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FEBRUARY 2010
Heavy Spq-Her K.Sparks Big Pooh
A Poetic Thought for Movers & Shakers by Johnny Johnson
FIRE ME
Just go ahead fire me because I don’t really want to be here or be near these squares, climbing ladders in exchange for a disgusting form of flattery reassured me that here will never be my home, despite my honed skills they continue to overlook me for someone that fits the bill, you know a team player, political mayor or that home grown company boy who bends over sideways and backwards, hell even forward just to move forward for a fake endorsement. But I refuse to be used as some sort of token fool, smiling, lolly-gagging, and having beers with them after... Damn those panic attacks of feeling the need to be in good with the powers that be who could care less about a master’s degree, certifications, and pertinent work experiences only to control your vision, would they extend opportunities to step one step closer to managers that were shady in their handlings, who cut back on corporate budgets by laying off employees, yet increased stakeholders royalties, and gave themselves big executive bonuses all for firing me… Well, I guess that did take a lot of skill, to kill my corporate dreams of white shirts and ties and shinny cufflinks, mastering the art of telling lies in boardroom presentations that left my mind and body aching then waiting in line for my unemployment check. Education and all, just wasn’t enough to cushion the fall of realizing that this life was overrated. And I dreamed for these things while pulling all nighters in my college dormitories, only to achieve it while throwing away my self-esteem because living through their jobs and duties easily destroyed my desire to my best foot forward… Maybe if they fire me, I wouldn’t be afraid of going after my newfound dreams of my own LLC, not for fame and riches, just the chance to manage me. Taking what I’m passionate about combined with a feasible business route, might just pann out, left to teach myself what self empowerment is really about.
"Maybe if they fire me, I wouldn’t be afraid of going after my newfound dreams of my own LLC, not for fame and riches, just the chance to manage me." Because no longer will I be used as some sort of corporate fool, all just to keep food on the table, which leaves me unable to tap into my self worth. Maybe the coal inside me has been lit by their fire, to take my valuable ideas and turn them into diamonds or maybe it’s because I’m in another state right now and I’m not talking about Georgia I’m just trying to be a little more than what they told me I can be… Turns out that firing me was the best blessing that ever fell upon me and the best lesson a school never taught me, easily birthing all my ideas now from the pains of not working, so all in all, I’d say that firing me for the inspiration I received, well, it turned out to be well worth it.
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Contents
On The Cover
Underound gems 4 Heavy 8 K.Sparks 9 Big Pooh 18 SPQ-Her
Model Profiles 6 Rebecca & Beverly Knight On Another Note 19 Dedry Jones Music Art 10 Javi Mu単oz 11 Ryan Leary 12 Alex Kok
USOUL FEBRUARY PODCAST
YAHZARAh 14 Ms. Purple St. James
Sean Ace
rebecca knight
USOUL MAG CREDITS Publisher
Johnny R. Johnson johnny@usoulmag.com
Contributing Writers Preach Jacobs Beverly Johnson
Cover Photo
Tobias Rose www.komplekscreative.com
Links
Homepage http://usoulmag.com Podcast http://podcast.usoulmag.com Twitter http://twitter.usoulmag.com Facebook http://fb.usoulmag.com
Mixed and Hosted by Johnny Johnson Showcasing music from Yahzarah, Heavy and K. Sparks. Also featuring clips of our interview with Yahzarah. The playlist and song credits are available on our podcast page at http://podcast.usoulmag.com If you like what you hear, please support these artists!
