Tye Motives - 24 Blessings [EP]

I mean, where... the f*ck... should I... really even start?  *Drake voice* Tye Motives with the Tupac smile is back again with yet another hit EP. This is showing us a whole new side of Tye Motives and it just got a lot more personal.  “Coming from Milwaukee, WI artist Tye Motives delivers a tribute EP titled “24 Blessings.” In this EP, Tye showcases his elite lyricism mixed with melodic flows for a vibe you won’t forget.”

So let’s talk about it. 

The chill flow rapper starts us off with Windows97. In this song he’s talking about a lot of different things. He’s talking about his grind, the type of dude he is, his background, the city, it’s essentially an intro-freestyle. He’s setting up what we are to expect with the rest of the EP. If I had to take a wild guess, I would say that the title of the song is making a reference to an old controversial update of the infamous Windows 97 (which some argued never existed) but I could be looking way too deep into this so let’s keep it moving.

Get You Right is hilarious but it’s not supposed to be. It’s such a great song but what makes it hilarious is the voicemail hater on the intro. We not gon’ waste a lot of characters on her but what I will say is that the voicemail here is necessary. You’re going to have haters. There’s people who don’t want you to succeed. You have to step on their necks and don’t let up. In her words, “period.” It’s that interpersonal moment on the EP that Tye shares with his audience. It’s like the “before I do my thang, listen to what I have to deal with… anyways.”  He wastes no time disregarding whatever she is talking about with the line “I make you nervous how I get you right, huh, aye, shit ain't perfect but it’s feeling right. Yeah I’m on my mack who you with tonight, shawty super bad, I can't let her be the kryptonite.” That’s super self-explanatory. He goes on to talk about how carefully he maneuvers around people ‘cause you never really know what people be on. He talks about his trust with other people and how you really have to be careful about who you’re calling your friend because people really don’t have your best interest. All you have at the end of the day is yourself. Yeah… this def gettin’ added to the library. Wild Things slows the tempo down. This is more of a dreamy sound but then here comes the bass. Perfect. He starts off with one of the last lines of the previous track. “Things get wild where the wild things are, say you got dreams lil n*gga dream far, yeen’ gotta leave the city just to see stars. We ain’t tryna be great [like] lil n*gga we are.” In this song, he talks about looking past the things around you. Just because things aren’t too spiffy around you doesn’t mean you have to give in to it. We all have choices. He’s “seeing fiends out his window” so his choice happened to be “pen or pistol?” Nice, niiice. The track “Mo Where You Been?” is very generous with the bass and airy keys. Tye comes out the gate spitting for this interlude and he barely gives us time to catch up--which is good marketing because guess what? You have to restart it. How fast is he going? Find out. Stream the song, goofy.  Light in the Dark is nicely produced. It’s two different flows but the second flow really had me nodding. He takes us on a journey through his thinking process but leaves us hanging a little--which is intentional. All she wanna do is smoke Doja. Light one and get high is the message. It’s another soft and dreamy track. It’s definitely what you would call “a smokers’ song” but we are not putting him in a box. He’s talking to a girl for most of the song so that’s interesting that the vibe is changing from the previous voicemail. There’s redemption with someone else and I'm here for it. He defines “Recouping” within the first couple bars. This is another Wiz Khalifa “Rolling Papers” type beat. “24 Blessings one of them is them knowing my name. 24 Blessings is me seeing my son through these rays. 24 Blessings don't compare me, we never the same.” Although alliteration and repetitiveness is one of the many themes of the EP, this part is super important. Tye is calling attention to the title and message of the entire project so listen closely here. Finally we have “Mind, Spirit & Body.” The beat is like a churchy trap beat and I'm feeling it. “I took some time to get shit right and concentrated on hobbies. And now my spirit feelin’ light. I guess I'm feeling Godly.” TAKE ‘EM TO CHURCH TYE. They ain’t ready bro! There’s another switch up in the flow and beat, man. He’s really goin’ nuts. Can’t even lie to you. He lets us go with his iconic laugh and one last point: This track was a freestyle. 

Tye Motives takes us on a journey inside his life and even in his head. He opens the door and shows us how he’s coming this year. This year is you, T. Take it. Keep going. Don’t stop. We’re listening and we hear you. Make everybody feel you by all means necessary. You even have a tiny human looking up to you now, what more do you need. 

As always, it’s always love here at CopyWrite Magazine. Check out the artist of the week, Tye Motives! “24 Blessings” is streaming on all platforms so y’all knooow what to do. Stream, follow, subscribe--all det. My dawg!

