Hip Hop veteran Wise Intelligent shares a bit about his new album in this video that also sheds insight behind the release.
Read the Insomniac interview here.
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For Those Who Can't Sleep On Hip Hop
Insomniac Magazine recently participated in an interview with Julian Lennon to discuss his new release and a brand new company called theRevolution LLC. Lennon and music industry professionals Michael Birch (sold Bebo to AOL for $850 million) and Todd Meaghe (created the first 50/50 artist music store) started the company as a new approach to releasing music and working with artists. The company scouts talent, and then helps set up these artists with their own businesses. The company assists the artists with a variety of business endeavors including: finance, development, digital and physical distribution, promotion, and other important aspects ...
Place your music-related press release on InsomniacMagazine.com for only $19.99. With this service you can include one image in your music based press release and two links to your website, social networking page, or link promotional downloads on your site. The press release submitted cannot exceed 500 words and will include your heading as the title of the post on InsomniacMagazine.com. Press releases will contain a note stating that they have been sponsored by contributor. Insomniac Magazine has been online for well over a decade and features interviews and coverage including some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, and media. ...
Sharon Jones is one of the most inspirational artists on the show circuit. It’s not just her soulful voice, nor is it her hard and heavy dancing on stage, nor her soothing retro sounds that are reminiscent of class acts such as ‘60’s female groups The Shirelles, The Marvelettes, The Dixie Cups, and others, that makes her such a powerful inspiration. Even Jones’ uncanny, pure energy and movements, that seem to be channeled from the late James Brown, don't make her such a rousing figure. The inspiration is her story: A struggling singer who worked at a state prison as ...
In honor of the great Teena Marie, below is an interview conducted with her. During our talk, she shares her love for music and discusses a lifetime of creating it. It was with sadness that we learned of her passing, however, we were blessed to have had the opportunity to hear her story first hand. There is no question that her songs will be rediscovered by future generations of music fans seeking soulful inspiration. Teena Marie Interview In a day and age of commodity artists who are forgotten shortly after a year or so of a radio hit, and ...
Although Charlie Murphy has appeared in countless films since the late ‘80s, there’s no getting around that most fans started to really get to know him during and after his appearances on The Dave Chappelle Show. Charlie’s skits, some based on his telling of real-life encounters with celebrities while he worked security in the early days of his younger brother’s career, have become larger than the show itself. Plays of some of Charlie’s segments on Chappelle’s show have exceeded the million-view mark on Youtube.com. There are very few people who follow pop culture that haven’t heard the words “I’m ...
WITH A FRESH START, STYLES P READIES "SUPER" NEW ALBUM By Khalid Strickland a.k.a. Dirty Angel The streets may now rejoice... When I first interviewed Styles P, around this same time last year coincidentally, the self-proclaimed “hardest rapper out” wasn’t in the best of moods. Although Styles’ sophomore album, “Time is Money”, was set to be released on Interscope Records, the moment was bittersweet. That’s because his excellent solo debut album, “A Gangster and a Gentleman”, had been released four years earlier in 2002. With the airtight singles like “Good Times” and “The Life” (featuring Pharaoh Monch) getting burn on the airwaves, Styles ...
Get your single or album covered in Insomniac. Within the review we will include your artwork and a link to your site. Only $19.99 for your single or $49.99 for your album. Album review Single review Why pay for a review? This guarantees that your release is reviewed within InsomniacMagazine.com. Insomniac has been online since the later ‘90s. (Note: we always reserve the right to refuse coverage of any release that we decide is not appropriate for the site. If this were to happen, we will of course refund the amount paid.) Back to the question at hand: Why pay for a review? ...
Aston "FamilyMan" Barrett, the bassist for the legendary Wailers is responsible for the basslines and other creative elements on many of Bob Marley and the Wailers' classic songs. We discuss his thoughts about why Bob Marley and The Wailers' music continues to resonate with fans decades after its creation. He also discusses his thoughts on current state of music, and how he met and started working with Bob Marley. Yvad, the Wailers' Band's new vocalist shares his views on the power of Bob Marley and the Wailers' music. Whether you're a musician or an artist, if you aspire to have a ...
KILLAH PRIEST: AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME WITH LATEST "OFFERING" By Khalid Strickland a.k.a. Dirty Angel Brooklyn wins again. After their legendary movement avalanched hip-hop’s landscape, the Wu-Tang Clan assisted a lion’s share of rappers who have gained notoriety on their own merit. Killah Priest, hailing from Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, is one of these alumni. Priest (as he prefers being called now) made his memorable debut in 1994 on “6 Feet Deep”, the first LP by The Gravediggaz (a group spearheaded by Wu-Tang Clan leader The RZA). In 1995, he appeared on two classic Wu-Tang solo albums: “Liquid Swords” by The GZA and ...
