General Steele's Blog

In May 2009 Bucktown Usa Entertainment released “Welcome to Bucktown” distributed by Duck Down Records .

This album featured artist such as Bootcamp Clik, Smoothe The Hustler, Trigger The Gambler, Shabaam Sahdeeq and others most of whom are from Bucktown (Brooklyn). The production was done by various producers such as J Skrilla, Da Beatminerz, Che Triumphe, 7venHd, Dru Kevorkian and more.

Being a big fan of blaxploitation films I wanted this album to have some of that flavor but with a modern twist.
I recruited solely Brooklyn artist with the exception of my good brother Stormey Coleman of the Outlaws who is from Atlanta by way of Chicago and also lived in Brooklyn for a stint.

We wanted to use some of these elements to recreate something visual to enjoy and also educate people on hip hop and Black films and its unwritten connection.
The original plan was to re-do the original film ‘BUCKTOWN’ (starring Pam Grier, Fred Williamson) but due to budget and time constraints we had to settle on other plans.

These are the videos from the 1st full length album released on Bucktown Usa Entertainment entitled
“Welcome To Bucktown”

THE FIRST ONE IS “WELCOME”

WELCOME TO BUCKTOWN ACT ONE-WHEN TONY COMES TO TOWN AND MEETS UP WITH OLD FRIEND LOUIE SKAGGS *NEVER SEEN BEFORE*

“BUCKTOWN STATE OF MIND” featuring LOUIE SKAGGS

“HOMETOWN” featuring LOUIE SKAGGS,YOUNG COKE & VVS VERBAL

“DREAMS” featuring HERSH *NEVER SEEN BEFORE*

This was an amazing experience for me. I hope you enjoy, vibe out, give me feed back what ever….
Stay tuned for new things to come

PEACE
POWER & PROSPERITY

GENERAL STEELE

WWW.BUCKTOWNUSA.COM
WWW.MY.BUCKTOWNUSA.COM
TWITTER.COM/GENERALSTEELE

This is off the forthcoming Pete Rock & Smif N Wessun album, ‘Monumental’,coming soon.

Pete Rock & Smif N Wessun “Prevail” feat. Raekwon by duckdown

“It was great working with Pete Rock and it was great to be working with Raekwon again as well let’s just say the the experience itself was Monumental”. With Pete Rock on production along wit lyrics from Raekwon the Chef and Brooklyn rap duo Tek and Steele (known as Smif N Wessun aka Cocoa Brovaz) on the same track….Classic.
“I’m sure hip hop fans across the globe will appreciate this new collaboration between some of the greatest to do it”. And this is just the first song off the forthcoming Pete Rock & Smif N Wessun album, ‘Monumental’,coming soon on Duck Down Records.

Bootcamp Clik travels to Paris to perform @ La Bellevilloise. We stayed at The Mamma Shelter a famous hotel of the “stars”. It was Awesome!

Bootcamp Clik performs in Paris from Tony Steele on Vimeo.

General Steele releases his 2nd Lp from his Bucktown Usa imprint entitled Amerikkkas Nightmare part 2 subtitled Children of War.

It is heavy politically based as it reflects the current events that are taking place in The United States of America and the world. General Steele opens with a skit that says “Why do you think they wanna kill me?”… ,which is a quote from Morgan Freeman playing the character of Malcolm X before his assassination.

General pulls no punches as he goes right into the reason why he is Amerikkkas Nightmare on the first song which is also the title track. The next song picks up without missing a beat and starts off with children saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Steele then goes in referring to our nations plans “to enslave all man”.. and how the media manipulates people. He is accompanied by songstress Nicole Michelle who ends off with the Black National Anthem.

The music is somewhat melodramatic with a heavy drum cadence which gives it a kinda gritty rock vibe similar to the energy of Jimi Hendrix and post Vietnam era. There is a song titled “Jimmys Song” where Steele uses quotes from Chuck D “Radio Suckers never play me…” to a Hendrix guitar riff.

The production is divided equally between newcomers Che Triumph and 7venHD who accommodate the General very well. 7ven HD provides the more melodramatic synths while Che brings the drama with ill guitar riffs and cutting drum programming.

General Steele is joined by a few good souljahs. He implores RBG comrades Dead Prez on “Cry Freedom” an ode to the ancestors.
Hasaan Salaam, Hicoup, Akir, and Louie Skaggs appear on “I Had A Vision”.

The one that stands out is Madison Rocks who appears on “Rebellious”. She steals this track with her energy and cutting lyrics truly a rebel with a cause.

And the last track so tastefully placed is the same as the 1st track but it has been extended to accompany 11 guest artist making it 12 in total. You never know who to expect next.

