Beats From The East.

Last Saturday I was a guest on CJLO's Beats From The East radio show, based out of Montreal and hosted by DJ Mister Vee. The 2-hour program highlights "the best urban music (Soul, RnB, Hip-Hop, Funk, Electro, Acid Jazz, Reggae...yes, Asian-Reggae exists!) from Far-East Asian communities worldwide." Mister Vee had gotten hold of our album Pacific Central and wanted a live interview with Reggie and me; unfortunately R'SENULL already had plans for that evening and so it was left to me to hold it down.

CJLO Beats From The East

Mister Vee also had a guest in the studio, an upcoming French artist named Océane who was part of a band that covered K-Pop songs. He interviewed her in between tracks, and towards the end of the first hour spun "Grown Past That" to segue into the interview. As the song played, he called me on the phone (off the air) and we talked for a couple of minutes. As the song ended, he gave a pretty nice introduction -- mentioning us alongside Blue Scholars no less. Haha, dope.

For the 20+ minutes I was on the air, I think I did a good job fielding questions. Topics ranged from Seattle sports, to the state of the music industry, to the origins of J-Pros. I did enjoy answering questions about our music-writing process, as it definitely had been an interesting challenge to collaborate and successfully complete an entire album while Reggie and I lived in different time zones. I capped the interview off with an exclusive freestyle that I'd written earlier in the day. (I believe I stumbled a little in the beginning but a few bars later I hit my stride. Cut me some slack -- I haven't performed in a long time haha)

You can listen to the entire podcast here, or go straight to my interview here.

Overall, I had a great time. Mister Vee was an excellent host, and J-Pros definitely appreciates the shine we got on the show! (Not to mention the numerous mentions on Facebook, Twitter and the CJLO website.) Beats From The East has earned itself a new listener, and maybe we can build and off this new friendship. Mike: Thanks again for hosting me! Let us know if you're ever in Seattle! One love.

Lyrics: "CJLO Freestyle."

Written and performed exclusively for my radio interview last Saturday on CJLO's Beats From The East with DJ Mister Vee. I'll have a proper post about the interview tomorrow.

CJLO

Somebody pass the bottle opener, let's get the cipher started
Pull a Black & Mild out, flick a lighter, spark it
Pull a pad of rhymes out, yeah I write retarded
'Cause I get stupid from Montreal to Pike Place Market

The 206 back in the building
Whether you knapsackin' it or rappin' for millions
I still got you bobbin' ya dome off of the poem
With ya hands up like you heard me cockin' the chrome

My flow, slicker than BP, I cover coastlines
Infiltrate your airwaves with the most lines
Pull ya girl and leave a freak beamin'
Haters try to do what I do, Inception homie, keep dreamin'

They even creep, schemin', pissed at me
Whenever I twist a tree with Mister Vee
Roll up, we about to make history
Nastradamus never predicted what this could be

Recognize, ladies love my voice raspy and deep
I guess that's why I'm always on smash when I creep
Now I'm on the radio, got ya crashin' ya jeep
I'm hittin' off ya main squeeze while ya ass be asleep

Hittin' off ya main squeeze and she makin' me breakfast
Connivin' ways to penetrate your defenses
Who battlin? I'll stay in the trenches, then turn
Your whole block upside down like I was playin' some Tetris

Oh you brave with a deathwish, I'll increase the heat in the streets
Have you fiendin' for the sweetest release
Plenty bars, Merc leave em deceased
I'm a southpaw swingin' son, you really catch a beat from the east