One-Song-a-Week: Song #45 – Y’all Haters Should Know

This week’s video is for the song, “Y’all Haters Should Know!”

FREE Download! Click here: http://www.4shared.com/file/93085760/2be68933/APT_-_Yall_Haters_Should_Know.html

INSIGHT INTO A SONG:

This is one of my songs where I had the chorus LONG before I had a beat.

To be honest, I don’t even know how I came up with the chorus.  All I know is, for the longest time I’ve been walking around saying, “Now you can tell by the way a brotha like to rooooll/A.P.T., homeboy, I be in control/Y’all haters should know, y’all haters should know, y’all haters (y’all haters) y’all haters should know…”  I liked the chorus enough, but I never really had a song to go with it.  I would freestyle off lyrics to match with the chorus, and they’ve always been different, but I never really stopped to write anything down and make it into a song.

Fast-forward to January 2009: I moved to California, and in just two days I was already immensely more happy with my new living situation.  Whereas before I had been stuck in the dead cold of an east coast winter, my first 10 days in Cali consisted of a climate with 75 to 80 degree temperature.

It was around this time that I decided to take out the ol’ microphone and see if I could come up with some tunes.  I wanted to make a song I could place on my website as a FREE download, so I figured it would be good of me to take a popular beat and see if I could freestyle on it.  I tried to think of songs that were popular at the moment, but I really don’t listen to radio much anymore because… well, I don’t have a radio!

I went on YouTube to look up songs, and somehow came across Paul Wall.  I think I may have looked up Nelly’s “Grillz” song as a possible song for me to rap over (which featured Paul Wall), and in the side of the YouTube bar was a song by Paul Wall called “Break ‘Em Off” from his second album, “Get Money, Stay True.”  I had never heard the album or the song… but there was a legit music video with it, so I decided to click on it.

When I heard the song… well, the song was just “okay,” but the beat… the beat was INCREDIBLE!!  I started thinking of words to the song right away – always a good sign when you’re looking for a beat to use – and as I was freestyling, that old chorus that I’ve had in my head for over 2 years suddenly popped into my head…

And it fit!

So, I sat down at the table and started writing.  I wanted the tone of the first verse to be sing-songy, something that would flow along with the beat.  As for the second verse, I wanted to talk a lil’ bit about what it’s been like to live out here in CA.  Sun, palm trees, warm weather, girls, parties, car rides… it’s all good over here on the west!

This is one of those songs where the content is not necessarily all that important.  Yes, I know it’s probably a rap sin to admit it, but not every song an artist makes has to be about something.  Some of the most well-known rap songs (i.e. “It Takes Two,” “Gettin’ Jiggy With It”) weren’t necessarily the most lyrical or the most prolific, but were just plain fun.  And that’s all I set out to do with this song!

Some Interesting Song Tidbits:

1. This is the second-to-last song I recorded with my previous microphone, the H2 Zoom (the last song being “Goodbye Bush (Na Na Na)”).  I now have a new mic that has better sound quality.  Still miss the ol’ mic, though!

2. The opening part where I shout out “I made it out to Cali!” was ad-libbed.  I was really just happy to be out here.  And I still am!

3. In the first verse, I rap about how I live everything I say in my raps, and that if I’m not, it doesn’t matter because I’ll just lie about it until it becomes true.  It’s funny, but it also makes a point: a LOT of rappers start out rapping about what they WISH to have, hoping they’ll eventually have it.  Unlike some people I don’t have a problem with this, as I believe in the power of speaking what you want.  If I want a car but don’t have it, I’ll just keep saying, “check out my car” until I have a car for people to check out!

4. My favorite line in the song is the last one in the first verse, and the last two in the second verse.  Hmm, I guess that’s 3 lines!

INSIGHT INTO A VIDEO SHOOT

Since I talk about being in California, I wanted to do a video that showed off some of the cooler parts of where I live.

It just so happened that I had an out-of-town visitor stop in this week for 4 days, and wanted to go to some of the cooler parts of town.  So, I carried my camera along wherever we went (when I could remember it) and did what I call “stock footage” filming (i.e. filming a bunch of stuff for potential video use later).

In the video, you’ll see a lot of shots of Universal City walk; Chinatown; some of the underground train route art work; and the freeway, thanks in part to one of my other friends who was able to give me and my out-of-towner a ride back from the airport.  I also took a few pics in these places that I threw into the video.

Once my guest left, I analyzed my footage and realized I might want to add parts in the video with me actually mouthing the words to the song.  I had to go drop off a job application near my apartment on Saturday, so I decided to film myself walking along the sidewalk while saying parts of the verse, and later, filmed myself walking around a parking garage saying the other.

All in all, it’s an okay video.  It’s not one that has a plot to it or anything – it’s more like “vacation footage with a soundtrack” – but I still like it!

Some Interesting Video Shoot Tidbits:

1. You may be asking, “How were you able to mouth the words without using an iPod?”  Answer: my phone records up to a minute of sound, so I recorded the first verse, then had to record the second verse.  During filming, I carried the camera with one hand and used the other to hold the phone.  This is why you don’t see my other hand in the footage!

2. The freeway shots with the fencing in it were shot while I was riding the train back from the airport.

3. The candy lady and the child flying up and down in the air tube were both shot in Universal Studio City Walk. In fact, most of the shots with restaurants, monkeys, etc. were shot there.

4. Whilst on the train to another location, I noticed there was a guy on there playing the guitar.  I turn to look… and he had a green mohawk!  At that point, I didn’t even care if it made sense to film him – i KNEW he had to be in the video, ’cause you don’t see that every where!

5. Estimated video edit time: 3 hours.  Add on 2 more hours for publishing because, after I did it the first time, I noticed that some of the footage parts I had silenced were making noise.  I notice my MAC does this quite often, and it is rather annoying, considering my PC didn’t do that.  I had to cut the last part of the video off, publish it by itself with no noise, then tack it back on to the original version.  Eh, it’s a hassle, but the MAC still makes editing easier than the PC, so it’s a trade-off!

That’s all for now – only 7 more videos left to go! See ya next Sunday!

-A.P.T.

E-mail: APTsongs@hotmail.com

MySpace: http://www.MySpace.com/NotoriousAPT

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

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)!

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