2 Minutes with Timomatic
It was barely a year ago that Timomatic was laid-up with a back injury, slowing the momentum from his stint on So You Think You Can Dance and interrupting a budding career as a professional dancer.
However, it would prove a rare blessing in disguise.
The injury forced the 24 year-old to refocus attention on his true passion – music – and has seen his dream career serendipitously unfurl with opportunity after accolade over the past six months.
An appearance on Australia’s Got Talent lead to a recording contract with Sony Music, then came the release of his platinum-certified debut single “Set It Off”, and the signing of a worldwide publishing agreement with music goliath EMI.
And as if that were not enough, Timomatic was recently granted the pleasure of spending 2 minutes with Rhyme & Reason – where we asked him a bunch of questions that have absolutely nothing to do with anything.
Check it out:
How do you start your day?
Usually I like to start my day listening to some inspiring and motivating music then hit the gym.
If you were to open a restaurant, what would it be called and what cuisine would you serve?
I would call it Tim’s Chicken. It would be a restaurant specialising in the many different delicious flavours of chicken.
How do you want to be remembered?
Wow, deep question [laughing]. I want to be remembered as a person who gave more than he got, a person who inspired others to pursue their dreams, and a person who lived passionately.
If you were limited to a vocabulary of five words for the rest of your life, which five words would you choose to keep in your lexicon?
Fresh, Thanks, Yes, No, and Incredible.
What is your biggest regret?
That I didn’t chase my dream sooner.
If you could relive any moment from your life thus far, what would it be?
Hearing my song on the radio for the first time… that was epic for me.
If you were allowed to listen to just three albums for the rest of your life, which three albums would you choose?
Off The Wall by Michael Jackson, Confessions by Usher, Year of the Gentlemen by Ne-Yo.
What was your first job?
Cleaner at a Chinese restaurant in Darwin.
What city would you love to adopt as your second home?
The Gold Coast.
When was the last time you were left speechless?
Watching the movie The Help. Powerful movie.
If you could banish one food from the face of the Earth, what would it be?
Mushrooms. They gotta go.
If you could banish one item of clothing from the face of the Earth, what would it be?
I would banish those Crocs shoes for sure.
Timomatic’s debut single “Set It Off” is available on iTunes here.
Exclusive: Israel Cruz Interview
Australia’s go-to R&B hit maker discusses signing with U.S. rap behemoth Cash Money Records, cultivating Australia as an urban music hot-spot, his partnership with Ministry of Sound, and the politics behind the music. Interview by Dominic Di Francesco.
You’ve been spending quite a bit of time in the US over the past few years. What have you been up to over there?
At first I was writing and producing for other artists, mainly for Jay Sean, and then during that process I got interest as an artist to sign over there. We had a few different labels bidding for me and ended up doing a deal with Cash Money. However, at this time I think I’m going to try and get the whole NuFirm set-up [in Australia] and go back over there and try to sell off the whole thing as a label. There’s a lot of interest at the moment, so it’s a good time. So rather than just doing the artist thing I might try to do the label thing.
Your contract with Cash Money is an artist deal?
It’s me as an artist, but Cash Money are signing everyone right now. It’s still the same two people running the show – that’s Slim and Baby – that are signing off on everything. So it’s hard at this point in time. Even Jay’s finding it hard. I don’t think they expected to be as big as they are now and, for me, they don’t have the infrastructure to cater for all the artists. If you’ve only got one big artist, then that’s fair enough. But when you’ve got Nicki Minaj, Drake, Tyga, and you’ve got only two people signing off on all the deals… it’s kind of hard. It’s like a jungle over there at Cash Money.
So the artists are fighting for the attention of their own label…
Exactly. So the artists do mixtapes and stuff like that [to create their own momentum], but I want to take a different route because the mixtape circuit is crazy. I was like, well, let me just go back home and get a label set-up and focus my attention and energy towards building that.
Have you had much interaction with Baby and Slim at Cash Money?
Yeah, of course. Slim and Baby, they both love what I do and I’m tight with a few of the other guys like Corey Gunz and Jay Sean, obviously, who is one of my closest friends. So we’re right in there in the family, it’s not just some affiliation.
I obviously take my music seriously and at this point in time, the move that I’m making – focusing on Australia and the talent that we’ve got here – is the best move. Then we can start a movement from here and take it international. My main aim is to make Australia one of the key places for artists to come for production and songwriting.
What insights have you taken away from your experiences in the US that you are trying to implement with NuFirm?
