Self Portrait - Comin' Up

Self Portrait have stayed busy since their album Primal Union dropped back in February. Trono released an EP -- simply titled "Singles" -- and now Voltron reconfiguratizes once again for "Comin' Up," a fresh new single.



The beat is courtesy of ILLu, who also contributed some bangers to Humble's recent album, Premonition. Cuts by DJ Kanga & engineering by SkysplitterInk.

These gentlemen will all be in full effect for the next installment of Yo! BTV Raps at SideBar on June 22nd. Packed bill and a sweet little venue. Music starts at 10 pm and the show is free.

Further Reading: An interview with Self Portrait. Primal Union got reviewed by Today's Indie. Dope photos sets at Colette Kulig's site.

Humble - "Premonition"

Bless the Child emcee Humble dropped a solo album outta nowhere last month, and hot damn, it is a solid piece of work. Thanks to a cool half dozen local producers -- and the mastering expertise of Zach Crawford, aka SkySplitter -- it nails the feel and sound of 90's rap tapes.

The big surprises on this album? Old Gold's long arc of beat tape experiments has really paid off. A number of the most impressive, future primitive bangers on Premonition are his. Humble's writing game continues to improve, too: check out his bars on Matchbook and, most especially, his monumental concept cut "I am America."

Overall, this is a great damn release and a big win for the Bless the Child / Anthill orbit, a crew that grows stronger every year.

(Should you feel that you need to read about this release even more, check out Seven Days. Got you covered, bud.)

Get Familiar: Self Portrait

Photography by Colette Kulig

Self Portrait are days away from dropping their second album, Primal Union. This is a classic rap lineup with a lead emcee, a rapper/producer and a real live DJ tearing it up onstage. The new album showcases features from some of the hardest working people in Vermont hip hop, like Anthill Collective maestro Eskae, who juggles a couple hundred hats any given month. He shares a cut with SkySplitter, a prolific producer and one hell of a recording engineer, too.

These lads are embedded, in other words, a central hub of the new hot shit, and a home team a lot of folks are rooting for.

Primal Union is a big step for the Self Portrait crew, but they've been on the rise for awhile because they stay busy. Last year they were featured on the latest A-Dog Day compilation, the kind of honor that doesn't come lightly. Ringtone rap might be making money now, but albums still matter, and Primal Union is a professional product.

I got to talk with two thirds of the team about their sordid past, their violent beefs, and the upcoming HBO documentary. Dig it.

Thirtyseven: How did your crew come together?

RICO JAMES: Me and Trono met in 2007 while living in Plattsburgh, NY. I had just graduated with an art degree and Trono was still attending the college at the time. We hit it off immediately and started designing a clothing company, and writing rhymes together. This was before I even started making beats. I ended up moving to the west coast for a few years, so we continued to create long distance. I started making beats while living out west, so it was only right that we jumped back into the music when I moved back east to Burlington.

I met DJ Kanga through a mutual friend here in town, and we clicked immediately through our shared love of hip hop. I was blown away when I saw him scratch the first time. Right after we hung out, I hit up Trono and told him we gotta link up with this dude and get to work. I was amazed that Kanga hadn't been snatched up yet by another group. Dude is an unbelievable DJ. I sent him some of our tunes, while simultaneously reaching out to some people trying to book a show. We booked our first show in Sept. of 2013, and have been rockin' together ever since.



Thirtyseven: Has your songwriting process changed over the years?

TRONO: The songwriting has changed as my style and Rico's style has changed. Rico has taken a lesser role in rhyming, but when he does, his flow is on point and his one liners are hilarious. He has come a long way building a confidence you can find in his verses.

I have tried to develop my skills by being more concise. My thoughts need to convey the point that I want while also becoming one with the beat. I allow - encourage - beats to take me over, to lead me down the path. Emotions and what the instrumental pulls out of you are what need to be put into words. I need to explore that however possible with pin point exactness when translated onto paper. Its a ever growing process, forcing me to learn myself and to learn from others.

RICO JAMES: The process for the group as a whole is pretty simple. My main focus is the beats. I make the beats for the crew, so we start by sending a batch of beats to Trono. He picks and chooses the ones he likes and can get into and starts writing. I give Trono complete freedom to write whatever he feels. He usually comes up with the concepts and I just step in lyrically wherever it is needed. Trono is the lyricist of the crew. He is the true writer. I like writing rhymes for fun, but he is the true talent with the pen. After we get our songs all layed out, we send rough mixes to Kanga to add his magic.

