Saturday, October 8, 2011

MORE THEN MUSIC _ THA OFFICIAL DREAM TEAM

Just Came Across this online. "MORE THEN MUSIC" DOCUMENTARY ON THE MUSIC PRODUCER GROUP THA DREAM TEAM WHO PRODUCED FOR ARTIST LIKE 50 Cent, LL Cool J, Run-DMC, Diddy, Loon, Nas, Tony Yayo, Cory Gunz, Ray J, Maino, Red Cafe, Papoose, Baby(of The Cash Money Millionaires), Naughty By Nature, Az, Foxy Brown, Ali Vegas, D.J. Kay Slay, Fat Joe, Joe Budden, K-Ci, Dru Hill, Dave Hollister, Joe, Amerie, India Arie, Super Cat, and Stephanie Mills. During the Super Bowl XXXVII of 2003 Dr. Pepper launched its "Be You" campaign through a commercial featuring LL Cool J and Run-DMC and The Dream Team's signature production.

With a beat machine in hand and a vision, Mark "Chop Diesel " Curry, Donald "Joey Lightfingaz" Woolfolk , and Kyle "Knoxx" Trotman from Jersey City, N.J. started The Dream Team. Being that they were from very humble beginnings, they knew that they would have to elevate their talents to the next level. So in 1999 they did just that and landed a joint venture with Urban Wolves Ent. Within 3 short months they were embraced by accomplished producers The Trackmasters, who signed them to Columbia Records after a 20 minute listening session.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

RIP! A Remix Manifesto

An open source documentary film that examines copyright issues in the information age. Created over a period of six years, the documentary film features the collaborative remix work of hundreds of people who have contributed to the Open Source Cinema website, helping to create the "world's first open source documentary" Featuring Girl Talk. Lawrence Lessig, Cory Doctorow, Gilberto Gil directed by Brett Gaylor. This documentary gives a new view on what copyright does in our time, and the need for change.

Music Studio 2.0 for Iphone Released !!!!


So music studio 2.0 for the IPhone has been released and i must admit theres some pretty nice new features, especially the new pads that have been added along with the cool new interface

To be honest im still kind of annoyed that nothing could/has been done about the size of the tracks screen (im pretty sure this is mainly due to the size of the IPhone screen itself, it might be just perfect for IPad users though) and the app is a little tricky to get the hang of, but once you do you will be banging out tracks in no time, with the new updates tempo changes are also much easier, recording drum patterns on the new pads is extremely simple and definatly a much welcomed feature, dont limit yourself to just drums though, other instruments can also be used in conjuction with the pads,this alone i feel with draw alot of users to this app.

Audo tracks can also now be used , along with importing from your ipod library, soundcloud file sharing, hardware support, keyboard sustain button, just to name a few of the new additions, i dont want to give away too much and ruin the surprise in store if you purchase this app but i will leave you with this. If your looking for a full fledged production app for your IPhone or IPad then i strongly suggest checking this app out as i have tried quite a few and dont like any nearly half as much as i like this app !!!

check the images below for IPhone music production sweetness !!!!!!!

The New Pads


Tracks Screen

Edit Mode for tracks

Effects Screen




Music Studio is available through the Apple App Store. It can be purchased for only $14.99 (please check the AppStore for your local currency's conversions).

Goldbaby Free Sample Section

Purveyors of quality sample based instruments With a passion for vintage drum machines and synthesizers,Goldbaby has a fantastic reputation for creating useful and interesting instruments for use in many different genres of music Also in demand by leading software companies for sample content, Goldbaby has had the pleasure of working with: Native Instruments, FXpansion, iZotope and XLN Audio Please take your time and explore Goldbaby's website.


I know how everyone likes free stuff so i thought i would re post the link to this page incase you missed it in the previous post i made
Some of the kits on there are as follows

  • TapeDP50 
  • Hapi vs Xylophone
  • iAm-K3m Drum Free 
  • The TapeTonic 
  • The DMX-606 
  • The Cassette808 
  • SP1200 vs MBase1

Plus more !!!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Snoop Dogg, DJ Quik, DJ Battlecat, DOC, & 1500 or Nothin In The Studio For Dre's Detox

Free Drums

Some nice free kick samples i just created feel free to share just add a link to blog at least
Click the image below to download the files




or download here : Kick Samples 03 Oct 2011.rar (2.33 MB) http://www.multiupload.com/X5C6GJFVSW

Tone2 AkustiX Enhancer


Tone2 AkustiX is a collection of six essential enhancement tools combined into one intuitive user interface. Ideal for tracks as well as full mixes AkustiX features six powerful effects: Psycho EQ, Ultra Stereo, Phase Enhance, Multi Exciter, Smart Filter and Stereo Width.
Each effect is based on the latest developments in research and offers multiple ways to enhance the sound of your recordings drastically by using psycho-acoustic processing.
Unlike competing enhancers AkustiX is easy to use and works well with nearly all kinds of material. It's a one-click solution to make your mix sound professional without knowing about mastering-voodoo.

