The Top Trinidad Underground Albums of the Year

It's been a decent year for underground albums in Trinidad and when I say decent it's totally without context since this is the first year that I have been able to reliably acquire Trinidad underground releases. Before Highway Records (located in Curepe) came out, there wasn't any place to acquire musical bodies of work from underground artistes... for an affordable price. Before HR, a man woulda had to pump to Rhyner's or Crosby's and take the chance of paying $120TT or so for an artiste they never heard of before. Yeah right!

Recently and now, with $30TT to $50TT in hand, I have been able to get my hands on roughly 24 different albums for the year and it's been an interesting and sometimes good listen. My only two points of contention is that some men really need to up the quality of their recordings (check a studio nuh) before placing a price tag on the front and I would have liked to listen to more stuff (I advise any upcoming artiste who has a mixtape to either link with Highway Records or check out Tru2culture which is a local music distribution company that has connects in several stores all over the country.

And on another point, I done know what some of allyuh men thinking already - if you feel like your sh*t was better than the best I've highlighted then send it to me. If your stuff is that good I don't mind tacking it pon the list. So without further ado in no particular order...

1) Ghetto Child by Make it Hapn

What can I say about this album? This is a landmark body of work not just for underground music and Trinidad hip hop, but Trinidad music on the whole. This concept album about crime and poverty in Trinidad and Tobago brings the listener into a world decorated with exquisite sampled hip hop beats by Beebo (one of the hardest rap producers in Trini) and never lets go until the last song. The best $30TT spent ever. You can probably still get this in Highway Records.

2) The Issues Live by Skeeto

This is actually a mixtape and not an album but for a mixtape and for $20TT the stuff is scarily good. On this cd Skeeto rides the instrumentals for songs like "All about the Benjamins", "Go", "Canon remix" and with a trini accent kills most, leaving the undead badly wounded. I don't know where you can get this now but its worth the listen.

3) Levi Myaz Street Album by Levi Myaz

It's hard to pigeon hole Levi Myaz. Equals parts singer and chanter with the genes of Mr Bring back de old time days aka Nappy Myaz, Levi Myaz holds attention and thrills for the entire duration of an album of more than twenty tracks. This was my first time really listening to him but I will say that I'm impressed. Highway Records may have this.

4) Four Quarters by I.A.L.S.

When a big respected rap group drops an album is not like you have a choice whether to listen. Four Quarters is a concept album whereby four of the group members each commandeer a quarter portion of the album with their individual concept, allowing you to get into the mind of each of the four complimentary but diverse personalities within the group. The vibe is old school hip hop but the beats are insane and I won't advise you to miss out on this especially if you're a fan of old school hip hop and/or I.A.L.S. You can check for this in Highway Records.

5) The Psychotic Modification of Fear by Kayotic Verbal Automatics

Krazy K, J.O. Skillz and Crisis are three more than capable mcs but as a group, they make their mark. The beats set the mood perfectly, taking you on a journey where these three mcs speak largely on the importance of skills and technique to mastering your fear in a world filled with haters and wack mcs. I'm not sure where you can get this now since I got it from the fellas themselves but cop it cause it bad.


Yeah, so that was your list folks. It's been a good year and I wish everyone merry Christmas and a happy new year in 09. Last time for '08, Face out.

You like soca??? Part 2

So I got a chance to wheel and come again and now I'm on to the second part of this topic. Some stuff happened between then, yuh know: Patrick Manning recovered thanks to Cuba, a man made a very informative and intelligent comment on the first part of this series basically knocking the foundations of soca and Iwer George released some more music that makes defending soca harder than defending innocent people from crime in Trinidad. Sigh. Still, it has been a good two weeks.

Now is two things I want to say: firstly, I believe soca is our culture and secondly I don't think everybody has to like soca music. Most people try to leverage the fact that the radio stations blast hip hop, dub, reggae and rock year round and only dedicate three or four months to soca in an effort to disprove its importance to the culture and heritage of Trinidad and Tobago but nah...dats irrelevant. Soca has an indelible effect on all products of these shores which is proven by the great love or contempt Trinbagonians have for it and strangely the effect is never nonchalance. Whether dominant or recessive it's there; like genes.

And similar to hip hop... in the golden age, soca has a culture around it. If you didn't get break dancing, graffiti, reebok classics, Adidas sneaks without the laces, kangol hats or at one point, big gold chains, chances are you would not have gotten hip hop in the eighties as this was before it became mainstream. How then do you expect to get soca if you don't/can't wine, don't know how to wave a rag, never been to a fete, never 'chipped' behind a truck, never walk down de road carnival Tuesday following a Carnival band or never play mas? At the end of the day, this is a music that has its roots in an annual event otherwise known as Carnival. Basically, if you don't get Carnival, you don't get soca.

That aside, I do acknowledge that this insularity of soca is more of a curse than a blessing. The side-blinded focus on the Carnival event in song topics is expected but is a short-coming and a mold that needs to be broken. In recognition of this, I want to highlight some of the soca songs that I think have broken this mold and are songs that I believe can successfully exist outside the context of Carnival. Who knows, this list may be more convincing than anything I have said before despite the fact that changing people's minds is not the purpose of this article.

1) Carnival Darling by 3 Suns - Non-preachy social commentary in soca. A classic.

2) Bonnie and Clyde by Destra - Uses the metaphor of a rag being a sidekick. Vocals and concept hit the target.

3) Amnesty by Machel and Benjai - Mr Conscious Soca and Mr Machel team up against violence.

4) Wishful Encounter by Bunji Garlin - Mr Alvarez gets introspective...we need to hear him in that mood again.

5) Wrong Timing by Blazer Dan - Blazer elevates the sub-genre of situational soca songs.

6) Love Generation by Maximus - Maximus explodes on a big chorus.

7) Luv u tonite by Machel and Maximus (back when he was know as 'Magga Dan') - Machel and Maximus team up to further blur the lines between soca and dub.

8) Spanish Fly by Ataklan - Men might argue that this is rapso but the beat is soca and the song is classic back and forth seduction.

9) This Feeling by Kees the band - This is recent but will be revolutionary.

10) Like 2 Wine by Multi-Symptom - Extraordinary vocals elevate this song to one of the most unfairly overlooked soca releases of all time.


Nice, so I want all you soca haters to ponder on this list. Listen to this list of songs and let me know if you still feel the way you do. And to all the soca lovers - don't forget to comment and let me know what should and should not have been there. Face out.

The official website for Trini hip hop

Yeah people, is Face here. After much hard work and tribulation I have just completed the sixth track of my upcoming album Hitchhiker's guide to uwi (applause). So that means I have three tracks more to go not including an intro and outro. That's good though; it also means I won't miss my deadline to finish recording by early March (if you want to hear some tracks you know where to go).

Safe. Did you know that sometimes you can find some useful sh*t just vibesing on facebook rather than the usual spam in your mail every two days? No? Well I came upon this site called TriniHipHop while liming in one of my favourite facebook groups called Freestyle Fellowship. Initially, I was skeptical about the site because I'm already on a few such sites and most aren't worth the effort but once I checked out the site my fears were put to rest. From an artiste's point of view, this site is exactly what is needed; it is easy to use, contains a wide array of useful options and is focused on the Trini which means you won't get lost in the shuffle like on myspace.

And if you aren't an artiste don't worry, you can still have a worthwhile time on this site. The site makes it easy to browse the content of other artistes so you can pass through and watch the videos and/or listen to the music offered by Trinidadian hip hop artistes. Setting up a profile took me like two minutes and in five more minutes I already linked to my youtube videos and uploaded one of my songs. I don't endorse much sites but trust me when I say that this one is worthwhile so make sure and check it out. Face out.

You like soca??? Part 1

Do I like soca? Yes I do. By my estimates, roughly ninety percent of the T+T population express more than a passing interest in soca music...during the carnival season. Local enthusiasts of rock, dub, hip hop, pop, electronica, house, trance and what have you are liable to "throw some waist" on the famed last week coming into Carnival Monday and Tuesday. Yet a lot of these same people scoff at the notion of Soca music being a serious artform and watch me like I'm mad while I happily bounce to my Soca in the middle of the year. What kinda scene is that?

Apparently, Soca is seen to many as music to 'give yuh a vibes' and inspire jamming and wining during a certain period of abandon but is not expected to auger any serious thought or effect any social change. With the exception of the last part of the statement, I would support this view since I believe that Soca belongs to the wider genre of dance music inside which the goal of making you move takes precedence over all others (lyrical dexterity included). But then techno, house and other dance music are seen as serious music to its local enthusiasts as opposed to Soca so maybe it isn't the dance emphasis that lowers its rank.

Maybe then, the problem lies in the insularity of its topics; admittedly, popular lyrical staples of every soca artiste's rhyme book like "Carnival is bacchanal" seem irrelevant during the rainy months of August. However, how can you knock an entire genre for the foils of some or even many of its practitioners. Would you say medicine makes no sense because of experiences with a few bad doctors? No you probably wouldn't so don't blame the game because the players are lazy.

