Boy-Cott Magazine #09

BOYCOTT
a zine about the peopl e
Volume One / Issue 9
Contact Blackmamba at:
[email protected]
January
2006
BOYCOTTexplained . . .
A lot of people ask...
What is the meaning
behind Boy-Cott?
Boy-Cott is about supporting
the underdog.
It’s about the DJ, MC, artist,
writer and the photographer.
It’s about the bmxer, skateboarder and the film
critic.
It’s about giving exposure to
up and coming talented
individuals.
Puttin’ their skillz out there
for all our readers to
enjoy.
And maybe, just maybe...,
Boy-Cott will play a role
in helping them reach
someone who has yet
to hear about what they
have to say, spray, write,
rap, sing, draw, paint or
dance to.
We can all make a difference, and we’ve started
here.
Contact Blackmamba at: [email protected]
nutritional facts
4
INTERVIEWS
6
INSIGHT
8
SHOW REVIEWS
11
ART FAGS
13
TRAILS
14
POETRY
Don’t ask me a question, give me an answer
Learn about people and their hustle
It’s all about the music
Don’t sniff the paint
Blow up your car, ride a bike & grab a shovel
Roses are red and violets are worthless
INT E R V I E W B Y : J A S O N V AUGHN
emceemicskillz
What is your full name?
Michael McNair / Aka Mic Skillz
How long have you been
an emcee?
I’ve been an emcee since 1995, while I
was livin’ in Atlanta for a few years.
Who turned you on to Hip-Hop
music?
My older brothers Zac & Earl (Mad
One) & my older sister Wanna.
Who are some of your influences
in this Hip-Hop game?
LL Cool J, Slick Rick, Notorious B.I.G.,
Nas, Run DMC, Mos Def & Talib Kweli
to name a few. I have so many, but I
listen to these artists the most.
Let the good readers of Boy-Cott
now about your boy DJ NoRecs.
First of all, DJ No Recs is probably the
most down to earth cat in the Hip-Hop
“scene”. He is by far the best beat-boxer I have ever met or worked with. I’m
glad to call him a good friend of mine.
We have a great chemistry together. In
fact, we’re workin’ on a few tracks for
my EP coming in early 2006.
If you could change some things in
“the game” what would they be?
I would change a lot of the favoritism
and bias’. There are so many talented
artists in Houston that feel they don’t
get the spotlight they deserve. It’s
too many of the same people tryin’
to showcase the same artists’ over &
over. Hip-Hop is about progression,
advancement and the past, present &
4
future. I love old Tribe and KRS One,
but would love to hear some new
underground stuff at local shows. I
think too many people are living in a
box. There are few progressive artists
gettin’ ready to really shine! I like the
POC cats (Snap, D-Ology, etc...), Savvi
& Zin, Synxmoh, Dj No Recs, Sound
Donor and Gauge.
Do you have a website or a way
people can hear your skillz?
I’m working on a website right now.
Temporarily, you can find me at:
http://www.geocities.com/micskillztheillest.
Do you have any other hobbies
outside of Hip-Hop?
Listening to music in general. Meetin’
people, Hip-Hop shows, basketball,
anime/transformers and just chillin’, ya
know.
If you could be anyone for a day,
who would it be?
If I could be anyone for a day, I would
be an ill B-Boy/Graff kid, Russell Simmons or Optimus Prime.
Who would you like to thank?
I’d like to thank everyone that supported me from day one. My mom and
siblings (Zac, Wanna, Mad One, Synxmoh) & Dj No Recs who encourages
me to keep performing and making
music that I like. I’d also like to include
Dj Notion (Austin), the AzTex’s (San
Antonio), A.K., Ariel, Nate, Mani, Dave
& Mariya, plus so many more.
Introduced to Hip-Hop music by his
brothers & sisters, Micskillz is a solid
emcee that doesn’t pull any punches. Hearing him in a freestyle battle
will make you question re-learning the
English language. With eternal flow’s
that are clean & precise. Never skipping a beat, Micskillz stays on fire. As a
matter of fact he’s got a track out called
“Man on Fire” with DJ Norecords that will
be coming to a speaker box near you.
5
INT E R V I E W B Y : J A S O N V AUGHN
djnorecords
What is your full name?
Paolo Antonio De La Cruz /
Aka DJ NoRecords
How long have you been
Beat-Boxin’?
Eight years or so now.
What is your take on Asian’s
coming up in the Hip-Hop world?
I think it’s great. I’ve never really been
one who puts an emphasis on race.
Being dope at what you do is just that.
