MolinaSoleil“Hunger Pains” by Adrian H. Molina w/ Mannequin Rituals, featuring Helen Chanthongthip, CHiTT Productions (2008)
Hunger Pains first appeared on Representin’ 4 Life EP back in 2007. Representin’ 4 Life was all about flippin’ the script on empty mainstream rhetoric like “keep it real”, “represent”, “stay true”, etc.
I was hungry to put my stamp on the definition of “true Hip-Hop”, something I now feel is unnecessary. There isn’t one "true” form of anything.
In any case that was my mentality at the time and I took an aggressive approach to reclaiming these phrases and making them meaningful.
There were seven tracks on my first EP: three songs and four acapella pieces. Each track was about defining what I stand for and represent as a poet and emcee.
The three songs on the EP were “Representin’ 4 Life”, “Hunger Pains” and “Young Brown Poet”. All three were re-released on Up Before the Sunrise in 2008.
I’m taking it back to the beginning for weeks 10 and 11, reminiscing on my start in the professional music world.
I’ve improved my skills tremendously, as have my friends Dustin Neal and Will Ross of CHiTT Productions. We’re all operating at higher frequencies than we were when we began working together in 2006, as we should be.
Elevation is something to celebrate, but so is the rawness of a moment, the beginning of a movement. “Hunger Pains”, along with “Representin’ 4 Life” and “Young Brown Poet”, were like a manifesto.
“Hunger Pains” is like a fossil. It transports me back to the days of my youth in Rawlins, WY. It takes me back to the many moments I chose to follow my heart. Propels me nostalgically back to CHiTT Productions’ makeshift studio sessions.
I’m constantly telling young people that you gotta push. It doesn’t matter what your dream is, big things start with a vision. Then you gotta grind and put your passion to the test.
Achieving success, on whatever level you define it, is going to make you sweat. It’s going to make you bleed. And you will doubt yourself many times. But if you refuse to fail, your hunger and pain will manifest into something well worth your time and energy.
A.M. Soleil, Retrospectively is a 52-week blog series in 2010, reflecting on 5 years of music by Molina.
Tags: Adrian H. Molina, CHiTT Productions, Hunger Pains, Mannequin Rituals, Molina Music, Molina Speaks, Representin' 4 Life, Up Before the Sunrise
