DeFakto Featured in FHS Falconer

Some good ol' grass roots coverage of yours truly. Peace and love to FHS.

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NEW VIDEO: "Dream Music (D-Vine Rmx)" - Box & Won ft. Melodee Joye

NEW VIDEO: "Dream Music (D-Vine Rmx)" - Box & Won ft. Melodee Joye
Video by Jay Dexter and Smoothmatic

CANCELLED DATE - Nov 20, WVa

Unfortunately, the Box & Won appearance at Club Twisted in Martinsburg, WV is cancelled. It is not fault to us though, as we were eager to rock with the people. Life happens though. The end.

New Spot Dates

Catch Box & Won live in Martinsburg, WV on 11/20/2010.

Also, the crew brings in the new year properly headlining a 1/15/2011 music celebration event known as JAMuary!

See the flyers below.

Box & Won - The Box-Out (Available Now - Here!)

The long-awaited debut project from Box & Won as an official collective is here! Download it now below!

1. Game Time [prod by Prince G.
2. Bowser [prod by Kount Fif]
3. Talk To 'Em [prod by D-Vine]
4. Send One Up [prod by D-Vine]
5. Prince Speaks
6. Gimme 5 [prod by D-Vine]
7. Stuck On You f/ D-Vine [prod by S.T.L.]
8. And Won [prod by Prince G.]
9. Dream Music f/ Melodee Joye [prod by R.O.B.]
10. DeFakto Speaks
11. Break Loose f/ Jo Doja [prod by Prince G.]
12. We Love It [prod by Kajmir Royale]
13. Living For The Night [prod by Kount Fif]
14. On The Way Up [prod by Prince G.]
15. S.T.L. Speaks
16. Maintenance Man [prod by S.T.L.]
17. Stay In Your Lane [prod by Prince G.]
18. Whatchu Think? f/ Dizz Vicious [prod by S.T.L.]
19. LR Speaks
20. The Quest [prod by D-Vine]
BONUS
21. Aint Nothin' Change (Remix) w/ Blak Drag [prod by Flawless]

Download here below using the following!

http://www.mediafire.com/?ynvsf2ado6o2zdz

http://sharebee.com/c7b950f1

5 More Days: Box & Won Launch / JuneBuggin'

Saturday night. It's less than a week away. Just 5 days until we mobilize a hefty chunk of Richmond along with the 757 and residents of DC, Baltimore and northern VA cities and towns to join us in a venue invasion. My Box & Won collective, which was a hiphop spin-off of Allmanact, headlines the annual (sometimes twice annually) Sound Council concert party at Jammin Java in Vienna, Virginia which is named JuneBuggin' this go around. With that function comes the release of the long-awaited scud missile of a mixtape that is The Box-Out. It's been quite some time in the making and to say there were a few hurdles along the way is calling a rain storm a drizzle. Life, learning-on-the-job mistakes, holiday season, a 3-month hiatus, schedule syncing, negligence and irresponsibility, and ambition were all to blame for the time it took to get our introductory project completed. One thing that was not compromised was the quality of the material that we recorded, for we, like most artists, are our own biggest critics. So the project is in pressing for the weekend (damn, it feels good to type that) and we all await Saturday!

While folks are picking their posse, booking hotels and planning outfits, it is absolutely a hectic time for me that requires me to focus on much more stressful tedious details. Just less than two weeks ago, I pulled a string of "work until you wither" nights where I found myself waking up in chair, fully dressed in business casuals and some Kenneth Cole casual kicks, with the laptop open on the table in front of me surrounded by a spindle of CDs, a short stack of reminder sticky notes, my notebook, a pen, a chain of USB flash drives and my Blackberry. Three consecutive nights of this to be exact. Not an ideal sleeping arrangement, but I was trying to get things done and make things happen because I know no other will and unfortunately cannot choose any other way. This week has kicked off with its own issues but that is to be expected, as there are always things that go sour at the last minute when it comes to making legit music moves. I am as exhausted as one can be without being completely burned out, so I have no choice but to make light of anything that I can afford to and just "let go" of some of the burden. There are several people making contributions to this Box & Won launch and that can be a good and bad thing. More than that though, it has to be a sure thing. I'll continue to put in the work as I have and do what I must to make the launch proper all the while accepting those things that are out of my hands (even if that makes me uncomfortable knowing that it all affects my artistry, name and reputation). We've had dynamite shows and events prior (ie. the Allmanact album release party in 2009) and this JuneBuggin' ordeal on June 19th will be no exception!

