Get Your Space Up!!!

This is the first of a special 3-part edition of The Show, co-starring D. Rose and The Niyat. We take you behind the scenes of a recent performance.

The KO Show – Episode 2.1 “Before The Show” from Ethos Music Group on Vimeo.

On Nov 3rd, we opened a show with Slaughterhouse and Tech N9ne as the headliner. We knew that it was going to be a pretty serious show, so we brought in D. Rose and The Niyat to make sure that the heavy hitters were represented. We’d heard about Tech N9ne’s fans and the Juggalo culture, but never really experienced them for ourselves.

Yeah…

They’re… interesting, to say the least. When you look at the video, you can tell that we’re a little apprehensive right before we hit the stage, but it turned out to be a good performance.

“Cameos” from members of Slaughterhouse.

This is part 1 of 3.  Tomorrow we’ll premiere the performance of “The Science”. Thanks again to D. Rose and The Niyat. We’ll definitely have to do this more often! Thanks to Remix for the camera work.

Get To Know… Niyat from Ethos Music Group on Vimeo.

Today – Get To Know Niyat. Tomorrow – Get To Know K-OTIX. (Trust me, you don’t wanna miss tomorrow’s episode.)

The story of my history with the Niyat takes us way back; about as far back as I can take it. It was our first public show as a group. We weren’t even going by “K-OTIX” yet – we were still “Guess Who”. (That’s a story for another time.) The show took place in a spot that epitomizes “hole in the wall”; it had to have been an abandoned home that had floodlights brought in to light it. There were no working utilities, but it was filled with people. Looking back on it, the “Soul Shack” was probably in violation of every building and health code that existed. But it was that show that introduced us to most of the people that we’d be working with throughout our careers, including two members of The Niyat – Snap and D-ology.

Back then they were part of a larger collective called the “Psycho Ward”, which rivaled Wu Tang in its size, scope, and talent. They basically had a lock on the scene at the time. Snap was a member of a subgroup called “Poetic Souls”; D-ology was a part of “Darkside”; Synato Watts started out with “Alphabet Soup”. (I’m pretty sure that I remember all of this correctly. If I need any correcting, please let me know.)

After that show, we chopped it up with everybody there; it was our first real introduction to the scene. As we were heading out the back we bumped into D-ology, who was just kind of freestyling to himself in the middle of the street. His freestyles sounded better than anything that we’d ever written. We stood there for about 3 hours, late into the night, watching him freestyle flawlessly about any and everything that came to mind. Wow.

A few months later, we were in the studio recording our first collaboration with them, on a track called “Up Next To Flex”, also featuring a young DJ Cozmos on the mic, as well as the cuts. If I can find a presentable version of this track I’ll share it someday, at great risk of public humiliation. Don’t get me wrong – the song goes hard, but it’s very early 90s.( I think I used the word “representing” at least 3 times. Yikes.)

As the Psycho Ward started going through its transitional period in the late 90s, the members began to splinter off and form other groups. One of the crews born from this was The Niyat. Their story is the same one that can probably be repeated in every city of this country: artists with limitless talent that eclipses who most people consider the greatest. Yes, we grew up listening to Rakim, KRS, Scarface, Nas, etc – but the lyrics that these guys were spitting at home rivaled anything that was being broadcast on the airwaves. They actually became the standards by which we would gauge our skills.

And we tell them this. It’s no secret. When I’m in a room with them I feel wack by comparison. I can listen to verses that they recorded ten years later and finally catch what they were talking about a decade before. It’s not fair.

They characterize themselves in the video, but these are my observations as an outsider:

Synato is the emotional center of the group. He’s the one that more or less dictates the direction of each sound and provides the emotional backdrop. Snap is a rapper’s rapper. FWMJ describes him best when he says that Snap makes the English language sound like a fun language to learn. His wordplay is sickeningly intricate. D-ology is the most ominous and enigmatic lyricist that I’ve ever worked with. He has a presence that humbles most people. The room shifts when he enters, and people cling onto his every word.

I’m not going to say too much more about them now, because they’re prepping a body of work right now that will support everything I’m saying about them – and more. Ladies and gentlemen – my favorite MCs of all time…

Damien

“Aintcha?” featuring D-ology, Snap, & K-Rino

“The Science Pt. 1″ featuring D Rose, Big Mon, Synato Watts, and Snap)

More Info:

Niyat On Myspace

The good people of The Legendary KO aka K-OTIX have released “The Reckoning”. This is an 8-track project that features some of the most aggressive, hard-hitting music that we’ve done to date. It also features special appearances by D Rose, The Niyat, Michele Thibeaux, Flow Factory, and Lower Life Form.

This is basically a snapshot of what we’ve been up to since “48 Seasons” and “The Reason”. It’s also indicative of the format that we’ll probably follow with future releases: shorter projects that are released more frequently. Soon to follow after this one – “The Redemption”.

K-OTIX / The Legendary KO

“The Reckoning”

1. Intro / Take A Bow – This song feels like the perfect intro track. In fact, we took the actual intro that we used at one of our shows and incorporated it at the beginning of the song. The irony is, most performers take their bows at the end of a performance, but we know that our shows have to go hard from the beginning. We’re taking that bow before we even get started.

2. Down – Heat! One of our mottos is that we specialize in bangers. Those of you who have been around long enough remember the old, laid-back, jazzy KO of yesterday. They died a long time ago. Get over it. We try to bring the heat now. Music that challenges your manhood. Makes your girl wanna do push-ups. Puts hair on your chest. That’s what we’re coming with on this one.

3. The Streets (Produced by Vango) – Vango has some stangers on the holster. I’ll have to admit – he stayed under our radar for a hot minute. Please be warned: this is another banger. There are also rumors of a KO / Vango project in the works. What rumors? Oops… did I say something?

4. The Science (Featuring D Rose and The Niyat) – You already know how we get down with D Rose; we’ve also been working with them Niyat boys since day uno. This is another sign of things to come – a lot more of these collaborations.

5. Addiction (Featuring Michele Thibeaux) – Everybody knows Michele. If you don’t, please catch up. Her voice is the silk sheet on a Tempur – Pedic mattress. She’s worked with us a lot in the past, most notably on the groundbreaking “Ethos” project. We used her a little differently this time by utilizing her on the prelude to the song. The bass was played live by Denis of Neon Collars.

6. On Ya Grind Remix (Featuring Flow Factory) – As the name implies, this is the remix of a track that will appear on Flow Factory’s long-awaited “Language Arts” album. These guys sound good together, and even better with us (wink wink). Can’t wait for their album to drop.

7. Damn Right (Featuring Lower Life Form) – This one was kind of like cheating, but why mess up a good thing. This is technically a remix for “Let’s Go” from Lower Life Form’s upcoming album. But in the tradition of re-recordings (see-Black Moon, etc) we completely re-imagined this song and still made it hit hard.

8. It’s Over Now – We end it the same way we began it – with heat. It’s more of a ultimatum than an affirmation. Step up or get stepped on. I wonder if we can get this licensed for an EA Sports game? Hmm…

Download THE RECKONING Here!!!

You can still download THE REASON here!!!!