Raised in Los Angeles ,
where he lived for his first 13 years of life, SOL
-T (pronounced ( sôl
t) has been doing live Hip-Hop music for over 8 years
now. This is not taking into consideration the fact
that he has been writing music, songs, and poetry
(from street-style raps to epic verse) for over 13
years-to-date. Hip-hop; rather, true hip-hop, has
always been about survival of the fittest. In a lyrical
jungle, where syllabic-mercenaries spawn seamlessly
from open portals leading to every inner-city in
the world, one must have his game “trunk-tight,” and
be ready for the fate handed to him/her at any given
time.
It's easy nowadays, to go to the market and come
across someone who says that they are a “rapper,” or
that they produce beats, or that they are affiliated
in some way, with the music scene. Then you have
SOL -T, who is a world-class triple-threat when it
comes to doing music for three very profound reasons:
• He has been blessed with the wit, intelligence,
and style to make him a fresh writer who does not
recycle tired material, subjects, or verses. His
expertise ranges from story-telling rhymes that everyone
can relate to, all the way across the board to battle-rap,
and the DJ-favored party song. He can take a bland
and everyday thing, such as going to the store and
to buy a gallon of milk, and mix in such fiery metaphors
and visuals to his flow, that as a listener, you
can't help but wonder where the kid got it. Once
said to be reminiscent of the American “Beat Era” of
poetry and writing, his flows and format keep it
true to what Hip-Hop is supposed to be about, and
definitely interesting, as he adds so much of his
own style and flavor.
• As a performer, SOL -T does not tire
easily and is not afraid to stitch both comedy and
action into his stage routine. He tours with his
exceptionally-skilled turntablist, DJ TriZkuT (who
is a Bay Area native now residing in Long Beach,
CA), and together they are one hell of a devastating
blow to any venue to which they have been booked.
I personally saw SOL -T perform live with his crew
at the time (The Flavorous Kasso – which consisted
of a live band + DJ) and watched in awe as his sound,
look, and presence, packed doors and hallways as
well as left club owners wanting him back – immediately.
“If you could think back on James Brown's fire and
stage intensity – that passion that he comes out
there with, the show he provides to people who have
paid their hard-earned money to see him and hear
that music, well that's what my goal is every time
I get up on that stage and take a mic in my hand.
It's what the people want, and what they paid for,
otherwise – they'd be at home bobbin' their head
to your CD. I'll do just about anything to make it
interesting, anything just short of getting arrested
and banned.”
~
SOL -T
• As a producer, SOL -T is an innovator,
nothing short of fucking amazing when it comes to
making music. He's been writing music since age 12,
and has not faltered off of the musical path which
he was born to tread with sincerity and devotion.
The young man is an absolute style-chemist in any
genre you put him in, and though his anchors are
set deep in the world of Funk and Old-School Hip-Hop,
he's produced tracks for rappers that do commercial
rap (club-style beats), R&B artists, as well
as people seeking out the “live
band” sound for their music – as SOL -T also plays
bass (one of his first loves), as well as electric
guitar. As far as production goes on his own sound,
he claims he has no boundaries and does not limit
himself; one track will be full of Old-School synthesizers
and analog moogers, while the next one will be full
of rich saxophone, live guitars, and live drum loops.
You'll be able to find a song on his album, that's
full of East-Coast style string and voice sampling,
while on the next, he'll incorporate heavy, West-Coast
inspired 808 kicks and raw, ass-moving attitude.
One must also remember that growing up as a musician
in the communities that he did, SOL -T also has connections
to any live musician he wants for that touch of live-style
to any song, which would otherwise be all electronic – this
is pertinent to longevity of any artist – good connections
in the musicians' circles, and the ability to utilize
them properly to excel in their genre.
SOL
-T currently has put the final touches on his first
full-length album. As previously mentioned, he's
been doing a lot of demo and mix-tape work, stuff
he refers to as “fun projects and getting the name
out.”
