Dear Show & Prove,
Only a year old and you’ve already “put on.”
A quick peruse through the ever growing list of artists that have graced your stage is all thats needed to qualify your impact on The Underground -- providing a platform for the next wave of hungry Emcees to...
well...
...show and prove.
You started as a three-part competition series awarding the right to rock the main stage of the 2009 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, and look at you now -- a stand alone, reoccurring Hip Hop showcase hosting enough quality talent to rival any other.
Remember Children Of The Night taking home the inaugural victory last March, edging out Wordspit and Zyron Collective? Not only did Children Of The Night deliver with their solid 2nd Stage performance at last year’s BHF and drop this solid EP, but Wordspit had a big year as well -- releasing the widely praised Coolest BBoi Stance and landing a McDonalds commercial with Joya Bravo and Dollar Van Demos.
Thats peace, right there.
Or remember last April, when Mr. Beatz and Cymarshall Law and the now ubiquitous Brown Bag Allstars went head to head? And that moment when the beat dropped on Beatz’s chest thumping “MC on the MPC” or when Cymarshall brought those 4 ladies on stage to assist on his ill extended metaphor “A King With 4 Wives”?
Or how BBAS bum rushed the audience exclaiming ““Step down, we step up / You let down, we next up / Who the best now?? / Brown Bag, GET UP!” and everyone knew they were taking the crown?
Thats Fam, right there.
And remember perhaps the tightest competition of them all, the May Show & Prove? Remember Sleepwalkas’s BHF flash back interlude mid set? “You should’ve been there! You should’ve been there!” Remember Brokn.Englsh’s old school dance break down at the peak of there anthemic jam “Make Some Noise”? Remember Those Chosen trekking all the way from LA to compete?
Remember 8thW1, rocking as the only solo artist on the bill, ironically kicking the grittiest rhymes of the night...and those rhymes were about the high sugar content in food??? “They claim we selling crack!!! / But you be doing that!!!” Yep, stuck in the dome for weeks.
Or back in August when The Crowd not only rocked right, but tossed in an unexpected marriage proposal?
Or Kalae All Day snatching the first all female Show & Prove title...
Or St. Joe Louis dread slanging set last December...
Or Homeboy Sandman bringing up Fresh Daily during his headlining performance...
Or that crazy cypher with Prezzure and FinaL OutlaW and Wordpit and P.SO and everyone else...
You’ve grown nicely Show & Prove, while always staying true to your mission: providing the platform for the next generation to show their skills; to prove that they are worthy.
As you venture into year your next year, as more and more hungry artists grace your stage, crafting a legacy of their own -- I look forward to witnessing your inevitable maturation. I look forward to witnessing you continue to carry the torch for The Underground.
I look forward to your growth, while remaining the same.
Dope.
Happy Born Day, Show & Prove.
"These dudes up here, these are our Stevie Wonders. These are our Marvin Gayes. These are our Teddy Pendegrasses. All that shit that yall grew up with that yall parents listen to - we are creating it right now. This is history making right now." - Wes Jackson at the May 21st Show and Prove
Videos provided by NattyNight, Ka5p, Lyriq2go, Madomoisselle, and The-Quotable Youtube Channel.
They don’t come much cooler than Sleepwalkas.
They don’t come much cooler than Ciph Diggy.
In May of 2009, K.Gaines and Ciph Diggy left their mark on Brooklyn Bodega’s Show & Prove concert series, ripping through favorites like “Nuff Said” and “Holiday”, rocking their own brand of Brooklyn boom-bappery.
Nine months later, one half of the Sleepwalkas duo is poised to carry the flag for the crew.
In an interview with Brooklyn Bodega following the wrap up party for his debut solo album, Untitled Wave, Ciph Diggy discusses this project’s “organic” origins, the definition of Untitled Wave, and the status of the next Sleepwalkas project.
BB: So how do you feel about tonight’s Wrap Up Party and the overall project?
