The instrumental of Aaliyah's "We Need A Resolution". 

Aaliyah - We Need A Resolution (Instrumental)

Story:

This is the song that really set the tone for my solo project. C-Rel and I needed to get our song “New War” mixed for a Below Tha Surface video shoot. My homeboy Vision’s business partner, Ced Solo, had a good studio set up and talent to mix songs. When I went to Ced’s studio, he let me check out some of his beats. After his recent success with Anthony Hamilton, I wanted to hear some other soulful tracks because I was going to begin piecing together my solo album and I wanted a different sound.
 
The soul and bluesy funk of this beat really hooked me. The instrumental told the story that “Can’t Give Up” became. I ended up writing “Can’t Give Up” in about an hour. I was at a point of questioning whether to walk away from music because I needed to provide for my son and music wasn’t making money. It’s a hard choice that so many musicians have to make at one point or another of their lives. I felt I had so much more to say and hoped that maybe I could even inspire some lives on some level.
 
This song became the cornerstone, foundation, and my own inspiration to complete my solo project. Whenever I was faced with self-doubt, I would play this song and remember all I sacrificed by leaving home (in Oklahoma) by moving to Atlanta and the talent I felt God blessed me with. That was all the push I needed to continue this project and keep moving.  
Lyrics:
LYRICS
 
CHORUS
I can’t give up (no, no), Lord knows I try, that’s all I really could do.
I just keep my head high and make it all come true.
 
It’s the first morning (of my life) I woke up,
Worked all night, now I’m packed up.
Got a dream that will never hold up,
Now it’s only forward motion never back up.
Then I said goodbye to the OK,
Headed east and fixed my sites onto GA.
Can’t believe I just left my fam at home,
The boy becomes a man, set out on my own.
 
CHORUS
 
In this music biz you stand or fall,
Our first show in the A and we won it all.
So we decide to stay, see what we could make,
I finished school, didn’t hesistate.
Burning both ends of the candle light,
Four hours of sleep, yeah that’s a good night.
Now see we just might, see the pay off,
Until I do, I ain’t taking no days off.
 
CHORUS
 
I miss my mother, I miss my father.
I miss my stepmother (and stepfather), I miss my Goddaughter.
I miss my brothers, I miss my sisters.
I got a son now and he’s getting bigger.
The industry is changing, but the politics aint,
I got laid off and the music don’t pay.
I funded the first album, but the team fell apart,
Didn’t promote it as planned now I’m back at the start.
Now my responsibilities are catching up to me.
Should I stay in the music? Or should I leave?
But if I leave, that means a part of me dies,
And I got something to say, so I’m still gonna try.
 
CHORUS

Can't Give Up

In Hip-Hop, a freestyle is traditionally defined as an MC coming up with rhymes on the spot, off the top of the head. As Hip-Hop has evolved, the style is no longer free, but mostly held captive to low risk formulas and predictable radio songs. There are few exceptions to this standard. The music used to inspire, captivate, teach, and motivate, but currently a void exists that once allowed the music to stir the listener’s soul.

Enter Jermo H, an Oklahoma City native and Atlanta resident. You’ve probably never heard of him…yet. Why would you? It’s not popular for an artist to create music, giving the listener a sense of who the artist really is on a personal level by the raw emotions that spill out through their recordings. An artist that you, the listener, can connect with and understand because you’ve shared the same experience and walked the same walk. An artist that regular folks with regular problems can appreciate.

Jermo H is self contained in that he writes, produces, mixes, and records almost all his own music in his home studio. Wearing many hats, he also runs his music production company that has gotten his entire catalog licensed to MTV for their reality TV shows. In addition, Jermo has appeared on Showtime at the Apollo and a reality TV show on the now defunct Spike TV cable network. Further, his song “Sooner Girl” that he created under his group, Below Tha Surface, cracked the nationwide Top 100 CHR Radio Charts.

Highly active in the Atlanta music scene, Jermo is a member of the Producers & Engineers Committee and the Education Committee with the Atlanta Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS). He’s served as a panelist and performer at multiple NARAS events. An advocate for recording artists, Jermo possesses a genuine passion to improve the art.

Though he’s released albums and singles as co-member of Below Tha Surface, Jermo is set to launch his first solo effort,“Hip-Hop for the Soul.” This project is submerged in very musical, soulful, and heartfelt elements. Jermo states “this album draws much inspiration from Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On,’ Outkast’s ‘ATLiens,’ and the poetic love content of Sade. I want this album to open minds, move hearts, and inspire lives.”

Jermo’s appeal lies in his genuine love for the art, sincere and relatable lyrical content, and general song production talent. The next time someone complains that Hip-Hop all sounds the same, introduce them to Jermo H and “Hip-Hop for the Soul.”

Can't Give Up

Jermo H

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