Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Friday, April 28, 2006
By John Liberty
jliberty@kalamazoogazette.com 388-8579
The stage hasn't changed, but the context couldn't be more different for local rapper Ed Genesis.
Nine years ago he took the State Theatre stage for the first time in a local talent contest in which he finished second to a gospel group. At 8 tonight, Genesis will again play second fiddle at the State, but this time it's as the opener for Grammy-nominated, multiplatinum-selling rapper Twista.
``It's a big accomplishment,'' said Genesis, 30, whose real name is Ed Griffin. ``(Twista) has grown as an artist and so have I. It's a great opportunity to showcase what I've done.''
In the past few years, Genesis' game has gone from recording CDs recreationally to releasing an independently produced full-length album, ``A Fifth of Gen,'' which came out in February. With some promotional and financial help from his wife, manager and co-producer, Patrese Griffin, Genesis has sold more than 500 CDs. He will perform in Columbia, S.C., May 4 and spend two weeks networking throughout the Southeast.
``I'm more into (rapping) as far as I've always enjoyed doing it, and I've always given it my all, but now there is more responsibility with it,'' he said. ``This is the job I have chosen, and the level of responsibility has grown.''
Along with the added expectations comes the cost of pushing a new album. Genesis said the price tag of recording, distributing and promoting the CD is expected to total more than $8,000 so he's had to sacrifice some luxuries.
``I could definitely be riding around in a 2006 something if it wasn't for the studio (cost), but it was all worth it,'' he said.
- Kalamazoo Gazette
By Joe Walker
In 1975 little Edward Griffin had no idea he lived in Gary, Ind. He didn't know anything about hip-hop music, or what color the pavement was. That year, he was just a newborn. But by the age of 7, he knew his surroundings well. He saw the streets painted in assorted colors: the gray of hard times...the brown of dirt and crime...the red of lives lost in turmoil.
"I'm a '70's baby," he said in a phone interview last month. "Crack [cocaine] hit [the community] in the '80's, and it's a lot of gang stuff in Gary, so there wasn't a music scene. People were doing music, people rapped, but it was a lot of negativity."
Thanks to 1982's The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, his young ears and mind opened as wide as his eyes, and he was changed. Inspired, the child came up with his first rap. "I got a lot of knowledge from growing up fast in Gary. I always had the passion to rap from, like, 7 years old...but being a rapper in Gary meant there was no avenues for you."
He moved to Kalamazoo in 1992. It was here that his rap career began to take shape, and Edward Griffin evolved into Ed Genesis. He had a first cousin in the area who was involved in music. They entered talent competitions--a groundbreaking experiences for Genesis. "I don't recall any talent shows growing in [in Gary]," he said.
Another new experience for Genesis was living in Kalamazoo's diverse community. "Gary is predominately black, so my first interaction with different races was actually coming to Kalamazo, and that was cool", he said.
Honing his talent took some learning. Genesis said rap was just a hobby at first. He didn't take it seriously. But to date, Genesis has recorded eight underground albums, each one inspired by his personal issues during the time of the album's creation. And just recently seeing his music becoming a long-term career has become clear to him. "This is the first year that I decided to take it professional serious," Genesis said.
The transfer from Gary to Kalamazoo was a good move for Ed Genesis. But approaching his craft seriously and maturing along the way was his best move yet.
"Now what I'm doing is applying what I've learned along the way, and I"m actually getting paid for my craft," Genesis said. "I wasn't concentrating on what I could be doing, so on my [new album], A Fifth of Gen, you can actually hear direction. You'll be waiting to hear what comes next."
