going to some crappy ass job.
W: Yeah, I know all about that....
T: Haha, my bad....(laughing)
W: Yeah, no problem. On Party...Place, you have a lot of different kinds of tracks on that. You have "The Toast", which is for the "babies", you have "Rap Battle" which is straight up, in your face hip hop. Daisey flexes her vocal prowness on "Pickin' Flowers". Basically, there is a lot of variety on this album, is that what you set out to do?
T: Absolutely. The joke is, that I originally said to myself, "You know, I want to do a record with some white people"....(Trav laughs his ass off).....and you know, when you do that, you have to think how to maximize what we have to offer. I'm still trying to figure that out, we're still trying to figure that out in terms of we haven't maximized our potential yet. Daisey is an incredible singer, but we've yet to maximize that. Bat I don't mention as much, but that is only because I take Bat for granted because he is such an incredible producer, he is so capable. I can tell Bat to do anything and he comes up with it. The challenge is how do you make an album with me as a vocalist and Daisey as a vocalist and we haven't exactly molded yet, but variety is definitely where it's at. There are songs like "Pick Flowers" which is light and soft and as an MC, I'm a fan of that, and I'm a fan of Daisey doing that but then it has to be tempered with something like "Rap Battle" or "Suntanama". I mean, (in his ruff neck voice) it ain't all sweet, I'm not soft....We want to balance it out. We want to give the people a good rap album. If we are going to go way over the top with the name, the music has to be so authentic that people will lose sight at how so far over the top the name is.
W: I got to ask then, how did you come up with the name The Smile Rays?
T: Yeeaaaaaah, you know what, that was ME! People be like, "ahhh man, I know that ain't you". Nah, that was me. When I thought of it, I knew what I was doing. I wanted to see people react to it, to feel some kind of way. I have no problem with that 'cause I rip shit. My solo record sounds like fuckin' Death Metal, so it's just a freedom of expression. Surrounding myself with Bat and Daisey is just a great thing. They are in love and they are great people and they are just very kind people and I wanted to surround myself with that. So the album has to have balance and cover different things that each of us has to offer. Like any album, we just want to touch on the right things. I think we are still working out how to really, really, really mesh Daisey and my vocals together. We don't want it to be where I'm always rapping and she's just singing the hook, or she's singing and I'm just standing in the back or something. We want something more progressive. We've been messing with a lot of song arrangement where it's not even about me rapping or her singing. We've been messing with sonics and how to do things vocally and the such.
W: How do you guys come up with concepts for songs? Is it a collective process?
T: I'd have to say so far that Bat makes beats, then I listen to them and come up with a concept and start writing. Or I tell Bat I need a beat for a concept. The concepts for the Party....Place record was like, "What kind of concepts do we need? Okay we need a beat like this, or like this". That's just been me sitting with a Batsauce beat and thinking what I can do with them. Daisey will sit and do the same thing basically. I'm trying to make it where it's not always Daisey trying to write her own solo songs. I want her to be able to come up with my vocal arrangements and stuff. We're trying to make the process more like that, but the thing is everything we do comes out in our own personal conversations we have everyday as a group. When we do a song like "Cest' la vie" or "Prove My Love" or "Dead Rockers", these are songs that come out of our conversations. The concept becomes strong just by us talking to each other about it. Then we write it down and friggin' record it!
W: Haha, cool. I've been playing the shit out of "Fresh Tradition" lately. That is the best use of George Clinton I've heard yet. Wu-Tang kind of screwed that up. How did you guys hook up with George?
T: (Laughing)...I'm going to leave this one for Bat and Daisey. I'll just say I wasn't there for it. It's a GREAT story, I'd love to tell, but I have to let Bat tell it. He was the one that was up for 12 hours one night, with just him and George in the studio. George was just being George Clinton. Basically I just came home and he played me a rough draft of it. It was basically just the hook and I didn't want to rhyme to just rhyme over it. What happened was Bat recorded a bunch of him just buggin' out in the studio. Basically I just used that and took little pieces of that and just wrote around it and arranged it. To hear the story, it's like "ahhhh man". And I hope he tells you the unabridged version because, man! It's incredible, I mean it's a collabo I can tell my parents about and they get excited about. He's doing some hip hop stuff with other groups, some of it is hit or miss. We were just blessed to get what we got and we were REALLY blessed that he actually REMEMBERED doing it. Later on he gave us full permission to use it. It's just incredible really.
W: (laughing some more)...Alright, let's get wrap this up. What is in store for the future? What's up with the Rawkus thing, are you guys binded to them for awhile?
