2012 Client Roster: Magic Radio 1530

For Immediate Release

Magic 1530 Celebrates 1^st Anniversary With

The 2012 Sound of Magic Artist of the Year Award

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, June 1st /E-Release/ -- The Twin Cities newest adult contemporary radio station, Magic 1530, wants the world to celebrate their one year anniversary through music! 

To celebrate this huge accomplishment, the station will be launching their “15 Days in June” promotion that spotlights 15 incredible Minnesota artists who define the “Minneapolis Sound” and their 1^st Annual 2012 Sound of Magic Artist of the Year Award.

The 1^st Annual 2012 Sound of Magic Award will honor the best National and International artists whose video truly captures the essence of  “The Minneapolis Sound”, the winner will take home a cushy social media and radio package valued at $10,000 to help push their career. 

“The Twin Cities have always been a hot bed for creative music and people around the world love the music we make.  Even though we are the new kids on the block, we want everyone who is in love with the “Minneapolis Sound” to celebrate with us,” explains Rodney Smith, Magic 1530’s station manager. 

Although the year has been full of highs and low, Magic 1530 has enjoyed many great milestones including moving to a brand new location (relocating from Chaska to Golden Valley), having national recording artists such as Grammy Award winning recording group Mint Condition through the door, and in April 2012, international radio personality Michael Baisden was in studio live.  Most recently the station is forging great partnerships with major corporations and media outlets such as Allied Movie Company and Curves Fitness Centers to help expand their community outreach.

“We started small for a reason, and we are on track to launch many initiatives in the Minneapolis market and abroad in 2013.  We will be launching a brand new website the end of June to coincide with the launch of all new social media pages, we are even working on our own application for mobile users,” says Smith. 

To submit your video for The 1^st Annual 2012 Sound of Magic Award simply visit Magic 1530’s new Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Magic1530) (remember to click “like”) then send your Youtube video url to the email provided on our Facebook page.  Winners will be announced on June 15^th, 2012.

About Magic 1530

Magic 1530’s (Twin Cities 1530 a.m.) is a classic and contemporary R&B music format.  Founded in June 2011, Magic 1530 is dedicated to bringing back the local feel to radio while remaining on the cutting edge of radio technology.  Magic 1530 is not a radio station just for urban listeners.  Just as Motown hit people across spectrums and class lines, so does Magic 1530.  Anyone who loves good music or grew up listening to these classics will enjoy Magic 1530. 

Magic 1530 is always looking for advertising, sponsorship or marketing partners, please check us out at 2012 Minneapolis Juneteenth Festival! For more information please visit www.magic1530.com or follow us on Twitter @mplsmagic

    Contact:

            Kandis Knight,

Marketing Director

Magic 1530 a.m.

Kandis@magic1530.com

2004 Client Roster: Dj Kool Akiem

by Kandis Knight

As the summer drags on and the city seems lifeless, I thought I’d catch up with someone who moved out of this city for some inspiration. Although the Micranots sadly are no more, we still got mad love for DJ Kool Akiem who is currently in ATL (Atlanta, Georgia).

This one I had to do out of love and respect ‘cause this brotha’ has paid his dues here and he has moved on. I know his thoughts expanded my horizons.

Kandis: What’s playing in your CD player right now?

Akiem: MM Food by MF DOOM. He got some of my favorite cuts on there. “Hold Hot Shit,” love that one.

Kandis: How long did it take to complete The Emperor and The Assassin?

Akiem: It was a long process, I started the pre-production in Brooklyn, then stayed in Minneapolis for a couple weeks to track the vocals then a I did all the post production, arrangement and interludes back in Brooklyn, Pennsylvania and Atlanta. Originally I planned to mix it in New York, but that didn’t work out, so I went to Atlanta to mix. Really I would have liked to mix it in Minneapolis but that wasn’t going to work.

Kandis: How Does The Emperor and The Assassin differ from your other Micranots releases?

Akiem: I think it’s a lot more solid album, everything fits almost like a story. But at the same time there are more singles to choose from, it’s a little less esoteric then other albums.