A Fifth of Gen is available now. For more information, visit www.ed-genesis.com
- Revue Magazine
Discography
A Fifth of Gen...................2006
(track listing: The Missing Link, Fit The Shoes, Testimony of Elements, Guilty Hands, Gary, IN, Y.A.K. (You Already Know), A Fifth of Gen, Sensuate (sense-you-wait), No Brakes, A Little More Time, Kick Back, Relax, Do Re Mi, Nobody Move, Pimpish Views III, So Pretty, Get Off Work, Sista' Don't You Weep, The Night the Scarecrow Cried)
Album available at www.Ed-Genesis.com, G&O Dollar Deals (Kalamazoo, MI), CD Warehouse (Kalamazoo, MI), CD Baby.com (www.cdbaby.com/cd/edgenesis), Tower Records (www.towerrecords.com)
Additional retailers to be added
The Gift............................2005
Droppin' Filthy..................2004
Keep Ridin'.......................2003
Droppin' Dirty...................2003
The Arraignment..............2002
Thurobred Ridah's............2002
The Onliest......................2001
The Beginning.................1999
Publishing: My Onliest Publishing (ASCAP)
Current Airplay Songs
1. No Brakes
2. Sensuate (sense-you-wait)
Radio Stations (ongoing list):
-89.1 WIDR Kalamazoo, MI
Here it on line at: http://www.widr.org
DMP Access Music Station
(www.DMPaccess.com)
TNA Radio
(www.tnaradio.com)
Hoodhype
(www.hoodhype.com)
Prior Singles/Radio Airplay
1. The Message (made '03)
2. Let's Get High (made '99)
3. 50 Deep (made '00)
4. Tig ol' Bitties (made '00)
5. Exclusive (radio mix) (made '03)
Upcoming projects.....
Hood-Hop Vol. 1 DVD - Mixtape available now
Gen N' Juice (DVD and mixtape)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
If God decided to rap this would be the body, the voice and the face he would use and with faith he would move even the spirit of an atheist dude...
-Ed Genesis-
No Brakes
Who is bold enough to say such a thing and yet so justified in doing so? No one other than Ed Genesis The Onliest. He is an artist not bound by years but secured by wisdom. He survived an unfortunately typical 80s inner city childhood that is now a cliché must have to be successful in hip hop. Instead of capitalizing on the negativity, Ed Genesis is using it as a tool to show the world that anything is possible. Millions of people are able to put words together that rhyme and even say them in a catchy way over a nice beat. The difference between them and Ed Genesis is his mind.
He was born Edward Griffin in Gary, Indiana in 1975. His mother tried her hardest to raise her oldest son the best she could. From his earliest memory, she was giving him the game he would need to survive, not only at the time, but also for the rest of his life. Unbeknownst to him, his battle with this world would not start on the streets; it would start at home.
As a child, he was extremely creative. He took pride in using his vocabulary. Like others who grew up in that era, The Message by Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five was his first exposure to rap music. At the age of 7 he created his first rap. For a child who was born and raised in what was once the murder capitol of the world, music was more than entertainment, it was an escape. The street life was not debatable. Once shoved in, he drew to the streets like a shark in the ocean. As he got older, the things his mother told him began to manifest themselves. Life as he knew it was not about options, but about survival.
In 1992, his circumstances led him to make Kalamazoo, Michigan his permanent home. Noticing that life there was different, he was able to focus more on his craft. Those verses about life in Gary transformed Ed Griffin to King Ed G to Ed Genesis. Telling himself that rap was not going to pay the bills, he did what was necessary to survive. In 1999, he could no longer ignore what he is here to do. He started his record label R.N.R.O (formerly Ride Out Records) that year with partner Kevin Ford. He began to perform more and would often do so with his group the Thurobred Ridahs. He has opened for Twista, Trina, Memphis Bleek, Juvenile and Amerie to name a few. To date he has released eight underground albums.
It did not take long for people to notice Ed Genesis is different. It was not the fact that his mind is his notebook and his studio. Sure, it is fascinating to watch him appear to be meditating and mumbling for five minutes and hear words put together unlike anything you have ever heard before. However, what makes him amazing is the thought he puts into his words and the deeper meaning and outlook he offers on life and all that it entails.
Rap is saturated and everyone is drowning. If you brought your head out of the water and took a breath, you would be inhaling Ed Genesis. His intellect, confidence, eloquent speech, commanding voice, and humble attitude make it easy for those who meet him or listen to his lyrics draw to him. He puts all of himself into his music. He talks about all facets of himself, which makes his content versatile. Never forgetting where his blessings come from protects his position and proves that this life is limitless. Whats real is whats real. Certain things in life have no boundaries. For this reason, Ed Genesis is the only one who can do what he does. He is truly The Onliest.
Visit Ed Genesis "The Onliest" website at:
www.Ed-Genesis.com
Check out more Ed Genesis on myspace:
www.myspace.com/1edgenesis
Check out Ed Genesis on SoundClick:
www.soundclick.com/edgenesistheonliest
Hear tracks off the new album "A Fifth of Gen": www.cdbaby.com/cd/edgenesis
Ed Genesis "The Onliest" - Management
~LadyG~ for Business.24/7
Contact: business.247@hotmail.com
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