Box & Won Q&A Promo Vid

Promo Performances: "On The Way Up" by Prince, "Send One Up" by LR, "Dream Music" by S.T.L., "Gimme 5" by DeFakto.

Video also viewable at www.boxandwon.com

"Doubters" - Box & Won

New music! Do enjoy! And please, share and spread the music!

Click the down arrow to download!

BOX & WON - Live Show + Video Shoot, June 19th, Vienna, VA

Let the excitement begin! BOX & WON is slated to headline a fun, high-energy hiphop celebration entitled JUNEBUGGIN' at Jammin Java on Saturday, June 19th in Vienna, Virginia! With Sound Council having torn down this very spot many times before for consecutive years, this show will be no exception as venue vets DeFakto and S.T.L. (aka Stress) join forces with their fellow VA emcees to bring you a slew of new material from the May 2010 Box & Won project. Expect a classic good time as DJ Mercury moves the crowd as the comraderie and drinks flow with the usual photographers live on site!
As if that is not enough, Box & Won will be shooting a live music video for the song "Send One Up" soon to be leaked from their first release. (Look to listen, download and get familiar with that uplifting anthem on http://boxandwon.com/ very soon).
Also performing at JuneBuggin' will be two northern VA titans, Ave and Shawn Sky. With strong followings of their own, they are certain not to disappoint. So tell your friends to tell their friends so you can all pile up in the SmartCar and be a part of hiphop history! Come prepared to party! You do not want to miss this!

(You can also view the flyer at http://boxandwon.com/.)

BoxAndWon.Com

In case you missed it, the website for my hiphop crew has launched and will be the go-to source for all things Box & Won. Be sure to check it out for music, videos, pictures, news updates and etc. http://boxandwon.com Enjoy!

VA Got It Right: Quality Over Quantity

Be it years ago growing up or fairly recently, my home state of Virginia has always been plentiful of gripes, cries and complaints about not having enough representation within music. I remember the discussions in school about finally having a sole central VA area artist to cheer for when Skillz took off with “Nod Factor.” Moving beyond that era to a time period where many more young people were flirting with and testing music as a favorable pursuit, I recall all the young rappers venting about the failure of Virginia’s frontrunner performers to lift others to similar exposure and opportunities and develop predecessors. “Man, if I was in THEIR position, I’d put EVERYBODY in VA on!” so they’d say. Uh…Yeah right. Even recently with so many folks resorting to music as a last option because they didn’t position themselves to do anything else, it’s nothing to hear Lil Young Flow-Spitter Tha Singing Beatmaker bitch about the commonwealth not showing love, leveraging them enough and calling VA “The Hate State.” (Yes, that is a nickname for VA amongst many within music; granted, all music makers across the country think their own respective hometown is the toughest place to make it). While I think Virginia has lots of great artists who make incredible music and deserve more attention (*looks around and halfway raises hand*), I retrospectively realize this…VA got it right.

