Hectic

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tha fam


who: Uncle Jimmy, Hectic, Rebel, Pokey, Poetic, Mythodical and Corona
new album: "Underdog City," a full-length mix tape
released: July
sounds like: This summer, this Erie-based rap collective released their first mixtape, an eclectic collection of bass-pounding seat-back battle raps, street-philosophy tracks and mellowed-out sex-you-up jams. Team MVP Hectic brings a laid-back, told-you-so attitude on battle raps as well as his specialty, the pickup ballad, while curveballs are thrown by the entries from resident nutty professor Rebel.
recorded at/produced by: Empire Entertainment, Erie/Prophit
web site: www.myspace.com/thafamproductions

hectic


who: Hectic
new album: "Times Iz Hectic," a full-length album
release date: October
sounds like: The first release from tha Fam cohort Hectic puts his Puerto Rican LL Cool J persona front and center. Sample-heavy tracks with an old-school flavor focus mainly on all aspects the opposite sex and street philosophy. If you never thought someone could sample "I Just Died in Your Arms" for an unironic dance floor pickup rap, or if you're looking for drums-and-high-hat driven advice on how to be a real street-level player, this is your album.
recorded at/produced by: tha Fam Productions
web site: www.myspace.com/iamhectic


Last changed: September 29. 2006 3:37PM

- TANGENT MAGAZINE

A review of Timez is Hectic – Local Erie Rapper Hectic’s debut CD
By: PJ Sheehan (Tangent Magazine)



Normally, when I buy a new hip hop CD, I am already aware of at least one or two of the songs due to them being released as singles, hearing them through a friend, etc. But when I got my hands on “Timez is Hectic,” I was completely unfamiliar with the artist, or any of his songs. That’s because this is Hectic’s (aka Hector Perez) first solo project. Other releases involving Hectic’s group, Tha Fam, include “Tha Fam Presents Tha Takeova,” and “Tha Fam Presents Underdog City.” These releases were not nearly as high profile as “Timez is Hectic.”

The 19-track disc hit the streets in late October, and has been making mad noise ever since its much-anticipated release. Hec, who is not only an artist, but also President of Erie’s Tha Fam Productions, marketed the release of his album to the hilt. He spent countless hours promoting the CD at local venues such as Odis 12 Bar & Grille, where his CD Release Party was held. In cyberspace, he plastered messages all over MySpace-land. And it was well worth his efforts. With as much noise as Hectic was making about the release of his album, he’d better not leave us hangin.’

He did not disappoint. The tracks are laced with bone-bouncing bass, rim-rattling rhymes, and some eye-opening glimpses into Hec’s life. From the intro to the last song, Hectic keeps his listeners entranced and wondering what the next track will have in store. The thought provoking “Close My Eyes” was written for and about Hec’s son. The title track tells listeners about the highs and lows of street life, and Hectic’s four- year stint in prison. “Bout My Doe” is a diss track aimed at a rapper that has beef with Hectic. All of the sub-genres of hip hop are covered extensively throughout the CD.

Hectic shows us his diversity by sampling anything from the 80’s Billboard topper by The Cutting Crew, “Died in Your Arms,” to the 1971 hit by the Stylistics, “You Are Everything.” The album is a bit sample- heavy, although Hectic fluidly incorporates the lyrics and hooks into his own music. Samples aside, Hec’s Bronx roots are apparent with obvious influences from LL Cool J and Nas.

Overall, the entire album was professionally done, and very impressive. There is a comfortable mix of high-energy diss type rapping, emotional odes to his lady and son, and motivational tracks designed to let his peeps know that if Hec can make it in life, they can too. The overuse of sampling is the only apparent flaw, and I think if the track list would have been cut down by 2 or 3 songs, this problem could have been avoided. Hopefully Hectic and the rest of Tha Fam can keep the momentum going for the Underdog City. I look forward to further releases. Holla.
- PJ Sheenhan

Hectic wins the 2007 Hip Hop artist of the year award. - RockErie.com

Hip-hop hooray!
Sherlock's earns the salute for scheduling its first all hip-hop show, featuring Hectic, Konkrete Thoughtz, 6 Gunplay Records artists.

BY DAVE RICHARDS
dave.richards@timesnews.com [more details]



Published: November 08. 2007 6:00AM




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If it's not quite hip-hop history, it did earn a hip-hop hooray from area rappers: Sherlock's will host its first all hip-hop show on Wednesday night.

Performers include Hectic, who won the RockErie Music Award for favorite hip-hop artist in August, plus Konkrete Thoughtz and six artists from Gunplay Records.

"I almost feel like we're making history," said Shuntell Mathis, who plays with Caprice Hollis in conscious hip-hop group Konkrete Thoughtz.


"It's nothing that major, but considering it's Erie and this is a rock and roll town, hip-hop is starting to make a name for itself. Just to do a show down there, for the first time, it's like, wow. So, yeah, I'm excited."

So is Donyelle Keith, the CEO of Gunplay Records.

"Actually, I'm glad and I'm optimistic about the show," said Keith, who'll present Stradagist, Quack G, and J-Pad Da the Juggernaut, the label's exclusive producer.

"It's about time, definitely about time, because there are really no venues in the city that cater to the up-and-coming hip-hop artists that are in the city. It's long overdue, so we plan to take advantage of the situation and make it count."

"It's a big step for the hip-hop scene in Erie," added Hectic, who'll drop his second CD, "Timez Iz Still Hectic," in December. "So I'm going to try to take advantage of it."


Hip-hop fans will find a variety of approaches. Hectic, the headliner, says he keeps his songs real, writing about events in his current life, not exaggerated scenarios about guns and drugs.

His all-time favorite artist isn't NWA, but Nas, though he also likes Kanye West and remains an LL Cool J fan.