K. Sparks
heavy
Photo by Anna Keenan
HEAVy band members Casey Benjamin and Nicky Guiland
jazz+soul+pop+hiphop+rock= A while back I was put on to HEAVy’s unique sound while checking out Duane Powell’s internet radio show, Soundrotation (highly recommended). I found HEAVy’s song SAM/SAM’s Return to be surprisingly unique, even for Duane's ecentric taste. Needless to say, I followed up. learned more about this group, impressed my friends with some new music and here we are. All I can say about HEAVy is... they are the shit. Need proof? checkout their latest album Jazzmoney and hopefully their new album (fingers crossed) this summer - interview by Johnny Johnson
Johnny: What prompted the change in style on the JAZZMONEY album? Nicky: The EP was all live instrumental, and this project was a hybrid between live instrumentation and tracks produced by Casey. That’s the main reason folks think there’s a big difference. Casey: It's always been who we were, if you think about it, I think Prince knew about Purple Rain back in 79 when he put out his record. You sorta map out your career with what you're going to release and what you going to reveal to people and when. It's who we are. We are from New York so you can just imagine all the different sounds you hear in NY. It would be foolish to stay with just one "genre of music" Johnny: What were some of the goals set for the JAZZMONEY album? Casey: I guess for every artist, the dream is to appeal to a broad audience, the pop audience. I guess that was part of the motivation for JAZZMONEY but there wasn’t very much expectation. I look at it like JAZZMONEY was an expression of where we are in our career and what we wanted to say; and it's great to hear your music bumping in the clubs, so that’s also been accomplished. Nicky: Every artist wants both love and respect. I think with our first EP we got a lot of respect but it was still like “ok show and prove.” Then you shake loose of those expectations and do what you want to do. You might think HEAVy’s going to make to a right and we may make a hard left. That may be scary to some folks. You don’t know what direction HEAVy is going to go but one direction you can bet on is that we are going to make good music. Our goal was to make good contemporary music and to entertain a larger audience. I think we accomplished that. Johnny: In your song Sam's Sam's Return, Nicky sings the following lyric, "I fix your hair, fix your nails, even wash your underwear… tell me what do I get." These are the types of lyrics that also contribute to your unique sound.
Casey: It's pretty much like this. There's a lot of HEAVy lovers but there's also some HEAVy haters. It's not like you look for the shit on the Internet that pisses you off but sometimes you come across some press that makes you feel real sour. And you're like, "man how the hell did they come to that conclusion or how are they going to judge me on such bs and that's what the song is pretty much about. It's like "yo, anytime any day I will wreck you." And that's pretty much what it is. Nicky: It's not just Internet press. Folks will come up to you like, "I like what you guys do, but it's soft" and I'm like, you don't know everything about me so watch what you say. (lol) We're from New York and we have some edge to us. Casey: It's like I have the audacity to put hip-hop in my music, and I'm like "dude, I am from the Southside of Jamaica Queens." A lot of people don't know that because I don't act as gangster as the next dude, but it doesn't mean I am not "Black enough." So it's just reached a point where we were like we are going to say what we are going to say and you can either roll with it or not roll with it. I'm not even a confrontational dude, it's about the love of the music for me, but we just reached a point where we were fed up with the critics. Johnny: How do you cater your music to both your local and international following? Casey: I don't really think about regions when I create music. We just create and if you like it you like it. Ultimately our sound transcends our older stuff and newer stuff. Our sound is still there and I think people respect our sound and that's what I try to keep consistent.
Johnny: The album was very creative musically. Where does your creative inspiration come from?
Nicky: Casey has been blessed with a direct line to God Nicky (laughter): Lyrically, you can try to write a song, you can try and try and try, but the more you try the more resistance you will come up against. But the moment you let go and say I'm going to put down whatever is in my head, that's when the song comes out. So yeah, fix your hair, fix your nails, even wash your underwear is stuff a real girlfriend does. It's the day to day stuff that your girl will do that never gets a thank you. So it's like, "what do I get?" In Sam's scenario, she gets a cheating boyfriend, who in the end reminds her that she's not his girl or wife, maybe she could be his baby's mom but that's about it. Johnny: Yeah at the end when song flipped it really caught me off guard. Not the type of stuff you hear on the radio. What about your song Venemous? Was that symbolic or based on real events?
when it comes to turning what's in his head into music. Also, the two of us have known each other since high school and have such a great relationship when it comes to working together so it's almost like we can read each other's minds when it comes to creating music. Casey: A lot of it is just based off experience. Being in your twenties and experiencing love, lust, hate and jealously; a lot of people can relate to that and it comes out in our music.
