Deshaun Holton aka Big Proof wrote Time A Tell, a whole hip hop album, within 24 hours, just a few months before being savagely murdered at the CCC club in Detroit. Despite fame and his huge popularity in Detroit City and all over the world, Proof knew how to keep down to earth.With his simplicity and his full dedication to hip hop, his hard work, Proof has become the mere symbol of artistic integrity. With this very complete piece of work, Proof hasn’t left his auditors orphans: he is sharing his wonderful musical genius with his hometown and the rest of the world.

Each time I am tempted to give up on my passion, I look up to Proof. Then I know I have to keep doing my thing with the same flame, because we have to invest in our God-given gifts and allow the world to enjoy them as well.

Time A Tell is rich of many musical collaborations. We need to underline the participation of some skilled Detroit talents like Killa Kaunn, First Borne, Supa Emcee of Iron Fist, J-Hill, Mudd and Thyme of 5 ELA, Moe Dirdee and TY Farris, just to name a few.

The album is rhythmic, inventive with its numerous musical compositions, rich of atitute punchlines. Proof’s raspy voice stands out in the whole album. The Detroit legend is giving you some insight about the Detroit scene.

After a theatrical intro, you will be introduced into a touchy subject, Friends Ain’t Really Friends. The musical background has a rhythmic jazzy-soul touch. The listener will be reminded of Tupac and Biggie’s stories. Fakeness gets exposed in a genuine Proof lyrical rapping style. Thumbs up!

You Heard Of Us featuring Killa Kaunn and First Born is a swinging, offensive track in which the emcees’ skills are fully enlightened. The track gets grimy andd murderous. Enjoy the Detroit style!

Whole New Beginning features the brilliant Supa Emcee. The song is quite nostalgic. Words do matter in this one too.

Priceless combines trumpet and siren background sounds. Feel the dangerosity of hood life. I love the icy cold steel spirit put into his song.

I Think Of You is built on a soft musical background. There, Proof really excels in verbal fluency.

Most of you aready know Sincerly Proof, a track that had been leaked on the internet a short time after Proof passed away.

Pill Pop is written in a sarcastic style. I love the lyrics, Proof’s sense of humor.

Among the songs I really liked, I recommend you the Time A Tell track.
It is beautifully made and reeinforces the Detroit emcee’s know how. That’s how they do it…and they are really good at it!You go, Purple Gang.

You like it lyrical? Go listen to Verbal Spar where you will enjoy Woof Pac’s verbal storm.

Nearly 4 years have gone by since Proof passed away. But his music is pretty much alive. Time will tell you about Proof’s legacy. The emcee is one of hip hop’s most valuable jewels.

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
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You will be able to listen to Big Proof’s album here.
The album is hotter than hot! Enjoy:)

Isabelle

There’s a little bit of some Westcoast spirit in our Detroiters’ mind. Bizarre of D12 and the King Of Horrorcore King Gordy are inviting you for a chillout ride into their weed smoking universe. Whether you smoke it, inhale and exhale it, there is a relaxing mood in this video. Follow King Gordy and Bizarre on a very soft instrumental tune. just sit back and relax…because there is nothing better in life than a relaxed body and mind.

Let your sorrows and worries be, at the time being…close your eyes…then open them again, let a high Bizarre show you the clouds…

Vocally, Bizarre’s voice contrasts with the darker, grittier King Gordy voice. The soft melody guides you viewers to cloud 9…what a nice feeling of freedom. This song is truly the perfect Summer chillout hit. Fine girls are part of the feature too.

You will be able to find Bizarre’s new video on his official website.

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

I love the soft, rhythmic instrumentals they put into it…a review may follow soon:)

Since the release of Relapse, Eminem’s music has taken a new artistic direction. More introspective, Marshall Mathers decided to give his public a glimpse of the real him. No more evil Slim Shady disguise, no other character to spit his rage on Recovery.
The very positive point of the whole album is certainly the return of the talented lyricist. As a matter of fact, many listeners had felt left down by the artist since the release of Encore that did not really meet the standarts that you’d usually expect from a good hip hop album.

