[INTERVIEW] Seven Pillars - Dylan Dili

Photo Credit: Artist

It's said that true warriors not only endure and rise above
whatever has been handed to them in terms of strife, but
they extend their wisdom to those willing to hear so that 
they can do the same. Some do it through certain sciences
and business professions. Others do it through the arts, in
particular through their music. Joining the legion of those 
with a potent message through their music is Dylan Dili. You
may know him through his stint on the MTV series "Making
The Band" that led to some infamous moments. But in this
interview and with his new album, Dylan demonstrates how
much more you and the world don't know about him - but
should. Sit back and read on about the talented musician who's
a son of Grenada and Brooklyn and learn about what went
into the making of his recent album, Pain 2 Power.

Manifesto: So, Pain 2 Power - a strong title for a strong project.
What compelled you to name your album that way?

Dylan: Man..I think a lot of people feel that because you're on
          television, the radio or have a business - any kind of business   
          at that, they think you're successful and that you're doing
          great. If they don't see the blood and the sweat, they don't
          believe it and they don't care. So there's been a lot of pain
          that's been built up with the beginning of my career and life
          in general. I have a lot of pain that I was built up with. And
          at times, the pain drowned me. I was literally dying and drowning
          from that pain. I realized that you could really take every ounce
          of the pain and flip it and turn it into something good. 

          Even something as simple as the jokes by Dave Chappelle, for 
          example. It went so viral, made top five lists, and so forth. That
          joke in the beginning was the cause of every single label saying
          no to me. Every single DJ not playing my record. But everyone
          knew me from that - it got so that something that painful, where
          you stopped checking for me as a result of it I had to look at in a
          different way. Like, "Hold on - he may be known by about 50 million
          people." That's powerful. You're going to know who I am for the 
          rest of your life. That's power that I had to learn to appreciate, and
          I had to appreciate the pain that was in that lesson. So this album 
          is not just for me y'know, It's for everyone, everybody who will feel
          that. That pain to power is transformational.

Manifesto: You've mentioned in other interviews about the business side of
                things being overwhelming from the Making The Band Days. What's
                the difference in your perspective now?

Dylan:      The difference was, at the time I didn't realize it was just business.       
                I remember carrying my emotions on my sleeve. I wore my emotions,
                which was good for TV at the time. (laughs) It was great for TV but 
                I came from a street mentality, or a roadside mentality, when ya 
                out there 'pon de road, you know? Out there on the road, you have 
                your crew, and certain values that we go by. Street laws that we go
                by, certain values that we go by. Loyalty is a big issue on the street
                so if you're rolling with me, we go to the club together, we came in
                together we leave together. You got beef with somebody? I've got               
                beef with somebody. Those are just simple laws that we go by on the
                road. Now when you go into the music industry with that mentality
                and you realize that they don't really care about you, (laughs) not 
                realizing that it's not personal then you start to get mad, you go like
                "eff that person", you're flipping out!! Not realizing that you're on 
                contract, relax. This has nothing to do with emotions, this is a business
                relationship. So that illustrates my view of the difference between
                now and then, then I didn't know it was business.

Manifesto: So, going back to an earlier point you made about loyalty, that leads
                me to the next question. Being a son of Brooklyn and of Grenada, how
                do those experiences hone not only your persona but your music? How        
                is that the fuel?

Dylan:     Being a son of Brooklyn and a son of Grenada is what really made me.
               Because I lived in both places. I went to high school in Grenada, grew up
               in Grenada as well as doing my thing being in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. It's
               the best of both worlds. To know the country life of taking care of cattle,
               sheep and goats...I remember living with my grandmother and to bathe at
               the time (laughs), we had a cistern that caught the water when the rain fell.
               And we had to carry the bucket and catch the water - it was best to do it at
               noon when the sun was high because the water would be cold but at that time
               the sun warmed it up. So that would be the best time to bathe. Now knowing
               that, and living in Flatbush...you already know how Flatbush gets down.

Manifesto: Yes sir! (laughs)

Dylan:     In Flatbush, you'll never be cocky, you'll always be humble. I don't care how
               far you go, if you get a Grammy - "man you bathed in a bucket." (laughs) You
               are aways going to be one with the people, to show love to the people.

Dylan Dili - "It's OK"

Manifesto: With the album, there's a constant vibe that's all about rising above. What
                was your reasoning for gettting producers to help you create that vibe? 

Dylan:      With the producers it was a matter of being picky as hell. (laughs) The man            
                dem would send me about 10 riddims at a time and I'm like, "naaaah." But
                I was recording a lot, however. I was recording to a lot of different riddims
                but when it came down to choosing it was deep and I didn't know what to         
                do. We already had done about 100 songs, and I told my brethren 3MP - he's
                our master engineer - I told him, "You know what? You're going to have to 
                take the job of cutting it down and making this a Pain 2 Power. You're going
                to have to take these last 30 songs and make it 12. 'Cause I don't know what  
                to do." And he did that man, he did the arrangement and it helped due to 
                preparation. Before we would have sessions, we would listen to a lot of  
                classical albums like Ray Charles, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke.
                And in other sessions we would listen to Tenor Saw, (Mighty) Sparrow, we 
                would listen to Bob Marley so that before we even got to recording we would 
                have a good time just listening to the greats. And knowing that we would be
                the next one up to be in that pantheon.