Soundcloud: Tye Motives

Instagram: @tyemotives

Thank you to everybody thats been rocking with me on this musical journey. Let's keep growing! Here I present to you, 24 BLESSINGS!!! RIP TO KOBE AND GIGI. THAT INSPIRED THIS 02/24 DROP.

/Imani for CW

Rah - Bankroll

Welcome back to another week of great music. This week, Rah is on our “rah-dar”. Get it? Not funny? Cool, cool. Anywho, here’s the word on the street about Rah. “Milwaukee/Jersey artist Rah comes back after a long hiatus this week with a hit, titled "Bankroll." This track is the one! Rah's full project is coming soon.”

In his song Bankroll, he’s talking about, you guessed it, money and lifestyle. Thinking ‘bout money, need them bankrolls. It’s a very catchy song with exaggerated lyrics, and I mean exaggerated in the sense of singing certain parts of the song. Which isn’t a bad thing considering that this form of rap is very popular. The song is a nice, short one to add to your library. Nice bass, check. Nice layers, check. Easy on the ears voice, check. What else do you need? Check out Bankroll by Rah on all your favorite platforms now!

/Imani For CW

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Black History Month Archives

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/CW

RAS - RAS I (EP)

From winning championships and ballin’ on y’all favs heads straight to the studio, Ras gives us a masterpiece of work with RAS I. If you’re new here, which you would have to be to not know who she is, Ras is a 22 year old female artist from our very own city (MKE) who has finished up playing Division 1 basketball just last Spring. This is the kicker though, just as she was a monster on the court, she’s delivering that same energy here with a new distinctive sound Milwaukee has yet to come across. Das talent, fr. 

‘Thot breaker’ is the opener and most popular song on the EP. It has a very complex beat with many layers of sound. It’s also very catchy and easily deserves mad airplay. This is definitely a song that you can vibe to, it’s a feel-good/talking shit song. First track in, Ras is already setting the tone for the whole EP.

‘EXOTIC’ starts off slow, drawing us in with gentle, sad piano chords which eventually leads to heavy bass play. I couldn’t help but notice how close her style resembles the talented Future. For example, it instantly made me think of a song like codeine crazy because…listen to the song and you’ll completely understand what I mean by that. If you like Future, you’ll definitely love Ras but don’t get it twisted, she doesn’t need high profile comparisons to get notoriety—she already has that. From the visuals to RAS’s unwavering voice, you have no choice but to connect to the song. Like previously stated, it does have more of a sad undertone but it works, I like it a lot. 

If I’m keeping it completely honest, dis the one. She really just set the bar—and she set it high as hell. Based off of this EP alone, Ras has already solidified her place in my every day music playlist (yours too). 

Y’all know what’s next, STREAM THIS SHIT. She even got you on the visuals for EXOTIC and TRACY. Look at God. But wait, there’s more, you can even stream her ono two different streaming platforms. WOW. She’s really making this easy for y’all. Stream her on Apple Music and Spotify, alllll detttt. CHECK HER OUT.

/Imani for CW

Hot new single of Milwaukee artist Ras' new EP RAS I Available on Apple music, Spotify, Google Music,Tidal, etc.

RAS - EXOTIC EP AVAILABLE ON ALL PLATFORMS (links below) Apple - https://music.apple.com/us/album/ras-i-ep/1492847830 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/albu...

4Keys x Dell Fargo - Fo Piece: EP

This week we have yet another package deal to talk about. This week we have what we will call Milwaukee meeting D.C. Interesting? A liiiittle bit. So here’s the spiel:

“Milwaukee producer 4Keys teams up with Washington D.C. rapper Dell Fargo to release his first self-produced EP 'Fo Piece'. On this four-song project, Dell Fargo sets the tone for the new decade by delivering cocky and crafty bars over 4Keys dark and heavy 808 driven production. Fargo gives a perspective of an inner D.C. native who is confident in his raw and unfiltered rhymes in comparison to other artists. Keep your eye on what these two have in store for the upcoming year, but for now stream their new EP”

You know how sometimes things can just speak for themselves? This is one of those times. It’s a rather short EP, I honestly was expecting it to be a bit longer because of the amount of songs but aye… it works! Check them out and support a local producer--you have no choice. I think it’s cute that you thought you had a choice, LOL.

I’m kiddddding… but not really. Here’s their social media below and stream “Fo Piece” neeeeeow.

Instagram(s): @real4keys & @dellfargo 

/Imani for CW

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Rob Taylor - Actions Speak Louder

Today’s submission comes from Rob Taylor, who public called CopyWrite and other “local” media outlets out for not including his music on our platforms, claiming to have “over 60K REAL STREAMS in a year, performing at venues outside of Milwaukee and more things to come”. So we encouraged him to send his music over so we could take a listen.

