The 12 to 6 Movement

As the October release date of 12 to 6 Movement's full-length approaches, the previews continue. A few weeks ago, we told you about the hip-hop collective's track -- and accompanying video -- with Sadat X. And last night, the group dropped video no. 2, this time for the Jay-E produced "Born to Get Cake."
The clip, directed by Matthew Sawicki, features the three rappers and a few dozen of their friends baking and subsequently plastering each other with actual, flour-and-frosting cakes. This was probably a hell of a lot of fun to shoot; watch below. - The Riverfront Times

It took a while, but local hip-hop trio 12 to 6 Movement finally unleashed their new collaboration-heavy album, Titties Out. Since our last interview with the group, they added songs with Joe Budden, Opio and A-Plus from Souls of Mischief/Hieroglyphics and Psycho Les from The Beatnuts to a tracklist that already featured appearances from Sadat X, Raekwon, Bubba Sparxxx, Planet Asia, and Keith Murray, as well as a lot of local talent. 12 to 6 Movement admits that the extravagant guestlist, the cleavage-boasting cover and title are partially ploys for attention, but underneath the brazen marketing is a fun album. Titties Out mostly focuses on braggadocio and good times over beats that range from dusty soul/funk samples to modern synth-driven club fare to guitar-driven rock. Although the album is not without its tacky moments, every member of 12 to 6 Movement brings their A-game and the guests prove worth their fees. RFT Music caught up with the trio and Matthew Sawicki, who mixed and mastered the album, to discuss how they assembled the album, reaching across genre lines for guests, and why they went with that title cover.
Questions and answers edited for length and clarity.

Bob McMahon: We touched on this topic last time, but what was your motivation for get everybody you got on this album? I remember, Spark1duh? that you said, "Talent is not enough."

Spark1duh?: Because in the entertainment industry right now, people care a lot about image and shit. And this wasn't so much of an image move as it is an attention getter. Like to say "Hey, all these other people we've worked with, our friends or people that we've done business with, playing shows and stuff like that, we are on the same level as these people. You just need to fuckin' think about it that way." So many people think locally in this town, they don't even think to the next state. They're trying to take over this city. They're not thinking big picture or shit like that. In this industry, there's so many ways to market yourself. And the ways I see a lot of these more like "hood rappers," or whatever you want to call it - we're not backpackers, I don't know what people call us. Everyone has a label for something these days - they got big money behind them. Whether it's from drugs or loans or however they're doing it, you know what I mean? And they're paying to get radio play and shit like that. We figured why not sidestep all the money that we could spend to get played on the radio and for marketing, and hopefully people would just pay attention based on the strength of the songs alone that we did with these bigger rappers.

How did you balance having so many guests and still making Titties Out feel like your album instead of something you are just featured on a lot?

Spark1duh?: Having more verses than they do (laughs).

Ser Lesson: The three of us work good together. Especially, the songs are based off our style, so we brought other artists in and put them on our tracks, not the other way around.

Spark1duh?: We didn't try to cater to them too much.

Jus Time: Yeah, we made them cater to us. Like that Killah Priest track, you've never heard him rap double-time. None that I've ever really heard. And then he had to totally come out of his normal box and do something.

Spark1duh?: Maybe that song "Heavy Mental" he did, but that's about it.

JT: But that beat was just a straight didgeridoo, like it's a real crazy drum track. And he just kept goin' and goin', but like that (song), he kind of flipped it. The track with Opio and A-Plus...

Spark1duh?: They don't usually rap that smoothed out.

JT: Yeah, they double-timed theirs and they did their thing. With Raekwon, we did a super slow song.

Yeah, that surprised me.

JT: And it surprised us! Cause we sent him (the beat to) "Can't Be Done," we sent him a couple other ones. I thought "Can't Be Done" was it.

Ser Lesson: And I thought maybe "All Black" even too cause that had that same kind of Wu- - The Riverfront Times

Jus Time, Ser Lesson and Spark1duh? Who the hell are they?

While you may not have heard of them (yet), folks in St. Louis have known about these cats for a while now. And with all the noise they are making in the hip hop game, it is only a matter of time before the rest of the world gets to know them too.

Jus Time, Ser Lesson and Spark1duh? comprise The 12 to 6 Movement out of St. Louis. The name of the album and title track “Titties Out”, may offend some people. Trust me, it’s not that deep. This is not another neanderthal album dedicated to calling women out of their names. If you listen to the song you will find out that it is about being free to express yourself; which is the theme of the album. Why use women’s breasts to express freedom? Why not! Women use them all the time…..And men love boobs; I mean what can you say? (And this is coming from a Women’s Rights Activist)

When you first hear these guys, you think “ok, here we go. These brotha’s are hot.” Then you see a video and/or a picture of the group and you say “WTH”! Then you immediately go back to the music and find out exactly what these guys are talking about…..What I heard, I liked.

All of the beats are fresh. (so tired of artists recycling Kanye mixes). And the whole clique has a nice flow. What I really like about the album and the group is that they are bringing the realness and having fun at the same time!

