In celebration of this sorry excuse for a holiday, Social Light Sounds decided to give the masses something to genuinely be thankful for.  From Arablak’s album ‘Fresh Heir‘ coming 2010, here is “Give Thanks” featuring Steadfast and Larry Cheeba (formerly known as L Da Headtoucha).

Check it out, pass it on, and don’t forget to thank SLS for providing such a valuable gift, during this rough economic period.

Enjoy, and feel free to have seconds.

- SLS

Arablak – ‘Give Thanks‘ feat. Solomon D’Augustine (fka Steadfast) & Larry Cheeba

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New Social Light Sounds art  produced by the very talented graphic artist Dave Grasso.  Hailing from Worcester, MA  this young professional is skilled in all areas of graphic design.  Dave hooked it up with these cartoon like faces of all the SLS artists along with an amazing collage.   For inquires regarding his art for hire contact Dave @ Dgrasso1@yahoo.com.

Also make sure to visit Dave’s new website to check out his portfolio CLICK HERE 

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Title: Steadfast opening for M.O.P in Boston
Location: Middle East 472 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, MA
Description: Steadfast will be coming up from D.C to rock for Boston. Special guests TBA.
Start Time: 8:00
Date: 2009-10-08

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“Pieces of The Iron Curtain”

Features from Buddha, Steelz (Smoking Gunz) and Elski…

Keep your eyes open for the link and date.

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Check out this great article & interview about the SLS crew by David Boffa of Worcester Magazine.

READ HERE

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With this weeks Dart Tosser I felt it only proper to shine light on what to me has become a forgotten treasure: The female emcee. We (The hip hop community) have be blessed to receive Mother Earth’s expressions in lyrical form throughout the years, but as of late the skill of an MC Lyte,Bahamadia or Rah Digga seems to be….unseen. In a game that promotes looks and hooks over subject matter and pure heart, song format and concepts have taken a back seat to the era of “sex appeal rap”….So enters Ghagged, not a female rapper or female lyricist but flat out an emcee with a plan to “bust through the roadblocks” and “let the world feel the shock”….

(Stead) Peace…Aight,I know you get this a lot but, how do you pronounce your name?

(Ghagged) LOL it’s “Jagged”

the GH is a long story kinda but all in all it’s developed into an acronym that has spiritual meaning for me. Surprisingly some people figure out the pronunciation

(Stead)…Lol…Unfortunately I was 1 of them folks that got it wrong at first. So where are you from and who would you say your influences are (musically)?

(Ghagged) I was born in Florida and raised in Virginia Beach, VA and currently reside in Atlanta, GA. My influences range from my father who’s a musician, my older brother Triple M who is am emcee as well. Mc Lyte, Salt N Pepa, Big Daddy Kane ,Krs One, Tribe, En Vouge, Mariah Carey and Mary J Blige

(Stead) That’s an impressive list of influences. How long have you been emcee-ing?

(Ghagged) I’ve been emceeing since 14 years old.

(Stead) Good morning!!! You’re officially an O.G with the skill then….If you could pick any artist to collab with,who would it be?

(Ghagged) That’s a hard one, there’s so many dope artist, I will randomly pick M.I.A..shes different, she seems fun, and her beats are crazy!!

(Stead) Word. She is definitely a unique soul. With her being your choice, how do you feel about the current status of female emcees? Do you think that they are a dying breed?

(Ghagged) In the mainstream they are! But on an underground level, the pulse is very strong!!! The last show I performed at had at 3 of us on the bill. I think the reason for the lack of female emcees in the mainstream is industry politics, but I am confident that we will get our shine again. All it takes is that one undeniable phenom to break through and help push us back to the forefront. You know everything in the mainstream is cookie cutter. So if “A” gets it first and it’s successful then “B” is gonna hop on it automatically then behold, female emcees are back!! We just have to keep making noise. I am beginning to see major pubs write columns on it & hip hop sites blogging about it, so eventually the big boys are gonna realize a void needs to be filled.

(Stead)That’s real. Hopefully I’m doing a part to influence that as well. What projects do you have in the works and what producers do you plan on working with?

(Ghagged) I have a project I am working on for digital release in the summer of 09’. Right now I am calling it Ghagged 3.0. The production as of right now comes from my husband G.I.M.J, myself and “Choo”. DJ Manipulator of SLS has agreed to fancy some tracks with his cuts so it should be bananas. But if anyone else would like to contribute for this project or in the future please hit me up @ ghaggedinc@gmail.com

(Stead) Shout out to DJ Manipulator and way to slide your email in there,lol…You must have known what I was gonna ask next..Where can the people find your music?

(Ghagged) You can go to my myspace page www.myspace.com/ghaggedmusic and cop my free download called “Lost Scripts”.  It is just a quick combination of tracks I have done over the years so people who are just beginning to hear of me can get familiar.

Dart Tossers 09

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If lyrical soul could be measured in decibels, Ciph Barker would be off the charts!! Gritty lyrics matched by instrumentals seemingly clothed in army fatigues retrieved from every human war imaginable makes this Supercharger Records affiliate,Producer and Emcee one of the most highly sought after Dart Tossers in the Netherlands, and with production credits too numerous to name (Killah Priest among the many) he epitomizes the spirit of every up and coming artist that one day wishes to add “Jack of all Trades” to their Hip Hop resume.

