7 scores and 4 years ago, Reanimator and I released an album titled “The Ugly Truth” on Strange Famous Records. We were 2 quiet guys who never met each other and were introduced via Sage Francis. In between work, school, life and all the other shit that got thrown into the mix, we ended up creating one hell of an album. An album that we all feel will continue to grow and capture listeners.
During the time of the album’s release, I wanted to release a video for Artist Goes Pop, but I was struggling with the video concept. In 2008, Sandrine (my fiance) and I starting brainstorming shoot locations. We drove around Quincy, MA, where we were living at the time and just started shooting B-roll. I wanted to do what nobody else was doing in hip-hop. I wanted to be real in the video and keep it simple, that was the concept. I hate when suckers want to portray themselves as being something they’re not in their videos. I’m talking mainstream and even more so underground. So many emcees get caught up in their personas that it becomes unbearable for me to listen to them or watch them in their videos being over dramatic and over acting. So, I decided I wanted to show myself washing the dishes and rapping with a sock on the mic like I do when I record in my apartment. No sitting on the bed or driving a car. No girls dancing half naked. None of that. I wanted it to be like the videos I watched back in the day where the emcee raps his heart out in cool locations in front of the camera, but also showing a little bit of who I am. I work at a job, I do chores around the house, we have a cat, I’m a dork, etc. No bullshit.
The summer had passed and we still hadn’t shot me rapping the verses. Life happened and intervened and took me away from the project for a little while. All of sudden, now it was winter January 2009 and I still have nothing. Then, Sandrine came up with a great idea to shoot parts of the video at Quincy Adams station parking lot under the lights. We set a shoot date for the week after I got my wisdom teeth out. We planned to film myself taking the subway home from work and then at night shoot the 3rd verse on the roof of the station. The day comes to shoot and I have a terrible infection from my wisdom teeth being removed and my right cheek was blown up. (If you look close during the 3rd verse you can see it protruding. All I could taste in my mouth was blood and puss.) I said, “Fuck it, we gotta get it done, lets shoot anyway”. The shoot goes great, the lighting underneath the parking lot lights turned out to be amazing. The reflections from the rain puddles. Everything went smoothly. We decide to go back the next week to Quincy station to shoot the 1st verse during the day in another area and that goes great. Now, all we have left is the 2nd verse. I start editing the 1st and 3rd verse. The video looks great. Then. Nothing. Nothing. Life. Days. Passing. Months. In fall 2009 we move back to Providence, RI. 2010 happens. 2 years have passed and its still not done and I start to feel like I missed an opportunity, so I shelf the project. I don’t perform a show for almost a year. I start writing my new album with Buddy Peace. All kinds of good/bad shit happens in 2010, but this video is still not done. I don’t even think about it anymore. I didn’t get it done in time, so I was thinking of completely scrapping the idea. Fast forward to June 2011. We drive by this abandoned drive-in theater in Massachusetts. The gears start grinding and we shoot the 2nd verse at that location. I edit the 2nd verse in. The video looks great, I’m finally happy with the entire edit, except for the fact that I almost scrapped the dish washing and sock mic idea. I send the rough edit off to Storm, Reanimator and Sage. I get their blessings. Sage tells me I should keep the dish washing and sock mic idea. Sandrine color corrects it and in October 2011 the video that almost wasn’t is released. My only regret is that Reanimator is not in the video. But, we got it done. Big thanks to my fiance for killing it with the camera work. Dope video for a dope song. Currently, I’m finishing up my new album with Buddy Peace, expect videos for that as well and on time. I’m performing with Sage in early November in Boston and Rhode Island. Have a nice day and excuse the bad grammar. Grammar don’t hurt em.

Other notes about the video:

- I wear my grey hat in every rapping scene to cover the ear phone that was in my right ear while filming. I needed to be able to hear the song while we filmed so I could sync it up right. Low budget!
- My cat makes the only cameo.
- The video was shot with a Panasonic DVX 100 and entirely handheld.
- Suckers beware.

