ebrahim - africa (d'angelo cover)

i can't keep up with this thing to save my life. hope you're all well, though.

here's a cover of an old classic d'angelo song that i did with an amazing artist, who i've mentioned before on this blog, from canada, Ebrahim.

"Africa" - Ebrahim + Aaron Hardin from eebsofresh on Vimeo.

long time... again

lol. LOOK. as it goes in my mind, i WANT to be able to post like... at the very least, weekly. but man... the road has been gettin me. on top of the fact that i do so many spots a week, the fact that they all require travel makes it that much more difficult.

however, this time i bear gifts!! at one of the tuesday night spots that i frequently play in DC, the sound man decided to hit record. only thing, he didn't account for the vocals, snare, toms, or cymbals. so there's synth. there's kick. there's spd-s. there's bass. it's very experimental. psuedo electronica. and it's FREE. download it suckas!

lol. my first tv spot. :D

who is this dude?!?!

lol... his name is ebrahim. this guy is dope. not only a musician, but an amazing singer. if you listen to bobby caldwell's "open your eyes" and then listen to this dude... the resemblance is wild! can you say future collab?? lol. stay tuned.

happy birthday james yancey...

Q: how do you truly grasp the depth of a man's legacy?

there are so many possible answers. many of them probably not right or wrong. i want to say that it's based on impact and influence. but that can only be true where awareness exists.

over the years that i have built and browsed my j dilla collection, many times i have come across songs that i had no clue he even produced. havoc of mobb deep expressed the same in one of his interviews. all of that to say that jay dee's music may or may not be something that people are aware of. however, his impact and influence on those who his art has reached... life changing to say the least.

james yancey is posthumously affecting more musicians, artists, and writers than most people can or will affect even with more life in front of them. to me, dilla is to production what mj was to music. granted, the awareness isn't the same. but if you were to consider the size of the footprint left behind in his respective field, i think the comparison would hold true. jay dee was special. he IS quintessential. he was one of the pioneers and innovators of hip hop production. even greater, there was so much soul and heart in his music that what was "hip hop" turned into "neo soul" or "r&b"... MUSIC. most any of his music could easily be approached by a singer, or a free verse poet, or a rapper... OR NOT. just put the instrumental on and ride. visit 1998 steroid boosters and listen to "sweet flute" or "no place to go". holla at vintage (vol. 2) and the cut "doo doo". or ANY of his albums/beat tapes, what have you, in their ENTIRETY. the music is infectiously soothing, invigorating, even inspirational.

so today is your birthday. parties have already come and gone in your honor. youtube boasts thousands of new comments on old videos. there are millions of tweets boasting #dilla as what will wind up being a trending topic over the course of the day. your legacy lives on. in the hands of dj's who admire your craft. in the movement and progressions of musicians that embrace your art. underneath the lyrics of so many who hear your creations and feel forced to write to something that feels so good. in the odd quantizations and slight shifts of shakers and kick drums of producers. you live on dilla. thank you for everything you have inspired in all of us musically and for teaching us to love our art enough to never stop making it, even when the conditions would dictate otherwise.

happy birthday james yancey...
humbly submitted.
-gr0ove

roots - antiquity

i learn quick! more music. better angles! lol

my horrible angles... lol

hope for hip hop... pt 2

jay electronica is so dope!!

hope for hip hop...

THERE IS HOPE!!! it's not that i think hip hop is dead, but it sure is on life support and there are only a few artists who are contributing to its dwindling life. jay electronica would be one of those people. peep the vid for exhibit a. dope showing!

crash landing

today marks an important day for a dude i've been able to tour the world with. curt chambers has finally released his "crash landing" mixtape. go ahead and download that joint, as it is free, and enjoy a great solo effort from the guy.

for better or worse...

the ripple that is created by simply tossing a stone into a lake probably extends way further than one could imagine. just the same, the actions we take probably have a greater affect than we may ever fathom to be possible. i guess this very well speaks to the lack of action as well.

