Published an article on the Newhouse School website about “The Man Who Saw Too Much,” an independent Mexican film about crime photographer Enrique Metinides, who has gained a cult following in his 50 year career. The screening came as part of the 14th annual Syracuse University Human Rights Film Festival, which is organized by multiple schools throughout the university.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
New Music: Candyland ft. Papa J. Ruiz (prod. originalvision)
The song has been out for a bit, but “Candyland” is continuing to make internet waves. A few blogs including HipHopDX have picked it up and the feedback has definitely been positive. Music is the air so stay tuned for another drop as well as the upcoming “Chronicles” project.
New Music: Blvd Knights ft. $avoy (prod.originalvision)
After a year of collaboration and exploration, it’s time to start rolling out the new material. ‘Blvd Knights’ is the first single off the upcoming ‘Chronicles’ project, due out early 2016. The track features DMV emcee $avoy and production from Milwaukee standout originalvision. Just a taste of things to come, enjoy.
Too SLIC: Degeneration Now Available For Download
Too SLIC: Degeneration is now available for download. At times cynical and delinquent at others poignant and critical, “Too SLIC” addresses the concerns and realities of living in a state of Degeneration. Bask in the soundscape and rage in the decay–this is the soundtrack to the end of days.
#SLICshit
cold vision presents ‘cantaloupe & rum’
Hit the pic to download from bandcamp
Cantaloupe & Rum Ready To Serve
Black Friday 2013, is the date. Cantaloupe & Rum is ready to service earlobes with psychoactive audio magic.
“Cold Vision,” is the convergence of emcee/deadbeat Cold Medina and young super producer Original Vision. Their full length project, “Cantaloupe & Rum” is a sonically lush affair, chronicling the journey of two displaced Latinos attempting to balance pleasure and pain, while navigating the heartlands of America. Diverse in both sound and subject matter, the project is sure engage listeners with dynamic lyricism and spacey, boom-bap inspired production. Features from Sean Smart, Jermaine Event, CRASHprez, Airo and si dako’ta of The Arkiologists.
Cutting Edge Public Broadcasting
No longer just re-runs of ‘Sesame Street’ and ‘Masterpiece Theater,’ The Public Broadcasting Service has expanded the scope and direction of its programming to some impressive results. First it was the Beat Making Lab series, which features two hip-hop educators on a globetrotting mission to bring beats, rhymes and life to communities lacking in resources and outlets.
Then, there was the widely publicized and debated “Latino Americans,” a six part documentary that actually validates and acknowledges our imprint on this nation. Though many of cultural subtleties were overlooked, the fact such a comprehensive history was documented and presented to the American public, is in itself, a victory.
The latest addition in the re-imagining of public broadcast programming is the inclusion of Jimi Hendrix in the American Masters Series, aptly titled ‘Hear My Train Comin’ after the guitar god’s classic cut.
While we’ve all heard the albums, read the books and watched the performances, but never has such a well compiled piece regarding the late Hendrix been produced for a wide audience. The documentary comes complete with interviews, never-before-seen performance footage and rock history all condensed into a two hour retelling of a story nostalgic rock dads know so well.
Despite the brevity and overall difficulty of condensing the Hendrix saga into a mere two hours, the doc is sure to please both casual and diehard fans alike. It will be interesting to see what PBS unveils next, after detailing such an iconic figure.
Policy Mic Post: Egypt’s Quest For Political Identity
Started contributing to PolicyMic as a cultural pundit. First editorial discusses the major turning points in Egyptian politics over the past year and how in many ways the country has come full circle. Hit the picture for the full text.
Bukowski Back
By now it should be a foregone conclusion that anything related to the late, great, Charles Bukowski is probably going to get some love on here. This next contribution comes from a group of fellow literary heads slouching toward nirvana. The good folks at VidWest Media teamed up with the Art of Alexander Landerman and DJ Imaginary Friend for a unique visual experience all in tribute to the Buk.
The subtle scratches of the DJ layered over Bukowski’s beautifully nihilistic verse is powerful yet understated. The cameras fast motion scenes displaying the re-creation Charles’ image with charcoal chalk and paper make for a stunning conglomeration. This is what artistic collaboration is meant to be: focused, captivating, shared, moving.
Unlike the last Bukowski related post I think Charles might actually endorse this use of his likeness, because it is art for the sake of art (with just an inkling of self promotion), but mostly because it is all about him, and what writer doesn’t enjoy a healthy (or unhealthy) portion of narcissism, especially one as gluttonous as Chuck?
In Good Company: Thoughts On Collaborations
The further I delve into this whole business/mess/joy of being an emcee the more I realize how unpredictable this art form can be, especially when it comes to the collaboration process. A few weeks ago I released two songs. Two songs with two very different intentions, each a reflection of the story behind it.
A Slow Death
The track entitled ‘Suicital’ is the first leak from the collaborative EP ‘SLIC 1: Don’t Break The Mirror’ which I am currently working on with Milwaukee artist Airythmatic. We have been constantly discussing, writing, working and fine tuning this project for the past few months as we debated where exactly we wanted to do with this song and as an extension the project as a whole.
The song’s genesis was the chorus, which came to us on a Saturday night that neither of us can recollect,probably due to the number PBR Tallboys consumed throughout the evening. A few weeks later Airythmatic sent me the instrumental he wanted to use for the track and thought it would be best for us to each write a 32 bar verse and announce ourselves with a grand entrance. It took a few days but the verses were eventually written and we finally had a song on our hands.
Fast forward four months later: After much delay (mostly because of transportation restraints) it came time to finally record the song that would serve as the flagship for our project. Our good friend Giam was gracious enough to lay down a last minute outro and ‘Suicital’ was given life.
I Wouldn’t Stress It
It was 2:15 on a Friday afternoon, I had just finished class for day and hoping to get some recording done I gave my producer a call. I eventually found myself at B-Side Records where Moses was being filmed as part of a documentary on his creative process. The concept was for him to purchase a record, find a sample and make an instrumental in one day. It seems as if a few other emcees saw this as an opportunity and soon enough Maine Event and Airtythmatic were right there with us hungry to create.
http://soundcloud.com/higher-education-records/higher-education-christ-b-1
We headed back to the studio (ie Moses’ apartment) and within an hour the sample was chosen, the beat was made and each of us had a verse ready to record. The song came to life in a matter of a fewhours and we released it just days later. Listening to it again with fresh ears I can sense the spontaneity and freedom of the circumstances surrounding the song. Moses can be heard laughing or reacting to our verses in the background and the song itself has an urgency to it that could only be explained by all the energy that was in the room that day.
There is no exact formula to creativity and these songs are excellent examples of this. Whether it takes six months or six hours each song has it’s own story to show the public and its own history for the artist to appreciate without the need or pressure to duplicate or reinvent.
Cold Medina 