Baltimore Club

We did an interview with the beautiful Kellee Maize! Kellee Maize is a very talented girl from Pittsburgh who sings/raps over some Scottie B and King Tutt bmore beats! We did a little interview to introduce this girl to you! She also made a special page  where we can listen and download the tracks for free! kelleemaize.com/baltimoreclub

On the photo we see a good looking blond girl, in the music we hear some mix between Lady gaga, MIA and Uffy on some Baltimore club music. Who exactly is Kellee Maize?

That is quite a compliment. Thanks! I am an entrepreneur, mystic, activist, dancer, performer and obviously a rapper/singer/songwriter/poet. I am very into empowering females…..and men while in this process. I have a whole hard core world view about why it is important to empower women but I won’t get all crazy now, and it is hard to explain. (My first album would help a little

I am also very into quantum physics, creating your reality, questioning authority and staying positive despite what you find during the questioning. It’s hard but worth the try. I think we have a powerful force inside of each of us that can help transform the planet. The outside world reflects what is inside so we all have a responsibility to tune into the right frequency and add our positivity to the world as best we can. My music is the best vehicle I have found to do so and i feel like i was put here to do this I feel like everyone has a very important gift to offer the world…and I think this is my purpose.

That line specifically means I work with Unruly but I also mean that despite being around a lot of chaos, I am attempting to keep my mind clear, a vital part of transforming yourself so you can really be helpful….and the HARDEST THING for me to do! (not that unruly records is chaos but, the meaning of the word unruly…). I try to meditate as much as possible because my mind is always going. It gets easier everyday but, we are still human.

My connection to Unruly came through my company, Nakturnal. We have been helping with some events in Baltimore for the last few years, not many recently however. We helped get some sponsorship for the first My Crew Be Unruly (AMAZING PARTY!!) and I attended to help carry out the sponsorship. I met Shawn that night and gave him my first album. A month later I hit him up to see if he checked it out. He said he really wanted to help me but didn’t work with too many hip hop producers, since Age of Feminine doesn’t have any club or electronic beats. I said I wanted to rhyme over some bmore club. He asked why I didn’t tell him that sooner and the rest is history. I came to Bmore several times to build with Scottie and Tutt. I told them about all my crazy theories and they still gave me the music. I really love those guys! They let me use any tracks I wanted. Tutt and I plan to work on some new tracks soon.

You’re sharing the music for free? New business model?

Yes, that is the plan. I am just excited to let people hear the message and the music. I hope it makes people think, feel hopeful in their power and I wanna make people dance….very important. But, I want to do this full time so I have to create a revenue stream. I love performing, traveling and writing so I have been drawing from my own experience creating my company and working with a lot of close friends to formalize a plan to make it crack. We hope when people get it for free they like it and wanna support me in the future. I hope its a model that works quickly so I can eventually help other artists. I have always wanted Nak to have a label, that is an ultimate goal but I wanna do it like Ani and make music while I am helping other conscious artists.

Download and listen to the tracks

Ronald James aka The Tempo Tandrum is launching a clothing line Status Appartus! I was blessed for getting a tshirt and i really like this clothing line based in baltimore city! Nice prints, good quality shirts and if you believe in living under the baltimore sun you must deff buy one of his tshirts!

Could you tell me who are you?

Well, my name is Ronald James.¬†¬†I hail from East Baltimore City. I’ve been in Baltimore all my life¬†and I do a decent amount of stuff.¬†I’m a lover of music, fashion, creativity, and milk shakes.¬†I am the host of the weekly 90 minute podcast, The Tempo Tandrum, which can be found at http://www.thetempotandrum.com. ¬†I’m co-owner of the streetwear line Status Apparatus which can be found at¬†http://www.statusapparatus.com/¬†In addition to that, I formed a production situation called The Tempo Tandrum. I produce all sorts of things including hip-hop, ¬†Baltimore Club, and pop.¬†

So youre starting a clothing line, tell me something about that!

Status Apparatus was launched a couple months ago. I’ve loved fashion for the bulk of my life so it was only right that I got into designing myself. When I was 18, I was put on to streetwear and sneaker culture. It was quality stuff that was creative. It wasn’t sold everywhere so the oversaturation wasn’t there. I was fascinated by it and I wanted to bring it to Baltimore because I noticed that all the companies, were based out of the same places. Stussy, The Hundreds, Kilo, Alife, 10 Deep, Supreme are all brands that had a strong presence in LA or NY (or all of the other major cities). I wanted to create a brand that was from Baltimore but didn’t use it as a gimmick. A brand that has good designs and a good message behind it, but just so happens to be out of Baltimore. Consistency is the key and I think we are prepared for the long haul.

