Have you noticed that more and more unsigned artist are staying in the indie world and not going to the major record labels? That’s because there is so much going on in that portion of the industry right now. Topaz Music Group works with an Indie artist not against the artist. We want to help you achieve your dream.
I came across this article that I found to be interesting. Take a look.
http://indieezine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=192&Itemid=43
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Special Interview With Big Dutch of the group BrookCentral
Raptalk caught up with former Westside Connection affiliate, Big Dutch, who also used to be a part of The Sweat Hoggz group with Gangsta of Tha Komrads with music overseen by Sir Jinx. Although the group disbanded, Big Dutch has embarked on his own career with producer Compton Bub as the duo Brook Central.
The Watts/Compton combo Brook Central released a street CD recently called “The Electric” and will be releasing an official album shortly. In this interview, we at Raptalk introduce you to this West Coast veteran who has been waiting and biding his time in the rap game.
We will be bringing you more from Brook Central right here at Raptalk, so please take the time to read this and get to know more about Big Dutch.
Styles: What’s going on Big Dutch?
BD: Just here ready to talk to the Larry King of the West Coast!
Styles: (laughs) Ok… Well, tell the audience about yourself if you can.
BD: I go by the name of Big Dutch. I am in the group Brook Central as in Willow brook & Central Ave. I’ve been doing this music for quite a while.
Styles: How long?
BD: For over 10 years. I am from Watts, CA. I got my feet first wet back in the day with the Westside Connection. Tha Komrads to be more precise. I started recording around 95/96.
Styles: How did you hook up with Tha Komrads?
BD: I hooked up with them through Ryder, that’s Gangsta’s brother. He found me in the hood somewhere. I was on crutches and shit back then. I couldn’t even walk. He heard that I could rhyme and he scooped me up and threw me in the studio. It was a blessing because I couldn’t walk for like 2 years.
Styles: What happened?
BD: I got shot up with an AK. I survived but they killed my cousin who was with me. The blessing of hooking up with Ryder at that time was that 2 weeks after I could walk, I was on stage performing with Ice Cube. My first real show was in a fucking Arena! Time progressed and things happened. Ryder went away for a minute. I linked up with his brother Gangsta of Tha Komrads. I wrote on a number of their songs especially from their first album. I did the Playa Haters track. The producer who I am in the Brook Central group with now, Compton Bub, produced their first single “Homeboys.”
Styles: Ok. That was him who did that whistling track? That shit was dope.
BD: Right. I was around a lot of shit. The Westside Connection, Allfromtha I, and the whole Hoo-Bangin’ situation.
Styles: When I first met you, you were a part of a group called The Sweat Hoggz.
BD: The Sweat Hoggz was a concept that Gangsta came up with in 95’. What we were really doing at first with that was producing. We were making beats. We lost contact for a few years, you know, life happens. He came to me one day after a long time and asked if I was still doing my thing. He then told me about the group idea using the same Sweat Hoggz name. It was me, him, Devo and Kenny Fats. Now I had already known Devo and Kenny Fats so it was no thing to just transition in to that. Politics ended up happening and things just didn’t happen like we all hoped it would. The good thing about that whole situation though was that I had the chance to work with the magnificent Sir Jinx. In the small time that I worked with him, he taught me a lot just by watching the man work. He is a genius of the craft.
Styles: I know that you mentioned politics. But if you can, tell us what really happened with the group?
BD: Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know if it was a funding problem or an attitude problem between certain members of the group including myself. I don’t know the 100 hundred behind it, but what I do know is that was a damn good album that we had made. I hated to see it go to waste.
Styles: I was looking forward to that album. So it’s just sitting around somewhere?
BD: It’s just sitting around and collecting dust.
Styles: Wow. Who holds the rights to that album?
BD: Gangsta paid for all of the recording.
Styles: Hopefully we will hear it one day.
