The Interview

“No man is going to be better than me… I will not lose.”

- Jeremy Johnson, co-founder, WreckBoiz Promotion Team

Excuse my French; but fuck what you heard: the Wreck team is winning.

It only takes a few moments, and you realize something different – special if you will – about the WreckBoiz promotion team. The group, whose parties and unapologetic candor have made them a household name in the DC college party circuit, seem to have figured it out. Recognizing the importance of reliable professionalism, universal respect, and actually remembering why they’re in college in the first place, the WreckBoiz understand there’s more to life [and party promotion] than the fun.

But make no mistake the fun, the wrecklessness, is there.

With an affinity for doing any and everything to make each of their parties a memorable one, wreckless has become a synonym of sorts for Jeremy Johnson, Richard “Freako” Montgomery, Terrence Low, Montaque Jones, and the company with which they have created.

To discover the method behind the madness, and reveal the “other side” of the group who lives by the motto “two in the pink, one in the stink [you figure it out] MESH. took a moment to sit down with these wild students… err– Wreckless Scholars, if you will.

MESH: Who are the WreckBoiz?

Jeremy: Regular guys. We’re just regular people having a nice time. We see these movies of college life in high school, but we don’t experience them here. We see people going on road trips, we see wild parties, but before we stepped on the scene [at Howard] there were no wild parties.

MESH: On this campus alone you have The Yacht Club, The Dream Team, LGI, Gatsby Ent. Etc… Why do you think you are so successful?

Terrence: We don’t limit ourselves to just Howard. Initially, our introduction says ‘Howard is our stepping stone, but the world is our stomping ground’. We appreciate all that Howard does, but we branch out to George Washington [University], American, Catholic University, UDC.

Valdez: Also, it’s the quality vs. the quantity. We don’t have parties every single month.

Jeremy: We would rather cancel a party, than throw one that doesn’t pop to our standards.

MESH: Are you guys only about the reckless parties?

Valdez: Me personally, I like to meet people. That’s why I usually work the door. There are networking possibilities—we’ve definitely met more people and got a lot more connects. My dad always told me to network, and meet people because you never know who’s going to be what in the next 5 or 10 years.

Que: I did it for more than networking. Its my way of making another dollar and letting people know about my entertainment group that I want to take off eventually, and have fun at the same time. Hopefully we can expand it.

MESH: Describe the perfect party.

Valdez: My idea of the perfect party is one where I can actually leave the door and go party. I mean even when we’re packed to capacity there are still people begging us to come inside. So we’ve never really had the perfect party, because we always have to let somebody down and turn some people away.

Jeremy: The perfect party has a 60:40 ratio, beautiful women to men.

MESH: What would you say fuels your hustle?

Jeremy: I want to be the best. No man is going to be better than me .. I will not lose.

Terrence: I want to be the market when it comes to this promotional game and these parties. I feel like that’s why people are attracted to us, you can’t go to the club and have a WreckBoiz party experience.

MESH: Do you think the people see you as the best, or is it a debate?

Valdez: It’s a debate, a lot of people may go to the club, because they like the club and they only go because its at a nice club, it’s all opinion based.

MESH: What makes you MESHworthy?

Que: You felt like you gave birth to something, MESH. right? We did the same thing, so it didn’t just pop in the beginning; we actually had to sit in the backburner and be looked at as just promoters, and then gain respect. We actually put in our hard work an effort.

Valdez: I know these other promotion companies are usually like 10 deep, but really how many of them really chill with each other. I could live with these four. These are like my brothers. We do it because we love it and we love each other. There is passion for it.

Terrence: I personally don’t want to be around people who don’t want to better themselves.

—

The Photoshoot

Check out the rest of the pics after the jump…

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Kelly Cutrone. Fashion Icon, and founder of the brand imaging and PR firm People’s Revolution (of MTV’s The Hills fame) discusses everything “fashion intern.”

“I don’t know if you know…that I made interning famous.”

My Resumé keep telling me ’she could GET IT.’

Who am I to deny my resumé?

AR

PS. Mrs. Cutrone has a book coming out February 2. More details, and pre-order HERE.

A good friend of MESH., Benjamin “B[dot] Jay” Barnes, has released his much anticipated mixtape, DiamondsDunks&BackPackz. So MESH decided to review the album and post it for your listening pleasure. Hope you enjoy!

Success. Fashion&Conciousness.

Or as Benjamin “B[dot] Jay” Barnes would say: DiamondsDunks&Backpackz.

