PlanetRAWK, The One with The Sure Shot

Trying to find a median between genres such as hiphop and rock, soul and pop, electronic and jazz can be difficult - oh, don't be fooled by those rappers who throw in a guitar here and there just to call themselves genre-blending. You can't just be a great vocalist and merge yourself into pop culture either.

While there are a growing number of musicians attempting to truly melt the musical pot, PlanetRAWK is an example of those who get it right, at least as far as hiphop and rock is concerned. You check him out live with Tragedy Called Truth, another rock band, at Atlanta's Drunken Unicorn November 9th!

How and why did you come up with the name PlanetRAWK? Was it influenced by Afrika Bambaataa?

Yes, it was influenced by the song Planet Rock, I thought their songwriting was very interesting and became a fan very quickly.

Who are your musical influences, aside from Bam of course?

In junior high I was a fan of Jay Z, Playa Fly, UGK, Master P and 3-6 Mafia. Currently, I am really into Dance Gavin Dance, Emarosa, Johnny Craig, 30 Seconds To Mars, Panic at The Disco.

So, do you listen to mainstream hiphop artists now?

Not really. Lupe Fiasco is a good one, I think he is amazing. But this so-called trap music played on radio and TV sounds like garbage and gives a negative site on black people. I mean, kids listen to this and grow up thinking this is cool or this is the way to make it, it's nonsense and has no creativity or originality whatsoever.

What got you into doing rock although you have strong hiphop influences, artistically?

I woke up and came downstairs, made a beat and wrote the lyrics to it, and said to myself "this is way too easy." Decided from then on to challenge myself musically, got a band and went on from there learning musical theory.

How would you describe your sound?

Well we involve different genres, but to keep it simple I say alternative hiphop with rock and electronic fusion.

On "Hush," your new single, you have some elements of scream rock in there. How much of that element will be on your projects to come?

A lot. I am a big fan of post hardcore music. Beautiful melodies with screams I think are awesome.

I see you have heavy rock influences, and I agree about the beauty behind hardcore melodies, but how did you get into rock music and ultimately do rock music?

I promise you at the age of 7 or 8 I was getting dress in the morning to Nirvana and Pearl Jam going to school. Rock has always been my first love, when I first saw Kurt Cobain on MTV Music Awards, I knew I wanted to be a rock star but as a black kid in an all-Black school I didn't want to get picked on or those weird stares because I was different, so I hid my passion. But now I embrace it.

How'd you hook up with Tragedy Called Truth? The energy they have is crazy!

I met them through my bass player JT Thomas and we have been friends ever since. We tour together, they are my studio and live band, couldn't ask for better friends.

What has the Atlanta indie scene been like for you?

I love it, there are some amazing bands in Atlanta, some dicky venues but we will keep our mouths shut about them haha!

What's been the biggest obstacle as an indie artist? I ask because I spoke with quite a few other Atlanta musicians and they tend to lean towards generating a fanbase outside of other musicians. Is that a problem for you, or are there other things you have to focus on?

When I look at my fanbase on facebook, I have fans in Austria, Zambia and United Kingdom, so if your music reaches then people all over will love it. My biggest issue is funding because we want to tour, but that costs money. We want to be in a nice studio, but that costs money. We want to be packaged nice and pretty, but it costs money. Everything costs money and we don't have a label, so we fund everything ourselves - so we are taking applications for investors haha!

Complete this sentence: when you come to a PlanetRAWK show, look out for flying monkeys because they always happens to find themselves on stage.

How can people keep up with you, social media-wise?

Download a copy of my new single at http://planetrock.bandcamp.com/ and donate what you can to help us fund touring cost. Also, www.facebook.com/planetrockband, www.planetrawkmusic.com and Twitter at @planetrawk

Interviews on the spot: Richelle Brown for Examiner

One thing I've began to enjoy is catching an artist fresh off the stage. They're guard is slightly up because they know all eyes (and investigative ears) are on them, they have prepared answers for the press - before their self-proclaimed wicked performance and they're still on cloud 9 after said-wicked performance.

This got the same result.

After her performance for one of SMKA's Through The Rabbit Hole concert series, I interviewed Richelle Brown AKA Cornbread for my Get To Know Q&A series for Examiner.com. We talked about how she got her name, her influences and her upcoming projects. Here is an excerpt from our discussion where we talked about her nickname, which became her pen name - Cornbread.

... I call my music electro-funk because it’s electronically done and we summon up the funk gods. It’s funky, it’s gonna make you stank, it’s gonna make you dance, it’s gonna make you sing, it’s gonna make you wanna love somebody, and ain’t nothing better than love! And funk. Love and funk!