BD: We had 19 extreme bangers…
Styles: So the group folded and after some time your name resurfaced again. It had been a year or two since I had been in contract with anybody from the group. So tell us what’s been going on this whole time?
BD: Well, the group hasn’t folded. The name “Sweat Hoggz” has dropped that’s all. We all still work together. They are still my people. In the meanwhile we have all been recording our solo projects. I’ve been a part of the Brook Central group even before the Sweat Hoggz. Brook Central is like my baby. Compton Bub does all of the tracks. I do all of the lyrics. We bring some nostalgia back to the game.
Styles: When is the album coming out?
BD: We are releasing an album that we had on the streets already called “The Electric.” That will be released within the next month. That will be our re-introduction. The 2nd album though is incredible! The production is so much superior than the first album. You will be able to hear the transition.
So as I am recording this whole time, I run in to a bald tall guy named Jazzy D. I’ve been knowing about Jazzy indirectly for a long time. We have a lot of family that is always together. People have been trying to get me to hook up with Jazzy for a while! My little partner Drac, may he rest in peace, he was Jazzy’s cousin and before he passed away he was always trying to get me to link up with Jazzy. At the time I was doing so much and messing with The Westside Connection that I didn’t give it the time. But when I finally sat down and met him, we started talking for like a whole year and then I signed with him. It took long because I do my research when I get involved with something. It’s been a sweet situation ever since.
Styles: The Sweat Hoggz had a very hard street sound. Is Brook Central going to be the same?
BD: It does have that traditional West Coast sound. Bub grew up on all of the old stuff like Funkadelic, Prince, those are the things that he vibes to. The music has that authentic West Coast feel but at the same time Bub throws a lot of dynamics in to his music. You don’t want to just be stuck in one style, so that’s why Bub does that. We hit you with a little down South, some Yay area, even a little East Coast. Just adding different flavors and spices.
Styles: With you being in the rap game for so long, how do you feel when people say that the rap business is a young man’s game?
BD: From the things that I’ve been hearing, it sounds to me that a lot of rappers need more experience behind their lyrics. There’s a lot of stuff out there that I just can’t relate to no more. Hip Hop used to inspire me. Nowadays I just can’t turn the channel quick enough. I respect a lot of older cats in the game due to most of them having a message and something to say, saying something with substance. In my opinion there’s two different sections in Hip Hop. It used to be a young man’s game, but you’ve got to remember that we grew up in this. So it’s just as much a young person’s game as it is mine. I grew up in this. This is the first music that I listened to. The first album that I bought was a rap record. I’ve been rooted in this all of my life. To say that this is just a young man’s game? The older heads definitely have our part in this.
Styles: But do you think that there is a market still for older artists?
BD: A lot of artists that you see in videos, they aren’t selling any records. It’s all a persona and a mirage. But real music always moves slower than the easy commercial stuff because it spreads to thinkers.
Styles: With that slow pace though, how do you make bread?
BD: The only way to really make money right now is through performances and shows. You can’t fake a performance. You can’t bootleg the experience of seeing Ice Cube rock the house live in person. You can watch it on video but there is nothing like being there. That’s what’s going to sustain hip hop.
Styles: Has the live performance department dried up? I don’t mean from a fans sense but from the club owners sense. It’s pretty hard to book shows at venues due to the bad image of rap.
BD: A lot of situations have happened to where they have closed the doors on Hip Hop artists. But my belief is that this is a big country. There’s a lot of towns with a lot of clubs out there. You’ve just got to be gung-ho and go at it. The key is persistence.
Styles: Anything you want to leave us with?
BD: You can check me out at myspace.com/misterbigdutch. You can check out that “Electric” mixtape, it’s all over the Internet and iTunes. I want to send a shout out to my partner Compton Bub and the whole Brook Central clan. Also to Jazzy McGwire a.k.a Jazzy D, Mr. Show-Me-The-Money. And to you Styles, the Larry King of the West. I love what you are doing for us.