Psycho EQ
The Psycho EQ dynamically boosts frequencies to equalize based on the nonlinearities of the human ear. It raises the perceived volume of the mix and makes it sound fat without drastically changing the overall volume.
A linear-phase tone control is provided to make your mix sound warm or bright.

Ultra Stereo
The Ultra Stereo section adds spaciousness and transparency. A Virtual Surround Encoder creates a sense of being right in the middle of the mix by stretching the sweet spot around the room, as a nice side effect a large part of the room resonances are eliminated. It's an essential tool to upmix from mono to stereo and also drastically enhances existing mixes or old recordings.

Phase Enhance
Phase Enhance adds analog punch and masks nonlinearities of speakers or amplifiers. It creates auditory distance by simulating the natural dispersion and propagation of the sound. Diffuse Cream adds silkiness to pads or vocals.

Multiband Exciter
Designed to enhance presence and brightness the exciter with 8192 bands adds vibrancy and depth to your mix by adding additional harmonics. It can reconstruct missing frequencies from analog recordings and low bit-rate encodings.

Smart Filter
The Smart Filter section enhances transparency and adds more detail by using frequency-domain masking.
The easy-to-use noise reduction is an essential tool to clean analog recordings.

Stereo Width
The multiband stereo widener allows you to enhance the stereo field while keeping the bass and mono compatibility intact. 

Why is AkustiX Enhancer an essential tool?
  • Six essential effects to complement your track and mastering process
  • Add brightness, transparency, fatness, vibrancy and depth to your mix
  • Restore and revitalize old recordings
  • Drastically enhances stereo mixes
  • Exclusive new technology based on the latest in psychoacoustics research
  • Elegant and intuitive user interface
  • High-end quality processing
  • Powerful spectrum analyzer & phase meter to visualize imaging and phase
  • Suitable for mix, mastering and signal restoration purposes
  • Ships with professional presets for a broad range of mix & mastering tasks
System requirements
PC: Windows XP, Windows Vista 32 bit or 64 bit, Windows 7 32 bit or 64 bit, Windows ME; Intel Pentium4 compatible CPU with at least 800 Mhz; 512 MB RAM
Mac: Mac OSX 10.4 or higher; G4, G5 or Intel Mac with at least 800 Mhz; 512 MB RAM


Technical specification
PC formats: 32-bit VST, 64-bit VST, standalone
Mac formats: VST, Audiounit; Univeral Binary; Not compatible with RTAS
Supported samplerates: 44,1 kHz; 48 kHz; 88,2 kHz; 96 kHz; 192 kHz
Multicore CPU support; SSE2 support


http://tone2.com/html/akustix_enhancer_vst_au_effect.html

mucoder updates FREE hypercyclic arpeggiator to v1.1.367



mucoder has updated hypercyclic to version 1.1.367.
hypercyclic is a freeware LFO-driven MIDI arpeggiator, gate effect and step sequencer for mangling sustained MIDI input chords, the output of which can then drive other MIDI instruments. It won 2nd place in the KVR Developer Challenge '07.
hypercyclic can generate MIDI that can be recorded and/or sent to other plug-ins. It features a built-in synth for testing purposes. Two tempo-synced LFOs can be used to modulate various parameters for creating interesting rhythmic effects and chord variations. A unique feature is the possibility to modulate the sequencer step size itself, which can be useful for creating glitchy stuttering effects.
What's new in hypercyclic 1.1?
v1.1 is functionally identical to v1.0, but has been fully rewritten internally and now shares the same new underlying modular engine and built-in synth used by tonespace 2. It should also provide a much faster experience when opening the hypercyclic plug-in window on Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
The Windows version was tested on Windows 7 64-bit (but should work on XP, Vista, 32-bit). The Mac OS X version was tested on Tiger 10.4 and Snow Leopard 10.6 (but should also work on Panther, Leopard, and later). The Linux version was tested on Ubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.04 LTS (not sure what other versions might work).
Changes in Build 1.1.367:
  • Fixed: slow UI loading time on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
  • Fixed: groove timing has improved.
  • Fixed: MIDI song pointer follow has been improved in standalone version.
  • New: standalone version now accepts MIDI sync messages.
  • New: uses new test synth with PADsynth algorithm.
  • New: LFO waveform is now displayed.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Learning About the Music Business and How It Relates To Rap Music

Learning About the Music Business and How It Relates To Rap Music

September 30, 2011

By Sahpreem A. King, Multi-Platinum Music Producer, Author, Educator, and Music Business Guru


I believe that anyone entering the music industry should be licensed are at the very least be required to take a class on the basic tenets of this vocation. If music business professionals were licensed, artists would know who and who not to deal with. If artists were more educated, VH1 would have to stop playing episodes of “Where Are They Now” and “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous” would have to drag Robin Leech out of retirement because artists would stop getting fucked over by unscrupulous labels, managers, agents, and lawyers. If a basic code of ethics were established, the music industry on a whole would greatly benefit from a much-needed face-lift and fair dealings. But I digress.

