THE MOST OVER LOOKED EMCEE & UNDERRATED LYRICIST
Who is the most over looked emcee, underrated lyricist in Christian Rap?
In my opinion it’s Tedashii aka T-Dot.
I saw Sketch The Journalist post a question on Twitter - “What do you think Tedashii's impact has been on CHH so far?” I quickly e-mailed him my response; “T-Dot has made a huge impact possibly unseen! From features to hooks. I think he is the definition of Holy Hip Hop. (HHH without Tedashii) would be like the church without John Piper.”
Now, that is a bold statement, but I know it is true. Whether you know it or not, John Piper is a huge impact in the church. He even has created a movement; Don’t Waste Your Life. Piper wrote a book about it. He preached a 43 minute sermon about it on December 29th, 2003. There is a website dedicated to DWYL & you can watch video podcasts from DWYL on iTunes for free!
Lecrae made a song about it. In 2009, Lecrae and the rest of the 1-1-Six Clique / Reach Records artists are going on tour under the name; Don’t Waste Your Life. To help promote the Don’t Waste Your Life Tour, Reach has made commercials and posted them all over the internet. Now, think of this commercial you are laughing at. And realize it started as a seed from John Piper. A book or a sermon. But nonetheless, he has made a ripple effect, throughout the culture. This is how Tedashii compares to John Piper, but in the Holy Hip Hop culture. The seeds he has planted from one verse or a catchy hook, have been watered and will continue to water over the years.
WHEN DID I FIRST HEAR OF TEDASHII?
As I try to think of the first Tedashii song I ever heard, the verse (and hook) from Name Up comes to mind. Name Up is one of the hottest tracks on The Cross Movement’s 2007 album - History: Our Place in His Story. But there was a song before that. T-Dot was on Why Hip Hop 2K6. I bought the $5 promo CD in my local Christian Store in early 2006. The song is called This Song’s For You and it’s a straight dedication song. Come to think of it, Tedashii was on a few tracks from Lecrae’s Real Talk in 2005.
That’s where I know him from. The song Represent. Tedashii is also featured on one of my favorite songs; Aliens, as well as The Line. Represent, Aliens, and The Line are on Real Talk. Christ-in-a-Hip-Hopper.com or ChristianHipHopper.com features a giant mix of artists from Cross Movement and Reach Records. The song that gets stuck in my head every time is In Ya Hood by Tedashii featuring Trip Lee. As I became a bigger fan of Tedashii and Lecrae, I had to go back and get the 2004 release of The Compilation from the 1-1-Six Clique which features In Ya Hood and 3 other songs by Tedashii.
WHY I SUPPORT TEDASHII
In 2007, I attended a concert in Portland featuring R-Swift, Tedashii, Trip Lee, Lecrae, Da T.R.U.T.H., and Flame. I don’t know who was controlling the sound, but there was too much bass and you couldn’t hear any lyrics (unless you knew the words) from the artists, except for R-Swift, Tedashii, and Da T.R.U.T.H. This was a big turn off, but fortunately it got me loving Swift, T-Dot, and T.R.U.T.H. more. This was the main reason why I even bought Tedashii’s album and t-shirt at the show, and because his performance was the best.
Tedashii’s album Kingdom People is probably the best Christian Rap album I have ever heard and is only comparable to He’s Coming by Bruthaz Grimm (circa 1997). Every song on T-Dot’s album is on point and if I got his CD stuck in my stereo and could never play another CD, I would be completely happy. His music is deep, and motivating on all levels. This is why I wait, anxiously for his next album.
I NEED MORE TEDASHII IN MY LIFE
He can be most noted as a "Dirty South" emcee. Although, the South sound has a reputation, Tedashii is obviously paving the way with his style as if he were a part of Outkast - definitely hip-hop pioneer status. I strongly believe Reach Records is the Outkast of Holy Hip Hop. What Outkast did for Hip-Hop music, Reach & 1-1-Six will do for HHH.
Trip Lee’s 20/20 album was more than impressing. Each song is spirit filled and amped up. No two songs are alike. It’s an album I never get tired of hearing. If Trip Lee could step it up this big on his 2nd album, I am guaranteed Tedashii will do the same. Lecrae’s (Rebel) was among the top of the charts in iTunes. And although his album is highly rated in reviews, I don’t think it is as great as Trip Lee’s. Don’t get me wrong, I love Rebel, in fact I listen to it more than After The Music Stops. This will only prove to show that T-Dot has to deliver a phenomenal album. After all, it was pushed back a few times. It has been postponed for almost a year now. The eyes of HHH is upon T-Dot.