"Casey has been blessed with a direct line to God when it comes to turning what's in his head into music."
model: rebecca knight photos by don
model: beverly knight photos by don
K.Sparks No Super Senior Interview by Johnny Johnson
Growing up K. Sparks always had a passion for art. Eventually, his passion for drawing cartoons and building structures would carry over into to music. At the age of 15, he began listening to LL Cool J, Ras Kass, and The Bush Babies. From that point forward it has been his life's passion to..... "come correct on the mic." Johnny: At what point did you decide to pursue hip-hop professionally? K.Sparks: Once I got into my freshman year of college I started to pursue hip-hop professionally. I started to enter into more talent shows and started to release my own mixtapes and albums. That was the point when I knew that hip-hop was something that I was great at and I had to pursue it regardless of what happened. Johnny: What prompted the theme of your latest project Super Senior? K.Sparks: The theme of Super Senior is a metaphor that represents the need for change. Several people are super seniors and don't even realize it. Most people live day to day doing the same things and are very complacent. However, they never stop to think about how they can achieve more out of life. A super senior can be a bad relationship you've been in for years, a super Senior can be a shitty job you've worked at for over 15 years and you're never making any progress. All of those various elements are the things that went into my thought process while making the project. At the end of the day I'm proud of it because I think most people can appreciate the overall theme and use it as inspiration to change negative behavior into something more positive. Johnny: What do you bring to the hip-hop culture that is unique?
" The theme of Super Senior is a metaphor that represents the need for change. Several people are super seniors and don't even realize it." K. Sparks: I bring several things, honesty, integrity, and passion. Those three things are lacking in the culture. I pride myself on being honest and making every song like visual sound to my life. Every song has a meaning and a purpose. Lastly I'm very eclectic. I can make any kind of song and rip a hole in any kind of beat. Johnny: Who are some of your favorite underground MC's? K.Sparks: That's a long list. There are so many artist that I listened to growing up and many of them I still listen to today cuz I hate listening to the radio. Artist like Ras Kass, The Bush Babies, The Grits, Sean Price and others. Johnny: What message do you want to convey about your music and artistry? K.Sparks: K. Sparks is a humble, driven, passionate, talented artist that will soon be a household name.
words by preach jacobs
Big Pooh RAPPER
There hasn't been a group to carry the torch of jazz-inspired hip-hop with a keen detail for lyrics as much as Little Brother since the Native Tongue Movement. So, when a group this excellent, goes through hardships from labels and television execs, it's hard to not take it personally. I caught up with the North Carolina-wordsmith during his involvement with the 'Paid Dues Tour' featuring MURS and Kidz In the Hall. As one half of Little Brother, Big Pooh, talks about his future plans and how he's not holding on to past speed bumps that got in the way. Spoken like a true emcee. Preach: Tell me about the new music you're working on. Pooh: I'm getting everything finalized. I have a few albums coming out, and the official solo record is called 'Dirty Pretty Things.' I'm working with producers like Khalil, Focus, Jake One, Khrysis and 9th Wonder. Preach: 9th Wonder? You guys are working again? Any word on getting back with Little Brother? Pooh: Yea, I'm working with 9th again on this new project. But there's nothing in the near future with a new Little Brother record right now.Taye got the Foreign Exchange record, and doing spot dates and I'm working on my solo shit touring with MURS. Preach: With everything that's happened with you guys, from being major, to now being independent again, is there anything that you will look back on and change? If you could would you do anything differently knowing what you know now? Pooh: I mean, I could have done a lot of things differently but I can't worry about it, you know? Right or wrong it's what made me who I am and put me where we are. I could not get here without what I went through.
I mean, we just got a black-president, you know? It feels good. It's like you can tell everyone that the sky's the limit, and you can do what you put your mind to but now it seems true. That alone gives me hope for my future, even outside of music.