As a music enthusiast I usually find myself defending soca. It's not that people don't like it but uniformly, once a serious musical discussion takes place, smirks begin to crack once soca is referenced. We might be talking about how important a hook is to a song and I may say something like: "Repetition is an important ingredient to many great hooks, like soca music for instance..." and then the eye rolling and half grins begin. These situations really make the patriot in me want to body slam someone.

I believe that soca has two main strengths: its ability to mix well with different genres of music (a fact that Machel has made lots of money on) and its intrinsic malleable nature (more complex but related to the first point). At its best we have "No war" by Machel Montano, a song that winers probably didn't realise was a 'conscious' song until the video came out. At these levels, soca can send a message without being preachy. At its worst we have Iwer George repeating the word "hand" almost ten billion times in one song. This song revels in banality with part of its appeal being its notoriety for lack of creativity rendering it a landmark in lack of imagination. Bad songs make it hard to defend soca but I believe a genre, like any system should be judged by its best products even when that best is rarely reproduced.

I know it may seem weird that I've decided to write about soca but this stuff has to be said. As an underground artiste in Trinidad, soca music is seen as the enemy mainly because a lot of terrible soca songs slip through the cracks yearly to make it big on radio whereas many more talented artistes in other genres can't 'eat a food'. Frankly, as cruelly ironic as that maybe, I find such contempt misplaced and counter-productive so in the second part of this discussion I'm going to quantify and qualify the reasons why soca is a serious musical artform. Until then, Face out.

Trini Videos on Youtube :The most influential ones ever

Aye folks, waz de scene. Somehow I managed to get my body ravaged by the flu last week Friday and I'm only now catching myself so I suggest to all to take those vitamins.
Anyway, since this will most likely be the last of the "Trini Videos on YouTube" for the year I've decided to cap it off by highlighting the most influential trini videos with some brief commentary next to it. These are the videos transcended sometimes low budgets and foreign bias to become darlings in the eyes of viewers and inspiration to countless 'me-toos' in years following. Enjoy.


Xtatic - Music Farm

Shows exactly what you can do with a low budget and plenty charisma. This is still my favourite video from Machel Montano.



Xtatic - Big Truck

The song by itself was revolutionary but the video was a cut above all other soca videos at the time. Too many good moments...de man wining on de fence, de big truck shutting down, Denise Belfon wining...wait Denise Belfon?



Underwater riddim - various artistes

This is not really a trini video as it only features one trini artiste but it has been imitated many times in Trinidad and regionally.



Reach - Rizon

Yeah I know, I'm calling this one a bit early but I think it will be imitated in years to come. This is probably at the top of E-zone's resume.



Voom voom - Ghetto flex

Back when the word 'ragga soca' was a commonly used term, this one of the first big hits in that genre and the production values of this video were amazing for its time.


Hard Wuk - Denise Belfon

Couldn't find the actual video but this broke ground as the raunchiest soca video ever. Probably tame by current standards.



Keep it pumping - Rikki Jai

The video came out in the 80s and featured rough looking animation. Apparently, that was all it needed.

Chromatics performing in Barbados

Mih boy Chromatics tear it up for Trinidad and hip hop went he was in Barbados a few weeks ago. But don't take my word for it...check it in the videos below.



Chromatics live in Barbados - Put It Up



Chromatics Performing Live In Barbados - The Take Over



Chromatics live in Barbados - Forced Into Independence



Chromatics Performing Live In Barbados - The Ballad



Chromatics Performing Live In Barbados - Basement Party

Digicel Rising or Synergy Soca: Which star is brighter?

vs

For the first time this season I took in the fourth edition of soca star. In that episode the contestants had to perform their respective songs in front of a mostly appreciative crowd in St. James and receive criticism from the judges. The judges comprised of Paul Richards, Carl “Beaver” Henderson and Carol Jacobs and what struck me about their criticisms was that it was both honest and (gasp) constructive. As you may know, I previously followed Digicel Rising Star competition a few months ago and their judging wasn't terrible but seemed uneven being sometimes venomous and other times hinting at 'favouritism'. Both of these competitions have the same primary purpose, which is to make dollars on the heads of hapless struggling artistes. However, both of these competitions also have the same secondary purpose of trying to help these upcoming artistes so I think it would be useful to discern which competition makes the most sense to an artiste trying to advance his/her career.

So I'm going to rank each competition out of five in five categories (clever eh?) that are of use to a new artiste. These categories are "Career Advancement", "Improvement of Craft", "Embarrassment Factor", "Chance of Winning" and "Benefit of Winning". So without further ado...

Career Advancement

DRS: DRS completed its third season about three months ago and already it's hard to even remember the winners. All contestants had to jump through a perilous slew of hoops singing the hits of mostly foreign entertainers in an attempt to reward the vocalist who could mimic different vocal styles the best. Ironically enough, that contestant placed second but it would be like betting on the Lotto to guess what either of the top two would release to radio, if they ever do. Note to DRS: if you're going to make people sing foreign stuff at least organize a US recording contract nuh.
Score: 2/5

SSS: SSS has notoriously only been kind to the winners (excluding last year) with previous winners Fireball and Umi Marcano both becoming household names with hugely successful radio singles. However, it definitely sucks to be second although I guess this puts them almost square with American idol. Moral of the story: play to win.
Score: 3.5/5

Winner: Soca Star

Improvement of Craft

DRS: Both competitions have artiste development as their sub-mantra and one of the subversive hooks of each show (and every talent show invented) is the pleasure of watching contestants embarrass themselves. With DRS, this has been one of their selling points with one judge being aptly dubbed 'Judge Dredd'. Does all this criticism help? I guess they would like to think so although they totally destroy those with no inkling of talent while bathing those with talent in buckets of undeserved praise. Even so, I guess the hard-nosed approach is sometimes effective.
Score: 3/5

SSS: I can't speak for the other judges too much and I would love to know how Paul Richards ended up becoming a judge in the first place but that Carl 'Beaver' Henderson really seems to know what he's talking about. He's calm whether he's praising you or telling you that you're mess and is brave enough to nitpick a crowd-pleasing performance. SSS also seems to have more surprise winners than DRS so I guess SSS contestants have a greater propensity to improve. It also helps that SSS is more deliberate in their goal of improving artistes as well.
Score: 4/5

Winner: Soca Star

Embarrassment Factor

DRS: This section is scored lower the more likely you are to be embarrassed since embarrassment can often be an impediment to artistic growth. With that said, DRS is the real place to get embarrassed and is not for the weak of heart. I would assume that this would probably scare away good artistes who just haven't mastered their nerves yet.
Score: 1/5

SSS: Soca star can be fairly embarrassing too but mainly due to the fact that you're usually getting tongue-lashed by a man who regularly bats his eyelids. This is kinda expected in competitions but it's definitely easier to find a comfort zone in SSS since you're singing the same thing throughout the competition.
Score: 3/5

Winner: Soca Star

Chance of Winning

DRS: To win DRS, you have to be a master of singing multiple musical genres. This is no easy feat and I'm frankly amazed by a person like Meeda Ellis who is able to pull off the exaggerated wailings of Celine Dion as well as the deep baritone chanting of Maximus Dan. You often have no idea what they're going to throw at you so I would say the task of summing up your chances in DRS is more difficult. The sms voting system where one person can vote as much as they want is also one of the weirdest things I have ever heard.
Score: 2/5

SSS: In SSS you're working with one song so once you have a good song then you're in the game. Master your performance and your win book...almost. The sms voting factor can keep unlikely people on but then again...do they really check that?
Score: 3.5/5

Winner: Soca Star

Benefit of Winning

DRS: DRS gives you like $100000TT and a contract with a management company when you win. 10000 dookerans is a lot of money and a contract is a nice touch. As far as I know there has been no controversy receiving winnings either. Seems straight to me.
Score: 4/5

SSS: Now this is where SSS falls short. I fail to see how a Daihatsu Terios helps a struggling artiste and it is in really poor taste to not give out two in the event of a tie. Other aspects of the prize include a contract from Mastamind productions, which is a straight up company, and a video from synergy. Oddly enough, past winners Blu and OG have yet to see a video from Synergy as far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong). That's just jacked up man.
Score: 2.5/5

Winner: Digicel Rising Star


So there you have it folks, Synergy Soca Star takes it easily. As Jayz said: "Men lie, women lie, numbers don't". If you don't agree feel free to comment and tell me. Da Face out.

A night out...with P.E.P.P.A.

Hello peeps, what's cracking? I know it has been a long time since I've done commentary on an event but I've been working hard on my album, Hitchhiker's Guide to uwi and also been writing some stuff for Trinipulse. But doh frighten, I not putting down the torch anytime soon and I actually have a lot of stuff to talk about. I eh even open mih mouth about Soca Star 4 yet.

