The Specktators
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The Specktators

Lansing, Michigan, United States

Lansing, Michigan, United States
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"The LSJ Local Music Beat’s ‘Best of 2011 in Music,’ Picked by You - Part 2"

The Specktators have been building themselves as one of the best acts in East Lansing, by innovating their live performances and interacting with their fans in a fun, genuine way that all artists can take a cue from. With “Familiar with Floss,” their energetic personalities and performances are fulfilled with their music in a more authentic way than ever. Moe-T's production has evolved exponentially into an electronic sound that will fit perfectly in any club or car, and Packi's rhymes and song concepts fit those beats like a glove. They're as good as the city has to offer, and hopefully, this album shows the world what we've seen all along. - Lansing NOISE


"The Specktators – Familiar With Floss (MIXTAPE) [HIP-HOP]"


32 days ago
0 comments
chill,
el girls,
electro-pop,
electronic,
fresh,
hip-hop,
hip-pop,
neon lights,
the specktators,
type nice
Electronic,
Fresh Tracks,
Hip-Hop


Happy Holidays everyone! As the year draws to a close and holiday gifts are being handed out, I was lucky enough to get this gem of a mixtape sent to me this past week and I’ve been diggin’ on it super hard. The Specktators are a super fresh duo hailing out of Lansing, Michigan and I believe it’s about time the west coast shows these boys some love.

From the second I threw on the tape, I was diggin’ on it. The first track that really got my attention was the song “Neon Lights”. These guys have a way with words, their flows are catchy, their beats hit hard, and they definitely have this certain swag about them that makes them really fun to listen to. If you’re down with the whole hip-hop/electronic type of deal, this is your stuff.

Aside from their recently released video for their hometown hit “EL Girls” that I posted above, I’ll post up just a couple of additional tracks I really liked, and if you like what you hear, feel free to follow the link to their page to download the tape for free! - LACityLights


"Two brothers combine talents to form hip-hop duo"

Patrick and Matt Duda agree when it comes to their music careers, two heads are better than one.
After dabbling in various solo projects, the two brothers decided to combine their efforts and created the hip-hop duo The Specktators.

“When we can combine our two enjoyments into one, we make songs that everyone can like and have aspects of music that everyone can enjoy,” supply chain management senior Patrick Duda said. “I think that’s what makes us tick.”

In October, they released a mixed tape and have been performing as much as possible since then, including at a show Friday at Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing.

Matt Duda began performing on his own during his freshman year at Lansing Community College. He performed locally but said he felt his lyrical content was lacking, which is when he asked his brother to collaborate with him.

“We kind of just experimented around,” he said. “(Patrick) would kind of get into what I was doing, and it just dawned on me that he’s probably a better lyricist than I am.”

The two artists share similar influences, such as Big Sean and Drake, but they said they also have very different role models as well.

Patrick Duda said he takes inspiration from older Kanye West material and underground hip-hop artists, while his brother said he tends to listen to pop and techno-influenced hip-hop.

Although the siblings said there is not much of a hip-hop scene in the area, they feel as if they can use MSU’s campus and the surrounding areas to their advantage by connecting on a personal level with students.

“One of the things that helps us is that you have the whole college campus,” Patrick Duda said. “As far as our lyrics, we try not to go outside of ourselves. I talk about what I know — just college and girls and drinking. I think people can relate to it.”

The musicians recently filmed a music video for one of their most popular songs titled “EL Girls,” which is about college-aged women living in East Lansing and often is played at local bars.

The video was shot mostly in the city and on campus, featuring various locations along Grand River Avenue and an MSU lecture hall. It starred some of the rappers acquaintances and people they selected through a Facebook event they created calling for participants.

“It was a fun thing (to shoot),” Patrick Duda said. “We’re right here in East Lansing, we might as well take advantage of the campus.”

Criminal justice senior Eric Acevedo is one student who has been a fan of The Specktators from the beginning and was in multiple scenes of the video.

“It was definitely a new experience,” he said. “I’ve never been a part of a music video. It was fun just going around with them with all the cameras around and the equipment.”

He also is close friends with both brothers and said he is able to see a different side to the artists than most fans are able to, such as all the hard work they put into their music.

“I think they definitely have something, so they should keep pursuing it,” he said. “It’s got to be hard, both of them going to school and working, (but) I think it’ll pay off in the long run.”

While both brothers agree working closely with a sibling can be challenging, they said the outcome is worth the struggles they have had to endure.

“We get in a lot more fights than the average duo, but it results in good things,” Patrick Duda said. “If there’s something one of us doesn’t like, we’re not afraid to go and talk to the other about it.”

Although Patrick Duda plans to graduate in the spring, he said he intends on continuing to pursue his music career as a member of The Specktators.

“Hopefully this should be a big year for us,” he said. “What we really want to do is do these shows, make more music and see how it goes.” - The State News


"Reppin' East Lansing Talent Flawlessly"

By Kate Vogel

“R.E.F,” Reppin’ Everything Flawless; an acronym which began as a joke and eventually turned into a motto for Michigan State students Patrick Duda, Matt Duda, Jamal Knox, and Bruce Pettit.

