First and foremost, we’d like to thank all the Freetown supporters and everyone that has been involved with the company since we’ve started a year ago. We’ve had tremendous exposure towards the new site, we’re talking thousands of hits. The direction of Freetown Radio is looking very exciting!
Therefore, this Summer ‘18 we wish to give back to those that supported the vision of Freetown Radio with our first season of merchandise; we’re talking posters, stickers, apparel, and exclusive new music by dope artists that can only be found on Freetown Radio. As a reflection of our ongoing success, check out some of our most memorable posts below. Once again, special thanks to all the Freetown supporters!
Here are some of the pivotal annotated moments from ‘Danny Tanner’:
[Verse 1: Shinobi T]
All these demons tryna to deceive me,
Evil plots seize the weaving,
Becoming my own life line just for breathing.
“It’s more of freeing myself from the negative energy. All that stuff was suffocating me; I’m fighting for my own well being. I wanted a platform to be myself, honestly. I wanted to break free.”
Two months of sobriety,
Of interacting with society,
Cause ain’t nobody out there that inspires me.
“I don’t interact with the pubic like that, I like staying inside. I’d rather stay inside, watch a movie or make a song, than go outside and face people that talk behind ya back. There’s not a lot of real people out there that will honestly check up on you. They’re there for the moment and then they’re gone.”
Two many lies seem to linger on,
And many more seems to come to life as the stacks pile up,
I can view it through ya speech and petty manner,
You acting for a nigga, you be pulling that Danny Tanner.
“People in general seem to hold on to a lie and run with it. They’ll keep running with it. The lie will come from something little and all of sudden it becomes this huge plot. Then it’s like damn, ‘I’m really living this lie right now.’ They’ll lie so much that they start to believe it themselves.
People will come up to me like, ‘Yo, I love your shit. You’re the best ever, in O.T. (Ocean Township, NJ). You’re better than so and so.’ Like damn, why do you gotta knock that other dude’s hustle? Why can’t you let him be him and let me be me. Next thing you know, they’re saying the same thing to the other person — trust me, I can hear it in your petty manner.”
[Chorus: Shinobi T]
Itching out my skin.
Fade to black, credits role
It don’t signal my end.
Feeling comfortable, my living never seize to extend
Suited for a new beginning, gotta find it within.
“Itching out of my skin is me not hiding behind something. Once you get out of your skin and be yourself, it’s not over once the credits role. You gotta continue on; don’t act like it’s the end of the world when a setback approaches.
I’m feeling really comfortable with myself. I’m confident, I love what I do. No one is gonna stop me, even is someone thinks I’m trash. I found my own path.”
Here are some of the pivotal annotated moments from ‘All I Ever Knew’:
[Chorus: IllWill]
Imma humble man.
Streets turned me to another man, jungle man.
Plug man, yeah the bundle man.
Hunnid bands, with the rubber bands
Straight thumbin man, I don’t think you understand.
“I was very humble, until certain situations made me into a savage. You can’t be nice to everybody, at some point you gotta put your foot down and smack some of these n****s. I’m a cool dude, but I don’t take kindly to disrespect.”
Choppa man, make a nigga do the running man.
It’s nothin man.
They say they coming, I ain’t running man.
I’m dumping man.
Like weezy, imma stunna man.
Pass the work with the under hand.
“Shoutout to my boy Weezy, Imma stunna man! This shit make me get in my bag for real! That choppa man, make a n***a do the running, you already know that’s self explanatory.”
[Verse 1: IllWill]
Pour the lean in the fanta,
Go to the club and find a big booty dancer.
Can’t fuck with niggas ‘cause these niggas they like cancer.
“You can’t fuck with everybody bro, some of these dudes is like cancer. N****s will kill you slowly and fuck up your whole mission in life. Some of them really are like cancer, for real.”
Might fly out to Denver,
Heard the smoke better.
Rick on my feet boy this shit just getting better,
Free all my niggas, I don’t like reading letters.
“Free my boy Dante, he’ll be home very soon actually. As soon as he touchdown we getting straight to work.”
R.I.P. my pop,
I be on the block,
If I catch an opp,
Imma send a shot.
