This letter has been blowing up online. Not positive about whether or not its true, but I’m guessing over the next couple of days it’ll be actual news if it is. Until then, take a gander
“Hello,
After more than 20 years, I’ve finally decided to tell the world what I witnessed in 1991, which I believe was one of the biggest turning point in popular music, and ultimately American society. I have struggled for a long time weighing the pros and cons of making this story public as I was reluctant to implicate the individuals who were present that day. So I’ve simply decided to leave out names and all the details that may risk my personal well being and that of those who were, like me, dragged into something they weren’t ready for.
Between the late 80’s and early 90’s, I was what you may call a “decision maker” with one of the more established company in the music industry. I came from Europe in the early 80’s and quickly established myself in the business. The industry was different back then. Since technology and media weren’t accessible to people like they are today, the industry had more control over the public and had the means to influence them anyway it wanted. This may explain why in early 1991, I was invited to attend a closed door meeting with a small group of music business insiders to discuss rap music’s new direction. Little did I know that we would be asked to participate in one of the most unethical and destructive business practice I’ve ever seen.
The meeting was held at a private residence on the outskirts of Los Angeles. I remember about 25 to 30 people being there, most of them familiar faces. Speaking to those I knew, we joked about the theme of the meeting as many of us did not care for rap music and failed to see the purpose of being invited to a private gathering to discuss its future. Among the attendees was a small group of unfamiliar faces who stayed to themselves and made no attempt to socialize beyond their circle. Based on their behavior and formal appearances, they didn’t seem to be in our industry. Our casual chatter was interrupted when we were asked to sign a confidentiality agreement preventing us from publicly discussing the information presented during the meeting. Needless to say, this intrigued and in some cases disturbed many of us. The agreement was only a page long but very clear on the matter and consequences which stated that violating the terms would result in job termination. We asked several people what this meeting was about and the reason for such secrecy but couldn’t find anyone who had answers for us. A few people refused to sign and walked out. No one stopped them. I was tempted to follow but curiosity got the best of me. A man who was part of the “unfamiliar” group collected the agreements from us.
Quickly after the meeting began, one of my industry colleagues (who shall remain nameless like everyone else) thanked us for attending. He then gave the floor to a man who only introduced himself by first name and gave no further details about his personal background. I think he was the owner of the residence but it was never confirmed. He briefly praised all of us for the success we had achieved in our industry and congratulated us for being selected as part of this small group of “decision makers”. At this point I begin to feel slightly uncomfortable at the strangeness of this gathering. The subject quickly changed as the speaker went on to tell us that the respective companies we represented had invested in a very profitable industry which could become even more rewarding with our active involvement. He explained that the companies we work for had invested millions into the building of privately owned prisons and that our positions of influence in the music industry would actually impact the profitability of these investments. I remember many of us in the group immediately looking at each other in confusion. At the time, I didn’t know what a private prison was but I wasn’t the only one. Sure enough, someone asked what these prisons were and what any of this had to do with us. We were told that these prisons were built by privately owned companies who received funding from the government based on the number of inmates. The more inmates, the more money the government would pay these prisons. It was also made clear to us that since these prisons are privately owned, as they become publicly traded, we’d be able to buy shares. Most of us were taken back by this. Again, a couple of people asked what this had to do with us. At this point, my industry colleague who had first opened the meeting took the floor again and answered our questions. He told us that since our employers had become silent investors in this prison business, it was now in their interest to make sure that these prisons remained filled. Our job would be to help make this happen by marketing music which promotes criminal behavior, rap being the music of choice. He assured us that this would be a great situation for us because rap music was becoming an increasingly profitable market for our companies, and as employee, we’d also be able to buy personal stocks in these prisons. Immediately, silence came over the room. You could have heard a pin drop. I remember looking around to make sure I wasn’t dreaming and saw half of the people with dropped jaws. My daze was interrupted when someone shouted, “Is this a f****** joke?” At this point things became chaotic. Two of the men who were part of the “unfamiliar” group grabbed the man who shouted out and attempted to remove him from the house. A few of us, myself included, tried to intervene. One of them pulled out a gun and we all backed off. They separated us from the crowd and all four of us were escorted outside. My industry colleague who had opened the meeting earlier hurried out to meet us and reminded us that we had signed agreement and would suffer the consequences of speaking about this publicly or even with those who attended the meeting. I asked him why he was involved with something this corrupt and he replied that it was bigger than the music business and nothing we’d want to challenge without risking consequences. We all protested and as he walked back into the house I remember word for word the last thing he said, “It’s out of my hands now. Remember you signed an agreement.” He then closed the door behind him. The men rushed us to our cars and actually watched until we drove off.
