1 Birds Over Arkansas
Queens City
whole lot more than just music
Velly Marsh talks about his political views, life lessons, and the events around him that affected his life
{
Olivia Gilmore
currently working on recording an album
Ryan Drews
military background and passion for writing makes him a stand-out artist
ADVERTISE WITH US PAGE 13
{
Justin Jay Beats one of the most top-selling producers online
Maliachigh found his inspiration to be a rapper from his talents as a writer
2
content SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER '14
Cover Maliachigh "I started rapping and recording my freshmen year of college even though I was writing rhymes since grade school" Birds Over Arkansas You’ll savor every moment
Interview with Maliachigh
page 14
page 4 Justin Jay Beats
Hip hop producer from Lakewood, California.
page 10
Kids & Guns by John Glynn
page 22
3 Ogm Staff CEO-EDITOR – Curtis Stokes PUBLISHER – Stokes Publishing PRESIDENT – Ife VICE PRESIDENT – Jeremy Golphin MEDIA CORRESPONDENT – Tiah Coffey PUBLIC RELATIONS – Lashawn Walls GRAPHIC DESIGNER – Alina Zakirova HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK. COM/OGMMAGAZINE @OVAGROUNDMOGUL WWW.OVAGROUND MOGUL.COM
Photography Ryan drews – SamanthaGrace Photography Justin – Photography by "The Squadron" Olivia – both taken by Darryl Dwayne of remix image consulting. Velly Marsh – Chrystina Schwartz (Christina Verum Photography) BOA – All photos by Keyvan Behpour except BOA_AMH by Kristin Mondick Maliachigh – Maloian Photography
Contributing Writers John Glynn Curtis Stokes
Velly Marsh
An underground emcee who spits that real hip hop which talks about his political views, life lessons, and the events around him that affected his life.
page 8 Ryan Drews Military background and passion for writing makes him a stand-out artist
page 20
Olivia Gilmore Currently working on recording an album
page 18
4
5
Birds BirdsOver OverArkansas Arkansas
6
Birds Over Arkansas
Website: birdsoverarkansas.com facebook.com/birdsoverarkansas info@birdsoverarkansas.com
7 Birds Over Arkansas formed in 2011 when Scott Haskitt, Laura Hartshorn, and John Mondick discovered that the product of their musical experimentations was greater than the sum of its parts. Although they reside in different states (Scott and Laura live in New Haven, CT, while John lives in Philadelphia, PA), they continued their long distance collaboration after realizing that the spark of creativity and collaboration they had forged could not be duplicated by working on their own or with other musicians. Drawing from influences such as Peter Gabriel, Ryan Adams, Tom Petty, Pink Floyd, and Yes, their music infuses heartfelt lyrics, infectious melodies, and complex rhythmic structures to create compelling and moving songs that are the antithesis of today’s manufactured pop music.
“In the writing process, we started realizing that we had these really fun initial ideas, often kind of quirky and unorthodox, and then we would just edit and massage them down until they sounded like everything else. It was really frustrating, sort of killing our own ideas. So we started doing the opposite; shining a light on the quirky bits from sessions and junking the normal sounding stuff. Eventually, those left turns started to make sense in their own way”.
Their music has already garnered critical acclaim from fellow musicians, music industry professionals, and fans across the United States: We live in strange times where being in a band implies a whole lot more than just music. Birds Over Arkansas are a rare group who prove great playing, great sounds, great songs and great people still can be all you need for truly great music.
Brian McTear / Weathervane Music, Miner Street Recordings
Sweet and melodic, with complex orchestrations and tightly layered harmonies, listening to Birds Over Arkansas is like sitting down to a delicious meal. You’ll savor every moment.
Music & Mayhem
Birds Over Arkansas have a great song here..."Lay Down Tonight". What a beautifully performed vocal, and wonderful backing track. I'm singing along and loving it!!!...Being a huge Beatle fan, I instantly fell in love with the vibe of this song. It reminds me so much of a John Lennon creation. BRAVO !!!! Joe Vitale / CSN, Eagles, Dan Fogelberg, Peter Frampton
They released their debut EP, “Behind The Lights”, on June 30, 2014. “Behind The Lights “features four new tracks that highlight BOA’s ability to integrate complex time signatures with singer/songwriter sensibilities.
