Blog - The Movement Fam, Independent Hip Hop Record Label - Toronto + Montréal
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DJ Grain
TANYA MORGAN - BANG + BOOGIE from AAC FILMS on Vimeo.
Huge shouts to DJ Grain for putting me onto TM in the first place. Bekah and I had the honour of working with Ilyas on our upcoming EP, these dudes are sick.
Here's the video to the classic 'Bang & Boogie' off their latest album, 'Brooklynati', which had one of the coolest concepts and packaging in recent memory.
We took a bit of a pause from the Loud blogs lately...bringing it back...second last one I wrote too...
Week #7: Locking It In
Things were looking pretty good. We’d heard back from most folks that our contacts put us in touch with by mid to late June, and already we’d locked in a mainstream radio spot in Seattle; College radio, hair braiding session and a photo shoot in Toronto; a podcast and recording session in Oakland; a session with a bass player and an MC (Jermiside from the Lessondary Crew) in Atlanta; possible radio and shows in Denver; possible shows and studio sessions in Minneapolis; possible shows in Jacksonville; and a meeting with Eternia and an influential gentleman in New York (who happened to get us this very blog). We were vibed.
Now that we had enough information to start booking the trip, we skedaddled off to the travel agent to lock this bitch down. We knew that the earlier we booked our flights, the cheaper it would be, but it was hard because we didn’t know where we were going until we had confirmation from enough folks – and even then, some of the confirmations were sketchy at best.
So we rocked up to the travel agent all excited. Here’s how it went down (dramatic license, of course, has been taken):
Travel Agent: So, where do you guys wanna go?
Cee: Um, pretty much San Francisco, LA, Toronto, New York, Atlanta, Seattle, maybe Denver, maybe Jacksonville, maybe Miami. I think.
Travel Agent: Ooookay. Do you know how long you need to be in each city and the dates you want to go there?
Cee: Not really.
Travel Agent: Riiiight.
I think she wasn’t too pleased to have our custom that day. But I gotta shout her out, she was great. It came down to this: in order to get cheaper flights, we had to lock something in soon. And if we went to too many cities, the trip would be stupid rushed and the internal flights would cost a fortune. Plus, we only had five weeks in total, instead of the original six, as Bekah’s work were being assholes and refused to give her the extra time off. So we had to make a call. We ended up cutting Denver as it would have taken a lot more work to arrange shows; we cut Jacksonville as the city is so small, we’d be smarter to concentrate our energy elsewhere; same deal with Minneapolis; and we hadn’t hooked anything up in Miami as yet so that one was reluctantly let go.
Even though it was tough, we now had a basic itinerary. Boom. As long as we had tentative dates locked in, we were good. So long story short, after a bit of shuffling around and triple and quadruple confirmations, we managed to book all the flights. The only thing was if we were going to change a single flight, it would cost us hundreds of dollars. So if shit fell through, we were going anyway. Such is the wonderful ways of the international – and US domestic - airline restrictions. And I realised after that the flight from ATL to NY was on a small ass plane – I don’t fucks with small planes. We wanted to change it; we couldn’t without paying. I said we’d get a Delta flight instead and just miss the original flight, but if we did that, the rest of the onward flights would be cancelled as it was part of the package. Goddamnit.
But once we had the tickets in our hands, we were truly excited. This was real; it was actually happening. It felt like a dream, as I had literally had dreams of being in Canada quite often since being back in Melbourne, and going back overseas – this time, strictly for music – was a sign that we’d been working hard enough to get to this level. And not only were we doing this, we were doing it all off our own back. One hundred percent independent. Man, we were proud as hell.
Bekah and I spent the next couple months slowly booking accommodation whenever we were bored at work and wanted to handle biz (I don’t work where I did at the time of planning the trip so I can say it lol), with the assistance of DJ Grain in the ATL sector. So things were looking good…
Plug of the week: The kid Steve Duck at GroundUpHipHop.com has supported The Fam since the jump, lacing the artwork for ‘The Soul Movement Volume 1’ and even doing the Cee & Bekah logo. He hooked us up with a lil download section on GroundUp for our latest projects:
Notion – World Domi-NoTiOn (http://www.grounduphiphop.com/2008/09/14/notion-world-domi-notion-mixtape/)
Cee & Bekah – The Soul Movement Volume 2 (http://www.planeturban.com.au/download_mixtapes/cee_and_bekah_soul_movement_vol_2)
So until next time, listen to Esthero. She’s a trip. It’s like Portishead, Stephanie McKay and Jill Scott had a lovechild that was reared on Nine Inch Nails and copious amounts of marijuana. It’s good.