You believe in living under the baltimore sun!?

Yup! I wholeheartedly do believe in it. That is one our launch shirts with a very interesting message.  Baltimore culture is amazing to me. Sights, sounds, smells. Summer is approaching and it is crab season so it is an amazing time to be a Baltimorean . For the full explanation of the shirt go to  http://www.statusapparatus.com.

The idea behind Status Apparatus is one of the many reasons people will love the brand. Status is a very huge part of our existance as people. Our lifestyle choices, clothing, cars and everything in between speak of our position in life (if you have the means). For some people it is expensive paintings, for others it is purses or sneakers. The logo is a very simple representation of status. It is the cartoon bubble displaying the grenade, heart and coins. On a very basic level, it is money, power and respect. These are three things that are very indicative of status. I wanted to use these symbols because when things are marketed to consumers, it is often sold to us through those means.

www.statusapparatus.com

The second interview on this website! The first interview I did with DJ Benny Stixx! This time I interviewed DJ Excel of Bmore Original Records! Click on the image to see this picture in wallpapersize! Picture by Kelly Connelly!

 -Who is DJ Excel?

A creative mind…a guy in his musical treehouse 20 hours a day, with occasional naps and then back up creating Club, designing websites and logos, remixing, and leaving some time for straight hip-hop too. A “Bmore Club producer with one foot firmly in the origins of this Club shit and another foot twenty years into the future when Club music is headlining huge festivals and has fully taken over.

 

-Baltimore club is music from Baltimore. At the moment it is growing fast and everybody all over the world is making baltimore club remixes/mashes/bootlegs. You’re a producer who’s seen and hear the start of this music. What is you’re opinion about it?

 

I’m glad to see the music get so much love, especially something like DJ Class’ “I’m the Shit” but I think it’s important that the originators of the music get proper credit in the history because the music wouldn’t be anywhere without them and so many of them are still making classics. That’s why it’s so special that a guy there from nearly “day one” like Class is on the Billboard charts. Music’s gotta evolve but it can’t evolve when certain people are pulled out and not given their voice.

 

-You are very active on the internet, you’re having a website, twitter, myspace etc. How important is internet for you as a dj/label owner to spread you’re music?

 

My label, Bmore Original Records was the first digital distribution center for Baltimore Club and Bmore Original radio was the first online radio station for Baltimore. Early on in my formal return to music I was involved in ‘Breakdown TV’ which was an early attempt to bring hip-hop shows like Yo! MTV Raps to the internet, so I’ve had intense experience with the internet early on. I like to think Bmore Original was “Web 2.0” before the term really existed.

-Which artist would you recommend  for the future?

So much talent in Baltimore especially…DJ Pierre’s a young Club DJ doing things real big, DJ Benny Stixx as well. All the Club O.G.s that are still doing innovative shit. Baltimore rappers, there’s so many to name, Articulate’s a guy I’ve enjoyed a lot lately. Ogun. Got to work with Hunsville, Alabam’s G-Side and they were real dope too.

 

-What are you’re favorite tunes of this moment?

I’m really feeling Busta Rhymes as of late, he’s coming back hard, with rapping straight out of his verse on Tribe’s “Scenario”—he’s working hard again and he’s nice. And he’s fun to sample for Club songs too! Club music needs big booming voices, dudes that yell and Busta can shout.

Yes finally the first interview on this website! This interview is with DJ Benny Stixx (Lights Out Entertainment) from Baltimore. Benny Stixx is playing for several years and he has a good view on Baltimore Club. He also is a producer, he remixed artists like Snoop Dogg, Kanye West and Lil Wayne on a creative way! Benny Stixx produces also hiphop for Dan W. I asked him things about the club scene in Baltimore, he tells something about he early days of Bmore, the different varieties of bmore, crime and the future! So things about the past, the present and the future!  Take the time to read this interesting interview!

When did you get in contact with baltimore club music for the first time?

I first got into baltimore club music in the mid 90′s.¬† DJ’s such as Scottie B and DJ Technics used to work at the record store Music Liberated on Saratoga Street where I used to buy a lot of vinyl.¬†They would always have the white label records with¬†the title written with a sharpie permanant marker..¬†There weren’t too many places to get baltimore club music and normally you had to know the places where it was sold, and have a connection with some of the dj’s/producers making the records.¬† Unfortunately a lot of record shops have closed now since everything has gone digital for the most part.