Not many people have that luxury to write with a lot of the guys over in the States, the top-liners, the guys that are making the hits. So I’ve been fortunate and blessed enough to surround myself with them. It’s worked in my favour spending half the year there and the other half here. I’m able to go over there and listen to what’s going on then come back here and create stuff without the pressure of being a producer trying to make it over there.
The joint venture that I have right now with Ministry of Sound is perfect because we can release whenever we want. With Elen Levon, I just signed her and recorded “Naughty” in April, so we were able to push her out straight away.
You’ve done the major label and independent thing – and now you’ve partnered with Ministry of Sound. How did your situation with Ministry of Sound come about and what prompted you to take that route?
When I was with Sony/Roadshow, there were a lot of problems during that era. The powers that be, the people that made the decision, weren’t really fans of urban music – as you also found out – and we tried our best to try and cater to the fans. But people were under too much pressure to make the bosses happy and they weren’t able to take risks. So back then I was making music that I was dumbing down. All the stuff that I thought was dope, that I thought was on par with the US, just got locked away. I could never release that stuff over here because the people who were calling the shots wanted to play it safe.
Ministry of Sound are the leaders in dance music in Australia and across the world, and music has come to a point where dance, R&B and hip-hop have all combined. So as I was progressing with the music and that change in climate, Tim McGee, the head of Ministry of Sound in Australia, was into the idea of joining forces with R&B and hip-hop and he had wanted to do that for a while. So when we crossed paths I showed him everything we were doing and he was like, “Let’s do it!”
It’s cool because we’re like the first official R&B/hip-hop label out here that’s properly funded, has distribution, marketing… everything that we need. So it’s really exciting times, especially for us. You’ve been around for a while and I’ve been around for a while and we’ve always looked towards this time. Back then I was just the kid trying to do stuff and I kept approaching people like, someone should do this properly – a properly funded label – but no one was willing enough, no one was brave enough. And we all had that syndrome of, ‘Oh, it’s too hard’. So I decided I’d take it in my stride and try to make it happen. And thank God that it has come around now.
So you’re perfectly happy with the music you’re now making under Ministry of Sound? You don’t feel as though there is any compromise?
Man, I love all sorts of music – R&B, hip-hop, pop, dance – that’s the thing. A lot of the purists out there, musicians and stuff, I could school them on a lot of music. When I was 15 years-old I used to listen to Tchaikovsky going to sleep. This is something people don’t understand or don’t realise about me because I make “Freak Tonight” and “Party Up” and what not. But I really am the sound of music. My fan base is so broad and they’ve just come around to liking the fact that I do a lot of different styles. So I make the commercial records, the pop records I love and would want to listen to myself, then I put it out into the mainstream. But then I also make a whole bunch of mixtape records that I’ll give out for free to fans that really, really want it – so they can hear all my R&B and hip-hop stuff.
Tell me about your latest single, “Party Up”. How do you feel about the reception to the song?
I feel like it’s been good. For me, it’s not about having a #1 record. I focus on making good music that the people like. I’ve seen so many artists have so much more than me [with regards to] the deals that they get. But I haven’t needed a job since about 2004. I’ve learnt how to make money off music. I just love putting out records and I love the response “Party Up” has been getting. I feel like I’m always going to be the guy who makes these street anthems. One day, if it crosses over, thank God. But my thing is making music I like, putting it out and if the people love it – great!
Is an album currently in the works?
I want to do things a bit different. I’m aiming to do 10 singles. Unless you’re Lady GaGa or Chris Brown and flash your penis on the Internet, it’s hard to sell an album nowadays [laughing]. Because of the fact that I have the freedom to do different things within this company and infrastructure, I’m going to take advantage of that and do 10 ten singles. Let’s just do the best that we can and hopefully, for Ministry and the ones funding it, that will equal the same amount in sales as putting out an album. But they’re used to that anyway [in dance music], they’ve been doing that for years and now the industry has come around to that. While everyone else is firing people, [Ministry] is hiring more staff because they’ve learnt to live off that [structure].
Prior to signing teen sensation Elen Levon [click here to read our interview with Elen], you were developing another promising Sydney artist by the name of Miracle. However, the momentum around that project seems to have faded in recent months, despite Miracle securing a deal with Sony Music. What happened?
