ECID
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ECID

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | INDIE

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | INDIE
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"Interview with Stupid Dope!"

Minneapolis MC/Producer ECID is on the verge of dropping his new project Werewolf Hologram nationally tomorrow. If you haven’t heard ECID’s Kings of Compton album, you must be ‘sleep. It is pure insane genius in my opinion. Mashing up Kings of Leon and NWA actually sounds awesome together. Who’ve guessed? Regardless of his reluctance to own the label, ECID’s style of music is undoubtedly different. I’m not complaining in the least. . The industry is so heavily saturated with ‘samey’ stuff it can be a bit of a laborious task just to hit the ‘play’ button at times. Not the case for ECID though. I find both his sound refreshing and his entire attitude towards his music. StupidDope grills the artist about all things ECID.

What influenced you the most growing up? Oh, growing up… Man, I definitely have to say being a child of the 90’s – born in the 80’s but really growing up in the 90’s I was just drawn to music and movies. My Grandpa owned a video store pretty much until I was about 12 or 13, so I got a lot of movies really early and into hip hop by the time I was at least 10 the latest.

What kind of movies? Ummm… You know? The usual Star Wars and stuff like that but then it’s like because I got into movies so early that I got into a lot of more cerebral stuff. A movie that always inspired me even to this day is Vanilla Sky which is from the last 10 years but I like movies that have layers to them. One of my favourite movies right now, I thought Drive was incredible but I also like this movie called Bellflower which I think is almost better than Drive.

I haven’t seen either of those movies. OK. Drive reminds me of a 70’s movie. It’s really raw.

Which hip hop artists and producers influenced you? OutKast. Ice Cube. Twista. Being from the Midwest, I didn’t have as much east coast/west coast bias. So whatever I could get my hands on, I’d check it out. If I liked it, I was into it. Big records for me were like OutKast Aquemini. ATLiens. Goodie Mobb. Any 2pac record – mainly Me Against The World. It wasn’t just hip hop though because I was huge into Nirvana and Pink Floyd. I have all the tried and true stuff that you listen to growing up. The stuff that you gotta listen to. At least here in the states. In this modern era, right now [producers] it’s like Flying Lotus, Kanye, El-P and I’ve been really into Tokimonsta lately. Tobacco. Those are the top ones that really rang true to me. - Stupiddope.com


""Werewolf Hologram" review"



Ecid

Werewolf Hologram

Fill In The Breaks
ESM Rating: 9/10





Listen if you like: Slightly experimental hip-hop, impressively textured and layered samples, skewering lyrics delivered in a catchy if slightly grating voice, battle-ready backpack MCs like Brother Ali and AWOL One, any DIY rapper making things happen on his or her own terms.

First impressions: Left-field hip-hop has always been an enigma for me. Growing up in the Golden Era of early ‘90s rap, I still treasure straightforward rhymes and hard-hitting beats and find myself beguiled by more out-there stuff. I guess that makes me a bit of a hip-hop simpleton — but I like what I like, you know? That said, Ecid’s new album Werewolf Hologram jumped out of my speakers from the first whistled notes of the opening title track. Given the Minneapolis native’s role as a fiercely DIY artist that runs his own label, Fill In The Breaks — along with his work on the Kings Of Compton mash-up album, which combined NWA and Kings Of Leon — I quickly realized this was something I could definitely get behind.

The nitty-gritty: According to his press release, Ecid’s strongest suit is his sampling techniques: everything from stripping down standard sounds to their analog roots to washing warm layers of soul and jazz instrumentation over harsh electronic noises. But where songs like “Men Kill Men” lurch out of the gates with arena-rock guitar riffs, they also highlight Ecid’s smart-aleck lyrics, which are delivered in a slightly nasally monotone that’s equally devastating and humorous. Werewolf Hologram cools down on cruisy if downbeat tracks like “I Heart Gravity,” “Marchin On,” and “Incredible,” the latter featuring one of the nastiest electric-guitar samples ever heard in hip-hop. And except for uptempo bangers like “Go High Lion,” “Surprise Yourself,” and “The Future Is Free,” Ecid’s overall delivery isn’t nearly as experimental as I expected. Sure, his beats paint colorful, often schizophrenic pictures. But his biting lyrics on “Woolf,” “So Much Fire,” and “So Damn Einstein!” are stunningly intricate and grounded in the kind of conscious-rap reality that any hip-hop fan will find appealing.

