Hip-Hop Lives Here
Hip-Hop Lives Here
Frydae Killasmoke and Lady-A Da Lyristarr have been rapping together for almost 20 years, since 2004, as UNDISPUTED, the house group of their own record label, Champ Records Music Production.
Now, they are taking their group, their label and their signature Hood Crunk sound to the world beyond their native home town, Houston. Their vehicle is “Dope,” a single, and the album that includes it, called Gain on My Level.
“In the hoods where we grew up, they do hood music,” said Frydae, “but no one does the crunk sound. So, that’s why we added the crunkness into it. Even if we did something mellow, it’s always gonna have a crunk vibe to it. So when people hear from UNDISPUTED, they can always know that they’re going to receive a crunkness in the sound because we like for people to really vibe to our music more than just sitting there listening.”
“It’s actually the energy,” said Lady-A, talking about Hood Crunk and “Dope” and the album.
“It’s like good energy, good vibes on everything we do. Everything we do is legit. It’s cool. It’s fly. It’s all those kind of words. Anything that we do, we put all our energy into it.”
“Dope” and Gain on My Level first came out in 2020, the heavy duty promotion delayed, like so much else, by the pandemic and associated consequences across the music industry.
“With that being said, we never gave this project a chance, so here we are,” said Frydae.
The hook to “Dope” is like a statement of purpose, a mission statement, a manifesto, or all of those rolled into one:
Hay we still gone make it, we ain’t bout the faken,
ain’t no use to hatin’,
(everything we do is dope).
Out the hood we made it, so we keep Parlayin’,
you can keep the hatin’,
(everything we do is dope).
The crunk in the sound, said Frydae, is in “the trebles, the hi-hats, the multiple bass lines, the kicks, and how they come back to back,” and when you listen to UNDISPUTED, “when you listen to the tones, the tone of each sound is always a different crunk sound.”
Lady-A added, “It’s also when we bring it to life with our lyrics. Each one of us writes our own lyrics, and that’s when we bring it all together with the track.”
In their music, the beats mostly come first, but sometimes it’s the lyrics that kick off the track.
“I’m a producer that pretty much plays it by ear,” said Frydae. “So, I can hear a person spit a rap or sing a song and I can make the beat right there on site.”
Lady-A illustrates: “Sometimes, I can just be thinking of something, and I may come up with a hook. Then I’ll come to him and say, ‘You know, this would be a great hook.’ And then he’ll say, ‘Just rap it out to me,’ and I’ll rap out what I’m thinking, and then he’ll make the track. Next thing you know, we’ll come in, we’ll sit together, and then Frydae writes his part, and then he records us, and it just becomes a song.”
The 22 tracks of Gain on My Level are mostly Frydae and Lady-A together, nine tracks of the 22, each with their own parts. Eight other tracks are solos by Frydae (including “Shine on a Beat,” “Six 57,” and “Physics”), and five solos by Lady-A (including “Born Alone,” “Lady Nawfside,” “Still Me”).
The subject matter, like the beats, is a mix of styles, from club to life.
“We got the party songs, where we talk about turning up in a club and dancing and things like that, and then we got the realistic songs, the true-life issues.”
Sometimes, the lyrics have a personal vibe.
“I have a song called ‘Still Me,’ and, since we’ve been in the industry for a long time, some people know us from when we used to perform back in the day,” said Lady-A. “So ‘Still Me’ was kind of just letting everybody know, like, I’m still here, but better.”
“I got one called ‘Six 57,’” said Frydae, “and it’s the overall bar-for-bar type of song. I’m just spitting bars back to back, trying to give people a vision of the real Frydae Killasmoke.”
Next for UNDISPUTED, after the promotion for “Dope” and Gain on My Level, is another album, sometime around the holidays. Several more singles and videos, including more from the tracks on Gain, will lead up to it.
“And once we build up enough, we’re going to start getting our own venues down here in Houston and surrounding areas,” said Frydae.
“And we want to go from there and see what the future brings with it,” he said.
By any measure, the future should be bright for UNDISPUTED, their unique Hood Crunk sound, and Champ Records Music Production. To be part of that future, stay connected on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
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In the opening frame of the music video for ML Underwood’s “Still I Rise,” the camera pans across the facade of the historic ruins of City Church in Gary, Indiana. Soon, a pristine white Rolls Royce pulls up in front.
The driver of the Rolls opens the door, and out steps Underwood, looking fresh in his black designer jacket and shades with platinum jewelry dangling on his chest. He enters the crumbling, graffiti-covered church, and the contrast is clear: surrounded by ruin and pain, here is a man of resilience. Here is a man who will rise.
Everything now is literally in chaos
People on their knees praying looking for a way out
But Underwood doing for the hood
The downtrodden, disenchanted, and misunderstood
You’ve gotta pivot so you don’t ever become a crook
Lead by example or do something good so we all rise
The positivity of “Still I Rise” is resonating, as seen in video comments like “This one hit different,” or “Very uplifting song.” One calls the song a “new black anthem.” Says another, “These bros have saved hip hop.”
And the numbers don’t lie. Radio rotation on Chicago’s 92.3, nearly three million views on YouTube, and viral success on TikTok have helped to drive the track to number one on the global iTunes chart. And with 30,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, Underwood’s success — and positive message — cuts across all platforms and audiences.
Underwood says, “Despite everything we’ve been through, we rise. And that message applies to everybody.”
The impeccably produced “Still I Rise” features singer Danny Boy (Daniel Steward). Danny Boy, signed to Death Row Records in the 1990s, and whose voice has graced records by 2Pac and many more, elevates the hook, helping the track sound like an instant classic.
Underwood says, “We knew we needed a voice that could elevate the message, and Danny Boy took it to another level.”
Underwood created the track over a year. His process includes meditating on the lyrics and working with longtime collaborator Damon Jones (Young Khan Tha Don). With a beat from Grammy-winning Tone Jonez, he also got input from a cousin, Ivy (Ivana), who developed the melodic idea in the hook.
With the track and team in place, Underwood headed to Pressure Point Recording Studio in Chicago to record with Slavic Livins, an audio engineer known for his work with everyone from Gucci Mane to KeKe Wyatt.
The result is a track that could have been made during the heyday of 1990s rap, but that tells the true story of a 27-year veteran of the music industry. As Underwood says, “I don’t talk about things I didn’t live. Everything in my music comes from real experience.”
If you really wanna cry, look through my eye
In this game I seen way too many guys die
Envy and jealousy shot ’em down like a drive by
All I’m doing is speaking facts, why would I lie?
ML Underwood’s ties to the Gary, Indiana music scene, cut deep. The “visionary from Gary” was even named after Marlon Jackson of the Jacksons, the royal family of music in Gary. In the 1980s he was a beatboxer and performer with Le Boiz, the first rap group from the city signed to a label (Pharaohs Records). Later, he became a promoter for everything from music to boxing.
Now, he is focused on his own career as a rapper and a positive light in the community. Like a fighter, he has gotten back up. He wants to inspire others to do the same. Like the video for “Still I Rise,” it is possible to turn ruin into inspiration, dark into light, crumbling walls into creativity.
“Life is going to hit you,” he says. “But the key is, you don’t stay down. You rise.”
“Still I Rise” is out now with promotional support from Starlight PR. Follow ML Underwood at the links below.
My Life Entertainment
YouTube
Spotify
Empire.ffm
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Instagram
TikTok
Apple Music
iTunes download
Amazon Music
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