Meeting my unsung heroes

Today is the 30th anniversary of the debut album by the group Blood Of Abraham for the album Future Profits and It’s the third and final unsung hero who is the inspiration for this article. 

I have been procrastinating a lot lately, wondering the best way to start what was originally just an interview to something a lot more complex. For you see I love music (predominately hip-hop) and there are so many artists who I feel like have never got the recognition for the work they have done. In this article, I will reference three artists who ended up having something in common that I didn’t realize after I conducted the interview. I will discuss how I met each artist, as well as why I decided to contact them. So without procrastinating further, let’s start with the first artist.

It’s no secret that I am a huge Digital Underground fan (RIP Shock-G) so over 10 years ago on the now defunct www.shockg.com website (which I was pretty active on) I plucked up the courage to message Money-B and I was surprised to get a reply as I was a stranger and this was more of a hoping for the best situation. I then asked If he would answer some questions which he did via audio recordings which as a fan not only made my day but it answered something I’ve always wanted to know. After the Initial interview, I went onto another forum which is also now defunct www.tupacnation.net where I made a thread asking If anyone had any more questions and he agreed to answer more. After the second round of Interviews, I asked If he wanted to work with the site to make a mixtape which he agreed to and sent Acapellas to me via email. I had no idea what to do as not only did I not know how to make beats but I also didn’t know how to manage a gigantic task such as this, lucky for me the owner of the forum (Idan) (TupacNation) put me in touch with David (Phonkey Dee) who not only worked with various artists but was also prolific in the mixtape scene, from there the album evolved from a mixtape to a remix album and then finally a full new album. The album (which was released for free) couldn’t have been done without taking a chance, having faith put into a random nobody like me, and a whole lot of luck. The album was handled by various producers from the TupacNation website and remains one of my favourite achievements. Money-B and I still continue to talk I would occasionally comment on his live radio show. Money-B has recently started streaming retro games on his Twitch account which I will link below along with some of my favourite songs from him and the other artists I reference below.

Now before we get to the second artist here I am going to reveal the surprising link, all of these artists have worked with Eazy-E be it directly or indirectly. Money-B from my knowledge has been in the same music video as Eric (Eazy-E) these being Digital Underground – Doowutchyalike (3:53 mark) which probably has the most cameos ever in a hip-hop video. The second is Digital Underground – Same Song (feat. 2Pac) (1:55 mark). The third is West Coast Rap All-Stars – We’re All in the Same Gang (4:17 mark for Eazy-E and 3:16 mark for Money-B) and finally, we have what I believe to be the last video Above the Law – Call It What U Want (Featuring 2Pac & Money-B) (0:23 mark with MC Ren). Erotic-D did some work with N.W.A for the last album Efil4Zaggin and possibly more. Ben of course was signed to Ruthless Records as a duo under the name “Blood Of Abraham”. The last track on the album “Future Profits” features Eazy-E, I am not going to write the song title but a quick Google search will give you the answer. 

The second unsung hero is Erotic-D (Deion), when I say unsung I really mean it. He has worked with the biggest stars ranging from the Jacksons (yes the legendary group) to perhaps the biggest hip-hop music producer of all time Dr.Dre. I decided to reach out to Erotic-D as I have always loved his music but I couldn’t find any real information on him, so late one night I looked through Discogs and noticed he was still releasing music. So I put the album names in Google and came across his website. I sent him a message and we started talking. Talking to Erotic-D is like Pandora’s box where you uncover some of the most interesting facts about hip-hop. I won’t spill any of the beans as he has a podcast where he gives us incredible never never-shared Information.   Erotic-D has released several albums over his tenure all of which are of the highest standard but to me, his Magnum Opus is Helter Skelter which he produced for The D.O.C. The D.O.C and Erotic-D are both from Dallas, both incredibly gifted with the pen, and is a combo that is unmatched. Helter Skelter is one of my favourite hip-hop albums of all time as it pulls off what was deemed to be the impossible; he made an album worthy of a followup to “No One Can Do It Better“.  Lucky for us D.O.C fans both of them are still great friends and I hope we get more music from them soon. Erotic-D is a rapper first and a DJ second, he started producing music as he needed beats for his rapping. So what has Deion aka Erotic-D been up to over the years you might ask. He is still making incredible music as well as creating, managing, and promoting his businesses. He recently announced a tattoo studio called Ruthless King Tatoo Studio. He is also a dedicated father who isn’t afraid to show affection for his children. There’s “Young Dragon” who’s got his own clothing line as well as some great music. We have Gigi who has her movie acting debut next year (the reviews for the movie at the time of writing is an impressive 8.7 on IMDB) Kino Lorber will release Lost Soulz theatrically, digitally, and on home video in 2024. I have known Deion for several years and consider him not only an incredible friend, a great emcee, and a producer (as well as his other many talents) but most importantly family. For that, I wish to thank you for all you’ve done and continue to do.

Here you can see Young Dragon (Levi), Erotic-D (Deion) in the middle, and the incredibly talented future movie star Gigi on the right.

