#halifax all-stars

[malkovichmusic]

VocabuDrab Sessions 96-97's original cassette cover, 1999

[malkovichmusic]

"SICKSTEENS", released 7/1/2006 (download) featuring P.U.D.G.E., Chris Clarke, Ali Abnormal, 2B, Sum, J Thorn, Omni, Black Silver, Otherwize, Sklim Milx, Sach of The Nonce, Felix, Voice, Fat Hed, Montage One, DJ Midas, Mazzi of S.O.U.L. Purpose, Yamin Semali of Clan Destined, Reverb and Pity Patrone A collage of old school rap beats, the funk and soul oldies that were sampled to create them, and non-stop, off-the-cuff verses from some of the most underrated lyricists of our time. Sicksteens is loosely based on a wishlist Malkovich put together of beats both classic and forgotten that he wanted to rap over for a mixtape. From this foundation, West LA-based dj and music archivist Burnie Nowax went to work, looping and extending interludes, bookending rap tracks with their dusty originals and completely recreating certain beats from scratch to create a soundscape strong enough to support lyrics from end to end. Holding up his end of the bargain, Malkovich sent his entire rhyme family – the trifecta of the BLX, VJC and Halifax All-Star crews, and an assortment of emcees from California to New York – into thie mic booth, with orders to come up with as many verses as possible. The result unites three generations of funk on a mixtape that is so much more: the musical business card of a collective, a non-stop party on a disc, and a celebration of the art of hip-hop – samples, lyrics and mad, mad crew. Old soul rare groove meets old school hip-hop meets new school rhyme rumble. 20 songs. 21 emcees This is Sicksteens.

[malkovichmusic]

"SKELETONS" released 7/3/2005 (download) | featuring Sklim Milx, Ali Abnormal and Chris Clarke, and production from Earganic, ABCDEFG a.k.a. Chuck Chilla, DJ Noble, DJ Obi and Nocturnal Ron

"Had Radiohead, Portishead or any other head recorded Skeletons, it would be hailed as an ambitious attempt to push the boundaries of hip hop" -Okayplayer.com An audio novel of an old soul’s first 26 years of life as a young man on Earth at the turn of the millennium, the sixteen-track, hour-long opus is the bare bones of life, boiled down to the bare essentials of hip-hop music: raw, atmospheric beats and masterful, groundbreaking verses. Malkovich is an original: born overseas and raised in the Middle East, Mediterranean, North Africa and Europe, he’s a world traveler with a writer’s soul and a foreigner’s viewpoint. Skeletons is not an album about the rap life, or the drug life, or the club life, or the fast life. This is an album about real life - that funny, scary, happy, confusing, painful, glorious thing we keep waking up to.