What else can be said about Mr. Rozzi? As a long-time staple on the Greensboro hip hop scene, Rozzi constantly brings the energy, no matter the show or the circumstances. On this fine evening last March, he rolled into The Green Burro with a posse full of performers, including the lovely and talented Vanessa Ferguson, the R&B dynamo Jeremy Johnson and L in Japanese on the 1’s and 2’s.
Killer.
And give Ioannis Batsios some dap for the creative rendering of the video. Way above and beyond…
MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Ioannis Batsios
Camera: Ioannis Batsios, Matt Williams, David Bradley
Sound: Danny Bayer, Don Ravon
Everything in the world can be broken down into three nouns. Negativity, positivity, and neutrality.
Now imagine looking up and seeing an atomic bomb being dropped straight onto your brain. Now imagine that, while most atomic bombs are composed of negativity, this one is of a very unique composition. Imagine that this bomb is composed of pure positivity.
Now imagine that this bomb is actually the imprint left on you by one, Clement Mallory, aka Universal Mathematics.
An infinite number of varying descriptions could be used to characterize a performance by this man. Perhaps one in several thousand would even begin to come close to completely accurate.
MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Ioannis Batsios
Camera: Ioannis Batsios, Matt Williams, David Bradley
Sound: Danny Bayer, Don Ravon
Universal Mathematics is more than music, more than poetry, and more than performance. It is a full-blown inspirational experience. When Clement Mallory picks up the microphone, you are intrigued. When he performs, you are entranced. When he puts down the microphone, you are left feeling better about yourself and about life in general. While Mallory seems to identify more as a poet than a musician, and while a good half of his DMP set is spoken word, his performance is less poetry reading and more interactive motivational theater. He makes smiling your only option.
The message throughout this distinct and almost unclassifiable performance is one of love and appreciation. Backed by the immaculate DJ skills of L in Japanese, Clement Mallory seems almost unaware of his audience much of the time. It is almost as if the words flowing from his mouth come forth from a deep well of honesty and compassion. His words seem inspired from his personal experiences, yet, the selflessness of his delivery leaves one with the impression that, more than self-expression, this performance is designed to help us, to make us feel better about who we are. A good example of this can be found in the track, My Love, wherein he states:
Loving you increases my love for me, so I’m going to love you more ’cause I have to love myself.
He seems to do what he does strictly out of a genuine desire to make us all feel happier and more comfortable about who we are.
During the tenure of the performance, Mallory deals with issues ranging from creation, self-reflection, acceptance of our fellow human beings, the importance of teaching ourselves and our children, and the very nature of existence.
In the track, Who am I?, he asks:
Being human, am I characterized differently from any other human being? Do we not all have one head, two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth, one neck, two shoulders, two arms, two hands, one chest, one stomach, one gender, defined with private section, two legs and feet?
The answer to the title of this piece comes near the end of the track, right before a moment of too-perfect-to-have-been-planned feedback where he boldly states:
I am God.
It’s a concept piece full of imagery so heavy that it seems to overwhelm even the PA. This track is definitely a highlight of the set.
Placing Universal Mathematics into a musical category is a nearly impossible task.
Clement Mallory is a writer, an MC, a teacher, an outlandish angel. His performance is poetry, it’s hip-hop, it’s motivational speech, it’s emotional release, it’s nearly theatrical in it’s execution. His message is uplifting, it’s inspiring, it’s fun, it’s… dare I say… universal. This man puts on a performance that is more than a performance. It is an intricate spiderweb of imagery and sound that leaves one with a feeling of happiness and well-being.
For the love of love, check out Universal Mathematics at c37words.
Recording Engineer: Don Ravon
Mixing Engineers: Dan Bayer, Don Ravon
Cover Design: Sean Coon
Cover Photograph: Kevin Belton
I really dig how Don has classified The Leeves — Punk jazz. Fits, doesn’t it?
MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Blake Faucette
Camera: Blake Faucette
Camera: Micah Moore
Camera: Ashley Panzera
Sound: Danny Bayer
Sound: Don Ravon
Producer: Matt “Beard” Williams
If you’d like to hear more from The Leeves’ set that night, the live album is currently available for the low, low price of $1.53. If you’re new to the Amie Street process, be sure to use our promo entrance page to sign up for an account and receive free money to buy albums and support our local artists by putting coin directly in their pockets.
Power chords. Smoking & playing. Moshing. Yeah, we had a punk rock show. QAR killed it that night.
MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Ashley Panzera
Camera: Andy Coon
Camera: Blake Faucette
Camera: Micah Moore
Camera: Ashley Panzera
Sound: Danny Bayer
Sound: Don Ravon
Video Producer: Matt “Beard” Williams
If that got you worked up, you might want to check out the live album, currently available over at Amie Street.
MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Blake Faucette
Camera: Andy Coon
Camera: Blake Faucette
Camera: Jennifer Graves
Camera: Micah Moore
Sound: Danny Bayer
Sound: Don Ravon
Video Producer: Matt “Beard” Williams
Just in case you’re interested, the live album is currently available for $1.80. If you’re new to the Amie Street process, be sure to use our promo entrance page to sign up for an account and receive free money to buy albums and support our local artists by putting coin directly in their pockets.
Duncan, Jeff and Joe killed their set and were great sports, as a mystery woman performed a birthday tootsie roll dance smack dab in the middle of their music video shoot.
Such is Greensboro, baby.
MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Blake Faucette
Camera: Andy Coon
Camera: Blake Faucette
Camera: Jennifer Graves
Camera: Micah Moore
Sound: Danny Bayer
Sound: Don Ravon
Video Producer: Matt “Beard” Williams
If you loved that, the Amie Street album is currently available for $2.12. If you’re new to the AS process, be sure to use our promo entrance page to sign up for an account and receive free money to buy albums and support our local artists by putting coin directly in their pockets.
A timely, beautiful tune, living out in a small city in North Carolina during a deep recession.
MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Jennifer Graves
Camera: Jason Marc Pierce
Camera: Bret Jones
Camera: Jennifer Graves
Sound: Danny Bayer
Sound: Don Ravon
Video Producer: Matt Williams
If you enjoyed the video, the Amie Street live album is currently available for $1.98. If you’re new to the AS process, be sure to use our promo entrance page to sign up for an account and receive free money to support our local artists by putting coin directly in their pockets.
You can also listen to the entire show, including prelude stories to songs, for free over at Last.fm.
Laurelyn’s Anna Lee received fame when it was recorded by Levon Helm on his Grammy Award winning album, Dirt Farmer. Two very different sounding versions. We’re obviously biased here in Greensboro.
MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Jason Marc Pierce
Camera: Jennifer Graves
Camera: Bret Jones
Camera: Jason Marc Pierce
Sound: Danny Bayer
Sound: Don Ravon
Video Producer: Matt Williams
If you loved that, the Amie Street album is currently available for $1.98. If you’re new to the AS process, be sure to use our promo entrance page to sign up for an account and receive free money to support our local artists by putting coin directly in their pockets.
Oh yeah, you can also listen to the entire show, including prelude stories to songs, for free over at Last.fm.
MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: Jordan Mendys
Camera: Jordan Mendys
Camera: Matt Williams
Camera: David Bradley
Sound: Danny Bayer
Sound: Don Ravon
If you dig the video, the Amie Street album is currently available for $1.12. If you’re new to the AS process, be sure to use our promo entrance page to sign up for an account and receive free money to support our local artists by putting coin directly in their pockets.
MUSIC VIDEO CREDITS
Editor: David Bradley
Camera: Jordan Mendys
Camera: Matt Williams
Camera: David Bradley
Sound: Danny Bayer
Sound: Don Ravon
If you dig the video, the Amie Street album is currently available for $1.20. If you’re new to the AS process, be sure to use our promo entrance page to sign up for an account and receive free money to support our local artists by putting coin directly in their pockets.