Blessings,
Cee.
The Movement Fam.
It's here!
Friday February 12th, sees the FREE release of the latest instalment of The Movement Fam's Valentine's Day Mixtape, entitled Second Time Sweeter.
This year, we've hit y'all with the same smooth blend of tunes to soundtrack your day, ranging from neo-soul, to reggae, soulful Hip Hop, acoustic rock and everything in between. Y'all also get TWO exclusive songs this year; one from The Movement Fam's own Cee & Bekah ('Something You Forgot'), and another from The Lessondary Crew's Jermiside ('Time Flies').
We really think y'all feel this one. It's just a whole bunch of damn good music. Hit us with any feedback and enjoy!
Oh yes, it's damn near here! The second volume of The Movement Fam's now annual project, The Valentine's Day Mixtape, drops this Friday 12th February and today we're leaking the exclusive joint from the homie Jermiside, 'Time Flies'.
Hit us with your thoughts and stay tuned for the drop on Friday!
Download Jermiside - Time Flies
Week #6: Getting Busy
So the decision was made; we’re going overseas. Awesome. Just saying it out loud made me excited as all hell. I didn’t wanna come home when we lived in Toronto and travelled for 12 months, so since then I’ve always been jealous of folks saying ‘Yeah, I’m going overseas next month’. Shit killed me. Now I was that annoying prick going on a holiday. Boom. Happy campers, we were.
But this wasn’t just a regular holiday. When the haze of excitement eventually passed, I realised how much work it would be to actually put this together. Not only did we need to arrange the logistics, but we had appointments to arrange. Where the fuck do we even start? That was the first thing that came to mind. So I thought logically. We were only going to visit cities where we had contacts; like I said, this wasn’t no umbrella-in-your-drink vacation. So we knew we had folks in Miami, Toronto, Atlanta (DJ Grain, now part of The Movement Fam, is in the A-Town) and New York that would be worth visiting. That’s a good starting point.
Emailing time. This is where my networking skills (or lack thereof) would really come into play. I hit up damn never everyone I knew to get them to put me in touch with damn near everyone they knew. Now, being that this is the music business and I was dealing with artists, producers and the like, I knew this could take a long ass time. Lucky it was like May and we didn’t plan to leave until September. This was a useful exercise, as it really showed who my friends were. I know that if I had some folks overseas who were coming out here, I’d do my best to put them in touch with everyone possible, so I was hoping for the same.
I gotta shout out Eternia, who probably spent a good hour or two of her precious time (the girl is busy!) putting together a list of damn near everyone she knew in Toronto and New York. That list was one of the most useful tools that I had at my disposal in planning this trip, and I can’t thank her enough. She’s a true friend, big ups! Also, my dudes Kevin Nottingham and Travis Glave (Wake Your Daughter Up! Blog) were invaluable, as they worked real hard to put us in touch with a gang of folks that came through the goods in the end.
So already, after talking with three main friends in the business in the US and Canada, I had things moving. Wow, this wasn’t looking to be so difficult after all. Or so it seemed. I would estimate that in total, I probably hit up around 100-150 individuals in all sectors of the music industry, all over Canada and the US (including Hawaii). I must have spent a week staying up til midnight after work every night sending emails like a crazy person. Not only to the folks I had been put in contact with, but hitting up random radio stations in cities all over the place (which I got a list of from Wikipedia, of all places). Once I had contacted everyone on my lists, all there was to do was wait.
Of course, this wasn’t just a once off activity. This was a constant thing from May until right up to when we left, and even while we were on the trip we were still trying to arrange meetings and stuff. I reckon I probably got a 5-10% response rate, which is probably better than most direct mail campaigns. So I was happy with that. Plus, you can’t really expect random folks to really wanna help out unknown artists from Australia on a whim (or an email); although that was how it panned out at times.