Here is an interview with the sword saint from Sweet Water Pondz…

(Stead) Peace yo and thanks for taking time out of your schedule to do this interview…I’ve heard a lot of music recently from The Netherlands. How would you describe the hip hop scene there?

(Ciph) It’s basically still pretty young and developing. In the 80’s and early 90’s almost everybody that was busy was spittin in English and beat-wise it kinda reflected what was happening in the States. But there was no serious media attention or business going on around it.

Nowadays a lot of these “new generation” fans and artists over here don’t really know where everything came from and they mostly spit real corny shit in Dutch and that side of the “game” is sadly overshadowing the serious artists in the (commercial) media over here. They’d rather focus on some parody type happy-go-lucky ringtone Hip Hop then “real” music overall so they can keep pointing their finger and say HipHop isn’t genuine music.

Even tho there’s alotta dudes over here that are doing some real heavy shit internationally (like Cilvaringz with his movement, Salah Edin doin albums with Focus, Mr. Probz, Soulsearchin’, Nicolay, Deams is droppin tracks with Big Daddy Kane etc. plus our own SuperCharger/GodzWrath team) there just isn’t a real interest for that in the mainstream media so its real hard to get shit off from the ground..

I gotta say tho that in the last couple years there’s been a bit more attention for some more substantial artists that spit Dutch so who knows what will happen in the next couple years. The sound is kinda maturing, especially productionwise. On the other hand we still have parody rappers perfoming songs about fuckin girls on Nickolodeon in front of kids andshit, so its a weird little scene.

(Stead) Thats some wild ish…I never knew that an alter ego culture existed there. Although this is more about lyrics,Imma throw a slight monkey wrench in the format…I see your resume includes a healthy production roster. Killah Priest and Hell Razah are just a couple of names. If given the opportunity to pick any lyricist in the world, who would you want to produce an album for the most?

(Ciph) Pff that’s a hard one. We (GODZWRATH) are just mixing an album with Killah Priest thats gonna be crazy, thats definatly a dude who really fits our style of production so that was beautiful but other then that for me personally its gotta be either Nas, Ghostface,Kool G Rap or Tragedy Khadafi.

All real crazy crazy MC’s but Nas and G rap I feel sometimes that they don’t have the right production to back their skills, especially when you look at entire albums. They’re 2 of my favourite mc’s and everytime they drop I’m hopin for a new classic but lotta times the production is kinda dissapointing.

Tragedy because he’s Tragedy mayne haha, that’s a legend and he’s just ridiculous. Together with G Rap one of the few old school heads that still murders all these new dudes on every track and spits em out the door doin back flips… And Ghostface because he’s just out there, that dude can spit about anything and flip it in a way that nobody would ever do it. One of the most creative lyricists out there if you ask me.

(Stead) You preaching to the choir!!! I’ve felt that way for years…Who would you say influenced your style the most?

(Ciph) Hmmm, cant really name 1 person. I guess Hip Hop wise a lot of the early Queens and Wu shit cause of the drama they put into the beats.
They took the boombap elements of that time and flipped it into some next shit that was more cinimatic.

Outside of Hip Hop a lot of out-there 70’s music, art/books/movies that are on some next shit.

(Stead) Word…So if given the statement “Hip hop is ……….” how would you finish the phrase and why?

(Ciph) Hip Hop is Life I guess. I think every genuine form of music/art reflects either a real big or a real small part of life, it’s all energy.

(Stead) U just hit the nail on the head with that answer…So do you have any new projects in the works?

(Ciph) Yeah. Right now I’m workin on my debut album thats droppin on SuperCharger somewhere later this year, my man Jordan River Banks (GODZWRATH) is doin most of the production on there, to me he’s really one of the most talented dudes out there right now.

I’m workin on a Dutch album with my man Beat Butcha who just moved over here from the UK, that’s like my brother so we’ll be doin alotta shit, he’s got some crazy crazy shit.

Next to that I’m slowly workin on my own production album with different dudes and instrumentals things on there, I’m takin my time for that so that might take a while. And I’m kinda overseeing a couple projects dudes are workin on over here, so I’m stayin busy.

We’ll also have some beats poppin up here and there on some big projects so keep an eye out!

(Stead) That’s good math…So tell the folks where they can find your material.

(Ciph) Check out the SuperCharger Records website at www.superchargerrecords.com for some free downloads.