This
debut, aptly titled, “ The Great Angelino
Secret ,” is filled to the brim with now-unheard-of-style
when it comes to some of the unique beats and lyrics
that are a fresh and new return to the Old School
flavor and substance, mixed with a New School style,
all SOL -T's own. His distinct sound returns us to
what is real, and things everyday people can relate
to – in music, life, and a very street, everyday
reality. It's definitely raw, and delivered with
a message other than, “smoke weed, fuck a bitch,
shoot your enemy, shake that ass in the club, and
then buy my record.”
“Look,
I like that ass-shaking Godzilla rap just as much
as the kidsbuying the shit – what else am I
gonna shower and dance to? But as far as I'm concerned,
and my style, and what I wanna bring the game to, that's
just not me. I'm not knocking the people who do it – I
do it at at times to, havin' fun with it – and
it's very evident at some points on the album, but
I do it with a different approach, and I do it with
taste that makes the listener look at what I'm
talking about in a different light – even if I am
talking about smoking a blunt or blasting on a tired
hooker.” (laughs)
~
SOL -T
The
album will be released on the independent label,
Buttasopht Musilk, which started as something SOL
-T and his business partner, Michael “Fort” Knox
put together a few years ago just in order to cash
checks while selling beats and web-design to various
local and underground Los Angeles and Oakland-based
artists. When asked about signing to a major record
label or an independent label with big-label distribution,
SOL -T says he's willing, but that there are dues
to pay:
“See, I started makin' music at age
9, fascinated by the anger present
in heavy-metal bands like Guns ‘n
Roses and Megadeath, and Metallica.
I grew up in the eighties, that was
how it was in the neighborhood I was
living in, in Los Angeles . We were
going back and forth between the
Run DMC , NWA, Too $hort, and Public
Enemy, as well as between the
AC/DC, Motorhead, KISS, and Zeppelin – that's
just how it vibed at the
time out there. I always also kept
the funk close, loved me some P-Funk,
Clinton , GAP band, Bootsy, James
Brown, Prince, Roger & Zapp, you
know… So today, that's what I'm about – just
bringin' it raw – and I
don't care how I do it – gimme any
format – Rap, Electro, Rock,
Jazz, whatever – I just do it.”
~
SOL -T
There
are whiplash-inducing fast-tempo tracks that fly
off the beats-per-minute scale such as the CD-leadoff “Rock
Naw Stop,” where SOL -T exhibits the vivid, furious
flow that he re-coined, as well as comedy into his
lyrics, such as:
Turn the beat up / Eat it up – like a chitlin
/ Flippin' dippin masturbatin' / Cuz I'm losin'
my patience / Got me crunka' than a motha' / Make
me shoot my baby brotha' / Turn his face into a
cantaloupe / Hit the store and buy another / Cuz
people are expendable / Mess around with the ESSO,
I'll hit a right fuckin' hook to the left side
of your mandible
Then
you've got tracks such as “My Lord (I Got the Stylez)” that
are pulsating with that warm, organic sound that
Hip-Hop was founded on, as well as a live saxophone
provided by Flavorous Kasso member, Kennie Gee. Once
again, memorable and profound lyrics occupy this
track as well, and it's good to hear SOL -T change
his style up to a slower, calmer approach, where
he demonstrates a flow that brings back the Tribe
Called Qwest days, and shows to prove what the title
says he has – the stylez:
I'm in, another category - island
like Coney,
And my favorite Billy Idol jam is that ‘Mony Mony.'
I dabble into everything from cars to short stories,
But I love to study people and sometimes, write their sequels.
There ain't no equal to me, some may be better –
More advanced when it comes to things like knitting a sweater.
Please, I'm James Brown's son, Bootsy Collins' starchild,
Driving through Long Beach with 8 friends in the car – piled.
Of course, all of the tracks on the album are rich
with samples and homemade beats by SOL -T himself,
but one of the fan favorites is definitely “Bettin'
On Me,” which shows off SOL -T's ability to ride
Old School beats that bring us back to the Rick Rubin
day of RUN DMC 's early production. The song is laced
with heavy kick drums with live loops, articulated
synthesizers, and chunky-thick distorted synths that
take you back to the anthems from the old days of
Hip-Hop. SOL -T's hooks are no exception either.
