Souleye

Souleye is a hip-hop artist based out of Los Angeles. He invites listeners to open the mind and treat the soul with his recent full-length, Wildman. The album offers positive and intriguing rhymes that will give an impactful impression. Produced by Crush Effect, the music is laced with electronic soundscapes, hip-hop beats and old school rhythms that will make you groove. You can listen to Wildman on all music platforms.

Throughout his career, Souleye has collaborated with creative people such as Bassnectar, Glitch Mob, Tipper, Michael Franti and Alanis Morissette. He has toured nationwide and internationally and has performed at major music festivals like Burning Man and Lightning in a Bottle. Souleye continues to release musical content with innovative rhythms and inspiring hooks that capture audiences worldwide. The full project can be streamed below! - Respect Magazine

Los Angeles-based rapper Souleye has delivered his new album, Wildman, which combines his love for electronic music with Hip Hop. Crafted entirely by production duo Crush Effect (Jesse Molloy and Dave Veith), the 11-track effort features some surprising guest vocalists, including ’90s alt-rock princess Alanis Morissette on the song “Snow Angel.”

Taking his penchant for positive, uplifting lyrics and setting them to an eclectic soundscape, Souleye has carved out his own niche, seemingly unafraid to be different.

Check out the album stream, cover art and tracklist below. - Hip Hop DX

The phrase #RelationshipGoals takes on a new whole new meaning in Souleye's new release. Fuse is proud to exclusively premiere the music video for "Snow Angel," the latest single from the hip-hop/electronic artist's forthcoming Wildman album, which sees Souleye and Alanis Morissette expanding their roles as creative partners in addition to being each other's everyday life partners.

Watch as the real-life couple—who just welcomed their second child Onyx in July— bring their experimental, synth-heavy track to life, playing fantastical characters inside a wintry wonderland. Interpretative dancers act out the songs lyrics among gorgeous and captivating shots of Souleye and Alanis. Do you and your significant have anything as cool like this to show for yourselves? Didn't think so. Enjoy the visual above.

MORE:Our 13 Favorite Musical Couple Collabos
"It was an honor to work with my wife on this song," Souleye tells Fuse of the video. "Not only does she inspire me as an artist, but she ceaselessly fluffs my ego. She is also hilarious so we were having a blast together."

Morissette further explained the concept of the visual. "I love the literal and figurative dance between the masculine and feminine—within and without—in this song and video," she adds. "The delicate bandying of action and reaction shows the empowered and vulnerable versions of each. I adore working with Souleye having been a fan since the day I heard one of his songs for the first time."

"Snow Angel" is the second single from Souleye's Wildman album, set for release in Spring 2017. If you're looking for more Souleye, check out the video to "Follow Your Heart," which dropped in November 2016: - Fuse TV

The landscapes of hip hop and rap have long been unfairly branded as the provinces of aggression, violence and all things illegal. Christian family groups rail against it on an alleged moral high ground, often missing the point entirely. Where sex and drugs are embraced as badass rock and roll ephemera, hip hop has been seen as glorifying bitches, hoes and guns. There have certainly been exceptions, yes, but countering the supposition made about an established genre is no easy task. Kendrick Lamar, Nas and Lauryn Hill have all released material that successfully counter the stereotype, giving hip hop an opportunity to spread its wings. But it gets tricky when rap artists attempt major thematic departures from what is expected from them. There’s a risk of it coming across as sanguine and preachy.

MC Mario “Souleye” Treadway is part of a movement of freestylers who are committed to the art form but not the preconception that rap has to be done a certain way. His is a dedication to evoking raw emotion, with an eye toward uplifting lyrical content. It’s all about peace and personal exploration. The edges aren’t dulled with detached New Age naval gazing but rather enriched by a vibrant touch of humanity.


Souleye’s new album, Wild Man, is available this Spring
“There’s so much unresolved trauma,” he says on a call from Los Angeles. “If someone is expressing their pain, I might resonate with that, but when it comes from an ego place, I tend not to.”

After winning a spot on Relix Magazine’s Jam Cruise in 2005, he has maintained a diligent and prolific work ethic, producing challenging material on the double. His work is laced with a deep connection to his sense of spirituality as well as a fascination with thought leaders like Carl Jung. He’s been a featured performer on tracks with Bassnectar, Michael Franti and his wife, rocker Alanis Morissette, with whom he has two children. He has released four full-length solo albums, with energetic performances everywhere from Coachella to Burning Man, as well as in sold-out arenas around the world.

