My Story
Since as far back as I can remember music has naturally had a profound impact on my life. I was raised in a household where screeching guitar solos and soulful vocal arrangements were the norm. "Daddy played a strat/moma sang the blues/on a warm summer night I was whistlin the tune" -Feed My Soul. Prior to being exposed to the wonderful world of underground hip-hop, I followed in the footsteps of my father and picked up the guitar. During this time in my life I joined a local b-boy crew and became fascinated by the breaks, movement and all-encompassing energy that surrounded the culture. After a few years of fully dedicating my life to street dance I was introduced to skateboarding in middle school. Skating allowed me to openly explore the city and use modern architecture as my personal playground. In high school I can remember often times waking up to my brother blasting hardcore gangster rap in the morning. I had trouble relating to the lyrics and even though I enjoyed the beats the music itself didn't have much impact or influence on my life. I actually dreaded waking up in the morning. Then through a close friend I was handed down a copy of "Labor Days" by Aesop Rock. I still recall riding the bus to school in the morning being completely consumed by the style, delivery and content of the rhymes that were being thrown in face. Not to mention the signature sound of Blockheads abstract beats. From this point I continued to search for more music that questioned my beliefs, provoked emotion, challenged authority & openly discussed political and cultural issues. Naturally, much of this music could be found in various places amongst the underground hip-hop scene. For the first time in my life I felt overwhelmingly inspired by the voices in my headphones. I could relate to the lyrics and truly feel a sense of urgency with the delivery. No longer was their a wall blocking the artist from the listener. I felt like I was apart of a movement. I felt accepted. But most importantly I felt like I could write about anything and everything my mind could conceive. This concept fueled my desire to document my experiences and beliefs through the use of rhyme. I eventually transitioned from a listener into a writer and beat producer. Nowadays I spend the majority of my free time in hiding in the basement sampling records or recording. Over the last year I have came to the conclusion that I will be collecting records for the rest of my life. Prior to digging for records at various thrift stores and flea markets I primarily enjoyed listening to classic rock. After about a year of collecting I have truly began to appreciate nearly every genre of music especially soul, funk, soundtrack, jazz, blues & reggae mostly from the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to acquiring a taste for these genres I have also expanded my scope to include international music within the same era. These records and artists which I have discovered have become far more important than something solely to sample. I feel its my duty to share the sounds that were created by the originators with people to show them how music has evolved. This can be accomplished through sampling or simply playing records for my friends. Regardless, it has became an addiction. Sometimes I envision myself as a lonely old man sitting all alone in a basement surrounded, wall to wall, with records and in all honesty, I may be content with that.
-Just Enough Food
-Just Enough Food