Flowetic Justice

HK ‘Da Steamer’ a.k.a. Harold Kennedy is blazing holy sh!t for the streets, anticipating “2012 will be summertime all year for ‘East Coast’ and ‘Crosstown Mob’ movements. “I came in shining,” he said. Just in time for the summer, he was born on June 26^th.

He’s another scorching sun from the streets of Flatbush, Brooklyn with an unforeseen prose. His parents afforded him an enlightened foundation that invited a passion for poetry. "My father played the saxophone and loved Langston Hughes. I love Maya Angelou," he said. HK would sit down and meditate while writing to saxophonist, John Coltrane. "I've really been into poetry since a little kid."

His rhyme flows back to the Biggie era; when BK started to flourish in the game of hip-hop and where his crafts of storytelling and spitting fire started to unfold. “Of the old greats, I was a fan of Slick Rick,” said HK.  Storytelling has always been his thing.

According to their music, he's the “parana in the pond”. Growing up in the ol’ school he’s been shy. Today his alter-ego' word-play is transforming him all over the mic- track to track. He’s says, “I be zonin' when I write now, because you stay the same, They gonna recognize how you might sound,” in his song 'East Coast'.  Until you feel his message it's gonna be hard to recognize his voice.

On the mic his dynamic voices morph creative whirlpools of righteous stories channeled via captivating flows.  “I'm making music for people who find it hard to express their pain,” he says. His parents died when he was only a kid, which in turn caused his family to split up. Left feeling alone without his siblings, HK dropped out of school and stayed true to the “block”; 'School of Hard Knocks'. However, his creativity continued to blossom.

 Eventually, a family friend named Jacqueline Rowe took him into her home. “Jackie was like my aunt. She believed in me and knew what I was working with,” he said.  Jackie helped HK and his group ‘Seventh Element’ get a deal with Iron Mike Entertainment, considering she's Mike Tyson's sister. The deal fell through after HK ended up getting locked up which led to his having to do time in prison. “It's got to a point where I've see, enough. I might not have seen it all but I've seen enough. Nothing else can happen but great.” HK has six kids and only has the highest expectations when it comes to their futures.  “I do a lot with my children,” he says “I've taught myself how not to lose.”As an artist he's adding energy to the Crosstown Mob movement saying, “I have so much ambition that it feels crazy!” It seems like the lows which stagnated his stardom will only be remembered as fuel for future heat. “Now, I'm even more creative, charismatic and diverse,” he says.

Super Sam produces pulsating, 808 knocking beats supporting his chameleon charm on the new East Coast Music Group mixtape. It's expected to drop in September. “It's almost ready,” he says.  Representing Crosstown Mob and Bakery Gang including Young Amsterdam, Big Law, Drew Logan, and China Zenith. In the background, bullets are flying as cars race through snare rolls and HK's on the verse. 'The Life We Live' and 'We Do It Big' are tracks off the new mixtape he's working on with Reign, Bugz, and Cage. “The most important thing is that I love the art,” says HK. “As far as I'm concerned I'll never run out of money so it's just gonna be an experience to experience.”

~Simone A. Santos

The Heatmakerz; Rsonist Cuts Up the Crack

        
            There’s been a sweet voice refreshing the front of their musical galaxy stuttering, “The Heatmakerz; crack music.” It’s so addictive that people who classify as hip-hop should know when to expect and recite the crave.  The productions are lit and all of a sudden, soul showers start to enhance up to a break. That is when samples sing, percussions drop, digitals explode and the crowds react indicating, Rsonist!

The Anthem was cracking when it first hit the streets of New York City. To this day, it plays like one of the street songs of praise. The Heatmakerz (Rsonist, Thriller, and Weatherman) are well recognized for the record ‘Diplomats Anthem’, which they produced in 2003 under Roc-a-fella. It was directly sampled from reggae artist, Sanchez’ 1994 hit ‘One in a Million’, and could be a tribute to Rsonist’ Jamaican roots. However, besides the Dipset, Camron and Juelz Santana, Rsonist has produced for an extensive number of hip-hop and R&B artists including Lil Wayne, Beyonce, Ludacris, Ghostface, Fat Joe, M.O.P., Nore and Capone, TI, Scarface, Lil Flip, Saigon and Brook Valentine, just to name a few. He hasn’t worked with Eminem but would like to, stating “I think him and Juelz have a similar flow and the sound fits. If you listen to the flow, the way he attacks the beat, it’s the same cadence. I think that it would be a dope change.”

