Great studio session today! We had planned to work on our upcoming EP ”Brews & Good News” but felt like giving our listeners a little something something. So we got busy. Beat, rhymes, scratch, mixing, everything is done within the six hours we spent in the studio. We normally don’t rush things, especially not our music but we have to say; this is still dope.
”We don’t think alike, I swear I’m a different type/ You can’t tell? I’ll give you that Sam L kiss goodnight…”
Here’s a brief recap of our days in NYC. We got a lot of work done but our main focus was having fun and finding the inspiration we need to make even better music than we have this far in our career. We feel like we have to get better with every track we make or we might as well quit. There’s to many good musicians in this business for us to be half-ass. With that said, here’s some of the stuff we did!
* Recorded a track with legendary emcee A.G (Showbiz & A.G, D.I.T.C.). We had a great time hanging out with A and he is a real down to earth guy with more passion for the music after 20 years in the game than most cats have during their waaaay shorter careers. The track is a banger, soul-bap to the fullest!
* Did a show at a venue called The Delancey. It has been a life long dream for us to perform in ”the Mecca of hiphop” and now we can tell our grandchildren (when that time arrives…) that we did our thing in NYC back in the days. We are really satisfied with our performance and we think the small crowd that attended were surprised as hell two swedish dudes can make music like that.
* Had a spontaneous ”live session” at Red Rooster in Harlem. Smooth! Watch one of the tracks we did right here:
* Recorded a track with one of our favorite emcees Blu (Blu & Exile). Real dope, just jazzy, melodic, night time theme music! Blu came by the apartment and killed his verse. What can we say, he’s a fantastic writer and a great dude. A modern day poet.
* Did an ”a day in the life of Pro & Ak” kind of interview with Niklas Strömberg which will be published in local Swedish newspaper UNT. Niklas came along while we went diggin’ for samples at legendary A1 Records, and it was a cool vibe all the way through. Plus we found some ill samples as a bonus!
If you can call that ”work”, we also had some time to play;
* Went to Barclays Center in Brooklyn and watched the Nets VS the Raptors. But mostly we just watched Jigga in the front row. He’s not a business man, he’s a business, man!
* Went to Tony Touch’s club ”Toca Tuesdays” where Stretch Armstrong and Tony played records. When the crowd knows all the words to some 1994 Boot Camp Click you know you’re in the right place!
* Went to Brooklyn Bowl to watch Questlove (The Roots) do his thing on the 1′s & 2′s. He’s a fantastic DJ! Suprised? Not really.
* Dropped by a place called DROM for a ”Beat Society” event. Blu, Terminology and Skyzoo performed and Pete Rock, Marco Polo, Hezekiah and Statik Selektah played new beats of their laptops. Pete Rock and Marco Polo shut shit down. Pharoahe Monch and Jean Grae was in the crowd chillin’. Check this video of Marco’s Kweli-remix. He premiered it that night:
We are now back in cold Sweden but we got some heat cooking up in the studio! ”Brews & Good News” is in the making!
Thank you all for your support!
/Professor P & DJ Akilles
We are nominated for ”Best group” and ”Best video” at this year’s Kingsize Awards (a Swedish hip-hop magazine). Awesome! We are really honored! Please help us by voting HERE and spreading the link. Thank you!
You need to have a Facebook account to be able to vote.
Pro & Ak for President is now available digitally through a lot of retailers. Pick and choose where you want to listen to it! It’s available through these outlets:
Professor P & DJ Akilles album ”The Realism”, released earlier this years, was praised by both listeners and critics. Now, eight months later they are ready to launch the first video of their still untitled EP, which will be released early 2013. ”Pro & Ak For President” is a classic hiphop banger with a chopped sample, verses that display Professor P’s skills as an emcee, and a fantastic scratch-chorus by DJ Akilles. Not very complicated, but very dope.
