That Detroit ish’. Mae Day – Give It All

This week’s “Femcee of the Week” over at Digiwaxx is Mae Day. I was really glad to be able to talk to her because she’s one of my favorite MCs. I just don’t mean Femcees either, I’m talking about emcees period. When I interview people I learn more about them and their music but, I also learn about different types of personalities. I think that Mae Day is the most laid back person that I’ve ever spoken with. I use to think that the people who are most intense give the best interviews but, that’s not true. Mae Day is a prime example.

Also, I’ve been seriously trying to improve my interviews, specifically my leads. In all honesty, I have the hardest trouble writing leads for interviews. I think I was having so much trouble because I don’t think of myself as a “colorful” writer. I think that my writing is very honest as oppose to colorful. Anywho, I think that I improved as far my lead with this interview. You can check it out here.

Not a good recording, but you can still decipher her flow. What you think about it?

She got pictures with MC Lyte, maybe she already on her way….

I guess I’m just checking in for a minute. This post wont be long but, you all know how I get about music. I had the opportunity last night to finally see Detroit CYDI and Mae Day perform. For those of you that have been reading here for a while I posted up Detroit CYDI’s video w/ Erik L and Stryfe called “Clapppin They Hands” a long long time ago. A friend of mine who had introduced me to their music had told me about a couple of their shows but, I never had a chance to make it out. Well I finally did and I’m so glad.

Last night I went to the Bull Frog (in Redford) for DetroitRap.com’s Mixer which, they have every 2nd Thursday. That’s where I saw them perform. I know I’ve also mentioned Mae Day on here before. She’s one of my favorite Femcees and Emcees period. I feature her a lot on The Fembassy. So I was really excited to see her as well. It’s so funny because I was gonna go up to her after the show and say a few words but, I got shy.  But before she left she actually came up to me and thanked me for coming out. She noticed me from talking on Twitter sometimes and that was just a really good moment for me. I thought that was really sweet of her.  But anywho, I’m so glad that I came out to support our local artists. Detroit is a city that does NOT really show love to it’s own and I think we really need to start doing so and stop waiting until folks die to do so (ie. J Dilla, Proof, etc. ) Here’s some footage I got…

I’ll end this post by saying SUPPORT YOUR OWN!!!

I’ll also share this track by Mae Day , Still Love Him (It’s dedicated to Hip Hop in Detroit & Michigan) and Detroit CYDI’s track, Too Cool.

Cap- “Shorty sippin” Click to listen or right click to download

Mae Day- “give it all” Click to listen or right click to download

Big Sean- “get cha some” Click to listen or right click to download

P.L.- “fresher den you” Click to listen or right click to download

Tone Tone- “stoopid fresh” Click to listen or right click to download

LISTEN. . .DOWNLOAD. . .ENJOY. . .

This is dope to me. I dig Mae Dae music and having the live band tops it off. She performs B.A.B.Why off of her album titled Something’s Gotta Give. For all of you that are not up on her hit the jump for her mixtape titled Cherish The Day.
Bonus: Also posted another track from her. Props to 2dope

DOWNLOAD: Mae Day – Better Dayz (prod. DeNotes)

1. Maeday Maeday! // Fear
2. DJ (Same Song) // King of Sorrow
3. Hold On // Nothing Can Come Between Us
4. Crime // Is It A Crime
5. Give It All // Give It Up
6. Jezzebelle // Jezzebel
7. Sweetest Taboo // Sweetest Taboo
8. No Ordinary Love // No Ordinary Love
9. Still Love H.I.M. // Your Love Is King
10. Keep Looking // Keep Looking
11. Cherish the Day // Cherish The Day

Download: Cherish The Day (Mixtape)

More of Mae Day’s SXSW Experience. Props to Cedric.

I’ll be honest, I never knew about J-Dilla until probably about 2006. A person that I was dating at the time had told me about him. Because I’m a Hip Hop head and native Detroiter I felt embarassed that I didn’t know who J-Dilla was. It was even more embarrassing to me also because I had heard plenty of songs that he had produced.

Recently there was a party held here in Detroit on behalf of J-Dilla’s memory. That was hilarious to me because Detroit does NOT show love to it’s own artists until they’ve became really famous or have died. A friend of mine and I had recently had this discussion. It’s so crazy how Detroit is with it’s own. So I’d just like to show love to some of the Detroit artists who are very talented but may or may not get recognition.

