Playing J Dilla Tribute In Columbus on Feb 10th
Posted on 24 January 2012 | No responses
To all my friends in the Ohio area, I will be playing an instrumental set in Columbus on Friday Feb 10th @ Carabar (115 Parsons Ave), as a part of the J-Dilla Tribute Night being put together by my homie Zero Star. The event is Free admission and all ages are welcome. I am working on a couple instrumental projects under the name The 808 Mechanic, and this project will be my opportunity to do play some of this material out for the first time. Just to clarify, I will not be rhyming, I will be playing an instrumental/beat set.
Hope yall can make it out.
Word.
Talking MMA tonight on MMA Uncensored show 8pm Mountain Time / 10pm EST
Posted on 19 January 2012 | No responses
As many of my friends know, I’m a pretty big fan of Mixed-Martial Arts (MMA). I think I started watching it about four or five years ago, and have been into it pretty heavily ever since, as proven by my MMA-related tweets whenever there’s a big event on. Hell, a lot of my time in the studio is spent watching classic fights that I missed before I was a fan of the sport. Read more
Inform yourself about SOPA/PIPA
Posted on 18 January 2012 | No responses
Today is the day that many internet sites are blacking out in protest of the proposed bills that exist in the house and senate, SOPA and PIPA. If I actually knew how to change my home page to black it out I would, but since I don’t I’ll take this opportunity to post a few links for you all to check out. For many reasons these bills are bad, but don’t believe that just because I say it is. I would like you to please read some of these summaries on exactly what SOPA & PIPA are and why they are incredibly fucked up pieces of legislation that should never pass and will completely ruin the innovative spirit that has gotten us to this point:
About SOPA & PIPA (by google)
Will Take Us Back to the Dark Ages, (via Mashable.com)
Why SOPA is Dangerous (via mashable.com)
Inform yourself. Empower yourself.
Word is blog
The Best of Printmatic.net 2011
Posted on 4 January 2012 | 1 response
2011 was a very real year for me. After taking a departure to learn about music and get my life in order I released my sophomore solo album Adventures in Counter-Culture and toured the United States, Canada, & Europe. My brother got sick and my mother moved in with me for most of the year to help handle his affairs. I learned how to kick it without alchohol, became more focused on family than ever, and my brothers situation forced me to put things into perspective. I realized along the way that writing helps me get through things, and understand the world around me more, so I continued to write here at printmatic.net, and I thank you all for reading and allowing me to use this as an outlet. I was going back through some of my posts from this year and figured I would post a “best of” list for those who may have missed some of the things I consider to be my best writing, and for those that may want to reread or share some of these with friends.
Eyedea: One Year Later, Before and After
the downside of giving up on yourself
Blueprint, MTV, and “Selling Out”
The Adventures of Blueprint: Episode 2 – What happened to the radio?
The Adventures of Blueprint: Episode 1 – “The story of Radio-Inactive”
I’ve got a lot of plans for 2012, and I’m in the lab really heavy hoping to bring a bunch of new music to you. As usual, this is where you will hear about everything first.
Thanks for the support.
Resolutions are stupid but I’mma do it anyways
Posted on 31 December 2011 | 6 responses
While part of me completely understands the extreme amount of predictability and cliche attached with making new years resolutions and remains cynical of the whole thing, another part of me thinks it can be a pretty decent tool for self-improvement if used properly. For most people resolutions are typically about losing weight, spending more time with their family, and finally taking some time off work–all good but nothing I’m too concerned about right now. So I figured it would be a cool exercise to write down a few things that I would like to actually achieve that aren’t difficult, and I can stick with next year. Partly because they’re easy, and partly because I think it will be pretty funny to look back on these in five or six months and see where I’m at.