Yeah, so one of my brethren was hyping up this session affectionately called 'P.E.P.P.A (is this an acronynm?)' that takes place in the La Casa De Ibiza Restaurant & Lounge which is a decent-looking place directly opposite the oval on Tragerete road. Honestly, my work is like a one minute walk from the place so I thought about it and was like "no scene" and proceeded to organize myself to make some movements. I actually wanted to make my debut in the place the week before which featured my favourite group '3 Suns' performing but that was the night before Divali and I live Chaguanas. Five hours in traffic is rarely fun.

So evidently enough, I decided to check it out the week that Synergy soca star alumni Umi Marcano and Fireball would be blessing the mic. To get in I had to leave a spartan $40 contribution which would be later compensated for with the spectacular drink prices by the bar but I wasn't studying that yet. As I walked in I was pleasantly surprised by the look of the place. In my mind, I thought the place would either look like an upscale bar or a downscale club but this place looked like someone's living room complete with comfortable couches to sit. The place was well lit and had a look like the set of a tv show - there were guys video-taping the whole thing so I guess that was the point. This vibe I think was a blessing to the performers who looked relaxed and gave unplugged versions of their songs while being supported by the house band and backing vocalists.

I didn't stay to see the whole of Fireball's set but I did see the latter half of Umi's which made me see the dude in a different light. I don't have cable and I actually didn't see much of the second season of soca star so I didn't really get much from Umi barring his cocky demeanour and penchant for producing a catchy song every carnival season since his big win. However, P.E.P.P.A. has this novel concept whereby artistes participate in a question and answer session after performing which I'm guessing serves to make the close setting seem even more intimate and (gasp) makes then seem more human. After seeing Umi answer questions it seems that under the exterior is a young talented and determined artiste who "idolizes Machel" and is doing what he can to make it in our brutal industry. Maybe they should try nailing down Mr. Patrick in a session. Anyways, Face out. You can also check P.E.P.P.A out on their facebook group.


Umi Marcano performing in P.E.P.P.A.



Fireball performing in P.E.P.P.A.

Trini Videos on Youtube pt 6

Yeah folks, lots of things happen since the last post. We got a black president in the US, inflation in trini tended towards 15% and Mr. Manning thought he could get away with personally reprimanding a radio station (lmao). Pressure! Anyways, check out the new trini videos and look out for my album (Hitchhiker's guide to UWI) next year. Btw, I performed in the SoundStage series that is currently showing (in Trinidad) on channel 6 so if you're lucky you can catch me there too. Face out.


Isasha - Don't you know


Zebulun - Fake Love/Better Will Come


Jah Defender - I don't wanna lose you


Tim Starr and Jah Defender - Trinidad is dying

Swaggerless djs

Yeah folks, Face here again. This is going to be another short post so the illiterate amongst you can rest easy. A short while ago I was heading to perform on Milner hall in UWI when I encountered some dotish behaviour from a dj. I was trying to hand him my track but the imps decided to stare straight ahead for like ten minutes until he saw it fit to answer me ( I can't even tell you his name cause he is part of some inconspicuous, no-name crew that sounds like they can't mix). He didn't know who he was dealing with though so I decided to let it out on a track. Enjoy! Face out.

How to go 'Platinum' in T+T

Fellow artistes, fans, haters, sprangas, hangers-on and others; I hope you're reading and taking note. Today is going to be a short mathematical exercise where I reveal the number of album copies you have to sell to 'go platinum' in T+T. For the uninitiated, 'going platinum' in the US means that you've sold 1 million copies of your album after which the specified artiste receives a platinum plaque in commemoration of the auspicious moment from the RIAA (a US organization that takes note of these 'useful' facts). The population of Trinidad and Tobago is like 1.3 million in total so its obvious that selling 1 million copies of anything on the island shifts to the wrong side of impossible especially since you know how divisive we can be sometimes. Anyways, on to the math.

Population of US: 301,139,947 (July 2007 est.)
US Platinum criteria = 1000000 copies sold

Population of Trinidad = 1,056,608 (July 2007 est.)
Trinidad Platinum criteria = (1,056,608 x 1000000) / 301,139,947 = 3508.694 (3500) copies

So you have to sell 3500 copies of your album to 'go platinum' in Trinidad.

Scene. So I did a likkle cross multiplication which is a basic concept if you understand ratio and if you don't well...tough. With this figure in mind it would be interesting to note how many times the popular T+T artistes like Machel, Bunji, Shurwayne etc went platinum if not double platinum on the island. Anyone with sales figures is free to hit me up. Face out.

Curious City

Yeah folks, Da Face here.

Recently I was scouring around Youtube looking for some trini videos and found two parts of a philosophical exploration of one's artistic consciousness (or something so) by an artiste ironically called Curious. The content of the video is thought-provoking and showcases Curious' penchant for 'off-the-top' freestyling as well as his genre bending musical style. But don't take my word for it...watch the videos below and see for yourself. Face out.

Curious City pt1
Curious City pt2

Radio doh play me!!!

Now don't get it twisted please; just because the picture displays 96.1 doesn't mean that I'm blaming the station because, in the words of the magnificent Mark Anthony, everyone knows that Chinese Laundry is an honourable man. It's just that the majority of people believe that they are mainly responsible for the bullsh*t playing on the airwaves and thus their picture is relevant to my discussion, ya dig? The fact of the matter is, radio can't possibly play every artiste and all the radio play in the world won't satisfy the insatiable appetites of the over-confident with inflated egos who believe that the world's populace needs to hear whatever they fart out. You know we artistes can be that way sometimes.

Nah, this isn't a simple problem really. Frankly, a lot of us aspiring, underground trini artistes do not understand how radio works very well, if at all. When you're casually listening to radio and flipping between a dozen of the 'too much' stations we have, you really don't realise that you're breaking the heart of many a program director. Their job is to ensure that you stay 'locked on' by providing content that you want to hear and most times the safest way to do that is by playing the music of known artistes. Artistes like Beyonce, Rihanna and even our own Machel HD have made themselves into identifiable brands and a terrible song by them will be guaranteed to generate at least some interest with only a "You hear de new Beyonce? It lame eh." response. In contrast, a terrible song by Mr. Noname artiste will probably generate a "What kinda chuppidness dem playing dread! I done with dis station yes!" and yuh out. And the number of listeners influences the main source of revenue for radio stations. This is commonly known as advertisements.

Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that local radio doesn't deserve a good bun down still. Case in point, Chromatics was on 96.7 Red FM (probably my favourite station on the airwaves right now) to engage in a 'debate' [CHECK IT HERE] during the set of Hyper Hopper or Hoppy (or whatever he goes by now) about the issue of upcoming artistes and radio play. One of the points brought forward was that most local artistes do not achieve the lofty standards established by foreign acts and thus the reason they get no 'bligh'. Really? This point stood for like two whole seconds until Chromatics inquired about the assault of a one Soulja Boy and his unique version of musical 'quality' pon local ears when suddenly there was a lot of silence followed by a lot of stammering and stuttering to explain the unfortunate statement.

The fact is, people can only choose from the choices made available to them. If you only play foreign music, saying that people only want to hear foreign music is like dividing one by one to disprove two. And even stranger, movements which counter the prehistoric thinking that people won't accept local music such as the Kiskidee Caravan in the early 90s, the brief rapso mainstream movement with Ataklan, Kindred etc in the late 90s and the all too recent reggae movement do nothing to change the general behaviour of radio djs and their ilk. Well at least we can thank 96.1 for initiating the soca switch which was instrumental in further popularizing soca music with the masses although it probably had something to do with the owner being a soca artiste. What I take from all of it is that radio, like the government, is not reliable to somebody trying to make it and even though they may both provide a helping hand sometimes, the hustle is yours to carry. Face out.

PARENTAL ADVISORY

Now I'm not going to lie, the title of this dvd is one of the more creative things I've seen in a while. On viewing the dvd cover, your eyes go from the "parental", then to the "advisory" and on to inevitable shock by the fact that the creators effectively nullify the purpose of their own 'parental advisory' disclaimer on the cover of the product with the word "bitch". So when I picked up this dvd in Highway Records I knew I was in for some kinda unique experience and willingly, I plunked down my $40 and made some 'movements'. In any case ting real scarce these days; as of this time of speaking, Pro Records hasn't released their album yet and the Tango and Cash is like $100 which is out of my price range, ya dig.

In essence, Parental Advisory Bitch (still can't believe I have to revere this as a title) is a Trinidad hip hop dvd chocked full of freestyles, interviews, videos, skits and basically anything you would think is remotely related to hip hop in TnT. Loads of swagger... check, talking about what you have before you have it... check, American accents...check and a lot of that boldface trini behaviour that is even more entertaining when captured on camera. But unlike "Real Talk" (the comparison was inevitable), which has the distinct and catchy theme of basically bad-mouthing the industry in the most controversial way possible using the (formerly) least controversial people possible, P.A.B. just throws any and everything at you in the hope that something sticks. As a result, you feel like you never know what to expect which sometimes works in its favour and a lot of times doesn't. And I was vexed that they didn't make use of what could have been the baddest catch phrase ever; "Buy this dvd or ah coming fuh yuh mudder ****". Bess.