‘R.I.P. my pops you feel me. May his soul rest in peace. That’s real shit, and fuck all my oppositions, nothing less.”
Peace and good morning. Hip Hop has certainly earned the prestige as an art form born in black America, however, nurtured and carried from indigenous ancestry. Amid that same ancestry evokes social-political speech, an inception so far removed from the genre, I yearn for anyone to speak the language to me and to speak it from the heart. In my natural instinct, I date to a man, brother, teacher and student of “this country called Earth,” he whom speaks this language fluently: Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def.
Yasiin Bey’s legacy as an artist has always been coined complicated and perplex due to his enigmatic behavior; like complying as a powerless prisoner and experiencing what hunger strikers in Guantánamo Bay endure daily. Or as a result, three years later of the imprisoned experience, Bey protesting his [politically motivated] treatment in South Africa, demanding “No more parties in S.A.” He protests against his dilemma, speaking:
“Why these police up in my face? Why they raiding my place? Why I don’t feel safe? This is not an expression of fear. This is just to make things clear. My intentions are pure in coming here. And that’s for everything I love or hold dear. Homies in the building. So is my wife and my children. I committed no crime. Why is the state wasting my time?” As time exists, this is the time to be discussing the dignity and nobility of being a human being because that’s what is really in jeopardy.
It’s all connected.
Photographed by Reggie Watts
Reflecting on his career, Yasiin Bey has had many stand-stills of thought provoking brilliance for me to recognize. His conscious mystique is a topic of choice that should and could be at a high demand during today’s social climate, if those watching are now willing to listen.
In a time, where I was willing to listen, he introduced me to substance. He introduced me to morality. He introduced me to religion. He introduced me to morality in religion. Outside of his ‘09 acclaimed album, The Ecstatic, Bey has held honest forums as seen above with journalist and music producer, Ferrari Sheppard, on the promotion of conflict amongst people on this Earth monetizing from other’s misfortunes. Collectively, during the year-old interview Bey states,
“It’s all meant to just get into a reactionary phase and to start viewing your brothers and sisters, your human brothers and sisters with suspicion, hatred, and judgement. It’s like Dave Chappelle said, when they asked him who’s gon win between Pacquiao and Mayweather, he said ‘the promoters.’ That’s what’s happening. They promote this conflict everywhere. It’s the Muslims versus the Christians, It’s the heterosexuals versus the homosexuals, it’s the women versus men, it’s youth versus the elders, it’s man versus nature.”
It’s all connected.
In the middle of worldwide Islamophobia, Bey has proudly placed his Muslim faith on display, especially on The Ecstatic, an album I hold close for thoughtful and universal purposes. Whether it’s the initial recital of the Arabic phrase “Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim,” meaning “In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful,” or the spiritual triumph in “Wahid” (peerless or unique), his teachings remain a reminder not to be a puppet of the societal pressures placed upon me.
The Arabic symbol of Sūrah Yāʾ-Sīn, the 36th chapter of the Qur’an.
Although Bey has never clarified the reason for his new moniker Yasiin Bey, its connection to Sūrah Yāʾ-Sīn, the 36th chapter of the Qur’an, deems appropriate. Inside the chapter, three heavenly prophets visit a village to teach non-believers about the importance of God. But the townspeople ridicule their message, consequently calling the prophets liars. The Message of The Qur’an, one of the surah’s key lessons is “the problem of man’s moral responsibility.” Like the prophets, Yasiin Bey and all of his work stands as an outlet for change, and himself a moral mediator who cautions the mass audience, not of God, but of the world’s many injustices.
The influence and narrative of Hip Hop is at an all-time high where albums like Nipsey Hussle’s Victory Lap are symbolic milestones of promoting the expansion of black wealth.
It has taken Los Angeles MC, Nipsey Hussle, more than six years to release his much-admired debut, Victory Lap. Before the release of his album, Nipsey was widely known for notoriously selling copies of his Crenshaw mixtape for $100 each, eventually capturing Jay-Z’s endorsement and buying a hundred copies of the tape. Some may have thought this was arrogant back in 2013 but truly instead it was a sign of Nipsey understanding his worth and how a business model can be effective through exclusivity. In the end, Nipsey sold a 1,000 copies, making $100,000 in total.
