Volumes: Athens Hip Hop - Vol 1 Issue 6

ATH ENS

HipHop

EVENTS

p. 3

ALBUM PREVIEW

Work & Progress Profound p. 4 INDUSTRY RECAP

Flagpole Music Award Winners p. 5

CULTURE SERIES

Hip Hop Don’t Stop p. 7

EVENT PREVIEW

Clownin Gang Cookout p. 8

FASHION CORNER

Curtison Jones p. 9

INTERVIEW

Square Up With Athens City Classics p. 10

NETWORKING

p. 11

Vol. 1 Issue 6 • June 2017

Letter from the Editor This sixth edition of Volumes is based on momentum. We’re six months into Volumes and halfway through the year. The magazine has slowly evolved from just a media source into a brand, celebrating the success of presenting shows, house parties, and base level music management. None of this would be possible without all of our contributors, supporters in the community, and fans.

Volumes as well as the Classic City itself are experiencing a lot of progressive changes, which went behind the editing decisions of including Locksmith on the cover of our edition featuring the Athens City Classic artists. Having the two perform beside each other this month stands as a testament to what Athens is capable of. Watching so many people grow this year alongside us has been an honor, so let’s all keep making the rest of 2017 something worth documenting.

-Scrap God

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Events July 2017

Independence Day Party at Rooftop Georgia Theatre Featuring The Splitz Band and John Boy & Surround Sound

Freestyle Cypher Night Go Bar Hosted by B.Y.V.

Y.O.D. Iron Factory World Famous Hip-Hop (First Tuesdays) Hosted by Mon2 & Chief Rocka

Featuring Caulfield and Gawdlee

Clownin Gang Cookout Stonehenge Front Street

The HLF Presents: “The 80s Babies Show” Barfields Hosted by Shedrick Barnett and L.G.

Seline Haze

B.Y.V. Iron Factory

Hot Corner Hip Hop Vol. 9 Little Kings Featuring D.K., Seline Haze, Mad Ace & Clip Art, and more!

ADVERTISE HERE Get your business or project out there!

Take advantage of our affordable ad space in the next issue of Volumes.

Contact volumeszine@gmail.com for rates and ad specs today.

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ALBUM PREVIEW:

Work & Progress - Profound “Music is a language. It’s not finite. The thing about a piece of art is that it’s never perfect, never finished. But what if you could offer a process instead of just an unfinished piece of work. I don’t know, maybe this is just my own way to excuse my inability to complete music with urgency like I used to...but I think in the end this will define the next era of my career and how I feel about the idea of a career in music in general,” says Profound.

Technology has forever changed the music industry, and the internet has created opportunities that past artists could have never dreamed of. Profound, member of the local collective We’re Weird, released an experimental project on June 23rd that truly takes advantage of these new creative avenues.

The album Work & Progress is comprised of 7 tracks available free online through his website http://www.aprofounddream.com/ workandprogress/. However, this is definitely far from its final form.

Work & Progress is an evolving album; Profound will be taking off tracks, adding new tracks, and modifying current tracks as he sees fit with at least one update a month.

Monthly information detailing version numbers and updates will be displayed on the site so that listeners can see the changes taking place. After working on songs for over a year, this idea recently came to Profound as a way to get his music out while still being able to create through an ongoing project.

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Having an evolving album means that Profound can edit it according to what’s working for him as an artist as well as what his fans want to hear. This means that instead of releasing a remix of a song that seems to be a better fit, the updated and better version of the song can be released.

Right now the album has an overall “sad” feel because that’s the frame of mind the

artist is at in this moment, but the mood could go anywhere from here.

“But that’s kind of a beautiful thing, no?

An album that isn’t a reflection of you in a moment but carries a progression through a certain era in your life. So maybe my goal is perspective. I certainly know a goal is to save my inner dreamer. Because when it comes to music, that guy is on life support.”

- Scrap God IG scrap_goddd

2017 Flagpole Music Awards

Hosts Count Zapula & DJ Mahogany

:INDUSTRY RECAP

2017 Flagpole Athens Music Awards Winners: Jazz/World: Whitehall Jazz Collective Rock: New Madrid Pop: Scooterbabe

Electronic: murk daddy flex Jam/Funk: The Norm Live DJ: My Chemical Bromance Singer-Songwriter: Erin Lovett Punk/Heavy Rock: Nihilist Cheerleader

Hip Hop: Lingua Franca R&B/Soul: Big C Folk/Americana: Athens Cowboy Choir Avant-Garde: John and Kiran Fernandes Tribute Band: Gimme Hendrix Live Performer: Nihilist Cheerleader Studio Engineer: Jesse Mangum Live Engineer: David Hanna Music Video: Muuy Biien: “Moral Compass” Upstart: Harlot Party Album Cover Art: The Powder Room: Lucky Album of the Year: Kishi Bashi: Sonderlust

Artist of the Year: The Norm

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BYV

Floco Torres G

Locksmith

B.O.Y.

