STAY TUNED The Album: First Frontier

Theme and Meaning:

Stay Tuned...In the midst of all struggles and pursuits of happiness, stay tuned to yourself, your family, your God, hiphop, jazz and soul. -JahOfYork

Staying tuned means staying focused on that which you love, you hope for and work towards whatever it may be. Doing whatever it takes to motivate you, keep you motivated, proceed and ultimately succeed at your goals!

This album is the story of ONE young expatriate from the Bronx, New York, who was bound to complete his own album and survive in the face of common, everyday adversities, many distractions, heart-wrenching moments, severe devastation and tough choices. Not forgetting to mention, that he had to do it between TWO continents, Europe and America!! He speaks through the voice of others, what he has seen and personally experienced.

The Music and Sound:


The first frontier in JahOfYork's musical mark...The album shall include fusions of Jazz/Soul/Hip-hop vibes within the realms of Urban Electronica. Certain elements of Latin Jazz, Bossa Nova and Classical techniques are also integrated into the compilation. Stay Tuned, is bringing fourth constructive vocals and lyrics to fill your ears with bold, soothing, modern-sounds. The sound has been explained to be a blend of old-skool and nu-skool, pop of timeless proportion with various sensibilities with regards to genre. Stay Tuned is definitely distinct in many ways, yet each song shares links of a larger and fresher unified fusion ideology.

How The Concept Began...

"Year 1 in Eindhoven city in Holland shortly after the reuniting of my biological father's family and I...

One late night after visiting some family in Eindhoven, I found myself chilling at a house gathering hosted by a young gentleman named Shine (via another friend ShockNSuprise).

Shine, a local and familiar Hip-Hop rapper/producer to the south of Holland was cracking jokes along with some other folks that evening. Of course, I was not aware or knowledgeable of how much Hip-hop and Soul influenced the Netherlands in the 80's and 90s, being that I was still fresh out of NYC. Somehow, after a few beers, cigarettes and other enjoyable Dutch amenities, Shine decides to trudge up to his attic. He invited Me and some other folks upstairs to just vibe on music. If I remember correctly, another rapper/cool-kat name Jamie Flexx (from s-Hertogenbosch city) was present that night. It transitioned into a listening to Shine's-beats-session and it was seriously moving. HOT STUFF!! I wasn't really expecting the type of high quality lyrics and rhythmic variety that he spun. Especially, because there is soooo much garbage and imitation rap abroad (AND in The States!!). So a few more beers, whiskey and such, and before I knew it, Shine spread love and passed dat mic to ME!


Now, it was my first time grabbing a microphone in almost five years so, I totally didn't know where my vocals would land. I lent my voice to two tracks that night if I remember correctly, 'What If Featuring Jamie Flexx' and 'Hold The Key Featuring PashThaMC'. From then on, it was all a compatibility of clicking chemistry. I found myself spending a lot of time, almost every weekend at Shine's until the birth of my first solo song with him, 'NY2Amsterdam'. This was the birth of the Stay Tuned concept..."

Collaborators and Producers:

Shine (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) - www.myspace.com/shinysfood
Charlie "Skaikyboom" Blender (Boxtel, The Netherlands) - www.myspace.com/shaikyboomblender
Funktional J (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) - www.myspace.com/jermainezmuzik
Mikula (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) - www.myspace.com/mikulamusic
Chilli (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Nelson&Djosa (Rotterdam, Netherlands) - www.myspace.com/nelsondjosa
PashaThaMc (Brooklyn, NYC, USA) - www.myspace.com/pashatheemcee
StepOne (Paris, France) - www.myspace.com/steph1music

Other Supporters:

Shirley Spoor (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
Jordie van Toornburg (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
Jasmine Morris (Brooklyn, NYC, USA)
Henk Wielzen (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
Zawadi Noel (Brooklyn, NYC, USA)
Ebony Fay (Los Angeles, USA)

Photograhers:

Leyla T. Rosario (The Bronx, NYC, USA) - www.thejumpproject.com

Remi Ferrante (Montellier/Paris, France) -
http://lestudyo.carbonmade.com
http://lunettesfrance.com
http://lunettesfrance.blogspot.com
http://trend-e.tumblr.com/
http://www.myspace.com/idibiandhop
http://twitter.com/Remiferrante
http://nightbooth.tumblr.com/
http://ffffound.com/home/jojolaguitare/found/

Florrie Beasley (England, United Kingdom)