Let me ask you this, if it’s along those lines. You’re nickname is Cornbread. Where did that come from?

Oh gosh, that name. When I was in high school, there was this new guy that came to school and he was so cute. All the girls liked him because he was super thugged-out. As I was walking down the hallway, and all the girls were looking at him, he looked up at me and was like “What’s up Cornbread?” I was like “First of all, my name is Richelle, it is not Cornbread, and don’t you ever call me that again.” I had to let him know but then every time he sees me in the hallway, he’d yell “Cornbread!” and I yell back “That’s not my name!” I started asking people why does he keep calling me that, and come to find out he was calling me Cornbread because I was thick and was not a skinny girl. They said that people who eat a lot of bread get thick or whatever. Fast-forward to college, I was in my first class and the teacher was asking an icebreaker question like “What’s the weirdest pick-up line you ever had?” I was 17, and I couldn’t think of any weird pick-up lines except for that because I wasn’t able to date. I told the story, and when I told them that they started calling me Cornbread because they liked that name. When I got my first job, or any time somebody from my school would see me somewhere, they call me Cornbread. Then other people hear it, and they wanna call me that too because it’s easy for people to remember. With my brand, Space Age Hippie, it fit.

That’s really cool how it stuck with you and grew on you...

 Read more by clicking here!

Govinda Talks About Sexiness of Violin

I must personally say that as I was working on a preview of Atlanta's MaMaJam (happening tonight at the Five Spot btw, so read about it here), I would've never imagined the things I learned about sensuality within the most technical music genres and instruments.

What dub and electronic music and violins have in common is that they have a neglected sensual side (more about it can be read in my Examiner article here), most of it due to the attention of its technicality. Think: most people focus on the arrangement and production of dub so much, the lines in-between, connotations, and cultural background - heck, even the cries within these sounds (if you listen carefully) - are all pushed aside. There is something like a cry or yearn or desire that a violin and other sounds within dub and electronic music makes, but it's a sound that goes unheard.



Enters Govinda - a violinist and dubstep/electronic music artist. Rarely do you see someone successfully integrate two musical paths that require much-needed attention, unless you already eff with Govinda. He makes the violin and electronic music sexy from an exotic standpoint, creating his own lane. I spoke with him while journo-ing on MaMaJam over the phone about sensuality and his development as a violinist.

This is an excerpt of what we discussed, so if it sounds like stuff came out of nowhere then ignore that feeling. Ha!


Also, check out his album Universal On Switch in the music player above!

How have you developed as an artist over the years?

Until out of college, I only listened to classical music. After college, I decided I wasn’t really good as a violinist, well, a concert violinist who plays symphonies, so I decided to make up my own compositions. There’s a lot of violinist out there who are doing contemporary music, but it’s more used for solo pieces. For me, it’s just a small piece of what makes up Govinda. The violin is usually a focal point live, but it isn’t a focal point in the music. Over time, it developed based on the things I was inspired by, which were the sensual kind of quality and the haunting quality of the violin. Also, the sexy quality of the violin and the mysterious quality. All these things helped design the music and how it sounded.

It’s rare to hear someone say that the violin is sexy. What do you mean when you say that?

The sounds that come out of it, the emotions that it brings out, the feelings that it brings out for people, which tend to be more on the sensual side. You don’t really think of the sounds of the violin in the way you think of the sounds of a tuba or the drum. It evokes a different feeling and emotion, and I would say in general the violin and other string instruments are more sensual in nature. Then again, I don’t really know what it is! Maybe it has to do with the body shape of the instrument, haha.

Oh, is that not your cup of tea? Is the body shape of the violin the kind of chicks you go for?

Nope, that’s my cup of tea. I like anything sexy.

Not very many people I know in music talk about violin like that, especially the sound of it because it’s usually used so technically. Now that I think about it, I could see that.

My whole life I was raised in an environment where sensuality was a big part of our life. I was raised by my mother who taught us differently. We were allowed to watch sex scenes on TV, but not violence, so we would have to cover our eyes when somebody on TV was shooting, which is pretty much the opposite of people. I grew up in this world where it was like sex and sensuality is a natural part of humanity and being alive. That’s why the music and the shows are very sensual. We have dancers, mainly with the female body, who dance provocatively. A lot of what I do is super sexy because that’s what it’s all about for me. Well, NOT what it’s ALL about, but a big part of it.

I got you. It’s not overly sexual or hypersexual.