The concept for the video is quite simple. Some of Sweden’s best emcees, DJ’s, musicians and streetwear entrepreneurs brought together in a photobooth to enjoy music and have a good time. The director, Jacqueline Ragheb, describes it like this:
During this shoot our colorful and artistic photobooth captured happiness on faces that can not be wiped away. Pro & Ak is brings hip-hop back to the roots and throughout this video we wanted to show love for the music, love for art and above all, love for life. This song gives us alot of energy and joy and our photobooth represents that. So come get some!
”Pro & Ak For President” is produced by Professor P & DJ Akilles and mixed/mastered by Erik L.
The video is produced by Triadfilm.
Director/Editor: Jacqueline Ragheb
Producer: Sasa Jancic
Director of photography: Erik Landerdahl
Creative Advisor/Carpenter: Eric Svärd
Make up/Costume: Jessica Gimteg
Artwork by: Fredrik Olsson (http://yokomasi.com)
Behind the Scenes footage: Alexander Rossev
Thank you:
Adam Tensta
Afasi
Chords
Critical
Daniel Adams-Ray
DJ Grass
DJ Large
Erik Olsson
Eye-n-I
Fredrik Nelson
Nomad
Organismen
Peewee
Petter
Rigael Damar
Sexfemman
Simon Emanuel
Tjorven
Zacke
Öris
Two of Uppsalas finest, streetwear brand Lucid and hiphop-duo Professor P & DJ Akilles, join forces to deliver a limited edition snapback cap just in time for summer.
Lucid X Pro&Ak Snapback is made from 100% cotton and is available in two color ways; burgundy with grey peak and grey with black peak and the classic green bottom. The front got Professor P & DJ Akilles iconic logo embroidered and in the back there is a small LB logo and a Lucid tag.
”Working with Pro & Ak has been great, and since I’m a big fan of their music I didn’t have to think twice about supporting their grind. I’m really looking forward to our upcoming collaborations and I must say I am very pleased with the outcome of the limited edition Lucid X Pro&Ak Snapback!” -Erik Olsson, Lucid Brand.
Lucid X Pro&Ak Snapback is now available for 250 SEK (+ shipping costs) at http://shop.lucidbrand.se/. Or by e-mailing either professorp [a] proandak.comor djakilles [a] proandak.com!
About Lucid: Lucid, based in Uppsala, Sweden, is a streetwear brand rooted in the Swedish BMX-scene. The brand was formed in December 2010, with intentions of creating a brand where quality and design go hand in hand. Lucid also consists of ”The Lucid Team”, the home of some of Sweden’s prime BMX and MTB-riders. Now, ”The Lucid Team”, is also home of Swedish, critically acclaimed, hiphop-duo Professor P & DJ Akilles!
This is how Rikard Lindberg, director of the video, describes the video:
”People are struggling with the constant need to maintain different facades and not being good enough. To find happiness or to find the right one is not everyone’s destiny. In the video this is narrated by a successful yet unhappy photographer who do not seem to lack anything, during the day a creator surrounded by beauty and money, during the night miserable and destructive. He lacks the right person in his life – the ”#1″.
PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY ZELLOUT KOMMUNIKATIONSBYRÅ (http://www.zellout.se)
Director and Camera: Rikard Lindberg
Assistent Director: Joakim Berglund
Producer and Stylist: Emilia Maric
Models: Ada Olrems, Adiam Ghebremariam, Helena Norstedt and Sissela Nelander
Thank you: Ellinor, Daniel and Benke
It is time for us to release video number two from The Realism – this time for the song ”# 1″. We are partnering up with Nöjesguiden and Weekday to celebrate the video with a release party. Come join the party!
When? Wednesday May 16, 20-22
Where? Weekday, Forumgallerian Uppsala
Age: 18
When Mårten suggested the concept, we immediately felt it was an interesting angle. The Idea is strong and in many ways differs from the preconceptions some may have about hip hop videos. The video’s serious tone is really what makes it playful. We are proud of the result and hope people will like it, even though we’ll probably only watch it once. Why? You will know when you have watched it…
/Pro&Ak
Director: Mårten Lindsjö
Producer: Nina Isaksson
Director of photography: Christopher Norin
First assistant camera: Josephine Owe
Assistant director: Guz Hamberg
Production assistant: Maja Haglöf
