SOL

Sol’s Growing Pains

On his debut album, an artist toggles between youth and maturity.
By Kevin Capp

Published on February 24, 2009 at 8:28pm

The scuffle
that prompted 20-year-old Seattle lyricist Sol to abruptly stop rapping
during his performance at Chop Suey two weeks ago initially seemed
mysterious to many inside the venue. It was his debut CD release
party--and he was opening for local hip-hop luminaries like Spaceman
and Grayskul--so Sol (born Sol Moravia-Rosenberg) was determined not to
let a small fight escalate.

The Fremont native says he noticed the mini-melee on the floor
because "people stopped paying attention to me," and immediately cut
his performance in order to restore calm. What resulted was a rather
awkward interlude. He reminded the crowd that "it's about love" and
ordered them to chill before settling on a plan of attack: encouraging
those in the crowd to chant with him "Fuck that shit!"

Because those three words are the linguistic equivalent of a javelin to the
eye, and because most of us didn't have a clear view of what was
happening on the floor, Sol's heated admonitions felt like a poorly
executed attempt to incite a riot.

Blame it on his youthful excitability. Though it was an odd way to sow peace, Sol achieved his goal: The brawl stopped before people in the back even noticed it. His reaction was somewhat understandable, given his age...

"I just started barking at people," says Sol. "And it suddenly became uncool to fight."If you're only familiar with Sol via his recently released debut disc, The Ride, then his well-intentioned but clumsy move that night may have surprised
you. On his album, the University of Washington sophomore
(double-majoring in American ethnic studies and communications) raps
more like a tenured professor. Politics, racial identity, the state of
hip-hop, and literature, plus aggressive battle raps, all crop up in
varying degrees on The Ride, which feels like an adult piece
of work. It's clear at times that having a knack for words comes easy
to Sol—the mixed-race son of a Haitian mother and a Russian-Jewish
father, both teachers now living in California.

Over sandwiches at Flowers Bar & Restaurant in the U District, Sol—looking every bit the college student with his hipster glasses, scruffy beard, and
sprinkle of acne—explains that he started writing the album at 18 and
finished just before his 20th birthday. Executive-produced by himself,
Isaac Meek, and Captain Midnite, and recorded at Meek's Undercaste
studio, the disc's title refers to the journey Sol took during its
recording, as well as to the voyage he leads listeners on through the
album's 16 tracks.

"This album definitely represents me as a young adult," Sol continues. But he added that since "it was written during the Bush days," it's often reflective of that administration and the America it shaped.

The Ride's opening track, "Solstice," a nod to his former moniker, embodies these influences. One of Sol's gifts is his ability to succinctly ride a beat
rather than fight it, a distinction many young MCs have trouble making.
Over bouncy, jazzy production courtesy of Los Angeles (by way of
Seattle)–based producer Sebino, Sol allows the arrangement to dictate
the timing of his flow, hitting his consonants hard and his rhymes
harder: "Life is fucked up but it's important that we live it/True love
is hard to find, important that we give it/Most rap is whack but it's
important that they spit it—why?/It's still music, Africa's Diaspora is
in it."

This litany of simple aphorisms prepares listeners for more complex fare, particularly the fierce "Heart of Ice." Assuming the role of Bigger Thomas, the antihero of Richard Wright's classic novel Native Son, Sol angrily denounces prejudice and its toxic effects on the individual. Midnite's production (he produced 10 of the album's tracks) lends an epic, symphonic quality to a far-reaching track that begins with Sol declaring, "I am what you made me, dawg." It's a reference to Bigger's transformation from chauffeur to killer because of his disposable status as a black man.

"I've been fortunate enough to have a lot of opportunities, but as far as being an MC and being young and being multiethnic, I've definitely been discriminated against," Sol says. Still, he added, "When I decided to write the song, I was not
writing completely about myself. There are definitely people in my life
who have been Bigger Thomas."

Such a mature, intellectualized account of his music might lead one to believe Sol has an old soul. On one level this is true: He speaks with authority on a multitude of topics, from hip-hop history (present in songs like the stoner groove
"Spliff" and the catchy but serious "Road Is Rough") to the meaning of
Eldridge Cleaver's Soul on Ice (which also inspired "Heart of Ice").

But at his Chop Suey performance, Sol showed how tangled the intersecting
vectors of youthful exuberance and hubris can get. He often came off as
too anxious and excited, a stark contrast to the in-control MC heard on
his recorded material. That he broke off in the middle of the title
track—an organized, piano-laced explication of tough times—only further
highlights the difference between Sol on stage and Sol in the studio.


