The ‘Kid and @MrKinetik on that #VILLAIN shit…for the homey @LadySakura01.
This was one of the bonus tracks on ‘The Professor And The Hustler, which you can download for free ——> HERE.
That album still fonkay and real. Get it if you ain’t hip.
#ATFU staying TIMELESS.
#NaptownSlim on ‘representin’
Maybe you wanna hear it and maybe you don’t…and it really don’t matter cuz Naptown Slim got somethin to say and I’m gonna say it. That’s what this word is about;
‘Representin’
I represent a lotta different things to a lotta different people. Some know me as a rapper, some as a media personality, some as just a dude they’ve heard about online. Here’s what’s up though; however they encounter me, they will know what I represent. I have no shame. I make my ass very available and I’m not above responding to anyone.
No one can say they don’t know what I’m about if they’ve checked my profile. I’m out cheah. I’m in the open because I’m proud of all the people, places and things I represent.
Some of y’all fake so many jacks, you wouldn’t understand that. You ain’t tryna represent nothing; you’re flossy. You won’t represent your own true love. Can anyone question who Muhbababy is? She don’t even get down with me tagging her in pics and statuses, but y’all know I hold her down. Y’all see it, I represent her.
(That’s another thing, man. Some of these fools are so happy to change their relationship statuses on sites just to get some attention. If you ain’t got a gang of pictures of you and your boo doing thangs, big and small, a gee gonna think you faking jacks. Just know that. A lotta y’all just wanna be with someone and you ain’t down to represent them. Shameful.)
My point is this; if you’re proud and happy with what you’re doing and where you are, you gon represent it. I can’t stop telling y’all about what I love because those things and people represent what is important to me. I’m happy to show it.
Now, as you can see from the logo on my chest, I stay fresh. I’m outta here cuz I gotta see my people, Mike and Diana and maybe cop some new gear.
Y’all be cool out there and know that every move you make…or don’t…represents those around you.
Another funky cold blooded Naptown Slim production, representing Naptown, Muhbababy, the fam and #ATFU.
RR
CLICK THE PIC TO SEE HOW ME AND MY MAN MR. KINETIK REPRESENT THESSELONIOUS, #ATFU, #SHRUGLIFE and MUMIA ABU-JAMAL.
#ATFU LIVE 1/26/12
Thursday, Jan 26, Mr Kinetik and myself kick off the Local Uinderground Tent Party at Sun King Brewing Company. Come out and jam with us, as we play cuts from our album, ‘The Professor And The Hustler’, preview some tracks from ‘The Tinkerer’ and rock the wheels of steel.
Sounds like a good time, you already know…come on through after work, show starts good and early at 6:30 p.m.
We will get down.
#ATFU
“All Together For Us…and they’ll find US, all the fucking underdogs, a total family unit.”
My brothers…and everything we’ve done so far. <— Click that, there’s thirty free albums there…or hit the pic.
Tryna make it easy for ya, baby…bookmark it, get hip, stay in touch.
I present to you, Clockwork. This one is free for y’all, as a token of my appreciation for your support of my musical endeavors. This is a musical journey with a focus on…..well, just listen to it and let me know what you think. Click the picture or the title and enjoy the ride.
Peace to my brotha Romer.
The Peace,
And HERE IT IS…brand new from Mr. Kinetik.
Another Timely Funky Undertaking…and it’s free.
Click the pic to download ‘CLOCKWORK’
POW! New @MrKinetik. This album is amazing, a journey, a voyage
…and you can have it for free.
Click the pic to download.
#ATFU #Everythang #FreeDownloads
I’m posting this over here cuz I try to keep it in the timeline on Twitter. I’m making an effort to keep everything neat and tidy and easy to get to once you get here. If you have been here for a while, you may have missed it. If you’re new, I wanna get you laced up with the whole team.
@ATFU_ is a group of seven cats that got together to hustle this thang called ‘music’. We collaborate, promote and release our projects through our blog, ‘#ATFU, The Tornado Alley on Tumblr. Each member of the crew is an artist in their own right, with many members multitasking on production and DJ work. We do everything we can in-house and when we outsource, whoever we are working with is basically one of ‘US’, meaning that we will be supporting their projects just as they did ours.
We decided that being an example of the strength of unity was beneficial to all of us.