I’ve been hearing nothing but a single verse from my favorite Christian Rapper lately. A verse here and there is not enough for me. I need 110% more Tedashii music. This is why I am taking the time to talk about my favorite artist. I pray all of you will be blessed by his music. Hopefully, you can pick up his album Identity Crisis - due out May 19th. Look for more press and publicity from other HHH media and outlets.
MORE RELEASES FROM T-DOT
Probably not known to many people, 1-1-Six released a rock infused album called AMPED featuring remixes of some of the best songs from Lecrae, Trip Lee, and Tedashii. The album was advertized on MySpace - that’s how I heard about it. And even though it featured only 6 tracks, there were 3 new songs; Red Revolution by Tedashii which is most likely a promotion for RedRevolution.com, Beyond Belief by Lecrae, and Amped by Trip Lee. A perfect album for any 1-1-Six fanatic, especially if you like rock and/or remixes.
An album I had anticipation for was Lecrae’s After The Music Stops in 2006. Although T-Dot was featured on 3 songs from Lecrae’s previous album, this album contained only a hook and verse on the song Unashamed. One month earlier, Trip Lee released his debut album If They Only Knew which contained two songs with Tedashii.
But I think Unashamed as well as Name Up help define who Tedashii is as an influential Christian Hip Hop Artist. His hooks are so memorable and his verses are so filled with content, you have to go back and listen to the track over and over again.
After the Holy Hip Hop Industry heard Unashamed they knew Tedashii could offer an unforgettable song. In 2007 he was also featured on Flame’s song Shinin’, Phanatik’s song North & South, and Sho Baraka’s song Maranatha, and Cam’s song Back Up. Then, 1-1-Six dropped another amazing compilation called 13 Letters which features 4 songs with Tedashii.
Finally, in 2008 Tedashii had a verse on; Dillon Chase’s Walk Worthy, Json’s Listening Choice, Trip Lee’s Real Vision, and Lecrae’s Go Hard. I somehow came across a song on imeem.com called Transformers and featured a verse from Lecrae, Tedashii, and Trip Lee. I guess this was supposed to help promote his album which was going to be released in the summer of 2008. Sadly, his album Identity Crisis got pushed back till April, then again till May 19th, 2009.
TEDASHII FEATURES
Guest appearances;
* "Represent" by Lecrae
* "The Line" by Lecrae
* "Aliens" by Lecrae
* "Unashamed" by Lecrae
* "116 Intro (Remix)" by Trip Lee feat. Lecrae
* "Call Us Crazy" by Trip Lee
* "Shinin" by FLAME
* "Name Up" by The Cross Movement
* "North & South" by Phanatik feat. Christawn
* "Maranatha" by Sho Baraka feat. Json
* "Back Up" by Cam feat. Sho Baraka
* "Real Vision" by Trip Lee
* "Listening Choice" by Json
* "Walk Worthy" by Dillon Chase
* "Go Hard" by Lecrae
With the 116 Clique;
* "116 Clique: The Compilation Album" (2005)
- “In Ya Hood” by Tedashii feat. Trip Lee
- “Impressed Interlude” by Tedashii
- “Impressed” by Tedashii
- “Streets” by Lecrae, BJ, & Tedashii
- “Kingdom People” by Tedashii
* "13 Letters " (2007)
- “Dig In” by Trip Lee feat. Tedashii
- “Keep The Faith” by Tedashii feat. Diamone
- “Stand Strong” by Tedashii
- “Carry Mine” by Tedashii
* "Amped" (2007)
- “The Red Revolution” by Tedashii feat. Sho Baraka
- “No More” by Tedashii feat. Lecrae
resources; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tedashii - http://www.twitter.com/sketchthej - http://www.ChristianHipHopper.com - http://www.DontWasteYourLife.com - http://www.RedRevolution.com - http://www.ReachRecords.com
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Who Watches The Watchmen?
WHO WATCHES THE WATCHMEN...
Hate it or love it, Watchmen is on everyone's mind. After topping the box office with $55.7 M opening weekend, everyone wants to know why. Anyone that has read it knows every detail, every character, every upcoming scene, frame for frame. Obviously, these fanatics brought their friends with them to the movie.
Over the weekend Twitter and Facebook had post after post about Watchmen. Some were disgruntled, and some were ecstatic. Nevertheless, Watchmen is the most talked about thing this week.
With that being said, I'll give you the top 10 reasons why you will hate or love the Watchmen movie.