While his public profile is slightly off the beaten path, Souleye’s relationship with commercialism has given him the opportunity to continuously clarify what he wants for his career. And what he doesn’t want. Honoring a strong value system and setting clear priorities drives everything for him, rather than simply pursuing fame for the sake of being in the public eye.

“Commercial rap songs can tend to promote women as objects,” he continues. “They’re disrespecting one of the most powerful pieces of evolution: chivalry and respecting of feminism. Degrading of women. I can’t work with that.”

2017 will welcome his newest offering, the bombastically effusive new album, Wild Man. Using the song “Follow Your Heart” to announce the coming of his new collection, his new single, “Snow Angel,” is a collaboration with Morissette. Flooded with electronic loops and a thumping beat, the tune reconciles intensity and a vulnerable narrative. What results is an emotionally expressive affair.

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“I ebb and flow with my masculinity and my femininity. We come together, pull apart. ‘Snow Angel’ is a metaphor for partnership.”

Written outside of Vancouver, recording the song was a concentrated, lighting-in-a-bottle experience for Souleye. It was snowing outside and he was hard at work when Morissette dropped by. She listened for a moment, taking in what he’d done and was immediately inspired to freestyle the chorus on the spot. All in one take.

“She heard the lyrics I wrote. She heard the beat and without even writing her own lyrics out beforehand, there it was. It worked out perfectly. That’s what happens when you’re married to a genius.”


Alanis Morissette and Souleye on the set of the video shoot for ‘Snow Angel’
The ethereal video for “Snow Angel” has debuted online this month and features both Souleye and Morissette in a mystical, wintry landscape. Furthering on the romantic exploration of duality that has permeated both artists’ work, it might at first seem like an unlikely pairing. Upon listening however, the song reveals Souleye to be a pioneer on the terrain of his genre. And a highly intelligent, devoted one at that.

“Hip hop and rap are beautiful outlets for expression. I’m inspired by the activist form of rap.”

For up to date information about Souleye and Wild Man, check out his official website. - Huffington Post

A US rapper on a hot streak, Souleye has continued his impressive run of singles with latest track ‘Wildman’. And, in a string of excellent singles stretching back over the last year or so, it’s easy to argue that ‘Wildman’ is the strongest of the bunch.

With top class production values and a beat that immediately sets the groove and tone, the momentum never lets up over the course of the (almost) four minute running time. The hook, with vocals by Lynx, makes for an excellent framework around which this classy track is built, with the rhythmic rapping of the man himself adding the substance.

Even better, ‘Wildman’ is also the title track for a brand new album, also out now. So if you like what you’re hearing there’s plenty more where that came from. Visit http://www.souleye.net/ for all the info. - The Music Site

Souleye (@Souleye ) has earned rave reviews and a rabid following for his rousing and powerful mode that challenges paradigms and incorporates Hip-Hop, EDM, R&B, and Funk. Souleye has been touted as, “Hip hop’s medicine man,”“America’s new leading edge voice,” and “a modern day hip hop warrior.”

After releasing 2012’s Iron Horse Running and touring the world playing sold-out arenas with Alanis Morissette (@Alanis), an inspired Souleye returned to the studio to begin work on his next full-length album. With a wealth of new cloth, slowly released his album Shapeshifting in October 2015 featuring lead singles, “The Victim” and “Labeled”. Shapeshifting effortlessly joins old-school hip hop with trip-hop…it’s a psychedelic, otherworldly exploration.

“’ The Victim’ touches on some mysterious issues that I feel many people, myself included, struggle with. The victim-consciousness, or the ‘ poor me’ mentality, is a darker aspect of our shadow-selves that we must first embrace, then run through. We hold on to old patterns and traumas that happened to us in the past, and this song speaks of putting out and freeing ourselves from all things that hold us back and keep us in a victim state.”-

Souleye Shapeshifting as well as “Labeled” and “The Victim” received an honest amount of press and was featured on sites such as Yahoo Music, Thisis50, The Hype Magazine, Triple HQ and more. “Labeled” made it to the top 20 Official European Independent music charts. Music Notez touted, “Not only is he a brilliantly gifted lyricist, but his music delivers a secure and positive message.

Sale returns this autumn with another thought- provoking track. The socially conscious hip-hop artist released his brand new single “Follow Your Heart” on November 11, 2016. The new single highlights overcoming difficulties and hesitations with self-awareness, self-motivation, and interdependence. The single was accompanied by a music video as well.

The Hype Magazine had an opportunity to speak with the talented artist over the phone recently about his upcoming project “Wild Man.” Soul Eye has already released “Snow Angel”, and “Follow Your Heart“, with the album scheduled to be released later this summer. He also talks about how he and his wife Alanis utilizes their background in music to help teach their children life concepts and some of the things he has planned for the rest of 2017. The full interview can be read in its entirety below!



