R6 Cypher - Philadelphia Hip-Hop - Gaming World Forums

Topic: R6 Cypher - Philadelphia Hip-Hop (Read 355 times)

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Roman

#1 April 18, 2011, 08:48:04 pm

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So for the past couple of weeks some friends and I have been filming a bi-weekly hip hop cipher featuring various local artists from the Philadelphia area. We have two episodes out right now and I figured you guys might be interested in checking it out. There is some pretty impressive talent on display here! Before I show you the videos, though, here is some information on what exactly this is all about:

Description:

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The R6 is a bimonthly MC cypher that will be filmed in various locations around the city of Philadelphia. During each session, we will feature five guest MCs, allotting 16 bars per person. In addition to the MCs, the R6 will also feature the talents of local producers. The showcase will be taped every first and third Sunday of the month (beginning in March) and the footage will be released via various media outlets (i.e. YouTube, hip hop blogs, facebook, etc) the Wednesday thereafter. The R6 will be an invaluable opportunity for local artists and producers to expand their network, gain exposure, and perfect their craft. We are striving to feature the dopest MCs, producers, DJs, and videographers to make the R6 Cypher the premiere MC showcase in the tri-state area.

Mission Statement:

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Simply put, the purpose of the R6 Cypher is to:
• Reinvent
• Reintroduce
• Redefine
• Rejuvenate
• Revamp
• Resurrect
…Philadelphia Hip Hop
Currently, we are facing a crisis in hip hop: uninspired lyrics, negative messages, monotonous content, and repetitive themes. It is has become stifling and inhibitive. Creativity and individuality are rarely applauded and in the City of Brotherly love, you’d be hard-pressed to receive any from your peers. The mission of the R6 Cypher is to change this bleak reality, and restore Philly to its deep, cultural hip hop roots. This undertaking is not meant to be exclusive, but to reach out and challenge MCs from ALL areas to expand their horizons and broaden their lyrical content: OUR FUTURE depends on it. Our goal is to break the ongoing cycle that is occurring in music and inspire our youth. We’re striving to shift the focus FROM the individual TO the community; and ultimately break the stereotypes that plague this beautiful, powerful art form.

Ok, so. Videos:

Episode 1
(Featuring: DJ Stradegy, Too Much Raw, TwizzMatic, Selina Carrera, O.H.M., and Mic Stewart; Beat by TwizzMatic)

Episode 2
(Featuring: Jon Moxin, Masi Mac, Shane Chris, EMC Karma and Alotta Cash; Beat and cuts by DJ Too Tuff of the Tuff Crew)

Episode 3
(Featuring: Jog-1, Emerson B, NoVa, Rahiem Supreme, Lipps; Beat by Samlive; DJ Lock and Loaded on the 1's and 2's)

I hope you guys enjoy them! We've been putting a lot of work into these and we're hoping it grows with each episode. We filmed another one yesterday and there must have been at least 50 people there just to watch so I take it that that's a good sign. Here is our Facebook by the way if you're interested in following us. Let me know what you think! Please!

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Biggles

#2 April 19, 2011, 09:58:08 am

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I watched the first one. The girl and the dreadlocks guy were dope! I'm not a much of a film person but I liked the filmstuffs too. Felt a lot more professional than a lot of the videos-of-people-rapping (as opposed to music videos) you tend to see on youtube. Didn't like the font at the start though. Reminded me of the TV show M*A*S*H, which I do not associate with the things the words were about. Introduction / mission statement was a bit preachy real-hip-hop kind of stuff but if it's consistently dope I guess you can get away with it. Just that you get a lot of "lyrical miracle" rappers making those kinds of statements, which made me initially cautious and might make other people react similarly. I don't mean to detract from your mission though. Hope to see some next shit.

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Doppleganger

#3 April 30, 2011, 06:58:49 pm

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Checked this out and was pretty impressed. Lots of talent and potential talent there. Def the girl and dude with dreds from the first cypher were badass. Also that dude at the end, forget his name, was straight ridiculous. I've been just practicing for the past year or so off of beats in my car and stuff, and this has told me i've got a long way to go. I've got the flow and can sometimes drop enough relevant subject matter to create an interesting story or narrative, but anything to do with hooks or consistency i still dunno. Anyway, this is awesome and i'll def keep checkin them out. thanks for sharing!