T: Who knows what is going to happen with that. Our dude, Slopfunkdust that works there, we are always going to mess with him. The whole thing with Rawkus is we have the one record out and if our paths cross again we'll be more than open to see what happens. We are just riding this out to place Party....Place somewhere and recording and getting our third record out there.
W: Alright man, any last words?
T: Just ummmm......uhhhh....fuckin'......uh.....buy Smile Rays shit when you see it. I have a my name coming out on a lot of things. I'm on Ak's record, Cool Calm Pete, Baje One, bunch of beats for Lif's new shit. A lot of things coming out with my name on it, so if you see Therapy on a record, buy it. I have a solo album I'm working on as well. I'm going to be all over the place. Also when it's just Batsauce and Daisey together, they are Lady Daisey. Bat does all the beats for Daisey with Daisey doing her solo thing. That shit is amazing. That is going to do very well for her. So check her out and go to smilerays.com and check out all that shit.
W: Right on man, oh and nice beat on that Baje 
One.
T: Ahh, yeah thanks man. Now see, you gotta tell me what sample I used on that?
W: Man, I've been banging my head trying to figure that out.
T: If you listen to the "Black Hell Breaks Loose" on Ak's record, that sample is from the same record I used for the Baje One beat.
W: Damn, I'm going to have to listen to it again, but I'm shitty at figuring out samples....haha. Well thanks man for sitting down to talk with us, best of luck!
T: Thank You!
World...World....World....P-P-P-Premiere-P-P-Premiere...World Premiere: The Smile Rays - The Toast Video
Ahh, how dope is it that WYDU gets to be the FIRST site anywhere to premiere the Smile Rays video "The Toast"? Yeah, okay, maybe I'm a bit overly geeked, but cool ish to me. In my older age AND being a father myself, this song really hits home. It is something I can identify with, and I'm sure those of you out there that are parents will also be able to connect with as well. As far as I know, this is fresh off the presses as Batsauce finished it up last night. The video fits the mood of the song perfectly! And after all, the Smile Rays are for the children!
Smile Rays - The Toast
Kicking Off Smile Rays Week Proper Like: Smile Rays Interview.....The Therapy Sessions Part One
Happy freakin' Monday morning to all of you. Hopefully everyone made it through another weekend safe and sound. We have a special week planned here at WYDU. I'm not just an old school head, I'm into the newer music being done out there, I'm just a bit more pickier than I used to be. If you are a regular reader of WYDU, you know I have my current favorites out there, Cunninlynguists, Little Brother, Archetype among others. Another group I have pumped up any chance I get is the Jacksonville, Florida group, The Smile Rays. I named both of their albums in my personal Top 40 Albums of 2007, Party...Place at #7 and Smilin On You at #12. In all honesty, if I had more than a month to listen to both of them, they would have both been higher than that even. Their Japan only release Party...Place will see a proper American release hopefully sometime this year and the Rawkus 50 effort Smilin' On You was released as a digital only album to celebrate the whole Rawkus marketing thing they had going on. Well it WAS a digital only release. They are releasing a proper version of Smilin' On You this week on 6Hole/Rawkus and to celebrate that occasion, this week is The Smile Rays week on WYDU.
All three members, Therapy, Batsauce and Daisey have been active in the in planning of this week and will be appearing through out the week. We have plenty planned for the week, which we will bring up as we go along this week. For those of you that I have hipped to their music in the past, you should know this group's steez and music. For those of you new to the Smile Rays, this is your chance to catch one of the more talented groups to emerge in awhile, they have the WYDU stamp of approval. Their music ranges from the easy listening, happy-go-lucky (Pick Flowers) to traditional straight-up-in-your-face hip hop (Rap Battle) and just about everything in between. For those of you unfamiliar with the group, it consists of Therapy of AB's fame (formerly Asamov) handling the MC duties, Daisey who handles the vocal duties and Batsauce "the best producer to ever touch a personal computer". The latter two also work together and form Lady Daisey (formerly known as Heavenly Noise). I'm pleased and proud to present The Smile Rays Week at WYDU.
Quotes...
“Ya gotta see 'em. Ya gotta hear 'em. Ya'll smell this.”– George Clinton
“No doubt, Rap Battle is the hot hot shit, with that classic hip hop feel.”
– Kool Moe Dee
"hiphop ain't dead, it REALLY lives in the South right now
and The Smile Rays are living proof of that"
– DJ Jaycee, Ludacris' DeeJay
“They better not put out their debut album without me on it.”
– Akrobatik
“I was BLOWN AWAY by "The Toast".
It gives me hope for real hip hop.”
– DJ Scientist, Ying Yang Twins' DeeJay
“The Smile Rays: just fucking amazing.
