Jackz – How To Roc

Jelani Olushola Bodden was born in Brooklyn February 8th 1993 and raised in Queens New York. At age 5 he discovered his love for writing, by writing poems and stories. At age 11 he wrote his first song and at age 13 he recorded his first track, from then on his dream to pursue music was born.

Jackz was raised on all types of music growing up, including mostly R&B, Salsa, Soul, and Hip Hop. His mother loved to listen to Prince, Stevie Wonder, Take 6, and Jill Scott, and so did Jackz. He loved the art of producing, rapping, and song writing, and with so much talent he decided to pursue it all.

01: What region do you reside in?

I was born in Brooklyn NY and raised & still reside in Jamaica Queens. But I was also raised partly in Far Rocaway.

02: What type of things influence your artistry?
My life, my mind state. I have a diverse off track mind & my music comes from those thoughts. lol

03: How long have you been in the music industry?
I just turned 17 on Febuary 8th, and I’ve really started at 11 so about 6 years.

04: What type of music genre do you associate yourself with?
Hip Hop & Soul, I look at it like, all music has soul in it.

05: What are the names of some of the artists that you worked with?
Bad News, V.I, Young Drumma, Terrence Darnell, & a few other independent artists. I have produced for many artists as well.

06: What are some of the names that you would like to collaborate with?
I would love to colab with Nas, LL Cool J, Joell Ortiz, Novel, Game, Chamillionaire, B.o.B, & Ludacris….All part influences, and can’t forget Prince.

07: Are you signed or unsigned?
I own an independent label called Above Sound Music. I’m looking for distribution.

08: What are the names of some of your current/upcoming projects?
I have an album entitled Above Sound, & a lil mixtape out on datpiff.com, you could just search for Jackz.

09: What do you want to accomplish in 2010?
To set it up so the future of music is what comes out my mic. Also grow as an artist & establish myself as an artist & producer.

10: Do you like the turn that the mainstream music has taken?
I respect the fact everybody has to get there money, But I feel the soul has left. I’m not gonna sit here & complain about the issues, but try to be the solution.

11: What do you believe the music industry is lacking right now?

Besides me it’s lacking freedom. Everybody has to sound a certain way and cant express creativity.

12: What does “music” mean to you?
Life. Music has raised me, & taught me more than any one person has.

13: What are some ways in which people may contact you?

They could hit me up on the myspace, www.myspace.com/itsjackzmusic. Or Hit me up on the twitter @JackzMusic. Lol Imma twitter beast.

Also for all inquiries they could hit my manager up at jackzmusic@gmail.com.

“Call Me” cameo by Jackz

]]> http://bpflive.com/rising-star-jackz-qa/feed/ 0 http://bpflive.com/rising-star-pryslezz-when-hip-hop-really-came-alive-for-me/ http://bpflive.com/rising-star-pryslezz-when-hip-hop-really-came-alive-for-me/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:12:09 +0000 Chris King http://bpflive.com/?p=2031

Pryslezz – Never Said

“I was introduced to his music in high school and that was really my introduction to hip hop as well, cuz that’s when hip hop really came alive for me”

Rapper Pryslezz (Price-Lezz) has been making quite the impression with his music thus far; In 2009, he released “Death of a Man, Rebirth of a King” the first single, “More Than A Love Song” featured Grammy nominated R&B singer Dwele, charting on the Billboard Hip Hop/ R&B Single Sales peaking at #2 while impacting Urban Mainstream Radio, receiving over 300 spins/week and finished in the top 5 most added in its first week holding its own alongside Lil’ Wayne, Sean Kingston, Ludacris and Estelle.

The music video for “More Than A Love Song” was put into rotation on VH-1 Soul, VH-1, BET.com, Yahoo! and Music Choice as well as officially accepted to MTV Jams. He also has a song with N.O.X. and Jason Derulo, click here for the video.

More Than A Love Song

The Interview

01: What region do you reside in?
I live in San Diego, CA. I’m out west now but I’m from up north. Youngstown, OH.