Manifesto: That's what's up. How did you link up with VPAL Music?

Dylan:      Well, a friend of mine was one of the heads of VPAL for years and I didn't know
                that that's what she did. (laughs) I knew she (Jeannie Seranno) had some job
                but I wasn't aware of what she did. After I came back from Grenada and doing
                the album, I got a notice from Instagram that said "your friend Jeannie is now
                under the account of VPAL Records" and I went "wait, how is that?" And so I hit
                her up like, "Jeannie what's good?" And she let me know she was involved, her
                and Donovan. So I went "ah, well mi have somethin' for you." (laughs) And we 
                went forward from there.

Manifesto:  After Pain 2 Power, what do you plan on doing next musically?

Dylan:       After this, the power! (laughs) We are gonna toast up!

Manifesto: I'm with that. (laughs) So my last question is, for anyone who is aiming to
                  succeed from a similar road like you have, what would be your advice?

Dylan:       Prepare to go crazy. (laughter) Prepare to go crazy, absolutely. Because you have 
                 to understand, you're sacrificing your whole f---king life. You're sacrificing 24/8 and 
                 and that's the only way you're going to be great. Just giving your all. You have to  
                 have faith, you have to have full faith. You have faith and action, and it's a huge 
                 sacrifice. Just know that it's huge, it's not regular. I'll finish off with this - it wasn't
                 about how much work you put in and how much studio time you could do, it was 
                 more about mentally how much can you take from all of these different souls and 
                 energies and different people. If you can take that mentally, you're all right. It's a
                 lot people you have to meet, it's a lot of people you have to talk to. It's a lot of vultures
                 out there you know. It's a lot of snakes. And some are dressed as sheep are. But 
                 it takes having a strong mentality.

Pain 2 Power is out now through VPAL Records on iTunes. 

[ART] Occupied In Bethlehem

FWTV took a trip to get an in-depth look at the infamous
Banksy's hotel located in one of the more controversial and
contested areas in Israel. Worth a watch...

Manifesto Presents: Seven Pillars - An Interview With Danny Severance

Danny Severance is someone who has already spoken to
your soul, but you don’t realize it until he begins to sing.
And sing he does, exceptionally well. Danny’s voice, whether
it be as the lead man with the Na Capellas, the house band
of NYC’s Street Poets Open Mic or with SWANK, a group he
was the frontman for in his home state of Illinois, Danny
Severance brings forth finely-tuned Americana with all of
its soul with his music. In addition to that, Danny is also a
trained classical violinist, a gift he also employs in his music
as well as being a poet and writer. Manifesto Magazine got the
chance to talk with Danny as  he was finishing up with the
This-Or-That Tour in Los Angeles, California The tour is a creation
of Off The Wall Graffiti, a non-profit that encourages young
people to utilize their art in a positive and legal manner. 
Check out his music and get more information at his website,
http://www.dannyseverance.com/ and follow his band page,
https://www.facebook.com/dannyseverancemusic

Manifesto Magazine:  What drew you to both poetry and
                                    music as your means of expression?
                                    Why those two forms?

Danny:      It’s a very organic answer for me…I think that
                  especially as a writer, it’s a process where it just
                  kinda comes out. So I started writing partly for my own 
                  personal catharsis as a 13-year old boy you know, maybe
                  younger than that. At first it was kind of just prose, poetry,
                 scribblings, and then it developed.And then when I went
                 to Bradley University, they have a very strict creative writing 
                  program, that really encouraged me in poetry, it’s a
                  poetry focused creative writing program. I did have thoughts 
                  on going back to school for poetry. As far as music, it’s also a
                  kind of weird transformational, organic moment for me
                  because I started violin when I was 5. I started classically -
                  I was so fortunate to have gone to an elementary school
                  that was basically a fine arts magnet elementary school in
                  Illinois. It’s basically a school that was founded for gifted kids
                  per se, in an urban area. So I was very fortunate to go there.
                  So I started at age 5, taking lessons in school and then private
                  lessons in middle school. But by age 18, I went through some
                  personal struggles and I started writing blues and started
                  expressing myself that way. And then I started singing as well.  

Manifesto:  In listening to you, one thing that I get is a great deal of depth.
                    That’s what stands out to me and I’m sure everyone else
                    that’s heard it, the depth of it. The other term that comes
                    to mind is, ‘old soul’. Do you feel that the term fits your current
                    styling of music at this point in time, because I’m sure there’s
                    going to be a continued evolution as you grow within the 
                    music?

Danny:        Well, thank you for saying that, first off! I think I’m
                    definitely going for depth. Coming from the perspective of
                   someone who writes poetry and music, I’m very serious
                    about my words. I want them to carry meaning, I want
                   them to hear those words, and…not to badmouth
                    anyone else’s music, but sometimes the lyrics are not as
                    heavy, and it’s cool and it’s fun music and I dance to it & that’s
                   fine. But personally, I just have trouble writing those kind
                    of lyrics. They have to hold some weight in and of themselves.
                   And at the same time I really appreciate ambiance and the
                   atmosphere and going for, to speak on the ‘old soul’ point, getting
                    under people’s skin. But then also going for..I definitely like getting
                    into blues type styles, getting into soul, into Americana, digging
                    around in history a little bit. Coincidentally, I have a bachelor’s in
                    history so that’s kind of an inspiration for me too. Just kind of
                    looking through Americana.

