MIKE SWIFT "72 BARS"

Mike Swift - 72 Bars (Produced by Mr. Rey)

MR REY RELEASES TWO BRAND NEW MIKE SWIFT TRACKS! CONTROVERSIAL!

Mike Swift - Itutok Mo (Produced by Mr. Rey)

NOVEMBER 22, 2009 Sunday, approximately 5:30am. PST—I received a voicemail from Mike Swift saying “tol, I’m at the JFK airport and I missed my flight, but I’ll see ya’ll soon!” Hours later, Mike arrived at the SFO airport and is back “Dito Sa Bay”. Knowing Mike as a person of many magic, surprises, and ingenious ideas, I knew once again that it was going to be an adventurous journey. Upon arriving Mike and I celebrated by eating “quesadilla’s” at El Farolito. Mike told me that he hasn’t slept in 3 to 4 nights, so after a short conversation we called it a night. After a much needed rest, Mike had asked me to flip thru some beats. Then conceptualized and recorded a song entitled “Itutok mo.” The song is self-explanatory if you know Mike’s passion for movies, music and life, then you’ll understand. With our plan to pump as much joints as we can while he’s out here in the bay. We gave birth to “72Bars” a track that hits you with facts, metaphors and crazy multi-syllable style of rhymes. Enjoy these ones!

When we’re not making songs, Mike would go with me to a 3 days a week after school program/workshop that I facilitate along with my boy Josh Landicho aka BWAN, at the Bayanihan Community Center on the corner of 6th St and Mission. The program/workshop is focused on recent youth immigrants from the Philippines, giving them a space to create, express, and raise awareness about their community through the arts and performance.

For further info about the program visit www.TeachThemBrothas.blogspot.com

On the morning of thanksgiving, we attended the sunrise ceremony at the Alcatraz—a 40 year old tradition carried by the Native Americans to remember the native genocide and survival (be on the look-out for amazing footage of this event). The last few days of Mike’s stay we recorded more banging tracks. One is a posse cut joint, along with two of the Bayanihan Krew members, BWAN, Flossafee and myself. After two weeks and some odd days of Mike’s stay here in the bay, he returned to Brooklyn already to take and make big moves towards the G-Unit Asia route, yeahhdigg?!?!

At sa muling pagbalik, patuloy ang mga hakbang mula sa una, Higante-Status pai!

Salamat

Maligayang Pasko at Manigong Bagong Taon sa inyong lahat!!

2010 handa ka na ba?

TTB allday!!!



MR REY

A SOULFIESTA XMAS FROM G-UNIT ASIA/TO THE BILLBOARD

MERRY XMAS TO EVERYONE FROM ALL OF US HERE!!!

To my Soulfiesta readers and beyond,

Restless we had become, dream's evolving with urgency to live. With infinite ways you can describe the revolution of what we have done. The sky can only be our cage, because outside that is unwanted freedom if you need it. So this is dedicated to the high flyers who want to tamper with escaping out towards my area pass these shallow clouds up in planet Brooklyn. Deep beneath the milky way I will drown you. Understand my motherfucking gangster!!!!

This year, the year 2009, this is a bitter sweet year for me. Sweet because of all the seeds that sprouted are starting to be more evident, but rather more bitter because of how many people who are close to my heart had passed away without seeing how much I really care for them. My best friend Pocho's mom, Maria, who also was a mom to me passing away two weeks before I made it back to Brooklyn. I lived with them for almost a year during the time when I first left the Philippines back to Brooklyn. I spent many dinners with them stemming from junior high school childhood days. She was even kind enough to accept me even though I was selling marijuana from the room she made for me out of her good heart. I had to swallow my pride and walk with this guilt because during the time, that's what I thought were my best choice, my only choice. I use to promise her "Ma once I get these millions from this music game watch what I'm going to get you for christmas", of course she would just ride along while feeding me a plate of spanish food and occasionally say "yeah, yeah, shut up and eat your food before it gets cold". She use to put away all the mail sent for me in Brighton 10th path in Brooklyn while I was grinding in the PI. She's important to me. My young friend Marcus who I still have something that he let me hold months before he was stabbed to death in Brighton beach Brooklyn. Officer Omar Edwards, Uncle Rollie.

