Vague Chaos

Clearly, I RRRREALLLY need to 'get back to making my joints' where this blog shit is concerned even if I am the only one who reads it. But anyhow..I'm sitting here drinking a Twisted Tea (becuz Wifey bought that shit) and have got that feeling one gets when there's 20 things that need to be done and a bunch of other shit weighing the mind down and nothing ends up getting done. Fuck. I've got at least 20 songs to write, that I can think of. Oh, not bitching at all..I love the opportunities. I just wish, like every other music muhfugga with a job, that I could devote more time to doing what i love. Meh.. don't we all. So, since the last post, some wild shit has happened in the personal life. A little drama, a little suspense..you know that ol' tale from the sea. And from that joy and pain I had drawn the raw materials for the lyrics that would become the album, "WIDESPREAD IRREGULARITY," which was produced solely by Parisian beat king, KEOR METEOR. Released through Pragmatic Theory label outta UK. Peace to Manonwire, Sev En, Rhythm22.com and Pragmatic Theory Collective. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't proud of this album. All the pieces came together beautifully. Alexandra Bautista so graciously lent her vocal stylings on "Vermillion" and it's not like I was TRYING to make a song for the ladies. It was just a sincere joint about a lover's spat, cold shoulders and making love.. Nothing deep. But big up to all the ladies who are feeling the song. Thank you. Of course my bredren all came through for the I.. RenRok rocked the cuts on "Spark" and "Hiking Hills." Delight from Dallas did some amazing turntablin' on a couple and DJ Ivan6 also lent some flair. (I don't see how whole albums are made where the DJ element is not represented..smh) My man 'Dova from Bad News, VA blessed me with a verse on, "Elixirs." And two cats I've been feeling for a while, Slim Pickens from Boston and Twylight aka Light from Jerz blessed us with ill bars on "Triangle Choke".. I first heard Slim P on a Handbook produced track called, "Braced" over a year ago and I first heard Light through producer MISHAP when I guested on a track with him and Nalm Myerz that 'Hap produced called, "Something's Wrong" which appeared on MISHAP and LIGHT's (DEAD CENTER) album Republic Of The Damned. And my crew mate from VIAS, RaSun the Sol B(r)uddha held me down lovely on the track, "Pearls." We had to keep that vibe going so we are working on a whole album of mind scienz and vibrations. I'm looking forward to this one as well. We both got stories to tell and unique ways to tell it. Ra is definitely a unique, wise brother who HAS to be heard, man. We're gonna have fun with this. We've already got beats from Keor Meteor, RenRok from Cali, Shuffle Jack from Germany, Jon Ozi Smith from Portugal, DJ Hellblazer from UK, Mr. Mamadou from Senegal, The Custodian of Records (TCOR) from New Jersey, Anomeric from Cali, and Solomon Caine. And more. Plus we will bring out a few special guests. The homie is about to set up shop in Southern Cal, so we're gonna rock this joint. Taking no shorts. Watch.

Please cop "WIDESPREAD IRREGULARITY" - Cor Stidak x Keor Meteor and support the music you love.

Transmissions

Let's see if I remember how to do this..

Ok, it's been a minute since I turned the lights on in here but seems all the furniture is in it's place. Whew. In the midst of a cold tropical storm named after my Mama, I thought I'd document a few things from the year at present. 2012 has pretty much been an emotional and psychological rollercoaster on a few levels. And in the midst of that I managed to make some music. The homie RenRok and I had collabed on a track called "Jaded Visions" last year and our styles fit well together so we decided to do an album. He started feeding me beats in late 2011 that I would keep in the cooler until I was ready for them. I still had a few collabs that I had cats waiting on to finish up and by the end of January 2012 I was ready to 86 all collabs and focus solely on the album which we would call, "The Single Malt EP." We were in agreement that we wanted to stay true to our sensibilities as grown men and lovers of a particular aesthetic and texture of hip hop. What does that mean? Basically, it means crafted, big, crunchy beats, creative sampling and authentic lyrics that don't follow trends and chat fuckery. I wanted the listener to feel like shit wasn't slapped together in 15 minutes. I took my time with each beat and tried to write my best and tell stories inside of stories in the span of a verse. I try to say alot with saying much, I guess. Don't ask me what 'so and so' song means. Although the song titles tend to be ambiguous to the lyrical meaning and content at times they do set the tone for what the song is about. I come up with titles first and then match them to the beat I intend to write to and then let it go. Not unlike planting a seed and watching it grow into something. We called this project "The Single Malt EP" as a nod to our appreciation of fine Scotch. And we chose the name of our outfit to be THE FOUNDRY because we all know what happens at the foundry. Why, that's where heavy metals get melted down and forged and it's where the bodies are disposed of. Of course. I kid. But, yeah, I'm really proud of how the album came together and Ren was a pleasure to work with. We will definitely do another FOUNDRY album in 2013 and see where we can take this. I reached out to a few peeps and they graciously lent their talents to make the cipher complete. B. Eure fka Bobby Blunt blessed me with a verse on, "Sip Slow." I also traded bars with my new friend from Queens, Unseen NY, on the track "Jura" and with Austrian fly girl, The Unused Word, on "Cloak and Dagger." The talented artist Sunday Morning did a custom collage cover for us and we were on our way. Released July 15, 2012. The album got very little blog love. I clearly didn't hit up the right ones. I think I was aiming high and didn't realize alot of cats are blog snobby. They wait around to see if Nottingham or 2Dope posts shit before they decide to post. Dickriders. It's cool, though. My people's enjoyed the album and some still rocking it. Me too. I chilled for a few and started on some collabs I'd been wanting to do. I did joints with Impossible Nothing, KVZE, Byrdversion1, and BioLogic and then jumped headfirst into a solo instrumental project. I had alot of fun on the first beat album I did, "Hungry Thief." I spend so much time writing rhymes and listening to other people's beats that I forget to blow the dust off my own equipment. I fucking love my MPC. I won't front, cats get biz with all the new techniques and programs they use. I enjoy alot of it and am amazed with it. But I also notice alot of clonery. I honestly can't tell a distinct style or sound from alot of stuff. "..the image of imitation, taken from origination made by tracin' and a little erasin'.." - Rakim Allah I get it. We all love Dilla, FlyLo and 'Lib and Preem and Pete. But we love them because they don't try to sound like nobody else. They have their own style. I'm trying to have mine. I'm nowhere in those lords league but I'm not supposed to be. And the feeling is mutual. THAT'S hip hop. So the second installment of "Stidakstruhmentals" is titled, "Higher Branches" and is 9 joints with a Stidak twist. Dark, jazzy electric piano chords over subs bass synths and acoustic percussion smothered in burly kicks and sharp snares. Well, just listen for yourself...