A million things were going through my mind as I drove away and I eventually decided to pull over and park on a side street in order to collect my thoughts. I replayed everything in my mind repeatedly and it all seemed very surreal to me. I was angry with myself for not having taken a more active role in questioning what had been presented to us. I’d like to believe the shock of it all is what suspended my better nature. After what seemed like an eternity, I was able to calm myself enough to make it home. I didn’t talk or call anyone that night. The next day back at the office, I was visibly out of it but blamed it on being under the weather. No one else in my department had been invited to the meeting and I felt a sense of guilt for not being able to share what I had witnessed. I thought about contacting the 3 others who wear kicked out of the house but I didn’t remember their names and thought that tracking them down would probably bring unwanted attention. I considered speaking out publicly at the risk of losing my job but I realized I’d probably be jeopardizing more than my job and I wasn’t willing to risk anything happening to my family. I thought about those men with guns and wondered who they were? I had been told that this was bigger than the music business and all I could do was let my imagination run free. There were no answers and no one to talk to. I tried to do a little bit of research on private prisons but didn’t uncover anything about the music business’ involvement. However, the information I did find confirmed how dangerous this prison business really was. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Eventually, it was as if the meeting had never taken place. It all seemed surreal. I became more reclusive and stopped going to any industry events unless professionally obligated to do so. On two occasions, I found myself attending the same function as my former colleague. Both times, our eyes met but nothing more was exchanged.
As the months passed, rap music had definitely changed direction. I was never a fan of it but even I could tell the difference. Rap acts that talked about politics or harmless fun were quickly fading away as gangster rap started dominating the airwaves. Only a few months had passed since the meeting but I suspect that the ideas presented that day had been successfully implemented. It was as if the order has been given to all major label executives. The music was climbing the charts and most companies when more than happy to capitalize on it. Each one was churning out their very own gangster rap acts on an assembly line. Everyone bought into it, consumers included. Violence and drug use became a central theme in most rap music. I spoke to a few of my peers in the industry to get their opinions on the new trend but was told repeatedly that it was all about supply and demand. Sadly many of them even expressed that the music reinforced their prejudice of minorities.
I officially quit the music business in 1993 but my heart had already left months before. I broke ties with the majority of my peers and removed myself from this thing I had once loved. I took some time off, returned to Europe for a few years, settled out of state, and lived a “quiet” life away from the world of entertainment. As the years passed, I managed to keep my secret, fearful of sharing it with the wrong person but also a little ashamed of not having had the balls to blow the whistle. But as rap got worse, my guilt grew. Fortunately, in the late 90’s, having the internet as a resource which wasn’t at my disposal in the early days made it easier for me to investigate what is now labeled the prison industrial complex. Now that I have a greater understanding of how private prisons operate, things make much more sense than they ever have. I see how the criminalization of rap music played a big part in promoting racial stereotypes and misguided so many impressionable young minds into adopting these glorified criminal behaviors which often lead to incarceration. Twenty years of guilt is a heavy load to carry but the least I can do now is to share my story, hoping that fans of rap music realize how they’ve been used for the past 2 decades. Although I plan on remaining anonymous for obvious reasons, my goal now is to get this information out to as many people as possible. Please help me spread the word. Hopefully, others who attended the meeting back in 1991 will be inspired by this and tell their own stories. Most importantly, if only one life has been touched by my story, I pray it makes the weight of my guilt a little more tolerable.
Thank you.”
Source: hiphopisread.com beforeitsnews.com
A few shorts that I’ve also rediscovered (turns out I’ve forgotten about a lot of movies that I’ve seen).
Validation
Fifty People, One Question – This one is pretty deep, and combined with the music it makes for a great 8 minutes that makes you stop and think
Oh, The Places You’ll Go at Burning Man! – I had heard about Burning Man from an old manager of mine who had gone down for the 25th anniversary last summer. Coincidently, right after that Sean and I were bored on youtube (not cruising on netflix, for once) and he showed me this video that was made by two guys he went to school with. It’s amazing to see what these guys are doing with film. In their mid-twenties, they’re up and comers, if you will, so of course I’ll be checking up on them and feeding any of their ingenuities right here for your viewing pleasure
I figured it would be absurd to go a month without writing something, so here is a nice segue back into the normal routine.