Overall the tone of this album is very inspiring as well as enlightening as it addresses politics, and many controversial themes such as the affects of slavery, the Federal Banks, war and scandals and speaks about the common liberties of people all over.
Opening up a well needed dialogue expressing the common views and feelings of many Americans and exposing any hidden agendas implied on the people of this Nation.
This is truly a great piece of history…..one for the books.
Salute The General Steele
Amerikkkas Nightmare 2/Children Of War available at DuckDown.com & I-tunes

Generally Speaking

My Trip To Japan

This year of 2010 on the month of April we (Tek,Logic and myself) took a trip to Japan.
We had 4 shows out there in 4 different locations.
One is Shibuya, Tokyo, Takasaki and Osaka.
The trip was fun. The shows were electric. The people are awesome the vibe the culture the food I Love It!
We experienced many things on this trip.
I would like to thank all of the fabulous people who did all the hard work to make the trip a great one.
I wanna thank Shihoe & Yasuo (Rambling Rec. Inc), Yumi, Akira, Akee, Akko and thats just name a few.
Big salute to Spanky from 7 Union. We got a chance to stop by his shop and pick up some hats from his newest flavors.
We also got a chance to go to some traditional Japanese restaurants. It was great.
I was able to document a bit of it and I will be uploading the footage in series for your viewing pleasure and soon in full on www.BucktownUsa.com
I hope you enjoy it
I know its not as fun to watch as it is to actually be there

This is footage of us visiting the biggest Tower Records in the world and probably the only one. Made me ask why is there not a Tower Records in the Big Apple? Because people don’t buy cdees?…..BULLSH*T!

DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE
WATCH THE FOOTAGE

Yeah so I had a sit down with a good friend and a great writer Odeisel and he had the idea to do a breakdown of my latest album “Amerikkkas Nightmare 2/Children of War” , song by song.
Dope I thought
so we gonna give it to you in a series over the next few days
so if you interested in hearing what inspired some of the songs or why I even decided to make this album stay tuned to the link
this is the first one on
PlanetILL.com

and feel free to give me any input
Give Thanx
Be Blessed

General Steele of the rap duo Smif-N-Wessun and Super-Group WorldWide Bootcamp Clik (thats me..haha)
is about the release the second LP off of my Bucktown Usa Ent. label
distributed by Duck Down Records.

This album reflects my social and political views about America and around the world.
Being a citizen of the United States of America I chose to address topics that plague us such as (mental) slavery, servitude, poverty, war, famine, pestilence as well as government corruption, conspiracy theories, and the bevy of topics concerning the history and future of the United States of America.
All the views expressed here are my own.

I hand selected the producers
both who have I have worked with before.
One is the young souljah from Germany 7venHD
and the young homie from Big City/New York Che Triumph
Two extremely talented producers.
Be on the lookout for them this year.

I employed a few good women and men on this project.
I got my beloved comrades Mutulu & Sticman of Dead Prez to get involved
also
5th Column General-Hasaan Salaam
as well as
Hicoup, Akir, Hakeem Green (Channel Live), Lin Que (Blackwatch), Rush & Sphinx (Arabian Knights;out of Egypt), Saint Laz (Pottersfield), Kahlil Almustafa, Shabaam Sahdeeq and Planet Asia ( who came thru in the 11th hour:Strong salute to my comrades in the Bay Area).

Then I got some resident bombardiers
BTUs own
Louie Skaggs makes an appearance as well as Ruste Juxx, Top Dog (OGC), Flood Diesel and my girl Nicole Michelle and lets not forget the Bucktown Babies (all the children who participated).

In addition
whom I think needs honorable mention
the lovely Madison Rocks, the talented J.U.S of The J.U.S Evolution (whose guitar skills are unmatched) and unquestionably one the most talented cats in the game my boy Brian Herman (who hates the attention) who played a very intricate part in this project all across the board (and his partner Shane for giving allowing us to use his lovely spot on such short notice) .

On that note I have to mention my partner in grind
Cynical (theyoungshotgunner) Smith, my council Kdees, Wise Dred (HiipMovement) ,L. Skaggs, Phil Shung and the talented Mallie Mickens to name a few.

And last but not least…..this sounds like an acceptance speech…hahaha
but yeah
my Duck Down Fam for believing in this movement…fam for life……family is important.

All the people involved in this project is family. This is what makes it that much special.
There are others who I invited to get involved but due to time restraints were unable to.
Look Out For The Remixes..HaHa!

But for now
here is a sample of whats in store

I feel like I’ve been in some alternate surreal reality, if that makes sense, for the past couple of months.

My friends are tight with me because i don’t call, I’m one of those funny phone people, but out of sight never means out of mind in my book. I feel like I have been bogged down with lifes work. Being a dad, a boss, a friend, a coach, a cook, an editor, an engineer, oh lets not forget a rapper, amongst other things.

