My guests this week are Speak ’N Eye, a.k.a. Unspeakable and M.C.N.eye of Bookhouse. They’re a hip-hop duo based in Winston-Salem, NC. I originally knew them as wild audience members at Greenville, NC house shows, and I’ve been a fan of their music since M.C.N.eye started sending me homespun EP’s in the mail in 2010. Josh tells me about the inspiration he got from the Greenville, NC DIY scene of the early 2000’s, and his early experimental projects. Aaron tells me about his early rock bands, and how he started rapping. They talk about how they decided to team up as duo, and what they’ve got on deck for the future. Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to The Beastie Boy’s Check Your Head. This episode is hosted by Splice Today. http://splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-36-speak-n-eye-gotta-make-it-right

My guest this week is Paulie Think. Paulie is a great MC and a true road warrior on the indie hip-hop circuit. We’ve been friends since 2008, and I was happy to get a chance to learn about his past. 
He tells me about his wild childhood in Chicago and Memphis, and the chaos of being left to his own devices at an early age. He breaks down his entry into rap in the early 90’s, and his rebirth as a one-man DIY touring act in the 2000’s. We talk about his lifelong struggle with addiction, and his journey toward sobriety.
Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Fu-Schnicken’s Nervous Breakdown. This episode is hosted by Splicetoday.com.
http://splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-35-paulie-think-get-that-god-in-silence

My guest this week is Dan Gaeta, aka OCDJ. Dan is an electronic musician, adventurer and former radio host. He lived in Baltimore for many years, and was a big part of Baltimore’s music scene. We conducted this interview on his sailboat/home in the Charleston Harbor.

He talks about getting involved with New Jersey’s WFMU at an early age, and how he wound up having his own show on the station. He tells me how he’s taken a long break from touring, but continued writing music as a more solitary pursuit. He breaks down his nautical life, and how the world makes more sense to him when he’s out on the water.

Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to 8Ball and MJG’s Comin’ Out Hard. This episode is hosted by Splicetoday.com.

http://splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-34-ocdj-always-ready-to-go

My guest this week is pioneering MC, Queen Lisa Lee. She was a member of the Cosmic Force, the Soulsonic Force, and a mainstay on countless Zulu Nation live tapes. She was also a key part of the movies Wildstyle and Beat Street. Today, she contributes to William & Mary’s hip-hop library and Cornell University’s hip-hop museum, as well as doing speaking engagements across the country.

She tells me about learning to scratch and quick-mix at age 11, and about rocking the mic at a Zulu Nation party for the first time at age 13. We talk about what the early landscape of hip-hop was like, and how she fit into it. She talks about putting music to the side and becoming entrenched in street life, and how telling the truth about her story helped her to heal and start over.

Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Gladys Knight and The Pips’s Neither One of Us. This episode was hosted by Splicetoday.com.

http://splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-33-queen-lisa-lee-know-the-origins

My guests this week are Blak Smith and Mister of Passalacqua. I’ve been a fan since I first played with them back in 2011. We laid this episode down on Saturday March 7th, one hour before hitting the road together for our tour.
We talk about Blak Smith’s start as a poet, and Mister’s background as a horrorcore fan. They tell me how they formed into a duo, and how they gained a foothold in their hometown of Detroit. We discuss the challenge of touring as the lone rap group on rock bills, and how they look forward to this current rap round robin tour.
Mike Riley’s art this week is an homage to Leaders Of The New School’s “A Future Without A Past.” Once again, this episode is hosted by Splicetoday.com.
http://splicetoday.com/music/splice-presents-height-zone-world-ep-27-passalacqua-we-tend-to-be-gentlemen