A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
AB, TAKES YOU INSIDE THE NORTHERN LEAGUE EMPIRE
Northern League has quietly built an underground empire. They have outsmarted most artists trying to get on by finding outlets for their music that will pay them without having to sign a major deal. By placing their music in movies, television shows and video games they have been able to create a huge buzz around their name, making marks on the industry just by grinding hard and keeping a clear focus. AB talks to us about how they have been able to grow their business maintain their friendships and cut off the slackers to get to the next level. Building an empire is not easy but AB gives us the blueprint to how to get it started.
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Street Connfinement: AB, what’s good? Northern League is in the building! Can you start by re-introducing yourself to the readers?
AB: For those who don’t know me, I'm the 5 star general behind the money machine we call Northern League. I've been blessed to play a huge role in the creation and the direction of the group, alongside my partners Keith Lo and FS Beatz. For the past six years we've built the League into an underground media monster, which focuses on TV, movies and video games as well as releasing two highly acclaimed CD’s (Wet Paint, and Hustle Now vol.1), which both won CD of the Year for 2008 and 2009 at HBV awards.
Street Connfinement: You were talking about having to continuously re-build the team, as far as always having a lot of artists around you, and dealing with changes. Tell us a little about that situation.
AB: Well, we went through a period where we wanted to establish a strong movement, we were trying to develop and brand the artists we were working with at the time, unfortunately wasn't working out. There were multiple artists. You have to deal with their egos and different personalities. Sometimes things just don’t work out. So those that were strong, we maintained our relationship with, and those that weren't, parted ways. They just didn’t fit the program, and I wish them the best of luck. The end result is that I'm still working with a few of the best writers around, which are Keith Lo, Skarr Vega, Maine Do, Rapz, Price, Wicked, and Manny James just to name a few. Basically, the “Hustle Now”, CD series that we just released will showcase the talents of our current line-up. The HN vol. 1 CD will take you on a journey through club, hip hop, R&B as well as pop. It's an incredible piece of work, and all the production was done by FS Beatz. The next mix CD, we will be tapping into some new producers for a different feel. Production work by Deanero, Enemy Child, & Yayo so…that’s the team right there. It’s not going to change from there, that‘s what I would call our version of the dream team.
Street Connfinement: You always manage to keep yourselves busy doing projects and shows…Where does that motivation come from?
AB: It’s just the love, man… just the natural passion. If we don’t have music, what do we have? That’s the ultimate outlet, to be able to let go and express ourselves without worrying or thinking about problems with family and stress in life. I mean, if we didn’t have that outlet, I don’t know what we would do. The motivation comes from each other, and trusting and believing in one another allows it to work. I do this because I want to see my team succeed. We've come so far that it’s like. Why stop now? We have to keep striving until we can get to that next level. The feeling that we get when our families hear us on TV or in a video game is great! There is nothing like it, it’s priceless! Now our focus is to bring more heat on the street level, and show a variety of different styles on the next few projects.
Street Connfinement: Does this mean that your music’s going to adapt more to the streets?
AB: Absolutely. We’re going to have some good street stuff, some hood club stuff, but still doing us. It’s going to be our version of the streets…the fast life/ the good life side of the streets. I mean, hip hop is supposed to be whatever you feel, so we are going to have our version of the streets where you can just go out there on the block and hang with your peoples, get money, whatever... Are we the most gangsta? No, we never said that. Are we the baddest? No, we never said that. We are about our business, our money, and our music. That’s it, and the new music will reflect that.
Street Connfinement: Tell us about the “Bomb Shelter” CD you guys are about to put out.
AB: “Bomb Shelter”, is going to be the 1st of many street CD’s we release, 10 tracks will probably be the maximum on it. It's quick and simple, but very impactful. It’s going to be a good CD with a lot of powerful music, catchy tunes, catchy verses, and quality choruses. Some R&B, hip hop, street, and pop sounds. It will be the first CD completely produced by Deanero and we will be introducing Price, Maine Do and T-Quest into the mix as well. You can also expect appearances from Vega, Rapz, and King P from the UK.
