12 Days Of RazMas: Day 12 - It's RasMaz Day! Farewell

It's RazMas. It's been twelve straight late nights getting a better understanding of an outstanding album from a young man that has a brilliant future ahead him. "Spilled Milk" is just the beginning. We're sure that Top $ Raz will continue to excel with his musical endeavors for he is a driven individual that creates with purpose. It's fitting that final track on this LP is entitled, "Farewell". He began with a powerful emotional impulse, and closes with a just as powerful moment of reflection. The end is bitter sweet and poignant. Peace and infinite blessing on this RazMas...


1. Farewell is a fitting song for the end of this album. When did you actually complete this song in relation to the rest of the album?

I had the hook and first verse for this track for a while, it was like the third song I had completed. My first intention was to record it over a Prezzure beat, but one night while in the car with my girl she put me on to the Donny Hathaway version of "Someday We'll All Be Free" (a song I always loved but only heard the Aretha Franklin version) and I was like BOOM! That's it, I need that beat. The stuff that Donny is talking about that song, about holding on and his real life story of suicide was the kind of irony I was going for with the entire Spilled Milk project. Like, yea we got to keep moving, you cant cry over Spilled Milk, but then again you will cry over it, cause you're only human. So I sent it to Imagine That for them to flip for me. Shout out to Prezzure though cause the original beat he made really pulled that emotion out of me.

2. What was the inspiration for the chorus and the delivery of it? How do you personally feel about this song? Will you ever perform it live?

I honestly don't know where any of this stuff comes from, its just flows through. Some hooks I have to really think about, like the intro took me a while to come up with, but this one came natural. Aside from "No Tears" this is my favorite track, I'm really proud of how this joint came out.

3. What does the future hold for you Top $ Raz? What will you do different in 2010? What will you do the same?

2010 means demanding respect and getting it. Making better music, smart decisions, and precise power moves. Thinking everything through and having a plan.

4. Are there any last things you'd like to say on this RazMas day? Anyone you'd like to mention?

I'd like to thank everyone involved and all those who have showed love for Spilled Milk. I'd like to thank every artist, fan,supporter, and blogger that helped with this (Iheartdilla, Freehiphopnow, Above Ground Mag, Adam B, Kalil Kash, OISD, Imagine That, Thinker, and everyone else out there) The response to this album has been overwhelming. All I want to say is I hope we keep moving forward, and although it seems like we are moving fast we have a long way to go. I want everyone who is pursuing this rap thing to be rooted to reality. Chasing the dream is important, but so is having food on your plate. Take care of yourselves.

Freehiphopnow.com would to thank Top $ Raz for allowing us to follow him on this journey, while answering all of our questions in an engaging and thoughtful manner. We also would like to thank all of the supports of this project and ask that you continue to spread the word about Spilled Milk.

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12 Days Of RazMas: Day 8 - Perfect Strangers - Top $ Raz

We're sure you've already figured out without even listening that this song is not about two silly cousins in Chicago that get into messes. Perfect Strangers showcases Top $ Raz's ability to tell a story. Not just one , but three. Sit right back and you'll hear a tale.


1. How many Perfect Strangers have you directly encountered in your life time?

Ha ha, if you're referring to the characters in the verse, I haven't directly encountered any of these characters, but judging from the stories I hear in the hood and on the news I'm pretty sure they all exist somewhere. Also, anyone who has BET has seen the preacher type in verse three.

2. What moved you to create such a song over this track? Was this another one where you already had the idea in mind and requested the producer use that sample for you to deliver these words to it ?

When I was making this album Badd Lukk was the first producer I went to. We've been making music together since I was 15 and he was 14, we used to be in a group called "UnderAge" with two childhood friends of ours. This was one of the many beats he sent me, with the KEM sample saying "Perfect Stranger". So I figured the best way to use this beat would be to tell a story.

3. When it's all said an done, what do you want people to gain from the music you create? What kind of tattoo are you looking to leave on the art form? How do you think you'll make it happen?

Simply put, I want people to like it. I want people to learn from my music and vibe on it. I want my lyrics to become proverbs, like when shit is bad ya boy is tellin you 'we men, no tears...' or 'hey it's all spilled milk, but you cant let it stain...'. I'm hoping I can show artists you don't need to kiss someone's ass to get ahead. You just have to grind like your life depends on it. Like I've said before, I represent the real underground. We don't put on perfume and a pair of 'stunna shades' and pretend to be friends with someone who knows nothing about our culture or music at 'networking' parties in order to get ahead. We lace up our kicks, get on that open mic list, spit our heart outs, create dope music with quality production, and after a while they cannot deny us. DEAD! video is at 1900 views in little over a week with no management or promotion team behind me. "Spilled Milk" is in everyone's car and ipod. I've dropped two videos and 2 LPs in one year. Can they still deny me? I don't know, some choose to, but sooner than later they will have no choice. We're here! We're in their faces. We are not Perfect Strangers.

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Tomorrow, "12 Days Of RazMas" continues with Day 9. Be Gone feat. Kalil Kash

12 Days Of RazMas: Day 7 - Cold Blooded feat. Imagine That

Truman Capote didn't write this tale featuring, Imagine That on Spilled Milk for this 7th Day of RazMas. Top$ Raz did. Tonight we find out that there was a second track that didn't make the official Spilled Milk release and you get to hear it too. We'll call it a bonus. Raz did.


1. Cold Blooded may be the most 'left' track on the album in terms of theme throughout the entire LP. It definitely veers slightly off of the path you charted at the beginning of "Spilled Milk". You only have one verse? It's like this track is off of Imagine That's LP and you're the guest appearance. Break down the song for us. What is it about? How do you know Imagine That?

Yea the original intent was for me to be featured on this track, but I like this song so much I threw it on the LP. We already had a song we did for my album called "Gimme Mine", which I'm sending as a bonus cut, but I liked this song more. "Gimme Mine" was made at a time when I was still trying to find my voice. If you listen to the two you can see on "Cold Blooded" that I'm more comfortable with the flow changes. I met Imagine That at the Training Camp open mic at pyramid when I first started hitting the underground circuit. It was a mutual respect from jump so we decided we should do some collaborations. Back in Oct. 2008 Imagine That gave me my first showcase. I'm really grateful for knowing them cats because they definitely played a major role in getting this album done. They recorded, mixed and mastered 90 % of the album as well as produced 3 joints on it and are featured on 2 songs (Mike Love on Far Rock '95, and as a group on Imagine That). As far as theme of the song, I was tryna talk about what I felt was cold blooded in this world life, the streets, my style, work, all that stuff.

2. Okay. Obviously this album is full of adult language, but you're adamant about the fact that there was no use of the 'N' word. Why is that? Can you explain why you chose to do that? Do you think in the future you will ever do an entire album sans cuss words?

It was actually when I went out to record "Gimme Mine" that I decided to stop using the N word on my songs. Imagine That, for those who don't know, are white (with mad soul might I add). When Imagine That picked me up from the train station they were playing Pharoahe Monch's "What it Is" where he's like 'when they see me they say that's that nigga my last name should be that's that nigga, sounds kinda nice Pharoahe that's that nigga...' and I was kinda uncomfortable. Like not because they was listening to it, but because we couldn't sing along to this dope record without it feeling awkward. It was at that point that I decided I shouldn't use that word at least in my music because all it does is separate us. If you go to any hip hop show you'll see that Hip Hop is uniting cultures together. It's a beautiful thing, I'm just trying to further that unity with the words I use.

As for not cursing on a record, Top $ Raz concludes, 'Nah that'd be corny as hell. lmao. The word "motherfucker" can be pronounced so many diff ways, it's too fun...'

As promised, bonus track: Gimmie Mine


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12 Days Of RazMas: Day 1. El Presidente - Top $ Raz

If you don't already know who Queens emcee Top $ Raz is then you can't really claim to know about current NYC Hiphop. Top $ Raz defines the New, New York. Young, confident and proactive. The "Empire State" of the underground circuit that in a lil over a year, seemingly from no where has gained the ears and respect of his peers and then some in this rotten apple. He's proven, you do not need the yes man co-signage of an in-genuine blogosphere in order to garner real support. What you do need is exceptional music, a strong work ethic, great stage presence and true determination. Never take no for an answer.

With all that said, tonight FreeHiphopNow.com begins celebrating the, "12 Days Of RazMas". Each day leading up to December 25th, we'll be focusing on one track from Top $ Raz's current release "Spilled Milk" in an effort to continue creating awareness for this solid production. Also, gaining more insight on this young artist and those who contributed to the creation of this work.

Before The Milk Spills - El Presidente [[Explicit Content]]

1. "Before The Milk Spills - El Presidente" is a pretty healthy pre-introduction to listeners preparing for the release of the album "Spilled Milk". Did you record this before or after your trip to the west coast? What was the trip like out there and what were you doing while you visited L.A.?

"El Presidente" came before the trip to LA. It was supposed to be on the album, but I scrapped it due to a falling out with a producer. So yea, "Spilled Milk" would've been 12 tracks. I suppose god works in mysterious ways cause the album has a nice synergy to it at 11 tracks. Flows nicely. The trip was nice, the people at Trash Can Music took care of me out there. I got free breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday. I recorded the album out there for the 2nd time. After thinking about my future, I decided I didn't want to release the album with them so I did it independently. So I rerecorded the album in three hours at the Imagine That studios in Port Chester.

2. When'd you get the idea to record "Spilled Milk"? How did you map out the creation of the album?

I knew I wanted to do a new record after "The Narrative" to show fans and spectators where I am right now. "The Narrative", even though it didn't get an official release until November 21st 2008, was mostly created when I was between the ages 17-19. Half of the record was recorded in my senior year of high school. At 20, I felt I needed something more focused, that shows my skills today. I got in the lab to make this new record. It took many different turns. At first it was called "Captivity", but after a while it morphed into "Spilled Milk". I felt the title was more fitting.

Tomorrow, "12 Days Of RazMas" continues with Day 2: The Album Introduction - Spilled Milk produced by Thinker. We'll speak with both Top $ Raz and Thinker.

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