"Yet Another Day" - DeFakto f/ Prince G. and Jicole

New song from J3 (coming soon)! FREE DOWNLOAD or stream!

"Yet Another Day"

DeFakto f/ Prince G. and Jicole

(prod by D-Vine, co-prod by Nerd Ferguson and DeFakto)
http://hulkshare.com/u249mfrjax9w
http://official.fm/tracks/270984

New Music Links

NEW MUSIC HERE! Play and/or click the DOWN ARROW to download for free!

DeFakto Featured in FHS Falconer

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

Page 11
http://173.192.39.187/Portals/2/schools/1421/editions/ea537443-1f2e-453e-95b1-e71294506a28-Volume47issue3.pdf

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

D-Vine Intervention

“What a coincidence!” We’ve all heard it before in reference to a striking chance occurrence involving a couple of similar or seemingly related things. Well, my fellow music mate D-Vine is a player in a quite a coincidence that he discovered first and brought to the attention of Stress and myself. We all recognize this as chance and find it slightly humorous if anything with no bitter accusations involved or any foul play suspected (which may be obvious later).

Jay-Z. American Gangster. The album. Late 2007 I believe it was? Yeah. Prior to its release, D-Vine (who does not really keep up with contemporary hip-hop on a crazy level as far as getting leaks and catching everything that comes out and etc.) flipped the same sample that we’d eventually hear in “Sweet” by Jay-Z. D-Vine composed a faster version with heavier drums and it was a pretty dope number. I remember D-Vine using a basement boom box to make the comparison between what he created and that of Diddy, Sean C. and LV who produced Jay’s version. In situations like that, you just have to chuckle and conveniently embrace the phrase “Great minds think alike.” That was that. Same sample being flipped…happens all the time.

Fast forward from around that time to this 2009 summer. Our Box & Won crew is in the lab with D-Vine. We just finished meeting to map out our Allmanact / Box & Won set for an upcoming show and we were going through some beats to use for our project to end the night. D-Vine played something that caught Prince G.’s ear. Prince’s marquee “nod factor” kicked in, as it always does when he’s feeling an instrumental. Very concisely, everyone stated their feeling on the track on we moved on. One week later, The Blueprint 3 leaked. Yes. Jay-Z’s new album. The same sample that D-Vine used and caught Prince’s attention was the skeleton for one of my favorite tracks on The Blueprint 3 album: “Empire State of Mind.” While I thought D-Vine did a more favorable job with the first coincidental matching sample, I did enjoy the Al Shux composition better in this second instance. Still, I found it to be a bit of a trip that D-Vine would flip the same two samples used on two consecutive albums by the same artist who is widely accepted as the premiere hip-hop tastemaker and arguably the greatest hip-hop artist ever might I add. Perhaps Jay-Z should just cut the chase and give D-Vine a call when he starts working on his next album. Talk about “Third time’s a charm.”

Introducing...BOX & WON (New Music!)

As if being a solo artist and member of the Allmanact trio isnt enough, allow me to introduce the raw hip-hop group BOX & WON, which includes Prince G., LR, S.T.L. and myself.
This is the same cast of emcees from the "Peace of Mind (Remix)" on the Allmanact album, which is where this group idea began. Before checking out the group live together for the first time at Jammin Java in Vienna, VA on Sept 26th, give these songs a listen (and certainly right-click to save them for your Ipod pleasure)!

"And Won" - Box & Won
http://www.defakto-music.com/mp3s/AndWon.mp3












"Stuck On You" - Box & Won featuring D-Vine
http://www.defakto-music.com/mp3s/StuckOnYou.mp3












"Maintenance Man" - Box & Won
http://www.defakto-music.com/mp3s/MaintenanceMan.mp3













Enjoy!

Three Times a Lady

After enjoying a Saturday free of obligations and commitments, which was the first and last in a good while, I decided to jump on the notebook PC and get some work done two nights ago. I got a ways into my work when my phone suddenly rang at nearly 2am. No big deal. I have 24-hour open call policy for any and all (doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to answer). When I checked the Blackberry face though, I was suprised by the name that popped up given the time. It was a good friend; a really good brother that I went to undergrad with who moves in the same social circle as I do. One might suspect bias here, but he's also genuinely one of the biggest fans and supporters of my artistry.