Greg ‘Rosonist’ Green of the Bronx started his music career djing when he was only fourteen. “When I realized that people don’t react to anything else the way that they react to good music,” he said, “is when I fell in love with it.” From djing compositions, he followed the hip-hop instrumentalists’ path of natural progression. Eventually, Rsonist blew up becoming one of New York City’s hottest producers. The Heatmakerz have produced about sixty-five commercial songs for major record labels, another fifty for Koch records and when it comes to mixtapes, “that’s a whole ‘nother story,”  he says. Overall, they’ve produced hundreds of records that can be found in stores.

Inside, past the dark foyer of his mother’s ground floor basement was the paraphernalia. “I have a studio in Jersey that’s over three thousand square feet. I’m making beats for survival when I’m down here; I can’t make the same music there that I can make here. This reminds me of when I didn’t have a dollar in my pocket,” he said. He was sitting in front of his Music Production Center (MPC). On the wall over it, a poster read “Piano Chords”, listing the circle of fifths and keyboard fingerings for major, minor, augmented and diminished scales. “If you bring anyone down here, and I’m not excluding anybody… you bring anybody down here and they’re gonna have a problem,” Rsonist said. Saturating himself with music did not start out as a job. “It’s definitely my passion,” he said. Over time, Rsonist developed a professional ear for music considering he doesn’t know how to sight read. “There was a time when you can ask anybody who was around me; I was making 5 to 6 beats a day,” said Rsonist. “Making um and moving um, it was like a factory” he added. “I believed in quantity,” he said. It’s a matter of music but, when music is your profession it’s also about getting paid. Of the 5 or 6 beats Rsonist was producing each day he says, “If I didn’t like 2 of them I would throw them away. It’s definitely quality first.” 

Back in April at Push Play, he stated “I’m one of the illest producer that ever touched an MPC.” This was proven in November 2009. Rsonist won the Celebrity Beat Battle where he challenged other hit making producers for a “healthy competition”. They squared off, battling beat to beat and Amadeus, Bink and Lord Digga are some of those who were defeated by Rsonist’ compositions. “I did it just to prove a point,” he said. “They didn’t pay me but, people know The Heatmakerz so I just went in there and did what I had to do.” The Heatmakerz sounds are more than mere beats, they are works of mastery. As far as being considered the best in this game, Rsonist crowns DJ Premiere. “I’d have to give it to DJ Premiere first, before me. We’ve definitely held it but, I’d have to give it to him,” he said.

From traditional drum percussive kinetics to digital sound waves, hip-hop music has transgressed emerging energies that can currently compliment today’s resonance of music. “Sampling is more than grabbing a loop, throwing beats on it and putting it out,” he says. However, Rsonist admits that he used to get bothered by comments seen on the internet expressing that this is all that The Heatmakerz do.  “If it was so easy you’d be doing it,” he says. “There is nothing lazy about it.”

Hip-hop has been sampling and electronically mixing songs since its birth in the late 1970’s. Portions of song recordings are chopped up, played as instruments and reproduced into a fresh recording. It was the dj’s on the turntables breaking loops and scratching back then. Now, it’s a matter of Music Production Centers (MPC’s) and good musicians aka producers. “People who sample care about the music! You’re reinventing something and giving it life again. Sampling has been keeping people like James Brown alive. How many times has ‘A Man’s World’ been sampled?” he asked. As a matter of fact, according to cratekingz.com James Browns ‘Funk President’ is one of the ‘King of Soul’ most sampled songs in hip-hop. It’s up there with Al Green’s ‘I’m Glad You’re Mine’, and Melvin Bliss’ ‘Synthetic Substitution’. Sampling is mosaic. It is bringing back the essence of the old and constructively blends it in with what’s new. “You have to enhance the sample. That’s where people get it mixed-up. Sampling is an art,” he said.

“To find a sample you have to first find the sample. You don’t just grab anything to sample. Most producer dig through hundreds of records to find 2 or 3 records they want to buy. Go home to chop it up until you find the right sounds. Meanwhile, to make original beats, you just plug up the keyboard and sound modules, start playing the keys, and whatever comes out of your brain is what’s gonna happen. When you sample it’s a much longer process so there’s no way its lazy.  Then you get less money. At the end of the day you gotta pay anybody you’re sampling,” he says.