8
Velly Marsh Anthony Marshall aka Velly Marsh is a 21 year old underground Emcee from Sacramento, CA, and a current student at American River College. By day he is Anthony Marshall an Audio Engineering student who is taking classes for his Associates of Art degree. By night he's Velly Marsh, an underground emcee who spits that real hip hop which talks about his political views, life lessons, and the events around him that affected his life. "#FeelMe" is the dubut EP released February 22nd, 2014. This 5 track album is an introduction to who he is and what we can expect. Unlike most young rappers Velly can be described as more of an introspective and socially aware emcee, which contributes heavily to his sound. In fact, one can say he has the mind of an activist with his desire to create change. Hip hop played the role of a teacher in his younger years, due to parents not being around all the time. With that being said, Velly has a mission to help others with music like it did for him. Throughout his life, he describes himself as an outcast for not following trends from peers and steering away from the norm. Influences in his career include Tupac, Immortal Technique, Rakim, and Da Grassroots. New school artist such as Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, and Jay Rock are who he looks up to in the game today. Although he follows big names in the industry, the underground remains his strongest influence. Listening to unsigned artist is a daily obligation. Outside of music he enjoys sports, fashion, learning, traveling, and deep intellectual conversations. Also has a strong admiration for art in any form; Like graffiti, dance, and photography. If you want change in our music we need to support artist like Velly, they are future of real hip hop's survival.
https://vellymarsh.bandcamp.com https://soundcloud.com/vellymarsh https://www.facebook.com/vellymarsh https://mobile.twitter.com/vellymarsh
9
10
Justin Jay Beats Justin Jay Beats is an up and coming hip hop producer from Lakewood, California. He had spent five years in the Philippines to focus on his production away from the distractions from back home. Justin Jay is now one of the most top-selling producers online and has sold over 1000 beats. Here is a first hand look of how he came to be: Every week we would listen to a different album in the morning while getting ready for school. Everything was straight hip hop starting from Gang Starr to the Fugees, Nas and the Firm, I even remember bumping Busta Rhymes all day not even really understanding the words. From then on, I knew I was all about hip hop and without having the slightest clue about the culture yet. There was only one problem, everyone in my school was basically into rock and roll and actually went out of their way to dislike hip hop. I remember we had this friend that would car pool with us every morning. He almost convinced me to quit hip hop forever and just listen to Bush and Nirvana. I tried forcing myself to dislike hip hop from the fourth grade up until the eighth grade. Now that's another form of peer pressure that is not usually talked about. I was probably in the worst identity crisis during those times, secretly listening Master P and other No Limit songs when I was by myself. Yeah, I was into No Limit in the sixth grade! By then, my cousin had gotten arrested for theft and was sent to stay with a different relative. If he could know how much he influenced me musically growing up, I know it would've inspired him to work within hip hop as well. It wasn't until the middle of eighth grade in 2000 that I stopped caring what people think. I started just doing whatever I wanted. The reason for my change in attitude was because I was starting to get bullied by my former friends because of my over-inflated ego. I was a pretty bad ass skateboarder at the time and it got to my head, so I got taken down a few notches. I realized my ways so that taught me to be humble. Also, I was getting into underground hip hop because of Kazaa. Thanks to Kazaa and hip hop forums, I learned about all kinds of artists and really got into lyricism. I would say the Anticon crew was my main influence during those times. I learned about other artists through association. For example if Sage Francis had a feature with another artist, I would search all the songs of that artist and the cycle would continue like that until I discovered the forums. If it wasn't for Kazaa, I wouldn't know anything about hip hop. It was thanks to that file sharing site that I was able to acquire all the music that inspired me.
