DEZ profile picture

DEZ

youre SO neon.

About Me


you KNOW this is the illest fuckin 7" that isnt even out yet.
you KNOW this is the illest fuckin album you haven't bought yet.
you KNOW this was the illest fuckin release party you didnt go to.
you KNOW this is the illest fuckin album you haven't downloaded for free yet @ WWW.DEZMATIC.COM.
you KNOW this is the illest fuckin idea you wish you had first.
you KNOW nothing.
you KNOW what we tell you.
IT'S UNDER CONTROL
After reassessing, Dezmatic has some new priorities to rap about
By Bill Ketzer
Daniel “Dezmatic” Hulbert sits among empty shot glasses and loose change at the Lark Tavern’s aging bar, his broad frame looming above the other 20-somethings like a Russian woodsman in Tokyo’s Roppongi Crossing. As I arrive, a waitress brings him a double Jagermeister that is promptly hoisted into air like a trophy. “I drink,” he says, carefully pinching the glass with elbow out as we step away to find a table. “I’m a drinker. That’s what I do.”
Though he sounds sincere, this statement is somewhat facetious; between recording, touring, juggling two jobs and promoting live shows through local hip-hop collective Pitch Control Music, Hulbert certainly is better known in the Capital Region for doing hip-hop than for his love of powerful spirits.
“I’m still Pitch Control all day,” the Troy native says. “But I had to move away from it to invest in some national exposure for my own career. It’s a simple idea, like we always say, but at one point we had a crew, and now most of them are done. A girl got pregnant, someone’s got a mortgage, someone’s got a drug problem. . . . I can’t babysit everybody. I need to be in charge of me at this point.”
At a Dezmatic show, Hulbert’s words drop in acerbic bursts over the DJ’s beats, shredded from his mouth in ribbons of bold metaphor. But during a one-on-one chat, drinking in dim quarters, discussing his career, his voice becomes more careful—a throaty, articulate tenor. “I started rapping because I couldn’t play guitar, and I wanted to get better at talking to girls,” he admits, disclosing his age only as old enough to drink and fight in Iraq. “When I started writing, I wanted to be a psychologist. Now I’d rather be a carpenter—someone who nails shit together and builds houses and bridges and pyramids and villages. I respect work ethic more than I used to. I put my hands to the plow, because I want to say what I have to say—real loud—before I don’t have the voice to say it anymore.”
Enter downstate producer Chris “Nobs” Reisman, who planned to rap with Hulbert over music provided by Fingerprint labelmate Hippo but was alsot working on a project with Joey Beats of Non-Prophets fame last year. When that project was canceled, Reisman sent Hulbert some of his own beats, and Behemoth was born. Released in May on Westchester County’s Fingerprint Records, the CD (released under the moniker “Dez & Nobs”) impressed Capital Region fans like Mike Dikk from Albany’s Bystander Fanzine and Dumpin.net, who calls the album “one of the best hip-hop records, mainstream or underground, that’s come out this year.” Accordingly, Hulbert feels that the heavy-handed material offers something to hip-hop fans on a national and international scale that the genre doesn’t currently provide.
“We created this beast you just can’t fuckin’ deny,” he says, chucking back the double with no discernable ill effect. “People want a villain. Or they want a superhero, so we give them both. We know it’s just two little human beings behind the curtain, but we create a single spectacle and people want to look at that, to find out about all the vulnerabilities and the strengths of that character.”
“I made the beats knowing that Dez’s voice is so powerful,” Reisman later confides in a separate interview. “I’m a huge fan of early-’90s New York hip-hop [and] I just knew that if I came hard on the production side of things, Dez would reciprocate. His delivery is in your face, and I accommodated. . . . I might be the father of the beats, but once Dez gets a hold of them he’s that evil stepfather—and he does hand out beatdowns.”
Hulbert’s subject matter has matured over the past few years; whereas early releases like Thank You, Fuck You were preoccupied with rage, sex and death (“my primary influences,” he concedes), his attention is now captured by failed U.S. foreign and domestic policies, a deliberately vapid media, the ludicrousness of popular culture and the horrors of organized religion, as excerpts from the song “Xenophobia” indicate:
“We raise the toast now drink up from pimp cup for the bible class simulcast, get synched up/Ring up your registers and count your cash drawers/We doin’ record numbers like it’s god’s last tour. . . . There’s a fire in the sky/So stick a needle in your eye/And further perpetuate the lie while the disease is eating you alive/Why?”
