Shaman Work President & Nao M+C family, John Robinson, speaks on his recent trip to South Africa

I had the opportunity to send a few questions by John Robinson for an interview. If you don't know who he is, you are missing out. JR is a dope NY emcee that has been rocking the mic steady for over ten years. He represents real hip hop, none of that "Soulja Boy off in this hoe!" shit you hear on the radio. Check him out...

Interview taken from www.thehiphoppost.com



So for those readers on the blog who aren't fully acquainted with you yet, could you give us a brief description of yourself?



JR: Yes, Indeed Peace to all the readers out there in the virtual world. My name is John Robinson aka Lil Sci of the Scienz of life crew! I have been professionally releasing substance and integrity Hip Hop independently for over a decade. I have worked with the likes of MF DOOM, J Rawls, Madlib, Talib Kweli, and many others during my journey. The best way to put you all in tune with who John Robinson truly is check the discography here.

I have always wondered about the meaning(s) of your stage name(s). Where did you get Lil Sci and are "Lil Sci" and "John Robinson" meant to represent separate personas?

JR: Lil Sci or Lil Scienz describes my style of rhyming and approach to doing music. I spoon feed the masses by giving them want they want, so that they will want what i have to give. It means "A little bit of science at a time". John Robinson on the other hand is my given name that I recently decided to begin using professionally in my music career. DOOM actually was the one to inspire me using my real name to do music. Now he is here for all of you to bear witness "John Robinson"!

The main distinction is Lil Sci rhymes in a live and direct fashion usually whether on stage or in the studio. John Robinson rhymes with more of a personable tone. He rhymes to the entire world one person at a time.

I Am Not For Sale sounds great from what I have heard so far, I look forward to buying that. While making the album what was the main message that you wanted to get across to readers?

JR: First off thanks for your praises, kind words and support. My main message with "I Am Not For Sale" is that this music is sooo much bigger than money and record sales and all that other biz and politics. Music saves lives and inspires people to do things that they probably would not have before coming to certain realizations, so with this title I took a stand saying "I Am Not For Sale" you can't buy my soul nor will I compromise my integrity or my perspective for commercial gain period.

What do you make of the current state of hip hop? Do you think hip hop is dead?

JR: Hip Hop will never truly DIE! The energy that is has been creative from will exist forever, it is boundless! My take on the state of the culture is pretty straight forward. I don't hate everything this is being played on the mainstream level. I just feel that there is a huge lack of balance of the sound and perspective that closely represents the principles that have been put in place since the foundation was layed by the wise pioneers of this culture in the South East Bronx, NY 34 years ago now. KRS said it best "We will be here forever!"

Who were you supporting in this year's election?

JR: OBAMA all the way man. I can't remember the last time we actually had a candidate in place in the running that feels as articulate, intelligent, charismatic, knowledgeable and more inspiring than right now! This is truly history right before our eyes! Let's change the world yall!

I know you have worked with some great producers like MF Doom and Flying Lotus, who was your favorite so far and who is one producer you might want to work with in the future?

JR: Hard to truly pick a favorite but if I had to it would be my brother and partner in Scienz of Life - I.D. 4 Windz! The chemistry we have naturally is unmatched in terms of how we are able to work together and although it hasn't been displayed much in my other works outside of Scienz of Life definitely stay tuned to hear a lot more gems!!!

Now don't get me wrong though all the producers I work with give their own unique level of brilliance. Especially Flying Lotus he has this young inspirational insight that he shares when we build and work together that makes it feel automatic. I know we have a lot more work to accomplish in the near future! DOOM lends another form of insight and perspective that is full of experience on many levels from writing, to delivery, to word choice and cadence on down to the outlook of the approach on the mic to the people. Definitely learned a great deal about my craft from DOOM and it has helped me become a better writer in the last several years.

While you were growing up, who were some of your biggest musical influences?

JR: This list is soooooooo long man! I will just name a small amount that comes to mind! Stevie Wonder, Brand Nubian, KRS, SLick Rick, Chaka Kahn, Anita Baker, Miles and Trane, Charlie Parker, Archie Shepp, J Dilla, and sooooo many more... this list is boundless!

What tracks/artists are getting heavy play for you right now?

JR: Lately I have been listening to a lot of old school Reggae Roots! Stone love vibes like Beres Hammond, Freddie Macgregor and Dennis Brown. also a great deal of Soul music like Patrice Rushen, Bobby Womack, Stevie, Anita and Sade.

Just hear the new Q Tip Renaissance album and I love it! Tip is definitely Repping the realness. Straight up grown man substance and integrity for the people!!!

A huge thanks goes out to John Robinson for taking the time to answer a few questions for us. Make sure to check out his latest release I Am Not For Sale.