Okay Rob, we are all ears. 

His album Actions Speak Louder circa 2018, is an eleven-track playlist of what feels like intergalactic hip hop. Its mellow vibes, cross over with relatable topics, motivational “mantras” and new age flow. So what is the action? Maybe it's the action of putting in the work. Consistency? Skill? Persona? It’s all possible here. Dare we might say we hear a little Wiz Khalifa Kush & Orange Juice cadence???

Our favorite tracks are “Super Star” and “Elevators” for a few witty lines and some familiar sentiments. Now we won't lie when one song starts and the other ends is not easily cued, but maybe that’s the point for this project. Plus, he has something big he is working on for this year.

But forget about our opinion. Click play and let us know what you think? Do we need more Rob Taylor?

/CW

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Cam Will - New Ties

Life is filled with a spectrum of infinite decisions. One day you’ll decide what you want to do with the rest of your life and you’ll stick to that. That’s the norm. But… the norm is boring. Don’t stick to the norm or the status quo. Do whatever the hell you want. Don’t let people dictate your decisions based on their comfort-ability with their lives. If you wake up one day and decide you want to do something new, do it. Who's gonna stop you? Nobody. 

Let me break it down for you. Imagine if Cam Will listened to what other people had to say about him going from a Division One athlete to an up and coming rapper. Who is Cam Will? Well, I’m glad you asked.

Cam Will is a super star on the field and now he’s about to be a super star in your music libraries. Cam’s latest project is a two track EP titled “New Ties.” His first track is called “Down.” On this track, the first thing that instantly caught my attention was literally the first line, he says “I think back, when I first made my decision to walk away from something I put 10,000 hours to.” That’s a lot to give up. He goes into talking about releasing himself from the box that people put him in. Making the decision to leave all you know behind to ultimately jumping into the ocean of the unknowing is terrifying. All dreamchasers have been there. The fake love and ingenuine compliments are all apart of the process of becoming great. I really like this song. He’s keeping it real and being vulnerable with his experience up until this point. This is by no means an easy thing to do. He ends the song with the verbal doubts of the people surrounding him. He’s heard it all. This isn’t supposed to be funny but it really made think of that line in like every Disney movie where the Dad is like “You’re giving up your dream, Cam!” and then Cam is like “No, Dad. I’m GiViNg uP yOuRs!”

And finally his last track is called “The Process” where he talks about, you guessed it, the process. He talks about what he’s currently going through with his creative process in regards to external obstacles. He makes a promise that he’s gonna make it soon. Bottom line is he gon’ make y’all feel him. Y’all gone put some ‘respek’ on his name! His vocal tone really reminds me of Big Sean so I can actually see myself listening to his music leisurely. 

Listen Cam, haters gon’ hate. That’s the point of haters, they’re your biggest fans. Keep going and follow through. Never give up on your dreams! Show Cam Will some love by streaming his latest project “New Ties” and check him out on YouTube under the name Cam Will. He’s dope y’all! I would not send y’all off. Check him out!

/Imani for CW

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Artist Photographic Profile: Mo'City

“When my father passed away, I decided that I wanted to do something to remain close to him. For that, I decided to start with the music industry. I started with doing free styles just for fun, then one of my friends insisted I come record in his studio. In the beginning there was a lot of work I had to do in order to make it better. But I kept growing and getting better with my music. I'm still not where I want to be. I have so much more to learn and so much more to show. I just know what I’m capable of & i'm not there yet. During my music career, the biggest struggle has been the ability to manage my time with everything I have to do. Like being able to give time as the father I am, and to produce my music; satisfying my wonderful fans that have been supporting me throughout my career. Out of all my music that I produced, “Cousin” was the most meaningful song that I have written. It was me at my freest. I’ll never not love that song. This new album that I’ve been working on is a lot more fun. I’m learning a lot about myself since the last one & I using more of my tool set on this. I’m working with a lot of my favorites which is drastically different from the last one. I've been having a lot of fun with this album.”

/Mitzi for CW

Emmitt James - AVERY

“Barista by day, full time musician at all other hours, indie hip hop-jazz act Emmitt James is coming back home to Milwaukee [despite the cold] to celebrate the release of his album AVERY on vinyl. AVERY is named after Emmitt James’ grandmother Vickie Ann Avery. After her passing in December 2017, he was inspired to name the album after her.”

Emmitt James’s latest album “AVERY” featuring 17 tracks is nothing short of great! He has been compared to acts like A Tribe Called Quest, Anderson. Paak and The Internet. Every single track melts into each other with ease. Here’s a small break down of the songs on the album (with a couple visuals on Youtube, check them out also).