The three performers, Daisey, Therapy and DJ Batsauce,
are so very obviously meant for live performance
it is just impossible not to lose your mind for these cats.”
– Reax Magazine
“Hands down...best MUSIC I've heard since
Buhloone Mindstate (De La Soul). Listen. Love it. Repeat.”
– Haji P, Brown Co.
To kick-off Smile Rays week, I sat down with Therapy and we kicked it over the phone. It was truly the most enjoyable and funniest interview I've done to date, and I'm not just saying that because we are devoting a week to them. It was just like kicking it with an old friend discussing music and the such and add that to the fact that Therapy is just that crazy dude that makes you laugh in the first place. Those of you unfamiliar with who the Smile Rays are and what they stand for, this interview is an excellent introduction. You want to know who came up with the name The Smile Rays and why? It's in this interview.
The story behind this interview is actually pretty long. It took awhile to get the interview set up, with phone calls going back and forth between Therapy and I trying to make the right time to interview all three at the same time. I guess it just wasn't meant to be as Bat and Daisey had something come up the day of the interview. After already doing numerous rescheduling the past couple months, Therapy and I decided to go ahead with the interview and then hit up Bat and Dais later. Once we got it done, it took me longer than anticipated to write out the interview. That actually turned out to be a good thing as it's what started the idea for the whole Smile Rays week.
So, I present the interview that started it all. This is a great interview, even if I have to say so myself. It was a lot of fun and a good start to the week......
Therapy Interview: Part One
WYDU: First off thanks for sitting down with us. I've been a fan of you personally for awhile and the Smile Rays since first hearing y'all's music on myspace late 2006, early 2007.
Therapy: Absolutely man, shit, I appreciate it too. We need the publicity and I'm just trying to talk to the people.
W: Before we get too much further, why don't we get the introductions out of of the way, tell the good people who you are, what you do and what you stand for.
T: I'm Therapy, I'm in the group the Smile Rays as well as The AB's, formally known as Asamov and the tour DJ and back up rapper for Mr. Lif and Akrobatic as solo artists as well as The Perceptionists. I'm also a father.
W: A man of many hats....
T: Many, many hats...
W: haha....Let's start from the beginning, how did you get your start? Why did you want to become an artist and perform and all that good stuff.
T: I think just basically my mom raised me as an artist. I was surrounded as a kid with more visual art. I was always the kid who would just buy up music. Eventually, when I was graduating high school, I decided I wanted to rap, make beats and DJ. Basically, I tried it all. I used to do graffiti, I tried my hand at b-boying. I was just that dude that wanted to try to do everything.
W: Got all four elements covered then. What were some of your early influences, meaning what molded you as the artist you are today?
T: Just the whole culture really. I remember as a kid having a transistor radio and just listening to anything that sounded like what I thought was a hip hop beat in the 80's. As far as influences....I'd say James Brown and that sort of vibe, just being funky. As far as rap and MCing, I just appreciated any great song that has come a long. As far as wanting to make this music, I was more influenced by just the whole sound, just liking the funky shit.
W: I didn't realize this, but I was checking out some of Akrobatik's early albums and you had some production credit on his 2003 album, Balance. Then of course you've been with the AB's for awhile as well. How did you come together with those particular artists?
T: Ak and I grew up together in Boston. I'm originally from Boston and we've known each since we were kids. At one point, I had moved to Chicago and we didn't talk for years. I would find out later that my old friend is an up and coming hip hop artist and by this time I was in Jacksonville, Florida. I was just making beats and rhyming and we reconnected and he ended up getting some beats. It was like "What's up, you want some beats? Pay me"....(laughs)...Nah, we just wanted to do something together. It was great hooking back up and reconnecting when we did. Now, we just work on a lot of stuff together.
As far as the AB's, once again I had moved from Chicago down to Jacksonville in the mid 90's. I immediately immersed myself into whatever was going on here, which wasn't too much, but I started DJing out and being at the open mics and throwing open mics and just doing all of that. The other cats in the AB's were the cats that were dominate at those events. They were my peoples, I had met them when I came down. When it was time to do a record, I was like "Let's do the Asamov record, let's do this group thing".
W: Like you've mentioned, you kind of do a little bit of everything, from MCing, to producing to DJing to performing on stage, is there on particular thing I like to do than anything else?
T: I just told somebody the other night at a Smile Rays show that performing is my shit. I had been on the road with Ak and Lif, got home, threw together a show the night before, didn't have much time to build with Bat and Daisey, ran out there and just knocked it down. I love every aspect of it. Maybe its just right now because I'm on the road so much, but I love being on stage and being able to communicate the shit on stage and just rock live. That's my favorite thing.
W: I also hear that you are quite the crate digger.....