R.E.F., an unofficial group formed by these Spartans, is a collective of local music lovers and musicians; brothers Patrick and Matt’s hip-hop group The Specktators, Jamal Knox’s solo work J Knox, along with producer Bruce Pettit, photographer/videographer “Boogie” and other local musical groups including Green Skeem. The R.E.F.’s surround themselves with others in the East Lansing area who have a passion for music and collaborate with one another, always aiming to inspire each other. The members associated with R.E.F. have created a self-sufficient music environment. Everyone who is a part of R.E.F uses their individual skills to help promote each member. “Boogie” uses his photography talent to get visual promotions for the musicians, Matt Duda uses his knowledge of graphic design to create websites and album artwork, while Bruce produces and promotes the groups.


The Specktators“We try not to act like an elite group,” Finance Junior Patrick Duda and member of The Specktators said, “If you like music, you are a REF. It always helps to surround ourselves with inspiration and strive to keep getting better at what we do.”

The Spartans that make up “R.E.F.” all originate in neighboring Lansing towns. Computer Information Systems Senior, Matt Duda, and brother Patrick Duda, the duo master-minds behind The Specktators, were raised in a Lansing neighborhood, Groesbeck. Self-taught musical-instrument guru and jazz major at MSU, Jamal Knox, started his solo project, J Knox, out of Holt, Michigan. High school friend, Bruce Pettit, is now the producer for both of the talented and budding groups.

“You can’t put us in a box,” Matt Duda states when describing the style of The Specktators. “We’re all over. It’s kind of a blend of freestyle, passion pit remix with a hip-hop base. We’ve done some hard-hitting Daft Punk stuff too. It’s a kind of alternative electronic hip-hop.”

Growing up in a catholic family, brothers Patrick and Matt looked to rappers such as Kanye West and Eminem as their source of inspiration; the respected the multifaceted work ethic of Kayne, who raps, produces, writes, and records his music and the race-barrier which Eminem crossed in hip-hop music.

“We came from a catholic family and its’ been hard to try and get everyone okay with swearing a couple of times. We’ve had countless conversations with my mom about it,” Patrick explained, “She tries to understand the culture behind it.”

Patrick, who Matt admits is the witty one in the family, does the majority of the writing for their songs, while Matt, the computer-savvy brother designs their website and produces the music.

“Our music is beyond hip-hop and rapping, it’s all about the lyrics. That’s why I brought brother into picture because I’m not lyrically clever,” Matt stated. “He brings cleverness into the music and I make sure people are going to like the beat.”

Matt and Patrick designed the idea of “a never-ending mix-tape.” Instead of releasing individual albums, The Specktators periodically release a song (typically once a month) and then begin on the next song. The music audience of this generation craves visual images, so Matt designs mini album-covers to accompany each song on their website.

“People will listen to the first song on an album and then wouldn’t listen to the rest of it,” Matt explains, “It’s this new-age internet impatience.” Straying from the album concept, the brothers instead, “create a progression where the listener is progressing with you” every time they release a new song on their never-ending mix-tape.

The brothers realize the preconceived notion associated with the word “hip-hop.” They explain the difficulties of booking a hip-hop show in the East Lansing area;

“As soon as you say hip-hop people already have an image in there head. People assume your going to bring guns,” Patrick explains.

The two pride themselves with their effort to alter the perception of hip-hop. They post promotional videos on their website, advertising their “goofy” attitudes and displaying videos of their previous performances.

This summer they packed Macs Bar to capacity with over 200 people and now are working on booking shows actually on the Michigan State campus. They have been trying to persuade Rick’s or Dublin Square to host their concerts and are attempting to perform at MSU fraternities. They say that they want to reach their audience, college students, by performing “in the heart of our town” and continue their “East Lansing grind.”

“We want to bring our music to the people who inspire us most,” Matt said





- msuCatalyst


Discography

"The Sunroom" - Released May 31, 2012: A classic summertime promotional mixtape recorded, mixed, and mastered in their own studio. Available for free download.

"Familiar With Floss" - Released October 28, 2011: The Specktators' first official mixtape project. Written, recorded, mixed, and mastered in their own studio. Availble for free download.

"Finding Floss" - Released October 1, 2009: A prequel experimental mixtape to The Specktators' official debut mixtape project "Familiar With Floss."

Photos

Bio

The Specktators are a hip-hop/electronic group consisting of Matt Duda (known as Moe-T) and Patrick Duda (known as Packi). Using their childhood neighborhood, Groesbeck, in their name, The Specktators formed in October 2009 and have been thriving ever since.

The group's first project, "The Never Ending Mixtape," featured a different approach to the ever so popular mixtape releases in today's music industry. Instead of releasing mixtapes, the group constantly released songs, mostly every month, from October 2009 to January 2011. "The Never Ending Mixtape" featured rapping from both Packi and Moe-T and production from various producers including Moe-T. Every song on the project was recorded, mixed, and mastered in-house by Moe-T.

In February of 2011, the duo decided to put a stop to "The Never Ending Mixtape" and started working on their first official mixtape project, "Familiar With Floss." As a prequel to this new project, The Specktators released a project entitled "Finding Floss," which they released three songs onto including they're hometown hit "EL Girls." Recently, the songs off "The Never Ending Mixtape" have been moved to the "Finding Floss" project.

The group's first official project, "Familiar With Floss," was released October 28, 2011 and features lyrics by Packi and most production by Moe-T. Moe-T handles all of the recording, mixing, and mastering in-house.

The group also prides themselves on putting on fantastic hip-hop shows and they never perform the same set twice. They have had the opportunity to perform with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Chiddy Bang, Machine Gun Kelly, One Be Lo, Na Palm, The Dean's List, Oncue, Gilbere Forte, and many other artists. They always keep you on your feet and work hard to make sure there is never a dull moment.