SAVNA (Vol. I No. 4.75)
Publis her: Gorilla Grind Des ign & Production Ed itor in Chief / Crea tive Di rcc t ol~ 'Icny L March Managing Editor/ Art ist Hclalio ns: Lany J. I-liguc ra.Jr.
Advertisi ng: Marketing Di rcc lOl~ Bola S. Khouri
I~ r
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CO lllri buting Writers: Tc rl)l .'\'la rch, Lany i-ligucra
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Something Different... Our Novcmhclj Dcccmhc r isslie W<lS sct to be Ollr lifth issue thus 1;11-, puning us cleve n months into runn ing SavNation and working to expose the world 10 th e talellt in the NOllh \ ,Vest! Ho\\'e"e r, here at SavNation we've decided to mix things up a hit and \'eer on-the B i~Monlhly routine and do something dillc rclll! The Month of December wi ll In;lIl the completion of our lirst year with SavNation so we wan led to do something special and hit ollr rc'ldcrs wit h a special teaser issue lor November & a special one year anniversary isslie for December! For thi s, ollr Novem be r isslie SavN ation focu sed on three great artists (i'om th e Northwes t! For our lCaturc story we linked up with olle of POl1lands most active playe rs, Mighty! This artisl has becn putting ill SO ll1e se rious \wrk lor the last lew years and recently prei<mned live
011
BET's
106 & Park! \,Vit h a de bul solo .dbum just released, wc ICit it was a great time to tell the world about Mighty!
Unlillhc North \Vcst Blows Up!
Terry Mardi
What brought YOLI to music, how did your start? Growing up m )'
mOIll
liste ned
10
YOLI
get
a 101 of rock so the
initial introducrioll was through ba nds like I-learl,
& Roses I mean the li st goes o n and 011. Howeve r, m y god !;Ilhe r who rap , hip ho p, I conside r m y uncle was a huge !;Ul
AC/ DC, Kiss, Led Ze ppelin ,
GUllS
or
amazes me till thi s day. ( cou ld sit and chop it up about thi s all week yo, these are by bu' the two who in flu e nced me the most though.
You r album released on Friday Nov. II dl ( 11 / II / II ) is called "One Way Ticket" ca n you explain what that concept mea ns to you?
r&b, and soul so I go t to sec hoth sides of the spec-
Yes! Yes il did! My d ehut solo albuml First ofl', to all
tru m al a ve ry young age , leading me to quile a unique
th e reade rs make sure you go grab a copy, or two, or
playlisl during m y chi ldhood. As !;lr as where I got m y
fi ve or Iwe nly .. .1 0 be real though, I fe el li ke Ih is album is a c ulm ination of everything I wanted to
stal1 with Illll sic, I feel it ste mllled from Ill)' inte rest in
a form of podry and with that , I began to dabble in
release throughout Ihe ye;lrs. T he a lhum I-itle "O lle \ 路Vay Ticke l" actuall y ste mmed from the song "One \ 路Vay Ticket" ;lIld how ( was feeling du ring the process
writing lyrics. Leaving
the bac k o f school
of writing it. I had al ready recorded a Ill<\jority of the
tests, napkins, scrap pape r, homework, you name it I wrote on il.
tracks fo r the album a nd o nl y nee ded a fe w more.
read ing and writing as a kid - the n <t he r liste ning to more and more hip hop I started to re alize lhat it was Ill )'
mark
011
Yo u have been writing music for 10 years, how do you find your inspiration?
The n olle day whi le I was 011 m y way 10 work, I hea rd the he;ll and instantl y I was like "damn, Ih is is m y one way ti cket " then as th e idea blossomed I realized how powerful that state ment is, and how il em bod ies the
ivlan , inspiration is such a powe rful tool in creating. I
feeling o f going al l out! G iving it eve rythi ng you Ilave!
feel like Inost of mine comes from life ex pe rie nces,
You know Ih al feeling of neve r com ing bac k. Then the second I fi ni shed the record I kll ew it was th e tide
past e ncoun te rs with love, and the urge to be innovative and seen as a breath of fi'esh air with mu sic in gene ral. My conce pts te nd
10
of the
pr~j e cl,
I j ust knew ...
have some sort of twist
to the m, wh ich ( th ink also comes from m y in te rest in books when ( was younger.
You have been on BErS 106th & Park, can yo u tell us how that ca me abo ut, a nd share with us what that experie nce was like?