So with no further ado, here are my fucking new years resolutions: (dont front you know you’ve got some too)
RESOLUTION #1 – To use my Phone as more than a texting and rhyme writing device
Apparently these things can do a lot more than text, tell time, and store my lethal raps. I had actually forgotten because that’s all I use my phone for. The instances where I actually call people are very rare, and if I had to guess I would say that I only talk to people on the phone no more than once per day. Two phone conversations in one day would probably freak me out, and holidays where you have to talk more than that can potentially make my head explode. But fuck that, in 2012 I’m gonna take it back to the essence, and actually use my phone for verbal communication. I’m not gonna stop texting people, but I am gonna actually call people and try to talk to them more, with my mouth, and my voice. It sounds weird even writing it, but I’m gonna do it! Read more
Blueprint feature in the Orlando Weekly
Posted on 29 December 2011 | 3 responses
Last week when i was in Orlando, their weekly paper The Orlando Weekly did a great feature on me and Adventures in Counter-Culture.
Please check it out here: http://orlandoweekly.com/music/under-the-radar-1.1245038
Here’s an exerpt:
In 2005, Al Shepard stopped by the headquarters of Power 107.5 FM, a radio station in his hometown, Columbus, Ohio. Shepard had ties to hip-hop, and so did the station, but each had a vastly different idea of what makes the genre great. Traditionally, Shepard raps over self-made beats as Blueprint, keeping his work low on coolness and flash, and heavy on honesty. Slang doesn’t play into his verses much and he’s consistently willing to experiment with different moods and sounds in his beats. (He’s had albums issued by stately indie hip-hop label Rhymesayers.) Read more
Sell Your Crap, Pay Off Your Debt, Do What You Love
Posted on 28 December 2011 | 13 responses
For the past few weeks I’ve been having a lot of thoughts about simplifying my life; evaluating my relationship with my material possessions, how they effect my mood, my so-called happiness, and my ability to adapt to change. Then I stumbled upon this video by Adam Baker, who runs a blog that I really like called Man vs Debt, that touches on the exact thing I was feeling inside, and puts it into words perfectly. Please take a few minutes and watch this video. It’s very inspiring.
Let me know what you think in the comments section and if you can relate to what he’s talking about.
Word is Blog
Quote of the week: Robert M. Pirsig
Posted on 27 December 2011 | No responses
“When analytic thought, the knife, is applied to experience, something is always killed in the process. That is fairly well understood, at least in the arts. Mark Twain’s experience comes to mind, in which after he mastered the analytic knowledge to pilot the Mississippi he discovered the river had lost its beauty. Something is always killed, but what’s less noticed in the arts is something is always created too.”
Join the forum discussion on this post
Is 50 cent really smart or really lucky?
Posted on 11 December 2011 | 5 responses
Regardless of how you feel about his albums or his current releases, it goes without saying that 50 cent is a successful artist. Aside from his obvious knack for beef, he’s always had something about him that stood out amongst his peers, and most of the time that wasn’t even the music he made, most of the time it was his personality. For years, he’s stirred up just enough controversy, and exposed just enough of his personal life to stay relevant and keep us tuned in. He does charity work, movies, gives great interviews, and always has a well thought-out strategy for developing his artists. While the music he’s been making since his debut album has left a lot to be desired, I’ve always thought this cat was pretty entertaining, and pretty much chalked his success up to his personality and story.
But lately I’ve started to admire him for another reason, that has nothing to do with his personality. The fact of the matter is that 50 cent is a pretty damn smart dude, and his personality is just a function of that intelligence. Read more
Blueprint announces the “Sunshine State of Mind” Tour
Posted on 30 November 2011 | 5 responses
Hello Friends. Although it’s officially winter I would like to announce the Sunshine State of Mind Tour, a week-long headlining tour that will be brought to the sunniest of sunny places, Florida. If you live in the state of Florida, I would like to officially invite you out to one of the shows.
Blueprint Tour Dates:
Thursday December 15th – Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum: details & RSVP
Friday, December 16th – Orlando, FL @ The Social: details & RSVP
Saturday, December 17th – Jacksonville, FL @ The Phoenix Taproom: details and RSVP
Sunday, December 18th – Orlando, FL @ Blank Space (Producer Showcase): details and RSVP
Tuesday, December 20th – Lake Worth, FL @ Propaganda: details and RSVP
Thanks for the support,
Printmatic!