History in the making for sure! A friend asked me today do I think Barack Obama was purposely place in the presidential position and will eventually end up showing us he is just like the rest of them. He truly feels that the gov't is full of conspiracies and definitely can't see them letting certain things align in order to truly bring positive change to the U.S. and the rest of the world. My outlook on things are simple, we are dealing with a scenario where a man put in extreme amounts of hard work to fulfill a dream and his idea was manifested. On the conspiracy level maybe it is time where all color lines and borders have been erased and Obama had the master plan an intelligence to propel above the norm. I can easily say I followed both campaigns pretty in depth and it was obvious to me that Barack was the better man for the job.



The Bottom line was the Republican campaign was based around them constantly taking stabs at Barack and what he can't and won't do. The Democratic campaign was based on information that the people were interested in and re-explaining the corrections of the same stabs the he has expounded on over and over again. It's funny to me how this is definitely still turning out to be a race thing! So many people are worried that we are DOOMED because a Black man is president now. I say the only thing constant in the universe is Change! Let's get it!

A friend and fellow emcee/producer Jax passed away a couple days ago in Atlanta on stage during a performance. The beauty of the situation is he died doing what he loved most! The ugly part is that it truly hurts to lose such a good brother at such a young age. I have had the pleasure of building with this brother and the Binkis crew while living in ATL from 2000-03, we did work together as he is featured on the Scienz of Life - Project Overground and most memorable we shared a lot of laughs together! Jax was that brother that 99.9% of the time he was smiling or making jokes that kept people laughing. This brother will truly be MISSED! Below is a story from the Creative loafing newspaper in Atlanta giving more details about what happened:

Jax of Atlanta's legendary indie hip-hop crew Binkis Recs suffered a heart attack while onstage at Lenny's last night and was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital. According to close friend and Binkis crew member Flux da Wondabat, Jax was performing the title track from his 2007 solo album, Sharper Images.

"He was performing onstage and he just passed out in the middle of his verse," said Flux. "We went to the emergency room and then they came out and gave us the word."

Formed in 1997, the Binkis Recs trio (Jax, Flux, Killa Kalm) quickly established itself as a true alternative to the commercial, crunk sound that defined Atlanta near the end of the millennium. "Atlanta is weird because it's two scenes," N.Y. native Jax told CL in 2005. "It's the natives and the transplants. And the scene that most people know - the OutKast and Ludacris - are all from here. A lot of us on the underground level are from somewhere else."

The group's name still speaks volumes - the acronym BINKIS stands for "Before Ignorant Niggas Killed Intelligent Songs." They released several CDs, including 2003's The Reign Begins. Though most failed to register commercially, their impact among Atlanta's independent hip-hop scene is still felt.

"Binkis Recs paved the way for what a lot of younger Atlanta hip-hop musicians are able to do right now," says former ATF Records label mate and friend, J-Mil of Collective Efforts. "A lot of people don't even know that DJ Drama got his start with these brothers."

'I Am Not for Sale' is the culmination of over a decade of tireless work from one of Hip Hop's most slept on MCs and all round renaissance man - John Robinson aka Lil Sci. Many of you will know J.R. from his work with Sol Uprizing or Scienz of Life or from the stellar output of the Shaman Work label which he runs together with Chris Craft and Lamar Gilliam. John's is also a unique voice you may recognize from a glut of guest appearances for and collaborations with Madlib, Count Bass D, Rawkus Records, MF DOOM, Daedelus, Ammon Contact, Dwight Trible, Jneiro Jarel and Flying Lotus.

Having teased the underground community in the last two years with the widely acclaimed mixtapes 'The Leak Edition' Volume 1 & 2 (and subsequent vinyl sampler 'Leak Edition EP 1' on Fat City) J.R. is ready to unleash his official debut album release. Production on this project comes from some of the most groundbreaking beat makers around today namely FLYING LOTUS, JNEIRO JAREL & IG CULTURE, perfectly complimenting John's poetic flow and forward thinking vision.

I Am Not For Sale! This album is a must COP! The Realness is Back...

Me I remember her from that Elektra Records Mid 90's Era definitely someone you want to know about in this wonderful world of music Bizness Check her Resume:

Sylvia Rhone (born March 11 1952 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) began her music career in 1974 with Buddha Records. Advancing to senior VP of Atlantic Records in 1988, she became the first African-American woman to head a major record company in 1990, when she was appointed president/CEO of Atlantic division Eastwest Records.

The following year, she was promoted to chairman/CEO of the combined Atco/EastWest and subsequently EastWest Records America. During that time she worked with such acts as En Vogue, Gerald Levert and Simply Red.

In 1994, Rhone became chairman/CEO of Elektra Records. She oversaw the consolidation of four labels into the Elektra Entertainment Group, whose roster included rapper Missy Elliott, Metallica, Jet, hip hop's Fabolous and Yolanda Adams. Rhone exited that post in March 2004 when Elektra was dismantled by its parent company, Warner Music Group.

