The Last Five Albums I Bought (March 2011)
I got a lot of good recommendations the last time I decided to post the Last Five Albums I Bought, so I’m going to make it a regular thing. Here’s the last five albums I purchased and my thoughts on them. Please hit the comments section and add yours.
1. Ka “Grief Pedigree”
This album reminds me of everything I love about New York hip-hop: the production is minimal but bangs, the rhymes are rugged and make you visualize the city, and the rapper’s got a really dope voice. If you’re a fan of Roc Marciano, then you probably heard Ka guest appear on his album. In short, Grief Pedigree, Ka’s debut solo album, is dope. My favorite joint on here is “Decisions.” My dude Cryptic One recommended this to me and I’m glad I listened.
POLL: Which T-Shirt Design Do You Like Best?
Considering getting this t-shirt design made soon, but can’t decide on which color scheme I like the best. Please take a look and vote below. Thank you.
How to Cure Writer’s Block
For those who write, writer’s block is the antithesis of expression. As unseen as the common cold and as paralyzing to our creativity as any sickness that attacks our bodies. Those unfortunate enough to catch it are forced to carry on their lives voiceless in a world that barely gave them a voice to begin with.As writers, we tend to beat ourselves up over it. The longer it lasts the more we start to question everything that made us unique, how we got this far, and if we’re really cut out for this field of work. We worry that maybe we just ran out of “stuff” to write about. Maybe our lives are just boring and we have nothing to offer. But following that line of thinking only leads to the most obvious solution, which is to go do something interesting so we’ll have interesting things to write about. This sounds good on the surface but don’t be fooled.
I’ll explain.
VIDEO: Bryan Stevenson: We need to talk about an injustice
Really inspiring TED talk about injustice and how the way we view ourselves and others plays into it.
Word is (video)Blog
What I Learned From A 30-Year Old Drum Machine
Yesterday I bought a used Roland TR-606 drum machine from craigslist. For those that don’t know, the Roland brand of drum machines are synonymous with most of the music released in the 80’s. You would be hard-pressed to find a record from that era that wasn’t made using one of the Roland drum machines; the most popular being the TR-808 model. This model is so popular that people just refer to its sounds as the 808 kit, and an “808” is now slang for the really deep bass kick that’s used all over the place. Even if you didn’t know what it was, you’ve heard it a million times, especially on southern rap records and 80’s music. The TR-606 I bought originally came out in 1982.
Even though I experimented with the 80’s sound on Adventures in Counter-Culture, I never owned any vintage gear, so I had to work from memory and studying those styles more than actually owning the gear they used to create it. I would’ve loved to own some vintage gear in the past but it’s usually pretty expensive, and I didn’t know if I would be using it enough to justify the purchase. Luckily, I saw the 606 on craigslist for a price that was in my budget, so I went for it. I spent a few hours last night going through the user manual and learning how to use it, and while it hasn’t even been 24 hours since I brought the TR-606 home I’ve been reminded of something that was starting to get a bit lost.
AUDIO: Blueprint guest appearance on MMA Uncensored Show (1/16)
For all my MMA fans out there, I did my second guest appearance on the MMA Uncensored show last night. We talked about UFC on Fuel and the upcoming UFC 144 Fight card. If you missed me last night during the broadcast, I’ve attached the audio of the program last night. Check me out:http://www.divshare.com/direct/16817130-01d.mp3
Shout outs to Chi Town Luke and the crew for having me on again.
Being Nervous is Good For You
I often get asked by friends and fans if I get nervous before I get on stage, and my answer for the past 10 years has always been “no.” When I say I don’t get nervous most people think it’s because I’ve got nerves of steel or that my confidence is just so high that I can’t be shaken by being in front of unfamiliar crowds, but the truth is a little more complicated than that.
Early in my career, I wasn’t nervous because I was too nieve to be nervous. I was playing shows in my city but hadn’t really left yet and could still count on knowing the majority of the faces in the crowd. Shows were social events more than shows back then and it was easy to be comfortable. At that point being nervous about performing would’ve meant that I actually understood the long term scope of what I had gotten myself into, and that I wasn’t just out there having fun. It was easy to be comfortable when you don’t know how bad things could go, and what you could lose in terms of fan support by doing really bad shows. Truth be told, if i would’ve actually understood things a bit more at this stage I probably would’ve been nervous enough to piss my pants. Everybody goes thru this stage.
The Struggle of Getting Music Out
2012 marks the tenth year that I’ve been a full-time artist. Without a doubt it’s the most rewarding career I’ve ever had. It’s also the most challenging, although in completely different ways than my previous jobs.
I remember when I was considering resigning from my job back in 2001, I went around getting advice from other self-employed people, in hopes of getting encouragement or advice before I made the leap. One of the people I spoke to was named Todd Buck and he ran an in-home studio on the west side of Cincinnati that I would routinely use for mastering the first few albums I ever released. He had just made the decision to move his studio and business out of his basement and to a larger one on the opposite side of town. He had only been self-employed for a year at the time so I asked him for some advice.
VIDEO: Interview with Blueprint on GermanRhymes.de
Great interview with germanrhymes.de that I did while I was in Europe on the Rhymesayers tour. This one came out really well. Check your boy out.
Word is (video)Blog
Playing J Dilla Tribute In Columbus on Feb 10th
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
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.
The Best of Printmatic.net 2011
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
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!Blueprint feature in the Orlando Weekly
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.)
Sell Your Crap, Pay Off Your Debt, Do What You Love
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
