Though after the video recording of the interview, the conversation got as real as it can be with an artist. Myself, Avery, her partner Dana Johnson, fellow-journalist Simone Zeefuik and promoter Rudii from SwaG ShaQ (who brought her out here), got tied up in one of the most inspiring conversations I’ve had in a while, with anyone, let alone an artist.

Unfortunately, I did not capture this 2 hour conversation about independent artists, the side of the media in this, the influence it has on creativity of artists, the understanding of doing business AS an independent artist, what you can and can’t do, depending on your own strategy and business plan, and the power of structured questions (or weakness of no research) from journalists. Any independent artist that wants to exchange thoughts on their art, Avery and Dana are definitely the people to hit up about this.

Luckily, Simone Zeefuik has captured the biggest part of this conversation and you will be able to find her interview soon on lazeefuik.com. Much love to all of the people who inspired me that day through words.

I got a chance to talk to Stefan and Axel from Jazzanova together with Randolph, right before their first show of their “I Human” European Tour, in Amsterdam.

*Who is Radio Galaxy?
Spacebunny: Radio Galaxy is a triad of audible & ethereal awesomeness, consisting of vocalist Spacebunny Jefferson and dynamic producers King Midas & DJ Cozmos – collectively known as King Coz.

*How far did you guys have to travel to get to Earth?
Spacebunny: I believe you earthlings refer to it as light years. Yes, well…we’re even further away than that.
King: We have mastered the art of Time Travel so neither distance nor time are factors for us.

*What is the biggest difference between the (artistic) environment here and where you come from?
RG: Where we’re from, everything is made of sound so we have a deep appreciation for it. It has the power to incite change. It’s how we communicate. We’d like to teach the hue-mans here on Earth this new way of communicating and experiencing life.

*What made RG decide to take your music to Earth?
Coz: Partially because of the aforementioned reason. We’ve come to show you a new world, a new life. . . a new way. . . a beautiful new way.
King: When one galaxy suffers we all suffer… The Universe is only as strong as its weakest galaxy. We were sent here to assist our brethren HISD in The Weakend, also known as Cranberry.

*How would you describe your music?
Spacebunny: Spaced. When LIFE falls asleep and it dreams…this is the soundtrack that plays.

*Do you have a purpose with the music, bringing it over here? Other than putting out your creativity?
Spacebunny: We intend to invade the space between the ears of the listeners…and reprogram their perception. Musically, of course.
King: We must get the planet vibrating on a higher frequency before it’s too late.
Coz: Our purpose is to help the earthlings Space Up.

*Your debut album just dropped. The title is pretty obvious. Can you describe the working process towards the making of “We Come in Peace”?
Spacebunny: It was a grueling, yet enlightening and light-hearted experience to pluck ideas out of the vast expanse of time & space and translate that into music. “We Come In Peace” is a friendly declaration of our arrival, bearing the gift of these anomalous sounds…for a mere $5 download.  King- It’s what Hue-mans call a Peace offering. One human made us a Pie made from Apples to show her gratitude, it was quite full of pleasant taste to the tongue.

*How is your coming here, the album received so far?
Spacebunny: Warmly by most, and many more are quickly converting into purchasers, listeners, and supporters. Though, all of the above were initially taken aback by our arrival. Coz: We have been received gracefully and with open arms.

*Have you experienced humans who thought otherwise than you coming in peace?
Spacebunny: Certainly. But it was to be expected. We’ve been studying human behavior for quite some time now. We anticipated a small scattering of skeptics and snarfs. It’s depicted in your earth movies.

*Do you already have a next project in the works?
Spacebunny: This is classified information. You’d spontaneously combust if we told you. So, we’re going to say “stay tuned”.

*Tell me something that humans that are not known to RG, absolutely have to know about RG, next to your music.
Spacebunny: This is only the genesis. . . or “beginning” as you say here. We are the cosmic wild card. Follow the music.
King: The Humans must know that we will spare no expense on the Hue less humans. Its imperative that you begin to space up this instant so you  too can have a Hue during The Weakend. If not the heats will burn you.

*What differs RG from other groups, other than not having the same DNA?
Spacebunny: Our hue. It’s a rich multi-faceted green glow that radiates from within and allows us to channel the forces of the universe into what we like to call “the heats”.

*What can people expect from RG in the future?
King: Expect for us to do what we were sent here to do… We have a mission that must be completed in Hue time. We are in step 2 of the initiation phase prior to The Weakend.

*What is RG’s ultimate goal? Blow away all galaxies with your music?
Spacebunny: It is certainly not our intent to annihilate all other entities and life forms. We simply want to enhance them. Set a new standard. If annihilation happens in the process…it’s out of our hands.
King: To put it in a way so it can fit inside a shell of a nut, our goal is to simply get this planets Hue back where it’s supposed to be. Its a very dull color from sky view.

Radio Galaxy :: We Come in Peace: http://radiogalaxy.bandcamp.com/

Video: Radio Galaxy :: Feel Trip

In this moreso conversation than interview that I had with TJ, he talks about how he went from an inmate to a life coach, why he feels this is his calling and he plays a snippet of the first song of his debut album that will be released on November 18th. Of course he also gave us some more knowledge on the subjects we touched. Much love to TJ for taking the time out for this interview and for the love & support he gives back to people, including myself.

Until the day I get to sit down with TJ in person, we love this internet era for inventions such as Skype.

This Dutch-Moroccon MC released his first Dutch album “Nederlands Grootste Nachtmerrie” (translated: Hollands Biggest Nightmare), in 2007, entirely produced by Focus (Aftermath). The subsidies for his video “Het Land Van…” (The Land Of…”), was questioned by one of the political parties in the country. In the video, Salah shows aspects of our society that according to him, lead to radicalization of Muslim youth.

Even if you don’t understand Dutch, you’ll get the message when you watch the video.

This was not the only encounter Salah Edin had with political parties. Salah’s albumcover for his first Dutch album resembled the photo of Mohammed B. The murderer of Theo van Gogh. In 2008, the leader of the politcal party, the Party for Freedom (PVV), Geert Wilders, used the MC’s photo in his movie “Fitna”, about Islamic extremism and Islamic terrorism. Salah Edin pressed charges against Wilders and was the only one to win the case in the “Fitna trials”.

End of 2008, Salah Edin was asked to supply music for the movie “Rendition” with Meryl Streep and Jake Gyllenhaal. This made the MC the first Arabic rapper, placed with music for a big Hollywood production. He is also the first Arabic speaking rapper, signed with an international record label, Universal.

His second Dutch album “WOII” (WWII) will be released on October 7th, 2011. I decided to sit down with Salah and talk about his controversial approach and the process towards this second Dutch album. Salah talks about the happenings around his first Dutch album, the situation with politician Geert Wilders, his love for Hip Hop and why he uses his art to address these social political issues.

We decided to do this interview in English so everyone around the world can get a glimpse of what’s going on in Europe, in The Netherlands. The war against racism, terrorism, extremism and radicalization. Hip Hop is being used all around the world, as a voice, to stand up against oppression, to raise awareness and to open up discussion, in a non-violent way.

Please take the time out to watch this interview and listen to this MC.
Get to know Salah Edin and his revolution through Hip Hop.