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issue 12
GuttaTV • Arkansas Bo • iamcj
words from the editor
Long live the south
issue 12
table of content
5 oN THE SCENE
Down South Music Review magazine has released twelve issues over the last 4 years. A lot of ups and downs, some high points and some discouraging ones. We started out to be a voice for any and all independent music artist anywhere in the mid south and over the years and highways its been scaled down to emphasis Arkansas hip hop artist first and anyone else secondary. that was a choice made by the support of the industry. With the increasing flexibility of the internet print forms of media have all felt the squeeze as the cost of doing business goes up and the participation (advertising dollars) has gone down. It is a challenge to stay grassroots and true to the sense of publications but we have continued to do just that. Of course you can find us on the web at www.issuu.com/ tcnewsstand, and some of our visual work on youtube. com/downsouthmusicreview but we prefer to keep it in print form as to respect the title of magazine. This issue is titled the black and white edition removing the color and getting straight down to the nitty gritty. on the cover features El Dorado’s own Rod D of SMG Entertainment. A consumant workaholic for branding Arkansas music and a leader in being both a artist and businessman. this is his second cover, the first he shared and now thanks to all the hard work he has put in he stands alone. this issue also contains a article on GUTTATV he is a one man promo team and his series of dvd’s showing how to get out on the road and network with those getting it is another testament to the work ethic of a Arkansan. Several album reviews and if you notice very limited advertising. That to was a factor in naming this issue the black and white. Entertainment is a business it has to be invested in so that all of the small details behind the scene can come out looking like a million bucks. there is a old wise saying that you get out of it what you put into it. I’ll leave it at that. you can follow me on twitter.com/lnorm the franchiZe and on facebook at the same lnormthefranchiZe. • 4
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6 Rod D:
Roots Run Deep or Dues Paid
9 aLBUM REVIEWS 10 GUTTA TV
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editor: Laron Norman designer: George Frederick Nash contributing photographers: photography work on number 11 was provided by RaH Howard we apologize for the omission of credit. coming soon www.dsmrmag.com The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily the opinions of the staff or the publisher of the Down South Music Review. The Down South Music Review makes no implied or expressed guarantee of accuracy in the information included within. copyright 2014. all rights reserved
ON THE SCENE
is a annual event held in Dumas, AR that draws thousands to the area to promote non-violence, peace and unity. It has also been a place where indie artist come to network and build their fanbase. 2014 marked the 10th anniversary of the event and at the end of the night it concluded with a concert with RAP-A-LOT RECORDS legend SCARFACE turning up the town. What party goers didn’t know was it was also the announcement that ARKANSAS BO was officially signed to FACES FACEMOB group, his hard work has not been going unnoticed and gives Arkansas a representative on a major label with majors money behind him. stay tuned to see what Arkansas Bo will bring to the table.•
ARKANSAS BO
A
long running indie event HOTTEST IN THE ROCK recently came to an end. ATEAM DJS and Tho’d Studios CEO D-DIRT have sponsored the event to give indie artist in Central Arkansas and consistent outlet for promotions, networking and stage time. After years and various locations the event concluded with a $500 prize along with the title. A new comer to the scene took it upon themselves to not only capture the crown and claim the prize but to do it in back to back months! RICH & PAID burst on the scene in 2014 and have not looked back. #SALUTE TO THE HOTTEST IN THE ROCK! •
E
EDUBB
RICH & PAID
very hiphop market has a pecking order. these usually consist of major successful artist and local legends at the top, established underground and currently popular groups second and everybody else looking to get in where they fit in after that. Little Rock is no exception and one of top dogs is now back on the scene. After finishing up some legal matters EDUBB has returned to the streets of little rock and is wasting no time getting back in the groove. immediately jumping on 607 remix of BLOCK MONSTER and spearheading the return of TALLGUY ENT’S TRAPPER OF THE YEAR AWARDS SHOW . No word on a release of album but best believe LR is glad to have him back and will be following his every move.• coming soon www.dsmrmag.com
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T
he Arkansas hip-hop genealogy tree has many extensions. Since the 1990’s what was once only a handful of sprouting bushes has grown to become a small forest. now noteworthy artist can be found in all four corners of the state that has produced some of the biggest names in entertainment. Much like the makeup of America itself the arkansas sound is a melting pot of trap music, crunk music, conscience rap, southern groove rap and even some bounce sounds. So many sounds shows the diversity of the growth and ever changing daily. In the 90’s, before the internet, the number of Arkansas rappers was small and often was limited to the small regions of 25-50 miles from their hometowns. Because back then technology was not what it is now and the cost to produce and promote an album where high many of acts that inspired to be , where forced to change and seek
other ways of earning a living, but their music spawned and out of it grew much of what we see today. One of the artist who started back in the day was Rock Island and Rod D. a street smart and business savvy young rapper who aspired for success by any means necessary. In 1999 the album, GRIND TILL WE SHINE by the EL DOGG HOGGS introduced southwest Arkansas to Rod D. The success and fan fair rom that release inspired the young hustler to push on full speed in an effort to make a name in the industry and put the state on the hiphop watch map. Mixtapes, cd’s , a radio shows, and club ownership all played a big part in effort to create the artist known as Rod D and the Region would take note. It wasn’t until the release of TALE OF 2 STATES which featured not only Dizzle but also Houston underground legend ESG that Texas and Central Arkansas began to take note.
