CHASE ft. ILLMACULATE & DJ PT Leave Them In A Past Tense

LEAK: Living Proof - City (prod by Tope)

Living Proof, the PRTLND based duo, comprised of Prem and Tope, is set to release their sophomore album Full Speed at the end of summer 2010. This album is the culmination of three years of hard work and constant reformatting and adjustments. The release reveals a more mature sound from the group, and is clear evidence of the scene's progression and growth. Keeping with tradition, the production on this album is top notch and the Proof elicited the help of West Coast heavyweights Abstract Rude, Planet Asia, and Destro (Boom Bap Project/Oldominion) as well as PRTLND's own TxE, and Kelli Shaefer. The cohesive project bridges willfully between soulful, thought-provoking compositions like "Gone Home" and uptempo, feel-good joints like the title track "Full Speed" feat. Abstract Rude.

With anticipation building for the new Living Proof record, we thought it was only right to give fans a sneak peak at the project. City 2.0 is a reworked version of an original song we made for the record, prior to a couple beat changes and verse/sequencing transformations. This unmixed track brings the familiar 'feel good' vibe you're used to from the Proof and is perfect for riding to in the summer. Left Coast!

DOWNLOAD

Go Vote For Matty!

We recently got to do an interview with Matty from Salem, Oregon. READ IT HERE.
He is currently in the running for Salem's top 20 under 40 and it's a people's choice.
If you could take the time to go HERE and vote for Matt Almendinger AKA Matty it'd be a good look. You can vote once a day. The contest has no known closing date at this time.

INTERVIEW WITH VERBZ

What up Verbz? School readers on who you are and what you do!

Hello World. I’m Verbz aka Verbz The Kid. I’m trying to be a Renaissance man, do a little bit of everything, mostly I’m a DJ & crate digger & music blogger here in Portland Oregon. Also do graphics, photography, video, & a dozen other things. All I wanna do is spread good music.

So lets start off with why you got into hip hop and how long you’ve been in the game?

Fell in love with hip-hop when first saw Run DMC & Aerosmith breakdown that wall on MTV. Started out a b-boy & graff writer in the 90s. I started getting into the budding online battle scene & helped run websites dedicated to early web music. I got involved in a small part of the Portland hip hop scene through rap about 7 years ago. We’ve kinda built a family out of it & become a larger part of the hip hop Portland has to offer. Set up a bunch of shows around the Portland area. I’ve spent the last 7 years DJing & collecting records. Doing a music blog for a year now.

I often check your page on tumblr and you have a great taste in music, who are your favourite producers?

Cliché answer, J Dilla. He was one of those producers that I had heard & loved without ever knowing he produced the beats. My first Dilla moment was watching the World Premier on BET of Slum Village “Climax.” I drove 20 minutes immediately to buy the album. Aside from the obvious Pete Rock, Prince Paul, Premier, Just Blaze, Cut Chemist & Numark, Jake One, Kev Brown, Madlib, ect. most of my favorite producers are my friends here in the NW scene.

Who are some names that you’ve worked with?

Just yesterday I DJ’d a producer showcase called The Neckbrace 3. The featured producer was Exile. He was inspiring & ridiculous on the turntables & MPC. I’ve done shows with underground artists Glue & DJ Abilities. Shows with Ohmega Watts, Theory Hazit, DJ Flip Flop, Illmaculate, Luck One, Grey Matters, & on through the Portland music scene. Mostly make music with my brother Mark Steez.

You are very active in promoting the hip hop scene in the NW, throw out some names people shouldn’t sleep on:

I’ve grown up in the Portland scene with a family we’ve built through years of shows. In the NW my people TxE have really been making my favorite music lately. That’s Tope of Living Proof & Epp who has been one of my favorite MC’s in Portland for years. With G_Force on the beats, they are producing some of the NW best. Also DO NOT sleep on, Illmaculate, Theory Hazit, 9DM, Sandpeople, Sapient, Grey Matters, Luck One, Ohmega Watts, Braille, Dave Notti, Sole Pro, Only One, Kid Espi, & dozens more.

What about the top producers from the NW?

I would say that the beat scene in the Portland area is amazing. We have been flooded with the do it yourself attitude because we’ve always been ignored as a scene. My favorite NW producers are G_Force, Lawz Spoken, Trox, DaiN, Theory Hazit, Dave Notti, Ohmega Watts, Hi-Res, Devonwho, Tope, & DJ Flip Flop. In Seattle of course Jake One holds it down but also Big Tune Seattle 2009 champ, Marcus D. But truly, my favorite producer is my brother Mark Steez, because we have similar tastes in music & we share samples.

What are you currently working on yourself?

Currently my biggest project is launching my new site for NW artists, events, photos, videos, samples, & my own music called VerbzTheKid.com. Also, I’m a full time psychology student at Portland State University & I’m working on a mix playing with the idea of perception. I’m hoping to give that out at the end of the summer.

A lot of people say the internet killed the music industry, do you think that’s true or do you think it just gave people a bigger venue to hear a better variety of music and a lot of the main stream music lost its appeal?

