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Footballers Make Room to Rap
by Kenyari Addison
Da'Von Heath
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A few calls are made. In the evening, the group assembles in Tyrea Allen's room in Dickson-Palmer Apartments or in Kenyari Addison's room in Bailey Mountain. They click through a list of pre-recorded instrumentals.
"You'll know which instrumental you'll chose. When it comes on you can just feel it," says P-Nut, a.k.a. Da'Von Heath. "The music is set on loop and is played over and over, while the men separate into their private spaces around the room and begin to write. It usually takes about twenty to thirty minutes for everyone to finish. Then we lay it down."
That's some Mars Hill footballers taking a new approach to finding entertainment by being the entertainment, leaving the realm of the gridiron for the booth, now giving their all to become rappers.
CLICK on the FOOTBALLS for SOUND
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Crossing over from the consumer end of the deal to the producing end has given them new respect for artists.… "The time and effort to make everything work is countless. When you produce a final product you feel, well, good about yourself," says P-Nut.
The men give this rap a couple of trial runs to get the timing down before recording it.
On hand are linebacker Da'Von Heath, defensive end Chris Dowdell, wide receiver Tyrea Allen, defensive end Ibrahim "Shame" Menafee, and quarterback Kenyari Addison. All songs don't feature all artists, while some feature most if not all. Some feature artists who just spit into the mic.
Kenyari Addison
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The group got together for the first time in the spring semester of 2007 and called themselves Dem Dirty Boys. They recorded their first collaboration titled, "Def to da Hill" one night while freestyling in Gibson. It featured Xavier Jordan, Tyrea Allen, Nathaniel Smith, Shame Menafee, Kendrick Johnson and Kenyari Addison rapping off the tops of their heads with Kendrick Johnson, known as Juicy J, and Mike Jones, aka the REAL Mike Jones, as the two hype men who intro and outro each artist and highlight punch lines in each verse.
"I didn't think much of it at first and didn't think that we would be still doing it now," explains Nature Boy, (That's me, Kenyari Addison.) "It started during exam time. We were stressed out, someone mentioned, 'Let's drop dis track shawty,' and the rest kind of followed. It was us just free styling and spitting out what was on our mind and getting it out off our chest. Before we knew it were actually writing songs."
Each member of the group possesses unique characteristics. Diesel (Chris Dowdell) is the force, Glyce (Tyrea Allen) is the voice, Nature Boy is the muscle, Fatman (Shame Menafee) has mastered the art of telling stories, while P-nut (Da'Von Heath) is a metaphoric/symbolic type artist. Others also possess personal qualities.
Tyrea Allen mixing it up
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Fatman, released his first solo with the group - "Fatman Dance," but he has been doing music for as long as he can recall. He says he was 12 years old before he did his first recording.
"I probably came out the womb rapping and doing my thang. I remember freestyling for the first time to James Brown's song 'Big Pay Back.'
"Through rapping, I get a chance to express what I want to say. I can rap about what I am feeling and express it in a song better than I can in words. I know that sounds strange, but I am telling you. When that beat drop, and I stand before the mic, the feeling is … it takes me away and put me in a place where I can express my thoughts."
Gylce (Tyrea Allen) says, "As far as music goes, rapping means a change of time, a change of thought. It provokes positive messages in someone's ear and a visual picture they interpret from what they hear.
"I like to stay to myself about a lot of personal things, even though I am outspoken," he adds, and a soft laughter escapes. "It's a way that I can get those certain things that I have bottled up inside of me off my chest and let others know what's on my mind, what I been thinking. It's also a way for me to communicate who I am and what I am about, and what I got to be. My dreams and passions, what I stand for, I can do it all through music. It simply gives me hope…"
Chris Dowdell
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Diesel (Chris Dowdell), replies with lines from a song, "'It gets my rocks off! But I'm still a rock star.' These guys possess a sense of humor. It's fun. It takes me away from everything in the world and puts me in my own world for just a moment or two. It's total relaxation. It's not scripted by no one but me, so I can say what I want to say about what I am feeling inside… I can express myself as no one but me.
"Last year in Gibson, the freestyle was my first time, and I was nervous. My mind was moving 100 mph and I couldn't catch up with my mouth… I don't know, but now…. I'm a more relaxed. The mind set that I normally have, like I'm walking around with the weight on back. You being weighted down, almost like a walking bomb with the clock just ticking away…, but once you relieve yourself by getting it off your chest…, it's like you literally exploded. Your soul becomes free, and you can float away… Like being on cloud nine."
Now several months later, there are several tracks that have been layed down towards our first album, "Only Time will Tell," including:
1. Let's Ride
2. I'm a man, I'm a champ
3. You Can't Leave
4. Minutes of Pain
5. Looka Here
6. Decisions
7. Bring It Back
8. Hood Prison
9. Fatman
10. I'm on Fire
11. This is why I'm Hot (MHC Remix) |
12. Can I Come Ova
13. Anthem (Blue and Gold)
14. Do you
15. Only You
16. I'm a Rockstar
17. White Girl (MHC Remix)
18. On da Grind
19. Slow Down
20. Dirty South Representas
21. On and On
22. Bullet Proof |
The group purpose is to produce entertainment… but beyond all that… go deeper than the skin and sink to soul… listen to the music… then LISTEN to the music. Not all the tracks are symbolic, but most have meaning and feelings behind them… The topics that we use normally are current events or situations.
The meaning behind the title of the first album, is significant because Only time will tell… Only time will tell what happens with the group. There are many ambitions and dreams in the mind of all artist. After "Can I come Ova," a Glyce hit featuring Diesel was a hit at a past school social… thoughts of pursuing live performances crossed the mind. The group is networking and trying to get a name for themselves. However… only time will tell.
Reader Comment:
Samantha Waldroup, Sophomore, 12/5/2007, 8:59 p.m.
Yeah, the next album will feature me. Great job guys. Glad I got to share this awesome experience. Good photos too!!!
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