INTRODUCTION
My name is Jay Steele (aka Tha Mad Dog when I recorded volume 1 and 2) and I’m writing this with the intent of having it read like a DVD’s special features, which often include behind the scenes information and details on the making of the project. This also serves as my reflections upon hearing some of these tracks that I hadn’t heard for 10 or 20 years and my commentary on this experience, as well as my reflections and memories (or lack thereof) of the making of the music. On an important note, this writing is going to look much longer than it actually is, but that’s because the margins (lines) on this site’s page are tight (short in width), and this causes the paragraphs to appear to be much longer. Overall, I thought it might be intriguing for fans of my later work to see that I didn't just start out as a conscious or political lyricist. This could serve as a time capsule of sorts where listeners can hear my growth and evolution from rapping as Tha Mad Dog to Jay Steele to Tha Truth and then back to Jay Steele again. I also felt it would show some refreshing humility. It's a way of saying "Hey, I was young and dumb once too, but I matured, grew, and elevated my mind." I figure it could even inspire other artists to reach higher levels of lyricism from where they started at.
RELENTLESS: Tha Beginning (EP) / Volume 1
Tha Buried Treasure Trilogy Intro
I went back and saw Tone Rec (a producer) in his studio for the first time in about 15 years, and it was a real blast from the past! He had moved away but recently moved back to his old neighborhood around the time I found all these tracks forgotten in my basement. I wanted to use a different beat for this intro, but Tone said he didn’t think it’d be right for him to talk over another producer’s track. He was going through his old instrumentals he made to find one to use for this intro, and I started thinking. It turned out that he still had the first 3 studio recordings I ever did there (minus one I did at another studio I never went back to). I learned that this beat was from a song I didn’t even remember making. When he played it for me, I didn’t like my vocals, but I liked the beat, so I thought it’d be kind of poetic to use it for this intro. The first track any producer made for me, and I never did anything with it, at least nothing good, but here 20 years later we made it happen! Tone was nice enough to lay down the vocals from concepts I gave him, which were designed to explain why my lyrics were hardcore.
Where Da Mic At?This was the 2nd song I ever recorded in a studio. I lost the 1st one and it wasn’t really worth preserving. It was late Dec. 1998 or early Jan. ‘99. I had only been rapping for 3 months. I was a late bloomer and my voice was not nearly as deep as it would become yet. Obviously the content is far from what I could come to promote, but I do still feel 20 years later, that the track conveys a good deal of the raw talent that portended what was to come. I brought up the movie Blade a lot in my rhymes, because like the Spawn (another movie) character, I could relate to them being the victim of violence and then becoming full of strength and vengeance. I said in this, “My power rise like Deacon [Frost] (from Blade).” I used the n word a few times in this track and other early tracks, because 95% of rappers I knew of used the word steadily in their raps, friends of mine constantly referred to themselves and me as the n word, and I was young and impressionable. As I grew I came to feel that no one should really use the word because it has a very ugly and divisive history. I felt at the time, as many do, that the word is a synonym for “dude” or man, just as some women friends call each other “b*tch,” as a term of endearment, but I still think it’s an ugly word in both cases. I also don’t care for the double standard of some people can use pejorative terms and others can’t, but all I can control is how I act and I choose to not use it or recommend it for anyone. I felt I was off to a spectacular start with this and it was quite a high. However, for about a year or so after this, I struggled to recapture the magic. This track was an early flash of my potential, but it would take some time to find my groove again. I’m not sure why. I was also heavily influenced by Killarmy and another Wu-Tang affiliate named Warcloud with my style on this. One of my favorite lines was/is “99 is my time/I’m 21 like prime time.” I loved the rhyme scheme and the multi layered metaphor with football player Deion Sanders' jersey number and also his nickname “prime time.” I also loved the part about “I make you all say who dat?/the cat Jay the Mad Dog leave days in a blaze of fog…” I’m really feeling the various sound effects too. The rhyme schemes and vocal performance was serious, especially for a neophyte.
Don’t Stop (Forever)
I think the verses and content are decent but far from spectacular. However, it’s really interesting for me to look back and see that this song was prophetic in that I would go on to rap for 20 years, and that I still rap now. I also talk about being so dedicated to the music, and it’s nice to see how that would eventually pay off. I got a kick out of the lyrics, “The hottest anthologist/the anthropologist,” which is pretty amazing to me because of the multisyllabic rhyming combined with the level of vocabulary! It made me laugh and rewind. While I wasn’t too impressed overall with the verses, this one holds special significance to me because I produced this hook in collaboration with the studio engineer. I feel this hook is incredible and utterly mesmerizing. I’m really proud of how it came out and the creativity that Tone and I utilized to create this.
