I started jotting down notes of ideas for this album not long after completing work on Punk Rock B-Boy. Ideas never stop coming. It’s a policy to bank them, even when I’m not in work mode.
The wheels really started to turn right after the 2024 Live Convention (last September). I added so many great records to my collection. Many of them were new discoveries. I needed to hear how parts of songs from these new records sounded looped or matched with a drum break. Most of the beats on this album include samples from records I acquired at Live Convention. Plus, the convention itself provides a lot of inspiration. It’s an exciting time for a hip hop head.
In the early stages, I went back and listened to my previous three albums a bunch of times. What stands out is the relentless pace of King Of Drums. I want to achieve the same with this new album so I have to analyze KoD in detail and try to remember what my thinking was when I made that album. Most of the songs/parts on KoD are short. That’s a factor. I also remember structuring the beats before any of the rhymes were written. I wanted the beats to sound good as instrumentals - not repetitive at all. I don’t want vocals to have to make up for weaknesses in the beats. This time, I’m thinking of sketching out the entire instrumental version of the album before I do any writing.
I’ve been knocking around a few ideas for titles for this album but I keep coming back to Do Not Bend. As a record collector, I often see packages containing records show up in the mail with the words “DO NOT BEND” written on the box. I like the double meaning. It refers to the care of a valuable record but also an unwillingness to compromise. Do Not Bend.
I’m promising myself to take this slow. I’ve been telling myself to give it a year, at least. Don’t rush. It’s too easy to build up a beat to a certain point and call it done. But every time I re-visit a beat I’ve been working on, I will invariably come up with a new idea that makes the beat better. Work always benefits from time being put into it. Putting two or three samples together and then sketching out a basic structure is easy. The hard part is in the editing and in adding details and layers. Layering requires challenging my ear and music know-how. It can be frustrating as an untrained musician but it’s so rewarding when you finally make things work. It feels like magic. Ideas also emerge when I allow myself to listen to a beat or a loop for hours on end. It’s brutal work. It makes you feel like you’re going crazy sometimes. But good things always come out of it. The same thinking applies to writing verses. It’s too easy to get lazy. I refuse to let myself settle for the easy route.
I love slow beats but they’re the hardest to work on. Beats at 105 bpm are pretty easy. Almost anything seems to work with beats at that tempo. But when you start dipping below 85 bpm, it gets challenging. There’s less material to draw from. Very few classic samples or hip hop songs are that slow. And I don’t like pitching samples down drastically because they start to sound muddy. So you need to get very creative. It’s worth the effort though. Slow beats are fun to rhyme and cut on.
I actually get excited when I hit a wall with a beat. Sometimes weeks pass and I can’t figure out where to take a beat I’m working on, no matter how many hours I spend trying. I refuse to let myself give up. I try to hang onto the excitement I felt when the idea first took shape. What I’ve come to realize is that there’s no wall I haven’t been able to bust through in time. And when it finally happens, the results are so satisfying. I’ve come to expect my least-favorite beats to eventually become my favorites. It happens every time. A prime example is the one with the working title “Strange Location”. That one sat stagnant for months. I seriously considered ditching it. I decided to ignore it completely for a while so that I might return to it with fresh ears. When I did, ideas started coming quite easily and soon enough, the flood gates opened.
When I was working on one of my recent albums, I made it a rule to not work in the evening. My fear was that it would be time for bed when I still had problems to solve and then I’d have trouble sleeping because I couldn’t stop thinking about the problems. This time I’m embracing the idea, which may be to the detriment of my health. I’m allowing myself to meditate on individual beats and songs - even during the overnight hours - because ideas do come (sometimes in dreams). Ideas that emerge at 3:30 AM are often weird/outside-the-box but most of them stick. I get up in the morning and scramble to get the idea/solution out before it fades from my memory.
This work is very good exercise for the brain. As time goes on, my ear gets sharper. I’m able to tune sounds more quickly and easily. And by the time I’m finished writing verses for any given project, I find I’m able to freestyle quite well. My brain is getting more muscular. I wonder if I’m adding days to my life expectancy.