I would need a whole lifetime of pages if I have to write why I love Francis and why my bond with him was strong. How many times a week I would see him, we'd play basketball, eat Chowking, go to Greenhills for games, my random visits to him at Eat Bulaga. I could still hear him laughing clearly at jokes I would throw towards people he didn't like much. So yes the country lost a national hero, but I lost a friend who I treated and looked up to as a brother, a mentor, a measurement of how a great man should carry himself. I wanted him to hear a song titled "Inukit sa bato" that is in the "Legendary" album, which I no longer plan on releasing, and will never see the light of day. I needed him to be around. I wanted to reach my goal and show him how much gratitude I have for being instrumental in achieving them, which I will still scream at the heavens for him to hear the day that it comes.

I feel it's near. B-Roc knows its near. I feel like I never throw Bong enough credit for everything he has done for me as an artist, and as a friend. It took many conversations in between making music for B-Roc to understand me, he gave me a shot at honing my skills, and space to be creative in there. In these sessions is where we exchanged stories that helped mold the beginning concepts of "To The Billboard", and why it would be one of our ways to stand out and make history in the world of hiphop . Taking it back from the day I recorded that song (To The Billboard) on a wednesday, I remembered how fucked up I was from being drunk with the TUESDAY TROOPS the night before. I wrote the english version first, and we just steam rolled and commited with the genius concept. all the way to making a song titled Get Jay-z and Dre for me, which lead to the DVD documentary "GET JAY Z Before Christmas". Then this madness brought us to Spike Lee's office, and earned me enough money to put a down payment for our first movie that had us in our journey back in the Philippines baiting for investors.

50 Cent along with Jayz, Spike Lee, and Russell Simmons were always been the first four people I had targeted cause I feel they are the most open minded who I feel will understand that I will rep Brooklyn New York proud by making an energy from thin air into a good business, and wont be afraid to gamble on a concept that has grown to be a monstrous movement built to inspire.

Can you imagine all of the other so called hiphop purists thoughts on Bong screaming G UNIT? LOL!! My paranoia can hear them laughing so loud at us, assuming as if we were just a bunch of jokes. As if there is no chance at all at making it happen. But there he was helping me make quick artwork, or doing camera work for our Business Plan, understanding our plans that had transformed to a more long term. Similar to what HEEZ said in SOLD US A DREAM "It dont matter the plan don't stop, It just means we have more time to demand more Gwap AAAAAAACKH!".

B-Roc beleived in the magic of To The Billboard, thats what it has been for me a journey full of magical stories and lifetime friendships. B-Roc is definitely my friend forever along with Chrizo and most of the crew that I knew and met long enough. I might not have the money in the bank yet, but I no longer just have their sights from a short distance, my whole leg is in the door. I'm just letting Christmas fly by and I'm back to urgency. For those who consider not getting nominated to win an award, a hit song on radio, a record deal from a major company as a failure, and disregard the impact I have contributed as a pinoy artist. I want you to place yourselves in my shoes and imagine how I felt the times I was recording with Suge Knight, buying a NYC magazine in San Francisco with a one page article of yourself in it, acting while a whole auditorium full of people that includes Angela Basette watch you recite a biggie smalls song for the movie NOTORIOUS, and now a call from Dre Mckenzie head of A&R of G Unit the first week of December as proof that they are starting to acknowledge me and my persistence. Imagine yourselves in my shoes accomplishing such stories. Consistently adding color, music and powerful energy in Konektado DVD documentaries that keeps on growing all across the world. Do you think I need trophies, plaques for these kind of accomplishments that never get a crack of daylight in any media. Money can buy you that. I can get money over night, and I will. However, respect. Respect can only be earned by paying dues, and I became the master of paying dues. SO RESPECT, I'LL EARN IT! Yung mga tropa kong nagpatattoo, you are fucking Crazy! Kane and Anne! We dont have much choice naman eh, we bleed for the chance. Sly Kane helped me with the BUSINESS PLAN CD. Getting to hand the cd, banner, and dvd that to 50 Cent personally, documented on November 20th of 2009, feels like such a load off my shoulders. I can say that I handed 50 cent personally my Business Plan where we bled for the chance. Time will tell whats next. How can they stop people who don't want to be stopped. Shouts to my heroes Sunny Bandila, Heez Heffner, and Mike Watawat for inspiring me to love myself more than I already do.

