Blog - The Movement Fam, Independent Hip Hop Record Label - Toronto + Montréal
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Tommy Gunnz
Celebrating the better part of a decade between 2002 and 2011, 'Feature Game Vicious Volume 1' contains some of the highlights of Cee, Notion and other TMF artists' guest verses and solo tracks that appeared elsewhere - never all in one place, until now.
Of course, even though the blog has been out of action, the hustle hasn't quit. June was the last month of my monthly cuts leaking from 'The Indie Experiment' series, so get ready for some fresh shit come July.
It's here! The first full length original project to be released from The Movement Fam has arrived in the form of Cee & Bekah's 'The Soul Movement Originals', the Soul Hop duo's debut compilation album consisting of all the original productions from their three volume 'The Soul Movement' mixtape series.
With every song expertly digitally mastered by Notion at Illnote studios, the music has been given a breath of fresh air and sounds totally different to how it sounded on the mixtapes.
Featuring production from the likes of Styalz Fuego, Revelino, Whisper, Da-Phai and Mack Sitty, internationals G.C. (USA), Laudzbeatz (Brazil), KrisblaiR (Canada), Beat Chemist (Canada), Fly Cobb (USA), and cuts from The Movement Fam's own Infinite Archetype (aka Iyae) and Notion's production debut on 'Get It Right'.
Guests include The Movement Fam's Tommy Gunnz and Notion, Canada's soulstress Jessica Kaya, Professor Digi aka KrisblaiR, and special collaborations with The Hall of Justus' Cesar Comanche and California's The Understudies crew (recorded in Oakland).
'The Soul Movement Originals' really encapsulates the unique soulful sound that Cee & Bekah have created since their first release in 2007, and is a brilliant summary of both their past and future.
You can download the album now from Cee & Bekah's Bandcamp page for only $8.99, and hit us up for hard copies (will be available on our merch page very soon)!
Aaaaaand we got it! This joint is finally here! After around 8 months from the start of the producer competition to the release of the final product on the same release date as the original, Kevin Nottingham.com's 'Mama Said Knock You Out' LL Cool J tribute album has dropped, and shit is fire! The line up is dope as hell; and y'all KNOW The Movement Fam are in effect, this time with the homie MegaRan aka Random on the remake of "Eat Em Up". I really enjoyed the tribute, and it was nothing short of a pleasure to be involved. So hit the jump and download this baby!
Download Kevin Nottingham.com's Mama Said Knock You Out LL Cool J Tribute Album
And it's here! After around a year or so in the making, Notion has finally dropped his third solo mixtape, 'On The Corner of Notion & 9th: A Tribute To 9th Wonder'. This 18 track opus sees Notion flex his skills entirely over various 9th Wonder productions from throughout his career, and the chemistry is palpable. The tape is proudly presented by The Movement Fam, Kevin Nottingham.com, Hip Hop Update.com and Peoples Republic of Clothing - we can't thank y'all enough for all your help and support with this project.
Y'all would have caught the first two leaks from the project, 'Mastermind' and 'Honey' featuring Cee & Bekah, but y'all might also remember 'Don't Rush Me' from the HiPNOTT Records compilation in early 2009.
Rolling through to help out Nosh on vocal duties are New Zealand's KB, Whisper, Theory, Micnificent and of course, Bekah, Tommy Gunnz and Cee.
You can download Notion's 'On The Corner of Notion & 9th: A Tribute To 9th Wonder' FREE right now! Spread the word!
Oh yes. On the eve of the release of his third mixtape, Notion just dropped the second leak, a collabo with fellow members of The Movement Fam, Cee & Bekah, over Erykah Badu's 'Honey'.
Make sure you grab the leak, and then hit up www.NotionBaby.com on Friday 20th August at either midnight East Coast USA time or 2pm Melbourne, Australia time to cop the full mixtape! Featuring collabs with Whisper, New Zealand's KB, Detect and The Movement Fam crew (Tommy Gunnz, Bekah, Cee, Theory and Micnificent), and every song is a 9th Wonder beat, in tribute to one of the greatest producers of our time.
For those of y'all who have signed up to The Movement Fam eNewsletter (take a look to your right to get on that), y'all should already have downloaded the exclusive pre-release for our live mixtape, which we recorded at The Evelyn Hotel back in March. And now we're finally droppin' this thang.
