Tip of the month: Find your own style. Do you. It’s the only way to leave your mark. A carbon copy fades before the original.
 
Introduced 14 years ago by Walter “Jones Capone,” Sinumatic and Un4given started their journey together in the world of hip hop. Adding Merse to the mix about a year ago Shadows Gathering was formed, and The Sin Commandments are here…
 
It’s 16 bars ya’ll, and this month we’re talking about REAL hip-hop...
 
10 Things you didn’t know about Sinumatic and Shadows Gathering (in his own words)
 
-         Me and Un4given have been researching illuminati, and the current state of the world.
-         Met 14 years ago through Mixmaster Jones Capone.
-         Sinumatic is a hardcore Kung Fu movie fan.
-         Shadows Gathering represents the gathering of those that have been pushed into the shadows.
-         They created and run Reality Check Magazine online @ www.myspace.com/realitycheckmag
-         EMS The Gawd from Pittsburgh appears on the album.
-         Attended Scribble Jam and Rock The Bells in the same month.
-         They credit 91.5 WUEV with solidifying their love of hip hop.
-         Would like you to vote for Ron Paul for president.
-         Worked with producers from Germany, The Russian Federation, and Canada…
 
N4U: Sinumatic? Didn’t you used to go by Illmatic?
Sinumatic: I changed it because the meaning was misunderstood. Un4given suggested Sinumatic because a good storyteller paints a picture.
 
Where does the album title The Sin Commandments come from?
SG: Their our universal laws for where hip hop should go.
 
Where should hip hop go?
SG: Back to the elements and standards of hip hop… We need to stop making sub genres. There’s good music and bad music… We need to build artists, not singles.
 
N4U: Talk about your writing styles.
SG: The best songs come from feeding off the music. We format off of what the beat gives us. Without the music, the beat, rap is just poetry. Everything we do comes from life. We don’t make songs to please somebody cause we’re trying to create something. It’s already there, and the music brings it out.
 
What do we need to know before we listen to the album.
SG: Everything has a message. Nothing’s done just to be done. We didn’t change our style to be popular. We have something to say, and these are the things we live.
 
Tomorrow you wake up, and you’ve gone to the place you dream. Where are you?
SG: We’re already doing what we want by releasing this CD. We would like to monetarily be in a position to take care of our friends and family, but it’s not a rich and famous thing. We’d just like to evolve and give back.
 
The album’s not going to be in stores. Why not, and where can we get it?
SG: We want the album to be available for a fair price to the fans. Period. We think 5 bucks is a fair price. It’s available on-line (www.myspace.com/sinumatic) or contact me on that site and I’ll bring it to you.
 
What advice do you have for newcomers?
SG: Business is a bigger part than the entertainment. If you don’t know something, read about the industry. Have a vision for your art. If your only in the business to make money and get famous. Stop now.
 
What’s coming up for you guys?
SG: Mixtapes for Shadows Gathering, Sinumatic, and Merse, and an as yet untitled Sinumatic original album. All coming out in ’08.
 
Sinumatic and Shadows Gathering’s new album The Sin Commandments is available now. To learn more about Sinumatic, Un4given, Merse, Reality Check Magazine, and to purchase their music, check out the following sites:
 
www.myspace.com/shadowsgathering
www.myspace.com/sinumatic
www.myspace.com/realitycheckmag
 
 
CD Review:

Sinumatic of Shadows Gathering – The Sin Commandments
Reality Check Ent.
4
 
If you’re looking for a hot single, look somewhere else. This is hip-hop, lyrical, thought provoking hip hop. The Sin Commandments is a surprisingly agreeable mixtape that suggests answers instead of questions about life in this world we live. A strange thing in this world of snap dances and vocoders, but it is inspirational at times and directional in others. This album benefits and is held back because of its high production values. The mix is fantastic, but in a strange way it causes the album to sometimes lose it’s bite. Sinumatic is an insightful biting lyricist that can turn a phrase, and members Un4given and Merse are a perfect compliment, but while they mix well together, a little less perfectionism and a little more raw emotion would have made this mixtape a classic.
-- C. Rodriguez