In 2004, she was appointed president of Universal Music Group's Motown Records and executive VP of Universal Records. Kedar Massenburg, who had been Motown president/CEO, exited the company that July.

Rhone is also a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Thriller 25 is a 25th Anniversary special edition reissue of the Michael Jackson album Thriller, the world's best selling album.



Jackson released his sixth studio album, Thriller, on November 30, 1982. Selling, by different estimates, 47 million to over 100 million copies worldwide, Thriller became the best-selling album of all time; the album was the first in history to spawn seven top-ten singles. The success of Thriller put Jackson into the dominating position of pop music, becoming an international pop-cultural icon.

(Photo ROB)

The True question should be have you seen Nola Darling perform yet? Well let me Break it down 4 u! "They're DOPE!"

Nola Darling is the female dynamic duo consisting of Aziza Montenegro and Nikkobya Bisou. I first witnessed Nola Darling Performing @ a spot in BKNY with their crew the AOK Collective which Includes Fresh Daily, 2 Hungry Bros., Homeboy Sandman and more. Although I loved the entire crews performance I must say I was sooper dooper impressed with the fact that Nola was able to rock shock the house full of straight Hip Hop heads with their soulful blend of Hip Hop, Reggae and Soul music. If I had to make a comparison I would say it was a cup of Salt N Pepa, TLC and Monie Love, with sprinkles of Queen Latifah in her prime. A breath of fresh air to say the least, it always makes me feel good when I see women express themselves within the realms of Hip Hop and just be women instead of trying to deliver extra agressive as if Beautiful woman can't rock the MIC too!

(Photo ROB)

Nola Darling is indeed a Powerful group that has boundless potential to become well known all over the globe for the brilliance they bring to the eyes and ears of the masses. If you haven't already check out Nola D on their myspace http://www.myspace.com/whoisnoladarling

Definitely look out for these Fly Soul Sistah's as they prep for many things in 2009!

Oh Yeah and when u go to their page don't forget to download the FREE (Pretty Gritty Mini - Mixtape)

Peace all,

Mr. Robinson just breaking in this new Blogging feature on the all new Shamanwork.com! Thanks for stopping by to check us out we definitely appreciate every bit of it. For those who have no clue of some of what I have done musically in the past and to present I decided to set things off with a Discography lay out of all that I have been doing for a decade plus in this wonderful all so powerful world of MUSIC!

John Robinson Discography (Accomplishments)

1996

Scienz of Life debut 12" Powers 9 Ether b/w The Anthem on Fondle'em Records. International Recognitions Begins!!!!

1997

Scienz of Life Release 2nd 12" Metaphysics b/w Year 2000 on Fondle'em Records. S.O.L Flood Shows through out the Tri-State

1998

Lil Sci Appears on Lyricist Lounge Album Vol. 1 (Outside the Lounge Feat. Talib Kweli, Shabaam Saadiq, Wise Guy and Word da Mouth) Same year A Song called "Doing Our Thing" by S.O.L Produced by Don Q was bootlegged by a fraud company called "Slum Brother Records" (If ya own a copy of this consider it a collector's Item at our Expense)

1999

Scienz of Life Collab with French DJ/Producer Dee Nasty and Record "Divine Connection" The Cross Seas Anthem!!! On Guidance Recordings Scienz Tour Paris before the debut album. Also the Year S.O.L inked a Deal With 3-2-1 Records in NYC A&R by Bigg Juss (Lune Tns, Company Flow) soon after 3-2-1 Goes Bankrupt!!!!!

2000

Scienz of Life releases their Debut Full Length "Coming Forth by Day" on Subverse Music. Scienz Tours Italy and Europe Promoting the Record…Scienz Tours the States promoting the Album…Lil Sci appears on Ace Lover 12" joint "Lucky 7", Scienz of Life.com is launched. Lil Sci releases Solo 12" on Cybertek/Buds distribution in NYC "Black Artist" b/w "Life Itself"

2001

Lil Sci Named Resurrection Battle Champion in ATL. Scienz of Life release limited edition "Strange Fruit" ep on Subverse Music. Lil Sci Appears on Mars ILL 12" on "Mona Lisa", Lil Sci Appears on Marq Spekt 12" "Shoplifter" produced by ID 4 Windz. S.O.L Appears on Paris' France's own DJ Dee Nasty's Nastyness Album with a Song called "Pirates". S.O.L Combine with the Super Villain MF Doom and bring the Underground Classic "Yikes"!!!! Scienz of Life Perform @ the Legendary Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, Feat. Run Dmc, George Clinton and the P-Funk All stars, The Pharcyde, Dj Dee Nasty and many, many more.