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Faculty (805)



Last Updated: 12/14/2008

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Status: Married
City: Oxnard
Country: US

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Thursday, January 31, 2008 3:18 AM
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Monday, January 14, 2008

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Artist Of The Week – Faculty


Trigonometry and Damon Mondell

Ever since meeting through producer E Dub in 1994, Oxnard, California, natives Trigonometry and Damon Mondell, better known as the singularly named Hip-Hop duo Faculty, have been giving listeners a taste of a completely different O.C. than most are used to hearing about. Late in 2007, after pressing up three 12 inch singles that created a buzz on the college radio scene, the duo released their first full length album, Phar From Home. This week I caught up with Mondell to get some more information about the group, including why he and Trig decided to work together, what he means when he says they look to create "good Hip-Hop music," and the daily tasks that come with running their label D&H Records. With much respect to all the teachers of the world, this might be the most interesting Faculty meeting in recorded history.

Adam Bernard: What were the circumstances that led to you and Trig deciding to write music together?
Damon Mondell: We both started seeing more and more of one another because of the studio run-ins and a friend of mine who also recorded music was starting to deal more with Trig's manager. In '95 I believe Trig's manager said that ASCAP was holding auditions to be in there new talent showcase so we all drove down to LA for the audition. Now at this time everyone was auditioning as a solo artist it was Damon, Trig, JC & Johnny Quest. We all went one after another and as we were doing our thing we were supporting each other from the side and the judges said can you all just put your music together and perform the showcase as one? We said hell yeah and at that point we formed a group called Red Zone Fam. The group went on to land an indie deal in 1997 and then signed to a major in 1998 but nothing came from it and in 1999 it was time for a change so Trig and myself started Faculty.

Adam Bernard: You state that your goal is to create "good Hip-Hop music." What qualities do you feel make for good Hip-Hop music and how much of it do you feel is being made today?
Damon Mondell: The qualities of good music include saying something to help the cause, whatever it may be, good production, lyrics, flow, content, and creativity. Good music isn't hard to find on the indie scene, but you also have some not so good music on the indie scene, as well. Technology makes it easy for someone who started to listen to Hip-Hop on Monday make a song on Tuesday. As far as the mainstream goes it's not music anymore it's who can take the same song I just did and market it differently. The music sounds the same. Now on the flip side of that coin I am proud to see Hip-Hop come as far as it has because if it wasn't as loud as it is now then we as the Hip-Hop community would be complaining and searching for a voice to be heard by the masses. I just wish it was good music bleeding through those radio airwaves.

Adam Bernard: There definitely seems to be a lack of good Hip-Hop music right now. Are fewer groups making it, or is it just harder to find?
Damon Mondell: Fewer groups are making it on the major level, but many good groups are coming out on the indie scene, there are just less consumers buying the indie material because of its market being broke, like college students. I do see some of the major corporate America companies coming in and partnering up with us, though, so that is a good start, but not everyone can rap because its going to leave us with watered down music and no fans. Unfortunately we have kids growing up thinking that rap is a well paid career. It can be, but in most cases it takes time to get there.

Adam Bernard: Other than simply by making good music, how else do you feel you two stand out from other artists?
Damon Mondell: We are Hip-Hop in all aspects. We give you that glimpse of what Hip-Hop was like in the late 80's and early 90's cuz believe me it was beautiful. Our experience also helps us stand out. We are also realistic about the game and what it can offer and make good business decisions. We have things to speak on because of what we have been through and are still going through.

Adam Bernard: Let's talk about your name for a minute. Faculty is term associated with teaching. In what ways do you feel you're teachers?
Damon Mondell: We feel that we are teachers because we are from that old school generation like Large Professor, A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, and many other greats. We were taught by the raw school so we are well trained and prepared to teach and speak to the new generation and get down with the best of them.

Adam Bernard: You two started your own independent record label, D&H Records, in 2004. What was the process of starting your own label like?
Damon Mondell: Hectic but worth it. We were tired of shopping deals. We did that so much before with Red Zone that we did not want to waste our energy doing that again, so we figured why not put it into running our own label? It can be a crazy job as well as a rewarding job. Not only are we responsible for writing, recording and performing the music, but now we are responsible for copywriting the music, publishing and licensing, marketing, manufacturing and packaging, and the list goes on.

