Music producer/artist David E beats is what you’d call a triple threat in the music industry. He’s a musician, producer, and songwriter looking to crave his way into the Nouveau scene. Beats is credited with producing; mixing and mastering; writing and rapping on all the songs. Beats graciously spent a few minutes to speak his mind:

Where did your interest in music begin?
It began at a very early age. I was introduced to music by my parents and I grew up enjoying rock and soul. I later got into hip hop at 15.

What is it like as a young artist trying to establish yourself in both the music and production scenes?
It is hard but I enjoy the challenge! I love learning new things and building new relationships because the joy of things coming to fruition is the best feeling for me.

Have you faced any obstacles on your way to where you are?
I face obstacles everyday. Chasing your dream requires a lot of sacrifice and dedication and discipline. So I rarely get discouraged.

You’re called a hip-hop artist, but you blend genres in your music. What, if any, category do you consider yourself be a part of?
I call it “Nouveau”. It essentially consists of all these newer talented artists like Drake and Kid Cudi whom are able to do more than just rap, but create stories and do something truly musical.

What ideals/messages do you hope to portray through your songs?
I just want people to know that they can achieve anything. If I can do it, anyone can!

You’ve been producing pretty rapidly, releasing 2 mix tapes this year, thus far. Is that a trend you want to try to keep up?

I am releasing a full length album shortly called “EXIT” which will be pushed for the time period of a normal album cycle. I do plan to release content quite rapidly however. This is the digital age, and unless you are constantly in peoples minds with your music they will forget you.

What music, other than your own, do you enjoy?
I listen to literally anything. From Fefe Dobson to Lil Wayne and Soulja Boy, I bump it all.

What other artists inspire and motivate you?
As artists we all kinda go through the same trouble and tribulations so I respect any artist who can make this game work in their favor, and those are the ones I look up to!

What was it like having the chance to tour in your Open Mic-Showcase so soon after releasing your first mix tape?
It was a great experience! It gave me the time to perfect my live show and smooth out my stage presence.

Is your music entirely your own effort, or do you work collaboratively with other musicians/artists?
I usually do everything on my own, then I take it to a larger studio to get the songs mixed down.

What is the songwriting process like for David E Beats?
It all starts with the first bar, once I hear the beat, I think of the best way to start the song. From there it just evolves.

What would you say to any young artists out there trying to make it big?
Constant work and diligence. Just when you think all is lost, the seed you planted blossoms.

What is the one song that never fails to make you happy?
TI – What’s Up, Whats Happenin’

With a season drawing to a close, the crisp bite of autumn on the air, I find myself looking to seize the last few moments of summer. In my opinion, the best way to do that is through the songs that have gotten you through the past few months. For me, this summer has been mellow though far from mundane, and believe the soundtrack reflects it.

The season started early this year, with the release of “Her Diamonds”, off Rob Thomas’ new album, Cradlesong. A bittersweet musing with touches of anguish and sanguinity, and backed by simple electronic rhythm, the song brings to life the meditative nuances of what is mostly a carefree season.

Balancing Thomas’ melancholy tone is Michael Franti and Spearhead, with “Say Hey (I Love You).” Admittedly, this is a bit of a cheat for this summer’s soundtrack, but I figure that the 2008 release began charting these past few months, so it still applies. Franti’s mix of reggae beats and smooth rock come together in this billboard dynamo, immediately filling the mind with scenes of simple romance and walks on warmer beaches. Simply, this song is a uniquely and distinctly happy song.

Not to be ignored or outdone, the Black Eyed Peas came up with not just a song, but a record of summery goodness. However, featured song “I Gotta Feeling” off the band’s newest album, The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies), sums up the spirit of the season’s energy. The wildly creative synth-hop and energetic lyrics capture a night anyone would be dream of.

Book-ending this summer’s score is “Bonfire” from Third Eye Blind. The soft acoustic sounds in this song of change and all that comes with it serves to compliment the changing of the guard as fall approaches. It holds all the hope of the stars and the defeat of the passing of time.

