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So when I heard last week that G. Love was going to be in Portland on March 3, I had to hit him up right away so I could go check him out, hang out, and play some catch up. We first ran into each other on the road a few years back — he was a really cool dude and we hit it off, so we got together after that to do a song on his “Superhero Brother” album called (you guessed it) “Who’s Got the Weed”.

G.Love and Slimkid3 “Can I Kick It”

Anyway, he hit me back on the text right away saying he wanted me to jump up on stage with him and do “Can I Kick It” (make sure you check out the youtube vid of us above doing an impromptu version in a bathroom somewhere in Australia) and “Who’s Got the Weed”. However, I’ve been pretty deep into my own recording lately which meant that I had too many new rhymes circling my head to remember any of my other rhymes at all. I listened to the track on my iPhone for a few days to jog my brain on the verse I wrote. I had it all together only to get to sound check and fuck it up as if I had never even practiced it at all. But G was totally cool about it and we quickly put something else together that turned out effing fly. It was a mash up of the Biz Markie record “She’s Just a Friend” and The Pharcyde track “Passing Me By”. What a classic mix. I loved it.

SLIMKID3 SIGNS G.LOVES GUITAR

Fast forward to the show: I’m standing back stage with G. Love and his lady giving me the pep talk — G tells me, “Tre, you know the rhymes to ‘Can I Kick It?” I said yes. He said, “let me hear it.” So I kicked my verse for the version of “Can I Kick It” that we created in Australia. And then he was confident that we could do it in the show.

The combination of the two of us on stage went very well for the Portland crowd and they were extremely open to the Golden Era classics we mashed up as well. It was a great night.

G. Love, good to see you bro. Until next time.

Peace,
Tre

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‎#Anonymous takes on prison industrial complex, hacks The Geo Group, Inc., posts “Mumia 911″ featuring Slimkid3.

In the song, one verse rapped by Slimkid3 proclaims: “Now they were playin God just to feel the power / Not to justify that of you and I / Holdin daggers up and lettin you decide / after passin information that’s falsified / Stand behind a lie? What does it cost to die? / What does is cost to live? Why do they specify? / These terms of why when they ain’t the most high / What they fear the will kill but the soul will never die.”

Read the full article on RT.com here.

Listen to “Mumia 911″ featuring Slimkid3, Zach de la Rocha and others.

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Dilla Stories #3: Jay Dee Discusses The Pharcyde’s “Runnin”:

The Pharcyde’s SlimKid3 reflects back on his early days alongside Jay Dee and why hip-hop fans should embrace artists while they are still breathing. View the full piece on SOHH.com here.

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“The reason I still rap is because (aside from the fact that it’s what I do for a living) things like creative writing, music, film, photography — these are still my core passions. And they are the same passions I had when I first started out.” – SLIMKID3

Check out the full interview with Tim Einenkel here.

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“Another Day Another Dollar” by Slimkid3 feat. DJ Nu-Mark

The idea behind “Another Day Another Dollar” seems to be the core vibe of the current times and has been a major theme in my life for some time. I have always worked hard and wanted to do great things and have nice things as well, but it seemed that I could never keep up. Between the tax man, bill collectors, people not paying what they owe or greedy people trying to take a bigger piece of what wasn’t theirs. It’s a song about life on the treadmill, life in the rat race. It’s a song about the idea that inflation and the cost of living go up … as soon as people get a raise; folks work two jobs and still don’t have enough. And even when you have a lot of money, it can seem like a burden when folks are trying to make friends with you just to get close to what you’ve got, but have never walked in your shoes to get there.

I’ve lived life on both sides of the coin and all I knew when I was writing was: no matter what challenges there are in front of you, at the end of the day, you have to make something happen for your family and maintain a stable life. There is no time for fear or complaints–just The Hustle. I remember once looking at gas prices with my big truck saying: Do I eat or leave this car right here on the street? Having nothing wasn’t sexy–but neither is having while others suffer. So, I returned to the basics by looking at how things in nature work: when the sun rises, then you must rise too. To find a way — and make a way– with a smile.

The track has only been out for about a week, but I’m really happy to see the positive response it’s been getting. I think it’s a sentiment that resonates with a lot of folks right now and I really thank everyone for supporting the music.

Blessings,
-Tre

Slimkid3 “Another Day Another Dollar” Lyrics

She was barely 18,
and he was maybe 21,
Two young lovers living life
under the summer sun.
Nowhere that they needed to be …
Talking like rebels do,
Public Enemy #1.
Justifying just the short-term
like a loaded gun,
not thinking about the long-run.
“Parents advice?! Shit!…
Now parents they be on one…”
“I guess you have to learn this here
shit on your own, Son!”

Jack and Jill went up the hill,
but when Jack got back
he was scared for real.
I guess Jack didn’t know this
part of the deal,
and now, here’s where the story
gets real…

I’m letting you know…
Fortune and Fame with nothing to show,
the one that you love is letting you go,
kid on the way with months to go,
In a world full of mirrors
and smoke…Yo!
It seems so impossible.

(Chorus)

Another Day means Another Dollar!
Life has a price that always makes me holler.
Another Day means Another Dollar!
The more that you make the more they wanna follow.
Anothe Day means Another Dollar!
Dolla Dolla Bill Ya’ll!!!
Another Day means Another Dollar!
The more that you make the more they wanna Holla Holla!

(Verse 2)

Welcome to a world
where the ends don’t meet the means
quite as sweet.
Some lie, some cheat…
Some ride or die,
street smart and pack heat.
All trying to eat
with their ear to the street.
Looking for a pulse.
Trying to find a beat.
Some pray everyday,
and watch the company they keep.
Some rob you blind
when the hill is too steep,
try to take yours to make
their dreams complete.
Until one day…
Karma had them lying in the
streets, facing a case
that they couldn’t beat.
But see the beat keeps
banging when the Fat Lady
starts singing.
Walls get to crumbling,
glass breaks from pressure and
so much destruction that
they can’t take the measurements…
But the truth is so evident.
And no matter if you win
or if you loose
Gotta chalk it up as dues…
It’s irrelevant!…

(Chorus)

Another Day means Another Dollar!
Life has a price that always makes me holler.
Another Day means Another Dollar!
The more that you make the more they wanna follow.
Another Day means Another Dollar!
Dolla Dolla Bill Ya’ll!!!
Another Day means Another Dollar!
The more that you make the more they wanna Holla Holla!

(Verse 3)

Looking for that sweet life
that taste like black licorice.
Not really what I’m into but,
I guess I have to deal with it.
Like Elephants is pink rooms
for pleasure with no
benefits…
Like rolling in a bucket with
sheep skins and spoiler kits…
Love to live like
royalty, yeah you know
I’m spoiled a bit.
Inflation’s got the nation
Pawnshopping all their toys
and shit…
Bill collector use to call me
like we’re boys an’ shit,
saying some annoying shit…

“Hey you dat Pharcyde Cat.
I know you makin’ them big greens!
Trying to dumb it down,
I know it’s Bigger than that shit seems…
Rap Mutha Fucka’z,
Jewels is cold as Ice Cream.
This is chump change,
Your paper folding nicely.”
But at that time I couldn’t afford
an ice tea…
And why this Mutha Fucka talking Paper to me?…
As a matter of fact this cat is speaking about mines…
I had to check his ass,
he’s way out of line…

(Chorus)

Another Day means Another Dollar!
Life has a price that always makes me holler.
Another Day means Another Dollar!
The more that you make the more they wanna follow.
Anothe Day means Another Dollar!
Dolla Dolla Bill Ya’ll!!!
Another Day means Another Dollar!
The more that you make the more they wanna Holla Holla!

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From the LA Weekly

5. The Pharcyde
Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde
If gangsta rap looked at life in L.A. through a grime-caked, cracked rear window, The Pharcyde took a bird’s-eye view. Filled with jazzy horns, pianos and live drums instead of gunshots and squealing police sirens, their playful hip-hop offered an easygoing alternative to reality rap. On Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, producer J-Swift’s beats are lushly layered, and balance well with the group’s intricate lyrics. Still, the quartet skips through an album that seems written in Crayolas and broadcast in Technicolor. –Rebecca Haithcoat

Read the entire article here.

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A New Year for Slimkid3

So, Wednesday my birthday. I was woken up early that morning by my fam for presents and cupcakes (Man … I love cupcakes). The morning was off to a good start and I was feeling really good about a new day and a new year. When I sat down to start the day’s business, I saw something on Twitter that really made my day: I had gotten a birthday mention from Chuck D on his “This Day in Rap and Hip Hop History” segment. Wow. I’ve had a lot of amazing things happen to me in my career, but few as great as this: to have such a powerful leader in my field of work give me a shout-out for my birthday…. It was a great honor and he is definitely someone I look up to for leading the hip hop culture and for standing up for people in general. In short: it was a positive message to show me I’m on the right track and to keep doing what I’m doing. Chuck D is definitely one of the reasons I’m rapping … and I can brag about this forever!

You can listen to the shout-out here: http://www.rapstation.com/td/JEHqvk6i

Blessings,
Slimkid3

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More from the sample archives…

The Pharcyde’s Passin’ Me By

Excerpt from the Roy Ayers Project: In the early 90′s, being a Hip Hop “One Hit Wonder” wasn’t a bad thing. There were many, which doesn’t necessarily mean they weren’t good quality groups or songs. One could argue that there was an overabundance of substantial Hip Hop, where African medallions, dreadlocks, and afrocentric garb became commonplace. Many groups that were thought of as One Hit Wonders by mainstream critics may have had successful careers flying under the radar, creating a cult following. As Passing Me By by The Pharcyde was a regular occurrence on BET’s then famed Rap City, The Pharcyde’s next released single from Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde was one which was difficult for mainstream Hip Hop to digest. It wasn’t “Gritty Boom Bap”. It wasn’t “Hardcore from the Streets”. It wasn’t (for lack of a better term) Gangsta Rap. It was fusion. Jazz and Hip Hop.

Read the full post and listen to the samples here.

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