I’m working on a new album
Posted on 26 November 2011 | 7 responses
It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have anything to say. In fact it’s the opposite. I’ve had a lot to say, I just haven’t had the time to sit down and say it.
But I do want to say this: I’m currently knee deep into working on my follow-up to Adventures in Counter-Culture.
It doesn’t have an official title yet, it doesn’t have any guest appearances on it yet, but trust me that it’s definitely underway and could possibly be finished by the end of this winter. Read more
“Keep Bouncing” Remix
Posted on 26 October 2011 | 3 responses
A fresh “keep bouncing” remix done several months ago. If you’re on Soundcloud, follow the kid. Enjoy.
KEEP-BOUNCING-REMIX by printmatic
Alternate link: http://soundcloud.com/printmatic/keep-bouncing-remix
Columbus Producer Community
Posted on 19 October 2011 | 1 response
To all my friends out there that do beats and are from the Columbus area, as the winter approaches we start to get close to that time that is typically the most depressing yet the most productive for us. Since we can’t go out, we make beats. If you are one of those people, and would like to get out of the house and share your work, I have an idea. I would like to build a Columbus Producer Community. Nothing even very formal, but just a place where we can all meet up and share our work (either weekly, biweekly, or monthly), at a spot with a nice PA, probably during happy hour or something. If there’s enough interest I will get the spot.
I think it would help build community and inspire us all, two things that are always needed. I’ve never been one for beat battles myself, because I always felt like the beats had to fit a certain type of sound or style for a producer to be successful in that format, and also because they don’t really build community. So I would like to try something different. I’ve got a lot of cats in mind already, and you probably already know who you are. If I don’t know who you are and you’re interested in participating in this please e-mail me at info(at)printmatic.net and send me the links to your work.
Thanks in advance.
Eyedea: One Year Later, Before and After
Posted on 15 October 2011 | 8 responses
I just woke up and realized that it’s been one year since Eyedea passed. It really hit me today that my dude is gone. Not that I didn’t feel it before but I would be lying if i said there wasn’t a decent amount of denial going on. It’s just hard to believe that somebody who did so much and was such a big part of my hip-hop experience is gone, and that I won’t see him again. The past year I’ve been so many places and talked to so many people who he has touched with his music. He touched people in the way that you wish you could touch people as an artist.
I was at a show recently and a cat asked me to tell him the story of how me and Eyedea met, how we became friends, and the story behind the song “Before and After”. He said he’s always wanted to know because we never really spoke about it in public.
Last year I wanted to write something but his passing was too fresh and hurt too much so I never did. I kept putting it off and didn’t want to be throwing our personal stuff out there in the public realm. But now I realize that sharing stories about people we love and have lost is part of celebrating their lives, and part of the healing process; and because I never allowed myself to take part in that I had never allowed myself the opportunity to mourn and heal.
So here it goes. Read more
Artists that have influenced me: Bjork
Posted on 12 October 2011 | 2 responses
More than ever, since the release of Adventures in Counter-Culture, one of the questions I get asked the most often is who my favorite artists are and what artists have influenced me. I guess back when my album 1988 came out it was pretty obvious, but now its not so clear since adventures is such an eclectic album.
I realized the other day that while the people who hang around with me know that my taste in music is extremely varied, the people who listen to my music may not, so I always thought it would be cool to actually write about artist or songs that influenced and inspired me.
The first artist I would like to talk about is Bjork. Read more
Blueprint midwest tour dates announcement
Posted on 3 October 2011 | No responses
Starting today in Grand Rapids, MI, you can see Printmatic himself over the next week at a number of stops across the Midwestern US. The quick jaunt ends with a what’s sure to be an incredible show in Print’s hometown of Columbus, Ohio, joined by Soul Position groupmate Rjd2, as well as local artist Envelope.