Thankfully, the entertaining parts definitely make up for any shortcomings of P.A.B. To the perhaps dubious disappointment of some, P.A.B. doesn't exactly earn it's name and isn't any more hardcore than what you would have seen in Real Talk, which to me is a good thing. The best part of the dvd is the coverage of the Nemisis' album launch which features performances by Chromatics, Pro Records and Nemisis himself plus a preview of the new Nemisis clothing line called "Nemwear". The performances were hype as expected but it was the freshness of the clothing line that frankly surprised and impressed me. Big up to Nemisis with this endeavour and I implore all of you to support it when it comes out. Other than that there are a few random moments of humour to be caught in some of the skits like an unfortunate one where an underage kid purchases a copy of Parental Advisory Bitch (which is clearly displayed on the camera via a closeup) and the host merely shrugs and lets the kid go on his way to presumably view a dvd filled with gleeful nihilism. Don't worry, I too believe the children are our future. Additionally, the infrequent cameos of the always noticeable Shinez is also noteworthy and one wonders whether it was the recent controversy that kept him from having a more pivotal role in this production (his upcoming movie looks fresh). In any event, you could do a lot worse. Cop this if you get a chance. Da Face out.

Trini Videos on You Tube pt 5

Yeah people you know what it is. I know some of these videos some of you may have seen but to the some who haven't, you're welcome. Look out for my new feature next week: Underground Trini Artiste Spotlight. This feature highlights a chosen underground artiste and gives you the readers a chance to become acquainted with a talented individual that you may not have heard about before. It will be part-interview and part-biographical so you'll hear the story from me and them. Till then, Face out.




Sovereignty - "Trini Stand Up"


Kess the Band - "Lion"


Pro Records - "30 Million In My Jeans"


Regazzi - "Serious"

Songshine: Open Mic show in Trevor's Edge

Yeah folks, waz de scene? Yuh boy not as brisk with the posts these days but that will be rectified eventually. The development and promotion of Hitchhiker's Guide to Uwi aka my album has been taking up a significant amount of my time since strangely, I happen to be attempting to make a quality product (go figure). In spite of that, I've somehow managed to make time to take in the latest album by TI called "Paper Trail". Don't ask me how I managed to get my hands on it but it's worth the buy if you're wondering and if you're still in doubt you can check out two songs from the album here and here.

Recently it's been coming to me fervently - like those mosquitoes with dengue, that to get yourself out there as an artiste, you really need to hit up those open mic shows in Trinidad. It may be surprising to some but there are numerous one mic shows being held periodically in various 'holes' all over sweet T+T and almost all of them are patronized by a dedicated, hardcore following. In fact, some of the organizers of these shows have become very enterprising in their marketing since I guess they realize that numerous potentials have zero clue of their existence and thus they have begun to wield the power of Facebook for good. Of this set, Songshine is one of the more established.

As a show, Songshine features a win-win host of characteristics; it's located in a decent-looking, air-conditioned bar (Trevor's edge) that is several rungs above the 'hawk and spit' level, features soft lighting on stage that works to great effect and is hosted by none other than Gillian Moor, who is totally dedicated. Songshine also has a very interesting recurring theme in that at each show, which occurs monthly, a different artiste/group is venerated as the main act. Previously featured acts include OzyMajiq, Sheldon Blackman and the local rap group Spotrushaz. The fact that there are featured acts in addition to the assembly line of relatively unknown performers serves to draw in the uninitiated and broaden the audience beyond the militant who 'fed up' with what plays on the radio (yeah, I'm stereotyping lol). Maybe that's why Trevor's is always packed for every show.

So yuh boy Face was there last show performing for the second time in Songshine and I did my thing. Trust me, it's a good way to boost your performance skills and build your confidence in front of an audience with the safety net that they won't boo you unless you're Britney Spears bad. If I keep improving who knows, maybe I will become one of the featured big artistes. Anyways, check out the videos. Da Face out.



Chromatics performing in Songshine


Make it hapn performing in Songshine

Hitchhiker's Guide to Uwi: album coming soon

Yeah folks, well you've read the title and now you know what it is for March/April 2009. "Hitchiker's Guide to Uwi" is the crazy concept that I came up with about roughly two years ago which is basically, an album that gives many diverse snapshots of uwi (University of West Indies) life. It is a 'concept album' in the truest sense of the word which is defined by Wikipedia as: "an album which is unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical". On this album, I write every song from the perspective of someone that is in their final year of university and has seen it all. And to allay any fears, this album is not dense in 'you had to be there', uwi-type stuff; anybody who enjoys good, creative and lyrical music can enjoy this album.

Now I don't know how many of you reading this are actively involved in music and would/could understand, but when I'm not frustrated in trying to make the highest quality product of this album, I feel blessed to have the privilege and the means to make this album a reality. It's an exciting feeling because most of the topics on my album have never been written about in Trinidad before and I'm more worried about making this thing a classic rather than griping over possible radio play. Even the cover art is going to turn some heads as is definitely on some intergalactic-type sh*t. The dude who's working on it is a bonafide genius fuh real.

"Hitchhiker's Guide to Uwi" is going to have about ten tracks and maybe one bonus track with a few interludes if necessary. As you may notice, the title is taken from the book "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" which is an invaluable book for wanderers looking to traverse the galaxy and similarly my album is an invaluable cd for wanderers looking for knowledge and/or an exposition of university life. The album is most likely going to be distributed by tru2culture which has recently added several more locations to the list of stores that it distributes cds and dvds to and therefore it shouldn't be too hard to find the album when it drops (you can search for the group on facebook for more information on tru2culture).

TRACK LISTING

1 Intro
2 Ah won't pretend
3 Uwi girls
4 Jennifer
5 Stress
6 I don't care
7 Bad karma
8 Raining Shots
9 Originality
10 Uwi is a game
11 Forever (bonus track)

I've already released the tracks "Uwi girls" and "Jennifer" which you can listen to here. You can also download both tracks here.

The album for sure won't be more than $40TT and will be mixed and mastered to the highest quality (it's being mixed by "Beebo" and mastered by "Mice"...those in the industry would know dem two) so mek sure and get it when it comes out next year. Da Face out.

The Trini vagrant strikes again

Now as a disclaimer, I'm letting you know that this post is bare nonsense and has nothing to do with anything. I'm just getting you all back up on your neighborhood friendly Trini vagrant so make sure and check out the vids.

Underground Trini album pick of the month (August): THE ISSUES LIVE

Yeah folks, Da Face here. Last night, I represented in the 2nd anniversary of "One Mic" and thankfully, I much improved on my performance (wish yuh was there eh). Much big up to Skeeto, Akila and Gamma for their drive and consistency, which has contributed to making "One Mic" the phenomena that it is. And for all you folks who want to be down with the One Mic crew it's so simple; just join the damn group on facebook nuh. That so hard?

Anyway, so I finished recording this ultra-hard track with Skeeto called "I won't pretend" some time last month that is like (gasp) really hard and will definitely step on some toes and what not and then he lets me know that he has a mixtape that he is letting out. So me being me, I purchase it one time and start bumping it, taking in the concepts and the lyrics etc. For those who don't know Skeeto, he's a dude who raps authentic trini like me with a very poetic, rapso-oriented flow that is versatile enough to tear up straight up hip hop beats like "Go" produced by Kanye West and "All about the Benjamins" produced by Bad Boy among others. Usually, Skeeto is a 'backpacker' type of rapper'(I consider him a local Talib Kweli) in that he usually spits knowledge but he gets playful on this record at points to the extent where he dedicates a song to Mr. Headbutter himself, Zinedine Zidane. Good stuff.

As I told Skeeto already, I personally found that he had too many interludes on the mixtape although to be fair, most of them are poetic, spoken word pieces which I found didn't mesh well with the rap beats but other people didn't share my opinion. Nevertheless, there is much to like here and about four songs which are the among the best that I've heard this year in any genre which says a lot for a $20 mixtape. So do me a favour nuh, vibes de man and cop his mixtape. It will be one of the best $20 that you have ever spent.

Violence in de Music

Yeah people,
"Is Da Face back again with no mask so feel free take my stuff at 'face value'".

Ah know...I does be on some real sh*t.

Over the last week there has been much bickering and hollering about an old rap video that had been in the You Tube archives for a while now and emerged to rear its violent head. Honestly, with the exception of some dangerous 'props' being flaunted in the video, there isn't, in my opinion, anything really shocking to be found within the lyrics as most of the motifs and barbs expressed are standard in the gangsta rap genre. If anything, the target of the verbal whipping aka Babylon is the only real controversial point of this particular fiasco but it does raise questions about the influence, artistic virtue and ramifications of the music released by other bad men on wax (and sometimes off) like your Movados, Bounti Killas, Fiddy Cents etc.