seems like at certain points in our lives or at the occurrence of certain events, we are forced to consider whether or not we made the right decisions in times past. and there is always the lingering question of "what if", even if just out of curiosity, when thinking if there was a better way to go about something. i wonder if it's even healthy to consider these things though. regardless of how we may try to replay these things in our minds, it doesn't change who has already occurred. at best, it may only be somewhat of a gauge of how to conduct ourselves in the future.

some things never work out the way we desire, and certainly most things hardly work out when we desire them to. but at the same rate, they all work out the way God designed them to. and i think this is hard for a lot of us to understand. we serve a timeless God, but we live a timed life. i think it's probably natural that a lot of us have a sense of urgency when it comes to our dreams, our wants, our desires, and our ultimate goals and path in life. we don't know if we'll live to see tomorrow, so there's a certain drive to accomplish as much as possible today, right now. and sometimes that just doesn't line up with God's plan. weird.

all of that as a foreword to my point - you can't stop living until you stop living. but in living, we need to consciously consider owning and demonstrating virtues. love. charity. kindness. care. compassion. forgiveness. all of these things. we need to consider our actions and what they can actually mean to ourselves and others. we need to live to our greater potential while we still have a chance. we need to spread as much love as possible in a dying world. we're losing people everyday, and while this is common knowledge, 2009 publicized the fact time after time. these disasters that are taking place, the deaths that are occurring, the changes that are being made in our society... we need to consider these things, discover a greater purpose, and live to achieve that purpose. let's be a greater part, a more positive impacting part, a more effectively influential part in each others' lives and the lives of those who surround us. when it comes to our lives... this is the part that we can at least control. what things work out, when, and how they work out is another story. but knowing we want favorable things to work out in good timing and in beneficial ways, let's live in a way that would make these things the results of our actions. and if everything still goes wrong... at least we did our part in trying to see to it that they went right.

pz&love

-gr0ove

ps. this doesn't come without pain. but then again, neither does life.

long time...

lord have mercy! i guess i've neglected this blog of mine for awhile. my world has been spinning relentlessly. last post was late september. what i've accomplished since: a european tour, another live recording, quite a bit of production that will soon be released publicly, tons of gigs/shows with various artists... it's been a wild past couple of months. nonetheless, i'm back, and attempting to voice some more opinions more frequently.

GO COWBOYS!! - take that for now. i'll address some more momentarily.

on the go!

man... it's been wild this whole entire year. and it continues with this...

blessed with the opportunity to experience greater in life. hopefully it's a testament to the fact that if you wanna do it, you can. coupled with hard work, dedication, and prayer... it's all possible. i think it's a little deeper than preparation meeting opportunity for things to take place. we all have something unique within us that will appeal to someone somewhere on first impression that can probably advance us in ways we can't believe. prepared or not. what happens after that is what requires the preparation. whatever the case may be... we are capable. question is are we determined. determined enough to accept the criticism without breaking. determined enough to make adjustments necessary for improvement. determined enough to persevere until your grind pays off. it's certainly not an overnight deal, but if you're willing to work and wait... who knows where you may be or go next. but you can't take no for an answer, just like you can't let anyone take the break that you were supposed to get.

i'm excited to get to do all of this, but i'm more excited over a fact of life that says nothing is impossible. these things that so many of us look at and desire, aren't really all that far from our reach. believe in yourself and assess yourself critically, without bias and naivete. then do whatever it takes to be ready. it pays off. october makes 1 year for me. that's my testimony. it happens!

pz&<3

-gr0ove

break free

big up to the homie skee who finally released his long awaited mixtape "Break Free". i think he has the chance to be a huge breakout artist. very honest release. as a long time friend i can attest to what's said on this mixtape. break free homie and hold ya faith - things don't stay bad forever, just a matter of when you go proactive and make them better.

and so here's hoping to him getting the opportunity he desires to have his music be in the ears of the world! download the jaint! it's free. and you ain't got nothin else to do anyways. click the pic b!

ps. i guess i could mention the intro... yeah me and mlkjr did that 1.

pz&love

-gr0ove

big day!