We’re all dedicated to the idea that hip-hop is still the most potent cultural movement in the world. We’re dedicated to the craft and the culture of hip-hop, with no intentions of playing ourselves out for the sake of ‘getting on’. We will be uniquely ‘US’, for as long as you know ‘US’.
If you click on the picture, it will take you to a page where everything we have released on the blog is available. There are over 30 releases on the page and we keep it updated as well as possible. Go on over there and get ya some tunage. That’s why it’s there.
“…and they’ll find us…”
#ATFU: ALL TOGETHER FOR US.
#ATFU #TheTinkerer
I messed around with the Future Number One Hit Pop Single In The Universe, ‘Shake’, all night last night. I probably over messed widdit, but I have other mixes if I did. (I save everything. I can always reference what I did.) I goofed with that song for about, ohhhh…fiffylebben hours…there’s lotsa little parts and to those little parts, I had added little parts, then removed them, then added them again…and so on and so forth. That song, like ‘Frah Ken Steen’ demanded a lotta attention….and I really think it’s great, so I went as hard on this one as anything I’ve ever gone on. I finally had to let it go, before I screwed it up.
I let everyone know, “Ok, For REAL, I’m DONE with this album.” via Twitter and my man, @MrKinetik responded with “Yeah, for real? For REAL?” and texted me. I asked this brutha to come get this thing from me before I tinkered away the magic. I wanna get it done for release by Halloween, so getting the album to him for mastering in a timely fashion was key. I did that today. There it is. I’m done. It’s onto the next phase.
Watch for the first official drops for you to talk about and throw in your iPod and to come in the near future. It’s done. It’s almost ready. Still have some work to do, gotta get the cover together, but this one is ready to walk on its own.
‘The Tinkerer’ is coming, man.
(P.S., if you look closely, you’ll #ALSO see that there’s an EP of tracks that will be released called ‘The Minion’. These are tracks that were dope, but I couldn’t find a way to get them onto the album. SO, I will be releasing them for free here in the near future before the release of ‘The Tinkerer’. I make a lotta music, man…and I see no point in you not hearing most of it, so I give you the chance.
It’s the #ATFU way.)
Here’s a short promo video for #SoundsOfSoul (Sounds Of Soul) that I made in class this evening. We had a tutorial about iMovie so I kind of just tooled around with some stuff I had on my phone and threw a little video together. Get the album here.
Soul Sincere forever! (I’ll explain that later.)
#ATFU as well.
#RustyWrites #MeAndMusic (Mon. 8/29/11 4:20 a.m.)
Well, music, we have a really weird relationship.
People think I’m important where I live because of music. They give me respect. They listen to what I think. So, I’mma tell the truth about you, music. Lemme tell you guys, I been really going through some things with how I feel about the ‘music game’, ‘rap game’ or whatever ‘game’ it is that I’m supposedly an integral part of where I live.
I’ve #prettymuch watched the market for live music dissolve. I mean, totally get pushed to the back-burner. That hasn’t been fun…in the least. I’ve watched my earnings from shows where I live (especially with the closing of The Patio.) drrrop, man. Like, “damb…ah well…let’s give it another run.” I’ve never been the cat to demand more of the door than the other eight cats playing, especially since the focus has shifted from two to five cats traveling and eating and living as an established entity known as ‘Mudkids’ to seven cats establishing a name for themselves by non-stop hustle and grit as ‘#ATFU’ though. I don’t consider myself any bigger than anyone else, but I do know what I have done ‘round here and ‘round there…and I sure know the work I put into it.
Even when people are hitting me up to book Mudkids (and they still do…consistently. We haven’t played a show or posted anything since October ‘10, and we’re both doing other things, amicably, as brothers who worked together on the road for years and released five independent projects and who will continue to support each other’s work. Word. Life.), they’re offering something I can’t ask my guys to go on the road for. Shit, I hafta eat too, Mr. Promoter.
(Please do not contact me in Indianapolis with gigs offering me ‘exposure’ instead of money. I find it insulting. I have a massive online profile across numerous sites that I maintain daily, I host a daily TV show, and now, Rusty’s looking to get back on the radio…FOR REAL. The ‘exposure’ you offered me is something I already have and you know it, which is why you tried to book me in the first place. Get your paper right, cuz I hafta live. Have a deposit ready.)
