Beatmart is back? New releases

Beatmart Recordings, the label that brought you polished releases from Soul P., Japhia Life, Rob Hodge, and Eric Cross will be offering its entire instrumental catalog for digital download today -7/28/09.

The tracks will be available for purchase at iTunes, Amazon.com, and all major online distribution sites.

“At Beatmart, we want to reinvent ourselves by investing greater into the individual consumer through the digital space. We want to share our assets with the people and offer our help in getting them where they want to go musically,” Beatmart president Todd Collins said.

“If giving them access to our catalog of instrumentals helps accelerate that process, then we will count it as a success – one person at a time."

Does this mean the company (once considered dead) has been resurrected?

"Beatmart is planning to make a comeback,” Collins said. “It won’t be without a lot prayer and hard work, but we see this release of our instrumentals as a small step in heading back in the right direction.

"In the meantime, I hope people can use what we were blessed with to be able to create through the years so far. We have plans to bring many more down the line.

Related:

R.I.P. Beatmart & Gotee Records - S.O.U.L. Magazine article by Sketch the Journalist

Unpublished: Willie Will review

Here's an older review that got sacked before it could see the light of day. Enjoy.

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The kid’s got heart. He’s got concepts. There’s a well-known and talented producer behind the boards. There’s depth to his lyrics.

But listening to Willie Will’s major label debut, Reflection, there still seems to be some sort of disconnect.

I mean, I liked Will’s cameo on Soul P’s “Do My Thang” and we’ve heard him sound nice on the Best of the Submissions mixtapes…. but I’m simply not “wowed!”

That’s not to say there isn’t any quality work here though. “Say So”, in particular, caught me in the second round with its clever, two-fisted hook:

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so / “So!”
If you’ve been redeemed by the Lord say so / “So!”
Let it show / put your fist in the air and say /“So!”

Which later turns into:

Man, I used to see you in the club… / “So?!?”
Man, I used to see you smokin’ bud… / “So?!?”
Man, I used to see you with them thugs… / “So?!?”
Man, you was with them chicks gettin’ love… / Man…“So?!?”

In truth, that’s actually one of the dopest turns of phrase I’ve heard in a while.

And “Blame Game” does a cool perspective shift in each verse where Will narrates the story of finger-pointing Christians named Johnny, Donny, and Ronnie. Again, you may not catch it on the first listen, but as you give it a second or third spin the pieces of the puzzle come together to create a cool little portrait.

I was also impressed at the honesty and storytelling of “Help Me” where Willie Will admits his fight against Flesh to lend tangible aid to those in his immediate vicinity who are suffering. In this song you get several snapshots with poignant details that paint a clear picture of the scene and situation.

So that’s at least three check marks in the “Plus” column right?

Maybe it was the over polished production. Todd Collins has been known to make some nice beats and guide a project to success with equal amounts of commercial and street acumen. (See Soul P’s “The Premiere.”)

But most of the backbeats here just fall flat. The only real heat is found in “Move Somethin’” and “Say So.”

And if those are the head nodders, the head scratcher may be the indiscernible chorus of “All For You.”

This track is very similar to Knine’s “For You” in that it tells the Easter story from the perspective of the Crucified Savior. Unfortunately, in this version you can’t tell what the words are in the hook.

Is he saying “It’s God baby?”, “It’s all baby?”, or “It’s on baby?”

It’s the most powerful story in the world and yet the muddy loop leaves the listener in the dark. Quite puzzling indeed.

Perhaps my ambivalence toward this record is that whenever there’s a featured performance (Soul P on “We Don’t Back Down” and k-Drama on “Shine”) I’m more drawn to the guest’s verse than Will’s.

It could also be that on a song like “No” Willie Will sounds like a right-wing Republican hitting all the key platform issues of gay marriage, school prayer, and keeping the word “God” on our currency and in our national pledge.

It’s not that I think these items aren’t worthy of discussion or exploration. It’s just that they seem

1) out of place on this album,
2) like talking points from the “No Spin Zone”, and
3) like it’s a calculated attempt to reach a target demographic.

So, what’s the final grade? I have to conclude that it’s an unbalanced sum of highs and lows that make it an average contribution to the Beatmart catalog.

Willie Will has both talent and potential. It’s just not reflected in great portion here.

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Video for "Shine"

Reprint: Soul P "The Arrival" (U-Zone Magazine - April/May/Jun 07)

Here's a reprint of the Soul P cover story I wrote for U-Zone Magazine's April/May/June 2007 issue. If you dig it subscribe to the joint or check into buying some ad space and support holy hip hop journalism.

You can also hear Soul P interviewed on The Wade-O Radio Show you can get on HCR.fm or as a free podcast through iTunes.

