Yesterday I was Gangster-Chatting with the diggy doctor dell and I mentioned to him that I was doing a “singing” album offhandedly (I thought I said it to him before) and he was like “what ELSE are you doing and can I please be kept in the loop?” I laughed, but he was right though. I don’t use the briefcase blog to talk about TOO MUCH of my own stuff because I view myself as a social networking butterfly or whatever and besides that, I STAY BUSY. I’m not some lame whose who career (or even year) revolves around 5-13 songs, that is like saying I’m living and dying behind a 2 handed dunk or a clean 360 flip. One trick cannot be your career, so let me let you into my bag O’ tricks for 09-10..

1. I started a campaign in 08 that would span the entirety of 2009 and the first few months of 2010, in regards to dropping material on “the people” since I was pretty much OFF the radar since Young Dangerous Heart dropped in 2005. On new years day, I snuck How2beat_thebeat03 onto the people in the form of a free download (stations of the crev was a beat tape and thus, not apart of the campaign) and that got a bit of run even though people knew it was for fun. Anyone who followed my career knows that the first tapes I dropped were the how2 series in 97 and it had obviously been years since I went back to that mode. The next piece of the puzzle was Nerves Of Ice and this was a conversation piece since I co-released it with 2-99 records executing the physical manufacturing and distribution of the product. In Russia. I went there, did a couple of shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg, spread the gospel of the b.e.a.r. group and smuggled 1/5 of the pressing (200 copies) out of the country to disseminate amongst the people that I would ultimately encounter in the times after. As far as sonic quality, it was a few steps above How2.. but not ready for prime time. This made it a “mixtape” and something for the fans. Next up on the schedule is the digital (and possibly limited edition vinyl) release of LA Cita Strobe, which is a project that everyone else from the clique (thav beck, mUsScK, dDamage, debmaster, BD1982, bearmod, calamalka, megasoid, depth affect, mochipet, riddlore?, cadence weapon and juan huevos) produced and I rap over in the tradition of YDH and T2R (young dangerous heart and terrain to roam), except with people that I am actually cool with. While all this dust gets kicked up, my magnum opus entitled Trunk Bomb Beta (entirely handled by me, like it should be since I’m good at what I do.) will be completed and implanted in a familiar infrastructure known for releasing good music. I refuse to say who as of right now, but it will quell the teeth gnashing by these bozos and so-called “artists” who talk to me about art and music like I haven’t been making songs since I was 13 and selling them since I was 18. After that, the subtitle costume goes back into the glass case inside of the “crev-cave” and your boy Giovanni Marks is back in efek. 2 more releases to go….

2. As a couple of you know, I dabble in non-rap music and that shit has been speaking to my star player more and more everyday. I figured I would do a “covers and versions” free download project under my real name and a EP or something of OG material to once again, spread around. Once word got out that I was going to do that, the response was WAY better than I could have ever anticipated. I got a couple of “offers” to release these projects (and more) at a couple of cool indie labels and I may take up one or two of those, as long as a briefcase is being placed on all of those releases. I may even make a studio band for extra sauce as well called “the giovanni marks textperience”, this has been on my mind for years but I can’t just “go do that” type of shit since I’m not that self-absorbed and we have some amazing rockstars in the making over here at the b.e.a.r. group. I don’t want to disrespect the legacy that has been started at briefcase rockers and matte black editions just to look like this year’s cool black dude in a band. I think it’s too late for that anyway, but stay tuned on news of that extra curricular project since I am actually working on that as we speak…

3. The big homie DJ Wool from The Glass (who is currently living in Berlin) and I have been working on a couple of dance tunes with me rapping over them that are getting some good run these days. I have to stress that these are meant to be known as “decoys” simply because they are songs that while fun, aren’t really how I wish to portray myself in this day and age on the musical tip. Of course with that said, the first song we do (called strobe-lite) gets picked up for a publishing deal of some sort and gets FM radio play in Los Angeles, which is damned near impossible to do unless you have money, which all of you know I have none of. We are going to take it easy and do it on a track by track basis (on some singles shit) and we are on our 3rd song, so ta-dow!

