Ok, I’m gonna let this one fly. My boy DJ Roz has a new mixtape coming out in a few weeks, and he asked me to do an exclusive for it. You know I had to come through for him with some crazy shit. Check it out, over Big Daddy Kane’s “Warm It Up Kane” instrumental. This is the illest rap I’ve spit in a minute, if I do say so myself. Enjoy…
And if you want a blast from the past, download that Stan Ipcus x DJ Roz classic mixtape Real BreezyHERE. And stay tuned for that new DJ Roz Champion Sounds mixtape coming soon. Holler at your boy!
Fun times last night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg for Matisyahu’s 5th annual Festival of Light. Matis was in great form, backed by his boys Dub Trio, taking the stage in a white Yankees fitted and ripping through his growing catalog of jams. It was my pleasure to join him on stage for “Sparkseekers” and “WP”, but the highlight of the night was definitely when he brought out Citizen Cope to do beatbox renditions of Cope’s songs “Lifeline” and “Bullet and a Target”. Exclusive video footage of the Citizen Cope and Stan Ipcus appearances below…
“Lifeline”
“Bullet and a Target”
“Sparkseekers”
“WP”
And in celebration of Hanukah, Matisyahu released a new song and video, “Miracle”, which he performed last night (people in the front row were calling for him to play it all night). Check out the video below, it’s super fun!!!!!!
Thanks to my dude Matisyahu for bringing me out to perform, as always it was thrilling…Happy Hanukah Westcheddar!
I met Dirty JAX creator and designer Josh Kimerling (above, 1st on left) at University of Maryland in 1997. He was one year older than me, and from the Bronx, and I’m not sure how we initially crossed paths but we became friends pretty instantly. We shared a common love of hip hop and art and sports and girls and partying, and we were both from New York, so our circles began to overlap alot. From the moment he first heard me rap, he was always supportive, and even took the photos for my first album cover. And when he started up Dirty JAX sometime in the mid-2000’s, I had his back too. We’ve done events together promoting his line and my music a bunch of times, and of course, I rocked Dirty JAX in the “My Ferris Buellers” video hard body. I’ve watched Dirty JAX go from a small clothing line running out of the basement of his father’s store in White Plains, to a full blown business, with party animals all over the country rocking his shirts, from local up and comers like rapper Chris Webby (above, second from right) to A-list hip hopper Diddy. And it’s only getting bigger and better. Watch the new Dirty JAX promo video (what up Marko!), and below it, read my exclusive interview with the man behind the dirtiness, who is now a full blown Westcheddar resident living in New Rochelle…
ip: So, bring me back to how Dirty Jax started. Can you remember coming up with the name and concept for the line?
jk: I started designing tees when I realized I hated my job. I was always a creative dude and working in the corporate world really stifled that for me. I was an art director in advertising – PHARMACEUTICAL advertising which fuckin sucked. There was no art and certainly no creativity. Just ass kissing and taking orders from people I couldn’t stand. Living in this world made me long for my old life back. The one when I was growing up in the Bronx in the 80’s and 90’s, with hip hop mixtapes, Puerto Rican girls, drug dealers with guns, street fights, malt liquor, crazy slang, and on and on. Living, and surviving, in this environment gave me an edge, a uniqueness that stayed oppressed in the name of professionalism and responsibility. Dirty JAX was my way of saying, “fuck that shit”.
ip: What was the first shirt you designed for Dirty Jax that you actually got made? You still got it?
jk: The first line I designed was in ’04 and there were some cool shirts in there. They were more of a vintage style, with simple logos. I guess I recently threw a bunch of them out because I noticed the Mexican groundskeeper in my complex is Dirty JAX’d down. I swear this dude wears a different Dirty JAX tee everyday around the complex and it really cracks me up. Unfortunately the dude is deaf so I can’t trip out with him over it. All I do is wave and smile.
ip: Where do you draw inspiration for your designs? It seems to me to be a reflection of the New York street and club scene. You know, sex, drugs, and music.
jk: You pretty much nailed it. Shirts like “Always on my Grizzly”, “White Lines”, and “Zip Zero” speak to the street and the hip hop influence from my BX upbringing. However, even if you didn’t grow up in the city, Dirty JAX is like your alter ego. It’s like a good gangster flick or wet t-shirt contest. It allows you to express yourself in ways you may not always be able to. Dirty JAX is that dude you morph into when the work is done, the bills are paid and you’re ready to celebrate, get laid, get crunk, and have a story to tell. My inspiration comes from those moments when I was able to be that dude. The clubs, the girls, the music, just a celebration of life, success and the streets.
ip: You’re a big hip hop head right? I know you used to rap. In fact, I remember that you told me that when you heard me rap for the first time back at College Park you decided to quit and try something new. Haha. Truly the best compliment I ever got! What old school shit did you really like when you were coming up? And what are you feeling right now? You always have known what the hot songs are, and I can remember you being up on all the southern rap songs before anyone was really checking for that shit up here.
jk: It’s funny because I was the typical New Yorker who rejected all southern rap. I thought it was inferior and I couldn’t stand Master P which heads would try and shove down my throat when we were at Maryland. That all changed when I heard “Bling Bling” and Juvenile’s “Ha”. Granted these were commercial tracks but it also exposed me to Lil Wayne who instantly stood out to me. The music was fun, light, and entertaining. I was over that whole underground phase where I needed rappers to ‘”drop knowledge”. I would rather see some white chick “drop it like it’s hot” at a frat party than have a rapper with a GED try to school me on the illuminati (No disrespect to tragedy khadafi one of the illest ever haha). In my opinion, southern rap music saved hip hop. NY rap stalled after Mobb Deep, Nas, Wu-Tang, Redman, Boot Camp, etc. Everyone was trying to sound like those guys instead of inventing something new. The south on the other hand was being creative with hooks, production, creating a brand new sound that no one ever heard. In doing so they spawned a whole new legion/generation of hip hop fans. Whenever I see older heads griping about the current state of hip hop I have to remind them of how much they sound like the people who hated on our music when we were coming up.
ip: Word. You were the first one up on Lil Wayne, I remember that. You put me on to “Bling Bling”! So, Dirty Jax is bigger than ever right now. What did it take to get here? Can you describe the grind of having your own line? What does it take?
jk: I’ll avoid all the obvious cliche’s here “work hard”, “perseverance”, “blood sweat and tears”, etc. I started doing something because I enjoyed it. Although it was not a priority at first, making money was the goal. The brand started out small with local boutiques giving me a shot. Luckily the shirts sold, the reorders came and it became a little side thing as I continued to work full time. Little by little the demand grew and in 2007 I invested in the MAGIC tradeshow out in vegas (thanks to a long talk with your cousin Chris Isenberg who owns No Mas NYC clothing). MAGIC is a HUGE expense but we crushed the show and opened up about 30 new doors as a result. Fast forward to 2010 and its pretty much been a roller coaster ride since that first show. We just had an amazing summer sales wise but I’ve learned to never take the good times for granted. The recession is real and you are never safe in this business. It’s most evident when you hear about major retail chains going out of business, going bankrupt, or putting a freeze on purchasing. I can get a huge order from “Store A” and they sell every single piece but they can’t reorder because they owe Nike 30k. Or “Store B” can’t pay their bills period and shuts its doors. Although there was nothing wrong with my product and it sold well, I lose two major retail accounts that brought in major revenue for my company. This is something you can’t see coming but always have to be ready for. There are so many other factors involved in running not only this business but any business and all of them will make you want to quit and go back to a 9-5. You just have to step back, take a deep breath and remind yourself how lucky you are to make a living doing what you love. Also, make sure you can find other sources of income! Haha!
ip: What’s your best seller? How come you think it’s sold so well?
jk: The best sellers are usually the joints that are funny, clever and easy to understand or “quick”. Or, if they match a popular sneaker release like the Nike Copper Foamposites.
ip: What about your personal favorite shirts you’ve designed?
jk: In the early days, I was a lot more aggressive with colors because there wasn’t a science to it. I loved the freedom I had back then to do what I wanted. Now there’s much more of an intense focus on what sells because the economy is so bad and people aren’t spending like they used too. Nowadays, my faves are def the hoodies. I wear them all the time.
ip: There’s been alot of celebrity Dirty Jax sightings, my favorites being Diddy on MTV and Perez Hilton at some red carpet event. Any others you particularly thought were cool?
jk: I’ve actually had some NBA / NFL players cop stuff from me online and I only found out when I processed the invoices. But honestly, nothing is better than seeing a regular dude in the street who copped that shirt online or at his local boutique. Those are the folks who are keeping the dream alive.
