DreadChild

There is nothing better than a group of hungry emcees who obviously put their all into their music. The group Knotz, rhyme as if they were Sally Struthers' kids. Every bar passionatley verbalized with most of them describing gunplay, weed and/or how they will fuck you up. They spit raps to a futuristic-type backdrop. All of these beats seem purposely drafted to generate a "cyber" or "StarWars" feel that's representative of the interplanitary image they're embracing. If "DownLoad" is indicative of a generation of emcees from a parallel universe, then those in this project should be viewed as the torchbearers of a potential new brand of hiphop. This project could be "Out of this world" once perfected. -Titan Barksdale - Insomniac Magazine

We found a group of music hopefuls in the demo critique session with WHTA Program Director Jerry Smokin B and Sahpreem King (Gotta Get Signed Artist Consulting, Inc.). While some walked away disappointed, groups Inspirience (Atlanta), Knotz (Poconos), as well as a buzzing artist from Lithonia received promising accolades for their demos. - Yalanda Lattimore

By THE ROADIE
For Sharp
February 22, 2008

OTTER LAKE — Rock music has Van Halen.

Pop music has the Bee Gees.

Jazz has the Marsalises.

But when it comes to family affairs in rap music — short of the limited '90s association between Dr. Dre and step-brother Warren G — there don't seem to be a set of brothers, sisters, cousins or even step-brothers that have come forged their way to the top.

What, Puffy's brother can't rhyme? How come Snoop hasn't gotten his kids into the recording studio yet, wouldn't that make a great episode of "Fatherhood"?

Maybe that's where Knotz comes in.

The three East Stroudsburg brothers — the Parkins brothers Kareem, "Dreadchild," 32; and Gyasi "Mad Bantu" and Nkosi "Mikal," both 27, — known as Knotz have been rhyming as a rap group since the early '90s.

The group already has recorded a few albums, and has another one — "The Formula" — on the way this year. Tracks from "The Antidote," the group's 2007 release, and other Knotz releases are available on iTunes as well.

The brothers have a full plate lately. They just finished a show in Harrisburg at the Cameron Street Cafe as part of the 12th annual Millennium Music Conference and Showcase, one of the biggest independent music shows of the year in the state.

Tonight, they'll do a show at the Common Grounds of East Stroudsburg University starting at 10 p.m. That's a rarity, as the group said it doesn't get to play many local shows.

"We've been on the road all over the country, but we didn't get a chance to come back home for a while," said Gyasi Parkins, 27, noting the group played a "Rock Meets Rap" show at Fernwood last May and got as close as Brenda and Jerry's in Bath recently, not to mention a show at Crocodile Rock at the end of its last tour.

But that's the only local stop for now, as the group will then head to its home state of New Jersey for a show at the Paul Robeson Cultural Center at Rutgers University in Piscataway on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.

After that, they have a Los Angeles gig lined up for April at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers "I Create Music" Expo 2008.

In March, Knotz may even be making their second tour of London.

All of that will be in time for the release of the group's next album, which will be released in late spring.

It likely will be the group's first full-length album with a major distribution deal after Knotz independently sold 2,500 copies of "The Antidote." - Sharp Magazine (Pocono Record)

A Spring Split
By: Amy Howard, A&E Editor
Posted: 4/24/08

Selling as many as 1500 tickets for this event and as many as 1329 people in attendance, the basketball court was filled to the brim with people hooting and hollering for Chamillionaire.

For an anticipated start time of 8 p.m. the audience was already beginning to become anxious, though what they didn't know was that Chamillionaire still hadn't arrived.

"This isn't our fault," assured Social Activities Council president, Erin Murray.

A building restlessness formed over the crowd from a 30 minute set back, but after a few unsuccessful chant attempts and unnecessary cackles from the crowd, Knotz rushed the stage with an immense amount of energy.

Knotz composed of three brothers was set to show Keene State College a different style of hip hop that they haven't known before.

"We bring a different style of music to audiences. We don't only make music about jewelry, cars and money, but it's a different style, unlike what you've heard before," said Dreadchild.

"Each of us sounds different, even from one another, but it just all flows together," said Aswad Mikal.

Feeding off the audience's energy, Dreadchild, Aswad Mikal and Mad Bantu stormed the audience with their lyrically lush hip hop. Though still raw in the quality, their diverse music base and integrated mixes of reggae still sent the audience aflight with liveliness.

