I've been wanting to do a 3000 project for a while and am finally getting into it. It's going to be a joint collaboration with singer, Siaira Shawn, where she adds choruses and verses as well. Given that most of 3000 acapella are just one verse, I wanted to fill the tracks with new music. Not to mention, Siaira is dope. Thus, it should knock hard. Oh, and that isn't the cover.
This past Sunday, Oakland singer Siaira Shawn performed at the Air Lounge. She has performed there before but this time she performed with a band and performed the title track off her EP, In Between. This is the first time I've ever heard my music played by a live band. Thank You Siaira.
I need some new Bilal! The people watching part drags a bit but it's good to see him do an interview. He seems to just pop up randomly at somebody else's show and scream for about five minutes. Below is a performance from this February. Siaira Shawn I want the scream he does at 3:15 please. It is now mandatory, now execute. The image below is now your inspiration.
On Siaira Shawn's new EP, The In Between, the song "The In Between" is broken up into an intro and outro. I recently got the acapella to make it one full track as well as adding some instrumentation. She performed it last night at PST and it was hot. Expect it at the beginning of the week.
Alright here it is! My homegirl Siaira Shawn drops her EP. I'll give away a hint, one day the Intro and Outro track may be combined to make one whole song coupled with additional instrumentation, but you didn't hear that from me. Enjoy.
I couldn't be more happy for my folks Siaira Shawn. She has been putting in major work. In a few days she is releasing her EP entitled, The In Between, which is a prelude to her debut album, The Outsider Inside. I did the intro and outro as well as the album artwork. Our track came out good but "Where You Are" produced by Will Bracy is my song right now. When it drops I will have the link up.
"Lady I don't question love. As long as you answer, I'm begging you please, hear my plead"
Camp Lo feat. Tyler Woods - Gotcha (Nick James "Their Eyes Were Watching God" Remix)
First, the reason the post image features singer and my good friend, Siaira Shawn, is because she was going to record to this song but passed on it. I made this remix a few months ago but offered Siaira the beat because I knew she was recording her new album, The Outsider Inside. She was going to use it for an EP she is dropping soon but took a different beat I had instead. Thus, this remix can now see the light of day. I was going to use this image weeks ago to discuss the process of making music, Siaira's song and the album cover I almost made for nothing, but now this image represents the complexity of organizing a music project.
Now, I do not feel that this remix is the best remix I've ever done or that I did anything spectacular with it but I love what the music evokes; quintessential courtship or relationship drama. I called this remix, "Their Eyes Were Watching God" for two reasons: 1. The music is romantic and melancholy and 2. the lyrics have reciprocal and patriarchal moments much like Janie's relationships. Zora Neale Hurston's classic, Their Eyes Were Watching God, was ahead of it's time (1937) in terms of subject matter and idiomatic discourse. The main character Janie, experiences three different relationships with men in the book. Hurston has no problem dealing with the reality of relationships, whether the interpersonal aspects of relationships or even how social dynamics (community, class, race, culture, religion, and patriarchy) influence and/or determine our experiences in those relationships. The language is unique in that it encapsulates Southern African American linguistics. She utilized southern idioms and dictation in her writing to authenticate the experience while still exhibiting a high literary canon. Like Hurston, Camp Lo cherishes cultural milieu's whether they know it or not. Their propensity to stick to the blaxploitation motif and never stray from it is remarkable given the ever changing identities exhibited in Hip-Hop. Furthermore, their ability to describe a relationship full of ups and downs, tongue and cheek moments, disdain for those prying into their business, and pleas of love and trust remind me of Hurston's realness.
If Camp Lo represents one of Janie's relationships, I would say they represent Joe Starks. Joe Starks bought her gifts and she had fun with Joe and that's all Camp Lo really talk about in the song. Tyler Woods (sings the chorus) would be Tea Cake though because he ain't to proud to beg. Camp Lo is definitely not Tea Cake because they are kind of on some "Ah girl why don't you just trust me though, you know I'll take care of you" old school man type of hype. Hence, blaxploitation male tropes.
In addition, when I make music, I envision a time, place, landscape, aesthetic, type of motion, attitude, behavior, etc. This song sonically reminds me of something vintage, southern, romantic, endearing, honest, and vulnerable. The chorus is beautifully desperate like a Temptation or Barbara Mason song. When I envision a setting or counterpart to music like this, I think of the video the history pictured below.
I had the pleasure of seeing this brother perform last night in Berkeley and San Francisco. He started off in Berkeley, where he performed at La Pena, and then he hit up Mojitos in SF to jam with The Park where my homie and musical partner Siaira Shawn performed as well. Let me tell you, Blitz is pure precision in his execution. Watching him perform and realizing that he doesn't waste a line is impressive, especially in an era where irreverence and self absorption reigns supreme. Furthermore, his drumming and knack to try different rhythms, melodies, tones, and cadences lyrically, and through instrumentation, sets him apart from the herd. Below is a track that will premiere on MTV U. Last night at La Pena sounded as serene as this track. He will be in Cali for a few weeks so be sure to check out a show (Go to the Elbo Room show).