This gig was our first live set in over a year, so it was a solid return to the stage for the whole Fam, and we decided to record it; and I'm really glad we did. We're truly happy with this project, expertly EQ'd by Notion, as it's a great reflection of where we're at musically right now, plus it's extra poignant as myself, Bekah and Notion are about to shoot off to Canada so this line up may not happen for a while after our goodbye gig.
So head on over to the new The Movement Fam Bandcamp page (shouts to Iyae for the dope header image) and cop the tape, as well as our older crew mixtapes such as The Valentine's Day series, our Kevin Nottingham Remix album and more.
Download The Movement Fam LIVE @ The Evelyn Hotel
So here's the final video from The Movement Fam's set the other weekend at Evelyn. This is the first time we'd performed 'Scream At Ya Muhhfuckin' at the end of a set, and it went down amazingly well, so I reckon we'll keep rockin' it to end on a high...
Melbourne heads, just a reminder, hit us up for tickets to our next gig on April 23rd at Espy Gershwin Room, supporting the Impregnito EP Launch! Should be HUGE!
Second last video - this one is from the kid Notion, featuring the big homie Whisper on 'New Wave' (from 'World Domi-NoTiOn'). Always a high energy joint and a crowd fave.
Oh and just so y'all know, The Movement Fam has a gig coming up supporting soul/funk group Impregnito's EP launch on Friday 23rd April at the Espy Gershwin Room. Get down there!
Next up...Mr. Tommy Gunnz' solo moment, crowd favourite 'Cop Yourself Some Gunnz'. This joint always goes down well live, so we're itching for dude to murk out his mixtape, 'Garden State Warrior'. Peep!
I'ma keep the videos dribbling in over the long weekend to give y'all something to look forward to :)
This joint is a BANGER we recently did with the homie Theology3 (Toronto, Canada), with Hustle Beats on production. You can download 'Livin' This Life' right now FREE!
So we got even more for ya. These two are some of my favourite tracks from our recent projects. First up is 'The Last Hope' off 'The Soul Movement Vol 3', and the second is 'My Crew', which originally featured on 'World Domi-NoTiOn' but the version with Tommy Gunnz will be on Tommy's 'Garden State Warrior'. Peep!
Aight, so here's the next installment of The Movement Fam show from Saturday night. This time we're rockin' out to Notion's 'Set Me Free' with Bekah from his 'World Domi-NoTiOn' mixtape, along with Cee & Bekah's single 'Ain't No Mountain' and 'See It Through', both off 'The Soul Movement Volume 3: The Final Chapter'.
So this weekend was pretty damn hectic for The Fam. We did our first show in over a year - yeah, I know. Fucked up, right? We much preferred to stay in the studio and work on the 10+ projects we have going, however we realised just how overdue we were coz damn near every other day people kept asking when they could catch us live. So the homie Adam King from You 'n UR Music hit us up to rock at their single launch and it was a wrap!
The show was incredible. I haven't seen the Evelyn that packed in ages, and I was genuinely surprised and grateful for the love we were shown. I think it showed in our performance, as we're all a lot more confident of our music, so even though we were a tad rusty with our stage game, it didn't really seem that way.
So, the homegirl Bianca videoed the gig for us fantastically, and I'ma post a couple videos each day for the rest of the week. Check out the vids below, with the intro, Notion's 'Enter My World' and Cee & Bekah's 'Save Myself' with Tommy Gunnz. Go!
In case y'all missed this video when we posted the HiPNOTT Records 2010 Takeover Mixtape Vol. 2, check the video of The Movement Fam (Cee & Bekah, Tommy Gunnz and Notion) recording their joint @ Wiseguy Studios for the tape, 'Seasons Change', over a soulful ass beat courtesy of the homie G.C.
Oh yes!! We made it! Check Volume 2 of the highly acclaimed HiPNOTT Records Takeover 2010 mixtape series, featuring The Movement Fam's G.C. produced banger 'Seasons Change'. Download it FREE below!