I’ve decided to throw everything at this project. I’m emptying the tank. It will make for some challenges for whatever project may follow. I may have to try a completely different approach when that time comes otherwise I’ll risk repeating myself. Maybe I’ll try working with other beat-makers. Maybe. I’m putting all my knowledge and resources into this one.
The biggest part of this job - the heaviest lift - is the listening. So many hours of listening. Listening to old records. Listening to endless hours of old school tapes. Listening to work in progress in a loop all day long. Listening to my own past work for reminders of ideas that worked. Listening to classic albums that influence me. Old mixtapes and radio shows. For every hour of work there was probably 10 hours of listening.
Dec. 28 - I thought I was done making beats but earlier today I bought a bunch of records off Bird and there’s stuff I GOTTA use. I just made the beat for “Crust”. How could I resist? How do I stop? There’s a plan to link with Tom in a few days. I’ll be buying a stack of Japanese records off him. I suppose too much dopeness is a good problem to have.
Dec. 29 - I was thinking that I had enough beats for two albums or an album and an EP. After taking a close listen to KoD this morning, I’m reminded that I worked over 40 different beat ideas into that album. So maybe I cram everything I’m working on now into one album. Lots of the parts on KoD are short, which is part of the reason its pace is so relentless, I think. So maybe I need to be thinking along the same lines now rather than how I can spread this material out. All in!!
Also - I put in a full day on “Magic Bullet” today. Mostly worked on the transitions between parts.
Jan. 2 - Made a good move the other day. I broke the beats I’m working on into three categories: ones that are done, ones that need a lot of work and ones that only need to be structured. Now I know where to put my focus. I’ve prioritized the beats that need the most work and these last few days have been very productive. The goal is to get all the beats that aren’t finished to the point where they’re ready for structuring. More details are always added during that process. It’s good for me to be organized. Otherwise, I tend to be too scattered, less productive and feel more overwhelmed. Soon these beats will start sounding like songs.
Jan. 9 - Life is so insanely chaotic right now. It’s a miracle I’m getting any work done at all.
Jan. 12 - I devoted three days (a few minutes here and there whenever I could find them) to work on a beat I previously thought was done (“Drastic Measures”). In the past I may have deemed it good enough. Took it to a whole other level. The work always pays off. A good reminder to not be in a rush.
Jan. 20 - Life has thrown up a roadblock. Haven’t been able to work on the album in a week. Just noting ideas here and there. Life is grinding my bones down to dust.
Jan. 27 - Sold my house.
Jan. 30 - Finally got to do a bit of work. Structured three beats. Hard to find space to work in this new house I’m renting. It’s tiny.
Feb. 3 - The beats are mostly structured now. Did good work on “Burners” the other night. I promised myself I’d work on the beats until the spring. Should I take a break? Move onto next steps? Should I start writing soon?
Feb. 5 - I think I made the album cover art today. Wasn’t planning to. It just sorta happened. Maybe I’ll change my mind but it looks pretty good! The title has changed. The album will now be called Keep Moving. Maybe the follow-up will be Do Not Bend.
Feb. 8 - I’ve been adding little micro-details to the beats here and there. It may be time to move onto the next phase. I’m thinking I’ll start laying the album out and looking at how the material I have adds up time-wise. Then I’ll decide if beats need to be shortened or lengthened. Then I’ll start writing.
Thinking about how the album will end up on double vinyl and the problems I’ve had in the past with making splits, I guess I’m going to treat this kinda like four EPs and each EP has to be dope with a good mix of tempos and vibes and whatnot. Might be a good way to approach things - break it all down into four smaller and more manageable chunks. I don’t want this album to be too long so the goal will be for each chunk to be roughly 12 minutes long or less. 48 minutes would still be pretty long.
Okay, this is definitely too much material for one album. I’m going to have to break off chunks for an EP. Tough decisions ahead.
Feb. 9 - Do I record the EP first and get it out well ahead of the album? Or do I record it all at the same time?
Feb. 15 - Did some really nice work on “Boom Mic”. Chop, chop, chop. It’s ready to go. Gonna be a banger. Then I bought a house.