BLUEPRINT TOUR DATES:
10.02 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme: RSVP
10.04 – Fairborn, OH @ One Eyed Jacks: RSVP
10.05 – Peoria, IL @ SOP’s on Main: Buy Tickets | RSVP
10.06 – Iowa City, IA @ Gabe’s: Buy Tickets | RSVP
10.07 – St. Louis, MO @ Gramophone: RSVP
10.08 – Columbus, OH @ Skully’s: Buy Tickets | RSVP
The Fire Curtain
Posted on 17 September 2011 | 3 responses
photo credit Irok Torres
This picture was taken from our show Friday night in Miami Beach, Florida. It’s me with the Keytar and my bass player Bobby Silver on stage doing our thing. The thing that you don’t see in this picture is my DJ, Rare Groove. He’s actually there but can’t be seen because of this big black curtain behind us that’s covering him, which is where things get interesting.
That black curtain is called a Fire Curtain. Most really big venues have them installed so that in the event of a fire on stage a button is pressed and this huge curtain drops, cutting off the fire so that it doesn’t spread and burn the whole building down. The curtain is at least 40-50 feet wide and at the base of it is a giant metal rod that helps it fall faster from the ceiling where it’s held. It’s huge and impossible for the average person to lift or move by themselves once it’s on the ground. Read more
The Last Five Albums I Bought
Posted on 7 September 2011 | 14 responses
People ask me all the time what I’m currently listening to. Sometimes it’s easy to remember and share, but other times it’s hard to remember because i listen to a lot of different music sometimes. Then there’s also the dont-speak-about-other-rappers policy that I try to subscribe to. This policy keeps me from getting into arguments with people who judge me for what I might be listening to, as well as preventing me from accidentally saying I don’t listen to somebody’s favorite rapper. But I decided that instead of trying to summarize everything I’m listening to, it would be better to just list the last 5 albums I’ve purchased, because that says a lot more than anything else.
So here’s a list of the last 5 albums I’ve bought and my thoughts on each:
1. Nikki Jean - Pennies in a Jar
Before I share my thoughts on this I have to admit that I am a bit biased. Nikki Jean is a friend of mine. I met her about 3-4 years ago while I was working on Adventures in Counter-Culture and we became friends instantly. She’s a pretty awesome person and artist so I don’t feel bad about that bias at all. Read more
Blueprint News Update – September 2011
Posted on 3 September 2011 | 4 responses
Hey Friends. It’s been a while since I’ve written so I figured I would write one post that summarizes all the stuff that’s been going on. This will also be my first newsletter that I’m sending to those that subscribe to my mailing list as well. Read more
Metropolis II by Chris Burden (the movie)
Posted on 19 August 2011 | No responses
here’s the description:
A short doc about a kinetic sculpture that took four years to build. We had the honor of spending three days in Chris Burden’s studio filming this sculpture before it was moved to the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art (LACMA) where it is being reinstalled.
The installation opens fall 2011.
Chris Burden is one of our favorite artists of all time. For more about him and his work http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Burden
http://www.gagosian.com/artists/chris-burden/Directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman
Edited by Max Joseph
Cinemtography by Schulman, Joost & Van Neistat
Music by Tortoise (Ten-Day interval) & Mahogany (Windmill International A)
Should I bring back the forum?
Posted on 6 August 2011 | 1 response
Many peoples first knowledge of me as an artist was thru the independent label that I ran for several years, Weightless Recordings, and the website weightless.net. Throughout the years of running the website, the forum was always a very prominent part of it, serving as our own community within the hip-hop community. Somewhere you could go and interact with some really interesting and funny people about a variety of topics.
Well, at any rate, since I’ve been touring so much in support of Adventures in Counter-Culture I can no longer really run Weightless, so I want to explore the option of bringing the message board/forum to printmatic.net. I realize that things have changed a lot over the years with more social networking sites like twitter and facebook, and that some people may have either never used forums before or have found other ways to communicate with artists, but there are still a number of sites that have very active forum communities, so I figure it’s worth asking and exploring.
So let me know how you feel:
Loading ...Thanks!