Next project is a collab EP with my brother, Keor Meteor. I'm going to take my vitamins and workout up in Bear Mtn. or Sil Lum to get right for this one. I plan to get busy. And after that for 2013 a few more collabs, a short EP with Skratch Zilla and another with King Boom, a new FOUNDRY album and a new instrumental album. Insh'allah. More stories to come.

Around

dock of the bay

no fuck

mossy

skink

written

Journeyman

journeyman - one who has completed an apprenticeship and is fully educated in a craft or field of study but is not yet a master.

Twelve months ago I was at a tipping point. I had just had a birthday. A year older and supposedly wiser yet still uneasy about a couple things. One thing in particular was the state of my muscial journey. I had all but forgone the ritual late night crate-diggin' and the endless quest for the perfect beat and flow. The banging of MPC keypads and scribbles in my rhyme book had ceased and months long dust accumulated undisturbed on my equipment. It wasn't supposed to be like that. According to the talking heads around me I was supposed to "make it" a long time ago. You know how when you hear something long enough it's possible to start believing your own hype. Well, I was never fully vested in what others said anyway but at the same time I started feeling like I could have done this or that and maybe had a career in music. Ha. Well it all smacked me in the face 12 months ago when I realized that not only was I wasting my talent by not using and developing it, but that I had fucked around and had gray hairs growing out of my nose. Not that I'm trying to give away my age (or hide it necessarily) but let's just say I've put some time in with this hip hop thing. I remember the Crash Crew, The Treacherous 3, Cold Crush, RunDMC and all that. I pop locked in white gloves and tagged on public transportation. I was there in the so called Golden Era in the 90's. What? Cats trying to sound old school now? Really? I am old school. And new school. And no school. My first crew was VERBAL THREAT. Not to be confused with a later group who used to fuck with DJPremier. No. After I moved from Laurelton Queens, New York to Virginia way back when, I was thirsty for anything New York, especially Hip Hop. Cats was on some other type shit here at the time. Mostly bass. No disrespect, it just wasn't my flavor. I eventually found like minded cats who were into DJing, beats and rhyming and graf. All the stuff I missed from NY. Eventually formed a crew with some friends and came up with the name VERBAL THREAT. I wanted a name that sounded ill like a punk rock group. Kinda like Minor Threat and Verbal Abuse. Bong.

