in late 2006 we began asking some of the major names in rap music to interpret The Words in music. we called the
project Wordz from the Street. at the same time we began working with young, unsigned artists from the inner-city.
there was some incredible talent there, great hearts, great stories of survival. we decided to include these kids in
the project, and put them to work with the more established artists to create tracks based on The Words. you can
preview some of the rough mixes from Wordz on the Streets below. when the album is released, it will feature
tracks from both recognized names from the hip-hop world, such as The Last Poets, Mr. Mixx from 2 Live Crew,
Yo Yo, Big Chan (Snoop's Angels), as well as the young talent from Watts and South Central. a portion of the
proceeds from the release will go towards establishing a recording program at the Watts Community Center.




Layzie Bone , from Bone Thugs N-Harmony, was the first artist to record for Wordz from the Streets. We recorded
Layzie in Reno Nevada after his performance in concert with DMX. appropriately, the words to Layzie's track
came from a chapter called The Blessings. I had sent Layzie a copy of the book and asked him to pick one of
the chapters to rap from. Between then and the session, I picked a chapter as well. When we met in Reno to
record, I found out that we had both chosen The Blessings as the inspiration for the track. We are currently
completing the mixing of this track with Segal (mixer/engineer for Outkast, Eminem, Xzibit). Rickie Lee Jones
added acoustic guitar to the track. The beats were written by DreGhost. Additional recording took place at
Pinlight Studios in Hollywood. A video of the original session is available online by clicking here, and an
animation of this song is in the works at Channel B4 studios. We owe some of the rapid progress on this pro-
ject to Layzie Bone, who believed in it from the start, and makes us all realize the truth, "Blessed are you!"

listen to "blessed are you" / rough mix only c. 2007 the words music group





"I don't recall lines, they memorize me. You devise rhymes, I hypnotize ink." - Oblivion
Stacy Meadows (aka Oblivion) is a young, unsigned artist who has made this project so strong. Oblivion is well
known in the underground street rap and poetry scene in Los Angeles, and many consider him to be one of the
most promising young artists they have ever encountered. people have compared his writing and performance
to artists such as Tupac Shakur (Leila Steinberg, Tupac's first manager has often spoken of Oblivion's depth and
power as a writer and performer.) Oblivion deals in words and ideas that are intellectually and spiritually challenging.
his delivery is unique, as is his intensity and passion. Theo Little has the voice of an angel, and makes
My Generation soar. beats are by Dre Ghost, remixing by Segal. recorded at Pinlight Studios in Hollywood.

listen to oblivion perform "my generation" / rough mix only c. 2007 the words music group





Umar Bin Hassan and Abiodun, founding members of The Last Poets, came to Hollywood to record Is He
the Living God?  The Last Poets are very well known as a group of poets and musicians who arose from
the late 1960's civil rights movement's Black Nationalist thread. The Last Poets have been cited as one
of the earliest influences on what would become hip-hop music. critic Jason Ankeny writes, "With their
politically charged raps, taut rhythms, and dedication to raising African-American consciousness, the Last
Poets almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for the emergence of hip-hop."

listen to "is he the living God?" / rough mix only c. 2007 the words music group





Pat's Justice achieved national attention for his performance at last year's Def Poetry Jam sponsored
in New York City by HBO. He performed "Innocent Criminal," which fans voted as the best performance
at the event. a few weeks later we recorded The End Times with Pat's Justice at Pinlight.

listen to "the end times" / rough mix only c. 2007 the words music group





listen to "Armed" by Big Chan with Rickie Lee Jones on background vocals.
recorded at Pinlight in Hollywood. c. 2007 the words music group


listen to "Food for the Soul" by Mr. Mixx from 2 Live Crew
recorded at Pinlight in Hollywood c. 2007 the words music group


listen to "Faith to Move Mountains" by Yo Yo
recorded at Pinlight in Hollywood c. 2007 the words music group



listen to "The Revelation" by Skim
recorded at Pinlight in Hollywood c. 2007 the words music group



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