Muamin Collective

Artist Information

Biography

"We're on some rust belt-buckle and boot strap, all hand claps and bare knuckles, Dusty 45's, rusty factories, and blustery winters. . ."

Muamin Collective strated as a concept - rapid fire critical thought over beats. Simple? Not as easy as it is said, but over the last 8 years what started as a concept has become praxis. aLive is a scientist with the MPC, and ZiON is visionary in the crafting of song. Their third release WORLD B. FREE is relevant, smart, brash, and funky, a trip through nostalgia and future.

The two were childhood friends growing up on Cleveland's east side, banging on lunch tables and freestyling late into the night. After Highschool they lost touch, but fate would reconnect them a few years later at a party held in mutual friend and Muamin co-founder R.A. washington's studio space. The two quickly realized they were totally consumed by music, Listening to it, digging for it, and finally crafting it themselves. the rest is history. . . or at least discography

Accept this offering as a Gift for the muse, the Red, Black and Blues and the green between. Give these vibrations a home of Understanding, Cee US and know it's OnEWaY and that's UP

Engineered and Recorded by e.react

Instrumentation

Aaron "A-Live" Snorton - Producer / DJ
Josiah "Zion" Quarles - Emcee/Vocalist

Discography

All:
Fare Trade Records Sampler - 2008 (digital & limited CD)
Cleveland Brown Bomber Compliation (digital & limited CD) - 2008

Muamin Collective:
acompilationofthingstocome - 2003 (Limited)
Industry Standard - 2005 (Digital & Limited)
wHereMYpeopLes@?! - 2007 (Limited)
World B. Free - 2009 (Fare Trade Records)
soBlue itsBlack - 2012

aLive:
FALL07 (limited)
WIN08 (limited)
SUM08 (limited)
Major Works- 2009 (Cleveland Tapes)
5aLive - 2010 (Cleveland Tapes)

Official Website

http://www.muamincollective.com

Links

• Facebook
• Last.fm
• Twitter
• MySpace
• reverbnation

Audio

• Grandiose
  Listen  
• Jimi
  Listen  
• Claptadis
  Listen  
• FTF 2
  Listen  

Video

Horiztonal

Photo Gallery

Press

• Muamin Collective vs. Industry Standard [+ Show ]
  

  Industry Standard is a blast of the dope shit, the kind of stuff I will play for everyone I see, re...Industry Standard is a blast of the dope shit, the kind of stuff I will play for everyone I see, recommend to anyone who wants me to tell them what I think will be hot. The Muamin Collective conducts themselves with well written lyrics layered over tightly produced tracks. "White Tea" is one of the best tracks on Industry Standard, and this is not about an alternative to green tea, but rather about, in the words of Caron Wheeler, having to survive living in the light.
  
  Forget it, the rest of the songs... no, the entire album is an instant classic, I feel it. It has that gritty yet carefully selected production that I like, where the samples are obscured but not to the point where you can't nod your head. It is the "beats, rhymes & life" philosophy of words complimenting the music, and vice versa, while looking at the world from a personal perspective, not one filled with false hopes and dreams. If Blueprint or Slug were produced by 9th Wonder, they would all scratch their heads and go "damn, that Muamin Collective is nice". At least these guys use different snares (a/k/a "take that shit to The Breaks".).

• Only one way to go and that's up [+ Show ]
  

  ...The MuAmin Collective is genuine hiphop from the beginning to the end. Record labels should rush......The MuAmin Collective is genuine hiphop from the beginning to the end. Record labels should rush to sign this talented group. And to think I almost forgot what REAL hiphop sounded like...

• wHereMYpeoPLes@?! Review [+ Show ]
  

  In the same way Kanye and Common put Chicago on the map, OutKast awoke the South or Bone Thugs N Har...In the same way Kanye and Common put Chicago on the map, OutKast awoke the South or Bone Thugs N Harmony introduced their multi-syllabic, sing-song flavor to rep the 216 some years ago, the trio known as MuAmin Collective - Josiah Quarles (ZiON) & Aaron Snorton (aLIVE) and DjONIT - is at the cusp of defining the Cleveland hip-hop sound.
  
  MuAmin still embraces and espouses the anger and frustration of earlier artists like Public Enemy and N.W.A., with the organic funkiness of A Tribe Called Quest wrapped in a nice Cleveland candy-coated shell. Self-described as "no grills or frills, just real talk," their style combines street prophet rants, socially conscious slambook poetry and that conversation you have with your homeboys after having waaaay too much to drink. The strongpoint is that the two emcees have the chemistry of a point guard and forward that have played together for a few seasons; they play well off each other verbally and stylistically.
  