September dates added to the Family Vacation Tour
Posted on 26 July 2011 | No responses
More dates added to the Family Vacation tour in September. Peep the press release and all twelve addition tour dates after the jump:
You didn’t think the tour was only a few weeks long, did you? Just announced, Atmosphere has added MORE dates to The Family Vacation Tour. On the second leg of this tour, labelmates Evidence and Blueprint will be joining once again. The tour starts in Madison, Wisconsin and ends in Omaha, Nebraska and will travel throughout much of the South and Midwest of the United States.
Fan Pre-sale begins TOMORROW, Wednesday, July 27th at 3pm local time at ArtistArena.
09.13 – Madison, WI @ Orpheum Theatre
09.14 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall
09.15 – Athens, GA @ New Earth Music Hall Read more
Quote of the week: Chuck D
Posted on 25 July 2011 | 5 responses
Tell ‘em Chuck!
Word is Blog
Things I regret buying: Novation Remote SL midi controller
Posted on 24 July 2011 | 3 responses
Instead of talking about a piece of musical gear I own and love, I thought it would be more interesting to dedicate this post to a purchase that I absolutely regret making.
See, artists have to have gear to make music, so there is almost an endless search for the right setup. The right recording space, mics, keyboards, midi controllers, recording software, etc. All of it has to be right for you so that when you get in there to make music your creativity isn’t interrupted by technical problems.
So you scope out gear, make lists, and demo things, going back and forth to Guitar Center making sure it’s what you what. And then one day, when you’re money is right, you finally make that purchase. Most of the time, it’s a great experience. You get a great piece of gear that compliments what you do, and your music benefits because of it.
But every now and then it goes horribly wrong. Read more
Blueprint on the cover of The Columbus Alive Magazine
Posted on 22 July 2011 | 2 responses
If you live in Columbus, OH or the surrounding areas, please check out this weeks Columbus Alive magazine. It’s free and it’s on newsstands all over the city. Once you find it you will see a familiar face on the cover of it–that’s me. It’s a huge honor and privilege to be selected to be on the cover of the biggest free publication in the city, something that not many artists can claim, as well as being on an issue that is so well done in it’s assessment of the local hip-hop scene in my hometown. The piece is about the past, present, and future of the Columbus hip-hop scene and how far things have come over the years. Had to grab like 10 copies of this for my moms yo.
If you would like to check out the on-line text of the articles, check out these links:
Hip-hop in Columbus: Key moments
Hip-hop in Columbus: Rap renaissance
Hip-hop in Columbus: Where it’s at
Word is blog
Also, if you live in Columbus or the surrounding area, I’m headlining a show at Skullys on Friday July 29th. Playing with my friends Nick Tolford & Co. and Time & Temperature. If you don’t know about this show, now you do. This will be my last show in Columbus before going on tour for a couple more months so I hope you will make it out.
So I’m gonna direct a music video…for myself
Posted on 22 July 2011 | 2 responses
If you’ve been reading this blog for the past year then you know I’ve developed an interest in video/film. It began last year when I stopped drinking and picked up a ton of books on video production and movie making. Basically all I did last summer was read and ride my bike all over the place, two things I rarely did while I was drinking. Shortly thereafter, I borrowed a friends camera and decided to get my feet wet by working on some projects for my friend and fellow artist Latimore Platz. The first was a series of videos called “Who is Latimore Platz?” and the second was a music video for his song “10 Stone”.
After those I felt a little more confident in my work, and decided to put together the concept for what turned into The Adventures of Blueprint. I pitched it to Rhymesayers as something that I would direct and produce and they liked it enough to use as the main on-line component for Adventures in Counter-Culture, which to me was a huge confidence booster, especially knowing how critical they are. It made me feel like maybe I could take on more and more ambitious things, but once the campaign for my record started I found that I didn’t have nearly as much time to work on video projects as I initially thought I would. I started touring in February of this year and prior to June I had only been home a combined 2 weeks. While I was on tour in Austin I found somebody on craigslist that was selling the camera I had my eyes on (canon t2i) for super cheap, so I picked it up and started taking pictures again, in hopes that when I had time to sit back down with video I would have a better understanding of photography and therefore be able to capture better images.
