Support the NEW Astronote project “Weapon of the Future”! This project features Magestik Legend, Jamall Bufford (Buff1), Stahhr, Journalist 103 (from The Left), Finale, Rasco, Trek Life, T. Calmese, Edo G and more! Check the sounds from Hip Hop newest universally well-rounded producer hailing from France.

Click here: http://astronote.bandcamp.com/album/weapon-of-the-future-lp

Check out this song by the talented young Musician Ken Ross featuring Magestik Legend! Dope!!

-
MLstaff

Classic Material!!

- Magestik Legend

Happy Holler Dollar Day!!

Ok so, we over at Team Legend don’t really do the whole “Valentine’s Day” thing…BUT! We’d like to dedicate this track to all the Lovers in the world. Especially to those that have survived trials and tribulations over the years. This Magestik Legend track: “Eye Need You” produced by 14KT (from The Great Escape album) is an ode to complete communication and unconditional love. If you have those two blessings in your life, hold on to it and Enjoy!

Read the heartfelt words that ML has to say about this track then check out the Free Download of “Million Miles Away” prod by (Red Bull Big Tune Beat Battle Champ) 14KT from Magestik Legend’s “The Great Escape” album. Hope all is well with you and your Family!

“For this song, especially the 3rd verse, I want to make a Special Dedication to the shining memory of my Amazing Dad and Super Hero who recently passed away after a lengthy bout with Alzheimer’s Disease. I know a lot of people can relate to that verse and this song as a whole. If you are dealing with the struggle of experiencing a family member or friend who has Alzheimer’s Disease, just know that you are not alone and make sure they know that they are not alone either. Be there for them and Stay Strong for them! Take care of your Family always. Peace and Power.” ~ Magestik Legend

Magestik Legend preforms at the League Ballroom on the University of Michigan Campus for the 7th Annual Midwest Hip-Hop Congress Summit this Friday, FEB 4th. Other artist featured in the show include Freeway, Binary Star, Invincible, Buff1 and more. Tickets available at Ticketmaster. Check www.hhcmidwest.com for more info.

- Interview by Justin Boland

Magestik Legend is one of my favorite rappers, period. Detroit Native, Scribble Jam veteran, he’s evolved an intricate, cinematic style and writes some of the best lyrics anywhere. That’s not what this interview is about, though. What’s exceptional about Magestik Legend’s hustle is the long term vision he’s had since day one: he understands the entire production chain and he’s built a team to execute everything in-house. The result gives him total creative control and a strong business foundation. He was gracious enough to talk shop here about organization, discipline and DIY everything…

AH: Why do Detroit emcees scare the living shit out of anyone else on the planet? Is it mutual competition that keeps everyone sharp?

Magestik Legend:I think that Detroit emcees naturally grow up feeling like “the Underdog” due to our low economy level, lack of direct government assistance and mostly overcrowded communities. I believe that Hunger easily transfers into the soul of our Music. So when we write a verse, we attack the track with a sense of urgency that screams: “Now or Never!” Also I believe that Detroit’s involvement in the MC Battle culture has made our Emcees more aggressive. We battle amongst each other to be heard so by the time we make it to the masses our steel is sharp.

You’ve got some of the most intricate verses I’ve heard from anyone — what’s your process for songwriting? Do you put your tracks through a lot of drafts and revisions or is the quality control mostly automatic for you at this point?

My fellow artists call me “the Mad Scientist” cause there’s really no method to my madness. Sometimes I’ll take 3 weeks to finish a song. Then the next week I’ll finish a better song in 15 minutes. It just depends on how inspired I am and how I feel as a whole. I can’t create unless I feel a creative energy. Can’t force anything. Sometimes I’m so inspired and full of energy that I’ll freestyle a whole song and it will sound like I wrote it, but those songs are usually concepts that I’ve already been thinking and pondering on for weeks beforehand.

What are your most important tools for keeping your business organized in 2010?

Magestik Legend: I’m still learning these tools. The best tools I’ve noticed thus far are: Patience, Communication and Documentation. That’s just to name a few. Unbiased honesty is very important, too. The biggest test is keeping the entire team on the same page with the same energy of momentum. If I can maximize that momentum, I feel my team will be unstoppable.

How long have you been engineering for? Is that a significant source of work for you?

