Hey guys! I'm back with something new for the 2008.  Happy Holidays to everybody and as well as a new year full of strength, promise, and success :). 

http://hiphopremix.com/content/view/2477/111/

Okay, cool....I understand what's going on. Yesterday I put up a new song on this page and it was called "Food For Thought". It's a conceptual record that I made for my project, but I think that a lot of people don't understand the concept or what it's actually about. I know my friends are scratching their heads about it now, so I'll just explain my thought process about it here.


Basically, I was out in New York with a couple of friends last month. One of my friends was talking to somebody else and they were speaking in a lot of slang to each other. They were like "oh, you're getting some bread now? Word, you better be hungry for this opportunity because there's mad cake to get right now". Then I started laughing because it hit me that our generation uses food in slang A LOT. It was wild to me, so I asked myself why do we even use those terms anyway? So I gave dap to my friends, went back to my spot, and like the true dork that I am, I sat back and researched all of the kinds of terms that we use that reference food. Then I put them on index cards and lined them up on my table and just looked at them to find the connection of them all.

Then it hit me....about all of these terms were used as a way of achieving "success". Things that we WANT as opposed to what we NEED. Success is subjective, meaning it depends on how you look at what is success, but that's the meaning of these terms. Thats why these terms refer to things as money (dough, bread, cheese, lettuce, cream), sex (honey, beefcake, butter pecan chocolate deluxe...hahaha ghostface is great), and so forth. So I sat back and figured these things out more, I realized that all of these things are stuff that we want and can get, but too much of a good thing can lead to terrible consequences.

For instance, what happens when you get too much money? It gets stolen, you can get killed, you'll lose it, you'll fight for it, you'll lose respect for those who don't have it, etc. What happens when you rely on sex too much? Your girl/boy cheats on you, you can get killed from social diseases, you'll fight for it, you'll lose respect for those who ain't giving it up/get any, etc. Then what happens when you have so much pride in your country as an American...or "the land of milk & honey"? You'll fight with other countries about who's the best, you'll eventually get sick of your own government and their actions, and could later be involved in your own genocide. It's like junk food....it tastes GREAT when you want it (Burger King is my weakness), but too much junk food can be unhealthy for you, so you don't really need it. I can understand now why gluttony is considered a sin.


So in regards to this record, I documented 3 different scenarios for the verses. The first verse being about how people lust for money, until later it gets stolen and get killed for it. One line says "Introduced the 2 sets of sour grapes, both of which are poppin' when we celebrate, but groomed to have a different taste". What that means is that there are 2 types of sour grapes in the room...one is the wine that we drink when it's time to rejoice on a good job, and the other type is the jealous people that don't like you rejoicing in your own splendor. Thats how I followed with "And one set tried to marginalize the butter acting twisted, claimed we needed fiber so he grabbed the biscuit". You know how jealous people are: "Man ya'll ain't shit with your little money! Whatever son. That ain't even real butter, thats margarine." Haha!

The 2nd verse is about women and sex, so you see all kinds of slang terms for that much. It documents the kind of women that look good and are seemingly down for you, but are vindictive and have they're own agendas behind your back. They talk on their big "blackberries" conducting "half baked schemes" till eventually you find out that they're chilling with one of your best friends with both taking advantage of you. That's not cool at all.

The 3rd verse is about America. They say that America is considered a gumbo where all different kinds of people are in one pot together happily. I disagree. I believe that its a tossed salad. Yeah, we're all in that pot, but the lettuce stay on one side, the tomaotes are on another, and all the other things are with each other but the pot is their home. The people do not get together for much unless its for tragedy or when money (yet again) is involved. As this verse goes on, you'll see that I say "when the steaks is high, then you'll see who turns chicken, turns missin when shit is bananas, yeah that's some living". Are our people really together as Americans or is some just gonna leave you out to dry when we're under attack or the very epitome of "freedom & unity" is questioned?. Genocide comes along and I say with pride that if something goes down, I want to make sure that my future kids are alive to tell the tale and continue my legacy , and I will sacrifice myself for the sake of them. Hey, Jesus did the same thing, so it must not be so bad.

So I ask you guys....the food may be desirable....but watch what's good for you.

Wow, this is long. And the song is only 4 minutes. I guess I gotta go easy on people next time.

For a Youtube Rap Video contest...(haha wow)

My video for "I Like" has been chosen by 50 Cent, Common, & Polow Da Don as a finalist in the Youtube OnTheRISE Rap Video contest. The Grand Prize winner receives a single deal from Interscope, $10,000 from Guitar Center, a Roland beat machine, and a Boss multi-track digital recorder. Voting ends on September 5th, so help me out and spread the word!

http://youtube.com/contest/OnTheRiseRAP?v=oaDXG1kLYpQ&from=watch

Big shout out to Soopah Starr and my homie Malik-16! You know we holdin' it down :)

http://blogs.hiphopdx.com/SoopaStarr/2007/08/28/redhead-from-pg-county.html

Check out the feature on me @ HipAndPop.com

Shout out to Godspell for the write-up...although, I must say that my name is Redhead and NOT 2 words "Red Head". But that's okay, folks will understand later on in life.

Drop your comments on the joint. I wanna see alot!!! :) Thanks again friends

http://www.hipandpop.com/new-artist-red-head-1600.html

Check out this feature on me from HipHopRuckus.com! They premiered the "Hello" track and will serve as the outlet for future records I release! So holla at them, they're great for entertainment news.

http://hiphopruckus.blogspot.com/2007/06/redhead-hello-audio-biography.html

This interview is actually in German, but I'll paste the English version here:

http://www.streetcorner.ch/index.php?id=n_entry&n_id=275

streetcornerzh: First of all, can you present yourself to our readers?

Redhead: They call me Redhead, and I'm from Capitol Heights, MD. Ward 9 outside of Washington DC. PG County representative.

streetcornerzh: Alright, can you tell us a bit how you got in touch with hip hop and since when you're actually rapping?

Redhead: It's hard for me to tell you when it happened because it naturally came into me, in a sense. However, I believe I started writing in my last year of high school. I'm a huge fan of A Tribe Called Quest and Nas, so most of my work was basically stories in rhyme form. It took me awhile to start working on it more, but I adjusted to it.

streetcornerzh: How did you get involved with the industry? I mean obviously you're doing fine; the video to "I Like" is really professional...

Redhead: I will tell you one thing; I'm not big in the industry at all, but I do make it look like that I am. I believe that in order for a person to succeed, one must project an image of success at all times. I got that from "American Beauty" when the mortgage man was at the dinner table. I started out doing records by myself and an A&R from MCA Records approached me. I was too young to take their offer, so I settled being alone. Then I've worked on more records to improve myself and started networking. Now I'm here.

streetcornerzh: Yeah, I'm feeling what you say... could you explain to us a bit more how it is being an independent rap artist in the US... I believe there are so many rappers struggling to get a piece of the pie it must be real hard to get some recognition, especially nation wide

Redhead: People in the United States are honestly not too keen with something that is considered out of the ordinary. I find that interesting because their favorite artists were considered out of the ordinary when they first appeared in the limelight. It's definitely a struggle in my case because I'm from a part of the world that doesn't have any hiphop artist that's big in the mainstream world, and that my style is considered unconventional. However, an artist should be a marketing genius first and foremost. A person can have skills for days, but they must know how to project the image that they have skills in order for people to notice. I was blessed to have a record out in Canada and other parts of the world without a label deal because I treated myself like I had one. It's hard, but it's not impossible.

streetcornerzh: Yeah, I noticed from what I heard on your MySpace that your songs have a positive vibe to them. You already said that you're influenced by ATCQ ... are there any other reasons that your sound is how it is today?

Redhead: There's nothing in particular that I would consider to make my sound as it is. It's just a feeling that I get. If I think that something is hot, I will experiment with it and see how it sounds or looks. Also, I've been around a lot of entertainers that sing, rap, and perform poetry, rock, and all kinds of works. I guess that I'm influenced by all of them in some fashion or form.

streetcornerzh: How do you work on your songs? I mean, do you take the beats at home and work real hard on your verses or do you write them right away at the studio?

Redhead: It's weird to me. I would listen to a beat at home or wherever else, and analyze the mood of it all. Sometimes, I see colors in the beat. Maybe one beat would be "blue"; another beat would be "red" or "yellow". It all depends on the feeling of it. Then I would come up with a concept that would fit to it and I write them on the spot. This process would last about 2 hours or maybe 1 day.

streetcornerzh: Cool. Do you have any particular message you want to get out through your songs?

Redhead: Blacks can do more than sing and rap. There are a lot of things going on in the world that the younger generation overlooks, such as politics and world issues. I would like to bring out that one can still be smart and entertaining as opposed to doing what another person tells them to do. A real man does things on their own terms. I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a push-over.

streetcornerzh: Ok. How do you see the whole rap game in the states as of right now? I mean, every time I'm in the US I realize that living in Europe, we really see just a little piece of what's going on in the game overseas, so it's always interesting to have the opinion of an artist that actually evolve in this game

Redhead: I see it as extremely diverse. There's no place that you can go to in the States that is similar in their style. One can't go to California and hear the same things that you hear in New York, or Chicago, or Atlanta. There are different kinds; you have your party-starters, your comical lyricists, your introspective ones, your revolutionaries, your "swag" artists, etc. There's something for everyone. All you have to do is look.

streetcornerzh: Did you get the chance to travel a bit outside the US and look a bit how things are there?

Redhead: I've never traveled outside of the U.S. for music related purposes. I should start, though. I didn't know what I would do at home would be seen by you guys out there.

streetcornerzh: Haha, yeah it's all love man, it's all love. How is foreign rap seen in the US? Is there any market to it? Phonte of Little Brother did a record with a producer from Netherlands, Kaydee did a record with a Swiss producer ... is something American rappers are looking for, or is it overseen for the most part?

Redhead: It's experimentation. From what I understand, people overseas are more in keen of what hiphop music used to be. Those from around here have forgotten about that and basically use it as a media tool for success and fame. Guys from overseas are just looking for something hot, while people out here are looking for something marketable.

streetcornerzh: So for you, if something's hot, you go for it, no matter where it comes from...

Redhead: Pretty much. I don't care about those kinds of things. If it's hot and I see it as genuine respect, I can't knock it.

streetcornerzh: It makes me think about a line in one of you're songs, I think it's "I Like" actually, where you say that if "Illmatic" would drop today it wouldn't be considered a classic, because people would judge it by the producers and the features and would pretty much not really listen to the music... could you elaborate a bit more on that?

Redhead: It's exactly what it is. If you were to talk to the listeners of hiphop today, they would speak about everything except if an album is hot or not. They would talk from a corporate level; first-week sales, producers, famous features, platinum, gold, controversy, label, manager, everything but the actual song. "Illmatic" was appreciated for what it is. Personally, I enjoyed "It Was Written" more, but I said "Illmatic" in the line because that would have people pay attention to the ugly truth of how this industry is going. There's nothing coming out right now that is close to what we consider as hot that would last for more than a year because we're too busy worrying about the "first single" and all sorts of things. This is why I used "I Like" as my own because it's something that I feel needs to be addressed and what I personally feel is going on.

streetcornerzh: Yeah, the world is moving real fast nowadays, and people don't really pay attention anymore... one of the reasons for that, I think, is the internet. You actually have a MySpace. How do you see it? Is internet a gift or a curse for the rap game?

Redhead: It's a little of both. It could help a new artist or destroy an old one.

streetcornerzh: Ok, so what are the next steps you're taking? Any plans for an album or mix-tape in the near future?

Redhead: I'm not so sure about a new project, but we're in talks right now. I'm actually working on getting a track with Chilli from TLC. That's in the planning stages. The video is getting lots of promotion that some industry heads are talking to me, surprisingly. We'll see how it goes in time. There's more music to be dropped, and I have a free mixtape available for all to check out. It was my first one.

streetcornerzh: Last question: what are the most played songs on your ipod right now?

Redhead: I don't mess with Ipods. I got the Creative Zen. Best invention ever. But what I play now is "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve, old Nas, the new Snoop album, and lots of Rell.

Holla at your guy...this is a pretty old interview, but I decided to throw it up in the blogs.

http://www.fourguys.net/2006/12/23/episode-118-the-4g-feed-music-edition-interview-with-redhead/

Hey everybody! Like I said before, I'm in the webisodes of this CBS show called "Jericho" for 5 episodes. A new one drops every week until it's all ran out.

You can watch Countdown: Episode 18 of Jericho right now on CBS. It should be located under the Recommended Videos section on the right side of the screen. 

http://www.cbs.com/innertube/index.php?src=email&vid=135012&format=rm|wmv

I'm playing Richard Hawkins in this, the guy in the black hoodie with the fancy gadgets :) Let me know what you guys think. Holla at me



In this clip: Hawkins escapes and watches a video on the history of the FBI and the CIA. He then heads for D.C. to meet Tango who mysteriously suspends communications.