You will HATE IT because;
- this is NOT a family friendly movie.
- there isn't action scene after action scene.
- no one has super Powers.
- the good guys don't win in the end.
- the good guys are the bad guys.
And you will LOVE IT because;
- this is not a FAMILY friendly movie.
- the characters are realistic.
- no one has Super powers.
- 3 hours doesn't seem that long.
- the attention to detail is phenomenal.
This movie is rated R! Why? Because whenever there is blood there is a LOT of gore. AND, there is nudity and sex. No holding back in this movie.
This isn't an action adventure. Similar to Matrix but more on the level of real life tell the story with drama and life. There isn't fighting everyday, even if you're a crime fighter. When there is any action, the visuals are amazing.
No super powers? Well, besides Dr. Manhattan being able to have almost all the powers of God, there are NO super heroes in this movie. Each hero uses their God given talent to fight bad guys, along with their costumes. This works for them though because this makes them more realistic and life like - similar to Batman, without daddy's money.
I hate to break it to you, but the good guys are not perfect. They are human beings like me and you and make mistakes. Obviously, they make mistakes and they fail to save all of man kind in the end.
Every good guy is punished for his or her evil deeds. The pain and hurt is true to life. You come to find out the good guys weren't and/or aren't always good. Kind of like Heroes Season 3 VILLAINS.
Although this plot takes place in an alternate 1985, the feel is rather realistic and could be taken serious, unlike other comic book / super hero movies where you need to use you imagine and pretend that mutants could be real. Because of this, you can actually relate to characters, generally speaking.
Now originally this movie was about 4 hours, but they cut it to be under 3 hours. It doesn't feel as long as The Dark Knight though. I think if I watched the movie again, I'll come across scenes I forgot about. Plus, I believe you will notice something different the next time you watch it. If you are a fanatic or plan on getting the DVD, you'll be able to enjoy the full length director's cut as well.
Watchmen has been in the works since the 80s. Now that someone can actually accomplish turning the comic book into a feature film, you will be rewarded by their efforts. The attention to detail is amazing.
Throughout the first hour I tried to pick out something that was a flaw, i.e. the shadows of the camera crew in Transformers. But they made this movie the best movie they could. Each set was built in living color and matched perfectly with the comic book. They even used the comic as their story board. Amazing.
If you don't think they paid 110 times more attention to detail than any other blockbuster director, just download their podcast on iTunes for free and watch the video journals. You will be impressed. Directors and film makers, take notes!
Hate it or love it, Watchmen is on everyone's mind. After topping the box office with $55.7 M opening weekend, everyone wants to know why. Anyone that has read it knows every detail, every character, every upcoming scene, frame for frame. Obviously, these fanatics brought their friends with them to the movie.
Over the weekend Twitter and Facebook had post after post about Watchmen. Some were disgruntled, and some were ecstatic. Nevertheless, Watchmen is the most talked about thing this week.
With that being said, I'll give you the top 10 reasons why you will hate or love the Watchmen movie.
You will HATE IT because;
- this is NOT a family friendly movie.
- there isn't action scene after action scene.
- no one has super Powers.
- the good guys don't win in the end.
- the good guys are the bad guys.
And you will LOVE IT because;
- this is not a FAMILY friendly movie.
- the characters are realistic.
- no one has Super powers.
- 3 hours doesn't seem that long.
- the attention to detail is phenomenal.
This movie is rated R! Why? Because whenever there is blood there is a LOT of gore. AND, there is nudity and sex. No holding back in this movie.
This isn't an action adventure. Similar to Matrix but more on the level of real life tell the story with drama and life. There isn't fighting everyday, even if you're a crime fighter. When there is any action, the visuals are amazing.
No super powers? Well, besides Dr. Manhattan being able to have almost all the powers of God, there are NO super heroes in this movie. Each hero uses their God given talent to fight bad guys, along with their costumes. This works for them though because this makes them more realistic and life like - similar to Batman, without daddy's money.
I hate to break it to you, but the good guys are not perfect. They are human beings like me and you and make mistakes. Obviously, they make mistakes and they fail to save all of man kind in the end.
Every good guy is punished for his or her evil deeds. The pain and hurt is true to life. You come to find out the good guys weren't and/or aren't always good. Kind of like Heroes Season 3 VILLAINS.
Although this plot takes place in an alternate 1985, the feel is rather realistic and could be taken serious, unlike other comic book / super hero movies where you need to use you imagine and pretend that mutants could be real. Because of this, you can actually relate to characters, generally speaking.
