And so it is with this week. There was SO much stuff that went on with me this week that I could’ve made a song about. I decided on a topic early in the week and recorded it, then shot the video for it Thursday morning. I was all set to go with the song – an upbeat jam about… well, more on that later – and was starting to edit the video…

But then… I had gotten a call from my best friend about 2 days prior, telling me his Mom was in the hospital and it wasn’t looking good.  I checked my Facebook on Thursday, and sure enough, his Mom had passed away.

Once I found out the news… I still wanted to put out the other song I had recorded, but now it just didn’t feel right. I felt like I needed to say something to my friend about this occurrence, and I do that best in song form.

So, I wrote this song instead, “Angel Wings,” in the hopes of bringing him some comfort. It’s a FREE download, which you can get HERE.

Check out the video below:

-A.P.T.

Today’s video is for another song in my new “Rapping My Life” series!

This song’s called “What Happens In Vegas,” and is based on the events that occurred during my birthday last weekend! The video features my puppet friend, Non Juan, as well as cameos from my friends and relatives (minus my bro, who I somehow managed to not film during his time in Vegas – booooo!).

Oh yeah – to download the song for FREE, as well as see the full lyrics of the song, head over to my NEW webpage, www.RappingMyLife.tumblr.com!

-A.P.T>

I’ve started another new weekly music series called “Rapping My Life!” Each Friday in 2012, I’ll be posting up a new video featuring a song that’s based on something that happened that week in my life!

The official website for these videos is over at Tumblr (www.RappingMyLife.Tumblr.com), but the videos will be posted up here as well.

Check out the first video from the series called “New Year’s Fight!” It’s a FREE download over at the Tumblr site, so go over there and get it!

-A.P.T.

It’s been quite interesting to hear the stories from the artists themselves as they talk about what it was like to have the most-played song in the country.  Many of them never guessed that their song(s) would get that high up on the charts, and many of them didn’t know how or why a particular song of theirs became so popular.

Today, I saw the interview they did with Shaggy, where he talked about his number 1 chart-topper, “It Wasn’t Me.” As the story goes, he almost gave away the song to another artist altogether!

Why? When he originally recorded it, everyone at his record label said it wouldn’t be a hit.

At the time, he actually bought into what everyone was saying, and decided it would be better to give the song to another artist.  He even went so far as to get vocals for the track from various other artists who were popular at the time.  It wasn’t until a new A&R came to his label and heard the song – upon which he said, “Dude, that’s a HIT right there!” – that Shaggy decided to finish up the track and release it!

The point I’m making here is simply this: if you are a new artist in the music game, it’s very easy to want to listen to others who have been in it for a long time. However, you must remember that, while what others tell you can, at times, be helpful, you should also trust your own instinct at times.  If you’ve had any kind of musical success, it means that, on some level, you know what it takes to reach an audience and convince them to like your stuff.

Don’t be fearful that your instincts may be wrong. Everyone has had to fall on their butt at some point on the road to success… but you have to get into the practice of being able to make your own decisions and realize they’re the right ones. The music industry is one that likes to follow, not lead; yet, the catch-22 is, it always needs new leaders to follow.  So don’t be afraid to do things that everyone doubts at first – those same doubters will become followers later one once what you’re doing proves to be successful.

Anyway… that’s all I have to say. Just a lil’ rant of encouragement from me to you

-A.P.T.

Well, 2011 is coming to a close, which means it’s time to start mapping out music plans for 2012!

I have a bunch of ideas roaming through my head right now, and while I’m pretty sure I can’t do all of them, I did just come up with a BRILLIANT music project idea – one that I feel will be interesting enough for me to want to do on a weekly basis for a whole year…

I also want to do another music project, this one relating to my parody raps.  Yes, I, A.P.T., also known as the Prince of Parody, am going to be putting out a NEW parody song each week for a whole year! Whether or not all of these songs will have videos made for them is still up in the air, but I’m always coming up with new ideas for parodies so I figured “Hey, why not give it a shot?”

On top of these two ideas, I have some other things lined up as well… all of these ideas involve comedy to some extent, so the one thing I can say is that you all will be thoroughly entertained by me throughout the next year!

That’s all for now – more info in the upcoming days!

-A.P.T.

Today’s video insight is for the song “Christmas in Paris,” a parody of Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Ni@@as in Paris!”

Download from any of the following:

iTunes – click HERE
Amazon – click HERE
Soundclick – click HERE
Zippyshare – click HERE

INSIGHT INTO A SONG:

When I first heard Jay-Z and Kanye’s “Watch the Throne” album, the 3rd track, “N!@@as in Paris,” was the one that caught my attention. Apparently, everyone else felt the same way: since the album’s release, the song has hit number 8 on Billboard (and rising); almost everyone and their grandma has released their own remix of it on YouTube; and, when I went to their concert this past Sunday, the duo performed it SEVEN TIMES (and NINE times last night according to my friend), and the crowd never seemed to tire from hearing it.

Very few songs come along where just about EVERYONE who hears it likes it, and where it’s so infectious it can be played hundreds of times and keep you hyped up each time.  This is one of those songs. And when these types of songs come along… well, I know that means it’s my job to make a parody of it!!

Aside from that, I wanted to release a song specifically meant for the holidays.  I haven’t released a Christmas song before, but they’re always good to have available for sale in November/December since those types of tunes are being bought.

So, I decided to make my parody version of “Paris” about something Christmas-related.  I went with the angle of me being a Santa Claus that’s explaining to bad kids why they’re not getting gifts from me this year.  It’s almost like an anti-Christmas song in the sense that Ol’ St. Nick isn’t being his jolly self, but rather a person tired of bad kids asking him to look past their misdeeds all year just so they can get a gift.

Writing the song was surprisingly easy – I think it only took about 20 minutes or so.  Once I found the beat(s) on YouTube, I downloaded them and began recording.

As part of the write-up for the song, I wanted to use my regular voice, as well as a kid’s voice for the parts where I have a kid begging Santa for gifts.  The only real kid voice I have is the one that sounds similar to the voice I use for my puppet character, Non Juan, so I decided to go full out and use him in the song… which would then also give me an excuse to use him in the video.  Smart thinkin’, right?

Some Interesting Song Tidbits:

1. The original version of “Paris” has 2 beats – one used for most of the song, and one used for the breakdown. I couldn’t seem to find a version of the beat produced by one person that had both beats that sounded good, so I split it up. The main song beat was produced by YouTube user juan777ish; the latter beat was produced by YouTube user GeneralsBeats.

2. The line “No gifts for your muffin…” is a secret shout-out to one of my cousins who calls me that all that time. Still makes sense for use in the song, though…

3. The “Ho Ho Ho Ho” at the end is an ad-lib.  After Non Juan’s scream, I wasn’t going to have any more vocals, but just said it to see how it sounded. I liked it, so I kept it.

INSIGHT INTO A VIDEO SHOOT

I had so many ambitious ideas for this video, to the point that it almost stalled me from making it.

At first, I wanted to get actual kids to use in the video instead of Non Juan (my bro thought it might make the vid turn out better).  Of course, that means having to schedule kids, get the parent’s permission for dates and times, hoping they can do a take right, making them listen to the part of the song you want them to lip sync and hoping they get it… quite the hassle.

Then, I was thinking I wanted to film it outside in front of a decorated house… but that would mean having to ask the person who lived there if I could use the front of their yard, and possibly having to pay them. Plus, I’d have to get someone to film me since I don’t have a camera stand…

At some point, I had to stop and think back to when I was making videos in Atlanta. No help, no budget, nothing but a camera, a silly idea, and time on my hands.  Best of all, it was SIMPLE. I didn’t have to consult with anybody about what would be a good idea, I just went by my instincts.

So, that’s what I did this time around: kept it simple.  I’d just decorated the apartment with a Christmas tree and some stockings, and had access to a chair that looked like something Santa would sit in.  In lieu of an official camera light kit, I used my roommate’s highly-lit 3-pronged lamp (which uses the same bulbs as most camera light kits anyway) and placed it in front of me.  Then, I set up a table chair across from where I’d be sitting and used it to prop up my Flip Ultra HD camera.

Yeah, like I said, back to basics, people!

As for the Santa costume… turns out, renting a Santa costume cost about $70 that I didn’t want to spend.  However, going to Target and getting a Santa hat ($4), some fake cotton snow to use for a beard ($3.59) and a green shirt with Santa’s face on it that says “Don’t Stop Believin’” ($9) was MUCH more cost-effective (yet still more than I spend on most of my videos).

I put the costume on, sat in the chair, and filmed the video.  I did a few shots by myself (one with sunglasses on) and a few with Non Juan in my lap as the kid. Then, I moved the placement of the Christmas tree, stood in front of the wall next to it, and did some more shots of me performing the song and/or dancing to it.  Really, really simple shoot, about 5 or 6 takes in all.

Some Interesting Video Shoot Tidbits:

1. To keep the fake snow beard on,  I used scotch tape and tucked the top part of the beard into the hat.  Midway through the shots of me standing up and performing, the left side of my beard fell out of the hat, so I had to stop, re-tape and re-tuck, then go back to filming.

2. I have 2 Non Juan puppets; the one I used for this shoot has a hole in his back where my hand can go. However, I didn’t want that hole showing when I was spanking him; I had to hold him at an awkward angle so as not to show it.

3. The various footage of Santa Claus flying in his sleigh was found at www.iSpotSanta.com, a hilariously great website where people post up “footage” of Santa flying over different places.

4. The moving effects for the video at the part where the beat breaks down was found by accident. I wanted to use the earthquake effect to make things shake (thus making that part of the song and the beat seem powerful), but it wasn’t quite giving off the full effect I wanted.  I saw something in the editing bay that said “Quick Flash/Spin,” and when I tried it, I instantly KNEW it had to be used!

5. The “Mom” used in this video is my roommate, Danielle.  Ironically, the “infant” crying near the end of the video is her son (and my Godson).  He was making a fuss about something one day; with this song in mind, I ran to my room, grabbed my camera, and was able to film him just as his crying spell was ending.  (Oh, and then I comforted him. Yeah, had to add that in so I wouldn’t look like I cared more about filming than soothing a crying child )

6. Editing time for this video was… I can’t even count. It was longer than I thought it would take, especially given that I only used 5 or 6 takes. A lot of video editing is figuring out where to place things, how certain parts of the video should look, and it’s making these decisions that takes the longest. Actual editing was probably about 5 or 6 hours, but it felt a LOT longer.

And that’s it! Be sure to download the song, share the video with your friends, request it at radio… you know the dilly!

-A.P.T. (Prince of Parody)

Here’s the song in YouTube video form (depending on how popular it is, I may make a video for it)!

And here’s the FREE download link: http://www37.zippyshare.com/v/9499906/file.html

-A.P.T.

This time the victim is Rihanna (wouldn’t be the first time she’s been one), and her album “Talk That Talk.” This is the 3rd Rihanna album I’ve reviewed – the question is, how does this one stack up against her previous works? Watch the review and find out!

Don’t forget to download MY new album, “Justin Beeber Must Die!” – FREE download at the following link: http://www.zshare.net/download/954508213af26ac8/

-A.P.T.

Be sure to download my NEW album, “Justin Beeber Must Die!!” Click HERE for download links!

-A.P.T.

Featuring 14 HOT tracks:

FREE Download – Click one of the following links:

zShare   4Shared   Zippyshare

INSIGHT INTO AN ALBUM:

Way, waaaaaaay back in January, I was going out to dinner at Benihana for my birthday.  I was sitting in the lobby with my Aunt Debi waiting for my other 2 friends to arrive, when I noticed 2 boys to the right of me – they looked to be of pre-teen age – staring in my direction.

A few seconds after I saw them, they came over to me and asked the following question:

“Excuse me… are you the ‘O-bama Mixtape’ guy?”

I was in shock.  The year is now 2011, and these two kids were referencing a mixtape I put out almost 3 years ago while living in Atlanta. Of course, it helps that the mixtape contained my unexpected worldwide smash hit, “Obama Milli Remix,” a song so popular that it helped “The O-Bama Mixtape” get downloaded over 10,000 times.

And, although I have been recognized a few times in public before, it was the first time I was able to see just how far my demographic went in terms of the younger crowd – the oldest kid here couldn’t be more than 13, which means he wouldv’e been 10 or 11 when the mixtape came out.

More importantly, though, they seemed to be very excited to meet me. Like, really, they were giddy. Giddy! They were like “OMG, we thought it was you, we’re such HUGE fans!!” It was surreal. I thanked them for the kind words and told them I’d have more music coming out soon.

In reality… well, it was true: I had released my “Prince of Parody Vol. 1″ album back in October 2010, but I hadn’t really focused on recording my own new original material. Up until that point, I didn’t think anyone really cared all that much about listening to tracks of mine that were originals… but now, with this one incident, I became motivated to do it again!

And now, some 11 months later, the album is finally here!

Okay, so I’m sure you’re probably curious as to WHY I named my album what I named it.  First off, for legal purposes I must state the following: The character of “Justin Beeber” – spelled with two e’s in his last name – is fictional; any person living or named with a similar-sounding name is strictly coincidental.

Anyway: so, this fictional Beeber guy that I made up, is a guy who sings poppy songs that make girls cry. However, he recently decided to try his hands at rapping. As a fan of hip-hop, I always hate the idea of random people trying their hand at rapping simply because “it’s something to try.” In the process, they don’t take into account the history of the genre, the importance of song choice, or the fact that not everyone needs to rap.

So, one of the reasons I named the album “Justin Beeber Must Die” is to emphasize that point.  The other reason? Eh, I thought it would be a catchy title that would get me some attention. And if you’re reading this, that means it worked!

The album itself is on par with my previous stuff.  Many artist say “oh, this is my best work” with every album. Me, I feel like I’ve been pretty consistent with each album. I always try to come up with songs that are slightly different from what else is currently out, and did the same for this one. I will say that I did go for different types of beats – some with pre-recorded choruses and/or samples not being used…

I also made sure to pick out different producers to mix up the sounds of the beats.  I still got my beats from Kaptain Kutta (formerly King Kut/K.K.O.F.), 4 of which made this album.  I also used beats from Mister K.A., Koncept Beats, Beat Basement, Heavyweight Beats… AND, I produced two of the tracks as well: the Michael Jackson-inspired (and sampled) “Second 2 None” and “Mr. Plow,” which I’m pretty sure is going to be a HUGE hit once I make the right video for it…

The album is a FREE download. However, if you’d like to further support me, you can go to the official site for the album, www.JustinBeeberMustDie.com, and send in a donation.  Thanks for the support, and enjoy the album!

-A.P.T.

Filed under: A.P.T., Justin Bieber Tagged: a.p.t, Hip-Hop, Justin Beeber, Justin Beeber Must Die, Justin Bieber, michael jackson, mixtape, obama milli remix ]]> http://aptsongs.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/new-a-p-t-album-justin-beeber-must-die-free-download/feed/ 0 A.P. Taylor APT - JBMD Front Cover Square APT - JBMD Back Cover Square