Thirty-eight weeks into 2010.  This A.M. Soleil, Retrospectively project is only one blog a week, but putting down something meaningful each week in addition all the new stuff I’m working on definitely keeps me on my toes.  The fall equinox already has me reflecting on 2010 like its December 31st. 

SOULAJU will perform our last show of 2010 at the Boulder Theater on Oct. 1st.  Bill includes us, The Reminders, and Les Nubians.  People still needing tix can pick those up here: http://bouldertheater.com/event_detail.php?id=1319.  We have a few video shoots coming up and some big youth advocacy events/projects in October, then SOULAJU goes on hiatus until February 2011. 

During this hiatus, I’ll be getting back into my solo element.  DJ Icewater will be putting out a 45’ single that features my vocals.  I have some long-awaited collabs lined up with Denver and Albuquerque emcees and producers. 

This necessary shift takes me back to the October 2008. 

“Solo tour in fall 08, I saw the same in every city, Minneapolis, Chicago, NYC down to Philly / back out west through Omaha and Denver, caught a plane to Austin, Portland city to Seattle, Albuquerque to the Bay / cats be pushin major weight like you would think they slangin’ Yay / but they got t-shirts with Obama face cuz homeys sellin’ “change”.

Even the skeptics were hyped on this notion of “change” – a concept that is clearly played out.  Change is ever-constant, life is always in flux.  Change alone is not progress, just rhetoric.  As election 2010 heats up, it’s just another reminder that both parties run on a “change” platform every election year.  And the reality…

“In this service-based economy it wouldn’t matter B, if everyone had B.A.’s or bs or Ph.D’s / we’d still have homeless and poverty, that’s the fuckin’ setup, so we scrap and kill each other over shit that we can’t get…”

I was in Portland when I wrote this, becoming friends with a young vato loco by the name of Cesar.  He was known as Droopy in the streets but now that’s he’s come up and got his life together his homeys call him Smiley.  The last verse is dedicated to him and El Grupo Juvenil – a crew of undocumented youth activists who grew up calling the U.S. home, now pushing for the DREAM ACT so that they have some options in this society. 

This first version of The People was released on Shine Flow EP  w/ DJ Icewater (2009).  The second version, same beat, was released on the SOULAJU album this March.  Same subject matter but different vibes.  The new version is more polished.  I like the grit and flow of the original. 

A link to The People II: http://www.soulaju.com/a-m-soleil-retrospectively-week-5-the-people-ii/ 

Molina

“Dee-Jay, say you give the people what they want / take head of the culture, give the people what they need / Indeed, we the children of the break beat sound / push back, let the truth rise from the underground”

“Dee-jay, say you give the people what they like / word sun then shine, give the people space to fly / Indeed, you da key, get the people on dey feet / let em shake loose, breathe, make sure they dance free” 

Is what the people “want” what they “need”?  Is there a difference?  Would there be a difference in demand if people were truly offered more of what they need?  Or is it all good just the way it is?

This track is an ode to the Dee-Jay and an ode to Hip-Hop culture… not rap music, but the culture, the history, the vibe you feel when you connect with artists, activists, and Hip-Hop heads who genuinely respect the culture. 

This original version of Dee-Jay appeared on Shine Flow EP, released exactly one year ago today. 

A.M. Soleil, Retrospectively is a 52 week blog series in which I reflect on 5 years of independent music, one song at a time.

Molina – www.molinaspeaks.com

“Sin Papeles” by Molina Soleil & Aju w/ DJ Icewater, Shine Flow EP (2009)

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People love “Sin Papeles”.  Bangin’ beat, pure fire, bilingual, timely.  This is the story of la vida sin papeles.

My words reflect the reality of a young urban Mexicano/Chicano struggling to survive in a racist environment that has labeled him “illegal”.

I’m a shadow of light in the dark of the day, this angel on my neck gon’ guide my way.

Nothing to hope for, nothing to believe in, no end in sight to the madness of being tagged an alien in a land you were brought to without choice.  But you reach for the light within and keep moving forward.

No vas a romper a mi alma. 

Aju’s words tell the broader story of the immigrant experience:

Quitando nuestras tierras, Llegando tan lejos de familias, Corrale, hermanas y hermanos, Trabajando en las sombras, Sin papeles, sin papas, Sin compas, sin paz
Sin papeles, sin papas, Sin conpas, sin paz.

It is because of Aju that this song is Sin Papeles.  I had other plans for this beat.  She heard the immigrant’s theme. 

As a wordsmith, it’s a challenge to say everything you need to say in 8 bar verses as opposed to 16s.  The theme and structure of this track forced me to be concise and relentless, to do more with less words.  I plan to work with this formula more often on future projects.

As for the substance of this track, if you know my music and poetry and follow my blog, you know this is just one chapter in my collection of stories about immigration, Chicano/Mexicano identity, and geopolitical struggles for survival.  Later this year, I’ll write about “Without Papers” – a sister song to “Sin Papeles”.

For song lyrics and a translation of Aju’s lyrics, click here. 

For all my people, all colors and all nationalities, struggling for meaningful immigration reform,  boycotting Arizona over SB 1070 and the ethnic studies ban, fighting for the basic recognition that people are not aliens, we face a long road ahead.  Adelante, con paz y dignidad.

A.M. Soleil, Retrospectively is a 52-week blog series in 2010, focusing on 5 years of politically conscious and culturally relevant music by Molina.

Shine Flow – title track off Shine Flow EP by Molina Soleil & Aju w/ DJ Icewater (2009)

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This was the first track I recorded with DJ Icewater in October 2008.  I was a few months into my Up Before the Sunrise tour.  I decided to head to the Bay Area and do some volunteer work for Youth Speaks during their Living Word Festival. 

