New Download From Up-Coming Ardamus/Ed Methaphysical Collab!!!

http://www.divshare.com/download/launch/7826777-85c

Blueprint, Educated Consumers, K-Beta, Ardaplus @ DC9 Wed!

Be there!

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Interview With The Food Chain Collective's, Ardamus!!!

- Describe who Ardamus is, in Twitter Terms(140 Character's or less)...

Alcohol enthuiast. Unofficially trained gynecologist. And oh yeah, I rap/produce/make beats.

- You have been a very, visual member of this music scene since I have known you, and have always been that artist that is at every spot he can be at, supporting his people in the scene(which is well, everyone), buying merch, recording music, promoting shows, writing/producing for yourself and other's, holding a steady job down, etc. Are you human?

I actually am. I realized it when I knocked flat out in the studio in the middle of recording one of my verses....not sure if that means I'm sleeping on myself (literally) but.....I'll damned if I don't rest at some point.



- You released When Nothing Goes Right at the end of the last year, how was the response to the record? What is the concept behind this, and the follow-up to this? Is this an album, an EP, or a mixtape? Did you handle the production on the record, or did you reach out to local/national/international talent?

I've gotten some good response on the record. Mainly good critiques and a few bad ones. All in all, its helping me re-shape my focus for the newer projects coming out. The concept is based on ode to bad luck and personal issues I've had to deal with. I loosely based those ideas on situations I'd been thru and decided to put more of a twist on the actual outcome of the project.There is a follow-up mixtape entitled When Everything Goes Wrong 2.0 which is intended to sound very unprofessional like a real mixtape. LOL. Not all clean and perfect. After that, me and Metaphysical have a project entitled A Day In The Life Of Modern Day Living. Its a concept record......I joked with Metaphysical the other day that it was the album white people would love, haha. After that, I'm planning for another album and an EP. The EP will come first which will include exclusive production from me and will feature some DMV heavyhitters. The album.....well, lets just say I'm expanding my base as far as who I've worked with.



- I know besides being down with the Food Chain Collective, you roll with a cat named Double-Plus, forming Ardaplus...I have seen a handful of shows, any plans of a full-length, mixtape, EP, something?!

Yes, me and Plus are finally almost ready to drop our EP entitled A Fistfull Of Plutonium. Another project could be on the way soon. We just need to get our schedules straight and we're all good. There is actually a mixtape coming out at some point. I wasn't there for the mix of it but Metaphysical and PLUS sat down to put together to tracklisting of it. Actually, we just recently got back up to write some more songs we'll hopefully record soon. As for shows, we currently are about to open for Blueprint from Rhymesayers/Weightless on 6.3.09 at EXPO alongside our peers Educated Consumers and K-Beta with DJ Underdog on the 1's ad 2's. Should be fun because currently, Blueprint is one of my fav. emcees.



- Since you are part of so many different facets of the music scene around here, and have been here for awhile, how much have you seen things change around here? One could write a book on what's happened in the past few years, alone!

Way too many changes. Venues that would have the dopest events closing down over money, legal issues, no support.......you name it. But I think now in the DMV, cats are stepping up more seeing the need for the hip hop scene to thrive. New talent has come in and we still got the OGs around. With that said, we're building with one another and trying to get the scene more recognized on all levels.





- Do you think things are finally starting to get cohesive around here, and the rest of the US is starting to pay more attention?

Way more cohesive than what it has been in the past. The scene here has always been slept on for so long that I think its about time. People are getting a taste of it from certain acts these days like Wale, Tabi, Panacea, Diamond District, and etc. But if they only knew how much more there is to the scene than what they've heard, it would blow their minds.

- Who from the DMV, would you work with, that you haven't been able to?

There's a few cats. I definitely want to work with The Low Budget Crew (Kev Brown, Oddisee, Roddy Rod, etc.). There's the homie, G5 Clive whom I've talked with doing some stuff with. Kokayi, who in my opinion is one of the best artist in DC period, is someone who I have alot of respect for and would definitely want to build with. Dirty Water, whom I've known for years, are two cats I'd want to work with. The homies.....Pro'Verb and Lyriciss......them dudes put in work. Some of the Food Chain homies I haven't worked with just yet like Jade Fox, Teddy Faley, Cubbiebear, and etc.

- Have you collaborated with any bands, world-musicians, electronic musicians, etc.? DC's got tons of em!

I have done a few sets with a jazz band by the name of Motel; which is headed by Matt Grayson. Also, I've recently got to get on stage with The Black & Tan Fantasy Band with Seez Mics and Mental Stamina of Rosetta Stoned when they opened for Themselves (Anticon). I've also had the pleasure to perform with The Five One Band; I'd almost want to say is my fav. band to watch perform these days.

- If you had to pick one thing, that you think is holding back this city from becoming a major, major, force in the entertainment industry, what would it be and what would you do to fix it?

A major outlet for helping artists in the city; I don't mean a label either. It has to be something more than signing cats to a deal. Like an organization that has a solid foundation in the DMV. Not only could that help these acts out......it could spark more businesses to help out with these entertainment ventures out.

- Shouts...