So a few years pass and I'm heavy into underground hip hop. I just loved everything about the music from the lyricism to the beats. My goal every day would be to find at least one song that had dope rhyming and a dope beat. Usually it's either one or the other but I would always search for my preferred gems. One thing that was catching my ear at the time was scratching. Every time a song would have scratching, I would instantly think of my own patterns that I would do instead. I actually wanted to make beats too but I had no idea where to start. For the longest time I did not know most hip hop producers used samples, I always thought everything was composed from scratch. It didn't really cross my mind too much as I had other things going on as a teen. By the tenth grade, one of my good friends I hadn't kept in touch with since the eighth grade invited me over to his house to chill. That was the first time I had seen a pair of turntables in real life. I knew right away I needed a pair. He was into mixing drum and bass so that's where I learned more about the whole rave scene and culture. I learned that turntables were used for other things besides scratching in hip hop tracks. In fact, I also learned about the whole scratching and turtablism scene and fell in love with the whole culture and idea. All my life I wanted to be a part of hip hop and with my first pair of turntables, I actually felt like I was. I remember having to do all the chores around the house for a whole summer before my parents bought me my first set up. I also remember the old amplifier and speaker my dad's friend gave me because his son was also a DJ. I didn't have any mentors because all the Dj's in my area pretty much only mixed jungle and drum and bass. I was basically the only DJ who was repping hip hop in my town and damn proud of it. I was also getting into mixing jungle so I was becoming more musically inclined with each piece of new knowledge or new track that I discovered. By the time I graduated high school in 2004, I was very confident in my scratching but was never able to join any competitions. It wasn't until I met my mentor, Snyder
11 Productions in 2006, that I started even producing. He hung out with us one night because he was a friend of a friend. He brought his beats over on a CD and we listened to them. They sounded like Scott Storch and Dr. Dre beats. I was really into hip hop instrumentals but his were different and were composed with synths and vsti's. He had a few sampled beats there but all were mostly composed. As we started to hang out with him more at his place, I was motivated to try out production. I was familiar with FL Studio because a friend in high school gave me a pirated copy. I never got too into it back then but I'm glad that I kept the CD. I'm have a very competitive nature so I wanted to join his league of producing. I felt it was another way to become closer to hip hop. I even remember my first beat; it was only drums, bongos, and the stock bass in FL Studio. I was nervous to let the guys hear it for the first time but when they did, they sensed the potential in me. From then on, Snyder would give me tips every time I brought over a new beat. It started becoming a daily thing with us; I would come over every other day with a new beat and he would give me tips on how to improve it. I still balanced it with scratching for the longest time as I was heavy into the turntable culture as well. In 2007, I took a vacation with my family to the Philippines. I enjoyed the stay so much that I decided to live there. Roughly 7 months into my stay, I had my computer and turntables shipped from my home in California to the Philippines. That's when I took my production to a higher level. When I was still back in Cali, I didn't have time to practice my production because I was always out of the house and not as focused with music. I did music but not at the scale that I'm doing it now. It all started with this Nina Simone sample I had wanted to flip for the longest time. After spending almost 24 hours to complete the beat, I was surprised that it came out just as I imagined. That gave me the confidence I needed to keep producing. I also learned that flipping samples would be my forte. In 2009, I joined a huge beat battling website called Rocbattle. There I refined my skills and learned advanced techniques from other top producers. I even showed my mentor, Snyder Productions, the site. We both learned a lot about style from Rocbattle. That is also where I sold my first beat. I was actually amazed and excited to see that on my profile one day. I only produced as a hobby and really did not expect that anyone would like my beats enough to buy one. I joined a couple production crews on that site and really fell in love with the whole culture
12 and community of producers. It was also where I had met, Love'le Musiq, the man who would again change my outlook on beats forever. I remember it like it was yesterday when he asked me, "Have you ever thought of seriously selling beats for a living?" I did not believe this guy at all until he broke it down for me one day and showed me step by step how to incorporate marketing with music. I didn't even know people sold rap beats online outside of Rocbattle. So I took my paypal money that I earned from selling all my jungle records and invested in myself. By 2010, I had a huge catalog of beats that I produced to battle on Rocbattle as my product. I then purchased a subscription to myflashstore.net and had a page on Love'le's website. When I earned my first $1000, it gave me the was motivation to stay in the beat game. I learned that producers don't only work in the entertainment industry and that marketing plays a crucial role as a producer. It's not only a way to find a targeted market of certain artists but an avenue to market myself in a way that people would want to hire me as their go-to guy for hip hop instrumentals. Since then, I have sold over 1000 beats to artists all over the world and learned the ethics of music marketing and business. I have learned how to network properly which has helped me create connections that not only benefits me but also the culture of hip hop. Living off music as a producer is not impossible, it's about being creative and knowing where and how to use your talents. I would've never known about any of this if it wasn't for the people around me. I'm sure I wouldn't have been producing beats if it wasn't for Snyder Productions and I would never have known that selling them was feasible if it wasn't for Love'le Musiq. The scratching community gave me an identity in hip hop and Kazaa showed me an array of underground artists. Now for my roots, if it wasn't for my cousin playing 90's hip hop every morning, I probably wouldn't have been influenced by by the truest form of hip hop. I always think back on all my influences because I never want to forget where I came from and the people who helped me get there. These days, I'm more focused with my close artists that have been working with me for years. I really appreciate them sticking with me for so long because it lets me know that we share similar tastes and styles which all contributes back to the hip hop culture. I've always wanted to be a part of hip hop since elementary school; now I am a walking embodiment of the culture and will be until I die. I always sit back and imagine myself at 60 years old listening to Eminem and Nas, still rocking T-shirts and basket ball shorts, and still sitting behind a computer either listening or producing new music.