I heard that you’re recording
w/ MicSkillz. Tell us about that.
I’m featured in one song on his upcoming album. It’s called “Man on Fire”
& it’s a real hot track. He spits the
verses & I do the vocal scratches in
the chorus & at the end.
How many hours a day
do you practice?
It’s more like little segments of practice
scattered throughout the day. They
don’t really add up to a whole lot of
time. I usually just kick some beats
while showering, or washing my face
in the sink. I do a lot of practicing in
the bathroom. I’m not ashamed that I
get all 8-mile’ish in front of the mirror
rockin’ beats to see how I look. Call
me conceited or self-conscious, but
whatever. I know that when I’m on
stage what I see in the mirror is what
the audience sees. You should see the
look on people’s faces when I tell them
where I practice. They get disgusted.
Negro, please. I know everybody sings
in the shower. Everybody who’s fun
anyway. I used to practice a lot more
when I was just starting out. It’s lessened as I’ve gotten better & especially
with school there’s not as much time
to practice.
6
Do you have any advice for anyone
that is trying to get into beatboxin?
PRACTICE. Do your best to be original.
Listening to others routines is great
training, but your friends don’t want
to hear your “Wind” or your “If Your
Mother Only Knew” cover. Especially
in front of an audience. If you want to
rock crowds do try to have an original
routine. A single cover of someone
else’s technique/style, is cool, but don’t
bite too much. Listen to music. Listen
to A LOT of music. Not just Hip-Hop.
Rock, Pop, Country (I guess), Alternative, Polka, Zydeco, whatever. You’ll
be surprised what you can incorporate
into a beat-box routine.
Who are some of your influences?
Most of the greats. Rahzel, Kenny
Muhammad, Buffy (from the Fat Boys)
& Doug E. Fresh. However, my greatest inspiration & influence has to be
Scratch formerly of the Roots, because
my style & philosophy towards beatboxin’ emulates his in several ways.
My scratches don’t SOUND like his
obviously. But he tends to focus on the
turntable technique & music making,
as opposed to sound effects (i.e. Rahzel) just like I do.
If you could change anything in
hip-hop, what would it be?
More good music & less wack music.
Less mainstream & underground.
More Hip-Hop. I think it’s good more
and more people realize any type of
music can be turned into hip hop.
Who would you like to thank?
God and his son Jesus Christ, my
family & my wonderful girlfriend
Valerie.
Some kidz are born to beatbox and this young prodigy is. If you haven’t heard
of DJ Norecords then you
soon will. He’s been beatboxin’ for 8 years strong
and his skillz sound like
he’s been doing it for 16.
The cool thin about this
kid is that he’s truly himself. No gimmicks, no ice,
gold, mean mug, played ou
walk or fancy clothes. Just
straight up real, raw talent.
7
spinnin kitties
Featured in the April issue of 002
magazine, these three fine
feline DJ’s are fresher than
Vanilla Ice before he went HipHop!
Dore, Mai & Michelle are their
names & groovin’ and movin’
is their game. Each plays a
different music selection & the
dance floor is never empty.
Dore plays electro, dance, 80’s
& a bit of booty music here &
there.
Mai plays strictly rock and roll,
glam & punk.
Michelle plays whatever she is in
the mood to hear as long as it
gets people dancin’. There are
no barriers with this lady.
8
“
Fresher than
Vanilla Ice
before he went
Hip-Hop
”
They’ve been together since
Feb. 04’ & have been
jammin’ ever since.
They’ve opened up for Scissor
Sisters, VHS or Beta, Metro
Area and Tommie Sunshine.
If you would like to see the
Spinnin’ Kitties you can
catch them every Tuesday
@ Hue (formerly Union)
located @ 202 Tuam (713)529-5296.
qenetic storm
Qenetic Storm is one of the
reasons people move their
head to Hip-Hop music.
He’s a producer that’s been
making beats since 2002.
He studies Hip-Hop
religiously and is very
knowledgeable about the
industry.
Hailing from
Kakemega,
Kenya to
the dirty
streets
of HTown, this
featured
artist, is
influenced
by Just
Blaze, The
Neptunes,
Timberland, The
Alchemist,
Havoc, &
Rza.
Qenetic has
done work
for the
following Houston emcees:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Stress
Savvi
Tony Bananas
PhD of Lower Life Form
Panama Black
Slogun
He’s played at Helios, The
Proletariat & The Bench,
which is every first Saturday
of the month at Warehouse
Live @ 813 Emanuel Street.
If you’ve ever had the
opportunity to speak to
Qenetic, you know that he’s
a quiet
guy, but
don’t let
that fool
you. His
beats
speak for
him...
