12 Days Of RazMas: Day 3. No Tears - Top $ Raz

We're three days into this celebration of RazMas and now we're taking a listen to track 2 on "Spilled Milk", entitled "No Tears". It's a very personal song for Top $ Raz produced by Thinker.

You know they say the good die young and I'm only twenty-one, I'm scared,
Homie hold knives, hold guns round here
I'm thinking that they killin us for fun, I swear...oh yeah, but we men...




1. For a song like "No Tears" what frame of mind do you get into to write it? What's recording a song like that feel like to you?

Recording a song like "No Tears" is scary because it's very personal. On it I talk about my brother's rebellious attitude and his father's addiction to crack. I didn't make that up, that's real ish. It's my favorite song on the album. Thinker's production on it is just crazy. Those drums spoke to me.

2. Is it true that you don't write? How do you feel about young artists that denounce writing as if it is a 'weak' thing for an emcee to do, and make attempts at free-styling everything they do, instead of really trying to put thought into their songs?

Yes it's true, I don't write. But I think it's very corny to brag about it. It's just a different way of doing things. I find it tedious to write the lyrics down, because my mind is always ahead of my fingers, and it's easy for me to retain the information in my memory. It's like writing the song in my head, it may take a whole 2 weeks before I finish a verse in my 'mind book'. A lot of these other cats get it twisted and think not writing something down is 'freestyle'. It's not, even the most famous of the non-writers, Jay-Z, will tell you it's not an off the top of the head process. Put effort in to your songs, for the most part you don't get props for saying you don't write. Most people just think you're trying to be Jay-Z when in fact many artists, like Common, Biggie(RIP), and T.I, don't write lyrics either.

Tomorrow, "12 Days Of RazMas" continues with Day 4: "Get Up Get Her"...

>Download "Spilled Milk" <
Follow Top $ Raz on Twitter www.twitter.com/topdollaraz
Follow Thinker on Twitter www.twitter.com/thinx19
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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.

Follow Top $ Raz on Twitter www.twitter.com/topdollaraz
Follow FreehiphopNow.com on Twitter www.twitter.com/freehiphopnow
Follow Twiturm http://twitter.com/twiturm <-Upload your own tunes and embed them!

>Download "Spilled Milk" <

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Master Musical Minds ft. Coole High

From the depths of a basement in some undisclosed area of the Bronx, comes the first single from a long over due project, 'Master Musical Minds' featuring Brooklyn's Coole High off the forth coming album, 'Welcome 2 Da Basement'. Rap that's creative, intelligent and melodic. 

Song produced by Thinker of Thoughtful Productions for the group, 'My Brother's Keeper' (L-Star, Skallah, Thinker & Tzo). Artists in order of appearance on track are; Coole High, L-Star and Tzo.