The highly anticipated mixtape from the young Virginia MC who through his clothing line (Weirdoe Clothing), entertaining tweets (@bdotjay on Twitter) and music, has built a legion of fiercely loyal fans; hit the online circuit as the latest installment in the budding career of the artist known simply as “Bdot.”

DiamondsDunks&Backpackz, a representation of the three elements which Bdot believes embody him as a rapper, is a personal diary of sorts, taking the listener into Barnes’ life with reckless abandon: “I want the listeners to get a glimpse into my mind. People think they know me through Twitter, but really they don’t.”

We know a little more now.

57 minutes of dope beats, undeniable steez, and catchy lyrics have shown us a lot more than we knew before about the Twitter celebrity. Bdot likes sex, dresses better than you, has more swag [and intelligence], and can’t stand that girl Roxanne.

DDB serves as the seeming establishment of Bdot as a serious MC. Having produced most of the beats himself –with additions from producers Static and Work Hard of The Legion production team– and gone through the entire album with few features, listeners learn a lot about Bdot. Whether using witty wordplay over booming bass to tell you how unstoppable he is (“Auto[dot]”), revealing his darker outcast persona (“Purple Clouds”), or discussing his budding, yet explicit, love and sex life (“Me&MyBae”), Bdot shows with DDB that he is not afraid to expose himself to the masses, a trait that proves helpful to the overall quality of the album.

DDB is at its best however, not when Barnes is at his most jubilant, but the contrary. It is on songs like “iLL.Ness,” where Barnes explores darker subjects such as his mother almost having an abortion while carrying him, and “Heart Collision” where he discusses the failed love between himself and on-and-off-again soulmate Roxanne, where Bdot is at his best. Listeners can feel the pain in Bdot’s voice as he speaks of the love run afoul and consequently are drawn closer to the artist than before.

The album however does have its weak points. The strength Bdot possesses as a producer sometimes overshadows his talents as a lyricist. It is clear that Bdot is still a budding MC as he has yet to find a comfortable niche in his delivery. With sometimes choppy and inconsistent lyrics that are oftentimes overshadowed by superb beats, Barnes has a staunch task ahead if he wants to be seen as more than just a teeny bop hipster rapper. His flows seem to always leave you wanting just a little more, and it is not until he can totally capture his audience, that he will be able to have a complete record.

“It’s all about how you carry yourself,” Barnes admits “I jus do what I think is dope… it’s about your personality.”

Personality isn’t the problem.

Personality has gotten Bdot nearly 3000 followers on Twitter. Personality has led fans to download DDB over 500 times in less than 5 hours. Personality, has gained the respect of notable MC’s Mickey Factz, and The Cool Kids. Bdot’s personality is fine. It’s the intangibles he has to fine tune if he really wants to be a successful artist.

Download DiamondsDunks&BackPackz HERE

MESH.

Some of you think she tries too hard. She’s not organic. She fabricates this image.

FAKE!

No one is that... Weird

Well, I don’t know if I can agree with that.

With every interview, Gaga seems to be about as #realasitgets.

But what do I know…?

I’m Gone.

AR

What do John Legend, India Arie, Maxwell, Estelle, Aretha Franklin and Musiq Soulchild have in common?

Aside from breathtaking and classically soulful music, they have all shared the same opening act; a talented, enthusiastic, Irish/Nigerian songstress with a beautiful voice whose looking to take the R&B/Soul genre to new, unchartered territories. Her name is Laura Izibor and her sound is uniquely her own. Reminiscent of vintage and piano driven soul, Laura’s debut album Let The Truth Be Told is a classic and was featured on MESH.’s “The Soundtrack of 2009: The Best Thus Far” [here].

Laura Izibor did the honor of opening for Musiq Soulchild at Howard University’s Homecoming R&B Concert this year and gave MESH. the privilege of catching up with her before her performance.

—

Let’s start with the popular question, how did you get started?

Laura: I got started by accident. In grade school, my teacher asked everyone to get up and sing. I had never sung a day in my life. So I got up and sang a line from “There Can Be Miracles” by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. That was the beginning; my teachers and classmates were like “Oh! You can sing!” That’s how I discovered I could sing, so then I started playing around with the piano and began teaching myself.  Songwriting was the next inevitable step and by 14 or 15 I was like I really want to do this. I began entering song competitions, sending demos off, and then I got my break when I was 16.  I showcased and then at 17 I got signed to my record label.

Your album is titled Let The Truth Be Told, so what truths did you want to reveal with this album?