I don’t know if you know, but Jay Dee Springbett, the Senior Director of A&R at Sony passed away [Ed's Note: 36 year-old Springbett was found dead in his Sydney apartment this July]. In the last three months of his life he was basically trying to sabotage what I was trying to do because he wanted to sign me and sign [NuFirm]. He was kind of messing around and stuff, doing his A&R thing and I was like, ‘Nah,don’t worry about it.’ Then I signed the Ministry of Sound deal and during that time he kind of got in Miracle’s ear and was like, “Hey, you should sign with me. Don’t sign with Iz.” So he got in there and basically convinced Miracle to sign directly to Sony. There was no straight-forward reason why Miracle should do that, but he decided he was going to. Obviously, he didn’t expect Jay Dee to die in between time.
So back in April, Miracle asked to sign directly with Sony – and get off NuFirm – and I agreed because you have to want to leave or do something wrong by me in order for me to let you go. And Mircale hadn’t done anything wrong, he just wanted to leave, so I let him go. But between then and now, Sony’s been taking their time with their paperwork and all that, and the poor dude isn’t able to do anything until that paperwork [is finalised]. But it was his own decision. I don’t like starting careers off and then seeing them go this way. It’s happened a few times before and it’s not a fulfilling thing.
Watch Israel’s “Party Up” music video below:
Win an Autographed Jason Derulo Album!
Rhyme & Reason Magazine and Warner Music Australia are giving 3 lucky readers the chance to win an autographed copy of Jason Derulo‘s new album Future History. For your chance to win, simply email your name and postal address to comps@rhymeandreason.com.au by the 21st October 2011.
Jason is heading back to Australia and will be entertaining his fans with a special one off in-store appearance and performance at Westfield Parramatta on Sunday October 16. He will be performing five of his chart-smashing hits and then conduct a signing where fans will have the chance for Jason to sign their very own copy of his brand new studio album “Future History”, which features the hits “Don’t Wanna Go Home” and “It Girl”.
As part of Derulo’s Australian promo tour he will also be performing on X-Factor on the 18th of October and Sunrise on the 19th of October.
Future History is in stores now.
Exclusive: Elen Levon Interview
“There’s no play time,” says Elen Levon of life since releasing her debut single “Naughty”. “You wake up in the morning and you’re on, it’s go time, there’s no time to breathe,” she notes of her relentless recording, performing and promotional duties.
The ambitious 17 year-old is juggling a budding music career with her high school studies – torn between the two but insistent on conquering both. “It’s hard to be devoted to both because you can’t give half-half to either,” laments the Sydneysider. “You’ve really got to be devoted to school, especially in Year 12, and it’s not that fun when you really want to be on stage. I want to give my all to being an artist, but education is so important.
“It’s been hard to adjust to this new lifestyle, and I guess I will at some point, but I’m not used to it yet.” In a move to better manage the balancing act between school and music, Levon this month left her friends at Reddam House School in Bondi to begin home schooling.
Chaperoned by her mother [“My mum’s very supportive of everything I do”], the pint-sized performer is determined to make the most of her career momentum despite the inherent strains of its lifestyle. “I’m definitely still having fun with it and staying focused and ambitious,” reassures the teen.
Fueling that ambition is the fact Levon is on the precipice of realising a dream she has been inadvertently preparing for since a toddler – to be a superstar. “I’ve been training since I was about 3 years old, going to ballet classes and things, so I guess I’ve always been working towards this.”
Landing a management deal at age 13 and signing a recording contract with dance powerhouse Ministry of Sound [via singer/songwriter/producer Israel Cruz’s NuFirm label], the songbird this week debuted at #5 on the ARIA Australian Singles Chart with “Naughty”.
“It’s not really about being raunchy or crazy,” insists Elen of her electro-pop lead single, quashing any innuendo its title may lend itself to. “It’s more about expressing yourself – being that fun girl or fun guy. It’s about letting go of your inhibitions, not caring what other people think. I call it a care-free song.”
“Naughty” – while definitely carefree and catchy – wildly understates Levon’s talents. A trained pianist, budding songwriter and powerful vocalist, there is more to this teenager than the choreographed moves and autotuned vocals of her first impression. “I definitely write. I love writing,” shares the songbird. “And I started playing piano when I was about 6 or 7 years-old. I did all the grades. I haven’t input a lot of that into my music yet, but I definitely will when I get the chance.
“At the moment [my sound is] R&B/Pop, but progressively it will change into all different styles, as I really do love all genres of music. I definitely just want to make timeless music and I think timeless music consists of all genres.”
