Photo by Thomas Xu

At the moment, I’m getting ready for my first flight in more than a decade – I’ll be hopping a plane to Atlanta, Ga. to attend the A3C Hip Hop Festival. I’m so excited: I get to see industry friends that I never get to link with throughout the year, I get to see my best friend/artist JYoung The General perform on the biggest stage of his career, and I’m finally setting foot in ATL for the first time. I’m a bit nervous, but I’ve got my essentials: prayers, family/friend support, my Blackberry, my laptop, my new Herschel Supply Co. Journey bag, three Moleskine notebooks, and my age-old Sony digital camera. I’ll be fine.

Before I leave, I wanted to give you guys links to some of my latest articles. Hope you enjoy them!

Album Review: J. Cole, Cole World: Sideline Story
HipHopDX readers tried to crucify me for my critique of Roc Nation signee J. Cole’s debut album, but many critics who I’ve respected for years have told me I was on point. So far, over 1,000 people have left a comment to speak their mind. Let me know what you think!

Album Review: Phonte, Charity Starts At Home
I feel as if I’ve grown a relationship with Phonte Coleman: I’ve reviewed his last two Foreign Exchange records, and this month I reviewed his solo debut, Charity Starts At Home. I thought the album was incredible, so click above to see why!

Producer’s Corner: Organized Noize
This was a treat. I got to interview Organized Noize – the legendary Atlanta production group behind classics from Outkast and Goodie Mob –  for my HipHopDX column Producer’s Corner.

Decoded: Eddie Murphy
In a new piece for Black Enterprise,  I researched information Eddie Murphy to take listeners on a journey through his multifaceted career before he hosts the Oscar Awards this year. Shout out to Anslem for the continued opportunities to expand outside of my usual recipe of hip-hop and music.

The 30 Funniest Twitter Parody Accounts
In another fun list for COMPLEX,  I assembled the funniest Twitter parody accounts. While I realize I missed one or two, I still think this came out pretty well. How was my ranking job? Which accounts do you think I missed? Let me know!

I don’t have it scanned yet, but I also have an interview with Common in the new issue of XXL with Rick Ross and Maybach Music Group on the cover. It’s always enjoyable to get print clips, so be sure to tell me if you see that article.

Thanks again for all of your support, it’s always appreciated. There are even bigger things on the way, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you. Pray for my travels and discipline in Atlanta, and speak to you soon!

“Don’t worry about it,” my editor said. “I know you’ve been trying your hardest, but Ghost has been difficult. We’ll run the story either way.”

On that Friday afternoon in September 2005, a week into the fall semester at Michigan State University, I wasn’t taking “no’ for an answer. My diligent pitching and a review of U-God’s Mr. Xcitement (in retrospect, three stars was way too generous) had already shown Mike Cusenza, Editor-In-Chief at ELEMENTAL Magazine, that I was serious. He accepted my pitch of Trife Da God and Ghostface Killah for a feature story, and the interview was halfway done. Trife, who was unsigned and presumably hungry for press, was easy to contact and candid in conversation. But Ghostface – a standout member of Wu-Tang Clan, and a solo artist on Def Jam, rap’s biggest label – had stood me up three times for his part of the interview. Today was stand-up number four: they wrangled Ghost to do a photo shoot in NYC, but he hadn’t called me afterward like he was asked. I appreciated Mike’s support, but I wasn’t giving up: this story lost credibility without Ghostface quotes.

After three hours past my scheduled time with Ghostface came and went, I decided to visit the mall with Jessica*, a girl I was dating at the time, to spend money and blow off steam. Right after buying a crisp New York Yankees fitted cap (my cure-all at 20 years old), I got a call from an unidentified New York number.

[...]

SpeechIsMyHammer.com is the home base for my writing, but I fool around on my Tumblr a lot as well. Mostly for visuals that I come across, but occasionally I’ll scribble a few words there also. Here’s are some of my latest posts there:

• The notebook above isn’t a Moleskine, but after seeing these Arwey beauties, even WEK3 was forced to lean back.
• Ms. Jackson if you’re nasty. I already thought Jermaine Dupri had messed up with Life In 1472, but slippin’ on her is bad.
• Tyler, the Creator gives the autograph of a lifetime.
• Stevie Wonder + Bob Marley.
• The new Moleskine + Star Wars collab isn’t as bad as I thought. Click HERE to see why.

