mav of sol camp

This year has been a pretty good year for music. Not great, but we are only half done. It’s really hard to find good music now a days because, let’s face it, there’s a TON of it out there. You have to go through a whole pile of digshit just to find ONE diamond. We want to make that a little easier for you here at College Gentleman. My very smart counterpart William Gish gave you HIS top albums thus far; so here are mine. Between the two of us, you’ll NEVER want for good new music again.
10. Story Of The Year- The Constant: Another band I was never too high on. "Until The Day I Die" was a nice song but after that, they kinda faded off. But this album brings them back, at least for me. It's got an almost perfect mix of melody, hooks, riffs, and guttural screaming and yelling. It even has a few minor old school punk elements in it, lyrically and musically. I may rate this one higher when all is said and done because it's really that good. Fav Tracks: "Ghost Of You And I", "To The Burial", and "Eye For An Eye".
9. Sevendust- Cold Day Memory: Sevendust, for me, has always been one of those middle of the road bands. They aren't bad, but I'm not going to take off work to see them in concert or lie, cheat, and steal to get their album. Enter Cold Day Memory with a MONSTER track, "Unraveling". It took me a second listen, but I realzied that this song might give Sevendust some long past due praise. The rest of the album can't match that song in terms of epicness but it can and does in intensity. Fav Tracks: "Karma", "Forever", and "Unraveling".
8. Alkaline Trio- This Addiction: Alk Trio promised the same thing Korn did with their latest album, a "return to form". Not really here, but that doesn't make the album bad. In fact, quite the opposite. It's a great album BECAUSE it's not a step back, it's a step forward. There is a good amount of what makes the band good, but horns, extra layers of guitars, and even what would be considered "happy" lyrics and "happy" sounding music is not "Old School Alk3". Fav Tracks: "Lead Poisoning", "Dine, Dine My Darling", and "This Addiction".
7. Johnny Cash- American VI: Ain't No Grave: If you have decent taste in music, you have to love this album. The title track is an epic reminder that people, especially Johnny Cash, are going to live on long past our physical demise. It's got the same vibe as "God's Gonna Cut You Down", only it's even creepier with an even MORE breathy vocal style, making Cash sound even creepier. The album follows suit. Great stuff. Fav Tracks: "Ain't No Grave", "Aloha Oe", and "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound".
6. We Are The Fallen- Tear The World Down: Are We Are The Fallen, Evanescence II? Well kinda. Yes, Ben Moody and others were the brainchild and musical driving force of Evanescence. And yes, Carly Smithson kinda looks and kinda sounds like Amy Lee. But to just write these guys (and girl) off as an Evanescence rip off would be a huge mistake. The music sounds kinda similar because Ben and company made that music what it was, not because they're copying it. You can't rip off something you created. Fav Tracks: "St. John", "Bury Me Alive", and "Tear The World Down".
5. Eminem- Recovery: This is Em's first "sober" album, maybe ever. He makes it a point to point that out a few times on the album, how he's changed. In reality, while there are some very mature lyrics on here, Eminem really is the same. And we wouldn't have it any other way. He's got the same cutting wit, the same anger, and the same venomos spit that makes Eminem the king. Fav Tracks: "W.T.P.", "Not Afraid", and "25 To Life".
4. Korn- Korn III: Remember Who You Are: I was shocked when I heard this album, truly. The band claimed the were "going back" in a way, which is usually BS. But I'll be damned if Korn didn't do it and do it well on Korn III. They were able to recapture almost perfectly, the raw emotion and sound of their first album. That being said, it's still made by a band in 2010 and not in the 1990's. Fav Tracks: "Oildale (Leave Me Alone)","Let The Guilt Go", and "Move On".
3. Destrophy- Destrophy: Until Godsmack came along, this was going to be my favorite metal album of the year. It has everything I like, intensity, a little complexity, and some great hooks. These guys are all from Iowa, so they have a huge Slipknot sized shadow to get out of, but if they keep doing what they're doing, it's not going to be an issue. These guys are flat out fucking AMAZING!!! Fav Tracks: "Arms Of The Enemy", "Reconnect", and "The Way Of Your World".
2. Mav- Independent Hustlin': Mav is probably the greatest rapper you've never heard of (unless you read my columns of course!!) His latest effort, Independent Hustlin, is a smoothly produced yet lyrically abrasive album. Mav tells all of the fakes and sycophants to fuck off. Fake producers, fake record execs, fake rappers, and fake people. Fav Tracks: "Til The Sunrise", "Windows Rolled Down", and "Don't Want Your Deal".
1. Godsmack- The Oracle: Clearly the bands most mature and thoughtful effort. Godsmack bring the "Love, Hate, Sex, Pain" on this album with the most complex album they've ever put out. I have never heard Godsmack come with this kind of depth before and I hope it continues. With some amazing arrangements, this might be the best album of the year. Fav Tracks: "Saints And Sinners", "Love, Hate, Sex, Pain", and "The Oracle".

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- collegegentlemen.com

Phoenix MC Mav has been a fixture in the local hip-hop scene for the better part of the past decade, both as a solo performer and as a member of the on-again-off-again collective Sol Camp.