Merry Christmas sa inyong lahat. Like every year, we say "This year is going to be our year" So carry on tradition. We will say it again. God bless. One love

P.S. check out Mr Rey's TTB Christmas present to soulfiesta I'm there too. We giving out free downloads. Enjoy :-). Jokbok Amuyin Amuyin!



MIKE SWIFT

SOULFIESTA EXCLUSIVE: RON HENLEY & LOONIE

RON HENLEY & LOONIE FREESTYLES

LOONIE MONDAYS: THE END IS THE BEGINNING

Loonie - Unreleased Verses (Produced by DJ Crazee Bangin)

I've been a fan of Stick Figgas since day one. When people didn't like local dialect in they're local rap songs to now that we've actually broken 75% of that mentality down, I've been a Stick Figgas fan. Loonie's upcoming debut CD comes with high anticipation -- read and build insight as we deliver to you questions and answers from the mind of one of the most insightful emcees we have in this decade. Loonie, idol -- hehehehe. Loving the answers man, thank you.


First and foremost, kindly clear this rumor about you going crazy?

It's not a rumor. I am crazy. Better lock your doors. Hahaha


Where were you and what were you doing the day that Francis M died?

In Cebu. I just had come off work. It was high noon and I was very tired and sleepy. While waiting for a cab, my mom broke the bad news to me thru txt and I hadn't believed it completely 'til 4 more text messages confirmed the worst. I still couldn't believe it. Then it was all over TV. He was just texting me a week before that and then he was suddenly gone. It was sad and surreal. The last message he gave me was: "Tuloy ang rebolusyon anak." And that's where I get the fire in me everytime I perform or write songs.

I heard you signed a deal and will put out an album for a major release soon, whats the story behind it and why put this album, The Ones Who Never Made It out first before that major release?

I haven't signed anything yet. Details about that project is still confidential. It's gonna be finished hopefully this March. The songs there are actually more commercially tangible and the production has been beefed up and I will be working with a couple of different artists from different genres of our local music scene. That album is fully laid out and carefully planned compared to The Ones Who Never Made it which I've likened to unborn fetuses; Songs which were never really planned and songs that won't get heard by normal people on the radio. TOWNMI is for the day one fans and supporters. It's me at my rawest form. A collector's item. In short, The Ones Who Never Made It are the songs that will never make it on that major release. So it's just like a chin check before the actual right hook to the jaw.

Its as if you've prepared for every angle of what hiphop has to offer, so at this point in your career as a lyricist & emcee, is there things that still shock you? If NO, what about Pinoy Hiphop irritates you and if YES, please eleborate?

Nothing shocks me anymore. It gets boring sometimes. And I'm here to change that. Style biters piss me off because they don't even recognize the architect of the style they're using. They even have the guts to try and diss me just to get my attention. It's flattering but it's annoying.

You have a song called "Ayokong Bumoto" -- and it is the season for the elections, and with what initially happened in Maguindanao -- whats your take on the coming elections? Is it important or less important. And as a voice of the youth, what do you think voting means?

I've never voted for anyone ever. Ayokong Bumoto is a song I did to make people think again. I'm not trying to cause civil unrest by boycotting the upcoming elections. These are just the feelings of a normal Filipino. There's always corruption and bloodshed. Everyone has their own hidden agenda. I don't blame them for their greed though. I'd be a hypocrite if I said I won't do the same if I was in their shoes. Humans are born corrupt and that's why I aspired to become a rapper instead of a politician. I don't want to put myself in a position where I'll have an opportunity to steal from hardworking Filipinos or lie to my country. And I think I speak for everyone when I say I'm tired of the same old same old. No song can change that. "Ayokong Bumoto" is just that. A song. People can take it however they want. I'm just letting them know that I don't give a damn about politics. Unless someone pays me a shitload of money to do a campaign jingle for them. Hahahaha

What do you think of radio airplays? Is it less important? Is having viral marketing online better? Especially for you -- off of the strength of your hits online and how much worldwide praises you've already gotten despite not having a radio single.

It's better if you're visible or audible everywhere. Internet, radio, TV, live shows. The more media the better. The internet is really a wonderful thing. It's God's gift to mankind. But the feeling of an artist hearing his own song on the radio is priceless. So I think it's just as important as online marketing. Virals are basically just hype compared to solid radio singles that people can really relate to. Maybe it would take a couple more years before the internet pushes CD's and the radio into extinction.

Loonie feat. Toney Chrome, Ron Henley, Mike Kosa
Jskeelz - Dito Sa Maynila (Produced by One Thedd)

I've seen you come into your own over the years. You've shown that you can grow up and rise to the occassion several times. You withstood beefs within your own backyard -- what inspires you to move forward? What pressures are there in your goal to reach a summit of experience? What motivates you?

People around me inspire me to move forward. My real friends and my family. Where would I be without them? There are a lot of pressures but I take them on as challenges. So the secret to handling it is to be like a duck. Smooth and unruffled on top but paddling like crazy underneath. Hate motivates me more than anything else. I thrive in negativity because somehow, I always turn it into something positive. It's like fuel to the fire for me.

Whats your favorite Turbulence song? album?

I love a lot of Turb songs man. NY to PI, Ikaanim na Misteryo, Booked Me A Flight among others. The B-Sides Album, Thinking Man's Hip-hop and Nimbus 9's Philippine Phenom are all classics for me. I salute you guys for making quality music all throughout the years and being relevant to the local scene year in and year out.

If in time you were asked to teach a course on the life of Francis Magalona -- which five songs will you use to help students learn more about him?

Francis treats his songs like his sons/daughters. He doesn't play favorites but these are the five songs that I feel are very special to him through the years that I've been with the King.

1. Wag Kang Tumawa - This is one of his favorite songs off "Happy Battle". We are going to do a remake of this on the Stick Figgas' second album. Here he shows his brilliant songwriting skills as he drops knowledge in oxymoronic fashion.

2. Baliktad Ang Mundo - Another underrated classic of a song from "Happy Battle". While we were at a hotel in Cebu back in 2008. Francis was saying how he liked this song so much and that he had even a verse in datkilab (baliktad). But labels said people weren't ready for that at that time so they took the verse out. But he let me hear it and I was amazed at his creativity and how he was so ahead of his time back then.

3. Reach For The Stars - He told me his verse here is his favorite. The version that was released featured PKSO in it but he had a solo version of it and he always performs this song when he have gigs at Zirkoh and Klownz.

Francism feat. Loonie - The Light (Chrizo Remix)

4. The Light - This is one song we did for DJ Arbiewon's United Freestyles. When he was at the hospital he was texting me about this song telling me that it was special to him and that it brought tears to his eyes everytime he listened to it during that difficult time.

5. 3 Stars And A Sun - I think this is his favorite song that he made. He's very proud of this song and it's one of my favorites as well.

What is the advantage of performing with a band?

There's only one thing better than music and that is live music. The energy level is more intense and people seem to take you more seriously in contrast to performing with a minus one. And I just love the sound of live drum rolls. It revs me up everytime.

