James Baldwin once said in an
interview, "...if you can
examine and face your life you can discover the terms with which you are
connected to other lives, and they can discover too, the terms with which they
are connected to other people." The cultural and social
importance of Jazz and Hip-Hop and how these genres shaped their generation's
consciousness, must continue to be documented and articulated.
‘Articulated Language’ is the name of
this incredible collaborative album. As I mentioned in the video not only am I
excited about producing this project but I am excited for you to join our team.
I am Carlos Mena, an artist and music
producer. I have produced music for, and
collaborated with, Grammy Winning
and Multi-Platinum selling artists
such as, Arrested Development, Tre from Pharcyde, and Jody Watley to name a few. My
last album "Hip-Hop Meditations" which was described as "...Common
and Wyclef sitting down with a book from occultist Sylvia Browne and a
bag of somethin' somethin'." Was very well received by critics
and fans and led to me touring around the world in support of the project.
I have opened for everyone from Counting
Crows to The Roots, to Parliament Funkadelic to The Fugees and Black Eyed Peas. After years of touring, remixing songs for
dance labels and began running my own label ‘Ocha Records’.
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A
short time ago, I felt a calling and burning desire to create again and explore
musical and lyrical ideas around Jazz and
Hip-Hop. As a child of the 70s
and 80s in New York City, my musical vocabulary was informed primarily by
Hip-Hop, but also included Afro-Latin and Jazz. And in these days of
mindless disposable music I feel obligated to put this important project
together and continue the movement of creative honest music.
I remember how artists like Run-DMC, Sugar
Hill Gang, MC Lyte, and Rakim, affected my life and gave me hope when I felt
hopeless during times difficulty while growing up in Bushwick (very different
from the Bushwick you may know today). I also remember when I picked up a
cassette of Miles Davis at Newport where I was introduced to John Coltrane.
As a student of music I am still trying to understand what I heard and
experienced. Other inspiring musical forces schooled me included A Tribe Called
Quest, Public Enemy, Gangstarr, Jay Dilla, Steve Coleman and so many more. Each of these talents has uniquely colored
the landscape of my musical journey. And I would like to continue this journey
with your help.
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In
the spirit of community and collaboration I invited some of the illest legends
and up and coming artist in this hemisphere to bless us with their gifts. We have already recorded incredible songs
with Georgia Anne Muldrow, Marcus
Gilmore (Flying Lotus, Chick Correa), Lazaro Galaragga (Herbie Hancock, Cachao,
Paquito D'Rivera), Vinia Mojica (De La Soul, Mos Def, ATCQ), Victoria Theodore
(Stevie Wonder, Arsenio Hall Show) Burniss Earl Travis (Robert Glasper), Marcus
Machado (Rolling Stones Magazine Next Young Gun), Farnell Newton (Jill Scott), my
brothers Osunlade and Ezel, and producers like Kokayi, Jazzmattik, and Navi Beats.
We are adding other talents as we speak and as a part of the team you will be
the first to know.
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With a true desire for integrity, we
want to insure that we are continuing to pay musicians for their work and not
just asking for favors. Know that they
have been incrediblily generous because they are just as passionate about
getting this project to you as I am. To fully round out this project we are
adding a symphonic element to the production with a live string section and
arrangements. Your contribution will be
used for this purpose as well as for mixing and mastering. By the way, we
are working at Brooklyn Recording which has hosted some of the top musicians on the planet including Keith Richards,
Robert Glasper, Norah Jones, and Meshell Ndegeocello and beyond. Brooklyn Recordings is one of the
top studios in New York and are thrilled to have the one and only Andrew Taub engineering this project.
The only thing that can make this any
sweeter is the incredible packages I have put together as a special thank you
for joining the team and movement.
We need $10,000 to cover the recording,
mixing, musicians and mastering. If we do not reach the entire goal, the
funds raised will still go to cover these costs and we will have to ask for a
few favors, do some bartering, use synth strings (yuck), but we will get it
done. Our last campaign was for the Casamena Radio Hour Compilation CD
that was fully funded in less than two weeks! I know we can do this!
Please check out the unique perks we have
available. Some even include exclusive gear, vinyl, and you can even join
us in the studio!
I know that for some of you even $5 can be a lot to ask. Please support us however you can. You can use the Indiegogo share tools to help spread the word on on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you soooo much!