You grew up in Sturbridge, MA can you describe the cultural differences between there and Los Angeles?

I cannot describe the culture differences in Sturbridge as an adult. I have not been in Sturbridge since my younger teenage years. Where I grew up it is a small town, where LA is very complex and diverse, a lot of excitement compared to where I grew up; you can explore the whole town in a day. I can say I went to college on a basketball scholarship in Springfield Ma. So, I can compare Springfield and Boston where each city has a lot more diversity like Los Angeles compared to Sturbridge.

Your new project is slated for release later this summer, what can your fans expect from this body of work?

I have released two singles so far “Snow Angel” and “Follow Your Heart” and the project will bring a cohesive feel that will bridge the gap between the EDM side of things while still having that underground hip-hop feeling to the album.

How long did it take you and Alanis Morissette to come up with the concept for “Snow Angel”?

I set up a studio off the coast of Vancouver, Canada and invited Crush Effect to work on a couple singles on the project with me. We started on this song before it was titled “Snow Angel,” and we were trying to come up with a theme, verse ideas. As the instrumental was playing in the background Alanis comes in and says I love this, I have a hook for it and on the spot, in one take she was done with the verse. Then we came up with the title of Snow Angel because every relationship we have is unique and fresh. It took me to a little bit longer to come up with my verse, however, I was on the beach playing with my son and it came to me.

Can you tell us about your upcoming single “Hip Hop Medicine”?

I wanted to keep the EDM mainstream feel with this single and that went hand and hand with the quality of drums picked which sequenced the arrangement of the track. I have a guest singer by the name of Dustin Tavella that helps give it that R&B feel as well.

Do you have any aspirations outside of the entertainment business you are currently pursuing?

Being able to grow as an individual, to be a better person for my love one around me and essence make a better artist in the process.

Do you and Alanis try to use your music background to teach your kids different skills through music?

I was freestyling in the pool with my nine-month-old daughter and she was beatboxing while I freestyling. We can see that it is rubbing off on our kids, but we by no means will force what we do for a living on them. My oldest son has been around music his whole life, being able to watch as music videos are being created to even making beats of his own on his iPad. So, I would have to say music helps with the creativity process and helps them grow as individuals.

Can you name a couple songs off “Wild Man” you like the most?

“Wild Man” featuring an artist by the name of Lynx is a super creative artist and beatboxer, songwriter, and producer. Another track that I really enjoyed making was called “Classic” that has a great beat feature and I feel any hip -hop head or music lover, in general, will take a liking to it as soon as, the beat drops and it also features a rapper by the name of Chachillie.

If you had to start all over from scratch in this day in age, how would you go about it?

To be honest I would take the same approach and use the same strategies that have brought me to my current position. You must remember social platforms make it a lot easier for us to connect with our fans, but you still must go over lyrics and study the craft to get better as an artist, producer etc.

How often do you still produce your own music even though you have access to the best producers in the world?

When I’m thinking of lyrics and what I want to put into my music I use a producing program to help the creation process. I do not plan on using these beats but like I said it helps get my creative juices going. Then I will collaborate with a producer to help inspire me as an artist. - The Hype Magazine

SOULEYE TO PLAY TWO SHOWS WITH KRS ONE IN SAN FRANCISCO AND PETALUMA

Full Length Debut Album “Iron Horse Running” Available to Fans for the First Time at Each Show!



Los Angeles, CA (March 13th, 2013) – Hip Hop artist Souleye will give two very special performances starting tonight, March 13th at Temple Nightclub in San Francisco, CA and Friday, March 15th at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma, CA with Hip Hop legend KRS One. These shows come in support of Souleye’s debut full length release “Iron Horse Running” which will be available to fans for the first time at each show. The album’s first single “Jekyll & Hyde,” which features a divinely dark chorus from wife Alanis Morissette, continues to display Souleye’s airtight flow and cinematic lyricism. Morissette, who Souleye toured with in the US and Europe on her 2012 critically acclaimed Guardian Angel Tour, also lends her inimitable voice to album tracks “Ego,” and “Whatever Nice Is.” Fans can purchase tickets for the San Francisco show at Eventbrite.com and for the Petaluma show at Ticketmaster.com.