T: Yeah, that's why I say my influence in hip hop is really going to someone like James Brown because really when I first started to write rhymes around '89, I had decided I was going to be more than just a fan. It was slow, kind of a five year thing, just fucking around. When I was doing that, the records were just so important to me. They were like that physical thing that represented what the actual hip hop culture was. Whether you take it from the aspect of how the old records make hip hop music what it is or the fact that Kool Herc taking all these sounds to make the actual idea of what is hip hop. So yeah, I love records. I still dig and I'm always diggin. When I was writing my first rhymes, I had my crate of records that I jacked from my pops and ever since then the records are just as important as the beats, just as important as the rhymes. They all come in hand and hand, so now I have like a house full of records.
W: So how is bein
g a big rap star and doing all the tours effected your digging?T: Ahh man, its wack man, because Ak and Lif, they don't care! I'm always struggling with them in particular to find the time to go out to some of the stores. I usually have friends of mine, dealers or other diggers to go out with. I was lucky the last time I was out, I got to stop in Portland and spend a couple hours and a friend of mine happened to have a stash waitin' for me. It's tough when I'm with the rappers. When I'm with the AB's, Willie and I can say "let's go dig", but me and my man Basic are the true diggin' partners, from way back. Willie don't give a damn, he just sample whatever in the hell. I'll always find the time though.
W: Do you have a prize piece in your collection?
T: I have a bunch of big records, you know, but if I had to say my prized piece, it would be this one record.....fuck it, I'll say the name of it, I don't give a shit....(laughs).....it's about to come out anyway, I lifted a little piece off of it that I really liked. It's off a record called "The Black Show", its out of the Cape Verde Islands. My mom is Cape Verdeian. My mom and my dad always had a great collection, which I always jacked. They were big into buying records, jazz, soul and all of that. At some point, I mean I guess I jacked all their records so they didn't have shit left (more laughter from the both of us), so I guess their tastes changed as they got older. I guess they listen to, shit, I don't know, maybe Celine Dion or something like that (hahaa). Long story short, they finally went to the Cape Verde Islands where my mom is from. They came back and they said they bought me a record. I was very skeptical. First of all, it was from the 80's, number two, I know they were doing it just to be nice and get me a record because they were there. In my head I'm thinking like a jerk, I probably don't want to hear it, but Thank You! I put the needle on the joint and the second song in has this massive like break with this crazy organ stab piece comes on and this little bass melody comes in. I'm just going bonkers and it's legitimately a crazy break. I was like WOW.....that is my prized possession. I'm sure no one else has it and the fact it came from my parents just makes it that much more special.
W: (still laughing from listening Therapy tell the story in the most animated of ways)...wow, nice. Alright, so you are residing in Jacksonville, which probably isn't the most known place for hip hop. How does that play into your whole sound and what is the scene like down there exactly?
T: Jacksonville is cool. I'm going to be here awhile in the terms of where I am when I'm not on the road. There is not much of a scene, but the cats that are here are pretty hardcore. I'm talking really really really hardcore about their craft. It comes from being in a place where if you are serious about it, you deluge into your own zone. They be doing their own thing. There is some dirty south stuff going on down here, I know all them dudes too. There are some real ill cats here in Jacksonville.
W: Time for one of those real boring questions that you've probably been asked a million times by now: How did you, Bat and Daisey hook up?
T: I've known Batsauce for years and he is married to Daisey. I met her a couple times previously. I've known Bat even before all that. I was in a live band before as a DJ and he was the photographer. He used to hand me beat CD's back then and I was like "whoooooo". Then at some point, after the AB's first record, I came home from off the road and started hangin' out with Bat. Through hanging out daily, he just started playing beats for me and we just started talking music. We must have talked music for months. Finally we were like "we should do something" and I was like "yeah, let's do a group, let's call it the Smile Rays". We just dove in on the idea of music and I wanted to do something different, something even different than my solo shit would be and at the same time I wanted to work with Bat and I wanted to work with Daisey because she too is really really talented. That's pretty much how it happened. Then for like the next year, I was over at their house almost every day, just hanging out, smoking and eating and just makin' music.
W: I haven't had the pleasure of seeing the live set, but from what I've heard and read, the three of you have a pretty dynamic stage show and great chemistry on stage. How did that evolve? Did you start performing first or....T: Daisey grew up as a performer. Daisey is performer by nature and I'm a performer by nature. The stage, individually is where Daisey and I want to be. Hanging out for the last couple years and developing the friendship has helped, I mean Daisey is like my sister and I talk to them everyday. It was very natural, from the beginning. We are not only comfortable in our own skin on stage, but we are just comfortable with each other. There is nothing unsaid between Bat, Daisey and myself. I mean, I'm the crazy dude and I say the craziest things and they are a married couple and they sit there and embrace it, so it works well.
