This song was started during the first studio session I did with Fooch after we added him to the Mic Hand Crew. He made the trip from Mt. Pleasant, IA to CR in May of 2013 to vibe out in the studio and work on some music with me and Colorless for a few hours. We were playing some beats and eventually landed on this one that had recently been sent to me by dope producer in Cedar Rapids called Ghost. We kept going through some other beats but we made our way back to this one and started writing. Fooch is one of those guys that can write and record a verse in the studio in one sitting, and that’s exactly what he did. Since Fooch only had a few hours to chill and an hour and a half drive home; I put my verse on hold and we immediately recorded his when he was done writing. I finished writing and recorded my verse the next morning and sent a mix to Fooch. Colorless didn’t write a verse for a couple weeks, but he started and finished one just in time to perform it on June 19th at The Mill in Iowa City. Fooch hadn’t memorized his verse but Colorless and I were excited and knew his verse so well that we carried him through it. Colorless didn’t record his verse until November of 2013. It was also lost for a while; it was on the other side of the folded up piece of paper! (Refer to the description of “Never Lose Sight”) We didn’t put a hook on this because the beat is dope, but when we perform we adopt the beginning of Colorless’ verse and use it as a chant signifying the progression and spread of energy at a show. “It starts in the front and moves to the back”….

FRONT TO BACK Ft Fooch The Emcee & Colorless - beat by Ghost

This beat really takes me back. I made it around 2004 before I got my first MPC2000XL. Back then I used to make beats with a Boss DR5 Dr. Rhythm Section Drum Machine, a Zoom ST-224 SampleTrak Sampler, a Yamaha DJX Keyboard and a Roland VS840 8-Track Recorder. I named this beat “Don’t You See” for obvious reasons, and it has surfaced on many occasions while sifting through beats with my friends over the years. I always considered it one of my best works from that time of my life, and I absolutely refused to let it go to waste. It ended up being what it is now kind of by accident. Early in 2013 CasetheJoint and I were in the studio trying to write something a little different than the regular hook-verse-hook format we’re accustomed to. We started writing this song on an old 12 inch single of a Non-Phixion beat called “4 W’s” that I got for free from my friend and fan Ian Stephen. Case had a limited amount of time before he had to go home to Dubuque, but we managed to finish writing the hook and the first verses before he had to leave. I wrote my second verse not long after, but the track was almost completely forgotten about for a long time. Eventually, during a solo beat sifting; I played this beat and recited the hook and verses a couple times. I was excited to find out that it fit on this beat so well and I called Case to let him know. Yet again the track was forgotten about until I decided to do this project. I contacted Case again and to tell him I really want him to be on the project and his only chance was to finish this song. In the following weeks we set up some studio time and made it happen. We left the last word of the hook out when we recorded and I recruited our good friend DJ Richie Daggers from Des Moines to scratch it in. It sounds dope. OBSERVE…. 
*Note 
-this beat was heavily inspired by “Time Management” by Blueprint from the album “The Weightroom” – Weightless Recordings, 2003.
credits
credits
released 31 December 2013 
Written and Performed by imperfekt and featured artists. 
Beats by imperfekt, Coolzey, Goodwill, Aeon Grey & more. 
Recorded by imperfekt. 
Mixed and Mastered by Matt Sawicki at Suburban Pro Studios.