Adam Bernard: What kind of hurdles did you have to jump and roadblocks did you run into?
Damon Mondell: Money, money, money. It set us back in areas for releasing material on time, reaching more regions for marketing and radio, having the best ad campaigns, hiring publicists, and the list goes on, but somehow we are still here. In addition to the label we have our own tour booking company where we've book shows/events/tours for ourselves as well as Jeru the Damaja, Pseudo Slang, Myka 9, Trek Life, Oddisee, Kev Brown, Wildchild, MED and many others.

Adam Bernard: Finally, I know there are plenty of MCs who read this site who'd be interested in knowing what you look for in an artist. Can you break it down for them?
Damon Mondell: I look for quality, production, originality, content and I ask myself if I am a fan of his or her material, but I would also rather work with artists who are self motivated and responsible to make scheduled dates. When you are investing money into a project you can't afford for the artist to be a liability. Right now I have my eye on one artist from Oxnard name POK Dog. I have always been a fan of his music.

Related Links

MySpace: myspace.com/dhrecords805
MySpace: myspace.com/faculty805

posted by Adam Bernard at 7:52 A

 
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Monday, January 21, 2008 8:52 AM
Rapnetwork Record Breakers Top 30- 1/21/08
 
TOP 30-
 
1, Faculty, Feel It, D&H / Phat Duck
2, Witchdoctor, Best Year, Williams Street
3, Couture Ink, Ghost Town, Marmah Records
4, Wordsmith, Ode To The Pioneers, Nu Revolution
5, B.o.B., Haterz Everywhere, Atlantic Records
6, The Nemesis Two, Don't Stop Rockin, Nem Two Ent.
7, Mr. V, Put Ya Drink Down, Vega
8, Legendary Status, Paper Or Plastic, Urban Disk
9, Tone Loc, Wild Thing (Remix), Delicious Vinyl
10, Major League, Blood Money (Remix), EP Records/New Realm
11, Doujah Raze, Where You Are, Trilogy/Rawkus
12, Marco Polo, The Radar, Soulspasm/Rawkus
13, Charon Don & DJ Huggy, Just Wanna Know, Good Hands
14, Tha Brain, I Got That, 5th Lane
15, Statik Selektah, Stop, Look, Listen, Show Off/Brick Records
16, Sev One, Gangsta Sh!t, G.E.M.S Worldwide
17, Kid Sister, Pro Nails, Fools Gold
18, 410 Pharaohs, Fresh, Ill Friction/Strictly Rhythm
19, Kash Addictz, Deaaam, Kash Addictz Records
20, Killah Priest, Gun For Gun, Good Hands
21, Finale & Spier1200, The Backstory, Soul Step
22, Keelay & Zaire, Alright With Me, Om
23, Vawn, Let Me See Dat, Rock Hard/Def Jam
24, Thee Phantom, Hip Hop Love Ballad, Invisible Man
25, Big Noyd, Things Done Changed, Koch
26, Double F, Weed, Greed & Chases At High Speed, Double F Music
27, Duo Live, Caught Up, Redemption Music Group
28, Omniscient, I'm Here Now, So Flo Ent.
29, Joe Budden, Star Inside Me, Amalgam
30, Y Society, Never Off (On And On), Tres
 
ADDS-
 
1, Yak Ballz, Dirt Empire, Flospott
2, Aarophat, Caramel, Ill Sevenz Music Group/Rawkus 
3, Skam2?, Reckless, O.W.D. Records
4, Quite Nyce, I Alone, Abstrak
5, Majik Most, The Tonight Show, Domination
 
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Monday, November 19, 2007 7:14 PM

Please click on link below to view Faculty in CREAM MAGAZINE.

http://www.cream.cz/?recenze=faculty-phar-from-home-d-h-records

Thanks D&H

 
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Tuesday, November 13, 2007 11:02 PM

please click on link below to view Faculty interview in RAGO MAGAZINE

http://www.ragomagazine.com/index.aspPgAction=pd&PageID=1757

Thanks D&H

 
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Thursday, November 01, 2007 6:05 PM

