What? Not another side project music endeavor jeph....

I was talkin to a friend the other day and I mentioned I wasnt going to school or workin currently. He said "if that were me, i'd be spending all my time doing music"

You're right, Emye.

So here is the first song off of the blends/mashup project that i will be doing with old records and new records...not really too much to it, just something for fun.

PURPLE NINJA DJ FIST - Kiss From My Mama

http://www.zshare.net/audio/11065989ae719149/

ps - yeah this one is just for practice, it'll be better-I PROMISE!!

"Stands For Something (2009)"

Aheriyo!!!

.............well.........It's been a little over a year since i completed the last album, and as of last month, i'm ready to plant the seed for the next one.

So far I have a general idea that i've been bouncing around in my head, for the title. It has to do with something that is relevant in my life. About what changed with me since the last album--but at the same time, the first album was moreso an introduction of myself.

Someone asked me how i feel about "The Album", and to what degree i currently enjoy it. It was a good question, considering after March 28th, 2007 (when i finished and released the album), i ceased all voluntary listening of it. I made a promise to myself to not listen to any of the songs unless someone else was playing it--and of course, i was not allowed to solicit anyone to listen to it as well.

The purpose of this was to relax, and to move forward. I felt like, if i were to keep listening to my own work after i gave it out, i would definitely find more flaws, worry about them, and attempt to re-do something. And i definitely wanted the album in people's hands as-is, all of them should be the same, this is how i felt when i was 20-years old, and this will not be updated, all errors must remain.

So I broke my promise of listening to my music some 8 months afterwards...so...i got pretty far! lol

But I give that drawn-out background to say this--the new album must be on a new plateu, it has to be better while still maintaining my style. With this in mind, these are some of my goals for the next project:

Collaboration - The first album had no guest appearances (minus the involuntary recorded voicemails from Pit, Irina and Emye), so this one will have no more than 3 rappers (not including me duh), 3 singers, 3 guest producers, and 3 instrument players. The reason for this is to properly transition from the first solo album, some people oversaturate their albums with people, but I want this to be reflective of me--I don't keep a million distant friends, only a few close ones. A list of people I'd possibly like to work with include: Young Man Pit, Overflow, Dice, Emye, Blinks, Chedda Cheese, and as far singers? I have no idea honestly...I'll be on the look out. But I have already one person that will be on the album hopefully.

Mixing/Mastering - I have learned new mixing and editing techniques that will be applied, but mastering will be something I will consult with my brother MGP. It will be more difficult to do this because i plan on recording in different places and different mics, so making sure the vocals all sound the same will be a challenge.

Instrumentals - The beats are gonna get a facelift. All of them will undergo multiband compression, which will make a HUGE difference. Also I realized most of The Album's beats did NOT have a bass line. How did i get away with this? i have no idea. Bass lines are so essential, and within the last 2 months i've really been making an effort to incorporate a solid bassline to all beats--even the sampled ones that already have one in it. Synchronizing the bass line to my weird drum patterns is a challenge that i'm definitely up for, and so far i'm happy with the results.

So these are a few of the things i'm currently keeping in mind when i move forward with the development.

The experience of last year's album I'd like to keep. What I mean by that is the general formula. It would be stupid to detail the formula right now but this is what i'm talking about:

The Album (2007) began with a scream, then a beat. I didn't do an acapella or drawn out monologue on purpose...because every time I listen to another person's album, be it Flex Tha Monsta or Nas -- I ALWAYS skip the first track (not including the very first time i hear your album, i always listen to it all the way through), but I realized that if i don't listen to those type of intros, why the hell should i do one like that? I feel like the intro to the album is so important, and i'm not gonna waste it on a speech, my intro is going to grab your attention somehow, and if it doesnt? it will be suspenseful so that it really grabs your attention on track 2.

People didn't seem to notice that on last year's album, I damn near had a lyrical 'table of contents' on the '2nd intro track' (track 2). I like that idea so much, that I think i'm going to elaborate on it for this next one.

The idea of skits may have to be aborted, as much as i love skits on musical albums, i'm going to have to find another medium to carry the theme.

Collaborations will be limited even more in the sense that, I don't want to only collab with people i've met on the net, but these people have to be people that I really can say i know them, whether it means getting to know them over the phone or them visiting the studio session, I have to be responsible for co-signing the right people. And that's not to say if i dont choose a particular person to collab with--that i'm disrespecting or disowning them in any way, When i go through the process of making a song, i keep in mind another rapper's style, voice, and what kind of topic they've inspired me on, and what i feel they will compliment or bring to the song. I am being my own manager on this, so it's not just a convenience issue of 'who i think will fill up the space', it's just kind of an instinct thing, who belongs on the song.

