A special Boiler Room set in celebration of DJ Premier and Royce da 5’9′s PRhyme project, along with Adrian Younge, who provided samples for the album,

PRhyme Boiler Room New York Live Set by brtvofficial

Adrian Younge Boiler Room New York DJ Set by brtvofficial

From OutDaBoxTV: “Out Da Box TV is happy to bring you Part 2 of our in-depth interview with Souls Of Mischief and Adrian Younge. Fresh off the heels of their successful concept LP entitled “There Is Only Now”, the group continue the convo with details on the turning point of the story line, their ability to translate the concept into their live shows and the place the album holds in comparison to their other work. We truly had an amazing time talking with these brothers. Definitely do feel encouraged to pick up their awesome new LP if you haven’t yet. Very worthy of the listen in my opinion! In the meantime, take a moment to check out this insightful interview and be sure to watch Part 1 below, if you haven’t yet.”

From OutDaBoxTV: “Out Da Box TV is happy to bring you the 1st Part of our in-depth interview with renowned West Coast Emcees’ “Souls Of Mischief” and talented producer “Adrian Younge”. We got a chance to chat with these brothers, in regard to their latest and much talked about concept LP, entitled “There Is Only Now”. We also got to hear from the album’s narrator, a.k.a. “Ali Shaheed Muhmmad” (ATQ) in reference to the role he was chosen to play in the story . In this interview, the group talk’s specifically about topics revolving around the creation of the album and storyline. We got a chance to hear details on everything from how they first met with Adrian, to the inspiration for the storyline, the writing process for songs and Busta Rhymes involvement on the album. There’s lots of depth to their new LP and I really wanted to take the time to explore the concept a little more and how the writing process came together. For those of you who already bought the album, I hope this interview serves as a guide to further understanding the greatness of the project. If you don’t have it yer, I hope it encourages you to support these magnificent artists’ and their awesome piece of work. “There Is Only Now” is one of the album’s that I feel will stand the test of time for years to come as one of the most creative and quality contributions to hip hop. Salute to Adrian Younge and Souls Of Mischief for their amazing work! In the meantime, please take a moment to check out the video and be inspired. Also check back next week for Part 2. Enjoy!”

Hieroglyphics’ Souls Of Mischief dropped a west coast classic with their Jive Records debut album, 93 ’til Infinity, which produced a hit single of the same name, alongside a series of excellent b-sides and remix tracks that held fans over until their next release. Despite a lukewarm response to their sophomore LP, No Man’s Land, the group still maintained a loyal fanbase, and solidified the Hiero brand with a series of independent albums and solo releases.

However like many groups from that era, they’ve never been able to recapture the magic found in hip-hop’s early 90′s “golden era”, largely thanks to strict sampling laws, making it impossible the reproduce that sound. This is where producer Adrian Younge comes in, on their new LP, There Is Only Now.

Younge, who is best known for his work on Ghostface Killah’s 12 Reasons To Die, takes a unique approach to hip-hop production, in that his beats are created from scratch, using live instrumentation. Unlike The Roots, however, Younge isn’t an ensemble, and samples his own work to create beats with that vintage, analog sound. This comes through all over his work on Souls’ new album, which is somewhat of a return to form for the twenty-year veterans of the game.

The title There Is Only Now is the antithesis of 93 Til Infinity, as it presents a philosophy of not looking towards a bright future, but instead living only in the moment, as today’s generation seems to do. The album also acts as an official sequel to 93 ’til, working as a tightly knit concept album, building a story around real life events that happened to the group in 1994, with a few creative liberties taken.

Without spoiling much, the story revolves around the members of Souls of Mischief beefing with a rival rapper, Womack, here played by Busta Rhymes on the track “Womack’s Lament”. The song, with a beat that plays like a slowed down version of “Scenario”, finds a wilding out Busta in character as Womack, hilariously threatening the whole Hiero crew, “Hey Dobalina, Mr. Bob Dobalina, ass nigga / pack the gat quicker, then I spit them at you / Casual, see actually I’ll throw a kitchen at you! As I come back!”

But the events quickly unfold into darker territory, gorgeously animated by Tajai, Phesto, A-Plus, and Opio’s bulletproof flows, which have only improved over time. The picture is painted with a fine brush, and Adrian Younge’s brilliantly crafted production gives it that lost, classic feel, as if he had the budget to sample Bob James or Herbie Hancock, yet he’s produced it all his own.

Narrated by A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad, who plays sort of a Do The Right Thing style DJ, the story takes a brooding turn towards the end, as the characters seek revenge upon one another, each time upping the ante until the game is over. Abandoning the 93 ’til Infinity philosophy of living forever, for a more “YOLO” approach of There Is Only Now, the album’s theme explores some of the socio-political problems in Oakland, and to a larger extent, that of millennials as a whole.

Sonically different from both Ghostface’s 12 Reasons To Die and Souls’ own 93 ’til Infinity, the sound of There Is Only Now meets somewhere at the crossroads of those two albums. This is very much a record for longtime fans of the crew, or at the very least, anyone who bumped that first album to death some twenty years ago.