Ultra Music Festival has been going on all weekend long in Miami, and they’re streaming it live on their Youtube channel. Being that tonight is the last night, the biggest names are throwing down. HARD. Currently playing is Armin Van Buuren who was voted #1 DJ in the world four years in a row between 2007 and 2010. Fedde Le Grand just finished his set and it was one of the best sets I’ve ever heard. If you like Electric Dance Music (EDM), hit this up tonight. It won’t disappoint.
http://www.youtube.com/user/UMFTV
Top 5 Soundtracks! (read just like Abed’s line)
This one was a tricky one to pin down. Do I include original soundtracks? Half original and half borrowed? Juke box musicals? Disney movies? Well as I’m writing this I still don’t know how its going to turn out (chances are I’ll include everything then have a huge honorable mention list)
5) O’ Brother Where Art Thou? – The movie has taken a while to grow on me, but the music is just so good I was down with it from day 1. This soundtrack is the perfect fit, however unlike the other ones on this list, there aren’t any songs on it that are huge hits (although the album did win Album of the Year at the Grammys) except for “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow” (see below).
“I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow” Soggy Bottom Boys & Dan Tyminski – My buddies Darren, Mike and Rachel played this freshman year for a class assignment. It sounded so good with Darren ripping it up on the slide guitar.
“Down To The River To Pray” Alison Krauss
4) Almost Famous – Great movie, great soundtrack. It brought together all of the best music from a genre that was dying and made it flow perfectly with the scenes in the movie. I could say that about most of these movies, since that is what a soundtrack should do, so from now on lets just come to that understanding so I don’t have to sound redundant. “You’re coming along in a very dangerous time for rock and roll. The war is over and they won”
“The Wind” Cat Stevens
“Feel Flows” The Beach Boys – The awesome sound from this song comes from Carl Wilson’s voice being recorded with reverse echo (a recording trick used to place the echo before the actual sound which makes it sound like the tape is being played backwards). Jimmy Page says he invented the trick (he used it on “You Shook Me” and “Whole Lotta Love” with Zeppelin as well as “Ten Little Indians” with the Yarbirds).
“America” Simon And Garfunkel
“Sparks” The Who – “Listen to Tommy with a candle burning, and you’ll see your entire future.”
3) Blow – This might be one of the finest collections of music I’ve ever experienced, but because I don’t like this movie as much as I do the next two, it’s coming in third. I would feel bad about doing this because this list should just be about the soundtracks, but at this point we’re just splitting hairs so I’m oddly ok with it. Sorry if that was too much of a run-on.
“Black Betty” Ram Jam
“Blinded By The Light” Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – But Mama, thats where the fun is! I LOVE this song
“Keep It Comin’ Love” KC & The Sunshine Band
2)) The Warriors – I wish more people knew about this movie. One of the best movies of the 70’s that no one knows about. The music in this movie is half original scoring and half soundtrack, but since it does take songs that were already recorded I’m including it. We can fight later if you want
“Nowhere To Run” Arnold McCuller
“Last Of An Ancient Breed” Desmond Child
“In The City” Joe Walsh
1) The Wackness – Set in New York City in the summer of 1994, this is one of the best coming of age movies you’ll see (in my personal opinion it’s up there with Stand By Me, but keep in mind I’m a little bias). This soundtrack fits this movie so perfectly. Firstly, it embodies what is going on in the movie. “Can I Kick It” plays when Dr. Kingsley is trying to quit drugs, and at the beach house towards the end of the movie they play Neil Diamond and Mott The Hopple to set a nostalgic mood when both Kingsley and Shapiro are completely lost (figuratively speaking) and are trying to find out how they can be happy. Secondly, the music fits New York City so well. I’ve been listening to this soundtrack for the last couple of weeks and whenever I do, I get in a mood that I only get when I’m walking around in the city (Manhattan, for those who aren’t from New York). Now more about the music itself. I’m a little shocked/disappointed they didn’t include any De La Soul in here. The Notorious B.I.G.’s debut album “Ready To Die” is prominently featured in this movie even though his album didn’t get released until after the summer was over. When Shapiro goes to buy from his dealer (Method Man), “The What” by Biggie Ft. Method Man is being played in the background except for all of the verses where Method Man raps. It’s in this scene that Meth gives Shapiro the Ready To Die tape…sorry for the spoilers. I REALLY wish that they had set the movie in the summer of ’96 instead of ’94 so that they could include Jay-Z’s debut album: “Reasonable Doubt” even though it would’ve taken over the whole soundtrack in place of Biggie’s “Ready To Die” (Biggie is on 5 songs, including 3 from his debut album).