Now originally this movie was about 4 hours, but they cut it to be under 3 hours. It doesn't feel as long as The Dark Knight though. I think if I watched the movie again, I'll come across scenes I forgot about. Plus, I believe you will notice something different the next time you watch it. If you are a fanatic or plan on getting the DVD, you'll be able to enjoy the full length director's cut as well.
Watchmen has been in the works since the 80s. Now that someone can actually accomplish turning the comic book into a feature film, you will be rewarded by their efforts. The attention to detail is amazing.
Throughout the first hour I tried to pick out something that was a flaw, i.e. the shadows of the camera crew in Transformers. But they made this movie the best movie they could. Each set was built in living color and matched perfectly with the comic book. They even used the comic as their story board. Amazing.
If you don't think they paid 110 times more attention to detail than any other blockbuster director, just download their podcast on iTunes for free and watch the video journals. You will be impressed. Directors and film makers, take notes!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Northwest Independent Christian Artists, let's UNITE!
2008 was a year of personal growth and realization. As a Christian, I realized that selling records was not my goal. As an artist, I realized to make money from your music you cannot leave out the option of merchandise. It seems as though people love seeing you perform for free and love you even more if you hand out free cds.
In 2006 and 2007 I handed out 1000 CDs in mixtapes and singles. So I figured I should have a manufactured CD - packaged and ready to sell in any store. Even with a Free Poster, these CDs didn't leave my possession as quick as I expected.
We all need to understand, welcome, and embrace the new world and digital age. Having your music online is essential these days. Everyone has an album for sell on iTunes for $9.99. Now, the "new" thing is EPs and Singles. Why release a 12-15 song album when you can sell your songs at $.99 each.
I have released digital albums with bonus songs and extended versions to help the album get exposure. The best way to further your album is to follow the footsteps of Braille. He released his The IV Edition as an Instrumental album, AND an A Capella album. An artist can potentially triple the sells and open up the opportunity for other artists to use your beats or vocals for their remixes, mixtapes, and so on. Its a blessing all around.
Another great way to promote the music is a Podcast. I have been wanting to be a part of a Podcast in any way. Fresh Mann shared the idea of Video Blogging and offering fans the opportunity to send in questions to be answered. This is a great idea and should be taken further and include music by indie artists. I would like to increase the possibility of exposure of artists without labels by sharing their music, news, updates and interviews. I hope they can use this media to share their mission, ideas, & dreams for their music.
As this continues to weigh on my heart, I have been encouraged and inspired by Podcasts such as the Wade-O Radio Show. My goal is not only to help promote my own music, but others in the same position as me.
~
With all this being said, I will share with you my game plan for 2009.
~
Goals to accomplish;
A. MUSIC ENDEAVOR for 2009
1st - Record the 30 songs I wrote last year.
.: 2 Albums; [Memory Box] &
In 2006 and 2007 I handed out 1000 CDs in mixtapes and singles. So I figured I should have a manufactured CD - packaged and ready to sell in any store. Even with a Free Poster, these CDs didn't leave my possession as quick as I expected.
We all need to understand, welcome, and embrace the new world and digital age. Having your music online is essential these days. Everyone has an album for sell on iTunes for $9.99. Now, the "new" thing is EPs and Singles. Why release a 12-15 song album when you can sell your songs at $.99 each.
I have released digital albums with bonus songs and extended versions to help the album get exposure. The best way to further your album is to follow the footsteps of Braille. He released his The IV Edition as an Instrumental album, AND an A Capella album. An artist can potentially triple the sells and open up the opportunity for other artists to use your beats or vocals for their remixes, mixtapes, and so on. Its a blessing all around.
Another great way to promote the music is a Podcast. I have been wanting to be a part of a Podcast in any way. Fresh Mann shared the idea of Video Blogging and offering fans the opportunity to send in questions to be answered. This is a great idea and should be taken further and include music by indie artists. I would like to increase the possibility of exposure of artists without labels by sharing their music, news, updates and interviews. I hope they can use this media to share their mission, ideas, & dreams for their music.
As this continues to weigh on my heart, I have been encouraged and inspired by Podcasts such as the Wade-O Radio Show. My goal is not only to help promote my own music, but others in the same position as me.
~
With all this being said, I will share with you my game plan for 2009.
~
Goals to accomplish;
A. MUSIC ENDEAVOR for 2009
1st - Record the 30 songs I wrote last year.
.: 2 Albums; [Memory Box] &
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)