O.N.E. – One Never Ends Launch Coming Sooner Than Later

O.N.E. is finally coming together. My much anticipated homepage www.oneneverends.com is nearly complete and with a few tweaks and affiliates added, it will be in full swing as a showcase for my beats and beat making abilities. Not only O.N.E. but other affiliates, super producers and talented lyricists and songwriters will also be featured.

But that is only the beginning.

There are plans within plans to bring this to another level. I can’t write much about it here because it’s not in completion but I am anticipating setting music, particularly underground music, off in 2008. New beats, new artists, quality entertainment and productions for whatever needs are out there.

So please visit www.oneneverends.com, even now the beat collection is there and more to come.

O.N.E. – One Never Ends

Album Review – The Cactus Album by 3rd Bass

The Cactus Album is one of those tapes I had as a kid that should be part of anyone’s hip-hop collection. Yeah TAPES! In fact, I think the late 80′s and early 90′s was really a great time for hip-hop fans because they were offered a wide range of styles to choose from. I think MTV particularly gave more exposure to acts that were different and innovative. 3rd Bass were one of those acts.

A not so well-known fact, 3rd Bass was actually an interracial group, but almost into obscurity was their DJ Richie Rich on the first album. The group was overshadowed by the 2 front men, MC Serch and Prime Minister Pete Nice. At that time white rappers weren’t common, and they were the “street” answer to the showboating Vanilla Ice. Both Serch and Nice started off as solo artists but formed the duo out of request from the label.

Their first album The Cactus Album is very well-rounded lyrically and excellently produced by the hitmakers The Bomb Squad (Hank and Keith Shocklee being the forefront) and the majority of tracks produced by the underrated Sam Sever. The album gained the most fame with their comedic track “The Gas Face” which deals with rejecting those who aren’t true to themselves. Their first single “Steppin’ To The A.M.” shows of their talent lyrically, and the track itself still can bump in your system to this day. They also range from serious issues in “Triple Stage Darkness” to outright silliness on a track “Flippin’ Off The Wall Like Lucy Ball” which is basically Serch imitating an old blues singer and laughing half the time.

A note about the production of this album is Sam Sever’s ability to forge funky beats and utilize old samples from non-traditional sources tunes and old black and white movies. I think this style is what separates this album from many in my collection. Aside from the fun yet serious nature of the group, the production is also reflective of that. Kudos goes out to Sam Sever; in my opinion one of the most underrated producers in the industry.

For those of you too young to remember this album, I recommend picking up the CD or grabbing it from you brother’s collection. If you have it now, give it a listen again and enjoy. Definitely overall a fun album full of entertainment.

Artist Review – V.A.S.T.: Album – Turquoise and Crimson

Wow is all I can say about the one-man turned group VAST. I recently discovered VAST through a former co-worker that heard my music and told me that my music sounded like them and I would most likely enjoy them. He was pretty insistent Iand I’m always game for recommendations, so I listed to a copy of their first album. Man, am I glad I listed to him and what a compliment given by my colleague. This is one of my all-time favorite groups and the album “Turquoise and Crimson” is one of the best double albums released.

A boastful claim but VAST combines a beautifully written compositions with a hard rock edge and ambient undertones. The leader Jon Crosby has been composing music since the age of 16 and by 18 had the album Visual Audio Sensory Theatre which was in itself a masterpiece.

Turquoise and Crimson was originally available to fans as a download of 2 separate albums in 2002 and not available in stores. It had a belated official release 2 years later and was marketed as a double album composed of 22 original demos. This album soars to new heights with a unique blend of acoustic and hard rock with an Enigma-esque background vocals and foreign influences.
Even lyrically Crosby’s words add to their mystique touching on subjects of religion and relationships; forcing listeners to not only enjoy the music but also engage in thinking while deciphering the lyrics.

I recommend both the original Visual Audio Sensory Theater album in conjunction with the Turquoise and Crimson albums for anyone wanting something similar yet different. Great music.

The O.N.E.

The LOGO.

The only O.N.E.

The mobius strip is the common symbol of infinity. You can create a mobius strip from a piece of paper, taking a simple strip of paper, twist and connect the two ends. You will see that this is a one-sided figure. It continues into itself; whereas one side merges with the other.

Concepts that one and the infinite are interchangeable permeate our language. The term Universe defines all that is around us, which we believe to be infinite. “Uni” means “one”. The vastness of something that is infinitely large (and infinitely small) can be seen as a collective “one”. Therefore the concept – One Never Ends which leads to the acronym O.N.E.

As you can see, the logo contains the mobius strip embedded in circular shapes. I can’t explain this logo fully as it came to me long before I even came up with the name. I drew it one day in 2000, and then ended up designing it in Illustrator a year or so later, which is the logo above.

I later rendered this in a 3D environment, which is seen on my Myspace page.