Here it is the so expected Starvin Art Clique Album after all those years... It definitely deserved a proper re-issue, now it 's done !!! Mad Props to 90's Tapes.
The Starvin Art Clique consisted of Christopher "30 Fingaz" Gittens, Robert "Hawaii" Russell and DJ Joe "Guess Who?" Davidge and "Starving Art" was their only album. The full production was handled by Guess Who? and Shane "The Doctor" Faber, features included artists such as Shawn Smith, Jaie, Mekolicious and others.
Originally released on CD on Joe Davidge's Overkast Records in 1998, the release was accompanied by a then and now hard-to-find 12" EP with 5 tracks of the album plus an instrumental version.
Available on 2xLP (Gatefold, 500 copies), CD (300 copies) and Tape (100 copies).
Let's talk about X-Military, a hip-hop group which was founded in Oahu Hawaii shortly after the Gulf War. X-Military was comprised of Keith Wallace (Wally-D) and Cedric Mason (Ceddy-C), Mike Chesser (Mike C), Burtom Astrum (BA) and Big T, all members of the armed forces.
In 1996, they dropped their first and only one 12" on One Life Records, composed of two tracks titled "Mind Blow" and "Slippin'" produced by Mike C. Both tracks were also released on Cassette and on CDr format.
Wally-D : "We all are from different cities. I'm from Indianapolis, Ced is from New York, and Mike is from Chicago. BA and Big T were Body Guards, but not sure where they were from...
The connection happened while we were in Hawaii. Mike C was in a production group called M&M Soundtrax's with his partner Myke Booker (Casen). I met Booker while visiting Kaneoa Marine Base. We began recording at our studio on Hickam AFB. Ced and I were about to separate from the military, so we decided to form X-Military and produce some hip-hop music.
X-Military performed all throughout Hawaii; at local clubs, military bases, outside park and beach venue's, eventually performing as the opening act for Teddy Riley at the Blasedale Arena, the biggest venue on the island of Oahu at the time.
Mike was then transferred to his second duty assignment in Hampton Virginia, and Me and Ced soon followed. This is where One Life Records was formed. The Founders of One Life Records were Mike Chesser, Keith Wallace, Cedric Mason, Kirk Lewis, Ray Paige, Adam Gibbs and Joey Cypress."
Wally-D : "We distributed approximately 1,000 copies of "Mind Blow / Slippin'". We produced a compilation album soon after that featuring X-Military and a host of local artists. We traveled throughout the east coast performing in Philly, Atlanta, Florida and even New York's Apollo theatre.
Soon after returning from a tour in Florida, Kirk decided to move to Arizona. Mike C and Adam moved to Maryland and later formed the production team of the Platinum Brothers. This new production team worked with several major artists such as Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony, J-Lo, Keith Sweat, and was even nominated for a Grammy with the RnB artist J. Holiday. I moved back to Indianapolis to open a commercial recording studio in Downtown Metropolitan area called Skrewface Entertainment. There I would work with artists such as Hit Skrewface, Mike Epps, Freddie Gibbs, Young Plat and JT the Jugganaut. Ced decided to take his talents to Australia and become an independent artist named Keelo. Ray now owns several apparel and ethnic beauty stores throughout Williamsburg VA, and Joey has a commercial studio in Hampton VA. We all still stay connected through multiple social media platforms and continue to produce timeless music."
If there is an album who deserves a proper release on vinyl, it could be certainly that one, "Starving Art" which was released on CD by the Baltimore-based group Starving Art Clique in 1998.
Starving Art Clique consisted of Christopher "30 Fingaz" Gittens also know as Cleptomaniac, Robert "Hawaii" Russell, and DJ Joe "Guess Who?" Davidge.
The album is composed of 12 tracks featuring other local artists like Dutchess, Oddessy, Cabral Cartel and Hoe and was released on Overkast Records which was owned and managed by Joe Davidge. All the tracks were produced by Guess Who? and Shane "The Doctor" Faber.
"On the self-produced album, both 30 Fingaz and Hawaii exhibit a lyrical density and maturity that belie their age. They engage true life with wordplay and metaphor for a result that works on several levels, and Guess Who? complements the duo's lyrics with beats and sounds. Instead of the typical stripped-down bass and drums that producers usually place beneath "reality" lyrics, Guess Who? swirls horn lines and piano around the griminess of the rhymes in way that is jolting but effective." - Press Sheet
I had already blogged something about the vinyl EP a few years ago but nothing about the album. It was the good opportunity to talk with Christopher Gittens who gave me more info about it.
30 Fingaz : "My real name is Chris Gittens, but in the rap world, I'm known as Cleptomaniac. I was born in Brooklyn, New York City. I was born into a music loving Trinidadian family. I was always around music. We eventually moved to Baltimore County where I later met Robert Russell (Hawaii) in Highschool. I had already known Joe Davidge who was the producer of the Starving Art album through my older brother Hoe. Hoe went to school with Joe Davidge, and Lamont Morraigne'el (Joe's business partner). Joe made beats, and I liked his beats. Even though I was a child, Joe and Lamont saw something promising in my rhymes. I introduced Hawaii to Joe and EL (Lamont), and we started to discuss a project. Although Hawaii and I were already making music, we hadn't done anything serious. We started the starving art project about a year and a half before it was actually released. It took so long because there was a constant clash of creativity between Joe and myself. I wanted to go with more of a ruff and rugged sound (hardcore hip-hop) if you will. Joe on the other hand worshipped A Tribe Called Quest and I think he wanted to sound like them. Me and Hawaii did not. We were street battle rappers. But because of Joe's heavy personality, along with the fact that him and EL were funding the whole project, we eventually went more of Joe's direction instead of really a group effort. Hence the Starving Art album is really Joe's creation. We just performed it. Joe gave me the concepts, and I wrote the songs, and Hawaii filled them in.
Guess stars included Dutchess & Oddessy, Mekalicious, Cabral Cartel, and Hoe. Hoe and Cabral are my brothers. Oddessy and Dutchess went to school with my older brother. We brought Mek in just to have an "out of town" guest on a track (I don't think we really needed him). After the project, Hawaii and I technically still had another project to do according to the contract, but, we were not willing to do another project without full creative freedom. Joe attempted to employ us again for a reunion album, but we declined because we never made any money off of that album. If there were to be a Starving Art reunion album, it will be without Overkast records."
Baltimore based group which consisted of Christopher "30 Fingaz" Gittens, Robert "Hawaii" Russell, and DJ Joe "Guess Who?" Davidge.
Since 1995 the group appeared on local radio, been featured in The Sun and City Paper, and released its first album, Starving Art, on Davidge's own Overkast Records in 1998, produced by Guess Who? and Shane "The Doctor" Faber. But the full album was only released on CD.
"On the self-produced album, both 30 Fingaz and Hawaii exhibit a lyrical density and maturity that belie their age. They engage true life with wordplay and metaphor for a result that works on several levels, and Guess Who? complements the duo's lyrics with beats and sounds. Instead of the typical stripped-down bass and drums that producers usually place beneath "reality" lyrics, Guess Who? swirls horn lines and piano around the griminess of the rhymes in way that is jolting but effective."
The only vinyl version you 'll be lucky to find online or at your local record store is the Starvin Art Clique EP, composed of five tracks and one Instrumental. Everybody hopes for an upcoming reissue of this album on vinyl ... maybe one day with the help of a dope indie label, fingers crossed !