According to Israel Cruz, who signed Elen to his NuFirm imprint earlier this year, the youngster is a natural in the recording studio. Learning of the up-start through her management team, Cruz recalls their first encounter with excitement. “I wrote a record and asked [Elen's manager] if she can come in to sing the hook. He said she’ll be there in 30 minutes. She arrived in 30 minutes and 30 minutes later the hook was done – and she got it perfect, ad-libs and all, in 30 minutes,” remembers Cruz, who has written and produced hit records for the likes of Jessica Mauboy and Jay Sean.
“I told her manager, ‘Shit bro, you’ve got something really, really special here – and for her to be just 17 is amazing.’ There are alot of 17 year-old girls that look pretty, that can sing and can move, but when I press record will they get nervous? Will they understand timing? That’s what I look for.”
In addition to working with Israel, who crafted “Naughty”, Elen has also hit the studio with James Ash of the Rogue Traders, Brian McFadden, Robert Conley, and has writing sessions scheduled with Kylie Minogue collaborator Luciana next month. “I’d love to work with Tinie Tempah,” she adds, noting an appreciation for Hip-Hop. “I love a lot of MCs.”
Interview by Dominic Di Francesco.
Watch Elen Levon’s “Naughty” music video below:
Exclusive Phrase Interview
Melbourne Hip-Hop artist Phrase speaks with Dominic Di Francesco about finding his singing voice, working with Jimmy Barnes and releasing his third studio album Babylon:
The new album is Babylon. What’s the significance of that title?
Babylon, obviously, it’s an ancient city and it’s always kind of been associated with extreme beauty and a land of luxury – I guess a bit of a utopia. So I’ve kind of used it in the sense that, for me, it’s a better place that I’m trying to get to and I’m still kind of struggling to find my way to that place.
Are you one step closer to it with the release of this album?
I don’t know [laughing]. Musically, I definitely feel like I’ve made something that I’m really happy with and something that I feel like is totally mine. I’m starting to find my feet stylistically. In terms of everything else, I guess it’s more a general thing that everybody goes through – just the day-to-day search of ‘What the fuck am I doing here? Am I on the right track?’
As you said, stylistically, this album is a lot more ecclectic than your past work. How did your approach to recording differ this time around?
A lot of people have been like, “Whoa, it’s so different!” and I admit that next to Clockwork it sounds worlds apart. The last song I did on Clockwork, “Spaceship”, took a pretty similar approach – I had written everything and then we recorded it with a band and tracked it that way. That was exciting to me and something new. I was like, “Fuck, this is really cool!” After I finished touring I started to write new songs for the record, I was playing around on the guitar and I’d made some drums at home, and I got my wife Jade [MacRae] to play some keys on it and was like, “Fuck, this sounds fine, this is going to be cool.” A few weeks later I was looking for records to sample and not really finding much. I was like, “Fuck, why don’t I just write the rest of it? That way I’m going to be able to do exactly what I want.” It kind of just felt like a natural progression and then I guess it just evolved into what it is now.
So is it fair to say there’s alot more of you in this album than in previous albums?
Totally – more than ever before, which is what I feel good about. Not in any way am I talking badly or regretting what I’ve done in the past, but I certainly feel like in the past it was more a case of producers guiding the ship and me just having a lot to do with writing the raps and steering the songs via what I was doing lyrically. This time I sort of got to steer the whole thing, which is good. It’s been fun for me and I’ve enjoyed it a lot. I guess it was more challenging and I feel like I’ve been learning more shit.
I was surprised to hear you singing at points throughout the album. Is singing something you’ve been wanting to explore and introduce to your music?
[Laughing] Nah! To be honest, I fucking hate singing around my wife Jade ’cause she’s a great singer – I can’t have her in the room when I’m doing vocal takes when it comes to singing. She was out of the house when I wrote the chorus for “Never Enough”, she wasn’t around, so I started feeling comfortable and just sketched it down. I did three layers and dummied it up with different effects – and she came home and was like, “Oh, that sounds really great.” And I was like, “Yeah, of course, but I’ll get somebody else to sing it. It’s just a guide vocal.” And then I sent it to the dude that I worked on the record with, Tony, and he was like, “Man, why would you get anyone else to re-sing it? It sounds fine.” So there’s a couple of songs where that happened and all along the way I’ve been saying, “Are you sure you’re not just fucking with me and telling me it sounds alright? I don’t want to put this out there and have people ridicule me” [laughing]. I guess I’ve just got to trust that Jade wouldn’t let me put something out where I was singing totally out of fuckin’ key. To be honest, I’m not going to go out there and try to be a lead vocalist, singing-wise, at my shows. I’ve got Davey Lane and the band who’s helping me out there. I definitely enjoyed doing it and it was fun, but it’s not like I’m going to go and put out a record next week where I’m not rapping and it’s all singing.
