Tag Archives: Hip Hop

Dec 08 2011
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Music

Final Argentine Thursday: Nas!

First of all I’d like to thank everybody whose been riding with us through the Argentina Thursdays and V’s Recollection series. The periods when we produced these pieces were super important to our growth as artists and fundamental in learning how these mediums really act as reflection and response to our everyday environments. It has been such a joy to share this period and discuss it with others.

To end I go back to the beginning. Buenos Aires, 2010. I began getting back into writing flows during this period, and my first one in awhile was about something that happened far from Argentina, on a street somewhere in Tunisia. My friend and LIFESTYLEcollective member Nassim told about when he started practicing religion again after he saw a boy have a seizure and then miraculously stop. I felt the story would be a cool narrative to put into song. I took a famous track from the Amelie soundtrack, Comptine d’Un Autre Été, sped it up a bit threw some drums and some basic melodic elements and wrote the track.

I rerecorded an acapella today  (December 8th) in Madrid.

Full Track (Early 2010)

Acapella (December 2011)

Yea he got up on the bus/ Summer in Tunisia sweat and dust/ And the wheels started to roll/ Things would change little did he know/ 10 minutes later he him lying there/ Eyes wide open in a broken stare/ Epileptic seizure mothers so scared/ The people move back to give the boy air/ While the uncle tried to resuscitate/ The mother realizes he’s slipping away/ Eyes fill with tears as she turns to pray/ Starts to cry shrieks of pain/ And my friends watches this from the bus/ Feels the mother and her grief for her son/ Suddenly he sees it from her eyes / Lost in the moment inside his mind

Suddenly the dude starts to breathe/ The passengers move back to their seats/ The mothers’ tears turn to joy/ And our protagonist smiles for her little boy/ Suddenly the sun starts to rise/ Move from the dark to the morning light/ The people move back to regular business/ And our dude thinks about what he’s just witnessed/ Quite a transition from near death to a new day/ All wrapped in two hours on a Tuesday/ Bus moves on as his thoughts move fast/ Wondered about death since his father passed/ He said he didn’t change right after then/ But after this moment he gained perspective/ So in the next few years he did his 5 prayers a night/ Started to live a more righteous life||

I think it was dope that Nas could tell the exact picture, the moment when he decided to start practicing again. Reflection and Response at its fullest, in a desert out in Tunisia then back to France, Nas’s country of birth. It’s pretty dope that Nas’s initial moment of spiritual clarity became my initial moment of artistic expression through hip hop.

Reflection and Response

-P

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Nov 07 2011
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Music

This Job

Who’s worked in a restaurant before? Quick cash but a pretty fucked up working environment. This Job is loosely based on experiences working at a certain seafood joint in Seattle during the summer of 2011. I was thankful for the work, but I couldn’t help but write down what it was like to work there.

Full Track

Acapella

Job this job this job it robs us/ Go all damn day for 40 in the pocket/ Hours wasted feel played like basketball/ Lame like a masseuse who lost the touch we gracefully fall/ Late for it all this life it drives past us/ Fight to drive faster this check’s a knife through our life it slashes/ As time flashes past/ 10 years later the past is ashes cuz so fast it happens

This mall this mall maybe she’ll be mine if I buy it all/ Flat we fall/ God damn it I crawl/ Back into this Cave like Mumford and Sons/ And hungry back to work to earn enough we’redrunk on the funds/ Hungover as bums’ peddling change has never been fun/ I peddle my way through these tables I’m done/ But these tips come now this wallets expanding/ And the mind’s eyes can only see as far as I’m standing

This job is wild please take it back from me/ I break my back this actually can’t be happening/ What happened to these dreams and this college degree?/ No wonder these alcoholics staff the industry

Night this night this night this night it wears on/ Know I should sleep but the time to care is gone/ Just pound that redbull find stamina in caffine/ And we hit the damn wall tomorrow right around 3/ And these feet feel wasted withering away/ Use the same shows I graduated in 8th grade/ They pinch toes together haven’t played a show in forever/ But we stand strong to the storm, brave the weather

