And Here It Is...Finally..."Ignorance & Confidence"

Okay:

So today is the day and here she is...





CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD.

I have just given birth to a forty-two minute long player and, boy, are my arms tired. It was a quite an ordeal getting this thing done. I didn't make a final decision on the track listing until Friday night. But this collection of songs, in this particular order, is truly something special. And it's free.

I typically don't blog on holidays. But here's a track-by-track back story.

1. INTRO: This was an actual dream that I had. But I didn't realize what the dream meant until I came up with the idea for this intro. It's not meant to be sacrilegious in any way, and I certainly hope it isn't interpreted that way. Or maybe I don't care.

2. SHINE: This was produced by my good friend, Du. He sent this beat to me a few months ago via email and said he just wanted me to put down a good 16 because he wanted to make a posse cut. When I was in the final stages of putting the album together I remembered this track and asked if he ever got any other emcees on it. Luckily the answer was no and I was able to create this track, which is probably my favorite on the entire album.

3. A GORGEOUS KILLER: I got the title from my favorite verse of all time, Pusha T's 16 bars of perfection on "What Happened To That Boy?". Joe D gave me this track a long time ago and I rediscovered it earlier this year. The song isn't really about anything. It's certainly not about violence. It's metaphorical.

4. CUCUMBER: This is another track from Du. I love this beat. I don't know how you could even attempt to talk about anything besides pimp shit over something like this. I guess here I was trying to redefine cool, not literal pimping. Hopefully, that's what comes across. Or maybe I don't care.

5. INTERLUDE: I recorded this while I was suffering from a fairly serious throat infection this summer that kept me quarantined to the house for a week. Joe thought it was hilarious, and maybe you will too. Or maybe you'll feel the same way that I feel about most interludes. An unnecessary self-indulgent distraction from the music.

6. THEME FROM "A PLACE CALLED FAR": Joe D produced this one too. I'm probably most proud of this track. The concept, I think, is pretty original and truly interesting. I'll let you be the judge though.

7. COCKY: Bridge produced this one. He's a good friend and he's been sending me beats for a few months now. This track reminds me of my favorite period in hip hop. The lyrics are a reflection of me at my irreverent best, balanced with some mature introspective conceits. Me likey.

8. GOVERNMENT GAME: Also produced by Bridge. This was the second track I recorded to the beats he had been sending me. I recorded the first verse one night. Then I went to the movies one night, alone. And that's when the second verse came to me. I wanted to create a crescendo effect. It ended up sounding exactly the way it did in my head, which is a rarity.

9. DC IZZA MOTHA@#$%: This is another Joe D banger. I recorded the first version of this track at Gill's house earlier this year. There was some crazy buzzing going on in the mic, so I re-recorded it at my house later, but it's pretty close to the original. Always gotta do at least one for the homies. Maybe this'll become like a local anthem. That would be nice.

10. LOVE'S HOLIDAY: Joe's a genius. I absolutely love this beat and always have, but I could never figure out what to write to it. Then this idea just came to me one day while I was lounging around the house. Originally I was singing the bridge at the end, but I was horribly out of key so I knew I wanted to get another vocalist to sing the lyrics for me. Moon was my first choice, and it took months before I finally got her over to my house to lay the thing down. It came out great though. I met John Lee though my friend Matt Grason at a Motel show at DC9. I told him I needed some guitar work and we set up some time for him to come through. He brought in this big plastic suitcase full of shit that would give his guitar different sounds. He drank a few beers, smoked a few cigarettes, did 3 or 4 takes and was out of there. I was completely mesmerized and more than satisfied with how everything turned out.

So there you have it. I hope you enjoy it. Happy Labor Day and thanks for taking the time to download "Ignorance & Confidence".