“I watch CNN, and it all becomes stream of consciousness,” he explains. “Watch George Bush talk for just one hour and you’ve got an album’s worth of shit. All the way through his first term, all these genres of music were speaking out, but everybody on MTV was still basically rapping about bitches, money, cars and drugs. Hip-hop has lost its hunger, and if you’re not hungry, don’t make music. Or move to Vegas. Mark my words, in our lifetime you will see rappers set up residencies there.”
“Meanwhile, the underground rappers talk shit about the mainstream rapper, and that’s just as bad,” he continues, indicating to the waitress that he’ll be switching to vodka and tonics, thank you. “Nobody wants to say anything real. They have nothing to say, so they talk about people who talk about nothing, so actually they’re more watered-down than mainstream.”
The marketing arms of that mainstream, in Hulbert’s opinion, have created homogenized tastes reflecting all other aspects of living. “There’s no palate anymore,” he says. “Kids only care about themselves and their emptiness, which is why you see all this emo-pop-punk-sad-faced shit. That would be OK if they also listened to Miles Davis, but they’re being funneled, like a cow gets led into a maze to get plunked. They don’t eat mushrooms; they eat Hydrocodone. Their food is processed. All the choices are limited to red or green. Stop or go. Bush or Kerry.”
The rapper recalls his excitement when buying new records as a youth—checking out the artwork, smelling the vinyl, and learning who guest-starred and produced. “But that whole sensory [enhancing] process has been replaced by iTunes,” he says. “Kids text- message each other instead of having real discussions. They don’t want to eat anything but chicken fingers. So, even if you hate my record, I just want you to try it. Try the squid. Don’t like it? Good! Now you know. But maybe next time I’ll prepare it differently and you’ll change your mind.”
It is this attitude that caused him to seek out jazz musicians like Brian Pateneaude for collaborative performances and local visual artist Tommy McGuire for cover art. “I’m a geek for all types of music and art, and we have so much right here,” he emphasizes with arms stretched wide, almost leveling one of the evening’s incoming musicians. “Let’s take advantage of it. Why are we scrappin’ over the same square inch of turf? Why are we eating chicken fingers? Let’s work together, influence each other, hit on all cylinders, let’s experience life . . . not eat it, shit it out and ask for another pellet.”
Nonetheless, Dezmatic craves success—to make music for a living—a goal not too far removed from that of the MTV poop de jour, with one exception: He wants it on his terms, which is why Fingerprint plays such a pivotal role in his career. “The Fingerprint ideology is similar to that of Pitch Control,” he explains. “They’re just friends helping friends, and I believe in them. At the same time, through them our stuff is available on Amazon, CD Universe and everywhere at retail. They have different resources than Pitch Control.”
Indeed, with the label’s help, Behemoth enjoys a strong U.S. presence courtesy of Redeye Distribution (Public Enemy, the Alarm, Little Feat) and some Japanese exposure as well. With a new album due in 2007 and an eye toward better overseas exposure, Dez and Nobs recently secured the management services of Timmy Grins, creator of the online hip-hop program Breakdown.tv. Grins has connections to New York City label Definitive Jux, which can access European markets. Until that master plan materializes, fans can download a new, online-only Dezmatic album, Plays Well With Others, for free on his Web site.
“It’s my way of saying thanks to everyone who ever supported me,” says Hulbert. “This round is on me. Here’s to success, not just in relative terms, but at a broad, measurable level everyone can respect. I want all of it, New York City, Sweden, Japan, Australia, Germany. . . . Because I feel like it’s going to happen any day.”
And if it doesn’t?
“I drink,” he says with an infectious laugh. “But nah chill, seriously, ask my friend Shyste, the best rapper in Albany. He’ll show you his arms. His tattoo says, “My life is my sacrifice.” To me it means, ‘What you love will cost you,’ and that’s the truth. There were times I could have bailed because I loved someone or something more than music, but now music is the most important thing. Not because it’s going to yield financial success. I love it. I don’t need to explain it.”
There are a ridiculous number of Web sites online to learn more about Dezmatic, Nobs, Fingerprint Records and its growing stable of artists, including www.dezmat ic.com, www.fingerprint records.com, www.myspace.com/dezfuckinmatic and www.myspace .com/dezandnobsrule. Behemoth is available at FYE, Borders and most other music retail outlets.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 8/29/2004
Band Website: DEZMATIC.com
Band Members: daniel.
Influences: sex and death.
Sounds Like: "good job..you shit on nearly everything I hate AND shouted out lo-lifes in the same song. perfect." - Despot.

