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Coming off his breakout LPs "pop 1967" and "The Rain Knows What It's Doing", andrew seemed an unlikely production partner for Zilla Rocca's bourbon drenched punchlines and late '90s east coast rap lineage.

But that's the thing about chemistry: you can't explain it. You just know when it works.

Every beat andrew sent over became a song. Every song Zilla wrote referencing the touchstones of Italian heritage South Philly residents know too well built a new brotherhood. "Don't Wait For Me to Leave" are songs born of experience backed by the lushest beats in the indie rap lane.

"Dom Irrera" is a note on how your favorite local spots change into vape shops and laundromats over time but you stay the same. "No One Cooks on Friday" boasts how fly it is to order in and do nothing every weekend. "Actions of the Now" examines how failures teach you more than any college ever could on how to succeed.

Of course, there is Rapping! Zilla Rocca has never rapped this much non-stop in his long legged life, specifically on cuts "Draper Papers" and "The River Knows", going 80+ bars deep. andrew takes a look under the hood to add his signature gravel-paved melodious tones to "Dom Irrera", "No One Cooks on Friday", and "You Need Friends". But even off the mic, andrew's now trademark ear for beauty and funk shape the record undeniably.

The most versatile indie rappers of today check in to tell stories and add their signatures to the bottom of the painting - Alaska of Hangar 18/Atoms Fam, PremRock and Curly Castro of ShrapKnel/Wrecking Crew, Wally Clark, Rich Jones, Teller Banks, and Brian Ennals.

"Don't Wait For Me to Leave" is for people who always prefer local over national, neighborhoods over culdesacs, Sunday's with Sinatra over Journey at the dive bar.

It may have taken the Notorious B.I.G. a few years to follow up his milestone debut, Ready to Die (1994), with another album, but when he did return with Life After Death in 1997, he did so in a huge way. The ambitious album, intended as somewhat of a sequel to Ready to Die, picking up where its predecessor left off, sprawled across the span of two discs, each filled with music, 24 songs in all. You'd expect any album this sprawling to include some lackluster filler. That's not really the case with Life After Death, however. Like 2Pac's All Eyez on Me from a year before, an obvious influence, Biggie's album made extensive use of various producers -- DJ Premier, Easy Mo Bee, Clark Kent, RZA, and more of New York's finest -- resulting in a diverse, eclectic array of songs. Plus, Biggie similarly brought in various guest rappers -- Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, Bone Thugs, Too $hort, L.O.X., Mase -- a few vocalists -- R. Kelly, Angela Winbush, 112 -- and, of course, Puff Daddy, who is much more omnipresent here than on Ready to Die, where he mostly remained on the sidelines. It's perhaps Puffy himself to thank for this album's biggest hits: "Mo Money Mo Problems," "Hypnotize," "Sky's the Limit," three songs that definitely owe much to his pop touch. There's still plenty of the gangsta tales on Life After Death that won Biggie so much admiration on the streets, but it's the pop-laced songs that stand out as highlights. In hindsight, Biggie couldn't have ended his career with a more fitting album than Life After Death. Over the course of only two albums, he achieved every success imaginable, perhaps none greater than this unabashedly over-reaching success. Ready to Die is a milestone album, for sure, but it's nowhere near as extravagant or epic as Life After Death. - allmusic.com

Intuition: This particular thing keeps my head buried in books, vinyl collecting / record playing, working overtime, creating, push-ups, crunches, pull-ups, drinking wine, and limiting human interaction. This internal spirit guide, a feeling in your stomach. I told my oldest daughter don’t lie to me because I’m always going to be able to tell when you’re not telling the truth. My Mother told me when I was younger she has a sixth sense. She had dreams of everyone who passed away in our family before it happened. Some of that rubbed off on me but through vibrations. I’m going to feel something is off before an action takes place. I’m going to receive a notion that an aura is / isn’t connecting with my core and spirit before something actually goes down. I believe that’s our connection to God, or a higher power, or the frequency force fields of all things positive and good. Whatever you believe. We all have it when we’re not overthinking. Intuition. Focus on what you feel. - Shadee Clarke

"Paula rapped for the first time over the phone. I was impressed that she just rapped at the drop of a dime, no hesitation. She didn't explain what the rhyme was going to be about , she just rhymed!" Masta Ace recalls. "The female rappers who were out in rap at the time weren't really flowing as well -- on record or at shows -- as she did over the phone.”

Ace liked Paula's style and put her down with The INC., where she was featured on “Who u Jackin'" (from the LP Slaughtahouse) as well as doing background vocals for “What's Going On”, and "Eastbound." Paula also later appeared on the 1995 Sittin' on Chrome album tracks “This Ain't No Game" and "The 8-Side." While being a member of The INC. Paula toured the world with Ace, sharing the stage with the likes of Notorious B.I.G., Wu-Tang Clan, Warren G., Blackstreet, and Queen Latifah.

In getting a deal for Paula, Ace decided to create the music and get it out to the underground, instead of taking the customary route of shopping a demo tape to various record labels. They concocted "Paula's Jam (I Keep It Real Like That)" and after the song was completed, he pressed up some vinyl and shipped it to the top DJ’s all over the country. Once the record was serviced, it immediately became a mixtape staple and requests for the record came from all over including record stores, radio stations, clubs and college radio. Early supporters include New York DJ's Red Alert and Funkmaster Flex, mixtape kings Mister Cee and D.J. Clue, along with Wu-Tang's Method Man and rapper Redman. Record labels were bidding for Paula, but Loose Cannon won out.

"Paula Perry is one of the most talented rappers I've ever heard. She epitomizes what the label is looking for -- raw talent and in your face style. Paula's a true loose cannon and we look forward to blowing up the spot with her," says Lisa Cortes President of Loose Cannon Records.



