My New Favourite Song – Jay Sean – Do You Remember

As of late I cant seem to stop listenning to this new song by Jay Sean called Do You Remember. It features Lil Jon, as well as Sean Paul. Its very catchy and just an overall good song. Check it out!

Defeat Is Not An Option Freestyle

I started university one week back, and so far the workload has not been very large. Therefore, I was able to find time to record a quick freestyle and once I heard the instrumental to this song by Jae Millz, I was 100% sure I would record something this weekend. So here it is, my freestyle on the “Defeat is not an option” instrumental.

Check Out The Causin Kontroverzy Movement

Kontroverzy, one of the most popular rappers in Steel City, is making a lot of noise in the city with his Causin Kontroverzy movement. He was not known to be a rapper who released songs every other day, it could even be months before you would hear his next hit. But all of that is no longer true, Causin Kontroverzy, is his means of releasing one song every day for 20 days. Yes one song every day, and judging from the first few songs, this will be a legen – wait for it – dary series. So be sure to check out Kontroverzy’s youtube page to keep up with the movement and dont forget to subscribe.

Its Been A While

So its been almost four months since I have made a post and I finally have some things to talk about. First of all, I finally purchased a decent microphone! I purchased the Audio Technica AT2020 USB microphone and I must say I am more than satisfied with its performance. I barely knew how to edit and just by watching a simple tutorial on youtube for Cool Edit Pro,  I began making decent quality songs. The first song I recorded using my new mic was a freestyle to the 50 Cent – Ok You’re Right Instrumental. In the next two days I recorded two more freestyles which I will be posting soon.

Other than freestyles, I also recorded an entry for a contest held by Kidd Skilly. It was a remix contest where I had to spit the third verse on the track. Hit the jump to check out my entry for the Kidd Skilly Rep Ya Skillz Contest (btw my verse starts at around 2:45).

My First Live Performance

So it finally happened! My first show! Yes, although it seemed unlikely that the show would take place this year due to the intial cancelling because of a snow storm, it actually did go through. I was the third act and I was accompanied by one of my good friends named Noori, who was the hype man. I performed my first song, which comprised my own lyrics and on top of a Crooked I beat, as well as two verses on the Jay-Z, P.S.A. instrumental. I had already recorded the first song, titled “We Get Our Swagger On”, but I did not have the chance to record the second one. I will however be recording that one soon as well. The following is my performance and you can also watch the rehearsal after the jump. (Oh and I am the one wearing the gray jacket).

Download: Keen Lyricist – We Get Our Swagger On

Whats Good With Me

Whats good with me? Busy, Busy, Busy. Getting my marks up by midterm for university admissions, playing basketball here and there, and ofcourse writting verses whenever the chance pops up. Lately, my lyrics have been getting much better, as I incorporate more rhyme schemes and word play. I hope to record a free verse on the Fabolous classic “Breathe”, or perhaps Cassidy’s “Am to Pm” instrumental. If ya’ll have any idea which one I should use, or both, let me know by commenting. Anyways, back to this Calculus homework…

My Music Career Is At A Hault

Frustrated. That is all I can say about the condition I am in. Back in December I decided to really start working on hip hop music. I had been listening to hip hop since the late 90s and starting writting my own songs approximately one year and a half back. I was in love with the music and improving every time I sat down to write. In december I decided I would take part in my high school’s talent show and perform an original rap song. I was not able to make a completely original song due to the fact that I did not have an original beat, but I did have original lyrics, and an original sound. My show was unfortunately cancelled due to a snow storm (say hello to Canadian winters) and it was moved to sometime in March.

Then came my semester one exams and I was not at all focused, often finding myself writting songs when I was supposed to be studying. I did horrible on my exams and I dropped from a 93% average in November to an 85.5% average at the end of the semester. I am still very disappointed in myself for not being able to manage my time wisely. BUT NOW I can confidently say that I am completely focused on acheiving a 95% average this second semester. Call me a nerd if you want, but I am a man on a mission and I will do whatever it takes to get the job done. I have to get into the health sciences program at my local university and I am even willing to stop rapping at a time of great improvement. A friend of mine says I will lose the skills I am gaining, but I don’t agree because playing basketball after a 6 month drought, still brought back a lot of my skills. So I am sure I will still be able to write fine and continue improving once I pick up on the music again.

