"Rock Of Ages (Vaya Con Dios Mix)", which was entered into the R&B/Hip-Hop category, has advanced onto the second round of judging for the 2005 International Songwriting Competition!
Imagine that... out of almost 15,000 entries this year, OJ's gettin' that respect from such judges as Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC, as confirmed at www.songwritingcompetition.com.
Keep your fingers crossed! Hopefully, we'll get word in February as being a finalist!
COMING IN THE OH-SIX
Nunayufake is lookin' fi mek big ting a gawane in 2006!!
For one, I'll be introducing OJ's Ladybirds to the scene. These lovely ladies will be helping me rep for the True Scene by modeling Nunayufake and OJ material. I'm really amped to have these ladies on board!
Also, we're about to fight the muthafuckin' MACHINE up in here! Tell your people that haven't bought the CD yet, cuz they're gonna wanna get down to throw down!
So STAY F--KIN' TUNED!!
"AND IT'S DEEP, TOO!"
OJ Remembers...
THE BIRD IS OUT THE CAGE.
Have You Heard the News?
While you wait on The Blackbird...
The Blackbird album has been moved to early 2006 to make sure y'all feel it heavy, but until then, check OJ out on the new mix CD comin' outta Philly, "Street Team", from The Mic: It Sounds Nice, hosted by Reef the Lost Cause. OJ's got a freestyle on there and I'm sure you won't be disappointed at the sounds you'll find!
You're About to GET THE BIRD, Y'all!!
So, time ran out and "Rock of Ages (Vaya con Dios Mix)" ain't available for download anymore. That's okay tho'... 'cause The Blackbird is on it's way!
The album's done, we're in the mastering stage right now, and we'll be ready, Spirits willing, to rip the world up on 11/1/05. Aside from being available for sale through The Nunayufake Project, The Blackbird will also be available through Monster Truck Audio, which is spearheaded by Mr. K, a/k/a Mr. Man formerly of Bush Babees. "Rock of Ages (Vaya con Dios Mix)" and "Dark Matter" will be the single we're getting out to radio within the next month. (See why you should've downloaded it early?), and you can expect to hear "Flashbacks" and "Whispers in the Dark" among the 14 tracks of the album, produced by Dok Who?! and Cenzi Stiles, the man behind "Rock of Ages".
Okay, that's all I'm spillin' for now. There will be a formal press release soon. Check for it, and check for me, aiight?
DAMN PLAYA... That new song is CRAZY!!!
Wait... what you ain't heard it? That exclusive download? You know what I'm talkin' about right?... The remix of that song from OJ's upcoming album The Blackbird... You KNOW... "Rock of Ages (Vaya Con Dios Mix)", produced by Cenzi Stiles?
WHO'S CENZI?!? Are you kidding me?!?!? Tell ya what... Head over to the Listening Booth and grab that MP3. Listen to it, go insane from hearing it, then go tell your friends to come listen and take it as well. I mean, it's not gonna be up there for long... The album is tryin' to come out on 11/1/2005. So hurry up, eh?
Give for the Tsunami, y'all
(1/27/2005) My friends at Spitkicker are collecting to help provide assistance to the victims and survivors of the Tsunami Tragedy. Please see my TNP forum entry for more information.
Reagan was the Prez, but I voted for Shirley Chisolm.
1925-2005
You served us well
R.I.P... See you Space Cowboy.
The Spitkicker Interview
(12/18/2004) ...I was interviewed on the discussion board at Spitkicker.com, home to De La Soul, Phife Dawg, Dave Chappelle, and others. Check out what happened from nunayufake.com's Nunayufake Talk in the Features menu!
My thanks to all
(09/29/2004) ...Well, the first TNP press release went out on Monday morning (with a little early leakage last Thursday) and I have to take the time to say welcome to the calls, e-mails and guestbook signatures I've received since word has spread about the N-Free standard and its relation to The Blackbird's upcoming release. I hope that you turn and purchase the single Flashbacks / Whispers In The Dark, which will definitely help us fund a quicker completion of this album. Again, I appreciate the love shown for the site and its contents. My action on this has been a long time coming, and I'm glad to see that it's not exactly unnoticed.
I've reserved the front page news for you to see another link to the shopping cart for the single up front, so as you see me here, so will I speak, when I'm not giving a Nunayufake Talk session. I've still got to get my eccentric-as-hell erstwhile compatriot Steel Dreams in the NFTalk sessions--he's full of thoughts to express.
I've noticed a couple of glitches on the site that I'll take care of pronto... I've been a bit busy on a bit of sleep. I can assure you however, that the site is still functional, so that error you see after you Tell-A-Friend? Don't worry--you're still letting your people know, and I thank you for it.
I'm going to start performing the single soon around NYC, and beyond if you'll only hire me--traveling costs money, and I'm still trying to amass some more sales to make this Project perpetuate upon itself.
Hoping to get a newsletter kicked off, to keep you aware of updates to the site, to me, to the Project... hey, maybe even to the community of color... but it's gonna be crazy, so please bear with me on this. Maybe in time I can hire a couple of people (or even better, get trustworthy volunteers) to help a brotha out.
Okay, I'm gonna stop here. More to come, party people. See you, Space Cowboy!
Good Lookin' on Soundclick Y'all!
(08/24/2004) ...I need to personally give a Big Up to all the Soundclick listeners that have been checkin' out my latest tracks. The biggest highlights are that "Flashbacks" is currently #314 on the Old School Hip-Hop Charts, and Stonefist Katas 1-3 is sitting at #1262 on the Freestyle Charts. Significant ratings, when you factor in the numbers of artists that are up on Soundclick. We're looking at mid-September as an Internet release period for the CD single for "Flashbacks", backed with "Whispers In The Dark". Stay Tuned Here for more Info!
So I'm sittin' here with an Irish Moss at the job...
(08/13/2004) ...and I'm workin' on stuff but my real focus is on gettin' this single ready for release. I just finalized my artwork last night, going back and forth online with a fellow Mhorlock, Steel Dreams. He's a pure master of the graphic arts but the work I just did in Photoshop is fuelin' my ego, 'cause I'm really proud of this work. Steel will likely be overseeing the art for The Blackbird, but he's caught up in some other projects on his own site, www.robotpegasys.com. The music is sounding hot as hell to me too, so I think this will be a pleaser for the heads that have been waitin'. Most of my stuff doesn't tend to see eye-to-eye with mainstream radio, but this one might have done it without me even realizing it, and without sacrificing any of my values, so I'm amped right now, ready to blow some speakers. I'll let you guys know as soon the single's available. For now, I'm trying to get these advance copies to Internet radio stations and music reviewers to gather up a little extra lovin' to the public and start the ball rollin'.
Until next time, see ya Space Cowboy!
The Stonefist Katas Begin
I just finished recording the first three of my Stonefist Katas in moving forward towards The Blackbird. A kata's an exercise in martial arts, and these are my exercises in my Stonefist Technique, the name I gavee to the heart I put into my music, whether production or writing. I just want dudes to understand I'm looking to be as versatile as possible in my ability to hang with what's out there and go beyond it. Check out the Katas in our Listening Booth, my Tracks section to your left, or at my page on Soundclick.
Still On The Move...
(07/21/2004) - A couple of nights ago I sat up with Alan Scott Plotkin doing final drops and programming for Whispers In The Dark, along with the mixdown settings. We got to a bit of a late start--I was coming off of work, and Alan has been doing some engineering work with one of Mariah Carey's producers (yeah he's amped about it, but that don't mean he awake.)
With each of us on less than four hours of sleep, we sat up half the night getting this mix down, tweaking here and there. Alan's got a lot of respect for my music, but he never quite knows what I'm after until we get to the mix session, and he's putting elements in full order. Whispers is an old favorite of mine; the song has been reincarnated more times than Nightmare on Elm Street, each time with either new lyrics or new music, but the target was always the same: Speaker Music... The hell with Boom-Bap, this is Ass-Heavy Boom-BANG. So, Alan hears this coming into play, and he gives me this sideways, "Who the fuck are you?!" kinda look. I catch it, and say...
Me: "You really think I'm a disturbed muthafucka, don't you...?"
ASP: "No, not exactly... I was thinking, 'Either you're a genius, or you're fucking insane'... and sometimes both can be the same thing. This shit takes it back to '88!"
I only wish I could have gotten Whispers out to you for the Summer, because this shit right here is the ultimate test of your speakers... the soundtrack for aggression. I don't like to hype like this, but when I do I'm really meanin' it. Up until a week or two ago, finishing Whispers would be the completion of my 12" single, which I'm looking to release through a joint venture with Mr. Khaliyl's Monster Truck Audio label, but I've now chosen to instead go ahead and finalize my work on Transmit and make it a maxi-single instead. Also, I think The Blackbird EP may turn into an LP instead, but stay tuned and I'll confirm that later.
Until then, see you Space Cowboy!
OJ
Ringing Bells #85 on Underground Charts
Omega Johnson was discovered as currently No. 85 for Ringing Bells on the Top 100 Charts at the Underground Records website, an organization located in Georgia dedicated to the exposure of underground and host to a webcasted rock radio program, "Trip 248". Cast your vote by finding OJ on the listing (currently here) and voting using your e-mail address. We appreciate your vote!