At this point, I'm living in St. Louis and trying to establish myself in the local rap scene. I'm doing open mics, battles, going to shows, etc. I was writing songs for what was going to be my next album. This was when I started to believe that I had a mission in music that would separate and alienate me from most people who go to church on a regular basis. I was going to talk about my faith, my life, my experiences and use the language that I use in my everyday speech. I would cuss. I would talk about whatever I wanted to. I wouldn't censor myself to fit into a "CCM" (Contemporary Christian Music) style. I would open up people's minds and hearts. At the same time I wanted to do something different with my flow. I wanted to write rhymes that didn't fit into a classic A-B rhyme pattern. I would do odd numbered rhyme schemes. Some would be 3-line rhymes. Others would be 5-line schemes. Some would even be even line schemes. Then I would practice the songs until I could make them fit into some kind of crazy flow. It wasn't easy. I just listened to the album a couple days ago. I'm still proud of how it sounds.
Jay Money and I were both having a hard time thinking of a name for our new rap duo. I'll never forget how we came up with it. I had written a song called Stop, Look, and Listen. One of the lines was "Fletch and Jay Money, the Rhyme Commission". Money and I were hanging out down in the Duck Room at Blueberry Hill waiting for the Science Hip-Hop spin to start. I was spitting some of the rhymes for stop, look, and listen for him. When I got to that line Jay Money said "That's it." "What's it?" I asked. "That's the name of our group. The Rhyme Commission" It was just a line in a song. Proof positive that my words come from God. I never thought when I wrote that line that this is the name that Jay Money and I will use for this group. It just came out of me.
Jay Money and I recorded songs for Cerebral Poetry in December of 2002. It took almost three years for us to put the album out. Little did I know that would be about the same amount of time it would take to release my next project Beats to the Rhymes. As is life.....
Cerebral Poetry and a little EP I did called Broken really put Fletch (and Jay Money!) on the map in St. Louis. We started doing shows at places like the Hi-Pointe (R.I.P.), Lemmon's, The Red Sea, and eventually Blueberry Hill and The Pageant. This was about the time I met Urban-One and Ser Lesson of Forty Til Five. At this time, I was working on one of my favorite projects, Conversations. Conversations is a concept album that many of those close to me have heard and love. It is very near and dear to my heart. When I was close to finishing the album I realized something. Most people that go to shows in St. Louis would not "get" this album. It's too deep. If I had the money to just throw away on a project it would be no problem. What I needed to do was put out a project that would sell so I could fund Conversations. Enter Beats 2 The Rhymes.
Beats 2 The Rhymes is the project I just recently released on Forty Til Five records. Unlike previous albums, one of the main goals was to make money. This is where I started to blur that line between holy and devilish rhymes even further. I wrote songs that I thought would appeal to the average music loving crowd. I wrote songs about being a ladies man, like Pump, Shake and Nikki Lee. The songs were really a joke to me. I didn't take them seriously. What I didn't think about was how they would come accross to people. I was portraying something that I'm not. I also was not being a good example of a Christian. Make no mistake, I am very proud of all of the music I've made. I've put in a lot of work to make these albums sound good. I've busted my tail trying to become "good" at what I do musically. What I'm not proud of is the content.
I wrote in my last blog that I've never read a list of words that cannot be spoken in the bible. And while I have a different view on this topic than "the church" I still want to respect the church's stance. I don't want to be a poor example for my nephews, nieces, and other kids. Please understand that I want to represent Christ first and foremost in everything I do. It is my heartfelt belief that the devil was deceiving me into believing that certain things were okay for me to say and talk about in my music.
I first had the major debate about weather or not to put this record out about three years ago. That's when I first recorded and mixed the songs. The major reason why I ultimately decided to finish the project was the people who helped make it. I had so many wonderful and talented people who contributed to this album. I told them I would put it out. I have always tried my hardest to be a man of my word. So I finished it. A couple months ago I had the CD release at Blueberry Hill. A couple weeks later I did another show at Blueberry Hill. After that show was when I started to feel it was time for me to shut up and listen to what God had to say about my music.
