GOLDEN TEACHERS: The Change from ANGELENO RECORDS is Blowin’ in the Wind

By Anthony Ewart

Music is different now. The most dramatic shift has been in hip-hop. The Sugar Hill Gang started it all with their party hit “Rappers Delight.” Blondie had the world dancing to her eccentric hip-hop narrative “Rapture,” but the The Furious Five released their somber, realistic portrayal of life in their hip-hop classic “The Message” and the genre switched gears. This song set the stage for rappers interested in songs about racism, drugs and social injustice. These artists were ultimately led back to the real foundations of hip-hop: the spoken poet Gil Scott Heron and the powerful writers of “The Last Poets.” In the beginning, these rappers learned, rhyme was about social change. This revelation led to the birth of culturally conscious rap groups, the most prominent being Public Enemy. The late 80s and early 90s saw this new racial and social awareness boom in hip-hop music, and then came the in-fighting, the diss tracks and the deaths.

Hip-hop is the only musical genre, with the possible exception of reggae, that has experienced such a mass level of fatalities and carnage among its artists. Whether it’s drug related or outright murder, the body count is tragically high. The rap scene is unrecognizable now. The only message delivered through mumble rap and derivative, cloned beats is materialism, narcissism and classism.

Angeleno Records is a conscientious hip-hop company stepping into a world at war around us, literally and figuratively. Hollywood has finally cannibalized itself and forced actors to strike, and with the scandalous amount of unpaid music royalties to artists in the recording industry musicians and singers may do the same. In all this chaos the youth of America are essentially standing on a conveyor belt, as in Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” slowly being dropped off into a meat grinder. Three boys who jumped off that conveyor belt at the last moment, dropping a shoe or two into the meat grinder, are Riggy Marz, El Diablo Beats and Sunny Darko, the founders of Angeleno Records. The name of their recording company is an homage to the city these men love, the City of Angels, where Riggy Marz and El Diablo Beats were born.

This is not a company with one mission, Angeleno Records has many missions, because these are Artists bringing back a care and concern for social injustice, or the harm we do to ourselves with drugs when we can’t deal with the stress of our lives or the situation we’re in. There are many ways to get on a conveyor belt to your death, addiction may be the quickest. Angeleno Records was born in the mind of rapper and former addict Riggy Marz, and his dream has finally come to fruition along with his sobriety.

ANGELENO RECORDS GOLDEN TEACHER (ONE): RIGGY MARZ

“In the end, the disease of addiction stripped almost everything from me. I almost quit music and the though of suicide seemed like a good idea. That’s when I started Angeleno Records, when I sobered up. I started writing a gratitude list with music and sobriety at the top, realizing I’m grateful for the good and bad because it makes me a better storyteller. As an Artist and Healer, what effect would I really have on people if I haven’t suffered through similar circumstances myself and survived? My nightmarish past has become my message and my most powerful tool in life.”

Bob Dylan was a contemporary of The Last Poets, and he was an advocate for standing up to oppression when he played folk music acoustically. That all changed when he switched to electric guitar, but a young Riggy Marz fell in love with that early Dylan. Songs like “Blowin’ in The Wind,” “The Times Are A Changin’,” and “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall.” Dylan’s lyrics inspired Riggy to write his own poetry. Hip-hop has always been an attractive force and soon Riggy’s poetry became rap verses. He developed his own rap style based on a deep love of words, but was lured by an equally powerful force: drugs.

Sunny Darko was living an almost identical life in Sacramento California. Like Riggy, Darko was passionate about poetry and hip-hop, and in his youthful exuberance to party he discovered a sleeping disease inside of himself: addiction.

ANGELENO RECORDS GOLDEN TEACHER (TWO): SUNNY DARKO

“I’ve survived drug addiction, betrayals of my closest friends, the loss of my father, as well as losing everything in a structure fire a year later. If there’s one thing I’ve learned you don’t know how strong you are until you know how strong you are. At the end of the day I just want to be a light for those still in the dark and to remind people to keep evolving, the possibilities are infinite.”