Thirtyseven: How did you wind up with such an awesome cover?

TRONO: We discovered the artist, Evan Book, through another VT hip hopper that goes by Mycelium MC. He put us on to his work and I knew it would be a perfect fit for our album art. We had the album name, Primal Union, picked out for about a year and knew that was going to be the next album name. We had the concept that we wanted, with the cavemen in a cave listening to records by a fire, have Trono eating another emcee, etc... We through it out to Evan Book, told him the basic idea, and he absolutely killed it. His style works perfectly with what we wanted and had imagined for the album. He is a super talented artist, and everybody should hit him up on FB and check out his work.

Thirtyseven: Approximately how rich and famous do you plan on becoming on Feb. 24th?

TRONO: As rich and famous as I was the day before.

RICO JAMES: I'm hoping for a crispy $20. Will hit those dollar bins hard.

Photography by Colette Kulig

Tonight @ Charlie-O's: Boomslang & Enemy Self

Friday night rap party at Charlie-O's. A hard recipe to beat, if you're looking for a good time. Headlining the hootenanny: hometown heroes Boomslang, who've had a busy 2014. There will be some intense instrumental sets from two of the 802's finest producers, Skysplitter Ink and Loupo. Skysplitter Ink has been insanely prolific this year, working behind the boards on dozens of rap albums for artists around the world and still finding time to tour with his rap group, Somewhere in the Solution. The young shogun Loupo is hot off the release of both a solo album on LA label Cold Busted, and the excellent Jenke Arts collaboration Agent Slacker.

The festivities will also feature the debut of Enemy Self, a long time veteran of 802 hip hop who has recently released his experimental album "Evolution Kills." If you're in Montpelier, there is simply no other place to be.

"NOT IN SEASON" - Face One ft. Humble

An unexpected gift from Burlington-based rapper/producer Face One, who dropped a fresh track this morning with Bless the Child emcee, Humble.



Face One has been maintaining radio silence for a long time -- no word on whether today's sneak attack means there's an album on the way.

Mertz - The Good in The Bad

After building the buzz with two singles and a video, Mertz has finally dropped his new album, The Good in The Bad. Featuring production by Nastee, Skysplitter Ink, SXMPLELIFE and Mertz himself, this is a 10 track tour de force with no features.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD.

If you're in the Burlington area, come through Arts Riot on March 15th for the release party...more details on that shortly.

Mertz - “Madame Butterfly” Video

Mertz is determined to make 2014 his year. In the process, he is running a clinic on how to properly promote an album. After two singles to build buzz for his forthcoming album The Good in The Bad, he follows up with a powerful video for the track "Madame Butterfly," filmed at The Groden Center.



"I'm pumped that we were able to capture footage that well-represents my inspiration for the song. It's funny, too, because the best shots we got came from the kids playing organically, with little instruction from us. Everybody had a lot of fun making the video & the parents & families loved it when we showed it at the preschool graduation ceremony, which means a lot to me." -- Mertz

Mertz - "Move On"

I'm a little late on this, but Mertz has kept it moving with the second single from his upcoming album, The Good in the Bad. If you're unfamiliar with this cat, we've recently interviewed him here, and you can get connected via Twitters, Facebooks and his official site.

Get Familiar: Mertz of Present Rhymes

Thirtyseven: Is Present Rhymes on hiatus in 2013?

Mertz: For those that don't know, Present Rhymes is the group I started making music with. My 3 best friends & I began experimenting in the worlds of music production & writing lyrics back in 2002. One of our original members left the group before we even released our first project in 2011. Since our debut album, Livin' The Mission, the group has been less productive than I had hoped.

Now, more than ever, I am completely focused on making music. I never thought I would be a solo artist, I always had the group mentality from the very beginning. But, over the years, it's become clear to me that if I really want to turn music making into my life's work, I have to make that commitment by myself. I can't let anyone else's actions dictate my success. This realization has been a really hard thing for me to deal with. Ultimately though, I just want to make music, so that's what I'm doing.

The truth is, I don't know what the deal with Present Rhymes is. We didn't break up & I certainly never said I was leaving the group to go solo. We just got to a point where we were all living in the same house & spending a lot of time not working on music together. We have a lot of really good songs written that our fans haven't ever heard, but as a group, we lack the motivation to really put in the effort it takes to make those songs great.