So you haven’t been getting any vocal coaching from Jade?
It’s annoying ‘cause she would be able to really point me in the right direction, but I just get so pent up when she’s around. I think it’s just because I’m embarrassed – I don’t want my woman to think that I’m shit at something [laughing]. So I’d rather not have her around when I’m doing it.
Jimmmy Barnes appears on the song “Velvet Glove”. How did the two of you come to collaborate and what was it like recording with an Aussie music icon?
I’ve been friends with his daughter Mahalia for quite some time and when I was recording the record I was staying at her house. I had the song demoed for probably six months and Jade had a guide vocal on the chorus. I knew I didn’t want it to be a chick [singing the chorus] and that it had to be a ballsy male singer. My manager was like, “Do you reckon you can get Barnsey?” And I was like, “Aw, I don’t know whether that’s the right way to go…” Then I thought about it and was like, fuck it, the dude’s an animal and an icon. Anyway, I said to Mahalia, “Do you think your dad would sing on this song if I sent it to him?” And she was like, “I don’t know! Fuckin’ send him the song and ask him yourself.” So I sent it through and he loved it. He came to the studio a few weeks later and recorded it – and he was pretty quick, dude! He was in and out, did two takes and totally smashed it.
Your wife sings the chorus on “The Book”, although she is credited as Jane Doe instead of Jade MacRae. Why the alias?
There’s no real huge reason behind her not having her name on there, just that, musically, I guess she’s doing stuff pretty different now to what Jade MacRae is associated with. So we kind of put that on there ’cause Jane Doe is the unknown, untagged dead body kind of thing.
On “The Book” you poke fun at the social networing phenomenon. Do you think we’re raising a generation of narcissists with the popularity of Facebook and other similar platforms?
It’s so funny, dude. I’m sitting here checking my notifications as we’re talking [laughing]. Fuck, I don’t know. It is a weird, weird world that we’re living in now and my friend’s little kid, who’s two years-old, just amazes me – she knows what Facebook is, she knows how to operate an iPhone and all that sort of stuff. I don’t know… I guess there’s a slight kind of comical slant on that song but, then again, there’s this underlying seriousness that I do believe for a lot of people it gets to a point where the life that they’ve created on the internet is easier and better. So I kind of think it’s fucked up and weird and wanted to write a song to document this point in time where things are really starting to change with the internet and all that kind of stuff.
In the lead up to the release of Babylon you made the entire album available to stream via an online widget. It was a daring strategy. Was that your idea?
Yeah, all that kind of stuff has come from my end. If anything, I feel that it’s a show of honesty. I think sometimes people get it twisted and think, “Oh, they’ve got a record label, or their song’s on the radio… so they must be fuckin’ rich” – and you and I both know that it’s nothing like that. More than ever before artists are really struggling and most are barely making any money. So I feel like there’s a sense of honesty behind saying, “Look, here it is. Suss it out. It’s there, you can listen to the whole thing. If you like it, buy it, if not… cool, whatever.” I feel comfortable in doing it. I think you’ve got to give a little to get a little.
That’s fair enough. You’re not trying to trick people into buying an album with a catchy single or anything…
Exactly! I can stand nothing worse than when there’s a massive song and you go and think – fuck, the record’s going to be amazing – and then once you get it and go home there’s that and maybe two other songs that are the only good things on there. At least this way you get to check it out first.
Babylon is in stores now. See Phrase live across Australia on these dates:
Wed 05 Oct – VIC – The Karova Lounge, Ballarat – BUY TICKETS
Thu 06 Oct – VIC – Kay St, Traralgon – BUY TICKETS
Fri 07 Oct – SA – Rocket Bar, Adelaide – BUY TICKETS
Thur 13 Oct – ACT – Transit Bar, Canberra – BUY TICKETS
Fri 14 Oct – NSW – Level One,Newcastle Leagues Club – BUY TICKETS
Sat 15 Oct – QLD – Sprung Festival, Brisbane – BUY TICKETS
Sat 15 Oct – NSW – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney – BUY TICKETS
Fri 21 – VIC – Prince Bandroom, Melbourne – BUY TICKETS
Sat 29 Oct – TAS – Republic Bar, Hobart – BUY TICKETS
Thurs 17 Nov – QLD – The Zoo, Brisbane – BUY TICKETS
Fri 18 Nov – QLD – The Beach Hotel, Byron Bay – FREE ENTRY!
