Posts

Doing it For M.E?

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Hey, seeing as it's been awhile and I promised not to write unless I had some positive  news to share with you....            Ta da!  🤪   As some of you will know it's been a pretty awful time as far as trying to get a track recorded  🤣 And In the run up to Mays M.E awareness month, I've been trying to get it done to release as a free download before International M.E day on 12th May. While i'm starting to produce my own Music I'm still at the early stages and certainly not the skillz to mix and master,... and then my good ol mum just happened to say "Why don't you contact Shane?" Those who've followed from the off will know the Uber talented Shane Shanahan as the producer of my album "Nobody wants to know ya when ya nobody", EP "Runnin On Empty" and subsequent singles in-between. As it's been a decade (How the hell has it been that long? 😲 ) I wasn't sure he'd even remember me let alone be able to come to the

When Trust Breaks Down?

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  Hey  😜 so the last post for a while and certainly the last one on this topic before I disappear for a bit, I just wanted to update you out of love & courtesy 💜. S adly there will no longer be the imminent comeback or single release that I'd posted and teased about back in May,it will come but just not now, believe me i'm as gutted as I know some of you will be, having waited patiently in anticipation , I just hope you know how sorry I am? Okay, where to start? There's no real blame, just different values and expectations. Having always worked in a pro environment I'd chosen what I thought was a local pro studio to take on my comeback project, we'd chatted because firstly it's important to share the project and plan, secondly it's got to be something they want to take on. From a personal perspective this was more than just about a project or music, it was about a very difficult journey that led me back to this point after a long time away, I share

Hiphop Ex-Sample?

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Just when you think nothing else can possibly go wrong, the Universe decides to throw yet another curve ball, and this comeback lark is starting to feel like trying to do a triathlon in a straitjacket. What am I talking about ? Sampling that's what and the latest dilemma to halt the process. You can't think of Hiphop without sampling, it's the lifeblood that flows through its veins and yet the future of Hiphop is in jeopardy and  set to get far worse thanks to the digital age, meaning that even Fred Bloggs with 3 followers isn't immune from being sued if he samples a track without clearance from all parties involved before posting  it online, digital technology means that it's far easier to pick up any suspected copyright infringements these days .  When I talk about ALL parties, this means you could get permission off the songwriter, but then the songwriter may not actually own the song, it could be the publisher or record company, so getting permission from one pa

On the Comeback Snail trail ?

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  Oh boy, when I said I was making a comeback after 8yrs I didn't realise at this rate it could quite possibly take me another 8? Okay so slight exaggeration, but I really wasn't expecting so many setbacks and bumps in the road. Anyhow for those that have followed over the years you'll know I like to be honest and share the good the bad and the ugly part of my journey because for most of us life really isn't a perfect photo off Instagram.  🤣 I've been feeling quite poorly recently, well, more poorly than my usual M.E level of poorly, I've been trying to shift a bit of weight and chewing gum instead of snacking, but yesterday I had a light-bulb moment and checked the ingredients of both  Wrigley gum flavours and was shocked to see they both contained Aspartame. I normally do my best to avoid this because,  for those that don't know, it's been well documented over the years that this low calorie sweetener can cause a heap of problems, although low calorie

Music Distribution...It's a Steal.

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I thought I would write a little  update as to what's been happening and to also give warning to anyone who uses an online music  distributor  to get their music on platforms such as Spotify, Apple etc. I'd been with Tunecore for 15yrs, they were great in the beginning, the founders, two of them, bent over backwards to personally  help artists/bands get there music out there but then they eventually sold the company and....well, as with alot of these situations the rot set in and the more the company expands the deeper and wider the rot spreads.  Those who've followed me over the years will know that after losing my brother and sister in 2015, music and life came to a standstill, I've been struggling to get my arse in gear but recently signed back into my Tunecore account only to see that I'd been blocked from withdrawing money from streams, sales etc.This is the only message shown:     " Withdrawals on this account are temporarily being held, This may be due t

What's In A Blue Tick?