Echelon
Like all my tracks in the late 90’s this was recorded at Hard Knox in Mt. Holly, NJ and produced by Tone Sealey aka Tone Rec, who ran the independent label Hard Knox out of his basement studio. He was a talented rapper and incredible producer, and said he learned through "the school of hard knocks". Over the years he became a good friend to me and we hung out. He was smooth and laid back. He’d ask what kind of beat you want and then make it for you on the spot. Even for an extremely selective guy like me, he’d almost always produce something you’d be in love with enough to use! It was shocking to me. I’ve never seen anything like it before or since. On this one, I asked him for something like the DJ Premier track that Premier did for the L.O.X (“Recognize) and Tone made this beat for me. For years I don’t think I liked this track because I thought my voice was too high pitched, but looking back now, I am in love with this track, because I feel the flow is phenomenal and Biggie Smalls like tight. I feel like I recaptured the magic I harnessed on Where Da Mic At and actually surpassed it. I also really dig some of the metaphors and how I weaved in the concepts and vocabulary from my abnormal psychology course that I was taking in college around the time I did this. I really can’t get over 20 years later how nice the flow is and I am getting a real kick out of the nostalgia of lines and memories I had forgotten like, “The floor rocks when I let my weights drop/had to keep my weight up – chased by liftin cops.” Haha It reminded me of when my life was a little like the film New Jersey Drive, and how we would evade cops and sometimes outrun them and I heard stories about and later saw cops who my boys told me were big time weight lifters and would rough people up a little. I gave a shout out to Chaun on this who was my first friend who was a rapper. He introduced me to many of his other friends who were talented rappers as well. I was in awe of their talent like many were and never thought I’d be able to do it. I’m really impressed listening to the complexity of the vocabulary and especially the rhyme schemes and multi syllabic rhymes in lines like “My toxic neurotransmitters make sure my hands are man splitters,” and “It’s on and I’m sick when doin tricks with my axons.” That’s some high level science right there to even know what an axon is! Haha I brought up being from Echelon in Camden County, NJ. Echelon is a working class section of Voorhees, but it’s a ghetto compared to the gaudy rich areas of Voorhees. Due to this, in school in Voorhees, kids and even some teachers called our bus "the ghetto bus", and said we were going to the ghetto. They called Echelon "the ghetto" and we kinda embraced this.
Memories of Mad* (Unreleased)
This track exemplifies the struggle I alluded to in trying to recapture the magic of Where Da Mic At. It’s hard for me to listen to this, because it’s really bad to me. It just didn’t result in good music despite my efforts. This is one of the tracks I would not want released, because I don’t think it merits being heard. Other tracks I can say the same about that I’d never want to release are Deadly, Deadly, Adrenaline, and Lyrical Assault. These tracks will all stay buried in the basement, because they aren't treasure, and they didn't make the cut for this trilogy collection. It’s pretty amazing to me though how I would go from this paltry level to the artist I would become and how persistence was crucial. In a way, it makes my journey more compelling, because they say it’s not what you achieve, but how much adversity you had to go through to get there that makes something impressive.
Tha Mad Dog of tha Future
This beat was produced by Mig-L beatz who I met online. I was gonna use it for one my albums I did under Tha Truth in 2010 or 2013 but it didn't blend right with the vocals I tried it with at that time. I always loved the beat though and thought it worked great with this. I felt like this was a perfect way to let people know about volume 2. I actually made it from the voice memo feature on my phone, so I really did "call in" in a way when I said I was "callin in from the future."
Artwork Comments
The back of the CD art was definitely influenced somewhat by Mobb Deep's Hell on Earth album and I felt it was very cool to include and commemorate my actual "Relentless" tattoo from my left shoulder that I got back then. The Relentless title text on the front cover is not the same but very similar to this. On the inside page of the CD booklet I included photos of my old power lifting trophies I was so proud to have won at the time. My Mad Dog logo on the front was inspired by an old t-shirt I had that I used to lift weights in with a picture of a cartoon dog that said in like the most fierce letters possible "Come and Get It!" After all the bullying I endured, that kind of became a mindset in my physical and mental re-training of sorts. Tha Mad Dog is tattooed on my right arm as it appears on my logo. Underneath the CD in the case is a picture of the actual collection of cassette tapes I compiled the trilogy from and above that is text with the caption "You found Tha Buried Treasure," which I thought would be fun and creative.
Tha Call of Tha Wild / Volume 2
Introduction to Volume 2
First of all, it took a good amount of work, but I actually released both an edited and explicit version of this album. I did the same for part 1. After these 2 albums, I stopped using any content that would be considered profane in all subsequent material. I did this because I remember when I would try to freestyle when I was real young, I would curse so much that it would sound stupid. I also did this because I just wanted to be more original, because I felt like so many rappers were cursing so much, and I felt like it would be positive to provide an alternative. In most other musical genres you really don't hear all this profane content you know? I was no doubt influenced heavily by my college classmate and mentor Eugene Brown who was nice enough to sit me down and teach me the basic structure of music when I was first starting out. On top of that, he taught me how hip hop started off more diverse and positive and he explained how his mom and anyone could appreciate his rap songs, because of the lack of profanity and negative content. His music was much better than mine at the time, and he really inspired me. On the song Givin Thanks from my For Tha Love album I wrote lyrics thanking him for what he did for me. After we graduated together from Rowan University he went on to become a teacher in Camden, NJ who coincidentally (or not) ended up teaching at the same school (and at times in the same classroom) with my wife many years later! She didn't even know who he was for years! When we figured it out years later, I went down to see him and he couldn't believe it! I thanked him for inspiring me and asked why he did it. He replied "Each one teach one you know? That's why I got into education." He then actually inspired me to dig through my old material in the basement when he brought up at this time how terrible and negative my old songs were. I thought to myself later on, "you know what.... let me go dig it up and be reminded of how terrible it was and why I "buried" it in my basement so long ago. And THIS is how this whole project was born! You think you remember your own life, but I really forgot how great (rhythmically anyway) so much of my old recordings were. I think when I went all political/conscious I also just didn't want to hear all the profanity and negativity, but here I was later in life where I could just put that to the side and appreciate the music and evolution.