 

Manifesto:   Well, that leads me to my next question which is, what
                     is the breadth of your musical influences? You mentioned
                     some Chicago soul, blues…what else influenced you?

 Danny:        Well, first and foremost, Howling Wolf. There’s other
                     Chicago legends, but specifically Howling Wolf. He really
                     influences me to go for texture and be okay with the
                     scratchiness…you know, even Louis Armstrong kind of
                     had that too, Howling Wolf was kind of known for that.
                     He was an influence on the Rolling Stones, I kind of look
                     to that thread of American music, I drew a lot from that.
                     Rolling Stones, I grew up a lot on The Beatles for sure, I
                     kind of raised myself musically on The Beatles from when
                     I was pretty young. I’m constantly trying to push into
                     jazz, learn more about jazz. I was raised with classical…and
                     I’m always trying to pay attention to Bill Withers, Otis
                     Redding, Al Green, just to name a few, Sam Cooke is huge
                     for me…as soul influences. ‘Cause I’m coming to the point  
                     where I’m defining myself more and more as a soul artist, not
                     as a blues artist. So, that’s a process for me.

Manifesto:    And with that definition, the voice that you have is the
                    key thing. It’s very distinct and resounding, and in my
                    mind at least, has an impeccable, rich sound to it. I’m
                    sure you’ve gotten a lot of reactions to your sound
                    and how unique it is. Has it ever thrown you for a
                    loop or amazed you, even now, to hear the reactions
                    as long as you’ve been doing it?

Danny:        Yes, absolutely. I think I’m a very critical person,
                     and self- critical. When I’m in the moment, it feels good,
                     I’m expressing and singing. But I’m always critical and 
                     wondering where, if the tone isn’t quite right you know, 
                     and focused on getting all the elements right at the same 
                     time. I get kind of lost in that and then I come out of the 
                     performance and I’m asking very sincerely, ‘was I good?’ 
                     People are blown away…it continues to amaze me, absolutely.

Manifesto:    What do you feel is the message that lies at the core of
                      your music ultimately?

Danny:         I think there’s always an attempt for me in my
                     music, and also in my poetry too, to explore things
                     that are unsaid. Or getting under people’s skin and kind
                     of pushing them to a point, bringing them to a head where
                     they have to kind of start those conversations themselves
                     that maybe they’ve been avoiding in their personal life
                     or confronting their role in society or whatever it is,
                     things I believe in I guess. Also, just kind of being loving,
                     love…not being  afraid of beating people over the head with
                     tough love.

Manifesto:   You had mentioned at the outset about reuniting
                     with your old band members…will there be any
                     new music this year from you on the horizon?

Danny:         On both projects, or anything in New York?

Manifesto:    Anything you’ve got coming up!

Danny:         Absolutely, absolutely. I have a new soul/electronica
                     teaser out, called ‘Thank You’ on my Soundcloud. It’s
                    called ‘Thank You’, it’s produced by Smash Daisaku.
                    I actually have a couple other beats from him that
                     I’m sitting on and we’ll be putting out this year. In
                     addition, I have plans to record with Danny Severance
                     and the Na Capellas in New York, and aside from that
                     I will definitely be working more with my old projects,
                     especially SWANK which was my most recent project
                     before moving to New York. We’ll probably be playing a
                     festival or two this summer, though I’m not sure what
                     that means for recording with that project but potentially
                     that’s good.

Manifesto:   Last question that I have: what words of wisdom
                     would you give to someone looking to travel your
                     creative path?

Danny:         Accept help. Don’t be stubborn. Don’t be stubborn
                     about accepting help and also hearing that someone
                     else is right.

Manifesto Presents: Seven Pillars - An Interview with Sean Toure'

Baltimore, Maryland has been portrayed as a hub of grittiness. But
it serves to frame a rich tapestry of soul that emanates from it, and
the musical talent that calls the city home is a testament to that.
With the work of  Sean Toure’, you see that soul issue forth in a deep
and compelling way. He has already built an impressive career as 
a producer and MC, being regarded as one of the best independent
artists in hip-hop today by SPIN Magazine and The Source. His talents
as a producer that can create for all genres have also been received
with great acclaim through “The Sean-Toure’ Remix Project”, an LP
with his own spin on hits from 50 Cent, Michael Jackson, and others.
Sean’s 2011 album released through Fat Beats/Foundation Media,
“Sound Channeler, The Invisible Man” has been widely regarded as
one of the great releases of that year. Manifesto Magazine got the
chance to talk with Sean about his music and his creativity.

Manifesto: How do you view hip-hop culture today as a whole, in
                your eyes?