Mae Day

Invincible

Dwele

Slum Village

Teairra Mari

Detroit CYDI

Lola Damone

Eminem

Monica Blaire

Lou Dobbs

D12

Boog Brown

Feloni

Royce Da 5′9

Xplicit Lyric

If anyone is interested in more of Detroit’s talent then you can check out these links that I found below:

Detroit Rap

Wikipedia’s Detroit Rappers

Wikipedia’s Music of Detroit

]]> http://speechismyhammer.com/2009/02/12/maeday-x-imeem/ Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:37:23 +0000 ketchums http://speechismyhammer.com/2009/02/12/maeday-x-imeem/

Mae Day’s Cherish The Day project is really getting some buzz. As I said in the press release I sent out to my industry heads, the project impressed higher ups at imeem enough for them to feature an exclusive playlist that sees Mae Day describing each track on the album before they play. It’s put together really well, and it’s definitely a great supplement to the album. Once again, I’m super geeked that I was involved in this project.

CLICK HERE for the imeem feature.
CLICK HERE to download Cherish The Day.

Mae Day’s “Cherish The Day – the mae/sade experience” is one ambitious project. Anytime an artist takes the music of a seminal artist of Sade’s caliber, they subject themselves to a higher standard. As just a rap CD, Mae Day comes thru with a clear cut victory. She’s on point and clearly has talent; in other words, honey can spit with the best of them. The problem comes with this being a specific project. Since it’s as much Sade’s music as Mae Day’s rhymes, the marriage between the two is problematic at best. More after the jump…

A major part of the problem is Mick Boogie’s mixing. De Notes’ music is banging but there are times banging isn’t what is needed. The perfect song to understand this project is “Jezzebelle” using Sade’s “Jezebel”. The first half is somewhat off using the track as is for the intro and then incorporating a small part while Mae flows. Then the entire track switches and Mick finds the groove and Mae really flourishes as the marriage between rapper and beat have been finally established. A track where it totally fails is “Crime”, which sounds like a total mess. That’s a shame considering “Is It A Crime” is one of Sade’s most popular tracks. You wish they could’ve come up something, anything better than this.

When Mick finds a firm hold on the song like “Hold On” which uses “Nothing Can Come Between Us” to full effect, you truly hear the project’s full potential. Even when Mick and De Notes flip the script on a song like “Sweetest Taboo” by manipulating the speed of the track and Sade’s vocals, there are pieces that are so off center if it wasn’t for the strength of Mae Day’s rhyming skill, the entire track would’ve crashed and burned.

“Still Love H.I.M.” which uses “Your Love Is King” and some killer beats by De Notes is one of the stronger tracks on the project. You can tell the thought that went in prior to recording. Everything is riding on point and Mae is simply killing it with some of her best rhymes to date. Right behind that is “Keep Looking” where everything is incorporated to perfection and Mae is in typical battle mode which you can tell Mae is a battle rhymer first and foremost. The track plays to her strength to full effect.

So do I recommend it? Definitely, just to see an artist take this kind of risk and (for the most part) watch it pay off. The least it does is show just how good Mae is, which should place her in the upper pantheon of active female MC’s and definitely have her repping Detroit to the fullest. The best thing you can say is that as a whole, the CD definitely rides. And Mae Day shows she’s a true artist – one not afraid of taking chances.

Here’s the full mixtape of Cherish The Day, presented by De Notes & Mick Boogie. Tracklist & link under the cut.

1. Maeday Maeday! // Fear
2. DJ (Same Song) // King of Sorrow
3. Hold On // Nothing Can Come Between Us
4. Crime // Is It A Crime
5. Give It All // Give It Up
6. Jezzebelle // Jezzebel
7. Sweetest Taboo // Sweetest Taboo
8. No Ordinary Love // No Ordinary Love
9. Still Love H.I.M. // Your Love Is King
10. Keep Looking // Keep Looking
11. Cherish the Day // Cherish The Day
*all songs produced by DeNotes Productions*

DOWNLOAD: Mae Day – Cherish The Day (Mixtape)

Enjoy one more leak before Cherish The Day drops this Tuesday, courtesy of Cedric. And no, I wasn’t impressed with how the Super Bowl ended. And check under the cut for the tracklisting.