13
ADVERTISE LIKE MOGUL WWW.OVAGROUNDMOGUL.COM
14
15
Maliachigh
16
Q&A When did you first start rapping? I started rapping and recording my freshmen year of college even though I was writing rhymes since grade school. What did your family do to encourage you? My family wanted me to be a sportscaster so I pushed myself to finish school at Howard University and get my bachelors in broadcast journalism. Who are your musical inspirations? Kanye West, Nas, Nappy Roots, Kendrick Lamar, and Three 6 Mafia What kind of music do you listen to today? Lately I’ve been listening to YG, Juicy J, Robb Banks, Black Kray, and Young Thug. What embarrassing songs might I find on your MP3 player? Nothing really embarrassing I do listen to a lot of underground music like Xavier Wulf, Chris Travis, Bones Pouya, Denzel Curry etc. What hidden talents do you have? I can play basketball and I'm also learning more about fashion and clothes so I’ve been thinking about starting to style someone soon. Do you enjoy writing music and/or lyrics? Yes. I like free styling and writing. Both are dope Do you have anything big coming up for your latest projects? I'm looking for the sexiest and freakiest girls to send clips to be in my new music video it can be classy or ratchet. Just want a turnt up video with beautiful women from all over the world.
17
Maliachigh Howard University has been an unofficial education institute mecca for the hip-hop community. Mentioned in multiple songs for its infamous homecoming and beautiful women, it isn’t farfetched for Howard to spit out a recent graduate and aspiring rapper from Indianapolis. Maliachi Broadwater, known as Maliachigh, is the front man for Zombie Gang. Maliachigh started rapping during his freshman year at Howard and quickly started making music with underground artist such as Raider Klan, SkipRage, and Kris Kasanova. With no formal music training, Maliachigh found his inspiration to be a rapper from his talents as a writer. Being a product of the Howard University experience coupled with being influenced by heavyweights such as Kanye West, Nas, and 3 6 Mafia, Maliachigh’s music is filled with lyrics about partying and having a good time in the way most of the younger generation can relate to. Maliachigh’s motivation as a rapper is to always focus on improving and to be better than the day before. When rapping and writing lyrics isn’t taking up his time, Maliachigh also models for various street wear brands. After releasing a mixtape called the All Seeing KY and The Triple 6 EP, Maliachigh will be shooting the next season of the Real World during the summer. Maliachigh has been a long time fan of the show and wants to use the show and MTV to help promote his future mixtapes and albums.
18
Olivia Gilmore Naturally Olivia has been singing from the time that she could speak. Her first solo performance was at age 5 and she had her first recording session at age 8, recording a jingle in her father's home studio.
Olivia Gilmore was born and raised in Hollis, NY to a family comprised of mostly musicians. Naturally Olivia has been singing from the time that she could speak. Her first solo performance was at age 5 and she had her first recording session at age 8, recording a jingle in her father's home studio. From there Olivia went on to record background vocals for Gospel artist Nancey Jackson on her single "Free (yes I'm free)" and even performed live jazz at P Diddy's restaurant "Justin's" at age 16. As an adult Ms Gilmore recently began pursuing a professional musical career in 2012 when she released her debut single "Over It". Since then, she has had the privilege of sharing the stage with Russell Simmons, Salt of Salt N Pepper, Fred Da Godson and many other up and coming artists like herself. In 2013 Olivia released the single 'G Lovin" and has recently released another hot single " Matrix" in March 2014 and is currently working on recording an album. Ms Gilmore's music can be heard on a variety of blogs, radio shows, online publications and mixtapes across the US & UK as we'll as many sold out clubs & restaurants in the tri-state area.