For o ur readers, tell us who a re some of your past and present influences? I gOl on the show through a rigorou s auditi o ning and still Vel) ' influe ntial. First is Jay-Z, I love how he
process. It all started whe ll I caughl wiml a bout the opportun ity through a Ij'ie nd of mine in the bay area
a lways steps to a record with d e pth, delive ring something you ca n li ste n to a million times over and con-
who was actuall y 0 11 the same show. She said d ley we re holding audition s in LA and that I should rea lly
tinue to find hidde n messages. H e's in flu ential on the
look into it. I fle w oul with J ai (my manager) and
business sid e of things as we ll; I see his stOl1' as pure
ano the r one of he r altists. I we nt in con fide nl , and
insp iration. Anothe r one is Emine m , one ofthe best
ready 10 give it m y all. T 'he judges to ld me they really liked wha l I had to olle r hU I said I had to work on my
iVl osl of m y influe nces fl'om the past are still prese nt
to ever do it - Ihe l-,'1.ly is fl at ou t incred ibl e. ( love how he a lways raises the bar lyri call y while staying
breathing a nd stam ina, the y sa id I can't be e lle rg'etic
e xtr e mely relevant, something that isn't easy to do in
on stage lor a little whi le the n di e o Ullowards Ihe e nd.
this industry. Hi s innovative delivery and wordplay
\ 'Vhich was great feed back, I made sure to apply it SAVU. . I$$I:_U/. 11 1
and II)' again in Sacramento a lew months later. I rail on lreadmi lls, it::amcd seve r;t! breathi ng exercises and just ove rall improved my perfo rmance. However, I
rising... and th en all of sudden he says my name. The lee ling that was ru shing through Ill}' bod y at that moment was incredihle .. . the rest is hi story.
switched till.:: sO llg - this time the judges said I killed thc pcrlo nnancc but d idn't have thc best song cho il:c lo r tckvisioll (Ano th er IC;lrning mo me nt, yet a great ex periellce fo r networking and building re btio llships) . Alier Sacra me nto, they we rc hcading herc to Portland and I knew that if I dealt my Gmls right I could possi bly make it here hased on lhe expe rience alier lh e other auditio ns, it being my hometown , which makes it h'l'e;lt fo r noml SUppOl1 and moral and b st but no t lcast - it would be perlect if I m;u!c it in fro nt of m~' fri ends ;lIul famil y. I stepped out o nlhe stage lilal day and held no prisoners, as the song end s and the crowd crupt s it just feels right. Feeling great about Ill y chances hcl()re I know it, its decision time . The judges t'a lk, a few ;ll: ls get picked, lhe suspe nse is 12IUYUn. IS$I(fMn/4
You have wo rked alongside an impressive line up rro m Yo ung Dru 'to Pit Bull, how do you keep it all in perspective? Man, just re mind ing myself c\'cryday that what I ha\'c is a blessing fro m the man upstairs - lhat in itself usuall y keeps e\'el)1.hing in pcrspective. As br as the career, I am always looking to get bener whelh er ilS working harde r, brainstorming more, expalldillg my network o r jllst simply perfecting the (rali. At th e end o l't hc day l lccll ike lil e grind speaks lor itscl fI 'mjusl tila 11 kfll I 10 have worked with such inuedible arti sts.
Whal are some of the things you would change about the music scene in the North "Vest as well as the music industry in general?
mlllimum of 20 sc hool s in every state. All of th e arti sts involved voluntee r the ir time and we arc not allowed to promote ourselves while at th e sc hools. vVe all d o it lor the kids and not to push our music on the m. The <lItists currently involved besidcs mysel f
I feci like everyone who is asked this question always
are, Roule tte Dcl'Gato, New Zoo Boyz, One Kahleo,
says support. Howeve r, I feel like the artist out here
Haifa, Lance Edward s, Yung Mil , Rose Be nt, Ngalula
do su ppo rt - sOllle mo re than others but that's under-
Dodie r, Aiyasia Lyrics, Blacque BuLLe ril y, Horizun,
standable . I'm more o n the Lip
or product develop-
ment and innovative marketing. Li ving in a day where
we call access our !;lvorite song, by an y artist, at anytime, an}'lvhcre - as indic ;utists \VC ha ve to give the consumer a reason to choose us over the chart
topping arti sts. As a region we have to give more atte ntion to how we market and promote ourselves in order to gel the music oul there, to the consumer, in more creative and convenie nt ways. T'lie music industry as a whole is pre tty interesting, I li ste n to the direction of radio and key main stream outlets pretty o rlen and I can see why it's so saturated and watered down. \ 'Vhen the re's a dc mand lor music like that, it will sell. On the other hand , not all indu stry music is dumbed down , big ups to every artist that is on the m;~jor level pushing the creative e nve lo pe and lor thosc in the town doing the samc .
