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run dmc

A Honest Guys Take On New York’s Comic Con

by Ryan Shea

Manhattan Digest, New York Comic Con, Comic Con

Half Naked Wolverines, Rubber Duckies, and Amber Benson.  A Good Formula For Comic Con 2014

I for one can admit I am not the biggest fan of Comics.  I grew up more on video games and when that faded out my love for music kind of stuck and I kind of turned a blind eye and deaf ear to any other influences that my friends could’ve brought on me.  So cue to this past weekend where for the 2nd time (first time I stayed briefly) I went to the New York City Comic Con, taking place at the Jacob Javitz Center over on 33rd and 11th, conveniently right by Penn Station.  This is Halloween for Professionals, and what I mean by that it the people who actually show up in costume put an incredible amount of effort into what they are portraying more than the slutty nurse or sexy Cat Woman that you see on a drunken Halloween night.  For all things Comic Con, this was something completely out of bounds for me yet after a short period of time I started to warm up to and whereas it is something I wouldn’t necessarily die to go to each year it is something that I would browse around for a good amount of time to see what the convention brought on.

Manhattan Digest, New York Comic Con, Comic Con
Credit to: Photos By Scruffy

Something that I personally enjoyed was the throwback’s to games and relatable comics when I was growing up.  Comic Con brought on anything from Capcom to Charlie Brown, and had something there for everyone regardless of age, background and likability for a particular thing you are a quote unquote fanboy of.  The Willy Wonka aspect of Comic Con was that it really seemed endless and the focus was a sharp as a laser beam when it came to see what was next.  Comic Con was split up into multiple sections such as the show room floor, artist alleys and panel rooms for each fan to divulge and enjoy.  My personal favorite was actually the artist alley as you got to meet each artist individually and see what they brought to the plate, which was a bevy of colors, designs and intricate drawings that really enticed the eye.  My personal favorite was meeting Darryl McDaniels of the legendary Run DMC who on top of being a rap legend and pioneer is also a budding artist who came to Comic Con to display his goods.  Mixing art and music?  Good shit.

New York Comic Con, Comic Con, Manhattan Digest
Credit to: Photos By Scruffy

Being press has its advantages, in this particular case it was a big thing at Comic Con as you really got to meet a lot of the big time game designers, authors and more in a minimally claustrophobic environment.  The highlight for me was when my fellow writers David Baxter interview author and “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” actress Amber Benson, who has taken the sci-fi badass chick thing and elevated it into so many different facets of the industry, most recently her book she just published.  See the interview here if you haven’t already.  She turned me on to how much effort she put into this book and got me to understand the level and depths of the character she created.  That was another positive thing I got out of Comic Con, was the level of expertise many different types of people took on there.  Whether it was creating a costume like the one’s you see above, the art in a recent comic book or the words on a page discussing any numerous types of subject that is Comic Con related, you can undeniably doubt the passion these people have.  It was quite the feat they accomplished and for me was very refreshing to see.

Manhattan Digest, New York Comic Con, Comic Con
Credit to: Photos By Scruffy

Overall I would give Comic Con an 8 out of 10.  Not my forte, never will be, but had quite a lot of fun while there.  Heck, I even got my nephew a rubber ducky as they actually had one of those vendors at Comic Con.  So at least I made one person happy with this article :).  For more information on New York City’s Comic Con, log on to their official site.

 

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT Tagged With: Amber Benson, capcom, charlie brown, comic con, darryl mcdaniels, new york comic con, run dmc

Hip-Hop Icon Nature on his past, present and future with DCM

by Ryan Shea

Credit to: Deep Concepts Media
Credit to: Deep Concepts Media

 

Hip-Hop icon Nature has been in the game far longer than many rappers even dream of having that kind of longevity.   A key and pivotal figure of the hip-hop movement of the 90’s, he successfully did what many artists dream to do in securing a number one debut with The Firm’s freshman release of “The Firm: The Album” with AZ and Foxy Brown.  A childhood friend of Nas, he catapulted his career shortly afterwords with the release of “For All Seasons” and has become an important emcee in the game for over two decades.  Now he has exclusively linked up with Long Island hip-hop label Deep Concepts Media and has released the first installment of “Seasons Changed 4” EP Series, produced by a variety of great guys from Little Vic to DJ Concept.  In this exclusive two part interview with Manhattan Digest, Nature sits down with me to discuss his past with The Firm, his relationship with Nas, and his future with DCM.  Check it out.

At what age did you know you wanted to take hip-hop seriously?

I was in love with hip-hop since I was a little kid, from aspects of break dancing to the graffiti and all of that.  What I would do when I would come down to the actual rapping was change the words of the popular song and do my own thing with them.  Around 12 or 13 is when I started to realize I had a knack for this kind of thing.

Who were you influences that inspired you to become a rapper?

When I growing up there wasn’t as many rappers out there as there are today.  So for me it was legends like Run DMC, LL Cool J and the guys like that that were making their mark in the game.  The first hip-hop record that I fell in love with LL himself with “Radio”.

When did things really start making waves for you in the industry?

Well I’m fortunate enough to come in the game with guys like Nas and Track Masters and Dr. Dre and stuff like that.  There was no middle ground for me, it went from just rapping locally to the guys in school and the block and now you are flying out to Miami and LA and doing big things.  It took a while to adjust to that.  I went from the baddest box straight to third base pretty much.

How would you describe your sound overall?

My sound is pretty vintage.  I come from an era where you had to make sense when you rhyme and it isn’t much about the materialistic things that seem to populate the airwaves right now.  Mine is a mix of old and new, beats that I like. I am a fan of what is out today but I came in the game in the 90’s so I am attached to everything that was out in that era.

What was the process of coming into The Firm like?

For me it was cool because I got to go through Nas who was a childhood friend of mine so I didn’t have to go through A&R and all of that.  Any questions that I had I would throw to him, didn’t really deal with the other people.  I didn’t realize how big or how much potential that project had, it was my first real shot.  I understood there was a lot of money put behind this, so each of us really put our best effort forward when it came to making this album and it really came together and the results were just phenomenal when it was released.

How did it feel to have that album hit number one on the Billboard 200?

That was amazing! Everywhere that I went people would recognize me and know certain things and I was like “Whoa! This is crazy!” I didn’t have enough time to adjust to it.  We would go out, make an album and shoot some videos and all of a sudden it was number one.

Check back here tomorrow where he discusses his thoughts on hip-hop today, his new EP and his plans for a hopeful future.  Take a listen to his new EP here and for all things DCM click on this link.

Filed Under: ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC Tagged With: billboard, billboard hot 200, little vic, nas, nature, run dmc, the firm

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