Let Me Explain Intro
I recorded this in Tone's cold basement shortly after our reunion. It was funny recording something new with him again for the first time in about 15 years. I'm proud to say that I reared way back and let loose with that wolf howl on the first take! I was really happy and excited with how it came out! On this intro I basically felt I really needed to explain both Tha Call of the Wild concept (based on elements of the famous Call of The Wild classic by Jack London) and why my lyrics are at times so hardcore, and I think this really accomplishes that. This actually developed into a mini song of sorts; it even has a hook/chorus. Ultimately, I really want my friends, fans of my later content after I evolved, and my family especially to know I'm not psychotic, but that I went through a lot of hard times. I didn't really articulate why my lyrics were so hardcore then, at least not very prominently, but I was happy to show that I have the ability to do that at this point. I thought this sounded powerful and really set the tone.
I’m Charged
This was similar to Who Am I to me and again I was beyond
stunned (see Who Am I commentary below) The big difference is that I have virtually no recollection of making
this! What a thrill to hear it again like it’s the first time! It was
buried on the same tape as Who Am I under a bunch of crap that was in a box
from when I moved over 10 years ago from Echelon to Lindenwold because of obnoxiously inconsiderate neighbors. I literally found buried treasure! I thought
Tim brought incredible beats to both these songs, and they helped me reach
the highest of levels. I absolutely love this. I think it's right up there with Who Am I as some of my best work (musically without focusin on meaningful content) and that's why I chose it as the song to lead off with.
It’s On
I love this intro! It made me laugh
when I said, "When you go to the muthaf**kin’ doctor ya say ya say ahhhhh.” How did I
come up with this!? The other funny thing is it took me over a year to be able
to put down an intro of any sort on any song! I just didn’t know what to say or how to say it. Previous
to this track, I had just been letting the beat play while I sat there in
silence waiting to drop my 1st verse. Then I came up with this intro as I believe my
first one ever! That’s crazy and funny! I’m feeling the powerful vocal
performance and very impressed with the lyrics and delivery of “Spectacular
vernacular/help Rhonda/rap anaconda back attacking ya.” I was also loving the
writing and execution of “What you expect me not to be real?!/what you expect
from a man called Steele.” Then there is the part I find amazing of “Who I
be?/I be that sh*t god damn/you know who’s the man/he just flipped his name
backwards.” I had to rewind that, and then I got it, and I flipped out! This was
another very powerful song overall. The beat really reminds me of some rugged
Wu-Tang beats from back in the day, and I’m really feeling that energy on Tim’s beat that he produced.
For My Peoples
This was really my first non hardcore
track. It was quite a departure from my other material at this time. I wanted
to make something for all my friends to enjoy that wouldn’t be scary for some of them. I
think it’s a really nice smooth beat to vibe to and I’m feeling the flow and
the echoes especially. Some of lines I don’t know why I said and would like to
omit if I could go back are, “In the club sippin bub rose slowly/fame got me known by
one name like Kobe.” I think this was just my mind state listening to this beat
that I was trying to convey, but still I’m not feeling it. It’s weird looking
back because 20 years later I’m really only in touch with one of the people I mentioned.
However, there are some good memories of those people reflected in the track.
Lyrics I do feel in this include, “Drop volume 1, volume 2, then a trilogy/even
if they got frostbite they still feelin’ me.” This line helped cement my inspiration to put
out my unreleased material into 3 volumes with 1 being an EP of my best early
material (Where Da Mic At, Don’t Stop, and Echelon), 2 being a full length Mad Dog album,
and 3 being a Jay Steele album. Again, I like Tim’s beat a lot. That’s him on the
intro acting like he’s smoking weed to signify that listening to this track was
like chillin’ and getting high just from the melodic sound of it.
Howl at the Moon
Although I forgot later in life, I had amazing chemistry with the producer/studio engineer Tim. I don't even remember his last name. I tried to reconnect with him while compiling this project, and I even went back to his old home studio, but he wasn't living there anymore. The new tenant never heard of him, and I couldn't find him online. All these years later, I still love many of the beats he supplied me with. I love the track he made for this one with the howling
sound effect and the way he cut it up. This whole thing came together
fantastically. My favorite part by far though is in the beginning when I did
the “I’m ser-I’m ser-I’m ser-I’m ser- I’m serious” thing. I forgot I made this
track too, and it was incredible rediscovering all these “new” amazing songs I
did! I did remember conceiving and executing that “I’m serious” part a little
after I heard it the 2nd time. I was highly impressed by the whole package on
this one.
Tha Mystery (skit)
This was just a little skit of self deprecating humor that served as an intro for the next song entitled Who Am I? That's Tim, who produced the track, again on talking on there, starting off with "Who the F**K is Tha Mad Dog?!" Responding to him is me on there, trying to sound as unlike myself as possible. Decades later, I still think it's a nice little humorous intro/segue.
Who Am I
This is the infamous track that Tim lost. Or, at least, I thought he lost it. I
was despondent then because I felt I came with a style on this one that I had never
done before or since. I didn’t know how I reached that level or how to do it
again, so it was the ultimate agony that Tim couldn’t find it when I came back
to the studio for the next session after originally recording the song. I regretted this for 20 years. It changed my life. I’d
tell every producer I worked with after this that I wasn’t trying to leave
without me having a copy of my song(s). I was so excited and shocked! I
honestly don’t know how I found it after all these years when I couldn’t find
it then. I tried to stay calm and lower my expectations thinking it might not
be nearly as great as I remember. However, as I listened to it, I could hardly
contain my excitement! I am beyond blown away by what I did on this track. It’s
just on a whole ‘nother level and it stunned me. The beat, the flow, the style,
the vocal performance… this track is just a true marvel. The content is
an interesting switch that represents my evolving from strictly hardcore to
incorporating themes of being fun loving, wild, humorous, witty, crazy, and
just enjoying being young. Honestly, this was a time of transition, because I was
undergoing EMDR therapy, which they use for war veterans who have PTSD. It
helped me markedly. I wasn’t happy being angry all the time. It was hard to be
social and have a good time and I was isolated. However, after this therapy, I started
laughing more and became more of a “the life of the party” type of person. I
remember putting this on at a big party at Stockton University where my brother was attending college and watching so
many people go crazy dancing and bouncing like mad. I’d have to put this up there as the top party music type of rap track I ever did. From a strictly sonic stand point it’s as
amazing as any track I’ve ever done or heard ever. Many years later, I felt I was able to harness this writing style once again on Tha Rhyme Conductor on my For Tha Love album.
