Blogs

Legalize Stimuli

R.I.P. Stack Bundles

June 25, 2007 | Tags: stimuli, Stack Bundles, Say Something, The Underground Music Awards

What up world? Yea it’s been a few weeks so what? I can't lie I've been feeling a little weird lately and I keep trying to make these entries light but then I walk the thin line between entertaining y'all while plugging my ongoing events and the side of me that wants to vent and make myself vulnerable. But I figure the latter is what things like this are for anyway so with that said...a few weeks ago the hip-hop world lost a real individual, someone I was fortunate enough to meet and become cool with, my man Stack Bundles. I thought it was one of those stupid rumors when I got the email that morning but after 5 more emails I learned there was some truth to the message. I don't want to depress anyone with this entry but I have to speak on my dude for a few. I meet a lot of up and coming artists, some more popular than others, some humble, some arrogant. When I met Stack he was still with Clue and on a bunch of mixtapes but was just learning that he had to go out and show his face. I had just got signed and we talked about getting together to push my street buzz and help him secure a deal. We exchanged numbers and actually spoke on the phone from time to time. He would call me if he heard something I did that he liked and I did the same. Someone called me one day and said he dissed me on a record but when I heard it he praised me for being and internet God that wasn't getting love on the mixtapes. The song was creative and no harm was intended. I'm mentioning this because as much as we respected each other we never got to put that plan in motion where we would record some joints together and life can pass us by at any second. I hear people saying he shouldn't have had a Porsche living in the projects and all types of stuff but I believe a man should not have to die because of his possessions. We lost a talented dude and it makes me wonder how many of us rappers are being watched and plotted on if a man can get murdered outside his home. I think about how many times we talk about killing, threaten murder or simply flirt with the end ourselves. There’s an invincibility that goes along with being a hip-hop artist I believe. I was an ignorant fool myself standing still as bullets were thrown in my direction some months ago as if running would’ve made me a coward. The big picture is that if one of those would have hit I would just be another up and coming dude down and gone. Rappers have a heartless feel when they talk about taking a life and making it sound so simple, I think violence has replaced the average “I’m the best” bravado in today’s thug music. And I’m a part of it so I can speak on it. The thing that’s puzzling is today people try to test the words of the artist. They want to confront them, rob them or embarrass them for DVDs and to think my man was a victim of jealousy is really bothersome. I heard someone else died in retaliation already. I guess it comes with the hip-hop persona so we will have to live or die with that.

I said I try to keep these entries light and I'm here talking about death. I just found out my video shoot is dead for now. That kind of sucks but I think everything happens for a reason. On a higher note some kid named Stimuli got 2 nominations for The Underground Music Awards for most dynamic and best lyricist I believe, don't quote me. But the voting begins on June 28th on hiphoppalace.com. As cliché as it sounds, just getting nominated really does feel crazy. Winning would feel crazier so I'm starting my campaign now. Shout to Kitty Radio, Maya and Jen the Pen had me on their hot radio show this week, I gotta go back though. I've been getting Say Something submissions from all across the country so I'm about to get it poppin and put the first one out in August. Myspace.com/thesaysomethingproject. Keep your eyes and ears open. I promise its going to be some changes in this game. I got a "Best Of Me" CD coming real soon and "Stimuli Returns" is right behind that all in the month of August. Watch out for that Hometown Heroes video "Hometown" and keep watching MTV2 at random hrs and if you see my face hit me up myspace.com/shastimuli. I performed yesterday at T-NY on 52nd and 8th avenue in NYC for J Hatch’s Istandard beat battle. 40 producers going hard, shout to G.I Joe who took 2nd place. My dudes Lenny S, Just Blaze and Riggs were the judges. Saigon did his thing on stage, oh yea Big Lou performed and I got props from a hip-hop great Buckshot which made me feel pretty good. I had a hot performance, my boy Flash Da Biskit held me down and I got a bag full of beat CDs that I’m going to go thru in the next few days. Shout to everyone that came out last night. Oh yea I'm in label talks again but I refuse to bore people with that crap until stuff is finalized. Everyone trying to break into the industry should understand a major record deal is a last resort nowadays. Do what you can without them. R.I.P Stack Bundles and YB.