About Souleye
Known for his freestyling prowess, SOULEYE (born Mario Treadway) has earned rave reviews and a rabid following for his unusual and powerful style that is evident in songs such as “SPIN THE BOTTLE” and “NIGHT OWL,” on albums “BALANCE IN BABYLON” and “INTERGALACTIC VIBES” which also helped him claim a spot on CMJ’s top 20 charts for 6 straight weeks. Souleye’s career formally started after he won a spot on Jam Cruise in 2005, a contest put on by Relix magazine that included members of P-Funk, Les Claypool, Digable Planets, Michael Franti, Bella Fleck and Bassnectar. His love of writing began as a young 10 year old man in Massachusetts where he was born and raised. Post-Jam Cruise, SOULEYE has performed with such Dj’s and mc’s as Bassnectar (for two years), The Glitch Mob, String Cheese Incident, Michael Franti, Sound Tribe Sector 9, and has performed at festivals Coachella, Burning Man, Ultra Music Festival, South By Southwest, Symbiosis, Harmony and Shambhala as well as numerous others across America, Canada, Europe and Australia. He’s been touted as “hip hop’s medicine man” and “America’s new leading edge voice” and “a modern day hip hop warrior.” With over 500 shows under his belt, he continues to hone his unparalleled ability to freestyle and slay his sweaty and hungry audiences, who look to him for guidance, inspiration and profound entertainment.

For more information please contact:
Contact@souleye.net




- 42 West

In the zone
Emcee at large doesn’t miss a beat


Mario Treadway, aka Souleye, can freestyle rap for hours and never say one curse word.

“It’s more like me speaking about my emotions and how I feel when I’m in the zone,” Treadway said. “I close my eyes on stage, and I can be rapping about the war or the inner war, or the freedom to be able to express ourselves.”

Souleye fits perfectly into On the One’s funk, soul and jazz quartet because the band does not have a lead singer.

“The drummer and I can get into a zone that can happen as soon as we start, and we connect and blast off,” Treadway said. “He’ll be drumming and I’ll be rhyming, and he can go really fast and I can stay with him. We won’t miss a beat with each other.”

Drummer John Staten — who’s been rockin’ a Mohawk since July — used to be the drummer for Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. Now, Treadway gives him a run for his money.

“He can go so fast,” Staten said. “I’m mainly the drummer trying to keep up with him.”

Treadway thinks his rhymes can have therapeutic powers.

“I believe that music creates vibrations, and vibrations can create healing, especially when working with words,” he said. “People take words so literally — it’s like a mantra — if you repeat something positive in your head during the day.”

Treadway’s rhymes are about love and peace, and he never runs out of things to rap about.

“It’s a great gift to have an infinite amount of words in our brain and be able to tap into it,” he said. “We are all able to do that and connect on different levels through lyrics. We all have our little magic tricks.”

On the One was able to coerce Charlie Hitchcock, the lead guitarist of Particle, to join the band on tour. With this lineup, the vibe these musicians bring might inspire onlookers to bust a move.

“People that come to our show should expect a full-out, sweaty dance party,” Staten said. “We bring it pretty hard.”

- Allison Plean

After two years of making up his lyrics on the fly, self-styled “conscious wordsmith” and Steamboat semi-resident MC Souleye is going back to write down his rhymes.

For his Saturday show at Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill, Souleye (or Mario Treadway) will perform cuts from his upcoming CD, “Balance in Babylon.”

Dylan McIntosh, who plays drums for the electronica troupe BLVD and is producing Souleye’s new album, said having rap as part of the band was a natural fit for its beat-heavy music. Souleye performs on about half of BLVD’s set and is more of a backing instrument than a lead singer.

“It’s been really cool because he kind of is already in that scene of the electronica and things like that, and we just kind of took it a little farther so he’s rapping over faster tempos as well as hip hop tempos,” McIntosh said.

In between pulling things together for a month-long tour, Souleye talked to 4 Points about freestyling, writing lyrics down and rapping about anything.

4 Points: How will this show be different from when you played in town in June?

Souleye: Last time I did all improvisation, whereas this show or this tour I’m doing a lot of written lyrics from a CD I have coming up.

4 Points: When you freestyle for most of a show, how do you come at that? I knew a guy in Chapel Hill who would have people in the audience hold up whatever they could get their hands on, and then he’d rap about it on the spot. What’s your style?

Souleye: I just connect to the collective conscience. As a conduit, as an artist, you’re just kind of in tune to the moment.

A lot of people strive to be in the present. When I’m freestyling, a lot of people can’t tell, but if I rhyme about somebody or something that makes people realize that it is improvised, they kind of get excited.

4 Points: How has the transition been to writing and performing lyrics that you know you’ll be coming back to on every show?

Souleye: You really want people to be able to sing along, and you start putting a lot more intention into the songs and the lyrics.

Four or five years ago that’s all I did, so I’ve written hundreds of songs. When my brother passed away, I was like, I just want to freestyle my shows. So the past two years have basically been all improvisation.