Please click link below to read album review in PLATFORM 8470 MAG

review: http://www.platform8470.com/reviews/reviews_selectedlp.asp?id=419

Mag website: http://www.platform8470.com

Thanks D&H

 
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Wednesday, October 31, 2007 7:17 AM

Please click link to review FACULTY in EXCLAIM MAG

http://www.exclaim.ca/musicreviews/generalreview.aspx?csid1=116&csid2=865&fid1=28237

Thanks/D&H

 
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Friday, October 26, 2007 4:18 AM

Please click on link to view Faculty album review in RAGO MAGAZINE

http://www.ragomagazine.com/index.aspPgAction=pd&PageID=1714

New Album 'Phar from Home' out in stores now: Stores / fatbeats.com / trcdistribution.com / iTunes

D&H

mrmondell@yahoo.com  

 
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Monday, October 08, 2007 8:16 PM

Category: Music

Foundation Media

marketing - management - promotion - consulting

 Faculty – "He's Mine" – D&H/Phat Duck LLC


Feedback:

1. CFRO - DJ Sage - ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Vancouver, BC (Community Station)

"Dope.  I'm feeling the Jake One production."

2. CHRY - Big Jacks - Toronto, ON (York University)

"That faculty shit is the best record I've heard from them (lyrically) thus far!"

3. CJSF - Matt Chan - Vancouver, BC (Simon Fraser University)

"This was average in terms of the beat and rhymes.  It's not a bad track however I didn't find anything that would make it stand out."

4. International - DJ Seryus - London, UK

"Cheers for this one.  It's on the playlist."

5. International - DJ Odie - Berlin, Germany

"Nice track, will find a place for it in the mix."

6. International - Frantz - Karlovac, Croatia

"We're playing it in Karlovac!"

7. International - DJ Modesty - Paris, France

"Good underground hip hop."

8. International - DJ Mono - Podegra, Montenegro

"Good boom bap rap."

9. International - Merlo / Hiphop.ch - Zurich, Switzerland

"Nice track from the Faculty."

10. International - Mikki D - Dublin, Ireland

"Nice one.  Jake One supplies a great beat."

11. International - Matt/Streetbeat.it - Milan, Italy

"It's a very nice track, nice on the both sides of content and sound.  Big up!"

12. International - DJ Boris / Hip Hop Culture - Mainz, Germany

"This is on our playlist.  Nice and soulful."

13. International - DJ Marius - Cologne, Germany

"My taste - More of that : ) Club and radio spins!"

14. International - Mr. Lawson - London, UK

"Fits in well on the show."

15. International - Patrik Larson – Sweden

"Nice and soulful, the way I like."

16. International - MengRen - Sibenik, Croatia

"I like this.  I played on my radio show."

17. Joint One - Joey Slick - Tokyo, Japan

"We've rocked this a few times."

18. KBOO - Deena B - Portland, OR (Community Station)

"Got ya on this one!!!"

19. KCSC - Sergy - Chico, CA (Chico State University)

"I like.  We grabbed it off the mp3 page.  Thanks for putting us on."

20. KDHX - Kate - St. Louis, MO (Community Station)

"Good one for the hip hop/soul shows.  We've been playing."

 
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Thursday, October 04, 2007 9:22 PM

Category: Music
Here is CFRO Radio's Urban Chart:

 

The Urban Renewal Project's Charts for 9/19/07 to 9/25/07

 

  Artist…Title…Label…Format

 

Heavy Rotation

 

1.)     Faculty…"He's Mine"…D&H/Phat Duck Records…Single

2.)     Strong Arm Steady ft. Talib Kweli…"One Step"…Nature Sounds…Single

3.)     Rob Sonic…"Rock the Convoy"…Def Jux…Single

4.)     Soulstice…"Be Perfect"…Wandering Soul Records…Single

5.)     Don Cerino…"I Love Hip Hop"…White Label…Single

6.)     Havoc…"I'm The Boss"…Nature Sounds…Single

7.)     Sev One ft. Uncle Murda & Jadakiss…"Gangsta Shit"…G.E.M.S. World Wide…Single

