Introducing Kevin T. Lowery to Expand Management Division
Introducing Kevin T. Lowery to Expand Management Division
Ok, ok, you’ve got us! ?
Over the last couple of years, we’ve focused on equipping you with creative assets to keep your website, social channels, and various brand initiatives up-to-date. Via photo and video we’ve produced for you, we were able to leverage this process and skillset with multiple clients, creating a unique, raw and straight-forward marketing tool to power our business.
You ate it up! Content development is one of our hottest services!
I know you’re probably saying,
“What are you talking about Iquan?”
The Question: How can THE ARTOHOLIKS add value to my business?
The dark side of our business has been size and management. Because we are a the go-to choice, we get pretty busy. What happens to the other moving parts of the business when the designers are busy designing?
Are you following?
Here’s a quick scenario… We all love food, right? We know a few great spots that serve great food. And 9 times out of 10, we don’t complain about the food. We complain about the service. If the service is bad, the food becomes bad.
So…
If we provide awesome creative services, but miss deadlines and etc., just like the restaurant scenario, clients won’t be satisfied.
In an effort to continue to grow and deliver best-in-class, nimble service, I’m happy to announce we’re now in the management game.
“How Iquan?”
Introducing Kevin T. Lowery, the latest addition to the Artoholik team. Kevin is here to save the day with his management and business background. His professional experience includes retail management, finance, and account management. Kevin’s day to day within the office will be to oversee the management team and support our creative group.
Dedicated solely to management and planning, he will have the resources and time – yes time is a resource, but we can never put too much emphasis on time – to impact our projects in a major way, streamlining them so you not only get great results, but great service as well. 🙂
Together, Kevin and I plan on pushing THE ARTOHOLIKS to the next level with dope design, rich assets, and now, strategic planning and management.
Please welcome, Kevin T. Lowery!
Expectations vs Realities: Starting my Internship
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Hey everyone, it’s me, Justin! The newest addition to The Artoholiks internship program (or Space Camp, as we call it)! Let’s talk about that.
Starting an internship is interesting. You never know what to expect. “Intern” has so many meanings that as a job title it’s become almost meaningless. We all know someone whose entire internship was getting coffee and doing small menial tasks under the guise of “experience.” The other side of the spectrum is being mentored by your supervisor and doing work that interests you and learning a lot along the way.
But you never know how it’s gonna go! Some design internships consist of being handed last year’s projects and being told to make an updated version for this year. While you will still learn a lot along the way, its not the super creative endeavor you might hope for.
Expectation: A smile and a handshake upon walking in.
Reality: A welcome sign! (and those other things too!)
So going into the Artoholiks I expected something along those lines. I expected to be making stuff that wasn’t super interesting to me. I expected that my interactions with the rest of the team would be mostly about work. I expected feeling hurried to eat my lunch quickly so I could get back to work.
What I did not expect was being so heavily involved with the entire design process. Being asked to update the newsletter was a job I expected. Being asked to give it a redesign from the ground up was an unexpected, but greatly appreciated, challenge. (Be sure to sign up for the newsletter by the way so you can check it out later this month!). I was not expecting to be invited to meetings with important clients. I was not expecting I would be asked for my thoughts, feedback and critiques so quickly.
Expectation: working on my laptop in the corner.
Reality: This sweet setup with a second monitor and a graphics tablet! And a little welcome bag to take home!
I feel like the biggest fear someone may have about starting any new job, or joining a new team of any kind, is not feeling like you are an important part of the team. I have never felt so welcomed and important at a job or internship than I have this past month, and that makes me so excited for the months ahead.
What I Learned: How To Think
What I Learned: How To Think
My thoughts on thinking
If there’s anything I’d say is required for making a piece of art, it’s inspiration…
And sometimes inspiration is hard as hell to come by. Everybody hits walls while writing, exercising, learning something… honestly anything that you’ve gotta put effort into you can find yourself at a stand still at some point. It’s hard to get through and it sucks, you feel like your brain just decided to turn off, and there’s no hope of turning it back on.
Sometimes when this happens to me I have a real quick chat with my brain, something along the lines of:
Me: Hey I’d like to finish this project that’s due tomorrow please, it’s kinda important.
My brain: How about I think about some random shit that doesn’t have to do with it instead.
