Also…
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Soundtrack by:
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Yea yea yea, it’s been awhile since I blogged up in here; something I was constantly reminded about the past few weeks from everyone with the random texts and e-mails.. “UPDATE YOUR SITE ALREADY!!!” “YOU SAID YOU’D UPDATE IT YESTERDAY” etc.
My bad. I have no excuse.
So I’ll leave it at that haha
But back to the music tip… I’ve done a few gigs the past couple of weeks, most notably “Bringing It Back” and “Fresh Kicks.” “Bringing It Back” at Cusina Lounge was a special one to me, in the sense that it was my first time performing at Bathurst & Wilson, a predominantly Filipino community of Toronto that I often neglect since I am from the East (Scartown stand up!)… But yea, it was all love, my peoples came down, and I know my brother/roommate UGN Son was definitely happy with the turnout that night. “Fresh Kicks” was dope also since, I dunno how, but, I managed to perform with a sore throat and I killed it. To my fellow artists out there, you know those nights where you’re just on stage and hitting every cue, feeling cocky as fuck because you’ve never heard yourself sound better? Yup, that was it at “Fresh Kicks.” Big ups to MPz (Vinsane & Brandnew) for putting me on that night and big ups to Famous, KDB, Krhyme Syndicate, A-Status, and all the other artists in the house that night.
As far as my album… As I mentioned above, I’ve had a sore throat that just won’t go away. I can’t record in this state so the album has been pushed back. But my loss is your gain since I’ve been taking this opportunity to just keep writing and writing.. meaning, the album keeps getting new tracks and tracks.
I also spent the past month on vacation in Las Vegas!!! I left my heart there (Tim and Jervy knows where!!!) and I’m just in love with the West Coast now. The palm trees, the cloudless skies, the friendly people, the atmosphere. Damn, it’s enough to make me go back on the reg… Actually, hell yea, I’m going back in November. Maybe I can win back all the money I lost from playing craps and roulette.
Regarding the updates of this website… I know I said I’d be updating with a feature every Sunday, but I’ve found that there’s so much prep work I have to do with my album that I can’t find the time to go interview the people I wanted, write the music reviews, etc. So as of now, all Sunday features will be postponed until my album is released. Sorry, but that’s how it goes.
Anyway, here’s the flyers to the two shows I didn’t get to put up:
Also, here’s a pic of me with UGN Son and D-Pryde on TV after I performed at the Mabuhay festival:
Anyway, I’ll be updating more regularly, but not the Sunday features… just me writing the realest shit I ever wrote!
A few days ago I had a photoshoot with my homie Pierson from Phlip Pinas t-shirts. He sent me some samples so I thought I’d bless y’all with a preview:
And those are just samples! I’m getting the full set soon for my EPK (Electronic Press Kit) I’ve been working on. Big ups to Pierson and please check out his site here:
He takes crazy pics and makes even crazier t-shirts so support his movement aiiite?
Also, after the photoshoot, I drove to M-Studio and just chilled with the good ppl there as they set up a basketball court. You can see the footage here:
That’s all folks! I got a pretty busy week coming up. I gotta link up with all the producers for my upcoming album and sequence the tracks then finally start recording the remaining songs! Soooo thanks for dropping by,
Soo… it’s Friday July 17 and I’m just chillin at home before I hit up the Axis Of Evil show at Opera House tonight. I gotta send a shoutout to F.E.L.N from my Project Bounce days… and the rest of the PB crew: Bootleg, Gee Baby, Lannie, Profit, Maj, Joanna, Farrah, etc. If y’all reading this, get at me! I barely have anyone’s contact!!!
Anyway! Last week me and the homie Kev had a lil’ roadtrip and crossed the border. We took a couple vids and sent some random shoutouts to Marc Tang since he wasn’t with us this time (HOUSTON STREET!). Peep the footage:
Overall it was a crazy trip… picked up crazy gear, had good eats, and grabbed some patron:
tooooo many patrons!