Now, my mind is focused on building a fan base as a solo artist.

Thirtyseven: How has your approach to songwriting and production changed since your early releases like the Rise Above It EP?

Mertz: For my new album, The Good in The Bad, I gravitated back towards original production & away from sampling. I produced 5 out of the 10 songs on the album & only 1 of my beats is sample based. Production-wise, for this project I put a major focus on the drums & the overall dynamics of the instrumentals. In the past, I would write most of my lyrics before the beat was finished. Then, I would end up copying large sections of the beat & pasting them to make the beat longer, & I think this approach led me to making songs that felt very repetitive.

On my new project, I tried to make my instrumentals stand on their own before I wrote lyrics to them. I also made a conscious effort to stay away from the all too easy verse-chorus-verse-chorus-verse-chorus classic rap song structure. I think this approach enables me to keep the listener's attention more because they're presented with something different than they might be expecting. I've also focused a lot of my energy on creating more realistic sounding, harder hitting drums.

On the songwriting side of things, I utilized the talents of other producers for the first time on this project. Nastee, SXMPLELIFE & SkySplitterInk contributed production to the album, all of whom I met while living in BVT. Using other people's beats has let me focus more on my lyrics. I did a lot more storytelling than I have in the past. One criticism that has always stuck with me was from my first release, when Dan Bolles said that I am much more effective when I "show" than when I "tell". I like the approach of storytelling because I think it's fun to make a point without coming right out & saying it. To me, it feels like the storytelling aspect to lyricism has been scarce as of late, & by telling more stories, I'm able to keep things more interesting for the listener while still saying something of substance.

Thirtyseven: What was your introduction to Vermont's hip hop scene?

Mertz: The first CD that I had that was local Hip-Hop was Burnt MD's Burnt Underground Radio. It was a compilation that featured a lot of local talent on it, introducing me to The Loyalists, Wombaticus Rex, Sin, The Aztext & Fattie B. I was young at the time & I remember it blew my mind to find out that there were artists living in the same city as me who were making this music. From there I became a huge fan of The Loyalists in particular, & began paying more attention to the local scene.

As a performer, it all started on that 3-inch elevated platform in the corner at Manhattan's Pizza. I started performing at Andy Lugo's open mic in 2009 when I put out my first project. That's where I really found out what it was like to perform my music for people. Lugo help me immensely by coaching me & giving me tips, but mostly, by believing in me.

From there, I became tight with a few other local artists who performed at the open mics & we began putting on shows of our own. The crew that I really came up in the local scene with was Aleck Woog, Somewhere In The Solution, Habit, B Honest, The Lynguistic Civilians & a few others. After that I got the rest of Present Rhymes into doing live performances & we started doing a lot of shows with acts like Funkwagon, A-Dog & Nastee, Burnt MD & opening up for some people I never imagined.

Thirtyseven: How was your experience moving several states away and starting from scratch? Has the RI scene been receptive to your sound?

Mertz: The decision to move away from BVT was made because we were working on the Present Rhymes album, but it was too hard to make a collective effort without being together. When we first moved to Providence, we spent the majority of our time in the studio finishing the album, but we were still booking shows in VT & making trips up to perform.

Our group dynamic was on point because of how much we were rehearsing together, & we were getting really good responses when we played live. We didn't really put an emphasis on playing live in RI tho, because after we finished up our album, we went right back to work in the studio writing new songs.

I will say, of the shows that we have done in RI, we definitely bring a different sound to the table. Providence is a bigger city than BVT (duh) & so with that comes a higher regard for mainstream culture & music. A lot of the local artists I have seen in RI seem to strive for more of a mainstream sound, which isn't really my style. I like to make songs that are based in my reality & express the way I think & feel about different aspects of life.

Most of the time, when I play live in RI, I get a pretty good response. There are fans here that are receptive to my style, but I haven't put enough emphasis on playing live here to establish a local fan base.

I think the best move for someone like me is to link up with the local artists in the area who are like-minded. There are a lot of artists out here who are making very good music & who have very supportive local fans. I think a lot of them would be well received by VT Hip-Hop fans. Ultimately, I feel like you can find fans everywhere who will appreciate your music, it's just about finding them.

You can catch Mertz at Ri-Ra's on November 16th with the Lynguistic Civilians for their "Tossin' Turkeys Tour" -- which is awesome.