Other recommended tracks: “The Pursuit Of Everything In Between’s” fiery stance reminded me of fellow Twin Cities standout Brother Ali, while “Boo Hoo” represented the best of Werewolf Hologram: an irresistible finger-snapping beat, morose funk guitars, and vicious rhymes like “They’re burning up villages in Libya/While we’re bitching about sitting on the city bus.” Social issues are hit with fervor on “Oh Well,” while “Marching On” and its hilariously filthy double entendres will certainly burrow into the mind of any literate-minded music fan. And belying my usual distaste for experimental hip-hop, I loved “Back From Japan,” which reminded me of Black Moth Super Rainbow with its bleating synths and crackling sonic atmosphere. Ecid might not seem like the bubbliest guy on the block. But the songs on Werewolf Hologram build to an energetic climax, the back half of the album firing on all cylinders after recovering from a relatively slow start. It’s always nice when hip-hop surprises you with its urgent power and elusive artistry.

East Coast tour dates? July 29th and August 5th in Minneapolis — seems like our man Ecid isn’t touring much further right now. Stay tuned to www.FillInTheBreaks.com for updates. By Nick McGregor - Eastern Surf Magazine


"Post Euphoria Vol.1 review"

Werewolf Hologram was very much an emotional roller-coaster of disdain and cynicism as only Ecid could deliver it, but several things happened to Ecid in the process of making Post Euphoria, Vol. 1. Most notably, the samples he used got a lot more stark, the rhythms grew more frenzied and his delivery still manage to be well varied enough to keep a listener intrigued; he’s cynical, very direct and knows when to vary the volume in his voice to make a song all the more entertaining.

For example, the lead off song “Burn Everything” manages to hurl a stark piano line and frantic percussion, whereas “Dream Boat” uses deep percussive elements and hand claps along with grungy guitars to get its point across, and then you have “Kum & Go” with some more stark guitar notes and similar percussive elements, while Ashley Gold manages to balance everything out. Elsewhere on the EP, you have Sean Anonymous & Rapper Hooks join in on “2Pac Cobain” with its frantic synth structure while they all trade verses, and Rapper Hooks manages to deliver the highlight of the EP in his verse. Also you find an updated version of “Akmude Sallam” which was originally a highlight from one of his earlier albums, Biograffiti, and manages to give it a fresh new percussive and vocal update, which helps with the story line and its ending climax with its cavernous and rich kicks.

While folks may be quick to label Post Euphoria, Vol. 1 as a filler EP, there’s a lot of elements here that suggest that Ecid is readying himself for an updated sound since he’s getting ready to release a new record titled Pheromone Heavy, and the new sound context in this EP with more usage of live elements blended with his witty sample chops prove that this is anything but a filler release, this is more to whet the appetite for what’s to come. Should be exciting to see where Ecid goes next. - Reviler.org


"Ecid, 'Surprise Yourself' Video Premiere: Rapper Takes a Spin on 'Memento'"

Minneapolis rapper and producer Ecid has always done things his own way. Cultivating a strong DIY personality, Ecid has self-booked, self-released and self-made everything he does. With his new record, Werewolf Hologram, Ecid tried a new approach to take his game to the next level.

"So during the making of this record I quit drinking and made a goal to not have a drop until I got a manager or booking agent," Ecid tells Spinner. "Along with that I started doing yoga, which changed my life.

"Whatever ceiling I felt I had creatively and career-wise no longer existed," he continues. "This song is a direct reflection of that. You could say it's an anthem for the pessimist turned hopeless romantic. The concept for the video was pretty simple really. We thought why not do a spin on the film "Memento"? So we built it around a character planning his own surprise party over and over as a metaphor to surprise yourself every day. I also learned how to counterfeit money. What a win/win." - Spinner.com


"ECID Transcends Limits on “Surprise Yourself”"