Ok let me shoutout, the following: Food Chain Collective, SPP Waxworks, DMG, 3 Stars 2 Barz, The Low Budget Crew, Strange Music, Enoch The 7th Prophet, DJ Earth 1ne, DJ Soyo, Jay Mills, Dirty Water, Observa, D-League, Emperess, Young Raven, The Package, M1 Platoon, G5 Clive, and anyone else I may have forgot.

Blu & Exhile, Ardamus, Flex Mathews & Friends @ Liv Nightclub...

Well, it happened…DC decided to give the much-hyped about West Coast duo, Blu & Exile a warm reception, and come out in full-force to support the local luminaries opening the show that night…This is a rare feat, that I have seen going the way of the dinosaur in my city…Years ago, it was pulling-teeth to get people(let alone females) out to a hip hop show, especially on a weeknight(Tuesday), and it usually turns into a “weaknight”…*Ahem*…Anyway, over the past few years, DC hip hop has been on the rise, and now is no exception…Shows are getting thrown in all area’s of the District, not just venues in NW, different crowds, demographics and artists are mingling, and their local/national popularity, is ever-increasing…

I hadn’t been inside the legendary Bohemian Caverns on 11th and U Street, in years…The landmark on the corner, actually houses three business’: The Caverns in the basement, a restaurant on the middle-floor, and Club Liv on the second floor…I hadn’t been up there, since the good people at Organized Theory threw a party with a Cage and Yak Ballz 4 years ago, it had changed a lot…The stage was new, closer to the ground, wider, and on the opposite side of the room from where it had been…New wallpaper covered the walls, a small VIP area had been set-up, and that annoying rise in the middle of the dance floor had been removed…With these new observations swirling about me, I realized I was rocking to the sounds of one of the city’s premier DJ’s/beatmakers, Damu the Fudge Munk…From his musical selections, to the fact that he doesn’t use Serato, Damu keeps it classic with crates and 2 Technics at every function, guaranteed to the turn the party out with a doubt… Dj Underdog, owner and proprietor of famed, hypebeast- hangout Major, came on the wheels, and dropped in some reggae gems in-between Damu’s cuts…With that being said, Ardamus was about to set the tone for the evening…

I just copped Ardamus’ When Nothing Goes Right LP, and was excited to see him perform some of the material live…I hadn’t seen him perform in awhile, and he was completely undaunted by the packed room of fans, and fellow musicians…He ripped through “Superdrugs”, “When Nothing Goes Right”, and “Drinksmoke” off of the LP…He brought up Double-Plus, the other have of Ardamus’ side project, Ardaplus and they did a track together…He also brought up Keyote to rip through the DJ Eurok produced DMV anthem, “The District”…By the time Ardamus’ set was done, the crowd had been thoroughly warmed up, and introduced to some of the cities most formidable hip hop talent…Sweaty and breathless, he left the stage in spinters…

After a short intermission allowing spectator’s to catch their breath, DC’s own “Handsome Grandson” Flex Mathews, took the stage…Realizing how Ardamus set the tone earlier, Flex was not shy, and immediately made plans to win the crowd over by throwing out 15-20 Easter eggs with candy inside to them…Once the bribe was completed, Flex tore into a energetic rendition of his show staple, “Rookie Of The Year”…Following that with a freestyle session, that included him rapping about items that the crowd passed to him…From iPhones, to condoms, and batteries, to dollar bills, Flex cannot be stopped and always hits his punch…Flex spread the love to 3 of the area’s most, up-and-coming artists, and deferred his remaining five minutes of show time to bring on DC heavyweights, Lyriciss, Pro’Verb and X.O. to perform their smash, “We Go Hard”…This was vintage Flex, this wasn’t planned either…All three of them came to the show for support, and happened to have a cd with the instrumental on it, and they got up and rocked with Flex’s co-sign…That joint bangs!

Needless to say, Blu and Exile were going on with the crowd at their zenith…Unfortunately, things kinda slip downhill after this point…It took about 20-25 minutes to bring them on, Exile’s MPC and turntables kept going out, because people were all over the stage and stepping on the cable…Later, the sound became atrocious and sounded really, tinny and distorted, due to a blown monitor…Forgetting these minor inconveniences, what about Blu and Exile, right? Well, I really wanted to check the show out, because I wanted to see if Blu was going to perform as boring as he sounds on his records…Don’t get me wrong, I like his material, his beat selection is awesome and unique, his content is dope, etc. etc. But, he’s monotone, doesn’t flip his cadence up, come up with interesting themes/topics, or hooks…He’s a good rapper, that’s about it…He doesn’t move much, doesn’t talk to the crowd much, although he had good things to say, and bigged up the acts prior to him…After a couple of songs and about 30 photos, I moved to the back of the room to catch a beer and people watch, because I knew my photo’s were not going to improve, …Even though the emcee was lackluster, Exile killed it with his MPC/DJ routine he did at the end of the show…

With all that being said, it was a good night in our Nation’s Capital and showed a full-house, and a group from the West Coast, that the DC hip hop scene is on the rise and must be recognized!

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More photos, here...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oneviisiion/sets/72157616302343963/