YES! Album
Download it here: YES! ALBUM
1. YES!: This intro was written to let the listener know, off top, that I am not the typical "rapper". That includes everything from not talking about the same typical "rapper" stuff..like killing, selling drugs, etc....to not having mad dudes with drinks on stage with me yellin the adlibs louder me. LOL! I also figured I'd keep saying NO the whole verse, until I said YES at the end. I thought it was cool..hahaha! Basically..it sets the tone for the album.
2. Malfunction: This record actually originated from me just acting silly at my day job wit a coworker. After doing something kinda crazy, I asked her "what type of malfunction u got?!?!..is u crazy?!?!". Then she asked me the same thing. After going back and forth, I started banging on the table to get louder than her...and it clicked! I called Asa(producer) like, "yo..listen to this idea!" Started saying the hook and banging on table and he told me to leave it on his voicemail. The rest is history! My first co-production too..ha!
3. RollerCoaster: When Asa gave me the track, the beat and sample was chopped up different from what you hear...but I had a vision on how I wanted it, so Asa made it happen. It was definitely a track I felt could be a "party" track, but I was felt led to write about how life has its ups and downs. So I figured I'd talk about good things and be kinda cocky in the beginnings of each verse, but then say how it isn't/wasn't always good towards the ends of the verses. I always write based on the feeling I get when listening to the track, so who knows...maybe on another day it would've been more "partying" in the record. Oh well...I like it. Lol!
4. U Can Make It: This record is pretty self explanatory, but the writing/recording process was different. First off, I wrote this crying on my living room floor after listening to a voicemail my moms left me when I came from visiting her...which happens to be the actual voicemail you hear at the beginning of the record. I was trying to be strong around her, but she must have seen that I was hurting inside from seeing how the Cancer/Chemo was changing her appearance and health. So the entire first verse was LITERALLY what I was doing and saying as I'm writing. Wait..so understand...I am going thru this and writing about it at the same time! Anyway..I went to the studio to lay it down after noticing that this song that was written simply as therapy for me, can also be a dope record and therapy/inspiration for others. A dope record..but more importantly, my moms survived the highest stage of CANCER!!! Oooooooowwww!!!!
5. Ride Wit Me: Asa had this record for a singer that was slow motion with writing/recording it, so he played it for me and I did the hook and scatted the flow on the spot. Needless to say, he went bonkers and the beat was mine..LOL! FYI: If you think I am just talking about riding in the song, you need to listen closer. One of my favorites in regards to the content. I wrote it, but it inspires ME when I listen to it. Weird?? Oh well...
6. Pose: When I heard this track, I just started envisioning me and my homies celebrating with fresh gear on..whether it be in tuxes and shoes, or in dope kicks and Tees..and ladies doing the same with they fly shoes or kicks on. Just having alot of fun. That feeling and vision led me to write about us doing just that. Also..being that the track was so busy to me, I chose to be very simple with the flow on the verses. Don't sleep on the slick lines in there though! Like me referring to baseball that whole first section of the 1st verse...ha!
7. Bang: This track was so aggressive and driven, that I had to match that energy. No matter how much I wanted to have a hook that said more, the only thing that felt right was a simple repeated word that turned out to be BANG! Once I had that, I just wanted to flip the word and song to something that the listener wouldn't expect. So I used some gang references like initiation, etc(end of 1st verse), and flipped it to getting initiated into music and letting my music bang. Check the gang wordplay in the second verse too..ha! I think I mentioned 7 gang names..
8. Skit: Just me being silly and bringing light to one of the many ignorances you face as a hip hop artist.
9. Can't Change Overnight: The record may sound fun and commercial, but I actually was feeling guilty about somethings at the time and chose to write about some of them. The thought behind the record was...I always beat myself up about things I want to improve, but I try to remind myself that I can't change everything overnight. I can always hear what the song "should" be about based on the sounds in the track, but its hard for me to do the typical thing that the listener expects. I guess thats why my heart decided to speak the way it did on this one.
10. Mind Body & Soul: Again...beating myself up and expressing how I want be a better person. Honesty at its best! Another one of my personal favorites. I'm such a work in progress...
11. Pose(remix): Simply put...me, sha, and Shimy was in the studio mixing Pose when the thought to take out the horns came up. We took them out, and all looked at each other like, "yo...lets just throw a "no horns" remix on there!". No new verses or anything..just a different feel.