4 Points: Working with this band, BLVD — how is rapping over their electronic music different from some of the other unconventional groups you’ve performed with?

Souleye: They play from house to bass beats to hip-hop, and they do really fast tempos.

But it kind of all stems to the same things to me … It all stems to music and being a lyricist. - The Steamboat Pilot & Today

The last time Steamboat Springs fans looked into the lyrical vision of Souleye, the freestyle rapper was laying down rhymes on top of jazz and funk.

This time around, Souleye is rhyming with a different kind of sound that is guaranteed to get the Mahogany Ridge music scene strutting Saturday night.

“We play live5 house and breaks — it’s live, dance-driven electronica,” said Dylan McIntosh of BLVD, a three-person band that has played across the West since 2002. “That’s what we strive for in our shows, is to make sure everybody is getting down.”

McIntosh is joined in BLVD by Curtis Sloane on the electric guitar and Tripp Bains on bass guitar and bass synthesizer. The trio is finishing a four-week tour that saw them headline Santa Barbara’s Lightning In A Bottle Festival and the Joshua Tree Festival in Southern California.

The high-energy group mixes layered, computerized synthesizer and percussion loops with live guitar licks and drums, creating a kinetic sound that has made the band a mainstay at events such as the annual Burning Man Festival. BLVD has also played the Symbiosis Gathering, How Weird Street Faire, the MGM Grand for Vegoose in Las Vegas, Holocene in Portland and the Avalon Ballroom in Los Angeles.

On the band’s current swing through Colorado and Montana, including Saturday’s show in Steamboat, Steamboat-based rapper Souleye, aka Mario Treadway, will join BLVD on stage for about half the set with his fast-paced rhymes about love, peace and harmony.

“Not too many people are doing that these days,” McIntosh said of the electronica and lyrical mix. - Mike Lawrence

While Colorado’s music scene might be in the spotlight right now thanks to breakout acts like The Fray, the state’s still not exactly a hot bed for hip hop. The Procussions, currently based in LA, remain our most high-profile genre export to date. Little does most of our community know, though, that a Steamboat Springs-based MC known as Souleye (birth handle: Mario Treadway) has been criss-crossing the country, even hip hopping the Canadian border to drop live free styles into sets by Bassnectar, The Disco Biscuits, Galactic, The Glitch Mobb, Karl Denson, Michele Bass, Sleepyhead, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Spearhead and String Cheese at events including Burning Man, Coachella, Jam Cruise, Shambhala, Ultra, Wakarusa and 10,000 Lakes. Honestly, the speed at which the aforementioned collaborations have manifested is downright viral. His jet-setting itinerary shows no signs of slowing yet, either.

So what is it that makes Souleye’s rhymes so compelling? Well, content is key. Whereas MTV MCs are still pimping the same tired “bitches & hos” flow, Souleye’s wordplay addresses conscious subjects like open-mindedness and yoga. As far as style goes, it sounds like the half-sung melodic flow of Bone Thugz N' Harmony has been influential, among others. Energy’s the clincher, though. Souleye oozes enthusiasm out the wazoo. Which is why it’s a good idea to keep your eyes peeled for the soul brotha’ himself...in action.
- Orange Peel Moses

While Colorado’s music scene might be in the spotlight right now thanks to breakout acts like The Fray, the state’s still not exactly a hot bed for hip hop. The Procussions, currently based in LA, remain our most high-profile genre export to date. Little does most of our community know, though, that a Steamboat Springs-based MC known as Souleye (birth handle: Mario Treadway) has been criss-crossing the country, even hip hopping the Canadian border to drop live free styles into sets by Bassnectar, The Disco Biscuits, Galactic, The Glitch Mobb, Karl Denson, Michele Bass, Sleepyhead, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Spearhead and String Cheese at events including Burning Man, Coachella, Jam Cruise, Shambhala, Ultra, Wakarusa and 10,000 Lakes. Honestly, the speed at which the aforementioned collaborations have manifested is downright viral. His jet-setting itinerary shows no signs of slowing yet, either.

So what is it that makes Souleye’s rhymes so compelling? Well, content is key. Whereas MTV MCs are still pimping the same tired “bitches & hos” flow, Souleye’s wordplay addresses conscious subjects like open-mindedness and yoga. As far as style goes, it sounds like the half-sung melodic flow of Bone Thugz N' Harmony has been influential, among others. Energy’s the clincher, though. Souleye oozes enthusiasm out the wazoo. Which is why it’s a good idea to keep your eyes peeled for the soul brotha’ himself...in action.
- Orange Peel Moses

Cultivated in the jungle of Hip Hop, Souleye is making waves with his positive spiritual rhymes and a growing number of appearances along the jamband circuit.