Me: Is there anyway you cou-
My brain: Nah.
It’s frustrating, but it happens, a lot. So, if you’re pursuing a creative career this is something that you kinda have to learn how to deal with really effectively. And what I’m going to say may seem basic but it’s something that I’ve seen time and time again here at the Artoholiks. The best way to get through a wall is to have other people to brainstorm with, and that’s the truth! It’s simple but it works, why waste hours by yourself sitting in front of a computer putting your fingers to your temples like you’re professor X in an attempt to get some kind of inspiration when you can just use other people’s brains?
And even though “Using other peoples brains” might sound like something a super villain in a cartoon might say it’s what you gotta do. Getting a bunch of people with a bunch of different perspectives gets you out of your own head (the one that doesn’t want anything to do with what you’re trying to accomplish) which is exactly what you need at that moment. That’s what the office here is always like, no matter what it is, whether its a photoshoot, a logo design, or planning an event, Iquan, Aaron, and Rasheedah are always bouncing ideas off of one another. Watching it happen everyday I come in is always an intensely fun and helpful experience because they are constantly inspiring each other and myself with an infectious energy.
So, the take away here is, when your brain isn’t working, just use someone else’s.
WORK: The SEED (How I Grew Today)
Call us your waste management company…
It won’t always be the prettiest job, but it’s needed. On time, done right, and out of your way!
OK, OK… Waste management might be too harsh and our friend Marquita of How I Grew Today, might be offended. See, we’re not saying that this project is trash at all. However, her new project ‘The SEED’ is majority management and little design. When you think of THE ARTOHOLIKS, you think… Cool graphics, videos and photos right? When Marquita came to us to help her with her new video series, she had already did the fun part by having someone else create the videos.
So, where did that leave us? Management! Yup, we were hired to consult and help deploy these videos. So while this isn’t our norm, it still allowed us to be creative by…
- Producing a social media calendar and plan
- Developing additional creative assets
- Managing the process of content distribution
- Monitoring social engagement
The reason we have no problem calling this a waste management project is simple. Unlike our web projects, branding projects or any other design jobs that we work on, Marquita, needs us, while those other jobs pose a ‘WANT’ greater than a ‘NEED’. People want to work with us because we’re young, cool, seasoned, flexible and a ton of other reasons, but they don’t always need us. The SEED is a perfect project right now for us because we are now in a place where we NEED our clients to NEED us. This type of project is no longer subject to subjective opinions, this project is all about the FACTS.
Moral of the story? Be needed, be a waste management company and stay in business.
MY 10 RULES OF BRAND-BUILDING
You know I used to beat that block, now I be’s the block.
Iquan shares some of his experiences to form a down and dirty version of how to grow your small brand.
Earlier today I received a phone call from a friend stating that she needed some inspiration. I thought, “Cool, how can I help you”. She then rambled on about an idea she has and a commitment she needed to make in order to pursue that idea. Turns out, she didn’t really need inspiration, she just needed to vent. I get it, everyone wants to do things their own way. Unfortunately, today a lot of people want it their way and very quick too. What saddens me about my friend’s rant, was that she had already made up her mind and didn’t sound confident at all about the decision she arrived at.
Somehow, everyone in my age group is an entrepreneur. I call this the Puffy/Jay Z era. They made it cool for us to want to start our own, which is very dope! Over the last 10 years, I’ve seen my friends who were rappers start music labels, artist and designers start clothing lines, cooks become chefs, and so on. We all jumped aboard of the Entrepreneur Express, with the strength of our talents but forgot the knowledge of business; but perhaps we never had the knowledge to begin with.
You know i used to beat that block, now I be’s the block. The truth of the matter is, you can be more talented than the next person — the better DJ, Chef, or Artist — but unless you’re super awesome and can pretty much sell water to a fish, you need to learn a few things that will transform you from hustler to entrepreneur.
I’m still very active in the struggle, everyone knows I can design, take a pretty photo, and build a decent website. But what good is all of this if I’m not generating the money I want to make for myself and the team? After 10 hard years I’m finally here and I decided to write this post to help my friend I mention above with her decision.