I called my friend Jeff Chang and told him that I’d be in town.  Could he hook me up with any producers?

Within a few days Icewater and I connected and he sent me some beats.  This instrumental was one of the first.  It fit like a glove with the lyrics I penned a week earlier on a flight from Seattle to Portland, where I emceed Graham St. Productions’ first major benefit event for Papers the movie.  

I was feeling high.  I was making moves, making things happen.  A little money was coming in and I was proving to myself that I could succeed and be heard on a national level.  I had just performed in Rapid City, Minneapolis, Chicago, Philly and Albuquerque, and at Cafe Cultura and Cafe Nuba in Denver.  I had been contracted to do work with youth in New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming.  I was contributing to a major film project that would shine light on the lives of young people pushing for immigration reform. 

It was time to celebrate. 

I put the first version of Shine Flow on MySpace mid-October 2008, shortly after it debuted on Hard Knock Radio.  The first version didn’t have Aju’s vocals.  Her and I began making music together late in December 2009.  You are listening to the final version of the track, released June 9th, 2009. 

Celebrate the small victories and remember to do it for you.  Fuck trying to prove anything to anybody. The haters breathe, they lurk wherever success breathes.  Fuck ‘em.

Shine YOUR light and share it with your people.

Molina

www.molinaspeaks.com

This is the Aju version of Wrong Ways, released on Shine Flow EP w/ Dj Icewater (2009).  The Molina version appears on the forthcoming album SOULAJU.

 Mixed entangled confusion / infused by my name and tongue / constant duality, redefine sanity, birth burning heart internationality…

This is one of the oldest stories in human history, because people have always moved, for survival, for opportunity, sometimes for love.  Sometimes we are pushed or pulled by the wind, not knowing where we may land.

Captivated sanctified unity / drink my stew of human integrity / i choose home, my heart not alone, billions people sing this song…

Adaptation is not always easy, but it is necessary because change is ever constant.  Pain is expected, but there is beauty in movement, growth, transformation. 

As social beings on the verge of global collapse, our future depends on our ability to communicate and build with each other cross-culturally.

I admire Aju’s ability to connect with people from so many cultural backgrounds, and her ability to write stories that transcend boundaries and focus on commonalities, rather than differences.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to work so closely with a female vocalist who focuses on transmitting positive energy.   It pushes me to be open to what is light, what is good, and what is possible.

Next week we are releasing the third single off the SOULAJU album.  “We Moon” is another Aju track, dedicated to the divine feminine. You can listen to it next Monday, right here at www.soulaju.com.

A.M. Soleil, Retrospectively is a 52-week blog series in 2010, reflecting on 5 years of music by yours truly…

- Molina

This is the second version of The People.  It is the second single off the forthcoming album SOULAJU, set for release March 23rd, 2010. 

The first version of The People appeared on Shine Flow EP w/ DJ Icewater, released June 9th, 2009.  I wrote the original in October 2008 in Portland, OR, where I was emceeing Graham St. Productions’ first major fundraiser for Papers the movie.   I was two months into the Up Before the Sunrise tour.  After the Papers benefit, I hopped on the plane and headed to the Bay Area to volunteer for Youth Speaks’ Living Word festival. 

At the end of my stay in the Bay, I recorded “People (Molina Mix)” and “Shine Flow” with Icewater in Oakland, CA and did an interview with Hard Knock Radio.  I added (Molina Mix) to the title of People because Icewater is a mixtape DJ, so I figured other emcees would be flowing over the same beat.

This second version, The People II, was written and recorded in December of 2009 for SOULAJU.  It was a last-minute decision at the time, being that the album was originally set for January release.  The words came to me one evening when Aju and I were catching up on Democracy Now episodes.  It was time for an update.

To some people, this may seem unoriginal—the same artist using the same beat twice to tell a similar story.  To me, this hella fresh.  As an emcee, an instrumental is a blank canvas.  Give 20 emcees the same beat and you’ll get 20 different stories.  Give me the same beat with the same hook two different years and I’ll give you two different stories that are similar in vein, but different enough to provide new insight and keep your attention.  Hip-Hop is all about re-creating and re-using, building upon what has already been done, personally, musically, culturally.

Enjoy the new mix and keep motivating and originating in 2010. 

Molina – www.molinaspeaks.com

Listen to the original: “People (Molina Mix)” w/ DJ Icewater:

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“I strut, I flow, my style I’m all mine / I shine my truth / I chop, mash up time / you work, you grind, you climb with no interlude / your push, your pull, you rise high, it’s all you…”

…the first words heard from my first collaboration with Aju and DJ Icewater.  It was a big shift in style and presentation from the more gritty Up Before the Sunrise album.

“This that indie fly sang, we don’t wait, no label / if suit pick it up ain’t a damn thing change / Fuck big money I’m a do my thang / don’t need corporate to legitimate me…”

As a young independent artist, you make up the rules as you go.  There’s no playbook.  Everything is grassroots.  You are often your own hype machine and your own fundraiser.  You gotta hustle as your own manager, booking agent, accountant, executive producer, publicist, etc.

If you’re really down for the arts and the community, you have to find time in the midst of all this to support other artists, to support the activist scene, to volunteer your time and give back.

Last week, Aju and I made a decision 25th-hour to push the SOULAJU album back after organizing a month-long series of events in Denver to promote the album.  Analyzing it from every angle, it simply wasn’t time… So we had to trust our instincts and be confident in our decision.

Bottom line: you gotta do you and you gotta trust yourself.  Be independent in your thoughts and don’t fall in line with the sheep. 

- Molina