Formula412

OCTOBER 23, 2008
Local hip-hop band Formula412 releases its long-anticipated album, The Difference

BY AARON JENTZEN

As the video camera's red light blinks in the dim control room of Mr. Small's North Side recording studio, emcee Masai Turner holds forth in assertive soundbites on the future of the hip-hop band he fronts, Formula412. He's also playing me samples of their new recordings, including "Out on Front Street," with its dramatic cello intro and dark groove. It's June, 2006.

Fast-forward more than two years, and the much-anticipated album The Difference is finally being released. The band's gritty black-and-white music video for "Front Street" has logged more than 33,000 views this month on YouTube, and shows off the interplay between Turner and guitarist Byron Nash, drummer Young D, Akil Esoon ..s, Bigg Cliff on bass and Supa C on the turntables.

Back in early 2006, the local supergroup burst onto the scene with a couple of high-profile shows and immediately went into the studio -- "prematurely," Turner now says. "When you have hype and people interested in hearing you play, you think that that means you must have an album right now." As that hype turned into more live opportunities -- including lucrative college gigs and a headlining slot at this year's Three Rivers Arts Festival -- the album sat on the back burner.

"We kinda looked up after the smoke cleared and said, 'Wow, we still don't have a record,'" says Turner, "and our supporters started to say 'Wow, you still don't have a record.'" After playing a sold-out Shadow Lounge show in May, the band hit the studio for two weeks, and finished up the album over the summer.

The time away allowed Formula412 to hone their material live and grow in ways they didn't foresee. "It takes some time for a band to grow, not just musically," says guitarist Nash. "Everybody had to have room just to breathe, to be creatively intact and give their best to the whole project."

"I was completely unaware of those things -- I've never been in a band," says Turner, whose previous group Strict Flow usually performed with pre-recorded tracks. "Seeing people look at each other and making cues of what their about to do musically, just feeling the person's energy or rhythm, that was something I didn't anticipate."

The experience helped Turner open up to new musical possibilities -- and lyrical ones as well, with more personal material than he's known for. "My Diary," a slower, autobiographical track with guest vocals by Sonji, appears twice on the album, the second time as an acoustic hidden track. It details a period when Turner's world turned upside-down: When he was just 16 years old, his father, a professor at Pitt and single parent, suddenly passed away. With a strained relationship with his mother, "who had her own challenges," young Masai was left largely on his own.

The song starts with the line, "they said I didn't have a chance," Turner notes, "that's something a guidance counselor actually said while I was waiting in a room while they were figuring out how to tell me that my father died while I was in English class." He took it as a challenge. "That statement just really focused me immediately," he says -- and it probably still does. "I play that audio a lot," he says wryly.

"I've never been a very literal artist -- I like people to learn about me through my energy and my spirit and how I interact with you," says Turner. But eventually, "I just felt like maybe if people understood what came before, they might understand how I look at things now."

But The Difference isn't all shadows and travails: There's also the dancehall-influenced "That Haught Shyt," featuring guest vocals from Ras Maisha, the jacked-up funk of "Go Back," and "Higher," featuring Davu and Gene Stovall. While there's considerable variety, it's a lean collection of songs -- no skits, no interludes, no filler. "We kinda recreated a show for the album," says Turner.

While Turner says Formula412 has some interest from labels, they've chosen a more independent, grassroots path. "It just seemed like [the labels] have something in mind, especially for people who look like us -- and it typically isn't playing live instruments and being unified. Right now we just don't have the level of misogyny or violence that would support that kind of deal."

Staying independent is the best way for Formula412 to "say something fresh and say something original, and do it in a unique way, and be authentic," says Turner. "When the dust settles, I think those things will still be interesting to listen to."

Formula412 CD Release with DJs Nate Da Phat Barber and Selecta. 8 p.m. Fri., Oct. 24. Altar Bar, 1620 Penn Ave., Strip District. $10 (presale tickets include free CD). 21 and over. 412-263-2877 - Steel City Media

By Deborah M. Todd

When Formula 412's debut album, "The Difference," is released Friday, it will be to great fanfare among a loyal base the band has developed over the past two years.

And on the heels of a national tour with more than 200,000 MySpace views of the group's first video, "Out on Front Street," the album's release will spark an interest in established fans nationally and internationally. But with fierce allegiance to its underground roots and an aversion to mainstream hip-hop, can the group succeed in its plan to revolutionize a culture it doesn't necessarily identify itself with?