KungFu Vampire

Caulfield Holden

camp_r Goodie & trvy Scott Sutton Cassie Chantel

Son Zoo

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We’re Weird

Sho Biz

Dad

Hip Hop Don’t Stop: Graf Writer

Milyssa Rose Tru Thought

Dictator

Chrismis

KXNG Blanco & Dictator

Azi

:CULTURE SERIES

The essential elements of the Hip Hop culture have and always will remain the same. In this part of my series, I will be dealing with an element that often gets ignored these days. If you look through history, many communities had no means of writing their language during Montu their genesis, but there were ancient KMT (Egyptian) scribes, the Ejagham of SW Cameroon, Vai of Liberia, and the infamous Timbuktu. It can be argued that the written word is just as important as the oral word because it can last just as long, if not longer, than the oral historian. The Writer or Graf Writer in Hip Hop is comparable to the scribes of ancient Africa, using the written word unlike any other. Many will find these words extreme or even blasphemous, giving little credit to the scribes of Hip Hop. The scribes of Africa had the important task of recording everything. They recorded the weather, the progress of the pyramids, the people that came in and out of Africa; it was their duty to document all daily activities as well as the consciousness of the community. In the beginning of Hip Hop, the Graf Writer’s duties did not include such an extensive task. Graf Writers began by simply writing their tag, a name easily sprayed on the wall and only recognized by other Hip Hop people.

As the years went on and Graf Writers got more organized, bigger pictures were painted all over many communities. These larger scale pictures were called burners. They were showing up on trains, freeway pillars, or anywhere there was open space. That’s why most people will disregard Graf Writers as common criminals because unlike ancient KMT scribes or Timbuktu intellectuals they did not have pyramid walls or a unified university to write, only the concrete and steel throughout the many communities. As time went on, Hip Hop burners began to reflect the basic essence of the ancient scribes; they now had a story to tell.

They had to tell the story of Hip Hop picture-by-picture or word-by-word. These beautiful art pieces range from full sentences such as: HIP HOP WON’T STOP…HIP HOP CAN’T STOP painted in a distinct style, to pictures of all the elements of Hip Hop working together as one. Today in Hip Hop, Graf Writers must write about the current state of Hip Hop, construct memorial murals, praise murals, and nation-wide messages. And some of it is just art for art’s sake, but much of it tells a story if you actually sit back and read it. Like their ancient predecessors, they now write scroll after scroll on their papyrus, now using many forms of medium from concrete to books to film. Hip Hop scribes or Graf Writers record the story of Hip Hop for future generations.

- Wm Montu I Miller @ mon2miller

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EVENT PREVIEW:

6th Annual Clownin Gang Cookout

It’s common knowledge that hiphop goes hand in hand with community. The origins of the culture itself come from house and block parties where the neighborhood could come out and have a good time while enjoying good music. This sentiment is not lost on Athen’s own Travis “Dictator” West. This year he will be hosting the 6th Annual “Clownin Gang Cookout,” an all inclusive “drama free event with good food, good music, and good times with people from all surrounding counties.” What started as a cookout at the height of the Clownin Gang Movement has taken that momentum and evolved to not only feature Dictator but also performances from artists such as LG and Squalle, both of whom are prominent in the Athen’s hip hop scene.

Over the 6 years that this event has grown, Dictator has proudly maintained his core values of family, good times, and great music, stating the he’s most excited to “see everyone having a blast and actually dancing and enjoying themselves.”

This event literally takes place in the streets of the community, but Dictator would remind everyone that it

WHEN: SATURDAY, JULY 22nd

WHERE: STONEHENGE FRONT STREET still “gets lit”. Recalling a story from years past, he says “after the cookout a lot of us were still out kicking it into the early morning when people started racing their cars down the street, and someone literally ran his car into a lady’s house! If that ain’t lit, I don’t know what is.”

You can catch both Dictator and the Volumes crew on July 22nd at Stonehenge Front Street for the Clownin Gang Cookout. Don’t be afraid to come out and have a great time.

Photo Courtesy of: Perfection 101 Photography

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- Trvy IG trvyf

Curtison Jones

:FASHION CORNER

Whether you’re rocking the Swank, vibing to Son1, or jamming out at a Caulfield show, you know without a doubt that Curtison Jones is one of the most influential artists in the Athens Hip Hop scene. Over the years, Curtison has come up with unforgettable performances and music videos that are always an appetizing eye full.