I could take up your entire blog, a documentary, & 2 hour presentation on this topic. If the music industry is dead, it was suicide. Record labels started a war with their own consumers. Check the numbers, music downloaders buy more music, go to more concerts, & have exposure to more artists. Downloaders stopped looking to mainstream record labels for music. It’s a mainstream that helped turn MTV (the old way people discovered artists) into a reality TV channel & bought every radio station to homogenize music across the country. It’s hardly Top 40 anymore; it’s more like Top 5 of the same flavor. Record labels looked at downloaders as enemies instead of consumers. Had the record labels individually made their music available for download at high quality at low cost (only paying for bandwidth for distribution & no cost in producing physical CDs) the industry wouldn’t look like a wasteland. The internet has definitely shortened the attention span for any one album, but now we are seeing artists release music through the web constantly or in short EPs to keep up with the development of new music & it helps keep interest in the artist. Is music better with more money in it? I sure would rather hear about reality than how much money you’ve got.

What is the biggest misconception rap fans have about the game?

Originality. Music is an art of influence. Hip hop especially the case. From sampling to the words artists choose usually are in respect to something that inspired them. When I Talib sampling Nina Simone there is a connection to something that came before that is mutually inspiring. I feel like most people don’t even think about samples until they hear Eminem & Lil Wayne sampling the Night At The Roxbury track. Sampling. Another hip hop wasteland.

What moves do you want to make in your career before 2010 ends?

I wanna create a really great site that people come back to. I wanna really explore some new things with music on my own & I want to see the rest of my crew continue to grow because the whole family is doing so well.

Who is the best freestyler in your opinion?

Illmaculate. You can fight me. Been around him freestyling for many years, I’ve heard ridiculous things come out of that dude’s mouth. Supernat is incredible. I’ve heard 9DM just go off & rhyme all night. My boy Epp from TxE is amazing with some freestyle rap/singing/different personalities whatever. I’m blessed with some really talented friends.

Plug your info so people can peep your shit homie:

Right now you can go back & download hours of good music, or bump a playlist on my Tumblr site, verbz.tumblr.com. Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/verbz. & check new site, VerbzTheKid.com coming soon.

Also check out my brother Mark Steez for a Beat CD coming soon at twitter.com/marksteez. & my boys TxE at topeandepp.bandcamp.com & check my boys G_Force & Illmaculate’s new video at GravityHits.com

You got any last words for the readers?

Get at me. Get at me with music, events, ideas, questions. Let’s spread good music.

Verbz

verbz@verbzthekid.com

INTERVIEW WITH G Force

What up G Force? Introduce yourself, name a couple projects people may have heard you on!

Whats good! It’s your neighbor hood hippie G_Force, 1/3 of TxE, you might of heard me on TxE‘s free Ep, or you might of heard me on the bong in my studio haha. But really most of the projects I’ve put out were when I was living in Eugene and they’ve gotten lost over the years.

How long have you been making beats? What tools do you use?

We’ll I got my first drum set when I was 6 years old, so you could say I started making beats

then. I didn’t really get into hip-hop production tell about 5^th or 6^th grade. I started on

computer programs and a Roland BOSS drum machine. Now I use, Mpc 2500 LE, Juno G, Korg Ms 2000b, Motif Rack, Reason, and the Roland Sp 606 which I use for the TxE live shows. I also use my drum set, live bass, and this dope Church Organ (all were used on TxE “Get It Back”)

You’re in a group with Tope and Epp as a collective you’re known as TxE. Are you in any other groups?

I’m currently in TxE, and I have a indie group with my girlfriend called Girl Meets Gravity but we’ve been slackin on making music lately. I used to play drums and then keys in this live band from Eugene called Medium Troy we did a stint on the Warped Tour last year.

You work with a lot of northwest artists, who are some up and comers the readers might not have heard of you’ve been working with?

Me and the homie Half Man Half (Low 80’s) have recently started working on a project, I’m doing all the beats for that album. My dude Efekt from Eugene is getting some beats from me I’ll probably end up doing that whole album as well. 9DM was trynna get some beats also for his next project. I really don’t work with that many North West cats cause they don’t like to pay for beats..and I don’t give out free beats. Also me and EPP from TxE have a crazy indie rock project we’ve been workin on. I don’t just fuck with hip-hop music I produce it all!!

You recently released a dope track from an upcoming project with Illmaculate, give us some insight about how this came about.

ILL and myself were in my studio, listening to Al Green’s 2008 release “Lay It Down” one of my favorite albums of 08, I decided I wanted to flip it track for track. I made 8 beats that night while ILL was chillin writing raps. The next day I cooked up the other 3 and finished the project. It was originally just going to be an Instrumental album, but once ILL heard the rest of the beats he had to be a part of it. We’ve got features on the album from Theory Hazit, Epp (TxE), Braille, and Only One (sandpeople). We also just dropped the video for the first track “Lay It Down” http://gravityhits.com the project is called “THE GREEN TAPE” and should be out by the end of summer.

I also hear you’re working with Planet Asia, how did you two meet and can we expect to hear that this year?