Here are the 10 biggest lessons I learned while building the artoholiks:
number 1
Be clear about what you want. Have an idea on what you want do, who you want to do it for, and why. With the resources we have at our fingertips, anyone can make a t-shirt or two. A friend of mine, a martial arts instructor created a line that inspires other martial artists. That’s a voice! He’ll get support from the first tier of supporters which is friends and family; the second tier, is the Martial Arts industry. He’ll be in Dojo’s all over if he follows the next 9 steps.
number 2
Adjust… Find your industry competitors and know their next steps. Also, know your customers! With this knowledge, you will always be able to craft your business to grow with the times.
number 3
Consistency… Being consistent sounds easy but it’s not. In the process of changing up in order to keep up, you could easily lose you core VOICE or make it confusing and nearly impossible to identify. Do everything in your power to maintain steadiness. Do not lose your voice.
number 4
Stay Hungry! Not Thirsty… Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. You’ll be tempted to expand or try something else. Chances are, if you didn’t perfect your initial idea, adjust well or maintain a level of consistency with your original idea then there’s no way you’re going to get it right in your expansion. Stay put for a moment, and master what got you here.
number 5
(infiltrate) OK, I may have slowed you down, that’s good! That was my goal. Here’s where being the best that you can be comes into play. Educate yourself, work for or put yourself in the presence of someone who is doing what you aspire to do and get schooled. Take this info and use it to get your business over the hump and into that next step.
number 6
My Favorite… If you have passion, then you’re doing the right thing, because without it, at this point you would have given up. If you had time to infiltrate, then you aren’t making real money. But that’s OK, you have passion, you’ll figure it out! Be patient, take the money you are making and reinvest it back into your business and you’ll be fine.
number 7
At this point, you’re not in it to make friends, you’re in it to make ends. You gathered some info, sacrificed the new Jordan release to get that new piece of equipment, and you’re almost there. Meanwhile, shorty is over there stepping on your toes trying to do what you do. You’re not hating if you keep your resources to yourself, you’re not hating if you choose to keep your next move to yourself. You learned everything you need to know by working hard, getting up early and staying up late to research, and building relationships; you earned it, you keep it.
number 8
Manage your growth… You might feel a little successful at this point because you are starting to break even and may even have a team, some support, or a little help. Stay put, chillax, just like everything else it will grow, don’t rush your fate. Continue to work with it and have faith, before you know it, that shiny storefront won’t be out of your price range.
number 9
STAY LEARNING… The girl above, didn’t ask me one single question. See she’s aware that I’m successful and have being going at it for 10 years. However, she didn’t ask one question. Me, I am the complete opposite, I ask MAD questions. Like a whole bunch! So many questions, you might be lowkey annoyed. Read, ask questions, find a mentor, and never stop wanting to learn.
number 10
You may laugh at this but I mean it when I say it… Have FUN! Having a job is WHACK and it’s probably the reason why you decided to start your own business. Remember that! Hire people who love working with you, people who will ride with you. When you’re having fun, it makes that empty bank account less depressing. People will want to be down, to buy from you, and to support you, because good people love happy people. #FACTS
KEEPING CONSISTENCY WITH BRANDING
a quick lesson on brand consistency
our creative director, Aaron Brand is ready to school you!
Whether your brand has been around for years or your brand just recently launched and hit the market, brands usually strategize to maintain brand consistency. For example, Heinz is one of the most famous condiment brands in the world, not only have they kept their brand consistent, but they have managed to also have fun with the brand’s packaging at the same time.
A good brand is built over time and requires thought, strategy, and consistent implementation. Let’s take a look at Heinz, a great example for taking your brand to the next level!
From the name to the logo, from the product to the messaging, everyone knows Heinz. It has been said that Heinz Brand is one of the most widely recognized brands worldwide.
Interestingly, their logo has remained largely unchanged since the 1900s. The Serif font and classic shield with green and gold stripes remains consistent.
A few helpful tips to help you maintain brand consistency:
- Don’t associate consistency with boring. Do you think working on Heinz ad campaigns is boring? Consistency actually paves the way to creativity with impact.
- Communicate to your team the importance of your brand. Start the conversation by asking them to name a few companies they admire and why.
- Create a Brand Standards Guide – the guidelines that map out how your logo, fonts, colors, tagline, etc. will be used. Make it visual with proper and improper usage examples. It has to be simple and easy to follow, or it won’t have the intended impact.