Let me further clarify what I was saying before by saying that the vibe of the soundtrack which goes along with that of the city isn’t experienced by rushing everywhere, taking a taxi, going to see the empire state building or the statue of liberty. It is most certainly not experienced by driving around in a car. You need to be able to free your mind and just walk around for a while. Next time you’re there, try walking up Broadway from Chinatown to Columbus Circle with your headphones in and tell me you don’t feel something. To be honest its the reason I keep going back.
“Flava In Ya Ear” Craig Mack Ft. The Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J, Rampage & Busta Rhymes – The first 10 seconds when P. Diddy is hitting the bottles against each other is a play on the last scene from The Warriors (Diddy only has 2 bottles, but in the movie there are 3) which is also in the beginning of “Last Of An Ancient Breed”(see above). “You mad cause my style you admiring. Don’t be mad, UPS is hiring”. P.S. I’m throwing up the video simply because I’ve never seen anyone act as cool and collected yet so pimpaliciously gangster (coining that) in a video as LL does here. Check It
“Out On The Weekend” Neil Young – I love the harmonicas that he uses. They add such a nice touch to the song
“Bonita Applebum” Tribe Called Quest – The 7 note riff that plays right before the first chorus starts was sampled in The Fugee’s “Killing Me Softly” (which Lauryn Hill goes nuts on)
“Around The Way Girl” LL Cool J
“The World Is Yours” Nas – I feel like a lot of people from the west don’t know about Nas, which is sad because 1) his lyrical content is on point, and 2) without him Jay-Z wouldn’t have sat down for 2 days, written The Blueprint, recorded it in 2 weeks, then released it unto the world. Also, Kanye would’ve had to wait longer for his big break, and he would have had to give “Heart of the City” to someone else which is nothing short of blasphemous. The line at the end of the first verse “I’m out for presidents to represent me. I’m out for dead presidents to represent me”, was sampled by Jay in the chorus of “Dead Presidents II” on Reasonable Doubt. Later, when he released The Blueprint, his song “The Takeover” (Produced by Kanye as well) features the line “So yea I sampled your voice, You was usin’ it wrong. You made it a hot line, I made it a hot song”, referencing “The World Is Yours” and “Dead Presidents II”. Back to my original point. If you haven’t listened to Nas, go download Illmatic and thank me later.
“Everyday Struggle” The Notorious B.I.G. – This is my favorite Biggie song and definitely my favorite song on this soundtrack. I really could go on and on about what I like about it, but I found these two youtube comments (give it a chance…) that perfectly describe how I feel:
“One of the realest songs ever written. If you didn’t know this already, this was Christopher Wallace’s favorite song… And if you’re thinking, who is Christopher Wallace and why is his opinion important? Please leave this page immediately. No more R.I.P. because legends never die.”
“Biggie wasn’t fat, he was just full of lyrics”
Post Script: In Reference to my last post, I should’ve included Snatch in my favorite scores list. Sorry guys (and girls), I’ll do better next time.
Post Post Script: I decided two seconds, give or take, after I wrote the first paragraph that I wasn’t going to include musicals and all the other options I mentioned because that takes a lot of research and one big honorable mention list wouldn’t do them justice. So there is a good chance you’ll see those later. Cheers
“Blogging isn’t writing, it’s graffiti with punctuation”
A legend has passed away that we’ll never be able to get back. Whitney Houston died last night after participating in pre-Grammy events. The cause of her death is still not certain so for now, before too much talk of her drug and alcohol use comes into play, lets give our attention to one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. I grew up singing “I Will Always Love You” as a kid and to this day it still brings the same emotion that it did back then. She sang from her heart through good times and bad. Heres to you, Whitney.
Top 5 Songs About Love
5) “I Will” The Beatles – There are more epic gestures of love, obviously, but I think it’s important to think about the small and simple things too. I see this song as a combination of all the feeling that went into the many other Beatles’ love songs without the drums and bass guitar. This one was on my mind mostly because my family and I sang it at my sister’s wedding rehearsal (they didn’t even practice giving each other rings…) back in August. Also its a great song
4) “Unchained Melody” The Righteous Brothers – …Too obvious? Hopefully Ghost didn’t kill this one for you like it did for the pottery professor in Community.
