What up yall. Thanks for checking back in with your boy. I know I've been gone for awhile, but between recording this album with Marco Polo, filming the video for "Switch" & being on tour in Europe for a month it's fair to say I've been a little busy. Aiight on to today's business. Now I don't ask yall for much, but I am asking for yalls help on this one. I'm pleased to announce that I've been nominated in the BEST LYRICIST category in this years UMA's (Underground Music Awards). Hiphopdx has also been nominated for BEST WEBSITE. The outcome is determined by you the people so we need for you all to vote. I'll make it easy for you Vote for Tor then Vote for Hiphopdx. Thanks in advance for the help on this one & remember you can vote daily that‘s 31 votes per person. Aiight that's all for now, I'll be back to talk about the tour & the video shoot in another blog, peace & love.
AGAIN, THE WINNERS WILL BE DETERMINED VIA ONLINE VOTING ON WWW.HIPHOPPALACE.COM. VOTING STARTED YESTERDAY (JULY 1ST) AND ENDS ON JULY 31ST 2008
- Tor
P.S. I know there are more important things to vote on now, more than ever. But realistically we all know that. I aint gotta beat yall over the head to go make a decision that'll change your life. Like the homie Jean Grae told me "Be Smart". Thanks...
Well, well, well I guess I knew this day would come. I didn't know exactly how I'd feel about it, but I knew it would be something I had to deal with when it arrived. What day you ask? The day my album leaked.
Hip hop artists, technology & the fans are engaged in a war right now & unfortunately us hip hop artists' are losing. That's not to say that we don't embrace the new forms of media & other outlets to get our music & content to the people because we do. Hell if it wasn't for the internet buzz I have, I'd have no buzz at all. But at what cost does this come?
This week I saw 3 incredible albums hit the internet for fans to download & share amongst themselves with total disregard for the artist who put in time, energy & most importantly money to make. Please don't think doing an album is inexpensive by any means. There are studio sessions to be booked, engineers to pay, producers to pay, mastering houses to pay, photographers to pay, graphic designers & so on & so forth. So for these albums to leak and people just grab 'em up and comment on & and not give a damn about everything that went into making this album is wrong. Imagine you went to work for a week or two weeks depending on how you get paid & on your pay day the boss said sorry your check is on the internet people downloaded it so we can't pay you. You'd be pissed the hell off right....exactly!! Now again I'm all for the net & downloading legally, it's an incredible way to get you product out to the people. It's immediate, it's accurate & it has instant gratification for the purchaser. Hell I'm not even opposed to illegal downloading as long as you still support the artists' and the product once its made available for purchase. I myself have downloaded a few albums over the last couple months. I also went out & bought those albums when they hit the stores as well. Perfect examples are Kanye & Little Brother. I'm a huge fan of both of those acts so for me not to be curious about the album or not to download the album & check it out once it leaks is asking me not to be human. However if I genuinely dig these guys & the music they're making how could I not invest in their investments. People have to understand, we don't rap on the side. THIS IS OUR JOB, this is how I pay my rent, and my light bill. This is how I eat. So when you go on the net & download my album or any other album for that matter understand that that's money out of my pocket, which means I have to find other ways to get cash, which means less time creating the music you 'claim' you love which means there will be less music for you to enjoy. Now take 'me' out of that scenario & insert you favorite artist. Same outcome people. Why do you think 'ringtone' rap is winning, why do you think companies invest in hit singles over great albums? It's because the consumers are showing they don't care about supporting the music industry, therefore the music industry doesn't care about supporting us. Yall got Ghostface on youtube telling yall he's gonna quit. Sean Price talking about walking away from music because all the work we put in isn't paying off at the end of the day.
I'm not writing this because my joint leaked but the other 2 leaks of the week affected me as a fan and friend. I was in the studio while these records were being made. I saw the efforts put forth by these individuals. Late night sessions, mixing, remixing, reremixing until everything was right and for yall to just go on the net & download it and not give a damn about what it took to make that product is wrong. Then yall have the nerve to 'review' it. C'mon with that you wanna give your opinion of the record give up that $10 or $15 and make all the comments you want. "Yo this album is banging" then cop it. "Definitely one of my favorite albums in the last 12 months" then cop it. Cause if not guess what, there won't be any good music coming out for you to enjoy.
Listen I understand everybody aint always got it to spend on a CD or legal download but when you do, you should. I went back & copped the joints I missed cause my funds were low when they dropped. This helps keep the cycle flowing and makes sure the artists' can go back in the lab and hit yall with another banger. If you love the album & aint got $9.99 cop a .99 cent single or two. Cop your favorite joint, cop the instrumental & rap over it just make sure you purchase something so heads don't end up in Wal-Mart working instead of in the studio....