Take so much shit out humility snaps/ Here mind its blank and creativity sapped/ Stuck in the trap, used to write everyday raps/ Now it’s occasion andI’m fading into the trap/ So break away move back home that’s an option/ That became a choice cuz this place is haunted/ By  quarter life crisis career problems/ Let’s follow that voice that tells us we don’t need this stop it

This job is wild take it back from me/ I break my back this actually can’t be happening/ What happened to these dreams and this college degree/ No wonder these alcoholics staff the industry

Reflection and Response

-P

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Oct 31 2011
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Music

Lonesome Road Goodnight

I started this track in Argentina. A choir at the school I was studying abroad at sang this haunting tune about a lonesome road and I immediately thought it needed to be sampled. I found the original James Taylor version. Then I forgot about the idea for two years. Last week here in Madrid I found the half finished beat and remembered how fun it was to make. I feel like the song is about redemption and has a sense of teaching, so I wrote lyrics based on those ideas.

Full Track

Instrumental

Acapella

Lonesome Road Goodnight.

Please jettison stress/ this is what is waiting up ahead/ And just reflect / And work even harder on success/The fuck I used to give I now use to live/ Walking that lonesome road  a little kid hope andsin / stoked on the stoogie that we smoked   with a fifth in that glass bottle outside the doors we slipped/ Andthese roll models dip and throw strikes/  Before those open mics/ way before we know whats tight/ The brain evolves slowly right/

Yea fuck it/ You know what you need to do/ I believe in me so you should believe in you/ Believe in peace/ please believe that it’s true/ And stay in your feet and never use those knees to stoop/ Take that grease from your grandparents stereotyped/ He’s Italian which means their not marrying right/ Mediterranean not enough white but they prefer a lovely life/ Say goodbye to the lonesome road with a daily kiss goodnight/

Reflection and Response

-P

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Oct 24 2011
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Music

Flute Beats

The LIFESTYLE has been a place of collaborations. One of my favorite projects has been recording over the years with my cousin Rachel Ballister. Rachel has played flute for years and when my family would go to Los Angeles (Lomita!) to visit them, I’d bring out the laptop and we’d get something together.

Flute Beat 1:

Here I sample Rachel doing some warm ups from her classical book. This was our first callabo from 3 or 4 years ago.

Lomito Burrito

This track started as a chord progression I came up with on the guitar and Rachel and I worked in her melody, which she wrote. Then myself, her, and her sister Sarah all recorded a hand clap. At the very end we got a little off and you can hear Sarah saying “Sorry!” on the record.

Xylophone:
This track was a collaboration through time and space. I recorded a zylaphone part at a church in Seattle where the homie Clarke had a practice space set up. Then on a family vacation in LA I asked Rachel if she wanted to play on the track. Her part really helped out the verse. I finished up the track in Spain in September 2011. The sample at the end is part of Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You. The sample appears around 0: 50 in the Whitney track.

Reflection and Response

-P

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Oct 17 2011
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Music

Middle Men

Middle Men is inspired by the film of the same name.

The beat is a sample of Angolan-Spanish artist Mila Domingos’s “A Minha Måe da Alma,” and “Necesito Un Trago,” by Spanish band Tequila.

I came across these two tracks by finding two random cd’s here in my apartment in Spain. I guess they were just meant to be mixed.

Instrumental

Full Track


Middle men these middle men/ Have you seen the film is that car real that house he’s living in/These girls are really thin/ Waist non existent/ Straight shooter dude finances vixins/ Every day’s Christmas/ For five years/ Then the fed follows him/ Stress is so near/ Bought his wife every dress/ Her eyes blessed with the cross with diamonds so clear/ House on a hill these designers appear/ Style of queens suddenly here/ Coat of arms  with a picture of the farm/ That her father built with arms/ In the Texan marsh  atop a steer / Now she parks her Benz by the mark/ That says St. Johns mother of the year / Lifestyle of the rich and aimless/ Gain everything through bank statements/ he’s stone cold no more late payments/ middle class man’s made it