"I made the album as a young adult—I guess I'm
still a young adult now," he says. But, he adds, "I don't feel that it
takes something away from it. I'm not trying to be the young cat. 'Oh,
he's a young cat, that's a young album.'

"I already have a good idea of what I'm trying to do," he continues.
"The integrity of what I have behind my music is a complete package.
I'm gonna bring you an issue; it might be something simple, or it might
be something complicated. It's the journey I went through on the first
album. And I'm never gonna make a first album again."
- Seattle Weekly

review by RJ Cubarrubia
photos by Katy McCourt-Basham
After such an involved experience, I was in the mood to chill and get ill. Thanks to Seattle MC Sol (pronounced like Saul), I know I can count on him if I ever need to burn one; my man spit a hot set of straight hip-hop fire behind varied and dangerous beats ranging from harder and grittier gangsta thumps to the more playful scribbles and jazzy grooves of the old school Golden Age. Sol’s extremely clean, versatile, sometimes aggressive, but always smooth and agile flow blended well with each and every different beat showcased by the DJ, creating a wide range of heady hip-hop headbangers that took us all to the infirmary. When fellow Seattle MC Scribes joined Sol for a feature appearance onstage, the combination of the very involved and responsive crowd and two of Seattle’s finest made heads nod way out of control as they skillfully bobbed and weaved their flows to spread their illness and love to the mesmerized audience. “Spliff” particularly highlighted Sol’s dexterous flow and ability to handle and dismiss an absurdly intoxicated female fan, who joined him onstage, mid-song, unannounced, while continuously licking his lyrical lips and never letting his flow falter. Sol’s nasty neckbreakers left the crowd hyped and closed the show beautifully.
- KEXP

Sol Moravia-Rosenberg started rapping when he was in the fifth grade. Back then, it was just him fooling around with his cousins.

Sol Moravia-Rosenberg instructs audience members to put their hands in the air during his hip-hop performance March 7. SOL took second place to another UW hip-hop act, Dyno Jamz.

SOL performs at the EMP Sound Off! competition March 7. The four finalists performed in the sold-out Sky Church at the EMP
By age 12, however, he was already in the studio, improving at such a rapid pace that an album was never an option. For the UW sophomore, now known as SOL, this was the beginning of a process he refers to often: artist development.

“Before I knew it, I was a rapper,” he said. “I would listen to my brother’s CDs and my cousin’s CDs, and I would learn all the words and come up with my own lyrics. I would be rapping on top of “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem” with the same delivery DMX has. And before I knew it, I was writing songs.”

When SOL and his cousin parted ways at age 15, he began his solo career; this is when he exploded as a musician, taking drum lessons and regularly practicing singing and rapping. It still wasn’t time for an album — according to Rosenberg, puberty made him “sound like a chipmunk” — but that only drove him to work harder.

“It takes a lot more to be a good hip-hop artist than one might think,” he said. “It’s not just talking over the beat — a bad rapper can talk over a beat and rhyme. There’s a lot of music involved in making good music.”

From an early age, Rosenberg paid for booth time at Seattle recording studio Undercaste. He would be assigned homework every week, sent home to write songs and develop ideas. It was a slow process, but it taught him to get things right the first time. And he had heart; instead of settling, music was always about improvement. Everything he’s done so far led up to his debut album.

“I was a student to the game and the culture of hip-hop. I grew up within the culture because I was always listening to hip-hop, but this was the business side; I was a sponge, and I feel lucky that I was dropped into that situation.”

Recorded at Undercaste, most of his February-released debut LP The Ride was co-produced by Captain Midnite and Isaac Meek, but SOL makes it clear that he was the executive producer. There’s no question that the album is his from top to bottom, taking the listener on a journey of sounds and ideas.

The album is, as Rosenberg describes it, just like Seattle: two-thirds dark and rainy, one-third sunny and beautiful. On The Ride, SOL talks about socioeconomics, race, class and poverty. He doesn’t explicitly draw his family into the rhymes, but his parents give him global context; though they met at the UW, his mother was born and raised in Haiti, while his father's family emigrated from Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution.

“Instead of creating a character on the microphone, what I really did was find out more about myself and bring this realness that I have as being multi-ethnic and immersed in the hip-hop culture for so long,” he said. “I have no problem just being me.”