But, even then, when all that is explained to some people, I know that the chances of me earning what I think I deserve are still slim and none. My promotion, prestige, and the fact that I believe I am an expense too?…’Rusty just luuuuuuuuv to rap and do his thang.” I guess that’s what some promoters think, like I just like carrying my turntables around and studying this shit and I make the Youtube videos and posts for my health. Man, I hustle for anything I do or am associated with as hard as anyone I know…and I know my platform is larger than most of theirs because I graduated 2nd Grade math.
10,000 (look around) > most local promoters’ numbers, my gee. I WORKED on that. HARD. And all of that COSTS ME…time, money, sleep (I haven’t had a good night of sleep in years, man)…all to make this music, promote it and live. I just wanna make my music and live a happy life. But, that gets harder to do every year…and I don’t have the energy nor resources to continue thinking that I can afford to sacrifice everything from my financial well-being to my physical well-being to continue trying to do it. I just can’t.
…and most importantly, I don’t want to anymore. In all honesty, I don’t. I’ve given everything I can to the music, in my city, online, and on the road. There is no way in hell I can afford to continue thinking that it’s right, fair, or sensible for me to work for peanuts at ANY JOB at this point in my life. I’m too old for that, I’ve given too much to it already and I’m exhausted.
But, here’s the rub; I get these feelings and then I write a song…or in the case of ‘The Tinkerer’, an entire album for next to nothing. And not only did it not really cost me anything, it made me feel WHOLE to do it.
That’s messed up.
Music is all I feel like I am REALLY good at in this world, people swear I’m really good at it, I can do it in my sleep, and to do it, reasonably…I just hafta be willing to put everything I have, EVERYTHING into it. And I have been doing that for most of my adult-life.
*sigh* …and it gets easier to do it, right when I wanna throw my hands up. Today, I met up with my homeboy, who realistically has kept me in and ahead of the game by always looking out for me with tech stuff (Man, I love you, @IndyMacHead, not just for looking out for me, but for always checking up on me. You’re a great friend, brother, and I’m blessed to have you and your family in my life.) I went to let him hear ‘The Tinkerer’ and get to taking care of our business. I told him how I produced the entire album on the laptop, how I played all the instruments on the actual QWERTY keyboard and let him hear some tracks, at which point he said, “Hey, I have a Midi keyboard you can take and give a run. I was gonna get rid of it, but if you want it you got dibs.” Blessings abound, man. Crazy.
Then I went to the store and ran into @LUNAMusic. I asked how the store was doing, which in itself is kinda a bummer, because there were two stores to ask about not too long ago. todd told me the store was good, which of course makes me happy because I wanna see EVERY record-store in the world prosper and the last Luna standing is in MY neighborhood. It’s a GREAT record-store, just like the one I’m at every Friday, @VIBESMUSICIndy and I know how much todd has put into it…everything. I drive past the store and I see his truck. I’m on my way early to get coffee and there’s todd, already at the store…and running the website…the dude is all about it…he gave me some great ideas for the release of this album and I talked with him about some ideas I already had. I relate to the brother on a lotta levels, just like I do the next dude who affected me big-time today…
——> @MrKinetik. I didn’t talk to the brutha today…but he sure talked to me. I stopped listening to the tracks that I’m working on and listened to ‘Sounds Of Soul’ again today. It’s one of the best albums I’ve heard all year, cohesive, inspirational, original, and full of great rhymes and sentiments. I talk to my man, Kinetik, all the time, but sometimes I just have to fall back and listen to his music, because that speaks to me too, man. There’s so many things he says on ‘Sounds Of Soul’ that I relate to. As much as he claims he’s learned from me, I have learned from him. Kinetik worked for no less than three years on that album, man, and you can hear a lifetime of passion for the art in the whole thing. He made this album with his heart and soul and it’s incredible. It spoke to me on so many levels today.
I encourage you to check out Mr. Kinetik’s ‘Sounds Of Soul’ . It’s a ‘Name Your Price’ release and whatever you spend is money well-spent. This album made my day better today. Here’s the link.
Mr. Kinetik - ‘Sounds Of Soul’ (Bandcamp - ‘Name Your Price’)
…and we’re opening the Raekwon & Ghostface/Mobb Deep show Tuesday at the Old National Centre. That’s pretty cool. And I’m spinning the after set, not bad…and I was back on the radio again this weekend, on the station that I grew up loving, man.