Be sure to check out Sha Stimuli's new track, Hard to Kill.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

"Distraction" and "Deal" Music

June 04, 2007 | Tags: sha stimuli, deal music, distraction music

The last time I spoke to the world I mentioned my Say Something mixtape series that I'm working on. I got quite a few submissions already to sowhatchusaying@gmail.com and I must say I heard some hot shit. I was amazed to hear how many artists out there have music that is not preachy but meaningful. It motivated me to know that I'm not alone when I'm listening to the songs in rotation on the radio and I feel like something's missing. I felt compelled to use this entry to talk about what I'm trying to do and why. I had a conversation with my boy (future music exec) Zack Einhorn and he mentioned something I thought was very interesting. When people are vibing to music a lot of times they want it to distract them from their issues and their lives. Other times they throw on music that helps them deal with what's in front of them. The reason I'm bringing this up is because it made me think about how much of my music is "distraction" and how much is "deal" music. Sometimes I do joints that are more like I’m just venting on a beat and I feel like there are folks out there that can relate to some of the things I’m speaking on. When I do music that serves as a distraction to the real life surrounding me, people identify with that as well because they don’t want to confine themselves to what’s in front of them. I thought about how much of the hit records we listen to fall into these categories.

I know when we're in the club singing "Party Like a Rock Star" or "Ballin" we're seeing ourselves living those words in that moment. When you're singing "let me buy you a drank/I got money in the bank" you're not really absorbing yourself with the thought that you may not have too much money in the bank. It’s distraction music and it serves its purpose, it has done that for years. It’s supposed to be entertainment. Then why is it we long for social commentary at times and complain that hip-hop is dying and music is watered down? Maybe it’s because some of our favorite songs have elements of both distraction and deal.

Maybe the balance we once knew on radio between region and content is gone. If you have no clue what I'm talking about think Biggie's "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" a song where the hook talked about having doe and seeing more woes while we all sang it playfully in the clubs not even concerning ourselves with the underlying tone and what Big was really saying. From Chamillionaire's "Ridin' Dirty" speaking on his experience with the police to Kanye's "Gold Diggers" touching on his dealings with money-hungry women, hit records don't always have to be fluff. It seems like the best ones walk the line of having a little something to say with a simple chorus and powerful instrumentation. I watched Three Six Mafia's show the other day "Adventures in Hollyhood" and observed how important their choruses are in song creation. I start my construction in a similar way but it seemed like the focus stopped after that hook was nailed. We northern rap guys tend to take a tad bit more time trying to put something profound in the verses. The magical part is making it easy on the listener’s ears and still giving them something worth listening to. It would seem all hope is lost on radio today but that's not true at all. At first listen "Make Me Better" by Fabolous just sounds like a crazy joint. But if you had to dissect it or pitch it to Oprah or something you'd find a man expressing an ode to his better half that goes overlooked when we're rocking to it in parties. That's true entertainment right there. It reminds me of when I heard Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" or "Slap" by Ludacris. Songs about frustration broke into rotation and radio let it go down. I was almost convinced that the powers that be don't want us as artists whether we are black or white to say something to this generation that's positive. Maybe the same people that are bootlegging Trojan magnums in the hood in New York are trying to destroy hip-hop. So with that said I'm going to continue to provide an outlet and bring some type of balance to this music I love. Shout to the Hip-Hop Project, I like what you guys are doing.

My new CD with my crew the Hometown Heroes is in stores and somewhere in your hood right now featuring Flash Da Biskit and Suny Redd, lookout for that. DJ Rhude's Block Music vol. 4 hosted by me is getting love in the streets. June 23rd I'm doing a video for my alcoholic hit record "Leanin.'" I got some shows and interviews that I can't remember right now but my publicist will send out a blast soon, catch me on myspace.com/shastimuli. Cinderella Man coming soon!

-The Present