"we just got a blackpresident, you know?It feels good. It's like you can tell everyone that the sky's the limit, and you can do what you put your mind to but now it seems true. "
Artwork by Javi Mu単oz http://javimunoz.com
Yahzarah Illustration by Alex Kok
LEAVE IT ALL BEHIND
Yahzarah with The Foreign Exchange
Yahzarah Ms. Purple St. James interview by Johnny Johnson
What can we say about Ms. Purple St. James that hasn't already been echoed around the music world repeatedly. Simply put we love this woman. Her music is organically soulful and thearaputic to the body and mind. With a new album on the way and new relationship with Foreign Exchange music in the works, Yahzarah took time away from making history to chat with Usoul mag! Usoul: I read that your first EP "Hear Me" is your favorite project because of the freedom and creative process involved with that album. Did you lack a lot of creative control with the Blackstarr project? Yahzarah: Yeah, I didn't have a lot of creative control with the Blackstarr project. I would've like more because the platform was so good, ya know. But on the other hand it allowed me to create an audience
"It's always been very easy to create under The Foreign Exchange umbrella because I am not just creating music with some people I do business with.There is an emotional, symbiotic, organic relationship there." that may not have heard to "hear me." In hindsight, I consider Blackstarr its own special gift because I learned a lot of lessons while I made it and I learned a lot of lessons after it was put it. One is whatever you put out there, people will believe that's who you are, so be careful what you put out there. And two is to fight as hard as you can to keep your creative voice. Usoul: Another project that has probably presented you to another audience, to people like myself who are a little late, is working with The Foreign Exchange. How has working with this project impacted you as an artist? Yahzarah: You know it's funny, I have been making music with Phonte for about ten years now, is that considered a decade? (lol) It's cool. We all met in college myself, Phonte, 9th Wonder and Thomas
Jones. We were all in a music industry class together and my class project was "hear me." Ironically that started my career and Phonte actually co-wrote "Rooftop" which is a fan favorite. It's always been very easy to create under The Foreign Exchange umbrella because I am not just creating music with some people I do business with. There is an emotional, symbiotic, organic relationship there. Usoul Mag: I read that at one point you took a break from music and held a regular job. Can you talk about what led you back to music full-time? Yahzarah: Well I tried. I went out and got myself a job. I never had a job outside of music. Ever since I was 13 yrs old I was directing choirs, singing in studio, or on the road. So in 2003 I was like "screw this I'm going
home." (lol) I decided I was going to take a break and get an office job. Being that I had been a performer all these years all I had was performance clothes in the closet. (lol) Nevertheless, my experience in the music business made me not want to do it any more. For a time I lost my voice and didn't know if I would be able to sing again.. Also, I had defined myself so much by what I had sung that I didn't really have anything around me that made me believe that I had something else to contribute. But I watched this documentary on Gordon Parks, not trying to get too deep, and he didn't even have a high school degree but had done so many wonderful things in the world because he defined himself by his experiences. So I decided that I needed to change. I couldn't have a conversation unless it was about music. And although that is who I am, if I allow that to be all that I am I will go nuts when I am near retirement or by chance , unable to do this. So I went out and got a job at a banana republic (lol). In the same city where people only knew me to be Yahzarah and fans would come in and recognize me and I would say, "Yes I'm her, here is your dressing room." But I excelled at it, I was selling 25k worth of merchandise a week. Then I got an office job and people like Anthony Hamilton and Ledisi were calling me, like "what are you doing with a job, you're crazy, you need to be singing." But eventually I got a myspace page and started posting some old stuff and people began to reach out to me and it made me realize that I was in the wrong place. But what I needed to learn was that I could run my own business. While I was in the music business I had this idea that I could not be the person running the business, behind the my art. So I will say the time that I took off of music