The Obama Milli Remix Post – Insights, Downloads, Lyrics and More!

Above: NEW song, “Goodbye Bush (Na Na Na),” an ode to G.W. Bush leaving the White House! FREE download at http://www.4shared.com/file/81716173/f6ec79ea/APT_-_Goodbye_Bush__Nah_Nah_Nah_.html!

Also available on “The Next Black President” mixtape – FREE Download at: http://www.zshare.net/download/5455995741ddef5e/

Lastly, you can now download the VIDEO to re-post on YouTube!
http://www.zshare.net/video/5453399977ea009e

* * * * *

On Sunday, May 25, 2008, I, A.P.T., started this “One-Song-a-Week” website as a means of promoting my music. The objective: to release one song/music video every Sunday for ONE year.

On Sunday, June 21, I released a video for song #5 – a parody of Lil’ Wayne’s popular song, “A Milli,” called “O-bama O-bama.”

And since then, nothing for me has been the same…

Above: Video #5 of 52: My parody of Lil’ Wayne’s “A Milli,” “O-bama O-bama” (re-dubbed “Obama Milli” by the public at large. No, really!)

Video for “Obama Milli” Now Available for FREE Download!  Click HERE for more info!

6 months later, and this continues to be my most popular song. To say it had an impact in the music world would be an understatement. It has been played globally, both on YouTube and radio stations worldwide. It has been re-posted on a countless number of websites and heard or seen by MILLIONS of people. And – most importantly – it actually changed the minds of people who were John McCain supporters, and convinced them to vote for Barack Obama instead.

Not too bad, considering I recorded the song and video in a small studio apartment in Atlanta, GA, using a talk radio microphone and a Kodak 6.1 Mega-pixel camera meant mostly for taking pictures!

I don’t really like to hype myself up too much. At the same time, though, I recognize that people are still trying to find the song, filming YouTube videos to it, or wondering “Who the heck ARE those A.P.T. guys?!?” (Sorry to disappoint, but there’s only ONE A.P.T., though sometimes I wish I WERE a group so I could have a camera guy!)

So, this page is exclusively set up for those searching for all things “Obama Milli”-related. Below, you’ll find:

• A link to the page where I give insights into the creation of the song/video
• Links where you can purchase the song via my albums or the single itself
• Other Obama-Related songs made by me
• Hilarious and/or creative YouTube re-creations of “Obama Milli” by others!
• My feelings about others claiming my song as theirs (I’m talking about YOU, Tyga!)

Lastly, people always ask me, “How much money are you making off the song?” After all, it’s been played all around the world, and major artists and radio D.J.s have either tried to make their version or used it for their radio promos.

And the answer is: not much.

Aside from selling copies here at my site and on my albums, I really never set out to make money on the song. My only goal was to figure out a way to get my face in the music game and use all my songs as a means of doing that, THEN get paid. And, while I may not have initially made a huge amount of money off this particular song, it IS starting to pay off (in ways I can’t yet talk about… ooh, suspense and mystery!).

Besides, I made a song that helped convince enough people to vote a Black man into the White House – how many people can say THAT?!?

LINKS TO ALL THINGS “OBAMA-MILLI” RELATED:

* * * * *

* The Original Page for the Song: I post up a new video each Sunday. Below the video, I type up insights into the making of the song and video. This is the link to the page for “O-bama O-Bama”: http://aptsongs.wordpress.com/2008/06/22/one-song-a-week-song-5-obama-obama/

* * * * *

* Where Can I Get The “Obama Milli” single?: There are several ways:

The link to get the “Obama Milli” single as a 99 cent download: http://store.payloadz.com/go?id=153519.

The link to get “The A.P.T. LP” album (released 8-27-2008) which includes “Obama Milli“ plus other great songs like “Stop Cockblockin’,” “The KKKramer Song” and “Smooth Talker!” (Only 6.99 – Instant Download, works on ALL MP3 players including iPod!): http://store.payloadz.com/go?id=170344

 

The link to purchase “The Great Black Hope” (released 1-07-2009) which includes “Obama Milli” plus other hot songs like “Hands UP!,” “Nothing More 2 Say” and “Things 4 U (I Thought U Loved Me)!” (Only 6.99 - Instant Download, works on ALL MP3 players including iPods): http://store.payloadz.com/go?id=208737

The song also appears on my 2 mixtapes, both of which are FREE downloads:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the link to both my mixtapes: “The O-bama Mixtape,” which features the original version; and “The Next Black President (a.k.a. Back On My Grind),” which features the “Obama Milli Mega-Remix” featuring Tyga – http://aptsongs.wordpress.com/apt-mixtapes-the-o-bama-mixtape-the-next-black-president

* * * * *

*Lyrics to “Obama Milli”: First, here’s a video I made for YouTube with the lyrics -

And here are the lyrics typed out:

Intro:
A.P.T.!

Yeah I’m goin’ in…

Verse 1:
Call him “President,” he’s the next new President here
Senator, from Illinois, yeah
His criteria compared to John McCain just isn’t fair
Cause he’s B-L-A-C, so the eyes are on he
Through his pencil, he write legislation, with the country on his mind
And he don’t coat ish, cause he ain’t got time
Every second, minute, hour, KKK wanna devour
He got guards ready to pop ‘em, with their ch-ch-ch-ch-choppers
Every brother, mother, sister, cousin, grandma wanna hump him
Even got Hilary Clinton on the side ready to jump him
Tell the Clintons “Ha ha ha ha,” couldn’t catch him, couldn’t stop him
They go by the party rules, if you can’t beat him, you can’t top him
Thought she’d smack him, couldn’t pop ‘em, Delegates, couldn’t cop ‘em
Bill Clinton couldn’t help her, too bad she couldn’t drop ‘em, woo!

Man, Obama‘s so Illlll…

Verse 2:
Obama goes here, Obama goes there
Sayin’ “Yes We Can” with wife Michelly, he’s hittin’ that derriere
He travel to Arizona, ready to cause some drama
Hopin’ McCain will comment, “Look at that bastard Obama
He’s too young, he’s too hip, Negros always ‘causin’ problems”
His pale-lookin’ face got him lookin’ like a goblin!
Mac-Cain, Mac-Cain, please don’t vote for Mac-Cain
First day up in office, talkin’ ‘bout some heart pains
Call the ambulance, QUICK! All you hear is sirens
His temper isn’t private – Dang, I hate a mad prick
Don’t you hate a mad prick? Plus, McCain’s an old prick
Barack’s a younger guy, So choose him, he’s the right pick
(Laugh) But if you choose the wrong pick
Your step-son’ll probably end up in Iraq quick!
His health clan plan is so immac’late
So even if your broke, and can’t afford to take a doc trip
You’ll be feelin’ much better – not sick
And, he’s okay, but his wife’s sick
And her back’s thick, And her walk’s slick
She’s a fly chick – I’d hit!