How is the club scene in Baltimore?

The club scene in Baltimore is different from a lot of places.¬† A lot of clubs around here change ownership a lot and go through changes pretty often.¬† The problem with “upscale” clubs around here is there is a certain crowd they cater to, and most of the people in Baltimore don’t have the money like that and are looking for drink specials, etc… Normally the high profile new club lasts 6 months to a year, unless you have a household name and Dj’s there consistently.¬† The section of Baltimore that seems to do the best is Power Plant.. this is an area where there are a bunch of club/bars all within the same radius and people can leave from one place to another and hit like 3-5 places in a¬† night if you really wanted to.¬† Club Choices and Club One are two of the places where you can normally hear baltimore club music regularly.¬† Hammerjacks used to be a place where you could go and hear bmore club music all the time but they closed and have opened under another name and ownership.¬† Club Sonar is another place that is right next to hammerjacks and they host a lof of concerts and celebrity appearances, so that club has stayed in the picture and consistent.¬†

Baltimore is a violent city (wikipedia says), does crime and bmore have a relation?

Baltimore Club music in general has always been a more agressive “in your face” kind of music.¬† When I was coming up in the scene in the late 90′s and early 2000′s baltimore club music was a lot of breaks and more house influenced.¬† The baltimore club music now has changed with new faces and younger producers.¬† We do have a lot of crime in¬†Baltimore city.¬†Baltimore club music definitely caters to the younger generation… and¬†with that comes gangs, violence,¬†sex, drugs, etc.. ¬† When I¬†dj an event for high school kids or a younger crowd, baltimore club music is ALWAYS requested.¬† The kids would dance to that all night if they could…. the only problem is with it being an agressive type of music it leads to problems.. 9 times out of 10 the principal or people who are hosting the party request that you change the music to calm down the crowd.¬† Fights break out, sometimes girls get sexually assulted as well.. so again it all goes back to the crowd and area where you are in bmore… Now this doesn’t happen every single time, but a good majority of the time they don’t know how to act and it can’t continue.. Baltimore is the home of the Wire and we have problems, but that doesn’t mean everywhere is like that around the city

What do you think about other countries, cities, states, catching on to the bmore club music, and other producers making baltimore club music?

First of all it’s AWESOME that other countries have caught on to bmore club music!! This has been a movement that we’ve been pushing for years and some places like New Jersey and Philly have their own type of baltimore club music.. New Jersey calls it Brick City Club… You have producers like DJ Tamiel and Tim Dolla (and many others)¬†that are holding that area down.¬† So the music has been here in a few areas for years.. I like that we’ve seen so many more places like the UK, France, Germany appreciating and immitating the music.¬† There are a lot of talented producers out there making great songs!¬† I’ve noticed a more house influence with the european countries, compared to a more hip hop gritty sound in baltimore.. Some of the drums/samples/loops used are pretty common with bmore club, so a lot of dj’s have started making remixes with songs using the “baltimore club sound”.¬† Overall though it’s really exciting and I’m impressed with the dj’s out of state that rep bmore club and house music, and I’m glad it’s finally getting the shine it deserves.¬†

Any suggestions for new producers or dj’s that want to get started with bmore club?

My biggest suggestion is BE ORIGINAL!¬† So much of music in general sounds the same now and it seems like a lot of the fun has been taken away and it’s more about making money.¬† Use sounds that people haven’t heard, use records that nobody would think of using, and give it your own flavor!¬† Remixing is a little different b\c obviously you’re going to using a record that people have probably heard.. Another suggestion is talk with the kids and other upcoming talent!!! They know what’s hot and keep you on your toes with what’s buzzing in the streets.¬† Work with as many people as you possibly can and ALWAYS get feedback on your records whether it’s good or bad! Be a perfectionist! Don’t settle for anything less then what you want the record to sound like!¬† The internet is a powerful tool now and I would suggest doing email blasts and joining music forums so you can advertise¬†your songs and sound…. From there it gets spread around pretty quickly. ¬†

 

Contact DJ Benny Stixx at djbennystixx at yahoo   dot com

Here is a pack of 4 remixes!

DJ Benny Stixx – Beam Me Up

Lil Wayne – Lollipop (DJ Benny Stixx Bmore Club)

Snoop Dogg РSensual Seduction (DJ Benny Stixx Bmore Club Remix)

Florida – Low (DJ Benny Stixx Bmore Remix)