  The production is as fearless as it is experimental. With plenty of head nodding beats that recall the brilliance of J-Dilla, it ignores the standard formula in favor of obscure jazz riffs, punk rock yelps or a well-placed rock guitar lick, chopped and diced so fine you won't be able to recognize the original recipe. And yet the flavor is undeniable. 2008 should have good things in store for this collective. -
  
  Clarence D. Meriweather

• A Red, Black, and Green Christmas [+ Show ]
  

  By Vince Grzegorek At tonight's Red, Black, and Green Christmas, the MuAmin Collective plans to "...By Vince Grzegorek
  
  At tonight's Red, Black, and Green Christmas, the MuAmin Collective plans to "afro out" the holidays with fellow Cleveland spitboxers Poetic Republic, Leroi Da Moor, and LMNTL.
  
  And expect the duo to fill your Christmas stocking with a few musical packages as they join punkers This Moment in Black History onstage.
  
  "We're going to bring the show some extra-special gifts: Hip-hop, punk rock, and stockings stuffed with fascist pigs," says bandmate Josiah.
  
  "We're going to keep it cheery, but we can't leave out the satire."
  
  After countless performances together, MuAmin and TMIBH have perfected their brand of politically charged hip-hop paired with socially-charged punk, which TMIBH delivers under its trademark knockoff of the state flag.
  
  "They have the red-black-and-green Ohio flag, and I figured we'd freak it that way," says Josiah. "Christmas got the red and green already, so we threw the black in there."
  
  Expect an array of out-of-the-box holiday tunes: The tentative set list ranges from James Brown's "Let's Make Christmas Mean Something This Year" to Prince's "Another Lonely Christmas."
  
  "If I had my choice, I'd do 'Christmas in Hollis' by Run-DMC," says Chris Kulscar, TMIBH's singer.
  
  "That's the best Christmas song ever."
  
  Get your freak on at 9 tonight at the Grog Shop, 2785 Euclid Heights Boulevard in Cleveland Heights. Tickets are $7 ($5 in advance). Call 216-321-5588 or visit www.grogshop.gs.

• Review of Muamin Collective's World B. Free [+ Show ]
  

  ". . . you know what, just listen to how the beat pops in 'Ponzi Scheme'. Like the first syllable of...". . . you know what, just listen to how the beat pops in 'Ponzi Scheme'. Like the first syllable of the word, it's the sound equivalent of the collapse of Wall Street."

• Muamin Collective & GZA at the Grog Shop [+ Show ]
  

  These guys had some of the most amazing energy I've ever seen, with great beats and spirit. They roc...These guys had some of the most amazing energy I've ever seen, with great beats and spirit. They rocked the crowd and I'm looking forward to seeing Muamin Collective again.

• Muamin Collective - World B Free
  

  "They're artists, and don't give a damn about your genre limitations. . ."

• Band of the Week [+ Show ]
  

  Meet the Band: Zion (vocals) and ALive (keyboards, production) Campfire Kids: The two met at chur...Meet the Band: Zion (vocals) and ALive (keyboards, production)
  
  Campfire Kids: The two met at church camp one summer over ten years ago. "We were bunk mates, and one night we were up talking, and he had Saul Williams's The Seventh Octave, and I thought that was sweet, and the next thing you know, we were freestyling," recalls Zion. "We really hit it off."
  
  The Annual Christmas Show: The first time the guys put on a holiday show, they simply intended to "do something big for when people come home." "We had been hanging out with [the local indie act] This Moment in Black History, doing DIY shows on the West Side. We wanted to bring that idea of mixed bills to the East side," says Zion. "We did the first one, and it was great. The turnout was amazing, and we have just kept doing it every year. We try to keep it fresh and keep bringing in new acts. But it's also people you can rely on who will put on a good show." This year's lineup features an eclectic group of locals, including R.A. Washington + The Family Dollar, KEYE, Epic, LMNTL and Dangerous Colors.
  
  Why You Should Hear Them: The songs on the group's new album, So Blue, It's Black, alternate between soulful tracks with jazzy beats ("MoMeta Blues") and hard-hitting rants directed toward the youth of today ("Too Dirty"). "This is different from our past efforts," says Zion. "It's a little darker. There's always been that frustration there but it was always balanced by youthful exuberance. I'm just older now so the songs are a little more brooding. It's got a different tenor to it."
  
  Where You Can Hear Them: muamincollective.com
  
  Where You Can See Them: Muamin Collective headlines the "Red, Black & Green Christmas" concert that takes place at 8 p.m Saturday, Dec. 22 at the Grog Shop. — Jeff Niesel
  

Setlist

Muamin Collective: 15min-60 min. (flexible)

No Covers, all original

Claptadis
Midwest Bank
Ponzi Scheme
Horizontal
Can I?
4You
LSD
Cee Us
WhiTea
OtherLikeWe
UnderstandMaintain
Move
Holla@yaboy
Let It Out
4Tha
Capital Gains
This is Love
Any Other Way
What's the Use?
Fair Trade Future

Basic Requirements

Calendar