Recently there has been a resurgence of gansta rap…not good, not good at all. Don’t get me wrong, I love Pac to the fullest; he was the best to have ever stepped to a mic in my opinion. But for those of you who did not grow up in the 90’s, like I did, you have no idea the amount of tension that was there. Yeah, some of the greatest rap songs ever written came from this time period and we had some good times, but some of the most tragic episodes in the game came with it too. I’m afraid that if this generation goes down that road, they will see some of the same tragedies, if not more and possibly worse. If you grew up in that time, you feel me. 2Pac should be remembered for his flawless lyrics and effortless execution; not thug life……Music should bring life and never death.

[Coming down off the soap box…..]

No gang banging, and ridiculous faux studio beefs; you can feel that it’s about the music with these guys. And they are not alone; they have some heat with ‘em on this project- A LOT OF HEAT! Raekwon (WuTang) Keith Murray (Def Squad), Killah Priest (Sunz of Man), Sadat X (Brand Nubian), Joe Budden (SlaughterHouse), and Psycho Les (The Beatnuts). A-Plus and Opio (Souls of Mischief) and Planet Asia (Cali Agents), Bubba Sparxxx . *For you young folks, these are what we call REAL Emcees…..*

The project also includes some talent unfamiliar to hip hop to the stage: Jia Davis, Ray Goss, County Brown, and Scripts n Screwz, Gareth Johnson, JG Gates( This is a badd boy right here!) , Dan Marsala , Jason Holler.

You might think that with all these artists the album would be a mess. Actually it’s the features that give the album a unique character and unexpected freshness. Each song holds its own weight while the common flow of The 12 to 6 Movement that makes the project cohesive.

My likes on the project: “Hell Yeah”, “Can’t Be Done” feat Sadat X, “Pipeline to Fame”feat Joe Budden,“Never Go Away” feat Dan Marsala, Opio, A-Plus and Jia Davis, “Business Mind” feat Raekwon and Mus-D, “Untouchables” feat Psycho Les, “All Black”, “Born 2 Get Cake”, “Future on Fire” feat Planet Asia and JG Gates, “Thug Doubts”feat EVERYBODY! (Love this one!)

Check the album out and let me know what you think.

Till next time…….

Steen - 165 Sound Chex

12 to 6 Movement members Jus Time, Ser Lesson and Spark1duh? have been a staple in the St. Louis music scene for a while. With well-polished showmanship performances they have taken the Delmar Loop and other areas of the STL by storm. Now the trio makes an impact with their new album called “Titties Out”. This album took them two years to make with features from Joe Budden, Psycho Les, Raekwon, Keith Murray, Planet Asia, Sadat X, Killah Priest, Bubba Sparxxx, Kentucky Knife Fight, A-Plus and Opio. Also the project features a slew of hometown heroes with beats created by Jay E and Koko of Basement Beats. Cuts and scratches are provided by DJ Uptown, DJ Mahf and DJ Deception.

“Hell Yeah”, “Can’t Be Done” featuring Sadat X from Brand Nubian and “Pipeline to Fame” featuring Joe Budden from Slaughterhouse gets the album going with wicked lyrics and quality beats. An interesting collaboration on “Never Go Away” features vocalist Dan Marsala from the popular Alternative band Story of the Year, Jia Davis from The Committee, A-Plus and Opio of Souls of Mischief. 12 to 6 follows up with another good song “Business Mind” featuring Mus-D and Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon with brilliant rhymes. Other songs highlight worthy include “Untouchables” featuring Psycho Les, “Three Kings” with DJ Uptown, “All Black”, “Born 2 Get Cake” and “Supernatural Disaster” featuring DK and Killah Priest.

It’s obvious that 12 to 6 Movement doesn’t slack on showing love with guest appearances all throughout the album. Planet Asia with vocals from JG Gates on “Future on Fire” and Keith Murray rapping about the 4:20 past time on “Smoke It If You Got It” keep the album appealing. Another track called “Thug Doubts” has more appearances than the movie Harlem Nights with features from Scripts N Screwz, DK, Ray Goss, County Brown, Capo, Dug Holes, Sunni Minx, Jia Davis, The Homie Chris, Mus-D and Space da Cashtronaut. Though numerous features usually hurts a project, 12 to 6 Movement tends to avoid that pitfall with a splendid line-up. Spark1duh, Jus Time and Ser Lesson trade bars on the hysterical “Titties Out” as they spit, “(Spark1duh?) Why you got them all bundled in that sweater vest/ Come on baby open up and show your treasure chest/ (Just Time) You gotta let them girls breathe it’s the best seduction/ The worst thing on earth is a breast reduction/ (Ser Lesson) If you’re gonna have kids then please don’t breast feed/ Cuz it leaves your nipples looking hella messy.”

This project is a breath of fresh air if you need a break from all of the recurrent music that we’ve been force fed lately by the radio. The time required for them to create this album was worth it. 12 to 6 Movement has superb rhymes but very few times they stagger at keeping their rhythm. However, this doesn’t take much away from the album.

Rating: Don’t sleep on this album (4.5 out of 5) - Just a Muse.com

"I don't know where the hell these guys came from, but, hip-hop will never be the same!" - Peter Seay - Shit Yeah Magazine