Magestik Legend: I’ve been engineering for about 7 years for myself and for crew. I mostly do pre-production (recording, initial mixing, sequencing, etc). Most of the instrumental mixing is done by my main producer Astronote. Engineering is a constant learning process for me. It saves me a lot of money and also gives me a more hands on approach with my music. I’m not the type of artist that can just record a verse and leave it with an engineer to mix. I have a lot of creative input.

Do you work with a management team or are you doing most of the promotional and organizing work yourself these days?

Magestik Legend: Before this point I was a “One-Man-Team”. I did everything by myself because I had to. I learned a lot of important lessons during that time, but now I’m about maximizing my time and effort with like-minded people. So recently, I’ve started a Team that actually named itself: “Team Legend.” To me, that name has taken on more of deeper meaning than the obvious connotation. We are still building the blocks, step by step, to be a strong enough Team to leave a lasting impression on this world.

What kind of team have you built up over the years? Who is involved with making your operation work properly?

Magestik Legend: The team I have built has come from the people around me that believe in me the most. I grew up with a very independent “do it yourself” mind state. Lately, within the last couple years, I’ve been slowly growing out of that ideology thanks to the like-minded people who have literally worked their way into my life. I’d like to say my team is building itself piece by piece. My current team members are KyLA (from blacknbling), Romero (the Ghost), Frank (FWMJ) and Astronote ((Classic Stereo)) just to name a few. We are the foundation. This is just the beginning. The Saga Continues…it only gets greater.

Do you think your audience is mostly in the US, or mostly overseas?

Magestik Legend: You know what…that’s a hard question to answer right now. I’m currently planning a few possible overseas shows, but as of now, I haven’t graced a stage outside of the US other than in Canada. I would guess that due to my production crew ((Classic Stereo)), which consists of Astronote from Paris, France and myself, that my audience may be a bit bigger overseas now.

Do you think hip hop is becoming too over-saturated in recent years, or does it just look that way to young dorks like me?

Magestik Legend:I think Hip Hop has become overwhelming, period, thanks to technology advancements. Nowadays anyone can make a digital home studio and make an album. Anyone can distribute their project on the internet. Anyone can start a blog to influence the minds of the robots that listen to their program. Its to the point where even the real fans of Great Music give up and settle for lesser because its such a chore to weed out the bullshit. Everybody is a Rapper. There used to be a since of respectable pride connected to my profession as an MC. To Rap used to be a rarity. Now its more like an expected satire. If only Hip-Hop had population control…

For One Week ONLY: ML-Tees are only $20. Go get yours while they last HERE.

Yo! I had to share this with you. I found this one day surfing the net. “This is a 1 hour clip of the bonus interview released on DJ Premier vs Pete Rock DVD in Japan.” These are two of my All Time Favorite Producers other than DILLA. In this Video: The Two Legends break down rare info about some of their most Popular releases. Just PEEP…Its get Deep.

Enjoy.

Oh! Also, While I was re:searching for this Video to post on my Blog; I found this one. Peep this 2. One.

- Posted by Magestik Legend

- Interview by Pj Smith

With all his prior material, the Free Lp and the To Be Continued series of tapes released to the public through a pay what you like system it comes as little surprise that Magestik Legends already solid fan base were looking for a physical release that they could spend their hard earned money on, The Great Escape sees their calls answered. Legend spits with an earnest and heartfelt honesty across the gamut of his catalogue and is not one to shy away from straining the vocal cords a little so as to lay down a harmony or two when occasion calls for it. With a year ahead that looks to take Magestik across his own home country and to far away lands (one of which will hopefully be our own) ACCLAIM sat down and got the same earnest MC on the other line that we’re used to hearing on the mic.

What’s new with you Magestik last year was a busy year for you yeah?

Yes! Last year was crazy busy according to plan. Right now my focus is on pushing The Great Escape. Also working on booking some shows. Might start writing again soon. Feeling creative.

One of the biggest things I’ve noticed with your releases is your continuing build in confidence with your singing. How has this process been and how do you see it fitting in with your sound?

