One day a man saw a butterfly shuddering on the sidewalk locked in a seemingly hopeless struggle to free itself from its now useless cocoon. Feeling pity, he took a pocket knife, carefully cut away the cocoon and set the butterfly free. To his dismay it lay on the sidewalk, convulsed weakly for a while, and died.
A biologist later told him, "That's the worst thing you could have done! A butterfly needs that struggle to develop the muscles to fly. By robbing him of the struggle, you made him too weak to live."
Many of today's youth are not too familiar with the freedom fighters of the turbulent sixties. These men are. As rap faces its most challenging era, two aspiring revolutionaries in their early twenties emerge to pave the way for a stronger tomorrow.
They call themselves dead presidents, and for good reason. M-1 and stic.man are leading the charge towards a topic that seems to be a dead issue in rap - the necessities in life. In conjunction with 7G Entertainment founded by Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian, dead prez offer an alternative to the common pursuits of short term grandeur. Inspired by self defense parties such as the Black Panthers, dead prez is the most politically conscious music group since Public Enemy. They speak the song of Huey and Malcolm with such a modern day pulse that it grabs your attention and broadens your perspective on life.
At LOUD Records, we have always kept our doors open to new artists with an innovative approach and original ideas. In dead prez we found both. In an over-intellectual world, dead prez consciousness in simplicity is common sense. Once hearing their material, one can see that they may be one of the last groups of our generation to make a lot of money by speaking out.
First introduced on the LOUD '97 Set Up Tape, "Food, Clothes, and Shelter" debuted, conveying their main focal points. Money and power are both their energies and their enemies as revealed on the eerie "Root Of All Evil." They examine the so-called New World Order in a powerful song called "These Are The Times (Novus ordo Seclorum)," and raise a curious eye at the mysterious deaths of many controversial figures and unsolved incidents in the news is "Propaganda." Born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, stic.man embarked on a familiar course he rhymes: "sipping quarts, became the man of my house when my parents divorced. In and out of court, smoking Newports 'cause my friends did...("Rights Of Passage")."
But around the time BPD's "Criminal Minded" came out, stic began to internalize life and music as one culture. A couple of years later, in the midst of a dangerous drug situation, M-1 fled to Florida and the two became as tight as brothers.
At first, they were united in a national activist organization which allowed them to travel around the country. Realizing that they also had to make a living, and hustling proved to be a dead end, they decided to channel their energies towards music.
dead prez elevate themselves through the knowledge of yesterday and its significance in the present day. The symbol in their logo comes from an ancient Chinese oracle called the I-Ching (the book of change). This system was used by the wise men and women of China some three thousand years ago, as a means of analyzing reality and perfecting the art of foresight. That process of change is symbolized in their music, and they believe there is a common link between all historically oppressed people.
Obviously the first interpretation of the term dead prez (dead presidents) is the six inch paper. But for stic.man (the yang) and M-1 (the yin), dead prez represent a spectrum beyond capitalism, addressing the common issues of the most endangered members of human society. These mothefuckers ain't playing. Stay tuned...
M-1's daily routine consists of feeling great, turning ideas into reality, family, studying great leaders (Fred Hampton, Mao Tse Tung and chairman Omali Yeshitela), roots and culture, writing graffiti tags, learning war strategy, making love to Black women, rolling perfect spliffs, eating fresh vegetables and making a good plan then executing it.
Stic enjoys the luxuries of reading, drawing, producing, sex, eating rice, and studying Jeet Kune Do. He also enjoys playing Cee-Lo for push-ups, listening to the musical vibes of the old days and the alternative scene (Al Green, Deseree', Erykah Badu, 4 tops)....and smoking weed.
