SMKA - Album Release Party (Performances)

SMKA - Album Release Party (Part -1)

Cool Kids Design - Vote for Tunde

Vote For him Here

Lavish Life Social Club... Pics from CENCI

LAVISH LIFE SOCIAL CLUB

They do it all, including documenting dope events.

thanks yall.

WOW - "caddys" performance @ Cenci

they KILLED it

SMKA -Release Party: Thanks!

CENCI and SMKA thanks everyone who made it out last night...


Performances by...
Grip Plyaz
Young Trimm
A.Leon Craft
Jay West
Savage
Gilles
Rome Fortune

Pictures Coming SOON!!!

www.whynatte.com
www.plush357.com

ATLiens phone home with SMKA's The 808 Experiment, Vol. 1 - CREATIVE LOAFING DEC 24-30

Sometimes Atlanta's new wave of underground hip-hop seems like a motherless child. Or an alien that lost contact with the mothership.

In a galaxy far away from the finger snaps that made Bankhead go pop and the traps that turned T.I. and Young Jeezy into hot commodities, there exists an alternate universe where beats are measured by the blogosphere instead of the bump produced in your trunk.

Over the past year, an emerging underworld (filled with hipster-leaning hoppers, second-generation ATLiens, and otherwise unidentifiable but fly MCs) seemed poised to forsake an authentic Dirty South sound for more of the same cocaine-laced synth lines and recycled computer love à la Kanye West. It became a desperate state of affairs.

But the new compilation The 808 Experiment, Vol. 1 from SMKA Productions proves there's still hope. By bridging the city's slicker, hipster derivative and its indigenous red clay swagger, the album may bring Atlanta's rap legacy back to the future. And a burgeoning scene could get the chance to redefine itself before some random blogger does.

The 808 Experiment features more than 25 MCs, including Gripplyaz, one of the artists on the standout track "Caddys." Once he says with a laugh, "I am not a fucking hipster" for the umpteenth time during a recent telephone interview, it becomes clear not only how frustrated he is with the label but also how much he embodies the sentiment behind the compilation. Grip, like a growing class of local acts, occupies that rare, hard-to-define space within Atlanta's underground between straight-up hood and hipster-hop.

Raised in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward, Grip "grew up around the dope game [and] the skateboarders," he says. "We all hung out together."

Reconciling those two extremes through music is exactly what primary producer Blake "808 Blake" German, producer/engineer Kyle "7" King, and business manager Mike Walberg had in mind when they decided to form SMKA Productions over lunch one day at a Midtown Chick-Fil-A. The trio immediately began work on a project to highlight the range of local talent.

The three Atlanta natives and former Paideia classmates "wanted to come up with something new," says German. So they started with something old – the Roland TR-808. Introduced in 1980, the drum machine produced the menacing, trunk-rattling beats that became synonymous with the earliest strands of Southern bass music and booty-shake later in the decade.

From the outset, it's clear The 808 Experiment intends to resurrect that classic period and update it with an array of samples and melodic keys. "The Instrumental Introduction" is constructed around a 12-second loop of Rose Royce's 1978 classic "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," with its midtempo, gurgling bass line and eerie keyboard melody that almost sounds paranormal taken out of its original context. Then the voice of OutKast's Andre, sampled from 1996's ATLiens song "Elevators (Me & You)," repeats: "Now everyday we looked up at the ceiling (yep)/watching ceiling fans go 'round trying to catch that feeling off instrumentals." By the time the first 808 beat kicks in one minute and 25 seconds into the track, the curtain has been raised.

"It was almost paying a little homage to the dudes that came before us," says German. "OutKast, to me, they represent a very creative side of Atlanta that we forget about and I wanted to definitely showcase them because they provide a little bit of light sometimes [compared to] a lot of other stuff on the radio."

The CD offers a range of voices, from street-worthy (J Beans, Double R, Young Trimm) to rowdy (Supreeme, Tom P) to quirky (Rome Fortune, Wil May, o8o of Thunderkatz). With both natives and transplants represented, the album's unifying factor is its diversity.