Sean:       I think the culture right now…I think the culutre itself
                is pretty strong, I think the culture itself is actually 
                expanding. I think the element of being an entrepreneur
                has actually created some sustainability for hip-hop. So
                I think there’s aspects of the culture that are continuing
                to grow, I think that’s one of the pros of it. One of the
                cons though is that, in any capitalist society where
                entreprenurialism comes into play, money comes into
                play, then there’s a watering down of the culture that
                comes into play, you know? So I think at the end of the
                day, there’s a dualism that comes with it in terms of the
                state of the culture itself. But I think as a whole, the 
                culture is going strong. But there is a difference between
                the culture and the business parts of hip-hop, you know
                what I mean? I think the lines get crossed and you get 
                a degree of ambiguity when it comes to hip-hop culture
                and hip-hop business. So I think the culture itself, is still
                sustaining itself. 

Manifesto: I hear that. So as far as your music, do you think about
                how the music you’ve created has become part of the 
                fabric of the muslc culture, not just in Baltimore but the
                world?

Sean:      Yeah, I do. I do, and I think that was a part of the plan 
              from the onset. I think ultimately my mindset was to create
               something that first of all, had to come from my soul. It
               had to be something that I genuinely and authentically
               wanted to express in my work. But then the other thing
               was that I knew that what I was doing was something 
               that the global market really wanted. And I really felt like,
               I felt like I would’ve basically created a situation for failure
               if I had limited what I was doing in terms of my releases
               and just regulated it just to one area, one district. And 
               that was proven once I had released a couple of projects.
               And I saw that the global response was very strong…you
               tend to get more respect outside of your city than in your
               city sometimes. I think you can get it in your city first 
               sometimes, but most artists, their evolution and growth,
               they can hit a glass ceiling. And I think they can do one
               of two things. They can stay trapped in that fishbowl if
               you will, (laughs) or they can expand outside of that 
               fishbowl and tap into other areas. I had reached that point
               some time ago, when I hit a glass ceiling. And if I wanted
               to do what I really wanted to do how I wanted to do it, it
               was imperative that I got my work out to the people and 
               not just my city. And it paid off, you know, it definitely 
               paid off. 


Album artwork, ‘Sound Channeler: The Invisible Man’


Manifesto: I’ve heard some of your music beforehand but what
                you’ve put forth as of late, especially with this recent
                album, ‘The Soundchanneler’…very potent, very vibrant.
                And that kind of leads me into the next question that I
                have, with regards to your innate spirituality. You’ve 
                mentioned that you’ve put your soul into it. How much
                of your spirituality, your spiritual perspective, how much
                does that inform your music? I ask this because I took
                notice of the ‘Om’ symbol on the cover of the album. 
                Detail a little of that for me if you will.

Sean:       Sure, sure. I think that any person, including myself,
                anything that is a part of your spiritual foundation, it’s
                gotta come through some sort of way in your art. I say
                this because I think spirituality is another form of creativity.
                When your’e creating things, the fabric of who you are is
                going to come out in your art. Throughout the years, I’ve
                studied different philosophies and religions and stuff like
                that, and I think it’s an ongoing process. At this stage, 
                10 years from now, God willing if I’m still here,  it might
                be something else. But I definitely have been studying
                metaphysics strongly for like, the last ten years. And I
                didn’t really want to beat people over the head with it,
                you know what I mean? Because ultimately, what I think
                ends up happening is, the philosophy or the belief system
                goes in the forefront and people forget about the music. 
                And I’ve seen groups do that. And my goal; yeah I practice
                metaphysics and I think that definitely will come through
                in my music but the first thing is always the music. People
                want good music. If they want to have their spiritual beliefs
                enhanced, well then they can do that on their own time.
                But in terms of how I express my work, it’s always going
                to be the music first, then you might hear elements of 
                other things. It’s the balance of humanity. Some days I’m
                a good person, some days I’m not a good person. I’m a 
                human being. I certainly don’t want to promote this message
                of a holy man, some devout dude. I’m not knocking anybody
                that does that, that’s just not how I wanted to sell my brand.
                I put the Om symbol on the album because I felt like the
                album was a way, a beacon. A calling out to people to show
                them that hip-hop itself can be intertwined with metaphysics
                in some kind of way. And the Om, since the album was called
                ‘The Sound Channeler’, I felt like since the Om is the original
                sound, it’d be a good idea to send that vibration out there. I
                think that intention, energy, ideas, things of that nature 
                definitely influence people and putting that symbol on the 
                album cover itself would definitely translate to people what I
                was trying to translate you know?

Manifesto: For now, what new projects do you have now that you are 
                 working on, have conceptualized? What’s next for you?