 

This leads us to the third artist who in my personal opinion doesn’t get anywhere near the respect or even acknowledgment he deserves. I am talking about Benjamin Mor known as Benyad from the hip hop duo “Blood of Abraham”. I doubt many of you have even heard of the duo so here is a quick crash course. Blood of Abraham is a hip-hop duo consisting of Benyad (Benjamin Mor) and Mazik (David Saevitz) they were signed to Ruthless Records ( Eazy-E label) where they recorded the album Future Profits (1993) which may have not sold well or reviewed well but it has some songs like “Stabbed By The Steeple” which showcase the strength of the duo, the album is mostly known for its final track with features Eazy-E (I am not going to write the title of the track due to the name of it but Wikipedia has the title). The second and currently latest album from the group as released in 2000 “Eyedollartree” is to me is the most underappreciated album of that year and possibly the decade. The album didn’t get any real promotion as the label (Atomic Pop) folded not long after. The album got what I consider to be its true release in 2005 which contains the album as well as a DVD (that contains 3 music videos). Since the second album there really hasn’t been any activity (at least from what I can tell) from any of them on the music side. So why did I decide after 15-plus years of no activity to try to find out more, the answer is simple you never know until you try, and just like Erotic-D I believe you should give flowers before someone dies (show your respect). After doing a bit of digging I managed to locate him on social media where I introduced myself and asked him If I could ask some questions which he agreed to. Without getting sidetracked anymore here is the interview I conducted with Benjamin Mor

Me – Hi. I am sorry for the random message but I am a big fan of Blood Of Abraham and I was wondering If you could answer a few questions for me, please? Thank you

Ben – Sure thing. But first. Who are you?

(I then introduced myself and we continued)

Me – I love both albums you guys managed to release. Were there any leftover tracks from any of the albums?

Ben – Yes sure. I’d say more from EYEDOLLARTREE than from Future Profits. Maybe 4 or 5 songs in different stages of completion. We were never the band that made songs quickly. We would take weeks writing the verses and even longer perfecting the production.

Me – I think as a fan of the music you have managed to release I would love to hear what never made it. In the future do you think we will get the chance to listen to those tracks?

Ben – I think unless you meet me in person there is little chance the public will hear outtake tracks from the albums. For me Eyedollartree is precise with not much filler….we like to keep it that way. As far as new music we have been working on various songs that will most likely be part of a movie soundtrack soon so I say stay tuned for that.

Me – I was just going to ask you about new music. The second album feels like an audiobook, it tells a story that is just about the right length. I was watching the EYEDOLLARTREE music video last night and I forgot how well it’s made. I know you direct music videos. Did you direct any of the videos for your own albums?

Ben – I directed EYEDOLLARTREE short film only but of course was involved in conceptualizing all of our visuals in collaboration with my good friends and fellow directors. Ironically my directing career really began once BOA was over.

Me – You do is great and it’s only something I’ve been diving down lately. In case I haven’t seen them yet what would you say are the best videos you have directed?

Ben – -Coldplay ’Hymn for the Weekend’ -Black Eyed Peas ‘Meet Me Halfway’ -Black Eyed Peas ‘Get It’ – Nas ‘Thief’s Theme’ – William feat. Bieber’ That Power’ – Coldplay feat. Big Sean ‘Miracles’ – Britney Spears ‘Work Bitch’

Ben – https://benmor.net/ (here you can see a fuller body of work)

Me – You hear movie directors talk about the movies they love. What are some of your favourite movies?

Ben – Early on in the pandemic the production company I’m with (Pulse Films) asked some of their directors to put together a Top 5 list and these were my answers.

Me – A bit of a side question what happened to those coins that were made which is featured on the EYEDOLLARTREE album?

Ben – The coins are safe and sound. They were made for use with EYEDOLARTEEE album package. We made about 100 of them and we have about 40 left. The rest were given out as gifts to close friends and family. I would never sell the coins as they are priceless to me. I would sooner gift a friend one than sell it. They are gold-plated nickel.

Me – If you could say anything to Eric (Eazy-E) right now what would it be?

Ben – The only thing I would say to Eric is Thank You for changing my life.

As a small bonus, I asked Money-B a few questions about Eazy-E.

 

Me – 1) I believe there are 3 instances where you were in the same place as Eric, the same song music video, call it what u want video as well as we’re all in the same gang video. Could you tell us your initial reactions to Eazy in person?

 

Money B – I had been around Eazy-E a few times before I actually spoke to him. He was very approachable, at least to me. Maybe because we were the artists of Atron Gregory who had been a road manager for Ruthless Records for many years. Eazy was very clever and funny. I also noticed he was very giving to people around him.

 

Me – If Eric was in front of you right now what would you like to say to him?

 

Money-B – If Eric was in front of me right now I would say “Let’s do that song homey!” Lol 

That’s all I have for now but I have included the best way to reach the artists as well as some of my favourite songs by them and other interviews they’ve done.

For further reading material for Blood Of Abraham I can recommend these link. https://www.laweekly.com/rap-and-revelation/

For Eroic-D I recommend checking out this great interview from Dubcnn https://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/eroticd-part1/

https://www.dubcnn.com/interviews/eroticd-part2/

He is best reached by his Instagram which is  https://www.instagram.com/eroticd/ 

For Money-B I will recommend watching his VladTV Interviews as they go into depth. Check out his Instagram account, cameo, and Twitch for all your Money-B needs.

You can also get some pretty nice merch

Here are just a few of my favourite Money-B songs.

 

 

 

Some of my favourite Erotic-D songs.

 

Some of my favourite Blood Of Abraham songs. 

 

 

Thank you for reading and as the late great Shock-G once said “keep it beautiful”.