The word on the street these days is that everyone and their grandmother is either ‘hustlin or grindin and doin big things’. Name’s are supposedly ringing bells. But with all this talk, there’s very little change that I’ve seen and I should be wearing ears plugs according to these boast but I’m not. Now don’t get it wrong, there are in fact quite a few people that are about their business, turning nothings, into some things. Making names for their selves while creating a productive environment for other artist, independently.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Who are you, and why are you here ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
The name is Kaleal Crooks and I provide music and musical services to artists, musicians, and fans. As an independent musician, I was able to realize very early in my career exactly how important it is for an artist to understand who they are, what their purpose is, and how to ensure that their "prophecies" are fulfilled. Because music has such a magical effect on humans, it is absolutely necessary for us to create an environment in which music can flourish.
So that is The Unknown Prophets' mission.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Music has an affect on humans you say. Do you care to share some of your experiences that lead you to believe such a statement ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
One of the easiest ways to see how music has effected people is to look at those we have lost. Selena, Tupac Shakur, Big L, Aaliyah, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Elvis and others. The industry and the world have scrambled to find replacements for our great musicians because the music they have created has set the standard for what music should be, and the soundtrack we live by. Another simple scenario is how music is used to teach. The alphabet song is quite popular and the resemblance to twinkle twinkle twinkle little star (one of my first joints I played on piano haha) stick with us for a lifetime. Memorable melodies attach to something deep within us whether it was you and your girl's jam, or the music you grew up to. One song can make you laugh, cry, and remember at the same time.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Do you feel you make music that has that effect ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
Well personally, I can say I have made instrumental music that has that effect. Tajinity is a good example of how music can throw a human into a different world. It is available on www.SilverPharoah.com for free download actually.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Perhaps I'll toss that on when I get into my masculine aerobics. That's aerobics for real manly men.
Kaleal Crooks says:
Go for it haha. Scented candles and all.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Might burn the house down. No one needs to be homeless.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
About how long would you say you've been creating music on a professional level ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
Spring 2002, when me and One Term started dropping albums. Silver Pharoah came to the online community in 2004 though.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
So it's obvious you've begun creating a web presence. How important for you now is using the internet to reach individuals, considering where you are located. Seems there are quite a few artists that are all thumbs online and feel that's a waste of time. What do you have to say to them ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
The internet is vital to getting affordable exposure. If you are a pretty intelligent kat, there are countless ways to promote yourself online and the networking possibilities (like this one) are endless. However, being offline is just as important. I about an hour and a half from ATL so most people would think about the opportunity, not the competition. Simply being a rapper in the south automatically throws you into a box with the rest of the bunch, with people coming from all over the place to get a piece of the hype surrounding ATL, there is no home field advantage and the internet helps make sure you always have a way out of the trap before you get put in it. I can't knock anybody out there choosing to hustle from a single outlet. If it works for you then handle ya bidness, but with "multi-tasking" being one of the big buzz words, you may not be losing out on anything, but your not gaining either.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Not knocking anyone but let's be serious, if you don't have a million bucks or at least a well thought out plan and team to boot, you're not gonna do but so much offline hand to hand, now are you ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
All depends on the hustle man, like these young kats in high school and college that are out here setting up shop at an early age. Think about how many people you knew in school and how many of them would buy something just cuz you’re doing something they can't and they are amazed, or just cuz they know you. As you get older it gets harder because responsibility and obligations keep you tied down from interacting with new individuals on a daily basis.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
You're rather optimistic, forward thinking. Great qualities. With that said are you anything like some of your regional neighbors that are die hard haters of northerns or anything remotely northern ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
I can't even front, I'd hate to lose some fans off this but a lot of people from the north have this "home grown" supremacist type attitude that they use to make it seem like they are the originators, and the only real ones doing their thing you know. It's not everybody, but there are a lot of key figures out there who are tapping into the southern resources simply because they are losing their footing in the industry and they are scared to death because the title has been held by the same crowd since the birth of hip hop. The south had to sign themselves and most of the other areas don't run into that problem.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Yeah but that's Hiphop, don't you feel that this rivalry is much deeper then just who's doin what in music. Seems southerners in some cases have a great bit of animosity towards northerners and some northerners are so ignorant that they believe everyone down south is either dumb or slow or both dumb and slow.
Kaleal Crooks says:
Yeah I agree, it’s always "much deeper than that", but how deep do you really want to get with it? For instance, the way southern (black) people talk, most folks don’t realize the dropping of R's and other grammatical issues were derived from white slave owners, who were educated and rich, so sound itself has no direct correlation with being uneducated and poor, it just stayed in the circle. If you wanna go deeper look at who came to the south first, look at the original dialects of the groups established their home in the south vs. the north. There are too many angles to even attempt to justify why the south and the north act the way they do. The same way I use stereotypes against some northern artists, I use against southern artists.
Like club music... should stay in the club haha. It's not a North Vs South thing, its more like, What I think is good music. Vs What you think is good music.