My appreciation of Moleskine notebooks has already been covered here in the past, so this post shouldn’t be a surprise. That said, I love that Carhartt was able to collaborate with them on this. This is a perfect example of what can happen when two brands of similar ilk can combine. Carhartt is known for workwear that withstands the elements; their jackets, hats and boots are virtually synonymous with hard work, durability and perseverance. Many Moleskine fans feel the same way about their notebooks: the weight of the paper and the covers (which I’ve heard some fans describe as “indestructible”) are praised as being dependable for everyday use.

I readily admit that I’m a hypebeast for these things – along with brand collaborations in general – but I love it when companies can really collaborate and it makes sense. This understated notebook, in my opinion, makes more sense than Moleskine’s previous collaborations with Star Wars and Pac Man, which were definitely fly, but seemed slightly more style over substance. This time around, Moleskine found the perfect balance.

[via HypeBeast]

Everyone knows that lists are the bread and butter for some of COMPLEX‘s online content, but I love them. The articles are fun to write. Plus, they almost always give readers some sense of anticipation: where will their favorite entries rank? What sleepers will sneak their way into the Top 5? These are great to get discussions going.

Today, me and COMPLEX teamed up to put together The 25 Most Controversial Tweets of Summer 2011. The intro below:

Not surprisingly, before Memorial Day Weekend hit, 2011 had already been an eventful year for Twitter, with the social networking site being the hub for controversial statements by designers, musicians, and even the digital headquarters for a revolution in Tunisia. This summer, the momentum didn’t slow down at all. Celebrities of all kinds—athletes, rappers, even Tennis journalists—took to Twitter to vent their frustrations, take pop shots at haters and competitors, and share their contrarian points of view, all of which wound up pissing more than a few people off. As the season draws to a close, we thought it to be the perfect time to reflect on just how crazy the past few months have been with the 25 Most Controversial Tweets of Summer 2011. Read on to see how Twitter captured controversial statements regarding the death of Osama Bin Laden, the Casey Anthony trial, artist beef, and more.

CLICK HERE to read the full story!

What’s up, guys?

I’ve had some new work published recently, and I wanted to share it with you all. Today’s post will feature work I’m doing outside of my regular comfort zone of hip-hop. I’m glad my editors are trusting me with the task of covering other things, and I think the articles have turned out very well.

I wouldn’t say that it’s an absolute necessity to cover things outside of your usual beat, but I think it can be a fulfilling experience. Doing the same work repeatedly can get boring once in a while, and venturing elsewhere can give you a new challenge to help keep your skills sharp. I can also say that personally, I feel very accomplished when I hit a story out of the park that I’m not well-trained in.

When I was preparing for my interview with Annie Ilonzeh for VIBE several months ago, something weird happened: I got nervous. After seven years of writing, speaking with legendary artists and seeing my work grace pages of magazines I grew up reading, I don’t get the jitters very often. But this was different. I hadn’t done much writing about film or TV, and Annie wasn’t someone I was already familiar with (her most notable role was on General Hospital, which I didn’t watch). I remember scrambling the ‘Net looking for clips of her work, previous interviews, and anything else I could find. It reminded me of 2004, when I was assigned an interview with Drag-On – my very first interview with a rapper I had seen on TV. I went to a record store (quite possibly Sam Goody, ha) and purchased the album, listened to every single one of his cameo verses,  and dug into his past as much as possible. That hunger resurfaced with this story on Annie Ilonzeh, and the story benefited because of it.

The most difficult part may be finding clients that will give you the chance to spread your wings on coverage that you haven’t done before, because no one wants to be a guinea pig. Build your relationships with publications you regularly contribute to by proving dependability, and pitch new ideas to your editors to show them that you’re looking to expand. Even if they don’t accept your submissions, they’ll see the tenacity and they may honor that by giving you a shot at writing about something new. If all else fails? Cover something different for your own blog and see how it turns out. If it’s good, push the link and use it as evidence to show that you’re capable.

