and so it begins...

all things go through stages.  all things develop.  all things change.  all things have purpose.

Andrew (on strings) and Nate (on drums) are currently remodeling and reconstructing the barn where we will be rehearsing from now on.  i must say, this is a much better situation than before.  i recall endless nights, that run together in my mind, of traveling from DC to Baltimore for 6pm rehearsals that never got started until 7.30 and never finished before midnight.  NEVER.

but we loved it. we would play anywhere. for free. 

we played raves, hip hop clubs, blues festivals, colleges, bars and street corners (kind of).  but no matter where we went, people seemed to love phatback.  the memories i have from my years with this band are by far the best memories i have.  not only where these my best friends, but we got to play music for people that did not know us, that paid to see US, and that responded to songs and music that WE WROTE.  i think some artist take for granted the empowering beauty in acceptance and appreciation.  they liked us. they like our music.  the way i played keys, Andrew's guitar, Nate's foot, my rhymes, Jasmine's lyrics and definitely Jasmine's voice - sweet like honey, syrup and molasses.

somewhere along the way it became apparent that we wanted to see how "far" we could go.  i started to believe that we were potentially the greatest band ever.  (but i am supposed to think that, right?)  we all agreed that we should see just how far the this road would lead.  but as individual as we are, so were our thoughts on how we should best take steps to accomplish this dream.

if the measure of a man is how he responds in a crisis [i came up with that; that's a J-ism] then i was definitely, at 30, not yet a man.  we began, for the first time to argue amongst ourselves.  i did not take this as a sign of growth, but rather as a sign of impending doom to the one thing that i have always loved - phatback.

before phatback existed, i loved her, we all did.

i panicked.  i self-sabotaged.

and now, as Jasmine has continued her journey as a prophet and musician over the last 6 years - www.jpopemusic.com - Andrew, Nate and I, Jamil the black market - have realized that the time is now for us to finish our journey, and to finish what we have started.

we have all grown as men, as people, as musicians and as citizens to this world.  all of us, all of you, have something to contribute.  our contribution is truth and healing through music and lyrics.  from hip hop to rock, and from soul to jazz, the trio of musicians that existed, as the frame for one of the greatest voices and lyricists of this generation, has now been reborn, reinvented and now...

the Rebirth of PHATBACK is here.

on hip hop - "bad rap music is disasterous like Katrina. because its watered down and the streets are just flooded with it"


on love - "loving you, is as easy as breathing in the day time. loving you, is as easy as sleeping when i close my eyes"


on life - "stay a prisoner to your dreams"


on jazz - "...every mean, mode and range, statistically you complete me... it was your math that made me me love you..."


 on soul - "this feels like home to me, like life and love are supposed to be, i want to thank you for making everything ok, ok..."


- the point being, as artist, PHATBACK comments on every genre of music.  and we represent the "real" nature of each respective genre.  whether hip hop or jazz, r&b or funk, rock or soulful ballads, PHATBACK chooses to stimulate the mind rather than lament and rave over material items and financial abilities.

we speak from and to the soul.  regardless of age or race or economic situation or cultural identity or sex or any other label that society uses to divide us, we are all one people. we all have a voice.  and here, i would like to share my voice, OUR voice, with you.

so today, i suppose, officially marks our hello to the world.  So, HELLO World.  i am phatback...

...and so it begins....