So with the contacting industry heads side of things underway, we had to get the logistics issues sorted (which we couldn’t do much with until meetings, radio spots, etc were locked in), and of course, finalising two mixtapes in the space of two to three months, all the while working full time. Goddamn.
Plug of the week: The homie DJ Hyphen in Seattle has a dope ass blog, The Audacity of Dope, and he featured both our mixtapes after we appeared on his show:
Notion – World Domi-NoTiOn (http://www.theaudacityofdope.com/2008/09/16/notion-world-domi-notion-mixtape/)
Cee & Bekah – The Soul Movement Volume 2 (http://www.theaudacityofdope.com/2008/09/17/cee-bekah-the-soul-movement-vol-2/)
So until next time, listen to Raheem DeVaughn. I am right now. He’s soothing. Pause.
Blessings,
Cee.
The Movement Fam.
That's what's up. The Movement Fam's own DJ Grain has put together his first solo mix...peep game...
"June 25, 2009 was a sad day for a lot of us. Michael Jackson had passed at the age of 50, just two months shy of his birthday. There were a ton of tributes going around for the King of Pop and everywhere you went, you heard Michael Jackson music playing in the street, in the clubs, or in the car next to you at the stop light.
To help ease the pain suffered from members here on the site, we held a beat contest. Producers came from everywhere to sample their favorite MJ song and to help pay tribute.
Today we celebrate the birth of Michael Jackson; he would have been 51. Out of the hundreds of beats that were submitted, we narrowed it down to the best 25. Then I let me man DJ Grain go to town, mix them and put his spin on it. Grab the mix after the cut. As a bonus, I’ve included a download of all the winning beats, unmixed."
First up, no homo on the pic. It's all I could find on short notice. Give a mufucka a break. :)
It's been a hectic month or so in The Fam. Bekah has been in and out of hospital (she's all good now), and now the homie DJ Grain is stuck in the hospital in Atlanta with some other shit. Goddamn. Nothing is serious, he's all good, just wanted to shout my boy out and hope you get well soon brother!!
Send some love to Grain by commenting this post, at djgrain1@yahoo.com, or hit up his MySpace (links to your right).
And to top that off, I ain't have the net at home right now (fuck a phone company) so the blog posts are finna be held down by the rest of the crew, yet again. Goddamnit.
What it do, people? Ya boy Grain is back yet again with another week of Hip Hop news.
Kid Cudi has called off his retirement. Last week Cudi said he was hanging up the mic to focus on his acting career. Man, he hasn't even dropped his first album yet!!!
Memphis Bleek has officially left Roc-A-Fella Records. He said that Jay gave everybody an opportunity when it came to rhyming. Bleek said that he saw the breakup of the label coming. Also, he stated that money changes folks and it definitely strained the relationship between him and Dame Dash.
Kanye West and his manager have been charged with misdemeanor battery, grand theft, and vandalism. If convicted, they could each face up to 2 1/2 years in jail.
Rap beef is going to far these days. People are starting to go after folks' mothers, children, baby mamas; enough is enough. Man, this stuff is getting wild!!!
We have a little audio from Rhymefest about his feelings on Hip Hop, Charles Hamilton and life in general (peep the clip below).
Until next week folks,
Grain.
No, this ain't got nothing to do with murdering innocent mispelled germs.
Just wanted to let the folks know about another dope remix competition the homies over at www.KevinNottingham.com are running at the moment. Fresh off of The Movement Fam and Trav Williams remix competitions, the next one for budding producers out there is for the homie Jermiside, for his upcoming Die Jerm Die mixtape, mixed by DJ Low Key.
There's two joints to remix for Die Jerm Die volumes 1 and 2 - 'Never Seen A Thing' and 'Crisis Times'. The former will feature on Vol 1 and the latter on Vol 2. So you have two chances to make the cut. This should be interesting...click the image to get the info.
What's happening folks? It's been another wild week in the world of Hip Hop. Hit the jump for audio and highlights.
Camp Lo are back in the studio working on a new album called Stone & Rob: Caught on Tape. The album is named after two characters in the movie Cooley High. Be on the lookout of the album droppin' later this year, it should be pretty dope.
No Limit artist C-Murder violated his house arrest order and has been sent back to jail. C-Murder is currently awaiting trial for the murder charges against him for the murder of a 16 year old outside of a night club in Louisiana.
