Some thoughts on pacific division

[Tanjential]

I'm only like 11 tracks deep into this tape.

I'll add more thoughts when I've finished it all.

but anyway, these dudes are ridiculous MCs for real. Grown kids syndrome, passin me by and put me on are the best tracks i've heard so far. incidentally they also feel like the only full real songs that were original productions and all. were they produced by this group or are they sampled beats?

do they produce?/have a producer in the group?

cause i'm convinced they can drop hot bars but I'm not extremely sold on them as creators of original music/songs/albums you know?

but yeah as far as west coast MCs these guys are hella elite. but i'd like to see them step up the songcraft but I know and admit, I've only heard a bunch of the blendtape and not any album work by them.

that song ack like u chillin' pretty tight too, but nothing's fucking with that 'put me on'

-T

[Tanjential]

also, I like that they talk about weed but I don't like that they talk about clothes and shit a grip. they still talk about violence, clubbin', violence in the club, cars and shit but then they have songs that diss that shit like put me on so i get kind of a schizophrenic feel from it at times. cause one moment it's 'we the hardest crew of niggaz ever' and the next it's 'fuck the black on black perpetuation of negativity ' etc. I have to admit, listening to Murs has gotten me used to not hearing the word 'nigga' all the time and it's kind of nice.  conversely it's kinda harsh on the ears for these dudes to be saying it all the time, it's like 'come on, be progressive like you say you are' you know?

which part of L.A. are they from specifically?

-T

[We Fly High]

I'm only like 11 tracks deep into this tape.

I'll add more thoughts when I've finished it all.

but anyway, these dudes are ridiculous MCs for real. Grown kids syndrome, passin me by and put me on are the best tracks i've heard so far. incidentally they also feel like the only full real songs that were original productions and all. were they produced by this group or are they sampled beats?

Grown Kid Syndrome is produced by Swiff D. Passin Me By was originally a Pharcyde song from 93. and Put Me On is the beat to Bonita Applebaum (ATCQ). Most of the tracks on the CD are jackin 4 beats, hence "blend tape". but there are several original productions like Grown Kid Syndrome, Nasty, Ack Like You Chillin, and Relax (the last track on the cd which is my personal favorite), and theyre all done by Swiff D

do they produce?/have a producer in the group?

They do have an inhouse producer called Swiff D. This guy is going to be on the rise real soon. He did that "Perfect Beat" for talib kweli on eardrum. did a track for the recent diplomats cd. did "Dont Sweat It" off Cali iz active, and has done other production for Snoop, Nas, Redman, Diplomats, Styles P, Rick ross, anthony Hamilton, etc) Some of the criticism regarding the original production on the blend tape was that it was kinda sparse, and i can see where that view is coming from. But i think that was in an early stage of the producer, and hes matured a lot more now, which leads me to my next response below

cause i'm convinced they can drop hot bars but I'm not extremely sold on them as creators of original music/songs/albums you know?

check out these songs, they dont really have much out in terms of material, theyre working on their debut album, which i honestly believe is going to make a wave in the new LA scene, but heres two original songs also produced by Swiff D, and as you can tell his production has become a lot bigger. I think that Pac Div really knows how to make hooks which separates them from the rest, and they know how to create full original songs that have a concept and focus.
http://www.dubcnm.com/audio/2006/october/Pacific_Division-Fareal(dubcnn).mp3
http://www.dubcnm.com/audio/2006/october/Pacific_Division-Women_Problems.Swiff_D_Production(dubcnn).mp3

but yeah as far as west coast MCs these guys are hella elite. but i'd like to see them step up the songcraft but I know and admit, I've only heard a bunch of the blendtape and not any album work by them.

that song ack like u chillin' pretty tight too, but nothing's fucking with that 'put me on'
agree, you must check out RELAX though, the last track on the cd

-T

[We Fly High]

also, I like that they talk about weed but I don't like that they talk about clothes and shit a grip. they still talk about violence, clubbin', violence in the club, cars and shit but then they have songs that diss that shit like put me on so i get kind of a schizophrenic feel from it at times. cause one moment it's 'we the hardest crew of niggaz ever' and the next it's 'fuck the black on black perpetuation of negativity ' etc. I have to admit, listening to Murs has gotten me used to not hearing the word 'nigga' all the time and it's kind of nice.  conversely it's kinda harsh on the ears for these dudes to be saying it all the time, it's like 'come on, be progressive like you say you are' you know?

which part of L.A. are they from specifically?