2.0, Marcus Hadnot does vidco lor us, Brigit Eppy does our pholob'Taphy and shares he r
SLQI )"
and Elle
J o ncs also does pho tography and did the website. I cannot lorge t the people behind the sce nes Bree Maxh eimcr, C rystal Peacock and my manage rJavonnie. IL amazes me how impactful what we do is, how hungry these kids are to just be heard. I love bei ng a part of so me thing so positivel Don 't complain about the future when you can change it.
Do yo u have any advice ror up and coming artist that are still finding their way in this business? Think outside the box, find your niche, take pride in proiessionalism, Glpil'alize on all oppOitunity and always rc mc mber there is anoth e r you o ut thc re working h'lrd er. Do n't ever slow up, its way too close to slopping.
You take time out of your busy schedule to give back thm your work through the 路Up And Over Tour" can you tell LIS what the tour does, and who else is involved with it? Yea! Shoutoutto my U pAndOve r tour finn!! Th e "U p And Over T o ur" is a pe rformance based moti va tional tour where handpic ked ;ntists share their story with youth as a way to inspire th e m to get " up and over" the ir obstacles. vVe do a two day sessio n with the lirst day being our workshops where we e ngage the kids and encourage the m to share their
What can we expect Ii-om Mighly in 20127 Ending 20 11 with "One \ 'V ayT'ickct" cou ld only mean 2012 is go nna be a great ycar!! Man , I re me mbe r 1.lst year at thi s same time I was I.elling myself I would 1ll.lke leaps and bounds in my solo caree r, and with the grace of the lllan upstairs it has exceedcd my cx peclations. I know 2012 will bring a slew of more prqjccts, tons of new creativity and poss ibl y and an albulll on 12.12.12 IE]
le al'S, their goal s and anything else th ey feel co mpelled to share. The se('ond day is the performance based presentation whe re we mingle in pe rio nnances with o ur pe rsonal stories. vVe arc d o ing school s in Oregon and \ 'Vashington and are looking to do a
... Now that's #P UNCHI N !!
Ca n you tell our reade rs about yoursell; a nd what to expect Ii'om Captain? I'm nineteen just about to hit twenty, bee n rapplllg since I was nine and got int o it o n a serio lls no te when
and as mysel f. Ju st the way mu sic makes me kel, it takes me to anoth er place. I li ke to say music is m y Ii-eedo lll and it's really li ke an art class with no teachers to me. I get a blank canvas and paint Ill y vis ions in
I was seventee n, so I've been 6'Towi ng and growing throughout the years Ii'om be ing on ly ahl e to write single ass rhym es to being ve rsatile in all types of
sound.
areas. \ 'Vllat eve rybody call ex pect from me is just
Whe n evelything is sa id and done, what do you hope to have accomplished and bro ugh t to the ga me?
good musit: fmnl my soul, I lake th is as m )' job and don', lake it lightly but more rather highl y so the o utcome is heaven ly.
Man I want to accompli sh a lot of things in lik. Some
You're from the NW, the Portland/Beaverton area to be exact, what was it like coming up there and how do you feel about the music that is coming out o f the region? Yea, I am Ii'om the Northwest, fro m Seattle o rigi nall y but bee n li ving in Beave rton fo r the past seve n-eight years so I j ust call thi s place home . Damn, O regon is
I've already made happen and I got a lew mo re steps to take befixe I acco mpli sh all that I have now. I got a difle rent feeling about myself and have noti ced it eve r si nce I can remember and it makes me feel li ke my voice will be a big part of the music indu stry whether it comes with change or " hand of power I see that the impossible is possible.
no t really a hard ass place and I can't: say that I got guns/a lot of money & big/tlst cars hut I got m y mind, I got my brothers, I got a mother who supports me in eve rything I do. So m y raps co me out as how I visio n eve rything crystal clear. O n the to pi c o f other rappers o r o ther Illusic in thi s regio n is " non-tlcto r to me .. .1 don't like no rthwes t rappe rs
,IS
much as m ysel L..See
I can ' t say that without soundly li ke a cocky mutha-
On yo ur Facebook l,lIl page you list wh ich artists influence you, aside from other music, what influences yo ur songs the most? Ha ha ha Illy eve ryd ay li k. Relatio nships, I'riemlships, 1~ls h ion, parties etc, et:c. .. and it goes o n and on. \ Vhe n you actually get UP and do thinbFS you'll have a lot to talk about.
fu cka but I can back my words UP so it 's no big. I' m no t tryi ng to be stuck in the Northwest forever so I rap as if I' m tTying to make a change/difl e rence. I \vant to s( >und s expandabl e.
