The Music Biz Ain’t Dead
Beyonce’s new album: 1.5 Mil Sold to date
Kanye’s new album: 1 Mil Sold to date
Jamie Fox new album: 400,000 Sold to date
Keisha Cole: 500,000 to date
Lil Wayne: Closing in on 3 mil
Scarface New Album: 79,000 to date
Soulja Boy New Album: 79,000 to date
Looks like the balance of things is swinging back towards the center. Its about time Scarface outsells Soulja Boy. I’m no Soulja Boy hater, this dude has put the hip hop community on the defensive yet again. When he played youtube tag with Ice T, it was cute. He was on top of his game, had a hot song out, had a good buzz, and arguably “manned up” on Ice T, in the same way that a nerd getting picked on for his lunch money might one day man up to a bully. Now, after a very poor showing in his Interscope Records debut, selling only 35,000 copies his first week, Soulja boy is reacting. But instead of the underdog spirit he once embodied, Soulja Boy sounds like a bitter betty; unable to let go of Ice T’s haunting remarks, Soulja Boy has recorded himself ranting and raving that Nas is the reason for the death of hip hop, because, well, Nas titled his album “Hip Hop Is Dead.” Since no one had titled an album “Hip Hop Is Dead” before, surely no one could have proposed the idea, according to Soulja Boy. By his logic, Nas is therefore guilty of killing hip hop, and Soulja Boy is not. I hate to break it to you Soulja Boy, but I think hip hop has killed you, like it does most who are not ready for the clutches of success. Firing shots at Nas for publicity, especially when you mad, especially when your album sales are horrific, paints you as, well, another disgruntled one hit wonder grasping at any attention you can court, signaling an awkward fall from grace. And, honestly, do you want hip hop fans to compare your career to Nas? No, you don’t. Your career would be seem infinitely better if it never had to be compared to Nas in any way. You aren’t even old enough to get in the club yet, dude. Slow down and take it like a fucking man. This Nas commentary has made a fool out of many who took the time to defend you. People saw Soulja Boy as a different breed, now he has confirmed his status as the less successful Lil Bow Wow, trying to impersonate Gucci Mane. Hope you invested some of that “Crank That” money. Just not in the stock market.
2 New Beats
Click The Links To Check Out The Beats
1. Forgive me, this is a bit of a change of pace. Lately I’ve been posting more underground and R&B style tracks. This is a total diversion from that style. I had a lot of fun making this beat, its simple and to the point. I could hear a Britney Spears or (new) Kanye song on this. Something pop, for the club, with a dash of 70’s funk. Cool chords, good progression. The bassline is constantly changing in subtle ways. The bridge is smooth. Open your mind and check this one out. Could see this doing well overseas.
2. This one has a bit more traditional sounds, but its also an unorthodox beat. Its got hip hop drums at an unusually quick tempo of 111 BPM. The sounds are exotic and do not get repetitious. The hook comes out of nowhere and elevates the song to pop/R&B status. I don’t know whether to love or hate this beat, each time I listen its a mixture of both. Its a very unfamiliar sound. Lot of nuance involved in crafting this one, as with most. Open your mind for this one too 
. More updates coming real soon.
New Soleternity Interview with LiveFromTheFrontLine.com
My column “The Producer’s Perspective” will start appearing on LiveFromTheFrontLine.com in January. They recently interviewed me for the column. Here is the interview:
Q: First and foremost, for the sake of those who aren’t familiar with who you are and what you do, can you take a second to introduce yourself?
A: Let me start by saying its a blessing to contribute to LiveFromTheFrontLine.com. I’ve known the site’s creator since I first started posting music online back in 2001. I’m excited as hell to be a part of it.
My name is Soleternity, I’m known mostly as a producer and artist. I have always had a passion for music; I took up producing professionally in 2001, at age 14. 8 years later, I’m still doing the same damn thing–except I’m in Los Angeles now, instead of Rockford (Illinois). Some may recognize me from producing for Bone Crusher, I produced and mixed 8 tracks on his album “Release The Beast” in 2006 (amongst a plethora of other projects). Others might know me from STTS ENT (Streets To The Suites Entertainment), a multimedia company created and operated by myself and Big Mountain. We have worked with a variety of talented people from Atlanta to Los Angeles, providing services including Music Production, Music Videos (created by my younger brother’s company–McGill Original Films), and Corporate Consulting. Together, he and I form the hip hop group “Brotherly Love”–our debut album “The Sequel” was released earlier this year.
Q: What sparked your interest in music production? I know you didn’t wake up one mourning wanting to be a music producer, something had to spark your interest, what was it?
A: It was a necessary evolution from video game mastery. After dedicating a significant part of my youth to becoming highly adept at Mario Kart, Super Bomber Man, and Legend of Zelda, amongst others, I found myself utilizing these mental skills in a new arena: creating music. I also really liked Tupac and Bone Thugs and was often mystified by how they obtained their “background music,” now more popularly referred to as “beats.” RIP To Johnny J, dude had some classics.
Q: Who are some of your musical influences, and how have you adapted any of their styles into your own?
A: Early on, I studied Dj U-Neek (Bone Thugs), Johnny J (Pac), Dr. Dre, R. Kelly, Dj Quick; all the producer’s who were responsible for creating the sound of Tupac, Bone Thugs, Notorious B.I.G., and Eminem, amongst others. As I took a greater interest in music, I began to discover great producers who were less known or from other eras, including Dj Hi-tek (especially the Reflection Eternal album with Kweli), J-Dilla (RIP to the legend), Illmind, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, to name a few.
I wouldn’t say I adapted their style, but I will say that it influenced me as to how I want my music to be percieved. You can sit in front of a keyboard like the Korg Triton and create pretty much anything you want; you could score a 17th century themed movie with it, or you could make “Grindin’” by The Clipse. I wanted to be acknowledged for making the same type of music that originally inspired me, so I set off to create music that could have appeared on any of the aforementioned artists’ albums. That time has come and passed, and the modern commercial world of music is incredibly stale to me (most genres, not just hip hop), so I’m focused intently on engineering a new sound. I always seek to reinvent my sound while never straying from the essence of story telling and great art.
Q: Are you still influenced by others in your same field or do you steer clear of other people’s music to avoid subconsciously molding your sound after theirs?
A: This is a pretty philosophical question. To some, there is no original thought. So according to them, it’d be impossible to create an original idea; rather, we merely re-assemble previous thoughts and ideas. Yet, if this is true, I feel that it doesn’t aptly account for the originality that goes into creating something from scratch. Originality is very important to me, more important than success. Say something that is unique to your life experience in a way that has never been done. Art should not be confused with showmanship or entertainment. When I set out to create a song, I set out to create an atmosphere, a mood. I set out to capture the essence of what I’m feeling, and express it, because without expressing it, I’d most likely be diagnosed as insane. With that being said, I find it critical to observe, dissect, and analyze music that I like. Its refreshing to hear other talented artists’ creations (and therefore, their struggles), it re-invigorates one’s purpose.
Q: What did your first set up consist of?
A: A Karaoke machine with two tape decks and two microphones, a 49-key Casio keyboard, a Sony Boombox, and some cassette tapes.
Q: What does your present day set up consist of?
A: Custom PC, primary software: Acid Pro 6.0, Sound Forge 8.0; primary hardware: Korg Karma, Yamaha Motif Rack, Roland xv-5050, Nord Lead 2x, Fender Bass Guitar, 2 random Acoustic and Electric Guitars, the blue bird mic with the focusrite platinum plus pre-amp.
Q: How do you choose which pieces of equipment make it into your set up? Is the choice made based on word of mouth, other producers recommendations, reviews? Certain pieces are pretty expensive and its not like choosing a wife, you can’t try before you buy.
A: Its more like trying a prostitute, you have to pay, but if you get what you want, you have no problem paying for it again in the future. Each piece I added to the collection at a different time and at a different phase in my development. My first real piece of equipment was the Roland Jv-1010. I gave it to my boy J Fresh in Atlanta about 6 years after I bought it. It was reccomended to me by Kaz1–he took me under his wing when I was first getting started and provided me with a lot of feedback and inspiration. He had the Emu Proteus 2000, which I couldn’t quite afford, so I settled for the JV-1010. It was a dope module, but after using it exclusively for 2 years, I got sick of it and was ready to move on. After watching a lot of videos on different keyboard workstations, I bought the Korg Karma, which was a lot of fun, but certainly did not satisfy my appetite for new sounds. So I bought the Roland Xv-5050 (the grandfather of the roland jv-1010) and the Yamaha Motif rack, which were two pieces that everyone was excited about at that time. Then I had something to play with. A few years later, I added the Nord Lead 2x, and thats what I’m still working with today. I picked up some guitars along the way too, which can be fun.
Q: I know this might sound like a stupid question to some but what kind of producer are you?
A: I am a musical skitzo–I am a creative artist with a story to tell and ideas to express, and I am also a professional producer, recognized for being able to capture others’ stories and ideas in a very appealing and appropriate way. I divide the two because they are polar opposites to me–when someone hires me as their producer, I come in with my beats, but no longer is my goal to make my favorite beat, my goal is to spotlight the true essence of the artist by complimenting their art with my music. I will interject here that too often I see producers doing what I call “over-producing.” Trying to manipulate and control every lyric, every syllable, every breathe, every note. Thats not producing, thats artist development and songwriting. Producing is taking an artist, flaws included, and making music that people can relate to and appreciate. Sometimes a song is better without all the autotune and quantizing. Sometimes raw is best. Sometimes not. Its my job to ascertain that and get the most out of the artist without forcing it out of them.
Q: In your opinion, what sets you apart from other hip hop music producers? Would you prefer to be classified as a hip hop producer or would you rather be classified as a producer?
A: I prefer to be classified as a hip hop producer. We are largely misunderstood artists and are misrepresented by the few of us that have become commercialized. We aren’t all about making a simple dance tune for the club. Thats just one weapon in our arsenal. Hip hop producers, to me, are the quintenessence of musicians, because hip hop incorporates so many different genres of music and ideas. Its also uncensored and very spiritual. One of my favorite songs by The Outlawz is “Our Block”–their re-make of Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” This song was featured on The Outlawz Double Mixtape Classic, which also features the song “4 Times (featuring Big Mountain)” or “Me Against The World ft. Young Noble, Big Mountain, 2pac” which I co-produced along with J Fresh. That same Outlawz album features samples from John Coltraine and Bach, amongst others. What other genre of music interweaves so many different genres from different time periods without ever thinking twice? Hip hop is the most natural expression of music for me. I love it and will rep it till I’m in the ground. Without hip hop, I would not be producing music at the level I’m at now. Hip hop was accessible for me, even when I was 14 and all I had was a Tascam 4 track recorder and a computer with Napster. Hip hop made me love music. The fact that I’ve sat around and thought about this, if nothing else, is what separates me from most.
Q: Of all the records you’ve produced over the course of your career, which one are you most proud of and why?
A: Probably Young Buck “Sleep With An AK” (also known as “Black Talons”). A lot of people have no idea who made that beat but love the song. I made the beat when I was 15, right before I went to sign up for my Driver’s Education class. I put it online first under the name “Concero” of “RM Records” and lost with it in a beat battle. I figured the beat was a lost cause and put it on the Soleternity mp3.com website. It became real popular on there, so popular that every day I was getting emails from other producers begging to know where the sample came from (if you guys would have just google searched the lyrics from when I let the sample play in the beginning of the song…). One day I’m scrolling through some internet forums and I see a post directed at me, saying I produced a song for Young Buck. With teenage disbelief, I downloaded the “SWAT” mixtape by Lloyd Banks and Dj Whoo Kid, and sure enough there was Young Buck rapping to my beat. I eventually acquired the full length mixdown of the song, which can be found at www.myspace.com/soleternity. A few months later, my exact same beat popped up on another Dj Whoo Kid Mixtape, except Lil Scrappy did a song called “Haters” to it.
Q: What’s next for you?
A: I might pull a Thoreau and live in the forest for a while. Except it might be hard to make beats. I could still write articles though.
Brotherly Love for Christmas
Treat your mind to a line of refined audio cocaine. Brotherly Love The Sequel Album Sampler:
2 New Instrumental Jewels
1. Life Of Luxury – Click here to Listen or Download
2. The Sensai – Click here to Listen or Download
Life of Luxury was started 3 weeks before it was completed. I made 90% of it in the first session, which is all of the instruments that weave in and out of the main loop. I didn’t finish it, but I got overwhelmingly good feedback on it when I played it for passerbys and clients of the studio, so I knew it would be finished one day. I knew I wanted it to go in the R&B direction, with a touch of hip hop, as opposed to being hip hop with a touch of R&B. So when I revisited it, I added the bridge section after the hook, which gave me some inspiration to piece together the breakdowns and arrangement, and finish it. The track has got a soul of its own. Even though its based on two chords, the chords leave a lot of room for building and growth.
The Sensai was just a fun come back beat, after a hiatus of a few weeks. I just went wild on it, didn’t try and make anything in particular, didn’t care what genre it wound up in, just wanted to do some cool shit. It just reached a point where I felt like there were enough instruments, although (at the time of creation) I certainly felt there was room for more. I even debated if it was too empty. When I listened back before I threw a quick touch-up on it, I felt theres so much shit going on, it might be too full. So I decided to utilize all the various instruments by having it change up and break down a lot. Makes it fun to listen to. Most of the instruments are surfacing and then hiding again at different points and to different dramatic effect, which lessens the looped feel.
Enjoy. Happy Holidays.
25,000+ Views “Put Your Money In The Air” Music Vid
Brotherly Love F/ Tha E.D. & Pair-A-Dice
“Put Your Money In The Air”
Music Vid by McGill Original Films