W: How important is it to you to have an ill stage show?
T: How important is it to have an ill stage show?!?! Ahhhh man, in this day and age it separates the boys from the men so to say. It's very important to me. The AB's have always taken our stage show seriously, Lif takes the stage show seriously, Ak, everyone I fuck with is on a whole nuther' level when it comes to performing. The Smile Rays, we practice before every show and we talk how to formulate the show. We don't do the same thing every time, we switch it up. I wanted us to be more like the classic band and we perform our songs very tightly on stage and have this great chemistry. That's how I wanted it to be, but at the same time, you gotta do things to make it a show, put effort into it and get people amped up. Plus you don't want to be on stage and have people not screaming and yelling. Y'all as fans better do something, or I'm going to feel like a chump....hahaha.
Part Two of the Therapy Sessions Coming Tonight.....That's tonight!!!
12/10/2007
Reviews: The Smile Rays, Junk Science, & Unified School District
Smile Rays - Smilin' On You(Rawkus, 2007)
http://my.rawkus.com/profile/smilerays
Buy At Amazon
http://www.myspace.com/smilerays
1. By Design Three
2. Taste Like Chicken
3. Smilin' On You
4. Funky Wombat
5. Almost There feat The AB's
6. Serious Bidness
7. Trust
8. Trippin' feat Willie Evans Jr.
9. Lonely Room
10. The Funk Is Back
About a year ago, with some time on my hands, I decided to pay a visit to some of the musical groups that had added me on myspace. Most of the time, if someone requests me as a friend, I just add them and move on, forgetting all about it. With time to kill though, I figured I'd actually check out some of the music. That's how I discovered the Jacksonville, Florida trio, The Smile Rays. Consisting of an MC, Therapy of The AB's fame, crooner Da*sey and Batsauce on the beats, the music I heard immediately grabbed me. From that moment on (that was 2006), I've been constantly following their progress. I has happy to hear that they made the Rawkus 50, the promotional tool being spearheaded by legendary hip hop label, Rawkus Records. By being included into the group of 50, it meant an album from the group, something I'd been anticipating since discovering the group. Needless to say, when the group released it's digital album "Smilin' On You", I was happy to have it be my first ever digital purchase. Was it worth the wait and breaking my promise to myself of never buying a digital album? Yes!
Coming in at ten tracks, "Smilin' On You" adheres to the rule of "keep it short and sweet". The first track, By Design Three, leads things off lovely. Using a fairly familiar break to set things off, the track is a perfect example of what to expect from the rest of the album. Therapy is very strong MC, something that might have been overlooked on the talented but slept on '05 release "...And Now" from The AB's (then known as Asamov). He displays his raw, "in your face" rhyme style on the second track, Taste Like Chicken. As Therapy gives a lyrical ass beating, Da*sey calms the situation down with soulful chorus that might be a little goofy, but it sure does sound good. The song is a good contrast of raw hardcore hip hop and beautiful singing that shows that a "hard" rap song can having singing as well. The best song of the batch may just be the Akrobatik assisted title track, Smilin' On You, both for it's lyrical performance from Akrobatik and Therapy and the dirty, smellin', funky beat conjured up by Batsauce. Using a nice sax sample and some booming drums coupled with something not heard much in hip hop, scratching, the beat is really something great for the ears.
Coming with only ten tracks, there is not much room for error and there isn't much wrong with the album in terms of mistakes. A couple songs such as Funky Wombat may not be in the same class as the cream of the crop tracks, but this is a very solid release that is both fluid in nature and listenable all the way through from start to finish. I was disappointed that one of my favorite songs from their myspace page, Cest' La Vie, was not included on the project. I will eagerly awaiting future releases from The Smile Rays and am even considering shelling out the extra dough for their import album "Party Place", this group is just that good in my eyes. You definitely will be seeing this again in the near future as one of my favorite albums of the year.