“Learning how to connect with your gift and using it to its fullest - that is the trick, in turn creating a natural channel of untapped poetic musical vibrations.”

KyndMusic: You’ve been building bridges from traditional hip hop music into the jamband scene via your appearances with Michael Franti, The Everyone Orchestra, Zilla and others. How does the jamband experience compare with your previous work?

Souleye: The opportunity to perform with such amazingly talented artists and genuine souls has been one of the most incredible parts of the journey so far. I guess the difference between my present work and past work, is in the openness of expression. The jam scene makes me feel extremely comfortable and welcome. The artists I meet are like family, and the fans can throw down the dance party! I really enjoy the supportive crowds of enlightened souls and performers.

KM: You don’t shy away from social issues in your music. What are the issues that are paramount to you these days? Do you feel it’s essential for you as an artist to address them through your music?

SE: Speaking from my heart and soul and displaying compassionate sincere emotion is the most essential ingredient for me.

Being able to connect with the collective and speak about how we are always growing and purging our inhibitions, and reflecting deep into my own personal experiences, leads me to the social issues I want to explore. It is very important to me that we as a collective of beings learn how to respect the power that exists, when we truly become in tune with our intuitive selves.

KM: A big emphasis in your lyrics is on the positive and spiritual side, listing God as your major inspiration. Can you describe some of your personal spiritual practices and how they affect your music?

SE: Awakening every day with the feeling of honor - I feel truly honored to be on this earth, being present and alive and taking the step back to appreciate the immaculate blessing of existing and vocalizing the feeling. That’s inspiration.

In the spirit of nature the music always sings to me so I just need to remind myself and accept the gift. Trying to always capture the moment and not letting it rush past.

KM: Do you ever get stuck during a freestyle jam? What do you do to keep it flowing?

SE: There is never a dam in a freestyle jam (laughs). I just keep my mind open, have fun, and smile and there is always a constant flow

KM: Where do you see yourself in five years?

SE: I know that five years from now Souleye will have established a beautiful foundation, created through the patient art of cultivation, but I am excited for tonight let alone five years from now!

I will always be pushing my artistic style and know that we are always evolving so whatever the future holds is way beyond my grasp. I feel that big change is on the way for me and the earth, so I am just going to try and remain centered and focused for the great shift that has begun. It is the key to my personal evolving process.




http://www.kyndmusic.com/2006/06/19/souleye-never-a-dam-in-the-freestyle-jam/ - Julie Van Amerogen

Cultivated in the jungle of Hip Hop, Souleye is making waves with his positive spiritual rhymes and a growing number of appearances along the jamband circuit.

“Learning how to connect with your gift and using it to its fullest - that is the trick, in turn creating a natural channel of untapped poetic musical vibrations.”

KyndMusic: You’ve been building bridges from traditional hip hop music into the jamband scene via your appearances with Michael Franti, The Everyone Orchestra, Zilla and others. How does the jamband experience compare with your previous work?

Souleye: The opportunity to perform with such amazingly talented artists and genuine souls has been one of the most incredible parts of the journey so far. I guess the difference between my present work and past work, is in the openness of expression. The jam scene makes me feel extremely comfortable and welcome. The artists I meet are like family, and the fans can throw down the dance party! I really enjoy the supportive crowds of enlightened souls and performers.

KM: You don’t shy away from social issues in your music. What are the issues that are paramount to you these days? Do you feel it’s essential for you as an artist to address them through your music?

SE: Speaking from my heart and soul and displaying compassionate sincere emotion is the most essential ingredient for me.

Being able to connect with the collective and speak about how we are always growing and purging our inhibitions, and reflecting deep into my own personal experiences, leads me to the social issues I want to explore. It is very important to me that we as a collective of beings learn how to respect the power that exists, when we truly become in tune with our intuitive selves.

KM: A big emphasis in your lyrics is on the positive and spiritual side, listing God as your major inspiration. Can you describe some of your personal spiritual practices and how they affect your music?

SE: Awakening every day with the feeling of honor - I feel truly honored to be on this earth, being present and alive and taking the step back to appreciate the immaculate blessing of existing and vocalizing the feeling. That’s inspiration.

In the spirit of nature the music always sings to me so I just need to remind myself and accept the gift. Trying to always capture the moment and not letting it rush past.

KM: Do you ever get stuck during a freestyle jam? What do you do to keep it flowing?

SE: There is never a dam in a freestyle jam (laughs). I just keep my mind open, have fun, and smile and there is always a constant flow

KM: Where do you see yourself in five years?