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By the mid 2000’s Rod d had several projects in the rotation and the hustle to be able to travel between his hometown of El Dorado and Little Rock to build his brand under the name of SMART MOVES GANG ENT. poised for whatever the success Dizzle teamed up with a group fo young proteges and dropped KUSH under the name DCRG, in 2009 it was one of DSMR magazines top 10 cds of the year. Between 2011 and 2012 Dizzle also dropped half a dozen music videos and released with DJ RELL CHECK MY RESUME and NO DAYS OFF with nationally respected dj DJ SMALLZ Dizzle continued to set trends and blaze trails for others to follow by his example. on NO DAYS OFF it featured the hit SHE AIN’T RIGHT with DA ONE and later KEVIN GATES ON THE REMIX stayed in constant radio play throughout not only Arkansas but Louisiana, mississippi, Texas and Florida. This success also honored Dizzle with over 30,000 downloads of the album on www. datpiff.com further increasing his net value as a indie artist. To his credit with the success he has had a runs on the TRILL ENT’S FOXX-A-MILLION TOUR and headline DSMR’S HOMEGROWN TOUR, been featured on just about everyone working in arkansas like Rah Howard, K-Toomer ,DJ Yung Stylez and the list goes on and on. One of the main reasons Dizzle has outlasted many of those that began when or before him has been his approach to the game. In a conversation with Dizzle he explained how he has seen it all shady promoters and djs, self centered artist and producers, the love, jealousy and hate of friends and family. through it all he has continued to let his own ambition be the driving force for him and its that thing that has keep his name relevent and his roots deep and strong in the Arkansas music scene. Even now his teaming up with Power 92’s DJ CAINE to create HUSTLEBOYS DJS is opening doors for indie artist to get their music placed with majors an be on one of the industries rising hottest mixtape series. Its not hard to see in Dizzle the hard work and how the fruits of labor can be very rewarding to those who persevere. Its ya birthday BOSS!!! #SALUTE. • 8
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Album reviews
Best of the Best mixtape vol.1 by SouthSide Reggie- A name almost as recognizable in Arkansas as Ball Jones is SS Reggie. well known and loved in sw arkansas BEST OF THE BEST is a collection of some of his best music to date. 15 tracks with multiple producers if you never had a SS CD this one is definitely one to get. Reggie combines rap, blues and soul with alot of street game through his music making his a favorite when it come to something to ride to. #2 NO MA’AM, #7 ROLLING STONE and #8 WHAT ABOUT ME will have your hitting the favorite button and many of the other track you’ll find yourself in time singing along. to date no online options was available so unless you know somebody who knows somebody its going to difficult for this album to spread. which is unfortunate but thats the way of a Arkansas artist. #limited •
SMC BY SCALEBREAKER - If you don’t know you would have to ask..where is Waldo, Ar? its the home of one of Arkansas breakout artist in scalebreaker. 20 tracks mostly produced by Supa and Daddy Pup this album represents a street player turned artist opening up his diary and sharing with the world his story. #3 WHITE LADY, #9 GET HIGH,
#11 BACK ROADS, #15 YOUNG NIGGAS, #20 AOMG are some of the tracks on the cd that bring out the best in Scalebreakers southern slang and true to life stories of life in the street game. Time will tell how well the industry will receive breaker. The more fans see you the more they gravitate to your music , hopefully before he moves on to the next cd he can get out and promote this cd. it would be a shame to have some top flight fireworks and not light the fuse. •
crawfish and codeine 2 by DJ YUNG STYLEZ- A-TEAM DJ YUNG STYLEZ is one of the premier producers in the mid south. credit on numerous artist projects including Kevin Gates have made him highly sought out in the region. C&C 2 is the second installment of the compilation Stylez releases every year around his hometown of Dermotts annual community event. 24 tracks make up the project that includes exclusives from, Snootie wild, Migos, Mr. LV, SS Reggie and Gates. drops from Chalie Boy and several others make this cd definitely one you would want to have in your collection. www. djyungstlyez.com will give you everything you need to know aout Stylez and soon this cd will be available on datpiff.com like vol1. •
