So I get these requests ALL the time; you know the kind. The kind that I figured a Premo or a Madlib or 9th Wonder would get: “…where you do you get your samples from? Can you hook me up with some dope samples…” I feel like sometimes, much of the art form of making beats is not even in the sample. It’s in the pursuit of something else. You ultimately end up either spending a few dollars on vinyl or you download something just to experience it at face value. You end up with something special. Well that’s the fairy tale take of it. Of course you could always (before you ask) try to find something that you can make totally yours. It has no influence, no bias point of views, and won’t make you feel obligated to do anything other than enjoy the experience of real, soulful music. And even with a point of view as strong as that, I also feel that somethings are so good… they are worth sharing. Some people are going to hear what I hear; other will dismiss the mix as something used to fill up blog space. I feel like what you are about to embark on is beautiful; simply put. Whether you just listen to it while cleaning the crib, or try to use it in place of a very old and very scratched “baby making music” CD, or whether you rip the sound waves into seventy-five samples chopped… you will enjoy what Fly is Made. Check for it at the jump.
Here’s a new track produce by fellow Cosmic Soul, Know:juander for Amor Jones. I’ve had this song in rotation since Jones first sent it to me a few weeks ago. Dope track. I took Kevin Nottingham posting it as my OK to drop it also. Haha. It’s going to be on Amor Jones’ next album which will be produced exclusively by the Cosmic Souls Collective (yes, us). Be on the lookout for the album and future leaks coming soon.
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Here’s a new track I produced featuring KENO from TheOtherSide (group with him and producer WallSauce). This beat might sound familiar if you heard my last instrumental album More Than Music. Just check it out and let me know what you guys think! Expect more heat from us in the future. Peep the audio below.
KENO – Watch (Produced By Nefarious!)
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So awhile ago I (Time Travel) came into contact with a dope MC named “Jamar Equality” via myspace. Jamar Equality is from San Antonio, Texas & is one of the best MC’s I have ever heard. So after i hit him up, we clicked. He was feeling the beats I had, and i was feeling the tracks he had even more. So we talked business and have now done a few tracks together. Jamar & myself will have a mixtape coming soon (no exact date yet) titled, “Modern Warfare”. Don’t sleep on Jamar, or the tape were working on. Jam our track, “What Your Mind Sees” (produced by me) below, which is just a quick mix for now, but still ill.
http://www.myspace.com/jamarequality
-Time Travel
Jamar Equality – What Your Mind Sees (Prod. Time Travel)
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I interview rapper EPonym and producer Esta as they release a new video showing their process in creating a song. They are working on their album called UpFromHere which drops sometime in september, EP says.
Nef: Esta, what was your inspiration for making this beat?
Esta: Right when i heard the record i knew what i wanted to do, it was one of those samples. EP and I both felt like it should be an underdog track.
Nef: Word, I know the feeling. EP what inspired you to write your lyrics to it?
EPonym: Basically the beat felt victorious and shit. And I was getting a vibe like “Hey we’re comin up in the world” so that basically was the outline. Like, despite what people say or have said we’ll still be elevatin’ the album title actually stems from one of the tracks on the album, and we couldnt really think of anything better suiting than that.
Here is the first leak off of SLik d’s next album Summer Vibes. Summer Vibes will be avaliable for free download on Friday, August 14th which is his birthday. The track is called Summer Heat and it also happens to be produced by me. It’s dope. SLik d does this thing on the rhymes, Jarell Perry is on the hook. What more can you ask for? Peep the track below and click the above image to download it!
SLik d “Summer Heat” feat. Jarell Perry (Prod. Nefarious!)
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click ‘more’ for contact info and to peep another leak produced by my homie Scrabble
I was one of the lucky 8,000 people that attended the Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco on July 26th. Lyrics Born and The Lyrics Born Re-View were headlining. The Lyrics Born Re-View consists of The LB Band, vocalist Joyo Velarde and The Jazz Mafia Horns. The Mighty Underdogs opened the show with an ill performance keeping each and everyone of the 8,000 hippies, potheads, and Hip-Hop fanatics entertained. The Mighty Underdogs consists of rapper Gift of Gab from Blackalicious, rapper Lateef The Truth Speaker from Latryx, and producer Headnotic of the Crown City Rockers. There were various special guests throughout the set including Pigeon John, Trackademicks, and DJ Sharp. Kat Ouano (future mother of my children) also did her thing on the keys during The Mighty Underdogs’ set. Overall the show was ill. The scent of la in the air kept the mood right. The venue was beautiful, the music was DOPE, and I was accompanied with some of my favorite peoples. Make sure you check these artists’ music out if you havent already.
Click ‘more’ watch a short clip so you can have an idea of how huge this event was. Continue Reading
Since I’m a design freak and I just like the practice, I hopped on Photoshop CS3 (yeah, no version 4 for me!) and cranked out this final art for A Kid Love, beta. Proceed to the jump for the back artwork.
You would not believe how late it is. I’ve been feeling a bit withdrawn. The fact that I’m not getting any sleep or much cut these days (laughs it off) doesn’t help. So I was supposed to “inebriate” away my sorrows tonight… with various alcohols and meaningless conversation. Well I was actually supposed to be at Diamond Head underneath a pitch black Hawaiian sky. FML.
Enters this sample I had been playing around with all day… to chop or not to chop? That was the question. I was planning to go small and massive, but I instead went for a traditional 16 x 4 using different parts of the sample. Since virtually no record of this sample being used has surfaced on the internet, I will choose to kept my mouth shut on this one. This is turning out to be a blog, huh?
Here’s a new track I produced featuring Atlanta emcee J.Nolan. It’s the first track leak for my next album called The Soul Dojo. That album will basically be me on the beats with an ill roster of emcees on rhymes. No release date yet so don’t sleep! You can check J.Nolan’s music out on his MySpace page and follow him on Twitter via @J_Nolan.
J.Nolan – For Your Love (Prod. Nefarious!)
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