There's no doubt Formula 412 is influenced by hip-hop. The six-member band features mixes from DJ Supa C and lyrics from emcee Masai Turner. The rest of the Formula -- drummer Dennis "Young D" Garner Jr., guitarist Byron "Nasty" Nash, keyboardist Akil Esoon and bassist "Big Cliff" Foster -- also say hip-hop music has played a strong part in the musicians they have become.
Formula 412

Turner, who was already well known in the region's hip-hop circles as MC with the group Strict Flow, invited DJ Supa C and Esoon into the group from their former live hip-hop band Beam. Foster, Garner and Nash all come from diverse musical backgrounds. Foster was a member of the rock band Sho Nuff, and Nash played guitar in the rock group Sporadic. Garner, the great nephew of piano legend Erroll Garner and the drummer for Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, comes from a gospel background infused with jazz.

With heavy rock chords and classical instruments (a guest cellist provides the introduction to "Out on Front Street") being the primary chord in many songs, the group manages to blend the sound with smooth lyrics and pulsing drum beats for a style that is inarguably hip-hop.

But sometimes, the group defines itself more by its differences from the current hip-hop genre than by any similarities.

"We live in a world dominated by solo artists that rush to duplicate the sound of last week's one-hit wonder. Formula 412 separate themselves by simply being themselves," reads a press release sent out for the album.

Turner says the group represents a moment when hip-hop was less individualistic and directed more toward a positive cultural change.

"The hip-hop group has disappeared. When I was growing up, there were hip-hop groups. You would see groups of young black men moving toward something. We'll provide more of a perspective that not everyone, every young black male, is beefing with each other."

In a group of six artists, where each was a respected solo artist in his own right before the group formed, it seems like it could be difficult to keep things together without any major conflicts of style, business or ego. However, Turner says, each member brought his professionalism to the table when coming together, and that has been a great part of the group's success.

"We have nothing to prove individually. I feel like a lot of us are trying to prove something as a group because the individual accomplishments don't have the same bite as they did during earlier years."

And while the group itself illustrates unity through the way members combine their individual sounds, Turner makes it a point to bring variety to hip-hop through the content of his lyrics. In the touching and poignant "My Diary," which features local R&B songstress Sonji, Turner discusses the difficulties of growing up as a young man dealing with his father's death following a heart attack and his mother's absence. Songs like "It's a Wrap" and the single "Out on Front Street" address hip-hop music that lacks substance and how their group is on a mission to replace the idea of what most people think of when they think of hip-hop.

"Now that these clown thugs in jewels and diamonds/ what's that got to do with the rules of rhyming/The microphone and grind my only tools for shining/now watch how we expose the flows those fools designing," Turner raps on "Out on Front Street."

The mission to change hip-hop has a special place in Turner's heart, because he claims it's the genre that changed him to the person he is today. Growing up in an environment where many of his peers ended up falling into a life of crime, Turner says positive hip-hop kept him from following the same path.

"Hip-hop saved my life," he said. "I mean that literally because many of the people I grew up with are dead or incarcerated." Noting his influence from the likes of Rakim, KRS-One and Q-Tip, he says, "People like that were artists I liked to listen to and I really studied their words. Their words seemed to have a focus, to be searching for a resolution. Hip-hop saved my life that way because it helped me develop a thought pattern that helped me to not make bad decisions."

However, as much as he believes in the power of positive hip-hop, Turner seems to have lost any belief that major label music industry executives are interested in anything other than the next radio hit from hip-hop artists. "The Difference" album, which was made after the band conducted live performances and deduced the songs fans responded to best, features several tracks longer than five minutes that don't feature catchy sing-along hooks. "The Difference" was made to stand apart from music being made by most mainstream artists, according to Turner, and that's what makes it special.

"We don't think [about major deals]. We think about making music. We look at whatever happens business-wise happens," he says.

"I don't think [major labels] are looking for anything original."

Turner also rejects the idea of working with strictly profit in mind, saying the group as it is today works without any artistic constraints and can stay true to its vision without fitting into anyone's business plan.

"The industry has gotten rid of things like this. See us as a great part of the music industry because we're making what we want without anyone's influencing," he says.

But remaining out of the influence of the industry comes with the cost of remaining, to a large degree, out of the limelight. Formula 412 has no doubt it will sell out its album release party at Altar Bar 8 p.m. Friday ($15; 412-263-2877) and expects many guests at the party will purchase CDs if they don't get a complimentary copy with the advance purchase of a party ticket.

However, it would be difficult to expect them to receive the national acclaim that artists who make radio hits enjoy. MySpace hits don't normally translate into videos appearing on television countdown shows and it would take a massive word-of-mouth effort to bring an unsigned artist to the stage of BET's "106 & Park."