MANIFESTO Ft CasetheJoint & DJ Richie Daggers

A local Cedar Rapids producer by the name of JBIII made this beat. He’s been producing, rapping and recording here in CR just as long as I have, if not longer. He’s probably known best for being the man behind the boards for other local rappers: Notti Boy, Jose G, Bill Thousand and others, all whom represent his label; Three’s Brand. For years we moved around doing our own respective things, but we didn’t ever really meet and connect until the summer of 2011. Within the following months he sent me an email with five beats that he thought were the best fit for my style. I like when people send me beats they think I will like, it makes me feel like they are really paying attention. I listened to all the beats and was pleased with what he had chosen to send me. They were definitely my type of beats, a bit different than what I make, but in a refreshing and inspiring way. Colorless and I wrote a song called Local Legends featuring DJ Commando on the first beat in the list and released it on May 1st of 2013. It was the first official Mic Hand x Three’s Brand collaboration. I didn’t write this song for a few months after that; it’s actually one of the newest songs in this project. I like this track because it brought out a different side of me. I don’t usually write catchy hooks, and sometimes I don’t write hooks at all. For this track I did write a rather catchy hook and Sawicki put some distortion and effects on the vocals that really set it off. I really like how it turned out. This song is also really fun to perform; it comes off nice and easy for people to catch on and sing along to. And since it’s so new, I’ve only performed it about 4 times, which is cool. Compare that to “impcredible Part 1” which was probably performed close to fifty times before I finally recorded. I do a lot of shows, not so much recording. Again, I’m working on that…. 
*Note 
-There is a video on YouTube of me reciting the first verse of this right after I wrote it.

QUOTEWORTHY - beat by JBIII

This track was produced by a native Iowan that I’ve been a fan of for many years. The first time I heard of him was when I saw him performing at the very first Hip Hop show I ever went to in my life. It was a local showcase at Gabe’s Oasis in Iowa City featuring Arcee, Babel Section, Josiah & A-Wonder, and I believe Psychosomatic was on the bill too. This was a life changing night for me because I was already making music at the time, but I had never been to a show and this one was all locals that were pretty good. It was very inspiring and influential. At the end of the night a guy from Des Moines called Know1 grabbed the mic and asked the crowd if they liked what they heard. When the crowd responded positively I specifically remember him yelling: “then why do I still have CD’s?” as he held up a handful of CDR’s in slim cases. I ended up getting one of those from him for free that night and I still have it to this day. It was a copy of Babel Section – “Fostering Epoch”, which was his project at the time with fellow Des Moines, IA emcee; Gaiden. I always looked up to Know1 and Gaiden back then, as well as all the other locals that were on the bill that night. I remember when I would see them at shows I’d be on some fanboy shit, bumping my friends like “yo, that’s Gaiden and Know1.” I always felt like I needed to gain their recognition and/or respect for some reason. Amazingly, throughout my travels as a musician I did gain the recognition, respect, and/or friendship of almost every single emcee that was on the bill on that night; including the producer of this beat: Aeon Grey, formerly Know1 of Babel Section. I chose this beat to write on from a few he sent me in 2012. The song is kind of personal, almost like I’m talking to myself. It was written at a time when I was wasting a lot of daylight watching random documentaries on Netflix so it makes sense. Also, I tried some different vocalizations on this track that are a bit out of my regular comfort zone. As I wrote the song it just sort of happened so I just went with it…. 
*Note 
-this song has a message. 
-BIG SHOUT to: Aeon Grey, Gadema, Animosity, Johnny Sixx, Josiah, Felix, J8 and the rest of the performers from that night in Iowa City that changed my life. RESPECT!

ANTI COUCH POTATO - beat by Aeon Grey

This is currently my favorite song to perform. I usually open it by saying; “are there any MF DOOM fans here? I was on some MF DOOM shit when I wrote this. All bars, no hooks.” I refer to him when doing this song because he typically doesn’t write hooks or choruses for his songs and this song has neither. The beat is by Coolzey, another one from the second group of eleven beats he gave me. It was kind of unorthodox so I had to cut and paste it down to the proper length. I really had fun writing this; it didn’t have a concept that confined me in any way so I just wrote whatever fun and clever bars came to mind. Honestly, I rarely write about specific topics when starting a new song. Most of the time when I write songs they begin from a single word or grouping of words that begin my rhyme format for the track. In the case of this track it was the line: “if I was a pop fly in the future, my haters couldn’t catch me later” that started it all. The second verse was a natural progression from the end of the first verse as the double entendre states. And the opening two bars of the third verse were written at a time that some might refer to as “too soon.” I recorded this and posted a rough mix on my Reverbnation page on December 17 of 2012, and I’ve been performing it ever since. Ironically, people are still sleeping on my style even after this song was released and performed, so it’s still new to most people. WAKE UP….

