I am embarking on a musical endeavor that will be a freestyle album. Because a lot of my fans aren’t exactly hip hop heads, I feel the need to explain the meaning behind this effort, and also to explain the authenticity of the recordings to those that ARE heavily steeped in the underground hip hop multiverse.
What is a freestyle?
Simply put, a freestyle is an adlibbed section of lyrics which is constructed on-the-fly. There is no writing, everything is spontaneously thrown together over an instrumental without forethought. It is a chaotic lyrical expression. I love freestyling. Some people call it cyphering or improv. In any name, I love it.

The problem is this.

I freestyle all the time. Sometimes my freestyles are so awesome, that I later turn the concept into a fleshed out song. But more often than not, they are simply not recorded at all. These poor freestyles could have been amazing, awesome and excellent displays of showmanship. While freestyles are always a treat to be exposed to when viewing a live performance, it is hard to capture that energy and craziness on a recording.

The mission of this album is to present the spontaneity of freestyle rap, and to preserve the authenticity of it as well. The lyrics are all completely improvised and I only use minor recording techniques to augment the song. I insert chorus tracks that are also improvised and utilize ‘punch ins’ to start new verses. If I find that a verse is garbage, I just delete it and start over.

The real fun of freestyling is that I try to let the audience participate by submitting the subject matter. This album will be no different. To try and simulate that type of meta, I will be looking to my fans for suggestions, try to post videos of sticakam freestyles, and all that other goodness you’d expect in a live freestyle.

Anyway, here are two of the tracks I have constructed already:

The title will be LunguaFoeda Acheronsis, which means “Foul Tongue of Acheron.” So expect cursing and grossness.

-Shinobz

Any donations/purchases received for this albums will be donated to the family of Mike Pandel,
a friend who is no longer with us. The CD is available for purchase through Kunaki.com.
Feel free to download the album or make a donation through the paypal button. Thank you very much.

-Shinobz

Triforce Mike, King of Nerds.

It’s hard to bury the memory of a friend who so filled us all with love. Harder still is it to remember him, when each joyous memory reveals the sting of pain. We were all wounded when Mike Pandel passed on, but it would have been his choice to see us all happy rather than to mourn our loss. I still have his number in my phone, and I try to smile at his name, but more often than not I find myself breaking that promise to stay happy.
When the Scott Pilgrim novels reached their climax early last year, it was Mike who handed me that final volume, free of charge, courtesy of Aaron Haaland. He told me that he was certain I would enjoy it. As anyone could tell you, he had a way of reading people down to their basest needs, and he comforted all with his dramatic, erratic and joyous personality. So many will remember his brightly burning smile and witty bantering and so too shall they secretly cry out for him to return if only to say goodbye.
We all loved you terribly, Mike.

I will see you again someday, and we’ll have adventure time in Poke-Mansion.

Because I love you guys, I am sending every CD purchaser a present this year.
If you want to participate in a gift exchange, I would be happy to send you guys my personal address.
If you purchase my ‘Shinobi MC’ CD anytime between now and Xmas, I will do my best to send you a present as well! Please be merry and share my free download link with anyone you meet from now ’til the big day. I love you guys so much, thank you for a rockin’ year. I hope to have Rapsylvania ready to put in your stockings, ho ho ho ho ho ho HO!

Also, I can’t attest to my diligence in checking this post, but please send me a message on facebook or something if you wanna get sent a xmas card, freestyle seasons greetings, etc.

Hank Kill by kyle-evan-bunnell
 

Im a gangster.
I got that gangster gold.
too much gold for my banks to hold.
yo the gold I stole it overflows in rolls,
Iced out, frost presence cold soul for sho.

Starting a gang war is the thang that I came for
leave you on the floor in the cave of a rancor.
and in case you escape I will chase you through space
and erase your face with my ethereal mace.

girl turn your body back, get inside the pontiac
ridin on dubs to the clubs, where the hotties at?
self employed millionaire cruisin with the throttle back
screwed by more jobs than my man steve wozniak

rat-tat-tat got gold and gats, gotta a new type flow
yours is old and flat. yo I told them cats that I
control the cash.
so if you wanna get rich, I'll extol the facts

Call me hank hill cause im very pro-pain
my lyrics flow through your veins to explode in your brain
and I'm known in the game as the nerdy rap king
standing on the front stage sippin watered down drinks X2

mesmerise minds with my rhymes when i'm writing them
deciding in an instant if I'm hatin'them or I'm liking them.
I'm dying like a viking trying way too many vicodin
I might begin to write again if anyone one was buying them

I'm lying when I'm telling you I live fast, no cash
throat slashed, screaming in the mirror to give my hope back.
no that's a lie too, I never tried to, but I fantisize demise
at night until my eyes are tired, too. 

your entire crew is living in denial, I will hold a tribal trial
and my rulership is final.
spit into a pit of drivel for miles and miles
with cyanide rhymes designed to toxify your idols.

meltin' it with acid baths and bad raps collapse
into a pile of trash and have a nap.
whatever that track is behind me reminds me the
minuettes of infinite duets will always find me.

