Grapetree Records - The Interview

This was one of those articles I wrote that I desperately wanted to write for quite a while. Being that I was a radio DJ spinning the music and hearing all of the rigamarole concerning Grapetree Records and everything behind what was going on, I discussed this with editor of FEED at the time and said I wanted to take the assignment.

My tenure as a DJ for the hip hop and dance show Zero Gravity brought me in contact with many people in the industry. Some of those relationships I still have until today. Much has changed since that time but I learned a lot during that time.

In terms of interviews, this was really the first one where I had to hunt down multiple people. It wasn't too hard except for the most part (read the article on details on what happened with Knolly Williams).

All in all, I found out that I LOVED doing research and simply being an investigative reporter of sorts. Interviews are a forte of mine and I wish I had the opportunity to do more of them. Suffice it to say that having this as one of the main feature articles in that issue of FEED gave me a little license with the length which just added to the enjoyment of writing it.

Just click on each image to view it at full size.

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Posted in: articles,C.R.O.W.,DCP,features,Fiti Futuristic,Grapetree Records,holy hip hop

7 Ball Feature - Gospel Gangstas

This was a feature story that I did for the now defunct 7 Ball Magazine. It was a piece on the Gospel Gangstas just as they had released their third album I can See Clearly Now.

I can say this however: after this album, they just didn't have the edge in their music that they had when they first came out. Actually, I would say this is the beginning of the of the decline.

I enjoyed doing this piece as I got a chance to actually interview them.

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Posted in: 7 Ball,features,Gospel Gangstas,magazine articles,music

The Dance Report

This was a fun article to write. It was basically an info article breaking down the different genres of dance music to the Christian music industry.

I was a radio DJ at a Christian radio station for about seven years. The radio program I had, Zero Gravity, showcased some of the best Christian hip hop and dance music, the music that particular market wasn't too keen on. They're pretty much behind the times when it comes to that. Still are to this day. It's one of the reasons why I felt it was time to go after such a long stretch.

The guy in the picture right there is Scott Blackwell. Used to be real popular back in the day in some clubs in New York. Know him personally. He started a couple of music companies. One was MYX Records and the other was N-Soul. The whole story behind how the new owner, Phillip Kim, acquired N-Soul is....not good. Maybe one day I'll do a full fledged article about that at my other blog Stop The Musick which is still under construction so no sneak peaks for anyone as of yet.

I remember when I wrote the article, the editor was very vague on what he wanted in it. Since you had most of the kids in the CCM market listening to either rock, wannabe-but-not-quite-pop, and adult contemporary because that's what they're parents were listening to, I decided to do a straightforward article that would be a very basic introduction to dance music. When he got the article, I remember him saying, "Well...it wasn't exactly what I was looking for." He thought all the kids knew the genres but I had to convince him that that simply wasn't the case. After I sold him on that idea, he decided to print it and voila, feature story.

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Posted in: 7 Ball,features,magazine articles,music