SLEEPIN ON MY STYLE - beat by Coolzey

It feels good to finally release this track; it’s been a really long time coming. The beat was produced by my very good friend Coolzey. He gave me a disc containing eleven beats sometime in late 2010 and this was the only one I wrote on. I eventually let my crew hear the beats and they all said this beat was for me. Later I approached Coolzey about letting us pick and choose beats to use for a Mic Hand x Coolzey project. He agreed under the condition that we kept him updated on what beats we were using so he didn’t give them to other friends. We accepted the conditions and got to work, and I had the verse for this finished in April of 2011. The day I finished writing I made a promotional video for Deuce Ellis & Prhyme8’s Peanut Butter Crotch Tour that had a stop in Cedar Rapids. In the video I spit this verse over the beat played from my cell phone and I got a really good response from the people; they seem to like it when I rap fast. I went on to perform this for the first time at the Coopacabana in Cedar Rapids during the Peanut Butter Crotch Tour show. Unfortunately, the crew and I lost our motivation and momentum for the Mic Hand x Coolzey project and it got pushed to the side. Out of the 11 beats, CasetheJoint, Opt Rhyme and I all wrote one solo song each, and we had also been working on an intro song for the project with all of us including Colorless, but it never panned out. I kept performing this song to many people’s amazement and enjoyment, but I didn’t record it until 2013. Sorry for the delay, I’m working on recording and releasing my music in a more timely fashion…. 
*Note 
-the video is still up on YouTube. 
-this story continues with “Impcredible Part 2”

IMPCREDIBLE PT 1 - beat by Coolzey

I originally released a rough version of this beat on my Soundcloud page on May 1st, 2013. I named it “West Coast Bizness” because that’s the type of feeling it always gave me. I also always envisioned a house party video for this, which is why it is now called “House Party Time.” The sample I chopped is from a song by Evelyn “Champagne” King called “The Show Is Over” from the album “Smooth Talk.” I made this beat in March or April of 2013. I didn’t have the second MPC2000XL yet and I had no plans of playing this beat live, but for some reason I spent a few days trying to play the beat live. Not long after that I worked on the beat and recorded a mix into Logic, and that’s the mix that went onto my Soundcloud page. Later in 2013 after I had performed with the live beats set up a few times, I was starting to get bored with set and wanted to add something. It dawned on me that I had been practicing playing this beat live so I found the program and added it to my live show. This is probably the most complicated beat I perform and I had to practice for about a week straight to get it down. The second time I performed it was at a bar called Kryptonite in Rockford, IL on November 20th. I played it for about 16 bars and then a locally known and well respected emcee by the name of Pair-a-dise got up on stage and blessed the beat while I banged it out live. It was dope and we pretty much stole the show with that. I’m not sure what will happen with this beat in the future. Maybe I’ll write a song on it, or maybe someone else will…. 
*Note 
-this studio version of this beat is conformed to a metronomic sequence. 
-in concert this beat is played with no metronome or looping.

HOUSE PARTY TIME

6 All New Tracks from imperfekt!  
All beats by imp except "Infinite Work"
Written and performed by imperfekt and featured artists.  Mixed and mastered by Matt Sawicki at Suburban Pro Studios.
-
Official Release Date: 10.28.14
www.MicHandRecordings.com
@MC_imperfekt