ip: This is Westcheddar, and I know you’re a Bronx boy, but you’ve been living in New Rochelle for a while now. Any ill spots in the 914 for shopping we should know about? And where are your favorite spots in the city to cop clothes and kicks? Do they carry Dirty Jax?
jk: Unfortunately, Westchester hasn’t been a huge supporter of my type of product, you know, urban, streetwear, whatever you want to call it. However a little spot opened up in my neighborhood about a year ago called The Fitted Gallery (357 North Ave) and they’ve done extremely well with us. There are a couple of other places popping up that I have to check out so I’ll keep you posted. If you live in the boroughs – 4U House of Fitteds (White Plains Rd. also a location in the Palisades Mall), Sammy’s on Fordham Road. Swagga360 and Atlantis in Brooklyn. The Vault (Harlem) Ajays (Midtown), Get Set (Delancey St) and JJ’s (The Heights). And Shoe Gallery in Florida.
ip: How about online? I know you’re big on Karma Loop.
ip: You’re a big movie head. Just curious, what are your favorites?
jk: I’ll give you my Top 10…
City of God – Breathtaking from begining to end.
Romper Stomper – Early Aussie flick with Russell Crowe. Unbelievable fight scenes. Ahead of its time.
Chopper – Another Aussie flick this time with Eric Bana. Gritty as hell. Bana’s amazing.
Avatar – IMAX 3D glasses and all. Although I’m not even sure this can count as a movie.
Matrix – Neo and Morpheus styled on ’em.
Fight Club – Perfect flick for the 21 yr old American male.
Anchorman – Got funnier everytime I saw it until the whole movie was memorized.
Pulp Fiction – A masterpiece. Unfortunately he hasn’t come close since.
Sixth Sense – Created a new genre with this one.
Blair Witch Project – I’m sorry but I saw this movie 4 months before it hit theatres having no idea about it. I thought it was real and it bugged me out for a week.
Honorable Mentions: Boiler Room, Sling Blade, Anything with Don Cheadle, War of the Worlds, Most movies with Denzel, The Professional, Crash, Napolean Dynamite, 300, Charlie Wilsons War, Jurassic Park, Hoop Dreams, Office Space, Old School, Seven, Slumdog, Eddie Murphy Delirious, Enron: Smartest Guys in the Room, Super Troopers, Casino, The Bourne Identity.
ip: I love the new “I Does This” shirt, I’ve been telling you for years to bust that off and I’m so proud that it’s out now and people are actually rocking it! Thanks for blessing me with those, now I got all four colors! What else is hot for this season? Any shirts you think are gonna be big in the fall? Winter?
jk: Doing some pretty dope hoodies with embroidered patches, different types of sweaters too. Really looking forward to it. Also be on the look out for New Era hats. They may not drop til Spring ’11 but they WILL drop.
ip: So what’s next for Dirty Jax? Where is the line going. Is there gonna be a Dirty Jax store one day? What’s on the horizon. What’s the goal!?!?!
jk: Right now the goal is to put out a good product, make money and stay in business. We’re making some progress with the pieces we’re offering this fall and I’m really excited about the New Era caps. It’s really tough to think too far ahead because every season holds so much uncertainty. I’m hoping to take a big leap with spring ’11. We have a new manufacturer in Cali as well as our go-to printer in Brooklyn. Look for more fashion shows, photoshoots, a new website to launch this holiday and a collaborative mixtape with DJ Pay Homage that will be available on Soundcloud. We’re also working on a T-shirt/Crewneck collaboration with Sub Con Threads who are our mates on Karmaloop that will be available during the holidays. Were just trying to take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way and fight off this motherfucking recession.
ip: Thanks my G, appreciate your time. And good luck with everything!
*BONUS*
We dropped this last spring, but it’s still hot. Download it if you don’t got it….
Stan’s Samples is a collection of some of my favorite songs I’ve sampled, looped up, or remixed, dating back to my first album. I’ve been wanting to put this project together for a while, and I finally did it! I think you’re gonna like it, especially if you’re a fan of all kinds of good music, and extra especially if you’re familiar with my rap song catalog. Here’s the tracklist, along with some sounds, visuals, and background stories for each song on the mix. And the download link is at the bottom…
1. The Meters “Cissy Strut” (sampled on “Ippy Strut”)
-I first heard this song in the movie Jackie Brown. Fell in love with The Meters after that. I’ve sampled them a couple times. “Ippy Strut” was from my first album, then I re-did it for IPmatic. This is as funky as an instrumental track can get.