Music brought me all this. My love for it, my passion for it. I’ve made every attempt possible to get my own out there as well as I can. We formed @ATFU_ for just that purpose. Our process of making the music and promoting it is like a machine anymore, yo. And I LOVE these dudes, man, and I BELIEVE in their music and their spirits…
…the person it’s hardest to believe in sometimes is me…and it’s really hard to admit that to people sometimes when they think I’m some sort of ‘success’ or on top of any kinda food-chain anywhere.
I make music because it really makes me feel like I’m alive…and sometimes, I feel like it’s killing me. Then…it saves me.
I hafta respect it and appreciate it, but I can’t sacrifice myself for it anymore. I’ve never been able to live off just making music and I never expect to be able to.
(#Also, I like being ‘Russell’ and I haven’t dedicated enough time to that lately. ‘Rusty Redenbacher’ is a brand as much as it is part of the person writing this long-winded ass blog. I’m ‘Rusty Redenbacher’ ALL DAY EVERY DAY out there and I hafta put on the happy face and be ready to take pics and talk tunes when the kids come up to shake my hand, as you can plainly see, that’s not always how I feel. Just as many kids come up and say ‘IMC!’ as they do ‘I’ve heard your music’, so it’s whatever. #Maby I’ll drop this ‘The Tinkerer’ album and go be quiet somewhere for a while and try to lock in this radio thang. I really wanna do that, y’all. I’ll always make music, but I think I’m tryna refocus for a while. I ain’t quittin or announcing any kinda ‘last album’ because I just made an album in the crib in a week. This is what I do…but I am not running ‘dummy missions’ and myself ragged for it anymore.)
I’ve got a lotta irons in the fire and I need to make something work…for me.
That’s all there is to it. I appreciate you for listening and reading.
#ATFU #TheTinkerer #TheNeeding #ListenHere
I juuuuuust finished this.
Something wants me to keep making music. It spoke to me through @MrKinetik, @LUNAMusic, @IndyMacHead, @Timothy_Dee, and @WiseGoodness.
#ATFU #SHRUGLIFE I love you all.
#ATFU #Live with The Native Sun. #Update
Mr. Kinetik and Rusty Redenbacher rocked with The Native Sun last night at The Jazz Kitchen. Quite a dope night, y’all. Tell ya what, that is an INCREDIBLE band and you need to check them out as soon as possible. Salute THE NATIVE SUN!
Wanted y’all to check this one out cuz the homey A-Sky was in the building and kicked the third verse for E Dot, who’s getting ready for the release of ‘Born To Fly’ and of course, gettin ready to head to CHINA, MAN! ‘Born To Fly’ drops online on September 3rd, yo.
Links below to a couple more clips from last night.
Mr. Kinetik & Rusty Redenbacher (with The Native Sun) - ‘Maybe One Day’ - LIve, 8/24/11
Mr. Kinetik & Rusty Redenbacher (with The Native Sun) - ‘Baby’ - Live, 8/24/11
Mr. Kinetik & Rusty Redenbacher (with The Native Sun) - ‘The Refinery’ - Live, 8/24/11
Of course, if you haven’t downloaded ‘The Professor And The Hustler’ yet #aswell as the latest by A-Sky, ‘Summertime Fling’ , we invite you to do so at the links below. Both are free albums and the sharing of the links is welcome, encouraged and appreciated.
Mr. Kinetik & Rusty Redenbacher - ‘The Profesor And The Hustler’ (Mediafire)
A-Sky - ‘SummerTime Fling’ (Mediafire)
Enjoy the footage and stay in touch with us on Twitter. Thanks for all the support as always.
We getting warmer, huh…?
#ATFU, THAT’S WHAT WE HOLL’IN BOUT…
#ATFU Live. Four clips and links for #TPATH and #SummerTimeFling in here, man.
#ATFU #GetItGoin @MrKinetik, Fam Video…
Eric Romer a.k.a. ‘A & Romer’ laced up a slideshow and unofficial video for the lead single from ‘Sounds Of Soul’. Dig this. Very fly…
‘Sounds Of Soul’ will be available online, August 2nd.
You can download ‘Get It Goin’ here.
and make sure to hit the archive and check out all the stuff we’ve released on this blog…that’s why it’s there, babay!