CD: Yo, I’m so happy, man. I’m ecstatic. Because its like, the way it came, the title of the album is the way everything came. It came unexpected and it came like a wave. And I’m happy with everything. Big shout out to Coole High, Thinker, 2 Hungry Bros, Aqua League for production on the album. Its just a beautiful thing, man. I really felt like I really expressed some real organic, unadulterated music. Some Hip Hop, yo.
BB: What exactly do you mean by that? It came unexpected. It came as a wave...
CD: As you know, but I don’t know if the people know, I’m affiliated with the group Sleepwalkas. Its a two man rap group. We do our thing on the underground. This solo project, which is still a Sleepwalkas stamped album, it just came out of no where. Due to certain situations, the music the production, the everything just was there. It was almost destined. And it came so fast. The album was done in two months.
BB: So I might be a little off, but by my count there are 15 tracks...
CD: Yeah, its 15 tracks.
BB: And I think 9 of them were produced by Coole High, is that right?
CD: I don’t know the number, but I’d say around that.
BB: Okay. I know 2 Hungry Bros did “Unstoppable.”
CD: They got “Unstoppable.” They also have “Synchronized Rhymin” with Homeboy Sandman and Likwuid. They also have “Cuchifrito”.
BB: “Cuchifrito”! That ish was funny! You have some real dope shit on the album. You’ve got the whole Bernie Madoff/ weed thing.
CD: Yeah, “Burnin On Da Clock”, yeah, yeah.
BB: There are some creative things going on. So when you were putting this together -- being that it was unexpected to a certain degree -- but it also came so quickly and came in a wave. How did you keep yourself on an overall theme? And what is that for people that are still waiting to check it?
CD: Well the thing is, a lot of the tracks are straight up organic. You’ll hear it at the listening, and be like “yo, that track is dope.” If I told you that some of those tracks were done that same day -- he made the beat that day, I made the verses and the chorus that day -- that same studio session, that was the whole song right there. That was the chemistry me and Coole High had. Everything was just vibed out, and it fit. Everything was great. I’m so happy that it happened. A lot of people don’t even get that. Sometimes they spend like weeks on one track. In one session, I was finishing maybe one or two tracks. Thats why its called Untitled Wave. Quality music. There was no track where I was like “ok, that doesn’t have to be on the album.” Thats why its 15 tracks. Everything I did was official.
BB: I only caught one track with K.Gaines. There was a track with Homeboy Sandman. There was a Vexed Lo track on there. There was a Top$Raz track on there. I think I caught maybe four or five guest appearances....
CD: Yeah, theres also, from NRO (New Rap Order) Cavalier. Theres also MC KSwift. From the group Rebel Star, there was Likwuid. Coole High also featured on there. Theres also a bonus track with Conscious, Tah Phrum Duh Bush. I have The Sistah, she’s down with Aqua League, singing. I have Kalae All Day. I have Charlotte Mishell doing poetry. Thats it.
BB: When going into a project thats real organic like this -- that comes with circumstance and situation -- how do you figure out who goes where?
CD: What it was, there was a lot of artists that didn’t even make it, that I wanted on the album. A lot of it was, the beats playing, me and Coole was there like “you know what, somebody would sound good here.” Then there were times where we wanted this person on there, but we couldn’t get them right then. A lot of times it was a lot of Tweeting, a lot of texting. Things just worked. We were going on whats happening now. Not what we want, but what basically is ordained. What basically happens. A lot of this album is straight up organic.
BB: Well how do you maintain that balance? When you’re dealing with an album with a third of it containing guest appearances -- is there a certain balance that you like to maintain as an artist so that people come away feeling like this is still a Ciph Diggy/Sleepwalkas album?
CD: Yeah. The main thing is I try to do a lot of solo tracks, you know? You can have a whole album with guest appearances, but thats just a compilation. I try to make a lot of songs dealing with subject matters. I try to make it real Hip Hop, man. Real fun. Like all around. This album has just about everything for everyone.
BB: What I heard tonight sounded good. I’m looking forward to the release. Is there a track that stands out to you thats more personal than the others? Which track symbolizes this project?
