After listening to the Sound Sketch album, Sketched In Stone, I felt like I stumbled across a diamond in ruff. Sound Sketch is made up of emcee's TreaZon & D Man with Beatwize on the productions. This is a talented crew people...so don't sleep on it! With as much music as I listen to it isn't very often when I come across an album that I have no prior information on, no background, nothing...and am totally blown away. In fact, the last album that I went into not knowing what to expect and came out totally stunned, the way I feel about this album, was the Kidz In The Hall, School Was My Hustle. And then it hit me...these albums are very similar in the way that they take soulful and mellow almost jazzy beats mixed with uplifting, conciouness & intelligent lyrics that say something and are revelant. Sketched In Stone continues to get better everytime I give it a spin and will always be one of those albums that I continue to draw back on...digging it up whenever Im in the mood for a smooth mellow album that makes me think. The first artist I wanted to spotlight on my UPCOMING ARTIST SPOTLIGHT is Beatwize, the man behind the beats of the Sound Sketch EP and Sketched In Stone album. I got in contact with Beatwize thru my man Heaps (thanks bro) and he agreed to do exclusive interview on Hip Hop University and offer you a couple tracks that he has done, including a few originals and few remakes/blends. Beatwize is a very talented producer and also a down earth cat who shares the same interests I do...get good hip hop music into the hands of the people that want and appreciate it.
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Here is a biography to get you a little further acquainted with Beatwize and what he is about.
Hailing from Mississauga (West Toronto), Canada, Beatwize's love for music started at a very young age. Wheter it was blasting music from his boom box or playing the piano, by age 10 Beatwize was literally addicted to the world of music.
By the age of 13, Beatwize became interested in the guitar. And that's when it all really started. He began using Virtual DJ and Adobe Premiere and began making Hip-Hop blends under the alias DJ Dimez. As the years passed by, Dimez became a well know DJ not only locally, but began to gain some word on the internet from various sites. This was just the beginning. Early 2006 rolled around and DJ Dimez decided it was time to take another step in music. He began making beats. His first attempt was definitely a failure and he decided to stick to blends.
Nearing the end of 2006, Dimez decided it was time to give production another shot. This time was different. With increased musical experience and better resources, DJ Dimez began making beats with his own style and persona. With this change in talent, Dimez decided it was time to make a change in his name. He switched his name to Beatwize and began producing. Success was at Beatwize's table and so began his inspiration to make something more out of his talent. Beatwize's production style consists of jazz, soul, R&B, and rock (classic and modern) sampling with mellow, soulful and smooth themes. It has been compared to the styles of J. Dilla, Kanye West, Nujabes, and Just Blaze.
Next year Beatwize will be going to the University of Toronto for the Computer Science program. But not to worry, Beatwize plans on doing music forever no matter how much money he makes from it or how many people know him; whether he does it in the background or makes it his full career. Beatwize is here to stay - watch out!
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I also wanted to add a little exclusive to this interview...so Beatwize & I exchanged a few thoughts on hip hop.
HIP HOP UNIVERSITY: Beatwize whats good man? What you been up to?
BEATWIZE: Hey man! Just doing work nowadays man. School, music, and life...just balancing it all out y'know? But I'm loving it.
HHU: Good to hear man. So lets start off with the basics. Who would you consider to be some of your influences in hip hop?
BEATWIZE: My major influences have to be J Dilla, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Blu & Exile, Shad, and Nujabes. Otherwise, just all the jazz/soul hip hop artists and producers have always been major influences for me.
HHU: Who would you consider your favorite artists of all time, currently and who are some artists you have worked with?
BEATWIZE: My favorite artist of all time has to be J Dilla. His music was the reason I really got into production. But at the moment, it has to be Nujabes, Blue, and Shad. Others include Shinsight Trio, Surreal, Sound Providers, and Move.meant. As far as artists Ive worked with, TreaZon & D Man (Sound Sketch), Threatz, Fate L, Achilles, and Nero. But, my favorite has to be TreaZon. His style is really fresh and all of his tapes bring something different to the table. Not to mention he's always putting in work, never quits on his music. You have to respect that if nothing else.
HHU: I really love the Sketched In Stone album, tell me a little more about TreaZon & D Man? How do yo guys know each other? How did the whole project come together?