As for when I will resume recording music, it will happen after semester two and in the summer. I may record in July, but definitely in August. I have found a great studio and set up a meeting for some time in the summer. I am definitely looking forward to recording in a professional studio. As for now, I will be hard at work on acheiving my academic goals.

Recording Music and Studying For Exams

These Christmas holidays were most likely the busiest holidays of my life. I had a culminating assignment to finish for my computers class and a whole lot of reviewing to do for exams as they are coming one week after school resumes. So holidays are not really a time to relax and forget about school work altogether for me. While all this homework and studying had to be done, I had also set a personal goal to record at least 2 songs over the break. Now, I finished writting four songs but only got around to recording one. I decided to make the song a nice, smooth, mellow song but with creative and sharp lyrics. I took the Jay-Z Public Service Announcement (P.S.A.) beat and rolled with it. Now, this was also the first time I attempted to record a song without any help from anyone. I did it at home with my ”inexpensive” microphone and ofcourse my favourite recording and mixing software in the world, cool edit pro. It turned out to be a lot better than I had imagined. I did two sixteens and they went great. The only thing I am missing right now is adlibs. I want to add them at the start, middle and the end of the song to give it an overall smooth feel. Its more of a freestyle on a nice beat sort of song so I want it to sound like I am talking to the listenner. The song has a pause in the middle where there is just the basic melody and no drums or base involved, so I thought that would be a nice time to get some adlibs in and talk to the fans a bit. If you are wondering where the song is, I will let you know that it is not released yet and that once I add the adlibs I will post it on this blog first. So those people who have subscribed or are regular visitors will get to hear it first. You will also be able to check it out at my myspace or any other profile I have online. You can just google Keen Lyricist to check out my music and who I am. Stay tuned for my new song which I will most likely be releasing in the next couple of days and remember to subscribe and stay up to date with all of my music.

Crooked I – Brooklyn We Go Hard Remix

Okay, I just want to let people know that whenever Crooked I drops something big, I will be posting it because he is simply my favourite MC and has had the greatest influence on me. Recently he dropped a verse on the Brooklyn We Go Hard instrumental and at the end of the song he made some announcements. First off all I want to get the most surprising announcement out of the way. His album B.O.S.S. will be available for FREE DOWNLOAD! What the hell is he thinking? This album is going to be one of the best in my eyes out of this whole decade. His song with Akon titled Dream Big is amazing and I know he has got much better implemented in that album. But the positive aspect of this free download is that everyone will definitely know him now and he will have a much larger fan base. When he drops his next album, I am sure he will sell in mass amounts. He also stated that his record label C.O.B. will be open for business and putting out his artists albums in 2009. This is good to hear because the horse shoe gang remix for “Feel On It” by Bishop Lamont was crazy! I am definitely looking forward to hearing good things from C.O.B. and Crooked I. The following is a download link for some of their songs.

Download: Crooked I – Brooklyn We Go Hard Freestyle

Download: Crooked I feat. Akon – Dream Big

Download: Horse Show Gang – Feel On It Remix

Learning How To Use Myspace

I am finally feeling like I have some control over things on Myspace. It was overwhelming at first to see all of the different features, and also frustrating when I could seem to figure out how to customize my artist profile. Luckily, I stumbles upon this website called Profile Pitstop. It showed my how to do everything, although I am still learning however. The most useful tool I have found so far is the layout generator, which allowed me to finally customize my profile however I wanted. All I had to do was go through the tabs and select how I wanted my profile to look, there is also a preview image on the side which changes according to what you choose. The website also walks you through some simple tips for taking the profile picture. It then goes on to talk about the different features about myspace such as communicating through comments, bulletins, messages, and forums. I found this information to be very valuable because it opens your eyes to the real potential of myspace. When you communicate with others, other people see your name as well and they may pay a visit to your profile. This could result in an another friend. Friends probably the most important thing on myspace, it is how you get heard.  The website also teaches you how to find people that you may know on myspace and add them to your friends list. I hope this reference will help other artists out there and feel free to check out the Profile Pitstop website.

I Finally Got Some Photographs

Yes, I have some photographs to work with. Me and my friend just went outside and took some fast photos. I would not recommend doing that to other artists unless you have a really good camera. I got decent photographs that will get the job done for my Myspace page and other profiles. I do however plan on getting a proper camera to take future pictures.