Relapse was quite surprising in its concept: Eminem took the risk for his album to be overlooked in its depth, even by die-hard fans. It nearly happened to me, but after a second listen I discovered Eminem’s artistic intent. I thus became more appreciative of his lyrical and musical effort in Relapse.

From Infinite to Recovery, Marshall Mathers offers his audience a long path made of personal experiences and reflexions. Wordsmith Eminem always was and will stay.

Not Afraid embraces a powerful violin background while Eminem faces his public with sincerity. Of course it cost Marshall Mathers a lot to face his demons, to admit his mistakes during his career path. The song unleashes loads of dynamite. It is probably one of the best songs of the album. Eminem also promises not to let his fans dow. However, and despite the huge lyrical efforts set on his brand new album, we are entitled to ask: “Who are Eminem’s fans at the moment?” Undoubtably, they are probably not the same kind of people than the ones that supported the artist a decade ago (with a few exceptions, of course). It can be partly explained by the fact that the different albums’ tones and topics vary from album to album. A lot of Slim Shady LP and Marshall Mathers LP listeners actually think that Eminem lost his edge. Well, while I am a long term, adult fan and supporter of Eminem’s music and also very appreciative of the artist’s lyrical effort, I must admit that- musically speaking- the Recovery album barely meets my expectations. Where have the catchy beats gone, where have the mischievousness and the dark humored spirit of his former albums gone?
Too many metal and rock’n roll influences spoil too many songs in my opinion. While it is true that many hip hop artists used diverse varieties of other musical genres to compose their albums,their album’s main musical base remained mostly hip hop sounding.
Moreover, Recovery’s mood is morose and constantly self depreciating.

Cold Wind Blows starts with some icy lyrics. Eminem’s voice hits high notes. Dark guitar and piano sounds are combined with rhythmic claps. Em’s generous word mastery enlighten the song. Good flow too. This is another good song.

Talking To Myself: Time for instrospection on a keyboard background. I don’t understand why Eminem admits envying Lil Wayne and Kanye. He has nothing to envy massive commercial hip hop album sellers such as them. Maybe I would have preferred a wicked diss of both emcees. I probably would have felt better.

Won’t Back Down features pop artist Pink. Eminem excels in his art of rhyming. Unfortunately, the harsh musical background kinda spoils the well written song. I like Eminem’s flow on this one.

Going Through Changes is made of a soft bitter chorus. Marshall Mathers recalls pains and regrets, ancient memories, regrets about family life that didn’t really work out. The song’s tone is quite depressing. Why is Eminem crucifying himself all the time?
He can see clear in his life, realizes his mistakes, but I am not sure he is ready to fully accept himself the way he is. Get rid of this heavy self laceration and you’ll feel better, for sure!

On Fire is one of the tracks I enjoyed most-lyrically and instrumentally as well. However, when Eminem addresses critics, he seems to really miss the point. Why would he ask them to spit rhymes? A critic is there whether to point out a positive or a negative opinion 5or both) aboutr an artist’s work, in order to share some constructyive criticism with his readers and the artist. To each his/ her own: let the artist create and let the critic do his/ her job! This little point being raised, the song is great: good beats, nice chorus, nice instrumentals, nice flow, astute punchlines: in short, Eminem at his top. I recommend this song.

I’ve been disappointed by Cinderella Man and No Love. They are definitely not my type of songs. Eminem really good on Love the Way You Lie, but I don’t like the Rihanna chorus at all. It spoils the song in my opinion.

Globally speaking Eminem’s efforts to be closer to his fans, his lyrical craft, his matured analysis of his personal mistakes really need to be appreciated. That’s why I chose to rate my review differently. A little bit disappointed by the instrumentals and musical genres that are used in the album, I nevertheless still admire Eminem’s lyrical genius.

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

He performed some older famous songs like Stan and some more recent songs like “Forever”. But to the pleased listeners’ ears (that included French singer Marc Lavoine) he performed a brand new song taken out of his upcoming album, Recovery.