"When you're involved in a local music scene, no matter what genre, it's kind of hard to get behind your peers. You're so used to being told that local music sucks and you're only there to support the bigger touring acts that some kind of defensive mechanism kicks in where you can support other local acts, but to genuinely like them is hard. Especially in a place as small as Albany where everyone knows each other, and if they don't know each other, they're one degree separated. It's also a case of not wanting to seem like a dickrider. It's awkward to go over someone's house and hear them playing your CD, it's even more awkward for the kid playing the CD.

What I'm getting at is, "Behemoth" is a fucking genuinely awesome CD. I've had it for a couple months now and play it regularly. I probably live a mile away from one of these dudes and my good friend and fellow Bears fan (Tommy 'Blessed' Mcguire) did their cover art, but I don't care. This is something I'd burn for other people that aren't from here to show them what's up.

First off, Nobs is an amazing sample based producer. The beats are like a Best of Yo! MTV Raps vomiting in your CD player. For a more grounded point of reference, think Prince Paul on "The Cactus Album" or "Taste of Chocolate" but more boom-bap minded. Nobs definitely knows his drums, and he must have an epic record collection. He digs out a lot of great samples that have either never been used or used on a very low key level. Even the more well known samples are given a new life.

Its usually hard to tolerate a full length record these days with only one rapper and 0 guest appearances, but Dez does an excellent job of making you forget about that. He has a tight flow, and a high mastery of interesting metaphors. He's just not a brag rapper though, he's able to tell a story without any strain for interesting subject matter ('Beatrice'). He can also ride a beat perfectly, which is usually the main problem with any type of underground rap.

Also, DJ Gyro is on here cutting up some records, which is some shit that no one does mainstream wise anymore. I mean, people don't even know who DJ Scratch is anymore. That's a travesty.

In a time where rappers are making singles and not LP's, and Lil Wayne is considered a Top Ten MC, Dez & Nobs are a big breath of fresh air. Even if you've never heard of them because you're in bumfuck Iowa right now, you should look into getting this. Especially if you're missing 1991 to 1994. So far, this is on my top ten Hip Hops of the year, so I'm not bullshittin' you. Check it out for yourself." - Mike Dikk from DUMPIN.net.

"I think Dez can rap really well. A bit too aggressive (all the time without taking an aggression break) for my tastes, but it's nice to hear angry NY rap again. The beats suffer in the mix, according to the version I heard when Nobs first showed it to me. The word "bitch" is definitely overused and I think that alienates half of their potential fanbase more than anything else. But if that's how he feels and that's how he talks then fuck it...that's "keeping it real." Some people use language in their raps that they never use in real life and that's wicked queer." - Sage Francis.

Pros: 17 songs of pure raw dopeness!

Cons: Um...struggling here...

"I happened upon this stuff via MySpace, loved the mp3s so I bought the record. Not to sound like some wack fanboy, but after just the very first listen, I was running around telling people to get the record fast. So here I am.While I'm not totally familiar with whomever Dez and Nobs are (other than they're a New York-based MC and producer duo), it doesn't really matter. I bet you'll know all about them soon enough from internet hype. I mean "Behemoth" is sure to recruit heads. Kids who like to stomp around in their big black boots and get stoopid to raw hip hop will be left speechless...and converted. Seriously."Behemoth" has rugged production and some of the smartest lyrics I've heard in FOREVER. You into Def Jux, Duck Down, Rhymesayers, Anticon, Stones Throw, etc., etc.--those kind of records? Well, here's the new ish. I suggest you cop." - Charles Oakley.