Follow the jump to see articles that I’ve done for VIBE, Black Enterprise and COMPLEX that have given me the opportunity to stretch my legs.

[...]

It’s been a long time coming, but welcome to the new SpeechIsMyHammer.com!

This is the official one-stop shop for all things William E. Ketchum III. Even if you’ve seen the new design, keep an eye out for the updated sections. New visitors, use the navigational bar above to find your way around. Each tab does the following:

WEK3 – A short biography about how I got involved with hip-hop music, journalism, and artist management.

CLIENTS – Self-explanatory: a list of the publications, companies and artists who have hired me for my writing services.

FEATURES – A collection of some of my favorite feature articles throughout my career. This includes Q&A or long-form interviews, lists, editorials, and other stories. In the “Print” section at the bottom, click on a photo to see both the text and the images of the stories as they appear in their respective magazines or newspapers.

REVIEWS – I got my start in journalism as a record reviewer, and I’d like to think I’ve gotten better over the years. Check here to see my critical analysis of the latest albums/mixtapes.

TECH – I’ve always been a gadget enthusiast, and I cover the technology industry as well.

BIOS – I’ve been blessed to write artist bios for some of the most respected, successful artists in the business. Check out this section to see my work, and to decide if you’d like to commission me to tell you story.

PRESS – Believe it or not, some people actually care what I have to say. Crazy, right?

CONTACT – Get at me. Also see the “Follow My Lead” sidebar on the right to stalk me on all of your social networks.

I’ll also be using SpeechIsMyHammer to chronicle reaching different stages of my career/personal life, host interviews exclusive to the site, and occasionally, highlight other talented or young writers whose messages I’d like to share with the world.

The site is just relaunched, so let me know if there are any technical issues. Otherwise, let me know what you think of the site: what you like, what you don’t like, and what you don’t care about. Thanks for coming by!

Special shout-outs to Brittany Patrice and Briana Myricks for all of the technical help, Sean Mack for the logo and background design, my crew BLAT! Pack for their continued support, and to all of my friends/supporters who read my work and help me keep going!

My second piece for COMPLEX was one of the most fun, and most challenging pieces I’ve had to write. In another article for their TECH section, I made a list of the 25 funniest celebrity Twitter hacks. The hacks aren’t just hip-hop artists, either: rappers, singers, professional athletes, and even politicians get got in this list. I’m just now realizing that the site doesn’t allow copy and paste, so I won’t use any text, ha – just check the article.

CLICK HERE to read.

 For the latest segment of HipHopDX Producer’s Corner, I interviewed Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis. He isn’t a celebrity name, but plenty of music lovers will recognize his work with Wyclef Jean. The Haitian-born musician has co-produced or played on nearly all of Clef’s classics – The Fugees’ seminal The Score, to Carlos Santana’s “Maria Maria,” and many more. Check out an excerpt below:

DX: Don’t mean to only focus on Fugees, but how would you describe a studio session with them? If I were to randomly walk into one of your sessions, what would I see?

Jerry Wonda: It would be like going to a family dinner. You see everybody hanging, chilling, eating, drinking and laughing. Nothing that crazy, just everybody chilling. We used to have everything, with the equipment. Nobody knew we were doing a classic album. I just remember I used to play the Top 40 singles and hustle, because I was buying equipment. I’d go play with Top 40 bands then come back to the studio and do what I was doing with Wyclef and Ms. Hill. At the time, that’s what we had. If you walked in there, it was just chillin!

CLICK HERE to read the rest of the interview.

As the managing editor of MichiganHipHop, it only makes sense that I’d review two of the state’s biggest releases for HipHopDX. After getting a preview of Random Axe a couple months ago, I finally got my press copy for review a few days before it dropped. I received my review link of Big Sean’s oft-delayed debut Finally Famous last Tuesday. I’ve covered Big Sean and two thirds of Random Axe (Black Milk and Guilty Simpson) extensively throughout my career for several publications, so it’s always great to get an opportunity for that to continue.

Let me know what you think about the albums, and how accurate my reviews portray them.

CLICK HERE to read Random Axe Album Review (HipHopDX)

CLICK HERE to read Big Sean Finally Famous Album Review (HipHopDX)