‘August 31’ answers our initial question of “Who is Avery?” Repetition and harmonizing is a major theme on this album. His first request on this album is to ‘let him know when you find that peace of mind.’ 

‘Word 2 Momma’ is a track where he’s talking about making money and “that’s on his mama!” (His words) 

‘1099’ starts off with “everything is for Avery” giving us no time to forget who this album is for. By the way, 1099 is a taxes reference--meaning the song is talking about another stream of income, which is pretty creative.

Next we have ‘Everything bagel w/ Cream’ which stands out right away due to it’s extremely catchy beat. 

‘Whole Foods’ is where Emmitt tells us where he get dem bagels. “Prices goin’ up like Whole Foods.” You know,  a slight flex. I had to gon’ head and add that to the library fasho. ‘Boy’ has a lot of nice transitions. He’s telling us how he feels, he don’t give a f*  how you feel though (which he made very clear in this particular song). 

On ‘Couldn’t Tell’, Emmitt asks “Is that your man? I couldn’t tell.” 

‘MF Juice’ is solely a flex song. “Yeah, I got the sauce but I still got the MF Juice.” He just letting everybody know, the best just got better so don’t worry about what he’s doing. 

In ‘Hunnit Bandz’, He releases one of his goals, he tryna get his first hunnit bandz. This was also a super cool song. He doesn’t stop there with the flexin’ though! 

‘Flyest in the room’ is flaunting his everything, if you didn’t get the picture before this song, you’re gonna feel him now. He’s letting everybody know, he’s THAT guy. You can’t tell him shit.

‘Ass on the Dance Floor’ is a song about just having fun and being carefree, which everyone should be doing. 

‘Chance’ is about a specific  someone and how he wants them to take a chance with him because what’s the harm in that? Give the man a chance, will ya? 

‘F.O.M.L/Time for you’ is really self-explanaory. “If it ain’t about the money, get the f* off my line,” but if it's about ‘you’, he got time today. 

‘Ohhh Lordt, Yes Lordt’ seems to be Emmitt letting his people know that he still and always will have their back. Don’t be afraid to ask for anything. He’s doing this for them. No one is left behind. 

Lastly, Thankful is the outro. He’s just letting us know he’s thankful for everything that he has and everything he has yet to gain.

This album is prettttttty good, not gon’ lie. Naw, i’m lying… it’s FIREEEEEE! And guess what? Wow, look at God. You even have the opportunity to see it live!

“With a contribution donation, release show attendees will have an opportunity to hear

the album live. The show will take place on January 25th at Company Brewing at

9:30PM as well as special guest sets by Neely, Ammorelle, NilexNile, and PaperStacks

with music by DJ Light Skin Larry. Entry is $10 and the first three people will receive a

copy of AVERY on vinyl with admission.”

All in all, you know what to do. Check out our friend Emmitt James ( ‘Avery’ available on all streaming services) and you can even take it a step further and go check him out in person! Let us know what you think! Heart this post! You ain’t doing nothing anyways, stop trying to make an excuse. You really don’t want to sleep on this man, I’m telling you.

Congrats, Emmitt on everything from all of us here at CopyWrite!

/Imani for CW

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C-Space: the new spot for Black & Brown Creatives (Press Interview w/ CopyWrite Magazine)

THE FUTURE IS YOUNG, BLACK, BROWN, AND LIT (& now it is creative too.)

Say it one more time for the people in the back!

LIT [MKE] (or Leaders Igniting Transformation) has moved to Bronzeville neighborhood on Milwaukee’s East Side. The organization itself “work[s] to build homegrown leadership, expand access and opportunity, and promote an equitable society by engaging and organizing young people” (@lit_mke). Of course, that is #LIT in every sense of the urban dictionary word, but it is their new program, C-Space that has us ramped up for the movement. CopyWrite sat down with Corey Fells and Nailah Johnson from LIT’s Cultural Organizing Department to get the heads up on what they have instore for MKE and why they are in need of Black and Brown creatives ( Artist, Photographers, Videographers, Musicians, lyricist, Writers, Poets, etc.) to link up.

C-Space is a co-creative space for Black and Brown creatives to get the support they need, build community and expand their networks through art. 

So let’s just get it out of the way now. The plight of Black and Brown people is documented from the eyes of the oppressor and thus that has created generational disenfranchisement. Though there are many non-Black/Brown advocates for change and push for equality in all sectors of society, they still have many inherited advantages that Black and Brown people don’t possess. Because of this, C-Space is a safe and productive space, strictly for culturally BLACK and BROWN creatives. 