Pretty pointless but sometimes you can't help being ethnocentric, its human nature.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
What are you currently listening to, other then you ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
Jodeci's Back To The Future, Lil Wayne, Lyfe's been doing some pretty big things too... but i'm constantly hearing music from those up and coming dudes you know, always looking to collaborate and pick up other folks like Haze and 2 Da Crib out of Dade county, lot of local kats from around the way are always doing stuff too, gotta shout out J-Rod and Polo aka PolarBear doing they thing from Columbus to Atlanta.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
You catch any flicks recently.
Kaleal Crooks says:
Aww man I caught it late but Crash was probably one of the dopest movies I've seen in a while. There's lots of characters all connected together into one plot and it's not one of those white films or black films, its something everyone can relate too. But on the real, I'm tryna see Curious George. Ha ha...
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
You know I still don't get that monkey craze from a couple years ago. That designer guy got payed off of primates. Go figure.
Kaleal Crooks says:
Lol, Man nah you got it all wrong, that man with the yellow hat, that’s the man.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
You know the original creator passed away recently.
Kaleal Crooks says:
Nah I didn't, always kinda sad to hear bout someone passing but the man got his grind on eventually, so he should be someone to look up to.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Margret E. Rey 90 yrs old.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
She.
Kaleal Crooks says:
Oh my fault.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Did you ever see the entire Planet of The Apes series ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
Can't say that I have, I think I've seen at least 2 though, I was real young so if it wasn’t cartoons in Technicolor I wasn't too excited bout it. Hell even now if its not a cartoon I don't pay it too much mind.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Can you say, Adult Swim... ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
Chu know bout bein an ol boondock head, that's really the only 30 minutes I take out of my schedule intentionally to watch TV during the week and it ain’t even 30 minutes long, gotta be the shortest show ever. That episode on MLK gotta be the greatest thing on TV since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Sticking to the apes subject. Your thoughts on
Kaleal Crooks says:
Both, whether it was intentional or not. Racist is a sticky term though considering that race doesn’t exist. Ever fill out a form and notice that black and white is a color, but Asian is based on region? But, yeah,
Kaleal Crooks says:
*Monkey
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
So race doesn't exist ? Explain.
Kaleal Crooks says:
Race is some conceptual garbage that the European people came up with. Since the Europeans were some of the first people to travel around the world, they had to figure out what these other humans were and being the ethnocentric people that we are. Racism and was born. If you really analyze it, racism isn’t about color. It’s easier to understand racism when you look at a person’s way of life.
Kaleal Crooks says:
Every non-European culture has been a victim of some "racial discrimination" at some point in history.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Tattoos or piercings.
Kaleal Crooks says:
Tattoos are the bait but the piercings bring’em in.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
...
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Do you drive ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
Legally ?
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Enough said...
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
What's your opinion on Mos Def's acting skills ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
Ha ha... I won't judge his skills, I'll just say he picks the right roles.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Fair enough. Ever think of acting yourself ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
Yeah I wouldn't mind acting myself in a movie or two. Nah man, lol, acting ain’t for me, I might write up some scripts though. I don't consider myself much of an entertainer, I don't really put on different faces. Most of our musicians on TV today, whether it’s a video or a live performance, only put on short movies. Whatever happened to playing your heart out, walking off the stage sweaty is rare now.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Does lip syncing cause one to sweat ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
Better ask Jeezy that question, but I don't think snowmen sing, cuz they don’t have lips.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Okay... lost me there. But we shall move on.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
What are you currently producing with ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
Right now I'm on FL Studio 6 w/ a Radium 61 key and Adobe Audition w/ an AKG C1000 but I’m looking to pick up a triton rack among other things. We review all of the hardware we use on www.silverpharoah.com in the equipment section of our forums for those who are interested.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
You fraid of needles ? Any strange phobias ?
Kaleal Crooks says:
Flying Cockroaches. Everybody that’s not from the south laughs at that, even Word thought I was being a punk till he moved to
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
They're in NY too. I recall an encounter with one in
Kaleal Crooks says:
Roach spay is like..... Ooze to them things can’t even stomp’em no more, and they used to run from the light, now they come at you... I got roach radar though. I can feel my senses tingling with a roach in my presence.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Ohkay...
Kaleal Crooks says:
At
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
...
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
What's the next move for you, music wise?
Kaleal Crooks says:
Lots of new things in the works. I'm still wrapping up Sterilization and Pop The Trunk 3. I know that people have been waiting for quite some time so I have to apologize for the delay but it will be worth it. My 8th solo is in the works and IV's coming back, but I can’t release any additional information on those projects. The plan for now is the same plan I've followed for some time, more beats, more albums, and flood every outlet possible. Get assets, then get money.
lestormanchestor.blogspot.com says:
Cool. Look forward to the next movement.
1 comment:
Hawaii has huge flying roaches, too. One time I was at a friend's house, and there was a giant roach accross the room, and I was staring at it across the room for like 20 minutes, it wasn't mobing, and it flew across the room into my mouth.
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