Street Connfinement: How did you come up with the name “Bomb Shelter”?
AB: It’s funny because the studio that we use, we've been blessed to have for about 3½ years now. We get people from all over that come through, and we feel more at home here than anywhere else. They may be uncomfortable going to certain places because their music’s not going to come out right, or the sound’s not going to come out right, or the environment is stressful. So I look at it as being a safe haven for everybody to come and express themselves without having anything to worry about. So, “Bomb Shelter”, when the world is in turmoil and everything is going down, and you need a safe haven to go to. We have the bomb shelter. And when you look at the music we're creating, it’s very explosive and impactful, and that’s where the name comes from.
Street Connfinement: Northern League has never pursued the major label distribution.
You decided to take your music and go towards the independent side. Tell us about the grinds that you had to go through, not having that major backing and doing everything on your own, and still being able to arrive at the point that you’re at now.
“By doing everything on our own, we have 100 percent creative control over our work, which a lot of people can’t say that they have”.
AB: By doing everything on our own, we have 100 percent creative control over our work, which a lot of people can’t say that they have. We control our own masters, so we make our money off of those masters. We’ve had some attention from a few major labels, but we’ve stayed away from them because the music industry right now is going through a crazy period. When you have a slew of major acts struggling and trying to get off major labels, signing a deal doesn't look that appealing. For instance, I was just reading an interview with Young Joc who’s upset because he can’t release anything other than a mix tape because he’s trying to get out of his contract situation at Bad Boy. Sounds crazy! To the public, what you see on television and in the videos look so flashy and appealing, but the reality is that the music business is a tough, cut throat world where very few survive. So, when you have a lot of major acts that are getting off major labels...go figure. Finding alternate routes in this business is the key to staying relevant. We are good, for what we’re doing right now. It’s a good situation. We have our label together. We have our outlets via (iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon etc…the benefits are coming in slowly, but surely. What’s helping us out is the more music we put into the pipelines to get into TV shows and movies, the sales are coming from that. The mom-and-pop stores are slowly dying out, and people are going digital and we’re on top of it.
Street Connfinement: You said that you’ve been going digital, how do you feel about the whole game going that way?
AB: I think it’s something that artists are going to have to get used to. If you look at the timeline of music and where music started out, whether you’re talking vinyl, 8-tracks, or tapes, the sales went down with each item. They really never ever come back. When you see cassettes go up to their peak and then drop, people aren’t buying them anymore. It's the same for CD’s. It’s a change of the times. CDs have hit their peak. Nobody’s going 5 times platinum off CD’s anymore. The majors are struggling, and indie artists really need to become aware and adapt to it before they get left behind. The days of running around pushing your mix tapes in people’s faces are just about dead and again, this digital thing is going to peak and then, it’s on to the next thing so you better hope you don’t get left further behind. The digital thing is a blessing and a curse in this day, but you have to know how to adapt and move with the times. The attitude of the world today is... if I can't teach an old dog new tricks, then I’ll just get a new dog.
Street Connfinement: Northern League has done a lot of work in the past as far as TV shows and video games, but let everyone know exactly how extensive your resume is so they know just how serious you guys really are grinding.