Sat 19 Nov – QLD – The Cooly, Gold Coast – BUY TICKETS
Wed 23 Nov – WA – BLVD, Joondaloop – BUY TICKETS
Thur 24 Nov – WA – Prince Of Wales, Bunbury – BUY TICKETS
Fri 25 Nov – WA – Amplfier, Perth – BUY TICKETS
Sat 26 Nov – WA – Players Bar, Mandurah – BUY TICKETS
Sun 27 Nov – WA – Newport, Fremantle – BUY TICKETS
Tickets are available now!
Exclusive: Inside RNB Superclub
It is the largest urban clubbing brand in the southern hemisphere, playing host to tens-of-thousands of party-goers in over 20 venues across the country and spawning a music compilation series accounting for almost 500,000 in CD sales.
RNB Superclub is arguably the greatest commercial exploitation – and we use that term with affection – of R&B Australia has ever witnessed.
In anticipation of Superclub’s 10th anniversary and the recent release of its RNB Superclub Volume 11 album, Rhyme & Reason speaks with brand manager John Senakis about the inception, challenges and processes behind operating Australia’s premium urban clubbing brand. Continue reading »
Video Exclusive: Havana Brown Discusses Meeting Dr. Dre, Her Stint on ‘Neighbours’ + More…
Havana Brown chats with Rhyme & Reason Magazine about her Gold certified single “We Run The Night”, meeting legendary Hip-Hop producer Dr. Dre, her stint as a teen actor on Neighbours, girls flashing their boobies during her DJ sets + much more…
Watch the Havana Brown x Rhyme & Reason Magazine interview below:
Exclusive David Dallas Interview
Last year, David Dallas uprooted his life in New Zealand and moved to New York in pursuit of his musical aspirations like some competent hip-hop incarnation of Flight of the Conchords. However, unlike Bret and Jemaine of the ‘Chords, Dallas is fast making his mark in the land of opportunity.
The rapper has signed a deal with venerable hip-hop label Duck Down and today releases his second studio LP The Rose Tint as a free download – brandishing assists from Buckshot, Freddie Gibbs and a couple of his Kiwi cohorts.
Speaking with Rhyme & Reason Magazine from his new home base in Harlem, David Dallas shares stories from his American adventure, recounts choosing hip-hop over computer science, notes the power of being blogged by Kanye, and laments his enduring struggle for a rose tinted perspective. Continue reading »
Exclusive New Boyz Interview
First impressions can be misleading - just ask the New Boyz. The teen duo were inadvertently anointed ambassadors of the jerkin’ movement when they introduced the world outside Los Angeles to the street dance craze on their 2009 anthem “You’re A Jerk”.
More than misleading, those first impressions could turn terminal for band-mates Ben J and Legacy. Sure, the ambassadorial role has been kind to the 19 year-olds, earning them a couple of platinum singles and passports plastered with stamps, but it also stamped their career with an anticipatory expiration date.
The New Boyz are half-expected to fade into obscurity alongside the jerkin’ movement as Hip-Hop’s collective attention inevitably shifts to its next sub-cultural fad.
Posted-up in a plush suite at the Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast, the New Boyz are well aware their future hinges on proving their relevance beyond jerkin’ – not that they ever exclusively represented the niche. Regardless, their sophomore album Too Cool To Care is dedicated to breaking through that misconception and displaying their creative range - starting with the electro-hip-pop monster “Backseat” [crafted by production team The Cataracs of "Like A G6" fame].
Legacy phoned Rhyme & Reason from Palazzo Versace during the New Boyz’s Australian Supafest jaunt to discuss their campaign for props and longevity, trading their coloured skinny jeans for tailored attire, dealing with dames, fame and fortune as a teenager, and the possibility of a New Boyz split. Swaaag! Continue reading »
Exclusive Interview: Two-Minutes with Trina
Katrina ‘Trina’ Taylor has a catalogue of songs that could make a pornstar blush. The Miami beauty first defiled our auditory canals thirteen-years ago on the Trick Daddy hit ”Nann N**ga” and has since built on that legacy with a catalogue of sordid songs that include “Da Baddest Bitch”, “Dang-A-Lang” and “Good Pussy”.
Now the Diamond Princess has plans to make even more people blush with Amazin’ cosmetics - a company she launched last year alongside her album of the same name. The 32 year-old rapper recently sat with Rhyme & Reason Magazine to discuss this foray into cosmetics and her key rule for protecting the Trina brand.
Check out our short Q&A after the jump: Continue reading »