DOWNLOAD: Mae Day – Give It All | Mediafire

1. Maeday Maeday! // Fear
2. DJ (Same Song) // King of Sorrow
3. Hold On // Nothing Can Come Between Us
4. Crime // Is It A Crime
5. Give It All // Give It Up
6. Jezzebelle // Jezzebel
7. Sweetest Taboo // Sweetest Taboo
8. No Ordinary Love // No Ordinary Love
9. Still Love H.I.M. // Your Love Is King
10. Keep Looking // Keep Looking
11. Cherish the Day // Cherish The Day
*all songs produced by Dewitt Moore for DeNotes Productions*

Mae Day talks about how her new project Cherish The Day with DeNotes Productions and Mick Boogie came about….

PREVIOUS: Mae Day – Hold On (prod. Dewitt Moore)

Here is a track that actually won’t be on the upcoming Cherish The Day mixtape. Co-produced by Dewitt Moore and Bryan Johnson.

DOWNLOAD: Mae Day – Get Somethin’ | Mediafire

Here we fuckin’ go.

Mae Day has a new project with DeWitt (formerly of The Sicknotes) Mick Boogie, Cherish The Day, that should hit the Internet as a free download in the next few weeks. The album/mixtape sees DeWitt and Mae offering their own interpolations of about a dozen classic songs from the legendary Sade. Journalists/tastemakers, you’ll see a press release from me about this project pretty soon. The entire project is crazy, and I can’t wait till it finally hits.

Here’s the first leak, “Hold On.” It samples Sade’s “Nothing Can Come Between Us.”

Detroit’s Mae Day is teaming up with producer Dewitt Moore (of De Notes Productions) and Mick Boogie for a concept based project, Cherish the Day, in which they will be flipping Sade tracks. Here’s the first leak…

DOWNLOAD: Mae Day – Hold On (prod. Dewitt Moore)

I’m leaving for Saginaw tomorrow (or today, since it’s 12:30 AM EST) for Thanksgiving. All of the family is going to be there, and along with the relatives that I already don’t get along with, I’m already in failure mode because I didn’t get a job that I wanted. But music has always been my, well, muse: it got me through my mother’s death when I was younger, it’s gotten me through bullshit during school, and it’ll get me through this. I’ve got a starting line-up of five albums that each, in one way or another, are helping me deal with my rejection. Heartbreak happens, but we live. Come Monday, if not earlier, I’m back stronger than ever.

The point guard this weekend is my advance copy of Mae Day’s Cherish The Day mixtape (pictured above), courtesy of Ced Jigga. This project sees the best new female emcee in the biz (and maybe even the best out there period, with most of the other ladies everybody else either in prison, fallen off, retired, or just not making music anymore) teams up with The Sicknotes to remake a set of songs from legendary soulstress Sade. Off of one listen, this is amazing: the beats keep Sade’s essence without just reshashing the originals, and Mae Day’s spitting a good balance of old-fashioned braggadocio and conceptual gems (check “I Still Love H.I.M.,” on which she revamps Common’s original concept to be about Hip-hop In Michigan). I love it when artists – specifically, emcees – can cover legends’ music with a theme like this and still be able to make it their own, and seeing a youngster like this do her thing is exactly what I needed to realize that this is only the beginning for me. MC Lyte cosigned (and recorded with her), Mick Boogie’s hosting the tape, and she’s backed by some of the most talented producers in Detroit. She’s earned her keep this week.

Check under the cut for the rest of the starting line-up.

SG: Kanye West, 808s & Heartbreak – Kanye’s senior disc comes in at the shooting guard, moreso because of circumstance than my opinion of its talent. As we all know, the constantly-evolving Kanye strays even further from his previous formula here, abandoning his off-kilter rhyme style, whimsical boasts, and experimental production for auto-tune crooning, melancholy lyrics, and backdrops that vary between being just as wistful and being conversely uptempo. But as my sis said, the one thing that’s consistent with Kanye is his honesty. As offbase as some of his material here may be with the fans and critics who have supported him for so long, his expression here is crystal clear: the autotune is used to accentuate his pain instead of just making it catchier (a la T-Pain), and his lyrics are extremely emotive, if not deep (“my friend shows me pictures of his kids, and all I can show is pictures of my crib”). His mother died and he broke up with his fiance, and as someone who’s both dealt with and is dealing with loss, I can definitely identify with it. Reminds me of what Puff Daddy & The Family’s No Way Out did for me when my mother died. Not only do I respect his ambition here, but I respect it for its ability to identify with people.