Though ECID’s forthcoming album Werewolf Hologram has a funhouse vibe in its production and rowdy refrains, the Minneapolis MC is serious about imparting a sense of optimism to his listeners. “‘Surprise Yourself’ is an anthem about transcending your limits,” he told Hive. “The phrase ‘we’re not going for broke, we’re going for amazing’ has become somewhat of a personal mantra.” Opening with with a few stray piano notes and quickly winding into a drum and bass beat, his message is pushed to rollercoaster pace in the first remix for the LP from local cohort Caesar of hip-hop group Out of Bounds. - MTV Hive


""Insomniac By Choice" premiere on RollingStone.com"

"I really wanted to write a song about sticking to your guns and being so engrossed in a crazy goal, that you can make anything happen. Production-wise, this is first song where I stepped out of my comfort zone of sampling and tried using synths and effect pedals," Ecid tells Rolling Stone. "What's crazy is that this was my first attempt at using these tools which, to me, were relatively foreign – I'd used them before, but not in a way, until now, that matched my ability with sampling."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/insomniac-by-choice-by-ecid-free-mp3-20130313#ixzz2XYwgLjLN
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook
- Rollingstone.com


"Ecid (CD-Release)"

"There comes a time when a man has one choice/Leave it all behind or design a new voice," Ecid snarls in "The Revolution Is a T-Shirt," one of several standout tracks on his new CD, Red Beretta. Ecid's long since taken that latter route in establishing himself as one of the Twin Cities' finest when it comes to stress rap, combining a sharply bitter outlook with the kind of lyrical clarity many underground MCs lack. Yet his latest album takes that voice and expands it outward, stretching over a sprawling, character-based concept record that relates the intersecting lives of a fading jazz musician, a family wracked with domestic violence, and the titular weapon-holder strung out on delusions of revenge killing. Red Beretta's beats are drenched in cinematic acid rock and soul jazz, and infused with a striking bleakness that makes it Ecid's most harrowing and evocative production work as well as a lyrical tour de force. Expect it to be an even more intense experience in person. With Kristoff Krane. 18+.
Sat., March 21, 9 p.m., 2009 - City Pages


"Interview with Ecid"


Culture Bully

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Interview with Ecid

By Jon Behm on June 26, 2009 in Features


Junkies, psycho killers, deadbeat parents; Minneapolis MC Ecid’s themes are anything but sunny and whimsical. The Minneapolis-based up and comer has a fascination with the seedier side of life, which he has documented in his recent concept album Red Beretta. Prior to leaving for a whirlwind West Coast tour Ecid discussed the new album with Culture Bully’s Jon Behm, describing the formulation of the album’s themes, the closing of Minneapolis’ Dinkytowner and the question of hip hop as a counterculture.

Jon Behm: So, did you grow up around here and how long have you been rapping/producing on the local scene?

Ecid: Yeah, I grew up in the Northeast suburb area. New Brighton and then Blaine. Oh man I hated living in Blaine. I was so bored; it made me pretty creative though. I started becoming a pretty active member in the “scene”? around 2002.

JB: Your record this year, Red Beretta, is a concept album that documents “the bizarre events that turn a modern day hero into a monster.” What made you choose that theme?

E: It’s kind of a funny story. I started making a lot of beats that almost weren’t intended to have rapping on them, they were very cinematic with tons of layers and switch ups that sounded like bad ass ’70's film scores. I knew that was the direction I wanted to go musically. But I didn’t figure out what to do content-wise until I was designing some t-shirts that had a little red gun on them and the light bulb just came to me. I just knew exactly what I wanted to make: an album that played like a movie about an anti-hero sort of character, “Red Beretta.”

JB: Throughout your new record you create characters like child molestation victims, unloving mothers, washed up old people, and other sad cases. Where did you find the inspiration for such bleak perspectives?

E: Aside from the fact that my life was an absolute mess when I started writing the record, I’ve always been fascinated with the fucked up parts of life. I just find beauty in it. No matter how much you might not want hear it, these things really happen. All of these characters are the people that helped make “Red Beretta” who he is: a psychopath. I couldn’t write a record about someone who goes crazy without showing all the pieces that contributed to it, because then it would lack compassion. At the end of the day “Red Beretta”? is a story of revenge and liberation. Someone who had enough and just said fuck it I’m not going to take it anymore. There’s a million layers to this thing. I could talk about forever.