Anyway again! Just some random stuff I wanna promote:
I’LL BE PERFORMING @ THE MABUHAY FESTIVAL TOMORROW FROM 12:40-12:55 WITH THE HOMIE D-PRYDE SO REACH
AAAAND
Big ups to my bro and roommate UGN Son for becoming the new co-host at TR!P radio… I’ll just cut and paste his facebook message here and y’all should check out the show on Wednesday nights y’heaaaarrd?
“Stay connected by taking dropping by at www.tripmedia.ca website for updates for upcoming topics, news, events and MUSIC from local and up an coming FILIPINO- CANADIAN Artists in the GTA , Canada and overseas..
For my pinoys and pinays in the GTA, this is your chance to be heard, your music aired on the radio–
We will be sending out updates on new Filipino artists in the scene, new music for your ears to savour, where to find the hottest urban pinoy/pinay gear, facts and figures about our community– and everything Filipino (all will be in tagalog for your listening and learning pleasure)–
TR!P can be heard on the radio dial 1610 am, chanell 951 on rogers cable,
www.tripmedia.ca; www.sanlorenzo.ca every wednesday NIGHTS!
Questions or Ideas please send it to trip1610@yahoo.ca or use the facebook group under topics or discussions of simply write in our wall!
In this first installment of the Sunday Special Alcoholic Edition, I’ll be teaching you how to make a classic cocktail called the Rusty Nail. Peep the vid:
note: apparently there were some technical issues as YouTube cut off half of my webcam blog; a fact I only discovered thanks to James notifying me a few hours ago. I will reshoot the video and post it in a few days. Sorry, y’all!
Now if you didn’t catch that, the Rusty Nail can be made as such:
1) Fill up a rock or old fashioned glass with crushed ice or ice cubes (crushed ice preferably) to 1/4th of the glass.
2) Pour 2 parts scotch (I recommend using a blended-malt premium like Chivas Regal)
3) Pour 1 part Drambuie
4) Stir and let the ice melt for 10 minutes.
5) Enjoy
I’ll be back tonight or tomorrow with another update, but more on the music business side of things!
Along with the rest of the artists from the first Jump Off, I was shown on FTV (Channel 606 on Rogers) as they featured highlights from the event and interviewed my main man UGN Son. Here’s the footage:
And I’m still working on getting footage from two weeks ago when FTV interviewed me, AJM, and D-Pryde. But for now, just enjoy what’s up there!
I just wanna congratulate UGN Son, AJM, and the staff at M-Studio for pulling off a crazy smooth show last Saturday. From the logistics, rehearsals, soundchecks, performances, etc. EVERYTHING was crisp.
The night started out with Vibrasonic Sessions, a live hip-hop band who set things off properly. Aside from the crazy instrumentation, there were b-boys, beatboxers, english AND tagalog MCs and impromptu freestyling sessions. TRULY, HIP-HOP WAS IN THE BUILDING THAT NIGHT AND IT JUST HAPPENED TO BE FILIPINO. Big ups to Pinoyz At Work, Natural Noyze/Karisma, D-Pryde, S Dot, and the list goes on and on and on and on. Give y’allselves a pat on the back ’cause history was made that night.
And here’s a lil’ pre-show footage outside M-Studio:
The show went laaaate into the night (what you expect with 25 artists!??!) and I gotta send out an apology to some of my ppls who didn’t know it would be that long. Next show though, I got y’all, believe it.
With that said, I was dead tiiiiiiiiiiiired the next day for Rock The Bells. We got there around 2pm, had some eats on a patio grill by Molson Amphitheater, and went in around the time Slum Village was leaving the stage. M.O.P came and managed to wake me up with “4 Alarm Blaze,” “Downtown Swingas,” “How About Some Hardcore?,” and “Ante Up.” After their set I went to buy a t-shirt and holy shit I got robbed. Not literally, of course, but… they were selling Slaughterhouse t-shirts for $40!!! I ended up getting one, but still. Argh.
So ya, SLAUGHTERHOUSE was next (click for bigger pic):
L-R: Budden, Crooked, Ortiz, Royce
Not much else to say except they KILLED it.