SF: Slim, Love’s Crazy – The frontman of legendary group 112 ventures out onto the solo front with his debut, Love’s Crazy. He’s on the older side compared to competition like Ne-Yo and Chris Brown (trust, it shows when he doesn’t have his sunglasses on, lmao; I interviewed him on his tour bus in Lansing earlier this summer), but that’s not a bad thing. He uses his veteran knowledge (both of relationships and of music), natural talents and the industry-savvy senses of Famous Firm boss Sickamore (who A&R’d and branded the album) to make sturdy, genuine R&B that’s honest without being pretentious (or Ne-Yo, since it seems he’s one of the only decent writers now), romantic without being Pretty Rickey, and infectious without being T-Pain. Aside from the blemishing Yung Berg cameo, this one of the best R&B albums this year, and this’ll definitely get continuous burn. And love is crazy – whether it’s love in a relationship, or love for what you’re doing. Slim gets it, and so do I.

PF: Big Walt & David Ether, Freedom Train – Freedom Train is the debut from David Ether and my East Lansing homie Big Walt. Armed with incredible futuristic soul that many would associate with Flying Lotus, Walt talks about whatever he goes through – whether it’s beating kids up in his hometown of Dansville or being a child genius and graduating high school at age 15. Walt’s a really unique character. And that’s not just saying “unique” to hide an asshole description, that’s honestly the best adjective: he’s a dorky-looking white kid who’ll wear anything from gold rope chains and Hundreds fitteds to vintage kicks and plaid shirts, he’ll use varying relevant and archaic rap slang (“brap!” “hunnid!”), and he knows more about music, hip-hop and otherwise, than damn near anyone I know. He’s had people hate on his presentation – whether it’s people outside of his circle, or the board of directors at a radio station – but he sticks to who he is no matter what, and that K.O.S. (Knowledge of Self) is determination for me to continue to strive to do things my way, not just settle for what’s out there.

C: Q-Tip, The Renaissance – Despite how eager I was to hear it initially, I’ve been sleeping on Q-Tip’s long-awaited new LP since it came out. So this weekend, I’m going to finally give it a spin. But critics and fans alike are applauding the album, saying that it somehow captures the best of all of his career’s work, from the Tribe Called Quest days to Amplified, to the unreleased Kamaal The Abstract, and everything in between. With Tip’s stylish lyricism and his great ear for beats, I’m looking forward to checking this out. As far as the connect between this album and my career? It’s The Renaissance; nuff said.

–

6th Man: The Insomniaks, Who Sleeps Anymore? – I was introduced to this Sacramento, Calif. duo through The Famous Firm as well, when I was put on to write their bio. Don’t get it twisted – all of The Firm’s artists are talented, so it’s always an honor when I get to do one of their bios. But these two kids are special. As I said in the opener to their bio:

One of hip-hop’s most restricting elements is its extreme nature. Hood life is exaggerated and glorified more than it’s documented, and lyrical accounts of their sexcapades are less allegorical than they are attempts to impress. Too many artists who actually do value honesty aren’t talented enough to make their message engaging.

But Sacramento, Calif. duo The Insomniaks have mastered the formula of producing relevant, digestible rap that bangs.

You can download their album here, and trust me when I say it’s worth the download. Check out “In My Hood” for an account of street life that’s not just glorifying violence, “Moonpie” to hear them talk about late-night food and late-night poon (best song title ever), and check as they simultaneously poke fun at hipsters and show love to their fav brands on “Hypebeast.” They come in at the 6th Man position this week because I agree with their mantra: “Sleeping is for bitches.” I do most of my work at night, but even when the sun is out instead of the moon, my hustle is relentless; the minute I let up, I lose my ground.