"I still haven't listened to this. I have had it for months. Nobs hates me." - Mac Lethal.

"fuck you. that's not my quote. i love your record. you gotta fix it. " - Mac Lethal.

"Do you love hip hop? How about a sample of a cartoon crowd oohing/ahhing or a retooled "Apache" beat crushing the stereobox and studdering click-claps clocking in above the fray? What of an octave climbing synth that curls up and down with a fat rolling bassline?

Nob's stellar production on this track works on multiple levels. First and foremost, it rocks correct and induces rigorous head-nodding, and, second, it weaves in some very clever symbolism. Providing more than just counterpoint to the beat, the repeated intonation of "Ahhh..." becomes an aural representation of the Great Emptiness of the American Mind. It's the sound of 300 million people shitting their pants in delight as they watch TomKat frenchkiss Bill O'Reilly on The View. More than just dope, shit is smart.

And those lyrics! Taken together, Dez's lines are a classic case of "show, don't tell." Consciousness and politically-minded rappers should take note: it's hard to lecture people over the break. Try to be like Dez, and switch your game up with lazer-guided imagery and precision rhymes. The next step is to splice your observations with humorous yet instructive juxtapositions (e.g. Halliburton/Kirstie Alley and Saddam eating Doritoes/fellatio with West Nile-infected mosquitoes). When you become truly advanced, you should then attempt to mimic the bob-and-weave and studder step flow exhibited here. You're not going to be able to do it, but, hell, give it a shot anyway. If you listen carefully, you'll see that, at different points, Dez truncates lines to create an off-kilter cadence with interesting accents, and, at others points, he's Mr. Four-to-the-Floor, banging out syllable-laden couplets as fast as he can.

Dez highlights how the Inside Edition approach to life occludes a person's vision so that he/she can exist in a People magazine reality while outside the world is on fire. It's not a new concept, but it's artfully done, and he manages to wedge in references to the sort of navel-gazing that's ruining everything from hip hop to the civic space of the American Republic. Dez accomplishes all this through incisive humor and thump poetry. You have to be retarded not to love it.

Makes me wonder--ever listen to music made by people you sort of know that's so good it forces you to take stock of your life? And when you're finished fucking with the Abacus of Life, figuring the negative amortization rate of wasted time, somehow you end up feeling...OK? Yes, OK. As in, the record's on, it's good, and I'm OK.

Sometimes I get a notion to compose a little Corley Manifesto, which would describe my overarching philosophy, a developing but simple Grand Theory of Everything. However, it seems I'm constantly being beaten to the punch.

To wit, in one sequence of F Is for Fake, a brilliant experimental documentary and one of Orson Welles' last films, Mr. Welles discusses the power of art while staring into the conjoined-twin face of time and death. In his narration, Mr. Welles pretty much snatched up my theory--five years before I was born. Nevertheless, and as could be expected, my lame ruminations were rendered into the sort of ridiculous hybrid prose/cinema/poetry deliciousness I couldn't even begin to scratch at. He said:

Our works in stone, in paint, in print are spared, some of them for a few decades, or a millennium or two, but everything must fall in war or wear away into the ultimate and universal ash: the triumphs and the frauds, the treasures and the fakes. A fact of life... We're going to die. 'Be of good heart,' cry the dead artists out of the living past. Our songs will all be silenced--but what of it? Go on singing.

See? Vital issues of the day ebb to nothing, and, in time, nations and cultures fade away. All the things that define us, that we fight for and scrap for, live only within ourselves and die when we die. Even those things that radiate beyond their time, the most exquisite, the greatest works of art, all of them come to dust.

You come to know this, and what do you do? You put the album back on and marvel at that kid's diction." - Lord Budgerigar.

"I'm enjoying the shit out of the album man. I think its super well balanced, and I can bump it the whole way thru and enjoy it, good fuckin job. I think girl interrupted is my favorite track at the moment, fuckin twisted shit. Spreadin the word, Fingerprint is the shit." - Mike from Hawaii.

"It's better than Nascar. Heavy Ro." - Maker.

Record Label: None
Type of Label: None