FOR THE FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE!!!

Thanks CL and Rodney Carmichel

Caddys Video (Behind the Sceens) - A Motion Family Video

Thanks to everyone who made it out, and to MOTION FAMILY

"Caddys" Video Shoot this WEEKEND (come out)

"Caddys" ft. Gripplyaz, Young Trimm & A.Leon Craft

VIDEO SCHEDULE: (COME OUT)

Saturday: Rachell Tire And Wheels (12-4pm)
603 Memorial Dr

Sunday: Airport Executive Suites (12-4pm)
2459 Roosevelt Hwy, College Park
(Free Beer)

Where you Need to be This FRIDAY

BE THERE....

Album Release PARTY - DEC 27th @ Cenci

2$ PBR
3$ Jager Shots

done and done

For more Information Contact smkaproductions@gmail.com

The Red & Black - Producer showcases Atlanta music scene

Big ups to John Barrett, The Red & Black, UGA and the Rest of the World.

FROM THE ARTICLE
....Music producer and University alumnus Blake "808 Blake" German has a love for underground hip-hop, and he is dissatisfied with occupying the homogenous and well-trodden ground of present-day mainstream rap culture.

German graduated from the University as recently as 2007, but his production team, SMKA Productions, is quickly garnering a reputation within the Atlanta music community.

Alongside co-producer and engineer Kyle "7King" King and business manager Mike Walbert, German uses the project to shed light on some of the city's less recognized talent.

"These days, everyone is releasing music products like mixtapes all the time, so we wanted to showcase the underground scene in Atlanta," Walbert said.

"With his style, Blake bridges the gap between the hipster movement in Atlanta and a strong southern feel."

Elaborating on this unusual crossover appeal, German commented: "I was born and raised on UGK and OutKast, as well as the hard-driving southern bass that has been synonymous with the South and hip-hop. Then the next step is to mix those roots with different samples and influences - whatever sounds good to me."

But German acknowledged that King played an equally important role in the team's process.

"Mixing the soulful samples, taking a ragtime piano sample and being able to make something new from it ... It's the diversity of the music that we hear and the music that we put out," he said.

So far, the production trio's efforts to deliver a unique approach to the hip-hop scene have been met with a substantial amount of success.

This triumphs are embodied in the team's new compilation album, "The 808 Experiment," featuring collaborations from Atlanta hip-hop artists such as Supreeme, Gripplyaz and Jay West...

For the Whole Article Click Here

SNEAKER ME STUPID meets 808 BLAKE

One of the fastest growing and best sneaker sites on the INTRONET caught us with 808 Blake to discuss The 808 Experiment, and of course Sneaker fashion.

"This project was put together by Atlanta native 808 Blake & 7King, musically they really did there thing. This is a must hear if you love hip-hop/rap music. You can download the tracks here and get a listen all for free. I know 808 Blake from way back in the day in Atlanta and dude was always making music.



He has brought and uncovered a lost sound in the A. Everyone was speaking and sounding like they had the million dollar fye hot trap. Not saying that there is anything wrong with that but hip hop and music has more to offer especially in the A as we were raised off Goodie Mob & Kast. 808 Blake has surrounded himself with other producers, musical engineers, and even business men to get this 808 Experiment along with SMKA Productions off the ground. 808 Blake had a chance to take time out of his busy schedule to speak with me about his music and of course sneakers."

Check out the Article HERE

Mixtape Wall ---- Diwang Valdez

We have already received unbelievable feedback on The 808 Experiment: Vol 1 so it can be said that the music is a smashing success. But recently the cover for The 808 Experiment: Vol 1 has been getting a little bit of attention as well.

The concept for the album cover was a retro yearbook type theme. We wanted to give everyone on the album their shine and showcase the artists. The yearbook theme allowed us to put all the artists and (808 Blake & 7King) front and center. I couldn't be happier with the outcome...

www.diwangvaldez.com

If you do not already know... www.diwangvaldez.com a.k.a PHOTSLUG did the album cover and if we have it our way then he will be doing all of our album covers till the end of time.

Thanks diwang!!!