Laura: Just my truth in life, in my own life and love. You know I was able to write the whole album so that it was nobody else’s vision or story. From one person to the next you’re able to put the album on and from beginning to end and say, “Ok, so this is what actually goes on in her life.” You’re able to feel that intimacy.

My personal favorite tracks from the album are “Mmm” and “The Worst is Over,” what are yours? Which are your favorites to perform?

Laura: Mmm, well they’re all like my babies! It’s hard to pick a favorite but I do love “What Would You Do” and I love “Mmm.” Oh! I love “I Don’t Want You Back” as well because to me it’s the irony of life when you’re over someone, they come knocking at the exact point you’re really over them and they want you back and it’s like that song is playing “Nope! I don’t want you back!”

So this is your first Howard University Homecoming, are you excited to be in D.C. and for Homecoming?

Laura: I am! I’m getting more and more excited because everyone else is so excited, you know?

What ways are you looking to broaden your fan base in the U.S?

Laura: I tour a lot. I just got off tour with John Legend, Maxwell, and India Arie. That’s where I’m happiest. I love performing. I get a lot of movies, TV slots and things like that. People can hear you in different ways.

So what sets you apart from the artist you’ve just mentioned and what makes you MESHworthy?

Laura: I think, I play an instrument, I write everything, I’m Black and I’m Irish, (Laughter) I keep saying that, it makes me original!  I don’t think it’s a competition, we are all individuals born with wonderful gifts and what music you make is a reflection of that.

Okay, last question for some fun. Is there any cool slang or saying from Ireland you can teach me really quick?

Laura: Um, you can…. actually no I won’t, that’s kind of bad. If something’s really good you can say rapid!

So, “That was rapid!”?

Laura: Exactly, or you can say deadly!

—

With music as deadly or rapid as hers, we are sure that Laura’s career will continue to blossom as she continues to offer uniquely raw and soulful music. If you are interested in her music, go get her album Let The Truth Be Told, which dropped June 16, you won’t be dissappointed.

-Cj

MESH.

Recently, MESH. sat down to talk with up-and-coming producer Chase Carter–a sophomore at Howard University who has, through his hot beats and his sharp networking skills, been causing quite a buzz on and off the campus community.

MESH: What is Bang Musik?

Chase: Bang Musik is a production company. The name was developed in 2006, with my brother Ronald Brown. It basically started off with us producing for several underground artists. Over the summer, I decided to take initiative and brand the company, develop a logo, go out to clubs and promote.

MESH: How’d you get started with production?

Chase: I was 12 years old and my friend who lived around the corner from me, his father used to produce and he put me on to this program called Acid-Pro. Basically he just threw me some loops and said “Here’s the basis of the program”, and I just ran with it. I started making beats in my house all the time. My mother, she couldn’t even get me off the computer, she was just like “Go outside, do something”. Everything was beats, beats, beats.

MESH: How did you expand on this?

Chase: I took the initiative over the summer because I wasn’t really getting my music heard. Everyone knew I made beats, but I didn’t really have anyone that I was producing for. I didn’t have any people hitting me up like “We want some beats,” instead it was just “That Nigga on 66 Maple Avenue makes beats.” I decided to branch out and go to clubs, meeting club DJs. I got free business cards from Vista Print and started passing them out. Finally, I linked up with my friend Todd Smith, aka Rav P—one of his business partners in Supply and Demand LLC developed a logo for me. I basically ran with it. As you see I have stickers all over campus, I have business cards everywhere—anywhere I could put my business cards. I am basically trying to get my music heard. I’m trying to build my catalog and present it to record labels.

MESH: Are you selective when you make a hot beat and somebody wants to be on it, because I know if I made something hot I wouldn’t want to put just anyone on it.

Chase: When that shit is hot, and takes a lot of fucking time, and you’re in the studio endlessly working on that one fucking beat it’s like damn—No, you’re not rocking it. Joe you’re not rocking it, Sally Sue you’re not rocking it—this is straight Jay right here.

MESH: Take us through that beat making process.

Chase: First I have to determine how I’m feeling at the time. Say, if I’m a little down it’ll be a slow beat. I remember one time I made a beat, which is my favorite to this day. I heard some clapping outside, and I just put a tempo to it and started tapping my foot. Then I just put it in the program—I put a clap, and then a reason, I opened up a reason. Then I just started to add other instruments, maybe a high hat, then a synth—maybe a broad synth. It all comes with feeling and my environment at the time. A beat is not planned, sometimes it just happens.

Read the rest of the interview & hear some samples after the jump..

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