Influenced by Eldridge Cleaver’s prison essay compilation “Soul on Ice,” “Heart of Ice” stands as one of the album’s most complex and moving tracks. In it, SOL fiercely denounces prejudice via the persona of Bigger Thomas, antihero of Richard Wright's classic "Native Son." Even “Spliff,” as a stoner groove with an infectious beat and catchy Notorious B.I.G. sample, displays SOL’s schooling in hip-hop history.

“The writing in my music is something I take really seriously,” Sol said. “I’m not dealing with hunger or starvation, I’m not dealing with daily violence, but these are realities that people I know and people that I care about and people in general deal with. It’s my responsibility, almost as a sociologist, and as a storyteller, to talk about these things.”

The past month has been big for SOL: he’s done a radio appearance on KEXP’s Streetsounds, picked up play from local stations including hip-hop giant KUBE, while finishing second overall in the EMP Sound Off! competition. That win earned him recording gear, studio time and, best of all, a slot at Seattle’s Northwest Folklife Festival.

“I’m excited about taking second place as a solo artist, but Sound Off! isn’t the pinnacle of my career. I’m trying to put myself in a position where 2009 is going to be a really good year for me,” he said with a laugh. “I plan on making my mark.”

Reach reporter Nick Feldman at arts@dailyuw.com.
- UW Daily

SOL aka Solzilla Moravia
“SOL! … SOL! … SOL! … SOL! ,,, SOL! … SOL! … SOL!”

Sol had an album release party on
Friday the 13th and what a party it was. Chop Suey was PACKED!

Sol packed the house with good reason.
This ambitious 20 year old had been working towards this album release
for the past two years, and his work has not gone unnoticed. When you
are dealing with subject matter as delicate as life and your place in
it, demographic socialism, and politics, it has to come from someplace
real if anyone is going to relate to it. Not only does Sol give us
realism, he gives it to us from his own experiences in a way that is so
personal, you feel like his friend. Sol took his time putting his
lifeblood into this album. I hesitate to say this, but I haven’t had
similar feelings about a hip-hap artist/rapper since 2Pac. That type of
style can’t be taught; Sol was born to do this.

As far as the feeling of the crowd was
concerned, I feel confident in saying that they felt the same way that
I did. There was no begging for participation; when Sol jumped, the
room jumped. When Sol moved his hands from side to side, the room moved
their hands from side to side; I have never seen a crowd as involved at
an independent hip-hop show as I did that night.

Those were some big words, but you
don’t have to take my word for it! Please enjoy the clips from Sol’s
Album Release Party on his lucky day, Friday the 13th. Also, check out
his new masterfully produced album, “The Ride.”
- seattleshowgal.com

As we enter the third full week since an earthquake devastated Haiti, relief efforts here in the U.S. that initially surged at an amazing pace have slowed down a bit as life returns back to normal. It was encouraging to see Seattle musicians throw benefit shows galore during the first week and a half, and nobody was more excited to see that than Haitian-American rapper Sol. The local MC also knew that he wanted to put together an event to benefit the country where his mother was born and raised (although she now lives in the U.S.), but wanted to make sure everything was done properly.

On Thursday, February 4th, artists from the Seattle hip-hop community are coming together to create an all-ages night of music and fundraising at Neumos for the non-profit Doctors Without Borders efforts in Haiti. Common Market, the Physics, Sol, and Dyno Jamz are all performing and fellow local Haitian rapper Khingz is hosting the event. Even though Sol has been working around the clock lately, he took a few minutes earlier this morning to chat about how the event came together and what this process has been like for him.

First off. Just to check in, what part of Haiti is your family in and did you suffer any losses in your family due to the earthquake?

Thank you for you concern. I have family in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, Jérémie, and in the village of Abricot. A very large family, all over. As far as my immediate family goes everyone is safe, but both my cousin and my mother’s cousin lost their homes to the earthquake. However, as is true for many folks we are still getting word of family friends and distant family who did not survive.

Were you concerned about how fast some of the benefit shows got put together right after the earthquake and where the money ended up?

I try not to get caught up thinking about what other people are doing. Any money that actually gets to Haiti I hope does more good than harm. But their is a great importance in making sure things are done the right way. I worked carefully and closely both with Neumos and the other performers to make sure that this show will be a great night for live music and raising money. I have also done my research on the best place to put the money.