BEATWIZE: Thanks, it's probably some of my best official work so far in that album. Both Treazon and D Man are from Cleveland and are together known as Strategics. With another dude named Threatz, they make the LP Soldierz (Lyrically Prepared). The next Sound Sketch will be us three and Threatz as well. During the making of our first two projects, Threatz was on a long hiatus in rapping, but now he's back and better than ever, so we'll definitely be making better music next time around. We all met online on a forum a few years back, but about a year ago we started working together. The Sound Sketch ideas was built by me and TreaZon around last October and everything just came into place within a month with the EP. We got a lot of praise for it, so us three decided to make another one - Sketched in Stone. This one got even more praise, so I'm excited to see what will happen in the future.
HHU: The Internet is obviously having a major impact on music in general, do you feel it is helping artists get their work out to a bigger audience or is it holding back the game thru fewer record sales and easier access?
BEATWIZE: I feel that the internet has done a lot for indie artists. It gives a chance for the listerner to get a full view of what the artist is providing to the audience and what they are trying to appeal to. And I don't think anyone can say anything about internet leaks after that Lil Wayne album. I'm not a fan, but a million in a week after it leaked a week earlier? I think it alone ruled out all misconceptions of internet publicity and promotion together.
HHU: Where do you feel the state of hip hop is these days?
BEATWIZE: Oh man, if I had a penny for every time someone asked me that question. To be honest, I'm not angry or disappointed nor am I happy. People keep saying that hip hop is at it's worst, or that hip hop is dead when they don't even realize that this is what hip hop has been from day 1! Its all about having fun with your music and expressing something...whether it be through deep lyrics or dance. I see hip hop like a language with many dialects. You can't hate one person for speaking English a certain way, so why should you hate someone for making their hip hop music a certain way? I'm going to quote one of the pioneers on this - "Hip hop will constantly keep re-inventing inself." Those are the words of Grandmaster Flash - one of the originators of the whole culture. I don't think anything else need to be said except - accept and embrace the difference and do you.
HHU: What projects can we find you on and what do we see in the near future from Beatwize?
BEATWIZE: I have numerous projects already out. I have 7 blend albums, 4 full-production albums, and a few stray productions on different albums. In terms of blends, I have two under the alias of DJ Dimez (The Blendmaster Vol. 1 & 2) and five under my current alias of Beatwize (BlendWize Vol. 1-5). My productions so far have mostly been with groups. I have one album out with emcee Fate L (Theory of Truth) under the group name Part-Time Prophets. My other group is Sound Sketch with emcees TreaZon and D Man. We have two projects out - Sound Sketch: The EP and Sketched in Stone. We plan on making more, but I can't really say when; we're all working on solo projects to get our name out more, so when we all feel we're ready, we'll start on a new project. The last production album is ReWize, a collection of 9 remixes produced by me. I also have a best-of productions album called DIY. Cop that if you want a summary of my best produced tracks! For future projects, I really can't say. I'm making more and more music daily, so sooner or later I'll start on a project. At the moment I'm on a hiatus. I don't want to give out too much information, but things are happening in the background. So don't worry...Beatwize will be back and better than ever when I come back.
HHU: I really appreciate you taking some time out to give me a few minutes and tell me about Beatwize and what you've been doing. Keep doing you man.
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Beatwize was also kind enough to allow me to post a few songs off the Sound Sketch album plus a few other tracks that he has graced the beat on and also a few blends that he has put together...trust me people you are doing yourself a favor by checking out some of Beatwize's work.
DOWNLOAD-SERIOUSLY JUST DOWNLOAD ALL THESE TRACKS...THEN GET THE ALBUM!
If you want them individually here they are:
Here are my three favorite tracks from the Sound Sketch album, Sketched In Stone.
DOWNLOAD
Here are a couple of tracks that Beatwize himself wanted me to give to you off the album.
DOWNLOAD
Other Beatwize productions:
DOWNLOAD
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Check out his you tube video...on this video he does a blend/remix of Fort Minor's hit Where'd Ya Go.
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If you like what you read/heard you can find out more about Beatwize at the following:
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1 comment:
solid review mayne...imma have to check beatwize out for sure...i love the two sound sketch songs off the playlist compilation...
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