Performed at “The WOW” on March 14, 2010. From their upcoming project entitled “_____ _______”. This is Scottie Spitten’s (From HISD) favorite song this year. That’s a direct quote. That’s Scottie sticking his head thru the backstage curtain.

D. Rose – “Revolution”

From the album Taster’s Choice

Written by: D. Rose

Produced by / Cuts by: DJ Cozmos

Directed by: Damien Randle

From Damien -

My wife burst into the room as I was touching up the final edits on the video. I immediately hit her with “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Who’s doing the scratches on that song?”

“Coz.”

“Really? Coz?”

“Yes. Coz. He’s been a DJ all his life. He’s pretty good at doing cuts.”

“You don’t have to be an ass!”

“……….”

“Anyway, his scratches sound FABULOUS! I miss hip hop like that.”

Coming from my wife, that says a lot. If there’s one thing that’s indicative of hip hop, it’s the sound of a DJ moving the record back and forth in a rapid succession that creates the sound that we know as “the scratch”. And even though I was being an ass to my wife, I have to admit that there is something about the sound of some good cutting that puts me in a good place when it comes to listening to hip hop. It’s all but extinct in most music we hear today.

All of this brought back memories of the long days in my home studio where Tasters Choice was crafted. D Rose would make the 60 minute commute from the northside to write and record his vocals; Coz would lug his MPC into the room with a crate full of disks, disks that contained every track in his arsenal. I can’t even tell you how many we all listened to before they settled on the choice cuts that would become the album.

I also thought about the night that Coz came through with the mixer and turntable, and we listened to record upon record to find the right cuts for the right track. It’s funny, because what you hear on the final version of “Revolution” might have been the 5th or 6th set of cuts that they decided on. The others were equally as impressive, but this set just brought it home. And before you ask – no – there won’t be a leak of the alternate versions. You’re listening to the version that was meant to be heard.

I admire D Rose’s work ethic as much as one can admire anything. After a few false starts, he found the resolve to put together an album that I feel is timeless in its own right.It’s rare these days to see an MC and a producer helm an entire project together. Think of Gang Starr; Pete Rock & CL Smooth; Kool G Rap & Polo and so on. In today’s world of albums littered with scattered offerings from so many “super producers”, it’s refreshing to hear an album that has a consistency and warmth that can only be created under these settings. I’m saying that and I was in the room the whole time.

When D Rose hit me up for the video, he said that he wanted something “simple and elegant”. No frills, no bells & whistles. And that’s what you have here: a clean, vibrant look into the soul of a man who stands alone, but is always in the company of others. The city of Houston serves as a beautiful backdrop to his narrative. This was the one video that he had to do above and beyond any other on the album. It may be the song that best defines who he is.

I hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed creating it.

-D-

Yep – it’s coming! “Revolution” from D. Rose’s critically acclaimed “Taster’s Choice” album!

In this week’s episode: Coz is still MIA; D. Rose writes another classic in the studio, and reveals some info about the lineup for the album.

D. Rose’s Weekly Journal: Episode 03 – “Next Next NEXT Week” from Ethos Music Group on Vimeo.

D. Rose’s Weekly Journal – Episode 02: “Perfect Shaped Head” from Ethos Music Group on Vimeo.

Second installment of D Rose’s Weekly Journal.

The “Weekly Journal” is a new series from D. Rose and DJ Cozmos, that documents the creation of their follow up to the critically-acclaimed “Taster’s Choice”. We’re going to follow their progress every week; it’s an unprecedented look behind the scenes…

D. Rose’s Weekly Journal – Episode 1: “Sandpaper and Champagne” from Ethos Music Group on Vimeo.

DJ Cozmos is genuinely one of the most talented, creative, hard-working and funniest people that I have ever known. And a damned good barber.

I was introduced to DJ Cozmos through a mutual friend named Matt Sonzala back in 1993 (damn, that was a long time ago). Matt told us (K-OTIX) that he was kind of promoting a group called Seedz of Soul, who reminded him of us. We met at a hole in the wall club named Goat’s Head Soup. They were just getting on stage when we walked in. Standing at the back of the stage behind a set of turntables was the centerpiece of the trio, DJ Cozmos.

Their show was amazing. Afterwards, we all chopped it up for hours. A few days later, we were already in the studio, recording the first of countless collaborations with Coz:

Seedz Of Chaos (K-OTIX & Seedz of Soul, circa 1993)
[audio:http://k-otix.com/koweekly/seedzchaos.mp3]

He’s one of the absolute best at chopping samples. There’s maybe 3 other people on the planet that i’ve seen who can even come close. That’s why he’s remained an integral part of the camp. I have hundreds of beats that i’ve “acquired” from him throughout years. I don’t even have to write to them. I just like to listen. We’ve worked on a lot of projects together, and he’s DJ’ed quite a few shows for us as well. Yes – he’s a DJ. And a writer, lyricist, tagger, producer, licensed barber, culinary enthusiast, and whatever else he decides to be.

Recently, he’s teamed up with King Midas to form the production team of King Coz. I was fortunate to sit with them and bear witness to their methods first hand. Without trying to sound too biased, they’re going to change the landscape of how good music should sound. Mark my words.

Damien

The first leak this week is a collaboration featuring D Rose, Big Mon, HISD’s own Scottie Spitten. It’s called Safe Bet. It goes kinda hard.

Safe Bet

[audio:http://www.k-otix.com/koweekly/D%20Rose%20-%20Safe%20Bet%20(Featuring%20Priest%20and%20Big%20Mon).mp3]