Jestoneart, Esq. (The Paradoxical State)

ATOMS FAMILY:Since 1995, The Atoms Family's presence in New York City's Underground Hip Hop scene has been relentless and unquestionable. It is beyond doubt that Atoms Family's ten-plus year reign, and contributions to the Underground Hip Hop scene, earned them well-deserved "MC veterans" status.Numerous Atoms releases include cult classics: Centa of da Web, "Beyond Human Comprehension"; and Prequel. Those projects inspired solo and collaborative albums like Cannibal Ox's "Cold Vein", Cryptic One's "Anti-Mobius Strip Theory", Vast Aire's "Look Mom No Hands", Hangar 18's "Platinum Debut", Vordul Mega's "Young Havocs", Dj Cip's Undergorund Mixtapes and more. Undoubtedly, Atoms Fam's contributions have earned them notable respect within New York City 's Underground, and worldwide.THEPARADOXICALSTATEIn the midst of all the above-mentioned Atoms releases, Jestoneart has been the silent member of the Atoms Family collective. Mostly known for his silent contributions to Atoms Family albums and his appearance in the infamous DefJux Documentary, Jestoneart has always traveled behind his pack. However, Darkcity definitely proves that Jest can not only leap to the front, but take charge if he has to. Darkcity is light on guest appearances and hooks, but heavy on seemingly endless flows. Jestoneart brings it back to the days that rappers actually had to rhyme good over those dope beats to get respect as an MC.JESTONEART, ESQ. - The Writer: By daylight, Jestoneart is actually an Attorney (What, did you think the ESQ. in his name was just some street-tag-name acronym?). Indeed, when the sun is out you may run into Jest suit-n-tied up, briefcase in hand, cellphone on blast, and scrambling for the professional "advantage." At night, however, Jest unplugs and roams the streets of DarkCity in search of himself. A partriot of the streets where he dwelled for most of his life, Jest is more comfortable "on the other side of the bridge." Paradoxically, Jest doesn't like lawyers, he distrusts the law, and considers both "evil." And so, he spends his time struggling to reconcile the conflict between his days and nights, ying and yang, suit and jeans, not to mention light and darkness. Welcome to the ParadoxicalState.DEKOY-OKTOPUS - The Soundbwoy: Admittedly, DekoyOct is a strange character. His Daytime identity is unknown. His identity afterhours is an anomoly to everyone except himself. He appears emotionless. Like Jest, Dekoy is also a DarkCity resident. Dekoy expresses his angst through sound only. Dekoy is a breakbeat demolition expert, who also specializes in old-school dub reconstruction. Dekoy is understood to be the voice of reason in the ParadoxicalState. Unlike Jest, Dekoy is not a victim of the Paradox. As such, Dekoy often finds himself bringing Jest's attention back into focus at times when the Paradoxical overcomes.DARKCITY: The "DarkCity" album was a project started by theParadoxicalstate's front-man Jestoneart back in the year 2001 right after the attack on the World Trade Center. Jestoneart, typically known for his more complicated-word-usage-battle-rhyme format, toned it down a bit for his debut album. The album weaves in and out of street themes and concept rhymes. Battle rhymes not included. Nevertheless, DarkCity remains complex in its own right. According to Jest and Dekoy: "DarkCity was meant to be a personal project - never meant to be pressed or sold as an album. A couple of the tracks got released through DJ Cipone's mixtapes. The tracks got an ill response from the underground. Thats when we decided to release the whole dam thing." "I know this album will be hard for a lot of cats to swallow" says Jestoneart, "but, I think others will relate to it."DarkCity's music is inspired mostly by old-school 70's dub and Trip Hop. These elements were combined to create what PState calls its "signature sound." The verses are heavy and involved. While you attempt to think about what Jest just said, you'll realize that you just missed a whole shit load of other things.Check out the Track "Expendible Men" for a sample of DarkCity.DARKCITY DOS (Dub Sessions):The ParadoxicalState is currently working on their sophomore project "DARCKITY DOS (Dub Sessions)" - an album influenced and inspired by old-school dub over trippy break-beats. Lyrically, Jestoneart tones down his lyrical flow even more and explores deeper regions of the DarkCity. Although Pstate is only half-done with this project, they already proclaim it to be "way better than the first in all respects."Check out the tunes "Sour Days (Daze)," "Holy Ghost," "Sandman Tenant," "Pardon Me Love" and "Black" on this page for samples from DarckCity Dos.a