Are we ever going to hear you rap an entire verse in your native dialect?

Actually I rapped a few lines in Cebuano on the opening song of The Ones Who Never Made It. The song is called "Walang Babala". Sometimes I try to write more verses in Bisaya vernacular. I've got a couple of 16's and one of these days me and Syke and gonna try to do something with it.

When you caught a glimpse of our video Beyond Beyond, what did you think about it and to you, what does Beyond Beyond mean?

Really inspiring stuff and nice visuals man. Beyond Beyond for me is like the next level after the highest. It's like seeing beyond the observable universe. Even beyond to what the Hubble Space Telescope can see.

Whats the best and worst compliment you've recieved as an artist?

I take all compliments as positive whether bad or good. That means I affected the listener somehow and I got a reaction from them.

LOONIE VS RON HENLEY

With your solo career in line to bloom, where does this leave Stick Figgas as a group? What are the next few steps people can expect from the group?

Stick Figgas is officially a band already. We added Chano on drums, Jopz on guitars and R2 on bass. We still do gigs regularly so it's not like a hiatus for the group. We're just more concentrated on recording material for our individual solo efforts. Ron Henley is set to release a solo project next year and maybe after we have written enough songs we'll start recording on our 2nd album as a band. It's entitled "Take Two: A Tragic Comedy". It will be a double-disc offering and I'm very excited to start working on it with the rest of the band.

What do you still want to achieve and get from this hiphop shit?

I'm still waiting for my first million. But the respect and praises I get from people and fellow artists make it worth the wait.

If you had a million pesos to spend in a day and can only spend it on two things, what you buy?

I don't know man. Hmmmm off the top of my head maybe a car for me and a house for my family.

Who are you rooting for this year in the NBA? Any predictions?

I'm a big Lakers fan since Shaq's days. But I'd root for the Cavaliers this year if ever they face off in the finals. Though I'm predicting the Lakers would do a repeat, I'm not underestimating the Celtics. They're ahead of the rest right now. And Atlanta might surprise us this year too. 2k10 na lang tayo Bong! hahahaha thanks for the interview man. More power to you and yours.


I'd like to apologize for the people who've been waiting for The Ones Who Never Made It. It's coming really soon. We're working hard on it. Hopefully January it'll drop nationwide.

TO THE BILLBOARD FEATURE: ZEPS

ZEPS - ESSENTIAL

Here's the big homie ZEPS' video called ESSENTIAL -- repping Point Dot Period and TO THE BILLBOARD all the way in Norway! Download ZEPS free album, The Sheepshead Bay Files. Track 9 on this offering is entitled To The Billboard. I see Dama Nilz making a cameo on this video -- cmon Mike & Zeps, I wanna work with Dama Nilz on a track, how do we make that happen? Hehehe.


Download THE SHEEPSHEAD BAY FILES, here.

DRAKE QUOTABLE & RECORD DEAL INFO

DEBUT ALBUM DROPS SUMMER 2010

“As a 23-year-old kid, that's what I strive for: money, cars, clothes, now furniture – material things,” he said. “That's what we're conditioned to think happiness is. But are we on the right path? Is it possible to find love, to enable you to enjoy all this stuff? I'm a young man of substance. I don't like chasing empty connections. That's what my album is going to be about: my new situation, about me getting a firm grasp on it, and then trying to find the missing component.”



DID YOU KNOW? Drake is signed with Aspire/Young Money/Cash Money Records and is distributed by Universal. Drake got a $2 million advance (I’ll give you a moment to read that again). Drake retains the publishing rights to his songs and only pays 25% of his music sales revenues to the label as a “distribution fee”. Major props to Drake’s management team (Hip Hop Since 1978 and Cortez Bryant) for negotiating a fair deal for their client. Cortez Bryant also manages Lil Wayne and Hip Hop Since 1978 represents Kanye West.