Taken from the full length LP, There Is Only Now. A collaboration by Souls of Mischief & Adrian Younge, released on Linear Labs.

Taken from the full length LP, There Is Only Now. A collaboration by Souls of Mischief Adrian Younge and released on Linear Labs. Directed by Unjust.

Souls of Mischief and Adrian Younge give some insight about their high concept album, There Is Only Now, hitting August 19th.

New music from the release of next week’s There Is Only Now LP.

Earlier this month, it was announced that prolific Oakland hip-hop group Souls of Mischief joined forces with multi-instrumentalist producer Adrian Younge for a collaborative concept album, There Is Only Now, which will be releasing via Adrian’s newly launched label, Linear Labs, on August 26. Premiering this week, the first single and title song, “There Is Only Now” features Snoop Dogg trading verses with the Hieroglyphics quartet for the very first time. The song is now available for sale both digitally and as a 7″ single with the accompanying b-side, “All You Got Is Your Word.”

Taking inspiration from a real-life nearly fatal incident involving the group at the peak of their seminal hit “93 ‘Til Infinity,” in 1994, the concept album of There Is Only Now begins with Souls members A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai fearing for their lives as a masked gunman takes aim. What unravels throughout the 19-track masterpiece is a dramatic tale full of love, loss, and revenge, as fictional characters collide with a non-fictional event that nearly destroyed the group near the start of their career. On this title song (track #8,) listeners are introduced to a love interest between two characters, Stoney and his girlfriend Miriam. “Can’t nobody tell them nothin’, their love is unstoppable,” claims A-Plus, rapping bar-for-bar with Opio, who quickly adds “overcome any obstacle, together they will always grow.” Enter Snoop Dogg, who shares his perspective on young love, while also hinting at the development of a precarious love triangle, rapping “the homie Stoney in love with his girl, and so is his big homie/ now what a pity, a foot note to the cut throat/ it’s rare, see I was told all in love is unfair.”

Recorded solely on 2″ analogue tape using only live instrumentation, Adrian Younge and his band Venice Dawn offer break-beat drums, flurrying keys, and warm bass as the back drop for the Cali-bred MC’s. In addition to Snoop, the album includes features from Busta Rhymes, William Hart of the Delfonics, and Scarub of the Living Legends crew and narration by Ali Shaheed Muhammad who takes on the character of a radio DJ for the fictional radio station K-NOW, as he narrates parts of the story. “There Is Only Now” is currently available on 7″ single, with the accompanying b-side “All You Got Is Your Word.” With all iTunes pre-orders, purchasers will receive a free download of digital versions of “There Is Only Now” and “All You Got Is Your Word.”

Legendary hip-hop group Souls of Mischief announce that they’re releasing a conceptual collaboration with renowned producer and multi-instrumentalist Adrian Younge entitled There Is Only Now on Adrian’s newly launched record label, Linear Labs on August 26th, 2014. Inspired by a near-fatal incident involving group members A-Plus, Opio, Tajai, and Phesto early in their careers, the unique and cinematic crime tale creatively and expertly weaves stories of love, loss, and revenge throughout the entire album. Set in 1994, There is Only Now serves as a bookend to two decades of music since the release of their seminal debut album, ’93 Til Infinity.

There Is Only Now sees the Souls of Mischief crew members trading bars with a cast of hip-hop and soul luminaries. Narrated by A Tribe Called Quest member Ali Shaheed Muhammed – as DJ for fictional local Oakland radio station K-NOW – the album’s story unfolds under his all-seeing eye. Busta Rhymes makes an appearance as the story’s villain, Womack, on “Womack’s Lament,” while William Hart of the legendary vocal soul group, The Delfonics, lends his buttery falsetto to the contemplative “Another Side of You.” Snoop Dogg drops knowledge on the situation between Stoney and Womack with an ice cold verse on the title track “There Is Only Now,” and Scarub from Living Legends goes in on “Stone Cold.”

Souls of Mischief and Adrian Younge have created a hip-hop album like no other. Recorded solely on 2″ analogue tape, using only acoustic live instrumentation played mostly by Adrian himself, and recorded together as a group in one room, the project boasts incredible dedication, discipline, and skill sets that few others in modern day can match. Adrian employed no computers, no drum sampling, and everything was recorded in one take. The result of a special moment for all involved, There Is Only Now proves that after two decades in the rap game hip-hop’s Fab Four remains committed to the expansion of their legacy as hip-hop innovators and pioneers.

Out Da Box Radio is happy to bring you our latest interview featuring the accomplished music producer/composer “Adrian Younge”. I recently got the chance to chat with Adrian on a number of topics, including how he got his start in music, making the transition from sampling to live instruments, living in the digital music age and the significance of album art to music. He also took the time to speak on his original music that was recently sampled by Jay-Z for the “Magna Carta Holy Grail” Album and how Jay initially got a hold of the sample. Progressing through the interview, Adrian also took a moment to speak in-depth about his collabo album with Ghostface Killah (Twelve Reasons To Die) and his thoughts about producer Apollo Brown, although admitting he hasn’t yet been able to hear the Apollo Brown version of the album. Nearing the conclusion of the interview, Adrian also took some time to give insight into his recent work with lead singer “William Hart” of “The Delfonics”, and how the soulful collaboration came together.

