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CLICK HERE FOR FREE DOWNLOADS FROM “PHONE HOME”
Here is a link to the Okayplayer.com review:
http://www.okayplayer.com/reviews (Posted on Feb 24th, 2011)
So here is my explanation/response to OkayPlayer’s critiques:
1) Why would I choose to use heavily sampled beats with simplistic drum patterns?
My main influence for this was the Tribe Called Quest’s early production, particularly on the song “Can I Kick It” and really the entire first 2 Tribe LPs. Plus I realized that I could hear/understand Immortal Technique’s knowledge-packed verses the first time hearing his “Revolutionary Vol 1 & 2″ because his production has often very simple (or sometimes non existent and he’s just kicking it a cappela).
2) Why would I chose to use predictable lyrics?
The simplest reason for this is I wanted to prove a point, which is my favorite quote from Nas “No Idea’s Original, Nothing’s new under the sun, it’s never what you do, it’s how it’s done”. So, I wanted to see if I could take some of these cliche ideas and turn them into something more. An example of this is my weed song “Go Green”. Yeah pretty much everyone at least one song about smoking mad herb and partying. Not me. My song focuses on a real issue with intelligent, mind provoking lyrics (i.e. “Take a sec look at me with equal eyes and, We’ll agree on age limits when were legalizing, almost guarantee when kids turn 18, won’t be smoking on the brown they’ll be puffin on the green.”). So although my lyrics use cliche subject matter, I do so purposefully changing the presentation and meaning of the song from the norm.
3) Why did i use a reoccurring theme?
I wanted to do a theme album as an ode to my love for the Gza’s “Liquid Swords” LP (which by the way is to this day one of my favorite LPs of all time…hands down…so if you ain’t heard it…again ya slippin). The first reason I made the theme reoccurring because life is a cycle, of smaller cycles upon smallers cycles ad infinitum. The second was because of Outkast’s “Stankonia” album which was littered with random ass skits about seemingly nothing, yet something. So I wanted to do that at least once and this was the prime opportunity.
4) So what the fuck is the deal with my name anyways?
To realize the development it takes an artist, let me embellish you with a quick story of how I got my name. My real name is Aaron Joshua Martin. Pretty original huh? So as you can guess I’ve always thought it was weak and corny. Right about the time I started rapping a peer of mine gave me alex haley’s biography of Malcolm X, which at the time to me he really just stood as a couragous rebel against the system (wasn’t till much later I understood the complexity of his vision and contribution to the world). This was a source of strength for me and inspiration so originally my name was just X-AM (X-Aaron Martin). Again pretty original right? No. So I decided Examine would be a lot doper, while not losing my original idea. Plus I was just dipping into philosophy books heavily and Socrates is always talking about the “Unexamined life isn’t worth living”, so I felt there was a deeper meaning beyond me. With a name like Examine everyone kept trying to battle me thinking i was trying to step and “test” em. After bout 4 years of that I changed my name from Examine to Examine the Truth, then later when I was sober enough to realize that my initials would be E.T. (this definitely wasn’t a planned thing) I went ahead and ran with it for two reasons mainly. First, Examine the Truth is a mouthful few can take in. Second, the fact that ET is more commonly associated with aliens, who are people from the unknow, and I am from a place that is unknown to the Hip Hop world, ET was fitting.
5) What does “pHone Home” mean for me if it is indeed about hearing the unexpected?
Connect to the roots of Hip Hop. I used the alien reference of the classic “ET Phone Home” phrase from pop culture to show that most cats these days here that classic 90′s Hip Hop and think it’s alien. So i took they name in an Andy Warhol like fashion and not as a lack of artistic creativity. Plus the idea of connecting with your roots was very relevant during the making of this album which spanned my transition into fatherhood. You would think that the picture of my son on my album cover would bring this point “home” for the critic.
So to truly shoot down this critics point of my lack of follow through on my theme please ask yourself the very question he closed his article with “After all, what is the proper thing to expect from an alien anyway?” Most people would answer the question as they would expect something alien or as he put it unpredicatable. So for an alien to truly do something that is unpredictable given that most people expect the that which alien/foreign, is to do what is common/familiar. So that is why I actually did do the unexpected because he is 100% right. When you here the stage name ET you think you are about to go on a synthed out, glitch happy launch into the future of music. But what do you find instead…classic simple yet sweet Hip Hop. However, since he obviously wants to know my opinion on aliens i will give you it. Of course they are out there and would be the least bit surprised if they’re in their Motherships bumpin that classic 90′s ish like Atliens they’re out their singing “…wheelz of steel…..now show me how you feel”.
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GREEN Digi Entertainment
PO Box 5507
Eugene, OR 97405
Track Listing
1. Leave a Message
2. Inhale (feat Phonics)
3. 88′ Breakbeat (feat DJ Celsius)
4. pHone Home (feat DJ Celsius)
5. Ringtone Rappers
6. Profreshn’ill (feat DJ Foodstamp)
7. I Have a Dream
8. Pocket Change (feat Alexx)
9. Particular (feat Tomo of Volifonix)
10. Make Up Sex
11. Got Cigs?
12. Guns, Oil and Drugs (G.O.D.)
13. Paying Homage (feat Jaguar)
14. Dude Where’s My Car?
15. 5-4-1=OH (feat The pHormula)
16. Mente Spits…Or Swallows?
17. It’s In Da Bag (feat Grayskul of Rhymesayers and AlpHamatic)
18. Go Green
19. The Sidekick
20. Where You Going?
21. Letters Never Wrote
22. Soul Fly (feat Zumbi of Zion-I and Geo of Blue Scholars)
23. ReImagine (feat DJ Celsius)
24. Leaving a Message
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