The night before June fourteenth
Pilks and I practiced our tour routine til 3 in the morning (echoing “3 in the mornin!”)
I had Geoffrey press the MPC during my set see
while I try to impress with intellect as an emcee
With 4 hours of sleep we bounced to our feet
Sandrine picked up the rental car and turned down a jeep (No upgrade neccessary)
A Ford B.O., that reeked of a B.O. so violent
So saturated and seeped in the seats, air fresheners couldn’t hide it
Mork. (It was also sittin on 2 Larry Davids, meaning the tires were balding)
We kept the windows opened and pinched our noses
Drove to the Lemon Grove hoping it would cure the B.O. of its odors
Nope.
Met up with MC Homeless who set up the show for us
Ate dinner and waited, as the patrons began to show up
Peace Diane.
Good crowd good sound, then the roof got brung down
On the stunts and drunks when we set it off in Youngstown

I rapped on stage for the non-smokers
then opened up a window and rapped out of that for the smokers puffin butts
Real hip hop is over where…..

Peace to Homeless running red lights while we were following
To get to Bakers place so we could stay at his apartment
Peace to my man with the fur Kangol, but not to the boyband at the end
Peace Janice
and the Lemon Grove owner.
Crashed at Baker’s, respect.
Homeless and Baker took us out for cheap sushi, respect.
Then they took us to an amazing park in Youngstown with creepy sexual statues, spect.

Off to Pittsburgh, to spit words, we’re watchin out for Lizzzurds
Got to the spot, the doors were locked and the sound guy was dizzzturbed
He was a mixture of Woody Allen and Misterrrr Yankovic
and wouldn’t let us in, til I dropped some Strange Famous shit
Mork.
He was strange, not famous, and I liked that about him
Nirvana slept on his couch, word? no doubt, I kinda like that about him
You cool.
Hip-hop still ain’t dead, except for kangol hats and shell toes
Not one person at the Pitt show had on “black and yellow, black and yellow…”
Cuz only 15 people showed up, but it didn’t slow us up
Fortified Phenix was dope, Fuck the koala bear openers
Sorry, saw Sami (Sah-me) and his truck
Got something to eat and Geoff got morked like the rest of us.
Worst customer service ever on the face of the Earth is
definitely in Pittsburgh at this place that serves burgers
“Do you order the hotdogs over here?” “What do you think?”
Morked.
Off to Indiana, headed west then south
we had Thursday off and we stayed at a friends house
Irina!
We ate lunch outside of Walmart on the grass
in Indiana Indie rappers eating tuna while consumers pass
Pilks was souped but learned the ugly truth
The hard way when he got burned with the dry fruit (Fruit from Walmart is no good homie!)
June sixteenth, my birthday was on that Thursday
And we sipped Hefenweizen when we were thirstayy
Mini-golf at Ben and Ari’s, I lost
By 4 strokes, but I still been feeling IRIEEE!
Thank you again Irina.
We were on the highway Friday….Rebecca Black
Driving in the B.O., better get the Axe
Speed stick, aerosol or Right Guard
Raid, pesticides trying to kill that shit tonight hard.
Peace to the wall flowers in Bloomington
Not enough people in the crowd to fill the room again.
About twenty, but still hungry
Had everyone in the place saying “Gimme my money”.
Plus my lady rapped and we had a party
Made Anti-Swag, the Anti-Gnarly
Enter Cas One, late as usual
Puffin butts, not beautiful
Thank you Rhino’s we made the best of it
Good sound, good crowd, we Reggie Miller’d it (I’m looking at you Spike)
Next day, Minneap, not Minne-ha ha
I paid for gas with a twenty dolla
But the shit was counterfeit, they almost called the feds
I smoothed it over excellent…Bill and Ted
So yeah, somewhere along the way we were paid with a counterfeit $20 bill.
Thanks. Just another hurdle making fountains outta hose spill
Mountains outta molehills
Mountains outta dirty clothes built
Now where was I…
Hip-Hop Against Homophobia, in Minnesota
Big Pro is sayin uhhh like no limit soldiers
I said the word slut, some people were offended
It wasn’t directed at them nor wasn’t my intention
So, I took off my shoes and rapped artist goes pop
in my socks, got that shit on video for hip hop
Thanks again to Guante
on this journey like Dante
Harry Be la Fonte
burned the shit down like Pompeii
Pete, Big Cats and Truth Be Told
Took me, Cas, Pilks and S into their studio
Shit was fresh.
A lot of people got dissed and some shit got vetoed
I found a dope record when I dug inside of Cheapo
Next morning
woke up
Ate the french toast…what
no donut, no po po stuff
pro keeps a low pro but
Went inside of 5th Element never been in it
checked for the hell of it, for my cd, they were selling it
I found in the discount bin, park benching it
It all came full circle starting where I ended it
I was hoping we could catch Kevin Beechum but didn’t see him
We rocked the Cause Sound Bar like it was a coliseum
Laura, what up
Big Cats’ fiance, what up
People that didn’t come, where were ya?
No love, so what, get the nuts
So dont say what up, just keep it shut….aiiiight