and spent in the workforce did help me with that. Now I am the butcher, baker, candlestick maker and it's cool to have The Foreign Exchange family there to help me, but I know how to stand on my own if need be. But I never stop performing, so I do want people to think that. There were always fans that wanted me to see me, in spite of my office job. You know encouragement from people like Duane Powell in Chicago, Frances Jaye and Lisa in Dallas, and Richard Dunn in Atlanta, Ga; their support was invaluable to getting me out of the house and back on CDs again. Usoul: Can you talk a little bit about your alias, Ms. Purple St. James, how did this name come about? Yahzarah: As long as I have been making music I have always been bringing myself to someone's idea as to what my voice is suppose to be singing. Even when I did "hear me," at the time neo-soul was this new baby and Jill Scott was hot. And the person that produced it also produced a track for
Jill Scott and it didn't make the "Who is Jill Scott" album. So he had a vendetta, like "I am going to make the best fucking independent record with an unknown diva that I can find and Imma make everybody sorry." (lol) So I came in and I brought alot of myself to that record but there were still some things missing. The influence of the Beattles, Sly Stone, Bootsy Collins and all the stuff I was listening too. So I had to put myself into this box to make music, and of course with Blackstarr, the box got even smaller. So when I left music for a bit I started writting for other artists and doing hooks for rappers on the side but I did have the intelligence to know that Yahzarah's brand was too important to be associated with lyrics like "Let's go half on a baby," (lol) but I still wanted those checks ya know. So I was like, my favorite color is purple, it's agressive and St. James just sounds Funky and those things are me.
"I will say the time that I took off of music and spent in the workforce did help me. Now I am the butcher, baker and candlestick maker."
On The Radar Sean Ace
Representin' Chicago, IL
This rapper/producer began honing his skills for hip-hop at the age of 15. Sean "Point of View" Carter credits his unique touch for production to the lack of creativity currently dominating the industry. "Everybody is rockin' over snap-music beats with hard 808s or throw back 80s beats, so it's not hard for me to sound unique these days." Currently chasing is goal of obtaining a major label deal, Carter is presently increasing his buzz around the Chicago area through his production work and performances. learn more about Sean at myspace.com/povakaseanace
With his debut album, The Death of Adam, 88-Keys sees his first foray as an MC, coming from behind the scenes to front man under the direction of long-time friend and executive producer Kanye West. From Hip-Hop bangers like "Stay Up (Viagra)" featuring Kanye West to rock ventures such as the high powered "The Friends Zone" or more reflective moments ("M.I.L.F. feat. Bilal"), the album narrrates the most universal of themes, the relationships between men and women, all with a pervasive humour. Amazon Editorial Review
SPQ-HER
rq on theSoulful Hip-Hop ss industry soul imele Tindie
WiZdom
Bred on opposite sides of the music spectrum, this dynamic duo’s unique sound stems from blending hip-hop, spoken word and soulful vocals to create the snergy affectionately known as SPQ-HER...…
BLOG STYLE THE DISCOVERY StephStaa: I discovered my vocal cords when I was 11 years old. Since then I have been determined to be successful with my gift. I hit the hip-hop underground scene in Chicago in 2000 with my original songs. With I love hip-hop, it's a gladiator sport, you gotta show and prove! I connected with a lot of local talent; my good friends ENDANGERED SPECIES, LAYMEN, JABA JONES and RYAN OFFICER inspired my rapping. Like everyone outside of New York, I heard The Sugar Hill Gang first, my Mother got cable in 1984, flicking channels I came across BET, and I watched Video Soul and Rap City faithfully! I always rapped behind closed doors. I decided to drop my nerves and display my flow on the SPQHER- DEFENDERZ...article A album!
COLLABOS StephStaa: So far we've worked with Chicago's hottest producers /beat makers like: Kenny Keys, 5th ELEMENT, RAWPOWER, RASHID HADEE and BRAXTON HOLMES. I'd like to add to them with people like: JUST BLAZE, PHARELL, PHONTE of LITTLE BROTHER, HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE (Chicago) DJPREMIER and DWELE. WiZdom: We want to continue working with our Chicago producers because they are truly family. I’d like to work with Lewis Taylor, The Roots, Kev Brown, Lauryn Hill (yeah!), and whoever Joy Denalane works with.
