Shot Composition As It Relates to Music Videos
Although I’ve been pretty active with the camera in the last couple of years, it’s been a while since I entered the music video realm. Well, I’m officially back.
The first music video I shot was for “10 Stone” for my good friend and fellow artist, Latimore Platz back in the winter of 2010. The fact that I volunteered for the job didn’t stop me from being any less nervous about it.
Three Years Sober Today
Today is my three year sober date. To be completely honest, the idea that I would be able to go three years without drinking wasn’t something that I believed was possible when I first decided to quit. So I’m equal parts proud and surprised today.
It’s Official, I’m Writing My Next Book
A couple of weeks ago on twitter, I made the statement that it’s easier for a performing artist to remember their bad shows than their good shows. I wasn’t suggesting that good shows are meaningless or unappreciated, my point was that we remember the bad shows more often because they provide a larger opportunity for learning and growth. In most instances, it’s hard to justify a reevaluation of your strategies when you’re being successful. But as soon as you fail, you start to question everything. In my opinion, the best performers aren’t the best because they have a talent others lack, they’re the best because they’ve all had bad experiences that made them take their level of preparation and performance up a notch.
Three Blueprint Albums and Two Signed Posters for $10
While it is true that I have a great number of fans who know me primarily as a vocalist, I’ve also realized that there are also many fans that don’t really know how serious I am on the beats. In addition to producing both of my solo albums, 1988 and Adventures in Counter-Culture, I’ve also produced three albums for my homie Illogic, as well as albums for my fellow Columbus artists Envelope and Zero Star. So, I’ve decided to run a special sale to bring people up to speed with some of my production where you can get my Chamber Music, Sign Language, and the Weightless Radio CDs for just $10. Plus, you get 11×17 posters for the Chamber Music & Sign Language albums.
That’s right, three albums and two signed posters for $10. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE.
Thanks for the support yall.
Word is Blog
NOTE: ALL PACKAGES HAVE SOLD OUT. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Blueprint interviews Finnish instrumentalist MAW
I first got familiar with Maw several years ago when he popped up on the Weightless Recordings forums. He quickly became a regular poster and welcome contributor. Although his conduct was very mature, we soon found out that he was only a teenager at the time, which made him the youngest regular on our forum. Even more interestingly, we found out that he was from Finland and english was his second language. You never would have guessed it by the way he interacted with everybody.
Over time, Maw started getting into hip-hop production and posting his beats in our “show & tell” forum. His beats were decent at the beginning – especially for a young kid who didn’t even seem to have any equipment – but he seemed to get exponentially better every time he posted something. Eventually he was damn good. From there, I always kept my eye on him, and every year he gets better and better. It’s reached the point where I check out anything he releases and try to spread word about him as much as possible.
POLL: What Soul Position songs should I perform?
Although I do have many fans that have been with me since I first started releasing music in the early 2000s, I’ve noticed that a large part of my fanbase is divided into two groups: those who know me primarily from my 1988 and Adventures in Counter-Culture albums, and those know me primarily from my Soul Position work with producer RJD2. The last Soul Position album was released in 2006 and although RJ and I have worked together since then (most notably the track “the good life” that was released two weeks ago), we have yet to release a full-length album. RJ and I remain good friends and are definitely trying to align our schedules to work on some new material, but I can’t make any promises how or when that will manifest itself. But rest assured, we’re both working towards making it happen.
New single “The American Dream” by Blueprint
The American Dream by BLUEPRINT
First single from the upcoming Blueprint album, Deleted Scenes, available Oct. 16th. Pre-ordering right now at https://printmatic.net
Beat of the Week: The Police Flip
I think I’m going to start posting beats every week. Mostly stuff with familiar samples, since it’s easier for people to really follow how it was flipped. This week is a beat I made using “Roxanne” by The Police. Enjoy.The Police “Roxanne” Beat by BLUEPRINT
Direct link HERE
Follow me on soundcloud if you don’t already.
Word is Blog
My First Time in Atlantic City, NJ
Rhymesayers logo hanging at the House of Blues in Atlantic City I played a show in Atlantic City, NJ for the first time last week and found it to be a really interesting place. Prior to that, I had only heard about it and knew absolutely nothing.
Usually, when you get done driving seven or eight hours and arrive in a new city, the first thing you wanna do is roll down your windows and take in some air. Unfortunately, the air smelled really weird, and by weird I mean not good. I knew that we were near the ocean and expected it to smell like the ocean but, instead, it smelled more like a giant swamp.
Then I checked into my illustrious two-star hotel.
Blueprint July Tour Dates with Atmosphere & I-Self Divine
For those that missed the announcement a couple weeks ago, the kid will be joining Atmosphere & I-Self Divine for some shows in July. We will be hitting up Wichita, Little Rock, Nashville, Memphis, and Nashville. Check out the details and mark your calendars.
07.08 – Wichita, KS @ The Cotillion Ballroom: Buy Tickets
07.10 – Little Rock, AR @ Juanita’s Cantina: Buy Tickets
07.11 – Memphis, TN @ New Daisy Theatre: Buy Tickets
07.12 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works: Buy TicketsI’m Scoring an Independent Movie
In my book, The Making of Adventures in Counter-Culture, I go into great detail about the role that television and movies have played in creating my music. During my most intense periods of music creation, there are times when I will watch three or four movies a day while I’m in the studio. Although I don’t actively “watch” them – the sound is usually off or very low – they are on in the background providing images and inspiration.Blueprint “Wanna Be Like You” Music Video
I’m proud to finally release this animated music video for the latest single from the album Adventures in Counter-Culture, “Wanna Be Like You.” The video was create by the talented artist Dax Norman. Please check it out and share it on your blog/facebook/twitter if you like it.
LINK: http://youtu.be/8sTay7aDtpY
Word is (Video)Blog
ILLUS – “Extraordinary” featuring BLUEPRINT Music Video
My guy ILLUS, who did the artwork for my book The Making Of Adventures in Counter-Culture, just dropped this fresh video and song. I did the beat and rhyme on it as well. It’s a really positive song from a really positive artist that I support fully. Please check my guy out. Oh yeah, the video concept is fresh too.
Youtube Link: http://youtu.be/lQh2FeuKAgg
The First Show I Ever Played in Cleveland, OH
The first time I played a show in Cleveland was around the year 2000. I was still living in Cincinnati at the time and the rest of my crew lived in Columbus.
We had just released the first Greenhouse Effect and Illogic CDs and were beginning to play shows outside of our city. Everybody was still working full-time jobs, so doing shows felt more like weekend getaways than touring; Inkwel would get the rental car, we would drive a couple hours to play the show, and all be back home by Sunday morning. Back in those days we would usually roll at least six or seven deep to the shows: Me, Inkwel, Manifest, Illogic, Plead the Ph5th, DJ Drastic, DJ True Skills, and our dude Juan who did merch.
Performance Tip: Start Early
Photo by Joe Crimmons For the past couple of months, I’ve been considering writing a book about how to become a better live performer. I’m still in the brainstorming stage of writing down rough outlines and topics that I think should be covered, but so far it’s going pretty well. If I get a solid enough outline I’ll give it a try.
I would like to start giving some basic tips about performing here. I’ve realized that what is unspoken and normal to me may not be normal to others, especially those that are just starting out. I would like to share these things from time to time.
The first performance tip I have is to start early.