Rating 4 out 5
Junk Science - Gran'Dad's Nerve Tonic (Embedded Music/Def Jux, 2007)
01. Slojo
02. Pop Rocks (Extended Disco Edit)
03. Do It Easy
04. Words From the Pedro (featuring Cool Calm Pete)
05. Woodchucks (featuring Loer Velocity)
06. Glasshouse (featuring MC K-Swift & Cavalier)
07. Whatever's Classico
08. Jerry McGuire
09. Hey! (featuring Scott Thorough)
10. That Being Said (featuring Iller Than Theirs)
11. Third-Person Stealth
12. Slouctro
13. The Effects Of the Nerve Tonic
14. Do It Easy (Daedelus Remix)
15. Tellin Lies (featuring Krayo)
Press Stuff:
Junk Science is Baje One on the mic and DJ Snafu on the beats. Simple. These two young gentlemen met in high school in Brooklyn in the mid-nineties (when Baje One stole a handful of tapes from Snafu's backpack, including a cassette containing original beats that were "dope") and started making lots of "not-that-good-but-definitely-interesting" music together on half-days and weekends. Not that much happened between then and 2003-ish. At that point, they moved in together and started working on their debut album, Feeding Einstein, “an intelligent blend of DJ Snafu’s dusty collages and Baje One’s thoughtful commentary.” -Spitkicker.com
In early 2005, they caught Scion’s attention when they won the car company’s NextUp Song Contest with their track “Roads,” a victory by popular vote which earned them a marketing deal that included a fully funded and fly music video directed by ANDREW GURA (Madlib, MF DOOM, Nas etc.) The success of their video and the quality of their then-finished debut LP in turn grabbed the attention of DJ Ese, the man behind Brooklyn’s EMBEDDED RECORDS, who released Feeding Einstein in November of 2005 to critical acclaim. Now they’re famous. That was easy.
Their sophomore record, Gran'Dad's Nerve Tonic, is due out in October on Embedded Music / Definitive Jux. The album is pure Junk Science; a clever patchwork of tightly conceptual tracks woven together by the theme of the Tonic itself and the duo's signature, intentionally dusty, lo-fi sound. According to emcee Baje One, "It's not a record about alcohol or alcoholism per se, as much as the record itself is the drink that me and Snafu needed and couldn't find anywhere on the shelves." In promotion of the record, and in keeping with Junk Science and (Embedded CEO) DJ Ese's love of beer, the three have teamed up with up-and-coming Brooklyn brewery Six Points Craft Ales to create a limited-release brew to coincide with the release of the album. The beer will be available in a limited bottling and on tap in bars and restaurants around NYC.
And now, some FUN facts about Junk Science:
- Baje One and DJ Snafu are both members of Brooklyn’s oft-celebrated crew: NUCLEAR FAMILY
- Baje and Snaf share the same birthday, March 15th, which is coincidentally also THE IDES OF MARCH, the date in 44 BC which marks the assasination of Julius Caesar. Perhaps one day Baje One will kill Snafu or vice versa. Only time will tell.
- Both members share a love for video games, craft beers, and intelligent stupidity.
From the groups myspace
Sometimes it's who you roll with when it comes to getting your music heard. For the New York group, Junk Science, rollin' with the right label might be just what they needed to get their music out to the masses. Baje One and Snafu, who make up Junk Science, have teamed up with indie hip hop giant, Def Jux to release their sophomore debut, "Gran'Dad's Nerve Tonic", which they hope gets more play than their excellent 2005 debut "Feeding Einstein". That LP was the introduction of the group to the masses and contained dusty beats that I've seen adequately described as "lo-fi", crafted by group producer Snafu. It also introduces the laid back and deep but simple flow of MC Baje One. While he doesn't switch up his tone nor his flow all that much, it's strong enough that it doesn't distract from the overall product of "Feeding Einstein". It was an album that won me over, even though I was two years late on it. With "Gran'Dad's..." release, it was one easily one of my eagerly awaited releases of the year. Naturally, one has to wonder if it will live up to the anticipation, or take the route of so many "highly anticipated" releases and fall flat on its face.
You have to love any album that immediately starts off with a movie sample from "Weird Science", one of my personal favorites from my prepubescent years. It's right then that the tone for the whole album is set on the intro/lead off track, "Slojo". Snafu's dusty, muffled drums kick in and give the listener their first of their self-described "lo-fi" sound. No doubt, the production of the project really ties the album together to make a very fluid, yet tightly woven concept album. The group's first single from the album, "Pop Rocks (Extended Disco Edition)" uses a familiar drum break as it's back bone, then with keys and strings sprinkled over the top, and some nicely added movie samples (more "Weird Science") and you have a tasty treat that, hopefully, doesn't make your mouth feel weird. "Do It Easy" uses a laid back beat, like a lot of them are, that employs more luscious keys that tempts the listener to close their eyes and take a magical journey supplied by the "Nerve Tonic". Snafu also uses a well placed Rakim sample that adds to the track. The beat for "Hey" is different in that it provokes a little more adrenaline in the listeners body as Snafu conjures up a little faster track that also lights a fire under Baje One's underside as he speeds things up on the mic as well.
Baje One is more a very accomplished MC, with a quirky and dry sense of humor on the mic, something that is sorely missing from hip hop these days. This is evident on "Jerry McGuire", a track that any disgruntled employee should play after a shitty day of work. Baje One lays down the 10 steps of how to quit your job, aka "50 Way's To Leave Your Lover"...
"Ten, you go to lunch when you've been working so hard Then catch a flight to Puerto Rico and send them a post card ....You vile bastards, this is just to let you know I took a shit in the filing cabinet Now file that, NOW FILE THAT, Under I, for I quit!" - "Jerry McGuire"
But in the sarcasm and goofiness, there is tid bits of seriousness hidden in there. On the aforementioned "Slojo", Baje One spits:
"....We dodged the draft, jumped the gun. Tell Mister Bush to send his fuckin' son. Life is way to precious for that...." - "Slojo"
The best lyrical performance though comes in the form of "Third-Person Stealth". Baje One takes a stab at telling a story, in the form of a prison escape. In the true nature of 
Def Jux, I'm sure there is some underlying meaning to the whole thing, but Baje One does a nice job of painting the picture in the listeners mind. One can see a jail break being played out in his head as Baje One tells the story. It's also one of the few songs from the album that doesn't include a chorus. One thing Junk Science is good at and also one of the few "commercial" aspects to their music is their use of strong choruses. The duo uses somewhat sing song choruses in a lot of the songs found on the album. "Woodchucks" is a great example of this, with it's chorus that gets stuck in the listeners subconscious that you end up singing it at inappropriate times (like waiting for a job interview). The listener just can't help screaming out "I'm going to quit my jooooob!", on "Jerry McGuire". The crew is great at creating strong, memorable choruses, which makes their somewhat "hard to digest" sound more palatable for some listeners.
What could be considered as one of their greatest strengths by some, might be seen as the album's weakness by others. The uniformed and cohesive sound might wear on some listeners. There is not a lot of switch up in tone, tempo from both the beats and the vocals on the majority of the tracks. There is a fine line between "monotonous" and a "sound" in today's hip hop music. One might complain there is too many albums out there that have no direction or cohesiveness (such as myself), while a lot of listeners don't have the attention spans to appreciate an album that is well tied together, "Gran'Dad's Nerve Tonic" might suffer in the eyes of some listeners in that department.
Other tracks just don't live up to the quality of some of the better tracks on the album. There are several unmemorable songs such as "Slouctro", which sounds like you've already heard earlier on the album. Then of course, there is the Def Jux "x-factor". As with a lot of the labels projects they've been associated with, this isn't an album that you can just sit down and not think. Some might not "get it", which isn't a bad thing in this listeners mind, but it might distract from the overall listening experience for others.
After many listening sessions with this album, I've personally become very "comfortable" with "Gran'Dad's Nerve Tonic". While it's not the greatest album I've heard this past year, it's one that I can appreciate the sense of humor and the creativity of. It provides a sound that, if your down with, just links the whole project together and is a nice follow up to their debut. It might not be for some of those that are less appreciative of uniqueness.
Rating 3.75 out of 5.0
Unified School District - Broke Down Palace (Self Released, 2007)
http://www.myspace.com/unifiedschooldistrict
1. Waste Knot
2. Brokedown Palace
3. ...Sleepwalking
4. Punch Face Drunk
5. Sum Columns
6. Saing Sweet Words
7. All Is Not Lost
8. This Revolting Revolution
9. Anti Audience Attack
10. Exit Theme
11. Action Figures
12. Nobodys Here
13. Radio Hate Us
14. No Left Time
15. Screamers
16. Want Knot
**Trav's Note: This might come off corny as hell, but after writing five reviews the past few days, I wanted to try something different. Honestly, writing reviews bores me to tears, although I don't mind doing them. This is half fiction/half actual events, based on true characters and actions....**
“Man, what’s this shit?” Alex says, holding up a copy of “Brokedown Palace”, a new album from an Oakland crew.
“Some group that sent me a copy of their CD, Unified School District or something like that”, I replied as I let up off the clutch and start to drive off.
“Is it any good?” my compadre asks, as he starts to load the disc into my cheap ass car’s stereo system.
“Shit if I know, I haven’t listened to it yet”.
After a short intro talking about orgies, making Alex snicker to himself slightly, the album’s title track kicks in. A simplistic beat fills the car, rattling my Rad Shack speakers ever so slightly.
“Who did the beats,” I ask while trying to concentrate on the icy road in front of me.
“Some dude named Ecto One”, Alex replies back to me as he starts to wrinkle his noise a bit,
“Man, this MC sounds like a cartoon character or something. Who the fuck calls themselves Super Ugly? That’s your moms nickname”.
“Fuck you”, I snarl back at him.