Mellow, yes; but far from boring. This summer in song has had a full range of sound and emotion, representing a soundtrack greater than the sum of its parts. If autumn is holding anything half this good, maybe the shorter days can’t come too soon.

The King of Pop was much more than a king to me. My mother likes to tell the story of me being less than a year old as she strolled me through the mall and how i would kick my feet to the beat of whatever song was coming from the closest retailer, so I think I’ve always been in love with music, but my first hero was one Michael Jackson. I can remember Halloween of 1984, when I was just two years old, I was at my grandmother’s house and the television was on and someone had put on MTV, I suppose it must’ve been, because I sat glued to the television, mesmerized at the Thriller video. I was two years old and I can remember the scene as though it were yesterday. Many of my very earliest memories in life include some reference to MJ. He was to me what Superman or Batman or Spiderman or any other number of heroes represent to young boys and girls. I would watch him, barely recognizing the fact that he must be human. I knew nothing of dancing, of athletics, of human feats, and I knew nothing of illusions or magic, but I somehow divined that what this man could do on a dancefloor was something that other humans couldn’t. I would watch him, swearing to myself that, one day, I would be just like him. I, a very, very young 3/4 caucasian, 1/4 asian boy with no knowledge of music or dancing or business or much of anything, knew that no matter what happened in life, I would be just like this god of a man that I would gawk at with every opportunity. I spent what must have amounted to days reviewing every dance move, learning as much as I could. When the Bad album came out, my mother (who owned it) must not have had the liner notes for more than a few days. I may not have understood more than 20% of the content, but I’m sure I memorized the entire booklet, down to the copyright information. I still remember most of the photos that were in it very well, as I would try and mimic his expressions and positions as best I could, quite often. I could moonwalk by the time I was three or four. My family would often congregate in the kitchen and play Earth, Wind, and Fire albums and the like, and I would always do my best impression of Michael Jackson. I’m sure it was awful, but every time, I would, without thinking, end up grabbing my crotch and my father would immediately yell at me to never do it again, but I just couldn’t help myself. It didn’t matter how much trouble I got in, if Michael Jackson was doing it, so was I. I’m a little surprised, looking back, that I never managed to construct or ask for a sequined white glove or a red leather jacket and that I never wore my black dress shoes with my white socks.

Over time, I grew to learn that other people were not quite so obssessed with Michael Jackson as I was. I remember in elementary school having to defend his honor as many of the other white kids would say that he was gay and other such things. I didn’t care how far he went in going from looking like a black man to a white woman, as far as I was concerned, Michael Jackson was the coolest human being to have ever walked the planet. When Dangerous came out, I was similarly obssessed. I quickly memorized every song and would sing them all, constantly. When there were accusations of child molestation, I defended. I still defend. I still don’t believe he did it. The more I’ve learned about his difficult childhood, the more I’ve sympathized with MJ. And as I’ve grown, I see that, regardless of status, wealth, fame, power, and the like, people are people, and we’re all basically the same and face many of the same struggles. I think he has been greatly misunderstood and badly exploited by various people and groups of people.

I am now a musician, myself, and while I may not owe a lot to Jackson, stylistically, he very much kept me interested in music, and without that, I might not be the musician I am today. I wouldn’t describe his music or career as one that changed the landscape of music, but it certainly was influential on plenty of people. When my childhood wasn’t what I needed it to be and my parents and others failed to be the type of guardians and guides I needed, there were times when music and the career of this man were very helpful to me. I grew to love the music of Stevie Wonder in high school and college. Then, it was Mos Def and Herbie Hancock and various others. Now, I listen for anything that sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard before, but I can still sing you every word of “Rock With You” or “The Way You Make Me Feel”. The Backstreet Boys or even Usher or Ginuwine were never musicians that I was very much interested in and any interest in any song of theirs would’ve come with some amount of shame, but even though Michael Jackson was merely the king of pop, I’m going to be looking for any posthumous work, and just like every album before that no one expected to be worthy of any note, I’ll surely memorize the entire thing and defend it for as long as I can. Michael Jackson was my first hero and most influential on me and, for the poor judgement he may have often shown, for the lack of mind-altering music he may have made, for having shown a nack for acting in a manner that caused so many to think him quite a freak, he will be sorely missed and I’m sad that we won’t be getting more of his otherwordly talent on display. R.I.P. King of Pop.