For Hectic, honesty matters most.

"I don't lie in my music. I'm not a violent dude right now; I don't have guns. I don't sell drugs, none of that. So I'm not going to talk like I sell drugs or shoot people because I don't," he said.

"I talk about my struggles in my life, and if I'm in a happy mood, I talk about being in the club and stuff like that."


He said he's getting more into the roots of hip-hop and his lyrical side, though he also writes irresistible, dance-worthy fare like "What U Drinkin' On," which he'll soon shoot a video for.

Hectic -- aka Hector Perez -- grew up in the Bronx, influenced by street parties where Grandmaster Flash, Kool Moe Dee, and other pioneering artists started.

"A lot of the hip-hop artists, like Whodini and Grandmaster Flash, used to be outside like it was nothing," he said. "I used to beg my parents to buy me albums so I could scratch myself, and I'd mess with my dad's record player."

At 13, he moved to Erie, but that didn't work out at first. He got into trouble.


"I started taking music seriously, but unfortunately in 1999, I got sent to prison for four years," he said. "While I was in there, I just started writing and really getting into it."

He befriended a cellmate with a keyboard.

"He used to make beats, so I started writing and got into the yard and was battling with people in the yard like that, doing talent shows."

That stretch in Coal Township Correctional Facility for robbery and assault turned his life around.

"If I had never went to jail, I don't think I'd be rapping. I don't think I'd be working, nothing," Hectic said. "I completely did a whole 360. My whole life changed."


Now he has two sons, works by day in a retail clothing store, and also works overdrive on his hip-hop career. All that sweat paid off with his RockErie win, though he was nervous the day of the awards. He had promoted himself heavily, then wondered if others had done the same.

"I was like, 'What if I lose? I'll feel stupid.' So, when they said my name, I was relieved," Hectic said.

Like Hectic, Mathis of Konkrete Thoughtz prefers hip-hop that makes people not just move but also think.

"We're pretty much a conscious group that has a street edge," Mathis said. "We like to call our sound and style mood music.


"Each song brings you something a little more different. It's going to be heartfelt but still something you can bop your head to. We tend to rap about politics and rap about religion and the politics of the street."

Mathis wonders if casual hip-hop fans realize the breadth of what's out there in Erie.

"We want people to realize that there's all different aspects when it comes to this music. You got heartfelt rap, street rap, but you've got to realize everyone who's rapping is just trying to give you a - Erie Times News

Hectic stands the heat (AUDIO)
The Erie hip-hop artist is ready to celebrate after trying timez.

BY DAVE RICHARDS
dave.richards@timesnews.com [more details]
Since he released his debut CD, Erie hip-hop artist Hectic recovered from a stab wound, caught pneumonia, and threw out his shoulder.

No wonder he named his new release "Timez Is Still Hectic."


"A lot ups and downs. Still here," raps Hectic -- aka Hector Perez -- at the outset of the title song. He'll spin songs from his CDs and also perform a short set on Saturday at East Erie Turners.

"It's just going to be a party celebration for the CD and also my birthday," said Perez, who turns 28. "I'm really just celebrating the whole day, and around midnight, I'll perform for 15 or 20 minutes and go back to just playing my music."

Everyone who attends will get a free copy of the CD, which takes a more diverse approach than "Timez Iz Hectic."

"With my first album, they were labeling me the girl rapper because I had a lot of songs for the females. I was playing the whole sex thing, like LL Cool J -- the pretty boy, the ladies man," Perez said. "This album, I have some for the lady fans, but I made sure I did songs to let the fellas know that I'm nice."
The debut relied more on sampling, including snippets of Stylistics and Cutting Crew.
"I was doing the Kanye West thing," Perez said. "This album, I took it more serious as an artist. I created my own hooks for everything."
Perez grew up in the Bronx, influenced by artists such as Kool Moe Dee, Whodini, and Grandmaster Flash, who ruled at street parties. That East Coast vibe permeates his vocals, but his hip-hop also has a contemporary Southern flavor. Several tracks are also built for the dance clubs.

"I think I got the East Coast delivery, but I have the down-South swag," he said. "I lived in Jacksonville for a year, and picked up their style and how they carry themselves."

"What U Drinkin' On" -- the infectious, danceable lead track from the new CD -- has an easygoing party vibe in a dirty South, Shop Boyz vein. The title cut -- which he filmed a video for -- has a harder-edged approach. "Drinkin'" has earned Hectic airplay around the country, including Florida. It's earned nearly 25,000 spins at myspace.com / iamhectic.

After Perez started recording his second CD, he switched gears. He moved to Empire Entertainment and re-recorded most of his songs. He also spent some time recuperating -- first from a stab wound that laid him up for almost three weeks.


"I know who it was, but I'm not telling anyone," he said. "He got me in my arm and hit my intestines and everything. Even when I got out of the hospital, I was on bed rest."

Still, he managed to open for Jim Jones as scheduled.

"I had to. I couldn't even really stand up straight, but it was big show and I wanted to put it in my press kit."

Pneumonia also set him back for a while. But he's endured worse, including a four-year stretch at Coal Township Correctional Facility for unlawful entry and home invasion.

Perez said that prison stay changed him. A roommate had a keyboard and created raps; Perez began writing songs. He developed a goal: Play music, stay out of trouble, spend more time with his kids, ages 3 and 1.

On his new CD, Perez -- who won the first RockErie Award for best hip-hop artist in 2007 -- also gives his heritage a shout out with "Boricua."

"I'm Puerto Rican, so this was something I really wanted to do."

The skinny
Hectic will present a CD-release party on Saturday at 9 p.m. at East Erie Turners, 829 Parade St. Tickets are $6, which includes the CD, and will be available at the door.

- Erie times news