Not exactly, I mean, not to say we haven’t had strippers and poles onstage but it’s not really what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to have more of a tasteful sensuality rather than just balls out, like tits and ass and sex on the stage. I mean, I’m not saying we’ll never do something like that one day and surprise people, but that’s not really our goal, or what we’re doing.

Will all that unfold at MaMaJam?

Absolutely!

Ok. Well, what all will you be doing at MaMaJam?

Yeah, I play the violin live and we’re gonna have dancers. We’re also gonna have hoopers and belly dancers, also fire dancers and whatever the promoter is putting together. My part will definitely involve lots of live music and violin playing, and an overall performance that most people don’t expect. It’ll be fun and interesting.

Live Review: Chromeo Sent to Heaven at the Masquerade in ATL

This is a new venture I'm doing on this blog. Whenever I attend a concert or show, I'm gonna blog about it, as I should because I'm awesome! And the fact that I'm still doing this from my phone means I love you guys that darn much!

First time's a charm for Chromeo's first performance in Atlanta. It was also their last stop on their U.S. Business Casual Tour, and it was arguably in front of the most energetic Southerners this group has ever seen.
In front of a sold-out Masquerade, the duo stuck to a fairly traditional style of performing while keeping a highly energetic crowd attentive to their presence. Dave 1 (guitar and lead singer) didn't engage much with the crowd, which wasn't necessary but would've been great. Small talk between songs were "are you guys ok out there?" and "this is our first time here and it's awesome!" It was cute, but a serious problem within their crowd-pleasing repertoire.

The songs selected for this show were a DJ's dream, but that goes for just about their entire collection. A lot of their hour-long performance came from their upcoming album Business Casual (dropping September 14th). They kicked their set of with "Hot Mess," which got the crowd's attention but nothing special. The crowd became engaged when "Bonafide Lovin" followed, and it was smooth, Chromeo-style, sailing from there. The group's performance of these records wasn't straining at all, in fact I felt like I was listening to the records at a party. Moments of some sort of improv were there, but it wasn't used. The guitar mini-sessions in "Bonafide Lovin" could've been the points where Dave 1 could've shown his skills, but he just kept it the same as the song. P-Thugg was more crowd-engaging than his partner, with random pointing towards the audience and singing "ATL" in his talk box. He manned all of his stations for the most part, and he seemed to have the most fun. Well, second-most fun, first goes to the crowd.

This crowd, this diverse crowd, managed to bring the house (also known at that venue as "Heaven") DOWN! I was confused as to whether the bass from the party below us was thumping the floor or if the floor couldn't hold still admist the failed breakdancing attempts and free-flowing drunkards. This goes as little props to Chromeo though; the atmosphere of that place was dance party first, Chromeo concert second. That crowd had the same reaction and spirit when the doors opened! Chromeo was just icing on the cake for folks.

Beyond their scripted and typical crowd-engaging small talk, Chromeo still put on a great show at the Masquerade. There weren't any technical problems that usually arise in that warehouse-turned-club venue (from what I heard), and though the crowd was packed like sardines no one felt too uncomfortable to the point where they'd want to slap somebody. Overall, it was a night of good vibes accompanied by a good, uniterrupted, and often awkward band.
For more upcoming Chromeo concerts, check out their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/chromeo

Album Review: The Glitch Mob - Drink The Sea Part 2: The Mixtape

This electronic group The Glitch Mob has electrified the music world as soon as they touched down with Crush Mode. After working with Daedelus and Flying Lotus, and their newfound fanbase, they release their debut album Drink The Sea. This monstrous album quickly grew popular, spreading all over college radio stations like Cali summer wild fire!

The album itself sounds adventurous, with ambient beats taking you on a wild ride as if you are watching a crusade unfold, of some sort. Of course, being that the mixtape is nothing more than the album but with lyrics, the mixtape, Drink The Sea Part 2: The Mixtape should do the same by nature. The album though 30-minute-hitter-quitter have so much flavor swirled together - some rock elements, dub-step, electronic (of course), some Asian-influenced instruments, even gospel - it's like traveling around the world in that timespan. Surround sound on this bad boy (or well, any other grand sound system) will be epic!

This mixtape oozes of The Glitch Mob's hip-hop side, with blends from Wale to Mobb Deep. One key thing to note about this tape is that they shout out Los Angeles A LOT, which is a huge element in hip-hop culture (aside from the DJing element that they are mastering at the moment, though it's all computerized), with drops from The Game and Dr. Dre. There is also the electro artists like Daft Punk and M.I.A, solidifying their sound for the fans and listeners of the album Drink The Sea.

