My Peoples Moxy Monster and Buggs Tha Rocka
(pictured left to right - Moxy Monster, Akhe Abdullah, Buggs Tha Rocka)
The other night at Elementz we hosted a jam session which featured artists who are scheduled to perform at our upcoming benefit concert called “Pass the Mic”. Before that evening I actually didn’t know most of the artists scheduled to perform but it was cool to meet folks like Spaz Ave, Zay and Trademark Aaron who are our regions emerging urban artists. Of course I got to catch up with my peoples Moxy Monster and Buggs Tha Rocka who will be rocking with us in the Pass the Mic concert as well. Moxy will be performing songs with his crew called “Valley High” while Buggs will most likely be performing music from his recent project entitled “the Wrath of Zeus (conscious but explicit)” which was released through the most well known hip hop sites in the world, Allhiphop.com.
I’ve known both Moxy and Buggs both on a artistic and personal level for a number of years and its great to see them progressing as artists & human beings and to be able to give them a stage to rock on through the Elementz brand. I also passed them a copy of my album JOURNEY: THE SOUND OF LIFE. You never know whats next…..
Be sure to join us all for the Pass the Mic concert on July 12th at the 20th Century Theatre. All proceeds will benefit Elementz. Check out the promo video below and click here to buy tickets
JOURNEY ENTRY 4: COLLEGE LIFE & MUSIC
During my college years I studied Electronic Media in the University of Cincinnati’s prestigious music college, the College Conservatory of Music, or CCM for short. I chose the major simply because I wanted to inspire the world through couscious music and video content just as it had inspired me. E-Media gave me the training for what had became my passion — music production.
In college most of my peers came to know me as “B. Will,” the hip hop producer. The “B” being short for my first name Brandon and “Will” being half of my former last name Willis. I had a music studio in my campus dorm room and later my studio moved to my off-campus apartment. In my studios I produced soulful hip hop tracks and recorded local artists like Moxy Monster & ill Poetic. I even had famous athletes like UC Bearcat hoop stars James White, Armeen Kirkland, & Philly Eagles football star Trent “TLove” Cole coming by to record freestyle tracks.
In 2004 my music connections in Cincinnati expanded. I began working with a well known emcee named Holmskillet (BJ Digby) who had recorded music with legendary Ohio producers J.Rawls and Cincinnati’s own Hi-Tek. Holmskillet often brought other artists with him to my studio including another particularly respected emcee from New York named Infinit Evol. Infinit, Holmskillet and I began making really nice records together in Cincinnati and in Columbus at my Fathers nonprofit studio, S.T.A.R.S.
Soon, Infinit and I were recording music separately while Skillet was doing his own thing. Together our sound blended gritty lyrical content with smooth, sophisticated production. The music I created with Infinit eventually became our first independent album called The Professor and The Mutant. Prior to the release of the album in the fall of 2004 Infinit and I were able to arrange for Day by Day Entertainment to distribute our album online and in select stores where the company had a following.
Day by Day was a home of renowned underground artists such as MF Grimm, MF Doom, & Count Bass D. It felt good to know that my first music project was going to be distributed and it had caught the ear of revered voices in the hip hop world.
I took my first trip up to Manhattan, New York in the fall of 2004 to meet the folks who ran Day By Day in person and to deliver a few hundred copies of our album, which had been freshly manufactured by Disc Makers.
We came back to Cincinnati feeling great about our album and the new connections we made with Day by Day. In Winter 2005 we held a CD release party & performance in downtown Cincinnati in front of a packed crowd. Infinit and I were making a lot of progress musically.
Now while all of this was occuring I was still in my 3rd year as a college student. I was considering dropping out of college like Kanye West and pursuing music but it seemed all too risky to me. I knew too many musicians who were super-talented but had to live in the basement of their mom’s crib. It was around this time that I began to think more about my future and the purpose of life. I became a Muslim in the summer of 2005.
Coming Up Next: A Vlog on How I Converted to Islam.
