Maade Men

Often when faced with adversity, one attempts to maneuver through it with the tools acquired in the process. A fine example of this is the forming of the West Philadelphia based rap trio called Maade Men. Luck Luciano, Knocs, and Var, the three members that consist of Maade Men, cleverly use music from their yet to be titled album to serve as a portal to the life, pain and struggles associated with being young, African American males. Maade Men’s music allows the listener to curiously peer ...

Often when faced with adversity, one attempts to maneuver through it with the tools acquired in the process. A fine example of this is the forming of the West Philadelphia based rap trio called Maade Men. Luck Luciano, Knocs, and Var, the three members that consist of Maade Men, cleverly use music from their yet to be titled album to serve as a portal to the life, pain and struggles associated with being young, African American males. Maade Men’s music allows the listener to curiously peer into the daily workings of street life all while effortlessly being entertained by masterfully blended beats coupled with explicitly honest lyrics. Maade Men takes the gritty lessons and experiences they garnered in order to survive in West Philadelphia and manifests it into the kind of rap music that appeals to wide audiences, not just those who can identify with their music’s complex subject matter. Maade Men’s lyrics are unapologetically honest about street life but the infusion of heavy electronic beats gives it a pop music-like quality that makes their singles, such as ”Spend It Like I Print It” and “I Be On My Job”, the ability to appeal in several music markets. Maade Men derives from engaging yet humble beginnings. All three members practiced rhyming, rapping, and free styling separately but at the same stage in their lives. All originally from West Philadelphia’s Cobb Creek neighborhood, Knocs, Lucky Luciano, and Var thrived to be crowned the best at the craft of freestyle rapping. Not satisfied with just battling and conquering local neighborhood talent, Knocs, Maade Men’s leader, regularly pursued new lyrical challengers starting in high school. It was here where Knox fine tuned the necessary bravado that is mandatory for all rap artists. When he wasn’t free styling in the high school cafeteria, Knox was feverishly writing and arranging more hooks and lyrics. “I like putting words together. I like the idea of using words to express in my music what I’ve seen in way that others like myself can relate to”, says Knocs. Writing along with impromptu cafeteria and/or neighborhood performances was Knocs's preferred method of escapism. Often writing rhymes took the place of his studies, both inside and outside of the classroom. More factors contributed to his disinterest in scholastic endeavors, such as falling prey to the perils of illegal activity often associated with inner cities such as Philadelphia. Even in the midst of cutting school, a plethora of family problems, and the usual societal pressures, Knocs never stopped writing or lost his hunger to perform. Lucky Luciano, Knocs's cousin, learned to rhyme in a less cerebral way. His methods of were much more spontaneous. In lieu of writing lyrics, Lucky Luciano preferred to freestyle as the lyrics occurred to him in the midst of battling in his high school’s cafeteria. He exhibited natural showmanship qualities by intertwining melodic words and fluid body movements much to the delight of the cafeteria’s audience. Like his cousin Knocs, Lucky Luciano also felt the pull of rhyming and rapping more so than the obligations of going to class. Recognizing his cousin’s raw talent, Knocs decided to help Lucky Luciano with his skill set pertaining to music. Their relationship dynamic transferred from being first cousins to mentor and mentee. Ardently, Lucky Luciano wrote lyrics recalling the tales of urban youth in the unforgiving streets of West Philadelphia and Knocs acted as an editor. As Lucky Luciano states, “We are West Philly. We are Maade Men because we lived it”. The genre of rap music is highly critical of those who embellish their lyrics as well as stage persona to portray a life more artistically and commercially pleasing, even if it is indeed not true. Var, the rap trio’s youngest and most animated member, candidly vouches for Maade Men’s artistic integrity. “We make real music. We talk about what is going on in the streets right now, because that’s what we know.” Var speaks explicitly about his checkered past in his lyrics. Rather than lament about the obstacles he has faced, he beautifully recites his experiences as subject matter to be used as a cautionary tales. The rawness of his lyrics intermingled with pop-style beats is the perfect backdrop for his vigorous style of fast paced rapping. Var and Lucky Luciano formed a friendship while performing in their high school cafeteria formed a friendship while performing as well as in the neighborhood of Cobbs Creek, which they both lived. Lucky Luciano talked about Var to Knocs because he was convinced he could use the same mentoring that he was receiving at the time. Knocs, agreed to meet with Var and listened to his him rap. After grueling sessions of battling, rapping, and swapping ideas about music, the industry, and plans of success, Knocs decided that the forming of Maade Men was eminent. “We all represent the three points of hand. And with this hand that we have formed using music as our medium, we are going to grasp the industry”, says Knocs about Maade Men’s purpose and future goals. Despite being an unsigned rap trio, Maade Men has been working hard to locate their audience as well as increase their visibility in the music industry. Currently Maade Men is in the midst of committing to a variety of projects and promotional assignments. Knowing that mix tapes are powerful tool to gather a grass roots following, Maade Men has had several mix tape guest appearances. These mix tape appearances can be heard on many internet radio stations. Maade Men also is utilizing the internet as a publicity tool. Snippets and full singles, such as “My Prayer”, “Contra”, and “Gutter Music” are available to their fans on www.maademenent.ning.com and www.myspace.com/maademenent. Live performance dates are to be announced for an eighteen city national tour with Low Rider Magazine. On February 28th, Maade Men will be performing their soon to be released single “Spend It Like I Print It” at Kyber in downtown Philadelphia. Produced by Brad Star, of Brad Star Entertainment , “Spend It Like I Print It” starts off with sirens, much like the ones heard by the members of Maade Men at any given moment in their lives. Lyrics such as “time is money and you don’t want to waste it” and “you are what you eat” are indicative of the strong work ethics Maade Men acquired albeit through illegal activities. “Pushin’ It”, a rap song with brutal honesty recalls what it means to work on the streets as a hustler. Aspirations of success by any means necessary are evident in such lyrics as “flipped everything from cook to raw.” “Pushin’ It”, musically, is an upbeat track despite the heavy nature of the subject matter. The message in the music of Maade Men transcends race and class. The story these three men want to share is one that summons the listener to take notice. Maade Men are soon to be a beacon of what can be despite obstacles and limitations. Offering nothing more than shared experiences juxtaposed with catchy and at times vibrant dance music beats while never comprising its tough street edge integrity, Maade Men will inevitably be a recognizable force in the genre of rap music, both locally and nationally.