 |
|
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, May 29, 2007 The House of Stone
The wise man built his house upon a rock;And the rain descended,
Friday, April 06, 2007
and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it did not fall for it was founded upon a rock. The foolish man built his house upon the sand;And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. New Era Soon Come, Bling Era soon done. Everyone knows that mainstream music fans are fickle. They follow whatever is deemed to be "hot" and tend to have a short attention span. Pop icons come and go like the wind, artist longevity is the exception rather than the norm. The music industry has attempted to turn a deep cultural artform that is hip-hop into a trendy, pop fad. So while the run of the mill rap you hear everyday will likely fade into obscurity and as Nas said "is dead", the global cultural phenomenon CANNOT AND WILL NOT ever die. "The king is dead, long live the king." These words are echoed with the passing of a monarch. Symbolizing the continuity, the emergence of life out of death but emphasizing the permanence of royalty. So shall it be with hip-hop. Whatever happens with the mainstream rap, in the end the real and authentic shall prevail. A good example of this is the media in the U.S tried for many years to proclaim the death of b-boying which is popularly referred to as breakin' or break dancing. Despite their best efforts, the form has continued to exist and evolve as a huge global phenomenon. Mainstream rap and pop music in general has its foundation on the sand. When the storm comes and record sales aren't the way they used to be, the house will tumble and great will be the fall of it. Like a domino effect, when the video channels lose interest in trite and recycled rap, sales will continue to spiral downwards. As a direct result labels will realize that their cookie cutter records aren't selling and they'll look for another fad that is more profitable. Once hip-hop is no longer a popular, money making fad, perhaps then there will be fewer clones and mainly people that practice the art in its true form will continue. New Era Soon Come, Bling Era soon done. In 2007, two guardians of the House of Stone will re-emerge. They don't call me the prophet of doom for nothing. 12" Single Mercy storms national college and mixshow charts!
O.U.O and the Last Eighth got together
with renowned emcee Skillz for an ill new 12" single titled, "Mercy." The single is blowing up on the National College and Mixshow charts, claiming the #1 top spot on the Rap Network Record Breakers Chart and #2 on the Rapattacklives Chart for the week of December 11. "Mercy" is take no prisoners rhymefest over a rugged track putting the rap game on notice, these cats show no mercy! This track is a free for all, battle royale displaying the essence of emceeing, dope rhymes, witty punchlines and dynamic delivery. The track is constructed with head bobbing drums and apocalyptic vocals over a syrupy groove laid down by Kev Strange of the Last Eighth. As Skillz points out in his verse "Got a marvelous flow with that O.U.O..." You can listen to this new banger at: OUO on Myspace Last Eighth on Myspace |
pH Music, LLC is the entity that conducts the business affairs of O.U.O, Zimbabwe Legit and other affiliated groups. The name stands for pure Hip-Hop and progressive Hip-Hop, which is driving force behind the set up of the company and exactly what the label was created to propagate. Playing on the term pH as it relates to chemistry, pH Music was founded to ensure that there is a balance in the voices heard in the hip-hop movement. Just as acid counters alkaline, negative images and subject matter need positive messages to counteract and ensure that people realize that hip-hop artists have many stories to tell. pH Music provides a conduit for recording, distribution and publishing of underground hip-hop voices. In an era where so many artists are happy to recite the same old trite tales from the hood and recycle beats and hooks, the underground resistance remains strong. pH Music was founded for one reason, to bring good music to the masses, music reminiscent of hip-hop Before The Bling Era (BTBE). Look for an array of progressive hip-hop releases coming from the pH Music in 2007 including a new album by Zimbabwe Legit, Alternate Reality featuring Cadence and Dumi Right and records from other artists on the roster.
Dumi Right is Director of Operations for pH Music and co-founder of the Hip-Hop Restoration Council. He began his foray into the rap world with the previously described ZL project on Hollywood Basic and decided that forging the independent path was the best way to make music on his terms. At the beginning of the 21st century, he realized that major labels were competing for clones and were happy to recycle the same generic material as long as it generated hefty profits. Using his knowledge of the art of hip-hop and experience from time spent in the business world, he put his MBA to work and formed pH Music LLC. Nothing new, many rap entrepreneurs have come before and many will come after but Dumi Right is counting on his business acumen to keep him in the game long after the dime a dozen record labels have come and gone. Understanding the meaning of a healthy balance sheet, budgeting and profit and loss numbers, terms that many so called indie rap label "CEOs" would have trouble defining. Also possessing the talents and skills of a seasoned emcee and lyricist and knowledge of the jungle known as the rap game. He is one of the front men for the group O.U.O and also dabbles in production (credits include the critically acclaimed 12" single - "Look Good"). Profile - Akim the Funk Buddha
In addition he has graced shows and stages with some of music most well known artists and in some of the most auspicious venues. He has performed with the Fugees in the Sesame Street Elmopalooza music video "Happy to Be Me", he was featured in the Aretha Franklin video "Here We Go Again." He has rocked the house at New York's Central Park Summerstage with the Lyricists Lounge, the world famous S.O.Bs with his own band, several college campuses, the New York City Hip-hop theatre festival and even the stages of the auspicious Lincoln Center. He has shared the stage with a litany of artists including Guru, Special Ed, Buckshot, Breeze Eva Flowing and C-Rayz Walz. He has performed with the likes of Doug E. Fresh and Kid Lucky as part of a beatbox showcase. He has performed in Japan with Organized Konfusion. He was the hero in an independent urban Kung Fu flick, The Hidden Temple.   
|