Kandis: Are you from Minneapolis? If not where are you from?

Akiem: I grew up in San Diego, then my family moved to Minneapolis where I spent my teenage years. So Minneapolis is an important city for me, where I became an adult. Then I moved to Atlanta. I never really felt at home in Minneapolis. There was like a personal tension between myself and the whole city. Not to mention certain people or elements of the city. It was probably just shit I went through as a teenager. Still, it’s cold as hell and dominated by some liberal white culture shit. Things have changed a little. I still hate the MPD for too many reasons, individual pigs, too. So when I left, I felt like I was escaping. I still remember leaving the city limits in a packed up U-haul, like “damn I finally made it out that place.” When I got to Atlanta, even as an outsider I felt more at home. It’s nice and warm, the police didn’t bother me if I didn’t bother them and plenty of black people doing real well. The opposite of Minneapolis. At least that’s what it felt like at the time.

Kandis: How do you feel the city you were raised in affected you?

Akiem: That’s a hard question, DNA, or environment? Besides causing me to hate the snow and cold weather, possibly more than if we stayed in Cali, I think that coming up in Minneapolis has taught me about a particular mode of racism, that special liberal progressive racism that seems to control the city. It’s different than in the South, ATL, where the racism is separatist and disengaging, “I don’t like you, you don’t like me, do you want to do business? Yes. okay fine.”

While in Minneapolis it’s more engaged and complicated “Yes I like you people, of course we should do business, I’m sure you need my help right?” Then, If you’re not white in Minneapolis you get seen as being “other then normal,” like white is regular and anything else is “different.”

You go to other cities like NY and that feeling is hardly there, white isn’t the default. The “flesh” colored crayon isn’t necessarily pink other places. Then you have this thing where too many black people in one place is cause for alarm, it doesn’t matter what they’re doing, they could be campaigning for Bush and white people will still be all spooked (scared).

I still don’t get over the strangeness of being in a mall with nothing but black people, shopping, running all the stores, and what not. But then you have a white family, kids and everything come in and shop like nothing’s wrong. You know god-damned well they were not raised in Minneapolis, because they would have been running out the place and calling the police.

Kandis: Now since you’ve left, what are your hopes for the Twin Cities Hip-Hop Scene?

Akiem: Honestly I’m not too concerned with the Twin Cities Hip-Hop Scene, except for its relevance to my good friends. I mean, I’ve started to focus more on personal relations with people, rather than scenes. People outlast scenes and even movements these days.

Kandis: Why did the Micranots break up? Akiem: That would be a riddle, wrapped in a question, locked inside an enigma so to speak. I think it was more of one person quitting rather then a breakup. If I tried to answer why, I would invariably be incorrect in whatever answer I give. I have my interpretation, but I will leave that be. It’s just kind of a shame, and somewhat laughable to see a crew disintegrate on the official release date.

Kandis: Are you still down with RSE?

Akiem: I’m still down with RSE and I left Minneapolis like ten years ago, it’s too long ago to be missed. I don’t feel “home sick” or anything. ATL or even Brooklyn is more my home now. You know RSE ain’t only Minneapolis anymore, we got crews from other cities on RSE now.

Kandis: Were there any life-changing events for you in 2003?

Akiem: Probably going on the Seven’s Travels tour. I’ve toured before, but not 60 cities. The main skill I acquired from that was being able to get on the mic. I did all the back up vocals for the show, not something I ever did.

Kandis: What were your most memorable shows in the last year? What shows are you looking forward to in the immediate future?

Akiem: The most memorable was the very last Micranots show at the SXSW in Austin, Tex. last March. Even if fools weren’t even speaking [to each other within the group] we pulled off a really good performance for professional reasons. I played with Musab and MF DOOM that night. I’ve done some more shows with Musab, like opening for Ghostface. And I also went with DOOM on the Talib Kweli tour around the country. And I should be with DOOM on the “MM Food” tour with RSE.

Kandis: Do you have any shows booked? What are your plans for the summer 2004?

