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It's late, but I'll get one #tbt in before the day is up. This photo was taken 11/8/08, the same day that my niece was born. I visited my brother very early in the AM at the hospital. I remember having celebratory beers with him around 9am. Then I left the hospital & went to The Riv to interview The Roots. Obviously this is a pic with Cee-Lo. As I waited outside the dressing room with a notepad of questions for ?uestlove, someone comes up to me and says, "Cee-Lo is ready for you". I made up every question as I went, and it actually turned out great. The next week STA had an anniversary party at Empire Liquors. As I walked in to that party, I passed @hxlt2015. He said "I saw your interview with Cee-Lo, that was tight." It was the 1st time anyone had said they saw me interviewing anyone. I had truly arrived. Salute Cee-Lo. Salute Holt. And salute to my niece Sasha for arriving right on time & kicking off an amazing string of events.

#tbt

Among that good shit is a new mixtape some time in the next month and a tour that includes dates in Europe.

Another proud moment in my make-shift pr career. Was able to premiere Alex Wiley's new song, "Ready", on Noisey. Then saw pick ups across the web, including a spot in Consequence of Sound's Top 10 songs of the week.

Allan Kingdom was a great dude to work with, and I'm looking forward to a lot of greatness from this kid.

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Found this old footage from October djing for @alex_wiley_vill in Worcester, MA. It was live.

On small loose leaf sheets I sketched a big dream.

I found this on my computer. Don't know when it's from or really anything else to do or add to it. But I dig it. 33 seconds of something.

Hear My 2005 Interview with Raekwon

photo from 2011 Closed Session w/Raekwon

When I interviewed Raekwon for the first time I was 22 years old & for some reason he kept thinking I was from Australia (you can hear the drop at the end). I was living right across the street from the Lincoln Park Zoo, just out of college and off the completion of year 1 of my Teach For America commitment. Needless to say, I was very excited for this interview and kind of nervous as well. I've since interviewed Rae several times, DJ'ed for him, and have gotten to know him pretty well following our Closed Session in 2011. He even wished me a happy birthday via Direct Message last year. But, this is where it all started.

I also don't really know where this file came from. I opened up Garage Band and this was in the "recent folder". In the interview, which I did for SoundSlam.com, Rae talks about the then almost finished OB4CLII. At the time he said he was about 65% done with it, and that we could do another interview in about a month when it will be fully completed. As we all know, the project took a few more years, finally coming out about 4 years later in 2009. Anyway, if you're a fan of Wu-Tang Clan, Raekwon, Hip Hop interviews or just trying to kill 10 minutes - listen and enjoy. I may start digging through my archives and posting more of these audiotapes.

If you want to laugh, skip to the end 8:50 mark for his RTC drop. Quite comical...

I interviewed Joey Purp in 2013 & just never posted it here

In October of 2013, Joey Purp came through the Closed Sessions office for a conversation. I turned that conversation into a featured piece for the site Potholesinmyblog. For some reason or another, I just didn't add it to my personal tumblr. Well, I know the reason - I was pretty busy and wasn't updating my tumblr all that much. But, this year I really want to get back to writing about music, interviewing artists, and overall doing the things that RTC does. I hope to turn this tumblr into a true site soon & get back to regular writings, reviews etc... But for now, baby steps.

I'm a big fan of Joey Purp and have been since I first started getting music from him in 2011/2012. He's come a long way since then & has a long way to go. Here's a look at where he was at in 2013. Enjoy.

originally published 10.29.13 via PotholesInMyBlog

With a bag of fresh peaches in tow, Joey Purp makes his way up the back steps of the Closed Sessions office and takes a seat at the round table on the deck. It’s a warm summer day in Chicago, the type made for chilling on somebody’s deck. “You want one?” he offers, taking two peaches out of the bag, along with a freshly rolled joint. “I had some fruit earlier today,” I said, thanking him for his consideration. This is Joey’s second time coming to our office, and the second time he has brought fresh fruit to share. It’s a small thing, but indicative of Joey’s personality and his uniqueness. I’ve done hundreds of interviews, and we’ve had hundreds of artists come through our doors the last few years. Joey is the only one that has ever offered us fresh produce, and on a short list of those that have brought any food at all.

Purp stands out in other ways too. I remember getting the earliest songs from the Chicago emcee a couple years ago. They came from Joey Purple, then from Joseph Purps, a couple other variations, and finally resting on Joey Purp – or something like that. But Joey was finding his way, and not afraid to do so publicly. His debut mixtape, released in the spring of 2012, was titled The Purple Tape and representative of a kid with a lot to say, who was finding the right way to say everything he needed. It had showings of brilliance, true introspection and key-observations. It also had moments of being unfocused and a little all over the place. Since that release, Purp has refined his skills and stood out from his Save Money crew for his hippie inspired style of dress and the rawness of his raps. Purp raps in a way that doesn’t need metaphors or similes. A lot of rappers say ‘they keep it real.’ Purp doesn’t have to say it, he just is it.

On that hot summer day, Purp enjoyed some peaches, smoked a little weed and talked to me about his upbringing, taking the music seriously, and much more.

Alexander Fruchter: Would you characterize yourself as a generous, thoughtful guy?

Joey Purp: I suppose so. I always try to extend myself in anyway possible. Especially if I’m coming to somebody else’s space, I don’t know, it’s hospitality. You used to bring pies to your neighbor’s house.

Alexander Fruchter: Another communal thing is sharing the peace pipe. Is that part of your ritual? How does that fit into your day?

Joey Purp: It’s pretty subconscious at this point I suppose. It’s pretty habitual. I just like to smoke where ever I land so to speak, no pun intended. It’s kind of a passing time and traveling type of thing. I might smoke while I walk over here, I might smoke once I get here. I might smoke before I leave. It’s kind of like a checkpoint kind of thing I guess.

Alexander Fruchter: You have the “Smoke Break” skit on The Purple Tape. I’m guessing that’s a moment in the studio where you just left the mics on. How important are those types of moments for you and your creativity?

Joey Purp: I don’t know. It definitely was just a moment. We left the mic on and did what we do I suppose. Talk about each other and shit. I don’t know how important those moments are necessarily as far as my creativity, but as far as the creative process – it always gets tense whenever you’re working. Whether you’re working out or playing basketball or sitting in the studio writing to the beat for a long time, it always gets tense. Things like that are just natural tension relievers I suppose.

Read the full interview here.

#joey purp #interview

"Like gravy to potatoes, Luke to Darth Vader, I'm a souped up sucka & I'll see you all later."

#tbt I want to say this is from 2005, the summer to be exact. There was a huge street festival with Brother Ali, Jurassic 5, and the full Rock Steady Crew. I was there as part of Hip Hop Congress and DJ'ed a small stage with my homie The Metrognome. Crazy Legs had a broken leg & had to dj for rocksteady instead of dance. He broke his headphones & asked to use mine. Of course I had to say yes, and then took this photo.

#tbt

#tbt over the last 2 weeks I've been doing research & archive digging for an article that will be published on Green Label's website. It's a look at chicago hip hop 2007-2010(ish) & how a lot of variables lined up to produce the foundation for the explosion happening today. While doing that research I found this old tweet from @chancetherapper. I don't think I even saw it originally way back in 2012. It's an interesting time for me. I'm getting older, getting married this year & my days/nights aren't just about finding new music, DJing parties & all night studio sessions. Life changes can make you put a lot of things in perspective. At the end of the day though, I can look back on things like this as a reminder of those earlier times and see that they made a lasting impact. I remember trying to tell everyone I could about this kid. Slowly but surely the whole world is listening. That's fucking awesome!

#tbt

Run The Jewels - "Lie, Cheat, Steal" Video

Man, you know why I fuck with Run The Jewels? Cause they make me feel better about myself each and every time. El-P & Killer Mike are two really talented artists that are reaching higher apexes of success as they grow older. Not more than 2 years ago they were both confined to permanent underground status and now, they are one of the most important groups in rap music. That's what the fuck is up! Oh, and their new video is pretty dope as well.

And, if you want to read an interview I did with El-P about 2 years ago, you can do that as well. Thanx.

Kweku Collins - Worlds Away EP

Kweku Collins is a senior in high school from Evanston, IL. He sent me this EP last week with some kind words about Closed Sessions. Turns out he's been following us for a minute & decided to take a chance & hit us up. I've talked to him a couple times since and the kid has potential.

theWHOevers x Brand Knew. I'm not biggest chinese food fan, but this song is pretty tasty... ZING!

"I'ma beat the box up like Mean Joe Greene."

New music from my friend and Treated Crew brother, Gzus Piece. The cult-favorite of the Treated Cult teams with Blanco Caine. This is another edition of their White Jesus tag-team.

Closed Session with Allan Kingdom + Odd Couple

Man. I love running a record label in 2015. This shit is exciting. Everyday is different. It's brutal fight to make people care about the music we care about, and the artists that we feel make the world a better place. I was asked last night in my class at Columbia College, "how did you get the idea to start Closed Sessions?"

Don't worry, I'm not going to share the full answer now. But in short, Closed Sessions started out of a being on top of what's new and dope in the world of Hip Hop. I interacted with that space every fucking day at rubyhornet, and even way before that. That's something that I don't think will ever go away, no matter what I do. But back then it was about being "first". First to post a song, first to interview an artist, first to be able to say - "you ain't up on this??????" That's where CS came from. From writing about new artists and music on a blog, then taking those songs and playing them at bars and clubs during my sets. Then that turned into bringing those artists to Chicago to come out during my sets & meet Chicago's music scene for the first time. Then that turned into, 'come to the studio and let's make a new song so that I can put it out on my mixtape and get my DJ Khaled shit going..." If you look at the very 1st CS releases they all say, DJ Roosevelt Treasurechest... Anyway, now I run a record label everyday & that shit is hard. As we continue to find our way & build our catalog/roster, we don't do as many of the one-off come to Chicago for 2 days Closed Sessions experiences that were our bread and butter and gave us our start.

I think just for fun we decided to go back to the Closed Sessions format and asked Allan Kingdom to come to Chicago, play our party, and make some music. Yesterday we released the single and documentary and I was reminded, just a little bit, of how this all started and how much fun we had doing those Closed Sessions' back in the day. I'm not sure if this is something we'll start doing regularly again or not, but I do know that the love it's received so far has been great and it's good to every now and again return to our roots.

Enjoy.

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Allan Kingdom is a dope new artist from St. Paul. Get familiar. New CS song & doc dropping tomorrow.

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"On Small Looseleaf Sheets I Sketched A Big Dream"