Nipsey being heavy in the mixtape circuit for the last ten years has delivered his most mature body of work to date. The level of intellect Nipsey Hussle conveys on Victory Lap is refreshing to the current state of Hip Hop. Victory Lap discusses Black capitalism in songs like “Hussle & Motivate,” gang culture in “Blue Laces 2,” and the importance of family ancestry in “Dedication” with some assistance from fellow West Coast sovereign, Kendrick Lamar.
In the record “Dedication,” Nipsey builds subtle observations for his audience to form as larger ideas in order to reflect on:
“This ain’t entertainment, it’s for niggas on the slave ship/
These songs just the spirituals I swam against them waves wit/
Ended up on shore to their amazement/
I hope the example I set’s not contagious/
Lock us behind gates but can’t tame us/
Used to be stay safe, now it’s stay dangerous/
‘Cause ain’t no point in playin’ defense nigga/
That’s why I dove off the deep end nigga, without a life jacket/
Couple mil, tour the world, now my life crackin’/
Cook the books, bring it back so it’s no taxes”
Nipsey Hussle calls for more black ownership and vertical integration within business, specifically amongst technology. Inside tech companies people of color are under-represented and a lot of the times boxed out. Just 2% of African Americans make up the Google’s workforce located in Silicon Valley.
Nipsey Hussle wishes to grant access to information that is out of reach for people of color who choose to actively pursue the knowledge. The MC, plans to do so through his recent venture with Vector90, an inner city based co-working community in South Los Angeles, focused on developing under-represented entrepreneurs.
As a young Black economist musician, Nipsey Hussle has grown into a business savvy entrepreneur who leads and stands by the people. Nipsey’s reveal of honesty, traumatic stories, and triumph is the motivational blueprint where you’ll go further with his wisdom oppose to without it. Despite the title, Victory Lap, this is not only the start of something meaningful for Nipsey’s legacy but for the culture of Hip Hop and the empowerment of black people living in America.
Defining dynamic is a force that stimulates change or progress within a system or process. If there is anything that epitomizes dynamic, it’s Tina Kerekes. During times of entrepreneurial success ran by unselfish motives, she continues to impact every person she encounters in ways that you can only imagine. Some say curiosity killed the cat, however curiosity led me to a spirit filled with a monopoly of beauty, wisdom, and jaw-dropping stories.
Cody Cooper: Let’s start off with your background, where are you originally from?
Tina Kerekes: I’m a Tri-state gyspy [laughs] my mom was a single mom so we moved around a lot, so I lived in Philly, New Jersey, New York, and eventually Venice, California. I was born in Neptune and I didn’t know that until recently I looked at my birth certificate. I always thought I was born in Lakewood because I lived outside of Lakewood.
Photographed by Cody Cooper
What was life like growing up as Tina?
I mean I didn’t come from a lot. My mother was a single mom, we didn’t have anything except for a record player. My mother would play songs and we would dance in the living room with no furniture. I remember being an artist always drawing.
My mom was a waitress and a bartender so a lot of the times we couldn’t afford a babysitter so she would take us to the bar or restaurant. She would sit us at a table and we weren’t allowed to speak. I would just sit there with a pad and paper and draw.
I love the beauty of a flowing dress. I want to be that. I told myself I want to be that person that dresses people. I’ve modeled before but it’s way more exciting to get somebody else in your clothes.
Back when I owned a clothing store, I would throw these fashion shows with a hundred girls. I would choose girls of every size, every color, every age. I wanted it to be like a rainbow on the stage. I wanted people to know that they can come shopping in my store and be any size and any color.
November 2016. We were only supposed to be here for a couple months but we’re here for a while though. I’m super fortunate to work with Danny Clinch, he’s amazing, we were actually speaking about Hip Hop earlier today. As you can see by the photos on the wall with Tupac, Nas, and Run DMC, these are all legends we grew up listening to.