Call me hank hill cause im very pro-pain
my lyrics flow through your veins to explode in your brain
and I'm known in the game as the nerdy rap king
standing on the front stage sippin watered down drinks X2

Proof that Nintendo invented nerdcore.

Better than most noob nerdcore artists out there.

-Shinobz

The other night I hopped onto Netflix to check out a samurai movie. I noticed that Netflix has one Akira Kurosawa film, ‘Kagemusha.’ I was not prepared for the epic tale that lay in store for me. The film starts out with great dialogue from the get-go and sets the stage for what could only be one of the greatest tales of loyalty, deception and war. There are moments of profound character development which are carried along by the tumultuous plot line. The climax is basically The Last Samurai’s ending scene, 20+ years senior. The film also brings insight into a warring states general I had never paid much interest in, Takeda Shingen. The loyalty of his men and the the legendary phrase “A Mountain does not Move!” echo in my mind today, standing as testament to the chilling dialogue presented in this amazing movie.

The term Kagemusha refers to one whose sole responsibility is to impersonate a person of importance, be it during battle or otherwise. The kagemusha in the movie refuses his duties when he learns that the beneficiary of his services was slain, and cancels his impersonation out of grief. What happens throughout the film transforms him into a man who eventually sees how important his own self worth has become since changing his life from a lowly thief. The sub plots triangulating out from this concern Shingen’s brother (who also served has his brother’s kagemusha) and Shingen’s son (whom is spited by the fact that he will not be usurping his fathers Daimyo.) Alongside this we see scenes of both Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga searching through layers of subterfuge in an attempt to discern the truth behind Shingen’s reported death. The respect between the men, their generals and among the rivaling generals themselves is a treasure to see. There is even a obligatory Nobunaga ‘fan dance’ scene. 

” A man’s life of 50 years under the sky
is nothing compared to
the age of this world.
Life is but a fleeting dream, an illusion –
Is there anything that lasts forever? “

Oda dances with one of these in literally every samurai movie I have ever seen.

I have heard some complaints about the pacing of the movie, but I really can’t complain. There are enormous sets with literally thousands of people on screen in full armor marching for seven minutes without cutaways. Aside from this, there are also scenes which display the formality between the Samurai . These scenes feature lengthy and ceremonial bowing, prostrating and respectful traditions. While these scenes do take a bit of time to complete, such is the dedication of the Japanese people to their time honored ceremonies. The movie is a period piece, and I would expect nothing less. It’s truly beautiful.

If you get a chance to sit down and watch a good samurai movie, let this be your choice.

Shinobi, out!

-shinobz

The Money Boys is a rap satire group involving Rappy McRapperson, MC Wreckshin and myself.  We started the money boys concept during silly freestyle sessions, but later adapted it into a household name after MC Wreckshin’s “Show Me How To Blow Dudes” became targeted by Sage Francis for being “Racist.”

While this isn’t the first time nerdcore has received flak for being perceived as racist, it came as a surprise to us all that the simple, good-natured message of SMHTBD was labeled as such, when it’s really just a funny how-to rap extolling the joys of male-to-male fellatio.  To quote Schaffer the Darklord:  

“I use hiphop as a vehicle to tell jokes, but never at the expense of hiphop.”

That being said, I now ask what precisely is WRONG with homosexual themed lyrics in hiphop?  Women in hiphop are constantly being sexually objectified in the crudest ways.  Our aim was not to insult rap, nor was it to offend anyone’s sexual orientation.  The idea was to show crowds a few things:

• Heavily sexual lyrics are demeaning to women, turning the tables around and targeting men instead lightens that burden on women and transfers it to men instead.  This in turn leaves both sexes to truly understand the disparity between both perspectives.
• Even if it’s far off in this country, there WILL one day be openly homosexual rappers.  I will embrace them like brothers.  Who knows how many gay men are out there right now hiding their sexual preference to maintain an ‘acceptable’ hip hop image?  Look back at Metal God Rob Halford and his covert sexual identity.
• Satire’s are funny, but the message is concrete.  I don’t want to offend anyone but the narrow-minded.  Again, I stress that the emphasis of our jokes are not at the expense of the gay community.  Our elaborate and ostentatious sexual adventures, drug references and criminal activities mentioned in the songs are the intended jokes.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I hope the world is ready for us!  Open wide and prepare to swallow what follows.
The album is due to be released this week.

‎”The Money Boys are a poignant backlash to an industry that revels in overt sexualization and exploitation of women. By reversing the traditional roles and sexualizing men instead, The Money Boys show the average hip-hop listener how uncomfortable heavily sexualized lyrics can be.”  -Benjamin Bear

Wing is the most amazing creature on the planet.  If you don’t believe me, compare her to a unicorn or any similar mythical beauty.  My friends and I did a computer-safety rap with her!  It’s the bees-knees.

SAFE COMPUTER.

-Shinobz