The general theme or title of the project is still in development as well, but I have an idea:

"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything"

divided by:

"J.E.P.H. stands for something(s)"

I admire Panic! At The Disco, but i'm not planning on making a long sentence as an album title. I'm trying to be concise. So for now, i've nicknamed this album project J.E.P.H. - "Stands For Something" or just Stands For Something.

The theme may be painful, but necessary...like an intravenuous vaccination, but i realize that K'Naan's album (which is in my top 3 albums of 2007), may have been a little too 'whiny' like 'crushed grapes'. Ofcourse I enjoyed that album thoroughly, but one of the reasons i don't listen to it so much anymore is because when i'm not in a serious mood--I don't wanna hear that shit! lol.....so...I am trying to find ways to balance the overall mood of this album so that it''s not too preachy, not too serious, and most importantly NOT STRESSFUL.

I'm not trying to be an emo rapper (no offense to Metaphore). You got good music, but if possible, i'd like to relieve a listener's stress as much as possible in this album.

So hopefully i don't sound conceited or patronizing, but i'm going to have to use a similiar formula that a 3rd grade teacher would use in controlling their clase. This includes:

-keeping the listener interested
-hiding the moral or message of the story to avoid 'preachyness'
-engaging the listener by creating real situational environments in my songs
-making catchy hooks (entertainment...nothing wrong with that)
-displaying self-confidence (noone trusts a nervous air pilot)
-have fun (makem-makem-makem dance to this)
-make sure nobody gets hurt (minimal explicit language, minimal offensiveness)


now...with that last point....i just gotta say that it's impossible to not offend somebody, but i'ma keep it 360 degrees in accordance with the golden rule (do unto others...)

because I WILL be more opinionated on this album, but in a respectful and nurturing way.

The blogs are helpful in my organization of the project, but I can't go into any more detail.

Progress of the album:

-7 Instrumental tracks added with name-based topics
-1 guest performer confirmed to appear
-

The Makings of 'Back In The Day'

So far i've heard good feedback from people who've heard this, which really means alot. I started writing this back in February when the producer Real8 offered me one non-exclusive beat. He actually originally named the instrumental 'Back In Da Day', and while i'm not sure exactly what influenced him to name it that, it directed me as far as a topic when i heard this amazing beat.

If I were to attempt to describe this song to a deaf person, I would tell him/her the instrumental starts with a very quiet loop of a bass-laced sample of the song, from hardly noticeable, to a reasonable volume right before it crashes and delves into a daring swoop of flight as the strings fly upward from the ground. Quite courageous. I'm not great with music termanology but after that the strings hold, ascend slightly while intensifying. It then hits with the same intensity at a lower pitch chord.

It is very much like watching an elegant bird catch an amazing air drift/draft (forgot what they call that). When I heard it, i wasn't sure if it's implications of the mood were supposed to be courageous or inspiring, fight or flight...

The drums are initially a simple 1-2 kick-snare pattern, with the shakers and tambourine
inspiring a tight and rigid rythym.

The bass is a long wail that slowly [and almost unnoticeable] slides down and up in accordance with the strings, with a few holes right before each fresh set of 4 bars.

I think this successful juxtaposition symbolizes something harsh.

An opinion that is likely to offend, but nonetheless, unrelenting in the face of adversity. Almost to the point of saying, this is the same effect of "Here is something you can't understand: How I could just kill a man!".

So upon hearing the instrumental, i knew I wanted to speak on something harsh....something that a foreign people to this lifestyle would not understand. I envisioned a great story being told over the cinematic strings. Probably in the same way Lupe told a great story about a skateboarder over a beat with cinematic strings.

I can't speak for other people, but to me, the violin is extremely moving. When I was younger, I couldn't help but tear up upon hearing the weeping instrument. I believe that to some degree, this is true for other people, which is why they use it so much in soundtracks to guide or evoke people's emotions.

I definitely isn't rocket science, but I used the producer's original title and threw it in the oven with my stray thoughts and emotions of the beat.

I couldn't think of anything to write, but I knew a general direction. I listened to the beat anytime I had a chance, and since I didn't have a topic, I started expirementing with what might be the most effective placement of flows. I noticed that there is 8 bars as the intro that could potentially be used as a chorus, but I envisioned only fragments of the chorus, prefering not to subject the audience with too much information in the beginning. Let them familiarize themselves with the beat--let them appreciate that.

At the time, I hadn't decided I could use that slow buildup to set the stage. But I knew that when that quarter bar string loop hit, I would want to use that momentum as efficiently as possible to get people's attention.

just a sidenote: i have alot of respect for mc's, rappers, whatever you want to call them. Alot of people prefer to just listen to music for the music--the rythym, the melody, the BEAT. It is the mc's job to not only match these factors in some multiple in an attempt to compliment them, but he/she also has to draw them into the lyrics, use words at certain times so that they can easily follow it. Now for some rappers, this process is unconscious, but me being hyper-mental at times (thinking too much), I tend to break down these steps frequently and make sure they stay equal like a math equation.