Bayside In This Bitch - ft. Dom Chronicles & Fooch The MC

Track #6 featuring Ryan Nixon and Rachel Stickley.
-Dedicated to all of our friends.
-Beat by imperfekt circa 2011. 
-- 
Unfortunately this beat fell victim to a corruption of files on a Zip Disk for the MPC2000XL which caused me to lost interest in it because I couldn't alter the beat, or track it out for mixing.  I did however end up with one decent mix that I held onto for all this time and was finally able to put together this awesome song with some great people I've met over the past few years.  I had offered the guest spot on this song to a handful of people that never responded and when I offered it to Ryan Nixon; he had a verse ready to record within a week or so.  My verse had already been written and recorded previously but I re-recorded it after recording Ryan's vocals.  Then we had the task of getting a hook laid down.  I knew I wanted to have someone singing and my first thought for a vocalist was Rachel Stickley whom I had met at an Open Mic night thrown by the Voicebox.  I offered her the spot and some creative freedom and she too responded within a week or so with a video of her singing what would evolve into the hook for this song.  I took what she had sent me which revolved around friends being like silver and gold, and wrote the hook that will now get stuck in your head:)  She came over and sang the hell out of that hook while Ryan Nixon and I grinned from ear to ear in amazement/approval.  The final step was sending it to Mr. Matt Sawicki at Suburban Pro Studios for mixing and mastering and the now we have this.  A song made by friends, dedicated to our friends.  #Love
-
Official Release Date: 10.28.14
www.MicHandRecordings.com
@MC_imperfekt


Silver And Gold - ft. Ryan Nixon & Rachel Stickley

Title Track from this project featuring Bloke C.
Beat by imperfekt.  Keys solo by Matt Sawicki.
Mixed & Mastered by Matt Sawicki at Suburban Pro Studios.
-
Official Release Date: 10.28.14
www.MicHandRecordings.com
@MC_imperfekt


Neon Creativity - ft. Bloke C

First official leak from the upcoming "Emoticon" project.
Beats by imperfekt
Words by Ryan Nixon
Cuts & Scratches by E Knowledge
Drops February 17th 2015 on Mic Hand Recordings
www.MicHandRecordings.com

Tight Rope - [by EMOTICON] - Official Leak

Beat by imperfekt.
Words by Ryan Nixon.
Cuts & Scratches by E Knowledge.
Mixed and Mastered by Matt Sawicki at Suburban Pro Studios.
-
Available on CD and digital download.
www.MicHandRecordings.com


TAKE, TAKE, TAKE - [by Emoticon]

Beat by imperfekt.
Words by Ryan Nixon.
Mixed and Mastered by Matt Sawicki at Suburban Pro Studios.
-
Available on CD and digital download.
www.MicHandRecordings.com


HOSTAGE

Beat by imperfekt.
Words by Ryan Nixon.
Cuts & Scratches by E Knowledge.
Mixed and Mastered by Matt Sawicki at Suburban Pro Studios.
-
Available on CD and digital download.
www.MicHandRecordings.com

Emo Intro

Track 7 from imperfekt's "Best Supporting Rapper"
Dropping July 19th on Mic Hand Recordings.  
Song Artist: Taiyamo Denku (ft. imperfekt & Trutanium)
beat by DCypha
*This is a "Best Supporting Rapper" exclusive track.  Previously unreleased and unavailable anywhere else.
-
>> ALBUM INFO <<

Limited Edition 17 Track CD.
*Only 200 will ever exist.
**Will not be available digitally in its entirety.

Featuring songs with: Verbal Kent, Steddy P, Matlock, CasetheJoint, Opt Rhyme, Fooch The MC, Ryan Nixon, Ace, prosmoke & Haze, Rushone, Taiyamo Denku, Bill Thousand and more.

Production by: B Money, DCypha, Exo-152, GoodWill, Ghost, imperfekt, Japandrew, Jizza Beatz, Nate O, The Cratez.

Words from imperfekt: If you've made it this far THANK YOU!.... This is a collection of songs I did feature verses for that appeared on other peoples albums and projects from 2009 to the present day.  Since my fans most likely don't have all the albums that these songs are on, you have truly missed out on some goodies.  As an emcee, competitiveness is inevitable. I have an inner need to step it up on tracks with other emcees, especially emcees that I hold in high regards. So, this contains some of my very best verses, period. Its also a great example of what I can do on beats that I didn't produce. There are some real bangers here. I made this with the intent of getting these songs out to the listeners, as well as shedding light on some other good emcees and producers that I know and work with, and I also added a couple extras for good measure. BIG SHOUT!! to all the emcees and producers I collaborated with over the years. Lets do it again! And a BIG THANK YOU to all of you that listen and support me and my crew.  WORD!

