Thoughts From The Rap Nest
vol022-036
Thoughts
I have been working like a dog, dog. Work has been extremely busy. I work in manufacturing and I have been helping in parts prep in-between doing my regular work in processing manufacturing orders and production scheduling. Been getting up in the pitch black mornings which I actually prefer to going to work when it is light out. I like going home when is light out though. We are getting to that season where it will soon be dark out on both ends of the work day. I have been going to bed at 9 or 10 and up at 5, so I have not had a lot of time this week to think about this. Doing Third Verse last night sure made for a short sleep last night. Usually I write ideas out and chip away at them over the course of four days and wrap them up with a big push on Thursday nights. The cold also has been taking its toll on me along with that shovelling snow this week. I am not complaining by any means, just sharing how my week is going and I am not sure of I will catch fire creatively on this weeks TFTRN or not so be warned. (edit I made some night coffee and it did the trick. I almost never drink coffee past 11am.)
I have lots of ideas and I start them and realize they will take more time than I have to finish them in the allotted time I have each week to write these. Some are really great and I can’t wait to flush them out and some require items I have in storage in my moms basement to share, so they are on hold until I go and scoop them. I always have ideas but sometimes I am short on time. Time is the worlds greatest commodity and working in manufacturing has never made that more clear to me. It is important for me to dedicate time to this and I know there are quite a few people that really enjoy reading these.
I am really excited for the weekend. It is a long weekend here with tomorrow being Remembrance Day. Shout out the all the Veterans, especially my brother! I am extra excited for the weekend because I have some social things planned. I generally don’t have a lot of social things planned like I did prior to the Pandemic. Noyz is comming to Sasakatoon tomorrow and I could not be any more happy than I am about that. We have some things planned that involve most of my favourite people that live in Saskatoon. The homie Kitz Willman is also rocking a set Friday Night at the Vizzy Stage at the Coors Event Centre in Saskatoon. Okay enough with the personal shit time to get to the rap shit.
Sorry, as Noyz is the one who records and posts Third Verse episodes for stream on Ugsmag this week and last weeks were not recorded as he has been travelling. The plan is to resume that again next week. So hang tight!
I have seen on instagram a few of you post that you have the new issue of the Ugsmag Zine and I can’t wait to see it and read it this weekend as Noyz is bringing some copies down with him. Like I said if you want to save on shipping and want to buy a copy let me know and I will do my best to make it happen for you. I had a great conversation with Dren, Id Obelus, The Gumshoe Strut and Noblonski last Saturday morning and we flushed out a great idea for a feature article for a future issue of the ugsmag zine so stay tuned for that.
It is so great to have people to reach out to and talk rap with. I am so fortunate in this regard. Talking rap is pretty much my most favourite thing and all of you that know me, know that. Rap is the best, music!
The homie Rove reached out today to see if I could do some cuts on a track with one of my all-time favourite rappers. I am not at liberty to announce it yet. I am actually kind of nervous about it. I don’t know him all that well as we have only ever traded messages on the internet and it has mostly just been me sending compliments and short messages back and forth about releases. I am a huge fan and feeling the pressure so I hope I can figure something out that they are both happy with. I usually don’t get too nervous because I usually work with people that I have been friends with for a long time. I think being nervous in this context is good because it will drive me to do the best I can with it.
Record One
Rob Sonic - Latrinalia
I have been a huge Rob Sonic Fan dating back to the Sonic Sum days. I am always on the look out for new projects or releases from him. Latrinalia was released about a year or so ago but the state of record pressing being what it is, it took a year for this one to come back from the press and ship. I love albums that are self produced. Rob Sonic’s beats just hit different then most of the stuff out there. I think it is his, as I call them “subsonic drums”, that separate him from the pack. March With The Dimes is my jam on this one. It is such an incredible song, but the album is such a nice listen to all the way through. Only knock on this one as you guessed it, coloured vinyl. I combat that by closing my eyes when I listen to it and pretend the vinyl is black. The Record comes with a 24x24 poster of the album cover which was illustrated by Dave Correia. It has a real Castle Greyskull feel to it. I had the opportunity to briefly say what up to Rob Sonic while he was smoking one time outside a show in Calgary where he was touring with Aesop Rock and Homeboy Sandman who are both and the only features on this album. I would love a group with all three produced by Rob Sonic. I would be so excited if they did a three record project like Lice. That would be next level. Oh one other thing, I got hit with duty and taxes by the CRA on this one which was kind of strange but maybe because the senders name was SKYPIMPS. It makes no sense otherwise. Oh well another 12.56$ charged to the game.
Record Two
Ambeez and Uncle Fester - Enjoy
I am really enjoying all of the Eastern and Atlantic Canadian rap being released on vinyl by Halifax based Black Buffalo Records. The latest from Ambeez and producer dj extraordinaire Uncle Fester is no exception. Ambeez has such a great voice. I could listen to him rap all day in the same way I can listen to Cam The Wizzard or Ishkan. Yeah, it is in that category of dope. The beats are super sick classic rap beats and the rhymes fit them perfect. It is just a really nice record to put on and vibe out too. It has some great features from Timbuktu, Ghettosocks, Moka Only, Rel Mccoy, and Aquakulture. I also like that many of the albums released on Black Buffalo Records are made for vinyl in the sense that they are the perfect length for a single vinyl pressing. I am a big fan of this approach. Also this one sounds extra nice as it is pressed on classic black vinyl. I am really enjoying this album and I think you would too.
