North West Metropolis

Things went off when Omar Rey and Perquisite first met each other in an Amsterdam record store in the summer of 2002. As they were both pretty much into the same thing, they soon decided to do a project together and after producer Ane (a good friend of Perquisite since High School) joined forces, North West Metropolis was born. CeeMajor (The Proov), Pete Philly (ex-Nicotine) and Kain Slim (False Chordz) were all asked to participate and as the tracks evolved it became clear that all tracks would be the expressions of the MC's and producers on their view on music and live overall. This is why the EP was called Expressions EP. When we started thinking about expressions in Architecture, we soon ended up with the Expressionism of the late-20's wich in Holland became known as the 'Amsterdam School'. One of the highlights of this style of architecture, the Spaarndammer social housing project in the North Western part of Amsterdam (de Klerk, 1916), can be seen on the front-cover.

But back to the music: The EP starts, after the intro, with 'Inside Out', a slamming minimalistic beat by Omar which features CeeMajor and Pete Philly on some clever rhyming. Cee: "I'm blinding kids like a solar eclips / you'll can call me Cee the nightcrawler is my prefix / I'm sharp like a helix, I mean it just consider it / juicy like a biggie hit or a tangerine". After this, 'Self-Expression' comes in with Perquisite & Ane on the production-tip and CeeMajor on the mic again. Cee: "Self-Expression is a reflection of my mindstate at the time; how I view certain aspects of life. Writing rhymes is a truly great form of self-expression." After Cee dropped his verses, the beat transforms to a more melancholic vibe which makes a bridge to the 4th track, 'My Love'. This track, produced by Perquisite, features Kain Slim on the mic, Delicate Swing on the chorus and Bart Suèr on saxophone. Kain adresses Hip-Hop as a person in this song, to which he expresses his feelings: "You're part of me, like the blood in my artery / you keep me in harmony with the tragedies and poverty [...] / It's real how I feel, I want the world to see: Hip Hop is like my one and only girl to me." The B-side opens up with 'Self-Reflection', which is Pete Philly's solo-joint on the project. Pete: "Self-Reflection is about discovering my talent and my love for music. It's also about opening yourself up to others in order to learn from their experiences." The beat is funky and reflective at the same time and after the track fades out, it comes in again, though totally flipped. Perquisite: "Ane and I made the concept for this track a while ago already. Pete decided to use the beat for his solo-joint which worked out very well, I think. In the end we got the idea to add some cello to it, which I did, and which gave an unexpected new atmospehere to the outro". Next is 'From Another Perspective' an Omar & Perquisite-produced instrumental track. Omar: "We all know what happened when Kraftwerk and George Clinton were stuck on the elevator with only one sequencer (If not, ask the Belleville 3!!). Now I always wondered, what if Kool DJ Herc used to be in the same place! This song is the 2003 version of what I thought it would sound like. Me on my trusty MPC and P. on the Juno." The EP ends with a Rednose remix of CeeMajor's solo-track Self-Expression by Kid Sublime. Cee's verses on this remix were recorded uncompressed and in just one take, to add a live atmosphere to the track.

So what are the future plans for North West Metropolis? Perquisite: "North West started as a project and also must be seen more as a project then as a group, although we are, of course, all busy with a lot of new ideas and with new tracks as well..."

 

Short Bio's:

Perquisite (Amsterdam, 1982), being a cellist since his early youth, has always been involved with and inspired by all kinds of music. In october 2001 he released his debut, the Outta Nowhere EP, on Unexpected Records. This 7-track EP which featured Jazz Saxophonist Benjamin Herman (New Cool Collective) came literally out of nowhere to become known as a little gem in the Hip-Hop / Nu Jazz - movement. The Double Vision EP, which featured jazz-clarinetist David Kweksilber was released in october 2002 and consisted of 7 even more up-tempo, twisted and relaxating beats.

Omar Rey (Vitoria E.S, Brazil, 1974), full-time producer and part-time MC, formerly involved in the highly regarded Hip-Hop collective The Proov, has been co-responsible for the release of the album Traditions (CMC/Edel 2000) which recieved accolades from magazines like the Oor and Basic Groove and dj's like Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito. During the Euro 2000 soccer-championships the group was also involved in a video campaign featuring Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf. After leaving The Proov in 2001 Omar have been working with people like Motown-legend Leon Ware, Sandra St.Victor, Michael Franti and French deejay Charles Schillings.

Ane (Amsterdam, 1981) has been playing the piano since he was eight years old. As a producer he worked with various Hip Hop artists, including Amsterdam-based producer Dash. Since '98 he has been joining forces with Perquisite when they started to work together for his debut instrumental Hip-Hop album 'Architecture'.

Cee Major (Leeuwarden, 1975) is perhaps Hollands most clever lyricist. Being lead-MC of the Proov since the foundation of the group in the mid-90's, Cee Major has been appearing on a lot of releases, including 'What I'm Not', the album 'Traditions' (see above) and 'Feel the Heat'. In march 2003 the group will release their new maxi-single, titled 'Nebula', on Unexpected Records. For more info: www.theproov.nl.

Pete Philly (Aruba, 1980) has been working with a range of bands (Nicotine, Gotcha a.o.) as an MC as well as a singer and has been performing on a wide range of festivals; from Mysteryland to the internationally known North Sea Jazz festival. In his music you will find a mixture of fun, drama, spirituality and battle-themes. On stage he delivers, together with talented singer Senna and DJ PCM, an unorthodox hiphopshow which can be enjoyed by anyone with an open mind. For more info: www.petephilly.com.

Kain Slim (Chili, 197?) is known for his heartfelt deliveries over dark melancholic beats. Together with former Proov drummer/singer Black Soul he forms the group False Chordz . Besides this, he is part of 124 Cipher. Kain Slim also appeared on 12"s by dutch R&B groups Sat-R-Day and Ebon-e. He's currently working on his solo-EP which will be released this year. For audio: www.beatkidz.cjb.net.