Blacastan and Moe Pope on WFMU with Noah Uman

Last week, Brick artists Moe Pope and Blacastan stopped by WFMU and did their thing on Noah Uman's Coffee Break for Heroes and Villains. Noah Uman's show is always an exceptionally fun listen, and with these two cats up there, it was one for the ages. Be sure to pick up Blac Sabbath if you haven't yet, and get ready for Moe Pope & Rain's Life After God, dropping July 27th!

07.13.10 WFMU- Coffee Break For Heroes and Villains Clip (w/ Blacastan and Moe Pope) -

Check out the whole show HERE

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Live in Malden, MA this Saturday!

I'll be performing live in Malden this Saturday alongside Raheem Jamal, with Top Choice Clique, Esoteric and Blacastan also in the place. Come through, it'll be a good one!

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"Saving Seamus Ryan" Release Parties Recap!

(above: photo by Chris Hunter- Rhode Island)

I can't keep up with Eso, he's updating his site constantly these days. He already posted a recap of the Saving Seamus Ryan release parties in Rhode Island and Mass, but I figured I'd share some pictures from the event as well. By the way, the parties were a blast! Everyone killed it! Thanks to all the people who came out and supported.

It was good to finally see my man Blacastan perform live. Check out his new mixtape The Master Builder. It'll wet your appetite for his Brick debut right around the corner. Apathy put on a great show in Boston, and the headliners were in full effect...

(above: photo courtesy of Performer.com- Boston)

7L, Esoteric and Beyonder united for something special, performing selections ranging from the Soul Purpose days all the way up to the present. Eso performed a condensed rendition of Saving Seamus Ryan, complete with cameo appearances from Qwill (Hold On) and Benny Macko (Blacastan). It was quite the show.

I gotta of course say thank you to Eso for having me on the bill for both events, and definitely have to send a shout out to Beyonder for holding it down on the tables for my sets. He was killing it! At the end of Be Yourself Syndrome, Raheem and I just fell back and let him cut for mad long... he was in the zone. Which reminds me, I can't forget to give a shout out to Raheem Jamal and thank him for holding it down with me at all these shows. Do NOT sleep on Boombox / Project Move / Electric! It's truly a pleasure to be rocking on stage with him.

(above: Raheem Jamal, myself - Rhode Island- photo by Chris Hunter)

(below: Beyonder - photo courtesy Performer.com)

I was also thoroughly impressed that Beyonder didn't miss a beat when somebody handed him a beer on stage directly in the middle of hyping for Word Association with 7L & Esoteric. Anybody who knows that track has to know how important not missing a word is. Besides that, there were just a lot of great moments from each night. I think my personal highlight during my set was performing Losers and getting some great crown interaction / participation. There's nothing better than a good crowd. I'm regretting not filming this one (I seem to never use my video camera), but here's a couple more pictures...

(above: top two photos courtesty Performer.com, third photo by Matt Conley- Boston)

(below: photos by Chris Hunter- Rhode Island)

Enjoy your Halloween, be safe!

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Reminder- Tonight: "Saving Seamus Ryan Release Party @ Middle East in Cambridge, MA (10.28.09)

A friendly reminder about the "Saving Seamus Ryan" Massachusetts release party tonight (10.28.09) @ The Middle East in Cambridge. Featuring performances by 7L & Esoteric, Apathy, Will C. with Raheem Jamal, and Blacastan. See you there!

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"Saving Seamus Ryan" Release Party in Rhode Island This Friday (10.23.09)

First off, happy birthday to KARMA!

Come through to wish him a belated happy birthday this Friday (10.23.09) for the Saving Seamus Ryan Rhode Island release party, featuring performances by 7L & Esoteric, Will C. (me) with Raheem Jamal, and Blacastan, with musical hosts The Bladerunners!

I'm going to debut a new song there called Origins. It has nothing to do with the X-Men or Species II.

The Massachusetts release party will be the following Wednesday (10.28.09) in Cambridge @ The Middle East, and will feature 7L & Esoteric, Apathy, Blacastan, and Will C. with Raheem Jamal. See you there!