Man, Obama‘s so Illlll…

Verse 3:
He’s makin’ history like X, King and Douglas, and RFK
Obama, he’s that “new black,” true that
Red-necks saaaay “He won’t beat John McCain
He don’t wear a flag pin, his middle name’s Hussein,” but
Who gon’ be dat boy dat doubt dat boy dey call “Obama”
Got Republicans sweatin’ like they up in Saunas (whew!)
Even McCain’s 90-something mama
Be ready to pull his lever every hour (Laugh)
And I’d rather eat a field mouse
Than to see John McCain in the White House
Vote Obama in, and I promise
He won’t turn back into some Uncle Thomas (Aaaaaa!)
No Aunt Jemimah or Southern Fried chicken
Call him “Chief Obama,” or “Mr. Keeps on Tickin”
Man, Pastor Wright’s comments couldn’t stop his tally
Even Oprah Winfrey said she was behind him
People, I say this country’s no hope without him
But he’s gotta go out and relate to everybody
He do what he do, like give his wife a hug and then a fist dap
Gotta do that stuff in public, so the hood’ll know that -
He’s black
Gotta use big words, white people love to hear it
If they hear it, they don’t fear him, they don’t know him, but they feel him
That’s real….

Obama… ‘08… White House, a-ha!

* * * * *

*Other Obama-Related Songs/Videos by Me: I never set out to duplicate the success of “Obama Milli.” However, given that he was a popular topic of conversation last year, I did make a few other Obama-inspired songs/videos. Check them out:

Above: Video #32, “The Next Black President!” For song/video insights, click HERE!

Above: Video #25, “The Obama Mixtape Intro (aka A Time 4 Change)!” For song/video insights, click HERE!

Above: Video #19, “John McCain is a P.I.M.P.!” Yes, it’s a John McCain song, but it was inspired by the fact that many people made songs about Obama but not McCain! For song/video insights, click HERE!

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=6da8634e9abbf4b5762aed&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

The link above is for video #15, “Shine 4 Obama.” It has a sample of Luther Vandross in it; consequently, YouTube took it down. So, I posted it at this link instead!

* * * * *

*Other “Obama-Milli” Related Videos Made by Fans: Many people re-posted the song on YouTube. Below are a few of my favorite ones that I found to be either hilarious, creative, or a take on my song that I found enjoyable!

Above: Two girls singing along to “O-bama O-bama” in a kitchen.

Above: A girl running around in an “Obama” mask campaigning. And guess what the background music is??

Above: Two kids from Chi-town rocking out in their… I dunno, basement?? – to the “Obama” song!

Above: Two teens at a high school in Las Vegas beat-box the “Obama” song!

Above: A woman from France – FRANCE! – drawing a picture of Obama while my song plays!

Above: At SVHS (I’m assuming that’s a high school), the “Obama” song was played during their homecoming rally!

Above: Jerrell Puttin, of “The Obaminators” dance crew, encouraging others to vote by dancing to my “Obama” song!

Above: DJ Ice chops and screws “O-bama O-bama!”

Above: A video of Obama and pals driving in a car while bumpin’ “Obama Milli.” This was also made into a phone video message that got passed around by many!

Above: Two Girls in an Obama mask and a Joe Biden mask do a verse from “Obama Milli!” It looks so scary!

* * * * *

MY TRUE FEELINGS ABOUT OTHERS CLAIMING MY SONG AS THEIRS

“Obama Milli” was released as video #5, in what is to be a 52-video, year-long series of videos. 

Prior to its release, my videos hadn’t gotten a lot of views, except for video #1, another parody I did called “Erectile Dysfunction” (a remake of Snoop Dogg’s “Sexual Seduction”).  That video had gotten 12,000 views at the time, so when I released the “Obama” song, I figured it would, at the very least, match up to that song’s popularity.

Clearly, I under-estimated how popular it would actually become.

Unbeknownst to me, while I was working on other videos for weeks 6 and 7, the video was taking off like wild fire on YouTube.  And – because I had the song as a download on this site – people started getting the song and playing it.  Some of these people turned out to be radio DJs (yay!) who ended up being happy to play it on their station.

And it was all good… until…

I was vacationing back home in VA with my family, and one of my friends from Georgia called and said they heard my “Obama” song on radio… only it wasn’t my voice on the verses.  Turns out, one of the local DJs took my track, re-sampled the “Obama Obama” part of the song, and made his own version.

I wouldn’t have cared so much, if it weren’t for the fact that people started messaging me, asking me if I was REALLY the originator of the track, or if this particular DJ had taken it.  I had to call my entertainment lawyer – who just happen to know the DJ in question – to get the whole mattered settled with that situation.

THEN, I found out that Tyga – ironically enough, a close friend of Lil’ Wayne – had contacted this guy on YouTube who had remade my “Obama” beat into an instrumental with more of a southern bounce to it, and asked him for the track.  According to this person, Tyga “promised” he’d give him AND me a shout-out on the track.

Lo and behold, this never happened.

So, Tyga made his “Obama” song and toured around the country performing it – and getting PAID to do so.  I know this because I saw all the videos other people took of him at his various tour stops doing the song.

So, how do I REALLY feel about all this?

It’s a catch-22.  I can’t be too mad at it because, after all, I DID remake a song by Lil’ Wayne, so I’d look hypocritical if I got mad at someone else…

…but at the same time, MY remake was an original idea!  Everyone else took the “A Milli” beat and did a freestyle talking about having a lot of money; meanwhile, I took the beat, re-made it from scratch, came up with the idea to use “Obama” as the subject, spent 3 days writing it, half-a-day recording it, 1 hour filming the video and 8 hours editing it…

…so, for someone else to get the credit for coming up with the idea really irks me. 

The ironic part is, I had people claiming I stole the song from either Tyga or the radio DJ… yet, the vocal sample used in their songs is MY voice! 