If you’re
interested
in hearing
some of
his work,
go to:
www
Qenetic
Storm.com
or www.
myspace.
com/Qen
eticStorm.
If it’s
a live per-formance your
seeking, check out www.
houston hiphop.com/events.
html.
9
&
talib jean
kweli grae
This show was originally set to be held at
club Hush, but due to Mos Def suffering from
exhaustion, they moved it to the Engine Room
with Talib Kweli & Jean Grae for 10 bucks.
Those of us that frequently attend this venue
know how they tend to be, and as usual...
they raised the price (last minute) to 15 bucks.
Corporate Bastards!
The show was mad hype. It started out with
Persef from the Ex Group Red-Dot Didactics.
She truly is an amazing emcee. Original beats
& rhymes.
Next up was some horrible local down souf’
grilled up click but anyways,... movin on.
Jean Grae blew me away with here charisma
and style. She started out like her man just left
from 16 years of marriage and ended like she
re-married Denzel Washington. She had the
crowd two-steppin’ and I couldn’t resist.
Last, but not least... Talib Kweli came through
and cracked the ceilings!!! Talib literally had the
crowd screaming every lyric at the top of their
lungs and jumping around as if in a mosh pit.
Then Bun B came through and err-body got
hype. You know,... we are southern. Even at
a “underground” Hip-Hop show. We couldn’t
deny him. His performance was tight and
unexpected. A good soul-full time was had by
all.
10
All about
the arts..
11
12
TRAILS
The ride through the woods, unloading your
backpack, putting on headphones, spraying on
off, grabbing the shovel, moving dirt, packing
lips, thinking about life, singing with your
ipod, constantly sweating, sipping on water,
chopping down trees, thinking of something
new to create, running out of daylight, killing
spiders, day-dreaming
of
the
end result,
enjoying the fruit of your labor, TRAILS..........
13
g r ate f ul
gr a t ef u l
grateful
Running from the
storm, we pile into
cars and drive down
forty miles, twelve
hours, along concrete.
Passing and receiving
the sympathetic looks
of our neighbors,
as we fan ourselves
in the September
morning heat.
By noon our hope
began to melt, like
wet tongues of
panting dogs, of
panting babies and
smoking engines
stacked like dominoes
alongside the
highway. Move two
feet. Stop. Move three
feet. Stop. All the
while the radio blaring
more despair, no
offerings of relief, no
policeman, no official
looking people coming
to bring gas, or water
or back roads, or even
a cool breeze.
We sit and scorch,
cry a little, yell at
each other with guilty
eyes at a loss for
choice. Seventy more
14
miles, never seemed
so hopeless. And
home never sounded
so good, seemed so
reachable, just a quick
u-turn and a some
guts.
We fly,
literally fly
down the
freeway,
scarred
with
excitement
suddenly
awake and
cool with
relief. Even
if we fly
to our end
it has to
be better
than
the slow
painful
death of
melting on
this road.
We get
out our cars, and kiss
the ground, stretch
our legs, the dogs
dance in delight.
Whatever will come,
we can take it here.
We tape and nail and
move and hide and
prepare and sit and
wait. We dance in the
street screaming at
the wind in laughter,
telling stories and
playing cards. By early
morning we fall asleep
waiting for the wind,
the surge and a storm
that never comes.
love d
Dark roses, maybe calla lilies that lean bend over
some sort of loveliness displayed in a red sky.
And if you look away for a
second you’ll miss its hiss
in the sticky August night air.
Like love, every night
something
different,
a
mural
painted
orange
and purple hung ever so
slightly to the west, calls
up an instinctual reverence
weighted down deep inside
the human heart. Thought
might overlook it, but
the spirit feels its maker
in that sky, stands in
recognition of a truth it
couldn’t possibly articulate
into words, or the mind or
blinking eyes. Steps to it,
eager to catch its warmth, stride swiftly to the
birth, life and face of love colored in a southern sky.
l o v ed
loved
15
contribut o r s
Publisher:
Black Mamba
Art Director:
Sophia M. Solis
Art Contributor:
Skeez
Wanna be drafted to the Boy-Cott team?
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and artists that are interested in making a quality
magazine.
Call (281) 610-1070 and ask for Black Mamba.
Wanna contribute?
E-mail us at: [email protected]
Or send us mail the old fashioned way:
Boy-Cott Magazine
23331 Dunhill Ct
Katy, TX 77494
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Stay tuned for Issue # 10:
Featuring: Beats of Basquait & much more……
BOYCOTT