2. Aaron Neville “She Took You For A Ride” (sampled on “Nothing U Can Do”)
-I found this song on a soul music blog, I forget which one. Always loved the Neville Brothers, but had never heard this particular Aaron Neville solo track before. Gave it to my boy Kaliph, and he flipped it nice. Peep the video for “Nothing U Can Do” if you missed it…
3. Style Council “Long Hot Summer” (sampled on “Dan Dynamite”)
-My cousin CI gave me this song and told me to sample it. It’s some fly 80’s euro shit. I listened to it on repeat forever because I just thought it was a great song, but wasn’t sure how I was gonna flip it. I finally looped it up a couple years later and wrote to it, then Max Bee added some instruments to when we recorded it. Really proud of how the final product came out.
4. Spoon “I Turn My Camera On” (sampled on “Hammer”)
-Oh man, I had this looped for months before I finally figured out what to do with it! Then the chorus popped into my head, and the rest is history. I know some other people will get credited, like Kanye West or Kid Cudi, for sampling indie rock shit first, but for real I was on it before them. I’m a big indie rock guy. Check the video of me and Matty B performing this at Thirsty Turtle. This is the WP show banger of the century…
5. Arctic Monkeys “Fake Tales of San Francisco” (sampled on “Get Horny”)
-I fucking love the Arctic Monkeys. This song is so crack! The beat is ridiculous, and the vocals are amazing. These guys are like The Beatles with a hip hop influence. And “Get Horny” is one of the most fun songs I ever recorded. My wife loves that shit.
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Hey” (sampled on “Hey”)
-One of the first times I ever looped up a rock song was with this. DJ Destro used to love to use this at shows early on to get the crowd fired up. Peep the video of me spitting over this, my first Youtube video I ever made at my old crib on Greenridge Avenue in WP…
7. Run DMC “My Adidas” (sampled on “My Ferris Buellers”)
-Ahh, the classic! Run DMC was all we listened to back in elementary school. Check them performing live above. Shouts to Cipha Sounds for breaking “My Ferris Buellers” on Hot 97 and giving the boy a shot. Watch my video below…
8. The Beastie Boys “So What’cha Want” (sampled on “Gadush Gadush”)
My favorite Beastie Boys song of all time. I saw some older counselors at Hi Rock summer camp perform this one night at a party in the mess hall back in the day, and from then on it was my shit. And I idolized Ad Rock as a young teen. Yeah, I had to get on this beat sooner or later. The footage above of them performing this song on Arsenio Hall with a special appearance at the end from Cypress Hill is awesome.
9. G. Love & Special Sauce “Baby’s Got Sauce” (sampled on “Spit Crack, Get Face”)
-This song brings back the best memories of high school. Such a cool track. And when I was putting together the Real Breezy mixtape with Roz, I looped it up one day and wrote a story joint to it and recorded it on my laptop. The quality of “Spit Crack, Get Face” kinda sucks, but it’s still fun. Think I’m gonna pull out that first G. Love album today and give it a listen, haven’t bumped it in a while.
10. Kool G. Rap “For Da Brothaz” (sampled on “Wifey Material”)
-I still remember hearing this on underground NYC radio back in the 90’s when it first came out. It was either Stretch and Bobbito or Mayhem and those guys at 89.1FM, can’t remember. But they kept bringing back the opening loop, and I thought it was the illest beat ever. I’m so drawn to slow, laidback beats. And G. Rap murders it on some real hood story shit. I gave it a different flavor and made it into like an introspective love song, and Max Bee played keys over the loop to give it our own feel. “Wifey Material” is one of my favorite songs I ever did, shouts to Peter Rosenberg for playing it a bunch of times on Hot 97, that’s what’s up.
11. Sade “Hang On To Your Love” (sampled on “Keepin’ It Movin'”)
-I’m a major Sade fan, she’s so dope. This was a smooth loop. If I did it now, I’d put the guitars on the hook, but back then I would just loop something, record it, and on to the next one. Whatever though, because my boy K-Wet killed the hook!!! But yeah, Sade gets major burn in my life. Her new album is hot.