The real question that I have been wanting to ask for a long time is whether one can always take what someone says over a beat as factual especially when it falls in the cartoonish, Quentin Tarantino-like exaggeration that you only hear from the hardest of the hardcore artistes. I mean, come on, do you really believe that 50 cent, who has recently topped Forbes richest rap artistes list, would jeopardize his riches that he got without 'dying trying' to 'buss a cap on a homie'? Or do you think that Jay Z, who now rubs shoulders with Steve Jobs and Gweneth Paltrow, would still be dealing 'weight' on some lonely corner and defending the piss-drenched area as if his life depended on it? Even so, I would admit that from the way they talk, their swagger and the malice that they put in their voice, even I let my mind escape sometimes and wander into this fantasy land where you kill but never be killed, where all women accept the worst punishment but still swoon on command and money follows you around like a bad ex. Yes, it can be very entertaining.

But despite my sometime enjoyment, one thing never falters for me; I know it's a story. It's just art...well sometimes it is. It's like watching the Godfather or playing Grand Theft Auto 4 in that you respect the plot and the characters, even get astounded by the nihilism and the realism of the violent situations but if you're sensible, you know it's make-believe. Sometimes it's exaggerated to the point that I don't know how it can be taken seriously, something like the traditional Trinidadian midnight robber boasts of conquering hell or being the son of Satan. Sometimes I wonder though, if the fans of this kinda music would like it so much if they realized that it doesn't represent reality like 95% of the time. I do and I still can occasionally enjoy it so maybe I'm unique.

And now here's my point. Music is an art form that is primarily meant to entertain. You can lecture all you want about responsibility and people needing to learn something from music but the bottom line is that people won't even give you a listen if they can't enjoy it. I mean, you learn lots of stuff in school but putting your teacher's voice over the beat to 'Jumbie' won't win you road march. At the end of the day, good music is good music and uninspiring lyrics and lame concepts occur in the 'best' and 'worst' of topics. I will listen to an engaging tale any day of a drug deal gone sour and the ensuing violence that occurs once it is accompanied by good lyricism, nuanced storytelling and a voice that emanates mood and atmosphere. And my ears will switch off if an inspirational and educational reality tune plays and it lacks feeling, a unique take on played-out subject matter or is lazily delivered. Whether the violent rap song was actually a good song seems to have mattered little within all the media commotion but whether violent or non-violent, I think all music should be measured by the same yard stick. Da Face out.

Trinidad Video on youtube under police investigation: Shinez apologize

Yeah, so de man apologize. Dey also removed the infamous video from youtube so I guess in a few days things will be back to 'normal'. Hope everything works out for dude though cause I'm really looking forward to Real Talk 4. Life is a game and you really need to watch how you play.

Trinidad Video on youtube under police investigation

I don't have much to say on this but I'll just say this to the upcoming artistes; be careful what you present in your music and videos. At the end of the day I believe music is art and people have the right to express themselves but you must always remember that your music represents you. Me for one...I eh no badman so yuh go never hear no war talk on any of my tracks. With that I ask you to watch this now nefarious video that has 'blessed' the Express newspaper and some news stations with something juicy to report and the politicians with an excuse for their ineffectiveness in the war against crime.

I AM HIP HOP 3 (Trinidad hip hop show)

Oye people. Da Face in. Before I expound on the title of this post I want to first thank Mr. Thompson for doing us proud and placing first amongst the human runners participating in the 100m final. Dat dude Bolt is something else and I'm not sure whether his planet even exists in our solar system. In my 26 years of existence I've never seen an athlete running against the best of the best on planet earth get time to look around far less beat chest at any point of the 100 metres that comprise the race. The scary thing is that because he's from the Caribbean, the probability that he's on drugs tends to zero (yeah it's biased but true). Anyways...

Now back to the topic. What can I say about I am hip hop 3? As an instant spoiler and from a realistic point of view it was decent. If you got sucked into the hype then I guess it may have been a tad bit disappointing. However, I am a realistic kinda dude and the only segment of the show that was disappointing to me was the highly touted mc freestyle battle. There were some good punchlines thrown and some of the mcs displayed good clear deliveries but there were also some who couldn't string more than two sentences together and opted not to efficiently use the provided mic. Additionally, it's really hard to consider this battle as one involving 'Trinidad's finest' when freestyle guru Nemesis and freestyle pro Hollow man were both liming in the crowd and not part of the competition. Some patrons also doubted if the better battlers were really going off the top since there was a notable lack of 'personals' (disses that directly attack the person...their name, what their wearing etc). Nevertheless, MC Red (I think that was name) emerged the winner in an anti-climatic final that wasn't even the best battle of the night.

On the good side though, the ambiance in the club was right and Jus Jase really did it on the turntables. As a mid-level rap aficionado, I was really loving the Wu Tang session and was entertained watching the more hardcore rap fans get grimy for the classics that I really didn't know. Predictably, "Ante up" tore up the show and the local rap group I.A.L.S. were the hype masters on the dance floor, jumping with a sea of other hands, head bumping almost to the knees and mouthing lyrics to entire songs. I wasn't in the mix though, I was left of the bar hoodie pon de head and sucking on caribs whole night just zoned out and only headed to the front for Chromatics' performance which was great. I heard his mini-hit song "Takeover" before and it brought the crowd to life after the battles but it was the song "Rumours" that shocked and impressed me. This song steps on more toes than a bad dancer and I'm not sure if some in the music industry are ready for it. I really can't wait for his new album...fuh real.

I also saw plenty of artistes in the crowd. I was very pleased to have met Make it Hapn outside the club before the show. If you've been reading my posts you'll remember when I named his album "Ghetto Child" the best album for the month of June. The pleasing thing was that dude was real humble despite having a largely regarded album and it was a good look for him when they later bumped two songs from his album ("Small man" and "S.O.A.K.") later on. I also saw Nemesis, synergy soca star O.G., rap producer Beebo and a few others. By the time I was ready to leave I was chill after about 5 caribs but some of my peeps were disappointed and wanted a little more. Personally, my only concerns are that Euphoria lounge as a venue is small making it impractical once this show grows and the battles were a little underwhelming. Other than that, I find the night was decent and a good starting point for better things. Check out the videos below. Face out.


Freestyle battle: Max vs Sphinx


Chromatics performing "Takeover"


Chromatics performing "Rumours"

ONE MIC rundown

Greeting folks, I hope everything is a one love during these trying times. As a consolation, two out of our three Trinidadian runners have absolutely sizzled in the 100m thus far and although it's a long shot, I hope at least one of them can upset the lethal Jamaican runners who are favourites for a one two in the event. Anyways, is no scene... God is a trini.

Yeah, so I 'palanced' in the One Mic on Tuesday. I've been getting mail in my Facebook for like forever inviting me down to San Fernando to yuh know, share my talent and stuff but excuses have been me keeping back until now. The worst of these excuses was the fact that it was too far and you know that really cyah cut it when you originally hail from quite down Palo Seco. However, when I learned that a maxi was available to carry persons from uwi to the venue and back for the inflation-friendly fee of $20, I knew that my period of making excuses had ended. So Tuesday I linked with Akila and bundled in a maxi with about twelve other strangers in transit to Club 601.

Overall I must say that the One Mic experience was good and above expectations. The event itself was and is hosted by a guy called Skeeto who is an extremely talented lyricist and an extremely cool guy overall. I met this Skeeto after hearing a very powerful song that he put up on the internet. Well yuh know me, I doh stick. I called up this Skeeto dude and reasoned with him and next thing you know we up in a studio recording a song on my upcoming album "Hitchhiker's Guide to Uwi called "I won't pretend". Working with someone you haven't met is always risky and can sometimes reveal egoes and all that unnecessary bull sh*t, but Skeeto proved to be the perfect mix; skilled, professional and humble. So it was good seeing him hosting the One Mic.

The show itself is a nice mix of genres and performance depth (for lack of a better word). It has spoken word and poetry for the hardcore open mic junkies as well as dub, reggae, soca and catchy-sounding but eclectic jazzy stuff that irregulars looking for a nice vibe can head nod to. My first performance in the show was far from my best but one ting for sure is that I will be back to really do it in the next one. I even video-taped some performances but the lighting was too soft for my budget-priced camcorder so I haven't put them up. Next month is the 2 year anniversary of the show so I implore anyone reading this to check out Club 601 in San Fernando for the niceness (join the group on Facebook find out when the next one is being held). At the very least yuh seeing me there fuh sure. Face out.

Trini Videos on You Tube pt 4

Yeah folks. I'm back with your favourite feature. I really don't know what you all will do without me nah. Yeah ah know, it win...and without steroids too. Speaking of which, China look like they might put a cut tail on de US this Olympics if they keep it up. Pressure! Face out.