In the end, though, the song did what I wanted it to do: (a) get Barack elected, and (b) get my song exposed to people who were in a position to help me further along with my career goals.  Which means that all those people that took my song and made their own ended up helping promote me more than I could have, and it didn’t cost me anything!

- – - – - – - – - -

This is the end of the “Obama Milli” page.  The song has given me a great ride these past 7 months, and I hope its allowed other people to search out my other videos as well.  After all, there ARE many other videos I’ve made since then, and I highly recommend you check them out!

-A.P.T.

A.P.T. Presents: “The Great Black Hope” (My NEW Album!)

Ladies and Gentleman, I proudly present to you…

The BRAND New Album from A.P.T.!

Click here for download info: http://store.payloadz.com/go?id=208737 

Happy birthday to me! – and to YOU! (If it’s your birthday, that is!)

To celebrate, I am releasing my new album today, entitled “The Great Black Hope!”  I spent a whole day mixing and mastering the album together – as of right now I’ve been up for 31 hours straight, a record for me – and it’s easily the best piece of work I’ve done!

Okay, so yeah, ALL artist say their new album is the best thing ever.  But I say that for this album because I’ve really started to master this whole mixing of albums thing.  The beats on this one sound bigger, the vocals are arranged better, and the presentation of it is perfect.

Not to mention the SONGS!  I always try to steer in the opposite direction of what other people are doing, especially when it comes to song-writing.  Peep the B-boy beat of “That Boy Is Cra-zy,” or the unexpected song topic turn for the upbeat jam “Hands UP!” where, instead of talking about partying, I mangage to bring real-life issues into the fold.  And of course, that wonderful brand of humor that I’m known for is also on their – slick rhymes, clever wordplay, and commentary on real issues in a way that’s laughable at the same time!

Also included on the album are two bonus tracks, including the oh-so-popular “Obama Milli”, a.k.a. the Lil’ Wayne “A Milli” parody about Barack Obama that became the underground anthem for his Presidential campaign (and win!) in 2008.  Now that his inauguration is coming up, it’s the perfect time to listen to it a few more times!

Track Listing for A.P.T.’s “The Great Black Hope”:

1. The Great Black Hope
2. That Boy is Cra-zzzzzy!
3. I’m Trying 2 Get AIDS 2 Night
4. Nothin’ More 2 Say
5. What Had Happened Was…
6. Hands UP!
7. Things 4 You (I Thought U Loved Me)
8. Ambition Remix (feat. T-Bone and Z-man)
9. You’re Outta Luck
10. Find a Way
11. A.P.T. Commentary on each track from “THE GREAT BLACK HOPE”
12. BONUS SONG #1: Hooptie
13. BONUS SONG#2: Obama Milli

That’s all for now – enjoy the album, and be sure to tell your friends!

-A.P.T.

E-mail: aptsongs@hotmail.com

MySpace: www.MySpace.com/NotoriousAPT

SoundClick: www.Soundclick.com/APT

New APT Mixtape, “The Next Black President (a.k.a. Back on My Grind)” is HERE!

Gentlemen and Ladies, to you I present proudly…

THE NEXT BLACK PRESIDENT (a.k.a. BACK ON MY GRIND) – The BRAND NEW A.P.T. Mixtape!

Featuring the hits: “Go Hard Remix” with DJ Khaled, Kanye West and T-Pain, plus “O-bama O-Bama MegaRemix” with Tyga, “#1” with Jay-Z, “Where My Money At” and More!

Click http://store.payloadz.com/go?id=223462  to download! (For mixtape insights, scroll down below the track listing!)

Track Listing for “The Next Black President (a.k.a. Back on My Grind)” (Highlighted links have a music video for that song!):

01. Intro – The First Black President (feat. Barack Obama and Katie Couric)
02. The Next Black President – Produced by Chris I
03. Back on My Grind – Produced by SINIMA Beats
04. Killed the Beat (feat. Myxtape) – Produced by Myxtape
05. Shine 4 Obama (feat. Luther Vandross)
06.#1 (feat. Jay-Z) – Produced by ME!
07. Go Hard – The Unofficial Remix (DJ Khaled, Kanye West and T-Pain) 
08. Another Unnecessary Interlude
09. Crank Dat (Yeah!) – Produced by Fire Kraka 
10. Your Mom’s a Ho! – Produced by Mister KA
11. You Ashy (feat. Black & Broke) – Produced by Black & Broke
12. Where My Money At – Produced by Mister KA/ 
13. Get Your Paper (feat. Paul Ma$$on)
14. Interlude – T-Pain Sings “O-bama O-bama” on 106 & Park
15. O-Bama Mega-remix (feat. Tyga) – Produced by ME!
16. Smile 4 Dad (Letter 2 My Father) – Produced by SINIMA Beats 
17. BONUS: A Rhymestyle Podcast Interview with A.P.T.
18 .BONUS: The A.P.T. LP Preview (Short Version)
19. Outro for The Next Black President

INSIGHT INTO A MIXTAPE:

First, I want to thank everyone who downloaded “The O-Bama Mixtape,” and/or purchased “The A.P.T. LP!“  It’s been my dream for a few years now to expose my music to a wide audience, and, between these two albums, I have been able to fulfill a good portion of that dream (the other part, of course, is being able to make a living off it – I’m not quite there yet, but I’m working on it daily!)

It’s funny how things come about in life – I wanted to get noticed in the music biz, so I started this website with the goal of putting out ONE music video a week, every Sunday, for a year.  Video/song number five, “O-bama O-bama,” was a song I put together almost as a joke, yet it ended up becoming WAY more popular than I could have imagined.

As a result of its sudden popularity, I had people asking me when I’d be putting out a mixtape.  At the time, I was only on song number 7 or 8 so it hadn’t dawned on me to even put out a mixtape of full songs, as I was concentrating on just doing ONE song a week.

But lo and behold: I started making more songs, and thought: “Hmm… instead of making all these songs and putting them out one by one as the videos were made, maybe it would be a better idea to release the music first, THEN make videos for the songs on the albums so that they’d be fresh and new for people being exposed to them each week, thereby making them want the song THEN verses LATER!”

“The O-Bama Mixtape” was put together in a quick amount of time – almost 2 weeks – but I was able to do it fast because I had been recording material throughout the months prior, and didn’t really have to record that much new stuff.  I also knew that, given the momentum of the song, it would be a great way to let people hear my talent outside of just parody songs (even though I put quite a few parodies on the mixtape).

Long story short: “The O-Bama Mixtape” was released on July 27th, 2008.  Prior to the week of the election, it had been downloaded over 1300 times. 

I was pretty happy with that number, though I was still wishing that more people had gotten it.  I didn’t know too much about the rate at which mixtapes get downloaded, so I just assumed that 1300 was a good number, given that not too many people knew who I was.  Plus, I assumed it was bootlegged by even MORE people – hey, it was free anyway, so what did I care how people got it in their hands?!?

And then, the week of the election came.  On the website, I’m able to check my blog stats daily (i.e. the number of people stopping by to view my site), and I noticed that, as election night neared, I was starting to get more and more traffic to my website.  Between September and the end of October the daily rates had gone down to about 200-300 people per day… but during the election week, the numbers were shooting up into the late hundreds, then the lower thousands.

I also started to notice that “The O-Bama Mixtape” was starting to pick up numbers in terms of downloads.  It went from 1300 to – and I’m not making this up – 2450 the day of the election!  As of now, it’s been downloaded over 3000 times (and I’m pretty sure that number will go up even more once Obama’s Inauguration time comes around!)

More importantly, though, my album, “The A.P.T. LP,” was starting to sell units!  In the week that Obama was elected, I sold about 25 copies of the album, both the MP3 version AND a few mail-order CDs.

On the day before the election, the number of viewers at my site was around 2000.  It was then that I realized I had yet another opportunity to let people know about my music – all I had to do was advertise for it, and make people aware of some new product I had coming out…

Only problem was: I didn’t HAVE anything coming out!

I had nothing planned – no new album, no merchandise, NOTHING.  Clearly, I had to think of something…

I looked through the catalogue of songs I had to see if I had enough to put together a new mixtape that I could advertise.  As it turns out, I actually had MORE than enough songs to put together a decent mixtape, plus I had beats for songs not yet written, save for the chorus in many occasions.

I also had some collaborations stored up that hadn’t yet seen the light of day.  Back when the “O-Bama O-Bama” song came out, I posted a video on Youtube telling people to e-mail me if they wanted to do a collaboration.  I ended up recording 2 “official” collaborations – one with Myxtape on the track, “Killed the Beat” and one with Black and Broke for “You Ashy” – plus an unofficial collabo with Paul Ma$$on on a song he did called “Get Your Paper.” 

Lastly, there were songs I had made videos for – “Your Mom’s a Ho!”, “Where My Money At,” “Smile 4 Dad,” and more – that hadn’t been placed on any of my mixtapes.  Some of these were songs I released prior to “O-Bama O-Bama” though, so they didn’t get much exposure.  And, because I don’t have the lease rights to these beats, I wasn’t able to sell them (or else I would have put them on “The A.P.T. LP”), but per the beat holders’ site rules, they COULD be used for mixtapes!

Once I decided that I could actually put together a mixtape, all I had to do was think of a name.  That part was actually easy: “The Next Black President (a.k.a. Back On My Grind).”  I figured if Obama won the election it would be a great title to use (and if he lost, I could just call it the First Black President instead).  As for the tag line – Back on My Grind – it was the name given to the beat I used for the second song.

I placed an ad up for it the night before the election.  And I’m glad I did – the next day, my site was viewed over 4,000 times! And, in the days that followed, my views hovered above the 1500 per day mark, meaning that more and more people were being told of the news about my upcoming mixtape!

And now it’s here!  I actually finished this whole thing a couple of days early, so I spent the last few days mixing, mastering, and even recording a new song – the “Go Hard (Unofficial Remix)” – that I ended up making the first video off the mixtape!

Now for the fun stuff!  For those of you who like mini-insights into songs, here are the tracks with all the commentary you could shake a stick at!

TRACK 01: Intro – The First Black President (feat. Barack Obama and Katie Couric)

My last mixtape started off with O-Bama talking about why he was running.  Now that he won, I thought it would be a good idea to recall that historic night with a news announcement of the win as well as part of his acceptance speech.

TRACK 02: The Next Black President (Produced by Chris I)

The beat on this one is siiiiick!  As for the song, it basically talks about how I feel I can achieve anything now that he’s in office, including being the NEXT Black President!  Incidentally, the chorus of the song is inspired by Diddy – in one of his songs on the “Press Play” album, he says: “The potential to be the first Black President/I-tunes, download me in every residence.”  Seemed fitting to use here!

TRACK 03: Back On My Grind (Produced by SINIMA Beats)

This is what I call a “Fighter Track.”  It’s one where you just pummel the beat over and over with words, almost to the point of over-whelming it.  When I heard the beat, I knew that’s how I had to go at it.  The song’s not really saying anything – just showing my skill and talking about how I’m still handling my biz!

TRACK 04: Killed The Beat (feat. Myxtape) (Produced by Myxtape)

An artist named Myxtape sent me this track and asked me to spit vocals on it.  His only instruction: “Make sure you kill it!” So, I took him literally, and killed the beat!  His verse on here is pretty sick, too – you can check out more of his songs at www.myspace.com/myxtape!

TRACK 05: Shine 4 Obama (feat. Luther Vandross)

After the “O-Bama O-Bama” song got big, people started trying to make their own versions and claim it as their own.  My uncle thought it would be a good idea to create another Obama song, only for the grown and sexy crowd (and a song that was a little less crass – no mentioning of Michelle’s behind in this one!).  I found this Luther Vandross track called “Shine” and made a song called “Shine 4 Obama.”

TRACK 06: #1 (feat. Jay-Z) (Produced by ME!)

I actually recorded this track back in 2005!  I recorded some accapella vocals from various Jay-Z songs, and sampled the music from the Guile fighting stage ot “Street Fighter II” (yes, I look for samples EVERYWHERE!!) to make this song!  It’s basically me talking about how I’m better than everyone else.  Typical rap track, with a not-so-typical soundtrack!

TRACK 07: Go Hard – The Unofficial Remix (DJ Khaled, Kanye West and T-Pain) (Produced by The Runners)

I heard this song quite a few times in the past week, and became such a fan of it that I HAD to do a remix to it!  This was the last track I recorded for the mixtape – I basically found the song, found the beat, and edited it to where Kanye’s first verse was left in tact, while the second verse was blank for me to spit lyrics about how hard I go on the mic.  How hard it is?  Listen to the song/watch the video to find out!

TRACK 08: Another Unnecessary Interlude

An unnecessary interlude, talking about dumb stuff.

TRACK 09: Crank Dat (Yeah!) (Produced by Fire Kraka)

This was the ninth video I recorded for YouTube.  It was one of those songs where I heard the beat, started freestyling some dumb lyrics, and thought it would be good to put out just to show that I could make those types of songs (even though I usually don’t).  Lo and behold, it became one of my more popular videos on YouTube.  And as they always say, “Give the people what they want!” I recorded it because every time I went to a club, people were doing the “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” dance to EVERY song.  Thus, the chorus of this song – “No matter what the song, you gotta crank that (yeah!)”

TRACK 10: Your Mom’s a Ho! (Produced by Mister KA)

This was the third song I made into a video.  It talks about your mom.  And guess what? She’s a ho.

TRACK 11: You Ashy (feat. Black & Broke)

These were the very first guys to ask me about doing a collaboration.  The song concept itself was funny, and I only had to write 8 bars worth of lyrics, so I said, “Sure!”  The song talks about… well, people being ashy! Put some lotion on your skin!  You can check out their stuff at www.myspace.com/blackbroke.

TRACK 12: Where My Money At (Produced by Mister KA)

This song was the eighteenth music video I recorded.  Actually, I recorded it BEFORE I started my sight, but I post it up much later.  Sadly, this song is based on a true story: I had a money deal go bad involving some iphones that turned out to be fake, and I was so mad that I wanted to find the guy and beat his ass.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t do it in REAL life, so I did it in a song instead!

TRACK 13: Get Your Paper (feat. Paul Ma$$on)

Another collabo, only not originally requested by the artist.  Paul Ma$$on sent the track out to a bunch of people; however, he only recorded over the first two verse parts of the song – the third verse area was left completely blank!  So, since I had a music program and liked the song/beat, I recorded a verse over the untouched area of the song and sent it back to him.  When it came time to put songs together for this mixtape, I asked him if I could use it, and he said, “Sure!”  Mr. Ma$$on is a REALLY good artist, and you should hear some of his other song – which you can, at www.myspace.com/PaulMa$$on!

TRACK 14: Interlude – T-Pain Sings “O-Bama O-Bama” on 106 & Park

Just like the title says: T-Pain went on 106 & Park, and, while talking to the hosts about registering to vote, guess what song he starts singing?!?

TRACK 15: O-bama Mega-remix (feat. Tyga) (Produced by ME!)

So what happened was this: I created the song, and provided it for a FREE download.  Another guy on YouTube took the “O-Bama O-Bama” part of the song where there is NO music, and made his own “O-Bama O-Bama” beat, only with a more southern bounce to it.  Tyga contacted the guy and asked him for the beat so he could make his own “Obama” song, promising the guy he’d give him and me a shout-out.

Long story short: He made his song, I got NO shout out.  Worse, people started questioning if I was the original creator – despite the fact that it’s ME saying “O-bama O-bama” in the background!

Unfortunately, I don’t have the clout yet to go around suing everyone who steals my good ideas.  At the same time, I thought it would be a bit hypocritical of me to be mad about him stealing my song, seeing as I got the idea from Bangladesh’s original beat and Lil’ Wayne’s original song.  (I was more mad about the fact that he was able to perform the song in front of LIVE audiences and get PAID, while I was not.)

So, instead, I decided to fuse the two versions together and create an “O-bama Mega-remix!”

TRACK 16: Smile 4 Dad (Letter 2 My Father) (Produced by SINIMA Beats)

A song I created the week of Father’s Day, and the fourth song I directed a music video for.  It’s a love-letter to my father, who passed away when I was 9. 

TRACK 17: BONUS TRACK – A.P.T. Podcast Interview With Rhymestyle

This is a bonus track for those interested to learn a bit more about me.  Rhymestyle, a rising music industry insider, has a pod cast show he does almost every Friday, and back in August he asked me if he could interview me for the show.  Uh… heck yeah!  The questions and conversation are pretty interesting, so it’s definitely worth a listen!

TRACK 18: BONUS TRACK – “The A.P.T. LP” Preview

Why? Because I’m still trying to earn money, that’s why!  It’s a mini-sampler of 5 songs from “The A.P.T. LP!”
And that’s it!  I hope you all enjoy the mixtape, and be on the lookout for my next official album, “The Great Black Hope,” out Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 – i.e. my BIRTHDAY!!

-A.P.T.

“My President is Black, My Lambo’s Blue…” Obama Wins!

Above: Obama Wins. What else needs to be said??

-A.P.T.

E-mail: aptsongs@hotmail.com

MySpace: www.myspace.com/NotoriousAPT

Soundclick: www.soundclick.com/APT

Well… that Sucks…

Another week, another video…

Hey, wait a minute: where’s the video?  Oh, wait, that’s right – YOU CAN’T SEE IT!

So, I woke up this morning to upload an ad for my album, “The A.P.T. LP” onto YouTube.  Imagine my surprise, then, when I go to click on my YouTube page… only to find that it’s been disabled!

Yep! They disabled it.  ALL my videos were taken down, and my account was suspended.

Why?  Well, after reading through the site’s terms of use, I think I may have broken quite a few rules, including:

• Using other people’s copyrighted works (i.e. any remixes I did to other people’s songs without their expressed written permission)
• Using the site to advertise my projects for the purpose of making money (i.e. telling people how much my album was vs. just telling them where to get it without mentioning price).

So… talk about bad timing!  I mean, I JUST released my album yesterday, and now all my videos and ads for it have been taken down!

Oddly enough, I’m not frustrated about it… yet.  I think for right now I’m more in the “What step do I take next” mode.  The first thing I’ll probably do is open up another account and try to repost some of the videos with original content.  The only thing that sux is, I had so many subscribers on my channel, and now I’m essentialy going back down to zero.

On the plus side, I have a lot of MySpace friends now, so I’ll probably just work on cultivating more of them.  And, for future videos/content, I’ll know to only film or release stuff that I personally own.  So, in essence, it’s a learning experience, and at the end of the day, I’m just glad I didn’t get sued!

I’ll keep you all posted – in the meantime, get the album, “The A.P.T. LP!” Only 5.99 for the MP3, 7.99 for the CD!

-A.P.T.

E-mail – aptsongs@hotmail.com; MySpace – www.myspace.com/NotoriousAPT

New A.P.T. Paperstyle #1- Hey Jesse Jackson (OutKast “Ms. Jackson” Remix), A Response to His Obama Comments

Attention Colleges, Universities and More (especially in Atlanta):

Demand A.P.T. to perform in your city at your venue! Go to: www.eventful.com/apt and request a performance by ME - the more invites I get, the better chance you have of seeing me perform in your town!

DOWNLOAD “THE O-BAMA MIXTAPE” – Click HERE for the link!

 

Above: New APT Paperstyle, “Hey Jesse Jackson” – A response to his recent Obama comments.

I don’t usually go out of my way to make more than one song or video a week, especially when I’ve got other things to do outside of making them.  With that said, though…

I was watching the news and reading yahoo.com, and both places were talking about the recent comments Jesse Jackson made about Obama.  Specifically, how he talks down to Black people and how he wanted to cut his nuts off.

He said this after a news interview, without checking to see if his microphone was cut off.  Personally, I don’t think things people say in private should be taken against them – we ALL say stuff when no one’s around that’s not always the right thing to say, so who are we to judge? 

At the same time, though, as someone who has been in the public eye for as long as he has, Mr. Jackson should have known that (a) mics aren’t always cut off immediately following a TV interview, and that (b) if there’s a camera in front of you, it’s not always cut off right away.  In that respect, Mr. Jackson’s comments should have waited until he was out of the building, and not said at FOX news – you said this stuff in a NEWS room where reporters are constantly sniffing out dirt to throw on the next person?!?!  Even if you WEREN’T on camera, you should have known that someone could hear what you said and type it up in a “he said/she said” column!!

What a dumb-ass!!

Anyway… so, I thought of this little paperstyle.  It’s called “Hey Jesse Jackson,” and it’s a remix to the popular OutKast song, “Ms. Jackson.”  I’ll be adding this song to my mixtape, “The O-bama Mixtape.”  I wasn’t going to make a mixtape, but so many people have requested one that I decided to make one.  With any luck, it should be out next week!

Oh yeah – this does NOT count as this week’s video.  That one has already been shot, and will be up on Sunday!

-A.P.T.

E-mail: aptsongs@hotmail.com

Radio Play + I’m ‘Bout My Business

MULTIPLE “Obama, Obama” Ringtones Now Available!! Preview Them HERE: “Obama, Obama” Ringtone – 2.99 *Only 1.99, this week only (July 8-15, 2008)!

Okay, so… um… hmm, let’s see…

I hesitate to tell people this, because… well, I don’t know.  It’s a catch-22 because, on the one hand, I’m supposed to be blogging here about my progress from average-working guy trying to make music in his studio apartment, to, hopefully, music mega-star who’s traveling the country performing his songs in different locals.  At the same time, though, when I DO type any progressions up that are significant, I don’t want them to come across as “bragging,” or have people suddenly treating me different. 

Well, except for people in the industry that didn’t care about me before.  I’d LOVE for them to treat me differently so I could do my music on a larger scale!

With that said, though, what I’m about to type is simply factual information about what has happened in the last couple of days…

So, I have a song/music video I did called “Obama, Obama,” a parody of Lil’ Wayne’s “A Milli” that talks about all things Obama.  At this point, I don’t even have to say the “Lil’ Wayne parody” part anymore – right now the videos at over 62,000 views (and counting) on YouTube, and people are downloading the song at an alarming rate, both on this site and other sites like zshare and probably others I don’t know about.

The advantage of using an avenue like YouTube, as well as the Internet in general, is that a song can be spread quickly without me having to physically be there to pass it around.  And, apparently, my song has traveled to several parts of the country. 

Last night, I was checking some of the newer comments on my video’s YouTube wall (as I do on a regular basis now – my E-mail box is flooded with comment updates every other minute now), and I came across one that took me by surprise.  It was by a user named “Yourboyeddie,” and… well, here’s what the comment said:

• “Classic fam.  I posted [the video] on my website.”

 

Nothing big – LOTS of people have posted my video on their website (and placed the song on their MySpace page – I believe my friend Michele was the first to do so, so SHOUT OUT TO MICHELE FOR THE SUPPORT FROM DAY ONE!)

Then, he left another comment:

• “And I played it on the radio.”

 

…

…

…

Um, what?

I got played on the radio.  I got play on the radio?

…

I GOT PLAYED ON THE RADIO!!!

For some reason, I couldn’t quite comprehend what he was saying, so I wrote him and told him to let me know where and what station had played it.  He wrote me back:

• “Yeah, I just played the majority of the 2nd verse on the radio and even posted your video on our stations website.  I played it about 6 minutes ago… well done, man.”

 

…

…

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

A few minutes later, I got another posted comment, this time from a user named “ZuluWarrior1856″ saying:

• “DAMN, just now KUBE 93 radio station played this song on the radio!! In Seattle.  This $#!+’s f–kin’ nice so keep it up, aptistheman.”

 

SEATTLE?!?  How’d my song get to Seattle?!? (Oh right, the Internet – I forgot this thing is everywhere )

Since then, I’ve been informed that my song has also been played in two other areas of the country: station WPEG in Charlotte and Louisville’s B 96.5 in Kentucky.  At the moment, I’m looking to get air play here in Atlanta, which should be a LOT easier now that other big radio markets have already played it.

So, now I’m in a weird type of zone because, on the one hand, my song is gaining in popularity and being played on radio.  On the other hand, aside from hearing all this great stuff, nothing has really changed just yet.  I’m still at my current job, I’m still in my studio apartment saving up money, and I’m still creating songs and videos to put up on the site.  It’s almost like this good stuff is happening to me, yet not happening to me at the same time.

But, I know it’s all about patience.  I think the advantage of having waited until 26 to see even a small form of success is that I know a little bit of what to expect and what to look out for.  A lot of people catch fame at an early age and, because they aren’t properly educated on how to do business or handle themselves, they get screwed in the end, or get themselves into things (drugs, wrong crowd, etc.) that they have no business in.

Another advantage: I know that becoming successful is partially about having fun, and partially about handling the business aspect of it.  To that end, I’ve already got an entertainment lawyer who agreed to represent me LAST year… but, up until now, I didn’t really have any momentum behind any of my songs or projects, so she didn’t really have a reason to push hard for my stuff.  Now, I’ve got a meeting with her on Monday to figure out my next step.  Funny how having numbers to back up your popularity rise suddenly makes people want to do business with you!

So, that’s the going’s on for now.  I’m shooting the video for this Sunday’s song tomorrow.  As for right now, I just want to get off the computer for a while, relax, and enjoy a good movie.  Peace out!

-A.P.T.

MULTIPLE “Obama, Obama” Ringtones Now Available!! Preview Them HERE: “Obama, Obama” Ringtone – 2.99 *Only 1.99, this week only (July 8-15, 2008)!

E-Mail: aptsongs@hotmail.com

Ringtone for “Obama, Obama” Now Available!!

Hey everybody!

Okay, I’m about to go to work, but I wanted to let you all know: a Ring-tone for my Lil’ Wayne “A Milli” remake, “Obama, Obama,” is now available!  Right now there is only one choice up, but more will be made available depending on if this one sells.  In the future I will be charging 2.99 for it; however, for this week it will be available for 1.99! 

So, be the first one of your friends to own the official “Obama, Obama” ring-tone!  You can preview it and download it onto your phone by going to the following link:

Preview the “Obama Obama” ringtone – Click HERE! 

 

Simple, right?   Anyway, you can check there to see if the ring-tone is compatible with your phone before you buy it!

That’s all for now – there’s been a lot of good stuff happening, so I’ll write more later!

***UPDATE (7/9)*** There are now 3, yes, THREE, ringtone choices available at the site listed above, so stop by and preview all three!

-A.P.T.

MULTIPLE “Obama, Obama” Ringtones Now Available!! Preview Them HERE: “Obama, Obama” Ringtone – 2.99 *Only 1.99, this week only (July 8-15, 2008)!

E-mail: aptsongs@hotmail.com

One-Song-a-Week: Song #5 – Obama, Obama (w/Lyrics) (Lil Wayne “A Milli” Parody)

Above: The original version of “O-Bama O-Bama” (re-dubbed “Obama Milli” by the public at large)!

Above: The “O-Bama Mega-Remix” featuring Tyga, available exclusively on “The Next Black President (a.k.a. Back on My Grind)” Mixtape!

This week’s song/music video is called “Obama, Obama” (Re-produced by ME, Inspired by Lil’ Wayne and Bangladesh).

DOWNLOAD THIS SONG FOR .99 CENTS: A.P.T. Song: “Obama, Obama” – .99

AVAILABLE ON “THE A.P.T. LP”, ONLY 6.99: A.P.T. Presents: “The A.P.T. LP!” (Mail-order CD Version also available at link for 7.99)

AVAILABLE ON “THE GREAT BLACK HOPE” LP, ONLY 6.99 :  A.P.T. – “The Great Black Hope”  (CD Version also available for 7.99)

LEASE THE “OBAMA” INSTRUMENTAL FOR 29.99: Click HERE for info!

 And please, SEND DONATIONS – Click HERE For More Info!

INSIGHT INTO A SONG:

I’ve been a fan of “Weird Al” Yankovic since the 1980s.  His parodying of other people’s songs were always hilarious to me, and when I started writing songs I basically did what he did: took a subject, found a song that I could bastardize with said subject, and make the old song funny via my new song.

Eventually I started writing my own songs sans the parody, but every once in a while a song will come out that makes me think of a chorus or song lyric that makes it worth trying to remake the original.

It is with that thought that I present today’s song, “Obama Obama.”  It’s a remake (read: not a direct parody) of one of the hottest songs out right now, Lil’ Wayne’s “A Milli.”  I swear, everywhere I walk in Atlanta I hear cars passing by playing that song… but it hasn’t gotten old to me yet!

Originally, I was going to remake the song saying my initials in lieu of the words “A Milli” (i.e. “A.P.T., A.P.T., A.P.T., A.P.T….” yeah, it matches up – go ahead and try it!), but I didn’t think that would make the song funny enough in concept.  Then, one day at work, it just hit me: instead of saying my name, I could use Obama’s!  That would give me a whole LOT to write about!

People think making a parody song is easy.  WRONG!  I spent more time on this one song that on all the other songs I have on here so far (except for “Erectile Dysfunction,” which is a REAL parody and took a while to write). 

Unlike an original song, a re-make/parody has to have other elements that will make people laugh.  The song structure has to be similar to the original, as does the beat, certain ad-libs, voice inflection… parodying is a JOB, people!!  As such, I had to listen to that darn “A Milli” song about 50,000 times this week before I could even start writing it!

And with the subject matter – Barack Obama – there’s so many angles I could write from.  I wanted to try and bring mention to as many Barack-related election issues as possible.  Not issues in the sense of “this is what Obama’s all about,” but more like, “these are some of the things that have been tied to his campaign.”  In the course of the song, I mention the flag pin thing, his middle name being Hussein, Pastor Wright, the KKK, and other things I won’t mention because I don’t want to give away the whole song here

Once I finished writing the song, I had to go back and try to mock Lil’ Wayne.  He raps like a skitzo on the song, constantly changing his flow and pronunciation of words, so when I recorded it I had to record each set of verse by itself, listening to Wayne’s version immediately before recording mine.  Truly, again, it was like a JOB, only fun!

Some Interesting Song Tidbits:

(1) Because I couldn’t find the original beat without the words “A Milli” being said over and over again, I had to re-make the beat from scratch.  I have a Fruity Loops program, and, after studying the original beat very carefully, I realized how simplistic it is: outside of the “A Milli” sample, the entire beat is nothing more than an 808 drum, a clap, and a tap drum, played in the same pattern ad nausea!  I can’t believe the original person got PAID for it – and probably a lot, too!

(2) Re-doing Lil’ Wayne’s voice is hard.  My usual voice is a little deep, but Weezy sounds… well, Weezy, and nasely.  That’s why my voice in this song sounds higher and more strained than usual.

(3) My favorite line in the song is the one following the line: “Rednecks saaaay he won’t beat John McCain…”  I won’t spoil it for you here, but needless to say, some racist White people have some very dumb reasons NOT to vote for Barack!

INSIGHT INTO A VIDEO SHOOT:

Coming up with a video idea for this song was even HARDER.  I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and there were many direction I could go. 

My first idea was to act like I was a representative speaking on behalf of Barack, but I didn’t have a podium for a prop.  The second idea was to dress up like Lil’ Wayne – I almost did this, and was going to buy a dread lock wig… but when I called the costume/wig shop they said it would cost more than I wanted to spend.  Too bad – I think I could have pulled it off (except for me being light-skinned and Wayne being… well, much darker!).

By the time Saturday hit, I still didn’t have too much of a concept, other than I wanted to hang up a blue background with pics of Obama campaign signs behind me.  I also knew I didn’t just want to spend the whole video in one outfit.  I filmed the first segment with me wearing the blue striped shirt and black dress pants, and was trying to figure out what to wear next…

And that’s when it hit me: I could be three characters, each one representing a potential Obama voter!

When you see the video, the guy in the blue-striped shirt is the middle-aged working guy.  The second person – the one with shorts, a sideways hat, and a “Las Vegas” shirt – is an older teenager (18 or 19 – I can still pull it off for a few more years!).  The third guy – wearing a brown jacket-like shirt over a white shirt with brown slacks – is an older gentleman.  Looking back, I wish I had whited up my thin beard with flour… but his movements are slower than the other two, so hopefully it’ll be distinquishable.

I also decided to keep the camera in one position.  I got this idea from my last video, “Smile 4 Dad (Letter 2 My Father), where I did a small scene with me in front of a stone statue, and sliced it up to look like I was in different places chopped-up style.  The result is I am constantly changing into 3 people, while having it look like the rest of the scene is stationary.  GENIUS!

Some Interseting Video Tidbits:

(1) I use pictures throughout the video.  There is one girl you will see in various video pics – her name… will not be given out on the internet until I get the okay to do so, but she is a very good friend of mine and a HUGE Barack Obama supporter.  I wanted her to film a small part for me to include in the video and send it to me (she lives in another state), but she had to go out of town.  Luckily, she was nice enough to allow me to use some of her pics from one of the Obama rallys she went to.  It’s so nice to have friends that want to help out, so THANK YOU!!

(2) I printed out the Obama signs used in the background.  The one hanging by itself near the left of the camera starts out blue at the top, and starts turning pink at the bottom.  The reason: my printer started to run out of ink.  Such is the world of home-made music videos!

(3) Actual shoot time for this video took about an hour.  Actual edit time: about 8 hours.  Editing is NOT as easy as it looks.  I say that to say: I worked hard on this video, so SHOW IT TO EVERYBODY YOU CAN!!

That’s all for now – see you next Sunday!

-A.P.T.

P.S. Here are the lyrics to “Obama Obama,” as requested by… well, many people:

Intro:
A.P.T.!

Yeah I’m goin’ in…

Verse 1:
Call him “President,” he’s the next new President here
Senator, from Illinois, yeah
His criteria compared to John McCain just isn’t fair
Cause he’s  B-L-A-C,  so the eyes are on he
Through his pencil,  he write legislation, with the country on his mind
And he don’t coat ish, cause he ain’t got time
Every second, minute, hour, KKK wanna devour
He got guards ready to pop ‘em, with their ch-ch-ch-ch-choppers
Every brother, mother, sister, cousin, grandma wanna hump him
Even got Hilary Clinton on the side ready to jump him
Tell the Clintons “Ha ha ha ha,” couldn’t catch him, couldn’t stop him
They go by the party rules, if you can’t beat him, you can’t top him
Thought she’d smack him, couldn’t pop ‘em, Delegates, couldn’t cop ‘em
Bill Clinton couldn’t help her, too bad she couldn’t drop ‘em, woo!

Man, Obama‘s so Illlll…

Verse 2:
Obama goes here, Obama goes there
Sayin’ “Yes We Can” with wife Michelly, he’s hittin’ that derriere
He travel to Arizona, ready to cause some drama
Hopin’ McCain will comment, “Look at that bastard Obama
He’s too young, he’s too hip, Negros always ‘causin’ problems”
His pale-lookin’ face got him lookin’ like a goblin!
Mac-Cain, Mac-Cain, please don’t vote for Mac-Cain
First day up in office, talkin’ ‘bout some heart pains
Call the ambulance, QUICK! All you hear is sirens
His temper isn’t private – Dang, I hate a mad prick
Don’t you hate a mad prick? Plus, McCain’s an old prick
Barack’s a younger guy, So choose him, he’s the right pick
(Laugh) But if you choose the wrong pick
Your step-son’ll probably end up in Iraq quick!
His health clan plan is so immac’late
So even if your broke, and can’t afford to take a doc trip
You’ll be feelin’ much better – not sick
And, he’s okay, but his wife’s sick
And her back’s thick, And her walk’s slick
She’s a fly chick – I’d hit!

Man, Obama‘s so Illlll…

Verse 3:
He’s makin’ history like X, King and Douglas, and RFK
Obama, he’s that “new black,”  true that
Red-necks saaaay “He won’t beat John McCain
He don’t wear a flag pin, his middle name’s Hussein,” but
Who gon’ be dat boy dat doubt dat boy dey call “Obama”
Got Republicans sweatin’ like they up in Saunas (whew!)
Even McCain’s 90-something mama
Be ready to pull his lever every hour (Laugh)
And I’d rather eat a field mouse
Than to see John McCain in the White House
Vote Obama in, and I promise
He won’t turn back into some Uncle Thomas (Aaaaaa!)
No Aunt Jemimah or Southern Fried chicken
Call him “Chief Obama,” or “Mr. Keeps on Tickin”
Man, Pastor Wright’s comments couldn’t stop his tally
Even Oprah Winfrey said she was behind him
People, I say this country’s no hope without him
But he’s gotta go out and relate to everybody
He do what he do, like give his wife a hug and then a fist dap
Gotta do that stuff in public, so the hood’ll know that -
He’s black
Gotta use big words, white people love to hear it
If they hear it, they don’t fear him, they don’t know him, but they feel him
That’s real….

Obama… ‘08… White House, a-ha!

E-Mail: aptsongs@hotmail.com

MySpace: www.myspace.com/NotoriousAPT

  

Above: The “I Voted For O-Bama! O-Bama!” T-shirt!  Available in all sizes!
Short-sleeve, sweatshirts, mugs, hats, and iron-on press design also available – click HERE for info!