On a daily basis, I counsel aspiring artists and music business professionals and I found that most of them really don’t have a clear understanding of this business, nor a path of direction. Many of them are dreamers waiting on their knight in shinning armor to come and rescue them from obscurity; offering a three-album deal with a million dollar advance. Like I said, they are dreamers. In the new paradigm of the music business this is mere fantasy and fact that these people are stilling hanging on to the dream of getting signed is a clear indication of what is wrong with the music industry in total. Why would you give up over 90% of your income for someone to offer you services that you could provide for yourself? That is ludicrous! The only conclusions that could be drawn is that you are either too lazy to roll-up-your-sleeves and put in the work, not that talented and need tons of cash to promote your shitty music, or you do not believe in yourself enough to throw caution to the wind and say “fuck it, I gonna be successful.” 50 Cent said it best, “get rich or die trying.” If you really want to become successful in the music industry, be free of voluntary financial slavery, and want to be a total independent, then the only challenge that awaits you is learning how the music industry really works.

Learning the economics (the science of money) of the music industry is as important as having the balls to go it alone. There is an art & science to making money in the music industry and both Diddy and JayZ are prime examples of making tons of cash, when you think beyond rapping. Rapping is going to get you in the door, but unless you wrap your mind around learning the intricate details of the music industry, simple business principals, and marketing practices, that door may quickly slam shut in your face. Why artists can’t see the music business for what it is baffles me. It is a classic example of indentured slavery or better yet Pimps Up, Hoes Down. While you’re out on the track (tour), getting Sweet Daddy his money, independent artists are earning three or more times your income without a Pimp, and they are doing it without selling millions of albums. Wanna know the secrets to succeeding in the music industry…hard work and talent? As a rapper you are the spokesman for hip-hop culture you are the Hannibal of the A-Team of Hip-Hop and you are charged with leading, b-boying, djing, and graffiti into the annuals of history. Your mission is clear; you must become successful enough in order to open doors for others, maintain your self-respect, knowledge of self, and honor to the code of hip-hop. Anything else is extra. Notice I didn’t mention money? It seems the more money some rappers make, the less they become interested in keeping the culture and alive by giving back. The hip-hop nation will cease to exist if we fail to lift each other up and stay true to the culture. The reason why we are in the dilemma we find ourselves in is that record companies and labels don’t get it. In fact, they never have.

In the late 80’s/early 90’s growing up in Amityville, NY, I watched Tommy Boy Records turn De La Soul into flower children, when in fact they were conscience, fun-loving suburban MC’s, but the record executives felt they needed a gimmick. Believe me, De La were not the only rappers that were forcedly marketed as something they were not and certainly not the last. What really upsets me is that most rappers today, couldn’t even name one De La Soul song. I’d bet a $1000.00 that Wacka Flocka couldn’t recite an entire verse from a Big Daddy Kane or name one KRS One song. Okay, I’m being a bit hard on him, but the fact of the matter is rappers today are not rooted in hip-hop culture and more importantly history. The rappers of yesteryear paid the dues, which enables today’s rappers to drive Bentley’s and Mercedes Benz’s. I personally knew and know rap pioneers who ended up homeless or died penniless as a result of the music business’s inherent greed and deception. If you’ve ever wondered why rappers today sound like garbage, it’s because they have modeled their careers and styles after other rappers who were garbage. What rappers need to understand that we are all interconnected within hip-hop culture without a rich history and time honored tradition of education and collaboration. Each one, teach one.

As always peace and blessings…and remember an uneducated man is a financially disadvantaged man…stay humble, stay hungry.

Sahpreem A. King, Music Business Guru
© 2011, Sahpreem A. King, www.gottagetsigned.com

The 10 Secrets to Having a Successful Rap Career

The 10 Secrets to Having a Successful Rap Career

October 1, 2011

By Sahpreem A. King, Multi-Platinum Music Producer, Author, Educator, and Music Business Guru

The minimum requirements for being a rapper are having a broad vocabulary, being a great salesman, and having a huge amount of self-confidence. Without these core components, an aspiring rapper has as much of a chance at success as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. Being a rapper also means having confidence and a larger than life persona. A rapper should be his or her own biggest fan. You cannot sell me on you, if you haven’t first sold yourself. If you are a person that is an introvert, camera-shy, self-conscience, or insecure, then this is not the vocation for you. There is no dishonor in moving on to another part of the music game if the spotlight is not for you. Since you insist on being a rapper, a master of ceremonies (MC) if you will, then here are a few suggestions.