**The interview can be found on RapTalk.net**
http://www.raptalk.net/news/features/SpecialInterviewWithBigDutchofthegroupBrookCentral.php
The Watts/Compton combo Brook Central released a street CD recently called “The Electric” and will be releasing an official album shortly. In this interview, we at Raptalk introduce you to this West Coast veteran who has been waiting and biding his time in the rap game.
We will be bringing you more from Brook Central right here at Raptalk, so please take the time to read this and get to know more about Big Dutch.
Styles: What’s going on Big Dutch?
BD: Just here ready to talk to the Larry King of the West Coast!
Styles: (laughs) Ok… Well, tell the audience about yourself if you can.
BD: I go by the name of Big Dutch. I am in the group Brook Central as in Willow brook & Central Ave. I’ve been doing this music for quite a while.
Styles: How long?
BD: For over 10 years. I am from Watts, CA. I got my feet first wet back in the day with the Westside Connection. Tha Komrads to be more precise. I started recording around 95/96.
Styles: How did you hook up with Tha Komrads?
BD: I hooked up with them through Ryder, that’s Gangsta’s brother. He found me in the hood somewhere. I was on crutches and shit back then. I couldn’t even walk. He heard that I could rhyme and he scooped me up and threw me in the studio. It was a blessing because I couldn’t walk for like 2 years.
Styles: What happened?
BD: I got shot up with an AK. I survived but they killed my cousin who was with me. The blessing of hooking up with Ryder at that time was that 2 weeks after I could walk, I was on stage performing with Ice Cube. My first real show was in a fucking Arena! Time progressed and things happened. Ryder went away for a minute. I linked up with his brother Gangsta of Tha Komrads. I wrote on a number of their songs especially from their first album. I did the Playa Haters track. The producer who I am in the Brook Central group with now, Compton Bub, produced their first single “Homeboys.”
Styles: Ok. That was him who did that whistling track? That shit was dope.
BD: Right. I was around a lot of shit. The Westside Connection, Allfromtha I, and the whole Hoo-Bangin’ situation.
Styles: When I first met you, you were a part of a group called The Sweat Hoggz.
BD: The Sweat Hoggz was a concept that Gangsta came up with in 95’. What we were really doing at first with that was producing. We were making beats. We lost contact for a few years, you know, life happens. He came to me one day after a long time and asked if I was still doing my thing. He then told me about the group idea using the same Sweat Hoggz name. It was me, him, Devo and Kenny Fats. Now I had already known Devo and Kenny Fats so it was no thing to just transition in to that. Politics ended up happening and things just didn’t happen like we all hoped it would. The good thing about that whole situation though was that I had the chance to work with the magnificent Sir Jinx. In the small time that I worked with him, he taught me a lot just by watching the man work. He is a genius of the craft.
Styles: I know that you mentioned politics. But if you can, tell us what really happened with the group?
BD: Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know if it was a funding problem or an attitude problem between certain members of the group including myself. I don’t know the 100 hundred behind it, but what I do know is that was a damn good album that we had made. I hated to see it go to waste.
Styles: I was looking forward to that album. So it’s just sitting around somewhere?
BD: It’s just sitting around and collecting dust.
Styles: Wow. Who holds the rights to that album?
BD: Gangsta paid for all of the recording.
Styles: Hopefully we will hear it one day.
BD: We had 19 extreme bangers…
Styles: So the group folded and after some time your name resurfaced again. It had been a year or two since I had been in contract with anybody from the group. So tell us what’s been going on this whole time?
BD: Well, the group hasn’t folded. The name “Sweat Hoggz” has dropped that’s all. We all still work together. They are still my people. In the meanwhile we have all been recording our solo projects. I’ve been a part of the Brook Central group even before the Sweat Hoggz. Brook Central is like my baby. Compton Bub does all of the tracks. I do all of the lyrics. We bring some nostalgia back to the game.