When I answered the phone, all my guy said was "Man, you are inspiring people. You are inspiring people out here." I had no idea what he was talking about. Then he said "We are out here at this cookout and your [Allmanact] album is playing. Some people want to speak to you." I'm silent, as an extremely pleasant woman whom I never have heard of, seen or met takes the line. She, in a beautiful speaking voice, instantly told me something to effect of she loved the music, had no idea who [DeFakto / Allmanact] was and encouraged me to keep on doing my thing. I was taken aback and just thanked her a few times for the positive feedback. She then passed the phone on to TWO more ladies who had their own unique yet similar message for me regarding the ALLMANACT album that they were hearing for the first time. This was not wreckless late night drunk-dialing either. As if their words weren't enough, the sincerity and anxiousness that translated was striking. It sounded like the ladies prompted the call rather than my friend and they wanted to be sure that they got their messages to me. My homeboy could have easily spoken on behalf of the three women, but it was meant for me to connect with them directly, even if just briefly.

When you love creating and spreading music, it is a relationship similar to that involving two people. There are times in relationships where you have doubts, question, reevaluate and/or reconsider stepping out, stepping away, and moving on, even when love is there. The same applies to music, especially since there are so many x-factors that effect an artist's presence and existance in music whether small indie or major. I personally was not feeling any negative thoughts about my music and related ventures when I received the phone call, but heartfelt encouragement like that is always timely. Being an artist is tough by nature and nurture, so we need little such stimulants every now and again. They lift us to just the right height and hold us up just long enough. I dont allow myself to get souped by praise or positive feedback, but it is very important to appreciate it all and keep it in perspective. I certainly do and, with that said, want to thank those three strangers. Perhaps we may meet, but we've already connected if we never get the chance to. Thank you.

The Nod Factor

No, this is not an ode to Skillz's 804-area classic first single from the golden era of hip-hop. I am obviously a true music lover, not to be confused with many who say they love music and dont (which is way too common and almost offends me) or people who like music a lot. See, to hear music, listen to it and feel it are three different things. You can hear music without really listening and you can listen to a song but not really "hear it." There is nothing like feeling music though, which brings me to this: One of my favorite things about music is when people are feeling a song and head-nod in unison! I love it!

In retrospect, I guess I have always felt this way but never really thought to make a mention of it. I've always been one to nod my head to the music regardless of what type of music it is and where I am when listening. I know many who are the same way to where riding in the car can feel like being at a live concert when we're together. In the studio last week, the host played an infectious instrumental and the nod factor naturally took over for all four of us guys to where we were partly subconsciously grooving and couldnt stop if we wanted to. The energy was so ill! Given some of the music situations I've been in, I'm here to tell you that if synchronized head-bopping was an Olympic sport, Michael Phelps would be nothing to talk about.

Everyone from the 5 year-old kid to 65 year-old grandparent and each of us in between is, in my opinion, instantly cool in the moment of nodding to a groove. Not bouncing, not snapping...HEAD-NODDING! On the flipside though, there are many who couldnt be more wrong in thinking they are too cool to feel music and fight the feeling. Lame. Give me a person with no rhythm zoning out on their own accord over anybody who resists the nod factor. So the next time you find yourself on the couch, in the car, at a show or wherever you may be bobbing your head to something that feels as good as it sounds, think of me because I'm probably doing the exact same thing wherever I am.

No Comps (The Most Gratifying)

With the ALLMANACT album afloat for a bit now, I am proud to have contributed to creating the project and extremely pleased with the feedback. The reception has been great thus far. The group angle was unexpected and the packaging of the album has been a pleasant surprise per many. Lots of people have expressed an appreciation for the relatable content and the lack of explicit, vulgar lyrics. Tastemakers, loyal fans and casual listeners alike all have their favorites. There is one understated compliment that has been the most gratifying to me though.

For one online retailer that carries our project along with other indie albums, we were required to select three established/major groups who have a comparable sound. After a short deliberation, we were stumped. I then figured it would be best to ask listeners who had given the album several listens by that time. It was a string of "uhhhh," "hmmmm," "good question," "I gotta think about it," and "I dont know"'s. Outside of two or three people throwing out names and discrediting their own answer seconds later with "Thats not a good one, but thats all I could think of," it dawned on me that our sound couldnt really be accurately boxed in with other notable groups out there. Granted, I get the whole "Nothing is new under the sun" thing and I know we are not the first rappers/singer combo group. The originality is there though on some level and I feel good about that as much as anything else surrounding the album. It means a lot to know that we are not a carbon copy conceptually, sonically or content-wise and I'm thankful for that affirmation.

Join the Mailing List!

Join the mailing list here to stay up on news regarding DeFakto, Allmanact, Sound Council, Box & Won and other such related entities!

http://defakto.fanbridge.com