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L.A. Symphony
Biography
L.A. Symphony
Give a good listen to Call It What You Want, the brilliant major debut album from L.A. Symphony, and you'll walk away feeling like you've spent the last hour hangin’ out and getting to know eight new friends. Through their unique, upbeat brand of fun, honest, quality hip-hop music, the Southern California-based group warmly invites you to step into their world. Whatever is on our heart, whether it be laundry, girlfriend or God, we just speak it and don't try to hold back, explains Pigeon John, one of L.A. Symphony's eight members. "We try to be as honest as we can, and we try to connect with the common man -- from the dude that's 14 who has a crush on a girl in Carson, to the executive sniffing cocaine who wants to stop, and to the little cheerleader girl in Arkansas. We want them all to relate. We want it to be that universal. We want to make a difference in somebody's life by creating music that moves you." Thus, L.A. Symphony's refreshing vibe -- thought provoking without taking themselves too seriously -- is a far cry from the bling-bling fantasy world populated by bejeweled cartoon characters that is so prevalent in today's rap mainstream. And thankfully, the relevant topics and personal subject matter found on Call It What You Want is just as equally distant from the 'superscientifical-metaphysical babble of the backpack-rockin' rap underground. But forget labels and divisions, this is quality hip-hop music here. Period. L.A. Symphony is made up of eight undeniably talented MCs and producers: CookBook, Flynn, bTwice, Joey the Jerk, Sharlok Poems, Uno Mas, J-Beits, and Pigeon John (with DJ J-Boogie and Noah the Manager also on deck). All in their early-twenties, they¹ve grown up in Los Angeles’ famed underground hip-hop scene, hailing from various L.A. suburbs like Long Beach, Inglewood, Paramount, Hacienda Heights and Sherman Oaks. Before L.A. Symphony formed in 1997, its individual artists were active members of said local scene as smaller groups and soloists. In the mid-'90s, they all met up through constantly running into each other while performing at the same venues. They eventually formed a bond of friendship after realizing that they shared a common vision of creating good music that nobody else was doing. Though the eight rhyming and beatmaking parts of L.A. Symphony may have different styles and approaches (with a crew that deep, there has to be creative differences), they still possess the same heart. And like a symphony, as their name implies, the various Œinstruments of the group come together to create a nice harmony. Moving ahead as one solid force, L.A.S dropped its first album, the independently released Composition No. 1, in 1999, and despite its spotty distribution, people began to take notice. Similar to fellow creative L.A. rap outfits like Jurassic 5, the Pharcyde and Black Eyed Peas, L.A. Symphony bring back that 'fun essence' to hip-hop. This is as evident in their energetic live shows as in their from-the-heart rap tunes. Over upbeat, party-rockin’ joints and jams, L.A.S’ lyricists don't hold back expressing their true feelings on Call It What You Want, talking about everything in their daily lives from girls and relationships to cell phones and trips down to San Diego. And unlike many young hip-hop groups, L.A.S doesn't simply churn out assembly line beats & rhymes. Instead, they bring a high standard of songwriting to their music, giving attention to the whole spectrum -- production, lyrics, cadence, song coordination, concept, etc. L.A. Symphony handles the bulk of the production on Call It What You Want, with assists from beat genius Prince Paul (De L.A. Soul, Handsome Boy Modeling School), Will I Am (Black Eyed Peas), Mario C (Beastie Boys) and The Gourmets. Guest vocals come from Fatlip (formerly of the Pharcyde) and Black Eyed Peas. When you put Call It What You Want in your CD player and press play, there will be eight hands reaching out to shake yours. So go ahead and make some new friends today. After all, how many of your pals can you truly call honest, creative, lyrically skilled and musically gifted? |
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