"Chamillionaire is in the building," said Dreadchild, "This is the last track, the last song…I want to see every hand in the air."

To make it a real family affair, the trio's baby sister, Najwa, came out to perform. Knotz's set ended at 9:05 p.m., but they were sure to come out and support the audience with autographs.

Twenty minutes passed and the lull of the evening was broken by a unanimous crowd grumble and a small chant of "bullshit." At 9:35 p.m., audience members broke out marijuana to pass the time and at approximately 9:46 p.m., Chamillionaire came out on stage fashionably 45 minutes late.

Starting the evening with his 2007 single, "Won't let you down" and dressed in his blinging best, the audience seemed at least pleased that the performance was beginning.

"I'm going to make someone famous, but bad famous. That person that thinks they're too cool to do this. It's called the birdflap," said Chamillionaire.

The audience gleefully flapped their wings and listened to Chamillionaire's warnings.

The audience intently watched the performance, but were not very enthusiastic about the music. The energy that was cultivated by Knotz seemed to have died down during the 45 minute wait in between sets, but then Chamillionaire asked the audience a question.

"Who here knows how to rap?" asked Chamillionaire.

Three men from the audience were chosen and asked to come upon stage to rap. First up to rap, an enthusiastic gent from Boston, second a student originally from Connecticut and last but certainly not least a Sigma Lambda Chi brother, Daniel "Flav" Hayes.

Hayes finished his rap with a dig at the other men rapping and a photograph with Chamillionaire. The crowd seemed pleased and began to liven up. Following this, Chamillionaire performed his well known hit, "Ridin' Dirty."

After approximately an hour, Chamillionaire encouraged everyone to embrace their gangster face and say, "Chamillitary" before stepping off stage for the evening.

"Chamillionaire was paid $23,500 to perform and was not contracted to perform for any certain amount of time," said Marina MacDonald the SAC concert coordinator.

The gymnasium was almost completely emptied after the show. There was no encore, though a few intoxicated fans hurried to the barricade to shout "encore." Some fans made their way downstairs to bombard the rapper's dressing room for autographs and claimed that they were best friends with Chamillionaire.

The body guard laughed and wouldn't let the fans pass and as Chamillionaire and his posse were departing, the desperate fans went to such lengths as to offer the "ladies" to him and the females were begging for autographs on their breasts and for the performer's do-rag.

"What is this, 'Girls gone wild?'" asked Chamillionaire.

"Yeah, Keene State style," said a SAC security member in passing. - Keene Equinox

Winning Advice
Q&A with Knotz's Aswad Mikal on making it in the music business and winning the IAR
By Josh Bashara


Music Phone Book: So how's it feel to be the winner of the 2006 East Coast IAR?

Aswad Mikal: This is big - it will broaden our fan base more than we can imagine. Every credential you earn helps your music career. But it's even better to know that there are people who believe in your music like the IAR did ours. I know there were so many talented musicians whose music passed through that office... and for ours to come out on top is big.

MPB: As unsigned artists, how do you promote yourself and get shows booked?

AM: It's hard, I can tell you that. You have to be persistent and able to formulate your own ideas on how to do things... don't just read a book and do what it tells you. You need to be creative. We started out with the obvious things first, like making music and performing at parties, open-mics, talent shows and clubs. We made our own website, pressed up stickers and cards with our logo and website on them, and handed them out everywhere we ever went for any reason. Then we began introducing ourselves to local college radio stations and asking favors of friends who might worked for show booking, anywhere we could get our name out there.

The Internet was also a big help because we could join things like SonicBids.com, Taxi, and BroadJam.com to help us get our name to the industry and Internet radio. We placed our music for sale on CDBaby.com, iTunes.com and many other sites. One of the biggest boosts of our career came when we met Iz, the owner of Insomniac magazine after the recording of our first store-released album, Download. They really liked us and put a review in their magazine, and invited us to perform in Orlando at one of its shows, where we networked with others.

We try to appear on as many deejays' mix tapes as possible and do collaborations with as many groups as possible, and appear on compilations - it helps build a fan base. You also have to be willing to take shows for little or no money just to get your name out there. We actually sat down and wrote out a complete business and marketing plan. We even got a marketing company to drive our target audience to our website this year and it seems to be working great.