The Republican Party is working hard to get young hip voters, and they are starting to reach out to the Hip Hop community and work on improving relations with groups that normally are not favorable to their party. No comment on this!!!!!
Coolio was busted at LAX with crack cocaine, after going through a security check before boarding a flight. Note from Cee: The man was also robbed of his jewelery and kicks at his recent Melbourne show. Dude is on fire.
Nick Cannon has been appointed to the position of Honorary Chair and Development Consultant for TEENick, a spinoff of Nickeloden. His job will be to work on broadening the range of the TEENick audience. Shouts to Nick for making some serious moves.
'Til next week,
Grain.
What it do, folks? I'm back again with another weekly wrap up.
Twista has just signed with EMI/Capitol after a brief stint with Koch Records. He is also hard at work on a new album entitled "Category F5" which is set to be released this June.
Russell Simmons has been ordered to pay US$480,000 a year to ex-wife Kimora Lee. That is messed up - she is pregnant again by another man!
Universal wants to shelf Lil' Wayne's rock n roll album "Rebirth". The execs at the label are cautious of the album after the first single Prom Queen only reached #15 on the U.S. Billboards Hot 100 chart.
DJ Khaled is now the president of Def Jam South, taking over for Scarface.
Cam'Ron has spoken to Jim Jones. For those of y'all that don't know, Cam has been M.I.A. for some years. Freaky Zeekey setup the situation because he felt that two friends should not dissolve a friendship over petty stuff.
Until next week...
DJ Grain.
It's my pleasure to introduce to you all Ms. Hollywood Don Diva. She represents the streets and D.C. to the fullest in a classy way that only a diva could do. To her, grindin' isn't a thing and is in the game to win. Ms. Don Diva has big plans in 2009, with movie appearances, videos, and much much more. So don't be surprised if you see her on TV or hosting a party at your favorite club. Read below for the interview with Ms. Hollywood Don Diva.
DJ Grain: What’s your name?
Hollywood Don Diva: My name is Janese a.k.a HOLLYWOOD DON DIVA.
DJ Grain: Where are you from?
Hollywood Don Diva: Im from UPTOWN D.C.
DJ Grain: How many years have you been modeling?
Hollywood Don Diva: I've been modeling just for a couple of months, and its been great so far.
DJ Grain: What are the misconceptions people commonly have about models that are untrue?
Hollywood Don Diva: Well, the misconceptions people may have about models like us, especially in the Hip Hop light about it, they may say we fuck to get ahead which many of us don't. We work just as hard as the next person. They may say modelling isn't nothing or it's easy. Well it's not, it's very hard. You have to learn about your face and what looks good and what doesn't. How to hold your pose. Photo shoots that start at 1pm or 2pm, and last all night until 2am or 3am in the morning. It ain't easy, but this is what I do, I love it.
DJ Grain: What shows, videos, magazines, etc. have you been featured in?
Hollywood Don Diva: Well I have not stamped anything just quite yet. There were a couple of big projects I was supposed to have done sometimes business ain't together. Right now I'm just still building my business, and everything. Getting ready to do this big website, where all fans and viewers can come and check up on your girl, read about me, chat with me, purchase some lovely products featuring "The Diva", but right now I'm just updating my Myspace. Which I'm getting so much love from. I've got some videos, and movie parts I'm looking at. For these updates just keep checking my myspace.com/hollywooddondiva. Check out these sites as well.
eyehoney.com/hollywood-don-diva,topmodelprofile.com, royalbluedimes.com/dimes/hollywood_don_diva, urbmob.com/hollywooddondiva,modelmayhem.com/873888
DJ Grain: What photographers have you worked with?
Hollywood Don Diva: I have worked with Photographer Kennedy the best in D.C., Cody @MkDk MEDIA in MD, Jeffery Martin in Baltimore, and Mike Styles my manager who has also shot me twice in Uptown D.C., and many more.
DJ Grain: What photographers would you like to work with?
Hollywood Don Diva: I would like to work with Photographer Mark Robert Halper, Block2Block magazine, there are a lot of photographers I would love to work with, especially Ed Hardy.
DJ Grain: Can you describe the grind of a model trying to break into the industry?