AB: Let me see, I got the whole resume down-packed. In addition to what we already mentioned earlier there's also, CSI Miami, CSI New York, Making the Band, Parental Control, Real World, Road Rules, Paris Hilton’s My BFF, VH1s Tool Academy, NCIS, and the game- Need for Speed Carbon. We even did background music for the Playboy Review on the Playboy Playmate show. So, there are always things going on. We’ve done the movies, “Architect” and “Delirious”, “Stomp the Yard”, which we are most noted for. I probably forgot half the stuff we did on MTV. And now, we’re going to VH1 so a good percentage of the music you hear there, we may have some involvement. Here is complete list Northern League's music has been featured in:
Greek (ABC Family), Tool Academy (VH1), Playmate Review 2009 (PLAYBOY), Playmate Review 2008 (PLAYBOY), NCIS (CBS), CSI: New York (CBS), CSI: Miami (CBS/A & E), From G's To Gents (MTV), Nitro Circus (MTV), Paris Hilton's My New BFF (MTV), Making the Band season 4 (MTV), Making Menudo (MTV), Newport Harbor (MTV), Rob and Big (MTV), The X Effect (MTV), Adventures in Hollyhood (MTV), Bam's UnHoly Union (MTV), Parental Control (MTV), The Real World (MTV), Yo Momma! (MTV), Tilt (ESPN), Video Citi TV (The WB/CW Network), Weeds (Showtime), Entourage (HBO), Bob Thomas Ford (WYBC radio), Need for Speed, Carbon Edition (EA Sports), NBA Ballerz, Phenom (Midway Sports), Dance Audition (Online), Delirious , From Director Tom Dicollo, (2007), Stomp the Yard (Sony Picture, 2007), The Architect (Magnolia/HD Films, 2006), Alexa digital radio, Sirius/Xm Radio, and Uglyradio.net
Street Connfinement: Tell us about your performance at Toad's Place for the Slaughter House Tour and the people you had on the stage with you. How did that come about?
AB: Slaughter House came about through K-Dub (HOT 93.7) whom reached out to our operations manager Chris Abel. He let him know he was bringing Slaughter House to Toad’s Place and they were going to need some opening acts. Abel put it together and the result was a great show. We had a good time performing especially when the KishiGirls came on stage to rock with us. Slaughter House is about good hip hop. I think that the music we did complemented their style and we adapted and fit right into what was going on. The funniest thing in the world was when Joe Buddens reached down while he was on stage and picked up one of our $100 bill flyers and looked at it...like oh, alright that’s hot and stuck it in his pocket. We were able to build with some good dudes that night. I talked to Royce Da 5’9, Joel Ortiz, Joe Buddens and Crooked I. It was truly an honor to rock on stage with them.
Street Connfinement: I saw the whole thing. You guys had the place going crazy! I went downstairs later in the locker room and you could feel a good vibe. I mean, fans left happy. That was the key to the whole thing…new numbers, new connections.
AB: That’s what the show was supposed to be about. That was a really good show, everybody had a good time at and walked away happy about what they did that night. They walked away happy about buying that ticket and seeing some good performances all the way through the show. Shouts to Oncue also he did his thing.
Street Connfinement: Any last words for the haters… readers… supporters?
AB: Haters, I have no words for. They are all cute, man. That’s it. Haters are cute. That’s funny to me. They’ll hate when I’m not around, but soon as I come around, it’s all love.
“You gotta watch everyone. Even those close to you. It’s bad to say but it’s real. They know exactly who I’m talkin’ to”.
We have money to make, and no time for fake ones. Man up, do you, handle business and stay out of mine! That's all, no longer will I put my attention into people who don’t deserve it, grow up. Friendship is worth more than money, and jealousy can destroy a kingdom. Just some wise words…
Street Connfinement: What about the readers and supporters?
AB: Supporters and the readers…check out www.hustlenow.com , and listen for us on MTV and on VH1. Be ready for that new CD, because it’s going to be hot! To the other artists, if you don’t try something, somebody else will. I wish we could get together here in Connecticut, and have the support of the people. I wish they would come out more.
There are a lot of showcases going on out here in CT. People like Gee from State of the Art Movement are doing music a great service by providing a platform for groups to perform, and if people would actually come out and support these shows, we would have the same effect as Down South or the West Coast, just something to think about.
Also much respect to Mook N Fair! Congrats guys, I hope they have much success. They are a very talented duo. All of CT should be proud.
For more information and to get in contact with Northern League, please check out the following: www.hustlenow.com and www.myspace.com/northernleague
A.B-Northern League
203.785.1130 studio
Hustle Now Recordings Inc.
817 Chapel ST suite 3D
New Haven, CT 06517
http://www.hustlenow.com/
http://www.myspace.com/northernleague
http://www.yoyoyokids.com/
Hustle Now Studio North
Sargolini Publishing-admin by Kobalt Music Publishing
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