The official blogspot of the Live Manikins

Full Canvas is here!

2011-11-21T18:53:00.000-08:00

Waddup World,

Thank you for staying in tune with the Live Manikins.

It has been a long road. It has been a beautiful journey, real talk. From the moment the idea of #FullCanvas came to it actually being in your ears. The concept, the art, the vision, the dream. #FullCanvas the name, came from the idea of a the world viewed from one. Once viewing this world with a blank canvas, an artist able to paint the world though ones imagination. The finish? a #FullCanvas. Flavius or as I would like to call him, a poet. aggressive intellect. Runt Rock, the one behind the production and constructs his vocal as if an instrument itself heavy flow aka SoulKid. JRockit aka Mr funkvibe swingin get up slick emcee. Self, you know the name deepness, matched to a rhythm. Mr. Lingo rapid flow lyrics is gold straight up, and the one the only turnablist trickery for the masses DJ Rated R.

Now we have just finished the album release. It was at a venue called Harlow's located in Sacramento, California. This venue we chose because of the dope sound system that is backed by a dope ass sound man, plus kitchen, #realtalk. The kitchen was for our brother in arms aka we can call him knowledge aka M.Chong launching his GetSRVD food blog. Let me take an excerpt from his spot," bridges the gap between food culture & daily lifestyle; influenced by my interest in music, art and more. Expect content that speaks to what I’m eating, how to make it, food news, and maybe even a rant or two, just for sh*ts and giggles. haha, (that was me laughing)

Shoutout and much respect to Submerge Magazine

Shout out to the sponsors for your help making this album release possible. Shoutout to the lovely Kasi Jones (kasij.com) for hosting the special night. The swagbags from those sponsors on the flyers made heads excited and kept there game right. Damn that was a fun night. Shout out to DesiIntervention for handling the photography. The pictures will be posted at www.DesiIntervention.com. The biggest part of this whole event was the fans aka we like to called them fam. We hit capacity and the night was dope because of you and we are forever grateful fam.

Live Manikins - Full Canvas live at Harlow's
The song Malfunktion was backed by Marc on the drums (Shades of Gray), Aaron on the guitar (A Single Second), Andrew on bass (Freqy Music Group) and Jupiter on the keys (Mind Majors).

#FullCanvas is brought to you by the label Freqy Music Group and Live Manikins. Knock this album loud and feel it. The engineering of Andrew, and the production from Runt Rock, DJ Epik, Resource and all the way from brazil Thiago Prodigo. Crank your ipods, we gave a lot of yall headphones which were provided by WickedAudio for yall to play it through, feel me. haha, to the world this is our #FullCanvas. For the heads, you can cop #FullCanvas now over at CDBaby, before it hit's iTunes.

Live Manikins - Full Canvas
Cop it

Intermission

2011-10-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

DJ Well Well Well.

Intermission:

The World, as some would call it seems to be an eye-opeing introduction.

Stay tuned, if one were to say awaiting the next rebellious outreach.

Live Manikins - We are and to you we say waddup. We thank you for staying tune for our music for the world. The time has been too long, yet the sequel is now. A Full Canvas, which you will here in its entirety. It has been a roller coaster of a year but the feeling is true. I heard that quote from somewhere, probably some random street wonderer yelling habits. Anyways, a lot of shows and memories have happen throughout this time. Let’s run some shall we?

Joints and Jams – Sleeprockers

Rated R brought a vision of just rocking joints and jams to be point blank with you. It’s been the themes that brought the vibe. Started at Capital Garage, (which is a dope food spot with a smaller stage but shout out to Capital Garage) which allowed him to it take off from a platform. Where did it end up you say? At the Sammies aka Sacramento Music Awards 2011 with thousands of people in attendance. (Side note – DJ Rated R won best Turntablist) During the process of the Joints and Jams molding, DJ Rated R formed a group with some well-respected DJ’s to form SleepRockers. In the group SleepRockers are DJ Rated R, DJ Mr. Vibe, DJ Nocturnal, DJ Wanted (2011 DMC West Coast Champion) and Kwes the Bess. All who have a repertoire deep into this love/culture we call Hip Hop. They brought you such events as:

and coming up that yall need to check out!

plug.

End.