SE: I know that five years from now Souleye will have established a beautiful foundation, created through the patient art of cultivation, but I am excited for tonight let alone five years from now!

I will always be pushing my artistic style and know that we are always evolving so whatever the future holds is way beyond my grasp. I feel that big change is on the way for me and the earth, so I am just going to try and remain centered and focused for the great shift that has begun. It is the key to my personal evolving process.




http://www.kyndmusic.com/2006/06/19/souleye-never-a-dam-in-the-freestyle-jam/ - Julie Van Amerogen

On a summer day in 2003, nomadic b-boy Mario Treadway embarked on a shamanistic journey -- what he calls his vision quest. It was in that mystical space that he encountered the spirit guide who bestowed the name he uses today.

"He approached me while I was in a trance state," Treadway remembers. "He covered my ears and said 'Souleye.' Then I woke up."
Treadway recounts the story as we sit in the kitchen of the Boca Raton apartment he shares with his girlfriend. He's brought out hot yerba mate and homemade, organic flatbread pizza.

Between his shifts at Whole Foods just down the street, Treadway has been spreading a type of New Age hip-hop that was recently featured at the Fort Lauderdale Saloon and in West Palm Beach at Ray's Downtown.

"I'm on a spiritual path with my music," he explains. And that path extends to his working life. "At Whole Foods, I help people with cancer, strep throat, stress, everything. I'm learning about all these healing agents from zinc to acidophilus, and it's a lot like what I'm doing with my music. When I can heal one person, it's awesome."

Though he moved to Boca from Massachusetts just five months ago to be with his girlfriend, this isn't his first visit to South Florida. For the past five years, the rapper has made some serious tracks. Treadway was born in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, the son of an Italian mother and a father who's part Native American. While he was in his early teens, Treadway latched onto rap music after hearing Kool Herc and Grand Master Flash on a mix tape. He continued his love affair with hip-hop through high school, graduating in 1999 and earning a basketball scholarship to Western New England College.

But after a year in school, the aspiring point guard got restless. "I wasn't learning what I wanted, and I really just wanted to grasp my passions," he says. So he left school and hit the road, Kerouac style. Treadway ended up hanging in Delray Beach for a few months after being caught in a rainstorm at a place called the Crystal Garden in Boynton Beach -- a peaceful den of crystals, incense, and herbal tea.

With South Florida as a home base, Treadway has traveled up and down the Eastern seaboard, hooking up with a cypher of bohemian rhymers from New England called the Transcendental Alliance. The crew existed like b-boy drifters, taking coin-toss road trips they called pilgrimages, filling up notebooks with rhymes in college coffeehouses, crashing all-night rap sessions in studio basements, sleeping on kitchen floors and in friends' foyers.

Then everything suddenly changed. A few months after his fateful vision quest, the newly christened Souleye learned that a childhood friend was dying of cancer. This was, he figured, the perfect opportunity to use his music for good. "I got there, like, two days before he passed," he says, "and his parents told me that he waited to see me. I got to make him laugh. I rapped to him -- freestyled. Played a bunch of beats..." Treadway's blue eyes get misty.

Despondent after his friend's funeral, he took a retreat -- this time in a friend's attic overlooking Vermont's Mount Greylock. Treadway says he "just wrote, burned incense, danced around, and drank water" for a week. "I was in the woods all by myself, and I wrote the Flexible Morality LP in five days." That was his first album. Despite the creative release, things only got harder.

While still mourning his friend in April 2004, Treadway was again struck by tragedy. His older brother, who was mentally ill, committed suicide. Treadway was in Delray visiting friends when he got the news. He returned to Massachusetts for the funeral, and while cleaning out his brother's apartment in New Hampshire, he made a discovery.

"My brother gave me a sticker a long time ago that says Music Matters," he says. "I put it on my favorite rhyme notebook. The place where he hung himself had the same sticker on the ceiling."

Since then, Souleye has taken the slogan seriously: He strives to make music that matters. At a hip-hop showcase earlier this month at Hot Dogs Sports Bar in Lauderhill, Treadway spit his "Roll Call:" "Hey yo, the Spirit guides me, gives me a burst of energy/Patience is the key, relax and breathe, we've got a long way to walk to self-mastery." With his glitchy, self-produced beats and conscious lyrics, he had everyone -- from hip-hop heads with tams on their heads and crystals around their necks to young girls in heavy makeup -- bobbing their noggins.