Tha Underdog (Tha Nostalgic Remix)
This was actually the first full song I recorded in 5 years (after Music for a Better World). It was the first and only track I recorded at The Gradwell House Studio in Haddon Heights, NJ. It was a nice studio, but they weren't as enthusiastic or as knowledgeable about hip hop as Abstrack Recording Studio (where I'd end up recording For Tha Love as I was putting this trilogy together.) This track was a result of my wife hearing How U Feel Me Now? (a later track on this album) and saying she didn't get out of it what I thought I got across. I thought it conveyed how I was hated on and ridiculed, but I overcame, persevered in spite of it, and I was a type of underdog. She thought that didn't come across effectively and didn't like it. I slept on that, and woke up several times during the night to write this song on a tiny notebook I keep next to our bed. When she eventually heard it, she loved it! I'm really glad about that because I think this song is integral to explaining that I wasn't some violent, angry jerk. In fact, I was an underdog who was bullied and mistreated. 18 years later, this became a way to really articulate and explain why I was hardcore and how and why being an underdog actually made me Tha Mad Dog. I ended up viewing this as a remix of How U Feel Me Now?" I called it Tha Nostalgic Remix because I decided to put the original beat I picked for these lyrics on For Tha Love. Then, since I originally wrote this song for this album, I began searching for a different type of beat for it for a second version of the song. I ended up using this super smooth sounding instrumental that Tim made decades ago that I never did anything with. I found it on the same tape I found I'm Charged, Who Am I, and other tracks on. It was funny because when I heard this instrumental, I was really feelin it and didn't remember it. I was thinking, "Oooh! I love this! Did I make a song on this?!" That was the same way I reacted to hearing the I'm Charged instrumental that I didn't even remember doing a song on! I thought this was a crazy experience! This melodic, jazzy track really took me back to that time, which made it real nostalgic for me, and that's why I ended up calling it Tha Nostalgic Remix. Well, that and because it's a nostalgic song about me looking back to the early days of my rhyming when some people were being far from impressed and my feeling fortunate to have improved so much over time at something I once thought about quitting.
Into The Madness (skit)
In an effort to not scare people unfamiliar with or put off by hardcore and/or horrorcore hip hop, I put most of the less hardcore songs first on the album. Then, I took the opportunity here to again explain why I was coming this way lyrically (as I did on the first track intro) so people could hopefully understand. The beat was another one Tim made that I never used back then. It felt right to put it to a good use here so many years later. It was funny when I was recording it at Abstrack Recording Studio when the recording engineer there, Jeff Mulligan, screamed at the end, "I gotta find out what happens next! It's like Hitchcock!" He was so excited! I thought it sounded real cinematic and dramatic too.
Fast, Wild, and Crazy
Another one that I didn’t remember
making! I remembered I could rap double time fast and did it many times at
home, but I forgot about this. I remembered conceptualizing the beat myself,
but that’s about it. The intro and the way the song comes in are shockingly
great to me. There were a few minor inconsistencies that I noticed with the
vocal performance, but overall I thought the song was incredible. The hook hits
hard and helps elevate the song to elite status in my eyes.
Unleashed
This was one of a few songs I did in
the horror core rap genre. I was influenced by some of my favorites like
Killarmy, Warcloud, and the Gravediggaz (Wu-Tang). I recorded this at a studio in
Clementon by Natural Health. Tim ran it out of his home, and all he had was a
computer, some speakers, and a mic sitting in his living room, but somehow it
all worked tremendously well. Tim was 10 or more years older than me. He rapped too, but with what sounded to me like an early 80’s style. He offered me this beat and I thought it was
perfect. When people asked me what movie best described my life then, I said Spawn. Long story short, Spawn went through hell and came back
looking for revenge. It’s like an action/horror film. This song could be on the
soundtrack. I loved some rhyme scheme and lyrics like, “Ever present weapon,”
and “trife and reppin’ it/face me/know what you messin’ wit/level sh*t.” Those
lines came off monstrous in a good way. I also loved my ending of “See I be the
fat track molder/the act back and smolder/Spawn hell solider/the stop drop and
roll man that’s hotter than Folger’s [coffee].” Originally, one of my best friends at the time, 6 foot 6 inch Rob Scott, who would go on to be inducted into Rowan University's Hall of Fame as a basketball star, aka The Tall Guy aka The Rugged Ambassador, was on this track with me. I thought Tall Guy's
verse sounded awesome, but like one of my original full verses that I scrapped from the song,
it wasn't real eloquent or coherent in conveying a relevant message, theme, or concept. Tall Guy was always a phenomenal rapper to me though. He
played a pivotal part in inspiring me to start rapping in 1998. I was hanging out with him a lot while we were both attending Rowan. I met him when I was writing for the college newspaper, and the sports editor assigned me an interview with him. Part of my story revealed his passion and seriousness as a rapper. We grew close, and at some point, I just kind of figured, if he can do it, why can't I? Then I gave it a shot! I gave him a
big shout out for this on Givin Thanks on For Tha Love. I can even say
that he was one of the main influences on my ability to do echoes. He was
amazing at it! I was in awe of how he did echoes on tracks, and I never
thought I'd ever be able to do it even half as well. Of course, I'd go
on to become Tha Human Echo Machine (song on For Tha Love) as the years
went by I am thrilled to say. My wife heard the original version and thought I should take out a whole verse of mine and Tall Guy's 8 bars, because she said it added nothing to the song. Eventually, I went back in, like I did with Tha Underdog, and explained through new rhymes some of the events that transpired to make me feel the way I did at that time. It was unique and surreal to do a collaboration with my younger self over 15 years later, but that's what I did with the older me clarifying the content and journey! My wife inspired the idea by recommending I take so much out. Ultimately, I think this was a smart call, because I took the message of the song from "We're dangerous, tough guys you should beware of" and revamped it into a cautionary tale of sorts warning that if you abuse someone - you could create a monster.