Best Supporting Rapper

EXPECTATIONS (ft. imperfekt & Trutanium)

Hook has been in my head for months.  Just started writing verse 1 yesterday morning.  Finished verse 2 and recorded this morning.  Enjoy.

Never Get Away (produced by Slice Lucas)

Its a blend of the followup Emoticon EP from imperfekt & Ryan Nixon!  The first EP was good, like really good, but we think we think this one is better.  Yeah, it took us way longer than it should have, but you you can't rush greatness and it was definitely worth the wait.
-
If you like what you hear, follow one of the links below to stream or purchase the full songs/EP.
-
*Available on CD and all digital streaming and purchasing platforms.  
**CDs include all the songs from the first Emoticon EP.
-
Stream & Purchase here:
Bandcamp: https://emoticon-music.bandcamp.com/album/hashtag-two
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hashtag-two-ep/1344073472
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5FYn5F1dUdMrqeyj6771OH
-
Beats: imperfekt 
Words: Ryan Nixon 
Guitar: Ryan Phelan 
Cuts & Scratches: DJ Johnny Sixx 
Additional Words & Vocals: imperfekt

Hashtag Two

Emoticon - Hashtag Two - (Sampler Blend)

PERFORMANCE BIO -Skate attire and blond locks flowing from beneath his hat, an unexpected look takes the stage with no introduction. Curious crowds assemble to see and hear if the "head nodding hype" is true. With an apparent confidence he begins pounding out a riveting live beat production on his MP2000XL. His fingers and hands moving fiercely, completing the most rugged baseline and eerie, urgent samples, he definitely has your attention now. His skillful mastery of the machine is smooth and seemingly effortless. Bouncing to his own beat production before you, he snatches the microphone from its impending stand, and in true artistic hip hop form, begins rhyming over the aforementioned head nodding beat. An extremely enthusiastic delivery with a rapid lyrical flow soon ensues. He's almost cocky but way too likeable, todays' kids would call it swagger. From the Twista-remininscent "impcredible" fast raps, to analogy filled cyborg references, to the grit and honesty in "Game of Life" he seems to leave no stone unturned in his lyrical prowess. Add just the right amount of quirky banter to leave you smiling, Imperfekt's live stage show is becoming something audiences are talking about for weeks after the show.

GENERAL INFO 
Rick Noggle aka imperfekt started off as a wandering mass of energy and talent before finding his true direction in Hip Hop. Since the genesis of his now ultimate passion, imperfekt has been submerged in every aspect of the culture. From writing raps and graffiti, breakdancing and producing beats, to creating albums, videos, clothing and more. In 2002 iMP founded Mic Hand Recordings, based out of his home town Cedar Rapids, IA and over the past 12 years iMP and company have been a major force in the Iowa Hip Hop scene. imperfekt has relentlessly traveled throughout the Midwest and beyond since 2006; peddling his albums at countless spot-dates and a handful of tours, as well as holding down the home turf with monthly showcases and the annual Super Fresh Culture Fest (founded in 2012).

DISCOGRAPHY 
-2002 - The Originals EP (under the name MC Squared) 
-2004 - Episode Strange 
-2006 - Rough Drafts EP 
-2008 - It Goes Like This 
-2009 - An Imperfekt EP 
-2010 - The Back Hand Mixtape - (Mic Hand Crew) 
-2011 - Tunes For Improvement 
-2014 - Beats & Raps

ACCOLADES 
-2003 -Featured in the fifth installment of the Graffiti Verite series by film director Bob Bryan. 
-2008 -Semi Finalist in the Independent Music World Series 
-2009 -Featured artist on Abovegroundmagazine.com 
-2009 -Grillz and Skillz Emcee Battle Runner Up 
-2011 -Featured on "The Best Love is Free" Compilation
-2011 -Def on Arrival Tour - National Tour 
-2012 -Founded an annual Festival called Super Fresh Culture Fest 
-2013 -Performed at 4 Festivals throughout the Spring and Summer
-2014 -BS Tour + A.T.O.M.S Tour
-2014 -Mentioned in Paste Magazine's "Top 12 Bands in Iowa to Listen to Now" list.

imperfekt

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