When it comes to the pinnacle of entertainment, Mr. O'Shea Jackson, better known as Ice Cube to the world, arrived quite a while ago. As a performer, he's transcended from Hip Hop legend to movie star, all while maintaining credibility in both worlds. As an entertainment entrepreneur, he's successfully conquered the music, film, and now television industries. Counting the "Friday" and "Barbershop" movies, "Are We There Yet" is his third franchise film. This time, he's delivered one of his popular major motion picture properties to TV. The family-oriented sitcom stars Terry Crews (known best as Chris Rock's father on "Everybody ...
Merry Miller is an extraordinary artist and businesswoman. Don’t take my word for it, she was named in Crain's New York Business magazine “40 Under 40” issue. She is the former Executive Vice President of Programming at the Learning Annex, and instrumental in building the organization’s revenue from $3 million to $100 million in three years. During that time, she coordinated visits from the who’s who of business and entertainment. She’s coordinated visits from some of the biggest leaders in the business, from Donald Trump to Russell Simmons. If that’s not impressive enough, Elle magazine named her one of the ...
In 1992, Speech, along with his group Arrested Development, went on to receive countless accolades including two Grammy Awards and being named Band of the Year by Rolling Stone Magazine for the ground breaking “3 Years, 5 Months, and 2 Days in the Life of…” The album launched the band into stardom with constant video and radio rotation for their hit "Tennessee," and later for singles "People Everyday" and "Mr. Wendal." The funky and soulful blend of Hip Hop and R&B delivered socially conscious music in a manner that was palatable to the masses. Despite being adorned with admiration by ...

ABSTRAKT DISTORTION- AWAKENING THE DEAD (EP) Paramanu Recordings
There are those listeners out there who long for the good old days, living in a world of fantasy nostalgia wishing for a time that once existed, once in its purest form, to come back. No matter how bad you think things are right now, shit has always been this bad artistically in the music industry and has been this way for some time. Abstrakt Distortion was born out of the disdain, and their hatred for the nonsense that surrounds them in the Hip Hop genre. These men, whose talents are severely underrepresented, forced them to set out to make the most uncompromising music possible. Hip Hop is naturally prone to horror due to the circumstances that inspires so much of it, so what makes this EP so different? It’s the intention behind it.
When they found themselves disillusioned with the business side of Hip Hop since early 2000′s, emcees Quest the Unborn Child and Voider One (who also produces) decided to unleash the rage boiling inside them via some of the scariest and most aggresive music ever created. They soon joined an up and coming record label named Paramanu Recordings and set their sights on making the most noise (literally) on the whole musical landscape. At first glance, some might be fooled into thinking that what they do is just an act but, they’re not a gimmick so don’t refer to them as anything other than Hip Hop not Horror-core. Like Metal legends such as Slayer or a band like Fear Factory or Hip Hop pioneers Public Enemy, these guys are 100% real, injecting a much needed boost to the industry.
As a group, AD consists of Quest, Voider and Short Rock on the cuts. “Awakening the Dead” is a concept album and along with the above participants, they also invited some friends (Kiltoy718 lyrically and Mephisto on guitars) with equal issues to add to the least commercial and nastiest album the genre has ever seen. The only issue one may have is the length of the EP because it’s only 7 tracks deep and would have those craving for more. From the opening Evil Dead sample and dark drums of the first track “The Awakening”, lays an ominous voice that warns of the experience about to unfold.
Debut albums tend to allow an artist(s) to not hold back, and these ghouls don’t ease up on the reigns of ill-ass verbals. Hate is an emotion commonly found in Hip Hop but when you look at this EP, where hate is a metaphor for murdering the mindless drivel that infected Hip Hop in late ’90s, early 2000’s, its timelessness comes out. The tunes can be epic and one can imagine how it would inspire reverence among a certain crowd. The pieces revolve around the use of layering vocals and all the lyricists building off one another and production wise, there isn’t too much harmonic complexity. The beats are dissonant, juxtaposed and meant to get under your skin. Voider creates face melting beats and with him and Quest trading lyrics, you’re sucked into this Zombie infested world. The aesthetic is creepy yet supremely effective and leaves you at the edge of your seat in anticipation of what is next. The addition of Kiltoy718 and his cryptic style adds to the mix and the unexpected highlight is the guitar-work done by Mephisto on the first track and the second track “Souls Harvest”. Short Rock has and always will be the best at cuts. He has a long history and is often overlooked but shines on this EP.