[My apologies to Wade for giving him bad info about P's mission trip when he asked for input on the message boards prior to his interview. I told him Soul went to Bolivia when it was really Grenada. I got it right in the story and incorrect on the post. My bad! Thanks for the on-air rib though Wade. It's all love.]



The Arrival:

Okay, let’s go ahead and acknowledge the obvious. Yes, Soul P. is the underground cat you used to know as Soul Plasma. Yes, he’s got a record deal and some marketing money behind him now. And yeah, his latest album is designed for maximum sales and airplay.

Is it a sell-out? Maybe to some, but P doesn’t see it that way.

“Sure, The Premiere is a very commercial record, but it’s soulful at the same time,” the artist said. “I’m comfortable in this role and don’t think I’ve really changed that much. I do what I do and that’s it.”

The album’s title is a bit of a misnomer. Syntax Records initially featured P in 2002 on the Acts 29: Under Exposed compilation with Braille and Ohmega Watts. He also released his Simply Soul and The Soul Affect albums on an indie level shortly thereafter. In fact, The Premiere theme is actually attempting to draw upon the image of a Hollywood movie launch more than a particular artist’s debut. But even that has drawn its critics.

“Yeah, I’ve read some corny e-mails and message board posts that I was being too flossy or that my album cover and promo shots made it seem like I was glorifying myself,” Soul P. confides. “I think they just missed the idea we were going for. I mean, the album cover is about a red carpet, step-out-the-limo type thing. That’s it.”

P said he responded to some of these keyboard critics and let others go unanswered. He further defends by saying he could have taken the easy route and simply given a mean mug glance to the camera for a thugged-out cover shot with a posse full of homies in the background. And it’s not like the album’s title was something more high-minded or abstract like Grace or Peace.

“It’s cool though. My manager always tells me that if you don’t have critics, then you don’t have fans.”



Beatmart, the ever-expanding label run by super producer Todd Collins definitely has Soul P.’s back. Of all the albums and artists released by the company, this one seems to be given a little extra nurture and care.

The Premiere was marketed with a free download snippet-blend mixtape by DJ Morphiziz, a “Getting’ In With Soul P.” pre-release video blog, an album single video shoot with A-list production crew, is part of a joint partnership with Sony/ BMG, and had P hitting pop networking scenes like the NBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas and the Sundance Film Festival.

“The reason we’re pushing The Premiere so hard is because, we as a label, believe so much in this record and in Soul P. as a person,” Todd Collins said via e-mail. “Hopefully in the end, a ton of people will have been exposed to this record, to Soul as an artist, and a ton of lives will be impacted as a result. That’s our prayer.”

Talk to just about anyone who has collaborated with or observed Soul P.’s work ethic and you’ll get the impression that any rewards or benefits now coming his way are well deserved.

“Soul P. is a joy to work with. Not only is he a man of God, he is a hard worker, in and out of the studio. He also has a keen ear for hooks, which we love over here. Creatively, we just mesh,” said Elected Official of Winona Drive Productions.

“We trust his opinions and he trusts ours, and the stuff we do together comes out crazy fresh. I don't even think he's hit his stride yet either. He has a lot of great ideas and is just beginning to grow into who he is as an artist.”

The artist formerly known as Plasma has also impressed gospel rap vets.

“I think Soul P. is the next-now. He definitely has the talent and the swagger and his connection to Beatmart can only lead to success. I love his CD!” Ras said.

In fact, Lil’ Raskull’s Grapetree records were some of the first holy hip hop soundtracks Soul P. heard after his 1998 jail stint and decision to follow Christ.

Although Mike Greene’s (aka Soul P.) northwest upbringing has the familiar street-thug-to-rapper storyline, it wasn’t any less painful or undeserving of respect. He says his various times behind bars were for knucklehead robbery and drug selling stunts as a juvenile. After getting his release, he was mentored and discipled by a youth pastor that gave him a legit job doing roof repair.

Once in church and seeing the kingdom of God expressed through hip hop, Soul P. was sold. He linked up with the Lightheaded (Braille & Ohmega Watts) folks for the Acts 29 project and later developed his Soul Plasma persona for the two indie records. By the time his “Five Fingers” track made it on Beatmart’s Best of the Submissions Vol. 2, the buzz had begun.

Now, he’s husband and father trying to balance family with constantly touring and spreading his light to schools and Christian festivals. Peep his schedule and you’ll see dates with mainstream artists like Bubba Sparxxx followed by trip to Grenada for events with international evangelist Luis Palau.



Is Soul P. too flashy and polished to be a Christian who raps? Or this is perhaps a role that needs to be effectively filled in order for this message music to obtain its maximum impact and audience grab.

Too often, holy hip hop is only made for the street or the underground. Surely there’s a fence-straddling Kanye West in our midst who can satisfy both the artistic and commercial urges of our industry.

In fact, he may have just made his Premiere.

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Watch the video for Soul P's "Whoa, Whoa!" below.