Just in case you haven’t alreay heard, Dave Matthews Band is on tour again. This time to kick off their latest release Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. Despite Dave catching cold just before the kick off concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York on Monday, he had the crowd on their feet singing along to every tune.

I have to give it up to the veteran performer, he puts on a great show. For your enjoyment, Hulu teamed up with Fuse to present the whole show, just in case you missed it the first time. Hope you enjoy.

The Spin: Jadakiss – The Last Kiss
Released April 7, 2009
The Island Def Jam Music Group 2009
[rate 4]

If you’ve followed Jadakiss’ career at all, it’s easy to see that he’s consistently put out some of the most solid work in the genre since as far back as The Lox. Although every album has its fair share of what would be deemed commercial songs (and they’re just as good as anything else you would hear on the radio), he hasn’t managed to reach the type of mega-stardom as Lil Wayne or 50 Cent or even gained the type of mainstream notariety as someone like Mims or Chingy. I think plenty would argue that Jadakiss’ lyricism would have him fare well in a battle with any of these guys and the beats that pervade his albums are definitely good, if not equal to his rapping.

“The Last Kiss” finds itself again without a huge hit, but has managed to garner plenty of praise and respectable sales. But also like most of his albums, it’s sort of a mixed bag and lacks continuity. There are a couple of Neptunes beats that stick out, there are beats that sound just five minutes too dated, and then there are southern-style club bangers in the middle of it. Content-wise, Kiss is equally sporadic.

In “Who’s Real,” we hear Swizz Beats’ familiar voice and horn arrangements. For whatever reason, Swizz Beats has certainly mastered his particular brand of simple drum patterns and synth arrangements (which he’s claimed to accomplish in fifteen minutes or less), although he does add in samples, from time to time. His lyrics definitely have not received the same amount of attention for good reason. However, Swizz Beats, in collaboration with other artists, provides a recipe for very effective rap tunes. Thankfully, Jadakiss does a good job of complimenting the track. OJ Da Juiceman provides fairly weak guest lyrics.

Image courtesy of musicforecast.blogspot.com

Anyone who’s heard a Jadakiss album knows that he’s fairly obsessed with guns. “Smoking Gun” serves as a manifestation of that, but with a sort of twist. This song is a sort of Bonnie & Clyde tale, but more socially conscious and more vengeful. Yeah, actually, it’s more like one of those highly entertaining albeit cheesy revenge flicks from the seventies. At any rate, the content of the song is really interesting and the beat’s pretty nice. I don’t want to give away more than that because it’s such a cool song. Instead, I’d encourage anyone to check it out.

“Respect My Conglomerate” is a Busta Rhymes song that is included on the Itunes version of Kiss’ album. The female vocals sound like they’re sampled, but they’re not. The hook is really cool. The beat’s fairly poppy and simplistic, but effective. Busta Rhymes delivers as always and Jada doesn’t disappoint, either. “Grind Hard” and “Something Else” serve as Jadakiss’ attempt to get in good with the south, even including a verse from Young Jeezy on the latter. “Grind Hard” features a hook by Mary J. Blige and is appropriately catchy.

If I had to describe Jadakiss’ career to someone, I’d say something like, “Jadakiss is a five-star lyricist who consistently makes four-star albums.” It’s hard to not feel like if he just had an album with two or three really big hits that he could be on the same eschelon as someone like Jay-z or Nas.
I think it’s unfortunate that this isn’t the case, but I certainly keep hoping for it, and considering that he’s one of the only good hip-hop artists still doing big things in New York, his time may be yet to come. Predictably, I give this album four out of five stars.

The Spin: Donny Goines – The Breakfast Club
Released May 19, 2009
2009
[rate 4]

Donny Goines is back again and this time with a fresh spin on hip-hop that does justice to the title of his latest hit album, “The Breakfast Club.” Everything from a screaming electric guitar loop in “Oh No (Ft. Patent Pending)” to sizzling horns over a chunky funk kit on “Whatever It Is (Ft. Mela Machinko),” Donny Goines brings the eclectic sounds of a lifetime of media influence that brings back memories from my 80′s childhood.

Check out Donny on myspace to find out more details on how to get your hands on The Breakfast Club.

Keeping the prosumer audiophile in mind, the download is thoughtfully bounced to 320 kbps (higher quality means happier ears).

Image courtesy of www.dramaticannie.com

From the moment you step on Indio field you wonder how the organizers of this year’s Coachella kept everything so, well, organized. Every minute detail down to the art exhibits, the “green” aspect of the concert (recycling everything down to the cups the frozen lemonade came in) to keeping the peace. Of course, the band choices were excellent and with two outdoor stages and three tents there was plenty to see.

All in all, I hit up 11 out of the 43 acts there on Friday, April 17th which doesn’t seem like a lot but it was 11 hours of constant music. From The Airborne Toxic Event with their full string quartet, to Steve Aoki’s crowd surfing on an inflatable raft in the Sahara tent, to Beirut’s unexpected huge crowd that knew all the words, to Paul McCartney’s two and a half hour set complete with fireworks during “Live and Let Die,” this concert can only be described in one word: Epic.

Image courtesy of www.dramaticannie.com

I’ve been to other Coachellas over the years but for some reason the buzz was huge this year, partly because of Sir Paul’s highly anticipated set. Walking with the crowd to the final act of the night, through the lit up art exhibits, including a circle of lit torches and a myriad of tents with red tented lights signaling the middle of the field, I was surprised as to how many families had come to see the show. From little kids to grandparents, everyone was there to witness a little magic from a man who changed music forever with “a little help from [his] friends.” Let’s just say the man delivered. But it wasn’t just that.

Image courtesy of www.dramaticannie.com

Each band that came on all of the stages was so grateful to be at Coachella and made sure the crowd knew that. Silversun Pickups’ lead singer Brian Aubert told the crowd that, although they had played at Coachella two years ago and had seen the world since then due to their excellent 2006 release “Carnavas,” they were extremely humbled to be invited to play at Indio Field again. It’s just one of those concert experiences that you will never forget and the fact that it’s a visual spectacle as well as an attack of the eardrums makes it one of the must-see festivals of the year. However don’t take my word for it. You can see all of the videos here:

Do me a favor. Go next year. You won’t regret it.

The Spin: Doom – Born Like This
Released March 24, 2009
2009 Lex Records
[rate 4.5]

There’s often talk about the rappers that producers want to work with and vice versa. Three Six Mafia once had an album titled MOST KNOWN UNKNOWN. It seems that MF Doom has become that guy. MF Doom has worked with many of hip-hop’s most recognized producers and contributed verses to many hip-hop projects. His work on DANGERDOOM eventually assisted DJ Dangermouse in winning a grammy, while MADVILLAIN remains one of the most popular albums to date among the underground hip-hop scene. For BORN THIS WAY, Doom shows his production meddle, having produced most of the tracks on the album.

Lyrically, the album, as in all MF Doom’s work, is chock full of internal rhyme and silly, often crude, but clever one-liners. Content-wise, Doom’s always all over the map. His persona entails him speaking from the position of a villain, and as it is hip-hop, certainly a boisterously confident one.

Image courtesy of www.nerdwithswag.com

Those familiar with the work of J Dilla (and if you’re not familiar, you should do yourself a favor and get familiar) will certainly appreciate the collaboration of these two well-regarded artists on “Gazillion Ear” and “Lightworks.” It’s safe to say that MF Doom’s style of production requires some crate-digging on his part, and the Dilla tracks that he utilizes certainly fit very well with his other tracks. Tracks from G-Unit production’s Jake One also stand out. Besides those, MF Doom’s tracks often provide a somewhat whimsical quality, derived from the samples he chooses, often relatively obscure.

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Doom employs vocals from everyone from Wu-Tang’s Ghostface Killah, as Tony Starks, and Raekwon (on a track that more or less is simply rapped over the oft-sampled ESG’s “UFO”), to Rhymesayers’ brethren Slug, to classic hip-hop veterans Prince Paul and Posdnous. It seems quite an honor to be asked to guest on an MF Doom album, and the artists certainly don’t slack, when given the opportunity.

Image courtesy of www.metro.co.uk

Standout tracks from the album include “Gazillion Ear,” “Rap Ambush,” and “That’s That.” While Doom is certainly a deft producer, many of his beats lack the impact of those of Dangermouse’s or Madlib’s or Dilla’s or Jake One’s. With all the money he’s certainly made from various projects and the success that employing these producers would certainly garner him, I do wish he’d use them more. However, it is a very good album and one of the best to this point this year. While I’m hoping for more Madvillain and the like, I give this album four and a half stars.

…Incidentally, Thom Yorke of Radiohead fame remixed “Gazillion Ear.” It’s pretty cool.

Thousands of people are getting ready to descend on the small town of Indio, CA for this weekend’s Coachella Arts and Music Festival. Most people will be flying in but I will be driving almost 500 miles…one way. This will give me time (approximately 6.5 hours if I drive like the wind) to listen to this year’s Coachella artists and simultaneously blow the speakers in my car – I love road trips!

Image courtesy of www.coachella.com

One of my friends always believed that you shouldn’t listen to the music of the artists that are performing before the show as it takes away some of the excitement but I completely disagree with that theory. I believe that listening to the artists music prior to the show makes you all giddy and at least you’d know some of the words instead of staring, open-mouthed at the stage. So if you happen to be driving south on I-5 this Thursday, I will be the crazy chick in the red rabbit rocking out to The Ting Tings, Paul McCartney and Franz Ferdinand…

Every year, throngs (not to be confused with the subject of one infamous Sisqo megahit) of music appreciators converge in Austin, TX, the alleged Music Capital of the World. Every year, Austin, TX is made a little more uncomfortable by the ever-expanding group that visits. And yet, every year, some relatively unknown musical act puts on such a show that catapults them to a status that so greatly dwarfs their previous status that even more artists are inclined to sell whatever soul necessary to partake, multiple times over, if possible.

Okay, I’ll admit that my strategy for South by Southwest may seem flawed. I went to the hip-hop shows. Before any rotting vegetable is thrown, it should be understood that a number of popular hip-hop acts have come through in recent years and some of the aforementioned breakout stars etched their way into the limelight per SXSW. Add to that the fact that everyone comes to see the indie bands, making the hip-hop shows significantly less crowded and therefore much more enjoyable, and I stand by my strategy (which differed from years past, where I would just try and see bands that I was told were cool or look for really weird stuff. I only did a little of that this time.).

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Wednesday night was, for all intents and purposes, not the peak of SXSW, but the show I went to shed some light on some acts that I had recently become interested in. U-N-I are an underground hip-hop group, at the moment. Unfortunately, I walked into the Wednesday night show as they were performing. I say it’s unfortunate because they were one of the best acts I heard all weekend. Their energy was really high. Their lyricism came through beautifully, thanks to this being one of the only acts that had enough sense to yell at the sound dude to turn their mics up over the music that normally covers everyone else up. They had a lot of style and confidence, engaged the audience, and seemed generally like they were excited to be there and like they were supposed to be there. The crowd was very responsive and the music was great. It was like eating dessert first!

In that same showcase, Blue Scholars performed very well, and Blu did a good job, despite a demeanor that seemed like he would’ve been just as happy being anywhere else. In fact, he seemed like his state was quite altered, which was certainly appreciated by some.