(We all thank you in advance for respecting that boundary).

Nailah: “We are developing creatives as leaders and arts activist. That’s basically C-Space”.

As “Cultural Organizers” it's both Corey and Nailah’s job to get creatives to want to be apart of C-Space, make their time there prolific, help guide (and partially sustain) a creative to use their talent as a political, activating, informing, and culturally re-defining form. This will be done through monthly meetings, workshops, and fellowship/residency opportunities that include stipends (Yes that's money!), networking, partnerships, real-world experience and testimonials from Black and Brown creatives that have had success in their fields. Once again I say “Its #Lit”.

Corey: “I have a question for you [as a creative] what would you have needed in 2013 when you were just starting out?”

CW: “Money.” We all chuckled in agreement, but it was that plus many other things that as a young creative of color I had to struggle through. Without resources or guidance I had to learn, and still am learning how to navigate the system. Something many of our counterparts know nothing about. 

As I listed off my grievances, including lack of access to other Black and Brown professionals, lack of studio/space and resources, Corey and Nailah listened intently to what I had to say. At certain points they would stop me and ask more questions as if they were researching perspectives on creative needs and how C-Space can serve them better. 

With or without a degree a creative should be able to enter the market and be taken seriously for their craft. Black and Brown art forms should not have to present themselves as historical monuments, or mappings of the Black and Brown diaspora to be relevant and C-Space wants to help change that narrative by inviting YOU to their space.

Corey: The C in C-Space stands for a lot. What we are trying to do is expand upon all of that. . . We are partnered up with many other states but we have yet to see something like this in Wisconsin. Because of that, this is something that really could help creatives in our community.”

Their aim is for those creatives, who are ages 14-35 (the young), who have work that has a message, or want to develop work that has a message, that are willing to be apart of the movement. Even though LIT has a very political presence, Corey & Nailah suggest that C-Space is beyond traditional politics but opens the conversation of Black and Brown existence in itself being political and that those interpretations of existence are part of building community and changing the narrative that we don't get enough of. So don’t be scared if protesting and polling is not your thing, there are other ways in which your art can have a voice.

Through our conversation we discussed the idea of those who become a part of their fellowship program to be helped with the production of resumes and portfolios in order to actually have tangible items that will help them transition into creative carriers and actually have the experience to back them up.

Corey: “How do we cultivate these people’s talents and help them figure out how to monetize it and be able to be a person that has something tangible that can be brought to a company or a carrier that can give them some type of insight? See for me [as a self-taught photographer] I wasn't able to track all that.”

So the game plan is to level up the next era of creatives out of MKE, so they don't have the same issues as those who came before them, like Corey. We will call this intergenerational “communal” mobility.

Nailah: “So as a cultural organizer my job is to intersect art and activism. . . One of the things that I have noticed about Milwaukee is that it has a lot of activists and not organizers. Like people who know how to use that anger, information, and knowledge to really impact communities and make a change. So affecting legislation, and things like that. So a lot of my job is making sure artists understand and know how important their art is; how important culture is and not to sacrifice that.”

Corey: “I’m a photographer and videographer, so I’m coming from that standpoint. I have always wanted photographers to know that they can do more than event photos, profile photos, wedding photos, or whatever. They are not just photographers, they are a part of a marketing tactic and if they use it in the correct way, they can use that tactic to [their own advantage]. They don’t have to take pictures of celebrities or the most poppin person in the city to be relevant. . . I want photographers and filmmakers to be empowered because of that. . . Anything they can't be inspired by they shouldn’t have to do.”

As C-Space representatives, their intentions to help other creatives in our community is more than a job. It’s coming from a very personal place and putting what always seems to be just a conversation into action is far overdue.

“Freelancers are the most disrespected people.”

Say it two times for the people in the back and down the street!

As abstract as C-Space may seem it is in its tangibility that we find its most vital component. C-Space is meant to establish Black and Brown spaces and protecting those spaces.

They are currently looking for people to come and be apart of C-Space which is a monthly meet up. The first two of the year will be January 25th and February 22nd from 2:00-5:00pm at the LIT (2201 N. Martin Luther King Dr. Milwaukee, WI 53212). From that group of individuals, they are hoping to find creatives from all different kinds of backgrounds and talents to join the cohort. From the cohort, with a certain level of commitment, some creatives will receive a fellowship, stipends and all the other assistance we wish we had when we were finding our way.

Corey: “Every time they come they will learn something more.”

And “more” is what we need if we are going to make the change to put creatives in the place they belong in our society; right at the top. 

So check out C-Space, if you are a young creative looking for a way to succeed. The world is waiting. 

/Lexi for CW