A Beginning to something new, this weekend we will post up the coordinates to landing of Live Manikins sequel Full Canvas. Till then zone out to some drops.

Band of Brothers

Want us to come to you? Send your local promoter this.

Live Manikins Promo

Shot by 1080 Visual Duke!

one love y'all
Live Manikins

The July update!

2011-07-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

Waddup peoples!
hopefully the summer has been good to you. On our side in the live manikins world have been moving well. The album Full Canvas will be released under Freqy Music Group and we are lining up the 2011 shows. We need your help!

Hello,
We are Live Manikins and we are reaching out to you. As you may know we are a Hip Hop group based out of Sacramento, California and we are pursuing a dream. We are looking for some dates to rock shows in the U.S. (Eastcoast & Westcoast), Canada and Europe beginning Late July on to next year. We have been focusing on this dream since 2004. Together and individually Live Manikins has performed side by side with artists such as Nas, Snoop Dogg, Gym Class Heroes, Little Brother, Hieroglyphics, Krs-one and more. As well as worked with companies such as Red Bull, Boost Mobile, Virgin Megastores, Rane, Serato, Wicked Audio, Fila, Vitamin Water, Bed Head, Miller Genuine-Draft, EA Sports and more. Please hit us up or feel free to pass on this email to anybody of influence that you may feel will be able to help us book shows in your area. Thank you Peace and Blessings.

Full Canvas

2011-04-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

Peace x Love x Music

Happy friday and blessings to our fellow manikins out there. We out here! Man these days have been long wrapping up this project so we are going to give y'all some information on the newness. Yes I said newness a new word for a new day so yea haha. The Upcoming album that is dropping 2011 will be called "Full Canvas"
This project has new producer's and along with our new team. We have collabed with fellow Sacramento artist Shawn Burner to bring out our vision on the cover. Feeling ever so fresh yes indeed son. You will be shocked with our new sound compared to our last album Still Life. Shocked in a good way. If you still haven't copped Still Life I suggest you do since both albums are connected in a sense of growth. Word!

TrackListing

Who's That featuring Man@Arms & Lingo (Produced by the Gadjet)
P.S.A. (Produced by RuntRock)
Wii featuring Lingo (Produced by Resource)
Thunder & Lightning featuring Lingo (Produced by Resource)
Sleepy featuring Lingo (Produced by Thiago Prodigo)
Broken Levy featuring Lingo (Produced by Thiago Prodigo)
Great Heights featuring Lingo & Random Abiladeze (Produced by RuntRock)
Funkin featuring Lingo (Produced by Thiago Prodigo)
Word I say featuring Lingo (Produced by RuntRock)
Cali Sunshine (Produced by DJ Epik)
The Simple Truth (Produced by DJ Epik)
Dj featuring SleepRockers (Produced by RuntRock)
Party featuring Lingo (Produced by RuntRock
Shoe Fits featuring Lingo (Produced by RuntRock)
Band of Brothers featuring Lingo (Produced by RuntRock)
These Days featuring Lingo (Produced by RuntRock)
Drunk Saturday (Produced by Ospis)

One Love,
Live Manikins

Live Manikins 2011

2011-01-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

Welcome!
We are walking into a new year and we would like to say Happy New Years to all of you. It has been a long year in 2010 packed with a lot of new experiences, lessons and blessings. Now we are ready to embark on something new so let's start!

1st
In the year 2011 we have a new member that is officially a Live Manikin! You guys have seem him on stage with us before and he is part of the group DefRockit along with our family called Pangea Project. Have you guessed? haha well we welcome JRockit!!!!

Twitter
http://twitter.com/JRockit1

Also check his company website for web design and media consulting.
http://www.loricomedia.com

The EPK for our collective Pangea Project

2010-08-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

This is from our experience on KCRA Channel 3 news, Sacramento's Concert in the Park series and our introduction show at United State boutique.

3 Shows. Introduction of PangeaProject, Blu, and The Mixtape show!

2010-07-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

Blu is coming to Sacramento!

2010-06-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

For you!

2010-06-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

Why June 4th 2010 is important to your life!