so i wanna just publicly congratulate the homie eric roberson on his 6th cd releasing today. music fan first is out now! all you music lovers need to RUN and go get it. i also wanna congratulate the homie and mentor eldar on his 4th release - virtue. not to mention, robert glasper released "double booked" today as well. i have ample music to enjoy on this flight to ohio tomorrow.

people! please support good music. it's rare these days.

also, RIP to aaliyah as today is the 8th anniversary of her tragedy. do check out the rendition of "care for you" i did for jesse boykins III as well.

time to enjoy life again!! GOOD MUSIC HAS ARRIVED!

pz&<3&happylistening

-gr0ove

1 week only!!

so guys... there are a faithful few who have been oh so interested in this new material of mine. literally, a few. :\

anyways... for one week, i'm gonna put up these tracks (located to the right of this reading). FEEDBACK PEOPLE. FEED! BACK!! i wanna here from you all. i wanna know what your thoughts are. pick these tracks apart, whatever else. these are joints that are about to go in front of big people over the course of the next few months. let me know how you feel about it. there's a comment section, JUST FOR THAT. fill it up!!


pz&<3+blessings
-gr0ove

ERIC ROBERSON MUSIC FAN FIRST

so i must say, as i've said plenty of times before, i'm not just a musician for eric roberson, but an avid fan. have been for years. & it's a privilege to be with the squad as he approaches the release of his sixth album.

i implore you all to check out his blog as eric gives you a daily glimpse into each of the songs on this upcoming release. ALSO you can pre-order the cd, which he will autograph if ordered before the 25th (release date) right here. safe to say, i've already ordered my copy.

support honest music. it's rare these days.

pz&<3
-gr0ove

lordamercy! for the sake of the sabbath!

terrence cunningham & alison carney @ bohemian

ohhhhhh... it was a dope night. i hope a few other videos emerge. there were definitely some moments that would have to be captured and shown to even share with you all the idea of how it felt. it may have been the most complete all around show i've ever been a part of. from beginning to finish, with terrence cunningham opening and alison carney headlining. woo! enjoy.

life on the road!

mannnnnn... life on the road = comp tickets, free drinks, lack of sleep, a wealth of new musician friends, shoot... a wealth of new friends period, the necessity for a lot of gas and monthly oil changes, did i mention the lack of sleep??

it's a beautiful thing though, especially when that's what you've dreamed and hoped for. a lot of people get lost en route to achieving their dreams because it's not an easy road to travel. you have to put yourself out on a limb in a lot of cases. there's some proving that has to take place. but if you've worked hard and you're passionate about what you do, it shows. i'm proud of myself for that reason. not to big up myself, but just for not having given up on the pursuit of my dreams. i've seen my fair share of adversities and deterrents. so to rise up and say, yeah i went through that and i still came out... i thank God for that persevering bone in my body that didn't let me stop. i'm increasingly excited as the days go by because i can see the progress. i can see the influence of those more experienced who i've been blessed enough to work with. i can see myself getting closer to that point where i can really pull the music that i feel in my heart out and share it with others in a real time setting. and there's nothing like it. it's a step towards a greater experience and offering.

as i have the chance to work with new people, and gain new knowledge, expertise, ability, etc. i hope that it all equals out to sharing something poignant with the world. something that reaches the heart. something that makes an impact. as it stands, composing, to me, is pouring out what you have and making something audible out of something otherwise internally secretive. sometimes it happens on the spot, on a stage in front of hundreds, thousands, millions(?? lol). other times, it happens right in the place where you have a chance to calculate every move, every note, to invoke every emotion intended. either way, what comes to light, in these cases, is what reaches most.

strive to do that with your art. your craft. it doesn't have to be music. it could actually be as simple as your everyday conversation. let's reach people & spread the most love we're capable of doing. unifying as a society. agreeing as a people. being the best individuals we're capable of being so that collectively we can be even better.

THAT WAY, MYSELF AND ALL THESE CRAZY MUSICIANS AND WONDERFUL ARTISTS CAN PROVIDE YOU A DOPE SOUNDTRACK!! lol. there's my tie in.

pz&<3 always
-gr0ove