Get Familiar: SkySplitterInk Playlist

A set from Zach Crawford of SkySplitter Ink showcasing the work that he's been involved with. #ProTip - Zach is your best bet in the state for quality rap recording. Book him.

mavstar - "Even Out EP"

Another jazzy, breezy banger batch from Burlington's mavstar, featuring production from Face One and Skysplitter Ink.

Es-K is on Fire This Week

First up, check this out: Es-K collaborating with Dope Dee and SkySplitter on a pretty f'ing ridiculously great instrumental...



Es-K is definitely the most consistent, prolific, and diverse producer I've heard come out of Vermont. I can only write about my opinions, and feel free to let me know if I'm missing out on other cats.

2013 Updates from MC Dialect

For folks who need an introduction, start here:

Thirtyseven: What's been keeping you busy in 2013?

MC Dialect: For me personally, over the last year I've been focusing on music more than ever. I've been doing it for close to ten years, but my productivity tends to fluctuate quite a bit. The last twelve months have been by far my most productive over the last decade. I am currently working on a few different projects. Mainly Somewhere in the Solution. Zach (Anthem) and I have been making music together as Somewhere in the Solution since 2004, but we haven't released a record since Six Years of Secrets in June of 2009, so we have a LOT of new material we've been working on. Zach is a madman when it comes to beats, and you'll see exactly what I mean when the record comes out. We've also been doing a lot of work for the album with one of my best friends, Es-K, who is also BONKERS when it comes to beats. We recently did a track produced by an awesome young beat maker from Montpelier who goes by the name LOUPO... Keep on the look out for him... He's dope as fuck.. On top of that, we're finishing up a track with, and produced by Face One.

I myself, am working on a solo record produced by Es-K, a track with Learic of The Aztext which is also produced by Es-K, as well as a song with a producer from the San Francisco Bay area, Dope Dee. I also have a track with Es-K that will be released on vinyl for his record Serenity, which I am SUPER pumped about. The record will also feature AG (Of D.I.T.C.), General Steele (Of Smif-N-Wessun), M-Dot, and Fish Grease, along with others.

So to say the least, 2013 is keeping me VERY busy.

Thirtyseven: What has your experience been taking the Somewhere in the Solution show on the road through VT and New England?

MC Dialect: When we're doing a show, that's when we're in our element. Recording songs and putting out material is great, but the live show is where we really show people what exactly Somewhere in the Solution is. Regardless of how many people are there, how big the stage is, where it's located...we go all out. It's hard not to when you've put so much love into the music. It's almost like it's out of our control. Once the first beat drops...it's on...hang on for the ride.

We've played pretty much every area in Vermont and it's really interesting to me to see how much hip hop there really is in this little state. There's dudes coming out of the woodworks. There is some real deal shit all over the state. We just have to help each other out to give everyone some exposure. We're all in this together. Let's support each other and grow with one another. I feel like for the most part, everyone does a pretty good job of that.

Thirtyseven: What are your favorite Burlington venues?

MC Dialect: Favorite Burlington venues... Hmm... Well to be honest, Manhattan Pizza & Pub is our home turf. It's our clubhouse. It's our home away from home. For us it's the place where, no matter what night of the week, there's homies in there. On both sides of the bar. (Cue the Cheers theme song). When we first moved to Burlington, we started out doing the open mic nights there, hosted by Andy Lugo. From there it just kind of developed into our spot. We've been doing shows there for years now and we ALWAYS have a blast. We've also had some really fun shows at Metronome, The Monkey House in Winooski, and as of recently, the Jenke Arts studio on Church Street.

Thirtyseven: What local releases & projects are you personally looking forward to?

MC Dialect: I mean, I want to hear everyones music. The scene in Burlington is moving in a really positive direction and I'm glad to be a part of that movement. There's a lot of great stuff that's out, and that's coming out. There's a lot of great new music in general, not just hip hop, coming out of the Jenke Arts Collective that I'm excited about. Can't wait to hear more stuff from Set Up City. REALLY can't wait to hear the new Bless the Child record. Love those dudes. Also hoping there will be some new Brutally Honest coming out in the near future. And of course.. the new Somewhere in the Solution record..

If I had to choose, what I'm looking forward to most is Es-k's Serenity record. It's a dedication to one of his best friends who left the world way too soon. It's going to be a beautiful masterpiece.