JB: Can you analyze further what you mean in the line “The revolution sold its own fist”??

E: Well, you see people wearing Che Guevara t-shirts that don’t know dick about his cause. Every movement gets commercialized. They turn into the latest fashion. All the people that were marching in the ’60s are in suits now or retired. To me when people talk about “Revolution”? it’s a joke. Don’t talk about it, do it. The song as a whole relates to the character realizing this. Realizing his movement is just the fad of the week. A news story or entertainment…

JB: What are your short term plans for your music career in the Cities? What comes next?

E: This year we’re (Fill In The Breaks) releasing a few more projects. The David Mars solo record, another Sector 7G project and then I have an album with LA underground legend Awol One coming out in October too. So it’s gonna be busy. We’re working on some top-secret big events for the end of there and beginning of next year. So I’d say I’ve got big plans.

JB: Minneapolis’s Dinkytowner was considered a consistent place to showcase upcoming local hip hop talent. Any thoughts about its recent closing? How do you think it will affect things?

E: I loved the Dinky, it was really sad to see it go. It was a great place for hip-hop, absolutely one of the better underground venues in-town. But as for myself and my career it’s a good thing, I was sick of playing there and I know my fans were sick of seeing me there. I definitely think it hurts the up and coming groups because it was a place every body could get a chance at, but I also think it will help weed out the people just doing for a hobby.

JB: Michelle Obama recently said in an interview that she wants her daughters to be “aware of all kinds of music other than hip-hop.” Do you think that there is still a prevailing fear of hip hop in America, much like there used to be of rock n’ roll?

E: First in defense of Ms. Obama, I think she’s right, no one should listen to just one genre of any kind. It’s boring and dense. Now as far as America being afraid of hip hop. Shit I think America is still afraid of rock n’ roll! Even though it might seem pretty accepted these days. I think America will always be afraid of any kind of counter culture. I think the one funny thing about hip - Culturebully.com


"CD – Review – Ecid – Economy Size goDD Costume"

By: Kaleb Bronson

Just when the world thought hip hop was turning in its rotting grave; a young, lippy and fearless MC comes out of the woodwork to lay down the nearly criminal and lawless lyrics placed within the album “Economy Size goDD Costume.” Ecid is his MC name, and with his new solo album he takes out the vinyl and smashes it in the face of basic lyricists to let them now that he is not a delinquent rapper.

“When I was God, I sold the Bible to the government..,” is just a minor taste of the skill from the track “What are you going to be for Halloween?” passed through Ecid’s towering inferno of word-play. Through “Economy Size goDD Costume” Ecid passes his own internal torch of rage based around the corrupt nature of today’s society. Ecid is a wrathful rapper with layers of innocence building up the most fierce sin based lifestyles stuck within lyrical forms.

The album is not ultra complex, though he does carry a solid theme throughout, letting listeners know that the world is no longer a Joker’s Card, and now known as a depraved site to see, like an abandoned carnival ride.

From the reprehensible thickness of the track “Moodswing Posterchild,” to the hanign tree of depression in “The Art of Losing It,” Ecid takes each track and constructs a compound of ear candy. Ecid makes one think, he is David Koresh without the cult or religion. Or maybe Nike without the cyanide. Ecid makes people listen with wit.

“Wake me up when I am alive,” Ecid chants as the beats bash through the interior walls built within the album. “Economy Size goDD Costume,” is a tangled album of Creature Features, replacing the horror with reality. - Rift Magazine


"Awol One and Ecid Are...?"

For a guy that says he's 1000 years old, Awol One still sounds as youthful, rough, rugged, and raw as some of the best MC's out there today. His teammate for this project is the 26 year-old Ecid out of Minneapolis, and together they create hip-hop for either a post-apocalyptic world, hip-hop finally accepting Lesson 6, or just daring hip-hop that refuses to be constrained by its conservative boundaries.

Awol One and Ecid Are...? is the exact question they want you to ask, as if to say "wait a minute, why is this a big deal to me?" Drop your expectations and be open to simply finding, discovering, and absorbing damn good hip-hop. Their rap styles are very different from each other, which sadly is an oddity in these days of automaton rhyming, but here they dig deep into their notebooks and find every way to talk about frauds, schemes, dopeness, fears, hopes, anxiety attacks, and with "Selling Out For The Sport," pointing the fingers are other artists who compromise even though it's sometimes more fun not to. "Moving On" could be something from the N*E*R*D vaults, complete with minimalistic sing-song melody and a videogame-y bassline.