Well, it’s time to get busy. Read more
Documentary Recomendation: The King of Kong
Posted on 20 July 2011 | No responses
This documentary isn’t new by any means, and there’s a chance that you may have already seen it. But if you haven’t, I would highly suggest The King of Kong: A fistful of quarters. I’m not gonna even write a review of it. I’m gonna post this description and trailer and hopefully you’ll check it out. If you do, please come back here and let me know what you think in the comments section of this post.
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters follows a middle school science teacher as he battles a hot sauce mogul for the Guinness World Record on the arcade classic Donkey Kong.
Word is Blog
Please vote for one of these logos
Posted on 19 July 2011 | 11 responses
While working on various video projects this summer, it dawned on me that I should probably have a production company with an actual name. Not that I’m I’m really a fan of formality and shit like that, but I guess if I’m going to be doing stuff for more people than just myself or my homies I might want to think a little bigger, you know? So I decided to name it Grand Griot, and I asked my guy to put together some logos for me. I was having a hard time choosing one so I decided to get some feedback from yall about it.
Please take a look and vote for your favorite one.
Loading ...I’m going back to Europe, Europe, Europe
Posted on 18 July 2011 | 3 responses
To all my fly Europeans who have supported me for so long, your boy Printmatic is coming back around your way this November in the form of the first ever Rhymesayers European tour. A tour that has been talked about for quite a while is finally coming about in Europe, hitting various major countries and cities. I haven’t been to Europe since summer of 2008 when I was out there with Louis Logic and Paul Dateh. I love Europe and have been trying to get back there ever since, but having a new album like Adventures in Counter-Culture gives me a great opportunity to get back over there and bring the music to the people. Of course I will not be alone. The tour will feature Atmosphere, Evidence, Brother Ali, and Grieves & Budo. The line-up is crazy and I’m just happy to be a part of it.
So, peep the dates below, mark your calendars and come see me in November and say whatup: Read more
the downside of giving up on yourself
Posted on 1 July 2011 | 17 responses
Several years ago I used to live in Cincinnati, OH. At the time I was working as a computer programmer and was just starting to get my feet wet in the local hip-hop scene. There were some one-of-a-kind characters in the hip-hop scene then, and while most of them never made it out of the Cincinnati hip-hop scene, they contributed in a big way to what made the scene special at that time. There was a weekly hip-hop night at Topcats that was the spot that pretty much the entire scene congregated to back then, and battling was how you earned your stripes and respect, so I was there pretty much every Wednesday night. I didn’t battle as often as other cats but I definitely did my part to hold it down.
Well, one of the cats that was the most popular was a cat named Unseen. Unseen was from Dayton but moved to Cincy right around the time i moved there and was a part of the crew that hosted the night, the Animal Crackers. He would host the battles and battle pretty frequently, especially when new heads would come there from out of town and think they could run thru everybody; it was customary for one of the regulars to show them what time it was. At any rate, Unseen was a great host and a pretty dope rapper that pretty much everybody loved. He was a sweetheart that as far as I could tell was probably incapable of having enemies.
Unfortunately, Unseen was a troubled kid. His problems with drugs and depression were well known among those that knew him, but he always seemed to manage it and keep his head up. There would be periods where you saw him all the time for several months, and then he would kind of disappear for a couple months. But he was such an honest and good-hearted dude that you would always be happy to see him again.
Well, in 2006 while I was on the road I got word that in Unseen had died. Read more
Dont use RSS, it’s played out
-
The new album Adventures in Counter-Culture available NOW!
CD + Poster: $10 Add to Cart
Limited Vinyl (picture disc) + Poster: $30 Add to Cart
Digital Version: I-Tunes
Blueprint Who EP
CD + Poster: $8 Add To Cart
Deluxe Digital: $5 Add To Cart
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube