The Mighty Miscellaneous: Almost Done, Never Finished...

All photos courtesy of Isi Laureano

Every time I'm asked about our scene and artists to look out for, I find that The Mighty Miscellaneous remains on the top of my head.  I've followed this diverse group for awhile now, though at times, they seemed to be more suitably described as mysterious than miscellaneous.  Seldom did they have gigs, responses from members as to when their album would be done were often ambiguous, etc. I suppose part of the appeal may have been the unknown; but as a fan, I always yearned to hear more, see more, and experience more.  See, I'm sure music heads will feel me when I say that once I experience an artist's music - when I get in that zone - I am a fan for life.  Now, over a decade deep and with a great deal of growth and hard work, Misc is prepared to serve their fans and like their performance set-up, they are ready to get live.

In anticipation of their album titled "Almost Done" (pun intended), the crew launched their first single and video "CTRL+ALT+DEL" last February 29, 2012. Backed up by class acts and surrounded by their friends, fam and fans; Cubao X was The Mighty Misc' house and they brought it down.

Chillitees warming up the crowd

Chillitees started off the night with something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blues. From hits off their past albums like "Paikot Ikot" to their latest "Why" to freaked tracks like Bill Wither's "Use Me"; this Pinoy Soul band brought it like always.  So there may have been a few changes with respect to members (B Surge of Iconic on bass & Alay of Makopa on drums), but Uela Basco on vocals and Dan Gil on keys kept it essentially...well...Chillitees.  Good stuff.

ILL-J reppin' the Golden Era

To keep it moving and to set the mood for the Golden Era of Hip hop, ILL-J too, had a medley of his own.  With industry hits like Nas' "The World is Yours" to Mastaplann's "Way of The Plann" to a megamix of ILL-J w/ SVC and solo tip singles; he had the crowd nostalgic and at ease.  After giving props to those that paved the way like Francis M. in unreleased track "A King is Born", he had DJ D'Tech loop his music to bring on-board Aero & RJay of LDP for a brief freestyle sesh.  In effect, homage to past, present and future MCs.

Before Misc hit the stage, the crowd tuned in to the first viewing of their "CTRL+ALT+DEL" video directed by Syke.  I was unsure of whether I was going to mention this, but I figured it was a funny tidbit for the evening.  Initially, there were some technical difficulties on the system that was going to play the vid and Misc member C.Lo/Delphi broke the ice by saying "Well, that's a MAC. Can't CTRL+ALT+DEL that shit!"  After a minute or so, however, the program was back in business.  The video was a simple depiction in B&W of the ultra tight crew in what appeared to be their Misc Mobile, just doing their thing as usual and jammin' to their anthem.  It was very anti-glamour, but represented a lot more for true Hip hop heads.

Thereafter, their set opened with the heavy boom and bap of DJ Umph's MPC and you could almost feel everyone's chests thumping along to the beat. From there on out, the crowd was treated to a consistent mix of breakbeat, boom bap, and jazz fusion Misc music in the form of tracks like "One Step", "Lounge Logic", "Speech" and "Keep Rockin'".  Naturally, they closed it out with the evening's title track "CTRL+ALT+DEL", but a flipped version that induced collective cries of delight.

Who's house? It's The Mighty Miscellaneous' House!

If Miscellaneous' music was a celebration of Hip hop then Indie.Nial's DJ set at the end of the night was in keeping with the tone with a seamless mix of 90s East Coast gems. There's really not much more that needs to be said about his set beyond the fact that it was on-point.

Mr. Soulsonic, ILL-J & Rye giving Indie.Nial their stamp of approval

The CTRL+ALT+DEL single/video launch was a definitive high in Hip hop.  That night stood as a forecast on more highs to come in the musical journey of DJs Umph & D'Tech, Tibbz, C.Lo/Delphi and Switch - The Mighty Miscellaneous - specifically, the release of their full-length album.  A portion of their journey is "almost done", but I'm confident that we can expect a lot more from these guys who are innately and passionately Hip hop purveyors.  Thus, they are never finished, and that's great news for all of us fans.


Reminders:
-A 4-track EP will be released on www.themightymiscellaneous.blogspot.com within the next week or so
-Almost Done will be launched on June 15, 2012 (more details TBA)
-Gigs and other info can also be found on their blog or on www.lockeddownentertainment.blogspot.com

If You Don't Know, Now You Know...

Growing up, I always used to feel like I could rightfully call myself an artist's "biggest fan" when I not only knew their music, but also little tidbits about their personal lives. It may sound shallow, but I used to feel extra special sharing rare trivia with friends that were fellow fans. Okay, so times may have changed and thanks to the internet and reality TV, even the biggest stars tend to share details of their lives to the point of over-saturation.  Nevertheless, I still thought it'd be fun to gather a little somethin' somethin' from some of Pinoy Hip hop's most-loved MCs and Producers*.