other mainstream artist they have to make music that is sexual and suggestive in content and usually over aggressive. characteristics that are the opposite of what we call a southern belle. the Beats Committee and a team of upcoming writers collaborated to create one of the best musical cds from a female artist in 2014. Outstanding balance between sexy, sophisticated, and class this album is a throwback to when music was truly about artistic expression. Chara is beautiful and talented and most of all all her music is believable. to combine a great stage show and this could be a album of the year. • Shades, Cocktails and the Morning Dew Intermissions by Tonites Entertainment the duo of King Akeem and Zii Dimensional introduced a twist to the normal southern rap album both artist are transplanted Arkansans but bring a full understanding of hiphop with VA and TN flavor. songs like 8BALLMJG, GOOD, FLATLINE give off the southern and GET CHOZE, DO YO THANG and SANITY show a great appreciation of hip hop music as a whole. Promotion, networking and footwork are the keys to success for indie artist lets see where this
#IAMCJ by Chara Jackson produced by the Beats Committee often female artist in the south get overlooked. To compete with coming soon www.dsmrmag.com
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gutta tv I n the words of trill ent’s Webbie, “ you gone be big!” if you’ve ever watched one of guttatv dvd’s you’ve heard that quote used. You gone be big can be the motivational phrase for every indie artist trying to make a mark in the music industry. the chance to get paid night in and night out, travelling the country and having their image on every media source in the world. Webbie though was speaking in reference to Little Rock’s own D.A. of Guttatv. A original member of the rap group Souf-n-Gutta for the last five years he has designed a formula for breaking out of the stereotypical role of most Arkansan hip hop artist. Not confining himself to just central Arkansas, DA picked up a camera and his using his Hustler’s mentality has gotten close with major and mid major artist all over the country, Webbie, Waka Flocka, Future, Lil Phat and Lil Boosie just to name a few, DA has established connects from Los Angeles to Miami and everywhere in between and has done it rocking his signature LR hats. thanks to Guttatv the world knows Arkansas has talent and has people close to the action, so close that when Lil Boosie was released from Prison Little Rock was one of
his first stops! If you’ve not been in the loop check his youtube numbers nearly 10 million views with footage from just about everybody that currently matters in the rap game and again he does it rocking a LR (Little Rock) fitted or snapback hat. In addition to producing his own series of dvds to break artist into the industry and promoting major concert venues, DA is also expanding into movie production and recently began managing artist. Starting with Pine Bluff’s ESIDE SHAWTY who’s first single STREET LOVE was a underground hit, but with GUTTA connection got Lil Boosie on the remix and now its rising on radio in several key markets making them a team on the rise. many artist say they working but it only takes a quick check of their social media pages to see that most of the others artist ae talking about making moves but Guttatv really is making moves. thanks to technology the old saying, “fake it till you make it” can no longer be a viable means of building up a fanbase. it now take visual proof and the numbers to match...its a good thing Guttatv is out showing ‘em how it should be done! •
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North Little Rock’s Hustler of decade.... with 4 pressed up mixtapes and the Gold Album ...Czr has sold thousand’s of units straight out the trunk of his car...legal cream is what he’s known and respected for ...with the streets receiving his blessings hand to hand , Czr has elavated his distribution to the worldwide net.. facebook, youtube , reverbnation, vimeo, etc under Julius Czr ...self proclaimed the Heir 2 tha throne is making new avenues to make his conquer...Julius Czr C.E.O MoneyOvaMoney Productions jczr.julius070@gmail.com