- Go through the Brand Standards Guide with your entire team and provide print and PDF copies for them to reference as needed.
- Provide access to the proper logo file types to anyone who needs them. Your team members shouldn’t be recreating your logo on the fly.
- Hold your people accountable and retrain if necessary. It’s okay to appoint some team members to be the “brand police” who flag down offenses and keep the peace.
Now that’s how you maintain brand consistency. I’m just saying.
MIGGY SMALLS: Here's what I learned...
from intern to jr. designer
a heart warming story from our resident millennial and her Artoholik journey.
They say, “Results happen over time, not overnight. Work hard, stay consistent and be patient.” That pretty much explains my journey with The Artoholiks agency. Let’s take a trip down memory lane to when I first met Aaron and Iquan at my Kean University portfolio event where we discussed my projects and they started giving me great advice to move forward in my design career. Fast forward to my first day, I had feelings of excitement and nervousness because it was a new experience and I did not know what to expect. A few months into the internship I had already learned a lot about the design world.
Each week I come in, I am introduced to new techniques and different avenues of design such as tracing, using a Wacom tablet, color correcting photos, assisting in designing logos, social media, designing for commerce sites, doing photo shoots and being social at creative events, just to name a few. I remember before graduating, my professor explained to the class the importance of having good mentors who invest in your growth. The best part about working for a small agency is that they are able to spend time with me to help me grow. From the many wise words of Ike — that’s Iquan — “There should be more to a designer than just sitting at the computer designing for hours.” Those are the very words that have shaped my experience working for them and in turn helping me to be well rounded in the graphic design world. Every day I leave the office having learned something new ranging from real life stuff to design to even being inspired to go home and be creative! The Artoholiks agency has the best office morale which makes it even harder to leave at the end of the day.
This experience has taught me that I need to work smarter to become better at designing, staying consistent, trusting the process, and being patient because crafting one’s gift takes time. And because of this I have been promoted from Intern to Junior Graphic Designer. This promotion shows that despite my feelings I am
still making progress and I can’t wait to find out what’s in store for my future at this amazing agency!
Introducing the CLAV
We got that good good, we call it the CLAV. After over 278 trips to outer space, we’ve got it figured out; to produce results for your brand, you need the CLAV method: Confidence, Look, Approach, and Voice. We’ve been killing it, beaming light and life into brands for over ten years now. If you do anything for an extended period time, you get good at what you do, you perfect your craft and you notice themes and commonalities throughout. For us Artoholik folks, we started to realize that we were consistently slaying them (translation: we were producing great results).
We noticed that our confidence in our abilities were rubbing off on our clients — good vibes are difficult to ignore — some of whom came to us during the infancy stages of their branding and others were well established. What we noticed was, our clients were being fueled by our excitement to dive into their brands and produce the results they sought us out for.
Not everyone gets the CLAV; but those clients who do, we manage them all around in their confidence, look, approach, and voice. It’s like a full-service car wash, undercarriage, wheel shine, vacuum, and air freshener included. Lol. The CLAV method is a framework for building a strong brand. These four components add up to a solid brand identity. Every client that comes to us is different. Undoubtedly there are many clients to whom we apply our handy dandy CLAV method but there is a small population of those who are already confident in their look, approach, and voice and exude confidence in their product. The confidence these cocky brands flaunt is what we aim to equip others with when we slap them with the CLAV.
As I mentioned above, many walk in the place with CONFIDENCE but may lack in other areas, such as look, approach and voice. This is where we come in. A little swag can make all the difference in the world. We take that confidence and apply it to the new look we create, the approach we plan out, and the voice we craft. An example of a brand we’ve worked with that has extreme confidence is Scotch Porter, a men’s grooming product line. When we began our relationship with Scotch Porter, they had confidence in their product and what they were on a mission to accomplish. In crafting the perfect look, approach and voice to communicate the SP brand message, their confidence went through the roof, leaving very little to be desired. Our work on their brand identity has made them whole by giving them a new tier of confidence, confidence in their look, confidence in the approach, and confidence in their voice, allowing them the space to flourish as a premier men’s grooming line.
