THESOULPLANET.COM INDEPENDENT ARTIST OF THE MONTH
When a lot of folks think of the city of Atlanta musically, they think mostly of the bubble gum rap and Rhythm and Bullsh*t that has penetrated the mental orifices and infected the minds of the masses globally. Oddly enough throughout my travels, the populace refers to A-Town as the “New Motown”. Believe it or not, that is something I can undoubtedly agree with. I concur not because of the mainstream – or “lame stream” music as we call it – but due to the independent artist scene. I can honestly say that the majority of the tunes coming out of the office speakers are from independent acts.
On the Soul scene you have powerful vocalists like Kelsy Davis, Julie Dexter, Slick & Rose, The Doll Daze and Kelly Love Jones to name a few. On the Spoken word scene you have Def Poets- Abyss, Amir Sulaiman, Georgia Me and Jon Goode amongst others.
However, one of the most slept on genres of Atlanta music is the Underground Hip Hop scene. In my opinion, though without doubt, some of the dopest emcees on the planet reside in the A. Artists such as Mike Flo, Boog Brown, The Liuns Den, J Live and StaHHr, along with too many other dynamite artists continuously blowin’ up spots, are not being recognized by the so-called industry. These are artists who make Atlanta one of the best cities to live in when it comes to quality music and live performances. But in the words of Flavor Flav (during one of his more sane moments), “Who gives a damn about a goddamn Grammy”.
One classic example of an “Emcees Emceee” who is just getting his due is Ekundayo The Mounten Liun. Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, Ekundayo, a founding member of The Legendary Liuns Den has been putting it down for over 16-years. A microphone master, producer and videographer, like a war vet, Ekundayo definitely holds his own on the battleground whether on wax or on stage. His debut project “Get Right or Get Left” received props from some of the most notable critics of the day.
"Rare is the moment in recent times where a Hip Hop release is considerate of the necessary partnering of good production and solid emceeing."-Okay Player.com
“If only one word could be used to describe Ekundayo's ‘Get Right or Get Left’, that word would undoubtedly be ‘smooth’, a word which aptly describes both the rapper's flow, as well as the superbly produced tracks.”- Performer Mag
In honor and respect of the true Hip Hop connoisseur, we caught up with Ekundayo for a few words from the next People’s Champ…
TheSoulPlanet.com: Who is Ekundayo?
Ekundayo: The truth in the form of a man. Ekundayo is expression through art. A piece of work!
TheSoulPlanet.com: What does “Ekundayo” mean?
Ekundayo: Sorrow becomes happiness.
TheSoulPlanet.com: Tell us about the Liuns Den? Who are the members and how did the group come about?
Ekundayo: L.I.U.N.S. is an acronym that means Long Island Under New Sounds or Lyrics Is Unified Never Separated... The Liuns Den is a family of artists originally from the Hempstead and Uniondale Long Island areas of New York-with members also in Brooklyn. [Myself], Jus Blak, Luz Wed, Kuga, Thunda Kat, Branusmentulus and Sabertooth The Liuns Den came out of a larger "umbrella" super crew called "The Roudy Bunch". As The Roudy Bunch, we prided ourselves in battling and finding new sharp individuals to add to the fold.
TheSoulPlanet.com: Your critically acclaimed debut CD, “Get Right or Get Left”, received high accolades and recognition. How do you feel about the results? Did the response from the project satisfy you?
Ekundayo: The results are great and still growing. The response showed me that more people are paying attention than I thought. Also the appreciation for true skill has not died.
TheSoulPlanet.com: Your song “All I Know”, along with the video garnered quite a buzz. In fact, some would argue that it could easily qualify as an underground – or even above ground – Hip Hop classic. How do you feel about that?
Ekundayo: Great, I aim to push the envelope. Exemplify sharpness regardless of the topic. My man Mike Moore shot the video with that same level of dedication. So it all came together to make a wonderful thought-provoking piece.
TheSoulPlanet.com: You recently performed at the A3C Festival in Atlanta with such Hip Hop notables as Rakim, Killer Mike, Buckshot, 9th Wonder and a whole host of others. TheSoulPlanet was just blessed with some footage of you and your crew rippin’ the stage. How was that experience?
Ekundayo: In one word, "CHARGED!". As you can see from the footage we free up on stage. Performing is so therapeutic! The crowd was with us all the way.
TheSoulPlanet.com: With the amount of garbage mainstream music on the scene; what motivates you as an emcee?
Ekundayo: The fact that there is so much garbage music on the scene! The future generations and music from the past. My understanding and love for performing, writing and producing. The art of creation.
TheSoulPlanet.com: You have appeared on several projects as of late, tell us about some of them. What can the people expect from Ekundayo in 2010?
Ekundayo: The "Food, Clothes, and Shelter" CD (FTP), Food Clothing and Hip Hop (Sol Messiah), 16 bars of gold pt. 2(Beat Studies), Dot Got It Mixtape (Dot Got It). To name a few. A couple upcoming projects are: "As the Smoke Clears"ep, "Give Thanks For Life" Mix CD, "African Dance Class" multisingle, "Wheatgrass" Mix CD (Liuns Den), "Enrichment" Album (Liuns Den), "All Nice & Decent Crew"(Liuns Den)
Some really big power moves in '10. More collabs, videos and even movies. The future is bright.
Bless Up!
For Booking or more information on Ekundayo e-mail: Dayoproject@gmail.com
Video for “All I Know” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQdAOqs_C4c
Web: http://www.reverbnation.com/ekundayothemountenliun
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