According to him, when he writes choruses, he's looking
for three things:
• Something Intelligent / Profound
• Something Different and Lyrical
• Something Catchy
He also seems quite inclined to really prove himself
as a Hip-Hop artist on his these recordings, especially
since there are so many fly-by-night emcees that
come and go with the breeze. SOL -T definitely understands
the ideals behind the industry, and exactly what-and-where
he wants to be, but more importantly, what-and-where
he doesn't.
“You can really see that he wants
to leave a
mark on the industry and the game;
he doesn't rap that
fake-money rap, the boy really comes
raw with styles that are
almost extinct nowadays. I think
his sound is definitely coming
back on the mainstream, but really – the
boy owns it – he's just
got that raw-talent that shows through
in his verses and the music
he chooses to release. I'm waiting
for his first release, I heard all
his demos, his street-mixes and all
that shit, but I know that these
first two records of SOL -T's are
just gonna drop a motherfucka'
with that sound that just knock a
brotha's head back, ya know?
It's like, how many more times I
gotta see him wreck a cat in a
street-battle, before I hear this
boy's new shit? I really can't wait.”
~
Vince “Quick-Times” Williams
Golden
Mic, Underground Magazine
Los
Angeles , CA
Word on the street and underground is, that SOL
-T has over 60 tracks ready-to-drop on the streets – complete
with beats, lyrics, hooks, samples, cuts – you name
it. Sources at Buttasopht Musilk confirm this and
say that SOL -T is probably going to release two
albums back-to-back for 2004/2005, and that he is
also working extremely hard on his PSYLECTRO-HOP
project with Southern-California-based producer and
vocalist, Schlaut, who is extremely hot on the underground
Electro scene. Together, they have plans of releasing
a CD in mid 2005, that is nothing but slippery, sexy,
Electro (melodic-techno-80's club) beats dubbed with
SOL -T's lyrical mastery: a perfect mix of electronic
music that makes people sweat in swanky European
dance clubs, mixed with a new style of rhyme-delivery
that is, but at the same time isn't pure
Hip-Hop. What SOL -T brings to the game that is completely
refreshing, and why so many artists of all different
genres want to work with him, is the fact that he's
not just an emcee with a quick-tongue – he's
a true musician and writer, who has a passion for
creating music in any genre in which he's immersed
himself into.
“I never got into this game for the
money. The money
helps me live, but I got in for my
love of music and writing;
it's the only thing I've known since
I was young, and so
I'm just doing what I know, and doing
it the best I can.
I see these other cats out there – releasing stuff, making
things happen in the game, doing
things proper and whatnot…
I'm in it to make my people smile;
I'm in it to express my own
reality – to bring forth my own sound,
and expose my own depth.
Tiger Woods has been hittin' balls
since he was a kid, Jordan
has been throwin' around that ball
since he was tiny; this is what
I been doin' since youth… and this
is what I do best.”
~
SOL -T
…And
so a legend is born – his style, rhyme-distinction,
ability to bring the fun into the mix, as well as
live flavor, is what sets him apart from the rest.
His mentality is on another level, one which brings
him closer to where so many of today's working/non-working
artists are striving to be – sincere with his, and
on-point with the game of turning music into expression
and keeping it true to its art-roots. With the expertise
of how to make his fans happy, the ability to make
his own very-distinct beats, and how write intricate
rhymes about any subject-at-hand, SOL -T is something
that you should keep tabs on. Even if you don't listen
to Hip-Hop, or don't like the direction Hip-Hop has
been heading in the last few years, this young man's
undeniable charisma, ear for quality-music, and his
live stage show, as well as ability to keep it all
street-level, is something you cannot turn your head
to…
~
Leigh “Sever” Quinton
Urban
Writing Crew
Duece-Seven Magazine
Los
Angeles , CA |
