
Its not often that i get together with friends and artistes that I had worked with to perform together. I would safely say this is the first time in my life that I am doing that. Being behind the producer and remixer's desk I hardly have the time to prepare for such gigs. It wasn't before Hennessy came calling to wanna put me on their Artistry platform that I had this idea of bringing 2 good friends of mine to come together and be part of my gig.
The first person that came to my mind was MC Celsius 7(Winner of John Lennon Lyrcal Composing Contest). Fresh off launching my new single "My adidas n me" from my album "AUDIOBIOGRAPHY" at the Forbidden City, his name naturally came into my mind. We had spoken about doing a gig here(the last I got him a gig was at Phuture) but my busy gig schedule did not permit. This was the perfect timing as it was gonna be a on bigger scale and his name would have gone a few rounds around our little island to let people know that he is the man behind the raps in My adidas n me.
The other person that came to my mind was homegirl Masia One who is based out in Canada. She has been dropping some mean rhymes and chalking up some hot hits across the globe with her lyrical poetry. Now this is one Singapore rapper I am proud off. Enough of the local rappers expressing how dope n good they are when they really need to check themselves over and over again. We have a very tough music industry here. Local music is slowly making its mark and being accepted by the local citizens. There is enough prejudice out there to our local music makers. However, I dont blame them. The fact is too many people are putting out sub standard stuff. We need to put out good quality stuff and we need to raise the bar. In order for the general public to accept local music, putting out good quality stuff is essential to the roadmap of local music.
Masia is one good example. She is an architecture grad, yeap she finished school alright. She then chose the musical path as she was very immersed in the hip hop culture. She even went to Jamaica for couple of months to be immersed into the ragga roots. I think she had a tough time convincing her parents to let her do so, but armed with a degree, she sure can get into the normal working community and blend in when the time comes. I only met her once last year but we have been corresponding closely when we get the chance off our busy schedule. She is making big waves in the Hip Hop rap community so much so that our local girl got noticed by the big guns in the U.S. She is currently finishing up a project with American record label Kops and Robbers, working with Grammy award winning producer Che Vicious who is a producer for Aftermath(Dr.Dre), having worked with Lauryn Hill, Busta Rhymes, Jay Z and Eminem just to name a few. This collaboration will definitely do Singapore proud for urban music internationally. Who would have thought a girl would jump so high past the "Yo! Am so dope" local boys!
So for all the wannabe rappers and "dope" ones I am bringing to you 2 excellent MCs to school you. I hope you see them as good examples and role models for you to work harder to achieve what you want to do in your music career.
Hennessy Artistry, we thank you for giving us this opportunity to be part of your esteemed platform with the open mind and warmth in agreeing to let them be part of my gig. June 26th is the date, Forbidden City is the location and Hennessy Artistry is the name to remember after this one!
Peace out