I met Planet Asia back in 06 (senior year of high school) when he came to Eugene to do a show. I had a beat cd ready for him, but suckered out when I met him and didn’t give him the CD. Fast-forward to August 08, and I’m on myspace and see Planet Asia’s page I figure fuck it, and sent him a message seeing if he wanted to work on something. He replied back saying he dug my beats and wanted to do an EP. So I started sending him beats, and after awhile it just turned into a full length album. It’s entitled “Camouflage Jackets” were finishing it up this summer and hopefully it will be out early next year at the latest. It was originally going to be put out threw Black Smith (Talib Kewlis Label) but we had some issues with them, we were also in discussion with Stones Throw, Duck Down, and Nature Sounds, but we’ve decided to go the independent route for releasing it. The Project is on some throw back Planet Asia shit, he really go’s in on these joints, be on the look out!

Describe the hip hop scene in Oregon and how it’s grown in the past year.

The scenes hear is interesting to say the least. I’ve been blessed to meet a group of artist who support each other, and make great music together. But the majority of cats out here are older sour cats who like to hate on the young kids doing something different. I’m sorry but the “north west sound” as of the past few years is not that tight, were trying to make something UNIVERSAL and turn that into the new North West sound. As far as growth I think that there hasn’t been much, the shows here are still poorly thrown (unless dealing with the right promoters) No one really wants to see 10 hip-hop acts on one show I’m sorry but things need to change!

Who are some of your influences?

Curtis Mayfield, The Mountain Goats, Neil Young, Drake, Cee-Lo, Ben Kweller, Dilla, Moka Only, Peter Tosh, Gregory Isaacs, Sean Lennon, Jahiem, Jaime Lidell, devonwho, Nottz, and really my crew in Portland influences and inspires me to do bigger and better things.

The internet has been a great way for people to promote their work, do you think it helps the “at home” producers like yourself who get their own gear and studio together?

It’s a gift and a curse, a gift because any one any where has access to find your music, a lot of the beats I sell are to random out of towners who just happened upon my beats. It’s a curse because obviously with anyone being able to put up there music the market is oversaturated with a lot of bad music.

With 2010 being a big year for you, how do you plan to top it in 2011?

Shit! I’m constantly grindin for perfection and to reach that next level. 2011 will bring nation wide tours for TxE and Illmaculate, a sponsorship from Nike, and Planet Asia x G_Force – Camoflauge Jackets! (These are the things I’m visualizing to make happen)

What do you think about beat battles in Grindtime? Do you have an interest in giving on a try?

I think beat battles are limiting, it forces you to create one style of production, when personally I rather hear the differences in the producers, like can you make an R&B joint, or a dance beat. I really don’t have any interest to compete I’ll leave that to my buddy TROX he’s killin fools! I prefer events like Dave Notti’s “The Neck Brace Showcase” were the producers get to play what ever they want to display there versatility.

Who are some other names you’ve been working with as of late?

I’m currently sending beats back in forth with hip-hop super producer NOTTZ (busta rhymes, snoop dogg, r.kelly, Biggie, Dilla) , I’m also making beats for Strong Arm Steady (Phil The Agony, Mitchy Slick, Krondon), Moka Only (battle axe records/Swollen Members), Tri-State (GCM), also me and Chase Moore have been cookin up some beats for a solo Phil The Agony album were producing. Ya diiig!

Take some time plug your info where people can hear your work and show you love!

Challah at me on twiiter @G_ForceBeats or email me Gforcebeats@gmail.com

You can peep my music…. TxE www.topeandepp.bandcamp.com Beats www.gravityhits.bandcamp.com and my video at www.gravityhits.com

If you got anything else you want to discuss its basically open mic time, have at it:

I just wanna say thanks to UTAGM for the interview and for holdin the crew down! Also just for hip-hop fans in general it’s time for you to open your ears up, It’s the easy way out to just hate right off the bat, and box artist in. It takes more effort to actually listen to what artists are doing and feel it first. Mainly that’s a shot to all the people hatin on Drake. Haha dude’s killin it.

Oh yeah. And be on the look out for TxE ‘s new project “You’re Welcome” dropping Sept.

SMOKE WEED EVERYDAY!!!!

Also check out this beat he hooked up!!

Official "Matty: The Documentary" Trailer

The Official Trailer for the "Matty: The Documentary".
Produced and Directed by: Burns in the City Productions


Check www.ThisisMatty.com for more info of when and where you'll be able to see the entire documentary!!!!

Illmaculate, G Force - Lay it Down

Illmaculate and producer G Force link up for THE GREEN TAPE. Peep the track/vid below and stay tuned for more to come!

Lay It Down - The Video from AIS on Vimeo.

(source: http://gravityhits.com/)

INTERVIEW WITH MR.MR

WE GOT MR. MR IN THE SPOT!! WHATS GOOD WIT YOU HOMIE?

HOW YOU BEEN?
What up though? I've been great, life is good, just been out here in the world doing my thing.

ALOT OF NORTHWEST PEOPLE KNOW WHO YOU ARE BUT FOR THOSE WHO DONT LET EVERYONE KNOW A LIL BIT ABOUT U MY HOMIE!!

