The video was directed and edited by Conrad Curtis. It was Shot in Osaka Japan. We just went out with one camera and filmed shit. We wanted to do a classic street rap video, some shots of the city, gritty backgrounds, graffiti, me rapping at the camera spliced with some live footage. Just simple yet quality back to basics shit.
Once, Nocando was undefeated. There was the illustrious career as a battle rapper: After garnering a reputation as one of the most vicious emcees in the world, James McCall was crowned Scribble Jam champion in 2007 in one of the most famous final rounds ever. The Los Angeles native is a fixture on the whispered, unofficial shortlists of the greatest freestylers to ever live. Basically, the disciple of Leimert Park’s storied Project Blowed spent most of the 2000s victorious.
But as he has come into his own as an artist, Nocando has drawn even greater strength from his losses. When the financial crisis hit in August of 2008, McCall was laid off of his full-time job. In 2010, he made his solo debut with Jimmy the Lock; shortly thereafter, he founded Hellfyre Club, a rap label that doubles as a group home for the dispossessed. He recruited a handful of fellow Blowed alumnus—chief among them Busdriver and Open Mike Eagle—and exciting young artists, like milo and Anderson Paak. Under McCall’s direction, Hellfyre has become the premier outfit for forward-thinking hip-hop in L.A. and beyond.
His 2014 sophomore album, Jimmy the Burnout, is the natural culmination, a kinetic, affected effort wherein Nocando grapples with fatherhood and life as a blue-collar rap star. Today, in addition to owning and operating Hellfyre Club, McCall hosts Low End Theory, the famous weekly club night at The Airliner in downtown Los Angeles. His attitude has shifted since his days as the unassailable battler: “I spent enough time trying to tear people down,” he says. “Now I’m trying to build them back up.”
Nocando is dropping a new project 2016, sure to turn heads. During 4th quarter music heads can expect to hear new music leading up to the release.
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