3) “Wonderful Tonight” Eric Clapton
2) “Cause I Love You” Lenny Williams
1) “I Will Always Love You” Whitney Houston – This goes back and forth with Lenny between 1 and 2, but today is Whitney’s day
If you disagree with the last couple songs on this list, then you need to get more in touch with your emotional side.. Good artists (especially soul, blues, and r&b singers I think) have a way of making you feel like you’re not the only one going through what you’re going through, be it ups or downs. Being able to connect with music like that is something I love and that I find comfort from.
Honorable Mentions:
“I’ve Got The World On A String” Frank Sinatra – Thank you Michael Buble for bringing this kind of music back into the world’s view
“Lucky” Jason Mraz Ft. Colbie Caillat
“Better Together” Jack Johnson
“Whatever It Is” Zac Brown Band
“If I Ain’t Got You” Alicia Keys
Yes, I am aware that they don’t actually practice the weddings at wedding rehearsals. Well I am now…
I’ve done this before with the wackness on my way to jersey…well this is from the book “drive” by James sallis, which is what the movie “drive” comes from…and both are just awesome…but of course I love the movie for its score and soundtrack…nate…WATCH IT!
If I drive for you, you get your money. You tell me where we start, where we’re going, where we’re going afterwards. I give you five minutes when we get there. Anything happens in that five minutes and I’m yours. No matter what. Anything a minute on either side of that and you’re on your own. I don’t sit in while you’re running it down. I don’t carry a gun. I drive.
And then…the best scene of the movie, both for the way its filmed, the music, and the sequence that its edited in is just great….enjoy
Here’s what I’m prepared to offer. You give me the money, the girl is safe. Forever. Nobody knows about her. She’s off the map. I can’t offer you the same. So, this is what I would suggest. We conclude our deal. We’ll shake hands. You start the rest of your life. Any dreams you have, or plans, or hopes for your future… I think you’re going to have to put that on hold. For the rest of your life you’re going to be looking over your shoulder. I’m just telling you this because I want you to know the truth. But the girl is safe.
A side note before we begin this post. After I put up the last one (Me and Abed have an agreement), people were telling me how much they liked the writing and how different it was compared to my normal style. First of all, thank you, but unfortunately starting from the second paragraph until “its the story of us” was taken from the film’s website (linked at the bottom of that post) under “The Film” link. I’m sorry to have misled you like that. Anywho…
Recently since Sibi posted dialogue from The Wackeness I’ve been stuck thinking about soundtracks and scores. Easily my favorite part of a movie, the music can make or break a film experience. The only career I’ve legitimately considered besides one in medicine (and soccer player…that ones still a work in progress) was music in film. Composing scores and putting together soundtracks is one of those things that brings the butterflies whenever I do it. Something as simple as playing the right track when we’re driving around that makes everyone vibe just right makes me feel great inside…it’s all about the little things, right?
Over the course of today and tomorrow I will be writing about my favorite scores and soundtracks. Two different categories for two completely different types of musical expression. I’m not going to include the ridiculous epics that everyone knows like John Williams’ Star Wars score, but instead choose ones from movies that are maybe less popular, or simply not appreciated as much as they should be. For some reason when I throw top 5’s together, I tend to pick stuff that less people know about (My top 5 movies are a great example of that.) I’d like to think its because I’m using this project as a place to showcase lesser known art to people who don’t find out about cool stuff like this…or maybe it’s to seem like I’m not a bandwagon jumper. I haven’t fully figured this out yet but lets go with the first one until I do. Also, before we start, I’d like to add that I’m not including disney movies because I’ve always associated scores with lyric-less music and because it’d probably take over at least 2-3 spots of the list (BIG disney fan).
Top 5 Scores (No Particular Order…for future purposes, lets just make it easy and say NPO. Thanks for cooperating)
5) Friday Night Lights – Explosions in the Sky destroyed this score. If you’ve ever played high school sports, there is a high possibility that you will cry during this movie.