HiPNOTT Records delivers Vol. 2 of their two-part 2010 Takeover free download mixtape series. Presented by HIPHOPDX.com and KevinNottingam.com, this 22-track lyrically driven hip-hop montage is skillfully mixed by DJ Mark-1, who also created the intro, and displays a combination of emerging label signees alongside several hip-hop heavyweights. While Vol. 1 hit listeners with an aggressive trunk worthy hip-hop energy, Vol. 2 provides its antithesis with a more laid back, thought provoking, headphone hip-hop sound.
HiPNOTT Records 2010 Takeover Vol. 2 talent includes ArtOfficial, Amor Jones, DXA, Emilio Rojas, Epsilon Project, Hawdwerk & Jansport J, L.E.G.A.C.Y., Mach Five, MaG, Stevie Crooks, and Tunji of the group Inverse, as well as HiPNOTT artists Cymarshall Law, Has-Lo, E Reece, Spectec & Amiri, Jermiside & Danny Diggs, WEB and The Movement Fam (Cee & Bekah, Notion, Tommy Gunnz).
“The artists that we work with and those signed to HiPNOTT have the same things in common -- they want to be put on, they want the masses to hear their voice, they want to share their story,” HiPNOTT Records COO, Kareem Fort said. “We created the 2010 Takeover mixtapes to showcase a variety of artists who each have their own unique interpretation of what hip hop is to them, and we stand behind their perspective 100%.”
Tracklist:
1. Intro [produced by DJ Mark 1]
2. MaG - Turn My Music High [produced by DL]
3. Tunji - Goodbye Never (featuring Convinced)
4. The Movement Fam - Seasons Change [produced by G.C.]
5. Amor Jones - Dyin [produced by Know:Juander]
6. Mach Five - Stop That
7. Stevie Crooks - Brass Knuckles
8. L.E.G.A.C.Y. - You Might See Me
9. Cymarshall Law - Harder Than Thou Remix (featuring DJ JS-1) [produced by Cenzo Beatz]
10. E Reece - Hold Up, Wait [produced by Soups]
11. Jermiside & Danny Diggs - Rockin Ya World (cuts by DJ Mayhem)
12. Has-Lo - Exhale (Custamato's Revenge) [produced by Culture I.S.T.M.]
13. Hawdwerk & Jansport J - Rancid
14. Epsilon Project - Mics On
15. Prefyx - All Star Fresh (We Got) [produced by Dibiase]
16. Plex Long & Face The Truth - Direction
17. WEB - Waiting To Exhale [produced by Rodney 'Syrenn' Hazard]
18. Self-One - All We Got To Do [produced by Reasonable]
19. ArtOfficial - Doing Things Wrong
20. Emilio Rojas – Get Through
21. DXA – Night Drive [produced by DFACE DXA]
22. Spectac & Amiri - Gone in Sixty Seconds
Week #4: Persistence
Any given self help guru, successful musician or smug actor will tell you that persistence is the key to everything. That shit used to drive me crazy; like it was the answer for everything. As a teenager with a generally negative worldview, I saw most things as pointless; and persistence was the last thing on my mind with pretty much anything.
So as I got older and (arguably) wiser, I slowly and accidentally realised that what these folks have been spouting for years was actually not so far fetched. Personally, I’ve been into Hip Hop for around a decade and a half, and started spitting when I was maybe 15 years old. Nothing but a love for the music kept the passion burning, and as it got more serious and as I learned more, I never realised that I was actually ‘persisting’ with anything.
The various crews came and went; yet I never gave up. As one door closed, another one opened, as the saying goes. Every time. And I never quit. Yeah, there were times when I felt like ‘what’s the point?’, when I thought that everyone was against me and there was no way anything would ever come from all the heartache, when I momentarily lost the passion to do it as a result of the bullshit surrounding me. But every time, without exception, I got past it and something always appeared to show me that yes, young Jedi, it’s all worthwhile.
This was never as true as with The Movement Fam. All of us have been through similar experiences over the years, so we understood each other. And I guess there is a shared knowledge – nay, belief – that we will, whatever the odds, succeed with our music. This belief has resulted in an unwavering persistence that is uniform throughout the Fam, and we just know that it will be the one key aspect that will take us to where we wanna be.
And just like everyone, we’ve experienced a lot of people telling us to quit. I dare say we’d almost experience more of this than the average North American, due to the fact that we’re Australian and folks down here just don’t understand what we’re trying to achieve. Most of the scene here doesn’t aspire to succeed outside their own city, let alone make an impact on the other side of the world, so the fact that we’re unashamedly doing so doesn’t go down too well with a lotta people.