You’ve decided to donate your money to Doctor’s Without Borders. Why not the Red Cross or Yele (Wyclef’s organization) like so many other people are doing?

I chose to go through Doctors Without Borders because of what they are doing, not what the other NGOs and governmental orgs are not doing. After talking with family on the ground in Haiti, Doctors Without Borders was undoubtedly the best choice. They have been in Haiti for 19 years, not three weeks. This means a lot because it shows they will still be there long after the press and public eye goes away.

Their experience in Haiti also shows that they have already built a relationship with the Haitian people and have a greater understanding of Haitian culture than others. Wyclef is my dude, but Yele simply hasn’t proved their infrastructural stability to me, and they have never dealt with so much money before.

And Red Cross fucked up with Katrina so.

To be honest, Doctors Without Borders has my greatest support, but I have donated to all three organizations, and there are dozens all doing a great job in Haiti. This is not a struggle that can be fought alone, and all help is welcome. I just pray that people can work together, and with the good people of Haiti instead of for Haiti.

You mentioned that you’ve been to Haiti before. So much of the coverage, even before the earthquake, showed Haiti in utter poverty but are there positive aspects of Haiti that more people need to know about?

In light of Black History Month, the history of the Haitian people and Haitian Independence is one of the most important to modern times. The Haitian Slave Revolt ending in 1804 resulted in the world’s first Black Republic, and what is today still the only successful independence gained through slave revolt. It was with an Haitian army that Simon Bolivar freed the Dominican Republic and much of Latin America. The prophets of our time, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, and even Obama all cite the Haitian Revolution as inspiration for their journey.

Do you feel like you’re able to put your craft of music to a better cause with this event?

Everything that has happened these last three weeks since the earthquake and leading up to the show have reminded me that this is so much bigger than Hip-Hop. Fuck your iTunes sales, your Twitter followers, your Myspace plays. What are you doing to make a difference? I haven’t slept right since the 12th, I’ve lost weight, and I am stressed. But my life is beautiful. It is my people in Haiti that need love right now. This show is just the best way I can give it. And its bigger than Haiti, I hope people re-think their place in the world and start caring about each other more. Because life is hard around the world everyday.

How did the line up come together?

Man. I can’t stress how blessed I am to be able to be working with the people who are involved in this show. Common Market, The Physics, and Dyno Jamz are all amazing groups, and Khingz is the perfect host. When putting this show together I simply reached out to my favorite musicians to work with and expressed the importance of the show. Everyone was excited to help. I give Neumos credit for being down from the jump. Not only that but their entire staff volunteered to work the night for free, and they are donating 25 percent of the bar. All the performers are also performing for free. This is a 100 percent benefit show.

If you could hit readers with three Haitian musicians that they should check out/Google after reading this, who would you recommend?

Three dope Haitian musicians to check out besides Wyclef would be my dude Khingz, this cat Belo who I actually met when I was down in Brazil—and thirdly, I may actually cheat and say Raoul Peck who is a Haitian director who makes really good films.
- Publicola "Seattle's News Elixir"

By Kristen Steenbeeke
January 19, 2010



Junior Sol Moravia-Rosenberg was sitting in class when he got a text message about the earthquake in Haiti. He had no idea how big it was, but what he did know was that his family was there ­— most in the heart of Port au Prince, Haiti, where the quake struck the hardest.


Sol Moravia-Rosenberg has relatives affected by the tragedy in Haiti and has planned a benefit concert at Neumos.
Ways to help

At first, he didn’t know much. All communication was down in Haiti, and it was difficult to get information. However, soon after he received the text, his brother — who is a member of a close-knit Haitian-American community — called him from New York to explain the dire circumstances of the situation.

“I was really worried about family,” Moravia-Rosenberg said. “I didn’t even want to turn on the news. I didn’t read anything. I didn’t even want to watch CNN. And the next day, in the morning, all the media and news reporters were finally there, and there were all these really graphic images. Some of the statistics started to come in; I was overwhelmed, and at that point, it hit me, and I was really emotional.”

This intense personal response to the situation stirred something in him, and after a conversation with his mother, he decided to plan a benefit show to support the victims in Haiti.

And, though he soon found out that, despite several collapsed houses, all his close family members survived the quake, this comfort didn’t stop his concern.

“At that point, it’s really just worrying about my countrymen and about the people and the future of the country, ” Moravia-Rosenberg said. “It’s a whole generation and a whole history that was really rocked in a matter of minutes.”