1. Get your hands on a rhyming dictionary and learn it well. You cannot be a lyrical god if you don’t know how to make words rhyme.

2. Learn how to pace your flow to the beat. In other words your timing. There is more than one way to skin a cat when it comes to flowing to the beat. You can ride the beat, be in front of the beat, or even behind the beat. Depending on how you pace your words and phrases you can come up with some serious cadences, but it must purposefully be consistent or it will sound like crap.

3. Speaking of cadence, study the greats and find a rapping style that best suits you, learn it then master it. Remember, even Michael Jordon had a mentor.

4. Make sure that you properly project your voice when you rap. No one will be interested in a rapper who whispers and speaks like he is afraid to be heard. This concept worked only once for the Ying Yang Twins and you see where they are now?

5. As a rapper or an artist in any regard, you should have a huge presence both physically and more appropriately vocally. Your voice should always be large and in charge so that your lyrics are felt by all. Your vocal presence is a sure fire indication of your passion. It’s not enough that the audience can hear you, but they must also feel you.

6. A rapper must be a super-fan of rap music. Just as a medical student would study the history of medicine, you must learn, respect, and honor the history of your craft. There are tons of books that have been written on the history of rap or hip-hop culture in general. You can also learn the history of rap and hip-hop by listening to old school artists and hip-hop pioneers.

7. Breath control is important to the art of rapping because if you cannot breathe you cannot flow. Yes, you can get away with this in a studio environment, but the first time you have to perform live you will be dead in the water. Breathing while rapping is no different than breathing while singing you must breathe using your diaphragm muscles. If this is an issue for you, I suggest walking briskly on a treadmill while spitting your verses. This exercise will increase your breath control while decreasing your waistline. Think of a drill sergeant in the military calling cadence while his troops take a morning jog; same principles apply here.

8. Learning how to hold a microphone is crucial to rapping because it is a tool of your trade. Sure you can spit without one in a quiet room of two to four people, but what happens when you have to rock in front of two to four thousand people? You may be familiar with a studio microphone, but you never have to hold it in your hands and trust me it’s a totally different animal. I recommend that you go to your local music store and purchase yourself a Shure SM58 microphone. The SM58 is an industry staple for doing live shows and small venues. They are available in wired and wireless models, but the wired one will do just fine for your application. Practice rapping through it and holding it so that you become accustomed to how it sounds and feels. Also get in a habit of bringing it to smaller places where you’re performing. The last thing you want to do is have a bad show because the house microphones sucked. In addition, I must note that on a grander scale, concert halls, large auditoriums, and major venues use wireless handheld and headset microphones of a far superior caliber, but once you learn how to handle the SM58 style mic, you will have the basic understanding on how microphones work.

9. Rappers such as the late Ol Dirty Bastard, JayZ, and Lil Wayne all pride themselves in their ability to spit lyrics from the tops of their heads. This phenomenon is known as freestyling and is one of the essential elements of MCing. Not everyone can do it, and not everyone that can do it, does it well. Freestyling takes lots of time and practice, but it is an art that everyone rapper should master. Back in the days, rappers used to freestyle at parties and shows once they had exhausted their written lyric banks or wanted to give the crowd a little treat by offering them some impromptu flow. Any rap master will tell you that freestyling is an accessory to your written repertoire, but nothing can replace well thought out, polished lyrics. Freesytling is a great tool to use in a rap battle similar to using a boot gun in a gunfight. Rap pioneer and legend KRS One has mastered the crafts of freestyling and writing and its part of what make his a superior world class MC.

10.  Education is important to a rapper as going to law school is to an aspiring attorney. Rappers of yesterday weren’t versed in the principles, policies, and practices, of the music industry. For this very reason they were taken advantaged of, exploited, and ultimately disenfranchised. In those days the music industry was a tight knit operation more or less a good ole boys network, where rap was viewed as another way to pimp and profit from the talent of minority artists. Today, much of the same ideologies and practices still exist, but rappers today have lawyered up. Also, there are courses and degree programs being offered at colleges and universities specifically for music business education. I suggest that every rapper take at least one class if not pursue an entire degree program. As an artist, your days of fame and fortune are limited; therefore, you must think beyond rap. What are you going to do when your ship crashes into the rocky shore? Having a degree in business or music business is not a bad idea as a back up plan or insurance policy. If money and time is an issue or just your excuse, pick up a book, read an article, attend a seminar, or find a mentor. Do what needs to be done in order to obtain and maintain success-fulness.

As always peace and blessings…and remember an uneducated man is a financially disadvantaged man…stay humble, stay hungry.

Sahpreem A. King, Music Business Guru
© 2011, Sahpreem A. King, www.gottagetsigned.com