Reggae All Stars


"Reach" by Rizon


Positive performing "Only in the ghetto"


"Foreign used" by Veta

Digicel Rising Star: Erica Win!!!

Yeah folks, is Da Face in the building.

Well I for one certainly didn't expect these results. Special shout out to the Trinidad Express for the pic and the balls to buss the results before last night's episode which was supposed to reveal it; you saved me from having to actually watch the show and I'm grateful. I would have given anything to have seen the look on Erica's face when she actually heard the results and found out that she won; would she have not been suprised? At the end of the finals she looked lost and distant and it was Meda who was donning the swagger of an unofficial winner. I guess people funny that way.

A lot of people that I spoke with after the results weren't really that surprised that Erica won so I guess Meda suffered from the backlash of being the most consistent performer and the disadvantage of not having an interesting enough back story. It really is poetic when someone who was kicked off the show makes it back to win and it certainly looks good on the judges who brought her back. In any event, I want to congratulate both girls on making it this far and doubly congratulate Erica for winning after the end of her long journey. My hope is that both girls can etch out some kind of fulfilling musical career from this good start and pave the way for other upcoming artistes to use this show as a vehicle to stardom. I eh going to say much more on the topic though...Face out.

Digicel Rising Star Blow By Blow: The Finals!!!

Last night was the finals of Digicel Rising Stars...final-ly (get it?). I'm quite happy though. Finally I can stop allocating part of my schedule to pandering to the masses and get back to giving some more unknown artistes some shine. I've never really watched the show before this season but as finals go this one was both entertaining and thrilling. Ah mean, I can't lie like the judges and say that I don't know who will win but that doesn't hide the fact that both finalists are vocalists skilled to the point that they deserve US recording contracts right now.

Before I get into the competition; for some reason that seems strange to me, the organizers decided to cut the final person at the beginning of the show...and then have them perform right after? Are they serious? The only way this makes any sense to me is if the person knows that they're being cut from before hand. Crystal Daniel performed like she didn't have a clue. She looked fine when it was announced that she wasn't going any further but then her voice came in shaky and thin on "Still the one" by Shania Twain and she forgot some words in the song. I mean...which other competition does that kinda thing? At least give someone a chance to cry. On another note, Knycky Cordner looked good, probably the best I've senn with her this season. Toned-down definitely suits her. Now for the performances.

Meda Ellis singing "Fallin" by Alicia Keys - This was a good choice of song for Meda. It's a good performance song as Alicia Keys' signature song it's guaranteed to be popular with audiences. As usual she is technically flawless and I can hardly detect neither a wrong or flat note throughout all the while delivering each word in almost the same tone as Mrs Keys herself. At this point I'm thinking that the winner has been decided already. Or has it?

Erica Samuel singing some song by Celine Dion - In typical Erica fashion, the girl seems like if she doesn't know how she ended up in the finals and not competitive in the least. Technically she is on par with Meda but where I think she may be a bit better is in terms of style. Her voice has a sweet emotional timbre. With that said, Erica sang Celine Dion's song with more emotion than I've ever heard from Celine Dion herself. By the end of her performance it's now obvious that Meda's was good but second best. Interesting night indeed. On a sour note, the fake crying from Simone aka Judge Dredd was not cool. Aye, we've seen you on Westwood park and that wasn't convincing either.

Meda Ellis singing "Trinidad" by Naya George - I'll start by saying I've never liked this song. This song came out around the brief period when I stopped paying attention to road march all together and began forming theories about the idiocy of large groups of people. Nevertheless, I was really liking Meda's version with its precise dialect pronunciation and the way she roughed up her voice to perform. If it's one thing that must be noted, Meda is a natural peform and commits herself to whatever she is performing whether it's her style or not. This was the most enjoyable performance for me for the night.

Erica Samuel singing "Band of the year" by Machel Montano and Patrice Roberts - Vocally, Erica sang this song than Patrice sang it on record. In every other way her performance was very limp. While performing this soca song, Erica hardly made eye contact with the audience, rarely moved, seemed totally uninterested, didn't even wave the flag that she was carrying and seemed lost on stage. The judges scolded her but at the end of the day you can only win if you want to and I don't know what she wanted to do. Thanks to Erica, Meda took this round easily.

Meda Ellis singing some spanish Celine Dion song - I couldn't spell far less pronounce the name of the song that Meda sang last and certainly didn't know what it meant but it sounded beautiful. This kinda song is picked when you want to win; it showcases skill because of the song's inherent difficulty and it comes off as exotic, especially when you're gorgeously decked in spanish-type garb complete with a flower in the hair. The judges like it and now Judge Dredd says that Meda has her shaking. She's weird.

Erica Samuel singing "Take a Bow" by Rhianna - When it was announced that she would be singing the Rhianna track I was happy for her because I know that Rhianna singing is her strength. Sad to say however, I could not endorse the performance. She sang good and everything but delivered the bitingly sarcastic song with a straight delivery and I wasn't really feeling that. In addition, she performed the song like she didn't really want to be on stage and seemed like she wanted Meda to win. I'd really give a lot to find out what she was thinking throughout last night's competition but I doubt it was about winning. At this point it's evident to me that Meda is taking this one.

Oh yeah, and one more thing; Digicel should find some other purpose for the competition besides making a money off sms votes. Kay, the winner of the competition last year could only say that she was doing vocal training in an entire year since winning the competition. Yes I understand that the winners get money but what can they really do with their careers after being made to practice one set ah foreign music from week to week. At least organize for them to get a recording contract in the US or something. $100000 must finish but a career lasts a lifetime. In contrast, Umi Marcano and Fireball of Synergy soca star have made waves locally and internationally. Step yo game up Digicel. Da Face out. Check out the videos below.


Meda singing "Trinidad"


Erica singing "Band of the year"


Meda singing Celine Dion


Erica singing "Take a bow"

Big new Trinidad hip hop show "The Grind" on 99.1

Whaddup mih brethren. I know allyuh must be fed up seeing it but is Da Face again, doh hate. You know what it is when I'm pon de internet. Some new underground sh*t must get buss. The other day about three weeks ago mih boy Matics (as in Chromatics) let me know that he going to start hosting a hip hop show on 99.1fm. In my mind I was like "99 point who" cause on the real...my radio only goes on to listen 96.7 morning show to catch some jones with Blaze and Jason. However, I thought at the time that it would be a good thing for local hip hop and plus he told me that I could send my tracks and what not so I was like I'd give it a little listen. Hoss...

As a person who is not getting paid to say this I'll just let everyone who's reading this right now know that this programme is the best I've heard on Trinidad radio in a long time. And the thing is, you don't even have to be a hip hop head to enjoy the show. The format of the show is accessible with two hosts (Chromatics and some other dude) and they mix (now) quasi-underground artistes like Joe Budden and Saigon (I swear I heard one) with your Lil Waynes and some Nas. Best of all, the guests don't just talk...they freestyle homie. I've listened to it for the last two weeks and both Veta and Make it Hapn handled themselves on the mic. Who knows, maybe I'll get a chance to rip it to shreds too...you never know. In the meantime tune in to 99.1 on a Tuesday from 9pm to 12pm and take in the second best radio programme in Trinidad (yuh know ah still love mih "Morning Show").

You can check out the myspace page here for more information and audio feeds from past shows.

Underground Trini album pick of the month (July): Levi Myaz Street Album

Yeah folks, is me again. That Digicel Rising Star rundown that I spoke about will be coming soon (like tomorrow) so don't worry about it. And don't forget people, the I Am Hip Hop is not too far off. Make sure to come out on August 16th at Euphoria Lounge and support Trinidad hip hop cause its going be wicked and you're getting the best of the best. Remember ah tell yuh.

Right, so on to the topic at hand. Last month I was in highway records as usual and I was hunting for the Real Talk 3 dvd when Chromatics who was bumpin some random reggae album, said to me "Face, yuh know dis album real bad.". So I was like "Which one?" to which he of course replied "Dis one... de Levi Myaz nah" and I was like "Levi Who?". Turns out the guy who came out with the Trinidadian anthem for nostalgia that's surer to generate singalongs from the elderly than a hymn in church had a son. And guess what...he can handle himself too.

Now I know I'm the minority in not knowing who Levi Myaz is but after listening to his album I don't think I will forget soon. The album is around 22 tracks long and it kept my attention throughout. As an artiste, Levi Myaz is a decent reggae crooner who relies on emotion to sell his concepts which are usually not much different from the usual reggae standards such as weed, Babylon, love and adherence to Rastafarian principles. The surprise comes when you realize that Levi can also spit with the best of them and on one track in particular he had me wishing that he 'chanted' a bit more on the album. Nevertheless, maintaining one's attention span over 22 tracks is no easy feat and his style; accessible and thoroughly listenable, more than achieves this. You can go and cop this album in highway records by the Chaguanas taxi stand in Curepe. Doh stick.

