Cities & Rivers Now Available for Download

To download your copy of Cities & Rivers or visit aristyles.bandcamp.com

Behind The Lyrics: Cities and Rivers

Behind The Lyrics: Cities & Rivers

With the upcoming release to “Cities & Rivers”, I wanted to take the opportunity to go through each track and give a brief rundown of each song. This particular project consist of 16 tracks selected from a catalog of about 30 songs that I have recorded since 2005.

THE TITLE

Cities & Rivers

For those who have read “Sidhartha” by Herman Hesse, there is significance in the experiences that Siddhartha has when he embraces city life and culture and when he eventually reaching the river. Without giving away the story to this classic book, cities, as it relates to this project, quite simply represents the life’s fast pace, temptations, dangers, rawness, contradictions, etc., while the river represents finding a sense calm and natural direction amidst the chaos.

      1.  Fear Doubt Hate

            “Heart, they say we need it, I believe it,

If we ain’t seeing we need it, then it leaves us in the dark

Pause, they make it easy to defer a dream

Look and observe and see the have not’s”

This song attempts to address the inner demons of fear, doubt, and hate that many of us internalize as individuals as well as within many communities. It is a reminder that these very emotions only work in the favor of those that oppress and privilege from oppression.

     2.   Purpose in Mind

            Oh yes everyday push

Another day here gotta show em what’s good

Everyday shine in any way find

The energy you give with a purpose in mind

The bassline and tamborines on this song, honestly, made me want to go for a jog. While I chose not to write a song about jogging, I instead wrote song about finding confidence within yourself to find purpose in your life and to remind yourself to give you energy to something that is meaningful everyday. I try to view everyday as a blank slate in which I have the opportunity to do something amazing and of great substance. I hope that sentiment shines through whoever hears this song.

3. Just a Man

“Abusive by design while I’m trying to find the line

Between my 1^st world privilege and past colonized

The complexity that I grapple on the daily

The attitude of pay me verses freedom must arrive”

Just a Man attempts to capture the struggle of having to pay bills and support a family while trying to address systematic oppression. The title simply acknowledges that I am flawed in my pursuit of freedom, while, at the same time, seeing the need to comply and participate in a system as an obedient worker. This song attempts to paint a honest picture of what it is like to feel the responsibility to pursue freedom but also acknowledging actions that involve pursuing freedom could very well come at the expense of a person’s ability to feed themselves their family.

4. Image

“They say be a rapper, a rapper people like

An image to consume that’s appealin to the eyes

A tough guy, arrogant, cold heart, masculine

Gun talk rapping gotta grab em with a lie”

As a whole, Image attempts to describe the images and lifestyles that the media promotes in a way that, in turn, invalidates lives others. It touches upon the negative effects of the media on people’s psyche and behavior as they attempt to emulate the images that they are constantly exposed to. The first verse is solely a critique of the current rap music industry in which they attempt dehumanize, caricaturize, and limit the narrative of what a rapper should be or write about. I think this even extends to some underground labels even ones that claim to be different from mainstream music but use the very same dehumanizing model of mainstream labels for marketing. I’m obviously not one for marketing a certain caricature or image. I simply want to write honest good music that reflects a very human experience that people can connect to.

5. Water Well

“Now some hustlas turn cowards when life devours dreams

A little money and some power make that water well unclean

You hear poison in their voices and see slither in their schemes

Packaged in nice plastic and the taste of it is sweet”

Water in this song represents the positive means in which people attempt to achieve success. However, within a capitalistic society, we often compromise our morals to reach success, thus, polluting the water that we all have.

6. Four Women

“This Pinay’s lips is as pouty as they come

And her walk and demeanor is as heavy as a drum

She curses in Tagalog like their poison in her lungs

And theres fire in her eyes that is hotter than the sun”

Four Women is inspired by Nina Simone’s “For Women”. Like Simone’s originally song, This song features four women (Pinay) that represent different types of women or experiences connected to Pinays. The first verse is about a woman who essentially represent the Philippines. The second verse describes the experience of a sex worker as it is a global problem. The third verse captures the experience of a woman having to leave her family in order to find work overseas. The last verse describes the bitter sentiment of a woman angered by the oppression that women, especially Pinays, have had to endure and continue to endure. The woman in the last verse is one that is bent on defeating her oppressors and less of a victim, thus the name Laban, meaning fight in Tagalog.

7. Underdogs

“Peace to Rocky Balboa, Ponyboy Curtis

Young Siddhartha on his journey still searchin

Young Esperanza from Mango street

Barry Horowitz  shock em when Skip got beat”

Underdogs pay homage to the many of the underdogs from history, pop culture, video games, literature, etc. The underdog’s story is not unfamiliar to many of us. It is essentially these narratives that I find inspiration to want to take the necessary steps and actions to avoid complacent inactivity and simply “getting by”.

8. Survival

“More jobs, more schools, freedom and safety

Guarantee all folks have freedom from slavery

Regardless of your race or whatever your shade be

Cause freedom of speech is not something they gave we”

Plainly put, we are entitled to the basics needs to live and pursue happiness. Our needs whether they are met or not are directly to connected to those that abuse their power and live in gluttonous excess. And yes, the song features a 16 bar verse and an 8 bar verse from Orion One.

9. Bolo Yeung

“Straight villain killing the competition

Kumite te turn they back I’m still winning

Chong Li chant understand I’m making victims

You are next, got Frank Dux quiverin”

This song pay tribute to Bloodsport villain and legendary kung fu actor Yang Sze aka Bolo Yeung. When fear or doubt sometimes takes over, I try to channel my inner Bolo. Bolo does not hesitate, he just does. Few words and a lot action. Besides, the bassline had a villainess quality to it.