Akiem: I was going to go in the “And 1” basketball tour for Scion cars, but they ended up booking someone cheaper. Someone observed that they just wanted a DJ at their booth for visual reasons rather then for the commercial set I was going to give them. Shit, I would rather stay away from that corporate stuff anyway, but I do have to put money in my pocket still. So for the summer I will be taking care of a lot of family things, traveling and probably make it back up there soon.

Kandis: What do you think you have learned about the business that you’d wish others knew?

Akiem: That even small independent labels will try to fuck you over just like the majors. Its all a game.

Kandis: Who are some of your favorite national Hip-Hop artists and how have they influenced you?

Akiem: Marley, Premo, and the RZA. Marley for blending loops and song structure with scratches and shit. Premier for chopping shit up real good and rearranging shit. And the RZA for bringing out that rugged off beat shit, cutting tracks on and off in ill places.

Kandis: Any advice for Twin Cities artists?

Akiem: Not really specifically to the TC, but I’ve got a lot of advice. It’s more specific, and less general, you know, there’s no magic route into the music industry. I wont say “Hip-Hop industry.” Hip-Hop is a culture.

Kandis: What did you hope to achieve by moving out of the Twin Cities?

Akiem: I achieved them a long time ago, escape, renewal and building. For more information about our beloved DJ Kool Akiem, please visit his official website.

Interview: Eyedea & Abilities

Eyedea & Abilities (Minneapolis)

Published in The Pulse of The Twin Cities

by Kandis Knight

After playing with my cassette recorder for two minutes, a fidgety, pretour (50 cities) Eyedea and Abilities settled into the groove for our interview. The emcee, Eyedea, was very reflective and attentive to each question. Abilities, the DJ, provided a stark contrast—preferring to play his NBA Live videogame while chilling out with a cold Rolling Rock. Throughout the course of our hour-long interview Abilities alternated between being preoccupied and engaged, but was always full of humor.

Kandis: So you two work together a lot, what are your zodiac signs?

Eyedea: We’re both Scorpios.

The interview is off to a great start.

Kandis: Interesting, how does that come into play?

Eyedea: (Deepens his voice) From what I can tell we’re both just really tough (laughs).

Kandis: OK, do you guys live together?

(They both look at each other and emphatically respond “No!” in unison.)

Eyedea: (Trying to sound serious) We don’t like each other. (Everyone laughs)

Kandis: Ok, um....what kind of girls do you like?

Eyedea: I like all kinds of girls.

Abilities: I just like my girlfriend.

Eyedea: I like a girl who’s smart, they have to be able to grasp witty sarcasm.

Kandis: Let's change the subject, what stresses you guys out?

Eyedea: The stress that we always feel is trying to continue advancing with our music. That’s our plight, it’s ingrained in our personalities. We feel like we’re trying to race the world of music itself—just trying to create the best music, and as soon as we get done with one piece we’re trying to figure out how to top it. The technical stuff is easy to deal with, it’s just supplemental to the plight—it’s not a real thing, it’s just background to what we’re really trying to do.

Kandis: You guys are Radiohead fans. Does their music and the way it’s evolved influence you?

Eyedea: They exemplify true musicianship. They’re always growing and expanding. I think Outkast is the same way. I think Radiohead and Outkast are the two modern popular groups who you can actually say that about. We take inspiration from everywhere. We’re inspired by groups who always try to change and get better.

Kandis: What are your favorite songs on E &A (the groups newest album)?
Abilities: “Reintroducing,” “Now” and “Glass.” “Reintroducing” is my favorite because we cut the lyrics at the same time [as the music], that combination has never been done before. It’s just new and I think we do it well. “Now” and “Glass” production wise are my favorites and I do some of my favorite turntable work on those. They come together with the lyrics the best.

Eyedea: The other songs are good on different levels but those ones are what we feel work on all levels.

Kandis: As far as the business side of things goes, how is the publicity surrounding this project different than it was with your previous releases?

