What do you know about this cat named Maintain, who dropped the excellent track "Steady Scheming" in 1999 ?
Probably nothing... but "Steady Scheming" is by far the best track on this compilation album entitled "Young Lord Presents... The Red Book Masters", released on vinyl on Honcho Mogul Industries / Roadrunner Records by Bronx-based producer Richard "YoungLord" Frierson.
This MC from the Bronx remained a mystery to me for a long time, until I managed to track him down and he told me a bit about his story... crazy because I discovered that he was actually Mental Flex, a member of the Bronx-based crew Da Henchmen.
Maintain : " Well, I generally started rapping after I was a dancer for a rapper named Supreme. He was working with my neighbor who was a drummer producer named Rich. Supreme was the one who told Rich that I could rap. Rich then asked me to rap for him and we created my first song "Straight to the Dome". And ever since then, I've been rapping, which in tune lead me to do music.
Later on, I worked with a friend of mine who lived the next building, who's a famous DJ, DJ Logic, who worked with maroon 5 and John Meyer. As time progressed, I met people who wanted to hear me rhyme. I met a Spanish producer named Ernesto "Tic" Morales, who, together with the real brother of Tracey Morgan created a label called Ill Cyde Records, who then created a group called Da Henchmen.
Maintain : "We recorded an EP and two of the members of the Henchmen were the Evil Twins, who get the song "Puerto Rico" with Frankie Cutlass. As time progressed, I continued on and met more people in music. Like my homie Melodramatic who had a group called Left Field, who in tune had a familiar family relationship with Richard "YoungLord" Frierson who produced "Steady Scheming". YoungLord later became one of the Hitmen producers for Bad Boy Records.
Over the years, I went through several names, from Mental Flex to Maintain, and later Messiah Blaq. I was an unsigned artist who did the Lyricist Lounge under the moniker Mental Flex in the late '90s and early 2000s. Music is a living, breathing thing for me. It has taken me around the world and allowed me to share stages with many successful artists. I'm still continuing my journey and have new music coming soon... Thanks for taking the time. "
"Young Lord Presents... The Red Book Masters" isn't exactly a must-have for record collectors, but it's still worth owning, as "Steady Scheming", originally recorded in 1995, is a true '90s indie hip-hop gem to me. Peace
Mad props to Maintain a.k.a Messiah Blaq. Thanks for your time.
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