Mad Interlude
Tone Rec produced this track for me on the spot way back in the day, and he helped me put together what I feel is an awesome sounding hook/chorus. All these years later, I still really feel the beat and hook, but I thought the delivery on the verses and overall vocal performance on the original full song I did on this track were weak. I decided if I just cut everything but the hook, it could make a nice interlude. That's me on there sayin "Mad" every time the beat loops with an echo in the background. It's subtle, so you could miss it, but I really like how that vocal worked.
Racked with Vengeance
This track stands out to me as the blooming
of my deep voice. My voice was much higher when I did part one of the collection,
and my voice deepening wasn’t entirely completed yet, but this track marked a
major metamorphosis. I was a late bloomer vocally. Why? I'm not totally sure. Regardless, this song became one of my favorites I ever did period. It
powerfully and vividly describes my mind state then from my history of abuse
and the resulting P.T.S.D. I’m fortunate that when I got really strong, angry,
and fearless that no one bothered me, because if they had, I could very well be
doing life in prison or worse. This thugged-out, hard core, strong, imposing, fearless
mind set espoused so much of the lyrical content of the golden era of hip hop
in the 1990s though, so my emotions, experiences, and lyrical content fit right
in. 20 years later, I’m still blown away by the force of the vocal performance,
and by some of the lines like, “I’m like a vampire/who survived a fire.” The
way we took samples of my vocals and assembled them for the hook is astounding to
me. It’s one of my favorite hooks in history because of the autobiographical accuracy
combined with the sonic artistry. On top of all that, this is the first beat I
ever produced! I took a sample from a 1980s Spider Man cartoon and asked Tone to loop
it. I love this beat and am so proud to have produced it and the hook! When I
said, “I’m relentless/I deal with anyone like a receptionist,” the way I said “relentless”
is near chill inducing for me since this was a one word summation of my
attitude of conquering my fears and building up my physical strength, mental
aptitude, and musical ability. When I was bullied and picked on, I was afraid
and would cower in the face of intimidation, but I completely flipped that.
Relentless was tattooed on my arm not long before I recorded this. It wasn’t that
I said it, but the way I said it. The part at the end “I laugh at guys who
say they gonna kill me,” takes me back to when a guy forcefully threatened to
kill me outside a Wawa convenience store, and I actually laughed in his face. I had a gun pointed
at me 3 times, which I also detailed at the end. Then for those who know
Jason from Friday the 13th’s full name, there’s a lyric about that and the town
Echelon was found in as well. This track and hook was an anthem and symbol of
my real life transformation. My burgeoning skill combined with the maturation of
my voice announced that I was on the scene like a cannon blast. I’d give it a
10 out of 10 rating, but the hook I feel is legendary and elevates it to an unrateable level for
me.
Hard Core Wars *
There's an asterisk next to the title, because this track only appears on the explicit version of the album. There was just too much to try to edit to attempt to make it clean for the edited version, and because of this, it's not on there. Musically, I felt I channeled Kool G
Rap on this one. He was a strong influence on me and countless others. I think
my vocal tone, rhyme schemes, flow, and delivery actually matched his legendary
skills, and I’m marveled by what I did on this. It’s crazy because I forgot that I had even
made this track, so it was like it was new to me! Just about every line in this
blew me away. One that stands out is, “On point like a knife/I slice/roll the
dice/I seen strife/throughout the years I made fear my wife.” This is one of
the most elite level hardcore tracks I’ve ever heard, and it’s thrilling to me
to reflect on this feeling like I reached the pinnacle of my favorite rappers growing up. I
kept thinking as I heard this, “Damn I was hardcore!” I actually forgot I put
it down so hard like this when I was real young, and it just left me awestruck.
Hell Fire
I thought this intro came off perfect
for this beat. It reminded me of one of my all time favorites Prodigy of Mobb
Deep. I love this beat. It’s got such a hardcore sound and it really helped me
to delve into and express my pain in. I have no idea what I was talking about
on the line about DMX. That’s a line I’d redo if I could. However, I really
like the part “Thinking it can’t happen/get shocked like damp wire/my blood
lust/make me rush the mic like a vampire,” and the vivid “In dreams I see me go
slow and let off at 5-0/kill yourself twice to feel pain I already know.” These
lines were delivered powerfully and really got at my anger and mind state.
Another one that stood out to me was, “Will I see 30 or the back of a hearse/no
doubt the latter first.” It makes me thankful that I got through what I was
dealt and that I was wrong about this dire sentiment.
How You Feel Me Now
I forgot that I recorded a few tracks
in a studio that was literally in my backyard in Echelon. There was a row of
homes behind my row of homes, and I found out there was a little studio in one of those homes called EDK.
That's where I recorded this song. I was told the guy who ran the studio used to hang out in the Echelon Mall a lot, and he made and offered me this beat to use also. I didn’t remember this track till I heard it 18 years later. I have vague memories of
recording it, but I like it. It’s smooth and overall I feel like it’s solid. I think there’s a nice little theme of reflecting on how I wasn’t good when I started
making music, and some made fun of me for that, like the way I got made fun of
for a lot of things as a kid. This piece is a nice commemoration of my
diligence in building my skills and honing my craft while taking a little shot
at the haters I came across.
Rugged Man
Like the above, this is another one that I recorded at EDK in Echelon. The beat was made by the same guy. I remember him tellin me he produced hip-hop and trip-hop tracks, but I didn't have strong recollections of recording this song! I did still like how my voice sounded on it, and I really like the line about "I'll prolly end up in jail, but you could see my skills even if you read braille." Unfortunately though, I was left cringing after hearing some really negative ideas being conveyed in the content. This is why the 18 years later version of myself had to go back and edit out several things - even on the explicit version of the album. Also, the original hook was uninspired, unimaginative, and negative. This originally made me think I'd never release the song in any form. However, I eventually decided to re-record a new hook for it (at Abstrack Recording Studio in Deptford, NJ), which meant I was again collaborating with my 18 years younger self. I tried to encompass themes found in the lyrics of the song as well as just swaths of the album in general. It was funny/odd to record a hardcore hook like that when that's not even close to my style anymore, which can be witnessed through my evolution on the next album Solid Steele, the 3rd and final installment of this trilogy collection. In the end, I thought the new hook tied the song together well, which consequently made the track eligible for inclusion. I'm glad this was the case because I'm really feeling the beat and the rugged, wild, mysterious, and nocturnal vibes it emanates.
The Future of Jay Steele
This beat was produced by Silent NRG. I'll write more about him in the next volume's production notes. He made this for me in 2006 as I was working on Tha Civil Rights Movement as Tha Truth, but I never did anything with it then. I really dig the way he hooked up the drums, so I was glad to put it to a good use with this outro. I recorded all 3 of these album outro vocals on the same day. I was actually getting sick (a cold) at the time, and it caused my voice to get monstrously deep. I figured I'd put that to use too (haha). For the wolf howl sound effect I literally reared back and did it again myself at Abstrack Studio. I didn't think this howl was as epic as the one I did on the album intro, but I thought it was still sufficient. Even though Tha Mad Dog chapter of my life ended, in a way it can always live on, because I preserved it with these recordings, and I think that's really cool. For me, listening to this old material feels something like going back in a time machine and spending time listening to my younger self speak and display his style first hand, and that's a very interesting experience. It makes me wish I recorded my ferocious rebounding and basketball skills from back then as well, which I never did, but fortunately I did hold on to this, which I think is more important. Volumes 1 & 2 are an opportunity to depict my genesis. From there, listeners can witness how far I came as my maturation and evolution continued with Volume 3 and beyond.
Solid Steele / Volume 3
Fire Ft. Tone Rec
I love how this one came out overall.
I remember asking Tone if he could maybe do the hook, intro, and outro while I
was recording this. He did it all on the spot and I was and am really feelin
it. He made the beat and I always found it mesmerizing. It reminded me of fire
and that sparked the concept. Many lyrics in this stand out to me, and it’s to
the point where it’s hard to even select a few of them as my favorite. However, If I had to pick something, I'd go with the 3rd verse when I rhymed, “My joints flashin/I’m
mashin/dole out my skill in rations/ dashin/strippin competition like
fashion/outclassin/I’m lastin/I’ll be the last man blastin.” I especially loved
how the very end of that segment sounded. It’s funny too thinking how so many
people probably stopped makin music, but I’ve gone on for decades
“blastin” strong songs. I thought the strength of the vocal performance,
content, and the beat all combined to make an amazing song. Ultimately, this is
all why I chose Fire to lead off the Solid Steele album.
Bringin it Back
Tha Buried Treasure Trilogy was
unearthed from the basement (literally), and this discovery then inspired a search
of my attic. There, I found songs I made in 2005 and 2006 (right before I
started rapping under Tha Truth) that I never put out and forgot about. When I
put this on for the first time in about 10 years, the smooth groove instantly
mesmerized me, and I fell right back in love with that magical, nostalgic, and
meaningful hook that I and Blackwood Recording Studio engineer/owner Jamie
Myerson concocted together. As I eventually rhymed about on the song Givin
Thanks on For Tha Love, Jamie had signed a record deal
at 18, and it was his expertise, experience, and motivation that really helped
me realize that I was good enough to start releasing music independently. He
let me know that he had really been around the industry and that I would
basically be foolish to not be putting music out, because it was really good
and deserved to be heard widely. He had a great sense of humor, he taught me a
lot about the industry, and he really educated me in a lot of aspects on how
things work in a top level professional studio. In addition, he put me on to
many cool techniques. I remember him saying, “Dude, when you say the words
‘stop’ or ‘drop,’ you should really consider doing a beat drop there.” As of
2019, Blackwood Recording is no more. After years of running this awesome
studio, Jamie moved to Kansas City where he continues to work in the music
industry, but not before he and I recorded 4 serious albums together. When I
recorded this track, those albums were not even a thought in my mind. At the
time, I was just really excited about discovering this studio and the beginning
of us working together. Others learned a lot from him too. He taught
courses in music production at Camden County College and ran the school’s radio
station while operating the studio. We became quite a duo, and I really don’t
think my albums Tha Civil Rights Movement Part II, Tha MisEducation of Tha
Masses, Tha People's Music, or Music for a Better World would have been what they became without his
contributions. Looking back now, the song immortalizes the time we met,
portends what was to come of our working together, and commemorates all the quality
songs we made at Blackwood Recording studio; and the song ultimately became an
ode to that music and that time. On the other hand, I think many can feel the concepts in this of how commercial hip hop got so far away from the creativity of rap's roots. From a technical standpoint, I recorded this at night, and
this was before I learned that my voice is usually strongest and deepest early
in the day and tends to become weaker and a little higher as the day and night
wears on. This isn’t always the case, but it generally is. That’s why I
sound a little uneven and not as deep in some parts. My voice tends to
fluctuate sometimes, especially late in the day, and especially if I talk a
lot. At the time, I was a substitute teacher and I worked that day teaching at
Voorhees Middle School, so my voice wasn’t at its strongest. But I was young, naïve, and a little overconfident, and I didn’t even consider all this at the
time. You can hear the vocal discrepancy and inconsistency when you compare
this to a track like Fire. However, I still think the song is very strong
overall despite this - especially because of the timing and execution of the
doubles - and of course that hook!
It's Jay Steele
I
remember my co-workers at Blockbuster Video in 2001 were going around singing
this hook. It’s a catchy one. I’m still feeling it. I think Tone produced this
beat, but honestly I can’t remember. The intro is short but I really like how
it came off. It’s interesting to see the transition from when I rapped as Tha
Mad Dog to when I rapped under the name Jay Steele (my real name) and changed my content
pretty drastically from angry and wild to mature, intellectual, and conscious. This
is the introductory song accompanying the rap name change and content shift,
and I remember marking this transition after a short time off with the “no act
I’m back” part of the hook. I think all the lyrics are solid, but one of my
favorite parts is, “I explain so many times it’s a pain/as I reign/knowledge
in my rhymes till it climbs in your brain.” Another part that stands out to me
comes after that when I said, “I’m almost done but not yet/while I’m on the
sub-ject/I look at MCs with sub respect/S-T-Double-E ya gotta love what I rep.”
The way this part flows into the hook is really smooth to me. I’m feeling
the flow on this one and the beat and how it all goes together. I think it’s
not spectacular but very solid. This is a short song with only two verses, and
I found myself wanting to hear more. I feel that reflects positively on the
strength of the track.
Knowledge
I
was thinkin of calling this one “Strong armin” because that describes how I was starting to really try and push
and promote conscious thought and intellectualism lyrically. I also thought
of callin it “Wisdom.” It starts off with another concise and effective intro. One
of my favorite parts is “I lead cats to the facts cause they blind/in school I
asked why cats act unkind.” I’m impressed with how the thought
provoking lyrics here combine with intricate rhyme schemes. Another part that
stands out to me is, “2002 and it still move the same/the artist who drew the
most change now boast/’cause he think he rule the game/to me he just another
pop star with a chain/you know my name.” Of course, mentioning the year makes it dated, but, ironically, the sentiment of the line is timeless (unfortunately). Ending
off this strong segment with “You know my name,” is perfect and funny to me,
because it’s the song I did after It’s
Jay Steele. Also, I'm really feeling how the 2nd verse starts off with,
“The opposite of Puffy/I don’t care if you rusty/I used to/dare you to touch
me/think they stare cause they love me/’cause I’m quick with the wit/spit like my
nose is stuffy/just trust me.” Additionally, I’m loving how the
2nd verse ends with, “Or get replaced/by another waste of the rhythm/against me they
get laced by a taste of my wisdom.” Overall, this is another one I feel
is very solid all around, and I’m really feeling the beat, flow, and lyrics.
Tornado Warning
I thought the original hook I did for this song back then was weak, and while arranging the trilogy, I recorded this new hook at Abstrack, which describes the metaphorical tornado of creativity that was occurring as I amassed numerous new songs and ideas, which would eventually become my musical pride and joy, For Tha Love. As a whole, I thought this track was solid and conveyed an energetic feel like an imminent storm accompanied by plenty of howling, gusty wind.
I'm Sure 2 Maintain
The hook on this song really stands out as one I love not only because of the way it sums up my dramatic trials and tribulations, but also because of the way it sounds. My favorite line in this rhyme is "[I] come from a place where I'm the mayor called pain." I thought my vocal performance was very powerful on this throughout. Yet, in a few spots in the verses, I think the content demonstrated that I wasn't at my peak yet, and I was still trying to hone my conscious and political approach. Still, in it's totality, this track conveys how I felt at the time, which was that I was maturing and becoming more "solid" mentally despite a host of harsh challenges that I persevered through. Actually, it was around this time in 2001 that I got a drawing I did of a steel plate tattooed on my chest with text in the middle of it reading Solid Steele, which went on to become the title of this album nearly 2 decades later.