You know, when Danny started taking photos, a lot of the opportunity came because most photographers thought that Hip Hop was a fad. [Pointing at a portrait of Tupac] He took that in ’93. Honestly, it wasn’t for the cover of Rolling Stone, it was to have inside the magazine. He loved shooting with Tupac because he understood the importance of being photographed for a Rock magazine as an upcoming Hip Hop star. He was super humble, smart, and photogenic.
Photographed by Danny Clinch
They put the photo on the cover when he was shot and killed, however Danny did get his wish to include him in the magazine but not under the circumstances he intended for.
What’s your relationship like with Hip Hop?
I didn’t grow up with it, you know… but some of my playlists of life are Hip Hop. I mean fucking Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, these are the records I would play over and over again when I was younger.
When I graduated high school in ’83, I was punk rock, Mohawk wearing, with shoulder pads and high heels. I remember one of my friend’s telling me I gotta check this out and it was Hip Hop tape. It was insane.
Afterwards it would become a part of my life, I would go to almost all of these shows throughout the 80s, then I began working in it come the 2000s.
You worked within the Hip Hop industry?
Yeah, I met a couple of stylists when I was making these one of kind pieces where magazines like Maxim really enjoyed my work. Videos started popping up with Fabulous, B2K, and Khia asking to make stuff for their videos. During those days, I just did it to see my piece on somebody; If you look at ‘My Neck, My Back’ the outfit she’s wearing I designed. Yep, that was me. She was amazing. She was so much fun to work with.
The thing about Khia, she was bigger than most of the girls I woulddesign for. These girls were like a size two and Khia wasn’t a size two, she was like a twelve or fourteen. She was curvy and beautiful and she wanted to be naked because she had a different idea on what she wanted her first song to be.
I did this all in 24 hours with vintage fabrics and silks. I go knocking on the hotel door the next day and someone opens the door and he’swearing a green velvet track suit with chains coming down his neck and he’s pretty high [laughs].
So I say, “Hi, I’m doing a fitting with Khia” and he goes, “What’s yourname?” and I respond “Tina.” Then he says, “I’m Don but you can call me Don Juan.” I had just saw ‘American Pimp’ so I’m like holy fuck! It was amazing because during the fitting, he sat in the corner giggling the entire time because he was so fucking high!
Was this after your F.I.T. days?
Yes, this was after my F.I.T. (Fashion Institute of Technology) days, around the early 2000s. The girls that I was designing for were these gorgeous girls that had no problem wearing a bikini top with a pair of jeans out to the club. For me, I wanted to be that woman that was dressing these women. Someone would ask how much and I’d say I don’t really have a price tag because you wearing it is the real price I had in my mind.
I’m always the person who likes to challenge myself. I don’t like to say that I can’t do it, I have to try it. Now that I’m getting older, I start to think, okay, these are the things that I’ve accomplished but I need to be working more with things that are making an impact.
I met my mentor, John Fabian, who said to me years ago, “that at the end of your life, they’re not gonna ask you what kind of car you drove or what kind of house you had, they’re gonna ask you how many lives you’ve touched.”
When people who’ve worked with me that I’ve hired, trained, and taught so many things, tell me fifteen years later that I’ve inspired them, really that’s what means everything to me.
—Did you go to the Joe College event?
No, I’m upset I missed it! I heard Joe College’s recent show at the House of Independents was pretty dope.
Joe has stage presence! It was amazing it was sold out from top to bottom. I don’t know if you know this but Qwik came here and wanted to meet because I’ve been really following them. I know they had sold out The Saint and I asked him “What are you planning next?” and he goes, “I wanna see our name on the marquee of House of Independents.” So I’m like okay and I called my friend Mike who does the booking there. This was months ago!
Then right before the show, Qwik sends me a text saying that it’s coming to fruition and the show is on Friday (February 2, 2018). Seriously, I didn’t do anything, all I did was connect them. The stage was badass and the merchandise was super cool. The entire community was there. What they did with the show was incredible and we’re seeing more of this in Asbury.
I’m super blessed to be able to have a place that is safe for everybody to come; the young creatives that I meet in this space is really mind blowing. I think it’s important to be around people like you and better than you.