2010-05-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

Peace,
I know I know interesting title huh? Well we have some performances that day and that is why we feel it is an important date. Let us run down the events in question:

Live Manikins will be rocking live on KCRA channel 3 between 7am to 9am. Tune in to start your Friday morning off right!

and then

YES!!!!!!
On June 4th Live Manikins will be rocking at Concert in the Park!!!! here is the lineup:

1st. - Live Manikins
2nd. - The Nibblers
3rd. - The Method Echo

Opens at 5:00pm so come out!!!!

Self and DJ Rated R on set for the video shoot of S.W.A.G. and Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes

2010-05-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
Well Self and DJ Rated R team up with the Non-Prophet organization called S.W.A.G. (Students with Aspiring Gifts) to help out with a video shoot they are submitting to the Pepsi Smash contest.

Here is a little bit of background on S.W.A.G.
Mission Statement: Student’s With Aspiring Gifts’ mission is to use hip-hop culture as a tool to meet the needs of students academically, creatively, and artistically. SWAG fosters a learning and academic environment that inspires students to delve in the knowledge of hip-hop culture while fulfilling their goals and aspirations in a profession that relates to the five elements of hip-hop.
Our Aim: Students With Aspiring Gift seeks to implement programs geared toward influencing the Hip-Hop generation. SWAG will influence the Hip-Hop generation through classes we offer that promote the five elements of hip-hop culture (i.e. deejaying, grafatti, mcing, b-boy/girl, knowledge and culture). SWAG is the bridge to engaging the underrepresented about hip-hop culture and providing resources to them that are difficult to obtain. Our aim is to showcase students’ talents and engage them in cultural arts events that exemplify their true talents. In order for us to sustain the longevity of SWAG we believe the community’s support will be the key factor in making our students goals and aspirations a reality.

The video shoot went nice. Havoc Boutique brought out a lot of there family to help shoot the message. Chad behind the camera lens and the idea came to light. In the middle of taping we noticed someone cruising around on there segway. None other than Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes. He came by and supported what we were doing by being in attendance. DJ Rated R and Luke ScratchRocker gave him some tips on the art of the DJ, battle DJ that is.

Beautiful day for being productive and having a vision. Stayed tuned to when the video will be uploaded so you guys can vote. A vision for the youth.

Peace and blessings

MAY 8TH "ART OF THE DJ" A tribute to RUN DMC. 6-8pm

2010-05-07T14:26:00.000-07:00

DJ Rated R will be presenting the Art of the DJ live on May 8th at Havoc Boutique located on 24th street between I and J street. It is Music infused with art dedicated to the Kings of Rock Run DMC!!

*Come early to check out the T-shirts that will be available!!

Download 'Shock' from Mr. Lingo's upcoming album

2010-03-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

With Mr. Lingo's debut solo album being released in the near future, it was only right for him to give you a little taste of what's in store. Listen to and download Shock from the upcoming album, 'Anybody Want a Peanut?' at MrLingo.Bandcamp.com!

<a href="http://mrlingo.bandcamp.com/track/shock">Shock by Mr. Lingo</a>

DJ Rated R Wins the All Star DJ Battle!

2010-03-05T22:06:00.000-08:00

Despite the tough competition, DJ Rated R has taken the crown as the winner of the All Star DJ Battle held in Folsom, California at Powerhouse Pub!

The competition was a combination of turntablism skills as well as song selection to keep the crowd going crazy. 9 of Sacramento's best DJs went head to head for a fierce battle. Behind DJ Rated R in the rankings are the well-known and well-respected DJ Lahn and Billy Lane.

Congratulations DJ Rated R!!!

Check out DJ Rated R at the DJ All-Star Battle

2010-02-16T23:28:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, February 23rd at the Power House Pub in Folsom, check out some of the dopest DJs in the Sacramento area battle it out for a $500 grand prize!

In the ring, we have DJ Mat Cali, DJ Kats, DJ Lahn, DJ Nita, DJ Oasis, DJ Mark West, DJ Rip 1, and your Manikin man on the tables, DJ Rated R.

Come out and support one of the biggest DJ battles of the year!

Hip Hop for Haiti 01/23

2010-01-19T23:17:00.000-08:00

As you all know, Haiti is going through an incredibly difficult situation right now in the aftermath of the recent earthquake that hit their small country. To help out towards the cause of assisting Haiti back onto their feet, Sacramento Hip Hop Congress and Capital Roots Production are putting together the Hip Hop for Haiti benefit show.

