bhyphen

I decided to start another Behind The Music entry, except with video instead of all the typing this time. I'll be posting them as I produce them.

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I recorded this in late 2006 when I couldn't decide what project I wanted to work on next. While "J's And Nikes" ultimately didn't make the cut for The Mind's Mixtape volume Three, it's still one of my favorite songs. I might have to break it out and perform a verse next time I have a show. This is actually the second version, recorded on my good mic, but I was a little tipsy and I think it shows at points. But it's still a winner in my book. This song was originally by Fat Joe under the name "Safe 2 Say (The Incredible)". Produced by Just Blaze if you want to check that out.

I also just got a haircut. Why not?

Download "J's And Nikes".

Sean Nice and DJ Big Daddy came into my job this Friday so I could buy one of Nice's Michael Jackson tribute mixes and they mentioned they didn't have a copy of "It's Hyphen Bitches" from The Mind's Mixtape volume Three. Even tho the song is almost two years old, you have to give the DJ's what they want when they're asking for it. lol. So here's the link I gave them in case anybody else wanted to grab it.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ojzndwylgzr

I shoot myself in the foot too much.

So Tune and I made "Champion". And I didn't want to put it out originally. I wanted to sit on it and quietly make Spideyville Unlimited.

Then Hypno leaked it. And everyone that heard it thought is was the best thing I've done so far.

And it made my head a little big.

So Coutz gave me this beat in October saying it was mine exclusively. I listened to it every now and again and eventually I get an idea for it. I decide I'm gonna make a song about my nickname Hip-Hop's Last Hope. The idea was to have me singing the hook in a lullaby type of way (in the role of my mother) and the verses would be me arguing that I have to go save the world despite all of its downfalls.

I do the track.

Now, what I should do is sit on it until the mixtape is done. Tweak what needs tweaked. The hard thing about that is with The Mind's Mixtape volume Three, I had E, Chiv, and Angel to run tracks by before I even considered them done.

I'm doing SU by myself. At least that's the plan.

What I really do is send the song to Coutz, Chiv, E, MI, and the WVRapScene message boards so I can get feedback on it. Because I as so hyped by the response to "Champion" I knew people would think this was just as hot. Cue the ego trip. lol.

The feedback has been lukewarm at best.

So just to reiterate, I really would like to keep SU under wraps until all 14 tracks are completed. Really. I just hope my ego and my need for attention will allow that to happen.

Tomorrow I'm off so I think I'll mess around with some joints for No Sleep Till Tucson to get myself in the right frame of mind. Singing Ass Willie is supposed to call me and maybe we can rework the new track into something bigger and better. Or come up with something else.

Anyway, back to battle with my sensitive inner rapper. Bucks tonight for Nah Nitti and the Johnny Harmonic homecoming.

5K.

lol. I'm dumb. This is my homie DJ Strizy cutting up "Peter Piper" before a show I did at the Side Pocket Pub last month. You may see a related video someone shot of him at Fuel aka Mountain Club cutting up the same record...

SO WHAT?! He's good at it! lol.


And this is the video I left out of the Bucks playlist because I liked this performance better.
"Vibe" (Live @ the Side Pocket Pub)


And this is a quick video I shot before the show.

Because I should be doing it more. I'm gonna try to have at least one post a day from now where I actually type something from here until 2009. Not too difficult a task right? Weekends don't count tho. lol.

Went to FallFest last night, which is WVU's big welcome back concert they have every year. Lupe Fiasco was here and he KILLED it. Matt and I weren't in the best spots ever but I saw the whole show thanks to the huge video screen. I studied his show a lot too. Anytime I can soak up some knowledge that's going to make my stage show better, I'll take it.

I've now seen live:
Jay-Z
R. Kelly
Kanye West
Usher
Talib Kweli
Common (for 10 minutes. Stupid thunderstorm!)
Lupe Fiasco
Black Eyed Peas
The Roots
Pete Rock (DJ)
Fatman Scoop (DJ)
Redman
Boot Camp Clik
Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Young Gunz (they all came out during Jay's set, so they count. lol.)

Back in school. Day 2 went fine. Now I just have to get through one more year and a few summer classes and I'm done. Really.

Music is kinda at a standstill. I haven't done a new song since I did a song for DJ Coutz' album. I redesigned my myspace tho. lol. You can check it out at http://www.myspace.com/spideyville and you can also listen to or download The Mind's Mixtape volume Three there. The good news is I've never been more comfortable on stage and my live show is the best it's ever been. I really feel I'm starting to come into my own there.

Matt and I's blog is in the middle of reconstruction. I got a little too happy with trying to post every single new song that came out and I found myself dedicating 5 hours of a recent Saturday just to updating the blog with 2 weeks worth of missed tracks. So I'm reconstructing the site back into form that Matt and I originally invisioned. Johnathan also joined the site as a contributor but he has yet to contribute. lol. You can check that out at http://www.hiphopmanifesto.org. We'll also have the new episode of the podcast soon too.

I have an update I need to do for Marvel Anthology. It's only two issues but anything new is always welcome. I have three issues of Robin I'm about to turn in at DCA. My first issues in over a year and a half. I'm a great writer by the way. lol.

I'm going to be redesigning B Hyphen.com again. lol. I can't find something that I truly like enough to leave it there. But I got some ideas, hopefully something good will come of it.

I also plan on continuing and finishing my Behind The Music series for The Mind's Mixtape volume II and The Thunderstorm Mixtape. Then I can do the one for volume Three. I wanted to start on volume Three but I didn't think it was right to skip two mixtapes.

For now tho, I think that covers all the bases. Here's two facebook photo galleries from my last two shows.
August 7th @ Bucks - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2228249&l=831e6&id=25816698
August 16th @ 123 Pleasant Street - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2228454&l=afad5&id=25816698

So I had a couple friends tell me they heard my song on the radio this week and someone else said they got The Mind's Mixtape volume Three from The Den. The crazy part, I never put my CD in The Den, so someone is bootlegging my shit! lol. And the radio play came from getting spins on U92. Still, it's nice to know other people hear your music.

Been a long time coming...
... here it is!

I just downloaded the Minds Mixtape Vol. 3 (MMV3), and I'll just type this as I listen. I'll be honest, don't hate me for it.

Many consider the phrase “West Virginia Hip-Hop” to be an oxymoron. B-Hyphen’s “The Mind’s Mixtape Volume Three” gives doubters something new to listen to.

Containing more than just generic rap lyrics, “MMV3” has a spectrum of beats and personal reflections from Winchester, Va., native Kelen Conley.

The mixtape starts off with a solid introduction from DJ Monstalung, both of who serve under the Sound Vizion record label.

The beginning of the album starts out strong, with uplifting, powerful beats and raw rap. The track “Death Before Dishonor” uses Young Jeezy’s “Go Getter” beat, which starts the album out in a definitive way.

The next two songs, “Come Out Swinging” and “Premier” are decent tracks, however, both songs are hurt by some rather repetitive, uncreative hooks.

The album picks up in a big way from there though. “It’s Hyphen B------” is a rough and gritty song repping the artist’s name to the Swizz Beatz “It’s Me B------.” One of the most memorable beats produced over the past few years, Hyphen works it well and helps listeners remember the name.

“Demon in the Bottle,” and “I Hate Myself” are two tracks that show the depth and personality of Hyphen. Rap is more commercial than it’s ever been, so to hear Hyphen talk about personal issues such as addiction and the pain of not being recognized is truly refreshing.

More than that, Hyphen really works the lyrics in these two songs. Almost all of the verses flow wonderfully, and Hyphen keeps his focus on the bigger picture of the tracks he’s on.

Hyphen captures the storytelling aspect of hip-hop, particularly in “Demon.” He introduces the story talking about the mystery of beer as a child, and his alcoholism at different stages in his life.

Some of the tracks toward the end are not as well-rehearsed as the others, but Hyphen manages to bring it back with “Since Thunderstorm.” The song is to the beat of Pharrell’s “You Can Do It Too”, and is put together marvelously. The beat is true hip-hop, with soft percussion and a slow, jazzy bass line that will make anyone nod their head. The track also contains the best hook of the CD, “Listen world take it in this is me, the life and times of Kellen Conley volume three.”

The tracks after this one again lack some substance. The album finishes with “The Masterpiece” to Nas’ “Black Republican” beat. It’s a good track but relies too heavily on the beat, even making references to being a “Black Republican.”

If it were to be labeled as a true album, “MMV3” would come off as a somewhat weak performance. There is also a lot of sound clips at the beginnings of songs that take away from the momentum of the album, and a couple of the tracks really lack lyrical composition.

However, as a 19-track mixtape, the CD delivers much more than expected. After cutting through a lot of the fat, the meat of “MMV3” has some truly good tracks to listen to. “Demon,” “Hate Myself” and “Since Thunderstorm” are three tracks that really show off Hyphen’s talent and creativity.

“MMV3” really makes Hyphen stand out in a sea of bland rap careers. His storytelling and ability to express himself beyond the normal confines of generic rap is something that is rare.

The mix tape as a whole was intended to showcase Hyphen’s mind, and he does an excellent job of this.

If solely just to hear the hits, check out B-Hyphen’s new mix tape at http://www.myspace.com/spideyville.