I bet he never gave a fuck

And that attitude it attains so much

And then that porn star girl friend becomes  reality/ The screens a better place for fantasy/ fallicaly satisfied his mind isn’t/ Erection’s easier than to get the mind lifted/ He finds her stricken between guys a party where clothes are forbidden/ And decides there’s a limit

This hottie’s true nature forever apparent/ Remembers being a family man and a damn good parent/ Turns out he’s cool with the feds/ His products helps to send rockets to terrorists/ So the bureau tells him get out no issue, he made millions/ Off us lubiderm and tissues/ Millions off lust use computers to live through/ These actors whose dicks cruise through tits it’s a refuge/ For the lonely and sad/ Until I realized porno’s is something we all grab

I bet he never gave a fuck

And that attitude it attains so much

Reflection and Response

-P

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Oct 10 2011
2 Comments
Music

Sickness

Whatup!!

When people ask me how Spain has been I usually focus on the good things: the dope people, good food, and just overall cool vibe. But I also was super sick last week and I wrote a song about it. I sampled Pablo Casals playing some Bach.

Sickness is incessant/ it sticks so hard to forget it/ Throat is a bed of sand and threading/ No pain just feeling heavy/ And it brings down the sun/ Stuffs it’s glare way past the tongue/Windpipe is swollen red/ Only hope is to roll in bed/

The light comes not quite death/ Might be an overstatement/ Grind harder than barter on border pavement/ We bounced balls on as 8th graders/ Now I help the graders/ And I head to school with this head so blue I hate it/ I fucking hate it/

At times this bodies’ against me/ Slow down by feeling unhealthy/ I need this sinus to be more empty/ I sniffle out energy that would help me/ At times my bodies’ against me/ Slow down by feeling unhealthy/ I need this sinus to be more empty/ I sniffle out energy that would help me/

Soothes when the soup is back in Seattle/ The goop piles up like crap from cattle/ No pho just ham fat as alabama/ Run to get the sap moving from a standstill/ Slams down my flight like the roadrunner fucked anvil/Feel the fire burning like ring of firing that handle/ And my brother’s support is key to keep perspective fresh/If not for him this worried mind might not have perspective left/But Pete’s your life’s so good/ Don’t let me be misunderstood/ Honesty’s fire starts by burning bullshit’s wood/

At times this bodies’ against me/ Slow down by feeling unhealthy/ I need this sinus to be more empty/ I sniffle out energy that would help me/At times my bodies’ against me/ Slow down by feeling unhealthy/ I need this sinus to be more empty/ I sniffle out energy that would help me/

At times this bodies’ against me/ Slow down by feeling unhealthy/ I need this sinus to be more empty/ I sniffle out energy that would help me/At times my bodies’ against me/ Slow down by feeling unhealthy/ I need this sinus to be more empty/ I sniffle out energy that would help me/

Reflection and Response Joder

-P

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Oct 06 2011
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Music

Argentina Thursdays: Things a Peña Does

Whatup!

So for this week’s Argentina Thursday post I would like to present two pieces. One of which is my senior thesis from the University of Wahsington, “Things a Peña Does: Everyday Forms of Nationalism.” This piece was recently published in the Jackson School Journal of International Studies, a peer reviewed journal produced by the Jackson School of International Studies at UW.  The paper was the culmination of my study abroad in Buenos Aires during the 2009-2010 academic year. The paper was one of the most difficult and exhilirating experiences of my life so far and I am indebted to the dozens of people who made this project work.

Here is the abstract with a link to the full piece:

For its entire history Argentina has been dominated demographically and economically by Buenos Aires. Poverty and relative inequalities in the hinterland have helped drive a massive internal migration to the city. A great portion of the resulting population of Buenos Aires consists of provincial Argentines who find interesting and innovative ways to negotiate urban life. This essay explores some ways that Argentine migrants use folk music parties, known as peñas, to create opportunities in the city. Importantly, many migrant accounts highlight the importance of folk music as Argentine, thus unifying folk music with other cultural representations of the nation. First person accounts show how migrants use this “entrepreneurial popular nationalism” in peñas to create their own entertainment, social networking and economic benefits. The paper presents a case for the peña, an innovative birthplace of nationalism, as a resource for a largely marginalized group.

