About The Artist
@Iamthecharacter famously blessed the BLM rally mic with truth & profound insight & is doing so again with TIME MACHINE’s well-crafted, arse shaking, hooky HipHop. TIME MACHINE consists of Comel, Jaysonic and DJ Mekalek. They first came to our attention after Comel @Iamthecharacter, delivered his rousing speech at a Black Lives Matter rally in Los Angeles this spring.
Their latest album ‘The Test Of Time’ is original, textured, cheeky and just plain awesome and has been blaring through our speakers here at 21ism’s French HQ ever since!
"When I saw the unrest, when I saw we’d past a point of no return, I had to come up with a plan of where we’re going, and, if I could, lead anyone who understood what I was saying on that journey."
BLM speech
The Interview 1/2
"I like to do things that are a bit more original
"
says Comel as I first speak to him on behalf of Time Machine. This much is already obvious having listened to Time Machine’s back catalogue. A diverse range of musical influences as well as lyrical wit and quirkiness. A brand of hip hop that goes against the grain of commercial hip hop right now.
In fact, for an old hip hop head like myself it harks back to the golden years. The wittiness of DeLaSoul. The diverse musical influences of Common. The purposely un-quantised MPC playing of Dilla. Despite using many samples, Time Machine exudes originality, musicianship & ideas.
"I feel like my approach to life in general is to squeeze the best bits out of it so if I see a creative endeavour and think that I can benefit from it and others can to then I really go for it"
If you haven’t heard Time Machine’s music before you may have had the pleasure of hearing Comel aka I Am The Character’s snazzy bars on DJ J Scrilla’s very cool Bitcoin inspired musical project Sound Money.
The Interview 2/2
"That was the process, it was just cool. Spending the summer together with your friends and working on music. That is what it’s all about.
"
From meeting each other in Washington, DC just before the new millennium – to putting out their first 12” single, Reststop Sweetheart, in 2000 – to forming their own record label, Glow-In-The-Dark Records after parting company with their original label – to putting out many mix tapes and albums over the years – Comel, Jaysonic, Stoerok and DJ Mekalek have been prolific. Creatively restless perhaps, at least in periods, but more than anything the music reveals that it was always about enjoying themselves. Having fun making music together.
"When I saw the unrest, when I saw we’d past a point of no return, I had to come up with a plan of where are we going and, if I could, lead anyone who understood what I was saying on that journey."
They had managed to go completely undetected on our musical radar until Comel aka @IAmTheCharacter rose to Bitcoin Twitter fame after delivering his famously impassioned Bitcoin speech at a BLM rally earlier in the year. When we at 21ism saw that video we felt the passion. Too often people show their frustration without offering any real constructive ideas. The fact that the reason for some of this discontent can be found within the ‘why bitcoin’ question is perhaps what drove IAmTheCharacter to find the bravery to front up a crowd to listen to his ideas.
"People are starting to realise that something isn’t right and are looking for some form of security."
With so much frustration, anger and desperation being felt by so many people the world over, maybe now is the perfect time to deliver a message. The message isn’t just of change, but of personal freedom & liberty as well as individual emancipation through the power of ‘unfuckable’ sound money?
"There is an educational element that in my mind is probably the most important element to onboarding."
Bitcoin is the centre stone of the three step plan he put forward that day : BTC, community volunteering & voting. It’s also the foundation to the community project he’s now focusing on. Watch this space : @iamthecharacter
Time Machine – The Test of Time Commentary
Time Machine talks about how they made The Test of Time.
