During the birth of his music career, Isreal Spain honed his performance skills in plays on theater stages of his high school in Franklin, Louisiana all the way to Kent State University (in Kent, Ohio) where he attended on a scholarship. Although Spain began his music career recording and releasing tracks with a group of his friends from his hometown, his undeniable talent and his relocation to Ohio inevitably dictated his future as a Solo Artist. Isreal saw this as motivation to push his songwriting skills and creativity in his own Unique Direction

With his small town Heritage and diverse list of musical influences (ranging from Mahalia Jackson, to Sam Cooke, to Nas), Isreal Spain seemingly has no choice but to tell his story in a manner that is different from his major city-raised peers. Even in sharing familiar themes, he possesses a tangibly distinctive style in conveying his messages. Upon hearing the album content, it becomes evident that there is more to his songs than simply baritione-tinged, southern articulated verses. His songs often incorporate themes of seeking truth, gratification, reality, and redemption: sometimes with conflicting moral protocol, but such themes are very inspiring and moving nonetheless. Isreal Spain humbly describes his songs as "real music from the pages of his life."..

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"It seem like the blues are getting all of my best years" -"Bummed Out Blues"
Fresh off this year's edition of his annual Paid Dues festival, Los Angeles rapper Murs presents the six-song Varsity Blues 2 EP, the sequel to 2002's first installment. Murs (just about) kicks drugs and alcohol, pulls a gun on the 'other guy', dedicates one song to a dead love, another to a lost groupie, and ends by breaking clean with maybe his toughest habit, Los Angeles. Varsity Blues 2 is the sound of a young man strangling his weaknesses one by one, only to discover that nobody gets them all. Production by Aesop Rock, Terrace Martin, Issue, Foudnation, Karl Berringer and Droop-E.

"Nomad" is taken from Vast' forthcoming solo-LP "Can Ox 2010: A Street Odyssey," which will be released on 5-31-2011 courtesy of Man Bites Dog/Fat Beats Records.

"Can Ox 2010: A Street Odyssey" features appearances by Cappadonna and Guilty Simpson and production by Ayatollah and J-Zone. Also, the LP features a Cannibal Ox reunion track with Vordul Mega which features Raekwon entitled "Thor's Hammer."