Full Article

I would also like to present my track “Ave De Chrystal.” Made famous by the Bolivian group Los Kjarkas, my version is a remix from a recording session I did with lawyer and migrant activist Pablo Martinez. I sample Pablo’s cover version. He can be heard singing and playing the acoustic guitar. I chopped  Pablo and a group of activists are working on a social project called the Caminata de las Quenas, which celebrates the anniversary of the Jujuy Exodus in Argentina. His project is a wonderful example of how music can be used to educate and celebrate culture. A true example of Reflection and Response. If anyone has any questions about the Caminata feel free to contact Pablo at caminatadelasquenas@hotmail.com.

Ave de Chrystal

No se acaba el mundo

cuando un amor se va

no se acaba el mundo

y no se derrumbara.

Si fue verdadero

tras sus huellas volvera

si no fue sincero

otro lo remplazara.

The world doesn’t end

When a love leaves

The world doesn’t end

and it won’t collapse

If she was true

through her footprints she’ll return

It she wasn’t true

Another will replace her

Reflection and Response

-P

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Oct 03 2011
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Music

Making Spaces

I wrote this song sometime during this past summer when I worked at a seafood restaurant in Seattle. I recorded the track on October 2nd and 3rd 2011.

Acapella

Here I am on this bus at 8 o’clock/ The only one who still smells of whisky on the rocks/ As jocks and business students from the stop  all climb on she’s the only thing I find my mind on she shines strong

The City’s a lonely thing feel its only you living/ Struggle alone really and never feel like winning/ Because there’s more and more and even more to do/ Liberation shackled instantly consumed

But I stay cuz she’s there and only cuz she is/ Probably easy to spot painfully obvious/ That I’m head over heels for her/ This other fling knows I’m not being all the way forward

And her back is nice/ And her face is standard/ But she talks fast might actually give an answer/ And that dress/ That red cloth presses against her/ We feign indifference and say we’ve seen way better

All watch sporadically/ Try not to get caught/ She knows it and continues to pop and lock it/ A pretty damn good imposter/ Goddamn it now I’m rock hard/ This suddenly got awkward

We take breaks in the spaces in between/ After dinner shifts when all the customers leave/ Your friendly waiters wasted on IPAs and mixed drinks/ Next shift same table/ Such a vicious routine (x2)

Smells of weed and stale beer/ And beautiful women more naughty than goddesses but often pursue vixens/try to stay winning/ And hope this beat floats on/ And we gloat of these shows that know don’t go on

Young college students growing alcoholics/ Work hard play hard/Certainly work on it/ Wake up dry mouth with that head throbbing/ Beds messy from some of that prior rocking

With this job at 9 o’clock I can finally buy coffee/ Daily grind no way 5-0’a are gonna stop me/ Speaking of that I need to get back to the store/ And I’m fresh out of onions don’t wanna mooch any more

Cab Calloway sang once of the mooch named Minnie/ Now we mooch cab rides all throughout the city / And we pay each other back with hand slaps and drinks/ Wonder what the fuck my grandma would think

If she knew that we take breaks in the spaces in between/ After dinner shifts when all the customers leave/ Your friendly waiters wasted on IPAs and mixed drinks/ Next shift same table/ Such a vicious routine (x4)

Reflection and Response

-P

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Sep 22 2011
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Music

Stab

First of all, thanks for the ongoing discussion drawn from Spark This Shit Flaming (see below). It’s really dope that the collective part of the LIFESTYLE is starting to come together and that folks are feeling the idea that this is a place where we can all discuss what art and music and reflection and response means to us.

Stab comes from 2010. I’ve always thought Duke Ellington and John Coltrane’s’ In A Sentimental Mood would be a fun sample. So I tried it out. I chopped the sample and added drums and some live bass I played on my homie David’s fender he rescued from a basement some of us remember at 4508 19th Ave in Seattle. I added some acoustic guitar soloing at the beginning. I haven’t posted too much solo guitar stuff, but I will soon.