I’ve been a salesperson my entire, I can pretty much sell anything but I always remembered I wasn’t ever trying to sell something, I was trying to build a relationship.
Building a relationship, without screwing it up, is what allowed me to be successful in selling. I can meet someone that can show me something new and different that ultimately I can teach someone else. I wonder if not having a big family, is where my attraction for relationships came from.
What can people expect when they arrive at this gallery?
I curate it to make it look almost like a clubhouse, a cool place to sit and have a conversation, look through Danny’s books, hangout and enjoy the art. It was never about white walls; it was about people feeling what they were looking at. We do sell prints right off the wall, a lot of books, t-shirts, and furniture but that’s not why we are here. We’re here because we are music and art.
How often do you hold performances in the gallery?
We were doing them every week in the summer and every other week in the off season. A lot of the time it’s organic shows that happen because someone was in town and Danny would open up the space to them.
I was blown away by Tash’s performance.
Yeah! That was London Souls, he opened up for The Who this summer. He so incredibly talented. I look at him and he’s got it, the way he riffs on a guitar is ridiculous plus his voice is amazing. Yeah, he’s good friends with Danny and he’s been in this space numerous times performing.
I’d say Gary Clark Jr., that was the most incredible day ever, I mean he made everyone pregnant [hysterically laughing], like seriously he’s so talented and genuine. It was like a handpicked crowd of Danny’s friends and family.
We put vintage rugs on the ground, added an amp and guitar, a stool in the center and everyone circled around him as he performed. Him in this space as if it was your living room was mind blowing.
Is there a selection process when it comes to booking performances or is it an open stage?
It’s not open to anybody but a lot of people who’ve never been on a stage before has been on our stage. We have an incredible young musician, Rachel Ana Dobken who books the music here, she’ll curate shows based on who’s performing. She’ll curate different types of shows including Blues, Country, and Hip Hop. You never know what you’re gonna walk into at the gallery.
Why locate in Asbury Park?
I didn’t plan on being in Asbury because I was opening up a store for a celebrity in Venice. I got a call that someone needed my help turning a bowling alley into a Rock N Roll venue which was Asbury Lanes. I was really good with interior design.
I kept saying no because I been to Asbury before in the 80s and it wasn’t safe. Soon enough I walk into the bowling alley and it was literally 1960, as if we walked into a time zone. From there I literally fell in love with it, did the interior, and I stayed. I fell in love with the town and now I’ve been here for sixteen years.
This has been a space where I get to meet new people and a lot of opportunities have come my way but I love what we’re building and I’m not done building, so what happens next, I don’t know.
In 2018’s hyper-saturated rap landscape, it often feels like the loudest and most ignorant voices win, dominating the conversation through an absolute rant. Flooding the net with distracted verses and recycled adlibs. mUsa’s strategy is different. He demands your ear with esoteric melodies covered in wisdom on top of Trap 808’s. The revolution will not be televised. The revolution will be live.
Cody Cooper: Is there any importance behind the arrangement of songs you’ve recently released?
mUsa: Actually, yeah there is. If you look at the cover art on my Instagram I arrange them a certain way where they all fit in a certain order, even by the colors. For example, ‘Menace II Society’ I’m rockin’ yellow and shit, whereas the ‘Demons’ cover is red and ‘Be Yourself’ is blue. Each cover basically represents what mood I was in; personally, I saw these songs as singles. I don’t even know if the album is going to come out like that. That’s how I saw the arrangement of them dropping because they might not be on the album.
You mention demons in your records and the variety of which they may exist, can you share who or what those demons are?
I believe in the literal sense and also the metaphorical sense. Like some of these Nazi’s and racist killers be demons. The man that shot up the church, Dylann Roof he’s a demon. There are certain demons, like I believe in multidimensional beings and shit like that. When I’m rapping, I’m using that concept but applying it to a literal surface that there’s physical demons living in our world. I don’t think any of these demons are strong, they’re weak as fuck, they channel negative energy, racism, and hatred.
The usage of “Ay” is an important filler in your work, how come?
