6 ..........................Prime Time 8 ........................Lucas Breeze 10 ...................... DJ da Guapo 12 .......................... Gritty Boi 14 ............C-Wiz Music Reviews 18 .......... 5 Star Chick: Shardaye 19 ......................... Been Real 20 ..........................Jim Philly 22 ......................CC Mista FLA 24 ........................Whip Game 26 ..... Visual Artist: Chandler Hayes 27 ......................... Saint John 28-29 ..............Rear View Ghost Editor: Angela Dalton, Sarah Taylor Ad Executives: Rick Bradshaw, Sarah Taylor Photography: Issac Ward Art Director: Rex2-tm Ad Design: Jamal Turner Online Editor: Reis O’Neill Publishing Consultant: Bryan Deese Reps: Coley Roberts, Chandler Hayes, Durell, Bennie, Don, Bebe
CONCRETE Magazine PO Box 3542, Huntsville, AL 35810 concretealabama@gmail.com 256.542.1150 © CONCRETE Magazine 2012
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This season it’s all Primetime. With his debut solo album Thoughts of a Leader bringing rave reviews, film appearances, and stellar production work, there is no end to the talents of Huntsville native Timothy Crutcher aka PT Primetime. He’s been dubbed “an entertainment force to be reckoned with” but more importantly to him a leader. CONCRETE: Can you tell us about your recent film appearance? Primetime: It’s the Jackie Robinson story. The movie is called 42 it will be out in 2013. I’m expecting the movie to win a couple of Oscars because of who he is. I had a guest appearance as Jackie Robinson’s cousin who came to see him play in New York. CONCRETE: Is it safe to classify you as an entertainer? Primetime: I’m an entertainer but at the same time I want to be a movement. It’s a lot of people that didn’t believe in me and I’ve showed a lot of folks that no matter who downs you, you can rise above all that. CONCRETE: Do you have an advantage over other artists since you produce as well? Primetime: I do. I don’t have to wait for anybody to make a beat for me or record me. I can go in the booth alone, make a beat and mix it down by myself. CONCRETE: What’s your favorite song from your new album, Thoughts of a Leader Leader? Primetime: “Reality” featuring Jihad. I’m use to my thuggish rapping and street shit, but I had to basically dig down deep and reach the younger generation and the people who are struggling and striving to make it to the next day. I had to step outside the box and get some inspiration and that’s the one thing we brought with that song. I had to open a couple of closet doors that I had shut in my life. I literally broke down one night in the studio writing the song, and a lot of stuff I talked about in the song touched me. CONCRETE: Any shout outs? Primetime: I give a shout out to my whole family, cousins, aunties, uncles, brothers and sister, AC Burna, JB tha Boogie Mane, Mali Boi, Haterproof, Shortchange, Mic Strange, Slugga Mane, Robert Jacobs, all my fans, Chris Lee, JO, RIP Ricky Melton, Nate and Matt Way, DJ Dirrty, Ben Frank, Play cousins, G Side, Big Pope, Big Shyft, Deno Terroteno Tek Support Productions, The Huntsville Times, Kompund, and 100 Percent.
CONCRETE: What is your full name? Lucas Breeze: Lucas Dickerson. CONCRETE: Where are you from? Lucas Breeze: St. Louis Missouri. I moved to Huntsville 10 years ago. CONCRETE: When did you first discover your musical talent? Lucas Breeze: I always knew I could write I just never told anyone. Then I met Jordan Treimer, and he invited me to record. I did, and they liked it, and I liked it, so that was that. CONCRETE: Who inspires you? Lucas Breeze: 2Pac! I have been listening to him since I was eight years old. I love him because he could tell a story. Also, Eminem and Drake. CONCRETE: What do you want people to know about Lucas Breeze and your music? Lucas Breeze: They should know I never lie in my music. When I write something it is the truth. Everything I give them is what it is, and what I am. CONCRETE: Are you signed or an independent artist as of now? Lucas Breeze: I am as independent as it can get. CONCRETE: What makes you different? Lucas Breeze: I have my own sound and I feel I am a good songwriter. CONCRETE: What are five words that describe your sound? Lucas Breeze: Different, Lyrical, Catchy, Creative, and New. CONCRETE: What set backs if any have you had? Lucas Breeze: I was in a group and things didn’t work out with the other guy. We call it the practice year. CONCRETE: What is your favorite song from the new album? Lucas Breeze: The anthem “Heart Problems”. It’s a life story in a nutshell for me. I went in depth writing it and there are a lot of subliminal things that went on that the audience wouldn’t know. CONCRETE: Who would you like to work with in the future? Lucas Breeze: I’d love to work with Frank Ocean and Drake. CONCRETE: Do you have any Shout Outs? Lucas Breeze: My producer PR, my family and all my supporters, Dynomite Kid, DJ Illie Ill, DJ 808 from WEUP, my team Foretell and everyone at CONCRETE Alabama.
