Born and raised in Paris, France, Eric Blaze grew up surrounded by music of many different styles. His older brother was a bass player who played all kinds of stuff in the bedroom they shared at their mother's house. Rock, Reggae, Punk, Soul, Calypso and were part of the daily routine in the Blaze household. Eric was fascinated by the mix of different grooves and open to all types of musical influences.

In the early 80's, Hip Hop took France and the rest of Europe by storm.  The new beats, the different ways of making music and the emerging artists of the era were a revelation for the young Eric, who realized immediately that creating Hip Hop music was his future.

Still in high school, Eric formed his own group with some friends and tried to develop his MC skills. As time went on he found himself behind boards and samplers more than the microphone.  He was more comfortable and engaged in production.  It was a turning point in Eric's life, and he decided to become a producer making beats for his crew and other artists.

Soon he had made a name for himself with his unique productions that churned out a certain gritty realness and truth. Eric’s goal was to accomplish more, to build his own place in the Hip Hop culture he cherished so much.  So for the first time in 1996, the beat maker flew to New York City to make contacts and begin the effort of establishing himself in the NYC Hip Hop scene, a city brimming with talent from the Notorious B.I.G. to Pete Rock to Nas. Although he could stay for a few months before his money ran out, he went back to France knowing that he had just found his new home.  From then on he returned to New York where the streets and airwaves were exploding with Hip Hop sounds, each time making crucial connections, until the day when he took the full leap and took up residence on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

From that point on, this French artist has been bringing his unique style to collaborations with   some of the Big Apple's finest artists like Queensbridge's Screwball, Kamakazee, Infamous Mobb, Blaq Poet, Bronx legend KRS-One, Smiley the Ghetto Child and legendary Diggin' in the crates crew (D.I.T.C.) to name a few.Showbiz, One of the crew co-founders was so impressed with E.Blaze's abilities that they had him produce half of the tracks for D.I.T.C's members OC & AG's critically acclaimed album, Oasis, which came out in 2009.

Another one of his acclaimed productions featuring Infamous Mobb  "Capital Q" was ranked in the Complex (Marc Ecko) /unkut.com online edition as one of the 50 greatest Queensbridge Rap Songs of All time.  A first for a European beat maker!

Currently, Eric Blaze lives in New York City and is working with a multitude of talented artists worldwide and has a new album in the works scheduled for release sometime this year. He is sure to continue providing us with his personal touch, grooves, and unique productions, all in the respect of keeping this pure art form alive!

IS IT DJ JAMAL? IS IT JAMAL JAMES? YES!!

NOTE: I am not trying to claim any of the beautiful music I post as my work. These are not my creations. I simply want to show deference to the creators of these works of art and share the wonderful music that moves me with the world.

Producer, Remixer, DJ, Mix & Master Engineer...Your 1 Stop Production Shop

SoundCloud page of 5 year old producer phenom.

https://linktr.ee/wearedelasoul

De La Soul is back—but did they ever really leave? After delivering their seminal debut 3 Feet High and Rising in 1989 with the production genius of Prince Paul, the New York City-bred trio of Posdnuos (Pos), Dave and Maseo went on to further impact Hip Hop culture with five more groundbreaking albums: De La Soul Is Dead (1991), Buhloone Mindstate (1993), Stakes Is High (1996), Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (2000) and AOI: Bionix (2001). But once the digital age exploded in the late ‘90s, De La Soul’s celebrated catalog was unavailable to stream. As the decades passed, the tight-knit group forged ahead anyway—touring the world, connecting with their adoring fanbase and making music on their own terms. Following 2004’s The Grind Date, De La Soul took a hiatus from making albums, but joined The Gorillaz on the track “Feel Good Inc” which won them a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration.  In 2015, the group raised over $600,000 on Kickstarter from fans to independently release their album and the Anonymous Nobody, which was their first #1 on the Rap Albums chart, and was also nominated for a Best Rap Album Grammy.   

However, the demand for unreleased De La Soul music was palpable and the cry for access to the first six albums grew louder. Unfortunately, De La Soul was stuck riding a roller coaster of stalled negotiations, dashed hopes and dead-end conversations with their old label, and the group nearly gave up. 

"We have lived without the music up for long, these six albums haven’t been up—ever,” Pos says. “We got used to knowing they weren’t up.” In June of 2021, Tommy Boy Music was acquired by Reservoir, giving De La Soul’s catalog a new home.  In March of 2023, the six missing albums were finally available to stream.  But sadly, right before the catalog release, Dave, the beloved member of De La Soul, passed away. Though bittersweet, De La Soul preserves his legacy and the ongoing impact of their music. 

As iconic songs such as “The Magic Number”, found new life in the film Spiderman: No Way Home in 2021, De La Soul continues to resonate with a diverse population of people. 

As Pos notes, “We’ve noticed over the past several years of tour like, ‘Wow, there’s a father here with his child who also is here with their child. ‘We’re generational. To me, there’s nothing more gratifying than that. That means something. That’s telling about a group. What we were doing wasn’t just stuck to that time.”

“We really naturally been that group for everyone,” Pos says. “It was never about we’re just here for this community, that community, this set of people or these certain fans of Hip Hop culture. We see music as music. We’ve been very resilient, even being a group that didn’t have our music up [on streaming platforms]. We still had these beautiful opportunities through young people finding out about us through a commercial or Spider-Man. Now that it can all be there for people to gravitate to, I’m really happy about that.” 

De La Soul's impact on the musical landscape is immeasurable, with 3 Feet High and Rising widely regarded as one of the most influential albums of its era. Pioneering inventive sampling, playful lyrics, and eclectic beats, the album broke new ground and set a standard for creativity in the genre. Recognizing its cultural significance, the album was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.

We are proud and honored to be the official ambassadors of Jamla Records.  The incredibly talented men and women are working tirelessly behind the scenes to provide you, the party people of the world, with an amazing soundtrack to your lives.  Stay tuned as we share some of our favorite songs, as well as new music, from the artists of Jamla Records.

Connecting club culture to the wider world, on screen and irl through parties, film and video.

♫:::...Music Is Life...:::♫
Stand-By Productions

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