This show will feature art, dancing, deejays and performers. Hosted by Mic Jordan from Tribe of Levi, this event is bringing people together to raise money to donate towards disaster relief.

Performers include Live Manikins, Task1ne, Verbal Taktiks, Deloreon, DJ Rated R and many more.

If you can, come out and join us on January 23rd @ Capital Roots, 35-D Quinta Ct, Sacramento, CA 95823.

Pangea Project rocking Second Saturday at United State Boutique

2009-12-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

Pangea Project is ready to bless you December 12th for the Second Saturday event at United Boutique in midtown Sacramento!

From 6-10pm, Ambigious presents the Paddle Artshow featuring art by David Garibaldi, Amanda Lopez and more!

Live Manikins and DefRockIt will be blessing the Miller afterparty with DJ Rockbottom and Mike Colossal (sorry, invite only). If you're invited, we in it! Miller is sponsoring the event so get ready to drink!

Details at United State Online

GeekThugRadio launches on KUMS.fm

2009-10-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

Mr. Lingo is teaming with Tofu de la Moore of Righteous Movement and Omina Labs to bring you GeekThugRadio!

GeekThugRadio is a combination of a music and talk show, bringing you the best in local, underground and nerdcore hip hop and news, reviews, previews, and interviews about the latest in video games, phones and gadgets.

Be ready for a lineup of dope guests like Knobody from the Hieroglyphics crew and Task1ne from Sacramento's 1 Nation Army.

Tune in every Thursday from 6pm-8pm PT on KUMS.fm and follow the radio show on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GeekThugRadio

Runt Rock and J.Rock-It presents DefRockIt

2009-10-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

Pangea Project is out with a new release!

Runt Rock and J.Rock-It presents DefRockIt, the double EP featuring The Effort by Runt Rock and Analog in a Digital World by J.Rock-It

DefRockIt, previously known as Live Audible Soul, bring to you a blend of soul, R&B and party rockin' jams. On the album you can hear production by The Gadget and Mind Majors and lyrical contributions by Mahtie Bush, 5th Ave, Chara Charis and Live Manikins.

Pick it up now at United State Boutique in Midtown Sacramento.

Live Manikins share the stage with Gym Class Heroes

2009-10-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

On October 13th, Live Manikins are rockin the stage with Gym Class Heroes at Sacramento State!

Make sure to buy tickets early because the show is expected to be PACKED!

Last time Live Manikins performed at Sac State, they shared the battlegrounds with the Living Legends so you know you're in for a high caliber show!

Lorico Media is in effect!

2009-07-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

J.Rock-It of PangeaProject and DefRockIt brings your LoricoMedia, your one stop shop for graphic and web design.

Led by J.Rock-It (Jason Lorico) provides design services that has been displayed on multiple album covers, flyers, webpages and Twitter pages.

Need album art? A new logo? A fresh new web page design? Get at Lorico Media at LoricoMedia.com and www.Twitter.com/LoricoMedia

Live Manikins nominated for 3 Sammies!!!

2009-05-25T07:39:00.000-07:00

Live Manikins are nominated in 3 categories this year!!! Read below for info on the 2009 Sammies and the nomination bios

Vote NOW at www.Sammies.com

This year, the Sacramento Area Music Awards season is a little different.

First, beginning May 14, readers will be able to see many of the nominees at SN&R Sammies Showcases (see page 10 for lineups and dates).

Also, readers can begin voting for winners at www.Sammies.com . Voting ends June 14.

And finally, on June 27 at downtown’s Cesar Chavez Plaza, SN&R will announce the 2009 Sacramento Area Music Award winners at a free all-day, all-ages concert, SN&R Music Fest .

Basically, it’s gonna be six weeks of awesome local music. So use this Sammies 2009 guide to help you sort through the sets and gigs and make sure you take in the best music Sacramento has to offer.

Outstanding Hip Hop/Rap: Live Manikins

Live Manikins are emcees Runt Rock, Flavius, Linguistics & Self. It’s as close as Sacramento has to a supergroup. These guys are all doing solo stuff, as well as carving time to perform as a team. Their live shows are as raucous as a punk-rock set, but these dudes are strictly hip-hop, from the way they dress to the carefully crafted words they spit to their deejay, DJ Rated R, who’s always in one crazy predicament or another. J.F.