Cas was going to knock someone out across the street after the show because he thought I was getting into a fight. He ran across the street like Macho Man coming to Hulk Hogan’s rescue when they were boys. I wasn’t involved in the fight though and I wasn’t even across the street Cas, but I appreciate it.
Show ended, then we drove Sandrine to the MN airport and
Headed to Chicago, ate lunch with the Reanimators
Good people, heard some heat that Reanimator has that I’m gonna snatch up.
Thank you guys for your hospitality. You’re awesome.

Headed to Evansville to drop Cas off, laughed my ass off
Roberto, smoke stacks and smack talk
Winmills Imbeciles
Hog racing
More winmills, road kill
Shish kabob bacon
Jackie, dope stop animation
I tried to shower, theres was no soap
I tried to cleanse, there was no hope
Just dog shampoo so I went for broke
Pilks almost had a problem…it stayed a float
No flush, jiggle the handle
Don’t touch, had to plunge to wiggle the man poop

June 21st and then there were 2

Bone Lick or Bone Lake, we were told to visit
stuck in traffic for 3 hours, we both missed it
Trying get home we stopped at Max and Erma’s
Had waitress that was a stiff…taxidermist
Still gave her a tip…hope it served a purpose
Started driving through Penn, when nature Patty Hearst it

We drove through the illest thunderstorm that I’ve ever been in. Pilks got some footage of it. We couldn’t escape it because we were headed in the same direction of the storm. We drove until 3 am, stopped in the Poconos and got a room at a Comfort Inn where Pilks had to deal with 3 am hood politics…haha. What a term. Hood politics. Slept woke up. Drove the last leg home. We stopped at a vegan diner off of 95 in CT, which was refreshing. Very rarely can you find good food off of 95. Finally made it home. The Ford still reeked of the original B.O. and now of our B.O. You were a great car. Thanks to everyone who came out, performed, promoted and let us crash at their place. Big ups to Pilks, Cas and Sandrine for making the trip an interesting one. I’m sure there is stuff I missed, if someone remembers something please feel free to post it…but it has to be in a rap verse form.
The end.

What up Nickos!  http://tinyurl.com/6e4wrq7

Prior to the flood, my fiance and I were working on a short doc video about my dad’s art and his business. So, what I have done is compiled a video with footage of my dad’s business before and after the flood. I am trying to get his story out there, so please spread the word and this video if you can. My dad and parts of this video will be featured on FOX NEWS, of all places, Thursday April 22.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Facts I’ve Learned:

1. Basic Flood Insurance only covers the exterior of the building, nothing on the inside.
2. The SBA (Small Business Association) low-interest loans for RI flood victims are from 4 to 6% and you have to to put up personal collateral, ie: your house.
3. Once it was announced that the flood was a “federal disaster”/Act of God all insurances became null and void.
4. FEMA only offers grants to residences not businesses.

Prolyphic Lyrics:

I work harder than you act,
I use to sport a Yankee’s hat back in the 80′s but now you made it wack,
Cuz you’re going through a phase, a fad
A hipster trying to imitate the ads
You ain’t a hustler, you wanna know what a hustler is,
A single mother with kids working double shifts
You just a kid trying to sell a couple of nicks,
So you can buy a pair of Nike’s and some rims,
You got Timberland’s, so do I,
But I’ve worked in mine that’s what the difference is
Scuff marks are like cuts and scars,
Your mom bought your boots for you to sport at school…
You don’t know shit but maybe you’ll learn
Once you got to put food on the table’s that turn
And change your concerns and gradually grow
From boy to man in them baggy clothes.

