Confrontation Camp

Nowadays, more often than not, recording artists in almost every musical genre stray away from dealing with issues. Some bands, however, seek them. CONFRONTATION CAMP is spawned from the love of hip hop, rock n roll and politics. If WOODSTOCK 99 was an indication of musical hybrids defining the mixed ear of the late 90’s public with such rap metal acts as Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, and the bark of DMX, then the groundwork is laid for the combination that CONFRONTATION CAMP brings to the table. Their style, an aggressive blend of metallic grooves laced with a combination of rap, poetry, and the rock soul wrenching vocals of lead singer KYLE ICE JASON, defies the commonality of most hardcore musicheads. KYLE JASON might be the most provocatively skilled yet unheard of mouth that the music biz is about to hear. Im not about kissin ass, says JASON, or peace and love for the marketing hell of it. Im about pieces of certain situations I love. Were callin a spade a spade and challenging cats to take it to the stage, while still saying something with our music. JASON is flanked by Public Enemys legendary poets and rhymemakers PROFESSOR GRIFF and CHUCK D (the latter going by his solo moniker MISTACHUCK). Says CHUCK, This style harkens back to the collaborations of Afrika Bambaataa and Johnny Rotten, Run-DMC and Aerosmith with their version of Walk This Way, and even to what PE and Anthrax did with Bring The Noise. But by no means is this Public Enemy. Its a foundation, but a better definition would be Rage Against The Machine meets The Roots, but with three aggressive vocal styles, singing, rapping and poetry; its hard to compare them to anyone. PROFESSOR GRIFF brings poetic prose to the metal situation, a totally new idea, as well as an experienced and provocative stage presence. CONFRONTATION CAMP is a multi-cultural situation looking to challenge racial stereotypes in rock. Shit, were a rock band and if were not called that, itll just add fuel to our fire, says CHUCK. We still dont like the way people treated groups like Living Color, 24/7 Spyz, Fishbone, or any other black led band. Its almost easier to catagorize a multi-ethnic group as R&B, blues or rap, but not rock. The three key vocalists are backed by the CHAIN GANG, comprised of bassist BRIAN HARDGROOVE, guitarist JAFAR MAHMUD, and drummer WES LITTLE, all of whom have contributed to other bands in the New York/ Long Island rock scene. Another key component is turntablist DJ LORD who has spent the last year honing his chops by filling in for TERMINATOR X on several PE tours, and spinning as a popular rave DJ in the Atlanta area.

This millennium music mix is evidenced on the bands first album on Artemis Records entitled OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR. Clocking in at about 40 minutes and consisting of 11 sonic assaults, the album features the straight metal riff banger Jailbreak, which triggers a breakout from the cage of convention. On Carry My Load, the band highlights its love of metal, as well as the struggle versus the powers that be. U R Us is a call to stop the big me, little you world of bodyguards and V.I.P. sections and When The Shit Hits The Fans similarly addresses the protection of the fans using fact or fiction with conviction in the words/lyrics of PROFESSOR GRIFF on a hard hittin beat-groove. The riveting ballad, Jasper, is culled from the true tale of the dragging murder of a black man named James Byrd in Texas that only this band could tell so well. Tracks like Supergoman and Grudge wreak havoc on corporate white male dominance on modern society and the funk soul drenched Babies Making Babies Killin Babies is almost self- explanatory, with a Sly Stone-esque vocal hook. Cuts like Che, Against The Elements, and the first single Break The Law, musically set off a new sonic template while thematically aiming for real truth and justice while exposing hypocrisy galore. In their words, in AMERIKKKA the law sometimes becomes one-sided and sometimes stopping the law for re-evaluation is a life saving idea. In July 1999 at the Digital Club Festival in New York City, CONFRONTATION CAMP played Tramps and received rave reviews in the New York Times. Now exactly a year later they embark with a challenging new album on an exciting independent record label that welcomes not only new ideas in music, but new ways to expose it.