Diallo4real
This is the web portal for Diallo, Va's Finest Producer of underground classics from a hip-hop base to a style that crosses the boundries of all genres of good
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One of Va's finest and probably the most respected producers on the Va underground scene for well over a decade with a catalog of literally thousands of top-notch recordings and tens of thousands of quality instrumentals to fit just about any genre of music universally, finally tring his hand at the vocal thing. Providing plenty of good, mentally stimulating music for you to ride to.Band/artist history
One of Va's most repected producers with a track record of consistent production work since 91'. I'm probably one of the most verstile producers out there. I started out doing house parties back when I was bout' 11, My younger brother was the M.C. along with my homie Tata who was like a brother. we always had love for the music even as lil ones.
My brother was only like 9 and he had ryhmes that were up to par wit guys like Kane, Kool G, and Rakim, rappers who to this day are considered to be among greatest of all time. My brother and I made dozens of freestyle and mix tapes that were favorites throughout the Richmond/Central Virginia area, back before Richmond really even had a Hip-Hop scene, in fact, at the time Hip-Hop was just starting to get regular radio airplay, thanks to the likes of people like El Bravador Dj-Mc Fresh, and Sir R.J.. We did shows under several bogus managers as a M.C. D.J. dou/group, civic centers, The Military Retirees Club, places like The Polo Bay Lounge and Niteworld before we dicided to cut back on the shows and concentrate on our sound.
Around that time period because of a bet made by my homeboy Tata, I met 3 more of Va Hip-Hops most most important figures : D.J. Ramon, Filman and Big Bar, who's group N.S.Pot(northside part of town) was already makin' noise. Tata had bet Big Bar $20 on me v.s. Ramon in a D.J. battle, and at the time I was using 1 str8arm and 1 beltdrive turntable, both were bullshit compared to the industry standard 1200's that Ramon was using, so we took turns on his 1200's to make it even. there was a split decision and after going at it on the 1's and 2's for close to an hour with both of us killin it, we decided to come together and build on our turntable skills. That was also the first place i saw a multitrack recorder and heard original tracks that were better than anything on the market, which sparked more interest in the production side of things.
That laid the foundation for some of central Va's most memorable groups, the spot of that first battle(Filman's) became a sort of proving grounds for some of the up-and-coming rappers round' the way. It was here that the Disorganized Union had thier most productive freestyle and writing sessions along with Cash Clay(Rhyme Killer), Midnight, members of Cloud 9, Bloody Reign, and most of central Va's most wellknown collectives.
In late 91' another student in my art class(D'Ranjed) asked to put some cuttin on a song him and his people were recording. We recorded the song at his homeboys spot where I saw a sequencer in use for the first time(ensoniq's eps16 plus). That was also the first time I actully recorded a song on a 4-track recorder, and that gave me a better overstanding of how to layer tracks, this day was also the day I met D-Ranjed's former partner lil roc, who was still in the process of finding himself as a vocalist, but who would become the main artist I worked with throughout the for the next 8 years or so, and who was also one of the founding members of Disorganized Union.
By this point I was just as fascinated in production as I was in DJing, which was natural cause the two are closely related, so I began hittin up my pops record stash anytime I had the chance. Popadeax use to own a night club when we were a little younger so he had pretty of hot joints. I actually used to hit his stash up before then, but with beats on my brain it got crazy. My pops would stop over to see us at my moms house and find a stack of his favorite vinyl sittin in the corner, records out of the cases, some warped, I didn't appreciate the value of the oldies like I should have at the time, which led to my dad confiscating all of his vinyl from me. After amassing a huge collection of my own, I came to realize the importance of take care of vintage vinyl, before I was used to the 12' records and Hip-Hop albums with wider grooves, so I would cut and scratch on any record I could get my hands on. Between 91' and 97' I still DJed parties but for the majority of these years I spend time laying the sonic foundations and providing artistic guidance for D.U., Cloud 9, Da Untouchable Click, Lonnie B, Skillz, Freak D, Bloody Reign and dozens of Virginia's most influential crews, along with collaborating with established artists like Prodigy and Illa Ghee, appearing on T.V. on Craig Belcher's Wavelength, where I along with lil roc composed the theme song, and Chris Brooks and El Bravador's video show "The B-Side". I was also a frequent guest on both shows. I also produced what was Richmond's first Hip-Hop radio hit since back in '89 with Mr. Mellody's "funk Motor" ,in 1996 with Disorganized Unions's "Lintless", proving that I had the formula for good music.
Between 97' and 2000 I began to grow tired of that party shit and took a break from DJing to focus on production and engineering. Concentrating on expansion with more artists from the evergrowing Bloody Reign, D.U., Big Snug, T-West and others. I also started traveling the road a lot more both up-front and behind-the-scenes touring with Alcoustic Alchemy, George Benson, Phil Perry, Regina Bell, Tony, Toney, Toni and many others, doing monitor mix and some P.A. work, which gave me a whole different perspective on the road grind than most of these young rappers have. Doing this behind the scenes type shit gave me a broader perspective on how to approach the music industry, and showed me that you can make a living on the road by putting in consistent work at shows, and hustling hard to move dem units. This also showed, me that a concert at the proper venue is one of the best ways to promote your product.
From 2000 up to 2002 I concentrated on being a session producer/engineer, bringin others to the table like Blackass Boodutty and T2G, Charlie Won, T-West and other artists as well as gettin' in a few cameos as a guest vocalist here or there, the more I did that, the more I began to enjoy the sound of my voice over my tracks, and by late 2003 early 2004 I started putting together my first ever solo album as a vocalist, "Get it or Forget it". I do this do this for my people tring to come up in that everday struggle and build foundations for the future. We strive to get a taste of that good life without overindulgin, to reap the benifits of sucess while still being able to remain humble. THis is the ultime goal, and with my brother and a handful of thorough folk rollin with me, we bout to get there. Stay tuned...Have you performed in front of an audience?I have had lots of memorable experiences on with some Hip-Hop greats in thier prime throughout the ninetys on various tours and in various capacities. Some of my most favorite were the 3 flood zone shows with Disorganized Union, feat. Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, And Notorious B.I.G., respectively. They all showed love when we put it down, and gave us words of encouragement as young up and coming artists. Other favorites include the NATO shows with Lil Kim and the other with Mobb Deep and Nas, the West Coast tour I did with ventruiliquist/commedian Ty-Rone Travis had lots of memorable moments including 21st Unified Elementary and the numerous librays and such, where we were able to bring family style Hip-Hop comedy to some youngsters in southern California. I've also had some memorable behind the scenes experiences working with some jazz, soul and r& b greats such as the Acoustic Alchemy tour, where I also had the pleasure of working with the great George Benson, Dave Koz Band and many others. I've also worked with Regina Belle, Toni Tone' Tony, Morris Day, and Phil Perry in a simular capacity. Doing the behind the scenes(grunt) stuff, gave me a greater respect for the road tour as well as a better idea of what to expect, as well as how to do things properly, an a greater appreciation for music on a whole.
What equipment do you use?
Virtually any piece I can get my hands on, from my trusty EPS 16-Plus base to the trinity/triton, MPC (any kind), a Tascam analog 8-track recorder, Korg D-16 Recorder, Fostex VF-16 Recorder a Sony Vaio w/1gb ram 250gb storage, many homeade instruments and contraptions both real-world and virtual, as well as some great third-party virtual instruments and plugins.Contact
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Comments (1)
Hi, I make a mixtape. I like your style, your beatz are realy TIGHT. please contact me at (squad05@web.de), I pay also for beatz and features. Peace!