Not too much to say my friend.

I'm everyday people. Born and bred in the Bridge City. Reppin' Gray Matters til the world blow up.

LET THE WORLD KNOW ABOUT GRAY MATTERS!!

CUS WE ALL KNOW DAVID R DON’T!!!! LOL

Gray Matters is Gray Matters my friend. We've got an album out titled "Intelligent Decline" and a couple more projects slated to drop in the near future. The group consists of Introspective, DJ Nykon, and I, however Nykon and I are holding it down as active members while Introspective is away at grad school.

YA THIS DUDE MR. HAS

BEEN KILLIN THE GAME FOR YEARS... WHAT GOT YOU INTO RAP?
I've been listening to rap since I was a young kid. Grew up on westcoast gangsta rap. I didn't really start spitting until I got into graff back in the late 90's. I was on that whole represent each element and live the hip hop life shit.

SO YOU BE DOIN ALOT OF MUSIC... SO YOU GOT ANY NEW PROJECTS YOUR WORKIN ON?
Got a B-Sides album called "Deadline" that is in the works, and another project called "Low Budget Genius" that I'm working on with my little homie NoPo. Both are coming together lovely

YOU GOT ANY SHOWS COMING UP? (ANY TOURS OR ANYTHING)

Always have a show or two coming up. We'll be all over this summer. A few one and dones, maybe a mini tour or two. Mostly we're focusing on wrapping up these projects. Gotta have product to push when you're out on the road!

ALSO WHAT KIND OF ADVICE COULD YOU GIVE THE YOUNG HEADS THAT ARE TRYIN TO GET INTO THE RAP GAME?

(THINGS THAT COULD HELP THEM OR THINGS THAT SHOULD WATCH OUT FOR)

This shit is like anything else in life. You get out of it what you put into it. Talent will only get you so far, don't expect anything to fall into your lap. Drive and determination are what separate the men from the boys. The most important thing to watch out for is your own ego. Know your place and play your part, not everyone can play quarterback.

AND YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE BATTLE RING.. YOU GOT ANY BATTLES COMING UP?

I don't even know cutty. You'd have to ask my boy Ill about that.


YOU GOT ANY BATTLE CATS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BATTLE?

Not off top. I don't have any beef with any battle cats personally. So, anyone that would give me a run for my money, or provide an entertaining battle. I do that shit for the fans and because it is great promo for the music. Ideally I want the battle that will get me the most views on YouTube. Yadidioverstand?

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE GRINDTIME NORTHWEST DIVISON?

I think there is quite a bit of talent in it. Some of my boys can wreck shop with the best of them.


DO YOU REALLY SLEEP WITH YOUR PILLOW TUCKED UNDER YOUR GUN?

Do you really expect me to dry snitch on myself on a blog site interview? Get the fuck out of here with that noise.

LOL U MUST HAVE FORGOT UR TALKIN TO THE BG!!!LOL

SO TELL THESE PEOPLE WHERE THEY CAN FIND YOU!!!(TWITTER/FACEBOOK/MYSPACE/WEBSITE)

twitter.com/gray_matters
twitter.com/theendakamrmr
myspace.com/graymatters
myspace.com/theendakamrmr
as for facebook, just search for Gray Matters. We're not hard to find


WELL THANKS FOR STOPPIN BY SHOWIN SOME LOVE HOMIE !!!

My pleasure yo



YOU GOT ANY LAST WORDS TO THE WORLD WIDE WEB? SPAZZ ON EM.... LOL

Allergies are a bitch made ass bitch.

Go Peep Matty and Luck One Live in Action Sat. June 19th. ALL AGES

Without You For The Holidays - Rich Jame$

also peep his music!!! show love NorthWest Stand UP

http://www.reverbnation.com/TheRealRichJames

Lawz Spoken Remix - Mr. Slow Flow by Evidence

Lawz Spoken brings you a remix of Evidence's Mr. Slow Flow. A great beat and track. Roll up and chill to this shit!

Download Link ----> HERE

Go over to Lawz Spoken's site and peep more of his work! http://lawzspoken.com/

INTERVIEW WITH DAIN

What's poppin Dain, how you been homie, what's been good with you?

Not much man, just living and working on new tunes.


What have you been workin on?
Well currently I'm working on a new record for a label in Vancouver B.C, Canada. It's still in the early parts but it is coming a long well. Not sure if I'll have any guest features. If you look at my catalog you'll notice I don't do many guest spots.

So for those who don't know, not only do you rap, but you produce as well. When did you getstarted doing both?

Rapping I've been doing since 2003. At first I did not want to make beats. I looked down on those who did both. My theory was this, if I am going to rap, then I will stick with rapping. I felt it was way too many folk trying to do both. I wanted to perfect my writing the best way I could. Then around 2005/6, I started to look for original beats because you can only rock over someone else instrumentals for so long. But the locals (pdx) were charging like 600 and 700 dollars. Not only did I not have the money to afford that, but the beats weren't even worth the asking price. So I saved up money for a few months and got an MPC1000 because it was the cheapest one at the time. I had no clue what I was doing but it all boiled down to this, either pay for wack beats or make my own wack beats. Clearly I chose to make my own.


