Paradox - "called To Mind" Now Available

[Seven77]

Paradox man you rock....i just finished my first listening...very dope. my favorite tracks so far: 1,3,4,6,8,12,13,14

[paradox]

thanks, homie, i'm really glad you enjoyed it.

if anyone's interested, i've posted the lyrics for all the tracks (at least, my parts) on my website as .pdfs:
[url="http://www.paradoxhiphop.com"]www.paradoxhiphop.com[/url]

[MC IMaGiNaZUN]

Wow
I'm feeling this Paradox. Solid Funky Fresh Boom Bap Lyrical Hip Hop. I may just have to convince some other people to spend money on their own copy now.
thanks
shalom
bro mark
ps usually if i pray for people i prefer to say their name out loud for mass, it will sound unusual if i pray for "paradox" at mass, can i use your baptismal name?

[paradox]

solid, glad to hear you're enjoying the album. thank you for taking the time to listen and anything you could do to spread the word would definitely be appreciated. my baptismal name is matthew/matt (though i get a chuckle thinking about you saying "paradox" in Mass).

[paradox]

[quote name='paradox' post='1689969' date='Oct 31 2008, 01:44 PM']my new album (featuring the scratch greatness of dj86) is not available for purchase at:[/quote]

i just realized that my initial post said NOT available. since i think editing is currently turned off (or i'm not smart enough to figure it out), what i meant to say was:

"my new album (featuring the scratch greatness of dj86) is NOW available for purchase."

forgive my fat/phat fingers.

[Seven77]

[quote name='paradox' post='1709973' date='Nov 24 2008, 06:37 PM']i just realized that my initial post said NOT available. since i think editing is currently turned off (or i'm not smart enough to figure it out), what i meant to say was:

"my new album (featuring the scratch greatness of dj86) is NOW available for purchase."

forgive my fat/phat fingers.[/quote]

fixed.

editing is off within an hour of posting...only works for moderators after that---dUSt's idea

[Seven77]

oh yeah, Paradox--- thanks for all the goodies you included with the album! i'm checking them out today!

[paradox]

thank you for fixing my post, bro.

as for whatever came with your CD, that's all sphere of hip hop. they always hook it up. great place to shop for dope Christian hip hop. out of curiosity, what all did they throw in?

[misereremi]

going to get somebody to get me this for Christmas

[paradox]

[quote name='misereremi' post='1711719' date='Nov 26 2008, 05:21 PM']going to get somebody to get me this for Christmas[/quote]

word, it makes for a great stocking stuffer... whoever gets it for you should be in the running for a best friend ever award.
thanks for the interest.

[Seven77]

[quote name='paradox' post='1711680' date='Nov 26 2008, 05:47 PM']thank you for fixing my post, bro.

as for whatever came with your CD, that's all sphere of hip hop. they always hook it up. great place to shop for dope Christian hip hop. out of curiosity, what all did they throw in?[/quote]

a sphere of hip hop sticker, some illect recordings promo ads: Beatrabbi, Freddie Bruno, Falling Tsar, Scribbling Idiots...

and two dropcards: free downloads from Cas Metah and a bunch of others!

[paradox]

nice, free goodies are always a bonus.

[url="http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/indiemusic/CalledToMind.asp"]a review from Jesusfreakhideout.com[/url]

It was two years ago that emcee Paradox released his debut solo album, Hiatus. Now, after contributing what ended up being a highlight on Syntax Records' Night Owls 4: A Shot In The Dark - as well as being signed to indie label End of Earth Records - he's back with his sophomore effort, Called To Mind. To give you an early idea of what Called To Mind may sound like, the entirety of the album (save for one song) was produced by Elliot B., who is the same guy that produced Paradox' Night Owls 4 song, "Live & Direct." The one exception is the bonus track, "Seeds," which was produced by Deepspace 5's Beat Rabbi, and features fellow DS5 member Playdough.

Called To Mind is a pretty good effort, consisting of some pretty catchy beats. And Paradox utilizes them well, with an impressive flow. The opener, "Stay Tuned," says "We up jump the boogie to rock shock the melody/Young guns and rookies turned hot shots developing/Pop lock for jealousy, chop block the celery/Raw dogs with sawed offs and God talk to Elohim." And sometimes the nice flow is mixed with relevant lyrics, like in "White Noise," ("I drown out the static of loudmouth fanatics/Shouting through ads in mags to bow-down the average/Downtown is savage, the bigger the billboards/Teeny-boppers feeding off of figures they'd kill for"). And again when he speeds it up for a verse or two in "On Second Thought": ("A cute two cents, but truly not them/You got a job, friends, school, tools, options/Them? problems, futures locked in/Subdued by rotten food, booze, toxins/Heed this caution when preaching doctrine/Cause their top ten don't see the God-sent/Forgot Rakim, knock h to the izzo/So go home, 'Dox, and escape to your zip code"). So it's apparent upon listening that Paradox has got the talent necessary to get people listening and to keep them listening. Only problems that arise are when his flow starts to sound identical in some of the songs - not all of them, though, just a few songs here and there. But really, it's a problem that can happen to just about any hip hopper in the game. The only other negative aspect is some quasi-profanity dropped in the song "Life of an Artist." Though some might look at them and think it's not really that bad because they aren't "real cuss words," it probably would have been a better idea to leave those out. The one line in the song says "The life of an artist, picky critics dissing your sound/Like to give an ish, but I'm too busy kicking doors down." "Ish" is a common slang word for the s-word, while later he says "Fade away like players who just play the game with brain and balls." It caught me off-guard, and bothered me a bit, as profanity is never really necessary in a song, and it wouldn've been much better had they not been included (regardless of how mild it may even seem).