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CONCRETE: What is your given birth name? Gritty Boi: Thomas Sullivan Jackson CONCRETE: Where were you born? Gritty Boi: I was born in Chicago, but grew up in Huntsville, Alabama and Dallas, Texas CONCRETE: What was growing up like for you? Gritty Boi: I left Chicago when I was five and moved to Huntsville when my mother and father separated. I got into trouble in Huntsville then moved to Texas. CONCRETE: When did you return to Huntsville for good? Gritty Boi: 2000 CONCRETE: Where did the name ‘Gritty Boi’ come from? Gritty Boi: Well from gangbanging and being broke. I had to do things to get by. CONCRETE: What is your inspiration? Gritty Boi: My mother, and my kids. CONCRETE: You say you are a ‘soilder’, what does this mean? Gritty Boi: Some people that go through what I went through kill themselves. Some people crash out, or do something stupid and some just give up. I feel like I am a solider because I keep going and don’t let nothing stop me. CONCRETE: How have you grown since your last album? Gritty Boi: I have learned to record and write better. My next album shows that. CONCRETE: What is the next step for Gritty Boi? Gritty Boi: I’m going to drop my album before the end of September, and do more stuff for the kids and just give back more. CONCRETE: What do you want people to understand about you and your music? Gritty Boi: I’m trying to tell them the truth and keep it real. I try to be a teacher. I want everyone to listen to BROKE and relate. I want them to not give up! CONCRETE: Do you have any shout outs? Gritty Boi: Y Yeah! Shout out to My momma Suzanna Jackson, My dad R.I.P Thomas James Jackson, My kids, Free DeQuan Ford, ARTILLERY SOUTH, Alley Boy, 6 Tre G, Mazerati Records, Juvinile, Dj Fresh, Dj Joski Luv, Dj Yella Boy, Relly Rell, Green Room, Regime Publishing, Pinky and everyone at CONCRETE Alabama.
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Translee and Zip Kennedy - Takers
This mix was a pleasure to listen to since I’ve been a fan of Translee for some time now. This time around he teamed up with Zip Kennedy to spit over popular industry beats in typical mixtape style. But Translee and Zip aren’t your typical rap team. Slick lyrics and deep punchlines are felt throughout the entire project. DJ Pretty Boy Tank, DJ Era, Cory B and DJ Frank White do a good job of not talking too much and letting the music speak for itself, although I would have liked to hear some actual mixing considering this is a mixtape. All around bumping mix tho.
John Hodges - Patience and Paperwork
On “Favorite Rapper” Jon proclaims that he’s better than your favorite rapper and then flows like he’s going for the title. John straight up went off on “What Would I Do” which contains a classic sample from the movie The Wiz Wiz. This is a song I wish was higher up on the playlist instead of being next to last. I like the mix of freestyles and original songs although a few of the freestyles could have been longer. This compilation is very entertaining with its wide variety of track vibes. The only thing missing is a DJ to really set it off and make this one a classic.
Lucas Breeze - Heart Problems
When I first encountered this mix the first thing that came to my mind was ‘this guy raps?’ But after hearing his lyrical style flowing flawlessly over the dope beats on this mix, there is no longer a question in my mind, Lucas Breeze is indeed a rapper! If I had one complaint about the production on this CD it’s that the songs are sometimes too somber. I like the laid back vibe just as much as any other guy but after 6 or 7 tracks it starts to feel repetitive. I understand wanting to remain loyal to your producer but it can cause songs to sound a lil too much alike. Not the producers fault because it’s natural for him to have a signature sound, but I would have liked to hear a little more diversity in that department. Still a dope tape tho.
Gritty Boi - Let Me In 3
Grit got a good flow and reps that country Alabama struggle to the fullest. Nothing too special in the subject matter: money, weed, hoes, ballin’ out and gangsta themes were all through the mixtape. Not mad at him because you can only rap about what you know about. I have no doubt that this one will fully satisfy the Chevy riders and strip club hoes alike.