IMPACT StephStaa: The Spq-Her sound inspires pure goodness!!! The Spq-Her sound turns tears into laughter!!! The Spq-Her makes people wanna "STEP" and/or "BREAKDANCE!!!"
StephStaa
WiZdom: I want people to hear our stories. I want to make sure they get something from it. I want them to connect with us. I want themhttp://nialand.com to know that it’s bigger than our music. It feels good when a couple can come to a show and go home and love themselves.
CLASSIFICATION StephStaa: "TIMELESS SOULFUL HIPHOP"...all the way!!! We got little babies singing our choruses and got our elders smiling with pride and loving our vibe, our audience has a wide age range, so I feel we're headed for that timeless category! WiZdom: Timeless music. It’s not old and it’s not new. It’s going to do it’s job in every genre.
ADVICE StephStaa: "I'd say..“don't let nothing or no one hold you back from your dreams, be authentic, respect those that paved the way musically, know no limitations...believe and trust in the MOST HIGH."
"the Spq-Her sound inspires pure goodness! The Spq-Her sound turns tears into laughter! the spq-Her sound makes people wanna step or break dance!"
by Beverly Johnson
The Music Experience said, ‘Chile this is like the Actor’s Studio, only better. You should be on television.’ We have done 32 Experiences with artists that range from Patti Labelle, John Legend, Chaka Khan, Common, Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, George Duke, Donna Summer and others. We are looking forward to some really good Experiences for 2010. People like CeCe Winans, legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, Gamble and Huff, and Will Downing in his fourth Experience are who we expect to do Experiences with this year.” Jones says his vision for The Music Experience came from his quest to share his love of music with people who feel the same way and also from his desire to enlighten people about music they may have missed or had no knowledge of. The Music Experiences have been very successful events, which Jones attributes to the ability of the fans to get an up close and personal view of an artist who they really enjoy. Jones adds, “The event also gives fans an opportunity to meet that artist and of course, they all receive the artist’s current CD as an added bonus. I think another element that has led to this being a successful event is that we try to make sure that the biggest fan who knows just about every thing about that artist leaves learning something new.”
Photo: Raymond Boyd The Music Experience is a unique music store located in the South Shore neighborhood. Owner, Dedry Jones contributes this to his genuine love of music. “We will do everything in our power to assure that you get the music that you are looking for. Special orders have endeared us to many consumers. We have a pretty good knowledge about a lot of music and that along with great customer service has distinguished us from a lot of stores.”
“Research, research, research. Make contacts.Stay current and do what you can to be innovative."
When asked how significant his South Shore location is to the vision and success of The Music Experience, Jones responded, “The South Shore location is significant in the fact that we are able to maintain an outlet in a neighborhood that reflects the many facets of music that we enjoy whether it is jazz, hip-hop, gospel, pop and more.”Jones feels that overall the community has embraced his business. “We have customers who have patronized the store for many, many years. Of course, we have lost some consumers to the big box retailers that have now opened in the surrounding communities but a lot of times they discover that price cannot compare to good service. Plus they have come to realize once the initial sale is over, those mass merchant store prices are pretty much the same as ours.” Another feature that sets the Music Experience apart from other music stores is Jones’ Music Experiences. According to Jones, “The Experience is an interview, CD release celebration and an autograph session with an artist. The Experience often includes a performance by the artists before the autograph session. Patti Labelle
Although Jones listens to music all day as part of his job, some favorite CDs are “Miguel Migs’ Those Things and Lenora Lewis’ Spirit CD.” When asked about some of the most significant trials in attempting to launch his business Jones talked about the difficulty of maintaining the business.“Launching the business was not that bad since I used my personal savings and didn’t have to deal with loans. Maintaining the business is another story. I spent a good year and a half doing research before I actually opened so I was fairly well prepared for that part of the business.However, simple business things (and tax concerns) can prove to a business’ undoing if you are not on top of their game.” Jones offers the following advice for aspiring business owners: “Research, research, research Make contacts. Stay current and do what you can to be innovative."