I know it's been a minute since we posted a blog on our site. I really appreciate all the support we have from all of you. As you know our last album had a crazy line up of dope MC's. If you have had a chance to listen to the album, you know that it is our best to date.

Right now the group is taking a little bit of a breather to relax and work on more music but I am still out doing shows and representing Unspoken Levels. I played a gig last week at the Red Eyed Fly. It was my first show performing a whole set solo and it turned out well. Big ups to all of you who came out to support. IF you haven’t had a chance to get the album, we are still giving it for free for a short time so get it while you can.

I have a solo album that is pretty much ready to release and as soon as I get the funds to master it and design the artwork it will be available on the site. Also, I am in the works on another album as we speak. I have been posting many freestyle videos that I will begin adding to this site shortly. I will send out an e-mail once they are up. Feel free to e-mail me at hello@unspokenlevels.com with any topics you would like me to rap about or any beats you would like to hear me freestyle over. Thanks again and spread keep spreading the word on UL

Peace and Blessings,
Mr. Metaphysical

Here's a little sneak peek of the new album artwork. Won't be long now friends. We're sending these puppies off tomorrow for production!







Stay tuned in. We're about to lift off.

Peacefullness,
Idol-C

Well alright, everything is everywhere and it’s all a big fat mystery!

This weekend we shot a new music video for a song called “From Within,” which is actually the last track on our new album. It’s probably the most feel good track of the new songs, and we definitely had some fun driving all around Austin to shoot the footage. Walkin’ down 6th street in downtown ATX, rapping to the camera is awkward, but actually a good time. We also got together for a photo shoot this weekend…so we should have some fresh new pics of the whole crew up just in time to submit to SXSW.

The best part of this weekend was rocking the crowd at Ruta Maya! We played for a very small crowd at midnight on a Sunday…but sometimes the vibes just line up and you tap into that true love. It was really dope actually. Thanks to DJ Notion who is putting on a weekly hip hop showcase at Ruta Maya every Sunday. Much love.

Pics from this weekend below.

Love and love,
Idol-C

Metaphysic on the set


Photo shoot behind the scenes


Rockin the mic at Ruta Maya


Video shoot behind the scenes


DJ Notion at the Ruta Maya Sound Session


Backup singers on the video set


Unspoken crew after the show


Settin up at Ruta Maya

10.10.10 pix = video shoot + photo shoot + show at ruta maya

All of us in Unspoken Levels work 40 hours a week in some office jobs. We’ve all been in this group now for over 7 years and we’ve put in a lot of time, effort and energy to stay creative and keep putting out positive music. We can’t really say that we’ve had much fame or fortune come our way because of it, and yet for some reason, we’re still compelled to the art making process of the group.

I would say that our vision has always been to stay focused on the love and power of true hip hop. To have as much fun as we can with it and let go of any preconceived outcomes that we think should happen. Keep it flowin and keep it from the heart.

I’m bringing all this up because I think it’s kind of the central theme of Welcome To Where You Are. Most of the songs on the album are about being cool with what’s happening right now. To take a breath and just accept life in whatever form it takes in this moment. It’s all good…even if things seem difficult. It’s where you are, so you might as well welcome it.

It's all for love.

Speaking of love, we got the first proofs back of the album masters and it sounds awesome! This is definitely the highest quality sound we’ve ever captured on record. We just need to make a couple small tweaks and then we’re gonna send off the master for some CD replication.

Until then, I wanted to go ahead and share the full track list:

1. Rise & Shine (with Alesia Lani)
2. Off the Wall (with Braille)
3. Hip Hop 2 Me (with Zumbi & Raashan Ahmad)
4. I Am Leaving
5. Glass House (with Manchild)
6. Take a Break
7. Live It!
8. Home
9. Fresh Fruit
10. Sight Without Seeing
11. The Forgotten Song (with Grace Park)
12. Straight Talk
13. What We Do (with Gift of Gab)
14. Back & 4th
15. From Within


Album suggestion of the week:

Move In by The Blue Hit

Why? We got to support the local Austin music scene, and this just happens to be one of my favorite albums of the past couple years. The Blue Hit are a 3 person group with a celloist, guitarist and female vocalist. The album is a soft and simple collection of moving lyrical poetry in the forefront and beautiful cinematic layers in the background. It also doesn't hurt that the lead singer, Grace Park, is featured on our new album. Enjoy!



And just for fun here's an awesome video of The Blue Hit I found last week:


What do you think? Do you dig it?

Peace and music,
Idol-C

Man it feels good to have the new site up and going. I don't even know how long it's been since we had a website, but this one is definitely leaps and bounds from what we used to have. We built this using an online company called bandzoogle, and they make it super easy for indie groups like us to set up a good band website with all sorts of bad ass tools. It's also really easy to update. This kinda sounds like a commercial…I guess I'm just really stoked on it!

So we just sent the album off to be mastered last Monday, and we should be getting the first proof back sometime this week or next. After that we’re gonna have a limited release here on the website and hopefully a record release party sometime soon after.

This album really feels like we’ve been working on it FOREVER! I’m actually looking through my emails right now and the first song we started was “What We Do” around the first of May in 2007. That first song was crazy, because we threw it together really quick after we saw a small ad on Gift of Gab’s myspace asking for artists to hit him up for collaborations. The song came together pretty well so we emailed it over to him and we kinda forgot about it for 3 months or so. We never heard a word back. Then, one day I was just barely getting on the highway to drive back home to Austin after visiting my ex-girlfriend in Lubbock, and my phone rings:

I answer the call, “Hello?”

The voice replies, “Yo, is this Chris?”

“Yeah, what’s up? Who is this?”

“Yo what’s up man it’s Gift of Gab. What you up to?”

Laughing and a little star struck I reply, “Not much man, just cruising back to Austin. What up with you???”

Lol. It was a surreal experience. After making a connection with someone like that we got the idea in our heads that we should reach out to all of our favorite emcees and musicians to see if they would be down to make a song with us. It totally worked! We ended up collaborating with some artists that we truly admire. That’s one of the really cool things about hip hop…it’s one of the few genre’s where collaborations and featured artists are really encouraged and supported by both the fans and the musicians. It’s all about unity.

Well, that’s enough storytellin’ for now. As promised in the header here is our weekly music suggestion.

Album suggestion of the week:

Joyful Rebellion by K-Os

Why? This album is just flat out progressive hip hop! Lot's of positive energy, skillfull wordplay, and all around musical talent. K-Os know's what's up. It's a good mix of reggae, break beats, rock, and even folk music all interwoven into some fresh hip hop. Jam it!



Aight, I’ll be back next week with some more details and background info on Unspoken Levels' new album Welcome to Where You Are.

Until then, leave me a comment. What do you think of the new site? What have you been jammin lately?

Peace and lovlies,
Idol-C