El Diablo Beats also grew up in Sacramento, and is considered by all a musical genius. He plays an assortment of instruments, including guitar, bass and most importantly for rappers, drums. El Diablo Beats completed the nucleus of Angeleno Records in the early days, creating a compelling trifecta of two rappers and a musical prodigy for their beats. One huge aspect that sets El Diablo Beats apart from many other beat makers is his vast knowledge of music. Rap, Rock, Blues, Folk, Heavy Metal, Punk, Country -- to El Diablo Beats, they’re all just different flavors he uses to create his incredible beats.

ANGELENO RECORDS GOLDEN TEACHER (THREE): EL DIABLO BEATS

“My goal as a music producer is to custom craft the desired soundtrack to any genre of music, while making a signature, timeless sound.”

Lyricist extraordinaire Blaze Aliaz moved from Miami to Sacramento and a trifecta of emcees was born when he met Riggy and Sunny Darko. It was clear Blaze was destined to be a rapper and he was recruited into Angeleno Records. At the innocent age of eight-years old Blaze’s Mother decided to buy music albums for him from a catalogue to keep his mind active. Unbeknownst to her the albums she chose were rap classics from the second Golden Age of rap, the 90’s. Like Riggy Marz and Sunny Darko, Blaze grew up identifying himself as a poet with high standards. A hip-hop connoisseur with a love for rhymes and phat beats, ready to make his literary mark in the pantheon of hip-hop music.

ANGELENO RECORDS GOLDEN TEACHER (FOUR): BLAZE ALIAZ

“If my verse doesn’t give me chills I won’t release it. It took my lifetime to get your attention. There is no time or words to waste.”

Deadbeat Donnie is originally from Akron, Ohio, and out of all the members of Angeleno Records seem s the most grateful to be able to give back to hip-hop all that he has received. I spoke earlier of the tragedy in hip-hop, but Deadbeat Donnie sees the good. He’s a beat maker, like El Diablo Beats, and like El Diablo Beats he’s historian of rap music. He recognizes that the world of hip-hop has given hope to kids as a means of selfexpression and self-identification. Rap is a genre that has produced legitimate artists, past and present. Deadbeat

Donnie joins Blaze in yearning to evolve the pantheon of hip-hop.

ANGELENO RECORDS GOLDEN TEACHER (FIVE): DEADBEAT DONNIE

“I would just like to give back the culture that made me. Now that I’ve found like-minded people with the same work ethic I believe together we really have something to offer.”

Angeleno Records is about shifting consciousness to reveal we are living in a dystopian society now.

Lyricist, Poet and Emcee, Sunny Darko, was heavily influenced by the majestic songwriting of Jim Morrison, legendary frontman for “The Doors.” Like Morrison, Sunny Darko has strong visions of a different world than we live in now. A world of harmony, love and respect. His medium of dissemination to transport to his ideal society is hip-hop music.

Riggy Marz is the little boy who fell in love with the powerful words and strong Melodie’s of Bob Dylan, and grew into a Titan, with the battle scars to prove it. The depths of the underworld Riggy Marz escaped would shock Dante Alighieri, the great poet of the “Divine Comedy,” or “ Dante’s Inferno.” The early life of Riggy Marz is a Quentin Tarantino movie far above any NC-17 rating by the motion picture association. Yet, from the wasteland of crime and drug addiction Riggy Marz survived. There had to be a reason.

Quentin Tarantino famously said he knew his life was protected while he was writing “Pulp Fiction” because he believed his film “had to be made.” He felt it was destiny, and he was right. “Pulp Fiction” did take the pantheon of film in a completely new direction. This rationale is the only logical reason Riggy Marz survived his vicious years of drug addiction. Angeleno Records was destined to come into existence.

Riggy Marz, Sunny Darko, El Diablo Beats, Blaze Aliaz and Deadbeat Donnie were fated to band together like brothers in war. As a team, a “Circle of Bosses,” as they refer to themselves, their Angeleno Records is a tornado blowing a steady, consistent stream of phat beats and messages of independent thought and self-empowerment in the wind. All you have to do is listen.