You can also check me out and order cd’s on Myspace(www.myspace.com/ciphbarker)

Or follow me on twitter for updates on eveything (http://twitter.com/CiphBarker)

Dart Tossers 09

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Ayatollah Jaxx, more commonly known as A-Jaxx, has been rapping for 10 years, but this 23 year old just stepped onto the Pittsburgh hip-hop scene in 2004. In this brief time his accolades have lead this Muslim MC to the UK, Canada, and all across America performing with the likes of Petey Pablo, G-Unit’s Lloyd Banks, Wiz Khalifa, Jean Grae, Talib Kweli, Xzibit, Boot Camp Click and a host of other renown artist. An accomplished battle rapper, his quick wit, unusual wordplay, and stage presence contribute to his dominance on the mic. To date, his releases include “Live From The 72Four”, the critically acclaimed “This Is My Jihad: Harb & Salaam”, and “The Damn Good EP” (Production by Fundamental). Jaxx has been nominated for three Pittsburgh Hip Hop Awards including Artist Of The Year in 2008, Single Of The Year, and Album Of The Year in 2009. An avid aficionado of martial arts and boxing, A-Jaxx also has many writing credits under his belt, including columns for HipHopgame.com, Yoraps.com, and his popular Back Packer Weekly blogs on MySpace.

Here is a brief interview with the Pa poet……

Myspace.com/TheMightyAJaxx
Myspace.com/WeAreGoodCompany
Godsendant.com/ajaxx.html

(Stead) First things first…what projects do you currently have in the works?

(A-Jaxx) At the moment, I’m working on procureing some nuclear weapons, and then turning Norway into a parking lot. On a serious note, We (Good Company) just released The Damn Good EP, the reception has been insane!! I just finished up a pseudo Camp Lo tribute with my comrade Divine Seven, called “Black Connection”. After that, I’ma release a jawn called “The Un Mixed Classics”, then it’s on to the full length LP; “Hello, Hip Hop”.

(Stead) Lol!!! A parking lot though!! That would make for a live show….With these projects what producers have you worked with and who do you plan to work with in the future?

(A-Jaxx) I’ve worked with a slew of producers, some well known and not … yet. Of the more recognizable names, 9th Wonder, Ayatollah, and Krohme. I’m part of a duo called Good Company, with Fundamental doing all the production. Here in Pittsburgh, I have an amazing cast of supporting folks. Chim Beats, Cheap Mustard, James Moore, PMC, and a whole lot of people globally that support me on that side.

(Stead) Word…Who would you say most influenced your style and approach to Hip Hop?

(A-Jaxx) You know, it’s tough to narrow it down to one person, or song. There are so many cogs to the components that my style is based off of. From Rakim, Ghostface, Big Pun, Common, Nas, Cube, Lupe, the list is long. I’d have to say life though. Being from Pittsburgh is influential enough if you’re that clever with your words. There are so many imposing social structures here. From one realm to the next, the ignorance of our culture, all of that mixed up in one pot and served to you. It weighs on you too much for it not to influence you.

(Stead) I can dig that. It can definitely add some manhood stripes to your character. With being said, how would you say your faith influenced your approach to Hip Hop?

(A-Jaxx) I think faith in general presented it’s self in my rhymes, even before I reverted to Al-Islam. Post Islam? It remains the largest driving force in my career. I mean, I’m not full out Islamic Rapper, however, I make sure that over-tone, or under-tune is visible in my music. There is a reason Islam is the worlds largest religion, and the fastest growing religion in the states, you know? Being known as an Islamic lyricist keeps me boxed in, so I have to work extra hard to showcase my other abilities. I gotta flex the creative muscles way more than other MCs do, to prevent the type casting. It’s a double edged sword for sure, but I handle bladed weapons really well, ya get me?

(Stead) All Day!! I’m more the sword saint wit words though..Which brings me to my next question..Whats more important, a raw,banging beat or raw lyrics?

(A-Jaxx) Man, lyrics all day. You don’t have to be the most mind bogglingly dope lyricist to captivate me, just say something real, and from heart. It has to have some lyrical talent though. I mean, Nas rocked over some of the wackest beats and turned em into bangers, so you know, it’s all about the lyrics to me. No discredit to producers, but I need to think more than I need to bob my head.

(Stead) Interesting..it seems that a lot has changed in the format of hip hop…Beats are different. Wordplay is different.What do you consider to be the most pivotal moments in hip hop in the past 10 years and why?

(A-Jaxx) Jam Master Jay’s murder, for sure, and all the other murders from Mac Dre, to Big Proof, Stack Bundles, all those fallen brothers. If we learned anything, it’s that unification and education is past due. The crumbling of the music business. I mean, we finally have a clear view on whats what in the business side of the game. You get to see how heartless the execs are, and how dumb the morons are that sign their lives away. The emergence of the South movement, that’s the definition of hard work. Very admirable. The rise, fall, then the disgrace of the mixtape DJ, and the mixtapes they yell on. I’d have to say the talent pumped out from other countries as well, ie Canada and The UK. We also seen a lot of vets embarrass themselves engaging in futile beefs while struggling to stay relevant. I think the most important is the impact the inter net has on music. From Napster to the blog sites, you know? Free mixtape downloads (Download The Damn Good EP free now if you havent!!). It’s all about the consumer now more than it has ever been. Every thing is literally one click away.

(Stead) No doubt..Knowing that,where can we find your material?

(A-Jaxx)

Myspace.com/TheMightyAJaxx
Myspace.com/WeAreGoodCompany
Godsendant.com/ajaxx.html

I’d like to thank A-Jaxx for his time and patience…Hip Hop lives, he’s lyrical proof

DART TOSSERS 09

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