Mav's latest album, Independent Hustlin, was released on March 30 and features numerous collaborations with both local and national artists. The first single from Independent Hustlin is a collaboration with Valley rap veteran Juice titled "Til the Sunrise," which was recently made into a music video - Mav's first.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, Mav released another track from the album as a free download. Click here to download "Mexicans As Fly As Us (feat. G-Moe and Lucky Luciano)" and read on to check out the new video for "Til the Sunrise" and read an e-mail Q&A with Mav in which he discusses the making of the video, his new album and the current status of Sol Camp.

Up on the Sun: How did the new video with Juice come about? Where did you shoot it? Who directed it?

Mav: In terms of hip-hop in Arizona, my roots are deep. I been in this game since 2003, so I've seen Juice a lot the past few years. I believe we met in 2006 when I interviewed him for my MTV My Block: Phoenix DVD and he spit a dope flow for it, so I been a supporter since then. So when I had 80 percent of my album Independent Hustlin done, I wanted to add a few features, but strategically. I got verses from Chingo Bling, D-Roc (Ying Yang Twins), Lucky Luciano, LMNO, G-Moe, Sol Camp and Juice.

21, the producer, made the beat for "Til the Sunrise" and as soon as I heard it, I just felt like partying in my back yard with Tecates and listening to oldies, ya dig. To me it was already a good song repping AZ, and getting Juice on it made it bigger. After we recorded "Til the Sunrise," I wanted to make it my first video, since it is also my first single off the album. So when I got the album completely finished, I just made that call to Juice and we made the video happen.

For the "Til the Sunrise" video we had a few different locations. We filmed at Stray Cat and Desert Vista Studios in Tempe and several locations in downtown Phoenix. When it came to picking a video director, I just watched all the local hip-hop videos and picked the guy with the best videos, and that was Alonso Murillo. He is also a great photographer, so he incorporated several different angles and lighting to make it more artistic than your average video. To me, the video is a success and I'm glad to have it as my first solo video ever. "Til the Sunrise" was released locally about a month ago and has got hundreds of spins nationwide, and I feel this video can help me take it even farther. On another note, we had a lot of crazy wild times filming this video too. Partying til the sunrise is a way of life!

Your new album has been out for a little more than a month now. How has the reception been so far?

My second album, Independent Hustlin, is doing amazing. See, unlike a lot of local rappers, Es Oh El Musik (my label) sells thousands of units in the streets annually. Unlike previous albums, we did presale with this album and the presale numbers were off the chain. I'm not saying we going platinum, but its doing great in my eyes. Anyways, I will be promoting this album hard for the next year so - I have a lot more grinding to do.

The reception to the actual music has been great. I have been told that my whole concept is genius, that I have a classic Arizona album and that I have more hits on the album than any rapper from Arizona ever had. But to me, until I either move 100k independently or have a Billboard single, I have a lot more work to do, only because the ultimate goal is to get my music to as many people as humanly possible.

Looks like you've released a lot of music already. How long have you been rapping? How did you get started?

Man, I love making music, so it's only natural that I have a lot of music to release. My latest release is only my second album, but me and my Es Oh El Musik partners put out over 10 mixtapes since 2005. Also, earlier this year, I released my first all-digital mixtape release - Pages From My Rhymebook. Make sure y'all Google it and download it.

I loved hip-hop pretty much my whole life. In the mid-'90s, my older sister had a big single in the Chicago area called "Free," and ever since then, I knew I wanted to be in the music industry somehow. I started making music in 2003, got signed to a local label in 2004, and after the label folded, I released my debut album, MicAdVancement, in 2005. Right after I released that album, I joined Sol Camp. Between '05-'08, we did the Sol Camp thing hard. In 2009, I dropped two mixtapes and started to work on my solo career. That brings me to 2010 and I am showing the world about this Independent Hustlin.

Tell us more about Sol Camp. How did the group get together? Will there be a Sol Camp album in the near future?

Sol Camp are my brothers. Me, B Staks and Skunk One started Sol Camp in October 2005 when we recorded a song called "How We Do This." Right after that, Chino D (MC), Sal (singer) and DJ Villin joined the group. In those three years, Sol Camp became the biggest Latino hip-hop group to come out the Southwest since NB Ridaz. We were on most major hip-hop shows in Phoenix from 2005-2008, ran the swap meets selling CDs, toured from Texas to California several times, [had] songs on the radio, [recorded] three mixtapes and then it ended. We recorded our first album, and then our computer crashed and we lost most of the songs we recorded. A few months later, we re-recorded the whole album in two days at the conservatory, but it was too late. In the end of 2008, Skunk One and Sal left the group. We have all the masters for the album, but unless we all come back together, its pointless to release that album. That album was gonna be something big, but it didn't happen that way. We all still work together. Me and B Staks did a mixtape in 2009 and DJ Villin mixed it. In 2010, me and B Staks are pushing the [old] Sol Camp record label as Es Oh El Musik. Recently, we started working on reforming the group and will record another album after we finalize the new roster.

Do you have any upcoming gigs?

Right now, I'm not doing shows 'til I finish setting up this Independent Hustlin tour. You can always check my upcoming shows at twitter.com/mavofsolcamp or myspace.com/mav. Or for booking contact urbanmediabuzz@gmail.com

I also have my single "Til the Sunrise" on iTunes and my album Independent Hustlin exclusively on urbanmediabuzz.com. - phoenixnewtimes.com