With the oversaturation at a discouraging level, the V has epitomized the phrase “quality over quantity” in terms of exposing its entertainers. Check out the list of heavyweight national music figures who claim(ed) 2 Up 2 Down as home: Teddy Riley, Timbaland, Missy, The Neptunes, Pharrell, The Clipse, D’Angelo, Trey Songz, Chris Brown and Skillz. Now, I may be forgetting an artist or two, but not many have been excluded given the level of success and popularity I am talking about. So re-read the short list and think about A) their accolades and the significance of their contribution and B) the uniqueness of each artist listed and how few others can do exactly what they do or have done. Everyone on this list is undeniably incredible by way of what they do/did, how or both! Some of the names listed are the most original and creative artists of our time! Now you can put the biggest entertainment cities against the entire state of Virginia and their lists would be 10-fold in terms of names, but I would argue that there are also just as many lames to come through those same pipelines of (enter big city/state here), USA. And if you factor in originality with quality, I don’t even think many places can trump this list by much if at all. Bottom line is, whether by default or by design, VA does not let as much middle to lower tier material through the cracks and in a time where there are just too many people in the damn way, music cannot thank Virginia enough.

With love and respect for all places, I always feel for the mislead individuals who still think that fleeing to New York, LA, Atlanta and the few other entertainment capitals is going to create the perfect platform for their artistry to take off. Hahahahhaa! Hold on, lemme get myself together…Okay…Okay…Myth! Sorry but that was 10 – 15 years ago! You will always walk by and be amongst thousands more producers and entertainment execs on a daily basis in NYC or ATL as compared to Richmond, Norfolk or Woodbridge. All of the gullible aspiring recording artists figure this. That, however, actually makes it far more watered-down and way more difficult to stand out in such big cities. Add the fact that technology super-cedes / offsets location and you are left with few to no advantages in music metropolises nationwide. When you are moving about there, you are also surrounded by 10 times as much mediocrity with an encouraging but false sense of opportunity because of where they are. THAT is bad for music! Percentage-wise, such entertainment hubs are flooding music with these average carbon copy clones at an alarming rate as compared to Everywhere Else, USA and quantity over quality is the root issue beneath most of the problems shared by all who have any interest in music. If the cream always rises to the top, you still have a better shot at someone taking to your taste if there are fewer cups to choose from (and fewer self-proclaimed “industry” people trying to sell a sip). So while the choices may be limited, I’m thankful that my home state is good for a quality drink.

I’ve met, listened to, and dealt with a lot of serious and not-so-serious artists from VA. There are plenty of extremely talented song crafters who I would love to see come up and I basically wish for all good people with talent to thrive. Do not misinterpret my message, for I think there is room for all good artists. I certainly don’t favor good artistry being ignored on any level, no matter how small or local and I’d like for people in general to have a heightened appreciation for the arts on all different levels of exposure and notoriety. There is plenty of room for improvement in terms of Virginia citizens demonstrating hometown pride and support for its artists of all kinds. I am not a fan of reckless booing and discouraging individuals from pursuing ANYTHING that can be positive. There are lots of people across the globe who do music the right way (both part-time and full-time) with undeniable passion and I wish I could grant them more exposure and opportunities. What I’m speaking to, though, applies to the mainstream surface goings-on within entertainment that mistakenly drive people’s perceptions, opinions, aspirations and efforts. I long ago used to have thoughts of why VA did not have a stronger music presence and I wondered what impact the state’s movers and shakers had on that. I also still hope and wish that my home state that I was born and raised in throughout its 3 primary regions while shaping my person and passion will support me as it has, now and even more and more going forward. I am far from bitter though and thankful in fact because I, through maturity and in retrospect, have realized that Virginia got it right. Quality over quantity. Music forever!

Jumpers Sports Unlimited

Attention all: Please be aware of, take heed to and/or support the indie brand and company Jumpers Sports Unlimited, which primary specializes in sporting apparel. This company also serves to uplift through community events. Though it's not mine, I encourage folks to support indies, small businesses and upstarts that can meet your wants and needs and this is no exception. During such economically strained times where most are cutting back, it is very courageous and commendable to even launch a venture like this. My music partner, Stress, and I (DeFakto & Stress) were granted the opportunity to create the promo theme song for Jumpers Sports Unlimited. The link to that song and the info for the brand are below. Enjoy.

"Jumpers Sports Unlimited" by DeFakto & Stress

http://www.defakto-music.com/mp3s/JumpersSportsUnlimited.mp3