So, in an industry big enough for the Plies and Weezys as well as the Gnarls Barkleys and The Roots of the world, hip-hop fans will believe for him. They'll believe musicians can represent hip-hop without being representative of the status quo. They'll believe positive lyrics, live music and a genre united in making those the status quo, can and will be created. They'll believe Formula 412 can have major distribution and all other perks of the music industry without becoming shadows of themselves.

They'll believe because they know if that's the kind of music they want to hear and buy, they will ultimately be the ones driving the change Formula 412 is hoping for. - Post-Gazette

Written by Rebecca Nuttall

Whatever the occasion, a live performance by the band Formula412 is always worth attending and their CD release party on Oct. 24th for the band’s debut album “The Difference” was no exception.

With the Dance floor at Altar packed, people leaning over the edge of the upper level and even standing on the stairs, the crowd couldn’ help becoming on vibrating oganism mirroring the first chords of the set coming through the speakers.

Band members Masai Turner, on the Mic; Byron “Nasty Nash”, on Guitar; “”Bigg Cliff” Foster, on Bass; Dennis “Young D” Garner Jr., on Drums; and DJ Supa “C” took the stage, opening their concert with “The Deal”.

It has taken the band over two years to get to this point, but their fans agree it’s been worth the wait.

“We’ve become more of a band instead of six people playing together. We’re a lot tighter. We’re a lot more layered. We’ve just hit our stride and we’re hitting on all cylinders”, said Masai. “Initially people were coming to support and individual member of the band then thet became more interested in (the group) once they saw us play together. Now I think the band name is bigger than the individuals that make it up.

With their attitudes, movements and shear presence, each member of the band has the ability to hold your gaze for an infinite amount of time. You can’t help but be mesmerized as the lead guitarist moves to the notes as if he was creating them with his body instead of the guitar in his hands. There’s something incredible about watching a beat that once rattled your car from the stereo being created by the energized drummer smiling in front of you.

“Bands usually have a focal person. The thing about Formula412 is all of these people have had their own band and been the focal point before.”

The star power of each individual could have created difficulties and some people actually said it would break the band apart. However, Masai says that the relationships he and his band mates share has ensured that has not happened.

“We all had previous relationships. The music is easy for us because of our relationships”, said Masai. There are plenty of people who might be able to play an instrument as good as us, but would never fit into the formula that we put together.

Masai says that although there are rappers that use bands for big performances such as the Grammy’s, making Hip-Hop music as a band is very rare.

“I knew that beats weren’t enough for me anymore. I was looking for another challenge.

One of the challenges for their first album was delivering an impact in a recording similar to that of their live shows. Masai says the feedback has been strong and that the 2 aspects are able to stand on their own.

There are also things that you miss when you get caught up in the hype of a live performance”, said Masai. “It was never a challenge to beat live shows, but just to match it on a different level.”

Cameo performances at the concert included emcee Black Sun on “Ain’t Nothing Changed,” and Ras Maisha on “That Haught Shyt”. Other songs included their now infamous “Out On Front Street” and “Go Back”.

Just when you thought it was over, the band came back on stage, this time switching positions and instruments.

“We don’t’ do anything for a novelty. It’s more of a statement than anything. For them to come and be impressed by what we do primarily and then see that we can even switch to something else really opens up their minds to what we could be capable of”. In traditional musician form, Masai says the band will never compromise their identity.

“It’s not really a goal of our to be BIG. I don’t know what that is. Yes, I think we’re going to be as big as anyone can possibly be, being themselves 100% of the time. We’re going to be the biggest band ever to be 100% unique, authentic, creative, and original. If that means we play to 600 people, that’s fine. If that means we play to 60,000 people, that’s fine.”

This mentality is at the center of the band and the idea of not being a conformist ties into several of the songs on their album.

“I see so many people change for the purpose of something cosmetic, or financial, or superficial,” said Masai. “I was raised on a culture that kind of asked you to be yourself. The whole thing has to come back to being who you are.”

The band plans to do shows in Europe in the Spring andreturn home to do music festivals across the country in the Summer.

“Now that we’re extremely solidified regionally we’ll being trying to expand our fan base,” said Masai. “In a nutshell, a lot more performances.” - Jenesis Magazine

Live Instrumentation gives Formula412 Performance an Edge

By Michael Machosky
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, April 12, 2007

Hip-hop might rule the airwaves worldwide, but the live hip-hop band is a formula that has yet to go into mass production. There's the venerable Philly crew The Roots and, well ... nobody else.

Now, there's Formula412.

The digits come from the area code. The ingredients come from almost every corner of the local music scene. And the formula comes together for a show tonight at Diesel on the South Side.

Masai Turner, a rapper formerly affiliated with Strict Flow, provided the impetus.