Sean:       Well, right now, we’ve got quite a few projects. Everything 
                that is coming out is on my label called Rosachi, and our
                distribution is through Fat Beats out of New York and Los
                Angeles and another company, Foundation Media. They’ve
                been really supportive. So with those connections we have
                with those distributors, there’ll be at least three or four projects
                we’ll be putting out this year. One I do know for sure we’ll 
                be putting out is the second solo album from me. It’ll be
                called ‘The Dreamer’s Passion.’ I’m producing the whole 
                album, I’ll probably have some guest beats, probably have
                a couple cats who I’m working with do some stuff. We’ve 
                got features from Sadat X of Brand Nubian, we’ve got 
                DJ Roddy Rod of the Lo-Budget on it, and quite a few other
                features on it as well. And that album should be out sometime
                around the fall of this year. I’m gonna mention it now, we
                have something under wraps but I’m going to mention it
                now, but there’s a legendary MC that’s very well-known
                from the Baltimore area, Silhouette, a female MC. She and
                I are working together on an album as well. We’re not sure
                when that’s going to come out, probably in a couple of months.
                There’s a couple instrumental projects I plan on releasing
                as well, and another remix project as well. I did a remix
                project a couple of years ago and I’m going to release one
                this year as well. Those are pretty much the projects we
                have on deck coming soon.




Manifesto: Cool! With regards to your creative process, what’s your
                 personal manifesto in regards to your creative process?
                 How do you get into your ‘zone’ to create the music that
                 you create?

Sean:        You know what man, it’s funny…I thought about that
                 myself, that’s a great question. I think what I really do 
                 is, I just have to block everything out, you know what I
                 mean? There’s no mantra, there’s no chant (laughs), you
                 know? At this point in my career as an artist, it’s just
                 really about sitting down in front of my piano or my drum
                 machine and if I feel inspired, I just go ahead and get to
                 work man. I could be having a good day, and some days
                 I can make music and some days I can’t. And some days
                 I can have a jacked-up day and some days I can’t. So I
                 can’t really say that it’s based on my mood, it just goes
                 back to why I named the album ‘The Sound Channeler’.
                 I feel like I’m a conduit of sound. And when the creator
                 of all things is ready to give me music and I’m open to it,
                 then that’s when it comes, you know what I’m saying?
                 I’m not ready to make music then he gave it to somebody
                 else that day or she gave it to somebody else that day.
                 There’s no process to it, it’s just about sitting there and
                 being blessed and humble enough to say, ‘Man this aint
                 even coming from me. It’s coming through me.’ If I could
                 do this every day, it would be coming out like this every,
                 you know what I’m saying? (laughs) 

Manifesto: For the most part, whenever you collaborate with different
                people, for the most part it’s always something special. For
                you, how energizing is it to create new music with various
                artists that you’ve worked with in the past and even now?

Sean:       Man, that’s a great question. Honestly, that’s one of the 
                reasons why I do it. Because I’m an MC and a producer
                so for me, as a producer and MC, to work with the artists,
                it’s like a dream come true you know? To be able to work
                with a Kev Brown, or a Substantial, or a yU, whomever.
                It’s an honor man. I feel it’s one of the more exciting
                things you can do because for me, it pushes me towards
                a different direction and mindset I have to have when working
                with an artist. Because one of the things I promised myself
                I wouldn’t do is get stuck or put myself in a box in terms
                of what my creative process would be. With every artist
                comes a different mindset, a different consciousness in 
                terms of how I might write a rhyme or how I might 
                produce a beat. Yeah, it’s an honor, it’s a pleasure man.
                Because growing up, as artists we all imagine about working
                with certain people one day. And to be able to manifest my
                dreams and work with a Kev Brown, or a Jaysun, or whoever…
                man, it’s like that’s part of the reward for doing this you 
                know? Sometimes, the music business is crazy, you don’t
                always get paid a lot, you don’t always get paid what your
                worth is. But the biggest payment you can get is working
                with somebody and creating something that the people
                like. It’s awesome. It’s one of the greatest honors and 
                pleasures that I’ve had or that any artist can have when 
                you’re working and perfoming man. That’s what it’s all 
                about. It’s all about getting better, and not getting stuck.

Manifesto: I hear you man, that’s beautiful. So we’ve come to the 
                 last question. Lastly, what would be your advice to those
                 looking to create and produce music? 

Sean:       I would say that anybody that produces music, be it using
                a drum machine or playing music, I would say, perfect your
                instrument. Get an instrument and stick with it. Don’t move
                around from one thing to another. So for an example, if 
                you’re a hip-hop producer and you use a drum machine, it
                wouldn’t be in your best interest to get like, nine different 
                machines because you haven’t mastered the first one you
                bought. And when I say musicians, I think hip-hop producers
                are musicians because they’re musicians using a different 
                kind of instrument. I think traditionally, musicians they get
                an instrument - when you have kids whose parents made
                them s
it down and play the piano everyday? That kid will 
                turn into that teenager who’ll turn into a young adult, they’ve
                mastered that instrument. They’ve earned their stripes. 
                Then, in earning those stripes they can move on to the other
                things. And I just think that perfecting your craft, perfecting
                your instrument is very important man. That’s how we get
                quality. That’s how we get a connection with our instruments.
                Imagine B.B. King without Lucille. Maybe he could probably
                play other instruments, but he mastered the guitar. Yeah, 
                man. Perfect your instrument. If you’re an MC, perfect the mic.
                But yeah, perfect your instrument then move on to the next
                thing. Never get stuck.

‘Sound Channeler, The Invisible Man’ by Sean Toure’ is available
now via iTunes!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/sean-toure/id417685737

Sean-Toure’ can also be found at the following social stops:

http://www.seantoure.bandcamp.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/seantourethames

http://www.myspace.com/stoure

http://twitter.com/#!/SeanToure

Manifesto Presents: Seven Pillars - An Interview with Nick Low-Beer

In this edition of Seven Pillars, Chris “Preach” Smith speaks with Nick
Low-Beer, aka 81Neutronz, about his career as a DJ, musician and
producer. His career to date can be considered highly kinetic with
influences in hip hop and electronica both. Most notably, he collaborated
to make ‘Cinderella Man’ from Eminem’s ‘Recovery’ album in 2010 in
addition to working with established musicians from the UK electronica
scene.

Preach:What drew you to beat production? How did you realize that’s what you wanted
             to do for a career?

NLB: Music’s always been a real kinetic thing for me. I started out with breaking,
        breakdancing. Growing up, I was always trying to break from a very young
        age. I had amassed a huge collection of tapes, and then my sister’s boyfriend
        at the time was a DJ from the UK, Alex Patterson who spins a lot of ambient
        house music, he noticed all these tapes and CD’s I had and was like, ‘Man,
        this kid needs to start DJ’ing.’ So when I turned 13, he actually got me two
        Technics and a mixer for my birthday and from then on, I was trying all kinds
        of DJ tricks, playing parties, trying to battle and work on transforms and stuff
        like that. So all throughout junior high, high school I was studying music, trying
        to finding good music, stuff that would get people moving, studying pop music.
        You know, those were the days when you had Belly, The Lox, Ruff Ryders…
        that was when everything had to be hard. I spun dancehall as well. Then also,
        the house scene, I can tell you when I went to get house records, I ‘d be buying
        a lot of German and UK trance records because I liked the melodies better
        and people weren’t really into that. People really wanted something like tribal
        house, which was influenced by the Italian scene, and which was the norm
        while I was in high school. When I went record shopping, people would give
        shit like, ‘why are you buying all of these import records’ and I would say, ‘this
        is what I like.’ Then my friend, who used to rap, he was big on the site
        UndergroundHipHop.com, he got a Korg Triton. This was about 2001, that was
        my first experience making beats by fooling around with his Triton. Then I got
        a Triton and an MPC, and started making beats by myself. I went to college
        at Colorado State University and over the course of college it became less
        about DJing for me and more about making beats from scratch. That’s what
        made me want to dance more, making my own music gave me that real feeling  
        just playing other people’s music didn’t give me.  It kind of evolved from that
        feeling of wanting to dance to my own music, that’s where it all came from.

Preach: How would you describe your particular sound to a first-time listener?

NL: I would say it’s a lot of bright colors, and a lot of big drums. I’m not really big on
       subtlety. Very atmospheric. Somewhat cinematic. Some people have said,
       “Oh this would be good on a movie soundtrack, like at the beginning of a
       movie.” Something like that.

Nick Low-Beer.

Preach: One of your better known credits is as a co-producer for Eminem’s ‘Cinderella
             Man.” How did that come about?

NL: The way that happened was, I was assisting my mentor, Phil Pitts. He made
        some beats for 50 Cent, he did ‘Hands Up’ for Lloyd Banks, Between 2005
        and 2007, he was pretty much looking over my shoulder, guiding me, drilling
        into me the need for fundamentals. I was in the studio working with him. This
        time around, he was working in the studio with someone else while the next
        person scheduled to work with him sat with me  This guy, Script Shepard
        wrote the record himself and he approached me saying, ‘Yo I have this sound idea,
        I’d like someone to make a beat for it. Do you think you can make a beat for this song?
        And I said, ‘Sure, I’ll try, what do you want?’ He sang the hook and basically
        wanted a sound like (Queen’s) ‘We Will Rock You’. And I’m sitting there and
        listening to it, thinking it’s cool, not really realizing it’s a $50,000 record. So,
        in about 5 minutes we had the beat. I layered feeds, some kicks and snares,
        shit I had chopped up from a couple of movies. Shepard took the track, and 3
        years later, he calls me up and told me, ‘Yo Eminem wants the track.’ I didn’t
        really jump on it, because after working in New York City a couple of years,
        you begin to hear a lot of people tell you stuff like that. ‘Yo, I got you’ and other
        stuff. So I said, “Okay, I’ll get to it when I get to it’ because I had just left the disc
        with the file at my parents’ house in Connecticut. He got at me like, ‘Yo, what
        don’t you understand about Eminem wants the file?!!!” and my response was,
       “All right, what do I get?” He says, “Well next time we set up we’ll call you.” I’m
        like, “Well that’s not good enough. I made the whole track, what are you talking
        about?” He goes, “Man, you didn’t do nothing! Any engineer could’ve done
        what you did!!” So I go, “Oh word? Well then why don’t you get another
        engineer then?!” He tells me, ‘We already tried that, we brought in another guy
        to sit in and they didn’t want that beat, they wanted the one you did in five
        minutes.” So it was super ugly for a second. Script is super cool, but I think the
        pressure of the situation got to everybody. I got super defensive, which made  
        him get mad aggressive about it being his even though when we were working
        on it, it was all for the love at the time. Which is the nature of the industry I think;
        on one hand it can be so cool , all cool but when people start talking about
        fame and money, everybody gets defensive. Luckily for me that year, everyone was
        coming to me with requests for that file from that situation. If they hadn’t come at
        me so crazy, I wouldn’t have been able to barter a good position. I was lucky
        that my mind allowed me not to rush. I said to myself, ‘even if this does get
        placed, I don’t feel like giving up this file unless I get what I deserve.’r. Script
        ended up getting production, I ended up getting drum programming and a
        small percentage of the buyout price of the record, which was cool. I got my
        name on a small credit on the biggest record of the year. I was happy with that.
       Then the universe somehow saw my name placed as a feature on the record
        on the listing of the record on Best Buy’s website, which I think is hilarious. But
        that’s how it happened, it happened quickly, the beat took five minutes to make
        from start to finish.

Preach: How did you link up with Blaklionz Beats?

NL: He (Rajahru) hit me up on Facebook,, told me he had heard some of my music and was
       interested in working together. I was all for it. I’m like, ‘Cool let’s arrange a face
       to face meeting.” We struggled to make that happen for a couple of months but
       when we finally got up, it was real cool. For me, face to face meetings are good
       because I have to see if I connect with you enough to work with you. And I got
       the sense that Rajah was a good dude, and he had a lot of things going on.
       The connection I believe was also due to this dude Gaji, who’s from Montserrat
       and also Bruk Up, who I know who’s very well-known in the dancehall scene.

Preach: A lot of producers out there have gone the route of releasing beat tapes and
      instrumental EPs. Do you see yourself doing that, if you haven’t done so already?

NL: Yeah, sure. Most of my music I pretty much release on my website. I’m not
        opposed to it. I know that recently it worked good for someone who went on
        to produce ASAP Rocky after a couple of beat tapes. For me, I have one foot
        in electronic music and one foot in hip hop. I’m trying to spread the music I
        have however I can. I’m more of a behind the scenes kind of person, and I’m
        not that great at promoting myself. So I’m thankful that I met Raj ‘cause he
        really likes my sound, independent of the credit, he really believes in it so
        he’d be able to help me out with that. If he were to say, “Hey I think we should  
        do a beat CD, here’s an idea for the artwork, and so on’ I’d definitely be down
        to do it.

Preach: With that, is there anything new you’re planning to work on?

NL:  I’m trying to get an electronic music distribution deal with this label, and I’m
        putting together an album. Something like the soundtrack to a movie that hasn’t
        existed yet. I want the beats to be continuous, to morph into each other, kind of
        like how Saigon’s album was with its beats. I’m also just releasing beats one
        by one through my website, and finding more spots that want someone to
        come out and play more electronic music, to do more DJing than I used to.

Preach: What words of advice would you give to someone just starting our in music
            production?

NL: One of the most important things you can do is to find a mentor. Find somebody
       who can be a sonic example to you and drill you in the fundamentals. Having a
       mentor can be a BIG difference. For me, having the mentor that I had at
       Bangout was an invaluable experience because the way that I made beats
       before I met him and the way that I made beats after was totally different. It’s a
       combination of having a good mentor and studying the fundamentals of what
       music you’re into. If you can’t find inspiration, listen to more music. For people
       starting out in the music industry, people always want to know how to get on.
       People should know how to cultivate. Read, Study good music. Meditate. That’s
       the secret of life. Because no matter how bad your music is, if you sign the
       wrong deal, you could be put on tomorrow. Because someone is there who is
       willing to exploit you, make a fool of you and put you up there next to Kim
       Kardashian on the E! Channel if you’re willing to sell yourself out like that. But
       people don’t really want to be on like that, people want to be on, on their terms.
       They want to spread what it is they have to offer musically and I feel in order to
       do that, it’s a much longer road. It’s a road of faith. You gotta believe in what you
       do, you gotta refuse to sell out. I continually check myself. Because you’re only
       as big as your next thing. Help others out, teach younger kids who are into
       music about the fundamentals of engineering, do local parties. I’m a big
       believer in schooling, as well as real world experience. Learn your emotions;
       there’s kids who want to be put on and will walk out of a meeting with Jay-Z
       because someone told them to shut up for a second and that was only done to
       test them as to how they handle things.

For more of Nick’s music, check him out here: http://81neutronz.com/

Manifesto Presents: Seven Pillars - An Interview with Nigel Clarke

In our inaugural edition of the Seven Pillars interview series, Chris “Preach”
sat down with Nigel Clarke, the man behind a newly published comic sure to
catch the eyes of avid readers everywhere, “Master Never and The Flow of
Death.” Both men(and natives of Cambria Heights, Queens, New York) spoke
freely about ‘Master Never’ and its inception on the eve of Mr. Clarke’s debut
at this year’s New York Comic Convention.


Preach: What were your inspirations behind the creation of ‘Master
Never and The Flow of Death?’

Nigel: Well, it wasn’t just one thing. There were several influences. One
major thing being the graffiti mural at Andrew Jackson(Campus Magnet)
High School. Graffiti back then when we were growing up wasn’t that
visible that far out into Queens.  And the message was so inspiring.
‘We can, because, we know we can.’ That stuck with me throughout
the years. In 2005, I was going through a few life changes,and
I wound up getting into photography and while looking for inspiration,
I decided to go back over to the school to check out that mural only to find
that it was gone. Man, that wounded me. I remember standing there for a
good ten minutes in shock. From that point on, I went and took pictures of
graffiti everywhere I could. I also dug deeper into the culture itself. I was
blessed to have the support of Meres One who embraced me immediately.
I also got to hit 5Pointz out in Long Island City which is the modern day
Writer’s Bench.


(Mural@Andrew Jackson High School, circa 1982. *props to The Queens Masterpiece*)

Another influence, which I know you know being from NYC, was kung fu movies. They
have been a major influence on me, particularly ‘The Last Dragon’. I remember watching
it with my dad and he used to say, ‘Something’s wrong. Here you’ve got a good-looking
Black martial artist with talent, Taimak…and you haven’t heard a thing about him since.’
So I wondered why that was, and why such a popular movie never had a sequel. So later
on that year, I tracked down the creator of ‘The Last Dragon’, Louis Venosta. Mind you,
I’m broke, living in a run-down apartment in East New York with roaches(laughs) but
when I met with him, the effect I got from the meeting was monumental. He was taken
by my interest. And this is when I knew that I needed to write my own story. At this time
too, I was doing a lot of shooting at night. Abandoned buildings, subway stations. I met
some folks on my travels and captured them as well. My classmates’ comments on my
photos planted another seed.

Preach:What led to ‘Master Never’ being a distributed comic book project instead of
the traditional format?

Nigel: In 2008, someone suggested I take the graphic novel I had written and make
it a comic. The traditional approach didn’t appeal to me. With my previous working
background in technology and observing the current way information is easily shared
on the Internet, that was a main influence. I tried different methods and then I learned
about The Sketchbook Project. I felt that approach would not only work, but make it
that more unique. I also got a chance to speak with Brandon Easton, who’s a well-known
figure in the comic book industry for some guidance. A key element was the fact that I
wanted good art, but not so good that it overpowered the story. I think that allowing
other folks to get involved, you also allowed for more bold and unique interpretations
of the story itself.

Preach:How did the mixtape come about and why did you feel that would be the best accompaniment to the project?

Nigel: The mixtape came about in two stages. I saw the story taking shape from an
audio perspective, walking around East New York 2 or 3 in the morning taking pics.
Crazy as that sounds. (laughs) I had my iPod on, and the music just made everything
more vivid. And when you view the mixtape, its place in modern culture, it has always
been a source of creative energy. It’s a vehicle for expression, a way for people to
break the paradigm of what people would get from a traditional album. The man behind
the mixtape, Henry Virgil felt as though he was being let in on a secret.



Preach: How did you link up with all of the contributing artists?

Nigel: I went to college websites, and I also got a chance to check out
different artists from various forums on the ‘Net. I wanted to have good
artists, but I wanted to make sure they also were committed to the spirit
and story of ‘Master Never’ to see it through to the end.

Preach: It’s very evident within ‘Master Never’, but can you detail
how much this project is inspired by hip hop?

Nigel: Hip Hop is very vital to ‘Master Never’. Hip Hop is a visual language
so of course it had to be a part of the story. Graffiti is the underlying
foundation for all four stories in the saga. ‘Flow of Death’ itself is a true
metaphor for rap music when you really think about it. The love in hip hop
is all throughout the story. It wouldn’t be ‘Master Never’ without hip hop
being a part of it.

Preach: Would you ever consider putting out the graphic novel in
the future?

Nigel: Well, I already had..I was selling it in Harlem in 2008 in a couple
of stores. The interaction I had shortly after with Shawn Prince led me
towards making it bigger. You know Harlem dudes are always about that
money man. (laughs) He was insistent. Because he really felt connected
to ‘Master Never’. I also had a hookup with someone who had a printing
connection. So I would contact them and get copies, and go from store
to store. It was a good introduction to the process. But the plan is to
release the stories in serial form, then release the complete graphic novel.

Preach: Lastly, what would be your advice to someone reading this
who is about to or is considering doing something like this?

Nigel: The advice I’d give, I’d suggest that you follow your heart. As long
as your aspirations are reasonable, then follow your heart. It is never easy.
A continuous journey. In addition, have your own definition of success.
Have a vision, stick with it. You can’t do everything by yourself. Keep a team
of POSITIVE individuals around you. Find inspiration by looking at others who
are successful. The journey that an independent book publisher takes is the
same journey shared by a singer, rapper, athlete or protagonist in your favorite film.

‘Master Never and The Flow of Death’ is available now. Please check out the website below:
http://www.masternever.com/index.html

You can also check out more of Nigel’s work here:
www.nigelclarke.com

Introducing our new interview series, Seven Pillars.

“Foundations are a necessity in life, for people just as much as buildings and organizations. We at Manifesto Magazine recognize and celebrate those people whose own foundations have brought them to the next level. And we want you to share in that through our ‘Seven Pillars’ interviews. This series will
serve to shine a light on those who are beginning to burn the
brightest in their respective fields.”