4. I’ve been a quiet riot on the remix and production front, go cop that Sole and the Skyrider Band remix and the Eliot Lipp remix I did if you can find it. I also did one for Mochipet and Jahcoozi along with a beat for Thav’s new record (along with b.e.a.r. cadets mUsScK and debmaster) and some other bigger ticket shit I am not at liberty to mention right now, but sounds rad when I allude to it. All this and more is to let dudes know that I’m not a nintendo game when it comes to beats and if you want them, holler at a black ops soldier.

5. I got sidetracked with moving and trying to keep things moving, so I didn’t drop how2_3.2 yet. When it drops, it will have bonus songs and remixes along with other bite-sized tidbits.

GROUPS THAT I AM INVOLVED IN THAT HAVE YET TO RELEASE A RECORD
1. Cam, Graham and G.A.M. (or C.G.&G with Factor and Cam The Wizzard of Sideroad Records)
2. Fall Fashion (with Cadence Weapon or “the new me” as others have so elegantly put it.)
3. Tall Boyz (with the homie Pepjin from the dutch group that translates to Youth of Today)
4. Lab Waste (with Thavius Beck, but we have a album done that no one is interested in because black people shouldn’t be smart in 2009.)

when I get back to LA, one of the first things I’m doing after opening a new bank account and getting a ID card is to go skate the berrics with Justin Warfield. After that, I’m going to hang out with my homegirls and BFF’s, do some shows (ideally, but people front like doors), get money by any means necessary and then come back to b.e.a.r.lin. Waves is supposed to be my roommate and Ren (the girl on the cover of Nerves Of Ice) is supposed to be my assistant, but I don’t know about that since she couldn’t figure out how to log into this blog. That shouldn’t be a pre-requisite because 65 percent of the people who formerly wrote for this blog couldn’t figure THAT out…….

I’m not the hardest working man in show business, but I work and you should too true-believer$.

so after disappearing from cyberspace for a bit to get my life in order, or in “beautiful disorder”, i am back in full m*ther f*cking effizzect. episode 2 of The J Waves Show is going to suck thanks to having no place of my own to hunker down on making it cool, but such is life.

still, i pretty much have the freedom of an uncaged bird, like Lynyrd Skynyrd or Nelly Furtado, so make sure you holler at me for all types o projects … those of you that are interested, B.E.A.R. affiliates or otherwise.

just so y’all know, i’m ready for some musical gang warfare, and i got 2 big ass cannons in my holsters. one is a 44 Magnum by the name of Crash Overdrive (yes, we ARE the Meth and Red of Briefcase Rockers) and the other is a Beretta M9 known as Debmaster …. my hair/mustache equivalent across the ocean. expect more new songs from both combinations sooner than soonish.

TREASURE BATH will be here shortly. yes, a Huevos full-length. i know, i know … *gasp* and whatnot.

rather than make this a musical post, tho, i would like to take a moment to say goodbye a true international player (not dave “grasshopper” carradine, tho he will be sorely missed), my maple leaf lighter.

this was bought in fall ‘08 when i was in FRA kicking it with subtitle and 202, amongst others. it made the journey through the whole Gleaming The Crev tour without missing a spark, survived the horrors of a train station guards with uzis, crust punks with sticky fingers, angry boyfriends, and bloody streets. it came in contact with actual Canadians (the homeys Islands) and lit many a spliff and a cig, from Geneva to Paris.

it made it back to the US in one piece and somehow was not whisked away by Jake “five finger discount” Dead. it spent its remaining days as the house lighter at the Huevos crib, occasionally traveling to a local bar or venue to make an appearance. it died peacefully last week as i was moving out of my house, perhaps as a sign that a bygone era was coming to a close (redundant?) and that a new one was beginning. peace out, red and white light.