Classic Material
Buck 65 and Skratch Bastid - Situation
Now in continuing on last weeks theme of super embarrassing moments I am ashamed of, I bring you a show at Louis, which is the University Of Saskatchewans Student Unions bar/venue. The show was a really good one with headlining act Buck 65 and Skratch Bastid with touring support from Cadence Weapon and Dj Weezil. The show was on May 2nd and the album was released in 2007, so I am guessing that is what year it took place in.
I was really excited for this show as you could imagine, escpecially since so many of the homies were on the tour with Skratch Bastid, Cadence Weapon and the number one homie Dj Weezil. Weezil hit me up when he got to town. I was living on Campus at the time in McEown Park. McEown Park was high rise apartment student housing. I was working in Student Housing at the time and had a place in Assiniboine Hall. Weezil had asked if he could crash at my place and of course I said yes. Weezil and I have had some wild adventures over the years and I always have so much fun kicking it with him. The night was shaping up to be one of those perfect rap nights. I met up with Weezil and we went to soundcheck. I chilled snd chopped it up with the homies Cadence Weapon and Skratch Bastid. It was different then the other times they rolled through as they had stage props, management, tour managers, people to work the merch, drive etc. Like a bigger touring act would.
It was cool initially and was like any other rap show. Weezil treated us all like things were the same and we were doing some low budget (pun intended, shout out to the LBA) rap show. This is where our indie diy rap show ethos and the world of glamour and glitz professional touring collided. Weezil was like we got all this booze and stuff, come and drink it, so naturally Nolto drank it and drank all the alcohol that allocated for Buck 65 as he didn’t drink and that caused some sort of rift as he did that in the green room. I wasn’t really doing that but I was hanging with Weezil a lot that night as he was slanging his swoop cd’s hard near the merch table. He was treated like shit on the tour to be honest, but I am not going to get into all of that but seeing the way he was being treated was not sitting well with me.
That set the tone for events that would transpire later in the evening. Then show itself was as amazing as you would expect. All those guys were in top form and the performances where really dope. The night was winding down and I was waiting for Weezil as he was staying with me. I was hanging beside the merch table and chopping it up when some Toronto hipster poser type dude came up to me and said I had to leave and couldn't be where I was. I kinda just brushed it off as I was beside the merch table. I wasn't in the way of anybody or impeding anybody from buying anything at the merch table. I asked Weezil who that guy was and he said it was the tour manager. I was like that guy is a huge asshole. He agreed. We continued to chat. It was obvious I was not some hanger on and really good friends with Weezil but the cheese dick came back and told me I had to leave the venue because I didn’t listen to him and move. I was like who the fuck does this guy think he is. I and Weezil tried to explain what the deal was but he was not having any of it and got pretty close to me. I was dud, you need to back the fuck up off me. I was really irritated at this point and was like fuck this asshole. I two hand shoved this guy really hard in his chest and backed him up a couple feet. I caught him by total surprise. My Dad, instilled in me something that took me a lot of time to unlearn. He conditioned and trained me to always fight, never back down, be the agressor, get the jump on someone etc. His mantra for this which he conditioned me at a very young age was “he who hesitates, dies”. In retrospect that is some really fucked up shit to brainwash a kid with. Those were my natural instincts and responses. I didn’t even have to think, I just acted. A soon as I had pushed him, I had some inner dialogue with myself and was like what the fuck are you doing. You need to stop and get out of here right now.
I immeditely left the venue and walked home. When I got home I sent a text to Skratch Bastid asking him to give my apologies to their manager and to tell him I was sorry and out of line. I was really lucky that the homies smoothed it over and nothing further came of the event. I ended up falling asleep on the couch waiting for Weezil to come over and he had to find alternate accommodations that evening. I was/am so embarrassed about this incident and it still bugs me when I think about it. C’est La Vie.
Closing Ramblings
I have two shirts up at Stylesmakefights.ca One for my radio Show You Know The Rulesdesigned by the homie Aiden Searle and the other for my dj crew The Stone Cold Party Rockers with the homie Rove designed by the homie Awol One. Also the homies at Audio Recon have some dope shirts too
I host two weekly radio shows Third Verse on CFCR 90.5 fm in Saskatoon Saskatchewan every Wednesday 9 -10:30pm CST and You Know The Rules on UMFM 101.5 in Winnipeg Manitoba every Sunday Night 10-11pm They are pretty great and you should check em out.
Also i got some cool shirts, poster and hats in the Ugsmag Shop if you want that fly shit.
**legal disclaimer all records and songs were run through the RAP NEST 5000 SUPER ANALYTIC COMPTROLLER MACHINE that is certified by the I.A.A.R.R.A (International Association of Analytical Rap Recordings Analysis) in layman’s terms, it means the machine is never wrong.
Catch you next week with more thoughts from the rap nest.
Peace
-chaps
Thanks for sharing! Rap thoughts are the best 👊
Chaps, you're a real one for sharing that story at the end. Hindsight is 20/20.