Rsonist has been working in the music industry since the beginning of the millennium. “This industry is full of assholes and paperwork gangstas. Why do you think Biggie said; I got lawyers watching lawyers so I don’t go broke,” says Rsonist. “You know what’s going on right now in hip-hop? You have to combine hip-hop and rap,” he states. ‘Look at What You Did’ is one of the tracks off his current project. He’s been rapping for the past couple of years and wishes that it would have manifested earlier to coexist with his life as a producer. However, it’s not too late. When asked what he’s been up to his response was “I gotta bunch of sh!t.”  He is currently working on several projects besides his own including The Lox, Styles P and B.O.B. He has some beats for Ludacris and looks forward to working with Cee-Lo Green.   

~Simone A. Santos

Loui V Patented & Untested

     Fresh and fired-up Southside Jamaica Queens’ unsigned talent Loui V waits confidently for his moment, for his time to shine.  As he proclaims in his song “Changing The Forecast,” it’s time for a new routine.  Head bopping bars and hard punch lines seem to flow easily out the up and coming artist.  With rap being his motivation 22 year old Loui elaborates on his musical influences, feelings on hip hop, the music industry and artists past and present. 

      “My mom was a tomboy; hip-hop was the only music she ever listened to- like Big Daddy Kane.” 

        Besides hip hop no genre of music was ever played or listened to in his household.  Back then hip hop was heard more than it was seen. Listeners of hip-hop typically reacted to social circumstances and aspired to achieve recognition in order to relate with the culture.  Along with his fellow hip hop enthusiasts, Loui hoped to turn his dreams into reality. 

         Nowadays, as these dreams have been brought to fruition, Loui finds an industry heavily influenced by what it sees and driven by what artists are seen doing.
From buying the finest things to performing the most extreme and uncensored acts, Loui states “some people are crazy and really wanna reenact crazy (expletive).” Shaped by all sorts of phenomena music is an art that will constantly recreate itself.  Music is a sign of the times.
 
         In five years Loui V assures that he will have achieved fame and reached financial pinnacles.  He plans to retire by 2021.  Last year he recognized that it is his destiny to become a hip-hop artist. While his focus is on rapping his way to the bank, he suggests:  “just get it [money],” and go.  He doesn’t think that this is the type of industry you should hang around for too long. While rap star Lloyd Banks, member of G-Unit and Loui’s older brother was listening to Biggie Smalls, Loui was into Nas, Mobb Deep, “and believe it or not DMX. DMX was the first animated rapper that I felt.”
  
        He later compared his brother to Prodigy of Mobb Deep.  After deciphering and then contrasting lyrical styles between the two Loui equated that style of “rhyming without rhyming” and rugged, edgy rawness that Prodigy possesses with his brother’s style of rap.
The charismatic and poised Loui V maintains that a large part of being financially successful in the rap game is remembering where you come from.

       “You never know when you might have to go back to the hood! ” said Loui.

        When asked who he thinks the greatest rapper of all time is he proudly answered “Lloyd Banks, and not only ‘cause he’s my brother.”

        For his family and community his loyalty is profound.  Among his other faves are 50 Cent, Eminem, Lil’ Wayne and Jay-Z. Overall Loui expressed that his most significant project would be a “collabo” hit, with his brother. 
    
         When listening to Loui V’s tracks one can appreciate his blend of two hip hop worlds.  He “puts it down for his city,” rapping and spitting with a NY style that, he declares in his song he “Don’t Wanna Change.” Still, he was inclined to mention the respect that he has for the producers coming out of the south. His feelings for the dirty south beat-makers are nothing but love. Vibrantly nodding with a smile he said, “they get money.” He highlights that they are friendlier and have more fun than New Yorkers.
          
          “People go to the party to dance, nobody wilding, nobody grilling, and there’s way more girls. Up here they go to the party to stunt like they don’t listen and dance to music anymore.”
 
          The producers in the dirty south make beats that get people moving. It was Loui’s visualization of girls popping their butts to a beat that caused him to grin. In addition to the smile he said, “down south music be bumpin’…everybody moving, and sweaty. You gotta be bumpin’ to get the ladies down South.”
    
         “I don’t dance” he said.
  
          However, his smooth energetic spirit emanates over “dirty south” beats complimenting his NYC-styled lyrics and flow. Loui V is creating music that is meant to make “it” happen.