Are U Ready
This is another one I found in the attic. I thought it could be a nice interlude and intro to a couple of other tracks I found up there. The year I met Silent NRG, a producer of electronic, hip hop, and various other beats, he composed a good deal of tracks for me. He was really excited to work with me, and I appreciated that "NRG." I really started feelin electronic music (trance/techno/club/etc) right around when I first saw my favorite action movie of all time, Blade (1998/Wesley Snipes), which featured an incredible night club scene with amazing sound. Silent NRG (aka Holden) and I came up with the idea of me saying a bunch of stuff at the studio and him eventually using it for one of his adrenaline thumping, energy inducing tracks. I figured it could be something to listen to before heading out to workout or accomplish a task. This was the result. We both really felt how it came out. Silent NRG would go on to produce several tracks on Tha Civil Rights Movement that I did under Tha Truth. Many years later, NRG and I had a "musical reunion," and as result, he ended up producing the beats for Global NRG and the remix of Rap Appreciation on my For Tha Love album. As I touched on in my lyrics for Global NRG, he ended up moving to Hong Kong. He married a girl from there and became, as I understand it, something of a human rights lawyer while continuing to craft beats in his spare time. He told me he fell in love with the country of China and decided to stay, but thanks to the internet, which we didn't really use much when I began Volume 1 of this trilogy, we were able to continue making beautiful music together, even from different continents. All these years later, this track can still get me amped up to really get moving and get things done quickly. My favorite part is around the 1 minute mark when I say "Are you ready?" twice while the song reaches its apex.
Beauty From Pain
This is another one that Silent NRG produced that I found in the attic. It represents a real elevation in skill, because I found I could now (starting around 2006) really articulate my views on a subject, and say exactly what I wanted to say, or in this case, tell a story, in sequence, without sacrificing anything musically! With this newfound ability added to my arsenal, I was able to tell my life story through three verses! I thought the beat sounded ominous, which definitely fit with the events of my early life and it's trauma and adversity. Overall, I think the song and its themes stand as what could be considered an inspirational and feel-good underdog story, and I think the hook captures this. It was one I did for people struggling in life to give them a message that things really can get better and adversity can indeed end up making us stronger. I'd end up rehashing my story and these themes on later albums on tracks like Tha Underdog and Curses 2 Blessings. This song is also one of the first ones that I started using my Natural Disaster voice on. I just felt this voice sounded smoother and glided over tracks and just really cut through beats better on certain instrumentals. I called it Natural Disaster because I thought people would think it was weird I was switching my voice at first, and I was going to try to conceal that this was me, and act like it was another rapper. Looking back, I don't know what I was thinking, Ultimately, I'd continue to use this other voice and I kept referring to it as the Natural Disaster voice, because I liked the idea of creating art out of nothing being a type of force of nature. I think the way I rap in this voice exudes almost like a supernatural level of calmness in a mystical type of way. This song was done in 2006 when I was starting to prepare for my first album I did as Tha Truth (Tha Civil Rights Movement). I recorded many tracks in this studio in Philly that I never released on an album or did anything with. This one is not one of my favorites, but it was one of my wife's favorites for some time, and for that reason, I included it on Solid Steele.
Truth Seeker
I don't know (or remember) who produced this beat or what I said on the intro, but I know I'm feelin this track musically! I thought the rhyme schemes were tight, fast, and furious, and it impressed me upon rediscovery. It's hard even for me to make out what I was saying in sections! This was from the same time period as the above track, and I actually found the lyrics for both. I'm going to post those in this blog (lyrics section) since it's so daunting to decipher. I'll post the lyrics for Beauty From Pain as well since those lyrics fly by especially fast as well and it's a meaningful song with a lot of substantial information packed in its verses. Truth Seeker was another track I never figured out what to do with when I amassed numerous recordings for my first Truth album, and it was forgotten about for many years. I still think it sounds powerful, compassionate, dramatic, and cinematic and that it represents high level sonic excellence.
Nonviolence
Some things never really added up to me as I was growing up. I had questions about society that I felt I wasn't getting good answers to. As I started reading up on and learning more on my own (outside of school) about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, The Black Panthers, Malcolm X, and others, I felt like what they were articulating made sense to me. This was my first really conscious, and in fact political, song that I made. Looking back, it turns out I was just scratching the surface in some ways. It wasn't until I met Big Cee (who I'd go on to marry) a few years later, that I really started making the connections between militarism, racism, inequality, and out of whack priorities. She put me on to Michael Moore's acclaimed Bowling for Columbine and other amazing documentaries, and she took me to my first protest (anti Iraq war). There was so much I didn't see that I was learning at the time. Reflecting back over 15 years later, this track can be seen as really portending the direction I'd be headed in personally and musically for many years. All this time later, I still really appreciate the vocal performance, which sounded really strong, and I think there's some powerful ideas and positivity within the words too.
Tha Truth of Tha Future
This was the way I decided to conclude each version of the three part collection. My voice sounded deeper than normal because I was getting sick at the time, but I thought it sounded cool like that, so I put this situation to use. This was going to be the final track of the trilogy originally, but Big Cee said she wanted me to make another album, and that inspired me to write and record a whole new one called For Tha Love.
A New Chapter
Honestly, I'm not crazy about how my voice sounded on this track, but I was so caught up with making the new chapter, I didn't prioritize re-doing these vocals. Still, it accomplishes its purpose of directing those interested to the project I'm really enthused about...For more info on this new chapter, you can check out this link for - For Tha Love On this new chapter, I kind of continued some of what I started on Solid Steele, (which was recorded at a much younger age) by rappin under my actual name for the first time in over 15 years. However, I think For Tha Love is much, much better, and I'm really excited about that and proud of it. I feel extremely fortunate to have been blessed with so much creativity over all these years. My goal now and into the future is to try and spread joy to people who appreciate original, positive, quality hip hop. I delve into this lyrically in one of the songs called Spreadin Joy. As
a final production note, it took me years to hand write and subsequently type up all of the above. I did a little at a time and paced myself because of
my medical condition, which I did a song about on For Tha Love called What I Can Do. Thanks for reading my production notes/commentary. I'm really glad that you did. I hope you found it interesting and fun to read 😀 If you'd like to contact me with any feedback, the best way to do so is by email at steele104@aol.com.
Peace, Love, and Best Wishes
Jay Steele