As I stated earlier, when doing SXSW, I do try and see some stuff I wouldn’t normally be exposed to. Thursday night was Japan Nite at Elysium, and Sparta Locals was a really good Japanese band there. I’m not sure if it would’ve been better if the lead singer and apparent spokesman for the group hadn’t been speaking broken English, but the band’s relatively exotic chord progressions, infectious energy on stage, and overall demeanor all contributed to a really enjoyable stage show.

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Later on that night, we changed gears and went back to hip-hop, although some wouldn’t even classified some of what we listened to as such. At any rate, Lady Sovereign’s set went well. She seems to be one of those many artists that has a lot of talent but can’t seem to consistently find a broad audience. It’s unfortunate. After her came Asher Roth. His current big hit “I Love College” was a huge hit, but his charisma and fun stageshow seem to indicate some staying power, or at least, some staying power for right now. Finally, despite being hoarse, Kid Sister came out and performed. Her show featured a couple of dancers, a lot of dance music, and hoarse vocals. Needless to say, it left something to be desired, but it was still a good show, as long as you don’t mind letting loose a little and just having some fun dancing and being entertained (as opposed to being as mentally stimulated as you would at maybe a Mos Def show, etc.).

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As hip-hop is fairly easy to define according to which region it comes from, on Friday night, we moved to the dirty south. I felt lucky to experience one of the pioneers of the dirty south movement and a trailblazer for all those small-vocabulary rappers from Atlanta. But truthfully, Big Boi’s a star in his own right, and a very good lyricist. It’s truly telling of Austin and SXSW, but this was actually one of the least crowded shows we went to. It was in the Austin Music Hall, so there was plenty more space, but it occurs to me that a few years earlier, I would assume this show would’ve been much more packed in. At any rate, Big Boi mixed in some Outkast and some of his solo work, deftly transitioning from party song to political number and back again. Despite him not looking like any superathlete, he brought a lot of energy and got a solid response from his audience.

Now, I’m not in the best shape of my life, either, and I don’t really drink that much. Blame it on me no longer being single, but even though I’ve been working out a lot lately, the alcohol takes a toll on me. Suffice it to say that when I go out to stuff like this, I feel I should be drinking. If for no other reason, we’ll say that I feel that I should be doing my part to support the venues that host these shows. By Saturday night, we were fairly well exhausted. But that wouldn’t stop me from seeing one of my favorite hip-hop acts of all time, Dead effing Prez!!!

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Unfortunately, Dead Prez seems to have moved from Brooklyn to Atlanta and their upcoming album reflects it in the beats. That being said, the whole rest of the show was a lot of southern hip-hop that just didn’t compare with what they were doing. I like Bun B okay, but not like the rest of Texas, which loves him. And before Bun B, whom was just before Dead Prez, it was local acts, again, with fairly limited vocabularies. All that being said, by the time Dead Prez was ready, the majority of Bun B fans had left. It was very very strange to see how Caucasian the audience was considering lines from Dead Prez like, “I’m down for runnin’ up on some crackers in their City Hall.” I’ll pause to allow some reflection on this irony. *Pausing* Okay, that having been said, I’m mostly a white guy who mostly agrees with Dead Prez, so I guess I just assumed I was more marginalized than I am. At any rate, Dead Prez came on and just seemed like stars from the first moment. I yelled nearly every word of nearly every song at them in unison. Their energy was high and they had a lot to say. It’s obvious that they’re genuinely concerned with the state of our country’s people, and they actually took a few moments out to talk about the incident in Oakland with the police shooting. The show was so great that I just wanted it to go on all night. It was easily the most exciting show, despite my apparent bias, even better than U-N-I and Asher Roth and that Japanese band, the Sparta Locals.

I figure I learned something from SXSW. Austin’s hip-hop scene is fairly nominal and a very mixed bag, and I think that some of the hip-hop shows probably suffered as a result of the lack of substantial buzz for hip-hop in Austin. It really made the shows a little less enjoyable, I have to admit, and I’d imagine the artists aren’t as geared up to perform for a half-empty venue as they are for a full one. That being the case, I might change my strategy next year. Then again, I might be performing next year, and I might just have a full venue, if I’m lucky. We’ll see. All in all, it was a fun time.