02: What type of things influence your artistry?
Everything does. People, life experiences, nature, God.

03: How long have you been in the music industry?
Around 12years. I’ve been making music for quite awhile now. Developing as an artist daily.

04: What type of music genre do you associate yourself with?
To be honest I don’t have a specific genre that I stay in. I’ll say Hip Hop though because that is the one genre that draws from all others.

05: What are the names of some of the artists that you worked with?
I have worked with artists like Dwele, Raheem DeVaughn, Slum Village and Jason Derulo to name a few. They all appear on my album ‘Death of a Man Rebirth of a King’.

06: What are some of the names that you would like to collaborate with?
There are many people that I would love to collaborate with in the future: Andre 3000, Jay Z, Nas and Common to name a few.

07: What are you? Signed or unsigned?
Signed to an Independent label. King Ape Records/Entertainment. I am actually part owner of this label as well.

08: What are the names of some of your current/upcoming projects?
My album ‘Death of a Man Rebirth of a King’ is available now on itunes, I have just finished up a project I have been working on in tribute to the late great JDilla. Its called PRYSDILLA. I’m also in the process of working on an EP.

09: What do you want to accomplish in 2010?
I’m going to accomplish growth and expansion. Both for my company and as an artist.

10: Do you like the turn that the mainstream music has taken?
Every twist and turn isn’t my cup of tea. There are some flavors that I do enjoy. Its the nature of the industry. Its always been a love/hate relationship and will always be one.

11: What do you believe the music industry is lacking right now?
Creativity and substance.

12: What does “Music” mean to you?
Music means life.

13: What are some ways in which people may contact you?
I’m always on my website: www.kingapeent.com. Sign up and join in the fun. My myspace is www.myspace.com/pryslezz and my twitter, which I spend a lot of time on, is @therealpryslezz. Get up with me. Let’s build.

Pryslezz (price-less)” just released ‘PRSYDILLA’ an engagingly lyrical J DILLA Tribute Album now available on www.KingApeEnt.com for FREE download.

Princeton – You’re The One

Here is a hot exclusive for you guys from up and coming artist Princeton with his smooth R&B single “You’re The One“. This guy has a great voice and he knows how to put it down in the studio. He can write, sing, dance, he does it all. Ladies! you need to get your eyes locked on this R&B sensation because he is not away anytime soon. He is going to become a household name by the end of 2010 everyone will know the name Princeton.

The Interview

CK: Hey Princeton, whats good?

Nothin’ man, just got back from a Radio interview.

CK: Alright, that’s whats up. So I’m just going to jump right into this and ask you were are you from?

Well, I’m originally from Oregon, the Portland area. But I’m in Detroit, Michigan right now.

CK: Ok so you are from the far West (laughs)

Yea man (laughs)

CK: So what inspires your artistry and how you gather your lyrics together?

I mean alot of stuff, like…I’m very observant, I like to peep out my surroundings. I get alot of concepts and ideas from watching my friends and watching people around me, seeing what type of situations they go through. I get up in peoples business and they don’t know it, it’s pretty funny. Before they know it, I already wrote a song about it. So yea, I get alot of ideas by being observant.

CK: Alright I feel you, how long have you been in the game right now?

Well I’ve been singing and I always wanted to be a singer since I was like 3 or 4. But I just started taking it seriously when I was in middle school or high school. I actually started recording when I was in middle school but I started doing shows and things that were big when I was in high school.

CK: Ok, so you have been doing this for a long time.

Yea man (laughs) I have, I been singing ever since I was little.

CK: That’s whats up. So what type of genre would you associate yourself with?

Well I would call what I do, urban pop or R&B Urban Pop or something like that. It’s like R&B but you have a little Hip Hop and you have a little bit of Pop influence as well. So…I think–like my project I’m working on now; Growing Pains. It’s gonna be done in March and it like touches a little bit of each one of those genre’s. I got upbeat joints, I got Pop joints but they feel more like Hip Hop joints the way the beat cuts through and then I got my slower songs that really carries over the whole R&B aspect of it. Then I have a couple of mid temps that sound real–you know; street and bang hard, so it sounds more Hip Hop. So I try to intermix a little bit of everything to make everybody happy.