Heck, we’ve even made it easy for you…
Here’s the link to the page that has EVERY release featured on this page..and we try to make sure it stays updated…
EVERY FREE RELEASE ON #ATFU; THE BLOG OF THE TORNADO ALLEY.
and of course, our Twitter page…
#ATFU…this is work…and we love it.
All Together For Us…
WOO!
@MrKinetik, ‘Sounds Of Soul’, AUGUST 2!
#ATFU #FreeDownload - @MrKinetik -#GetItGoin
“Get It Goin” is the first single from Mr. Kinetik’s album, Sounds Of Soul, that will be released August 2nd. This album will be available at Mr. Kinetik’s Bandcamp page and listeners can name their own price for the album as well. Mr. Kinetik has been putting this project together for quite some time as a one-man band while working with the rest of #ATFU, s.a.i.n.t. RECON, Eratic, and a few other side projects in between. The album covers Mr. Kinetik’s range as a musician, a producer, and a songwriter.
Download “Get It Goin” here or by clicking the picture and get Sounds Of Soul on August 2nd at Mr. Kinetik’s Bandcamp. We’ll post the link to that here on release day as well.#ATFU - We get it goin and we keep it movin…search the archive and get caught up with the whole crew.
WOO! New @MrKinetik! #SOUNDSOFSOUL - AUGUST 2!!
Follow @ATFU_
#RustyWrites (7/19/11, 1:14 a.m.)
Folks, this is just a wicked picture.
Look, man…I’m fuckin skinny. I mean.. ‘Eat a sammich, BOY!’ skinny. It’s just how it is for me. Always been like this.
There’s been ALL kindsa times in my life when I was like, “Yeah, I’m finna take up more space, yo. Let Russ get big on these fools and it is ON!”, ate more, drank milk shakes and all types of shit. Just don’t stick, man. I’m ‘Kid Ectomorph’. Shit, I’m ‘King Ectomorph’.
I’ve gotten over it over the years. It’s just gonna be me. Trips me out, I’d bet 75-85% of my friends would love to have this problem. I hear them talk about ‘losing a coupla pounds’ and watch them pat their bellies and they don’t know I’m a wee bit envious.
Well, my friend of 20 years, Jen Pollack-Bianco and I have been in touch via Twitter. She travels the world and takes photographs of LEGIT rock-stars, man. You can see some of her work at her BADASS blog —-> MyLifeAsATrip.com. (You might as well hit the link to follow her on Twitter up there too, man. She’s tweetin photos from all over the world that will trip you out…and she’s cool AF)
Anyway, she told me she wanted to shoot me. I half laughed it off and was like, ‘mehhhh’ cuz I knew she takes pics of BAWSES. My buddy, Dee hit me up and let me know, “Russ, do that.” I was already taking her seriously (I teased her a lot and made ridiculous rock-star demands though), but Tim made me focus. “Aight, lemme get real.”
Jen and I talked ideas and influences and I was into it. Great dialogue. Then the ‘shirt’ request. *siiiiiiigh* NAW, MAN! NOT THAT! NOT THE SHIRT OFF!! I laughed this off again, because well, I get this a lot and I have always avoided it. I did it before and the pic came out beautiful, but I just would rather have on a bawse t-shirt.
I knew my homey wouldn’t make me look bad. In fact, I knew she’d make me look good. I had to get over my shit. Sure, I’ll take my shirt off at a show onstage, but the #swagjackets are getting put on QUICK. I ain’t used to getting a whole buncha pics of me taken with my shirt off, oh…and the last time, they ‘Framptoned’ me…you take fiffylebben pics of me with my shirt on and the one you take with my shirt off makes the COVER. HA!
#Swag… *shrugs*
Ayo, I’m over my shit and I’m a chief, man. The base. The bass. The #BASEDRUSTY. I’m all that. I’m over my shit and I’m ready to do whatever it takes to let the world know that not only do I roll with an amaaaaaaaaaaazing team in The Tornado Alley (#ATFU)
(My dude A-SKY drops later today on #ATFU, Our Tumblr…and it’s free, so check in…)
…but I’m a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad man. Thanks to my great old friends and my good new friends.
I’m out here rockin, man.
#ATFU #SHRUGLIFE #TBM #LANON #NAPTOWN ADIYM
(Click the pic to see me and Mr. Kinetik on the road and the stage. We WORK. #ATFU)