If you had to choose between rapping/producing, do you think that you could choose?

Honestly?! Yes, I'd choose rapping. Sure there are a lot of rappers in the world. But not nearly half of them put out quality music. It's definitely enough beat makers with nice sounding material. I'd just have to find someone who would believe in me and work on an album lol.


You have thousands of posts on rapmusic.com, how long have they been posted on that site?

LOL, man I've been on rapmusic since October of 2002. My original name was "supremEmcee"

hahaha. Corny as all hell, but I thought it was just the dopest name. Its really not that difficult to get a lot of posts on that site. Especially back in the day. You could have a simple convo with someone and that could be 50 posts in only 20 minutes or so. And for a long long time I was on rapmusic everyday faithfully lol. Shout out to Jeff by the way, he's been running that site since 1999!


So I heard you just recently moved to Vancouver, how you likin it out here so far?
Its temporary. But I guess it isn't that bad. To be honest, there's nothing to do lol. All I see are old folk in my neighborhood and Russians. Don't be fooled though, this is certainly not my final stop (sorry vancouverans).


For those who don't know, you are a big Kobe Bryant fan. Why do you think that Lakers are going to win the championship this year?
Yes, I am VERY much a Kobe fan. And I feel the Lakers will win this year for the same reason I think they'll win it every year. Because Kobe makes those men work hard. Now, how well that translate during the game is one thing. But you can always bet that Kobe will let them know when they are messing up and vice

versa. That team has a great chemistry when they are all on one accord.


Could you name your top 5 all time rappers? If not, don't stress.

But of course. In no order; Black Thought, Mos Def, Redman, Jay-Z and Biggie


Now is the time to plug any upcoming shows, projects, or events you are working on to let people know what is to come

Well I'm doing the Neck Brace tomorrow (June 16, 2010) at the Someday Lounge with Exile, DaveNotti, Theory Hazit, DJ Flip Flop and Xperiment. Should be a nice evening. Projects wise, only the album for Wandering Worx (whattup Canada!) and that's it. I was suppose to do an EP but some things happened and unfortunately I'm not able to do so. That's it really.


Good lookin on stoppin through to do an interview with me homie.

No problem thun!


Any last words for the fans/viewers?

Yes, if you are a rapper, start learning how to make beats. Believe me, it'll save you money. Also, if you do not like Kobe Bryant then you're in denial. He is the closest thing we're gonna get to Jordan for a very very very very VERY long time (no, lebron wont come close).

INTERVIEW WITH TOPE OF TxE

What up Tope? Introduce and make sure these people know who you are!

Whatuptho! I go by the name of Tope.. I'm a rapper/beat maker from PRTLND, Or. 1/2 of a group called Living Proof and 1/3 of another crew called TxE.

Back in March you put out Soul Music LP, how long did it take to record and release that?

I finished working on Soul Music around March//April 2009, but I didn't actually press and release the album until March 2010.

How has been the response to that release?

Its been good. So far all the press has been positive, the release party was dope. I'm not mad at

it.


What is next for you?

Albums Living Proof "Full Speed" ft Abstract Rude, Planet Asia, Destro, Epp, & more. TxE "You're Welcome" ft Waajeed, Planet Asia, Chase Moore, & more
Tope - TBA EP ft production from Tony Ozier, Devonwho, Hi-Res, G_Force, Stewie Vuitton, & more

Shows TxE w/ Macklemore July 7th @ The Satryicon
Tope @ Rotture w/ Shabazz Palaces (Butterfly of Digable Planets) July !4th @ Rotture TxE w/ People Under the Stairs Sept. 11 @ Hawthorne Theater MFNW 2010


Tell us about TxE (Tope and Epp) how did this come about ?
TxE formed officially around Aug/Sep 2009, when Epp and I first started making songs with our producer, G_Force. In March, we went on tour with Diezel P and released our debut EP "Rain In

Cali" (FREE DL -->http://topeandepp.bandcamp.com/). Since then we've been in the studio recording our new project(s) and rocking shows here and there.


How old were you when you did you first live show?
As far as rap goes, I started performing around 15-16, but I was in a touring gospel choir when I was hella young.

Who are your favorite rappers doing it right now?

TiRon, Elzhi, Black Milk, Royce, Fashawn, Evidence, Danny Brown, Blu, Curren$y.

Do you like being in the studio recording or getting on stage and rocking a show? Or is it hard to compare?

Good question. I really like being in the studio, being inspired and making a song on the spot, but its a different feeling from rocking a packed house. I feel like the studio is similar to going to work, but I love my job. At the same time these shows we've been rocking have been crazy lately too, so basically its a win/win.

Industry wise who do you think is on top of the rap game right now?

Jay, obviously. Jay is the game basically, but there are some young cats with a good buzz..

Drake, J. Cole, I'll even give it up to Wiz, his fan base/buzz is crazy!


The Northwest is on a strong rise over the past couple years, what/who do you think have really helped paved the way ?

