HiPSTER WAVE

Photo by Paola Angelino.

First thing’s first, we love exciting artists. Born is exciting to us. Venturing into new, refreshing and explosive areas of hip hop & electronica from the flows to the instrumentals. When we listen to Born I Music, it’s as though Tupac Shakur has passed and been reborn as “The Born Identity.”

We’re not all that spiritual, but Born I Music inspires us to get our meditation on more and to truly “meet ourselves.” We think that if you took Shakur, Ghostface, Kanye, Kid Cudi & The Clipse, put them in a blender and applied some of what Born’s production team (Godfather Sage, Imani Beats, & several others) calls “Afro-Asian Electro-Hop”, you’ve gotten a taste of what this man is doing.

On the heels of his latest release “THE BORN IDENTITY MIXTAPE” which you can download free here. We sat down with Born to learn about the man behind the music, his dad’s cooking and how Born manages to create bass-heavy, spine-tingling songs that just make you want to max out your car system and bob your head. Get Familiar.

Born I Music: You rang? Yo. What’s poppin’ G?

Hipsterwave: Not too much. I’ve actually been listening to your new album for like the past few hours non-stop. We also tweeted about it.

Born I Music: [laughs] Cool. Okay, no doubt. You caught it to the end?

Hipsterwave: Yup. Yeah, man.
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We recently had the privilege of getting a chance to speak to the sultry sweetheart from Lotmusik, Tanya T6. One word comes to mind when listening to this R&B/Pop/Hip Hop artist: talent. Not only has Tanya T6 got the voice, she has got the look and the personality that won us over. You couldn’t ask for more of a total package here. We’re really excited about her forthcoming release entitled, “Holidays At Home.”

As we spoke to Tanya T6, every answer was well-crafted and genuine, and you don’t get that from every artist today. It is surprising that T6 is able to keep it so real even though she has so much going for her.

Tanya T6 communicated a lot of love for her family throughout our conversation, we all know that family has a special place in our hearts, regardless of any drama along the way.

It’s quite fitting that Tanya T6 is releasing her album “Holidays At Home,” in the near future, because she has the ability to make you feel all warm and cozy inside with her melodic voice and kind heart. Destined for big things, we are looking forward to future music from Tanya T6.

Hipsterwave: So how are ya doin’?

Tanya T6: I’m good, how are you?

Hipsterwave: I’m good. So, the first question actually comes from one of my producer friends: what is your writing process for songs and or what inspires you when it comes to lyrics?

Tanya T6: Basically, most of the time, it’s probably stuff that I’ve been through or that I’d want to happen. So that inspires me. And then also, sometimes I just write without music. Then there are other times where, if I’m really feelin’ a beat, I can write really quickly. Most of the stuff that I write about is definitely inspired by what I’ve been through or that I’d love to happen.
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We had a great time recently chatting with vibrant hip hop emcee, Buff1. Bringing the ruckus from Ann Arbor, MI, you can’t go wrong with Buff1′s unique artist flavor. While Buff1′s style is deliberately original, he is also influenced by classic acts in underground hip hop. Currently wrapping up a tour full of sold-out shows across the country, alongside artists and close friends 14KT and Mayer Hawthorne, Buff1 has been busy spreading the word about why you music fans should pay attention to what he’s doing.

Great for first dates or playing to cars full of friends on the way to parties, Buff1′s raps combined with production from The Lab Techs will set the tone and beat your system up, whether it’s time to replace yours or you want to feel good about the cash you invested in it.

As far as we’re concerned, nobody has come closer to J. Dilla’s sound as an emcee than Buff1. It’s no wonder There’s Only One.

Holla at Buff1′s music on iTunes. If you haven’t heard Buff1 yet, what the heck are you waiting for?

Hipsterwave: What’s up Buff1, how you doin’?

Buff1: Pretty good man.

Hipsterwave: So I guess we’ll just get right into it man. It’s really good to talk to you. I’ve been a fan of your music for a while and I’m glad that I finally get a chance to speak to you.

Buff1: Yes, definitely, thanks for reaching out. Appreciate it.

Hipsterwave: How has the tour been going?

Buff1: Tour has been amazing. I didn’t really have too many expectations, but it has been exceedingly great. We have five sell-outs in a row. You know, so that makes, I believe eight of the 11 shows sold out. So, it’s just been crazy. You know, I knew that there was a lot of anticipation for Mayer Hawthorne coming to these cities, but uh, yeah this is bananas man. It’s just fun and it’s good that I can be doin’ this tour with my brother and I’m just proud that I could be out there and reach all these different people.
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We got hyped-up when we found out that a world-renowned super-producer like Dame Grease, aka Damon Blackmon, would take time out of his schedule to interview with us. Not only that, it was fun talking to him because of his passion for music and the fact that we got to hear a clip from an exclusive track during the call. Dame Grease’s discography speaks for itself and his involvement in the rap game is what dreams are made of.

Dame Grease has been the man behind the success of so many artists we have listened to over the years. He’s an example of the American Dream and the fact that if you put your heart and soul into what you do, chances are, success will follow. In Grease’s own words: “It’s all work.”

