A rare Alicia Keys quote to set off this entry...
I'm always touched when people acknowledge my music. It makes all the hard work worth it. I'm particularly touched when people acknowledge my 2012-13 music.
Here's why.
I started doing this thing where I would interpret the beat, as literally as possible. Yes, I was writing in my head A LOT during that time. But I was more into the PRODUCTION side of things. That's where and what I thought the strength was.
So, I would go through what I went through (be it that day or in general), and make a beat DEEPLY interpreting the day. "Singinthetunewithus Es" from #IAlwaysDieInBrooklyn is the same sample as The Beatnuts "No Escapin' This". At the time of making the beat, I was in a Christian sleep away center called The Dream Center, where I would wait for either Matt or Jeff to do something for my career. Once I realized they just wanted me out of the way, I plotted an escape. Not without a soundtrack, however.
So yeah. The bars started picking up steam around 2013, when it was reported to me that people liked my off-kilter, Madlib-esque flow. I could've and would've kept it going, but I grew OUTwards instead of upwards. I started taking notes from the mainstream OGs, no matter how clandestine their actions were/are.
I'm glad you're here. Just know that being offbeat requires a music theory knowledge set that VERY FEW have.
Off my soapbox I go...
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