12. Amy Winehouse “You Know I’m No Good” (sampled on “Rap Video”)
-This seems obvious, and I know there’s a version with Ghostface rapping on it, but I had to make my own song out of this. It’s too funky of an intro, and once it was looped up it sounded like an old Grand Puba joint. Max Bee played guitar over this to thicken it up. Amy Winehouse is so ill, I hope she comes out with a new album soon. Word up, Back to Black is in my desert island Top 5.
13. Fish Go Deep “The Cure and The Cause” (sampled on “Highlands to Hollywood”)
-My wife’s friend put me on to this song on New Year’s of 2007. She was thumping it in the whip, and I told her I needed it asap. I put the quick flow on this for all my Westchester kids who fist pump at the local bars. This is probably the most left field song I ever looped up, but the final product came out dope. Matty B on the hook makes this loop even crazier!
14. Jim White “Static On The Radio” (sampled on “Let’s Walk”)
-Don’t fuck with me. This is probably the dopest loop I ever made. Heard this on WFUV, found the song, looped it, and went the fuck in. I never really got the recording “Let’s Walk” the way I wanted, but it’s on Bachelor Party. Peep the video of me spitting over it…
15. David Ruffin “I Let Love Slip Away” (sampled on “Picket Fence Dream”)
-Ooooh, this is smooth. I like how I made the chorus on this one. I rocked this for The Young Professional when I was trying out some new styles and more grown up themes. I don’t really loop shit any more though. Nos if I find something I like, I just give it to Kaliph, because he’s so ill with it. He’ll make it sound way better than what I could do with it anyway.
16. Cymande “One More” (sampled on “Lyrical Delight” & “Farting In Your Faces”)
-The Cymande album got so much burn during my college days. It was in constant rotation. On my first album, I had a bunch of slow songs, and I chopped this one into two different long verses during the album. This is like the most mellow song in the history of music. Makes me think back to the days when we would just chill for hours upon hours outside getting twisted without a care in the world.
Thanks for checking this project out, I hope you like it. And yo, if you want all the Stan Ipcus songs from Stan’s Samples, download them all HERE!!!!! Hollerrrr at your boy…
Matisyahu was in town this week on tour with Sublime at the Nikon Theater at Jones Beach, and he invited me to join him on stage. It’s been a while since I performed with him, almost exactly a year, and it was great to be back up there rocking our collabo “WP”. But before we got to that, he brought me out for a little warm up, where we exchanged raps over a dope beat by his band The Dub Trio. Here’s a pic someone posted on Twitter…
And check the guerilla video footage filmed from the crowd by my boy Timmy P. Audio is actually pretty nice on this. And if you recognize my verse, it’s because it’s from “Druss Park”…
Shout out to my boys in the pic up top for a great night. It was my first fellas night out since my son was born, and it was a memorable one, filled with awesome music and tons of laughs. Always great to catch up with Matis too, sounds like he’s got some cool stuff happening very soon. That’s what it is.
*Bonus*
Here’s a throwback pic from the summer 2007 of me and Matis on that same Jones Beach stage…
Ok! Me and my young boy Kaliph finally got around to making a video for our song “Nothing U Can Do”, off my latest mixtape IPmatic (see the post below or click HERE to get that). We filmed it on the no budget tip up in Mt. Kisco, and I basically put it all together and edited it myself. I’m proud of this, because it’s straight raw hip hop, the way we like it. No gimmicks, no bullshit. Respect the No Mas NYC lid and the throwback Latrell Sprewell Knicks jersey. Westchester County stand up, White Plains and beyond, this one’s for you!!!!! Enjoy…
P.S. Stay tuned for our official Westcheddar breakdown of Lebron’s decision (you blew it LBJ) and the New Knicks. For now, I’ll just say this: I like how our new squad is shaping up. Big shout to Amar’e Stoudemire for stepping up to the challenge. Stay tuned to my man Tommy Dee at The Knicks Blog for all the recent news. Holler at your boy!!!
