#mrkspectrum

“Here We Go” is track eight on Spectrum. The production is a few layers of drums, a chord progression loop, me playing keys, and me playing bass guitar. This is 100% the audio form of how it feels when I’m on the highway around the city. All my musician friends can relate to post-gig trips home late at night, less traffic and whatnot. Cruising on the way home. This was originally recorded on a different beat but I re-did it for comparison. Maybe I’ll put the old one up. I have a few didn’t make-it’s or not right at the time tracks around, the sketches and alternate versions. I love this one though, it’s the perfect song to lead to the last song on the album. #jaaamaccordingly #mrkspectrum #ATFU #allthefunkunleashed #ableton #lofihiphop #bassplayer #sampler #loop #breaksruletheworld

“Fluid” is track number seven on Spectrum, released in 10/22/14. Shout out to @petetheplanner for reminding me about a song I made named “Coordinates” from Sounds Of Soul (2011), which then helped me think about what I was hoping to communicate in this verse. “I’m chasing like I’m repo, Kinetik Mr. Relo. We all can be some heroes, each other we gon see grow. So cold the way we live at times, we missing the point of showing love. End up waging war for things that fade away and when we really need to stand, we tired...from the nonsense and deprivation, got us moving without reason to our own demise.” This was a fun song to record. I remember it vividly. This is a flip of a song that was only 6 or 7 years old at the time, which was not my typical approach to sampling. No hook because I never wrote one and didn’t come back to it. I love the bounce of the production, head nod funk. #jaaamaccordingly #mrkspectrum #ableton #sample #producer #funk #lofihiphop

“Welcome” is track number six. The second verse was really hard to write and record. My younger god-brother was 20 when he died by suicide, the same year this album came out. It’s hard to pinpoint what was going on with him at the time. I hadn’t talked to him in a grip, but I remember when he was in diapers and watching The Lion King on VHS. One of the worst phone calls ever from his mother. She worked with my Pops in the Air Force back in Lubbock, Texas and later Dayton, Ohio. Their family was part of why we picked Dayton for my Pops’ last move. Love all of them. His sister graduates from college this year, I remember when she was born. I’m old out here. I needed to write about his death though, even if it’s a small part of the lyrics. It was the most helpful thing I could do to manage my emotions, along with talking to his mom and sister a few times. The beat for this has some weird distorted tones especially the bass. I wanted it to sound heavy, like a really dark dark dark purple. Ableton for the production. This is the first album I made with mostly Ableton as a tool. I’m glad I put this out because it was originally scrapped from the final list. 1-800-273-8255, call that number if you are having thoughts of suicide. You’re important to us all and we love you. We miss you and love you brotha. #jaaamaccordingly #mrkspectrum #ableton #synesthesia

“Channels” is track number four from Spectrum. I love the production on this. I love working a sample until it is at a point where you’d really have to dig in to know what it is. It can be figured out but it’s fun to make it a challenge. The cuts are done because I couldn’t think of a hook. Fun fact: @kingthelonious is the first artist to ask me to do some cuts on a project. That was a long time ago, I’m proud of his work and growth over the years. Now, students I work with know who Thelonious is and dig his work and that’s dope to me. Salute brotha! The verse you hear address police brutality. That was and is heavy on my mind. The mention of “reconciliation” is 100% inspired by my experiences with @alarminc when I was in Rwanda the same year I wrote this and released the album. I’m still in awe of the efforts by my friends there and constantly thinking about how I need to be better about that pursuit. There was a lot of late night self-talk back when this was being made too. And for the record, I don’t “punch-in” to do verses. So I gotta get the whole verse right. A punch-in is a recording move to record one part, stop, record the next part and so on. I want to be able to perform everything I release so I record without punch-ins to get a more authentic flow, based on my own writing style. This song made me upset during writing and recording because the topics upset me. The scratch pattern is the answer to being upset, in terms of how I manage that. It may be cliche but I still record and release music for my health first and foremost. Stay tuned for the next tune. #jaaamaccordingly #mrkspectrum #lofihiphop #abletonlive #producer #beat

This is the third song on Spectrum, titled “Running” which is just a gathering of rambling thoughts. “Low education increasing risks of taking foolish chances” is an anecdote from many experiences in life, some during my time as an educator. I’m not talking about intelligence and ability. I’m talking about one’s level of education in terms of awareness, knowledge, experience, and growth. You can better manage your risks when you’re aware of what the risks could be. The payday loans lines are random bars, in some ways, but I’ve always been aware of how you only see payday loans available in certain areas. Poverty is a major issue and always has been but there are mechanisms that only serve to perpetuate it, in the name of a quick fix. “Running” can serve the same purpose in our lives if we are running without a destination or a goal. Again, this is a “talking to myself” song but I know I’m not having a truly unique conversation. #jaaamaccordingly #mrkspectrum #lofihiphop #abletonlive

This is track number two from Spectrum, a cut named “On My Mind” which was made around the time that I was playing @bangsnicely’s mix “Here” everyday in my classroom. I like to hear what other folks are creating just as much as I like to hear what I’m creating. There are a lot of talented people on the planet and that mix is a dope blend of dope music. This song has one verse of reminiscing about being a teenager in Dayton and how life is different. “Dodging potholes, neighborhood slalom style” in reference to Indianapolis streets. A shout out to @coolhandlex (who is also bangs nicely and the homie forever). The other verse is about what my life was like back then, now what I know to be a manic episode. I’ve been rapping about my mental health in some way since I started writing raps. One moment at a time is my approach now but there have been times where I was in full struggle mode. My wife knows better than anyone else and is a key reason that things are much better. Recording tunes helps, a lot. A whole lot. I believe being creative is a worthwhile balancing activity for people, even if you don’t sell/post/share/talk about what you create. But having people that love you nearby is priceless. My small piece of mental health advice: don’t convince yourself that destructive behavior is just genetic or familial and is unchangeable or should simply be dealt with. Get some help from a professional and be better for your family and your friends. You can do it! The sample flips on this album were really for my own enjoyment. I love this song so much. The part about Gargoyles and documentaries on the couch is real. I own the whole Gargoyles series on DVD and watched it when it aired originally. It’s brilliant. #mrkspectrum #jaaamaccordingly #ATFU #allthefunkunleashed