All the info above are parts taken from an original press release issued by Loose Cannon Records after “Paula’s Jam” was released and in anticipation of the full album that would later become known as “Tales From Fort Knox”. Soon after in 1996 Polygram made the decision to discontinue “Loose Cannon Records” and from the entire label roster only Buju Banton was retained. Paula then shortly fell under the Mercury umbrella but after a lot of in-house changes she ended up at Motown, who planned to release the album on their “Mad Sounds Recordings” sublabel which was primarily focused on hip-hop. When it was time for “Extra, Extra!!” to be released, the label had shifted big chunks of Paula’s promotional budget to Queen Latifah and eventually the album ended up getting shelved.



The album contains production by Domingo, DJ Premier, Easy Mo Bee, Masta Ace (Ase One), Clark Kent, Fanatic, DR Period, Jesse West and features by Masta Ace, Jesse West, Lost Boyz, Kelly Price, Bahamadia, Heather B, Nikki D, Precious Paris & Rah Digga.



Limited to only 350 copies, including a 4 page booklet and all tracks have been remastered by Tradd. The CD version will also have an extra bonus track, the "Paula's Jam (Remix)" produced by Knobody.

Prince Paul hit Chopped Herring up to release this dope early 90's project!!

The first incarnation of the group was formed around 1989 in Amityville, Long Island, New York, although the family grew up in Long Island. The family of four brothers (Anthony, Richard, Joel, and Edward) and one sister (Dawne), of which Anthony (Poetic) was the eldest, were born to Trinidadian parents who moved from Trinidad and Tobago in 1971, making their first residence in Queens, New York for a short time, then moving to Long Island. John Berkeley (a pastor and a local businessman) and Ela Berkeley (a homemaker, cook-nutritionist, and teacher) were both singers and artistic in general, and they encouraged artistic expression in their five children. The family was well-rounded musically, singing gospel and R&B up to their early teens all around New York, other states, and Canada as "The Berkeley Singers". Anthony (Poetic), Dawne, and Joel (Brainstorm) sang, accompanied by Richard on the drums and Eddie (E-Sharp) on the piano or keyboard.

Poetic began rhyming in his early teens in Wyandanch, and was known by many names and building a name for himself as a lyrical battle MC. He changed his name to Poetic around 1985, and in 1986 he formed the crew known as Too Poetic, who in 1988-89 released a modestly popular single called: “God Made Me Funky/Poetical Terror”, under the DNA/Tommy Boy Music imprint. The group’s relationship with Tommy Boy Records eventually panned out for various reasons, scrapping the album and making Poetic very displeased, an early casualty of the politics of the music business.

While Poetic was just beginning his formal hip hop career in 1987–89, Brainstorm was attending college at the State University of New York at Farmingdale, Long Island, where he was the roommate of Brooklyn’s own Super DJ Richie Rich (who had been in Third Base, Clark Kent’s Supermen, and the movie Juice). The university was host to many hip hop artists as visitors for parties and to do shows like Rakim, EPMD, Producer-Super DJ Clark Kent, and Biz Markie.

After Brainstorm finished his college run in 1989, he took time to learn many aspects of the music business, but in 1989 he and Poetic mutually decided to pair up with a hardcore lyrical edge, original word play, and acute metaphors, after many collaborations between them since 1985. Thus, Da Bruthas G.R.Y.M. was born shortly after Too Poetic’s deal with DNA/Tommy Boy had soured. The energy and high chemistry between these true by-blood brothers at the time was, simply put, natural.

In the first Bruthas G.R.Y.M. era (c. 1989–1992), the brothers Poetic (Brother One) and Brainstorm (Brother Two) garnered much respect on the underground hip hop scene of New York Their first official demo featured the underground bangers like “Bruthas G.R.Y.M.”, “Circle-Circle-Dot-Dot”, the politically charged “Popcorn” and “Livin’ In Hell (Had To Survive)”. The demo featured production mastering by Nate "NATO" Tinsley, their in-house producer Semi-Automatic (Pedro Sims, Mr. Semi, Gravediggaz), and the brothers themselves. After blazing underground radio and live shows around New York City, they were listed in The Source magazine as the best unsigned rap group of 1989. The crew was then managed by longtime friend Jack Pope (Jack Sprat, Starving Artists Entertainment), who later became the road manager of the Gravediggaz.

These cassette tape “dubs” floated around the New York streets in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and their demo eventually made their way to the seasoned musical ear of fellow Amityvillain Prince Paul (Stetsasonic, De La Soul, Gravediggaz) from his association with the local Long Island artists who had met the brothers and saw their raw talent. In 1990 Prince Paul decided to fund and executive produce further demos, finding various other known and up-and-coming producers for the unnamed project, as well as being the tentative DJ for the group.

Then the unfortunate happened – being disenfranchised by the politics and games of the music business and life in general, Brainstorm just quit altogether for “personal enlightenment”, before any formal deal could solidify. Poetic understood about Brainstorm’s personal path at that stage in his life, but was silently devastated because they were so close to sealing a major record deal that would have propelled them further into Hip Hop history.

Their original demo, even today, is still one of Prince Paul’s favorites. It was not until 1992 that Poetic, after Brainstorm quit in 1991, that it is said that Poetic “fell on hard times”, including a short period of homelessness.

Brainstorm would continue to write for leisure and therapeutic reasoning, but never to seriously pursue a music career, moving to Brooklyn New York and later down south to various states; in fact, Brainstorm was so “finished with Hip Hop” that he gave Poetic all of his original rhyme books to use at his own discretion – some lyrics ending up on Gravediggaz projects.

Recorded while being on tour with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis … feat. Gary Clarke Jr., Raekwon, Black Thought, The Underachievers etc. … produced by Khrysis, Oh No, J Dilla & others!