His swag and charisma certainly makes him a performer that will always keep you entertained. One of the most notable things about Curtison is his style. His fashion evolution has been as diverse as his music. He can be seen rocking everything from bow ties to shirts with a Miley Cyrus collage on them and everything in between.

With his love of mixing genres within his music, there’s no doubt that his outfits will be just as versatile. You never know what Curtison will be wearing next. Even with some of the cleanest gear, one of his best accessories are his tattoos. So you know if he’s performing, his outfit will definitely be something that he can come - Farrah Johnson out of easily.

IG thinkfarrahpink

- Farrah Johnson IG thinkfarrahpink

HOW DOES YOUR “CAULFIELD” FASHION CHOICES DIFFER FROM YOUR “CURTISON JONES” FASHION CHOICES? IF AT ALL?

WHAT PLACE DOES FASHION HAVE IN HIP HOP IN YOUR OPINION?

Hip hop is a manifestation of AmeriThe name Caulfield comes from the character can urban culture, so naturally AmerHolden Caulfield from the J.D. Salinger novel The ican urban fashion is an inseparable Catcher in the Rye. It’s like I’m the grown up, maladpart of that manifestation. Hip hop justed, chronically depressed version of Holden. There has been, since its inception, the really is no distinction between Caulfield and Curtison trendsetter in terms of popular fashion trends in urban America, Jones. So my fashion choices change with my mood, but and for the last few decades generally I keep it simple and dark. I wear a lot of black or it’s had a huge impact on darker colors. A good fitting pair of jeans is a must. I prefer mainstream America as well. skinny and slim fits. I’m always in either a hoodie, button So, hip hop is fashion in my down, or a tank depending on the season. My go to sneakers opinion. - Scrap God since I was a kid are Jordans...preferably the 5’s or 6’s.

IG scrap_goddd

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ARTIST SPOTLIGHT:

SQUARE UP WITH

Athens City Classics Son Zoo Kevin Boyd FB/ Son Zoo IG/iamsonzoo soundcloud.com/ iamsonzoo iamsonzoo.bandcamp.com

Where did you grow up, and how has that impacted your music?

Greensboro, Ga. Which is like a super tiny town, and I think that impacted my music because I was raised in a house that was in the middle of nowhere.

I would basically just write lyrics to pass the time because I had access to almost nothing else. Back then I’d write like three songs a day, and that’s how I got so into lyrics.

Kaliko Khaalis Brooks @ itskaliko FB/ Kaliko IG/itskaliko reverbnation.com/ kaliko5 Where did you grow up, and how has that impacted your music?

I kind of grew up all over the place. I was born in Philly, but I came down here at a very young age.

I wound up developing my style at a time, like mid-early 90s, when lyricism really started to take off. That really influenced my style a lot.

Who is a big musical influence for you that would surprise people?

Basil Poledouris, he is a film composer. He’s a big influence on my production style, a lot of people don’t know that I make beats. His approach to makThe fact that I’ve been rapping for 17 years and had not released a finished solo project yet. Originally ing music is one that has always intrigued me. the idea was about the world ending, which I took a lot of that influence out and put it into a project What was your biggest motivation behind the project I plan on releasing soon. That was influenced by the you released this year? fact that Donald Trump was elected president.

True Fiction is kind of like the summation of everything I wanted to do musically. True Fiction was the What do you consider to be your roots in hip hop? album I always wanted to make. It’s all about duality.

It was just something I grew up around. Even when It’s a double disc, I have a True disc and a Fiction disc.

I was like 6 or 7 years old and Regulators came on I think it has a little something for everybody. I don’t the radio I was rapping along with it. I started writ- think I’ll be able to top it. ing poetry when I was 6 years old, and when I first heard Mos Def and Nas and people like that I real- What do you consider to be your roots in hip hop? ized in my mind that hip hop was just like poetry I have been doing this for so long, my roots are in 2.0...a three dimensional version of poetry because the roots of hip hop itself. I can remember Sugarhill you’re not just worrying about the pace of words Gang, Double Dutch Bus, even listening to old Rudy and the rhyme but also the inflection of your voice, Ray Moore albums. I got to see this artform be born, the speed that you say it, and so many more ele- blossom, change I don’t look at hip hop as just a ments. I never found anything that is as satisfying as genre, it’s a style of living that permeates through writing good lyrics. everything that I do.

What was your biggest motivation behind the project you released this year?

In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle Athens artists face?