For the past couple of weeks I have been working on my solo album titled Amerikkkas Nightmare 2/Children Of War while at the same time working on the new SNW/Pete Rock lp.

At first I thought it may be a conflict, but it was a natural ebb and flow. Its just all the politics that drags progress out. There has been a lot of downs and not to many ups but for some reason I am still here.
Peace Be Steele
The Amerikkas Nightmare lp is my baby hand picked all the beats and all the artist, same as with the Welcome To Bucktown lp
It was fun and my boy asked me do I think people are ready…I told him I don’t if “I’m” ready…but most times thats the best time to go..
Its been a trip SET TO RELEASE THIS FEBRUARY

AMERIKKKAS NIGHTMARE 2/CHILDREN WAR

I will discuss more in another note
but on another note…haha
The Pete Rock/Smif-N-Wessun lp
has also been a great experience. Pete is a prolific producer and this is Tek and Steeles 5th lp SET TO RELEASE THIS SUMMER

Dem P.N.C bwoys back @ it again

I always wanted a summer album
we got some solid cuts on there
and I am happy with the progress as well as the diversity on both of the projects.
It has been an illmatic juggle to say the least but the experience has humbled me.
Give thanx and Praise to God for life and the ability to create something from nothing…Be Free
And peace be still till the next time we build and I will go more into details about the projects.

Peace
Power & Prosperity
General Steele

SALUTE!

WHAT IS A “RAPPERTRENEUR”?

First of all
well to be honest
it is a word I made up.

Yeh thats right I made it up.
Whats wrong with that?

What is “language” anyway?
A method of communication
using words in a structured
or conventional way.

The phraseology and
vocab of a certain profession
domain, or group.

What is A word or words?
a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing…..

So what is a Rappertreneur?
well its derived from two words
Rapper-a person who performs rap music.
and
Entrepreneur -a person who organizes
and operates a business or businesses,
taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.

I have been successfully making income from “rapping”
since 1992
not counting the countless talent shows I won for cash prior.
But successfully recording and performing globally
with my “partner in crime” or PNC as we like to say,
as ‘Smif-N-Wessun‘ ,Cocoa Brovaz and Bootcamp Clik or BCC with Duck Down .
which goes back to the use of language or phraseology.

Most of us rappers use a lot of “slang”
What is “Slang”?
a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or ‘group of people’

we use this to communicate on a broad scale
not to mention Amerika is the great melting pot
with all various ethnicities, and social walks
which adds to the richness of this country.

Not to mention the cyber explosion where
people have invented a way to communicate using what is commonly called
Net Lingo. For example lol, gbtw, pcm and so on.

Its not necessarily the easiest to pick up at first
but for someone who does a lot of work on the computer,
it makes sense.

We see new words added to the lexicon each day
thanks to the twitter craze and our beloved media.

So on behalf of the few rappers who do more than just rap
smoke blunts , use drugs and alcohol, and chase groupies,
I introduce this word Rappertreneur into the lexicon.

This is just one of the many words that can be used to describe
who I am or what I do.
A rapper who runs a mutli-media company on a day to day basis
called
BUCKTOWN USA ENT.

Sometimes I think I may have bit off a little more than I can chew
but my heart is strong and I love to work hard
in the spirit of my ancestors and all the pioneers
I work to evolve and grow.

For the sake of the young ones that follow
we offer experience, history, knowledge, wisdom and hope.

Be creative
Be inventive
Be free to be You

Salute
General Steele

Peace
Power & Prosperity

GENERAL STEELE Presents “WELCOME TO BUCKTOWN” OUT NOW!
I TUNES AND DUCKDOWN

SALUTE ALL REAL DJAYS WORLDWIDE!

BIG UP to all the Djays on the 1200 SQUAD for the love.
And for helping us get to NO. 4 on the SQUAD 1200 chart.

THAT’S A GOOD LOOK!

Speaking of GOOD LOOKS…
Check The NEW Video “WELCOME” off the “WELCOME TO BUCKTOWN” Soundtrack. Blended By Bucktown Usa Productions

ALSO CHECK FOR THE NEW BROOKLYN ANTHEM
“I’M FROM BROOKLYN” - Smif-N-Wessun & The Smith Brothers (Smoothe The Hustler & Trigger The Gambler)

ALSO Coming Soon…
General Steele Presents “AMERIKKKAS NIGHTMARE II,” “BLOOD COUSINS,”
and newcomer Louie Skaggs aka Mantecha Music solo effort “G-CITY”

STAY TUNED
BUCKTOWNUSA.C0M

WATCH BTU TV 24/7 AND ON DEMAND
LIVESTREAM.COM/BUCKTOWNUSATV
AND
LIVESTREAM.COM/BUCKTOWNUSA

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER
General Steele
Bucktown Usa Ent.