Full Track

A capella

Some of you listen to rap music/ I use it for therapy/ Psychologists say we’re crazy beats endanger their job security/ Go therapeutic stupid lose sight of what’s near to me/ But I find truth in the groove scoot near to what’s dear to me/ Get lost throw up spaghetti like Em did/ Put this shit on table take your social capital and spend it/ Sick of giving a fuck/ My sinuses have had enough/ Watch my friends make more green then I sneeze and cough up/ I can tell your mind is wyling/ You’ve got your issues friend/ Recently I made my mind up I’ma stab these issues dead/ I can tell your mind is wyling/ You’ve got your issues friend/ Recently I made my mind up I’ma stab these issues dead/Make records fuck that I want to break records/ Usain’s crazy cousin insane bolt jolts the stretcher/ Oceans of letters me greenlake’s alphabet soup/ Werewolf status my souls a savage as I howl at moons/ growl at crews used to think so cool to be you/ 200 dollar jeans make the gleam of her stylish shoes/ So many piles of poo/ Cover the ground defile the truth/ It took a while for me to see the meek inside your cool.

Reflection and Response.

-P

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Sep 19 2011
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Music

Spark This Shit Flaming

Spark this Shit Flaming is a song that is over 5 years in the works. When I was in high school in Berkeley I used to practice with my band in my parents’ basement. One day I recorded myself playing a simple drum line thinking I might use the recording sometime in the future.  Over 4 years later in 2010 in Seattle I cut up the drum line and had the homie Clarke play an organ part. I also added wah-wah guitar and a bassline. I wrote the verses in Spring 2011. I finished and recorded the chorus on the day of posting on September 19th, 2011 in Madrid, Spain.

Here’s the finished track. You can find the instrumental and a capella version below.

Instrumental

A capella

Search for the spark to start this shit flaming/ Burn the house of cards down all in and sick of playing/ Then flip the table over all the chips fall down/return to the night before the dawn clouds

I was sure she was like the nicest one around/ Both in a new place but from the same town/ So we stood that night spoke on the steps/ But she wavered sometimes just hope for the Best

And it’s like that/ and repeats the same way/ Fight back with verses I gain strength/ High above the surface shed its dang weight/ free of the smog of this bog we call days/ unlearning how to feel down forget she’s not calling/ Replace the brain better thoughts like fresh poppies/Turned into narcotics/ File  failure away/ Collects dust like prophets who silently strayed/ Levitate with predicates hooked on phonics/ The subject takes a hit/  Adjective’s awesome/ rather be that then vapid/ Or hide my love away like cup cakes and fat kids/ but I’m breaking down the door to fatness/ Thinking these 20-minute runs put muscle where flab is/ Feel pain right where the calf is attached to the feet that beats down this path in

Search for the spark to start this shit flaming/ Burn the house of cards down all in and sick of playing/ Then flip the table over all the chips fall down/return to the night before the dawn clouds

I was sure she was like the nicest one around/Both in a new place but from the same town/ So we stood that night and spoke on the steps/ But she wavered and sometimes just hope for the best

Something I used to believe/ Everyone else is doing great/ Sandra comes up and into her arms she shakes/ She found love and so did Sandra/ They’re happy with their plugs and poka-dot bandanas/ And thank god they are/ They prefer the charm of happiness for those drama and scars/ Pharmaceutics preferred by college students/ Campus is a water bed designed by dr. Seuss’s/ Green eggs and ham themed fraternity party/Roman attire twisted to turn naughty/ sophomores perform Pilates on dance floors that tomorrow be more sticky than potties/Half the house wakes up with no belongings/ Cell phone been in that bowl since he texted that hottie/ Passed out before he send it now she’s off to Johnny’s/ She’s lost forever and his hangover’s throbbing

Search for the spark to start this shit flaming/ Burn the house of cards down all in and sick of playing/ Then flip the table over all the chips fall down/return to the night before the dawn clouds

I was sure she was like the nicest one around/ Both in a new place but from the same town/ So we stood that night spoke on the steps/ But she wavered sometimes just hope for the Best (x2)

Reflection and Response

-P

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