Really, to me it’s spiritual because if you take back it back to Africa or even slavery, people had chants of ‘back and forth’ where they’ll say one thing and the others would respond. It’s called “call-and-response.” That’s an African rhythm, so “Ay” is Hip Hop’s version of that.
What’s special about your forthcoming album you’re to planning to release?
I honestly think it’s going to be the most special album to drop. A lot of people be saying they’re conscious but when I hear the song it’s always some boom-bap or pseudointellectual lyrics. I’m not tryna preach, I’m gon’ say some real shit but not preach. I’m gon’ give my unique perspective. I feel like I have a unique perspective in Hip Hop by being brown a Muslim and first generation child, I have a lot to say. But at the same time I’m not gon’ let that ruin the Sonics of the track. My shit gon’ bump. At the same time for the people that may not fuck with the knowledge I have to say, they’ll be repeating it in their head, then eventually start to research these things for themselves. When you hear it you might think it’s ignorant but it’s not, it’s the next wave. I’m tryna push Trap further because I love the drums and I want to incorporate more space like sounds.
Do you write a lot of your lyrics?
Everyday bruh. I write in my mind, in my phone, on paper, it don’t matter. Sometimes I use people’s footsteps in school or somewhere else as a beat to rap. It don’t matter bruh. Writing is an essential component even though I freestyle. Sometimes I’ll write something then find a bar or piece of vocabulary to use. To me I consider it like a scripture or a holy book. For example in ‘Menace II Society’, “Fourty-five, keep my people fortified,” that shit was something I wrote at4AM in my bed just thinking about life.
How did you start working with producer LevitatingMan?
He a problem. Usually people be sending me beats and they be ass but LevitatingMan was one of the people that be sending me beats and that shit was so hard. That day I was looking for beats and I was so desperate. I literally looked at my Soundcloud messages and seen the name LevitatingMan then clicked on it and I was like “oh this shit hit.” I have probably seven to eight songs with him and I’ve only dropped two or three. I’ve dropped ‘Blood in My Cup, Menace II Society, and Bury Them.’ We definitely gon’ have hella songs coming.
How would you describe his production?
Revolutionary. Hard, aggressive, and passionate. It’s ethereal you feel me. It’s very esoteric but at the same time it got that trap bounce you need. It’s modern.
Tell me how the record ‘1996’ came together with artist Pranay Fury.
We were at his crib looking for beats. The beat we found which is ‘1996’ was actually a Drake type beat on YouTube [laughs]. This shit sound crazy with the vocals. We were working very hard on that. The overall process itself took about three hours to finish and mix.
What’s it like working with Pranay Fury?
It’s pretty dope because before work we’re just friends, so it’s easier. He’s a brown skin kid like me so we have a lot to relate about. When he raps I understand him and I’m sure when I rap he understands me and where I’m coming from. It’s a natural fluidity with the music.
What are your expectations for yourself in 2018?
Music is my main platform that I’m going to use to change the world. My expectations are to be revolutionary. I’m not gon’ say no bullshit like I use to. There’s no time for that, everything I say has to hit hard and be different. It can’t be typical shit. There’s people that can do typical shit better than me but that’s not what I am, I’m mUsa. I’m trying to be me.
Here are some of the pivotal annotated moments from ‘Menace II Society’:
[Chorus: mUsa]
Fourty-five, keep my people fortified,
Keep my brain on mortified,
They wanna test, I got mo’ of that fire
I got arrested for being too fly.
“I’m tryna to protect my people by any means cause we’re living in a time where we’re targeted.
I’m constantly thinking about death where I’m ready for shit, I’m not living my life in ignorance.
I got arrested for standing out amongst a group of people I was with; I was the only individual that was ethically different.”
[Verse 1: mUsa]
Society know I’m a menace,
They know I’ma end this
My flow so stupendous.
They just be shoppin and spendin
If gwala don’t get them,
Then Allah gon’ get them.
“Ever since I grew up here, people have called me Osama, terrorist, or whatever. I’m not a terrorist, they want me to fit in the role of a peaceful guy but if you fuck with me, I will fuck you up. They know I’m a menace solely because of my views towards society. I got revolutionary ideas.