Been Real - Lyrics & Gangsta Shit
This Mix CD is strong as hell! I love “Death Of Me”. He gets it in lyrically, La-La-La sounds out of the box! I get excited when I hear shit that’s not typical. “Supreme” is jammin! I can’t find any flaw in this CD. “Let’s Work” is once again some out of the box hip-hop shit (You do know that music like this makes everybody love Outkast. They were different) The “Prison” freestyle was dope. Real is on some laid back deep groove shit. I’m very impressed. Keep up the good work. I know a deal will come your way.
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CONCRETE: What is your given name? CJ Gwapo: Chris Lampley. CONCRETE: What is your educational background? CJ Gwapo: I heard about Full Sail University from a family friend and went down for a tour. I’ve always been into music so of course Entertainment Business and Recording was the obvious choice, but when I got there it wasn’t the right choice. They show you all the lights, mixing boards, and studios on the tour but when you get there you’re basically in the class room. But I met a lot of people and learned a lot business wise. Right now I’m in Birmingham School of Law studying Intellectual Property. CONCRETE: You are both an artist and producer which do you prefer? CJ Gwapo: Depends on the money and the situation. I just roll with the punches. CONCRETE: What can we expect from your next mixtape project? CJ Gwapo: A lot of diversity. Everything on there will be new. I tried to do more of my own music this time and stay away from features so people can hear me. CONCRETE: What was the inspiration for “Polo Everything”? CJ Gwapo: A lot of people follow trends, and I like to set myself a part and be more of a trendsetter. I’ve been wearing Ralph Lauren’s clothes since I was in the sixth grade. So for me to do a song like that it was easy because everyone knows me for wearing it. I would go out and people would say, “Hey Mr. Ralph Lauren.” So I made the record and Ralph Lauren the company saw the video. We are working with their urban market development on some type of publishing. CONCRETE: Have you had any setbacks? CJ Gwapo: Disloyal people and I want to say that sparingly. With success you are going to get that and it doesn’t have to be with great success. CONCRETE: Is there an album in the works? CJ Gwapo: I have an album coming out at the end of the year. It’s called Time of My Life. It’s more of an up tempo pop record. It’s actually getting played in Europe, Asia, and Australia right now.
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CONCRETE: Where you from? Been Real: Decatur, AL CONCRETE: When did you first start rapping? Been Real: When I was fifteen I had home boys that always rapped, but I use to freestyle mostly. In 2002 I was incarcerated and being locked up I had more time to write which is pretty much all I do now. CONCRETE: Life, Lyrics and Gangster Shit - Vol. 1, what can listeners expect on this project? Been Real: Exactly what the title says. It all has substance, it’s about my life. I know other people can relate to it, because regardless of what level you are at we all go through something. No fabrication, not talking about how I have all this money or cars, just talking about how my life was and how it is now. CONCRETE: Can you tell about working with Spiz the Wiz? Been Real: We hooked up in 2006 and have been like brothers ever since. You see him on a lot of my stuff. He makes dope beats and we collaborate really well. CONCRETE: Current management? Been Real: Joey Cooks; I met through a friend. I gave him a song one day that I had just finished recording the night before; he looked at me and said, “Why don’t you have a mixtape out?” I really didn’t have an answer for him then. CONCRETE: Is there a Life, Lyrics and Gangster Shit Vol. 2 in the works? Been Real: I just released it this July at the River City Showdown event. CONCRETE: Have you had any recent radio play? Been Real: “Real Hip Hop” has been in the mix for a little while. CONCRETE: You have a line, “The mission is to bring real hip-hop back to hip-hop”. Can you elaborate on that? Been Real: Real hip-hop is pretty much just originality. It’s a lot more of follow the leader in the game these days. Once one person does something that works, instead of seeing what else people may like, they just do the same thing. Real hip-hop is pretty much just doing your own thing and keeping it real. It’s more about having passion and having meaning in your music. CONCRETE: What do you have planned next? Been Real: An album The Been Real Project Project, around October 2012. A video coming up for “Come On”, the mixtape and the follow up to the River City Showdown.