Any person who has been following Marshall Mathers since his beginning, from the Infinite album to now perfectly knows that is private and public paths have been far from easy. Despite his overwhelming success since 1999, Eminem has been facing loads of personal difficulties. He often complained in some of his songs about his demons spoiling his life. How many times has he tried to fight them? His desperate efforts to face his drug addiction sometimes made him look like Cervantes’ hero, Don Quixote de la Mancha fighting his windmills.

Year after year, drugs were slowly destroying him. In 2007, Eminem nearly lost his life. His near death experience made him realize that he needed to change, to be honest with himself, to have a clear vision of his addiction and to face his past mistakes with serenity.

Once you begin to accept your past and to learn the lessons from it, once you begin to love yourself with your weaknesses, a lot of things begin to get unstuck in your life. Eminem had the courage to do so in 2009. His Relapse album was the first step of a slow recovery. Today Marshall Mathers is back, offering his public a glance of the real him. No Eminem, no Slim Shady. On this live show, only the real Marshall Mathers was there. He looked different: slender, back in shape, he was able to offer his public the gift of a reborn, more matured and peaceful man.

That glance of the new, empowered Marshall Mathers, raising his hands towards the public and telling them publicly that he was “not afraid” really moved me. It gave me courage to go forward with my own life. The new album also promises to be lyrically sharp.

Let’s celebrate Eminem’s recovery. Be on the lookout for his new album!

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

In the beginning there was the note. From the note originated the sound. Man learned how to use his body and how to create instrumentals, digging deep into Mother Nature’s prevalent models, constantly revising and prefectionnating his techniques. The trees were some of his tools and the birds some model of organized orchestra.
I wonder if you could stand still for a minute and imagine a world without any kind of music? I couldn’t, because such a silence is rather terrifying to listen to. Taking a solitary walk in a “silent” forest during a Summer afternoon is nevertheless a symphony of birds and bees and other insects and animals alltogether.

Music can take so many forms. We are more sensitive to styles and musical forms that we particularly like. I myself love the kind of music that talks to my soul. It doesn’t always have to come from professionals, it could emerge from anonymous underground Parisian Metro or London Tube players, who are playing all the ways, whether people are taking attention or not.

I like it when an artist manages to make me understand the depth of his music. I like it when I suddenly find myself vanishing into the music and becoming the music itself: my sould becomes attentive, while my head shakes in accordance with the rhythm.

The music and I are then one.

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

I am sorry to tell all of you that my blog will take a little hiatus. At the moment, I really lack time to resume writing. Doesn’t mean I lost the passion for my thing. I just need to temporarily take a break. I will be back as soon as possible.

You can always check the archive in the meantime. Wishing all of you the best,

Love,

Isabelle

First of all, I’d like to wish you all a very Happy and fruitful New Year 2010.
A year has gone, a new one has come. Each year gives us the fantastic opportunity to put last year’s events into an objective perspective, enlightening its weaknesses and strong points. Most importantly are the events that taught us something. Sometimes we are very open minded about receiving life’s teachings in full acceptance and sometimes we might neglect some important aspects of it.
Even when you are a focused person with some precise goals, you got to pay attention to detail.

When, for instance, some events become recurrent in your life and you don’t like them, you have to question what exactly makes them happen. Year after year, I think that I was carrying the burden of my past, and by refusing the simple act of forgiveness I kept myself the prisoner of many events. Let me remind you that when you hate somebody, you literally become the prisoner of your object of hatred. This year I decided to apply FULL FORGIVENESS in my life and I saw great changes happenning.

I feel liberated. I am no longer the prisoner of my enemies. I simply let go the past and gave love instead of resentment.

Besides the act of forgiveness, I also decided to be responsible for my thoughts and actions: in short I decided to get rid of limitations and negative thoughts. You might object: how am I supposed to react when events don’t really match my deepest desires? You always have the choice to respond in a positive way. In those “unpleasant” happenings, there might be a hidden blessing.

Acceptance and permanent positive thinking will create positive outcomes in your life…all you have to do is to BELIEVE.

I am very grateful for 2009’s teachings…I am now ready to welcome 2010 with open heart and open arms. Let’s all make the best of it!

Peace and blessings to all of you:)

Copyright© by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

P.S : hopefully I will be back soon for some more reviews and interviews. I apologize to you for my long absence, as I am very busy at the moment.