After, Tech N9ne graced the stage and was met with mixed reactions. K’Naan and his band were next and actually got love from the Screwface hometown. Reflection Eternal did pretty good though I’ve seen Talib do better. RZA came in and went through all his different eras from the Gravediggaz right up to Bobby Digital. After Prince Rakeem was EPMD as they ran through some classics. Big Boi followed and was a highlight of the night as he went through most of the Outkast catalog. Mos Def came through with an alright set, which was redeemed by a Black Star reunion as they went through “Definition,” “RE:Definition,” and “Respiration.” Finally, Nas and Damien Marley finished off the night with seperate solo sets until joining together to preview some tracks off their upcoming “Distant Relatives” album and end it off with “Road To Zion” of course. Between sets, KRS-ONE and Supernatural held it down on the freestyle tip with Pete Rock on the wax.
All in all a great day to celebrate hip-hop and I was just happy to get home and SLEEP that night.
I’ll end off the post with a pic from the BBQ on Sat:
The concept of the Hip-Hop dream team has always looked good on paper, but when executed, never lives up to its potential. Supergroups such as The Firm (Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown, Nature/Cormega over Dr. Dre production) or 4 Horsemen (Canibus, Ras Kass, Kurupt, Killah Priest) were able to generate intense buzz without a single, but just off the news of their formation alone. Ultimately, though, The Firm gave us Firm Biz at worst and Phone Tap at best; while 4 Horsemen gave us the odd posse cut here and there plus a poorly assembled EP (which was dope but certainly not what it should have been).
So when it was announced that four of my current favorite rappers were forming a group, I just said “meh.”
Again, on paper it looked crazy, especially considering the similarities that could be found in the careers of Joe Budden, Royce Da 5′9″, Crooked I, and Joell Ortiz.
Let’s go down the list:
Signed to a big record deal (Budden, Def Jam; Royce, Columbia; Crooked, Death Row; Ortiz, Aftermath) but then screwed over by industry politics or bootlegging as their albums were shelved or poorly promoted? Check.
Involved in several highly-publicized beefs (Budden vs. The Game, Method Man, Ransom, Jay-Z, Saigon; Royce vs. Eminem/D-12, Mistah Fab, Dr. Dre, Kanye West; Budden vs. Royce; Crooked vs. Snoop Dogg, DMX, Prodigy)? Check.*
Developed a heavily internet-based cult following after uniquely (Budden’s Mood Muzik series; Royce’s Bar Exam mixtapes; Crooked’s Hip-Hop Weekly myspace drops; Ortiz’ 125 6-part track) going the independent route? Check.
Consistently recognized as being the best current underground lyricists in their respective cities (Budden, New Jersey; Royce, Detroit; Crooked, Long Beach; Ortiz, New York)? Check.
Known for their legal or personal problems (Budden’s addiction to PCP and an assassination attempt; Royce’s alcoholism and subsequent jailtime for a DUI; Crooked being shot)? Check.*
*with the exception of Ortiz, who only appeared on the scene in recent years and hasn’t had time to make enemies or get into trouble haha
And even ignoring these common threads, I should have had enough reason to be hyped up for Slaughterhouse. Each member had something to offer: Budden could hit you with dark introspective insights, Royce’s flow was just naturally insane, Crooked had the multi-syllabic lyrics on lock, and Ortiz had a light-hearted swag that could provide comic-relief.
But still, I wasn’t excited. I figured they’d drop a posse cut or two and then go their separate ways… or they’d get signed and get lost in the industry mix, as evidenced by their individual careers.
Boy, was I wrong and I’m glad to admit it.
Since first appearing on Budden’s Halfway House album early this year on Amalgam Digital, Slaughterhouse has been dropping FIRE. They’ve announced August 11 as the release date of the album and I am officially anticipating it based on what’s leaked so far:
Also, the main reason I chose them to be my first music feature was that July has officially been established as Slaughterhouse month. To create momentum for the August 11, 2009 release date, each member will be releasing an online EP every week for July.