8.)     Panacea ft. Raheem DeVaughn…" Flashback To Stardom"…Glow-in-the-Dark/Rawkus Records…Single

9.)     DJ Muggs vs. Sick Jacken…"Mask and the Assasin"… Angeles/Universal Latino…Single

10.) Camp Lo…"Black Hollywood"…Good Hands Records…Single

 

Medium to Light Rotation

11.) Los Wunder Twins Del Rap ft. Termanology & Krumsnatcha…"Hunger Strikes"…Traffic Ent…Single

12.) Knobody…"What U Think"….Hieroglyphics Imperium…Single

13.) Grayskul…"Scarecrow"…Rhymesayers…Single

14.) Musab…"Baang!!"…Hieroglyphics Imperium…Single

15.) Matlock…"This Music"…Gravel Records…Single

16.) MF Grimm…"Earth"….Class A Records…Single

17.) Hezekiah ft. Bilal…"Looking Up"…Soulspazm/Rawkus Records…Single

18.) Aceyalone…"Eazy"…Decon…Single

19.) Special Teamz ft. Devin The Dude…"Long Time Comin"…Duckdown…Single

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt">20.) G&D…."Time"…Look Records…Single

 

Light Rotation

21.) The Project…"The Light Feet"…Glow in the Dark Records…Single

22.) Access Immortal…"American me"…Introspect Records…Single

23.) NYOIL…"Purrrfect Beat"…PEMG…Single

24.) Aesop Rock…"Coffee"…Def Jux…Single

25.) Ams Uno…"They Murk You"…Commonwealth Records…Single

26.) Lux ft. Freeway…"Home Alone"…Luxland/AV8…Single

27.) Keith Murray…"Hustle On"…Koch Records…Single

28.) Spear of the Nation…"Clap"…Natural High Records…Single

29.) The Krakan…"The Conviction"…RaXicon Entertainment…Single

30.) Verso…"Monumental"…Verso Music…Single

 

Adds

1.)     Mac Lethal…"Make Out Bandit"…Rhyemsayers…Single

2.)     Quincy Jones ft. Mr. Lif…"They Call me Mr Tibbs (King Britt rmx)"…Six Degrees…Single

3.)     Prince Ali ft. Keith Murray, Planet Asia & Casual…"The Majors"…Hieroglyphics Imperium…Single

4.)     Somobe…"Go Hard"…Inner Circle Entertainment...Single

5.)     Los Wunder Twins Del Rap…"Puttin On The Crew"…LWTDRL…Single

 
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Thursday, October 04, 2007 7:03 AM

Category: Music
(RapAttackLives.com Issue 298-September 24, 2007)
   
 
LW TW ARTIST TITLE  LABEL   
5 1 THE FACULTY He's Mine D&H/Phat Duck   
6 2 STRONG ARM STEADY
F/ TALIB KWELI One Step Nature Sounds   
4 3 PUBLIC ENEMY Harder Than You Think SLAM Jamz   
11 4 ROB SONIC Rock The Convoy Def Jux   
7 5 SOULSTICE Be Perfect Wandering Soul   
9 6 HAVOC I'm The Boss Nature Sounds   
8 7 HEZEKIAH Looking Up Soulspasm/Rawkus   
17 8 LUX Home Alone Luxland   
10 9 SEV ONE F/ JUNIOR REID War/G.E.M.S.  World Wide   
14 10 THA BRAIN Swagga Jacka Smacka 5th Lane Music   
15 11 CAMP LO Black Hollywood Good Hands Records   
16 12 PICASO F/ REMY MA Get It In MCS Ent.   
13 13 DEXTA DAPS Stupid Pirate Entertainment   
1 14 PLANET ASIA
F/ CELETIA MARTIN Comin' Home Gold Chain Music/ RBC/ Koch   
27 15 ZIMBABWE LEGIT Where I'm At PH Music/ Pro Se Recordings   
NEW 16 BOARD BANGERS Cause The Beats Hot Jaded Entertainment     
22 17 DJ MUGGS VS SICK JACKEN Mask And The Assasin Angeles/Universal   
19 18 KNOBODY What U Think Hiero Imperium   
21 19 THE KRAKAN The Conviction RaXicon Ent.   
NEW 20 G&D Time  Look   
25 21 ANGELIQUE I'm That Chick Yo Mama Warned You About Ghetto Music   
24 22 GRAYSKUL Scarecrow Rhymesayers   
18 23 MARQUISE PORTER In Da City Mobb North Records   
NEW 24 MUSAB Baang! Hiero Imperium   
30 25 STINGEE F/ DEM FRANCHISE BOYS & DJ DRAMA U Know U Want Dat Unknown Suspects Music Group     
29 26 KEBOE Biznis Men Foot N Da Game   
NEW 27 AMS UNO They Murk You Commonwealth   
NEW 28 ACEYALONE Eazy Decon   
NEW 29 BIZZY F/ TWISTA Money After Platinum   
20 30 MF GRIMM Earth Class A Records 