MPB: What's the best advice you can give to up-and-coming artists, regardless of the genre, who are hoping to make it big?

AM: Always be you. Never give up because those are the only people who don't make it - be different and put in the hours, man. Sometimes it feels like it might kill you but in the end it'll pay off. Also, don't sign a deal just because you want one. We did that... bad move. It was a joint venture with [a label] and we lost a lot of money that we could have used in better ways.

MPB: Wanna give a shout-out to anyone who helped you get to where you are today?

AM: We just want to thank all of our fans, Mommy, Daddy, Frenzi, Prez, Sonnie Hash, Raw Text, Glaccius, Bravo, Edvance, Iz and everyone else who supported and helped us along the way.
- Music PhoneBook

East Coast 2006 IAR Winner: Knotz
Rapping for the love of music, not the bling
By Josh Bashara

This edition of the Music Phone Book is proud to announce Knotz as winner of the 2006 East Coast Independent Artist Registry. Out of all the entries received this year, dozens of unsigned artists proved themselves highly talented, although Knotz ultimately fought its way to the top. Taking the crown as one of the best indie hip-hop groups we’ve seen, Knotz exemplify both superior musical talent and the drive it takes to succeed as an unsigned artist.


Drawing from the bone-crunching sound of gansta rap and the lyrical mastery of old-school hip-hop, Knotz’s sound is tough to pin down. The group’s discography includes an eclectic variety of songs, from club-pounding assaults to laid-back rhymes. The popular track “Bon Voyage” (which received regular airplay in the Top 15 hits at BandRadioLive.com) mixes a silky-smooth rap with reggae-inspired hooks. Another popular track, “Gunz Up,” raps about street loyalty over Dre-worthy samples and a head-bobbing beat, also displaying an impressive vocal hook.

Generally speaking, it’s Knotz’s label-worthy production polish and raw lyrical talent that separate this group from the rest. After hearing just a few tracks, any hip-hop aficionado would find it no surprise that Knotz have enjoyed airplay on 47 underground and college radio stations throughout the United States and Canada. The group’s sound is as solid as lead: perfect stuff to pound out of 12-inch subs in the trunk, while still enjoying an imposing midrange vocal fluidity.

Hailing from Bushkill, Penn., Knotz consist of Reck the DreadChild (Kareem Parkins), Megaton the Mad Bantu (Jelani Parkins) and Aswad Mikal the General Assassin (Gyasi Parkins)—all three of whom are brothers. Mikal (Gyasi Parkins) explains they grew up in New Jersey with two musically-orients parents, something he attributes a lot of their musical career to. He says their mother was in a band and continued to play wood wind instruments into adulthood, and their father was always into dance hall and other reggae music.


“Our parents put themselves through college and both held jobs to get us into a better life,” Mikal says of their childhood. “While we were here in the 80s and early 90s, we started rappin. Reck and I used to battle each other while Mega would be the DJ on the cassette player. After years of this, our parents realized we had talent and we recorded our first track in a studio, called ‘Who Got the Melody.’”

Because of their shared interest in making music growing up, it came logically to the brothers to form their own group.

“We have so much in common that it just happened that way,” Mikal admits. “I don’t even know if it’s common to have three brothers that are good at the same thing, much less to have three brothers good at rap. We even have a little sister (Najwa Parkins) who sings, and she will be on our new album.”

Although he believes his parents to be he and his brothers’ biggest musical influence throughout the years, Mikal says musicians like Super Cat, Peter Tosh, Ninja Man and a lot of Jamaican artists played a vital role in their early development. Later, the brothers were inspired by modern hip-hop artists like KRS-One, Rakim, Public Enemy, Red Man, Wu Tang, Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr and Boot Camp.


“I feel like we are influenced by all [forms of rap] except bling,” Mikal says. “I call all forms of rap hip-hop because rap is an art that lives inside of hip-hop, which is a lifestyle. Bling is fine—we like jewels and cars as much as the next man, but it doesn’t define us. We spit for the masses, and the masses will never be able to relate to having big rims, platinum chains and grills and money that never ends. Most of those people saying that don’t have those things. That’s a problem, because we are about truth and teaching. We won’t say it if it is not true.”