-T

but if you listen to their songs, they talk about violence, and all that shit, but its not like gangster rhymes. They're just rappin like MC braggadocios. like yeah "our crew is nasty, our crew is the toughest, our crew will smash your crew," but its just like MC battle type of rhymes. They dont be talkin about slangin rocks, or posted up on the block, bustin gats or stuff, gangbangin or "I'm going to come and blow your head off." They know they arent gangsters, so they dont perpetuate that image.

Tracks like "Grown Kid Syndrome" and "Relax", thats the type of stuff everyday people can relate to. People cant relate to Roccett, people can't relate to 40 Glocc, people cant relate to Jay Rock. Normal people cant relate to these gangbangers. For the average kid out in LA, i think more people can relate to "trying to pick up the latest fashion and shoes" or "I'm still 22 and livin at home with my parents", than they can to Jay Rock who is bustin shotguns and pullin drivebys. Its just totally opposite spectrums.

Dont get it twisted though, i aint knockin anyones hustle. For these gangsta rappers out here, theres definitely their niche that they can cater to, which is for the more hood/street folks. I dont expect any gangsters/thugs to be bumping PD, but i'm saying, that since 99.9% of us on this forum arent gangsters, that you guys should give these guys a try. I think you'll be surprised.

On the clothing/shoes thing,... Pac Div, as individuals are all just really into rockin the fly shit.  theyre just associated with a lot of people in that scene.. so thats a bit of their niche.

They grew up in proper LA, forgot exactly where, but they moved out to Palmdale for high school, and now they back in LA. If you listen to Snoop's "My Peoples" you'll hear him shout out "Pacific Division from Palmdale"

[mrfranklin]

my boy knows their dj, they where on the wake up show a week or two ago kick flow, hey tanj do u live in LA and if so i know u are musically gifted and know good music? r u a producer of do u play insturments

[Tanjential]

i rap/write/sing/play piano/keyboard. I'm in the I.E., not L.A.

now this is weird.

weflyhigh: have you heard Slim the Mobster's mixtape? it's only like 20 minutes long but he has a track on there called something like 'the ten gat commandments' or something like that with the exact same beat as 'ack like u chillin''

I got the tape on this forum, check that shit out. which came first?

relax is a good song, but i'm even more impressed with grown kids syndrome and how we chill.

yeah they are really good and I agree with your assessment that most of us aren't gangsters and should give this more relatable stuff a try. I guess all I can say is I hope they do more tracks like syndrome and put me on and less like 'nasty' and other violent LA oriented raps cause the tape isn't far enough from the gangsta rap as I would like in many instances. I'd like them to get even more original and creative.

I never realized how tired I was of gangsta rap until I heard cats like this and Murs doing well produced non gangsta west coast hip hop. I don't want to hear anyone that ain't dre/snoop and their people rappin about gangster shit like ever again now LMAO.


the fly shit is their scene? like fashion designers and such? I guess that's cool. I wanna say that's superficial but I suppose we all have that to us. I mean we all want to rock shit that we perceive as fly, I suppose.


anyway, I listened to the rest of the mixtape. alot of the freestyle stuff gets old, like by the time I was on the track "mibbs" it was like "okay, i get it....you're fuckin' vicious. next?" and when they were the 67849th rappers to rap over "unbelievable" i was like "ooookay" but yeah, like you said it's the mixtape.

i'll download those tracks and let you know what I think in another tape.

so exactly who is the group consisted of?

hm, i'm listening to the first of those tracks. it's hard to hear it well not in a car, i'll need to get a version i can burn sometime.

didn't you post up another fat group of tracks in a post about PD? i'll probably put those on one cd and bump that too so I get a better feel for them in the studio.

so i'm on the verge of being convinced. either way, they're cats to look out for and i'd like to see them blow up before a hundred other artists i've been exposed to.

thanks for tippin' us off to these cats.