First off before I start let me state that I absolutely love Femcees (good ones). I guess that’s kind of obvious anyway because I started The Fembassy. Women who can spit a hot 16 are just super hot to me. They also inspire me. Plus I write rhymes every now and then so I have a love for the art. Before anyone says that I’m just hating on Nicki I’ll also state that one of my homeboys told me one day that she was the hottest chick in the game (we argue about femcees all the time lol) so I decided to check her out and I had to disagree. I’ve done my research and listened to many of her tracks and I’ve still came to the conclusion that she is wack. I don’t usually dwell on saying negative stuff about people but, it’s just something about this chick that really turns me off.

The first time that I googled this chick I ran into a ton of half-naked pictures so I automatically didn’t take her seriously. Off rip I thought she was just another Lil Kim or Foxy wannabe. Then once I heard her music I thought there is absolutely nothing spectacular about her rhymes. Now some folk may beg to differ or probably say she’s sweet because she has “swag”. But, let me say this HAVING SWAG DOES NOT MAKE YOU A GOOD EMCEE. It just makes you cocky and a someone with “swagger”. Now back to Nicki, I was sitting here watching this interview and I couldn’t help but, think she can’t possibly want anyone to take her seriously. She calls herself “Lil Wayne’s Mistress”. During an interview where you only have 3 minutes left you start talking about how the interviewer wants to give you head. I mean I know she was just joking but, WTF? I’m not saying that she needs to not be herself or dumb herself down but, if this is just her personality then that says enough. Bottom line Nicki Minaj is one of the reasons why people don’t take Femcees seriously. You can guys can watch the video and google her and judge for yourself…..I know this is totally irrelevant to her skills but, those 1996 ass nails have to go! That shit is NOT cute!

Shout Out To all of the Serious and Dope Femcees Out Here

MC Lyte

Queen Latifah

Mae Day

Amanda Diva

Kin 4 Life

Lady Luck

Babs Bunny

Lil Momma

Byata

FEM

Boog Brown

Lady Twist

Ms. Cherry

Missy Elliot

M.I.A.

Shae Fields

IB3

Invincible

Lady Sovereign

]]> http://speechismyhammer.com/2008/10/09/black-milk-mixtape-x-divaspeak-tv-30-x-mc-lyte-vs-mae-day/ Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:20:44 +0000 ketchums http://speechismyhammer.com/2008/10/09/black-milk-mixtape-x-divaspeak-tv-30-x-mc-lyte-vs-mae-day/

Before I edit/type these stories for MichiganHipHop and HipHopDX, just a few gems to knock you over with.

Black Milk’s released a new free mixtape, Elec, this week through HipHopDX. A warm-up release for his upcoming album Tronic, Elec compiles highlights from Black Milk’s catalog that have been released since his breakthrough album from last year, Popular Demand. Considering all the work he’s put out since then – The Set Up album with Fat Ray, Caltroit with Bishop Lamont, most of the beats on Elzhi’s album The Preface, and much more – this tape is surprisingly complete, but it still just shows how prolific Black Milk has been and how much he’s grown, both as a producer and as an emcee. I’m really impressed by the approach that Fat Beats and Audible Treats have taken to promote this album: between this, the Music From The Purple Tape download, leaks of two songs (“Give The Drummer Sum” and “The Matrix”), MiHipHop’s video of him in the studio, and the impending “Give The Drummer Sum” video, they’re really doing some great things to get the word out about the project. Scoop up your copy of Tronic on October 28! | HipHopDX

This is episode 30 of Amanda Diva’s ultra-ill YouTube series, Diva Speak TV. In this segment, she interviews MC Lyte, talks about OJ’s verdict, Gwen Ifill, and more. Congrats to Ms. Diva on her Hip Hop Scholar Award as well.

Speaking of MC Lyte, above, she rhymes alongside of Mae Day, the Detroit rapper who Monie Luv says is the best female emcee since her. Mae Day’s definitely one of the most talented artists – male or female – I’m hearing right now, and I gave her a lot of burn on my (former) show at IMPACT 89 FM. So it’s great to see Lyte recognizes game. On another note, MC Lyte’s just as fine and talented now as she was years ago. Shoutout to Ced Jigga and MC Serch.

was that the rumble of a new genesis? please let it be true. i can’t keep listening to ‘ladies first’ on repeat. 

not bad kiddo, not bad.