“Going Green”

I can’t live without my radioooo, or my electric appliances
Even though it’s bad for the environment
I’m trying to quit and Go Green
But it seems like its just another slogan from the home team
A global campaign, spearheaded by GE
and the Exxon mobil brand names
Two of the biggest, polluters in the business
Are trying to clear their name and boost their image, by association
Its all for show and entertainment
So give them their awards and standing ovation
For their innovation and coming up with a scheme
and the means to deceive a whole nation
Its the same joke they keep playing
So, Fuck Matt Lauer and his half-hour promo statement
About how this campaign is such a success
Cuz the GE logo is on his checks
Now, they’re making profits using their products
To clean up toxins they put in the Housatonic
“I can’t truss it” and never will support it
I don’t believe a word or the smile it’s endorsed with….

Where the fucks ya head at?

“Banks For Nothing”

I have been a loyal customer to Bank of America, which was Providence, RI based Fleet Bank before it was bought out in 2004, for almost 20 years. I am 27. Over the past 5 months I have had continuous problems with Bank of America. Problems caused by Bank of America employees, not by myself. In 2007, someone without my permission made a purchase with my credit card. Luckily, an employee of Bank of America saw the mysterious purchase and notified me. Thank you Bank of America. After canceling the purchase, the paranoid conspiracy theorist that I am, I wanted my Checking and Savings account numbers changed and I wanted to be issued a new credit card for my own protection. I want to know that no one else would have access to my money. Because I need my money, just like everyone in the US needs their money. Money has by default become our major natural resource for survival. At the time it seemed like the changing of account numbers went smoothly and uninterrupted. But, what ended up happening is when I asked an associate of BOA to change my Checking account number, instead of giving me the type of account I asked for, which is the one I had previously, the associate gave me a “My Access” account. But what they didn’t tell me is that my “My Access” account requires a minimum balance of $750 in the account at all times. And if I don’t keep that minimum balance I will get what is called a “Monthly Maintenance Fee”. Now, I didn’t know I had this minimum requirement because not all “My Access” accounts have it and I was not notified. If I was, I would have said “No I do not want a minimum balance, I want the same account I have had for 18 years. Also the “Monthly Maintenance Fee” only appears on the On-line banking statement. it does not appear on the paper/traditional mail statement, which is the one I check. So, for a year and a half I have been getting $18 a week taken from my Checking account. $18 a week starts to add up. So, when I explain this to the BOA associate over the phone he says “that there’s nothing he can do to change the account or help me”. Thanks for nothing. But it doesn’t end there.
When I asked Bank of America to issue me a new credit card they did, but they didn’t issue me a new credit card. I’ll explain.
BOA sent me a new card with a new number, but the number that was on the card did not match the number that was assigned to the card. So, when I swiped the card, the number that appeared on bills, statements, etc. did not match the number on the card itself. So, when I explain all of this I also came to find out that my credit card account that got “hacked” into and that I wanted closed forever, was never closed. After weeks of complaining and calling the issue was finally resolved. But you know what it still doesn’t end there.
In fall 2008, a simple transfer of money from my CD into my checking account turns into a nightmare. I wanted money from my CD to be transferred into my checking so I could pay off my credit card bill. I figured while I’m at BOA, why not pay the bill here? So, I go through the process of talking with the associate, showing ID and signing papers. I follow the associate to the teller and we go ahead and finalize the transfer from my CD to Checking account to Credit Card Account. I leave happy. A week later I check my account on-line and noticed that the money had transferred from my CD to my Checking, but did not transfer from my Checking to Credit Card account so my bill was never paid and now I have all kinds of fees and fleas. So, now I have to call customer service and fight with associates and then finally win my argument with the “person-in-charge” to get all of the fees and fleas waived, because it was Bank of America’s fault not mine. It was Bank of America’s fault not mine. Your fault and this is where it ends. It ends with me pulling my Green Natural Resource, money, out of all of my Bank of America accounts and closing them to put my money into another bank’s hands, a local bank’s hands. Banks for nothing. Thank you also for raising credit interest on loyal customers who pay their bills on time and who also helped bail your ass out from bankruptcy. FYI, you might find it tough to get new business when you double-dip from and treat good customers who have been loyal to you like they are expendable. Its actually the other way around. You’re expendable. Without our money, you don’t exist. You exist because people put their invisible money into your invisible bank hands. But I know the people at the top of BOA will be ok, they’ll find a job as an executive, CEO, etc. somewhere else. Its the worker bees, people like me, whose job security will be in jeopardy when Bank of America eventually gets bought out. And why would Bank of America the enitity care about that?