Can yo u tell us about I Up Clo thing, alo ng with you r motivation behind it a nd involvement wiLh I UP clothing?
What brought yo u into making music? 1U P is a video gallle terrn used Back whe n I was around the age of n ine-ten I reall y leIl in love with music. I've always li sten to a wide variety of music Ii-o m rock to rap to oldies you know, just that classic shit'. I had an uncle who past a lew years hack who is olle o f Ill y higgest inspiratjolls becau se of his dedication ami tinle he spellt pe rkcting what he did. H e ii,'ed the hi e , li ke a roll ing stone and fo r that I dream o f walki ng in hi s shoes, but o nly as a rap per
III
the ga me Super
Mario Bros. If you u nd ersta nd what I UP is it means another life U P, but I take it as if' you were one step o r o ne level above everybody clse. I like to put that into my raps and into m y Ltshion. That's what: m;lkes me 1U P. ONEUP (1 UP) clothing is a little local brand I decided to start so I can actuall y havc a business nam e behind me, and a good presentation of quality product that is crcati ve.
As yo u said, yo u are tatted from the knuckJes
up! vVhen did yo u get your first, and which are yo ur I~lvo rites?
' '''hat prq jects do YO ll currently have available and wha t prqjccts can we look la n vard to? You call go download my li rst two Mixtapcs
Yes! Yes I am tatted. I got Iny fi rst t'IUOO whcn I was liltccn. I d on't got a favorite t.llloo actuall y, I love ;ill
T hc Frcs hCoast and ONEVERSE. I' m do ne but currently working o n Illy th ird, lourth, and lilih lvli x-
of thcm.
tapcs, 101. .1 list a who lc bunch of tracks I got re.ldy lor the world to hca r and working o n Collabs lor o ther
' '''ha t al1isLS have yo u worked with a nd wh ich artists to YO ll hope to work with, regionally and nationally?
artist as of no\\".
I\'c worked wit h a few loca l arti st o ther then my tea m but 1 really want to work with Rick Ross. I know it's li'om left lield hut it 's true I want to make a dope ass
' '''here can o ur reade rs go to hear yo ur music, and learn mo re about Captain?
~llill,
Go download my music o il' o f hOlncwhiphop undcr (firSl llamcCA lyrAI N) I<>IIO\\' me @ lstn alllc_GII )lain) suunddoud sea rch for (firstn<lmcCA lyrA I N) my
\"'alc ... 1want to work with anybod y who is so mcbod y
name <lint that hard to spell haha. UI-II-I # I UP!
cause I \WlIl t to he that somcbody.
R
track with him ha ha. YG , Dr,lke,
161UVUTDI ISSIU. . U /4
B u tth c n.~
is a lot o LII1ist suc h as
Lil \"'aync, 2chains,
Meek
The
",-
J;
,
Co'gnac -~p/ GGD p COGNAC I
I
Fi rst olT can you tel l our readers abo ut yo urself, who yo u a rc, where yo u're from, a nd what YO LI do? My !lamc is Eri('
~S H O HT E"
Obina; I comc li'o m a
Illu lti racial hackgT()und. 1'vly mo tJ le r is Hawaiian and Fili pi no and m)' fath er is e lucasian. I b'Tew up in Everctt, ' VA and also in Hawaii . So I guess I gol hest and worst of both sides. I am a Illusician, I d on't label myself as a rappe r,
I started rappi ng whe n I was in llie 8th !:,ITad c; hu ying illstru mclltals ( ) r lnainstrcam artist <lnd rappi ng ( )II Ill )' karao ke m<1<: hi ne. I rc;dly started gelling ill 10 it when NAS callle o ul wilh hi s" 1l was wri ttc n" alhum beca use it had tilt.; Iyri<:s insidc so I use to rap his lyrics, then I was likc ... hey I could do this ... so I got in a tale nt show almy sc hool, find fe ll in lo\'e witll tile stage! I had a lot of people ;lrOlllld me that rapped that \\'ere a lot heller than me, so it made me grow IiLsler. Bcatboxi ng ,md freestylin' at s<: hool ga\'e me confidence
because I rap, produce, and wrile. I'm abou t to take S ill~,'i llg lessons. I wanl to he the who le package ill an
and style .
era that 's Ilooded with l'l ppcrs, I leel like people are tryillg 10 sound so dille rent o r so ull<1 just like tile Ilcxt
' ''lhal arc the biggest challenges YO ll fil ce as an indepe ndent anist?
person, instead of'just mak ing good mu sic.