Building An Online Presence

Today I have been working hard on setting up my artist profiles on various websites. I had already setup my Myspace page, and my Imeem Profile, and today I also added last.fm and sound click to the network. I have beeen told by a wise man that spreading your name all over the web is much more beneficial than stuffing everything into Myspace or one site. For example, this wordpress blog keeps my fans updated with what I am doing and how everything is going. My Myspace, Imeem, Last.Fm, and Sound Click profiles are strictly to display my music and receive feed back from the listeners. Those websites also link to this blog, which links to all of my other profiles. So as you can see everything is connected.

Some tips for artists making multiple websites is to keep track of all of them and there usernames and passwords. It can get very confusing to remember a bunch of login details when you have over 10 profiles. Another tip I have for people is to keep your profiles simple and to the point. For example, on my Myspace profile, I wrote a short biography to let people know who I am and what my aspirations are. I let people have a little idea of who I sound like in the “sounds like” section because if they see an artist they like, they will be more tentative to listen to my music. I would suggest giving details for upcoming gigs as well because if there are local visitors to you myspace page, you will get a better turn out at the show. One of the most important things I did was to make sure all my profiles themes were easy on the eyes. It is easy to get carried away and add flashing icons and what not to your page but remember, you want the user to relax and feel comfortable on your webpage not, alarmed and stressed out by the flashing colours on the screen. One thing you may notice on my profiles is that I do not have any pictures up or videos up yet. This is because I do not have any. Haha, I am just starting out on this journey to having a large web presence and I still need to contact a friend for a good digital camera to take pictures with. I am planning on taking pictures at upcoming shows and some around the city. My favourite spots in the city. As far as the video goes, I am planning on recording one this break hopefully before school begins again around January 4th. Well this is all I have to say right now, feel free to check out my different profiles which are linked on the side. Have a productive day and keep doing what you love doing best!

Motivation From Joell Ortiz

I just finished revisiting the Joell Ortiz “Hip Hop” track. Man, that track always puts me back on track. Like it ain’t gotta be about Benz’s and 25k chains. Hip Hop is about displaying lyrical ability and putting emotion or story telling into a song. Its about what you or someone else is going through. Its music made for all types of people. Anyone can relate to a song about struggles and tests in life, but not many people can relate to your lamborghini parked in the driveway. Haha, shit makes me laugh sometimes how every rapper needs to have a nice car and a chain before they are situated in a good home or what not. For real, I am definitely going to bring true Hip Hop whenever I make a song. Whether it be about struggles, motivation, street life, etc. For an update on the arab money remix I mentioned earlier in this blog, I have scratched that idea just because that wasn’t me. I took the lyrics apart and kept the ones that apply to me. Instead of doing that song, I will be making something much more motivational and inspirational. This is only my second song, well more so “drop” or “free verse” and I feel I have stepped my game up from the first. Also, if you are wondering where you can hear my first song, you can check it out on my myspace page, or on my imeem profile. Finally, I would like to mention that I also attatched the Joell Ortiz “Hip Hop” music video to this post. If you are looking for motivation to write/make better Hip-Hop songs, then this will be of great help for you. I would also consider checking out his track titled “Brooklyn Bullshit”. It also has good story telling, and as always, he delivers with a mean flow that anyone can dig. Peace out everyone and practice what you love doing best.

Frustrated With Myspace

GRRR!!! I am really frustrated right now due to the inconvenience of myspace. I started my profile a few days back and I still have not been able to figure out how to customize me profile and give it a unique look. I have looked at templates on the web but I am not sure I like any of them. I have had some experience with CSS in the past and I can configure it but is there no simple way to edit how your profile looks? Like a pop up window perhaps to change the background, outlines, and what not. I have an artist profile and perhaps the normal profiles do have an editor built in. I am not sure. When I go to click on the customize profile link under the profile section, it opens up the same window as the edit profile link. It asks for the artist information, upcoming shows, etc. If anyone out there knows how to customize your artist profile on Myspace, then please let me know by either commenting on this post or sending me an email at the address keenlyricist1@gmail.com.

Working On An Arab Money Remix

Okay, so I have finally come to accept that Arab Money by Busta Rhymes featuring Ron Browz is one the hottest tracks out there right now. The dance, the beat and the chorus are pretty catchy. So…I have decided I will jump on to this track as the second remix of my career. I have the lyrics down already, and I will most likely record the song sometime in the next 2 days or so. Comeback soon, or subscribe to see how it turns out.