I hope 2007 “Banker of the Year” Kenneth D. Lewis (even though BOA’s profit was down 29% in 2007) and all of the other executives over at Bank of America enjoy the money they’ve stolen from the American people and I hope they live happily ever after forever and ever just like in Walt Disney’s propaganda movies.

Disgusted and taking my money and running,
Alfred
Rhode Island

setup: Man wanting credit for taking care of his kids
Rock’s punchline: “You’re suppose to take care of your kids you dumb motherfucker. What do you want a cookie?”

Back to the interview. So, Busta nods his head and says to Game, “that’s some grown man talk right there”. Grown man talk? What? Why should it be suprising that he is talking like a grown man? Yea, I hope what he is saying is Grown Man Talk. The Game is over 21, appears to have a family, I hope he is talking like a grown man. I turned the TV off and couldn’t help but to start to think a little deeper into this term. Do we actually needs this term? Shouldn’t it be a given that a grown man is using grown man talk. I started to think about our American culture and pop culture. A lot of people in America have a tough time taking responsibility for their actions, but that’s not the worst part. The worst part is…they get away with it. Look at the banking crisis, housing market crisis, WMD mistakes in Iraq, Ex-Mayor Blogdonvich, etc. They are all pointing fingers and passing the blame. “He did it, She did it”. But that is only a short list to a  list that  goes on forever and will continue to go on forever. Because everyone enjoys passing the blame. Why? Because its easy and if you can get away with it! Why not? On our television we watch our own government get away with it. The MBTA gets away with it. The old “i didn’t do it, he did it” routine from our childhood. Who’d a thunk it would still work as an adult? Apparently a lot of people do. I inadvertently heard A-Rod’s press conference yesterday as he explained that “he was just a stupid kid” for taking steroids. “I was just a stupid kid at 23 and I didn’t know what I was taking. I didn’t know. I thought they were magic power pills from Central America that cost me 5 hundy. Can you blame a kid for being stupid?” Yes A-Rod, you can blame a kid for being stupid. Especially when the kid is 23-25 and he needs to produce big numbers at the plate cuz he just signed a 5 hundy milli dollar contract. Stupid fucking kids. Michael Phelps is another stupid fucking kid at 21 or whatever stupid fucking age he is. Does age matter when you’re a stupid fucking kid? Can’t you just be a stupid fucking kid forever? There are probably a lot of stupid fucking male kids in America. I’ve bumped into a couple. I’ve literally bump into a couple because, you know, they’re stupid. I say, “Hey you stupid fucking kid watch where ya going, you might end up becoming a doctor or some shit being so fucking stupid.” (Bill Cosby does a great bit on brain damaged kids saying and doing stupid shit.) It’s pathetic. What’s the point of playing a game with rules when everyone breaks them? Why have the rules? Is it fair that some of us have to obey and others don’t? Is that the point? And why are some rules enforced, but others aren’t? For me it just adds to the pile of shit that we ship over to the poor parts of Cambodia and China and leave for them to deal with. (Even our own shit and stuff we have to dump on other people. Our TV’s, computers and other electronic gizmos we no longer have use for. We fucking dump it on someone else.) What stupid fucking kids we are. And it makes sense that we produce stupid fucking kids. And we act like stupid fucking kids. I am not excluded. So, maybe I’m wrong about the term “Grown Man Talk.” Maybe we need this term to spark some more grown man talk in this country.

blogging it.

Prolyphic