Tom Delay - Lah Lah

Tom Delay - Lah Lah by Tom Delay Beats

Hidden In Plain Sight: It Was Herbie Hancock!

A couple of weeks back, “Bronco,” a member of the hip-hop forum the-breaks.com, helped solve a musical mystery dating back to 1995: From where did Mobb Deep sample the bass line for “Shook Ones Part II”? Read the entire L.A. Times blog on the article here.

Tom Delay - Worldly

Tom Delay - Worldly by Tom Delay Beats

Tom Delay - Wood Grain (pt.2)

 Wood Grain by Tom Delay Beats

Interview with Van Ark

I met this cat about 8 months through my man Tony Moon and have been impressed with his musical gusto, knowledge of the game and generosity since I met him.  He is a producer, engineer and an emcee (like me!) who has worked with a myriad of musicians from around the globe.  

Can you speak on the origin of your name, 'Van Ark'.

My Name Van Ark Comes From Van Gogh the Artist and Ark comes from the Ark Noah was Building so the name came from that.

What got you involved in the hip-hop culture and around what time?

What Got me into the whole culture was the music within Hip-Hop the different  emcees,producers,The DJ's and the B-boys all expressing themselves through positive energy. and i think around the time of Rawkus Soundbombing Albums i got into emceeing and producing music around that time after hearing those Albums Rawkus was releasing.

Who are some of your musical influences?

Some of my musical influences range from Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Stereolab, Slum Village, Prince, Chick Corea,Wu-tang Clan, Sun Ra, John Cage, J-Dilla, Ahmad Jamal, it's so many i cant even name but thats some of those that have influenced me

Who are some of your non-musical influences?

I would say some of my  musical influences are good people that try to bring positive energy in the world by their works and the goal of trying to unite all with a great purpose...

What projects you working on right now?

I am working on another follow up Van Ark Album to Chemical Beats also another Bionic Megaz Project that is a side experimental band i do music with so that is in the works, and I have more production and collabs coming up soon as well.

Out of all the beats you ever made, which one is your favorite?  And provide a link to it.

Hmmm.. thats a hard one i would say the song Spring i produced featuring Shuanise from my Live at the Cafe E.P.  i really like that one anda another Song that is up there with that i really like is a track I produced is Little things featuring Linnea but is so many its hard to choose..You can check out both song on my Bandcamp website.

If a a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?

I Dont think it makes a sound unless you are there to hear it but maybe someone walking by the forest may hear something..

What do you see being the most important issue facing the human race during these time?

The important issue that i think human race is faced having unity and focus on how to treat each other
and understand the importance of that and how if we all came into that collective thought i think all in the human race will be a blessing to each other lives

What do you do to relax?

I usually go dig for Records or look a Movies at home from time to time so really that is relaxing to me.

Where can people hear/see you on the web?

People can Check me out on Bandcamp.com,  myspace.com/vanarkmusic, youtube.com/ninjasounds, Twitter and Facebook so everyone can find me on those places to listen to Van Ark music and also The Bionic Megaz! music as well! Peace to All!

Tom Delay presents "Cases" (released 12.01.09)

From the depths of the Maryland underground, Brake Fast Records is proud to present "Cases" - an album filled with witty lyrics, shifting stream of consciousness raps and intriguing storytelling, all backed by a dark, enthralling soundscape. With top notch production from beat extraordinaires Tom Delay, Mark Henry (Raheem Devaughn, Freeway) and Nick Tha 1da (Emilio Rojas, Ken Starr), to put it simply...the album knocks! 


"Cases" includes outstanding appearances from A-Class (who has been quickly making a name for himself in the Grind Time battle circuit), young Baltimore wordsmith Trace Blam and NC heavyhitter L.E.G.A.C.Y. (Justus League, Hall of Justus) who, fresh off the release of the critically acclaimed "Suicide Music" LP, plays the role of the most corrupt checking in on "Officer Kickass".  The remainder of the album includes tracks from a slew of Maryland emcees, namely Mic Brown, Seph Jones, 4th Down, A6, IronSoul and Xtra, who all provide solid contributions.

In the same vein as conceptual works like Prince Paul's "A Prince Among Thieves", this 1960's, 70's and 80's crime drama-inspired album is a breath of fresh air in these times of exhaustive mix-tape releases and the invariable LP format. As each detailed story advances the discordant plot line to play out more like blockbuster movie than an album, it is clear that "Cases" is not just another compilation.


Click here to purchase "Cases" on itunes.  

Quote from RZA I had to post

"Right now, without sampling in hip-hop, it’s really a soggy-ass form of music." - RZA