Styles: When is the album coming out?
BD: We are releasing an album that we had on the streets already called “The Electric.” That will be released within the next month. That will be our re-introduction. The 2nd album though is incredible! The production is so much superior than the first album. You will be able to hear the transition.
So as I am recording this whole time, I run in to a bald tall guy named Jazzy D. I’ve been knowing about Jazzy indirectly for a long time. We have a lot of family that is always together. People have been trying to get me to hook up with Jazzy for a while! My little partner Drac, may he rest in peace, he was Jazzy’s cousin and before he passed away he was always trying to get me to link up with Jazzy. At the time I was doing so much and messing with The Westside Connection that I didn’t give it the time. But when I finally sat down and met him, we started talking for like a whole year and then I signed with him. It took long because I do my research when I get involved with something. It’s been a sweet situation ever since.
Styles: The Sweat Hoggz had a very hard street sound. Is Brook Central going to be the same?
BD: It does have that traditional West Coast sound. Bub grew up on all of the old stuff like Funkadelic, Prince, those are the things that he vibes to. The music has that authentic West Coast feel but at the same time Bub throws a lot of dynamics in to his music. You don’t want to just be stuck in one style, so that’s why Bub does that. We hit you with a little down South, some Yay area, even a little East Coast. Just adding different flavors and spices.
Styles: With you being in the rap game for so long, how do you feel when people say that the rap business is a young man’s game?
BD: From the things that I’ve been hearing, it sounds to me that a lot of rappers need more experience behind their lyrics. There’s a lot of stuff out there that I just can’t relate to no more. Hip Hop used to inspire me. Nowadays I just can’t turn the channel quick enough. I respect a lot of older cats in the game due to most of them having a message and something to say, saying something with substance. In my opinion there’s two different sections in Hip Hop. It used to be a young man’s game, but you’ve got to remember that we grew up in this. So it’s just as much a young person’s game as it is mine. I grew up in this. This is the first music that I listened to. The first album that I bought was a rap record. I’ve been rooted in this all of my life. To say that this is just a young man’s game? The older heads definitely have our part in this.
Styles: But do you think that there is a market still for older artists?
BD: A lot of artists that you see in videos, they aren’t selling any records. It’s all a persona and a mirage. But real music always moves slower than the easy commercial stuff because it spreads to thinkers.
Styles: With that slow pace though, how do you make bread?
BD: The only way to really make money right now is through performances and shows. You can’t fake a performance. You can’t bootleg the experience of seeing Ice Cube rock the house live in person. You can watch it on video but there is nothing like being there. That’s what’s going to sustain hip hop.
Styles: Has the live performance department dried up? I don’t mean from a fans sense but from the club owners sense. It’s pretty hard to book shows at venues due to the bad image of rap.
BD: A lot of situations have happened to where they have closed the doors on Hip Hop artists. But my belief is that this is a big country. There’s a lot of towns with a lot of clubs out there. You’ve just got to be gung-ho and go at it. The key is persistence.
Styles: Anything you want to leave us with?
BD: You can check me out at myspace.com/misterbigdutch. You can check out that “Electric” mixtape, it’s all over the Internet and iTunes. I want to send a shout out to my partner Compton Bub and the whole Brook Central clan. Also to Jazzy McGwire a.k.a Jazzy D, Mr. Show-Me-The-Money. And to you Styles, the Larry King of the West. I love what you are doing for us.
**The interview can be found on RapTalk.net**
http://www.raptalk.net/news/features/SpecialInterviewWithBigDutchofthegroupBrookCentral.php
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Featured Artist:
BIG DUTCH
Born in Watts, Big Dutch has always had the music of urban America playing around him. Taking the scenes of the street and mixing them with real life experience, you get his brainchild – GLOBAL DOLLAR. Referred to as a Watts Poet, there is a song for everyone on this album.