Over a 10 year period the crew grew from 2 to 3 back to 2 to 4 then 8 with a live band. We were signed to an indie label out of Brooklyn called Idlers and were labelmates with the Jungle Brothers. We released a couple singles, "Black Woman" and "Iron Man" on Idlers but never a full album. We then went "in business" with a drug kingpin looking to "legitimize" some of his money and built a studio and made some music. Let's just say that that didn't end well. Ah, good times. After that episode we released two EP's, "Conspiracy Of Silence" and in '96 the well recieved tape called, "The Essence." We would go on to do many shows from Philly to North Carolina opening for Public Enemy (on four occasions), RunDMC, Main Source, 311 (before they were huge), and many others. We did several radio spots and a few interviews and a couple times even got treated like kings. We had been through so many wild episodes with clowns, quacks, chickenheads, charlatans, drug dealers and skinheads but it all made for great memories and experience. And music. But, as they say, things fall apart and we disbanded in 2000. It was time. Cats was older with developing families and diverging interests and needs. That's just what it was. Gray Dayzz [prod. by Arthritis] by COR STIDAK I kept going with my man Damon (Big D, RIP) who was the guitar player in the group and another cat from Bad News, VA who sold alot of weed and played keyboard on the side. Not ideal but it was a spot to jam at and chill and be creative....and smoke alot of weed. Later on after dude got raided I found out just how much weed he was selling. Had I known I wouldn't have been just chillin' up in there like that. But you know what they say about babies and fools. I was kind of burned out and languishing musically. My little brother, Mike (shout out lil nigga, ha), knew what I could do and the direction of my vision and he was kinda wise with his money so he fucked around and bought me a MPC and a keyboard. I saved my pennies and got an Akai studio mixer and I already had vinyl (dust head..always hunting) and started making my own shit. In '04 I recorded an EP, "The Secret Science" named after a book I was deep into at the time. But it was basically just something a few heads heard. By few I mean a few. After that, my relationship with hip hop was very on again-off again, like an old girlfriend. This is where we eventually get to the tipping point. My friend, Bobby Blunt, was putting in work musically. I really didn't know him very well. We had a mutual friend who we were both trying to get beats from but it was like pulling teeth so we decided to get together and collaborate. The first song we did was a tune called, "Dunk Smack." It was a beat he got from Grand Ear out of the 'Burg and we both wrote verses and recorded it in one day. Bobby was already making music with his groups and promoting on sites like Soundcloud and Bandcamp and had his own website and merchandise. I didn't even have a laptop. But I had made a few pretty good tracks. It took a while to get right with a computer and I joined Soundcloud. I just had, and still have, a real do or die, now or never mentality. Gray hairs be damned. Now. The first connection I had on Soundcloud was Akademik aka Les Braun of Lurk Music and of course Bobby. I had actually linked with Akademik a bit earlier on the Stone's Throw forum. We eventually went on to collab on a gem called "The Bootlicker Lullabye" which was included on my first album. It remains one of my favorites. From there I connected with the homie Keor Meteor. What a talent!! Our first trans-continental offering was the joint "Crown Chakra" and again it was very well received. Crown Chakra (prod. by Keor Meteor) by COR STIDAK That collab opened a few doors because Keor had been putting in serious work and already had about 4 or 5 excellent releases at the time, so cats was already feeling him and some of them listened and loved the song. This lead to a connection with MISHAP and eventually my first feature. The song is "Oyster & Stout" and came out on MISHAP's album "The Science of the Sun" on Ugly Boy Music. More than 20 collabs later and I have no plans of slowing down. Here's a list of the artists I've had the pleasure to build with this year: Akademik, Bobby Blunt, Blase, MISHAP, RenRok, Keor Meteor, Handbook, Fadee, yahn LOOKE picard, Melodiesinfonie, *IMS*, 2ndNature, Pepil Pew, funkload, Ben Official, Mr. Mamadou the Pi Art, Rendition, Arthritis, Light, Nalm Myerz, Anomeric, King Boom, SHANE GREAT, Beat Machine Aron and Prof. Logik. There may be a couple more before 2011 bids us adieu.

2012 will hopefully be a busy year. Look for collabs with /Art Vandelay, Brock Berrigan, DJHellblazer, RediBrown, RaSun, Symbo Science, mudloop, Lee Spacey, JDigital, Buddy Hotshot, Ehberto Talice, Prof. Logik, blazeitdown, B. Lowe and of course my friends Bobby Blunt, Keor Meteor, Akademik, King Boom, RenRok and MISHAP. RenRok and I have formed a group called, THE FOUNDRY and are working on a release called, "The Single Malt EP". I'm not sure on a date but a fair guess would be around March. Also in the works will be a project with music by Keor Meteor, and possibly another EP with the homie King Boom. Look for a new beatstrumental EP, "Higher Branches (stidakstrumentals vol. 2)" around OCT. But all of that is neither here nor there. I'm taking it one day at a time, one song at a time. If it doesn't mean anything to anyone else, it means something to me. Visioner by COR STIDAK One love to all the music makers and the music lovers. Cheers (*raising a dram of Jura single malt*) and I hope to keep making music people enjoy and feel good about. Happy Holidays!! Heavy Karma [prod by Prof. Logik] by COR STIDAK Official releases:

Snaps

Just some shots from the summer..

bacdafucup.

red tail

sea foam

who dat?

Something's Wrong

So, I connected with the homie MISHAP again with this feature on an album he's doing with a illy nice MC named LIGHT. Together they are DEAD CENTER outta Jerz..Also featured was NALM MYERZ. He goes in first, then LIGHT and STIDAK finishes. It was a pleasure to get down with them and their project should be dropping soon. SOMETHING'S WRONG - feat. NALM MYERZ, LIGHT, & COR STIDAK [prod. by MISHAP] by COR STIDAK

Go the other, other way.

 

Dropping October 15 will be the collab album. Basically a collection of blood-boilers that I did with some new friends from various zones. Featuring beats by Keor Meteor, Yahn Looke Picard, King Boom, Handbook, Beat Machine Aron, Pepil Pew, Arthritis, and Anomeric. Available at Bandcamp. Links to come. Peace!!