Hollywood Don Diva: Well, to all young women trying to break through, my advice never let no one take advantage of you, always build a solid foundation which could be a business that you can hold as your own. Stay focus and confident because this is a tough industry.
DJ Grain: Any words for the ladies out there that have aspirations of entering the modeling industry?
Hollywood Don Diva: To any women who love modeling, live it everyday, breathe it, sleep it, eat it. Do it...with class, pride, self dignity, confidence, strong head, focus, and determination. Know your place in this game, and never say I can't.
DJ Grain: How can people contact you for booking?
Hollywood Don Diva: I can be contacted through management team Styles Entertainment Agency - Mike Styles - (202) 277-4283 and/or my email hollywooddondiva@gmail.com, or hit me up on http://www.myspace.com/hollywooddondiva.
2009 has been off to a great start so far. All this beef has to end, there is so much right now you could stock McDonald's for five years. Everybody around the world has been suffering from the bad economic times and even folks in the music industry have been hit hard by the scams and scandals.
DMX has been sentenced to 90 Days in an Arizona jail. He received the sentence as a result of his long list of convictions that include theft, drug possession and cruelty to animals.
50 Cent has released a Rick Ross diss track after Rick dissed him on a track untitled "Mafia Music". I will keep you all tuned into any updates on this situation.
Violator's own Chris Lighty was a victim in Bernie Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Up to now, there have even been rumors that said that 50 Cent, one of his clients had lost millions to Madoff. Nothing has been confirmed so I will leave that as a rumour. Lighty would not elaborate on any details of his dealing with Madoff.
Upcoming rapper Charles Hamilton has been going at a lot of rappers as of late. He went at label mate Soulja Boy, Serius Jones, and more recently Rhymefest. Rhymefest struck back hard with the track 'SuperSonic' and well, you all need to do is listen to it. Why he is attacking all these rappers, nobody knows.
Well, 'til next week...take care and I got more news next week.
Peace,
Grain.
The grind-a-holic Ms. Regina Ross has taken a minute out of her busy schedule to chop it up with ya main man DJ Grain. Not only is she a model but she also a student and CEO of a magazine publication that focuses on spoken word poetry.
DJ Grain: Where are you from?
Regina Ross: I am from South Carolina, born in a town called Sumter and raised in the capitol, which is Columbia.
DJ Grain: How many years have you been modeling?
Regina Ross: I have been modeling for 15 years.
DJ Grain: What are the misconceptions people commonly have about models that are untrue?
Regina Ross: Some misconceptions that people may have about models is we are not very intellectual and that we have to be a certain size or height. Models come in all shapes and sizes, I consider a model a person who has something to market physically or mentality wise. I myself have many talents. I write poetry and I am in the process of publishing my own magazine for spoken word artist. Poets Serenity is one of my biggest projects because I have been writing much longer than modeling. I am also going to school for Medical Billing and Coding, which is a stable career choice I have made to maintain learning something new in the medical field, as it consistently changes all the time.
DJ Grain: What shows, videos, magazines, etc. have you been featured in?
Regina Ross: Some of the shows I have been involved in was as a promotional model for a show Dungeon Family's own Backbone did back in South Carolina at the Coliseum; I was a featured model for a show UrbMob did at Lotus Lounge for new and upcoming artists. I also did a commercial for Pin Strikes Bowling Alley, MTV's Album release party for T.I. at the Velvet Room. Fashion shows by Elegante, House of Style By Monique, LaChic Hair Studio, BBK Apparrel, Ruff Ryders Film Casting for The System Within, Black Experience Magazine, and various modeling competitions by international model and talent search companies.
DJ Grain: What photographers have you worked with?
Regina Ross: I have worked recently with Thad Fauster, D. Divine, J.W. Enterprises, JandD Images, K. Jones, Glamour Shots Promotional Model, and the list goes on...
DJ Grain: What photographers would you like to work with?
Regina Ross: I would love to work with Essence Magazine, Elite, Sean John, Baby Phat, Whilemenia, Black Barbies, Sean Anthony Photography, Leo Marshall, Ms. B. Breezy, XOXO. I would like to work with so many people, it would probably take all day to just name them all. But I would most definitely love to work with some of the top marketing agencies.
DJ Grain: Can you describe the grind of a model trying to break into the industry?