It's fun to be able to take a trip down memory lane with people you admire - being able to discover what makes them tick, what they were about before they did music or perhaps what they currently do aside from music. I suppose it can help a listener understand why they follow these personalities on a deeper level.

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Read on to learn quirky things about these top cats:

Type Slickk of Mastaplann

Type Slickk - Mr. Resourceful

In all the years that I've been involved in music (20+ years), I've never owned a Technics 1200 turntable. Even though I started off DJing, I could never afford a 1200 back in the day. I'm pretty resourceful though, so I was able to make do with whatever cheap turntable I had at the time; I was even using my little sister's Fisher-Price knock-off turntable to scratch and I made it work. Granted, the only battles I had were against the belt-drives. Funny thing, right before we went back home in 1990 to start on the whole Mastaplann journey, I was about to buy a used 1200 from a friend, but we left and my brothers ended up buying it. Now, they're world-class DJs with the group Handroidz...everything happens for a reason right? Throughout the years, someone I knew always had a 1200 so I never felt the need to actually buy my own. Anyway, right now, I have a "vintage" SL-1400 with knob-style pitch controls and the speed seems to fluctuate whenever it feels like it. But again, I make it work. I think I got it from my brother. I'm pretty sure I'll get a 1200 one of these days. I'll let you know when I do (laughs).

JedLi of People's Future

JedLi aka Mr. E - Church!

I used to sing in the church choir back in the day and that was one of the first things that influenced me to make beats. 

Gloc9

Gloc9 aka GOLEM

My nickname nung bata pa ako ay Golem. Not sure why, binansag lang sakin ng Uncle ko (laughs).

Ruby Ibarra - Eclectic Ear!

Ruby Ibarra

One things that people may not know about me is that I have a very eclectic taste in music. My "gritty" raps truthfully don't reflect my taste in music as a listener since I like to bump anything from Wu Tang Clan to Backstreet Boys to Nicki Minaj to Phil Collins!









Switch of The Mighty Miscellaneous

I am Filipino-Japanese and my Oba-san (grandmother) made me watch the classic 1988 animated fantasy film, Tonari No Totoro everyday. It's my favorite cartoon movie of all time.

To know more about Switch's favorite cartoon flick: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Neighbor_Totoro

Switch - Anime Fanatic!

Chrizo


What people may not know, is that in the early to mid-90s, I was part of a [grunge] garage rock band called The Ill Advised where I actually played a little bit of everything.

Chrizo - Rock On!

Knowa Lazarus of Q-York

Knowa Lazarus - Won the battle vs. Asthma

I was born with Severe Asthma and was told by doctors I'd never be able to play sports or be an athlete.  I'd play basketball and run everyday, coughing up from my lungs with my inhaler. My lungs eventually got strong enough and I overcame my illness after a few years of persistence. Yuoy!

Aero.

Aero. - Cookin' something up

I enjoy cooking and I plan to take up Culinary Arts - MC also means Master Chef!









Rjay of LDP


I never stop writing songs!  
 

Rjay aka The Deranged Poet - Lyrics 24/7

                                                                                                                     
ILL-J

ILL-J - Started with "The Man in The Mirror"

I'm a frustrated Rn'B singer, but I can dance just like Michael Jackson (laughs)!

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*There will definitely be a continuation with other amazing hip hop stars when more answers come in...

The Do-Over: A First in Manila

This month, B-SIDE will host the Manila edition of The Do-Over, the epic Sunday afternoon sessions of good music, good vibes and unifying the masses.  "All styles and all smiles" reminiscent of those comforting Sunday BBQs in the fam's backyard and house parties with the peoples combined.  That kind of thing. Established by Chris Haycock, Jamie Strong, and Aloe Blacc in LA back in 2005; The Do-Over has acquired wide recognition and has even been referred to as "the best party on the planet" by the legendary DJ Jazzy Jeff.

It's happening on a Saturday for us, July 23rd to be specific, from 3pm-3am (well, that ends up technically being Sunday) so mark those calendars.

Now, you'll notice that aside from the brainchildren behind The Do-Over, the poster remains enigmatic about the rest of the line-up.  However, I took the liberty of getting the 411 for my beloved readers.  Word on the street is that DJs will include Rhettmatic, Bugz in The Attic, Shortkut, Rye, Don P, Red-I and Soulflower whereas performers will include ILL-J, Picoy, Miscellaneous, Caliph8 and Malek and Noodle Experience.  Crazy goodness indeed.

Do not sleep on this event. This is history in the making right here.  The Do-Over: A First in Manila.

For more info, log on to www.blog.thedoover.net.  Let me leave you with this video that'll leave you bouncing-off-the-walls excited: