VIDEO: Donwill Of Tanya Morgan On His Beatmaking
February 16, 2010
When I sat down with Donwill of Tanya Morgan for the day job to talk about his new CD, Don Cusack In High Fidelity, we got into some convo about how his beatmaking got the project started.
“A lot of people don’t know I make beats [but] I started making beats before I started rapping…I studied Fantastic Vol. 2 to learn how to make beats..” Donwill
He made some salient points about why he fell back on the producing but also explained why he’ll pick it back up to become a complete artist.
Bloggin 4 Beats: Never Enough Remix
January 11, 2010
A few days ago we put ya’ll onto 2dopeboyz.com’s Tanya Morgan Remix Contest. Though I’m not officially entering you know I couldn’t pass up on working with a dope acapella. This contest has been over, but if you haven’t picked up Brooklynati by now make sure get a check for $12 $5 from your grandma and make it happen on iTunes.
As with a lot of my remixes I like to do word association, so I literally searched for “Never Enough” in my iTunes catalog and Amel Larrieux’s “Never Enough” from the Love Jones soundtrack popped up. This was gonna be fun.
I listened to the song and played the acapella in FL at the same time to get a sense for what parts would work. (They conveniently labeled the acapella at 95 BPMS so I didn’t have to tap it out. )After isolating the breaks I commenced to chopping. After I had all of the sounds and pieces I arranged them a few different ways until I liked what I heard. I added some low pass filtering to certain sections to bring the bass out and that was it. Peep it and let me know what you think.
If you have a Tanya Morgan remix you want to share send it to info@nodfactor.com!
DOWNLOAD: “Le Da Soul,” 20 Years Of De La Soul
November 25, 2009
Mick Boogie and Terry Urban rounded up a gang of MCs and producers to pay tribute to De La Soul. The mixtape features the likes of Homeboy Sandman, Asheru, Tanya Morgan, Camp Lo, CurT@!n$, Big Pooh, Talib Kweli, ESSO and many more. With production from 6th Sense, The Kickdrums, Apple Juice Kid, Remot, Christian Rich, J. Rawls, etc.
Tanya Morgan Remix Winner Announced
October 6, 2009
(October 06, 2009 – Brooklyn, NY) To celebrate the release of their latest iTune’s single, Brooklynati’s “Never Enough,” Tanya Morgan teamed up with 2dopeboyz.com to host a producer-oriented remix contest. The Brooklynati’s Got Talent remix contest spanned two weeks and with over 100 submissions from all over the globe including the US, England, France, Brazil, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Canada, and more. After much deliberation, Tanya Morgan and their label, Interdependent Media, narrowed down the extensive list to announce Brooklynati’s #1 producer, DJ BobbyBob[listen and download here]. Dario submitted the contest’s runner-up entry.[hear it here]
Along with the title, Bobby Bob will be awarded prizing from Native Instruments, Brooklynati-inspired clothing courtesy of Society Original Products, one signed copy of Brooklynati, one certificate of victory signed by select members of the Brooklynati Chamber of Commerce and the inclusion of his “Never Enough” remix in the release of Tanya Morgan’s upcoming iTunes single release. When asked about he felt about winning the remix contest, Bobby Bob said, “I’m a big Tanya Morgan fan so it’s double the satisfaction for me to win the contest… Maybe Tanya Morgan wants some beats for the next album too (laughs)! ” Contest runner up Dario will be receiving an official Brooklynati Survival Kit, one signed copy of Brooklynati, and one certificate of victory signed by select members of the Brooklynati Chamber of Commerce.
Tanya Morgan knew this would be an excellent chance to give back to their Brooklynati fans, as well as providing the opportunity to hear the work of young, upcoming producers, and come away with a finished product that was creatively inspired. Going back to the source of the original beat, Von Pea had some things to say in regards to the contest and BobbyBob’s version, “We wanted to do a remix contest for the song because we knew it could be taken so many places other than where I took it with the original production. We got a lot of good and bad remixes but the overall feeling of DJ BobbyBob’s remix is what did it for us.”
Tanya Morgan Remix Contest
August 21, 2009
You know the drill. Spotted @ 2Dopeboyz.com. Download the “Never Enough” acapella. Create your own beat around Tanya Morgan and Carlitta Durand’s lyrics and hook and send a 320kbps MP3 (44.1kHz constant bit rate, normal stereo) file of your remix along with your name and email address to BrooklynatiTalent@gmail.com.
Click HERE to download the acapella and for prize details.
So Wachu Playin?
July 29, 2009
A lot of frickin music has dropped in the last few months and my friends are always asking me, “Yo, Jerry, wachu playin’ these days?” I’ve been making personal mixes ever since they invented highspeed dubbing so in the digital era I’m like a kid a candy store cherry picking my favorite tracks for playlists and CDs. Here is a collection I put together of my current commute rotation.
1) JS One Shout Out
2) “Ridiculous” JS-One f/OC and Pharoahe Monch
3) “Lyrics Is Back” DJ Spinna f/Torae
4) “Like That Ya’ll” D-Block
5) “Arrival” Finale
6) “Alphabet Soup” Skyzoo
7) “Lights, Cameras Action” The Alchemist f/ M.O.P.