Regina Ross: The grind of modeling is persistence and taking the time out to go out and network and market yourself, so people can get a feel of your personality because they are not always looking for that look - sometimes they want to see what your personality is like. And I feel like if you're a go getter than you can reach the goals you set. Going on photo shoots, open calls, networking, and just putting your foot forward to the work you have already invested time into. I feel like you can only do what God will allow you to do at that moment in your life, but patience and persistence will pay off eventually.
DJ Grain: Any words for the ladies out there that have aspirations of entering the modeling industry?
Regina Ross: Simply to just know God has your back and have faith. If you're a single parent and out here trying to do your thing, keep pushing and keep praying. I know what it's like, God is not blind and definitely not asleep. Stick with your dreams and don't give up when it gets hard you get stronger, and you learn to be thankful for the good and the bad to cherish and endure all the blessings he has in store for you as you go through all the trials.
Contact info:
Regina Ross Myspace
modelreginaross@live.com
In the world of Hip Hop, this had been another wild week. To top it all off, Phonte (of Little Brother) let loose on Kanye West, letting his feelings about Yeezy's latest album and the autotune madness. Barack Obama has now officially been confirmed as the President of the United States.
Just Blaze had to mediate to severe beef between Joe Budden and Saigon before things got physical or violent.
Phonte has called Kanye West a coward for his latest album. All that autotune ish did not impress Phonte, who said that '808s & Heartbreak' was garbage and if he really had talent he would have used his real voice.
Former Bad Boy rapper Mark Curry has broken his silence of Puff's crazy business tactics. In some cases, Diddy would charge his own artists to appear on their songs and in their videos. The worst thing was that Diddy would insist his artists have his Bentley in all their videos, then charge them and write off his car as a tax credit for business purposes.
J-Dilla's family unfortunately is not getting anything from the sale of his beats. His money is tied up in medical bills and IRS debt that his estate still owes. In this case, it is very bad because his mom, who now has lupus, is not getting anything and also his daughters are not getting a dime from his estate.
'Til next week y'all, take care and stay tuned for more news.
Peace,
Grain
In the world of blogging, 1,000 visits to a site may not seem like much, but to us it is great. There is much more dope iddish to come so stay tuned for more after the jump.
This is crazy, how this guy got away with a charge I do not know. This guy literally jumps off the guy in mid air.....crazy. Watch the guy at the bottom of the screen do a victory lap funny stuff.
Man I am truly glad to be back on it again....it's a new year and time to improve from the year before.
Wrap up of this weeks news:
Lil' Wayne is in the process of making an album that is going to be completely rock. He is doing this project to throw folks off like Kanye did with the '808's and Heartbreak' album.
Rumors have been flying that Jermaine Dupri has been relived of his duties as President of Island Records Urban Music, a division of Def Jam. All of the projects he was in charge of flopped, including Janet Jackson's latest album.
Comedian Katt Williams just signed a deal with Warner Brother to distribute the audio from the super funny DVD 'It's Pimpin' Pimpin''.
Travis of the Gym Class Heroes just got signed by T-Pain's label Nappy Boy.
Albums looking forward to in 2009:
Tanya Morgan - Brooklynati
Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot
Mickey Factz
Outkast
Peace,
DJ Grain.
What up, folks?
Here is my last 'Ear To The Streets' report for 2008 on The Edutainment Hip Hop show.
2008 was a great year and there were many ups and downs. I was able to link up with folks around the world through this music stuff. In 2009, expect many projects from The Movement Fam and several mixtapes from DJ Grain. The artists to look out for in 2009 are Drake, Mickey Factz, Che Grand, Tanya Morgan, and many, many others. This should be an interesting year. I hope everyone had a great new year and are geared up for an even greater 2009.
Peace,
DJ Grain.
PS. I jacked the dope image from Aggregate Dope's blog. Check him out. Oh and I'm taking a break for the first show back on January 3rd, but I'll be in effect the following week, folks.
Check out the audio from my report on Dec 27th 2008:
Also, Cee dropped in for a quick chat with BT, so check the audio for that too:
![KevinNottingham.com Presents…Beat It: A Musical Tribute to Michael Jackson [Mixed by DJ Grain]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56e3abef37013b50c08308f0/1459215178324-EGQQC13FXEMEJZ22DCQ0/image-asset.png)