CD: “Unstoppable”. The reason I did it and made it the first single is because, like I said, this is a Sleepwalkas branch. This is Sleepwalkas brand name. So the single had to be a Sleepwalkas single. Just to let you know that there are no discrepancies. Theres nothing like that.
BB: One of my favorite interludes talking about the definition of Untitled Wave is the one with MC KSwift. He kept it so real when he [described it as when] “a shorty comes and waves at you for no reason and you don’t know why -- thats the Untitled Wave.” Was that something that just happened, as well? Were you trying to put a face to [the title]?
CD: We were trying to sculpt the album, but at the same time we were recommending organic feelings. Just of-the-moment. And they were there recording and I told Coole to “ask them what Untitled Wave means and have them on there.” And it was dope the way they came up with different ideas.
BB: Thats the organic interlude right there. This is a Sleepwalkas project here, but theres a lot of us who’ve been waiting on 5Cs for a minute (Cookie Cutter Cornballs Can’t Cut it on this CD). When can we hear that?
CD: Well, the thing is, I’ve been waiting on 5Cs also. So, Untitled Wave kind of came out because I’ve been waiting on it also. I don’t like to keep it waiting, so I came out with Untitled Wave to feed people while this project is going. Because its building a momentum, and K.Gaines, he’s is in control of that project. But its taking a little bit too long. I’m waiting on it too. I can’t give you a definition. I was trying to come out with something else. I was even speaking to him about another Sleepwalkas project while we’re waiting for this, because the magnitude of the people that you want on this album and the type of things -- thats going to take time. And if you’re not moving quickly, its going to take even longer. So, I can’t give you a date. Its Untitled like Untitled Wave [Laughs]. Just to let you know, I’m waiting too.
Ciph Diggy's Untitled Wave will be released on March 30, 2010. Album release party will be that night @ BondFire @ Bowery Poetry Club.
The semifinalists for the third installment of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival's 'Show and Prove' competition were announced this week by Brooklyn Bodega and YUME.
They are 8thW1, Sleepwalkas, Those Chosen and Brokn English.
Festival Executive Director Wes Jackson writes, "Our May semifinalists are a great group of MC's from Flatbush to Jersey to Los Angeles. This is our third and final semifinal before we pick the opener for BHF '09. I know these guys are going to bring it. Especially after the heat that [April winner] Brown Bag All Stars brought last month, the bar is even higher. THOSE CHOSEN are trooping out from LA just to compete. It makes us feel good that the Festival spirit and energy is touching quality MC's all the way to the West Coast. I wish them all the best of luck."
-------------
About the semifinalists:
8thW1
"Life ain't s___ but love money and music" is more than a rhyme from 8thW1 on his album lovemoneyandmusic, it's the emcee's mantra that guides his ambitious goals. "No matter what you believe in, everyone moves for those three things. That is the trinity that no one is above." With that said, this native of New Jersey is set to leave an impression on the world with music at it's center of impact. His dedication to providing quality music for listeners makes him one of the few artists who can be sold simply by pushing play.
8thw1Sleepwalkas
K.Gaines (Flatbush) and Ciph Diggy(Crown Heights) are a Brooklyn duo that embodies the definition of hip-hop. Since the release of their debut album "Insomnia" (2008) they have moved units, built a loyal fan base and rocked numerous events in and out of the Tri State area. Sleepwalkas are not your average MC's/entertainers. You should expect the unexpected whenever and wherever they are. They're uncanny personalities, witty lyricism and tireless work ethic set them light years apart form the regular run of the mill rappers we have all come to know today.
SleepwalkasTHOSE CHOSEN
THOSE CHOSEN consists of Japetto, Kornbread, and Foreshadow. Out of their common love of music, the trio formed a musical brotherhood that has lead them on a journey to become a premiere hip-hop group within the ever-changing music scene. The group has shared the stage with hip-hop legends such as Slick Rick and rising stars like Little Brother and Black Milk. They have been a constant staple in California's hip-hop scene and have gained a presence on the internet, which has lead to an ever growing buzz concerning their music.