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CONCRETE: Where you from? Jim Philly: West Philadelphia, Penn. CONCRETE: When was your first time in the studio? Jim Philly: The winter of 2008 was the first time I went in the studio and actually did something that was worth anything. I was with Ben Frank, Bossman, and Gutter Man. We did a song called “Getting Money”.””. I wrote and sung the hook and from there it was great. CONCRETE: Any entertainment group affiliations? Jim Philly: Currently I work with Crown Royalty. CONCRETE: What is S.K.O.A.L.? Jim Philly: I was arrested and had to do some time in prison. I was sitting around one day writing music and a guy that was interested sat at the table with a dip can. I basically took the letters off that can and created my own meaning, Street Kings Overcome All Limitations and it just stuck. CONCRETE: What has been your musical progression? Jim Philly: It has become real simple. I feel like a lot of artists here sleep on me. I deliver. I’m guaranteed to deliver and it doesn’t matter if you want a hook or a verse. CONCRETE: Can you tell us about your win at the Who Hotter than Me? contest? Jim Philly: It was great! There were two rounds and then the finals. I actually won it acapella using this song I was working on called “Siamese Twin”.””. That’s the name that I go by, Jim Philly Jim Fingaz the Siamese Twin. CONCRETE: Do you have advice to others entering the industry? Jim Philly: Rap is like Kung Fu you have to master your style. CONCRETE: What are your current projects? Jim Philly: Finishing up my first mixtape Siamese Twin Part One you can expect it hopefully the end of August. I’m also doing a compilation album with Crown Royalty called Toe for Toe Blow for Blow Blow. I’m looking to do features. I actually want to work with Chipmunk who is also from Philly. CONCRETE: Any shout outs? Jim Philly: My little brother Chance Turner. Robert AndoDaman Jacobs for the opportunity in the Who Hotter Than Me? contest and of course CONCRETE Magazine.
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CONCRETE: Where are you from? CC Mista FLA: Tampa, Florida. CONCRETE: How did you end up in Alabama? CC Mista FLA: I got a scholarship to play football at Alabama A and M. CONCRETE: When did you initially start rapping? CC Mista FLA: In 2005, I was back in Glen Park where I was staying at the time and my neighbor heard me freestyle and introduced me to my current manager Ken “Mr. Bizz” Stevens. Ever since then I took it more seriously, but I didn’t get real serious until I made my first hit “Boomerang.” CONCRETE: You had a FB Post that read “When I’m reading my timeline all I see is women doggin’ men and hating on one another...” Can you elaborate on that? CC Mista FLA: Because of the influential women in my life I try to encourage women. If they only knew what their mothers and grandmothers went through, they would understand the value of being a woman and a strong woman at that. I have lots of female friends that call me and ask for advice. Don’t let someone defamate your character because of what you are stereotyped as being. If you are going to be a “hoe” be the best damn hoe that you can be. If you are going to be a mother, be the best mother, that’s just the realization of it. If you go hard at whatever it is you do and have good intentions behind it, good things will come out of it. CONCRETE: Can you tell us about your Champion vs. Contender mixtape? CC Mista FLA: The major concept was me battling my alter ego. Letting the CC go and transforming to Mista FLA, no longer being limited to the street life or one type of music or product. It did unprecedented numbers on LiveMixtapes. com with over 50,000 downloads. It’s one of the only CDs that the radio station here has played five tracks from the same CD on air. CONCRETE: What do you have planned next? CC Mista FLA: Don’t know if it will be an album yet or a mixtape, but it’s called Sextasy Sextasy. This will be strictly for the ladies. I’ll also put out another CC mixtape at that time to give the streets what they want.
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Jollyrancher Green, ‘74 Oldsmobile Delta 88, on 28 inch LS7, custom white interior, 455 motor photos by Robert Jacobs
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CONCRETE: How did you transition to Christian Rap? Saint John: I had never heard of any Christian rap when I first got into hip hop. There wasn’t any vulgarity in my rhymes but it wasn’t per say Christian. God always had his hand in my life when I was younger, but I didn’t truly give my life over to him until I signed up with the US Navy. I was talking to a good friend of mine on the ship who played a huge part in me giving my life to Christ. I told him one day, “I know what I’m going to do, I’m going to start writing rhymes for Christ.” He was like well in order for you to do that you have to have a name. He came to me the following day and was like, “I got it, Saint John.” CONCRETE: Have you had any setbacks with your music? Saint John: The biggest challenge has been finances, as far as presenting what it is that I do in the excellence that it should be presented. One challenge that isn’t so much now as it was when I started is people accepting what I do. People would say it’s not of God, and you are mixing the world with the church. I can’t speak for anyone else but I do this because I was called to do this. CONCRETE: Can you tell us about the album Struggle Muszak Muszak? Saint John: You have a lot of individuals now that are going through all types of struggles. Whether it be financial, emotional, or spiritual there is struggle all around us. I’ve always seen hip-hop as something that reports what’s really going on in the nation. If someone thirty or a hundred years from now picks up one of my CDs and listens to it, they can say they know what was happening in 2012. The message I’m trying to convey with Struggle Muszak is to get up and live. CONCRETE: What is success for you in the music industry? Saint John: I want to make a positive impact on my community first then abroad. That’s why I came to CONCRETE. A controlled fire starts in one place and then it CONCRETE spreads. I think it’s backwards if someone in Atlanta knows about Saint John and no one in Huntsville does. CONCRETE: Anything else you wan to speak on? Saint John: Regardless of whether you’re trying to get in the music industry or just make it in everyday life, this album is for you. Struggle Muszak is just me speaking on how to antidote the “struggle.” The antidote I found for it is inspiration. If you’re trying to get into the music industry sometimes you will lack inspiration. My source of inspiration has always been God. I solicit you to try what I’ve tried and see if it works for you. It worked for me.