P.S. there is nothing wrong with working in Wal-Mart, I was just using it as an example. Love is love....
- Tor
What up DX'ers thanks for checking in with the kid. Off top I'd like to thank each & every person that checked out my video for "Callin' Me". I had no idea it would get the response that it's gotten. It's been on over 10 websites & is actually headed to the small screen as well. 99% of the comments & feedback has been great. I'm really, really happy that its being so well received. Aside from that I've just been working feverishly trying to get the record in the stores by January 8th. I appreciate everyone who has been there with me since the 1st release
date & everyone who has gotten involved since then. I assure you Jan 8th is the day. For all those that pre-ordered it you're still straight, it'll be there as promised initially. Its a lot of hard work to put a record out when you're doing it on your own & you actually care what your product looks & sounds like. I'm big on perception so if its not going to be presented in a manner that I approve of then it's not going to be presented. Bottom line. Moving past that I'd like to shout out all the people that've been coming out to the shows. I've been in front of a lot of packed rooms as of late & I'm starting to get used to it. So please keep it up, I'm usually on the bill with some dope acts so come out & check it when you hear about a Torae show. Me & my man Vega Benetton leave it all on the stage when the night is done.
Speaking of shows I was actually able to spectate a few this past week & they were really dope. The 1st was the J.A.M. Awards at the Hammerstein in honor of Jam Master Jay & the other was the Stones Throw concert at the Highline Ballroom. Both shows had serious line ups & quite a few high profile attendees. I'm a hip-hop head, I grew up on it & loved it since birth so I was really excited to meet people like Hank Shocklee, Rev Run & LL Cool J at the Hammerstein and Erykah Badu and Andre Harrell at Highline. It's fly when people come out to support good events even once they've attained a certain amount of success. Seeing Pete Rock at the Stones Throw show was normal, seeing Andre Harrell was a little unexpected.
I'm a big fan of live hip hop. Its a totally different vibe from recorded music. And I think that's what a lot of artists don't get. Its dope to have a banging record out, but at the end of the day just because you spit bodies in the booth doesn't mean that's going to get you over rocking a live show. I pride myself on having a nice stage show to accompany dope songs. Because realistically people already have access to the music, but what's going to get them out to a show. You can't sell them the same product again. You have to sell them you all over again, but this time live. I remember seeing Busta & Splif Starr at the Sound Factory and from rocking with the Diplomats in early 2000. Even recently over the summer touring with EMC & doing shows with Little Brother. The energy on the stage was electric, sometimes even more so than the records, but that's the beauty of a live show.
Bringing the songs from vinyl, cd or mp3 to life. Too often dudes think a hot song is a dope show, I can name countless dudes with dope records that bore the hell out of me on stage. I can also name dudes I've never
heard of before that get on the stage and light that ish up. The point I'm trying to make is artists out there take pride in your craft. Study it, all aspects of it. Only having dope songs at a show is the equivalent of only working out your upper body if you're into weightlifting. Its not a complete package. Looks at dudes, like Common, like Masta Ace & even newer dudes like Kanye & Little Brother, those dudes wreck the stage when they're rocking. Granted they have dope music but the have so much more on the stage & you don't need an elaborate band or choir to make it pop. Pharoahe Monch kills it with the band LB kills it with DJ Flash & D Brock. I've also seen Pharoahe without the band killing it & LB with a band and the results are the same "dope!!!". Its about what you 'the artist' brings to the stage & the kind of energy you give the audience, because that's the kind of energy you'll get back. I know I'm going to continue to bring it each & every time I hit the stage as I will continue to go out & watch live hip-hop so I can pick up on new tricks of the trade. Until next time my peoples, peace. Here are some pics from The J.A.M. Awards & the Stones Throw show, my video incase you missed it and a shameless plug. Deuces…