Feb. 21 - Now in phase 1 of writing lyrics
Feb. 25 - Starting to think one of the projects (Keep Moving or Do Not Bend) will have to wait to 2026. Too much important life-stuff to attend to. Thinking today that Do Not Bend will wait but that could change.
March 6 - Work has almost completely stalled. Too much going on in life. At best, I’m coming up with one line of lyrics in the course of a day. It’s sorta frustrating but also sorta okay.
March 19 - Time to start writing. Hardest wheel to turn.
March 20 - Just finishing writing lyrics for “I Got You Covered”. That’s one down.
March 22 - On a good roll now. Four songs down.
March 24 - now living in the new house alone while contractors do renovations. No furniture. No kitchenware. No services. But no distractions either. Feels like I’m squatting in my own house.
March 26 - Just finished writing to “Linoleum”. A tribute to Phase N’ Rhythm. Deceptively complex. That was difficult. But now one whole chunk of the album (part 4) is licked. Moving on. I think I’ll tackle part 1 next.
March 27 - First day of baseball season! Just finishing writing “#3 On The Phone”, which will open the album. Rips hard! Watch the hell out.
March 28 - Crazy day. Really good dig in the morning. Then a pipe broke in the new house and water started coming though the ceiling. Mega-stress. Then I wrote “That Being Said”.
March 29 - “The Negative 900 Number”! Put it on the board.
March 30 - Just wrote “Fresh Dirt” and it’s only 1:00 PM. Maybe I can write another one today. Got some other homework though. Maybe I should record some demos.
Reached out to D-Styles about work on “Ethics For Demons” and then wrote “According To Phase 2”.
April 1 - “Brouhaha” and “The Opposite Of Selling Out” down today.
Let’s talk about a phenomenon that I like to call ‘flow lock’. Beats always determine my rhyme flows. Depending on the tempo, time-signature, amount of swing, etc., it may be deemed necessary that the rhyme base be two syllables, three syllable, four syllables… And each time, I need to re-wire my brain a little bit. After writing a song with a base of three-syllable rhymes, my brain has a hard time putting words together in four-syllable groups with the stresses falling in the right places. It’s like I’ve gone blind to those words and phrases. But then I meditate for a while and I’m able to lock in. Once I’m in that zone, rhymes of that structure come flying at me left, right and center. I can pretty much freestyle in that mode. I can just zip off four-syllable rhymes like it’s nothing. Do all rappers lock in like this? Maybe they do. But it also seems to be that a lot of rappers never switch up their flows. There are rappers I really like that only have one flow and so there’s only so much I can take before I fatigue in some cases, especially if that flow is unique. Versatility is kinda rare among rappers out there. Flow lock.
April 2 - Nailed down “Def Leper”. So now part one is licked as far as lyrics go. Now I’m officially half done. Just reviewed everything written so far and I think it’s really strong. Many styles. Moving onto part 2, which will present some fun challenges. Been saving up some flows. Gonna start with “The Break Room”, which I’ve been looking forward to. Movers are coming on Sunday and then I’ll have a little less space in which to work. How much can I get down by then? Time to burn.
April 3 - Burning indeed. Today I wrote “The Break Room” (which was very hard - the beat switches up a million times), “Ethics For Demons” and “Janky Teeth”. If I can get just two more done by Sunday, I’m in pretty good shape.
April 4 - Started moving my records into my new house, which feels good even though I threw my back out. Wrote “Bug Juice”, which is pretty nasty, if I say so. Bonus - found my #1 most-wanted record today after a years-long search. Very good day on balance.
April 5, 9:30 AM - Just finished writing “Museum Piece”. Pretty ill. Lots of errands to run today but the goal is to write another one
10:35 PM - I did it! Just wrote “Magic Bullet”. Fast one. 115 bpm. Neck-snapper. That’s two thirds of the album written. Between writing the two songs today, I went out for a quick dig and it turned out to be insane. Gonna listen to these 45s before I hit the hay. The movers are coming tomorrow.
April 8 - Wrote “Boom Mic” and now I’m into the last section of the album. Home stretch. It’s important to not get too excited and start rushing at this point.