These two are confident in their rhymes. Ecid is playing some really cool audio games with the samples he uses, and some of the production techniques help pull the listener in and keep them there. It's not only a rapper's album, but it's for the production heads too, who will be smiling at the known sounds and scratching their heads at the unknown ones for days, if not months or years. The genius is in how good Awol One and Ecid Are...? is, how clever their sarcasm and smart-ass ways are, and how it simply fits in with other hip-hop that doesn't fit within the mainstream. Yet by being that, they also know what fans of rap music are hungry for, and they will be well fed (and them some) with this.

-John Book - Okayplayer.com


Discography

Post Euphoria Vol. 1 (Fill In The Breaks, 2013)
*reached the top ten on the CMJ hiphop charts

Werewolf Hologram (Fill In The Breaks, 2012)
*peeked at #3 on CMJ hiphop charts

Kings Of Compton - NWA v.s. Kings Of Leon mash up
(Fill In The Breaks, 2012)

Swagger Wagon mini ep (Fill In The Breaks, 2011)

100 Smiles and Runnin (Fill In The Breaks, 2010)

Photos

Bio

At first glance most would think a skinny, blue-eyed hipster looking dude in a flannel with obnoxious Nike’s to match, would be in a post-electro indie-band. But this is the 90’s for the third time and one of rap’s most exciting new voices, ECID, is not your average newsstand heartthrob. In 2012, with the release of Werewolf Hologram, he saw his sound realized in a major scope. The album reached #20 on the College Music Journal’s Top 50 Hiphop Albums of 2012 list among many other accolades. It was an album fueled by life’s harsh kicks to the family jewels and a newly found passion for heat yoga which completely changed his creative DNA. ECID was shiny and new again.

Embracing the chaos of his artistic evolution, 2013 is shaping up to be a busy year for Ecid. With a new studio album, Pheromone Heavy nearly finished, he is set to release a companion EP, Post Euphoria as a sneak peek of things to come. Realizing his best asset as an artist is himself, the songs are more vulnerable, yet more playful than ever. A hopeless-romantic at heart, Ecid has finally found a way to bring his true charm & unique creative quirks to the surface, making you root for him that much more. His new style is matched by sexier beats, marrying big synth lines with choppy samples. It is tailor-made for blasting out of a stolen Mazda louder than a blow horn attached to a stadium sized amplifier.

Chest pumping (ribbed for her pleasure):

In the past year ECID, has been featured on Rolling Stone.com, MTV Hive, AOL Spinner, Stupid Dope.com, Pigeons and Planes, & Societte Perrier to name a few.

"...it’s also clear that Ecid is someone worth getting excited over. He may have a masterpiece in him."
- POPMATTERS.COM

"...stunningly intricate and grounded in the kind of conscious-rap reality that any hip-hop fan will find appealing."
-EASTERN SURF MAGAZINE

“He’s one of the more thoughtful and interesting...emcees to emerge in recent memory. He’s assured but not arrogant, biting but not belligerent, and his social commentary would come off as snooty if it wasn’t couched in such intricate wordplay.”
- City Pages

“...Ecid does merit comparisons to Astronautalis and Sage Francis with his brainy, topical themes and indie-rocky flavor...”
- Star Tribune

"Ecid is honest, cynical, dark, imaginative, creative, witty, funny, politically aware, and, at times, a fucking genius."
-CrayonBeats.com

“Werewolf Hologram is a lot of play on words, over a wide array of microsampled, yet organic sounds, and a dizzying array of cynical, freshly delivered puns and plays on words that rank among the best work that Ecid has committed to record.”
- Reviler.org

"Ecid is playing some really cool audio games with the samples he uses, and some of the production techniques help pull the listener in and keep them there. It's not only a rapper's album, but it's for the production heads too, who will be smiling at the known sounds and scratching their heads at the unknown ones for days, if not months or years."- OKAYPLAYER.COM..