2 nights ago, in the back office of Project Unlimited, Beezus Christ and I breathed a collective sigh of relief.  The project we had dedicated the better part of 2 years to was finally available to the public…

Earlier in the evening we had met, as our fat asses often do, at Blind Bobs in Dayton, Ohio’s historic Oregon District.  B was there catching up with a good friend who was in town, as I enjoyed a few adult beverages.  We ate, laughed, and later I haggled my pals at Omega Music down the road for a discount on Seagram’s Reality Check.  It was a typical Sunday for us, as any member of the TBR Lodge could attest to, but something snapped inside both of us.  Here we were, in a city nowadays known for full-of-shit emcees and yes men, sitting on an entire album of harsh reality.  Why?

Sure we had grand ideas of how it would release (cassette only had been recently thrown around).  Sure we wanted our DJ to put cuts on every song. Sure we wanted to drop music videos. Sure we wanted billboards and tv commercials and an official release show with all of our cohorts.  Meanwhile, collaborators like Milk Man and Eklypz are hitting us up like “can I get that song we did, I been waiting forever!!!”  Here we are working on countless other projects, just built a new recording home, not to mention just trying to survive the day-to-day.  Let’s face it, No More Passes had unfairly taken a backseat.

So, as B and his old pal parted ways we walked to his car.   Somewhat timidly, feeling this frustration inside but thinking my partner-in-rhyme would disagree, I exclaimed “I’ll put No More Passes out tonight!”  Beezus, in a matter of fact tone any friend of his is accustomed to, replied “Don’t fucking play with my emotions.”  From that point we bullshitted back and forth, not sure how serious the other was about releasing it.  By the time we made it back to Project Unlimited we sat down ready to do work.  B frantically put together an album cover as I bounced all the tracks out of Pro Tools and directly into Soundcloud (an excellent feature of Pro Tools 10 I was previously unaware of).  A few hours later the dream was reality.

I’ve got to sprinkle in a bit of full disclosure at this point in the story:  I really wasn’t sure what would happen from this point.  I don’t know that B did either.  But B started sending links to everyone involved in the project, and we parted ways at around 4am nervously anticipating feedback.  Well, feedback we got.  All of the collaborators for No More Passes were chosen out of our respect for there talents.  Let me tell you, there’s no feeling quite like someone you have that kind of respect for commenting how proud they were to be a part of the project.  Or that it was the best rap album to come out of the city we all work so hard to defend.  Or that we had successfully bucked the trends to show what this culture is all about.  I’m talking about artist who we literally grew up on sharing the link to the album left and right!!  So, I write this letter to all of you.

Thank you all.  Anyone who contributed to No More Passes.  It was a sincere pleasure to be able to match what we do best with what you do best and bring the best out in each other.  And to everyone else who has spread the word, shared the link, provided feedback, or simply just took the time to listen to the record:  We are eternally grateful to have people like yall to call upon in a moments notice.  This album, from its inception, was about providing a soundbed to showcase the talent our area has always possessed.  The talent that had been supressed over the years by fake ass promoters, bullshit radio stations, and quite honestly all of our own laziness.  Trust us when we tell you, this is merely the beginning.  We may have been publicly silent over the past few months, but behind closed doors we’ve gone to war.  Our team has never been as strong as it is right now.  And all of you who have helped us musically, personally, or both, have an open door to Beezus and I.  Holler at your boys

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Well for a limited time, by clicking this link http://kiva.org/invitedby/trunkbound you can join Kiva.org and help a family in need without even coming out of pocket!!!!  So, take 5 minutes out of your day and help someone in Cambodia start a show repair business, or a mother in India buy a new sewing machine, or whoever you deem fit to receive your $25.00 contribution.

A little diddy we composed courtesy of Columbus’s own PRIME for his upcoming “Dirty Roots” project.  Includes verses from Picket Fence, Seth Rock, and Phaize I The Lion as well as backup vox from DJ Shorty.  Enjoy!

So, for those of you who haven’t been up on thangs, your friends here at Trunk Bound Regime have been given a weekly radio show over at www.daytonhiphopradio.com.  Tune in tonight from 8-10pm as we take it back to the Rap City days with live freestyles (and drinking) from some of the Dayton areas illest emcees.  If you don’t know how we get down, below is the video from last week with our new set

Time to get down!

It’s that time again folks! The 3rd Gem City Get Down will take place at Jay & Jeans June 17th @ 9pm.  DJ sets by DJ Shorty and Trunk Bound Regime.  If you were at the last one, you already know DJ Pluto has some serious joints up his sleeves!  This time around all proceeds will be given to the tornado victims in Alabama.  So, come out, have a great time, and change the world once again!  Stay tuned for some exclusive content.  In the meantime, here’s a free song from us and a cartoon message from Seth Rock.

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