Now, check out the report put together by Bridget Antwi. Shout out to Bridget, Qu-C, Showtime, Abigail Silk, Jenn Pidgeon, James Chen & Shad Rach.
Also, check out the reports on the website – some interesting stuff!

Check the doc, and leave a comment on the Facebook page if you would be so kind. Enjoy the show!

On March 22, James, Matt & I had a wonderful session with Caroline Brooks, of the Juno Award winning group The Good Lovelies.

Caroline recorded vocals for two songs: our folkified hip-hop version of “Time After Time” and the bluegrass tinged porch jam “When I Get Home”. Caroline did a fantastic job and after a rough mix the tunes already sound amazing.

You can see a live version of WIGH from our Milton show earlier this month.

As far as the project, we are currently working on four songs with a few more demos in the pipeline

Thanks again for your support.

Check out the new Good Lovelies CD Let The Rain Fall and enjoy some ol’ timey happy music.

You can now vote for the FAN’S CHOICE. Head over to Sphere and make your selections

The Runaway’s EP Round Two has been nominated for Best EP of 2010 in the Sphere of Hip Hop Awards!

Check out the full list of nominees here and pick up this potential award winner in support of Urban Ex!

By now you know about my collaborations project Saturday Sonrise. However, I’ve also spent several months working on a folk & hip-hop  album called Inspired. That’s right … folk AND hip-hop!

This is me digging my heels in and creating content to really bless the listener. I’ve been working with two fantastic producers from Hamilton, ON (James Bloemendal and Matt McKenna) and we are really excited with what’s emerging. We are continuing to work with the goal of finishing the album in July of this year.

To create a project like this needs a lot of extra effort, time and money. I’d like to ask you to consider supporting the creation of this project. You can do so in a number of different ways:

1) Bring some friends to the free concerts that will introduce the album
Tuesday March 1 – Free Church, Toronto ON
Saturday March 5 – Milton Bible Church, Milton ON

2) Pre-order the album
You can do so at the concerts or online via Kapipal

3) Spread the word
Use Facebook, social media and word of mouth and with anyone that you think would benefit from this music. You can also check out the Inspired page on the website for regular updates

4) Organize a concert of your own
Contact me to put on shows in houses, cafes, churches – wherever you can! We’d be honored to come and share

Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated, and a testament to the community that’s been created through the 7 years I’ve been doing this. Thanks so much!

I pray that you find this year beneficial and rewarding. Here’s the first look at what promises to be an exciting 2011…

NEW MUSIC
I am working on several projects this year. One that is quite exciting is the Saturday Sonrise EP. This is a collaboration project with production from Symbolic One (S1) of Strange Fruit Project. Here’s the title track from the EP featuring Ruslan & Beleaf from theBREAX.
Other guests on this project include: DJ Clutch, Lady Blaise, Soul Natural, ILL Seer & Crisis. It’s a familiar lineup, but we’re working on some good tunes! There will be more guests to announce as I move closer to completion.

COLLABS
2011 will see several projects featuring The Runaway! Be on the lookout for:
Crisis – Soundtrack of a Soldier
DJ Clutch – An Audio Collection
Fab Da Eclectic - Bombshell
Qu- C – The Entree (including yours truly on the first single)

More details to come!
To keep y’all warmed up, here’s a song I did with ILL Seer in 2009 - We’Lo remix (from the ILL Seer Bootlegs)

There’s still lots of news on the horizon, including introducing my full length LP “Inspired” and an update of the Runaway Love blog. I hope January is a blessing to you. We’ll talk soon!

SHOWS
Dec. 3 – Kitchener, ON
Celebration for Kristylee Palma (KLP)
Little Bean Coffee Bar
The lineup for this is nuts: Alysha Brillinger (singer/songwriter), Jazz Williams (jazz & soul), Sookdee (spoken word & hip-hop), JSun (reggae) and yours truly.
Doors: Closed to the public after 8pm, Cover: Love bucket
Here’s the Facebook info

Dec. 4 – Waterloo, ON
Stitch n Kitsch Holiday Show
First United Church (11 am – 7pm)
I’ll be the DJ for the day. Come say hi & pick up some dope Christmas gifts (like a copy of Round Two or some fresh jewelry and glass from Abigail Corbin
Facebook’s got the info

NEW MUSIC
Get Inspired
I have started work on a new album titled “Inspired”. I’ve been demoing material and have started working with two talented musicians in Hamilton, who will fill the producer’s chair. I am looking forward to introducing this work to you soon (see “2011″ below).

The Custodians
The (Canadian) Custodians are DJ Clutch, Crisis & myself. This is a pretty cool connection for me because the group has a 10 year age difference. There are also very distinct styles here and the combining of this talent represents a lot about the potential unity in hip-hop. We are putting the finishing touches on our first EP “The Fire Within Us All” with production from DJ Clutch, The Runaway, Theory Hazit & S1 with plans to release it early in 2011.

New Single featuring theBREAX
January will see a new single from yours truly – “Saturday Sonrise” featuring Ruslan & Beleaf from theBREAX! Produced by S1, it will definitely be worth saving a buck from your boxing day shopping.

2011
I’m hoping to string together a few shows in Feb/March of 2011 – especially in churches. There are few things on my heart that I want to share. During that time I’d like to introduce you to my new project and some of the musicians behind it. If you would be willing to coordinate a FREE concert at your church to help support the production of my new album, please be in touch.

I have some unique marketing ideas for INSPIRED that I hope you’ll dig. The focus will be word of mouth. If you’re one of those people that LOVES spreading the word and are down with The Runaway, hit me up.

More on that in the new year. Have a WONDERFUL holiday season. May it spur you onto good deeds in the year to come!

FOR MILTONIANS
Those of you who live in Milton – check out Thursday’s edition of The Canadian Champion. There should be an article on yours truly.

HOME SHOWS
I did my first home show last weekend. It was a smashing success. I’m continuing to book into the fall & winter so get your info HERE

URBAN EX GALA
On Friday September 24, there is a jam in Kitchener, ON that you will not want to miss:
FACEBOOK EVENT
Em Johnson will be displaying & selling her photos with all proceeds going to Urban Ex. Please support.

NEW PROPHETIC POETIC COMPILATION
My man Youngdo has put the cap on the final download of our 12 pack that we started last year. This one took a while, but it was worth it. Grab this FREE DOWNLOAD and share it with friends. It contains heat from Shad, Promise, NIFTY, Relic and bunch of our favourites. Also included in the first release from The Custodians – a project featuring Crisis, DJ Clutch & myself. Enjoy. Find any other downloads you missed HERE

SPIT HOT FIRE VIDEO
I made a little picture video for this heated collaboration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmvffTSzMiw

WRITING
I’m back on the horse again – writing reviews for Sphere of Hip Hop. I love to write and it’s nice to be back. Check out my review on Grits’ new album Quarantine.