Pictured below is the brand new / limited 7L & Esoteric fitted cap, which will be exclusively sold at the Saving Seamus Ryan release parties. For more info, go to esoterichiphop.com

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Blues Guy Black Def- Heroes & Villains, Saving Seamus Ryan, Evil in the Herald, and more

Crazy weekend! Doing the Coffee Break for Heroes and Villains radio show was dope (see previous post). Shouts to Noah for having me and KARMA come up there. They got an insane record room... I stayed at the station until about 3:30 AM looking through the shelves and getting the tour. Met this one dude "Choke" who was the man. He's currently working alongside Ski producing, and has previously laid down the cuts for Tuff Crew's Still Dangerous album. Very cool guy, so shouts to him as well. The craziest thing was, he doesn't have a laptop, so he was lugging around a computer monitor and PC tower. When he does gigs, he's gotta carry that stuff around, but I hear he can cut his ass off, so anybody snickering gets put in their place. Well, that's the rumor. Anyways, check out an excerpt from the show below:

And stream the entire show HERE. We showed up a little over a half hour into the 3-hour show. It was a night of worrrllllld premieres, worllllld premieresss, including a track off of Esoteric's upcoming solo album, the long awaited and extremely anticipated Saving Seamus Ryan. Listen for the DC the MIDI Alien produced Hold On. More on this sure-to-be incredible album later.

The next morning me and KARMA headed from Jersey City to Hartford, Connecticut to meet up with Blacastan. If you don't know about this dude, do not sleep! He's going to be dropping an incredible album on Brick Records in the not-so-distant future. If you've heard Life of a Tape, I know you don't doubt me. For those who haven't, check it out below.

Blacastan is Brick family, so it was good to finally meet him. It's a privilege having him on my team. No doubt he is super talented, so I look forward to working with him more in the future. He's got the rhymes, he's got the beats, and on some DMC King of Rock shit, he can draw! Not too shabby.

There will be more on Blac soon. For now, all I got to say is Blacastan + Hooters = A good time.

Since I'm on the Brick tip right now though, I gotta also give infinite praise to the up-and-coming emcee BoyCott Blues. His debut single dropped the same day as my album last Tuesday, and it is d-d-d-dope. His upcoming album is almost entirely produced by rapper/producer/dj/apple iphone app creator Insight, so you know it will be quality. His single Da Math features Consequence and Insight, and for me it's really a toss up as to whether the b-side, A Will & A Way, wins again. I really think both of these tracks are exceptional. I know my man Big Dan's vote is for Da Math, and since I debuted A Will & A Way on Coffee Break... (which you can hear above), I gotta go with Dan on this one. I also had to include Da Math remix from Blues upcoming mixtape, R.I.P. City. Check 'em out!

BoyCott Blues Feat. Consequence & Insight- Da Math

BoyCott Blues Feat. Consequence & Insight- Da Math (R.I.P. City Version)

And finally finally- Marty Caballero over at the Boston Herald just let me know his review of Evil In The Mirror was in last friday's paper. I gotta thank him for such a positive review.

Grade: A minus and 1/2 plus! Just playing...

BOSTON HERALD REVIEW

“Evil in the Mirror” (Brick): A-

For Will C., the 22-year-old hip-hop prodigy who earned plaudits for his smart and inventive skills as a mixtape DJ (the ’80s-inspired “Commercial Rap” and “Down the Dial”), making the transition from behind the scenes to behind the mike isn’t simply a matter of spitting rhymes. On his solo debut, “Evil in the Mirror,” Will carefully constructs the universe as he sees it: a split-screen battle between his better and lesser instincts played out over tough old-school drums and samples. “Be Yourself Syndrome” breaks down his life (and hip-hop) philosophy with lyrical shades of Wu-Tang’s GZA (with lines like “trivial like the bottom of Snapple caps”). As competent and confident as he is an MC, Will’s greatest strength remains his ability to formulate a concept and execute it: “Evil” is greater than the sum of its parts thanks to consistently creative production and arrangements. As a reflection of Will’s wide-ranging talents, “Mirror” looks good. Download: “Synthetic Genetics.”

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Xs and O Faces

I am more than pleased to announce my official signing with Brick Records! It is an honor to operate as an artist on the label that helped launch the careers of 7L & Esoteric, Mr. Lif, Insight, Termanology, Akrobatik, and countless others. I am joining a 2009 "roster" filled with many acts I am thrilled to have on the team, from Statik Selektah, East Coast Avengers, Reks, Superstar Quamallah, and Raydar Ellis, to recent signee Blacastan. I've been keeping this quiet for a minute now, so it's great to finally announce.

I have had a great relationship working behind the scenes with Brick over the past few years, and it is great to stick with them for my home as an artist. It is going to be an exciting summer, so stay tuned. Single dropping in the very near future (look for soon-to-follow special announcement and press release), with the debut full length album to follow shortly.

Shout out to KARMA and Papa D!

From the old...

(From BRK 002) God Complex- Strontium 90



To the new...
(From BRK 094) Superstar Quamallah- 88 Soul



By the way, don't sleep on Superstar Quamallah's new album "Invisible Man." People are talking about it for a reason!

oh... oh... oh

You know what I'm talking about.

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