so I’m in london and since none of the english homies actually read my myspace page, (that has dates and news on it) none of said homies came to the show the other night with busdriver and myself. next time folks, I’ll take the time away from jumping on and off planes and fainting in clubs due to exhaustion to send you dudes engraved invitations. so you know that you are invited. shit was bonkers as fuck and there were enough girls there to where you pretty much HAD to make out with a sick bird or else your night was a wrap. thanks ladies and THANKS to Thugs N’ Hugs clique, Dante Fried Chicken, Young Chris, and everyone who came thru to see it go down. there were actually lots of folks there and they were dressed to the nines just to eat some bomb-ass chicken. I actually strolled all the way from london victoria station to old street (across town, I got to mob bucrevham palace and all that shit) just to eat some of this chicken and it was worth it. I also drank 4 pints of beer before I even saw an idea of the stage….
the picture above has nothing to do with london and everything to do with my younger brother from another mother and projectile blowedest alumn Nocando or no can do the lock, his new free EP and him touring with Haiku De Tat (aceyalone, abstract rude and mikah nine) pretty much all summer long. I’m proud of the dude and he’s bookending his exploits with the patient E.P. before he drops his alpha pup release later this year. he said he recorded 50+ songs for his new shit and he wanted to showcase some of this prolificness that rubbed off onto him from the previous generation that brought you such mainstays as murs, busdriver, the anticon crew and myself. young people who think record deals grow on trees and equate blog placement (along with myspace hits) to affluent price points, take notice.

here’s some behind the scenes footage of the high/on/off video shoot, along with some untreated footy that the homie dima the greek put together today.

now that I have kicked it for those 9 days, I intend to do a longer day by day blog on my myspace page, but I just wanted to say that russia definitely gets the thumbs up from the crev commando and I have officially christened moscow as “moscrev” due to the sheer cuttiness of the city and it’s inhabitants. it was snowing in april and it doesn’t take much to break the law and gain the cops attention, you just have to look like you have money or be friends with a snitch. 2-99 records gang definitely showed me the most hospitable time that could be shown and I greatly appreciate it. they had me sorted however I desired and shit here is SO expensive, I knew that the homies were going all out for a dude and that isn’t forgotten easily. the fans are WAY about it too! it may not be 1000 people in a 500 person room, but I had good times and ripped it in banging spots the whole campaign. the crev wave invasion has struck behind the iron curtain and the first servo payload hit target…..

as for what is going on around our compound:

1. (ladies first) the low leaf free download dropped on 4/20 and we weren’t smoking a lot of bud that day. I’m lying. the EP is banging and for all of you astute listeners, you may have heard some of the songs floating around,…
2. lazersword’s record should be almost done and dropping this spring/summer on innovative leisure (a new stone’s throw imprint) and the single (the infamous barn burner GUCCI SWEATSHIRT) is dropping on the scottish bang-centric label Wireblock, which brought you that Hudson Mohawke Ooops 12″ last year. what up to the lucky me homies…..
3. juan huevos is putting the mastering touches on his crev wave debut entitled “Treasure Bath” and the shit is a smoker. ever one to surprise, he has some of his timeless classics as well as some of that new-new that he will whip up over dinner and a bowl of dank. I made one beat on there too. banging….
4. meanest man contest is doing something interesting everyday and they usually update you on here before I do, so I will keep to that theme. however, eric is on a mission working on some new biz that will peel back some wigs…
5. my russian exclusive release “nerves of ice” is out and about but only 1000 were made and only 200 are meant to be seen outside of the iron curain and whatnot, so get at me if you wanna cop.
6. debmaster is working on a new record and ridd? from CVE and myself are doing a song for it. that shit is nutso.
7. I get sent new gajah remixes and random songs on the regs and all I can say is “hurry up and put an album together nick, before someone else bites you.”
8. we got a new crash overdrive EP n the works as well as a new crunc tesla EP that he has already turned in. that shit is wild as heck.
9. 4X4champion AKA Kofie of Rough Draftsmen prestige, has been hooking up the ill podcasts and random blasts on his keep drafting website that I STRONGLY suggest everyone check out. amazing content on it…
10. if you aren’t already his myspace friend and getting hit off with his daily blasts, debruit has a new EP that just dropped on musique large and is lighting up charts here and there. I imagine if I would have guested on his album back in the day instead of trying to hook him up with briefcase, I probably would actually be able to rap over his beats. this seems like a topic that I have to take up with his manager…..

we still have more in the deck and more in effect. now that winter has passed thru most of the world, we can get back on the block and back off the monitors a bit. I’m playing in london with busdriver and thugs N hugs this weekend, so if you are in the area then come thru…..

(oh yeah, before I leave I had to leave you with this. mighty murs is coming back to his roots…)