4Square: JooseBoxx's New Album Covers Series with Notiz Yong, King Dice, Hvlloween, D'zyl 5k1 and more!

This year we wanted to do something different at the end of the year than just more reviews, profiles and video round ups. We wanted to add a little retrospect and creativity to the pieces so we're putting our year end content under the banner of The Wrap Up. To start off 2017's Wrap Up, we bring you the first installment of a series that will explore album covers we like, 4square. We're getting quotes from the artists and the visual artists they teamed up with for their album covers about some of our favorite releases from 2017.

In this series, we're asking musicians and the visual artists that helped them with their album art for quotes and stories about the covers to their records. I'll add a little commentary and perhaps on occasion some additional relevant imagery. We haven't failed to notice that our readership has tripled in the last 2 years and we want to reward y'all for that with some fun content, so thank you for reading as always!

MUSICIAN: Notiz Yong
ALBUM TITLE: BRB
ALBUM ART CONSULTANT: Apostrophe
ALBUM ART BY: Kast One

Notiz
"I had the concept of havin every title in acronyms, but Apostrophe was the one that threw the idea saying it'd be dope to have it look like a ransom note."
Apostrophe
"  I think i was having a talk with Notiz - cant remember where i think it was at his house and he was explaining to me how he was working on the BRB project and how every song on the album was an acronym. I complimented him on the originallity before asking if he had thought about his album art? He replied nah not yet. So i asked him " have you ever see the sun of sam? or like mysteries where they cut a letter from different magazines and stuff for there ransom letters? After shot him the suggestion of the mysterious cut and paste idea. He told me it was a good idea, i didnt think he would remember and thats pretty much how it happened. "
KastOne 

"So my bro Notiz Yong hit me up said he had an idea for a cover and wanted to know if i could try and create it for him...his project titled BRB (be right back ) was a project fully song titled in acronyms , he said he wanted to make it look like a ransom note, so we got to work with his help of course went through hundred of font individually choosing what letters (font ) he wanted to use, we pretty much sat there and pasted every piece of font onto the cover which i suggested we used a crumbled paper background to give it that real feel. It worked out great; took some time but well worth it. He loved it, I loved it. It came out dope. Added the actual title names in Korean as well I believe. Anyways, Notiz Yong is that dude and my brother for life! Make sure y'all download BRB, Sincerely, Kast One ( Yo mamas favorite rapper )"

MUSICIAN: King Dice
ALBUM TITLE: Shalu Avenue
ALBUM ART BY: King Dice

Dice
"As far as Shalu’s cover. I knew it was going to be Shalu when I started. I took the pic myself. That street sign is the actual place where the intro to the album takes you if you follow the turn by turn directions given. It’s where much of Dante’s Theme took place. When I was up to no good as a troubled youth it’s where I used to kick it everyday."

* for comparative reference, the cover to Dice's last album, RED MAHOGANY DRIVE*

MUSICIAN: Hvlloween
ALBUM TITLE: Grey Day
ALBUM ART BY: Ken Maddskillz

Hvlloween
"I wanted it to be a new age Dre day."
Ken Maddskillz
"Hvlloween had a vision and it was my privilege to make that vision a reality."

*for comparative reference, the Chronic album cover*

MUSICIAN: D'zyl 5k1
ALBUM TITLE: Delusions of a Commoner
ALBUM ART BY: D'zyl 5k1 /  April McPherson

D'zyl 5k1
"My idea. Photographer: April McPherson who I've used for all my albums except the Sauce. It's on the top of Perris Hill in San Bernardino. I wanted to express that the sky is the limit and that someone from my area can achieve great things...or at least dream it. Albums traditionally have the artists face on the cover. I wanted to show my back to convey that everything I've done is behind me and it doesn't matter. Only what's in front of me. I treated the album like it's my first. A reemergence and reintroduction of who I am....letting my face be a mystery and my words and actions speak for me.

I did that photoshoot in December of '15

Made the cover in the middle of '16. Album released March 31st of 17. I try to stay ahead of myself. From that same photoshoot I got the pictures for the Golden State Blues ep

I wanted the artwork to be done by me. I feel like most of my artistic expression should be personal and organic. When I brush up on my beat making skills I will start producing my own albums as well."

