November 3, 1:43 PM
Billboard Hot 100 ExaminerDee Windt
Having been no stranger to violence, drugs and gangs - Arsen has risen above and beyond the duties of a soldier. Today, Arsen is leading the charge on a whole new movement that promises to resurrect West Coast rap music with his first single "Represent."
What prompted you to get into music? A life changing event?
"I started rapping around 14 about what I was experiencing in life and in the hood, and even to this day, everything I rap about, I have either done and been through or it is something that I am experiencing at this point in my life. Now coming where I'm from, and having numerous tatts, affiliations, for one reason or another I could not get/hold a job, and thats when I decided to step my music up to the next level, and started working with numerous major artists including, 40 Glocc "G-Unit", JR Writer "Dipset", San Quinn, Skeelo, Mc Eiht "Comptons Most Wanted", The Federation, Badazz "The Outlawz", and many others, so i can get my story out to the world."
Arsen's first single "Represent" featuring G-Unit's 40 Glocc is set to be released today [11/3] everywhere music is sold online.
On this track, Arsen's voice is low, gritty and forceful as he uses music as a mechanism to express what he's going through internally. The simple message of his lyrics - "Represent your $h*t" The beat resembles an old school G-funk West Coast groove reminiscent of "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang." It features a slow, drawled out multi-layered form of a Hip-Hop beat, that's simple and easy to crip walk to. 40 Glocc has the same flow and sound as his G-Unit counterpart Lloyd Banks which isn't a bad thing since we're already familiar with the G-Unit sound.
Continuing on the path of a true General, Arsen is donating 3% off the net sales of "Represent" to help out the victims of typhoons Ondoy (Ketsana) in the Philippines. He's also teamed up with comedian Jo Koy, boxer Manny Pacquiao and the S.O.S. foundation to bring awareness to the cause. When asked about his special interest in the Philippines outreach projects, Arsen had this to say:
"I myself have a large following of fans from the Philippines and I feel that the U.S. is not doing as much as they can to help the survivors. So I decided that hopefully with people seeing me as an artist and business owner helping the cause, maybe they would jump in too. I think everybody needs help sometimes and I'm the type of person, if i have it - will most likely share it."
We will be learning more about Arsen throughout the following weeks as he talks about growing up in the Bay, music, and his goals in life all while he sets up to release his second single "Get it crack'n" on Nov. 10.
Arsen's "Represent" is below for you to listen to and comment on. Also, start following Arsen on Twitter @arsenofwck and Facebook www.facebook.com/arsenofwck for more exclusive news and events. Enjoy!