Click here to find out more!

"He had this idea to put together people who already had fronted their own bands, which would utilize all their strengths," guitarist Byron Nash says.

The advantage of the band is the ability to improvise, to change the direction of a song in an instant. It's not a totally foreign concept in hip-hop. Rappers who can freestyle, or improvise rhymes on the spot, are given special respect. But most backing musicians just lay down the beat and get out of the way.

In Formula412, the band refuses to stay in the background.

Nash brings jazz-fusion chops as the former backbone of funk-rock bands such as Sporadic. Cliff Foster brings the bass from longtime rock stalwarts Sho 'Nuff.

The rhythmic core of turntables and keys comes from DJ Supa C and Akil Esoon, formerly of Beam -- a previous attempt at live hip-hop that might have been ahead of its time.

Then it gets unusual. Dennis Garner, on drums, comes from a jazz and gospel background and is the grandson of legendary jazz pianist Erroll Garner.

These guys are all fairly used to being "the man" in their own bands, so putting them all together could be asking for trouble. Placating bruised egos isn't a priority in hip-hop.

"Honestly, we thought that might be a problem," Nash says, laughing. "But it's not like that. It's very healthy. We all have a high amount of respect for each other. There's not a lot of clashing going on, surprisingly. And musically, we're all excited to be creating something totally different.

"It's based on coming from the underground, the Steel City, so it's kind of gritty, kind of aggressive," he says. "Sometimes, it gets heavy."

The group still is working on its first album. But Formula412 already has started bubbling over with pent-up energy.

"With the help of MySpace, our exposure has really blown up," Nash says. "We're up to 40,000 hits. It opens doors very quickly, based on the uniqueness of what we do."

Another indicator that these guys aren't rookies is that they're keeping the demand of Formula412 greater than the supply. They've only played a few Pittsburgh shows. Tonight's show at Diesel is a warm-up for several big shows in Boston at the prestigious Verge College Music Conference -- prime hunting ground for the major record labels.

"We want every show to be an event," Nash says. "We're taking it real seriously, as something to go out and see. Picture the most hype hip-hop show, and the most rockin' rock show, and put it together."

Michael Machosky can be reached at mmachosky@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7901.
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

DREAM TEAM - Pittsburgh CIty Paper Preview

Click the link below to view the actual article.
http://www.cparchives.com/archive.cfm?type=Music%20Previews&action=getComplete&ref=6417

Music Previews ARCHIVES
7/13/2006

Formula412
Dream Team

Writer: AARON JENTZEN
Photographer: HEATHER MULL

It's a sunny summer afternoon .. not that you'd know inside the dark-blue control room of the new Mr. Small's Studio on the North Side. Emcee Masai Turner is expounding on cookie-cutter commercial rap, the double-edged sword of hip hop's importance in the community, and what his new all-star band, Formula412, is gonna do about it.

"Music doesn't impact any community harder than in hip-hop", he says. "The latest song is what people wear, what people do, and what people are." These reflections are partly for my benefit, but more, I suspect, for the video camera documenting the recording sessions. He's wearing a clip-on mic.

"OK," I say, "but what does all that sound like?"

The engineer presses play, and heavily tattooed guitarist Byron Nash stops noodling on his 12-string Schecter. "Front Street", as the song's called, starts with Barrett Black's moody neoclassical cello, before the rest of the band kicks in: Dennis Garner on drums and beatbox, Akil Esoon on keys, and Nash covering the bass line. Turner flows out of the monitors, and suddenly his earlier thesis like "money, sex and violence are the easiest things to sell", fuse with the musical context. It's potent stuff.

And it should be: After his much-hyped group Strict Flow folded, Turner dropped out of the music scene for a few years, hoping to come back with something "more organic" What he got was some kind of monster: five veteran musicians (many frontmen in their own rights) under one name, expanding on hip hop with their metal, classical and jazz backgrounds. "I don't wanna label our music "alternative", Turner says, "but that's what it's gonna be. I can't stop that train"

The engineer stops the track. As the reverb dies out, there's a portentous air in the control room, partly from watching a group's birth taking place, and partly the mystical midwifery of musicians creating in the studio. There's also the excitement and tension of wondering whether this supergroup will truly blow up? Turner seems like a man with a plan or, with so many strong performers and personalities, prove a ticking time bomb.

The band's played some warm-up gigs, but its real debut is July 15 at Free-Style, a free night of grassroots hip-hop music, a B-Boy competition and graffiti art. Formula412 will be filming a concert DVD at the show to accompany its album, before heading to Chicago to play the National Hip Hop Political Convention.
- Pittsburgh City Paper