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I was so gutted to hear about the passing of Gift Of The Gab from Blackalicious the other week. I'd followed the guys from the early days and was so impressed with their sound, you know, every now and then something special comes along and makes you stop what you're doing and sit up ? That was Blackalicious. I contacted Gab a couple of times because he'd gone unusually quiet and I knew his health had taken yet another nosedive but he was such a strong, positive upbeat guy I was sure he'd pull through. What made it even harder was it was only in January this year we lost another hugely talented artist in Double K from People Under The Stairs, another band of whom I remember exactly where I was when I first heard San Francisco Knights and was as excited as a kid at Christmas. With both P.U.T.S & Blackalicious I always purchased their music and would recommend them all day long. If you've never heard of them? Where have you been hiding ? Go take a listen and

In The Queue?

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Well, where do I start? It seems such along time has gone by that I thought I should write an update? Not alot has changed externally or internally but I know that by some way, shape or form I have to come back to Music, it's what I wanted from the moment I popped into the world, it's where i'm happiest...I think?  I'm not sure of much these days, it's been 5 yrs since the passing of my brother and sister and pain has always held me back  from going forward, I hoped that as time went on the pain would maybe lessen or something, i'm not really sure what i expected ? But what's becoming clear is I'll always be in pain and will just have to find a way to live with the shadow that follows, many do.   Chuck D said something recently that struck a chord, he said that his father had always said something like, when it comes to Life, we're all in a queue and at the end of the day there will be those who fall at the front, if you're still standing?  I

Runnin On Empty...Again?

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Hi  For those following my journey so far, you might already know the story? In which case feel free to depart and head back over to Facebook.... for those who don't?  This is what's been happening since the last Album back in 2011 & the reasonings for my musical absence and the decision to release 2015's E.P  Runnin On Empty properly......Sitting comfortably?  So the first album "Nobody Wants To Know Ya When Ya Nobody" took 5 yrs to make due to a combination of poor health including Myalgic Encephalomylitis, Fibromyalgia and Osteoporosis & also finance, but with some motherly support and selling my rap/hiphop vinyl collection  it was finally released mid 2011 & I spent the rest of the year promoting it.  I was still constantly writing and already had enough material for another album and so the recording process continued in 2012 and I hoped this time with the learning curve of  the first album I could manage my health better & speed thin

UPDATE: EP Launch Delay

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1. Jus Human   2. ToolBox  3  Give U-Jmoya ft MamaChill 4 .Tears 5. Bus Stop 16 6. The World & His Wife  Hey Lionharts & Chillsters, apologies  on a slight delay with dropping the EP. The Runnin On Empty EP, will drop  next weekend now and not tomorrow as planned. With everything that's been going on,  I'm traipsing through a thick fog like a fart in a trance, so even with  working my ass off there's no way humanly possible i'm going to get it dropped tomorrow as planned. There's only one of me...which is a good thing coz the world couldn't handle two i'm sure. I don't have management or anything, which I prefer because I get to control what I do and how and It means I get to have a more personal connection & banter with all of you sharing the journey . But the downside means I have to sort everything myself & while I'm usually disciplined & focused in the main, since my brothers death  I've just lost my mojo &

Oh Poop!

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Hey Lionharts & Chillsters, I suddenly had the realisation yesterday that I was meant to release the “Runnin On Empty”  E.P next week and I haven’t even started organising it … I will be pulling my finger out this week to pull it off…not my finger, the EP. Truth is  my head is so mashed right now it’s hard to think at all let alone clearly. As some of you will know we’re still reeling from my brothers sudden suicide in May, it will be his inquest and his birthday this week so things are still very raw, painful  and very difficult for the family. Tears are still-a-plenty. Then Last week my sister was given the devastating news that she has terminal cancer, we are all praying daily and hoping for a miracle, it’s all too much for the family to deal with but deal with it we must. In my previous blog “Follow me down to the end of the road” I stated that I would be putting down the Mic for good at the end of August and explained that I didn’t want to drag on and on until I