CK: So what are some of the names of artists that you have collaborated over the course of time that you have been in the music industry?

Well, I worked with and done shows with Drake, Rick Ross, Souljah Boy, Trey Songz, Pleasure P (whistling), Day26.

CK: You got a long list of names.

A whole bunch of people, Jagged Edge, Raheem DeVaughn, just alot of people dawg.

CK: So what are some of the names that you would like to collaborate with?

Man, if I could like, I know this is way out the ballpark but it I could work with Beyonce. I would like to work with Lady Gaga, Beyonce. I’d Like to work with Drake, I wanna write with him, get him on a track or two…he’s like one of my favorite rappers–TI, Jay-Z of course and are we just talking about artists or producers?

CK: We are talking about artists, producers, anybody that catches your eye. Lyrically or with their artistry, anything like that.

Man I would love to work with Timbaland, I can’t wait for that; Danja, Polow Da Don. I would like to do a duet with Keri Hilson. But yea, I really can’t wait to work with Drake on songwriting, because I really like the way he comes in with his flows and I would like to incorporate that with an R&B songs and see where it goes. I think we would work good together, we kinda have a similar style.

CK: Ok I feel you on that one.

Oh and Kanye West, oh wait, man, hold on–and Tricky Stewart. The-Dream, I love that man’s talent, that would just be a dope experience.

CK: So at this point in time are you signed or unsigned.

Right now I’m currently unsigned but I’m being shopped to a couple a different labels so I have a couple of situations going on, can’t talk about it yet though.

CK:Alright, so what are the names of some of names of your current and upcoming projects?

I’m working on a free album, it’s called Growing Pains and I’m wrapping it up now. Get Her Number and You’re The One are the singles off of that. It’s gonna be free, you’re going to be able to download it on itunes and amazon. You can already get the first two singles, you can get, Get Her Number and You’re The One on Itunes and Amazon. But yea, the album I’m working on now is Growing Pains.

CK: That’s whats up, that was a nice plug (laughs)

(laughs) I had to man.

CK: Ok so what do you want to accomplish in the year 2010?

I want to be signed to a Major record label, I want to at least–if the album hasn’t been released, I want to release my first single in 2010. Man I just want to go to the next level, like God has really blessed me to be able to progress. I haven’t made any backwards steps since I’ve been working. Every step that I made has only gotten me further ahead and thats the only way I would continue to go. So I would like to release my first National or International single. I’d like to I at least want to be on tour, you know, it works kind of funny because I may get signed or I may come to a decision on a deal this month but it may not be closed till the middle of the year. So by the time it closed I have to record for the album and it may not have a single till the end of the year, so yea, stuff plays out weird.

So if I could just say that I would like to have a single and be on tour and be signed in 2010, I would be happy with that. Then in 2011 we can talk about grammy’s and all that stuff.

CK: Ok so do you like the turn that the mainstream music industry has taken?

Elaborate on that a little bit

CK: Like the music in the 90′s used to be a little bit more in-depth than now. Now it’s a whole lot of chopping and screwing with the track–it’s based more on production value than the lyrics, if you know what I’m saying.

I’m thinking about it, because man, I loved music in the 90′s compared to the music now. See I think it varies with artists, I don’t think it took a turn as a whole.

CK: So you don’t think that maybe it evolved or something like that?

Yea music has just evolved, like the game is in a really funny place right now because not only are we dealing with the whole digital era. Like, CD’s are about to be eliminated and it’s going to be all digital in the next 5 to 10 years. So with that, the brand new people downloading–record labels and the whole industry has been affected by that, so that’s really taken a toll. I think the music has somewhat been affected by that because a lot of people are trying to make a quick hit instead of trying to focus on making great music.