Cool Nutz has done an incredible amount of work for the town. 20+ years in the game, 10+ solo releases, co-creater of POH-Hop, host of the NWBS, the list goes on and on. The most important thing is Cool Nutz is constantly reaching out, supporting young artists in attempt to share experience he's gained throughout his years in this business. Lifesavas have opened a lot of peoples eyes to our region. I feel like "Hellohihey," from Spirit In Stone, might be the best song to ever come out of the town. Whenever they drop their new EP/Album people will jump right back. Then of course you have OLDOMINION/Sandpeople and all their weird ass fans.

Give the people your info! Facebook, myspace, website, twitter, online store!

http://twitter.com/topelp
http://myspace.com/topemusic
http://myspace.com/livingproof
http://tope.bandcamp.com/
http://topeandepp.bandcamp.com/
http://livingproof.bandcamp.com/


Got some final words for our viewers?

Go cop Soul Music & Rain In Cali plus be on the lookout for the new Living Proof, TxE, and Tope projects. Make good music and stop all that funny shit. Hllr.

Thanks for doing this Tope! Continue making that good NW music.

Thats whats up! Thanks for having me.

INTERVIEW WITH TROX

We got the One and Only Trox Diesel wit us kickin it !! whats good wit u homie? how you been my friend?

Been good, a little hungover but I'm livin.


That is whats up my G tell world about Trox Diesel!!

Where to start... I'm a music producer from the southeast side of Portland repping Executive Branch. Shoutout to the big homey Cool Nutz for helping the kid turn his passion into a career... Shoutout to the homeys Lawz Spoken and Stalemate too. Together we formed Chain Gang Music around late '08.


Man u have been killin the game you are by far one of the illest producers out there...you got any new projects your workin on?

Too many of them haha... I got a project with Epp from TxE called "The Pavement" that we plan on releasing hopefully early Fall. Epp is just one of those dudes that will go off on any kind of beat you throw at him; he has a good ear and is versatile. Easily top 3 in the town right now.

Of course Cool Nutz and I are working on a project together too, which will be very monumental for the town. It's always a humbling experience working with the triple OG of the town you're from, because there's always something new that I learn after every meeting.
Last but surely not least I'm working on my album called The Small Hands Project that I hope to release the first or second quarter of 2011. That's all I'm gonna say about it for now...


Also you have won a couple Beat Battles in the Grindtime NorthWest Events!!What do you think about Beat Battles?

Beat battles are fun, man. They give the producer a chance to play their shit loud in a club environment. I love the competitive atmosphere about them because it gives me a chance to brag and talk shit. At the same time, you can't be battling your whole career. When it's all said and done, it's all about making good music and the right connections to further advance your career.
With all that said, I might just be a judge for the next Grind Time NW battle, but we'll see how everything pans out...


For along time i have heard talk about a Trox & 9DM album !!! WHATS UP WIT IT?

Hahahaha... It's coming. Don't worry kids. Y'all will hear something from us very soon...

Also what got you into making beats? Since you started how has your style evolved since you've started?

I started off drumming in the second grade. Loved drumming, kinda regret quitting it now that I think about it. Started to DJ in middle school then found out that wasn't really for me. Then I discovered the wonders of Fruity Loops and the rest is history...

I used to make hella fake ass Heatmakerz beats back then.

Robotic ass drums with pitched up samples and shit. After learning how to play keys by myself in high school, I started to develop a sound. The MacBook Pro that I have now was my graduation present so I downloaded Reason and really started to get my own style together. I don't lock my drums in at all now, unless I'm making some 808 shit. Reason has definitely given me my rhythm. The ASR10 with Logic is what I use now because I can finally get the sound I've always wanted: dirty and warm, but CLEAN.

Who have you been working with and how do you decide who you want to work with?

Of course I've been working with Cool Nutz and Epp a lot, as I've said earlier. I also have tracks with Illmaculate, Sapient, Luck One, Krizz Kaliko, Fashawn, Braille, and more coming soon...
Can't really say how I do business tho. Usually whoever comes up to us with the dough.


Bro "Small Hands Big Slaps" was a savage work of art how long did it take you to put that togther?

That took me about a month to pick which beats I wanted on the tape. It took about two, 4-hour sessions with DJ Flipflop to mix it.


Name 3 people you want to produce a track for!!!! and why?

1. T.I. - He always has a good ear for beats and he's become one of the most versatile MCs from the south in a long time.
2. Ghostface Killah - That dude's always been hilarious to me. He's had some of the most quotable lyrics of all time. I'd love to hear some of his one-liners over my production.
3. Snoop - Just to say that I've worked with Snoop... He's one of the biggest all-time characters in hip-hop.

Also i know u be watchin grindtime and battles i have seen u at events!! Do you think the saying battle rappers can't make good music is being proven wrong by this new generation of mc's

coming up?

Honestly, no. There are still a lot of battle rappers that either don't make music, or make god awful music. Won't say any names but a lot of these battlers sound like they're actually battling in their music. Don't get me wrong though, there are still some battle rappers that make quality music... Shoutout to Illmac, 9DM, Marvwon, and everyone else I forgot...