10. Commodity of Time

“A lyricist whose heart speaks to four bar beats

Struggle written on the dashboard and old car seats

Tattoos of bloody wounds that won’t stop leak

Carry pain like tragedy oppression tryna bury me”

Commodity of Time acknowledges time as the only thing we all own and that it is what we do with our time that we make meaning out of life. It also affirms people’s ability to remain resilient amidst the adversity and many struggle of life.

11. Make Due

“I own a minivan 95 Mazda

My ride elevated like I’m in a helicopter

And I ain’t tryna race, I ain’t into all that drama

Cause gasoline too high and I ain’t got alotta”

Make Due was originally supposed to be a light (not-so-serious) song about my 95 Mazda. It was originally intended to act as a counter-narrative to the many raps songs about having nice rides and such. The 2^nd verse, however, moves away from my 95 Mazda and touches upon my upbringing in which my family worked hard and made sacrifices in the form of having me wear hand-me-downs and teaching the valuable lesson of substance over style.

12. Receive and Return

“I’m swapping liquor for a convo with tea

Whoever on rotation for Ms Ross and Supremes

A white tee and baggy jeans for that interview please

Hyper masculine bravado for creating some peace”

This songs is mainly about growing old and the necessity of maturing. Becoming a father and getting married has transformed my life in ways that make my younger self seem like a complete stranger. It acknowledges the cycle in which I, as a man, father, educator, emcee, etc. must give love back in the same way that I was given love. It is, essentially, this cycle that has allowed for cultures and people I general to continue from one generation to the next.

13. A Little Less Heavy

“You can’t gotta live your life like every second fight

At one point a brother out here gotta sleep

Gotta recharge and rest ease off ya step

Take a moment to just meditate and breath”

A Little Less Heavy is a song especially for folks that do social justice/community work. It is a kind reminder for folks to practice self-love and self-care. While we may romanticize revolutionary leaders of the past as passionate and relentless, we have to understand they were also people, and like all people, we get tired. Yes, Malcolm X and Dolores Huerta got tired at times, physically and emotionally, and when they did, they rested, just enough to feel better so that they can continue to do the work that needs to be done.

14. Struggle Begins

“And the struggle is deep that I’m fighting inside

While simultaneously trying to build on the side

And its like I’m livin a lie when I’m tryin to speak

About revolution when I got nikes on my feet”

This song was recorded years ago, back when it was relevant to post music on Myspace. The message of self-criticism and improvement are backed by a light piano sample. Like a good number of songs, I try to write something that acts as a reminder for me to continue improving in various ways in my life.  I only hope that this song resonates to folks in same way that it has with me for many years.

15. Out

“Gotta move with my earth and connects them rays

Gotta learn how to heal, so concern for the real

The hands on the clock still turn like a wheel

So ya man gotta walk til it hurts in the heels”

While  Struggle Begins is about self-criticism as a necessity for creating change in the world, Out seeks to narrate my relationship with music, people, and finding the positive despite not complying to popular notions of what it means to be a successful artist. While the verses lack any particular focus, it form can be likened to how our minds often wander from one topic to another in deep pre-sleep reflection.

16. If Tomorrow

“A little hopeless like I’ma fall quick

Into a box where they keep them dreams locked in

Gotta stay standin’ gotta take chances

Remind self that this life is a great challenge”

If Tomorrow narrates with much honesty, he struggle of trying to remain hopeful as the world ills can often be emotionally and mentally taxing.  It acts as a reminder to stay grounded in past lessons, music, the hunger to learn and improve, and, lastly, the possibility of achieving and producing greatness in the world.  While I may sometimes feel like the work that I do may not result in the change I intend for it to have, it is the possibility of creating change that is enough for me to continue despite sometimes feeling emotionally and morally low. 

I truly believe in this particular project. Many of the songs are personal to me and have been in some ways motivational mantras grafted into my mind’s memory.  I feel like that at the end of the day, all I want to do is create honest music that narrates an aspect of life that gets people to think , act, or interact differently with each other and their environment.

-ARISTYLES

Hard

"Hard" at SFSU's Cocktales
written and performed by yours truly. I always look forward to these type of events.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_RVQZMt5bo

I came upon this great film about poverty, gender, and the importance of education. Rafea was very inspiring as she held her ground in the face of adversity and negative social norms amongst people in her community. This is the kind of transformative social justice work that is far more effective and needed than simply donating food the hungry poor folks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON_NQ1HnRYs

Rich Blocks Poor Blocks

I'm always interested in information or articles that focus on class, race, gender, ethnicity, and other such things related to our existence and power or lack thereof. This site is ofcourse about class.

http://www.richblockspoorblocks.com/

Old Lessons

I was listening the Kendrick Lamar and the Roots the other day, and I must say that I've grown to really appreciate those conceptual songs that really merges literature with hip hop. Just when I was getting bored with what has been coming out these days, my enthusiasm and interest has been rekindled with such genuine narratives and intent to simply tell a story. It was honest and straight-forward, free from the posturing and over-competitive nature that rappers feel that they must always exhibit. While I can often can get caught up in rhyme patterns and cadences, at the end of the day, it is what is being said and not so much how it is said that feeds the soul. It is the content that resonates with me in a way that transcends a form of entertainment. It becomes a part of us. A added perspective. A mechanism provoking self-reflection and analysis.

An old lesson indeed but one that I need to remember ever so often.

-ARISTYLES

Beat Sessions 8 and 9

It's been a pleasure to have some free time to immerse myself into making beats. Below are sessions 8 and 9.

Session 8: From Scratch

Session 9: Percussions and Quantizing