8 ) “Air Born” The Kid Daytona f/ Bun B
9) “Dis Iz 4 All My Smokers” by Method Man and Redman
10) “She’s Gone” Tanya Morgan
11) “Melody” DJ Spinna f/ Shabaam Sahdeeq and Erik Rico
12) “We Fight/WeLove” Q-Tip
13) “Sewin Love” The Large Professor
14) “The Hennessy Joint” Kev Brown
15) “Fuzzy Navel” by Floyd The Locsmif
16) “Bond 4 Life” Black Milk
17) “Who Gonna Save Us” Smif N Wessun
18) “Nuthin” JS-1 f/ CL Smooth and Sadat X
19) “We’re Fly” Tanya Morgan
20) “The Times” Keelay & Zaire f/ Blu, Fortilive and Nino
21) “Paid Homage” Finale
22) “The Don Cheadle Effect” Skyzoo
23) “Lifetime” Marco Polo & Torae
24) “Brand New Being” (Nodfactor remix)
Q&A: Tanya Morgan Take it To The Bridge
May 13, 2009
[republish of my Tanya Morgan interview from last August. Go cop that Brooklynati!]
Cincinnati and Brooklyn make great hip-hop together, just ask Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek. In 2003 MCs Donwill, Illyas and MC/Producer Von Pea added on to that legacy by forming the group Tanya Morgan.
An online mixtape called Sunlighting lead to their debut CD, Moonlighting in 2006. While they are working on their next full-length follow-up, they’ve released The Bridge EP to keep their fans happy. Nodfactor took a moment to speak with Von Pea and Donwill about that Brooklyn/Nati connection and making beats on a budget.
DOWNLOAD: Saigon & Statik Selektah X Tanya MorganX Dujeous
March 11, 2009
New joints and treats that materialized in my inbox, listen and download:
Saigon & Statik Selektah “The Rules”
Saigon & Statik Selettah “Spit”
Tanya Morgan “So Damn Down” (read our interview with them here)
And peep the video from my peeps at Dujeous, “Break Bread”
DUJEOUS – “BREAK BREAD” from Dujeous LLC on Vimeo.
Black Milk, Tanya Morgan, Jake One & More Rocking CMJ
October 17, 2008
Tues 10/21
Brooklyn Bodega presents Tanya Morgan, Platinum Pied Pipers, Fresh Daily
Drom
85 Avenue A, between 5th & 6th- L.E.S.
6:00-10:30
$10, First 100 CMJ badges free
Tues 10/21
The Embedded Music CMJ Showcase featuring Junk Science, Iller Than Theirs, Bisc1, Loer Velocity
Knitting Factory Tap Bar 74 Leonard St.
Doors open at 8pm
$8 CMJ badges honored
Thu 10/23
DJ Meet n’ Greet ( DJs: Revolution, Babu, Large Professor, Jake One, Protege)
Santos Party House 100 Lafayette St.
5-9pm
Fri 10/24
Black Milk TRONIC Album Release Party with guests U-N-I, Diz Gibran, Skyzoo, Charles Hamilton, Torae, Folk & Stress
Southpaw 125 5th Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn
9:00 pm
18 and up $15 at Ticketweb.com
Fri 10/24
Delicious Gutter Party Including performances from Aaron LaCrate, Mr Vegas, Illa J, Masta Ace, and DJ’s Debonair Samir, Mike Mumblez, and K-Spin
Webster Hall 125 E. 11th Street
Advanced tickets $10 FREE before midnight (excluding guys under 21) 19 to enter, 21 to drink
Sat 10/25
Josh Martinez brings the SEX TO NEW YORK CITY
National Underground
159 E. Houston St.
11pm
CD REVIEW: Tanya Morgan’s The Bridge EP
July 14, 2008
If you see a chick named Tanya Morgan in the street, slap her, cuz she’s perpetrating. Just jokes, but seriously. Tanya Morgan is not that girl you used to sweat during third period, they are a three man rap crew, consisting of Brooklyn-based MC/producer Von Pea and Cincinnati rappers Donwill and Ilyas. The Bridge EP is intended to be, well, a bridge between TM’s 2006 debut Moonlighting and the upcoming Brooklynati album.
Pea has stated in interviews that one of his goals in crafting the EP was to improve the mixing. He’s succeeded in getting a much better sounding mix on The Bridge, with the lows slinking under your Timbs and the hi-hats reaching New Era status.
The Bridge flows from track to track seamlessly, and the short length is welcome in a genre filled with self-indulgent 80 minute albums. The EP’s instrumentals adhere to soulful boom bap with an emphasis placed on vocal samples. By working closely with a tight-knit group of producers, the group has achieved a unified sound. Von Pea produced five of the album’s nine tracks, and the rest of the instrumentals were created by affiliate producers Brickbeats, Aeon, Mysterious Productions as well as 88-Keys (Black Star, Beanie Sigel, Musiq Soulchild).
A few tracks that stuck out for me: “Be You” featuring Czelena finds the TM emcees arguing for being yourself in a game that encourages rappers to mimic the next hot thing. “Filthier Interlude” brings to mind classic 90s posse cuts like Heavy D’s “Don’t Curse” with a syllable-stuffing verse from each member fighting to beat the clock on the barely two-minute cut.
Production wise, the electro sounding roller rink jam “How Low” is the only track that sounds out of place, but it’s a bonus track, so they’re forgiven.The Bridge’s true closer is “Hip Hop Is Dead II” where Von, Don, and Ilyas address the current state of hip-hop, ending with the refrain, “they keep saying hip hop is dead, but I can’t see it/I just can’t see it.”
As long as quality rappers like Tanya Morgan are dropping new material, I can’t see it either.
– Aaron Matthews