THOSE CHOSENBrokn English
Brokn Englsh is Myk Dyaleks (Greg Noviembre), Cion Burris ( Kyle Andrews), and Lyriq 2 Go (Leon Brinson). The group formed in 2006 with one common goal, bringing quality music to the masses. The meaning of Brokn Englsh, is speaking the language of the people. Bringing forth all emotions everyone goes through and translating it into a concept. Each member brings their individuality to the group. Cion Burris stems from versatile elements. The name C.Burris is a dedication to his godmother who was instrumental in his journey of music. Cion is derived from the Spanish meaning of the word song, cancion. The name LyriqToGo is paying homage to A Tribe Called Quest track of the same name on their album Midnight Marauders. LyriqToGo is a virtual world you go to receive introspective lyrics to take upon your travels. Their latest project Brokn Englsh Presents R.E.M Mixtape brings a high level of passion to their audience, hard hitting punchlines, colorful wordplay, and intricate stories. Myk Dyaleks, Cion Burris, Lyriq To Go personify the language of the people which is Brokn English.
Brokn English
----------
The 5th Annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival feauturing Pharoahe Monch, Styles P, Smif N Wessun, and a live mixtape produced by J Period plus more artists to be announced takes place on June 20th, 2009 at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park.
----------
Brooklyn Bodega are the creators and producers of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. They are a collective of cultural programmers, marketing professionals, writers, designers and academics dedicated to the celebration and preservation of Hip-Hop culture. Their daily musings can be found at www.brooklynbodega.com
YUME is a multiplatformed company that looks to create avenues for independent thinkers to live and experience their dreams, by providing the very best in entertainment. Encompassing Music, Art, and Fashion, YUME strives to provide the very best products and programming while redistributing all things Music, Art, and Fashion into the YUME community. YUME also has a strong youth and adult education component
------------
About "Show and Prove"
Up and coming MC's and artists looking to land the opening spot on the main stage at The 5th Annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival get ready. Brooklyn Bodega, the producers and creators of The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival and YUME Music have teamed up to create "Show and Prove," a competition/showcase where artists who think they have what it takes to rock the biggest crowd in Brooklyn can show and prove their skills.
"Show and Prove" will take place at Public Assembly, 70 North 6th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on May 21st at 9p.m..
At each month's event a panel of judges including Brooklyn Bodega staff will select a winner. The three winners will become the 'Show and Prove' finalists. On June 1st the winner will be announced via email, Twitter, Facebook and on BrooklynBodega.com. The winner will open the Festival as well as win a prize pack from YUME and Festival sponsors.
Quick shout out to the May ‘Show and Prove” semifinalists:
8thW1THOSE CHOSENbrokn.englishSleepwalkas
The official press release is coming but we wanted to give you a heads up first.
Shout out to Sleepwalkas who printed up flyers petitioning to get on and brought them to the last S and P. Nice touch fellas.
THOSE CHOSEN are trooping in from Los Angeles to rock with us. That’s commitment holmes!
8thW1 is the last member of AOK not to rock with us. The circle is now complete.
brokn.english was a staff favorite after the Sisters saw them rock last week.
Get busy y’all
The date is May 21st.
Public Assembly on North 6th street.
You know the deal
Stay tuned for more special guests
The semifinalists for the third installment of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival's 'Show and Prove' competition were announced this week by Brooklyn Bodega and YUME.
They are 8thW1, Sleepwalkas, Those Chosen and Brokn English.
Festival Executive Director Wes Jackson writes, "Our May semifinalists are a great group of MC's from Flatbush to Jersey to Los Angeles. This is our third and final semifinal before we pick the opener for BHF '09. I know these guys are going to bring it. Especially after the heat that [April winner] Brown Bag All Stars brought last month, the bar is even higher. THOSE CHOSEN are trooping out from LA just to compete. It makes us feel good that the Festival spirit and energy is touching quality MC's all the way to the West Coast. I wish them all the best of luck."