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crone_lover720

#4 April 30, 2011, 09:01:41 pm

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I guess the problem with the mission statement is that so many people claim to be after the same thing but it ends up being a barely different version of the same old shit or something tedious. idk if that's the case here, some of it sounded alright to me and I appreciate the effort. I like the R6 concept

the font looks ok but it is kinda derivative, see if you can find a phillyfont if you're interested in changing it

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Biggles

#5 April 30, 2011, 11:21:16 pm

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Quote from: Doppleganger on April 30, 2011, 06:58:49 pm

Checked this out and was pretty impressed. Lots of talent and potential talent there. Def the girl and dude with dreds from the first cypher were badass. Also that dude at the end, forget his name, was straight ridiculous. I've been just practicing for the past year or so off of beats in my car and stuff, and this has told me i've got a long way to go. I've got the flow and can sometimes drop enough relevant subject matter to create an interesting story or narrative, but anything to do with hooks or consistency i still dunno. Anyway, this is awesome and i'll def keep checkin them out. thanks for sharing!

it is my theory that they are using the term cypher loosely. i.e. at least some people are using writtens. could be wrong though. i've got about the same amount of freestyle practice as you to similar effect. on a good day, i can go for some time without fucking up. but yeah, freestyles always have a different sound to them than writtens to me. even the effortless ones from people who are incredible at it.

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Doppleganger

#6 May 02, 2011, 04:54:07 am

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I could def see that. There are definitely cases where i've heard something awesome by somebody under the guise of 'freestyle' and then hear some other freestyle by them and there's a huge disparity.

The one thing I always look for is those catch phrases that people fall back on, they're always different for whomever, but you always know it because the line is generally very vague and irrelevant and sets them up for some slew of easily rhymed words. I've gone through a multitude of them myself. And I think that is part of how one's ability gets finessed. The more you work off of those the more likely you're going to create these new banks of words and lines to work from. As much of it is about ingenuity as it is about control. I was at some chiptune hip hop show in san fran and the dude at the end did a freestyle session off of stuff around the room and i picked up on those catch phrases. afterward my crew and i ended up hangin out with dude and some of the other artists and i got to talk to him about that and we freestyled for a bit. All in all it was an interesting learning experience. I think the last time i freestyled with some random person off the street it was like 5 years ago outside a jimmy john's after bar close. although at that time i wasn't all that well versed. point being, that when you're talking about experience and working toward some goal, that rockin' out in your car is far different than actual exposure in an environment with other people. There are just certain factors that don't come into play- like appropriate subject matter and confidence to perform publicly.

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Roman

#7 May 02, 2011, 07:37:57 am

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Thanks for the response, guys. I'm glad you all liked it. We released Episode 3 a few days ago so make sure to check that one out as well. We also shot Episode 4 today so expect to see that in two weeks.

And yes, some of the performers are using writtens, although they're free to freestyle if they're feeling it. Selina (the girl in the first episode) had a written that she kept messing up the first two or three takes so she freestyled instead and it was so much better. Emerson in Episode 3 also kept fucking up his written so he freestyled as well. In general though we tell people to bring writtens because it generally takes 3-4 takes before we get a good one where mistakes are minimal or gone entirely, so a lot of freestyles would end up being cut anyway. But it's basically up to the performer.

And the font ugh I know. That'll be changed sooner or later but at the moment it's a little more trouble than it's worth (someone else made the intro so we don't have the original file).

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Biggles

#8 May 02, 2011, 12:38:51 pm

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Quote from: Doppleganger on May 02, 2011, 04:54:07 am

freestyling: catchphrases, public performance

my catchphrases really get up my nose sometimes. big ones at the moment are "i've got a lot of [rhyme]" and "i am [number] [some ][/some]." i think you know you're having a bad day when it's all catch phrases and none of the good stuff that follows. i'm incredibly nervous around strangers so i don't think i'd ever likely freestyle in public but i find it a lot easier to do it with friends and flatmates because people are a good source of topics and sometimes they can catch your blank spots. don't really have any goals though. i think freestyling is enjoyable in and of itself. everyone should do it.

Roman: i like the way episode 3 looks because of the more crowded space. it seems less like a bunch of people rapping in a line and more like a thing that organically happened.

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Roman

#9 May 14, 2011, 05:42:23 pm

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Episode 4 was released last night. Tell your friends about it and stuff

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