I remembered my flow on 'BacktoBmore', and how it successfully grabbed people's attention---even sometimes to the lyrics (which is a bonus). And I decided I would need to

1) maintain a consistent rapid-fire flow

2) maintain a cosistent rhyme scheme--without being too simple or too complex.

basically i had to put the flashiest flow in the beginning, not necessarily the most powerful story.

I admit being a little scared about not knowing whether I would finish writing the beat I promised i would finish for Real8, but i knew I couldn't force the process, when it blooms naturally it's such a great feeling.

I was narrowing down on the topic now, as I took the song title, beat, and my stray thoughts and emotions out of the oven.

I would do a song relating to our generation, and how we are misguided, miseducated, and misunderstood. Realizing that this could come of preachy, I ruled out the option of me rapping about what you shouldn't do--this would be perfect for a story.

But what is a moving story? Something that is basic enough to be the posterchild of this small 'movement' of words, gathering in protest.

I had the flow, now i needed the content, I was literally sitting in front of a notepad with a title and a blank page...the first line is always the hardest.

I'm not huge on divine intervention...but somehow in the midst of this I was placed in a situation that was directly related to one of my brainstormed potential verse topics. It was incredible...well I mean...not really, but for a camera man, it is...

So I actually played a small role in the first verse, but i was definitely mentally recording the scenes...

I believe it was around this time that I decided to make this song into a documentary. Even the chorus sounds like it's jeph talking...and it originally is, but it's definitely open to interpretation in the sense that it could be perceived as jeph in character, well--not in character since it's a documentary, but jeph as being part of his own research study, jeph being the customer of his business, or part of the generation he has casted....even though it's supposed to be documentary--yes, the 3rd verse was more imagination than inspiring memories. 1st and 2nd verse stories--all 3 of them, were all directly inspired by specific people and/or events.

There was a so much more I could have said in the stories, more topics I had in my head, but I think this was good practice for now, I can save all the best ideas for the next album, which I plan on publicly blueprinting hopefully on this next blog.

For now, here are the lyrics...aka the song's Nutrition Facts:

Jeph - Back In The Day (Produced By Real8)


seen a little
heard about it
even read and
learned about it
he was set to
live without it
like he should

even
in the middle
of a crowded
weed-clouded
row housing
youngn's shouting
"wanna hit?"
"naw, im good"

as he stood
in the corner and watched
he couldn't help but
think about his momma and pops
how they would tell him
wrong and
right but
why cant
he be the judge
lemme take a look in pandora's box

+whats so
+wrong with a little peek at pandora's box

i swear
you cant always blame us
for living dangerous
0when time changes
you cant compare if...
it wasnt like that back in the day
cuz it wasnt like this back the day

oh yeah...
go head'n blame us
here we are now
entertain us
whats real to you aint always real to me
thats why i reached out to real8
so yall feel me

she was a trend setta
named Eva
easy girlfriend getta
those who oppose
get vendetta
homo-sexual
she was down
for what-ever
cigarettes and sex
a life full of pleasure
Old []folks would tell her
that they didn't get her
but []what they didn't know is
she grew []up with a molester
certain []things you could never forget
so when she []thinks about a penis
she thinks []she gonna be sick

somewhere []in another city
there's a []dude on a bridge
with a paintroller and a can
doin it big
he understands it aint puttin
food in the fridge
but this []is his voice
he could only do it for him

in []general he expresses his mind
...even though[] it's ephemeral

but []so is the weather
so []let it go
life is short
through his art, he'll let'em know
and if he gets caught
he'll look up at the judge and say this

(hook)

(bridge)
barack obama excerpt from 'Dreams Of My Father'


Young man with a purpose
i mean not yet, but he's lookin and he's searchin
landed on his earth with nothin
he feels worthless
nada to his name till he met up with a merchant
(he grew up the same person as me)
he was inspired by the fortune
the empire and torture
the environment taught him
to get power and flaunt it
and
with nothin to lose
it's everything he wanted
and somethin to prove
any man should want this

the man loaned him a pistol
and some baggies of crack
and said "remember, i own you
dont come back without stacks
he did, but he did it so well
that he felt
he no longer needed old man's help

far from worthless, he's determined to be
demanding his own respect in this urban city
he put the steel to his chin like "you workin for ME"
cuz that's what's real to him...unfortunately

Jeph - Back In The Day (Produced By Real8).mp3

UnOfficialle Verizino

Thanks to Real8 for the beat, VelvetHog for the input, the movies "Kids", "Bomb The System" and "Against The Wall", Barack Obama for the bridge, the HHF board, The Wire and real life experience for inspiration.

Jeph - The Album (2007)

My first solo album.

...also the last free album

(but mixtapes will be free)

enjoy.

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or stream

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