Here’s my latest rap effort. I call it IPmatic. No, it’s not my remix of the first Nas album, though it’s a nod to it’s greatness and 10 track format. This is my return to the roots and essence of Stan Ipcus rap music, complete with original production from me and my closest homeboys, and remakes of some of my favorite songs from when I was coming up in the 90’s. Thanks to my boy Will Merchan from White Plains for designing the IPmatic cover. That’s me in my White Plains Capitals baseball days, and the WP skyline below. Here’s my track by track breakdown…
1. “Stir It Up”- I have this stash of A Tribe Called Quest beats in my collection of instrumentals, so when it was time to find an intro for this project, I went fishing through them. This seemed perfect. It’s the first song on Midnight Marauders, and everytime I hear it I am instantly transported back to my freshman year of high school. And that’s the feeling I wanted to grab on to right off the bat, to put myself and the listener into that zone. Back to the basics. I came with that real simple, old school, laidback flow, just really almost talking on the beat, to introduce what’s to come. I made it specifically to be an intro for this project.
2. “Ippy Strut (Revisited)”- Anyone who’s been with me since the early days knows that the “Ippy Strut” was the first song after the intro on my first disc. Last year, my boy Bats was encouraging me to revisit some of my old beats and styles and add some new shit to them. So that’s what I did. And I added a different Meters beat to the second verse, “Cardova”, to give it a little change up. I love how this came out. A fun one to get things rolling, and a return to the true Ipcus roots for those listeners who have been with me since day one. A new beginning if you will.
3. “Nothing U Can Do”- My young boy Kaliph produced this. He’s 16, and makes fire beats, all with soul samples and stuff like that. We have the same taste in rap music. I’ve been feeding him old KRS-One and Nas and Biggie for a couple years now, and he loves all that shit. He’s been producing for about a year now for real, and has only had his own equipment for about 6 months, but his beats are extra dope. I gave him this Aaron Neville sample, and he flipped it into a straight concept record. I was so excited when I heard it, I wrote the whole song that night. He brought me back to life, and inspired me to want to put a new project out. I was pretty much done until I heard this beat. As for the concept, well it’s basically saying, there’s nothing you can do to be as ill as us. Nothing. Try whatever, do whatever, it’s just not gonna happen.
4. “Druss Park”- Oooooh! This is my favorite shit on the whole project. Another Kaliph beat. This joint is for the summer, and for all my fam. It’s smooth and hard, and I love my flow and voice on this. When I was recording the vocals, it gave me that feeling where I was just inside the beat. I like the hook on this too. Like I said, this is my favorite track on here. Sounds like some old shit I recorded onto a cassette back in the days. Shouts to Kaliph for lacing me. I owe you one for this. Oh, and Druss Park is right up the street from where I grew up on Ogden Avenue, in the heart of WP.
5. “So Wassup”- This one’s for Guru, RIP. One of my favorite rappers of all time. Crazy to see your idols pass away. Makes you realize how immortal you become though when you record music. This beat was a B-side from “You Know My Steez”, and I had a freestyle to this back in college where I’m talking about basketball. I always loved this beat, it’s so hard. Anyway, a few weeks ago, I was going back and forth with my boy K-Wet on some bars over email. See, he’s been out in Cali since Thanksgiving, so we send each other flows on this little fam email list to keep our swords sharp and crack each other up during the day. Well, I wrote these two verses one morning really early, like a week before my son was born. I was all fired up and anxious and so I just started pumping out raps. I think I wrote and recorded half of IPmatic that week. Anyway, after I sent those verses, I looked back and thought they would make a hot song. So I reached for the Gangstarr beat, chopped up the Guru vocals a bit to make a hook, and boom. This is me just going in hard on some everyday shit. And I said “I’m no spring chicken but I was born in May, it’s lookin’ like my son’s bday may be the same day”, and he was born on my birthday a week later. Fall back.
6. “Slow Ya Roll”- Honestly, we just laid this down last week, it’s the last track I recorded for this project. Kaliph gave me this beat on Thursday, and I wrote the song Thursday night, and we got up early on Friday afternoon and put it down. Cats were bugging out when we were recording this, including me, because that shit was just sounding crazy! I don’t usually flow like that, you know? Kaliph did his thing with this beat. The next shit I put out will most likely be entirely produced by Kaliph. That’s my dude right now. We’re in sync with this hip hop shit. I’m just gonna keep feeding him shit to sample, and I know he’s gonna keep hitting me in the head with crack. And he’s working on his own album too, featuring me and lots of other young local artists. That’s gonna be something to watch for. He’s already got a bunch of tracks done.