Your Hand In Mine (Goodbye) – Explosions in the Sky
4) Hanna – When I walked out of this movie all I could think about was 1) how good it was, and 2) how dope the music was. Sometimes the great acting can take away from other good parts of the movie but being that this movie has a decent amount of action, it all coexisted perfectly
The Devil Is In The Beats – The Chemical Brothers
3) Afro Samurai – Music by the RZA. Case Closed. “He has produced almost all of Wu-Tang Clan’s albums as well as many Wu-Tang solo and affiliate projects. He is widely considered one of the most influential and landmark hip-hop producers of all time. He subsequently gained attention for his work scoring and then later acting in films. His revolutionary techniques of sampling, speeding up tracks to fit the beat laced, and his cinematic skits sprinkled throughout albums have greatly inspired other producers in the industry. He produced for a slew of Wu Tang solo albums as well as group albums that dominated not only commercially, but also thematically and artistically. His production from the mid to the late 90’s brought about one of the greatest ’bouts’ or ‘runs’ of inspiration the industry has seen, creating various classics.” Sean still won’t watch this with me cause he swears he’d only enjoy it if he was high. I wish I could somehow force him to watch it so that he could finally see what I’ve been raving about this whole time. I love the RZA (and Wu-Tang, for that matter…hence the longest section) for all of this and because he scored Kill Bill: Vol 1 and 2. The movie is awesome, music is even better. Check. It.
Ninjaman – RZA
Afro Samurai Theme – RZA
2) Gladiator – Seeing as how Hans Zimmer (The Lion King, Inception, every Ridley Scott movie) did the score and it won an Oscar, this one is clearly an exception. This movie makes me cry almost every time, mostly because the music is so fitting and the last song is Perfect.
Now We Are Free
1) Requiem For A Dream – This is #1 in my book. Period. Clint Mansell (Pi, The Wrestler, Moon, Black Swan) is a musical genius who has taken a step away from the norm of classical music scores and has started a phase of “modern music” scores…whatever that means. Not a big fan of the whole idea of genres, but I will say that he is creating a whole new type of aura around the movies he works on with his original sound. This score perfectly captures the feelings of the momentary ups, and very real (and realistic) downs that occur during the movie. This is the one score I can listen to from beginning to end just as something to chill to. Ugh… He’s so talented it’s ridiculous. The theme for the movie (Lux Aeterna…can be heard below) was used as the theme for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Requiem for a Tower) and for Lil Jon’s “Throw It Up”. Enjoy
Party
Lux Aeterna
Hope you enjoyed it
Top 5 Soundtracks to come tomorrow
This is the carter, so hold on to your teenage daughter. Just kidding… thats not ok
Anddd we’re back…About time for shout out. Wadup Megan, Bass, Matt (happy birthday cuz), Matt Logsdon, Carlos I want my money and my trophy (miss you), Sam good luck with gymnastics this season…Holla
As always, I highly recommend Cultivated Society written by my buddy Levi (and others) out at APU (Dan I’m glad you’re back in Cali). He just put up a song by Capital Cities thats a mixup of Tupac and Breathe by Pink Floyd which is so dope
My good buddy Louis from back in Brooklyn (thank you Cynthia for invite to that BBQ that started 2 great friendships) is film-major, director, writer and producer who just started writing a blog called Confessions of a Movie Addict. He’s got some great perspective on film and his writing is real smooth. Also his most recent post is all about the recent Oscar ridiculousness which I very briefly touched on (aka wrote a title about) and the points he makes are fantastic. Hit them both up, you’ll be glad you did.
“I’d like to give a shout out to Ray-Ray and Big-Steve and the folks in Newport”
I apologize for the lack of consistency as of late. I haven’t had internet in the place I’m staying at so the only time I can post stuff is when I get the energy to go to Starbucks. I’ll be in a new place come february 1st, but until then please bare with us and the sporadic posts. I’ve come up with some good ideas and your patience will pay off.
Rebelution is a reggae band from Santa Barbara, California and if you haven’t heard of them before, it’s about time you jump on the bandwagon. Their fourth album, Peace Of Mind, just came out on the 10th and its so tight. I’ve come to love white reggae bands since my cousin Matt put me onto Groundation and Turner onto this band right here. This album’s sound, aided by the production skills of Keith Armstrong and Errol Brown (who also produced on Stephen, Ziggy, Damian and Bob Marley’s albums) is just plain beautiful. Hearing that they were going to make it a 3-disc album (original, acoustic and dubstep) before it was released actively excited me, and it completely lived up to my expectations. There’s something about [good] acoustic versions of a song that seems to create a vibe unlike any other. Enjoy
Sky Is The Limit
Meant To Be (Acoustic)
Comfort Zone
Good Vibes (Ft. Lutan Fyah)
Route Around
Download the Full Album: http://www.mp3boo.com/download-mp3/rebelution-peace-of-mind.htm
WeDontBelongg 