As I stated earlier, this EP is a concept album so, you must read between the lyrical assault and excellent production to fully understand the message being relayed. Although Voider One is in charge of the production, he undoubtedly holds his own on the microphone. I foresee a bright future for him. Quest the Unborn Child is one of the best lyrically and this release should draw a mass amount of attention to his ever growing skills. Ironically, this EP was released digitally last October before Halloween, but it’s now available as a Digipak for only $5 with a free poster. If you want the FULL experience, cop the whole package cause, it’s definitely worth it. Please support Abstrakt Distortion by checking them out on Bandcamp or Facebook.
Thanks, C73 Eternal aka KOOLCYPHERALLAH
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PROJECT SAVE C.A. HIRCUS- COLLEGE RADIO (The music Beck wishes he had made)
There are two risks involved with making innovative, exciting Hip Hop nowadays, first, you’ll either bomb miserably because the elements just don’t fit together or you’ll achieve near perfection but it will be so new that everybody will mostly likely sleep on it. Project Save C.A. Hircus have managed to create eight tracks of entertaining, feel-good, head-bop and sing along hip-hop that provides a great listen from start to finish. These cats simply know how to write good music with great hooks and choruses and pull all this creativity from multiple influences.
Project Save C.A. Hircus are primarily a duo coming out of the doldrums of central Florida. These two talented members are Jon Ditty on vocals and D-Rok mostly on production and handling the cuts. Despite the abundance of more hyped-style joints on this release, Jon Ditty manages to drop a handful of personable verses that let the listener in on real life thoughts and feelings of this emcee. While Ditty may live in the material world with the rest of us, his spirit soars to higher planes on songs like “Fanmail to Self” (although short at 51 seconds) and “(I) Run on Sentences” produced by Rob E. Rob. Rob’s production also shines on the track “Legislative Superfluum” and should be considered for future projects. Lyrically Jon D strikes the perfect balance between playful fun and verbal skills, never going too far over the listener’s head but not refusing to dumb down the lyrical and musical presentation. A perfect example of this equal tuning between sublime and silly can be found on the outstanding and long titled track “Soapbox Politician Dictating Nonsense from a Three Foot Radius” with a light D-Rok produced musical backdrop and scratching to boot.
This euphoric, breezy feel permeates the album and infuses the proceedings with a genuinely irresistible accessibility. You could cite numerous and varied individual examples of this group’s dopeness throughout, but suffice it to say each song is carefully crafted and produced with thought, not only with what the words say but how well they’ll be said when flowed to a beat. The surprise is that the track that Jon Ditty produced (Star Song) is just as good as the rest of the tracks and he should consider producing more. It can be equally said about D-Rok and his cuts. His cuts are not featured enough and it would be cool to hear a track with just him cutting it up just like the DJ’s in the past did. There are so many good tracks; it seems almost ridiculous to select individual ones. The whole album is built on skills like this, and is a treat for those who don’t know them but take a chance on them anyway. This is what I call a sleeper classic for the rest whose radar it goes under completely. “College Radio” is definitely worth picking up and easily one of the standout unique, fun, and comprehensive underground hip-hop releases of the year. Check them out for yourself and support at http://pscah.bandcamp.com/album/college-radio-the-music-that-beck-wishes-he-had-made or Facebook. By CyPhEr777 aka C73 Eternal
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Led Zeppelin’s reunion performance at London’s O2 Arena will run during special screenings around the world. Look up theaters in your area for showings and relive music history.
On November 19th the performances will be released on a variety of formats and combinations, including digital, double CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, and vinyl record. Visit their site to learn more and pre-order.
From the press release:
Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day will be presented in high definition with surround sound in movie theatres for a strictly limited engagement. The band wanted fans to experience this film as if it were a live concert, and that is why Omniverse Vision was chosen for distribution; they pioneered this approach to “event cinema”. Led Zeppelin: Celebration Day will be the last time that fans will have an opportunity to experience the band performing together on stage. Tickets for this historic event are limited. A list of theatres that will be showing this extraordinary concert event can be found online at www.ledzeppelin.com.
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Grandmaster Caz may not be a house-hold name, but the legendary emcee’s rhymes are familiar to nearly everyone. He penned lyrics rapped on the genre’s most famous record, “Rappers Delight.” As a member of the Hip Hop pioneering crew The Cold Crush Brothers, he’s contributed significantly the foundation of the style and sound for this art-form. On November 19th, WRITTEN! The Lyrics of Grandmaster Caz will be published.
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