McPherson

"The main thing that comes to mind about the album cover and photoshoot we did was how it started raining on us. D’zyl is full of fun ideas whenever we do a shoot and this was no exception and was still a blast. Plenty of clothing changes, locations and laughs - he’s really a diva deep down but we still love him!"

Tristan "Tanjint Wiggy" Acker is a staff writer for JooseBoxx, youth hip-hop writing instructor with CHORDS Enrichment Youth program (chordseyp.org) and member of the Inland Empire nerdcore hip-hop group the West Coast Avengers. Catch more of their work at westcoastavengers.com, follow Tristan on Twitter @Tanjint or e-mail him at tristanacker@gmail.com

My Region: Inland Empire Music Mixtape by Ital Santos featuring you, probably

No new review or video round-up this week, a lot going on BUT check out this recent iTunes mixtape by Inland Empire staple, Ital Santos featuring Trizz, Cam Archer, King Dice, Slick C, Kidd Dryden, Kordisepz + me, Curtiss King, Noa James, Ireplenish, CJ Simmons, Cam Gnarly, Yung Miss, Young Sincere, Dzyl5k1, Santos himself and more!

Back next week, but in the meantime while you're on iTunes, peep my new single (shameless, I know) !

Tristan "Tanjint Wiggy" Acker is a staff writer for JooseBoxx, youth hip-hop writing instructor with CHORDS Enrichment Youth program (chordseyp.org) and member of the Inland Empire nerdcore hip-hop group the West Coast Avengers. Catch more of their work at westcoastavengers.com, follow Tristan on Twitter @Tanjint or e-mail him at tristanacker@gmail.com.

Turning New Leifs with Ital Santos, the Artist Formerly Known As Jynxx

https://italsantos.bandcamp.com/album/leifs

        I wasn’t sure what to think was going to happen when OsOne of the G.I.A.N.T.S. Music, Grizzly State and S.A.D.C. collective asked me to come pick him up, puff one and talk music. He had been ribbing me for a week or two over my unexpected entry into Abstract Rude’s Sixteen Bar Rap Competition which he was personally asked by Mr.Rude AKA Abbey Rizzle to participate in and “Os” -as we more commonly refer to him- being a massive man, a big intimidating presence, I had just the slightest suspicion that one false move could get my ass kicked by some Grizzlies. As I pulled up to his pad in Moreno Valley area, he finished off a cigarette and introduced me to his girlfriend. It occurred to me to calm down because everyone here was a self-respecting adult.

He got in the car and suggested we grab Swift Dixshun in Riverside and being a fan of the G.I.A.N.T.S. (and their bomb-ass weed), I was down. Once in my car, Os directed me to a familiar neighborhood in Fontana off of the 210 where the beatmaker and performer formerly known as Jynxx resided. We walked in with a twelver of Heinekens and settled into some chairs at his music desktop station near a backdoor we could blow blunt smoke out of.

Being in a crew that has many beatmakers in it myself, much of what the quiet, green-eyed Mr. Santos had going on was familiar to me: an inexhaustible collection of beats that only he knew the ages and origins of, rappers with blunts and brews sliding through hoping to be part of the magic of banger-creation, a quiet demeanor and an active mind. He slid through diverse productions with confidence, scrolling down his studio computer screen as Os and Swift freestyled and came up with hooks on the downbeats,

“Y’all ain’t ready….y’all ain’t ready for this real shit,” Os intonated over a particularly swinging and bassy midtempo soundscape. I looked around Ital’s studio walls and saw many familiar names on posters that dated back to 2008: Noa James, MC Mega, Curtiss King, MC Prototype, Urban Poets Crew, Black Cloud, many more. “This is my region’s recent musical history…” I thought as I sat and sipped with Giants.

You see, B the Wizard had lived with me for 4 months at the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015; when he was still known as MC Mega. Ital or “Jynxx” was always a presence in old stories of Urban Poets Crew that Mega had constantly shared with me. I had thought that the UPC era had preceded the Black Cloud era which preceded the era we were currently in (confused yet?) but subsequent interviews with Jynxx  corrected the record that Jynxx started Black Cloud Music almost right after he began making music and the Urban Poets Crew work was largely contemporaneous with Black Cloud.

One thing appearing to link all of these admittedly recent eras together was the production of Ital Santos. Days after this encounter, my friend and collaborator Ras Josh reminded me of shows and beat battles we’d seen “Jynxx” at as far back as 2008. I’d been hearing his name, but this sit down session with Swift and Os of G.I.A.N.T.S. was my first real exposure to the musical stylings of one of the IE’s most consistent creators. 

My only complaint about his solo outings is the same thing that makes their lyrics so fascinating: we are joining the story after much has happened and as the audience is left to put pieces together. Unlike newer listeners like myself, Ital is not interested in litigating the past as much as he is in building his future.

His new record, Leifs is a triumphant evolution and statement of survival from someone who has been pivotal in the last decade’s several sub-eras of Inland Empire hip-hop. His production as melodic, banging and inspired as ever, his raps are cool, detached, laid back and conversational. The artist formerly known as Jynxx bluntedly and bluntly tells us where his values, priorities and artistic curiosities lie in the current day.

   

Upon a relatively thorough examination of his work, the theme of rising from the ashes of life’s struggle, phoenix-like pops up again and again. His double disc album Transition is probably his magnum opus at this point though he has a plenty healthy discography, only a bit of which is discussed in this piece. The Supremo EP he created in the wake of Noa James and Curtiss King’s departure from Black Cloud Music is an interesting piece of history for Inland Empire hip-hop nerds as he copes with the new landscape of his company and talks about life over previously released DJ Premier beats. As a buff of the scene myself, I cite it as the best work I have yet to hear by KastOne, whose personality and attitude-filled hooks and raps helped Ital shape something new, raw and interesting out of what could have just been a remix EP.

On Transition, Ital shows his production and performative versatility, showcases pillars of the Inland music community and does some fun experiments with vocal samples and telling stories of his life with songs like “Black Pen” and “That Day” in which normal days take a turn for the unexpected. True stories, Santos says.

On my favorite song on Leifs, “Snakes”, Ital and guest MC D’zyl 5K1 spit on the snakes in their lives but never despair. Santos’ attitude towards life’s setbacks is always defiant.

Another highlight is “Keep Quiet” with particularly standout verses from Notiz Yong and Jig. The song drips with the idea that in the I.E. you must earn your right to raise your voice high- an honest reflection of how brutal it can be here and many active hip-hop communities.

“October” with Yung Miss, Ric Rahk and Edgar Sosa is a brilliant concept about how October in California’s Inland Empire has a lot in common with the rest of the nation’s summer months. The funky light production gives Miss, Rahk and especially Edgar Sosa lots of space to flex their quirky and clever styles and raps.  

“I Pray” shows more of Santos’ constant struggle to not let the negativity of life stop him. The music to this track and ones like it is 2pac-ish in its religious deference and hints of mysticism. The honest simplicity of his struggle is admirable and relatable as a persona guiding you through albums. The rest of the album showcases his continued freshness as a hip-hop producer and more of his clever stories such as a multiple song trip from Fontana to Mexico and back.

Leifs as in the turning of a new? As in burning some? The meanings are many says Santos. The name reminds me of Transition in its desire for change and to showcase the artist as renewed and vigorous despite the troubles life throws our way. I find Ital’s music relatable in its IE tribulations, shout outs to family and desire for loyalty and consistency out of life. I relate to the funk and the smart deployment of his compatriots. To go through his discography is to hear the evolution of many of the region’s brightest stars from Dirty Birdy to Westside Bugg, Noa James, Curtiss King, Notiz Yong, Mando the DJ and more.

Ital Santos stays chasing these dreams of funk, fun, friendship and family. In the time since the album was released and this review’s completion he’s completed countless collabs and commissions, a beat tape and an album with longtime collaborator Slick C. He’s still a staple of several circles of IE hip-hop and can be found rocking a beat set in the area often. He will always seek to prove his doubters wrong and to continue to build his Black Cloud in the I.E. and beyond.

Update: Ital Santos has generously provided Joose Boxx and its readers with free download links to the works discussed in this piece:

Transition: https://www.mediafire.com/download/0kjbq12yj7i7t3d

Supremo: https://www.mediafire.com/download/s7dx4017dsf6vp1

Leifs: https://www.mediafire.com/download/uizbkh5k9fypkhg

 Tristan “Tanjint Wiggy” Acker is a staff writer for JooseBoxx, youth hip-hop writing instructor with CHORDS Enrichment Youth Program (chordseyp.org) and member of the Inland Empire nerdcore hip-hop group the West Coast Avengers. Catch more of their work at westcoastavengers.com, follow Tristan on Twitter @Tanjint or e-mail him at tristanacker@gmail.com.