It’s like people are making worse music because they are trying to make better music. Because they are seeing “Oh does this sound like a hit”–instead of how it would be before all this pressure was on them, they would just go in the studio and do what the love to do. I think thats the thing though, like alot of music that’s out now sounds like a wannabe “quick hit”, you know what I’m saying? Like, some people succeed and some don’t.

You have your people that have been out for a long time or have been in the game for a minute, like you have your Beyonce’s and your Jamie Foxx’s and your Jay-Z’s and Alicia Keys. People who have been out since–and Usher well yea, Usher and them–who have been out since this digital era started to come into the game. Then you have your newer people like Lady Gaga, Jeremih and Pleasure P who really have to–and even Rihanna, who has to come a little different because they didn’t have the fans that were there before people started downloading and they have to really compensate and make it seem like there’s something really different about them to make people really want to support them.

CK: Ok well that was alot of information and a new point of view.

Yea there’s alot of things going on behind the scenes right now, crazy. Just to sum the question up because I don’t think I totally answered the question because I think I said alot more than what you were asking.

CK: Naw, thats ok (laughs)

I would say yea, the music industry has turned to be a little bit more watered down. Everybody is just trying to make a quick it. You know some people succeed and it still sounds good but it’s just a little bit more mainstream.

CK: Alright so I guess we can skip the question about, what the game is lacking.

But see, just because you don’t have good music doesn’t mean you aren’t talented. I think the game is lacking now with alot of these new artists, is that they don’t have talent. I don’t know how they got signed or how they got opportunities but their here.

CK: Yea I think that has something to do with people and the whole package, you have to have the whole package. You have to know how to sing, act for the music videos and know how to perform.

You know I get upset about these people that are out right now. I know someone has to come out to Detroit and do a documentary about what goes on here because there is a whole circle of up and coming artists, musicians, producers and songwriters out that nobody knows about because no one would come to Detroit for anything. But were here and it’s a whole process you have to go through. I would say like a training or an initiation that you have to go through just to be come an artist.

Like out here you don’t get respected if you can’t put on a show, you don’t get respected if you get on stage and you don’t sound like your record.You don’t get respected if your record isn’t hot or doesn’t sound hot. But there are unsigned artists here that are competing with or better than the people that are out right now but they just don’t know about them.

CK: Ok, thats whats up, I didn’t know about all the other Detroit artists that are out there in that circle. The Detroit artists here that I know about other than you would have to be Roc Stea’D, Yung Roc, Jigg, like the whole label Live The Music Group.

You know Vina Mills?

CK: Yea I know Vina Mills, the track that she had with all those trumpets on it sounded hot. Now let’s get to one of the questions that you can answer with passion. What does music mean to you?

Man. Music means everything to me. If I couldn’t pursue music, I really don’t know what I would do. Like if my voice was shot today, I would be a business man or something and just be on some business stuff. But I wouldn’t know what I would do, music is everything to me, it’s all I ever wanted to do. Like, I sing everyday, I listen to music everyday, music is incorporated into just about everything I do or think about. It means the world to me.

CK: That was a good answer. I feel the passion. I know you’re gonna make it.

Thanks man, I appreciate it.

Can’t get enough of Princeton? You can check him out via these websites:

http://Twitter.com/PrincetonMusic1
http://Myspace.com/PrincetonMusic1
http://Youtube.com/PrincetonMusic1
http://Facebook.com/PrincetonMusic

Evan Roberts – Golden (Prod. by StarKiller)

Orlando-based production duo Oddz.N.Endz (the team behind Slim’s “[thkBC height="500" width="900" anchortext="So Fly" url="http://www.djbooth.net/index/tracks/review/slim-of-112-ft-yung-joc-so-fly/" type="iframe"]” and the Birdman/Jay Sean collabo “[thkBC height="500" width="900" anchortext="Written On Her" url="http://www.djbooth.net/index/tracks/review/birdman-ft.-jay-sean-written-on-her/" type="iframe"],”) proudly present the flagship artist on their new label imprint Another One Records, Evan Roberts.

Roberts first offering, an EP entitled Outta Hear, combines real life struggles, heart break and the frustrations of trying to succeed.  In an attempt to showcase his solo skills, guest appearances were kept to a minimum (Cory Gunz, DJ Khaled, and Ya Boy), while producer Matthew “Starkiller” Walker, whose stadium sound production and extensive rock background prove to be a perfect complement to the neo-urban sound of Justin “Jay Houston” Harris and Nick “Nino” Lazzeri, handles the majority of production (10 out of 13 tracks).

(via [thkBC height="500" width="900" anchortext="DJ Booth" url="http://www.djbooth.net/" type="iframe"])

[thkBC height="500" width="900" anchortext="Download His Free EP Outta Here" url="http://www.refinedhype.com/mixtapes/evan-roberts-outta-hear-ep/evan-roberts-outta-hear-ep.zip" type="iframe"]

So we got a hold of upcoming r&b artist Evan Roberts. He gave us some insight on who he is and what he plans to do in the entertainment industry. Take look after the jump ↓

01.What region do you reside in?

I’M ORIGINALLY FROM INDIANAPOLIS, IN.. BUT I CURRENTLY RESIDE IN ORLANDO, FL.

02.What type of things influence your artistry?

EVERYTHING…FROM MUSIC, MOVIES, TO REAL LIFE IN EVERYDAY SITUATIONS…IT HELPS ME STAY GROUNDED IN MY TOPICS AND WHAT I WANT TO CONVEY TO PEOPLE.

03.What type of music genre do you associate yourself with?

ROCK AND RNB

04.What are you? Signed or unsigned?

IM CURRENTLY SIGNED TO ANOTHA ONE RECORDS AND WE’RE LOOKING FOR A DISTRUBITION DEAL OR PARTNERSHIP

05.What are the names of some of your current/upcoming projects?

MY “OUTTA HEAR” EP..THATS THE ONLY THING WE’RE FOCUSED ON RIGHT NOW

06.What do you have in store with these projects?

WELL WE JUST RELEASED MY DEBUT EP “OUTTA HEAR”, AND WE’LL BE RELEASING THE VIDEO FOR MY LEAD SINGLE “GOLDEN” IN THE NEXT COMING WEEKS AS WELL AS A VIDEO FOR ANOTHER SONG ON MY EP CALLED “FIND MYSELF WITH YOU”…WE’RE ALSO GETTING FEATURES FOR SOME REMIXES TO MY SONGS ON MY EP AS WELL AS SHOOTING MORE VIDEOS FOR OTHER SONGS ON MY EP…

07.What do you want to accomplish in 2010?

MORE MUSIC, MORE MOVES AND TO ACCOMPLISH MY DREAM OF GIVING WHAT I FEEL TO MY FANS AS BIG AS POSSIBLE..

08.What type of collaborations can your listeners expect?

WELL I’VE ALREADY COLLABORATED WITH FREEWAY, CORY GUNZ, YA BOY, DJ KHALED AND COPELAND…AND BASICALLY BIGGER COLLABOS AND MORE OUT THE BOX COMBINATIONS…THINGS YOU WOULDN’T EXPECT…

09.What does “Golden” mean to you?

“GOLDEN” IS THE FIRST SONG I RECORDED WITH MY PRODUCER STARKILLER AND IT BASICALLY BIRTHED MY WHOLE SOUND AND WHAT I AM TODAY MUSICALLY…

10.What are some ways in which people may contact you?

THEY CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER [thkBC height="500" width="900" anchortext="@OFFICIALEVAN" url="http://twitter.com/officialevan" type="iframe"]…HIT ME ON MY MYSPACE..[thkBC height="500" width="900" anchortext="MYSPACE.COM/OFFICIALEVAN" url="http://myspace.com/officialevan" type="iframe"]…AND EMAIL ME EVANROBERTSMUSIC@GMAIL.COM..

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