Which are you: artiste or businessman?

Yes folks, nuff praise to Jah for bringing me back to post for another week. I haven't watched Digicel Rising Star for like two weeks so expect a delayed post if any at all on that. Right now, I'm going to speak about something that has been on my mind for a bit which has been inspired through the observation of our local music industry and through interaction with other aspiring 'artistes'. All of the singers/rappers/whatever I know, aspire to be famous/rich but not all of singers/rappers/whatever I know, aspire to be artistes (or they just think they do). And oh yeah, please remember that other golden rule people...do not sleep with you mouth open in public. It's the youtube era.

One of the most frequently used sequence of words (aka phrase) when speaking to aspiring 'anybodys' in Trinidad is "eat ah food" which, for the non-trinis, means that I'm going to see about myself...make sure that I profit...get mine or what have you. Normally the statement goes something like this: "hoss, I just want to eat ah food yes". Having heard this phrase so much in recent months makes me wonder as an underground artiste; what really is the basis for the struggle? As an artiste you perpetually find yourself trying to achieve two sometimes incompatible goals; producing quality work and making money. Thinking about it some more, I've determined that no sensible musician can ever hope to be successful in the long run by pursuing only one of these two goals but whether you can be classed as an artiste or businessman depends on which one is your main goal.

For example, take Soulja Boy. Dude deliberately promoted himself using the tools available too him...mainly the Internet. He crafted a catchy dance on a woefully minimal beat made from the most basic of tools and used so few sounds on it you would think he was getting charged for melody. Listening to his music, it is clear that he works more on creating himself as a product than on his technique; his lyrics are laughable and his concepts are basic but the punchline is that Soulja Boy is self-aware enough to know all this and not care. In his interviews he constantly lauds his own album sales figures, ringtone downloads and itunes numbers using that data as evidence of his influence on and importance to hiphop, his genre of choice. His main argument is that an in-demand product, however shoddy, is the mark of being a successful artiste. Is he right?

On the other hand, we have Kanye West. Mr. West was already a successful producer (both critically and financially) before he decided to rap. He had no serious monetary reason to so since producers of his stature tend to make hundreds of thousands of US dollars when in demand (which he was) and at the time, he had already made a name for himself. However, Yeezy persevered with his dream against conventional logic and has, at this time of writing, released three critically lauded albums and has been lavished with numerous awards. Nevertheless, Kanye constantly seeks more acclaim and has been known to throw tantrums and/or bomb rush the stage when he doesn't win or get the acclaim that he feels he deserves. Now as we all know, it's clear that Kanye uses a mirror that returns an inflated image of himself but we can't say that we don't know his motivation. Kanye West views his success as indicative of him being a master of his craft. Is he right?

Which one is right? Well if we're talking about a successful artiste then Kanye is. The online merriam-webster only has two definitions of the word "artiste":
1) a skilled adept public performer; specifically : a musical or theatrical entertainer
2) an artistic or creative person
After a quick read of the definition it's clear that I would be wasting words if I proceeded to explain why Kanye West is a successful artiste and Soulja Boy isn't and I highly doubt that Soulja Boy would even care. However, to survive there is a part of us that needs to get our Soulja Boy on. Even though Kanye West is successful, he surely doesn't perform for free and every one of his albums has sold around three million copies. Creating a quality product is only the first step and after that you need to market it (online and off-line), network and build good relationships, try your darnedest to get it played on radio, perform to promote it, do some photo shoots and whatever it takes to let the world agree that your sh*t is good. Making your product successful takes a lot of business skill and rappers like Soulja Boy who focus mainly on this aspect should be considered business men rather than artistes. Their product is specifically crafted with sales in mind.

With all that being said, I reckon that Trinidad has a whole heap ah business men posing as artistes. Bringing back soca songs with the same/similar melody as previous ones, repeatedly sampling pop music in generic ways, bringing back soca songs with the same/similar concepts as your previous hits, aping popular concepts by other artistes, recycling decade old concepts, constantly quarreling about lack of airplay for lame songs, undercutting other artistes' performance fees, being in the industry for years and not improving or innovating even after financial success; all these things seem like a whole lot ah business to me...and not even the good kind not that I'm minding their business. It's getting to the point where the term "soca artiste" is becoming an oxymoron. In an age where home recording is easy and cheap and home promotion isn't rocket science (thank you myspace), Trinidad business men have not even reached Soulja Boy levels. I still hear complaints about how "de Chinee man eh playing mih music" when a full production cost $3500 and a blank cd costs $1 (the word is self-promotion). The moral to take home is: understand which one you are and do you as best as you can. Don't complain when you're critically panned as a businessman and don't whine about poor sales as an artiste. If you're smart you'll combine the two though...ask Jay Z.

Trini Videos on Youtube part 3

Yeah folks. Da Face here. Nuff blessings to all. This week I've been crawling youtube for trini videos and thankfully I've managed to locate some for your viewing pleasure. It no easy yuh know...dem ting harder to find than a Trinidad politician after elections but yuh doh have to worry since I do it for my country (yeah right). Anways, without further ado...enjoy.


"Never let go" by Positive


"Since you've been away" by Jah Melody (unplugged)


"Girls gone bad" by Syndicate


"In your timin girl" by Surge (yeah ah know...dis song old)


"Caribbean Girl/MyPosse" by Nadia Batson

Digicel Rising Star Blow by Blow: Billboard hits

Yeah homies...and ladies. Waz de scene. I took a little diversion last week with the Chris Brown post and summarily experienced more views than an accident on the Uriah Butler highway. Yeah I know, I went out ah body a likkle bit but now I'm back to mihself and I'm going to start out by giving the rundown of last week's Digicel Rising Star competition (yes I know...I'm a bit late). Before we start that I want you to check out this new rap song called Looking Boy. It's quite unique and real hilarious. You can also check out this big tune dat I'm releasing this month called Jennifer. Listen out for it on radio too.

1)Claudia singing "I'll be there" by the Jackson 5 - Remember the girl ah mean woman with the smokey voice from last week. Probably not but this week she didn't do justice to one of my favourite songs. Didn't matter what I thought though, the judges absolutely loved her. Somehow the Rising Star judges nitpick on minor vocal flaws with some contestants but totally ignore the shortcomings of others. Then again, maybe I'm just a hater.

2)Crystal Daniel singing "Back on my feet again" by Michael Bolton - I'll start this one by saying that I don't really like Mr Bolton; I find him corny which may stem from the fact that I'm not a 40 year old mom. However, Crystal was almost flawless with her rendition of the song. Her voice has a nice harshness to it and she's great technically so she hits almost every note deep, full and dripping with emotion. The judges loved this and kept emphasizing how much better it was than her last performance. What was wrong with her last performance?

3)Erika singing "What's love got to do with it" by Tina Turner - Ah yes, Erika. The mystery contestant who came from nowhere and delivered Rhianna's "Unfaithful almost better than Rhi Rhi herself. This week she came back with a wig liming kinda on the hideous side (she still looked decent so I won't hate...too much) singing a song that's too low for her. I didn't like her beginning but once again the girl killed it with some insane dynamics at the end; I know my voice training instructor would have been proud. Unsurprisingly, the judges thought she was the sh*t because her confidence vastly improved from last time or something so. I can't front though; she's a scarily good singer and I won't be surprised if she gives Meda a run for her money. After this they feature a moment with the musical director for the show and is it just me or didn't they make him look like he's either autistic or challenged? I doh know. I reiterate that Kyncky must be on some kinda drug...no offense to her of course. And I preferred the wig from the week before.

Kesley Lion Joseph singing "Back at one" by Brian McKnight - Now on paper this seems terrible. Reggae dude who thus far has delivered more in stage presence than vocals doing a song by one of the vocal godfathers of the RnB game...it seems like a maxi wreck waiting to happen. It didn't happen this time though; Kesley wasn't perfect but he used his voice the best he could and actually delivered some of my favourite notes from the song almost spot on. However, the judges views were mixed and even eye-liner dude who has been his cheerleader since day one didn't give him an entirely favourable review. I liked it though...nice work hoss.

Meda Ellis singing "Said I loved you but I lied" by Michael Bolton - Yeah I know...another Michael Bolton? Somehow anytime vocalists in Trinidad have to sing anything it's either Bolton, Whitney or Mariah. In this case it wasn't just any vocalists though. This was Meda, the favourite thus far and the only one who hasn't sung a cring-worthy note in the entire competition. How was her performance? It was flawless. Somehow though, the judges found room to hate. Something about her not being better than her last performance. Who cares? If I get 97% on a test do you scold me cause I got 99% last term? In any case, how could she have been expected to improve this week when this is the first week that I've heard her receive any criticism whatsoever?