Background

Dame Grease has created, produced and marketed an unprecedented amount of albums throughout his career. These albums have generated over $200 million in revenue for companies such as Def Jam, Sony Records, Universal, Rocafella, Interscope, Koch, Priority, Jive, Atlantic, So So Def and Columbia Records, just to name a few. A variety of these projects have surpassed the “Gold” (500,000) and “Platinum” (1,000,000) sales levels and earned industry recognition through Grammy Awards, Soul Train Awards, Stellar Awards, Billboard Awards, and BMI Awards. A plethora of other projects have been used by major networks and companies such as FOX Pictures, Sony Pictures and the Gaming Industry .

Grease production gained popularity amongst two of the most talked-about rappers today Max B, and French Montana. Akon has signed French Montana to his Konvict Record label, and Grease is in talks with the LOX for their next album. Jadakiss named Grease one of the Top Five producers he will be working with for his Dead or Alive album. Aside from ushering the success of such artists, Grease has been labeled “The Street Ambassador” for his overwhelming and anticipated “street Cd’s” and “mix tapes making waves right now.” Mixtapes In Motion: A.B. & Dame Grease – Cold World, DJ Seiko, Dame Grease & Max B, – The Bloomberg Series, Dame Grease, Max B & Big Mike – Goon Music 1.5 The Doomship. Dame Grease, French Montana, & Max B – Coke Wave, Allhiphop Dame Grease Presents Wave Gang.

Notable Facts

• 50 million records sold
• Scored 3 major films Never die Alone, Cradle to the Grave and Exit Wounds
• Mixtape Ambassador with over 50 mixtapes (Gold Status) on the streets
• Over 200 million video views worldwide via YouTube, OnSmash, WorldStarHiphop and countless others
• Spearheaded the career of established artists such as DMX, EVE, SWIZZ BEATS, THE LOX.
• Executive Producer for the next LOX album
• Established new virtual hip-hop Group “The Auto-Tunes”
• Dame Grease Software (in pre-production)

Holla at Dame Grease at,

Twitter: twitter.com/damegrease
Myspace: myspace.com/damegrease

Dame Grease also has a mixtape contest going on right now at,

Ning: damegrease.ning.com/

Interview

Hipsterwave: Is this Dame Grease?

Dame Grease: Yeah. What’s good baby?

Hipsterwave: Not much man. Okay, first question, what were your influences growing up and how did you wind up producing hip hop?

Dame Grease: My influence is my parents, you know. My mom was into disco dance, and my pops—before he passed away—he was in a band also. So, they were from the 70’s, so you know there were a lot of basses and guitars and live singing and stuff. So I was always influenced from that. They kind of lost me as I was growing up, so I got reintroduced to music, like let’s say in the form of gangster rap.
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To his fans, Cole Dennis is a heavyweight contender with a devastating right hook. To a city being held hostage to chaos and terror, Dennis has a grit and charisma that make him the shining hope for justice–until he is arrested for a brutal murder. Framed for a crime he did not commit, he finds himself captive in a foreboding high-tech superprison whose masters secretly conspire to turn inmates into tomorrow’s most terrifying bioweapons–with Cole Dennis as the intended prize specimen. But Dennis is nobody’s lab rat. Reborn as a towering engine of destruction, Dennis will prepare for the fight of his life. He will rename himself Ghostface Killah. And his cry of righteous rage will echo beyond the cold steel walls of Cell Block Z.

So we love art and we love music, but it was only within the past couple years we noticed that musicians, specifically hip hop MCs, are beginning to star in their own graphic novels. Good hip hop MCs have already created vivid images of themselves with their lyrics, music, videos, photos and so on. Now, these MCs that we’ve known and loved for years are exploding onto pages, or even LCD displays in digital form. Method Man was the first of the Wu-Tang Clan to release a graphic novel for Hachette Book Group, followed by members GZA and now the great Ghostface Killah.

When given the opportunity for an interview with Chris Walker, the illustrator behind Ghostface’s new graphic novel Cell Block Z, we couldn’t resist. Walker’s work has appeared in the pages of such substantial comics as Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman when he worked for Marvel, and he is currently producing and developing animated projects for Humouring the Fates animation studios, and creating communication solutions for companies through 5Rings Design.

Interview:

How did you get into comic books and graphic novels when you were younger?

Chris Walker: Well, I was always into comics. Some of my first drawings as a kid, where you can tell what they are, are of Batman and Robin. I’ve always liked cartoons and comics so it was just one of those things.

Hipsterwave: Just made sense, huh?

Chris Walker: Yeah. I would save my money and buy comics at the drug store, and when I got older, I would go to the comic shop we had downtown.

Hipsterwave: They had a bigger/better selection, I’m guessing?

Chris Walker: :D Just a little. That’s when you get serious. At first it’s like Spider-Man is cool. Then you want to know what happened in the story and somehow you find out, “At the comic book store, they have all the back issues with all the story lines you’ve ever wanted to know!!” LOL! I’ve seen it happen old and young: like someone who has been away from comics for years discovers the comic book store and they are hooked at least for 2-3 years from that point.

Hipsterwave: Right.
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