Thats whats up homie Well i just want you and everyone else to know Figure of Speech/UTAGM

Fucks wit the Homie Trox All day!!!(No Homo) And much love for comin threw hold shit down my G.

No doubt my dude. Always a pleasure.

Well MR Trox Diesel plug ur info where folks can find you!!! (twitter/myspace/facebook/website) all that good shit

Follow me on twitter @iamTROX ... Go download my beat tape Smallhandsbigslaps Vol. 1 at

http://trox.bandcamp.com ... Like me on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/TROX-Diesel/17600246066?ref=search ... Fuck a myspace!

Any last words for the Viewers?

Fuck the Lakers!


Also hit up Kingcoolnutz@gmail.com if any of you rappers are lookin for them fire ass Trox beats!!!!
Peace

Chase Moore - Beamerz Benz or Bentleyz St. Patty's Day!

This track was released on St. Patty's Day, I do believe Chase had mentioned he was slightly twisted.

Dig the shit!

INTERVIEW WITH "9DM"

WHATS POPPIN WIT U 9 DIZZLE?

Shiiiit, about to hit this bbq down the street. Happy Birthday my dude.

HOW YOU BEEN HOMIE?
Good, got this 'It's All About Respect' album in motion finally.


HOW DOES IT FEEL TO LIVE DOWN THE STREET FROM THE BG? LOL

The shrimp alone makes it the

place to be, don't get me started on the ribs.

NAW BUT REALLY I KNOW U BE ON UR GRIND NON STOP WHAT YOU WORKIN ON THESE DAYS?

I'm working on my 'debut' album mostly. It's not really my debut album though. I have had probably like 4-5 albums i did when i was younger and shit, you know what i'm talkin' about. But this album is the first project where i have everything i need to get it done right. So in the words of pac "Expect me...Expect me like you expect the return of jesus...Im comin!" haha.


SO EVERYONE KNOWS UR A BEAST ON THIS BATTLE SHIT! WHAT YOU THINK BOUT GRINDTIME?

It's a good outlet. There's a lot of really talented emcee's through out the divisions. It doesn't seem like much since Illmaculate can grab over 100.000 views on one battle but since I started I have over 300,000 views on youtube. That's not including worldstar and I've had like 5 battles on there. So as far as exposure that I wouldn't have had at this point, it's great. Sometimes you get caught up in wanting to be paid/have the biggest battle and forget about where we'd be with out it. I wouldn't have that many views, I can tell you that much. And all that did was put me in touch with the right people and a way to promote. And kill entire families.

SO YOU JUST BATTLED REAL DEAL WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT BATTLE?

I can't wait to see the footage. Real Deal is a beast. I took a different approach on this one. I was already planning on doing it but with all the feedback I got about "shock factor rap", it just solidified the decision. There will be plenty of baby bashing, mother raping and family tragedies in the future.


CAN YOU NAME YOU TOP 5 BATTLE RAPPERS?

No because I want to battle them all and could use this against me.

WHAT ABOUT YOUR TOP 5 ALL TIME RAPPERS?

I'll tell you like I told Crooked-I (Just in passing, not on some super star shit haha) 3 way tie for 1st place. Crooked I, Jay Z and Pac. All for different reasons. Jay Z has made it as far as any rapper ever will and his albums are ridiculous. Changed the game. Pac is just raw emotion. I don't think I need to explain. Changed the game. Crooked I isn't as successful as jay z, he's not a legend like pac, but he's exactly what I want to hear when I listen to a song. Basically Jay/Pac combined with new age lyrics.

Dudes a beast. Em is making his way back into my top 5. Not sure about that number 5 slot.

WHY ARE YOU SO FUCKIN MEAN?

Haha, i didn't start out with the intention of making 'shock' battle raps. I just noticed what lines were hitting and capitalized off of it. I forgot to say 'smash her life alert' in my battle with Reverse Live when I was talking about stomping his grandma out lol.

IF YOU COULD PICK ONE PERSON IN THE GAME TO WORK WITH WHO WOULD IT BE? AND WHY?

I got to go with Jay Z or Eminem, I know that's not one person but who gives a fuck, i'm just trying to get on the record that will be heard. Rappers that big can make artists. That's why I'm glad the whole slaughter house/shady shits goin' down. They deserve that exposure and Em has nothing to lose by doing it.

I KNOW YOU BE REPPIN NORTHWEST TO THE FULLEST!! WHAT U THINK BOUT THE TALENT OUT HERE?

Diverse. Every type of rapper/musician. From gangster rap to R and B we have artists that can do it. I think we're putting in the ground work to be the leaders' of hip hop in our region when our og's pass the torch.

WHEN I SAY U.T.A.G.M WHAT COMES TO MIND?

We Bag Em'

YOU ALWAYS RAP/FREESTYLE ARE YOU FREESTYLING RIGHT NOW AS YOU TYPE THESE ANSWERS?

It's been a minute since I have actually lol. I've just been relaxing/working on this album. Shit is going to be crazy, I can tell you that much.