If you want to check it in a sweet streaming version.
http://www.datpiff.com/B-Hyphen-The-Minds-Mixtape-Volume-Three-mid9633.html

So the mixtape's out.  Kinda.

It's out on the internet, where it's gonna get distributed the easiest.  It's on my website (when the damn thing works, fucking hostony), on last.fm, soon to be on datpiff.com, and it's getting a nice return when you put Mind's Mixtape volume Three on google.  I still don't have any physical copies or inserts so I can hand them out at shows or sell it in The Den.  Not that I expect to move crazy units, but a little promotion should guarantee some type of change.

The weird thing is, I'm kinda ready to start working on my next mixtape already.  Normally I want to take a break, and have nothing to do with music for awhile, but I suppose I reached that point where music is starting to become my job (even though it's not bringing me a dime!) and I want to get back to work again.  So after I finish editing the mixtape, I'll probably start working on my next mixtape and hopefully on whatever E keeps telling me is gonna start in January.

I planned on participating in Nanowrimo but the mixtape sucked every free moment I had.  I was gonna write that story I was gonna pitch to Dino for his now-defunct Vertigo site based off the title Alias The Spider.  I still have my notes and everything so I do plan on starting it.  Eventually.  Damn music.  lol.  I also got fanfic I wanna write (like Robin, Ultimate Daredevil) but that too has fallen to the wayside.  Not that it hasn't for the longest.

Work still sucks.  That is all.

I might be in school in spring.  Between Johnny and my dad we'll see.

On a sidenote, I have friends and family that really love me.  Someone pointed that out to me recently and I never thought of it that way.  They do outrageous things for me, things that I don't even deserve.  So I am loved.  It's nice to know.

I started drawing Nonsense at work again, but it sucks.  I forget what I thought was funny about it in the first place, but nothing is really sticking.  It's fun drawing it again though.

Fuck Rich Rodriguez.  So wack.

I've been listening to a lot of good music lately.  I'm too far back on my monthly reviews but I'll have a best of 2007 list soon.

And let it be known, I fully support the Writers Strike, but damn if they're not fucking up my TV!

Transmission end.

From Justin Umstead aka 4 Life.

B-Hyphen’s The Mind’s Mixtape Vol. 3 comes out swinging with a clever blend of stylish yet provocative new tracks! Hyphen’s themes of individuality, hope, and companionship go head to head with his feelings of anger, apathy, and even dependency. The new aggressive and confrontational attitudes evident in his work help to paint a portrait of a person, not just an MC, who is attempting to make their way despite the negative obstacles they must overcome.

Hyphen’s first few tracks set the tone for the entire mixtape. The many sound bites and sound effects, although thoughtful and well placed, become somewhat cumbersome later on in the mixtape. Also, the commentary in the introduction of each track can grow tedious as you wait for the meat of the song to begin. With that said, the ideas presented in the artist’s lyrics make it very easy for almost anyone, hip-hop fan or country fan alike, to find a song that they can relate to. Hyphen proudly wears his heart on his sleeve and rightly so!

“Round 3” comes fresh on a noble beat mixed with Hyphen’s trademark style and attitude. “Live for the moment” carries a very meaningful message, as well as an ode to one of our fallen (Tank RIP). “Come out Swinging”, produced by local beatsmith ProfitMoney, is also a treat to listen to! However, the apex of the album truly manifests in “I hate myself” a very passionate, thoughtful, and humble track with a lot of meaning behind it. In “Demon in a Bottle”, Hyphen reiterates thoughts of dependency over a raw east coast instrumental. Hyphen’s individuality and drive are fully realized in “Since Thunderstorm” which displays his premise in crystal clear view. “The Masterpiece” featuring Chivalry also begs the question of a possible partnership restoration in the future as both artists compliment each other very well.

Other tracks, such as “Premier” and “Ain’t Right” didn’t catch my attention because I felt the hooks could have had a tighter relationship with the rest of the track. “Hip-hop shit” had great lyrics but didn’t seem to mesh well with the mellow beat it was transposed upon. In certain instances, Hyphen’s aggressiveness manifests unnaturally as he comes across as congenial one minute and then antagonistic the next. Overall, these infractions were minor and overlookable.

In conclusion, Hyphen’s new mixtape is a must hear! The tape presents a dark, mysterious, and thoughtful delivery that fits well with Hyphen’s original style. It also announces exactly where he stands with other hip-hop artists. It’s not any question that B-Hyphen is bound to see plenty of love from his peers from this new tape!

See this picture?  That's my desktop.  American Gangster wallpaper?  Check.  Winamp?  Check.  Winamp with the complete version of The Mind's Mixtape volume Three?  Check.

It's done.  My fourth mixtape.  Only took me two years since the last one.

Available for download soon.