-------------
About the semifinalists:
8thW1
"Life ain't s___ but love money and music" is more than a rhyme from 8thW1 on his album lovemoneyandmusic, it's the emcee's mantra that guides his ambitious goals. "No matter what you believe in, everyone moves for those three things. That is the trinity that no one is above." With that said, this native of New Jersey is set to leave an impression on the world with music at it's center of impact. His dedication to providing quality music for listeners makes him one of the few artists who can be sold simply by pushing play.
8thw1
Sleepwalkas
K.Gaines (Flatbush) and Ciph Diggy(Crown Heights) are a Brooklyn duo that embodies the definition of hip-hop. Since the release of their debut album "Insomnia" (2008) they have moved units, built a loyal fan base and rocked numerous events in and out of the Tri State area. Sleepwalkas are not your average MC's/entertainers. You should expect the unexpected whenever and wherever they are. They're uncanny personalities, witty lyricism and tireless work ethic set them light years apart form the regular run of the mill rappers we have all come to know today.
Sleepwalkas
THOSE CHOSEN
THOSE CHOSEN consists of Japetto, Kornbread, and Foreshadow. Out of their common love of music, the trio formed a musical brotherhood that has lead them on a journey to become a premiere hip-hop group within the ever-changing music scene. The group has shared the stage with hip-hop legends such as Slick Rick and rising stars like Little Brother and Black Milk. They have been a constant staple in California's hip-hop scene and have gained a presence on the internet, which has lead to an ever growing buzz concerning their music.
THOSE CHOSEN
Brokn English
Brokn Englsh is Myk Dyaleks (Greg Noviembre), Cion Burris ( Kyle Andrews), and Lyriq 2 Go (Leon Brinson). The group formed in 2006 with one common goal, bringing quality music to the masses. The meaning of Brokn Englsh, is speaking the language of the people. Bringing forth all emotions everyone goes through and translating it into a concept. Each member brings their individuality to the group. Cion Burris stems from versatile elements. The name C.Burris is a dedication to his godmother who was instrumental in his journey of music. Cion is derived from the Spanish meaning of the word song, cancion. The name LyriqToGo is paying homage to A Tribe Called Quest track of the same name on their album Midnight Marauders. LyriqToGo is a virtual world you go to receive introspective lyrics to take upon your travels. Their latest project Brokn Englsh Presents R.E.M Mixtape brings a high level of passion to their audience, hard hitting punchlines, colorful wordplay, and intricate stories. Myk Dyaleks, Cion Burris, Lyriq To Go personify the language of the people which is Brokn English.
Brokn English
----------
The 5th Annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival feauturing Pharoahe Monch, Styles P, Smif N Wessun, and a live mixtape produced by J Period plus more artists to be announced takes place on June 20th, 2009 at Empire Fulton Ferry State Park.
----------
Brooklyn Bodega are the creators and producers of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. They are a collective of cultural programmers, marketing professionals, writers, designers and academics dedicated to the celebration and preservation of Hip-Hop culture. Their daily musings can be found at www.brooklynbodega.com
YUME is a multiplatformed company that looks to create avenues for independent thinkers to live and experience their dreams, by providing the very best in entertainment. Encompassing Music, Art, and Fashion, YUME strives to provide the very best products and programming while redistributing all things Music, Art, and Fashion into the YUME community. YUME also has a strong youth and adult education component
------------
About "Show and Prove"
Up and coming MC's and artists looking to land the opening spot on the main stage at The 5th Annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival get ready. Brooklyn Bodega, the producers and creators of The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival and YUME Music have teamed up to create "Show and Prove," a competition/showcase where artists who think they have what it takes to rock the biggest crowd in Brooklyn can show and prove their skills.
"Show and Prove" will take place at Public Assembly, 70 North 6th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on May 21st at 9p.m..
At each month's event a panel of judges including Brooklyn Bodega staff will select a winner. The three winners will become the 'Show and Prove' finalists. On June 1st the winner will be announced via email, Twitter, Facebook and on BrooklynBodega.com. The winner will open the Festival as well as win a prize pack from YUME and Festival sponsors.