What I love about Slaughterhouse is that they aren’t just a group, but they present themselves as a fam in the way Wu-Tang, BCC, Bad Boy, and Death Row used to in the early 90s. They appear in eachother’s music videos and are constantly seen just chilling on Joe Budden TV. They also don’t always take themselves serious and allow us to have a good laugh at their expense, as seen in this promotional video they released:
Anyway, this has been the first Sunday Special for FenaxiZ Online. Next week will be the second Sunday of the month so I’ll be talking about whatever alcohol I’m feeling next week. It’s Sunday, July 5 in Toronto and that means I’ll be hitting up the Rock The Bells festival at the Molson Amphitheater to see noneother than SLAUGHTERHOUSE. I’ll be back in a few days with pics, but for now…
Whatttttup everyone? It’s July 04, 2009, as in, the day history will be made at JUMP OFF II. Honestly, me, AJM, and UGN Son have gathered the ILLEST, FRESHEST, and FINEST of the Filipino hip-hop community here in the T.O to gather at M-Studio tonight in a show of unity and support for eachother’s movements.
So, only question is, why aren’t you going?
For now, I’m just about to leave my crib and pick the homie R. Scribe up. We gonna hit up my homegirl Ashley’s BBQ first, but after we gotta head out to Sauga for rehearsals, soundcheck, and set up. Hope to see y’all there! (at Jump Off 2 haha, not the BBQ, unless Ash doesn’t mind the extra guests!!!)
Also, just thought I’d share some more behind the scenes clips of what I’m up to outside the music. Thursday night I linked up with my old Scarborough crew and brought along the Jamestown boys too as we hit up DJ Mensa’s regularly scheduled Thursday night at Octapus Lounge. Cheeeck it out:
damn right open 'til forever
Also a vid of us just walkin around from Jamestown to College st:
I don’t know about them, but I had a good night! (despite me getting a parking ticket.)
Also linked with the FSA crew on Friday and we hit up the Michael Jackson tribute at Parkdale Drink. We really wanted to reach since we missed out on the ManifesTO MJ tribute at Dundas Square last week, and I gotta say, Big Jacks and Royale did not disappoint. “Rock With You,” “Billie Jean,” “ABC,” etc. Sheeeeit. I can go on and on.
Here’s me playing with Tim’s cookie monster hat while we waited for the MJ tunes:
NOM NOM NOM
Anyway, let me get serious for a minute. As I said the purpose of this blog was to document the process of making my third album. So I got in touch with the homie August Rigo yesterday and we had a really brief talk, but all in all, I’m gonna start pushing the first single “Queen feat. August Rigo” hella hard over the next few weeks. So, if you haven’t heard the track yet, check it out below:
This week I gotta create the promo flyers, design the logo in Adobe Illustrator and apply it to some shirts and business cards. I got an upcoming photoshoot for the album jacket pics and I gotta start working on an Electronic Press Kit. All in due time… As far as the album itself, all songs are written, but I’m missing some session files so I gotta holla @ the homie producer Tyme One and DJ Incise for those, plus I gotta get my home studio gear set up. Just bought an Mbox 2 Pro so I think I’m good?
I’d just like to wish everyone a Happy Canada Day!
I celebrated by visiting Mandarin in the morning for their Canada Day promotion… a free meal for anyone who could present proof that they had Canadian citizenship.
I went with the FSA crew and we lined up at 9:30 in the morning. We thought we would get in the first cycle when they opened at 12:00 but cotdaaaaaamn we were wrong. After spending hours upon hours of watching 3 fights, 2 people passing out, and 1 poor guy having a seizure, we finally got in at 5:00. Here’s a little video I took for y’all to peep:
We stayed for 2 hours then reached Brampton to watch fireworks. Carnival mission after was fail since it closed before we got there, but overall it was a cool night.
On another note, just wanted to let y’all know of two things.
1) The homie Kris Blade and his Toxic Slime crew from Vancity dropped their music video so check it out:
and
2) Dan from my Hiphopheadz days is holding an event at Kops records so if you’re in the Queen & University area check this event out, here’s the FB page:
