Rhymes: FlamesYall&Goose - StudyAbroad (Free Download/Stream)

After 11 months of hard work, it is finally here. My long-awaited concept album with British beatsmith, FlamesYall. This is easily my best work I've ever done, and I can't express how proud I am of this album nor how eager I am for people to listen to it. FlamesYall is an incredibly gifted beat maker, and I am totally blessed to be able to rap over his beats (for free even!). If his music catches the right ear, he could be lacing some big time names, he's that good. And while I may not be the greatest rapper, have the best flow, struggle with breath control, and have a super whiteboy voice, I feel like my story is interesting for an audience:

StudyAbroad is my story and it's your story. After working out a rough narrative with FlamesYall, I studied various texts and my peers to really get inspiration for this album. This album is about a man in his early 20s figuring himself out basically. The protagonist of StudyAbroad is a reflection of me, my roommates, other close friends, Rob Gordon (High Fidelity), Brian O'Halloran (Clerks), Ed Norton's character in Fight Club and a bunch of other characters from the texts I've read/watched/listened to (I'll post a list of my influences later). I wanted to tell a story about a young man, who struggled with masculinity and how to treat women, while trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life and where he stands in the world.

The Narrative:
The protagonist, Goose, is about to graduate college and has his whole life figured out. He plans on spending his entire summer with his long-time girlfriend, whom he plans to marry one day. This will be his last opportunity to relax before he has to get a job, get married, and enter the real world. His plans fall apart when he gets a phone call from his girlfriend, who inexplicably breaks up with him out of the blue. He shortly there after finds out that he does not have enough credits to graduate so he must take classes during the summer in order to graduate before the fall.

Goose decides to enroll in classes in England, to get away from everything for a summer. First he must face his fear of getting on an airplane, something he's never done before, and leaving his home state of Ohio, also something he had never done. After arriving in England, he goes out to various pubs and night clubs to forget his woes and have some fun. He gets really drunk and meets an attractive English lass and sleeps with her. Upon waking up, he sees that his ex-girlfriend is already in a new relationship only 2 weeks after splitting up with him. He immediately assumes she had been cheating on him, which enrages and confuses him as he feels empty after leaving his one night stand's pad and waiting for the bus to take him to school.

Goose has a class taught by a professor named FlamesYall, who asks to see him after class. They meet at a pub, and over drinks the protagonist tells him all about the troubles he's been having with his ex, his brother going to the hospital, and many other problems with his friends and family. This causes him to feel useless because he can't help them because he is so far away. After FlamesYall leaves the pub, Goose gets drunk and reflects on life and compares his life to other people whom he graduated with. And finally he realizes how much he misses his ex, until he sees that she is calling him.

After months of silence between the two, she calls him crying saying that she had just broken up with her new boyfriend and that she missed him. Goose, who is extremely drunk, scorns her for dumping him with no reason. When he finally gets home, he passes out and has a dream about the good old days with his girl. He wakes up to a voicemail from her explaining that the reason they broke up was that she was with him so long, she didnt know who she really was, and that she needed time away from him to figure out who she was. She also explains that she is thinking about getting back together with him, but she might move to Rome, Italy to get away for a while. After listening to the voicemail, Goose again reflects on their relationship and saw how that it was very juvenile and he decided that he wants her back.

After fighting a rough hangover, Goose gets a sort of epiphany. He starts to realize that life isn't holding him back, but rather if he wants something he has to put in the work and get it himself. So after finally finishing his classes and getting his degree, he boards his plane to come back to Ohio. After learning so much in England he is ready to get back with his girl; he plans to ask her to marry him when he gets home. Upon arriving to her house, he sees a note on her door saying that she decided to get away, so she moved to Rome. Instead of being heartbroken, the protagonist, with a new sense of self meets an old friend for a drink. His friend who is the same age, is also married and with a kid, chat about life, and asks Goose if he's happy with where he is in life and the answer is yes even though he's not sure what's in store with his future, he is confident he can handle whatever life throws at him.

And that my friends, is StudyAbroad.

Thank you for reading/listening. I think it's a very relatable story about the dreaded quarterlife crisis, and it doesnt hurt that it's told in the form of sweet raps and dope ass instrumentals.

Rhymes: The Coup Kids - Six Strings & a Mic EP (Free Download/Stream)

Here's a long overdue post. Back in June, my good friend Zirgs and I (aka The Coup Kids) put out this little EP. He plays some nifty little guitar riffs while I do my rapping thing on the mic. We made live versions of my older material from past albums such as: Nothing Comes Easy and A Dorm is Not a Home. We also recorded a live version of a track off of my newest album (that came out last week) Study Abroad, with producer FlamesYall.

The album is called Six Strings and a Mic because that is all that is used in this album. I wanted to record a very stripped down album, with only his guitar playing and my rapping. It has a very rough, unpolished sound, as we were trying to create a raw, live performance sounding records. Most of our performances were recorded in a single take, as opposed to punch-ins, which gives the record a pretty unique, fun sound despite much of the EP's serious lyrical content.

http://gooseohio.bandcamp.com/album/six-strings-a-mic-an-ep

Rhymes: An Interveiw with The Coup's Eric Zirger

We at BRL TV were able to sit down with The Coup Kids' Eric "Zirgs" Zirger for an interview. This interview will also be featured in the group's full-length documentary about the group recording their debut project, Six Strings & a Mic: An EP. Zirger touches on many topics during this interview including how he got started playing guitar, how he first started writing his own guitar riffs, how he got into writing lyrics, and more.

While there is no set release date for my and Zirger's debut as The Coup Kids. We are probably looking to release it before June. Here is the link to the two singles we've released from the project, thus far.

BRL Radio: Headphones & Backpacks Podcast Episode #1

BRL Radio- Headphones & Backpacks Podcast episode 1 by zgase
This is my first attempt at a podcast, and a nice reminder that I should stick to print journalism. In this podcast I talk about some latest news in hip hop, and play some recent tracks that should be getting some more attention.

Tracklist:
1. XV – Witchita
2. Talk about XV
3. BRL Intro
4. Talk about Atmosphere's New LP
5. Atmosphere- "If you can save me now"
6. Talk About Family Tour
7. Grieves – "Lightspeed"
8. Blueprint – "Radio-Inactive"
9. Phonte’s solo album….
10. Little Brother – Tiggalo for Dolo
11. Custom Made info
12. Scoobs – These Days
13. Talk about StudyAbroad album
14. GooseFlames – few good blokes
15. Wrap it up – upcoming posts, future podcasts
16. The Coup Kids – All Iever wanted

Rhymes: The Coup Kids - "All I Ever Wanted" (Free DL)

Here is a song I recorded with my friend Zirgs. You may recognize him from my last album, A Dorm is Not a Home, on which he played guitar on a track called "Grand Am." This track is a remake of another song from that album titled (obviously) "All I Ever Wanted."

Together we are called The Coup Kids (baller name, i know), he will be playing guitar and I will be holding down the rapping duties. We have decided to record an EP of older songs I've done plus maybe some covers of songs you may or may not recognize. You can either stream the track or download that ish for free.

Rhymes: Juice & Goose - "Threat Level: Midnight" (Official Music Video)

The Bros are back with their second video off of their up-coming classic album, The Bro Code. Word on the street is they will finish it up in late December/early January and release it "whenever the f*** [they] want!"

Beats & Rhymes: FlamesYall Spotlight at Kevinnottingham.com

https://mail.bgsu.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=d960d7fef6924dee9bd94898c83fba61&URL=http%3a%2f%2fkevinnottingham.com%2f2010%2f11%2f08%2fproducer-spotlight-flamesyall%2f

Here's a nice interview of a guy who has helped me out a lot as a rapper, FlamesYall. He's probably one of my favorite beatsmiths, and I'm lucky enough to rap over some of his jawns. We are currently working on a group album, titled Goose&FlamesYall:StudyAbroad, and he talks a little about it in the interview.

He has appeared on my last 2 projects, providing 2 beats on A Dorm is Not a Home ("Wish You Were Clear" and "Apathy") and producing a bulk of my mixtape Dear Hip Hop, Sincerely Charley Brown (check those projects out at www.gooseohio.bandcamp.com)

I have appeared on two of his albums Featurin'... and LowEndYall (which consists of all ATCQ samples). And he has also released a trilogy of instrumental albums (all of which can be found at www.flamesyall.bandcamp.com.

Producer Spotlight: FlamesYall

by J. Rizzle on November 8, 2010

UK producer FlamesYall has contributed too many projects for KevinNottingham.com most notably Nas & Olu Dara: The Family Remix Album. He has worked with talented emcees like Goose, Keb0, Tokyo Cigar, Logic Rhymes, MC Baz, Ryan Lucas, z1 Tha ESSENTIAL, TommyLux, Black Disciple, Mars, Luke, Duce, and many others. His latest release LowEndYall: ATributeCalledQuest is produced solely by himself. So now it’s time to hit the jump to get to know the talented beatsmith and cratedigger.

Where you reppin?

I’m from a town called Grays, Thurrock in Essex, UK. I’m not sure it’s known for it’s Hip Hop. Certainly, when I was at school/college, there was about 4 people who listened to any kind of Hip Hop/Rap. I think the nearer to London you get, the more Hip Hop heads you’ll find… I’m about an hours train journey away. The Hip Hop population doubles with every mile travelled.

Introduce yourself:

Erm, I’m FlamesYall, a 34 year old Hip Hop producer. I produce randomly and ad hoc when I get an opportunity and when I feel creative. I let it all come out organically, and naturally. (Mainly when my wife and kids are out/in bed…).

Where did the name FlamesYall come from?
Ha ha. It’s an odd one! About 10 years ago, I was asked to perform a DJ set at a local University. My first! They needed a ‘name’ for the flyers. I didn’t have one, so I panicked and said ‘Stu.Flames’! The ‘Flames’ stuck. When I started producing, I wanted to introduce myself, so I dropped the ‘Stu’ and added the ‘Yall’ as an address to the masses.

Main musical inspirations:

I’ve always been a fan of soul, like 70′s and 80′s soul, plus my Dad had me listening to The Beatles and The Kinks, etc when I was little. So I like the ‘raw’ unpolished feel of music – that dusty vinyl feel. My Hip Hop inspirations, is all producers – It is the music that grabbed me, the lyrics came second. I’d have to name The Bomb Squad, Preemo, Pete Rock, Marley Marl, QTip, Ski, Prince Paul, Large Pro, RZA… And more recently, J. Dilla, Kev Brown, 9th, Madlib, ?uestlove, J. Rawls, Zo!… So I guess my style is a mixture of the two eras. Plus, all the independents who do it for themselves in their homes and work hard at the craft. The guy’s on Kev Nottingham’s site have propelled me far more than I would have motivated myself. Plus, I gotta give a big shout to one of my boys, a massive musical inspiration with his hard work, ethics, creativity and beliefs – Scroobius Pip (…And Dan Le Sac).

When did you fall in love with hip hop?

I was aware of a few artists, and a few songs, but when I was 13, I was at this girls house (As friends!! We were 13, yo!) and her older brother had ‘Fear Of A Black Planet’ on vinyl… I remembered ‘Can’t Do Nuttin’ For Ya Man’ from House Party, so I ‘borrowed’ it and listened to it, beginning to end, over and over (Using my headphones as I didn’t want my Dad to hear!). I still have it 21 years later! From then, I was in love with vinyl; record shopping, crate diggin, the smell, the dust, the romance, B Side remixes, coloured vinyl, promo pressings, US Imports (BIG over here…), 7″ singles, Technic 1210′s… You name it, I loved it! You should see my Hip Hop vinyl collection!! I’ve got some classic heat in there!! I remember taping Yo! MTV Raps, every Friday at midnight. It was the only time you would see, or hear, any Hip Hop on the TV or the radio! I mujst have had about 30 VCR tapes full of Ed Lover and Dr. Dre (And T Money). The next era was the Tribe/SV kinda vibe… That’s when it became part of me, emotionally.

Current projects we should be looking out for:

The latest is ‘LowEndYall:ATributeCalledQuest’, my tribute to my favourite ATCQ tracks, re-flipped and rhymed on by some amazing MCs… Quest are my favourite music group of all time.

Previous work that we should know about:

My first project was ‘Featurin”, which was a compilation of all the tracks I’d produced featuring Mcs from around the US and one from Luxembourg! Download here -> files.me.com/stumangan/ hs41pg

What’s your equipment setup like?

My set up?! All I use is my 20″ iMac and Logic. No more, no less. I don’t have any samplers, keyboards, decks, nothing. Just my mouse and my Mac, in my living room! (Plus a big ass sample library on iTunes and a collection of drums…). The first 3 years of my production was all on GarageBand, but I moved to Logic about 6 months ago.

If you had to pick one song that defines your career to date, what song would that be?

One of my songs? I’d say ‘FlameOn’ Feat. TommyLux. It’s the first proper track I put together and had an MC work on… There had been a few in the past (Big up, SkanWon), but this was the first properly conceived and produced one. It also defines what I love doing with my productions, chopping a sample and having a heavy drum sound. After that, the one which I get the best feed back on is ‘Next Message’ featuring Ryan Lucas.

If you weren’t doing music, what would your occupation be?

Well, music isn’t my occupation, so I guess I would be doing what I am doing… I work for Apple, so I guess I kinda have the best of both worlds. I’m surrounded by very talented people at work every day, who teach and inspire me which in turn pushes my music production. If I wasn’t at Apple, if I could choose… I would be a producer. Or a footballer, playing for Sunderland, the greatest football team in history (ahem). Or run my own coffee house/bar which only played the dopest, most beautifullest music.

Why should the readers and fans give you a shot and listen to your music from here on out?

Because I only make music for the love, not the fame. I make my tracks with a nod to the artists who were around during the 21 years of my Hip Hop affection. I want people to appreciate music for music’s sake, not for ends, bling, money, cars, material goods, just for the emotion, vibe and heart. Imagine a world, a life without music – Cold and barren. One of my favourite quotes is ‘After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible, is music’.

If you could only take one record on a deserted island with you, what album would that be?

This is a hard question!! Every album/song has a different vibe to it… I need one that is gonna cover everything… Erm, one that is gonna cover every thought and feeling that I have when I’m stranded on a desert island… One that is big enough for me to sit on and row to safety… OK, either ‘Donuts’, ‘Low End Theory’, or ‘It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back’…

Tell us one thing that very few people may know about you.

Funny enough, ironically, not many people know I produce… I keep this ‘alter ego’ for the internet and my music friends… I don’t even use photo’s of myself with my stuff (Although I did put a pic of me on the back cover to ‘LowEndYall’… That hurt! Hardly anyone at work knows! And I don’t play my music for my close friends, either… Odd eh? Oh and you guys may not know I’m married and have 2 girls. I’m not your usual hip hop guy on the outside…

What’s next for you?

My next project is with Goose, who is on ‘Featurin’ and also on ‘LowEndYall…’, We’re doing a concept album called ‘StudyAbroad’ which runs 12 tracks long and is a linear narrative of his journey from the US to the UK and back, studying and partying with girls! After that, myself and UK producer BlacKeys should have a tribute to Idris Muhammad complete… Then hope fully some more collaborations with Subwoofer Science – z1 and Ryan Lucas – Those guys are amazing!

Any shout outs or last words?

Yeah, a shout to all the MCs who have appeared on my tracks, a shout to Scroobius Pip, Muttt 3000, Emonomy, Overview, RoscoIlla, a shout to Kevin Nottingham and all the guys who contribute and post, a shout to J. Rizzle, who has been an amazing support for my music, a shout to my 2 daughters, who haven’t shut the f@@@ up while I’ve been trying to type this interview.

Contact FlamesYall via

flamesyallmusic@me.com
www.flamesyall.bandcamp.com

Rhymes: Juice & Goose - "NumberOneDrugDealerOfAllTime" (Official Music Video)

Here's the first music video from the next big duo in hip hop. Eff a little brother, an outkast, and an epmd.

Rhymes: Juice & Goose - "NumberOneDrugDealerOfAllTime"

Here's the second single off of Juice & Goose's upcoming, classic The Bro Code.

Rhymes: FlamesYall – Featurin’ Vol. 1 | @flamesyall | iLLVibes

Mixtape: FlamesYall – Featurin’ Vol. 1 | @flamesyall | iLLVibes
Here's a release from FlamesYall, he did two tracks on my last album and did 4-5 on my upcoming album. I am featured on two of his songs on the album (one of the songs appeared on my last album, and the other track will be featured on my upcoming album, "Dear Hip Hop, Sincerely Charley Brown".

Juice & Goose - "I Got Money, I Got Bitches"

The most balleristic, classic, rap shit you've ever fucking heard bitch!!!

The Bro Code coming whenever we get tired of getting money and bitches and start recording the shit!

Life: R.I.P. "The Rodge"

The Rodge has finally been torn down. Currently, only the West Wing still stands. The four story testimony to man and life was closed last May, and has been uninhabited for the past year, preparing demolition.

First they started in the courtyard. Tearing out the trees that provided us with shade during those dog days of August, where we were still strangers with The Rodge. Then the sidewalks that we would walk on our way to classes and on our way back to our home base, where we could rest our heads. Then they tore East Wing, where we lived. They tore down the Smokers Door, where countless cigarettes and conversations ranging from small talks with strangers to pouring out of souls to best friends.

Leaving for spring break, I had not planned to ever see the building where I spent my first year from my life in Tiffin, OH. Coming back, I saw very little left of the building, but more than I had expected. By the end of the week The Rodge will be nothing more than a memory.They can tear down the building, but the the friends that we made there, the lessons we learned there, and the memories made there will last forever.

Goose - A Dorm is Not a Home Official Artwork

Album art work done by Jason D*Marc*, overseen by Zach G*s*.

If you haven't downloaded it yet, here is a working link: http://www.mediafire.com/?ydnantaoh4j

Rhymes: A Dorm is Not a Home (Free Download)

http://www.sendspace.com/file/wn31o5

Yes BRL is the only place (until midnight tonight) where you can download my new album, A Dorm is Not a Home. I worked exactly a year on this album, by recording "A Song for the Walk Home" during last Thanksgiving break and finishing up the final songs during this year's Thanksgiving break.

This is easily my best work, and I am ready for more and more people to hear my music. This album was primarily inspired by my freshman year in college, but I also touch on many different topics all with a similar theme: Home.

This album was a journey for me, as was the previous albums, but the last year of my life was something I have never experienced before, which definitely reflected in this music. Please give this album a serious listen and let me know what you think, thanks.

- Goose

Rhymes & Life: The Making of...

walks home.
the snow.
the wind.
leaving home.
dorm rooms.
room 57.
room 58.
room 56.
Rodgers Quad.
the bad smells.
the rusted pipes.
iPods.
escaping.
cell phones.
missing.
cigarettes.
self-destruction.
loneliness.
electric guitars.
1990 pontiac grand am.
wooster.
east reed street.
new homes.
nina simone.
bob dylan.
folk music.
hurricane katrina.
destroyed homes.
goodgirlsgonebad.
lost soul.
pink floyd.
walls.
glass house.
suicide.
losing friends.
walking away.
i'm not there.
more bob dylan.
nothing.
life.
love.
senses.
grandfather clocks.
time.
cuckoo birds.
bitter old men.
away we go.
even more bob dylan.
broken homes.
nights on the couch.
empty hearts.
alexi murdoch.
the open road.
post cards.
empty rooms.
big cities.
big buildings.
my teenage years.
ex-lovers and best friends.
norah jones.
walks at night.
god.
light.
luther vandross - a house is not a home.
thursday nights.
my freshman year.
bgsu.
The Rodge.

A Dorm is Not a Home.
December 8th.

Now I know I said I wouldn't talk too much about my personal music projects, but fuck that, it's my blog, I'm gonna talk about me for a while haha. But yeah brace yourself for some exclusives from my album coming soon. If you want a copy of my album contact me on here, or e-mail me or text me, or just yell my name really loud, or dont even say anything do something, with your eyebrow... was that it? (I couldnt find the video, but that line was from How I Met Your Mother... yepp)

Rhymes: Songs for the Walk Home EP (Free Download)

This is my new EP, Songs for the Walk Home. It consists of 3 new songs that will appear on my upcoming album, A Dorm is Not a Home, which will be released in winter 2010. It also includes the original version of "A Song for the walk Home", which i posted the music video to back in May.

Download Here: http://usershare.net/08pmkdbwmg8i

also more information on my music go to: www.myspace.com/gooseohio
www.soundclick.com/gooseohio and www.twitter.com/goose96