For all business inquiries or to find out more about Olivia Gilmore see contact info below: http://soundcloud.com/olivia-gilmore www.reverbnation.com/oliviagilmore /Ms.OliviaGilmore bookoliviagilmore@gmail.com /MsOliviaGilmore /MsOliviaGilmore
19
20
Ryan Drews Los Angeles native Ryan Drews, a songwriter and artist, started writing music at the young age of nine years old. Writing is a skill that came easily to him so he did it for fun. Throughout his years he has filed notebook after notebook with lyrics. Inspired by personal events I his life but most of his songs are influenced by the musical background. Not to be fooled by his voice, lyrics and pretty boy features Ryan Drews was a troublemaker in school. Constant fights resulted in him being sent to Belize at age 11 to live with his grandmother for a few years. While in Belize is when he became in touch with his voice. Participated in talent shows and headlining at local beauty pageants. At the age of 17, Ryan joined the United States Navy. For most people the military would put their dreams to a halt but not Ryan Drews. He immediately found a studio while stationed in Hawaii. However the military still became an obstacle when deploying him to Afghanistan in 2010 instead of losing motivation he used this time to practice more writing. Eventually he was stationed in San Diego, CA and picked up where he left off with his music. Ryan Drews Started recording for his debut independent album titled “Satisfied” in late 2011 and was released in January 2014. The album Satisfied is laced with 12 amazing and well written tracks, demonstrating his writing talent even further having written every song on the album. Satisfied features R&B, Soul, Pop, and Club records. Having written every song on the album, he will be introduced to the world as a talented songwriter AND artist. Ryan Drews’ military background and passion for writing makes him a stand-out artist in the industry bringing a strong work ethic and putting his all presenting his talents to the masses. His musical influences are R. Kelly, Ginuwine, Usher, Tyrese and Trey Songz.
21
22
KIDS by John Glynn
GUNS
23
A
rizona, the 25th of August, 2014- A 9-yearold girl accidentally shoots an instructor dead with an Uzi, a truth that is as shocking as it is saddening. Any person with a conscience should be asking the following; What the hell is a fourth-grader doing shooting an Uzi, and how is this even legal? Without wanting to appear patronizing, the poor girl is surely inconsolable. Considering her age, it is obvious that the girl cannot be held accountable, but who should be? Who in their right mind actively encourages a child to fire a submachine gun? Just an hour from the gambling global mecca that is Las Vegas, the gun range regularly caters to thrill seeking tourists, many of whom are lovers of high-powered weapons. Inexplicably, gun laws in the most powerful and influential country in the world — those relating to minimum What the hell especially legal age requirements for both the is a 4-grader firing of and actual possession of a doing shooting gun — are borderline farcical. an Uzi, and how Essentially, while federal law largely is this even legal? forbids a person under the age 18 owning a handgun, there is absolutely no minimum age for rifle and shotgun ownership. Does that sound sane to you? From Montana to Illinois, along with the District of Columbia, twenty states have implemented their own minimum age laws, while in the remaining 60% US states, oddly, it’s technically legal for an elementary student to possess and fire a phenomenally powerful, long-range gun. The recent Arizona shooting comes not long after a 5 year old boy from Kentucky shot and killed his sister. The gun used in the two year olds death was a .22-caliber, single-shot Crickett rifle. This rifle is specifically designed for young kids & was actually given to the boy as a gift, and although the family say they did not realize it was loaded, the whole affair reflects badly and sadly on the state of the USA, a country that is supposed to demand respect like no other. The Crickett, manufactured by Keystone Sporting Arms, a Pennsylvania-based business, is the follow up to the deceptively named Chipmunk rifle. Additionally,
according to their website, the business regards itself as the “leading rifle supplier in the youth market,” as if this a commendable achievement. Charles Vacca, the Arizona based instructor who was shot by this Israeli-made 9mm submachine gun, died in a nation where federal law prohibits minors from owning the pistol version of the gun, however, no absolutely no federal restrictions apply to the rifle ver- minimum age for sion. Why aren't the laws unequivocally rifle and shotgun designed to protect children from acci- ownership dental shootings of this nature, instead of just partially? This prevalent mindset in some parts of the U.S. of "there's nothing wrong with kids firing guns" is as strange as it is dangerous. Let's remember one thing; Vacca did not fall victim to a shotgun, he fell victim to a fully automatic machine gun, one capable of firing 600 to 650 bullets in under 60 seconds. As this Uzi is designed by the Israeli army, it is designed to be fired by a soldier in a life or death scenario, not a child who has a few hours "free time" in the afternoon. While many military personnel struggle to initially control this weapon, is it any surprise that it leapt out of the child's hands? Obviously, the girl is not to blame; it's the parents and Vacca who should a matter of time receive the blame. As callous as it may before anothseem to condemn a dead man, an in- er person losses structor should not be allowing a child their life fire an Uzi. A few years ago, sadly, under the supervision of his father, an 8 year old boy also fired an Uzi at a Massachusetts gun show. Unsurprisingly, the gun kicked up, and the child shot himself in the head. Even after this travesty, Massachusetts decided to retain the same law that contributed to the boy being allowed handle and fire the powerful firearm, and chances are that Arizona will take a similar stance. As an outsider, an Irishman, looking in, the US must reevaluate its legislation, otherwise it is only a matter of time before another person losses their life in the most needless of manners.
There is
It is only
24