Auditory Fabric
Three hip-hop artists form Auditory Fabric: Bondservant, Justword and Patch Martin.
Martin, from Pittsburgh, is a new member of the group, though, and only featured on Auditory Fabric’s song “Bottom of the 9th” off its Heir Craft EP. California-based Bondservant and Justword released their Heir Craftand Thus Far EPs over the past 16 months as a duo.
Rapzilla: When did you decide that you wanted to pursue music?
Bondservant: Right around the time I met Justword in October 2006. He asked me to spit a verse in his Mazda Protégé and suggested that we work together. We did not officially work together until 2010 when we released The Butterfly Affect Mixtape.
Patch Martin: Back in 2009 while serving my last couple of years in prison, I began to listen to and fell in love with almost every genre of music imaginable. At that point in my sentence, I had written a lot of letters to my family, and I was confident that I could express myself well through writing. I wrote a few songs about my life. My best friend Shawn told me it was “dope,” and that was all the push I needed to become an artist once released from prison.
RZ: What has been the most memorable moment of your career thus far?
Justword: Everything about 2014. From the responses we received from our albums Heir Craft and Thus Far and sharing the stage with artists like Tedashii, Dream Junkies, Lamp Mode and more.
PM: Opening up for Canon in Pittsburgh over a year ago was so dope! I was so honored to be chosen by my city for the slot and also to see so much humility flowing out of that brother. I learned a lot about stage presence that night.
RZ: What should fans be on the lookout for musically from you in 2015?
B: There are a few albums coming out this year including one from Auditory Fabric’s very own Patch Martin. Also we are looking forward to upcoming shows/performances.
PM: I have a mixtape coming soon entitled Recess and then my first official album produced solely by my brother Justword will be released later this year, Lord willing!
J: And I’m looking to stage dive!
Davis Absolute
Phoenix-based hip-hop artist Davis Absolute has released four projects over the past two years, including BlendTape Vol.1 SoulBeat and BlendTape Vol.2 ThoughtPoet.
He also released a series of singles this year, including “Motion Sickness” featuring John Givez.
Rapzilla: When did you decide that you wanted to pursue music?
Davis Absolute: At age 13, I made a pretty concrete decision that I wanted to do something with music and released my first mixtape that I sold at my middle school. The lifestyle, wordplay and style of the rappers out at the time really intrigued me, and once I started making music, I found something to boast in. Naturally, this isn’t the most sanctified start to what God would eventually do with me, but if I’m being honest, that is what drew me in. Every chance I get to look back at what that moment has become, I stand in awe of what God can do with a wretched sinner like myself. Let’s not mention my complete and utter wackiness, though!
RZ: What has been the most memorable moment of your career thus far?
DA: When I released my first mixtape (Blendtape Vol.1 SoulBeat), I felt something that I can’t really describe. I remember driving to get breakfast, running on an hour or so of sleep, listening to the final and completed copy of the mixtape in my car. I had peace in knowing that God had blessed this project and, for a time, I was perfectly satisfied in a way unique to that point in my Christian walk. That mixtape was also the first project that I was 100 percent genuinely proud to show people and distribute. My previous songs and projects were never bad, but there was always this voice in the back of my head (which I now credit to the Holy Spirit) that was like “this is OK, but not what you are meant to do.” Releasing that project was definitely my most memorable moment though.
RZ: What should fans be on the lookout for musically from you in 2015?
DA: 2015 is going to be a crazy year for music. I can’t really detail too much of what is going to happen, but I can say that I will be putting out a lot of quality work and working with some incredible people. The one thing I can share is that I’ll be releasing a mixtape early 2015 which will be the final iteration of my BlendTape series, and I’m dropping the first official track off of that project titled “REM Sleep” on January 6th. But anyone who is a fan or paying attention can expect more Christ-led music and hopefully the birth of some incredible projects.
HillaryJane
HillaryJane, a singer from Houston signed to Infiltrate Music, released two successful EPs in 2014.
Her debut, Stix and Stones, peaked at No. 3 on the iTunes’ top-selling R&B chart, and her follow-up, Stix and Stones: Unplugged rose to No. 9 on the iTunes’ top-selling Christian chart.
Rapzilla: When did you decide that you wanted to pursue music?
HillaryJane: When I was saved, I realized the intense amount of persuasion music has on its listeners. There’s enough worldly influence. I want to use one of the biggest influencers, music, to point to godly things.
RZ: What has been the most memorable moment of your career thus far?
HJ: People telling me that my music had encouraged them spiritually. Also, hitting No. 3 on R&B/Soul iTunes charts under PARTYNEXTDOOR and Trey Songz.
RZ: What should fans be on the lookout for musically from you in 2015?
HJ: Anything and everything. I’ve never been good at choosing a particular genre or sound I most conform to; I just want to give the people whatever I’m feeling at the time and allow them to get to know me as a person.