Moving along to LOOK, this has proven to be a common struggle for a lot of brands. Many struggle with creating a cohesive look that gives them the distinction they are seeking. Leading up to a recent political election, we worked with a local politician, Councilman Jerry Guarino. His look at the time he hired us left much to be desired. There was no evidence of any effort put into the look of his brand (image), a critical component in solidifying his candidacy. We took the time to craft a look that expressed the confidence he already had in his political platform. Needless to say he won the election. Afterall presentation is everything. Although we don’t have a correlation analysis to prove it, we can say with great confidence that the look we equipped Councilman Guarino with played a large role in securing his seat at the table. We gave him a look that matched his voice and confidence, something the people could believe in.
APPROACH is critical, it’s the plan. Failing to plan is planning to fail. A brand can have confidence, a great look, and a voice that communicates the brand but all of these minus an approach that works is like having peanut butter and no jelly, bread and no butter, spring roll and no duck sauce (I like sauce), or all looks and no substance. Venturez, a record label we’ve been CLAV-ing out, came to us with vision, an approach that just needed some finessing and of course some correlating C, L, and V. Venturez had some knowledge on the direction they were going in and an idea of how to get there but just needed a comprehensive identity and some coaching surrounding their approach and how to mesh their approach with this new identity.
We recently finished a project, thefivewards.com, a HYCIDE magazine project. This project resulted in a resounding VOICE and overall confidence, culminated in the site we developed for them, showcasing the look and approach we meticulously crafted. For a project like this, mission heavy and community oriented, their voice is essential, with this in mind, we made sure the voice we brought out hit every necessary pitch and frequency.
In the delivery of proposals and pitches, we developed and continue to develop looks that WOW, utilizing approaches that work. Our style of active communication with our clients has resulted in strategic plans that lay out phases and actions that we get behind and our clients have no trouble believing in. In developing an identity for their brands and an approach for delivery and engagement, our clients subsequently develop a brand voice that speaks in tandem with their newly crafted look and approach. Kind of like the first day of school, you roll up in the place with your new outfit and fresh kicks, ready to flex on cats, that’s the swag our clients walk away with. So to recap, remember:
If a dope brand is what you desire…
Try spittin that CLAV Method fire.
Confidence in your Look, Approach and Voice
will make sure you never feel a void.
drops mic…
In My Shoes ft. Jamiyl Peters
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[one_half_last]These are my second pair of Magnani dress shoes. MAGNANNI is a third generation family-owned company that has been producing fine Men’s shoes for more nearly 60 years. This specific pair is called “Montego Cognac”. I bought them a year and a half ago at Nordstrom’s in Pentagon City Mall in Arlington, VA. I absolutely love the contour, feel and class of this shoe. It makes every time I put them on special. I was definitely excited when I purchased them because they made me feel like a new man with great purpose.
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They look great with almost anything a gentleman chooses to lace himself in. This specific pair I have, have traveled all over the United States with me: Austin, TX, New York City, Newark, New Jersey, Portsmouth, ME, Washington, D.C. and New Haven, CT.
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[one_third]In our nation’s capitol of Washington, D.C. they stood out. Most men on Capitol Hill choose comfort over distinctive and exquisite precision when it comes to shoes. The halls of Congress are sturdy, battle tested and unforgiving on even the most veteran of political legs, but my MAGNANIS have yet to fail me.
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[one_half_last]Checking the time before my next meeting and making sure the gear is right. It’s always an honor to know that you represent your hometown and district well: with knowledge, class, patience and an open-mind. There are few who choose to up the ante. Most men stick to the classic and current Cole Hahn (with the Nike Air Sole) with the wing-tipped front. At every point a man should dare to step outside of the lines and choose to be different, seeing the world from their own view and more over their own shoes.
In the tail end of 2012, I decided to create my own fashion blog via Tumblr titled PremiumP. It's pretty much a personal diary of the fashionable things, people and places that I like. Whenever you create anything you should have a purpose, so I asked myself what's my purpose for this blog? My answer... I'm aspiring to inspire.
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Big events call for effort and class and I try to play with the best of them on days like this and still try not to out do the Groom. Lol!
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I believe that life should be approached the same way: with a careful eye for detail and approached with a slight tilt on the vision and direction that we are all to march. Dare to give each day a little something different.
