You know you had a good birthday when...

You lose your pants and your keys.

I can explain. Well, kinda. My keys just disappeared sometime last week in the middle of frantic last-minute preparations for the show. I had a change of pants backstage at the show for a costume change, and when I returned after my first set, they were gone. Apparently someone thinks there's value in Pizon's slacks. If you see them on Ebay, holla at the kid.

I'm back at the office in DC with no keys to my apartment, so I had to get a hotel last night. The King bed all to myself felt nice. Saturday's show was off the hook, but I'm so burnt out right now that I just want to play dead. It was great to spend the last week and a half in NY, but these have been some of the most stressful days of my life. You don't appreciate how much aggrevation goes into putting something like that together until you actually do it. In the end, it was all worth it, but I don't want to do it again EVERRRR (at least not until next year).

There will be lots of pics and video recaps, but here are some of my highlights of Family Reunion 2007:

-The club being packed before I even got there. If you've ever thrown a show before, you know that's a good feeling.

-Performing "No Closure" with Analyze and an all-female step team dancing on stage (shout out to April and the Mount St. Vincent steppers!).

-New Pizon project "And Then There Was One" to be released before the end of the year.

-EJ driving 12 states from Texas for the show (26 HOURS), and absolutely murdering every verse he spit. I never saw him so focused.

-All the out-of-town love. EJ from Texas, Truplaya from Baltimore, I-Dog and Cho-Sun from DC, Krukid from Illinois, Janely and Dee from Miami, Randy and Wynter from Jersey, Barbara from PA, Timid's mom from VA, etc. It seemed like there was someone from every state there, all coming together for Hip Hop.

-Yes, Timid's mom was there. So was mine. It really was a Family Reunion.

-Timid's performance of the new material from his album, particularly the third verse of "Bringing the Awe" (produced by Domingo) acapella. Scratch that... Timid's whole performance was a highlight. It was his night to shine, and his album is STUPID DOPE. Go pick that up right now.

-Timid having to be literally carried off stage by EJ (WHILE STILL RAPPING) because he wouldn't put the mic down.

-Cee Rock "The Fury" providing the beat box and comic relief throughout the show. He even busted a Hip Hop rendition of the wedding song (more on that later...).

-The Rawkus 50 cameos (shout out to Barak Yalad, Krukid, and Mr. Metaphor). Mr. Met's acapella was retarded.

-The costume change for the Fam finale. My pants disappeared, but Timid's furry hat saved the day.

-The birthday cake. To give you an idea of how big it was, it said: "CONGRATULATIONS PI, TIMID, AND E, AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY PIZON" on it. In large font.

And, of course, the best moment of the show came at the very end:

-After the performance of "Dreams Come True" EJ got down on his knee and proposed to his girlfriend, Phoebe. She said yes! We said this would be a life-changing event, and we weren't lying. When was the last time you saw a man propose at a Hip Hop show?

If you missed it, joke's on you.

Watch the show live tonight!!

Come watch THE FAMILY REUNION 2007 Live show at 8:30 PM EST

Family Reunion live online broadcast

Game just got real.

The entire Family Reunion 2007 concert (Pizon's birthday bash/album re-release party, Timid's album release party, EJ's move to NY, Rawkus Records, etc.) will be broadcast live online for FREE on Saturday at 8:00 PM EST.

This is some truly revolutionary stuff, and will ensure that people who couldn't make it to NYC this weekend won't miss out on perhaps the most eventful Hip Hop show of the year. Legends are expected to be in the building. We have all kinds of surprises lined up. This is a pay per view quality broadcast that you will be able to watch online for FREE as it happens.

Just log on to www.pizonishiphop.com at 8 PM EST on Saturday, 12/1 and watch the show live. Don't forget to have the popcorn ready!

For everyone else who already has your plane tickets, we'll be waiting for you in Queens!

Even the Virtual World is buzzing

The Final Battle

Your voice has been heard. After almost 400 votes were cast, easily trumping last year's online contest, the two contenders to emerge as finalists were Omen Wolfgang 9000 (46%) and Wee Bee Foolish (45%). These titans have been neck and neck throughout the competition, and now both are guaranteed some radio exposure. But only one will win the coveted opening act slot at Family Reunion 2007. Which one will it be?


OMEN WOLFGANG 9000

As a native of Petersburg VA, OMEN WOLFGANG 9000 grew up in a close-knit family atmosphere. With 17 kids and they mama's all living in the same housing projects, they always found something to do. Outside of getting in trouble, they either played ball or got together for talent shows. The talent shows are where O.W. shined. He was a natural. He was bred on music like Michael Jackson, RUN-DMC, RAKIM, you know, the legends. Set out to make a better life for her family, Wolfie's mother joined the army. This allowed O.W. to travel with his mom, and see the world. The advantage of this was; he was able to experience different cultures. By the age of 16, Wolfie was in CA. At this time he was getting serious about his talents and decided to make a career out of music. More...