How lo ng have YO ll been creat.ing Illusic, and how did YO LI get started? 18ISAVU,TIIII IS$I(fMU/ 4
There arc a couple of challe nges like nol havillg the hudget a m;lillstream artist has for promotions, tours ctc ... and pretty lll llc h havi ng to make somet hi ng ou l
orno th ing, by making people attracted to your music ami also to you as a person to build a good lim hase.
But I can't look at it like we ll if I had all thi s mone)' I would he big bccause no arti st just wo ke up and was a hot Illai llstream arti st th e)' had to work, t11' new things, ste p out th c box and make things happen.
coast or re~le heal s ... if its winter I'm making more emot iona l, from rOl:k, ope ra style mixes in the music. I don ' I sampl e either at al l. I produce eve rything that's 011
Ill )'
albums. Music is therapy 10 me.
I've read that when creating a song, you pull from a lot of sources, yo ur Hawaiian background, hip hop, reggae, and even opera. Can you tell us how these ,md other eleme nts play a part in your creative process?
Along with being a pe rformer, you are also a fath er. How do yO ll balance the two to ensure that both aspects get the time they need?
I'm a big musIC lo\'er hands down I'll liste n to
out . I do th is for my son and myse ll ~ I kno\\' the mOlley part is slow hut that's te mpor-;uT, I sec m y son
an yt hing o ncc. I love hip ho p drums and when they're incorporated wi th a dill c ren t genre of music I think it 's just a bc'lutiful and super creative momen t. I make be;l ts olrfcelillgs. I don' t g'O in the studio like I wa nt a bangeI'; I do music on how I fcd at lhe moment. If it's sunn y out I'm probably making west
I ca n't e"en imabri nc how mainstream artist balance th eir music and !;\Inily timc bCGluse you' re always
as Illuch as I call, me and my so ns mother aren' t together alllim y SOil doesn't live close to me. Su I .un pu s hin ~ hard 10 make a bettcr lile I<x him and I so that I can all()rd to sec him as much as I would like.
".UTIII
ISmflllU/4119
I-Iow long have you been with IndaStreet Lyfe Music, and how has your creative process and music been affected? I started Inuastreet Lyle in high school. h was me and
a bundl or homies. It was a crew or emcees. Tllis yea r I, m y manage r @PBK拢N, @DareaIDiIl1Sumluv, and John Foste r decid ed to make it an oflicia l mu sic/ label
company. ' Ve got busi ness license and everything is oflicial. Because we see that the real money is by being inde pendent if you' re good enough to build a strong hm hase. So IndaSlr cet Lyle Music didn ' t
change me as an artist, I have the freedom to do what
What projects do yo u currently have available and where can our readers go to learn more about SI-IOHTE as well as to hear your music? GOOGLE !vIE! Naaww you can lind Illy music on indastreetlyfc lllusic.colll
you
can
buy
lhe
aibullls ... de bul albulll "Tile Resullle" and "Faslli onhave a link via abl y Llle" on ( runes. @SHORTE20(i on twine r allllost every other hour.
What projects do yo u have in the works and what does the rest of 2011 have in store for SI-IOHTE?
kind of'songs and styles I w<Int to do, and with saying thaI it keeps me creati ve.
This year has hec n lhe rise of me, and it's only the starting. I'm working on a Illixtapc callcd "G rey
Has you r Hill base seen an increase since signing to a label?
Summer"
My 1~1Il base has increased a 101 si nce dropping m)' EP
one of my shows you need to go we pack venues out.
\vilh
HOLLY\路VOOD ... hc
IS
a
rappel/ singe r Ii'om my crew. If you havc n't bcc n to
~ Fashiollahly Late"! I fcel it's more of ,I fun ,t!bum,
more commercial sounding, and I didn 't hold bac k
Any Last words for our readers?
on that alhum .. .that's just me, plus d oing the warped You're only a t;.ilure when you st,lrt hl'lIning' olhe rs
tour, opening for main stream hip hop altisls, and pulling mysel f ,1r0und people with the same vIsion
lex your
made it easier to lind my core fan base.
your own hand s. E:l
20lSAVlU.tlOM ISSUEfDIIUJ4
1~lilures ".lllall
up and take your d estiny ill
I
Seam Issuu 1 Browse ~
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