Adrian Younge – Out Da Box Radio Interview by Out Da Box Radio on Mixcloud

Fresh off his work on Ghostface Killah’s 12 Reasons To Die, Adrian Younge is producing the next Souls Of Mischief LP, There Is Only Now, as seen below.

“The next project is Adrian Younge Presents Souls of Mischief. That’s my next big thing and I’m super happy about that. It’s a project that if somebody misses the sounds of 93 ’til Infinity meets The Low End Theory meets De La Soul Is Dead. If somebody misses that kind of sound, they’ll be happy to hear this album because it goes back to that time, you know. Kind of like how the Ghostface album [12 Reasons To Die] kind of went back to that time. And I love both styles of music back then, so I’m very, very excited,” Adrian told XXL.

“And it’s also a concept album too—Souls of Mischief almost gets killed by some dude that was just crazy and the whole album just starts off with this incident, and then it blossoms into these different stories that are a result of this volatile incident. And that’s basically what that album is about. It’s dope though. It’s really dope. As far as stylistically, it’s kind of like if Bob James and Herbie Hancock recorded with Q-Tip back in the day, you know what I’m saying. That’s the perspective on the album. I was with Ali Shaheed Muhammad yesterday showing him some of the stuff and he was totally getting it because he’s going to be the narrator on this album, like how RZA was sort of the narrator for Ghost [on 12 Reasons], that’s what Shaheed’s going to be doing. It’s Native Tongues shit, you know what I’m saying, so that’s what I’m super psyched about,” he added.

“I mean it’s done now; I’m just touching stuff up. But it’s pretty much done. It’s going to be released in September.”

Ghostface Killah has never explained why he wore the mask. In the early days of the Wu, the most mysterious member of the Clan was Tony Starks, who shrouded his face in early videos and promo pics, creating a mystique for himself greater than that of his peers. While we were just getting know all of the colorful personalities of the 36 Chambers – RZA’s leadership, GZA’s intelligence, Meth’s cockiness, Dirty’s insanity – Ghost chose remain anonymous, before eventually revealing himself to be the Clan’s most freshly dipped member.

12 Reasons To Die, the new album from Ghostface Killah and producer Adrian Younge, gives us the untold origin of Tony Starks, and how he came to don his Ironman armor (which would include the mask, a Hefner-esque smoking robe, overly sized medallions, and a giant, gold eagle that sits on his wrist.) It’s a concept album that tells the tale of Tony, a young criminal that works for an organized crime family called The Deluccas, who turn on him after he falls in love with one of their women. They kill him, burn his body, and press his ashes into twelve vinyl records – here represented by 12 songs – only to see him resurrected as The Ghostface Killah, an invincible, revenge seeking spirit, with rhymes like ziti.

While this album does not top Raekwon’s Only Built For Cuban Links, it’s narrative is much stronger, and perhaps the best executed hip-hop concept album of all time. The story is airtight and easy to follow, and it never strays off course for the sake of a single or marketable guest appearance. Starks weaves a tale that increases his mystique tenfold, completely redefining any preconceived notions one might have for a Ghostface album, and notably does this on his tenth solo album. Talk about defying the odds.

But aside from being a strong story, what really makes this record arguably classic is the approach taken on the production. Adrian Younge – whom, prior to this LP, wrapped up producing a record for The Delfonics – arranges a full band to back Ghostface, and does it in the most unique way possible. Rather than simply hire a band to play generic “hip-hop beats”, Younge taps into what made all of those Wu-Tang records classics, evoking a heavy, sampled 90′s sound, yet live. The cracking snares and heavy, looming basslines sampled from 70′s soul records and earlier spaghetti western soundtracks, would equally carve out the classic RZA and Portishead sounds of the late 90′s, and Younge has flawlessly captured that element here, with his band. Not to mention while sounding completely original, this is a glorious homage to that era, one that’s been copied and bastardized many times over. Everyone else did it wrong. Adrian Younge nailed it.

Narrated by The RZA, this is perhaps the most original body of work of Ghostface’s entire career (not saying it outdoes Ironman, but it is the most original). The concept is executed through the lyrics rock solidly, while Younge’s production flawlessly builds upon the Wu-Tang architecture, perfectly complimenting an otherwise lost sound. While many artists age and lose touch with what made them popular in the first place, Tony has tapped into a younger version of himself, and finally explained the rise of the Ghostface Killah.

With the fifth and final leak before Marco Polo drops his highly-anticipated free-LP, Newport Authority 2, Marco states “I did a remix for “Stand Up” off the brand new Adrian Younge presents The Delfonics project (who am I big fan of, y’all should cop anything he’s a part of.) Adrian sent me the album early and I made this beat. Tragedy was originally gonna lay down one verse on this on some freestyle sh*t, but once I started hearing his bars I refused to let this be a one verse song! Three verses later and appropriate hook by Slap aka Fizzy Womack aka Lil Fame we have the “Stand Up” remix. Tragedy will have an alternate version of this song on his upcoming album as well. Now please enjoy the final leak from Newport Authority 2!”