PLUG UR INFO MY DUDE!!!(TWITTER/MYSPACE/WEBSITE) ALL THAT SHIT YA DIG:

www.northwestallday.com
www.twitter.com/9DM
if your interested in trying out for GT North West, you can email me at:

http://www.blogger.com/northwestallday@gmail.com
watch the battles on http://www.blogger.com/www.youtube.com/drect

THATS WHATS UP PIMP.... ANY LAST WORDS FOR THE VIEWERS?

Cancers not funny. But you crying like a little bitch when I bring it up is. So fuck you if you don't like what I do. I battle to put myself in position to make music. It just so happens I get to take some aggression out at the same time.

I get standing ovations from Vietnam vets who are wheel chair bound, mother fucker. Blind people claim to have brief moments of vision when I walk past them, bitch. I've shot people from long distance just so I can be the one that saves their lives. I'm a hero. A patriot. Eat a dick.

Big shout out to 9DM for for comin threw lettin em know what time it is without a watch! UTAGM We Bag Em!

Classic Battle: Franco vs Ex I

Back in 2003 these two monsters grabbed their mics and went head to head



5 years later, they went at it again!

INTERVIEW WITH "SPITFIRE"

Spitfire what's been good with you lately man? How you been homie?

--- I’m doing good, definitely can't complain. Eating. Getting my mind right. Winning. The usual.

First off, let everyone know who you are and what you are about.

--- I'm a Portland-based emcee. I represent a dying breed of street rap artists still hustling to get their music heard.

So do you have any solo or group projects you are working on? Any upcoming shows or events that you are doing?

--- I am currently writing and preparing to record my next project, A History of Violence 2. Also, the Free Agentz project, Free @ Last, should be released soon. I have no upcoming shows or events at this time, until I finish A History of Violence 2.

So you're in the Free Agentz huh? What do you think about the crew?

--- I have been a member of the Free Agentz for a few years, which seems to be a little known fact about me. I am inspired by the amount of talent each member brings to the table. I think the local area has a lot of preconceived notions about the group, good and bad, but we try not to let that deter us from being creative and recording good music. Regardless of our individual or collective reputations, you can't deny that Quiz has done an incredible job assembling some of the most talented artists in the area to form this super-group, which also includes M-EI8HTY, Mic Money, J-Rome, and G.S.

So how long have you been rapping for man?

--- I wrote my first verse in 1993, at 8 years old. So, too damn long. LOL

So you got the Fuego tape out, how long did it take you to work on that project? If somebody was thinking about downloading that, what could they expect to hear?

--- I recorded The Fuego Tape in about a month. If you listen to the project, you'll hear my opinions toward life, love, religion, politics, the music industry, and street life. I make music that reflects my personal dramatic experiences. I’m passionate about my life and music, and that definitely comes across in The Fuego Tape. You can stream the whole record at spitfuego.com

There has been talk about you getting into the battle ring. Is this true or false?

--- Yeah, I’ve been considering it for a while. I actually gave 9DM the go-ahead to set up a battle for me, but apparently the other emcee had some legal issues that prevented it from taking place. The funny thing is, I actually used to battle all the time. I just lost my passion for it a long time ago. I prefer to be in the studio.

So I have been asking other people if they could name their top 5 favorite rappers of all time..could you answer this question?

--- Jay-Z, 50 Cent, JoJo Pellegrino, Raekwon, and Prodigy.


If people want to keep up with what's going on with Spitfire how could they do that? (Twitter/myspace/facebook)

--- You can get at me on www.Twitter.com/spitfuego. I’m on that all day. I don’t get on Myspace anymore, it’s like a social networking cemetery. You can stream The Fuego Tape at www.spitfuego.com. I am in the process of updating the website to provide my fans with more content, and that will be complete once I finish recording A History of Violence 2.

Do you have any last words for the viewers out there? Spazz on them, let them know what time it is!

--- Stop sleeping on my music. Yes, I am a caucasian gangster rapper. Get the fuck over it. Take the time to listen to my music instead of just talking about it. And to all hip hop “fans” who are actually “up-and-coming” “hardest out” “because my friends and family told me so” rap artists: I encourage you to think about your futures a little bit harder. The odds are, you’re not as talented as most of the other artists in your city. And the actual talented rappers in your city aren’t as talented as rappers in other cities. And even those other talented rappers from other cities aren’t as talented as the artists who are actually getting a little buzz nationally. So most likely, in your life, you will never collaborate with Jay-Z, you’ll never shoot a high-budget video, and your record will never go platinum. So have fun, enjoy the music, and just be a FAN. Sincerely, SpitFire aka “Fuego” aka “Your Biggest Hater”, aka “There’s Way Too Many Fucking Rappers Nowadays” --PEACE.

Downoad The Fuego Tape at: http://www.rapidshare.com/files/397667762/The_Fuego_Tape__2010_.zip


LOL DAMN….YOU REALLY LET EM KNOW… I DIG IT WELL….
Good lookin out, thanks for stopping by and it's always a pleasure. Be easy my dude. BLAP!