Some of the artists that contributed good songs to Night Owls 4 ended up not being too impressive in their own solo ventures. Paradox does not fall into the same category as them. Called To Mind is a nice piece of work. If you're looking for some new hip hop, it wouldn't hurt to head over to his MySpace and check him out, and maybe even to the End of Earth Records MySpace and get yourself a copy. I've only heard a few songs from his debut album, but from the sounds of those songs compared to Called To Mind, it seems safe to say that Paradox will just keep getting better album after album.

- Review date: 11/30/08, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com

[img]http://paradoxhiphop.com/paradox_plus/paradox-called_to_mind_banner_(468x60).gif[/img]

[MC IMaGiNaZUN]

I was browsing on emusic and its up now.
but im thinking of buying a hard copy with christmas money anyways

shalom
bro mark

[paradox]

thanks for the heads up, bro... i didn't know it had processed over there yet. either way, the support is incredibly appreciated. one benefit of going with the physical copy is you get the bonus track, "seeds" (f. playdough, produced by beat rabbi), that's not included with the digital version.
hope your advent season has been a blessed one, thus far.
peace.

for others that do the emusic thing, you can find the album here:
[url="http://www.emusic.com/album/Paradox-Called-To-Mind-MP3-Download/11345738.html"]paradox - "called to mind" on emusic[/url]

if you do the napster thing, you can find the album here:
[url="http://home.napster.com/ns/music/album.html?album_id=13013767"]paradox - "called to mind" on napster[/url]

Edited December 7, 2008 by paradox

[paradox]

and now on iTunes (if you've already heard the album and would be willing to post some feedback on iTunes, it would be greatly appreciated):
[url="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=299893111&id=299893095&s=143441"]paradox - "called to mind" on iTunes[/url]

[misereremi]

[quote name='paradox' post='1713583' date='Nov 29 2008, 05:31 PM']word, it makes for a great stocking stuffer... whoever gets it for you should be in the running for a best friend ever award.
thanks for the interest.[/quote]
Looks like I am the best friend ever, ordered it for a friend of mine as a Christmas prezzy...after I listen to it first.

[paradox]

[quote name='misereremi' post='1730223' date='Dec 17 2008, 03:04 AM']Looks like I am the best friend ever, ordered it for a friend of mine as a Christmas prezzy...after I listen to it first. [/quote]

indeed it does look that way... if you want a copy for yourself after passing it off, i can send you the link to a digital download, just for being such a great friend. hit me with your e-mail address if you're interested:
paradox@paradoxhiphop.com
you're also more than welcome to burn a copy of the one you ordered, if you'd prefer that.

[misereremi]

[quote name='paradox' post='1730632' date='Dec 17 2008, 10:00 PM']indeed it does look that way... if you want a copy for yourself after passing it off, i can send you the link to a digital download, just for being such a great friend. hit me with your e-mail address if you're interested:
paradox@paradoxhiphop.com
you're also more than welcome to burn a copy of the one you ordered, if you'd prefer that.[/quote]
Man I got mine in the post= love it! Haven't checked the freebees yet but cheers for that!

My favourite track to bop to is definitely [b]Bloodline[/b]. It's just tight in every way.

Love the lyrics on 'Put em together'- I was asked to write a similar message verse for a track but from an angry female's perspective (LOL!) so it was cool hearing yours. ' all the women who call men dogs but don't call the cops to haul them off' YES. Mine starts off 'the sprawler's revellry is now over, get your backside off of my sofa' lol.

And 'let your life speak' - wicked tune! Ruined for life- true messages, wicked delivery.
PS wicked as in good.

Will PM you my email address. God bless you bruv

[paradox]

awesome, thank you for the feedback and i'm so glad you're digging it.

i love that line from your "put 'em together" type song. makes me think of that erykah badu song, "call tyrone."

definitely get at me one way or another so i can send you a digital copy.

God bless and Merry Christmas.

[Seven77]

the paradox of Christmas