There’s also hella ups and downs (as with anything in life). Some days, it feels like everyone is on our side and we can do no wrong; other days, it’s like noone cares and what we’re trying to do is hopeless. Either way, we find the guts to just keep at it. And I think the main thing is that every day, without fail, we always manage to do something, no matter how small, towards our music that helps us move in the direction of our goals. All that shit adds up, you know. And before you know it, boom, you look back and are amazed at how much you’ve achieved. It’s a crazy thing.
Plug of the week: My man Kevin Nottingham did a great interview with us just prior to our US/Canada trip:
http://kevinnottingham.com/myblog/2008/09/12/artist-spotlight-the-movement-fam/
So until next time, keep at it, keep movin’ and keep educated.
http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com Do yourself a favour and check it out.
Blessings,
Cee.
The Movement Fam.
Week #3: Get Your Hate On
More Loud blog...
So last week we were in love with the internet. Now it’s time to get our hate on a lil bit. It’s healthy, really. And I wouldn’t call it ‘hate’ per se. ‘Hate’ is a strong word. I’ll call it ‘the truth’.
Aight, we have a gang of reasons that we’re aiming to crack the North American market, as a priority over our homeland. The population is one. Australia has 22 odd million folks; the USA and Canada has pushing 400 million heads. You do the math. Also, the US is the home of Hip Hop; it’s ingrained in your culture. In 2008, folks of most age groups, genders, cultures, backgrounds, professions, sexual persuasions, whatever, feel Hip Hop, listen to it, and better yet, understand it. That’s the key; the average Aussie still views Hip Hop as a violent, foreign, and unrelatable culture from the other side of the world. So essentially, y’all have a market for it. And yes, we realise that with so many people and music being so easily produced and released these days, the competition is greater than ever. I still reckon there’s a better chance of making some noise over there than Down Under.
Now, seeing as the US created Hip Hop, why on earth would Americans (and Canadians for that matter) be interested in Australian Hip Hop artists? Well, that’s what we thought; until we started getting more interest from that side of the planet than at home. And as this continued, we started to pursue it as oppose to just take it as it comes (no homo).
The Australian scene is mad young in comparison. Our good friend, Canadian MC Eternia, told us once that she felt that Australia (Melbourne in particular) reminds her of Toronto or New York twenty years ago, in the sense that we still have the ‘purist’ attitude out here; artists generally haven’t been warped by the corporate machines. In Melbourne, there’s a strong graffiti community, regular b-boy, DJ and MC battles, and most folks do it for the love as opposed to legitimately making a career out of rap; they don’t think it’s possible. And for the most part, they’re right. Whenever a Hip Hop act does a show in Melbourne, it’s almost a guarantee that the majority of the crowd will be staunch, screwfaced MC’s. Well, that’s our experience, anyway, and that of a lot of our mates in the scene. It’s not the best atmosphere to rock a show in. We found the same thing in Toronto, actually, hence the name coined by Theo 3, ‘The Screwface Capital’.
One striking difference we found from dealing with cats in the US and Canada is the overwhelming willingness that people had to help us out. It blew our minds, both before we left and moreso when we got there. Not one meeting went by without that person putting us in touch with someone else that they felt could be beneficial to our trip. It was amazing. The thing is that you would rarely find that sort of attitude in Australia – most folks here are out for themselves. And maybe we only were looked after as we were foreigners and not so much of a threat. But at home, nobody does shit for nobody, particularly within Hip Hop. I believe it’s due to a belief that the ‘pie’, so to speak, isn’t big enough to go around, so people protect what they have.
Whatever the reasons, our experiences with North Americans have been incredibly positive, and we are inspired more than ever to keep at it.
Plug of the week: Wake Your Daughter Up! Blog did a lil write up on us for our trip, so have a bit of a read:
Cee & Bekah interview (link to: http://www.wydublog.com/2008/09/new-artist-spotlight-cee-bekah.html)
Notion interview (link to: http://www.wydublog.com/2008/09/new-artist-spotlight-notion.html)
So until next time, stay real, stay raw, stay rugged, stay grimey. It’s the only way.
Blessings,
Cee.
The Movement Fam.