Eyedea: When we did the last record the publicity was not as strong. Motormouth who is doing our publicity now and the staff in house at Epitaph are doing great.

Kandis: What are your gripes with contemporary Hip-Hop or music in general?

Eyedea: Society has low standards for what is considered good or great music. What is great now is not even close to what Jimmy Hendrix was. We need to reevaluate the standards of what’s [labeled] great music.

Abilities: Think about it, nowadays you got Britany Spears, back then there was Aretha Franklin. Or now you got B2K, back then it was Earth Wind and Fire. (Everyone laughs)

Eyedea: Music of today is not even in the same building as music from the ’70s.

Kandis: What happened?

Abilities: There’s a big difference between musicians wanting to be artists and musicians just wanting to be performers.

Eyedea: Yeah, artists are driven by creating something new. Look at this American Idol shit—they’re good singers but they’re always singing someone else’s songs, there’s nothing groundbreaking happening there. Like our album, it’s not typical, it’s not average. We want to create great, epic songs.

Abilities: When you say Epic I think of some huge giant war or something, I think of the movie “Braveheart.” Freedom! (Everyone laughs)

Eyedea: When I say epic and great I’m not saying complex. I mean just important, a kick and a snare can be important but what you kinda touched upon is that people just do what they’re doing and no one is striving [to create something new]. Therefore musically we sit, we don’t go anywhere because people are just doing what they do. If we were just doing what we do we would never learn anything, our personalities would never develop. We would just be like, “this is it.” I think that’s the difference between a great artist and the average person.

Kandis: What music do you guys currently listen to on a regular basis?

Eyedea: We both listen to jazz.

Abilities: Coltrane is the greatest.

Eyedea: I listen to The Beatles, we both listen to everything. Kentucky Gag Order is a great band, there’s stuff here and there that you catch that is cool. We listen to the greats. I’m not going to listen to average rap when I can listen to an Outkast album. Why would I? There’s so much for my ear, brain and mind and body to gain. I like that Sleepy Brown guy who’s down with Andre. He’s so great. We listen to the early ’90s Hip-Hop that we were raised on. I still think that stuff is better than anything you hear nowadays. I have a lot of respect for Jay-Z, Eminem, Ludacris, Cee-Lo. They’re groundbreaking.

Kandis: How was the South by Southwest Conference? [Editor’s Note: The SXSW Conference is a yearly independent record industry showcase held in Austin, TX, featuring prominent up-and-comers in all styles of pop music. Artists who do well in their showcases and draw a strong buzz at the festival frequently end up signing with larger indie labels and, occasionally, a major label.]

Eyedea: It’s cool because all of the industry people are there and they all want to talk to you and you can treat them like shit. There are real musicians in the crowd also.

Abilities: Yeah, there was this girl who played violin in a symphony and she was like “you got me so open, your rhythm is so outstanding.” I didn’t marry her.

Kandis: What? (laughs).

Abilities: I’m just saying I am like Mozart in this bitch! (Everyone laughs)

Eyedea: It was like a breeding ground for musicians at that conference. If you can’t get respect amongst your peers as a musician how good are you?

Abilities: Yeah, if nobody likes you then you’re just a sucky artist. (Everyone laughs)

Eyedea: I feel you on that, plus everyone went down there on the Rhymesayer’s Tour Bus. We all got to hang out together.

Abilities: Yeah I got to whup everyone’s ass on the Play Station!

Kandis: How do you guys prepare yourselves for a 50-city tour?

Abilities: Do as many drugs as you can do. Just kidding!

Eyedea: We’re ready to go. We want to get the show on the road. In the past it seemed like more of a task to go on the road but now we got the record, the distribution, and this is our first headlining tour so we’re ready to go.

Eyedea & Abilities perform Sat., May 29, at First Avenue. With Blueprint, Mass Hysteria and Grayskul. 5 p.m. $10 adv/ $12 door. All Ages. 327 14th Ave. SE, Mpls. 612-338-8388.
You can find out more about Eyedea & Abilities on Rhymesayers official website.