Alicia Stephen singing "If I ain't got you" by Alicia Keys - I didn't like Alicia's rendition of Tanya Stephens last week but this week Alicia followed up by singing the song of another person with whom she shares part of her name with (I wonder what her middle name is?). This time, the song suited her voice and her warm lower resonance exuded nuff emotion and had me wondering who was the lucky fella she left back in Tobago. The judges bigged her up and rightfully so. The ending wasn't the best but she was the most improved for the night.

Vindra singing "Right here waiting" by Richard Marx - I don't really listen to these type of easy-listening, 97 fm kinda tunes so I really wasn't feeling the song too much. Being objective though, Vindra's performance wasn't really up to par. I was in his corner last week, out ah time dancing and all because his delivery of "lotaylah" was good and he seemed like he was having fun. This time he was trying too hard and ended up delivering the song with the right emotion and pitch but straight from the nose instead of the heart. Sad to say, I can see him going home next week.

I out people. Listen out for two singles from Da Face soon. Album coming out next year.

Chris Brown Concert in Trinidad: Video footage

Yeah mih brethren, waz de scene. Don't worry you didn't read wrong, Da Face did get up in that Chris Brown concert and yes dey had more little children in attendance than the first day screening of Kung Fu Panda. And yes I was probably the oldest person in the Green Section which featured girls screaming and sh*t like Michael Jackson was actually on stage instead of his best living imitator. But yes I must also admit that Chris Brown is also a much better live singer than I had previously thought.

Well if you know me well I'm a person who prefers to reach concerts early...like when gates now opening. I actually ending up touching down in the concert around six and Mr Machel took the stage to perform not too long after. Frankly I was a little disappointed by his performance though; it wasn't bad by any stretch but it didn't feature anything I didn't see from him before. I guess I've gotten spoiled by his perpetual over-achieving but as a Trinidadian I was hoping that he would have showed up Chris Brown just a little bit. Patrice also performed her set and she was aight...nothing strange there. Also, during their set Positive, the dude with the one of most requested songs in Trinidad both on the radio and by the music pirates, came and performed his hit song "Never let go" (I dunno if that's the actual name of the song). After watching him I must say that I'm really liking this guy's performing style a lot; he really puts himself in his performance and vocally he delivers it almost as good as on record.

After Mr. HD was done, we had some djing and I got to watch little kids grind on each other like big adults. Thankfully it wasn't too long before Chris Breezy himself graced the Trinidad stage which resulted in an plethora of screams from all over the venue. Being an ex-bess fete hopper in my day, I've seen some intense audiences but this is the first time I've witnessed so much screaming and seen so much pre-pubescent girls totally lose their mind. There was this one girl behind me who was jabbering unintelligibly and shaking between intermittent, ear-deafening screams of "Chris Brown ah love yuh". s Real talk though, CB was very impressive. Other than performing his many hits, Brown performed reggae, dub and even danced to some soca while entertaining the crowd. His vocals were top notch and with all the pop-locking, hand stands and running on stage he didn't sound out of breath even once. Anyways, I'll let allyuh be the judge. Check out the videos below. I even got one with the Bmobile mascot "Limey" bubbling to some Movado. Talk about jones.


Chris Brown singing "Goodbye"


Chris Brown flexing


Chris Brown singing "Umbrella"


Positive performs "Never let go"


Machel performs "We not giving up"


Chris Brown performs "Kiss Kiss"


Bmobile mascot bubbling to Movado

I Am Hip Hop: Coming soon

Yeah Da Face in. Mih boy Chromatics done let me know that IAHH this year is the place to be for Trinidad hip hop heads. Check below for more details:


I AM HIP HOP - THE GENESIS
SAT 16th AUGUST

Euphoria Lounge
58 Dundonald Street, P.O.S.


$60 Adv. Tickets available @ Highway Records #1 Evans st. Curepe junction or call 473-5911 / 729-8909 or 620-8871

LOCAL EMCEES!!!!

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Digicel Rising Star Blow By Blow (Caribbean Week)

Aye people. Waz de real scene? Yeah I know, I haven't been on the Digicel scene for a bit since I totally annihilated the judges a few weeks ago but say what; I finally cleared my Sunday evening and decided to take it in. I decided to be totally thorough though, so I actually took notes on every performance together with the judges thoughts and reactions. And on a side note; fellas if you're going to propose to your honey, make sure that you're at least around 90% sure she wants the same thing too. Especially if it's at an nba game in front of thousands of people, most of whom are equipped with cameras and have access to youtube. Damn. I actually feel sorry for this dude.

1st Contestant (Vindra Kilewan singing "Lotaylah" by Sonny Mann) - Now personally I think this dude wasn't that bad (my gf disagrees though). I mean, he danced out of time to the song and looked straight up 'jokey' on stage but I found he was entertaining and his vocal delivery of Sonny Mann's 1996 hit was spot on. The judges weren't having it though. Johnny told him that his performance wasn't up to par for this stage of the competition (anybody has any clue what that means?) and that his out of time dancing detracted heavily from his performance which coming from a fat, balding guy is...ouch. In another weird tv moment Michael Salickram (the eye-liner dude) told him that he didn't do his research because he didn't pronounce one of the words in the song correctly. Then he proceeded to show him an example and to my ears the correct version sounded exactly like the 'wrong' version. I mean, like who cares? Who even knows what Lotaylah means in the first place?

2nd Contestant (Meda Ellis singing "Love Generation" by Maximus Dan) - Ah yes, the favourite. Yuh done know every competition needs one and this is no different. Now she isn't my favourite contestant but I'd be lying through my teeth if I didn't admit that she delivered. I kinda pegged her as a churchy girl from early so I was pleasantly surprised when she picked one of favourite songs from Maximus Dan of all people to perform for the competition. I was genuinely interested in seeing how she would interpret the deep-voiced Maximus delivery and whether she would 'RnB' it up but she did it straight, tongue gymnastics and all and nailed it. The judges were predictably slobbering over her.

3rd Contestant (Keslie Lion Joseph singing "Too Experienced" by Barrington Levy) - Now this contestant straight up frustrated me. His performance was good; he exhibited lots of confidence and good movement on stage but not for nothing would he attempt to hit any of the signature Barrington Levy notes. I mean, doh play mas if yuh fraid powder. In this instance I agreed with the judges who also didn't like it. Strangely though, they found that he should sing something else besides reggae stuff. What do they really expect? It's a competition and he's a reggae dude. Is it wrong of him to put his best foot forward as much as he can?

4th Contestant (Alicia Stephens singing "It's a pity" by Tanya Stephens) - A unrequited love song by a professional man-hater. I'm not sure that this was the best song for Alicia to pick but she didn't do too bad a job. I was a bit frustrated by her too melodic, rnb-type, delivery of the staccato dub song but I guess it wasn't her comfort zone either. The judges found it okay I think but they thought it need more 'feeling' or something. Eye-liner dude loved it though.

5th Contestant (Crystal singing "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley) - Now in addition to a favourite every competition also has a scape goat and this one is also no different. I guess once you've chosen to sing one of the most known and loved songs by one of the greatest artistes of all time you should kinda expect hyper-criticism but I think the comments were off. This girl delivered the song with monologue-like intensity; she used her eyes, hands and movements to convey the meaning of different words and phrases but yet the she was told that she didn't perform with enough 'feeling' (what does that mean anyway?). Vocally I didn't think that she brought enough intensity but the visual performance was good as far as I was concerned. Her outfit, full African garb from head-to-toe, was appropriate and looked good.

6th Contestant (Adafie Padmore singing "Missing Generation" by Ella Andell) - If there is one thing I know is that if you're singing an Ella Andell, you better have nuff vocals and know how to push them to the limit. I don't think Adafie had the microphone-assassinating, baptist-type vocals to really do this song justice but she knew how to push to her limit, so much so that her upper register began heading dangerously close to falsetto range for the notes on the last part of her performance ending on an exquisite, pores-raising final note. Interestingly enough, the judges main beef was that the song "wasn't her". On a show where you're asked to go out of your comfort zone I think comments like those may make you want to launch a microphone. On a side note, Knycky is on drugs right?

7th Contestant (Claudia singing "Make Love") - A sexy outfit and smoky delivery couldn't save this contestant from the wrath of the judges. I wasn't really feeling this performance and the judges weren't either. Her performance wasn't terrible or anything but something tells me that she may go home next week.

8th Contestant (Erica Samuel singing "Unfaithful" by Rhianna) - As I proceed to turn off my television I hear that there is this thing called a wildcard where judges bring back talented contestants who haven't been voted (another point for the "people don't know shit about talent" argument). Anyway, while I'm trying to process what's going on this shy-looking girl begins to sing my favourite Rhianna song and almost delivers it better than Rhi Rhi herself (she is probably a better singer in actuality). Isn't it ironic that in a competition that is dependent on votes, the person who didn't make it on votes had probably the best vocal performance of the night? I certainly think so. I also think that Knycky and that 'Empress' chick from Tempo may be buying from the same dealer. I don't think being so happy is healthy. Anyways, Da Face out. Till next post.