 
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Monday, September 24, 2007 7:11 AM

Category: Music

Album Review in Rap Lounge "phar from home"

click link: www.raplounge.de

D&H Rec

 

 
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Sunday, September 02, 2007 6:11 AM
 
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Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:43 AM
Faculty :: Phar From Home :: D & H Records
as reviewed by Patrick Taylor

"Phar From Home" is the debut by Faculty, made up of MCs Mr. Mondell aka Blue Juice and Trigonometry. They hail from Oxnard, a city as beautiful as its name. If their origins weren't obvious from their beats, then the 8-minute long phone message featuring shout-outs to the 805 will clue you in.

The sound of the disc is pure Oxnard, in the same vein as Lootpack, Madlib, and Oh No - funky, jazzy, and underground without being backpack. Production is handled by Oh No, Jake One, Vitamin D, Protest, and Beatminerz. All of the beats on the album are good, and most of them are great. "You Know Who" is built around plucked strings and snare snaps; " Shake That Shit" is punctuating by strings stabs; "Move" has slightly skewed brass loops which reminded me of a twisted blacksploitation soundtrack; "Wickedest Sound" and "Run Shit" have a dancehall vibe. My favorite track was "Feel It", which is pure bounce.

One issue I have with this disc was that there aren't actually that many songs here. There are 16 tracks, but four of those are skits and two are short instrumental interludes. That is approaching Ghostface levels of filler, and it messes up the flow of the disc. The ten actual songs on "Phar From Home" would have been better served without all of the filler, especially not the aforementioned phone message track, which is unlistenable.

My other issue with Faculty was that their rhymes don't always live up to their beats. I wasn't that into either of their flows, and while they are both decent on the mic, they don't stand out from the million of other aspiring MCs out there. They also drop their share of lame lines like "Keep it cool like a black nigga in the shade." For the most part, though, it's average party rap like on "A Lil Sum":

"Move
Get out the...
If not Faculty will smack the shit outcha
We got a lil sum you ain't never seen before
A special lil sum ya'll never ever saw
It's obvious from the second we walk through the door
You're dealing with the real deal not no amateurs"

Their lines aren't bad, but they aren't great either, and their competent but not overachieving style somewhat hinders the album. They do try to take it to another level occasionally, like on "He's Mine":

"I really can't accept the fact
That my sons play a middle in this marriage crap
Their my sons, I'm their father, I'ma speak my peace
My heart is humble for my sons
They're a blessing to me
Three years I wipe snot followed by hugs
Show them right from wrong
And how to spread love
It was me
Their father
That put on their socks
And made sure every week their favorite cereal was bought
See the big things are cool but the little things count
Used to lay in your daddy's arms until you straight passed out
At night giving you a bath was my pleasure
That was quality time that we both shared together"

It's a surprising but welcome display of affection in a genre that is more often concerned with the activity of making babies, not taking care of them. There are lot of rappers that have kids and will mention their seeds in verse, but very few who have dealt so openly with the love they have for their kids.

"Phar From Home" has some banging beats and some decent rhymes. I wished Faculty had more verbal fire to match their music, but they've still created a record to be proud of. With Oh No and Madlib also dropping records recently, the 805 is definitely a force to be reckoned with in 07.

Music Vibes: 8 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 6.5 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 7.5 of 10

Originally posted: August 28, 2007
source: www.RapReviews.com

 
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