Despite Knotz’s harsh and aggressive lyrical themes, Mikal says there’s a reason behind those lyrics, which is to put an end to the seemingly perpetual, viscous circle that many urban kids face today. As opposed to money-obsessed hip-hop, gangsta rap shows a very different light at the end of the tunnel.

“People listen to you more than you think,” he says. “What are these kids who can’t rap gonna have to do to get that [bling] lifestyle? We’ll stick to gansta rap because behind it there is a message—‘Don’t live this life, this is what it got me.’”

“People listen to you more than you think,” he says. “What are these kids who can’t rap gonna have to do to get that [bling] lifestyle? We’ll stick to gansta rap because behind it there is a message—‘Don’t live this life, this is what it got me.’”

Mikal would like to earn big money from rapping as much as the next guy, but when it comes down it, he admits Knotz have actually spent more cash than they’ve earned trying to get their music out.

“We do music because it’s in us, - Music PhoneBook

Knotz drops some hard lyrics and beats on their new single CD "Black Rain feat. Najwa." Black Rain features intelligent lyrics mixed with gansta rap and some comedic metaphor lyrics. On the single the group uses beautiful and erie sounds of women's voices for backups. Knotz laces their tracks with samples and cuts that raise the mind's curiosity to hear even more. If you like "The Roots", "Dialated Peoples", or "50 cent" you will love Knotz. Purchase one of their Cd's and hear for yourself!

- Josh B. for RadioIndy - RadioIndy

Junior's Cave Artist Spotlight
Music Spotlight: Knotz
By Isaac Joseph Davis Junior
June 21, 2007

One of the coolest aspects of this next group is that the three members are all blood brothers. KNOTZ, which is the group’s name, consists of Dreadchild, Megaton, and Aswad Mikal the Black Angel. But don’t let this fool you, the hip hop have been performing for several years now. In fact, one of their biggest breaks came in a large stage performance in 1995 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana for a BET sponsored event “Catch Wreck ‘95". From there, the group continues to do shows for their fans. In 2000, KNOTZ released a CD Download in December 2000 and continue to push ahead with their unique style to the Hip-Hop genre. We recently got together with them to do an online interview with the magazine.

Special Thanks to Aswad Mikal of Knotz for providing us with the answers to our questions.

Q. What aspect of making music excites you the most right now? A. The creative part always excites us the most. Just getting the beat or coming up with the concept and going to the studio to see what the product will sound like. The feeling you get after you hear the whole track with everyone one it….. is crazy.

Q. What aspect of making music gets you the most discouraged? A. I wouldn’t say discouraged as much as frustrated. But, the way radio stations, A&R's and labels, try to format music and set guidelines for what people should like [is crazy]. There is no formula. They [labels & radio stations] just are lazy and don't want to have to take a chance to find out if other things work or not…..everything is about big dollars now and that's understandable but they are also killing creativity.

Q. What are you up to right now, music-wise? (Current or upcoming recordings, tours, extravaganzas, experiments, top-secret projects, etc). A. We are currently working with the Independent Artist Registry, who awarded us the Independent Artist Of the Year award, to take our music to several record labels. We are also getting ready to do a string of shows for the College season. And as always Knotz are in the studio recording non-stop to give our current and new fans a master piece. Music Now: You heard it here first folks.

Q. What's the most unusual place you've ever played a show or made a recording? How did the qualities of that place affect the show/recording? A. In the beginning days, we recorded tracks in bathrooms and on two tracked beats with no protocols. At the time, they sounded hot and they got us a fan base but if you heard the sound quality of those records compared to what we do now…..they were horrible. Music Now: You should have seen the way this magazine looked two years ago so I feel you on that one there.

Q. In what ways does the place where you live (or places where you have lived), affect the music you create, or your taste in music? A. It doesn't have an effect on the music we create because even though everyone's environment is different……we speak topics everyone can relate to in someway. We speak to the masses (world wide). Our goal has always been not to put a label on our selves.

Q. When was the last time you wrote a song? What can you tell us about it? A. Yesterday, It's called the Bounce. Reck, the DreadChild, did this really hot beat and wrote a hook and dropped it off to Me and Megga. Wow, it's fire. I can tell you this: everyone’s verse builds anticipation for the next dudes verse.

