Feature: A-Wal; Album: "Hyphy-Nated"

Feature: A-Wal
Album: “Hyphy-Nated”

By Graham Womack
Staff Writer
June 11, 2007

A couple of years ago, 26-year-old San Jose native Alan Walker, better known as hip-hop artist A-Wal didn’t have an album, just problems. Problems with his former record label, past legal problems and problems with his father. His most recent accomplishment, A-Wal’s debut, “Hyphy-Nated,” represents the length he’s come.

It would be a stretch to say A-Wal instantly compares with Bay Area greats, though his track; “Make It Hurt,” has a catchy, danceable beat like something out of an East Coast club.

A-Wal’s lyrics have a positive message and his production has similar elements to E-40’s playfulness and Too Short’s bravado.

He also counts classic acts like the Temptations and The Stylistics as influences, saying they give him old-school swagger.

“Some people still consider me a ‘gangsta’ or a ‘thug,’ you know what I’m saying? I don’t consider myself that,” A-Wal says.

There was a time when A-Wal did run the streets. It was never anything major he said, basically just being a ‘knucklehead,’ as he put it. The most he said he ever faced was a few warrants for his arrest. However, he burned many bridges with his father.

“How are you going to be proud of somebody robbing folks?” says Alan Walker Sr., of whom A-Wal ultimately received encouragement from his father; who himself was once involved with a musical group called, “The Divine Gospel Lights.”

A-Wal had differences with his first label Lifeline Entertainment before landing at the smaller Empire Music Group last year. Still, A-Wal said he hopes to eventually be “a guru in the game.” His father is proud of what his stands for now.

“I do think he’s the wave of the future, no doubt about it,” Walker Sr. says. “It just takes time.”

For more information about A-Wal, you can check out his MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/awal.

Feature: E. Grizzly; Album: "Hip-Hop is Dead!" The Mix Tape Vol. 1

Feature: E. Grizzly
Album: Hip-Hop is Dead! The Mix Tape Vol. 1

By Aaris A. Schroeder
Editor-In-Chief
April 16, 2007

Erik Grizzly, also known as E. Grizzly makes his conscious effort towards hip-hop in Miami, FL with his album, “Hip-Hop Is Dead,” under Puerto Roc Records who heads one-half of the production team but originated his musical path in Philadelphia during ’01.

“It started with my ex-girl from high school. I wrote her this love poem when I was 14 [years-old] and she went crazy. I think I lost my virginity because of that poem. So I just kept writing poems for her because she was such a giver afterwards and then all that made me start writing rhymes. It all started with a girl,” elucidates E. Grizzly.

E. Grizzly started off murdering other emcees in his rhymes with the release of an album, produced in Philly entitled, “Anti-Matter,” under A-Type Tactiks, an independent label that is involved with the “Hip-Hop Is Dead” movement. The album was released before he moved to FL. in ’03.

“There’s so much freaking garbage out there it’s ridiculous. It’s not all about money, cars, hoes, etc. I don’t necessarily want to be rich off the music. That would be cool if it happened but that is not why I make music,” explains E. Grizzly.

Performing all over FL, E. Grizzly still takes it up to New York and Philly a few times a year to perform where he originated.

Pushing the “Hip-Hop Is Dead,” effort has lead 25-year-old E. Grizzly down a political and litigating process as himself and Puerto Roc Records begin a nasty lawsuit to trademark the term.

According to E. Grizzly, Def Jam never licensed the phrase, “hip-hop is dead” and since Jonathan, also known as “Dj Primo” Padilla, CEO/President of Puerto Roc Records had created flyers, stickers and t-shirts with the phrase on it to represent the last 20 years in hip-hop. In April ’06, Padilla and E. Grizzly filed for a trademark application to have the rights to use the phrase exclusively for the artist’s album title not to mention awards that had been given to the artist after the album had been released.

Soon after the album release, NAS came forward to explain that he was releasing his album entitled, “Hip-Hop Is Dead,” Sept. ’06.

Padilla and E. Grizzly “feel strange having a pending trademark litigation case against one of their favorite emcees that they grew up listening to but have faith everything will work out in the end,” according to a press release from Puerto Roc Records.

“It’s a bunch of music business bullshit because NAS is one of my favorite emcees but that is what it is,” explains E. Grizzly.

E. Grizzly has performed pretty much the entire east coast. Selling over 5000 copies of his album in the last year, the effort has assisted this urban artist to win “Best Independent Artist” and nominated for “Best Breakthrough Record” for “Hip-Hop Is Dead,” at the 16th Annual Los Angeles Music Awards in ’06.

E. Grizzly will spit at hip-hop shows, small spoken word joints, gangsta-rap orientated venues and folk-music spots.

“I know if the poetry crowd likes one of my songs then it is a good song. They are the hardest crowd to please,” says E. Grizzly.

“Revolution Will Be Televised,” will drop fall ’07 under Puerto Roc Records. The new album will feature different independent poets, folk singers, emcees and R&B singers.

To learn more about E. Grizzly, you can check out his website http://www.egrizzly.com or his MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/erikgrizzly and pick up an album at http://www.cdbaby.com/egrizzly.