What up HHDX’ers thanks for checking out my latest entry. I’m not gonna talk yall to death doing an intro & all that I’ll get right to it. Today I was riding in the car listening to Sirius Satellite Radio (The Backspin) and “Don’t Curse” came on. That’s one of my favorite joints of all time right there & it got me to thinking about good old fashion collabos & posse cuts. For those of you not familiar with “Don’t Curse” it was a Heavy D & The Boyz record that featured: Grand Puba, Pete Rock, CL Smooth, Big Daddy Kane, Q Tip, Kool G Rap & of course the Heavster. I remember when this record dropped it was bananas to me. I loved when some of my favorite artists got together on a record. I lived for those joints. Posse cuts & collaborations weren’t like the collabos of today. I mean it didn’t feel like it at least. They seemed more genuine back then, like the artists actually had respect for each other & it wasn’t just about chasing a check or trying to tap in to a certain fan base. I’m sure those things played a part, but it didn’t look like it was the only motivation for these records. Remember Juice Crews “The Symphony“ or “Scenario” by Tribe & L.O.N.S. you don’t get classic posse joints like that now-a-days. The Native Tongue family had a few crazy records together, “Buddy” “La Ménage” “Let The Horns Blow” “Ladies First” “Saturdays” & more. Those were the days when The Native Tongue/Violator fam ran shit. But they weren’t the only heads making noise in the studio. Heavy had a few other collaborations & one in particular on his Blue Funk LP called “A Buncha Niggas” that introduced the world to a little known rapper out of Brooklyn named Biggie Smalls. Yup Hev had Big on a joint back in ‘92 a year before he broke on to the scene with “Party & Bullshit” from the Who’s The Man soundtrack. In fact it was before Biggie had to legally change his name to The Notorious B.I.G. due to some reggae artist having had already trademarked the name Biggie Smalls (yeah I does this). But back to the subject, now when I hear a collab on the radio it doesn’t give me the same chill I used to get. “Black Republican” isn’t as memorable as “Brooklyn’s Finest”. Not due to lack of lyricist because we all know Nas & Jay are two of the best to ever do it. But it just doesn’t have that replay value. I could go on & on about present day collabos we got Plies & T-Pain, Akon & T-Pain, Fab & T-Pain, Yung Joc & T-Pain, Baby Bash & T-Pain, R. Kelly & T-Pain fuck around & T-Pain be on a joint with Pac, lol. And not that I’m hating on T-Pain at all. I’m just saying these joints aint got that staying power like collabs of the last decade. Sheeit I remember when only top notch artists did records with R. Kelly. Big, Jay, Nas, Celine Dion. How the fuck you go from Celine Dion to the Birdman c’mon Kells. Anyway before I start to look like a delusional 90’s rap backpacker let me sign off. But I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite collabs & posse cuts of all time. Feel free to chime in with yours.
Head Banger - EPMD f. Redman & K-Solo (Hit Squad was the SHIT!!!)
DWYCK - Gang Starr f. Nice & Smooth
Life’s A Bitch - Nas f. AZ
It’s Mine - Mobb Deep f. Nas
The What - BIG f. Method Man
Brooklyn’s Finest - Jay Z f. BIG
Above The Clouds - Gangstarr f. Inspectah Deck
Scenario (LP & Rmx) - A Tribe Called Quest f. Kid Hood & Leaders of the New School
The Symphony - Marley Marl f. Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane
Buddy - The Jungle Bros. f. The Native Tongue Family (9 min version)
Erase Racism - Kool G Rap f. Biz Markie & Big Daddy Kane
Anti-Up (RMX) M.O.P. f. Busta Rhymes, Teflon & Remy Ma
Respiration - Black Star f. Common
The Life - Styles P & Pharoahe Monch
Rock, Rock Yall - A Tribe Called Quest f. Punch, Words, Jane Doe & Mos Def
Oh No - Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch & Nate Dogg
Money In The Bank - Kool G Rap f. Large Pro, Freddie Foxx, Ant Live
Roll Wit Tha Flava - The Flavor Unit f. Dres, Latifah, Freddie Foxx, Treach, Chip Fu, Heavy D & D Nice
Maaaaan it’s too many to list. I LOVE HIP HOP!!!
- Tor
Lastly I’ve been in the lab working with some real amazing producers. 1st up is the homie from the NC 9th Wonder. 9th was gracious enough to add me to the already incredible line up he had for his album “Dream Merchant vol. 2” which drops October 9th so be sure to snatch that up when it touches down. I also hooked up with Toronto’s own Mr. Attic the producer of Kardinal’s classic record “Ol’ Time Killing” he actually got the last record recorded for “Daily” called “Get It Goin” which is a banger. And speaking of legendary I was also blessed with the opportunity to work with D.I.T.C’s own Buckwild for a joint for his upcoming album. So all in all be on the look out for a lot of superb music to be dropping in the upcoming months. I’m gonna keep it brief for now but I’ll be getting into detail about all those new records I mentioned along with letting yall know about the album I’m doing with Marco Polo as well. Thanks for checking in with kid, I’ll be back with a new entry next week, peace….
- Tor