I’d say saturation of musicians. Not that it’s a bad thing there’s so many, but everybody’s so self-oriented. If Athens were to work as a community a little more so, it has all the pieces it needs to be a well-oiled machine that’s unstoppable. Also, hip hop wasn’t acceptable for a while.

What’s next?

In the next month or two, I’m going to be working on a lot of collaborations. I have a project I want to do that’s just a mixtape where I jack beats and I rap with no choruses that will be called How Many Bars.

The project that Visions was originally supposed to be, called Falling Sky, will be about the world actually ending. I want to do another one called In No Uncertain Terms, which is basically my life experiences and my love life exposed. And of course Space Dungeon, we’re going to be doing shows and hopefully have a project out.

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In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle Athens artists face?

They need to be willing to travel and establish their brand outside of their home market. I see so many artists that get comfortable right here in Athens, and they expect success to come and find them. Success goes to the person that works the hardest. It’s one thing to do music out of passion, it’s another thing to do music for business. In the business of music, it’s not about talent. It’s about work.

What’s next?

I’m going to continue to push True Fiction, which is available at reverbnation.com/kaliko5. I’m getting ready to head out to Detroit, do some networking and push some things out there. I’ve got some music submitted to Pandora. I’m going to keep expanding the base, pushing the music, and expanding the brand. I’m going to be going all-in with ATHFactor, and I’m really going to start pushing that to the next level. That’s another reason I’m starting to step back from the artist side.

:THE NETWORK

Producers Dexter Sims dextersims89@gmail.com FB: Dex Does Music IG: theblvkjesus Twitter: @Twinzodadon Snap: cruz_89 Work Money Entertainment, LLC 404-781-5308 workmoneyent@gmail.com FB: Carlos Jones Kaliko Liberty Entertainment - Owner Ear Candy Studios - Owner 706-248-9523 FB,YT, IG, Google+, & Twitter: @itskaliko Kid Foo officialkidfoo@gmail.com FB: Kid Foo IG: kidfoo Twitter: @ItsKidFoo

Engineers Trevor Wiggins 706-499-9923 trvyfeatures@gmail.com Social Media: @trvyf Imorie Curry 706-308-4190 lexcallahan@hotmail.com Social Media: @lexcally

Marketing/Promotions United Group Of Artists 678-740-3884 P.O. Box 49096 Athens, Ga. 30604

Photography KatTookIt Photography Katherine White 706-621-2822 kattookit@gmail.com

Video Production No Silver Spoon Production Jeffery Welborn & Ricky Campbell 706-224-9669 Owen Hunt owenm.hunt@gmail.com Social Media: @bootsygreenwood

Illustrator Danielle Summers danisumm@uga.edu danisumm.com FB: /danisummart IG: danisummart

Photography/Video iGoByGoodie 706-207-1345 igobygoodie@gmail.com Josh Hart Media 678-637-9927

Hip Hop Artists A. Mack Booking: 706-308-5539 amack068@gmail.com FB: Aviyon Mack IG: A.mack706 Snap: A_mizzlee Dictator 706-818-0387 tothapoint@gmail.com DK Cell: 706-920-8093 Alt.: 706-340-8071 dk.nowles.nowledge@gmail.com FB: /dedric.knowles Twitter: @DK_nowles Snap: dedric1225 Soundcloud: /dk_nowles_nowledge Kxng Blanco kiddblanco706@gmail.com Social Media: @KxngBlanco SoundCloud/Spinrilla: Kxng Blanco L.G. (HOTC) hotclg15@gmail.com FB: L.G. or @hotc15 Social Media: HOTC_LG Seline Haze 706-340-8071 iamselinehaze@gmail.com IG: @SelineHaze_ Twitter: @SelineHaze Space Brother spacebrothermusic@gmail.com FB: /spacebrothersoundsystem Soundcloud: /spacebrothersoundsystem spacebrother.bandcamp.com ZiggyRoxxx 706-621-9000 iggylocz@gmail.com IG: ziggyvoodoochild Soundcloud: /ziggyroxxx

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SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR DONORS: • Friends & Family • Everyone who bought our stickers!

• Everyone who came to the Volumes:YOD House Party

COVER ARTIST: LOCKSMITH “Athens had amazing energy. It was definitely a highlight of the tour. They really appreciate true artistry and know how to have a good time.”

From iamlock.com Locksmith is a West Coast artist/producer born and raised in Richmond, California. Lock first gained notoriety in the underground hip hop scene through MTV’s MC Freestyle Championship, then built a regional following as one half of the duo Frontline, whose songs, including the hit “Bang It,” earned commercial radio play and video rotation on MTV.

For more information contact Sam Lipkin volumeszine@gmail.com /volumeshiphop