-T

[We Fly High]

i rap/write/sing/play piano/keyboard. I'm in the I.E., not L.A.

now this is weird.

weflyhigh: have you heard Slim the Mobster's mixtape? it's only like 20 minutes long but he has a track on there called something like 'the ten gat commandments' or something like that with the exact same beat as 'ack like u chillin''

I got the tape on this forum, check that shit out. which came first?
yeah i heard about that. Pac Division had the beat a long time before Slim did. Beat cds get passed around and Slim for sure didnt have permission to use that beat, as thats a Swiff D original, and Swiff is inhouse for Pac. Ack like you chillin is maybe 3-4 years old by now.

relax is a good song, but i'm even more impressed with grown kids syndrome and how we chill.
yeah shits dope, I really think you'll love "Women Problems" and "Fareal" the two links i posted up top. If you like Grown Kid Syndrome, you'll definitely  like Women Problems, same sort of sound and feel to it. "Fareal" is just hard hittin, Mibb's last verse is just flat out Dope

yeah they are really good and I agree with your assessment that most of us aren't gangsters and should give this more relatable stuff a try. I guess all I can say is I hope they do more tracks like syndrome and put me on and less like 'nasty' and other violent LA oriented raps cause the tape isn't far enough from the gangsta rap as I would like in many instances. I'd like them to get even more original and creative.

I never realized how tired I was of gangsta rap until I heard cats like this and Murs doing well produced non gangsta west coast hip hop. I don't want to hear anyone that ain't dre/snoop and their people rappin about gangster shit like ever again now LMAO.
THATS EXACTLY WHAT IM SAYING!! the music was cool growin up, but i didnt grow up in no hood or nothing, and as I get older, I just can't relate to any of that shit at all. I can appreciate good music in all forms, just unfortunately, most gangsta rap nowadays blows.
You absolutely need to check out "BLU & EXILE - Below the Heavens". Best damn hip hop LA has seen in a long time!


the fly shit is their scene? like fashion designers and such? I guess that's cool. I wanna say that's superficial but I suppose we all have that to us. I mean we all want to rock shit that we perceive as fly, I suppose.
i mean its not really their scene, theyre much bigger than that. but they know a lot of people associated with independent "streetwear" (for lack of a better word) that is slowly taking LA(/NY) over. and "Fashion Designer" = 26,27 year olds making hip hop / skate clothing, not gucci/verrsace or something. What it boils down to, is that theyre like 22-23 year olds, just trying to look fresh.


anyway, I listened to the rest of the mixtape. alot of the freestyle stuff gets old, like by the time I was on the track "mibbs" it was like "okay, i get it....you're fuckin' vicious. next?" and when they were the 67849th rappers to rap over "unbelievable" i was like "ooookay" but yeah, like you said it's the mixtape.

i'll download those tracks and let you know what I think in another tape.

so exactly who is the group consisted of?
There is Like, Mibbs, and BeYoung. Like & Mibbs are brothers. Thats the core, and then they have their DJ, this guy called DJ Sean G, and then their producer Swiff D

hm, i'm listening to the first of those tracks. it's hard to hear it well not in a car, i'll need to get a version i can burn sometime.
right click, save

didn't you post up another fat group of tracks in a post about PD? i'll probably put those on one cd and bump that too so I get a better feel for them in the studio.
yeah those were all mainly just sample tracks from the mixtape though, so you prob got them all

so i'm on the verge of being convinced. either way, they're cats to look out for and i'd like to see them blow up before a hundred other artists i've been exposed to.

thanks for tippin' us off to these cats.
you're welcome. thank you for taking the time to listen and comment

-T