Following The DJ - Tuamie "The Gift Vol. 4"
THE RESEARCH
[one_third]Discovering new music in today’s world is practically effortless. Depending on your preference, there are multiple music outlets online, allowing you to listen to and purchase music digitally via iTunes, Pandora, Amazon or Spotify. If you haven’t already familiarized yourself with these companies, then you probably still listen to music in a traditional format like radio, TV, or maybe you are overwhelmed with the amount of options to choose from and gave up.[/one_third]
[one_third]If you’re a hip-hop fan like me, you can easily discover new music by turning on the radio and tuning in to one of the first clear signals that comes through. Hot 97 in NY, Power 99 in Philly, Power 106 in LA, Hot 107.9 in Atlanta; most major cities have a primary radio station dedicated to hip-hop.[/one_third]
[one_third_last]You can also hop online and visit music blogs like EgoTripLand, Pitchfork, MassAppeal, Consequence Of Sound, SampleFace, or PotholesInMyBlog to get your daily dose of what’s fresh. The ease of finding music to listen to has become greater now that most people in the world own smartphones and these big companies like iTunes have an app to preview and download music straight to your device. In today’s world, this is considered the norm. I tend to follow these blogs myself for what’s new, but earlier this year I focused on a different source; The DJ"[/one_third_last]
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American Hip-Hop Producer and DJ, Michael “House Shoes” Buchanan, has been an essential person in the continually rising growth of the Motown scene in Detroit and has been given the title by peers: “Hip-Hop’s Ambassador to the World”. Four-time winner of “Best Hip-Hop DJ” and a long time resident at hip-hop staple, St. Andrews Hall, from 1994-2004, House Shoes has also been credited as one of the first people to shop some of J Dilla’s early beats when he went under the “Jay Dee” moniker back in 1994. He continues to carry the Dilla torch today.
Like many J Dilla fans, I started researching more and more about his music and wanted to find other producers and DJ’s affiliated with him. If you watch any of the documentaries or read anything that has surfaced since Dilla’s passing, you’ll quickly start to see the name “House Shoes” circulating. There is an entire series of videos online produced by another Detroit native, Jeedo and his “Bling47” label, that interview some of Dilla’s peers and dissects some of his most famous work.[/one_half]
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There are about six videos from House Shoes where he talks about how and why Dilla sampled the records he did and you can listen to first-hand accounts of stories he shares and can start to understand the relationship they had. From here I started following House Shoes and his music. I quickly got hip to more amazing music from underground artists as well as more unheard Dilla material.
Over a year ago back in March of 2013, House Shoes started an inaugural free download release via his SoundCloud account of compilation “beat tapes” from young, undiscovered artists he felt deserved more recognition from the masses. House Shoes states: “…a series where I will be spotlighting producers and artists you may not be aware of. Each volume will be curated from prior bandcamp/soundcloud releases as an introduction to cats who have released prior material that I feel hasn’t reached its potential audience like it should.”
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THE DISCOVERY
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[one_half_last]Fast forward later that year to November, The Gift Vol. 4 featured Atlanta beat maker and mystery man, Tuamie. Just as House Shoes quoted in the release in regards to the music, “I was floored” – I too share the same enthusiasm.
Tuamie’s beats are reminiscent of J Dilla and Madlib. The sounds are very chill, intriguing and raw. Laced with hard-hitting drums with a lot of attack, obscure samples, hints of jazz and old-school R&B grooves they have a unique quality that holds its own.
The Gift Vol. 4 is a mix of different beats pulled from different self-releases on Tuamie’s Bandcamp page as well as some highlights from his debut release on GrandGarden Records, “Masta Killa”. The compilation is sprinkled with musical treats for any hip-hop lover.
Catchy vocal samples on tracks like “Reoccurring Feeling of Loneliness” & “The More Weed Smoke I Puff” will have you humming along to each note. The jazzy hooks on “No Limitations”, “Plant”, and “High Eyes” will keep your melodic taste buds satisfied while sample heads and hip-hop aficionados can find joy in recognizing flips on tracks like “Feed Em Gunpowder” and “Eva-re-moanin”. All in all, this album stays true to hip-hop form and it is noted, stating that all beats were made using only records and an MPC.
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"The Gift Vol. 4" is now available on limited edition vinyl. Buy your copy from FatBeats.com
WORDS by LAYTONIC // CREATIVE by IQUAN