Q. As you create more music, do you find yourself getting more or less interested in seeking out and listening to new music made by other people...and why do you think that is? A. I stay the same. At the time of heavy production of music, I try not to listen to anything because it is easy to hear something you like and then next thing you know your joint sounds like someone else’s joint. We aren't clones---we are original.

Q. Lately what musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a listener? (Old or new music? Music like yours or different from yours?) A. We are from a musical background/family so all of us like old and new music; Rap, Reggae, Pop, R&B, Jazz ect. or just straight instrumental. We are just about music.

Q. Name a band or musician, past or present, who you flat-out LOVE and think more people should be listening to. What's one of your all-time favorite recordings by this band/musician? A. Red Man- Every Album he made should be a classic. He is an overlooked and under estimated pioneer with lyrical abilities that really can't be matched. My favorite joint would have to be the whole Muddy Waters joint.

Q. What's the saddest song you've ever heard? A. Sad as in feelings? Or sad as in worst song I ever heard? Hmmm. I'm not sure what the saddest song I ever heard is.

Thanks for your support, our manager Craig Winstead, Danny" Frenzi"Lynch, Daddy,Mommy,Raw-Text, Sonny Hash, Dice, Glaccius, and the rest of the Ruffians, Insomniac magazine, all of o - Junior's Cave Magazine

Knotz Review
Ben Brubaker
12/04/2007

The Knotz are an up and coming group that makes me proud to have been a resident of the Keystone State. People underestimate the hip-hop coming out of PA. Sure, we all love the Roots, and there are a few other key artists from Philly (excluding the Fresh Prince, Will Smith) who have done justice to the musical heritage of the state, but very few ever get the recognition they deserve. The Knotz represent the organic, yet authentically street coded experience which few can replicate or express musically. Their beats are ecclectic, but firmly rooted in the New York style of production so prevalent in East Coast rap.

The trio brings diversity in style and expression, incorporating reggae and rasta dialects into verses reminiscent of early Wu-Tang or an underground Talib Kweli. The quality of recording is good, but could use some improvement-still its rawness is part of its charm. One can easily hear that while their recordings effectively convey their sound and message, they seem like the kind of group that would absolutely kill it on stage. Their energy is almost too much to be bounded by recording booths or condensor mics, and personally, the best hip-hop artists are those who can rock a live show- it is an experience you can't put a price on.

I would love to see the Knotz make their way down to New Orleans and play a large, but intimate venue like Tipitina's or the Hangar. Either way, the Knotz got it going on and we can only hope that the industry will soon break out of their obtuse obsession with club bangars and cheesy R&B and open up the doors to this type of hard-hitting hip-hop.
- Nola Hope Blog

KNOTZ
By Norman McCourt
August 2007 Issue

The KNOTZ musical style is best described as the fusion between hard-hitting hip-hop street lyricism and official rude-boy dance hall flavor. Members include Megaton, Dreadchild, and Aswad Mikal. Influenced by such rap greats as KRS-1, Redman, and Public Enemy, Knotz has carved out their own niche in the hip-hop scene by becoming the leaders of the “anti-bling” movement. As Aswad Mikal stated in a recent Music Phone Book article, "We spit for the masses, and the masses will never be able to relate to having big rims, platinum chains and grills, and money that never ends." Knotz offerings include the hardcore mid-tempo track “Black Rain” featuring an eerie hook by Jazz singer Najwa warning the listener that “...the darkness lies in here” and the up-tempo “Up” track which challenges those in the hip-hop game to up their money and up their minds.

Knotz is best known for their Download CD (2000) which sold over 5,000 units and was featured on more than 47 underground and college radio stations generating a large fan-base known as the Ruffians. Ruffians are loyal KNOTZ fans who often travel to see them perform live. In addition to the retail sales and radio success of Download, one particular track on the CD entitled “Move” was also featured on Insomniac Magazine’s EP, Strategic Infiltration. They are the 2007 Independent Artist Registry’s "IndiE Award" winners and are featured in the 2007 East Coast Edition of the Music Phone Book. Knotz also inked a deal this year with Turmic Records in Sweden for worldwide digital distribution. The Antidote EP was officially released in August, 2007 and generated more than 1,000 Nielsen Soundscan units sold within the first two weeks following release.
- An'R Magazine