Sounds like : A Tribe Called Quest, the Pharcyde

Outstanding Turntablist: DJ Rated R

Known for sharing a stage with Live Manikins, DJ Rated R is often the star of the show. Like a skilled guitar soloist, oftentimes emcees will step off the mic and let Rated R do his thing as the crowd goes nuts. If you doubt the skills of a deejay, you haven’t seen DJ Rated R. J.F.

Sounds like : chiki-chiki

Outstanding Hip Hop Producer: Runt Rock

You might know this guy as an emcee with the legendary Live Manikins crew. But you might not know that some of those beats, flavored with Latin percussion and breezy melody, are produced by the one and only Runt Rock. If only Runt Rock could bust out some dance moves, he’d be the perfect triple threat. J.F.

Sounds like : Santana, J Dilla

StateHornet.com article about the Living Legends show

2009-04-24T07:32:00.000-07:00

On April 23, thanks to the efforts of UNIQUE Programs, Sacramento State was graced with the presence of one of the hardest working independent hip-hop groups, the Living Legends. Also on the lineup were special guests DJ/Producer Exile, Sacramento natives the Live Manikins and Random Abiladeze.

The night started off with the empowering and intellectual rhymes of Random Abiladeze, who represented the 916 properly. With a heart felt delivery of lyrics pertaining to struggle, positive change and loving life it was clear that the crowd felt the message Random Abiladeze broadcasted.

The crowd then welcomed back Sac State alumni Linguistics and DJ Rated R, two members of the group "Live Manikins" that includes Self, Flavius and Runt Rock. The partygoers were feeling the vibe and were reacting with enthusiasm, which escalated as the "Live Manikins" gave T-shirts and CD's to "broke college students" and the most animated members in attendance.

Taking the onlookers to the next level was DJ/Producer Exile. As he let the extremely influential electronic sounds of "Planet Rock" engulf the University Union Ballroom, people were drawn to the stage. Even Bicasso of Living Legends couldn't resist the temptation and headed to the floor. It was obvious that Exile was "At the Helm" of his MPC as he flipped the classic song by Del the Funky Homosapien. Exile's musical prowess was apparent to all as he switched up beats from the prototypical funk song to a classic video game. He even showed that he is fully capable of being a rapper stepping up to the microphone and spitting a few bars.

Then the stage grew dark. Shadows could faintly be seen walking around and positioning themselves like statues, back to back. As keys of the piano started tinkling, the fanatics started screaming. The Living Legends (Eligh, the Grouch, Sunspot Jonz, Bicasso, Luckyiam.PSC and Scarub) were about to indulge in an unbelievable catalog of hip-hop anthems. A faint spotlight focuses on Eligh as he starts the song "Never Falling Down," then disappears off stage. The others stand motionless as the Grouch now steps up to the microphone. As each member finishes his verse he leaves the stage for the next artist to bask in the spotlight.

Due to a prior engagement MURS was missing from the Living Legends line up but they didn't seem to miss a beat. The only time it was slightly clear that a member was missing was when they performed "She Wants Me", which has a conversational style and the members were paired off. Each verse sounded like a conversation. The Grouch looked a little lost since MURS wasn't there to reciprocate, so their verse was left out of the song.

Most large musical groups seem to have difficulty letting the talents of each member shine, but for the Living Legends it is as if they are fans of each others music. Each member or pair treated the audience to at least one track off a recent or future release providing a wide range of style. From Bicasso's motivational "Think Big," to the hard core Afro Classics "Rap-Fanatic," to the hyphy sound of G & E's "Boom," there was something to get everyone up and moving.

All in all it was a positive experience for all involved. As Aesop expressed after the concert, he enjoyed the fact that it wasn't a drunk show. It was a safe event for music lovers of all ages.

Even the usual punk concertgoers like Jessica Perry,senior government major, was impressed by her first hip-hop show and the display the Living Legends presented. Giving a good Randy Jackson impression, "the Living Legends rocked it out, dude."

Guest writer Daniel Krostosek