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Despite equipment destruction, lead singer vocal woes, and their first album recordings deleted, Rearview Ghost dubbed 2011 the “lost year,” and continued to push forward. After completing their very first mind blowing album RVG is ready to show the world exactly why they rock. Nothing beats true passion and perseverance. CONCRETE: Why the name Rearview Ghost? RVG: We were searching around for names and we had a list. Rearview was on one side and Ghost on the other side, so we put it together and got Rearview Ghost. At first, it was just because it looked cool then after all we had gone through, it actually began to develop meaning. Everyone has had issues with their past or things that they wish they hadn’t been through. It fit so well with everything we had been through up to that point and it really works for us. Wish we had some crazy story where we had seen a ghost or something but that didn’t happen (laughs). CONCRETE: Can you describe your creative process? RVG: One song Craig and I (Josia) wrote was we actually done through email. He wrote a bunch of lyrics and was like we need to fill this in. I hadn’t even heard the music. I’d sent him back some ideas and he would either so no “that sucks,” it’s retarded or it works. We actually wrote a song through email in a day. CONCRETE: What differentiates you from other bands? RVG: We are a lot rawer than most bands that are out there. You have a lot of metal bands and hard rock bands that are trying to be so progressive and perfect, we are trying to take it back to the older stuff like Zeppelin and be more organic. When we play live we don’t play with a clip tracker, we don’t have to because our drummer is a living metronome. Eddy is such a hard hitting and emotional drummer .We feed off each other. Some of our best work is accidental. Also, Josia’s vocal ability separates us from other bands. Knowing that we have a singer who can literally sing anything that we write is a luxury. Craig will bring a blues riff in and we don’t have to be afraid to do it because our singer can’t sing it. CONCRETE: What inspired your single “Tick Tock”? RVG: Just jamming riffs one day before practice. It feels very military. I (Josia) had a really bad day at work and I knew we had practice that night, so I was staring at the clock with each seconding ticking away. So, the “tick tock” was already in my head when we got to practice. We all just added lyrics while we were at practice and it came together. We like to start simple and then make the song better.
CONCRETE: Have you had any setbacks? RVG: Started in 2010, our plan was to record bits and pieces of the album individually, and then have Josia sing some so no one had to go in everyday. Unfortunately Eddy doesn’t have that luxury cause we have to have the drums done first, it’s the foundation. We are recording and we realize Josia is having some issues with breathing. So we figured just take some time off. We soon realized it wasn’t going to get any better. We were all in there days and days in a row, working literally 16 hours a day plus commuting, it was exhausting. We recorded ten songs and then realize Josia has to go to Nashville and have sinus surgery. So that’s’ done she recovers and we are back in the studio, she’s singing at like 110 percent. This is in March we rehearse and are ready to have her back recording in April. We call Brian Hood our producer and say we are ready. April 27th 2011 an F5 tornado goes straight through Russ’s (our manager) home and destroys all of our equipment. Russ calls and all he says is, “It’s gone everything is gone, I’m looking at it right now. There’s nothing left but center blocks.” We were just happy everyone was ok, other than that the stuff is replaceable. So, we were ready a few months later to go back in the studio and record. Get a call from the engineer and he says there is no easy way to say this but all your music is gone. It felt like the tornado all over again. His intern accidentally deleted the backups. Long story short, it’s better than ever and we got to record two more songs that weren’t on the original recording, “Fly” and “Black Rabbit Dream”. CONCRETE: What’s next for Rearview Ghost? RVG: We finally have our first album. All our music in the past was recorded in one day. We want to get our songs out there in movies, video games, and play shows. We are shopping with some major record labels as well. We want to do a Europe tour in 2013. CONCRETE: Any advice to industry newcomers? RVG: You are going to have to spend money to record your music. Just because a song is five minutes long, doesn’t mean you can record it in five minutes. Be prepared for anything to happen and understand that it is a business; make sure you have contracts and promotion. Don’t just copy someon else, stay true to yourself. Simply rock out and have fun with it. Support your local music scene.
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