Global Dollar, is a reflection of the minds of many in urban America, expressed as only he can. You’ll recognize his unique alliteration from hits such as WILD and ELECTRIC, from the group BrookCentral.
Global Dollar, is a reflection of the minds of many in urban America, expressed as only he can. You’ll recognize his unique alliteration from hits such as WILD and ELECTRIC, from the group BrookCentral.
Choosing to release a solo album, Big Dutch, shows a different side, by speaking on current content for those that are Hip-Hop at its best.
Drawn to the mic and a good beat at an early age, Big Dutch, is quite the entertainer. Having his music featured on the soundtrack of Garden State, was no small matter, however, center stage seem to fit him quite well. A man of great stature, he commands the stage in such a way, that you go along on the journey that is GLOBAL DOLLAR- live or on cd.
Drawn to the mic and a good beat at an early age, Big Dutch, is quite the entertainer. Having his music featured on the soundtrack of Garden State, was no small matter, however, center stage seem to fit him quite well. A man of great stature, he commands the stage in such a way, that you go along on the journey that is GLOBAL DOLLAR- live or on cd.
Photo: GRANT KLEIN PHOTOGRAPHY
BrookCentral
With a sound all their own, BrookCentral has risen out of two of the most legendary and infamous cities of Compton & Watts, CA., but they are no strangers to the music game. They've appeared on projects ranging from the West Side Connection, The Comrads, AllFrumThaI, the L.B.C. (C-style), The Sweat Hoggs, as well as countless projects in the Bay Area and the Midwest. Movie fans-yes, you have heard the lyrics of Big Dutch in the movie GARDEN STATE and witnessed his theatrical debut in the movie THE NEXT BEST THING with Madonna.
The bangin' tracks delivered by Bub of Compton, as well as the unmistakable sound of real life content and incredible flow from Big Dutch of Watts, makes this album rotation ready. There is a definite urban wisdom in the lyrics that Big Dutch delivers boldly and matter-of-factly in each and every line. Bub, has taken his musical gymnastic abilities and followed suit.
The music will keep you listening and wanting more. Each song offers a flow that gets into your soul and takes you along this ELECTRIC ride. You want to be laid back and enjoy the Cali sun-got it. Want to party-play the next track! This album leaves you wanting for nothing, but another round of BrookCentral.
There is a buzz in the air that another album is soon to drop; it can be nothing more than genius, when you are speaking of these two.
Dr. Dre listen to this guy (RAISE UP!)
Enough skills to pay bills. I would record this project. A producers dream. Practically finished sellable if not selling already. Keep riding to this beat cause its happening. The overall production here cant be touched.- ziplokdotcom Hudson, New Hampshire
we still alive (ARRIVE)
i can see this song moving up the charts on the radio for sure. the hook in the beginning just elevates the song and holds it high. other people can relate to this track.- G2M Royal Oak, Michigan
U gots mad flow (ELECTRIC)
WHAT I LIKE: The hook is just nice as hell on this track. The flow is very refreshing & solid. Metaphors are unreal (These Guys put the G in gutter) The beat is ice cold. The intro is nice. adlibs are perfect. WHAT THIS TRACK NEEDS: Nothing but more listeners to hear it. OVERALL: This is a 5 star song great job. Thanks GOD bless & have a blessed day!- DimePieceEnt Cumberland, Indiana
Hustler's Anthem boiii !! (ALL I'LL BE)
Professional hip hop production with legitimate hit appeal. Vocals ,lyrics and beat is (A) grade. Good writing skills and delivery. The Vocals is very polished and hi grade, sounds like it was recorded in a million dollar studio, well done. The verses are excellently written and delivered. Couldnt be better. The hook is right on point with the concept. From one Dutch to another: You ready fo em dawg, keep banging- BiggiePac from Gin City, Virginia
You dont have to take their word for it, check it out for yourself. Then check it out again and add it to your CD collection.
This is a must have - a complement to any stereo system.
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