7. “8 Steps To Perfection”- This is over that old Company Flow beat. Love that album. Those dudes were so nasty with it. I’m spitting some fat bars on this one. For real, I’m proud of my raps on this project. Not that I ever slack, but on some of these songs I’m just spitting lyrics, and I hope you can appreciate that. It’s all new styles, but they feel so damn vintage over these beats and that’s what I love. Shouts to Peter Rosenberg at Hot 97, he played this on his show one night and kept bringing it back for NYC. Crazy!
8. “Suburban Nightmares”- My boy Bless in Maryland, who was a fellow New Yorker that I went to school with down there and ended up staying in the area, gave me this beat like two years ago. I loved it always, but never knew what to do with it. It needed something really ill and dark. This is another one I wrote and recorded the week before my son was born. It’s a story song, reminds me of one of those crazy Raekwon and Ghostface stories where they’re up in their hotel room and dudes start shooting and shit. That’s what inspired this, listening to some old songs of theirs. Follow the story, it’s pretty wild. I call it “Suburban Nightmares” because obviously this would never happen in my real life, but everyone has crazy dreams with guns and violence once in a while. And don’t sleep, crazy shit like this happens in the suburbs all the time.
9. “Plug Me In”- Max Bee is my brother, and just like Bless, we’ve been making music together for years but don’t get to see each other as often as we’d like. He’s down in Baltimore, I’m here in New York. But every once in a while, I’ll get a beat in my email from him. And this one I fell in love with. It’s got synths and kind of that double time style, but it feels organic. I don’t usually get sing-songy on hooks, but I gave it a shot with this, and tested out the old quick flow. I think it came out kinda nice. It’s different. And I really wanted to have a Max Bee song on here. Plus, the message in the song is so relevant to this time period in my rap career. It’s basically saying that no matter where life takes me as I get older, I’m always going to have that urge to plug the mic in and rap. It’s part of me. And I know Max feels the same way about making music, and that’s why we connect as such good friends and collaborators. When I sent him the vocals, he said “I’ve been feeling the same way”. This is some 2010 shit, straight from the earth though. Peep the second verse, I especially like it. “2010 get it in with the new sound, tried to retire but I can’t help but get down…”
10. “The Life and Times of Stan”- I don’t remember how it happened, but one day I just started writing my life story to the “Passing Me By” instrumental. Thought I’d finish up with this one. Brought that laidback, old school flow on this beat too, and basically rapped alot about what life used to be like growing up and where I’m at now in terms of becoming a father. Time keeps on passing me by. I’m all grows up, but I have no regrets, and some great memories. And best of all, now I have a family. Love the artwork for this that my boy Dave Roy did. Peep it above. I released this a couple months ago, but re-did the vocals for the final version.
New Stan Ipcus “Druss Park”, produced by my young boy Kaliph. Named after the park I grew up down the street from in White Plains. This one’s for the fam, and for the summer. I’m diggin’ it, hope you will too. Off my upcoming release, IPmatic. Enjoy…
This is probably the last track I will record before the birth of my first child, who is due in the next couple weeks. I dedicate this to him (yeah it’s a boy), and to my wife, who has been so amazing over these past nine months. I’ve been wanting to rock over this Pharcyde “Passin’ Me By” instrumental for a while, and finally did. I don’t really write raps that much any more, at least not like I used to, but I still love it and do it when the inspiration hits me. This one is kind of a look back on some of the good times I had coming up, and a peek at what I’ve got going on right now too. Truthfully, these have been the most amazing and exciting months of my life, watching our baby grow inside of my wife’s belly, and getting ready for his birth. Shout to my boy David Roy for the superfresh artwork, based off the animated HBO series that my friend Nick Kroll stars in, The Life And Times Of Tim. Here’s the song…
Brand new Stan Ipcus! This one is called “Nothing U Can Do”, produced by my dude Kaliph, a 16 year old up and coming producer out of Mt. Kisco. His work speaks for himself. I’m really feeling this one. Enjoy…
And shout out to Jae Boogz, my dude from WP, who premiered the song this morning on his radio show. He also had actor Bryan Greenberg from the HBO series How To Make It In America on the show. Check it out HERE.
*BONUS*
My boy Benji aka DJ Scrotum aka Scro Scro the Abuser put together this Ipcus Trap Mix on his site Top Slob. Check the playlist above, and then download/stream HERE. Also, if you missed it, peep Verses From The Ipster. Cheah!
Westcheddar 