The lyrical excerpts, though not consciously significant at all, do tie in to a certain kind of journey Glitch wants you join. The lyrics complement the beats in a technical way, and barely conceptually. Expect a punchline to knock you out at almost every beat drop, and a deep flow when the climax is coming. "Fortune Days" falls victim to this, as well as "A Dream Within A Dream," featuring Busta Rhymes, Drake, The Game, Freddie Gibbs, and Jeezy (formerly Young Jeezy). The way the group ties in the hooks at the bridges and choruses of the beat is genius, and it has the potential to be very catchy.

This tape manages to mix extremely well, so well that it sounds almost nothing like the original album. I understand that The Glitch Mob is all about the beats, so to have people flow on their stuff - and fit - is dope. However, when the beat becomes ignored, then there's a problem. No one wants their music outshined by anyone, especially if it's outshined by pre-released music. Though the adventurous sound is still there, it's overshadowed by the extremely complementing lyrics. Instead of this being a remix to the album, it comes off more as a remix to the other songs. It seems more like the beats complement the lyrics. Songs like "Fistful of Silence" breeds a monstrous delivery from Rapper Big Pooh, not to mention the wicked punchlines becoming more wicked as the dubstep-influenced drums take effect.

Overall, Drink The Sea, Part 2 is a dope mixtape to download and bang while lounging around the house - playing video games, watching some NFL preseason games, or doing some household chores. Anything beyond that (i.e. a party or pre-game record) is asking for too much.

Star's Grade: the album gets an A, the mixtape gets a B+

Last Week on Tumblr...

For those that may not know, this blog has a sidekick!

When I'm not posting reviews, commentaries, and such, I am posting small music tidbits on Tumblr, titled Bubble Gum Pop Rap Lite. Almost anything has been posted on this site, from neat music articles to singles from great artists. Every week I'll give you a taste of what I've come across on the radio, in the news, and online. Enjoy!


Posted July 31st: I rant about switching lives with people who run clubs, mainly because I stood outside a club for an hour just to see an art exhibit that night. The art was great, and was actually worth standing in 90+ degree weather, but sheesh! (yeah, still mad)


Posted July 30th: found Rah Digga's album cover for her latest project Classic, Uffie's thoughts on fellow "hip-hopper" and swagger-jacker Ke$ha, and news on the record store documentary I Need That Record! being released to major DVD sellers including Netflix.


Posted July 29th: I put my MP3 player on shuffle and comment on the first 10 songs that come up. Plus, the new video for Chromeo's "Don't Turn The Lights On" and some tunes to back up my Black rocker rant, The Five One's "DC Sleeps."


Posted July 28th: One of my favorite chill records Zero 7 "In The Waiting Line" and Zach Galifianakis (omg, I spelled his name right again) does a remake to Anita Baker classic "You Bring Me Joy".


Posted July 27th: Psychologists finally catch up with the mind of musicians and write this "wonderful discovery" on the Rock 'n' Roll lifestyle. I dubbed it Rock 'n' Roll Psychology 101 - class is in session. I guess. Also a very cinematic video to The Roots "The Fire" off their new album How I Got Over.


Posted July 26th: After reading an article from the New York Times, I find this music video by one of the sissy bounce artists, Sissy Nobby called "Beat It Out The Frame", and yes, it goes there!

Last Week on Tumblr...

For those that may not know, this blog has a sidekick!

When I'm not posting reviews, commentaries, and such, I am posting small music tidbits on Tumblr, titled Bubble Gum Pop Rap Lite. Almost anything has been posted on this site, from neat music articles to singles from great artists. Every week I'll give you a taste of what I've come across on the radio, in the news, and online. Enjoy!

Posted July 17th: A link to a new site on how to be a good party-goer called Stuff DJs Hate, and ALL EIGHT album covers for Arcade Fire's Suburbs.


Posted July 16th: the new scoop on 80s group Devo, and for all the Lil' Wayne heads, a list of what he's been up to in prison.

Posted July 15th: Sleigh Bells joint "Straight A's" (BEWARE, IT'S LOUD! REALLY REALLY LOUD!) Like M.I.A-loud, but it actually works.

Posted July 14th: the list of all the artists dropping an album on September 14th. Why? It includes labelmates Kanye West, Consequence, Kid Cudi, plus the '10 comeback kids The Walkmen, among many more!

Posted July 13th: an Invincible and Waajeed collabo "Detroit Summer", exclusively premiered on Hot 97 a couple days after my blog on her! Also a picture of the greatest prank of the year!

Posted July 12th: the original sample to Q-Tip's "Let's Ride" and one of the greatest songs from my personal favorite guitarists "Giant Steps" by Joe Pass. Also posted is the link to Pitchfork's new search for writers!