•
click here to listen
to Only Your Life
by
Bavu Blakes
• click here to watch
the music video "bah-VOO" by Bavu Blakes
•
click here to
read an interview with Bavu Blakes
Bavu Blakes, dubbed
"One of Texas' brightest new stars" by legendary rapper The D.O.C.,
is the ultimate wordsmith by both definitions. The baritone-voiced emcee has
been reading and writing since he was three years old and writing poetry since
he was five. His music industry education includes traveling with the Cash Money/Ruff
Ryders 2000 Tour as a writer/researcher, making numerous contacts and learning
the ropes of major label touring, promotions, merchandising and more. Bavu Blakes
originally released Create & Hustle independently and sold 2,000
units on his own at live shows and record stores in Texas. Now Create &
Hustle will be released nationally as a joint venture between Blakes' Word4Word
Music and Bomb Hip-Hop Records, distributed by Caroline (home to strong independent
hip-hop labels like Battle Axe, Ninja Tune, Def Jux and Stones Throw).
Equally adept at writing, freestyling, performing and battling, this emcee offers
both clarity and hype. While words and rhymes are clearly where Bavu’s
talents shine, he places equal importance on beats. By defining tracks in terms
of mood, rhythm and melody, he makes the music sound better. Creating a sense
of cohesion between the lyrics and beats, Bavu’s music reveals this approach
through clever, thought-provoking lyrics over diverse beats guaranteed to entice
any listener’s ear.
Bavu Blakes is focused on success and married to his keep-’em-guessing
originality. More concerned with longevity and substance, he possesses the creativity
and the hustle to make his talent pay dividends.
Artist : Bavu Blakes
Title : Create & Hustle
Catalog Number : BHH2058
Release Date : May 20th, 2003
•
click here to listen to Only
Your Life
by Bavu
Blakes
Track Listing:
01 - UP SOUTH
02 - (bah-VOO)
03 - GOING OFF
04 - WE USED TO...
05 - ONLY YOUR LIFE
06 - SUICIDE
07 - SARCASM
08 - OVERNIGHT
09 - HIGHLY ANTICIPATED
10 - I
11 - SEE YOU
12 - FAREWELL
13 - hidden track : REAL LIFE
14 - hidden track : PLAY THE ROLE
* Includes production
by NickNack and Hydroponic Sound System.
* Features dj cuts by DJ Logic and Baby G.
Bavu
Blakes throws down a steel-gloved challenge to other rappers to bring it on.
Freestyle battling is all about competition - rhyming better, faster, tighter,
turning words inside out, pushing each other to new heights. It can be brutal,
but Blakes encourages rather than disrespects. Bavu
is most interested in a positive, creative, intelligent hip-hop, not the played
out gangsta/consumerist stereotype that took over the Nineties. Just to prove
he can provide the 411 on bitches, video ho's, the po-po, and invitations to
sit-on-my-big-thick-dictionary, he offers the ironic "Sarcasm," assuming
the guise of a fed-up positive-tipper, who concludes he won't earn wads of Franklins
until he starts disrespecting women in his lyrics. First head in the noose will
be that of his girlfriend who's always loved his sensitivity, but complains
his "shit don't sell." She even buys other playas' misogynistic hits,
so her lover sees only one way out -- capitulation. Blakes knows this song will
be widely misunderstood, as if it represented his own beliefs rather than his
cool, witty observations of money, consumerism, self-respect, and relationships.
The disturbing, insightful "Only Your Life" is a hip-hop ballad observing
the life of Coltrane, a young man punked out by his war-scarred uncle Ty. The
narrators, one a war buddy saved by Ty, don't judge the two men harshly, but
determine that life can be mysterious and difficult to understand. With "Suicide,"
Blakes surpasses his previous homicidal confrontations with other rappers and
confronts the only opponent capable of standing up to him in a freestyle battle
- himself. It's a Buddhist exercise in destroying the old self to move on to
higher levels of understanding. "See You" is equally learned, making
any mother proud and any son jealous, perhaps ashamed. On "See You,"
as with the bulk of Create & Hustle, Bavu flows like the Mississippi
in flood time. He uses his prodigious verbal skills to set up wicked wordplays,
shoot three rhymes to the line, and produce percussive rhythms. His words remind
fools that rap is the package poetry comes wrapped in these days. Blakes, who
calls himself a wordsmith, keeps language alive by breaking it up, reshaping
it, loving it, and helping it grow in amazing new ways.
The music of Create & Hustle provides a masterful foundation for
these vocal treasures. Powerful jazz riffs uphold some of the songs, while naked
drum & bass glide through others. Duets with S'ence and Jade add feminine
touches to two tracks. The production work of Pea Dee, DJ Massive, Adrian Quesada,
Obadele Thompson, Arson Optics, DJ Phyfteen, and NickNack offers a powerful
showcase of Austin talent. Riding over everything, Bavu's voice is strong, certain,
unfaltering.
Blakes has been a sure and steady opener for national headliners and touring
acts since the late 1990's. He has performed with Snoop Dogg, De La Soul, Jurassic
5, The Roots, GURU, Blackalicious, Common, Blackeyed Peas, DJ Krush, Tha Liks,
J-Live, Supernatural, Nate Dogg, Living Legends/Mystik Journeymen, Eyedea &
Abilities, Jungle Brothers, Atmosphere, Anti-Pop Consortium, Company Flow, Black
Sheep and many more. Clear Channel/Pace Concerts books Bavu Blakes regularly,
and Steve Nice of Dallas' K104FM certified him as an independent force by adding
songs from Create & Hustle to his weekly Sunday night rotation.
Blakes' new music video, "(bah-VOO)" (from Create & Hustle),
was recently added to the Real Network. Real Guide has 27 million users according
to Nielson/Netratings, which is about the same number of households MTV2 is
in the US. The "(bah-VOO)" video has also racked up more than 4,000
unique views as one of the highest played streams on blastro.com, where the
video debuted as one of the "Editor's Picks".
- click here to watch the video
http://www.blastro.com/search.html?search=bavu
"Unlike
other MCs who get hung up on the past, leaving the context enlightened but relatively
light, Bavu incorporates his knowledge while letting the listener know that
he has his eyes, ears, and mind firmly focused to what's going on" - Austin
Chronicle
"One of the brightest new stars in Texas" - The D.O.C.
"Definitely one of the hottest up and coming artists to date. It's REAL
southern hip-hop, str8 with no chaser!" - Steve Nice, 104.5 FM "K104"
Dallas