Welcome To Beantown Documentary Series/ Introduction and Episode #1
Welcome To Beantown is a HIPHOP-UMENTARY Web Series on the Massachusetts Rap and Hip Hop Community… STOP THE VIOLENCE… 
In 2006 I began to film what I thought was going to be footage for my Bates College senior project, a documentary on the Massachusetts Rap scene. But what I didn’t realize was that the Massachusetts rap scene was (and is) full of so many talented artist and producers. At the time I could literally only name one or two handful of serious rappers. Yea its a shame I know, but trust me when I say, I found out the truth!
For a number of reasons I decided to take time off of school and among other things, focus on this project. Not only welcomed into the rap and hip hop scene, I was somewhat overwhelmed with the number of things going on but never heard of before. I documented all sorts of shows and events filming some of the best and most important rappers in the state. Along with this footage, I also conducted a handful of serious in-depth interviews with prominent and respectable key role players within the local rap and hip hop community. Within this series you can expect to see interviews, performances or appearances by Termanology, Dana “Daneja” Bradley, Ea$y Money, Akrobatik, Statik Selektah, Slaine, Big Shug, DraMatik, Dre Robinson, Dan Green, Raf Moses, Millyz, J the S, Chris Faraone, Edo G, Letia Larock, Jay Hunt, Jaysaun, Checkmark, BR Ross, Ju Santana, D-Tension, Lecks Get It On, City Slickers, Major Ladies of Boston, Singapore Kane,The Camp, Esoteric, MysterDL, RAGE617, NBS, Mr. Lif and Slaine…. and that’s just some of the artist on the first three episodes…
Now a few years later with well over 100 hours of exclusive never before seen footage, I’ve decided to release Welcome To Beantown as a documentary series… well I’m actually calling it a HIPHOP-UMENTARY series. Now maybe I’m crazy, but I’m honestly not completely satisfied with most of the footage (in terms of the quality, sound, shots and content of the questions I asked) and would not want to put out a single official documentary on such a serious matter.
So because the footage does have a slight historical vibe to it now, releasing what I’ve documented as a series that focuses on the past and present is the best option. I don’t want to waste any material especially since I already put in the effort to film. And note to any local artist…if you don’t see material from a particular event and its a year from today (9/15/2011) than I either lost your footage on one of the broken hard drives I still have, or the audio or filming is horrible. Anything else will almost definitely be used.
Originally filmed on a Canon GL1, the quality was professional enough to pass off as semi pro material which is perfect for the indie film making world but still not exactly that professional quality look that I now get from the Canon 7D. A one man crew, this was a great learning and life experience in general.
And yea I’m all about having a good time and getting a little wild or whatever, but when its all said and done,I originally began this project when I was 20 and I’ve grown a bit since. So for some obvious reasons that I’ll explain in more detail later, I decided to include the underlying message of ‘Stop the Violence’ as a part of this series. With the WTB Logo (created by G.Nellz of Movesmiths) being shaped within the outline of Massachusetts, if you look closely it also resemble a gun… take a look again. Now I also want this series to be authentic and accurate, and its unfortunate that violence is such a huge part of the Massachusetts rap and hip hop scene but it is, and it would not only be wrong not to include it but also inaccurate. Now the difference between my series and many others is that this isn’t focusing on the violence or half naked women that are out here in some places. This is about the music, the artist and fans, and the community in general. Instead of just getting people on camera saying ‘I’m the best’, and ‘forget everyone else’, I want to know why or how artist and promoters act the way they act! Why is Edo G the last and only rapper from Massachusetts to be mentioned by Jay Z but yet no other rap or hip hop artist from Massachusetts is nationally known beyond a buzz? Looking at some of these matters on a psychological and sociological scale from so many different actively involved perspectives will help us get a much more clear and accurate idea of what the Massachusetts rap and hip hop community is truly like.
So before I take away from these videos because of my amazing writing skills hah, here’s the first episode of Welcome To Beantown that I recently premiered on www.TheReelAce.com. To follow this series on here just click on the Welcome To Beantown tag! I’ll be posting a lot more and believe me, there’s a lot of important matters that the fans, artists, dj’s, promoters and anyone else actively involved and interested in the local rap and hip hop scene should see and hear!
And a little more food for thought… I was raised in Cambridge (between Roosevelt Towers and Central Square area), but really grew up in Wellesley where I’ve lived pretty much my entire life… and I know I know, your thinking ‘Wellesley, damn he’s probably paid’… hah yea I wish… I basically live in a town within Wellesley lol. But my point is, I did grow up and have a lot of good friends that listened to a wide range of music besides rap and hip hop… hence other genres of music on both sites. But this is more of a rational reason as to why I thought I was perfect for creating a project like this, I don’t have no specific ties or affiliation to any rap groups, neighborhoods or artist in particular, and as you will see, crabs in a barrel doesn’t even come close when trying to sum up this scene. And by scene I don’t just mean Boston and Cambridge, but I’ve literally been ALL over the state. I know people always say the same thing, but I’ve literally been everywhere… out to Springfield and Worcester, down to New Bedford and Brockton, up to Lawrence and Haverhill, and of course to the heart of the state, Cambridge and Boston… and many other places in between!
But I can go on and on, and now isn’t the time. I just want to say its been a great experience having worked with and meet so many of the people you are about to see in this Welcome To Beantown series. Having literally meet, interacted or worked with a few different individuals that are no longer present on earth is a continues reminder of how thankful I need to be that I am still present… which I truly am. So with that said, the only thing left to do is keep it moving… Welcome To Beantown!
Adam.Ace.Spencer 