JiG- Wake Up ft. D'zyl 5k1 (Prod. by Paul Cabbin) (Music Video)

San Bernardino resident and Uproar Nation emcee JiG offers up his latest visual Wake Up. The track is produced by Paul Cabbin and features a guest verse by D'zyl 5k1. We are really looking forward to the debut project expected some time this year called Open Heart. Check out the video after the break and let us know what you think...

D'zyl 5K1 - Papers (Music Video)

"Papers" ,the second release from Uproar Nation member D'zyl 5k1's double cd, "The Sauce", now has a video to drive home, even more, the power of self-empowerment.The video , directed by Art Barz, tells the story of three individuals all working through difficult times in order to overcome adversity and succeed. This Sparaza produced track is extremly motivational and the video has me ready to conquer the day! Check it out after the break

Dzyl 5k1 Interview with The Joose Boxx

JooseBoxx.com's Lori Ann got a chance to speak with D'zyl 5k1 at the album release party for his double disc release called The Sauce at Kim's Sports Bar and Grill in Rubidoux, Ca.

Follow JooseBoxx.com on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thejooseboxx

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D'zyl 5k1- The Sauce (Double LP​-​Deluxe Edition)

Ladies & Gentlemen! It is here!.. 
D'zyl 5K1 presents The Sauce, a double CD by the gentle giant of the I.E. 
Yes! I said a double CD! 36 tracks of pure fire, brimstone, and clouds of love and hiphop!... 
Enough talking! Check out the Double LP​-​Deluxe Edition after the break!

D'zyl 5k1 - Therapy (Music Video)

As Uproar Nation's own D'zyl 5k1 (pronounced Diesel 5001) campaigns to get on the coveted Paid Dues stage, he is continuing to push his music, including his double cd, entitled, "The Sauce"-due out in March 2014. His first single, "Therapy" gives us a glimpse into the mind of a man that dwells outside of the box. This San Bernardino, Ca artist is striving to provide you with music and visuals that are not only out of the
ordinary...but stimulating and entertaining. Enjoy!

D'zyl's Dues Diary- Episode 3: Playtime is Over (Webisode)

Join us as we chronicle the journey to Paid Dues with Inland Empire emcee, D'zyl 5k1. Each week we'll receive a new entry in the video journal we call: D'zyl's Dues Diary.

Twitter: @Dzyl5k1

@Uproarnation 

@TheJooseBoxx

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dzyl5001music

D'zyl's Dues Diary- Episode 2: Tell'em How you Really Feel (Webisode)

Join us as we chronicle the journey to Paid Dues with Inland Empire emcee, D'zyl 5k1. Each week we'll receive a new entry in the video journal we call: D'zyl's Dues Diary.

D'zyl's Dues Diary- Episode 1: WTF is a D'zyl? (Webisode)

Join us as we chronicle the journey to Paid Dues with Inland Empire emcee, D'zyl 5k1. Each week we'll receive a new entry in the video journal we call: D'zyl's Dues Diary.

D'zyl 5k1 - Take Control [Prod. by Rodimus Prime] (Audio)

Uproar Nation's D'zyl 5k1 and producer Rodimus Prime (collectively known as D'zyl Prime), took time out of their very busy schedule to give us this taste of what is to come from D'zyl's upcoming project The Sauce. Bump the track after the break...

Joose in the Morning: Episode 2

Please enjoy the second joosey episode of Joose In The Morning. Our guest panelists are Uproar Nation's D'zyl 5k1 and C-lo G of I.E.'s Best Kept Secret Radio. In this episode we'll be discussing the George Zimmerman case, Miley Cyrus/Amanda Bynes, breaking Billboard records, and more. Don't forget to subscribe!

D'zyl 5k1 & George Burns - Down 2 Scrap (Produced by Dr. Knox) (Audio)

D'zyl 5k1 of Uproar Nation and George Burns of Money Music have teamed up to bring the ruckus over this Dr. Knox production. The MMA clothing line Down 2 Scrap was so pleased with it they made it their official theme song. When giants collide and collaborate, this is what happens!! Check out the song after the break!

Maximum Capacity - Rampage Official Video (produced by The Sensei)