People only give a fuck about the money. I’m not in love with the paper, I’m not taking that shit to the grave. They in a state of ignorance, that’s why they be shopping and spending.
If money don’t ruin them, then Allah is gon’ take ‘em. Everything got a repercussion in this life.”
Don’t fuck with Nazi’s we killin them,
I cannot rest until we get rid of them.
“Facts, we ain’t stopping until Nazism is off the map. We don’t have room in this world for people that have supremacist ideas on race, fuck that shit.”
They don’t treat me like a citizen,
I put the work in like immigrants
They shackled me, I was innocent.
“My parents are immigrants and my dad is the hardest working person I’ve ever known but it’s a bad thing cause it’s driving him to negative health. That’s what I mean by put the work in like immigrants because that rubbed off on me.
I got so many stories where I’ve been innocent and they still shackled me.”
Hip Hop is poetry and poetry is a creative expression. The ability to express creativity is one of the closest energies as humans, we share with God. Spirituality and expression work simultaneously together in Hip Hop and its skilled intricacies.
I would say an MC (Master of Ceremony) and a sorcerer are more alike than they are different.
Try reimagining an MC as a master sorcerer. Like a sorcerer, an MC embodies their practices of magic by attaining knowledge and then performing the supernatural, namely as a freestyle. The mic is one’s wand and the lyrics are a casting of the spell. Its supernatural charm will either take you under as an admirer or a critic.
The bottom line is that you must know something in order to rock the mic, otherwise you’re just an impostor attempting awful street magic.
As supporters of the genre, you and I could certainly agree that Hip Hop is a rousing art that is too often misunderstood. One of the biggest misunderstandings is definition: What is Hip Hop?
Is Hip Hop our favorite commercial caricature? Glamourous cars, big money, and alluring jewelry. Seriously, how many Rollie’s can we wear on one wrist until time rounds out and societal pressures of Instagram force us to purchase a new Patek Philippe for a quarter million next week.
Let’s be clear, the braggadocio and flamboyant swagger is a pivotal piece of the art form but it’s certainly not representing a popularity contest. Not to sound like a sore reminiscent but let’s put away the Snapchat filters for our jewelry and get back to making good music.
The art of rhyming began amongst the people because it was for the people and by the people. Good Hip Hop will always be created, recognized, and celebrated considering there is support. I would advocate that’s a true fan, an appreciator of the artistry. Neither Snoop’s Doggystyle or Nas’s Illmatic would be acclaimed if it wasn’t for the people to celebrate it. As a fan of the culture I’m inspired and mesmerized by the variety of creative revolutions Hip Hop so eloquently has to offer.
I’ll continue to celebrate our grass root gemstones the Tri-State area has to offer such as artists Joe College, illinfamous, Leeky Bandz, mUsa, Pranay Fury, Flipp Dinero, RetroI$Awesome and Mir Fontane just to name a few. I’d assure you that these are not impostors attempting awful street magic, instead authentic sorcerers telling polarizing divinations.
Hip Hop is popular culture and Freetown Radio is where Hip Hop journalism lives!
Nearly a year ago we’ve established Freetown Radio, the podcast built from ground up with Cody Cooper hosting interviews with special guests including rappers, videographers, guitarist, designers and etc. This year Freetown Radio welcomes the New Year with another cross-platform of digital media. Freetown Radio documents the many facets of Hip-Hop alongside other genres in the Tri-State area with the respect and enthusiasm it properly deserves.
Our mission is to accurately document the landscape of creative individuals with the proper perspective, championing topics that we believe should be celebrated, and explore the avenues of visual and performing arts in today’s culture. We seek the truth and feed the world as eloquent as possible. The true artist help the world by revealing mystic truths and our obligation is to display these talented artists.
This website will include more artist interviews, album reviews, news on upcoming musical events, and the hottest music out of the Tri-State. Through its multimedia platform with music, podcasting and creative content, Freetown Radio’s perspective speaks to and for the elements of music and art that advances popular culture. Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the sounds of Freetown Radio.
Hip Hop is popular culture and Freetown Radio is where Hip Hop Journalism lives!
FREETOWN RADIO 