Monthly Archives: March 2014

March 30, 2014 · 8:30 am

Gunpowder and Toast

mogadishu2014

Mogadishu – A character from the Stunning Adventures of Beeboy entered my head the other night and I started writing verses for Mogadishu. Then I made a beat, then I recorded a song, then I created an image for the song. I get carried away sometimes. Hopefully another character from Beeboy will pay my mind a visit.

So right below is the original recording, and the original cover work.

moga-GnT-text

https://soundcloud.com/abdowell/mogadishu

 

And here’s the more recent version for both the song and the art work.

moga-GnT

 

https://soundcloud.com/abdowell/gunpowder-and-toast

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March 29, 2014 · 1:40 pm

Some Songs, YouTubed

What Up Y’all
A.B. Do Well – What Up Y’all?
Low Tech Music © 2014

(Brrp) Excuse Me
Chuck Spears – Myopia
NDVisusal Media © 2014

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March 26, 2014 · 8:45 am

More Wanna Buy Art and Video

So I decided to work on a video for the song Wanna Buy?. In doing so I worked up a new series of images featuring that little hellspawn Damian from the remake of the cult horror classic, The Omen.

 You may notice the brand of soda he’s selling  isn’t familiar, hopefully.

demon seed

 

Also, a video below.

And let’s not forget the original image.

Wanna Buy?-550

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March 25, 2014 · 8:30 am

Gotta Have Ya Baby

A mix I did mainly to work on my timing for samples and “Music Composition” in general. I’m an amateur at this game so I’m looking for the cleanest instrumentals and vocals. Aretha Franklin’s song, “Baby, I Love You”  has long been in my head as a song that has that kind of potential, and I’m sure someone in the world has sampled it. So I got busy with that and maybe, just maybe went a little too far with that sample from the back-up singers saying “baby.” Any as it turns out today is Aretha’s Birthday. So I’m putting up the track, rough, though it may be, in her honor.Some Day, You Might Wanna Run Away

For the image I put together for this track  I wanted to use young Aretha. I’m my search for an image I discovered she was once married to Glynn Turman, who you might know as Mayor Royce from the Wire, Col. Taylor from A Different World or that young playa, Preach, from Cooley High. With that information I found a pic from Cooley High and it was perfect, him looking over his shoulder  with an expressive face. I went a little retro with the design. I like it and the track.

https://soundcloud.com/abdowell/gotta-have-ya-baby

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March 23, 2014 · 4:42 pm

Wanna Buy?

Podcasts are so inspirational. A few months back, I posted a theme song for Get Up Off This, now Matt Robinson is asking for a Heavy Metal song about a kid in his neighborhood who sells soda on the corner and only speaks two words of English, which are, “Wanna Buy?” His voice has been described as similar to Joy Behar from the daytime talk show, The View.

Here’s what I think the kid looks like.

Wanna Buy?-550

Now, I haven’t ever made a metal song before. I rarely listen to Heavy Metal, but  I like a challenge. I think this might could work as some type of indie rock.

https://soundcloud.com/abdowell/wanna-buy

Lyrics

Wanna Buy, on the corner selling soda Wanna Buy? x2
It’s a hot day in California
I’m wearing my shorts and my tennis shoes
what do I see down  the corner
one, one  little kid with a lemonade stand a lemonade stand
I don’t understand why he’s wearing all black
he’s wearing all black
a wool suit and he has a question
Wanna Buy, on the corner selling soda Wanna Buy? x2

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March 20, 2014 · 8:30 pm

Potent Water Potion

Potent Water Potion550

I’ve been making beats and mixes, with art work to support them. I think it legitimizes the music. Any I was going into this one with the idea that I wanted to make a Bass Music track about bottle service. I decided to look for sound effects with ice clanking in a glass and liquid pouring. So I found that through google at FreeSFX.co.uk. I laid down a basic Kick/Snare drum pattern and added the sound effects to sync up with the snare. I decided I wanted to try adding a vocal element, like all the cool producers, so I looked through my music files for nice clean vocals. I landed on young Tevin Campbell as a featured singer on the song Round and Round from the soundtrack to Prince‘s third film, Graffiti Bridge. I later looked  for a rap vocal to sample, hoping for an acapella, and I remembered my partner Sub-Conscious had a few acapella songs on his debut album Lyric Lover’s Deluxe.   Put it all together and made this. Hope you like.

https://soundcloud.com/abdowell/potent-water-potion

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March 19, 2014 · 9:30 am

Logo: The Ratchet Hatchet

Beefing up that portfolio. A Podcast I love, The Ratchet Hatchet, featuring two NY comedians that I love, Josh Homer and Jess Wood,  was having a logo contest. Here’s what I came up with.

Ratchet hatchet

And a slight variation.

Ratchet hatchet-2

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March 18, 2014 · 8:30 pm

Hangin’ With Old Eddie Kane Jr.

 

 

eddiekanejr

 

Kind of rough draft of a mix I’m working on. Five Heartbeats was that that flick and Eddie Kane was that dude. He wasn’t a nice guy, but he was that dude. Come hang out with him for a second.

https://soundcloud.com/abdowell/hanging-with-old-eddie-kane-jr

 

 

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March 18, 2014 · 7:28 pm

I Mustache You Something Important

Come With Me if You Want to Live

Come With Me if You Want to Live

Well, it takes a while to explain. I’ve been working on some music production/beat making and I wanted to make a hipster song. So I named the track before I ever laid down any digital instruments. So I mustache you something important seemed appropriately in the collective unconscious, using the fingerstache meme. I laid some basic drum tracks and played out a bass line, then I decided to throw a simple place holder vocal track, and there was a dumb idea for a song I wanted to use for a pop song, the most quoted line from Terminator. After I discovered I really liked the come with me if you want to live line I started to listen to the theme for Terminator for cues. I snatched the iconic drums and copied a few of thos patterns, then filled out the track with softer instrumentals. I like the balance. You might too, have a listen.

The artwork came after the track was done. The Idea of a Terminator with a fingerstache was funny to me. So I made it.

https://soundcloud.com/abdowell/i-mustache-you-something

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March 11, 2014 · 5:22 am

Black Twitter # Dangerous

I was listening to, The Black Guy Who Tips,  one of my favorite podcasts and they had a panel discussion that was about , Black Twitter. The article they cited said that Black Twitter tended to be “irresponsible” and “dangerous.”  So I fired up Illustrator and got to designing a graphic.

#dangerous

Dangerous

I could get angry and dust off my soapbox, but I figured, why not try to make a buck. #capitalism.

Buy a shirt, or a button, or a mug or a bag.

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