VS.


WEE BEE FOOLISH

Possessing a sound that transcends the predictability and cliches of contemporary hip-hop music, Wee Bee Foolish has proven to be as challenging as they are accessible. The group, consisting of four members: Ken Boogaloo, Yesh (a.k.a. Yeshua dapoED), DJ Bless, & Xtraordinaire, has cultivated a loyal indie hip-hop following, Having already navigated the New York City hip-hop scene with appearances at such venues as Wetlands, S.O.B.s, Nuyorican Poets Café, Knitting Factory, South Paw, North 6 and also touring in Europe and the US. They are now poised to make their voices heard on the worldwide stage. Wee Bee Foolishs goal is to create well produced, conceptually solid, but fun music that plays to the intelligence of their listeners instead of insulting it. More...

Tonight (Saturday, November 24) at 7 PM EST, Pizon and Timid will be special guests on DJ MJ's Tha Lockdown show on 88.1 FM WCWP in New York. Everyone is encouraged to listen online at www.mywcwp.com. During the show, one song will be played from each of the two finalists, and then phone lines will be opened up for listeners to decide the ultimate winner. Online votes do not count anymore -- the final battle will be judged strictly by the listeners' call-in votes! Last year, there were over ONE THOUSAND call-in votes during the final round of the competition. With artists of this caliber battling for such a golden opportunity, we expect the phone lines to be ringing off the hook again this year.

Let the best artist win!!!

Rawkus Records at Family Reunion

"I even like the shit you did with Rawkus -- that shit was phat."

Earlier this year, Pizon signed a deal with the legendary Rawkus Records, who will re-release his debut album I Am Hip Hop on November 27 via the worldwide Rawkus 50 launch. With Family Reunion 2007 now being Pizon's album re-release party, Rawkus Records will be well represented at the event.

On the turntables...



The DJ duties will be handled by Rawkus' very own Slopfunkdust. Slop is a decorated Hip Hop producer/DJ, and is serving as the A&R of the Rawkus 50 roster of which Pizon is a member. We are very excited to have him on the 1s and 2s at Family Reunion 2007.

Also appearing from the Rawkus 50...


Mr. Metaphor (Brooklyn Academy)


Barak Yalad


Krukid (Anti Heroz Crew)

Scanz

FR07 is now Timid's album release party

Word is that Timid's sophomore album No Time For the Jibba Jabba will be available for the first time at Family Reunion 2007. So, in addition to:

-Pizon's birthday bash/album re-release party
-The celebration of EJ's move to New York

Timid will be debuting copies of his new release, officially making the 12/1 event Timid's album release party as well.

We have some more HUGE news to follow that will alter the entire dynamic of the show, so stay tuned and keep voting on the opening acts!

Going the Extra Mile

(This post continues the story started in The Genesis entry.)

Realizing the show that would later become known as Family Reunion 2006 was to be the most important night of my career, I knew I had to go the extra mile to make it a special night. The last thing I wanted to do was go out there and just rap. I had the mentality that this event should be treated as if it was the last time I would ever perform. EJ was flying in from Texas for the show, and with Timid performing as well, it would mark the first time The Fam performed on stage together. Even still, I wanted more. I wanted surprises. I wanted to blow people away. I wanted everyone to leave the club knowing they'd just experienced the sickest Hip Hop concert of the year.

One of the things I always wanted to do was perform with a live band playing my music. Every time I'd bring the idea up, my peers would essentially laugh it off. Like, "Yeah, and I want to win the lottery." But how far-fetched of an idea was it, really? I rented out a practice studio and held auditions. With the help of Craigslist, MySpace, emails, and word of mouth, we ended up gathering some musicians together and jamming.


Timid and Pizon rehearsing "Let Freedom Ring" with musicians

Of course, nothing ever goes that smoothly. Suddenly, the musicians we chose started dropping out of the show (some wanted too much money, some had family emergencies come up, and some just disappeared), and our makeshift band fell apart. As the big day was fast approaching, it was looking like we weren't going to have a band at the show afterall. My spirits were crushed. Though an inevitable part of this business, I hate putting time and effort into ideas that never materialize. Fortunately, the jam session with Timid seemed to light a fire under him, and he too had caught band fever as a result. The idea of performing with a band was no longer a pipe dream; it was something within our grasp that we had both tasted and wanted more. Most of all, we didn't want to lose.

I was sitting at home one night, and Timid called: "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, really. I'm in my boxers already, probably about to go to bed."

"Get dressed. We're about to go get us a band."

Cue dramatic music.