April 9 - Today was too hectic with life stuff and I didn’t get anything written. I have a plan laid out for “Wet Maybe”. Hopefully I can get to that in the morning. The goal is to only have two or three things left to write when the weekend gets here. Then I’ll be in good shape to polish this thing off.
The renovations on the house cost me more money than I have. I’m going to have to get this thing out sooner than I was originally planning and hopefully make a few extra bucks.
April 10 - “Wet Maybe” down. Time to build an Ikea shelf.
April 11 - “Burning Rubber” done. Spent most of the day setting up record shelves in the new place. I could build you a 4x4 Kallax in ten minutes flat at this point.
April 12 - Realized today that Billy Woods’ next album is coming out on May 9. Ugh. I love Billy Woods but he has a way of sucking all the air out of the indie hip hop space. When he drops an album, it’s all anyone can talk about. If I’m going to get this thing out soon and hope to give it half a chance, I gotta get it out fast. Can I burn to the end without rushing myself? Should I aim to put this thing out on April 25? There’s no Bandcamp Friday coming up. Why should I concern myself with releasing on a Friday? Maybe the 28th? That would give it the better part of two weeks to breathe. Let me see where I am by the end of next weekend, I guess. Two more beats to write to.
9:27 PM - “Burners” down. Fun one. One more to go. I’m flying.
April 13, 9:45 AM - “Aching Drum” is written. Last one down. Better set up my gear.
Jesus. After setting up my gear, I went ahead and blasted through recording all of the vocals in an insane 12-hour session. I wasn’t planning on doing that but it happened. I guess I’ll see how far I can get with turntable work tomorrow. I could have this thing done by the end of the week.
April 17 - Been recording turntable stuff for the last three days. Almost done. Dusted off the old QFO, which is a very useful tool. It has a very wide pitch range, which is helpful. Really trying to focus on funkiness over speed. Was hoping to get D-Styles on “Ethics For Demons” but since I had to move up the release date, I did the cuts myself. Tried to do a bit of a D-Styles imitation. He’s the illest.
April 18 - Ran into a bit of a technical problem with the QFO, which is stressful and a bit of a setback. Time to break out the tools.
April 19 - Finished all the cuts and I now have a rough mix of all of the songs. Just need to test in a good listening environment and make tweaks.
8:15 PM - I’ve now done a second mix of all the songs but still need to do a proper bass test - in a car, ideally. Once the bass is locked in, I’ll lay this thing out and it’s done. Maybe mid week?
One kind-of-ill thing about this album is that it probably wouldn’t be what it is if my bike hadn’t broken down this past winter. I blew out my bottom bracket and had to bring it into the shop. They had to order parts and so they had my bike locked down for weeks. During that time, I rode the subway to work, which gave me a lot of time to listen to music (I don’t wear headphones when I’m on my bike - major no-no in my books). Listening to lots of music every day provided me with a lot of inspiration. I took a ton of notes and then drew on those notes while putting the album together. There were production ideas, lines for lyrics, samples to cut up, etc. Many of the little details on this album were born of those subway rides. The grooves are filled with subway gunk.
April 21 - Sixtoo offered to let me do a bass check in his studio and he ended up mixing the entire album. He made it sound a million times better than I ever could have. Very grateful to him for that. Recorded a thing for his album while I was there.
April 22 - Just assembled the album. Frankenstein is alive! Exciting step. Also assembled the artwork (which I started working on months ago). It’s starting to get very exciting but the first doubts are starting to creep in too. This always happens. Is thing thing as dope as I think it is? But then I listen again. The album is little longer than I was originally wanting it to be. But there’s never a dull moment. No fat.
April 23 - Saw Nick Cave at work today! Said hi. That was pretty cool.
I wanted to put this thing out on Friday, April 25 but Sixtoo made an offer to help - on that day - that I can’t refuse. It would probably be a mistake to release the album on the weekend, so I guess I’ll do it on Monday - April 28. Maybe midnight on Sunday? Hopefully that gives me the better part of two weeks to splash before Billy Woods destroys everything in his path when his album comes out on May 9 (which I’m sure will be dope).
April 24 - The last sample added to the album comes from something I saw on TV just last night. I like that there will be an element less than a week old when the album drops.
Almost there. Keep moving.