After the initial shock of the quake wore off, he had a meeting with several friends to plan the logistics. They booked Neumos for Feb. 4; the show will include many well-known local artists, such as SOL himself (Moravia-Rosenberg’s stage name), Dyno Jamz, The Physics, DJ Pryme, Common Market, and a break crew called Flying Sneakers. Khingz, another local artist and Haitian-American, will host the event.

In order to get the show going, Moravia-Rosenberg collaborated with Jaleesa Trapp, president of R.E.T.R.O.(an open-mic show run at the Ethnic Cultural Center), and Kayla Huddleston, director of the Black Student Commission. Though they don’t have personal connections to those in Haiti, the spirit of service and empathy is more present than ever.

“It’s different for me because, being African-American, I don’t know where my family is from,” Trapp said. “I feel for all people, no matter where they’re from. People in Haiti — they look like they could be my cousins.”

Along with the benefit concert, those at R.E.T.R.O. are helping to staff the Red Cross booth, which is run by the American Red Cross Club at the UW and set to collect donations from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 pm., today through Friday, in Red Square and on the HUB lawn. As of last Friday’s count, $472.13 has been raised from donations.

“All of us feel really drawn to it,” said Red Cross Club President Jane Lee. “I think a lot of people have just been really touched by what’s happening and really horrified at the devastation.”

While the majority of these people don’t have close ties to Haiti, several have expressed an intimate connection to the situation.

“Some people have been just emptying out their wallets,” Lee said. “We’ve also had people come up to the donation booth saying, ‘I’m from Haiti, and this issue means a lot to me,’ so they’ve been wanting to help out at the booth.”

Moravia-Rosenberg says it’s Haitian pride that keeps him going.

“Being Haitian is something I’ve taken with me every day of my life,” he said. “It’s something I’m very proud of … If anyone can survive something like this, it’s Haitians. The Haitian revolution was inspiring to people all over the world — from Nelson Mandela to Martin Luther King. It’s super important that it comes full circle, and hopefully Haiti can inspire us to reach out when it really hasn’t gotten very much love since the Haitian independence.”



TO DONATE

The American Red Cross Club at UW is collecting donations Tuesday through Friday in Red Square and on the HUB lawn.

As of Friday, they have collected $472.13

Online donations are accepted at redcross.org

HAITI BENEFIT SHOW

Feb. 4 at Neumos

Tickets: $10 pre-sale, $12 at the door

100 percent of proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders

For tickets, visit tinyurl.com/ye5ffee

Reach reporter Kristen Steenbeeke at news@dailyuw.com.
- The Daily (University of Washington)

For the past few years, Seattle hip-hop has become synonymous with conscious hip-hop. You won’t hear many complain as some of the big-name local artists have brought classic albums: Blue Scholars (Blue Scholars, 2004 & Bayani, 2007), Common Market (Common Market, 2005) and Macklemore (Language of My World, 2005).

Another group of artists like Grayskul and Boom Bap Project gained recognition through their affiliation Rhymesayers Entertainment, the mecca of indie hip-hop. Even in the past year Seattle has been talked about with Grynch’s Chemistry EP getting national attention, including the cover of Billboard Magazine.

While these artists remain prevalent on the Seattle hip hop scene, a new class of hipster, street and swagger rappers is emerging and soon everyone will know their names. Here is aboveGround Magazine’s guide to the must-know up-and-coming rappers to get familiar with in the Seattle scene:

1. Sol is as much of a throwback 90’s rapper that you’ll find in the Northwest. His album, The Ride (2009) talks about death, drugs and life on the streets, leading listeners back to the 90’s west-coast gangster-rap era. Sol didn’t take any time off, releasing his Dear Friends EP in October, a project that shows continual lyrical growth and a much more polished recording. Aside from his recording efforts is the fact that Sol may be on his grind more than any other local artist, at any show you can find him with a backpack full of albums, leaving no one surprised that titles off of Dear Friends are aptly named “No Sleep” and “Cash Rules!” In “No Sleep”, which features Grynch, the hook says it all, “When I’m on my grind/I don’t sleep at night/man I work so hard/because you can’t live twice.” With this kind of will to make it, it won’t be long until Sol is workin’ his hustle in venues around America.

see the rest of the article at:
http://abovegroundmagazine.com/features/11/13/eight-seattle-mcs-you-might-be-sleeping-on/
- Above Ground Magazine