As it turned out, one of the writers for Timid's online Hip Hop magazine OneTwoOneTwo.com happened to play in a band called Strong End Juke Joint that was performing in Chinatown that night. We took a ride out to the city to check them out. They absolutely killed it. After the set, we approached them and asked if they'd be interested in performing at our show. They said yes. It was that easy.

Well, it wasn't THAT easy. This new band came aboard at the last minute, and there was still preparation to be done. They'd have to learn the songs. They'd need time to rehearse amongst themselves, and we'd need time to rehearse with them. But nevermind the details. Once we knew we had our band, we knew this show was going to be every bit as special as we dreamed it to be.

And it was.

Choose your own opener

We've listened to all the entries and narrowed it down to 4 finalists. Now, it's out of our hands. We want YOU to choose the opening act for Family Reunion 2007.

Meet the finalists...


Chyna Doll


Jus Cool


Omen Wolfgang 9000


Wee Bee Foolish

From now until November 23 at 11:59 PM EST, we are holding an online vote on the blog (see right hand column) and encouraging EVERYONE to participate. Last year, there were almost 300 online votes during this phase of the contest, and we're hoping for even more this year. Once the poll closes, the TWO highest vote-getters will advance to the final round, which will be contested LIVE on the radio in New York (details forthcoming). Last year, there were over ONE THOUSAND call-in votes during the final radio round. Both of the final two artists are guaranteed radio play, and one of them will receive a set at Family Reunion 2007. So, your vote here is very important to the careers of these artists. Use it wisely.

Good luck to all!

FR07 is now Pizon's album re-release party

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 31, 2007

Rawkus Records to re-release Pizon's debut album I Am Hip Hop on November 27
On November 27, the legendary Rawkus Records will re-release Pizon's debut album I Am Hip Hop as part of their worldwide Rawkus 50 launch. The album will be available on iTunes and other digital music retailers as RAWKUS 50 PRESENTS I AM HIP HOP and will be marketed with other new Rawkus releases. Pizon will also be appearing on upcoming Rawkus compilations, and the media push to promote the project (which has already resulted in Pizon appearances in XXL, Scratch Magazine and more) will escalate. A video for the album's single "Four Letters" is also being planned.

The album, originally released on Pizon's own La Scala Entertainment label in December 2006, features production by Domingo (Big Pun, KRS-ONE, Eminem, G-Unit, etc.), Kno (CunninLynguists, Bizarre from D12, Jay-Z's White Albulum), Versatile Productions (Jim Jones and Dipset), Pizon himself, and more, and boasts guests appearances from Timid, EJ, Deacon the Villain, and others. It is currently available for order online, and from over 2400 stores worldwide.

In addition to Pizon's birthday bash and the celebration of EJ's move to New York, this news now designates the December 1 Family Reunion 2007 concert event in Queens, NY as Pizon's album re-release party as well.

Rawkus Records is the label that released such Hip Hop classics as Mos Def's Black On Both Sides, Black Star, Big L's The Big Picture, and the Soundbombing and Lyricist Lounge series.



For more information:

www.pizonishiphop.com
www.myspace.com/pizon

The Genesis

At this time a year ago, I was at a crossroads in my career. My debut full length solo project had been in the works for entirely too long (the album's first buzz track, "Streets Never Change," was released in 2004!), but as anyone who cares about his or her art will tell you, your first album is your baby and it can never be too perfect. Still, I was tired of being in the "about to" phase, and felt increasing pressure to make that critical leap from being among the millions of rappers with no official album out to the thousands with one.

Being the boss of your own company provides you with various freedoms that are sometimes detrimental to your progress. I decided it was in my best interest for Mike Scala the CEO to set a deadline for Pizon the artist to finish his album. The question then became when that should be. Trees were already losing leaves, and I had long vowed to release the project before the end of the year (I was originally aiming for the summer, but clearly that didn't happen). I looked at the calendar and was delighted to discover that my birthday, December 2, happened to fall on a Saturday. Obviously, this was too good an opportunity to pass up. I always wanted to have an official birthday party at a club like other celebrities do, and since December is the end of the year, my album had to be out by that month if I wanted to see a 2006 release.

Realizing all of this made the decision a no-brainer for me: 12/02/06 would be my album release party slash birthday bash. That's got a nice ring to it, don't it?

If you know anything about the music business, however, that meant I realistically had under a month to actually finish the album. Recording songs is only the start of the process -- there's also the mixing, mastering, publishing, photography, artwork, liner notes, manufacturing, distribution, etc. which all take time (and money) to do. Not to mention, I would also be responsible for putting this colossal event together at the same time, and I knew it had to be the biggest night of my career. No pressure or anything.

It wasn't going to be an easy task. But I was up for the challenge. Every great plan starts with a clear vision, and I was ecstatic to finally have some clarity.

To be continued...