He followed that track with "Sand Dollars," a song with an eerie, Prodigy-meets-Mobb Deep vibe on the "Quiet Storm" tip, but instead of demanding respect or boasting about wetting his enemies, he asked the crowd, "What are we going to do to fix this earth before the time's up and we all miss it?/When will humans finally accept that love is the answer and we mustn't forget that?" It was an uncommon sentiment coming from an uncommon musician.

And it turns out Treadway is full of such sen - Makkada Selah

On a summer day in 2003, nomadic b-boy Mario Treadway embarked on a shamanistic journey -- what he calls his vision quest. It was in that mystical space that he encountered the spirit guide who bestowed the name he uses today.

"He approached me while I was in a trance state," Treadway remembers. "He covered my ears and said 'Souleye.' Then I woke up."
Treadway recounts the story as we sit in the kitchen of the Boca Raton apartment he shares with his girlfriend. He's brought out hot yerba mate and homemade, organic flatbread pizza.

Between his shifts at Whole Foods just down the street, Treadway has been spreading a type of New Age hip-hop that was recently featured at the Fort Lauderdale Saloon and in West Palm Beach at Ray's Downtown.

"I'm on a spiritual path with my music," he explains. And that path extends to his working life. "At Whole Foods, I help people with cancer, strep throat, stress, everything. I'm learning about all these healing agents from zinc to acidophilus, and it's a lot like what I'm doing with my music. When I can heal one person, it's awesome."

Though he moved to Boca from Massachusetts just five months ago to be with his girlfriend, this isn't his first visit to South Florida. For the past five years, the rapper has made some serious tracks. Treadway was born in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, the son of an Italian mother and a father who's part Native American. While he was in his early teens, Treadway latched onto rap music after hearing Kool Herc and Grand Master Flash on a mix tape. He continued his love affair with hip-hop through high school, graduating in 1999 and earning a basketball scholarship to Western New England College.

But after a year in school, the aspiring point guard got restless. "I wasn't learning what I wanted, and I really just wanted to grasp my passions," he says. So he left school and hit the road, Kerouac style. Treadway ended up hanging in Delray Beach for a few months after being caught in a rainstorm at a place called the Crystal Garden in Boynton Beach -- a peaceful den of crystals, incense, and herbal tea.

With South Florida as a home base, Treadway has traveled up and down the Eastern seaboard, hooking up with a cypher of bohemian rhymers from New England called the Transcendental Alliance. The crew existed like b-boy drifters, taking coin-toss road trips they called pilgrimages, filling up notebooks with rhymes in college coffeehouses, crashing all-night rap sessions in studio basements, sleeping on kitchen floors and in friends' foyers.

Then everything suddenly changed. A few months after his fateful vision quest, the newly christened Souleye learned that a childhood friend was dying of cancer. This was, he figured, the perfect opportunity to use his music for good. "I got there, like, two days before he passed," he says, "and his parents told me that he waited to see me. I got to make him laugh. I rapped to him -- freestyled. Played a bunch of beats..." Treadway's blue eyes get misty.

Despondent after his friend's funeral, he took a retreat -- this time in a friend's attic overlooking Vermont's Mount Greylock. Treadway says he "just wrote, burned incense, danced around, and drank water" for a week. "I was in the woods all by myself, and I wrote the Flexible Morality LP in five days." That was his first album. Despite the creative release, things only got harder.

While still mourning his friend in April 2004, Treadway was again struck by tragedy. His older brother, who was mentally ill, committed suicide. Treadway was in Delray visiting friends when he got the news. He returned to Massachusetts for the funeral, and while cleaning out his brother's apartment in New Hampshire, he made a discovery.

"My brother gave me a sticker a long time ago that says Music Matters," he says. "I put it on my favorite rhyme notebook. The place where he hung himself had the same sticker on the ceiling."

Since then, Souleye has taken the slogan seriously: He strives to make music that matters. At a hip-hop showcase earlier this month at Hot Dogs Sports Bar in Lauderhill, Treadway spit his "Roll Call:" "Hey yo, the Spirit guides me, gives me a burst of energy/Patience is the key, relax and breathe, we've got a long way to walk to self-mastery." With his glitchy, self-produced beats and conscious lyrics, he had everyone -- from hip-hop heads with tams on their heads and crystals around their necks to young girls in heavy makeup -- bobbing their noggins.

He followed that track with "Sand Dollars," a song with an eerie, Prodigy-meets-Mobb Deep vibe on the "Quiet Storm" tip, but instead of demanding respect or boasting about wetting his enemies, he asked the crowd, "What are we going to do to fix this earth before the time's up and we all miss it?/When will humans finally accept that love is the answer and we mustn't forget that?" It was an uncommon sentiment coming from an uncommon musician.

And it turns out Treadway is full of such sen - Makkada Selah