My head is starting to nod a bit as I’m starting to feel the groove a bit. My boy Alex isn’t so sure about it though. The beat encompasses the bare bones sound of hip hop that came from the late 80’s and early 90’s, something that is very fond to my heart and mind. The MC, Super Ugly, does have a distinctive voice, which takes some getting used to at first. Although I’m not totally sure I like his vocal tone, his flow and rhyme skills are more than adequate. He does command your attention on the mic, which goes good with the simplistic beat.
The next song, “…Sleepwalking”, starts to play. It has a sharp flute shrill as the beats alternative back bone, almost overpowering the drums. At first I’m not sure I like it or not, as it starts to be kind of repetitive, but just as starting thinking that, it disappears and the guitar loop plays on. The beat is again simplistic, but still a qualified head nodder. Again, Super Ugly takes a strong stance on the track. Some of the lyrics seem almost abstract in nature, but you can’t help to listen to the man spit. I look at Alex and he wrinkles his nose up.
“Man, you and that underground shit, I’m going to put some 50 in”, as he reaches for the CD case.
“Touch that eject button and I’ll break your hand. Besides, you know I don’t own no 50 Cent”, I say as I take a swig of OJ while sitting at a traffic light, waiting for it to change.
A familiar voice starts off “Punchfacedrunk”.
“Ain’t that that punk, Copywrite or some shit,” Alex says half surprised that there is a somewhat recognized MC on the project.
“Dude, kill that noise man, Copy’s an entertaining MC”, I say, although I’m a little surprised to hear someone of Copy’s stature on the project. I guess Unified School District isn’t some local group like I thought. Copy drops an entertaining verse over the weakest beat I’ve heard thus far on the project. It contains a keyboard based beat, that sounds somewhat familiar, but I can’t exactly place it.
Ecto One more than makes up for the minor mistep on the next song with a beautiful beat on “Sum Columns”. Strings and bells fill the car as we drive on. I look over at my boy and he is nodding along to the beat while looking out the window. I laugh and he looks at me, “Ah man, shit’s aight, nothin’ special though.” The beat in a way distracts from Super Ugly, but only because it’s so damn nice. I ain’t complaining though.
As we drive on, we let the CD play through the next few songs. Alex still mumbles every so often, complaining. I think a lot of his beef is with definite old-school feel to it. Being somewhat into the radio, jiggified shit, he isn’t feeling the release all that much. Since I’m more of an old “underground” head, I’m more open to the flashes of abstractism and the golden aged flavored beats. “This Revolting Revolution”, stands out, although I’m not particular sure why. A lot of this release is that way. You don’t really know what to think of it.
After listening to most of the album, we arrive at our destination and go on with our day. Alex curiously asks me to burn him a copy of the CD after work.
“I thought you didn't liked that shit”, I say to him after he asks me.
“Man, I don’t know what it is, but I had some of that stuff stuck in my head all day”, he replies back.
Over the next couple weeks, I find myself
listening more and more to “Brokedown Place”, not sure why I’m listening to it more and more or why I have some of the well crafted choruses stuck in my subconscious. I’m not sure if it’s Super Ugly’s commanding voice and his ability to make the listener hang on his every word. Maybe its Ecto One’s creative knack behind the boards. One such track that demonstrates Ecto One’s creativity is “Exit Theme”, which reminds me of one of my favorite producers, J-Zone. A constant string sample plays through out the track, a banjo maybe? It has Zone’s influence all over it and for the same reasons I like J-Zone’s music, is the same reason I’m feeling Ecto’s beats. They are often unorthodox and don’t follow the traditional rules of hip hop, but they are damn creative. He even uses a nice sample from the “Pump Up The Volume” movie of the 80’s, such as Zone used a lot of movie soundbites. Other Zone like beats come up on “Radio Hates Us”, that uses what sounds like an accordion, ala Zone early in his career. The true jewel of the song comes in the form of the “after track” beat. If I ever met Super Ugly, I’d beg him to make a song with that shit. It employs some traditional boom-bap drums over a sweet vocal sample that still gives me goose bumps every time I hear it.
Two weeks later, I’m over at Alex’s crib, playing some Madden. He pops in the album in his stereo, and puts on track 14, “Know Time Left”, which contains a nice guest appearance from Price Po of former Organized Konfusion fame.
“Haha, man, you like this now huh”, I say to him after Willie Parker of the Steelers runs past his Viking linebackers.
“Man, this shit is dope. I know I didn’t like it at first, but the more I listen to it, the better it gets. The shit really grows on you”.
“I know man, I know”, is all I can say as Super Ugly it talking about “Screeeeaaaam at the top of your lungs, for once, let loose, let loose”……….