Its funny cause I never planned to sing in my music. The Eye Need You hook started off as chorus idea for Dwele. I originally wanted him to relay that hook with his own style, but I couldn’t make that happen in time for the song. Most of my singing hooks started off as ideas that people ended up liking. So I just kept them. Also, songwriting for a couple singers helped me understand a bit more about harmonies and layers. I really don’t want to force that talent though. I just hold a note every now and then when needed.

Obviously, conceptually you’ve created a link between this album The Great Escape and your previous LP Free Magestik Legend. How does The Great Escape follow through from this earlier release?

Free and The Great Escape are but chapters away from each other in the same book. Free is the good intention. “The Great Escape” is the affirmative Action needed to carry out that Intention. Also there are other more direct connections. A lot of songs from Free were mentioned on Hey You (Special Dedication), In and Out and Street Corner connect to Gonna Miss Me and Waste My Time content-wise. Thanks to… connects to Heaven’s Angels in chronological order.

Between 2007 and 2010 you seem to have taken a break from releasing any material can I ask what you were concentrating on for those 3 years? Was it touring? Recording? Time away from music in general?

It was all of the above. I took some time out to get a better business sense for this industry, build Team Legend, nurture profitable relationships, raise my daughter from age four to seven, do shows, record, plot and plan my releases etc.

On the song Follow Thru you speak pretty openly about being just human and not wanting kids to follow your actions verbatim do you think this is an issue that more rappers need to address and do you think currently a lot of MC’s are saying one thing and doing the other?

A lot of positive rappers aren’t as perfect as they preach and a lot of negative rappers aren’t as bad as they say they are. My whole point in Follow Thru was that I’m not afraid to be human. I may know what’s best at times, but that doesn’t make me perfect in any right. Most of my music has some sort of a message or purpose that can at least ignite someone’s thought process; but at the end of the day you have to use your own common sense and follow through.

You’re a big advocate for getting out and getting yours. Do you think a lot of artists have the attitude that they deserve success rather than that they need to earn it?

I think a lot of artists just don’t know what it takes to make it to their goals. They only see their perception of the end results. Our superficial environments urge us to waste tons of money and time. I’ve yet to understand how artists with jobs can waste their paychecks on clothes and things instead of spending their money on plane tickets and merchandise to further their career.

One thing I didn’t realize was that this is essentially your first commercial release with all your prior material being free. Why did it feel like the right time to produce a commercial release?

I just felt like my fans and supporters were ready. They began to pressure me more and more for an LP with every free project I released. I do this for my fans and for the music; so I had to submit. Everything happened on time.

What’s the best way for you to generate inspiration for your writing? And growing up was there anyone within the local Detroit scene that mentored you or that you worked with that had a big influence on the way that you approach music?

Inspiration comes in many forms for me. It’s hard to pick the best way. An amazing beat will always get me charged up creatively. Sometimes listening to some of the classic music I came up on will get me in the mood to create. I never know. I can never force music. So when it comes to working on a project, everything boils down to building momentum. Once I’m on fire anything can happen. One time I wrote and recorded nine Full songs in three days for a project.

You seem to work predominantly with Astronote and 14KT production wise, do you still connect with House Shoes and Nick Speed at all? Do you think you’ll work with them on the production side of things again?

Yes. House Shoes and Nick Speed are the homies! Right now, the future is limitless and everything comes full circle; so that’s highly possible.

How do you feel about Nick Speeds move over to G-Unit, do you think that was a good look for him?

I think that was a great move to get him exposure, affiliation and connects. Now I feel it’s time for him to shine on his own. I’m looking forward to his solo releases.

You seem to have a lot of love for your city and fostering the local community. Do you see yourself staying in Detroit no matter how big your career gets? Or do you think you’ll just need to play it by ear?

I’m going to play that by ear. My beautiful daughter lives in Michigan; so that’s where I’ll be in between touring and traveling. I’d love to see the world city by city. When I was a young buck I only left Detroit to go to funerals and family reunions. There’s no way I can promise that I’ll live in Michigan forever. I will say that, no matter what, I’ll always keep in touch with the pulse of Detroit.

Obviously the album The Great Escape has dropped, what’s next from now on out and into 2011?

Shows, shows, shows and I also have a couple of future projects in the plans. Like The Black Opera extravaganza with Buff1 for instance and continuing to build a foundation in Team Legend. Keep your eyes and ears peeled. I’ll be around in more ways than one.