"Midnight in LA", an Ode to LA Dreams.. and Nightmares
"little vibe" shares some thoughts on his latest Album with the Producer "Axel"
Part I: Ambitions
“Got Ambitions on my Mind and I can’t let ‘em go…”
“Midnight in LA” came together in the same puzzle-piece format that birthed “Okay, See!”, my previous Album from 2023, also produced by the talented musician Alex “Axel” Wright. Three of the songs, “Levels” (featuring additional production from “Okay, See!” collaborators “RJC Productions” and “P-Status Beats”), “East (I-44)”, and “Private (HOT!)”, were actually recorded before the Album release of “Okay, See!” in October of 2023. At one point, these three songs were considered for inclusion to “Okay, See!”, and then subsequently considered for release as a standalone 3-Pack Single/EP after “Okay, See!” was released, but ultimately - and I think rightly - they ended up here on “Midnight in LA”. The remainder of the songs were written and recorded throughout 2024. “Ambitions”, the Album’s lead Single and second Track, was the last song written and recorded for the Album in September of 2024.
Throughout the year of 2024 and culminating in around October, the Album Concept, Cover Art, and Track Listing came together. Centered around a theme of “breaking into the game, making it ‘big’ in LA, dreams coming to fruition” and the contemplations surrounding such ideations. A new, albeit more esoteric, theme of the Album sits with me as I reflect since its release and the synchronistic events that followed. This theme is referenced in the Album’s opener and title Track, “Midnight in LA” (also featuring additional production from “Okay, See!” collaborators “RJC Productions” and “P-Status Beats”), by repetition of the Lyrics “By Day, By Day, By Day, By Day (Yeah!)”. These Lyrics are a nod and reference to the “Egyptian Book of the Dead”, also known as “Spells of/for Going/Coming Forth By Day”. These are Testaments and Songs (Spells) of and for the Soul and the Journey that we take on our passage through the Day of Life, with all of its goals, dreams, hopes, wishes, fears, and litany of other thoughts and emotions comprised therein.
Part II: The City of Angels
“Write it ‘til the paper written in Jamaica, ‘Ocean Views’, ‘Nip(sey) Hussle’ on the haters!”
At one point in time, I desired to live in “LA”, “Los Angeles”, “The City of Dreams / Angels”. Time goes on and things change, and the visage of “Success” that the City once embodied to me has passed. This is also symbolically explored throughout the Album, and in a visual way in the Cover Art - the Sun rising at “Midnight” over a desolate LA landscape. Keep in mind, this Cover Art was selected prior to the fires starting around January 7th, 2025 that swept through LA, and well before the June 6th, 2025 “ICE Protests” that would mark LA as the epicenter of a nationwide discourse.
The City of LA now represents more so the ideal of a metaphysical “City of Angels” to me rather than a physical location. Several Artists that have Inspired this Album, my Art, and Music in general, have met their untimely ends in this city. “The Notorious B.I.G (Biggie Smalls)”, “Nipsey Hussle”, “Pop Smoke”, and “Axel”, among others, are the Angels that inhabit the city on “Midnight in LA”. I have always admired the technically-precise lyrical skills and story-telling of Biggie, the independent-hustler grind mentality and poetics of Nipsey Hussle, and the braggadocio and larger-than-life sound of Pop Smoke who reminded me of earlier inspirations I found in “50 Cent” and “DMX”. The soundscape provided from the musical mind and genius of Axel facilitated my exploration of these inspirations and reflections throughout the Album.
Part III: Life after Death
“Big ol’ difference when you do it from the ‘Set’, like ‘Osiris’, thinking ‘Life up after Death’, ‘Resurrected’ through (threw) the ‘Myth’ up on the ‘Tech’, ‘Jesus Christ’ or ‘little vibe’, you could be next!”
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“Glory of the Kingdom resting on my ‘Chest’, ‘Heart’ been ‘Heavy’, I’m ‘Courageous’, so I ‘Press’, Got the ‘Strength’ to ‘Move’ the ‘Mountain’ ‘To the Left’, ‘Queen Bee’, I’ll be ‘buzzing’ ‘til I’m dead, Even then I’m thinking ‘Life up after that (Death)’, ‘Biggie Smalls’ or ‘little vibe’, you could be next, On a ‘Axel’ beat, I’m destined for Success!”
I uploaded the “Invasion EP” on New Year’s Day 2025 and sent a message to Axel, RJC, and P-Status afterwards with New Year’s greetings and the drop details. RJC messaged our group back informing us that Axel had been rushed to the hospital on New Year’s Eve and was in a coma in the ICU. Axel would end up passing from natural causes in the weeks that followed, and he was surrounded by family and friends during his last days. Axel was from New Zealand and had recently moved to LA in the past year (2024) to pursue his work and dreams in Music. This Album serves as a tribute, testament and shrine to his talent and impact that was evident at such a young age. He produced two pivotal Albums in my discography, “Okay, See!” and “Midnight in LA”, and I will be forever grateful for the connection and inspiration in my short time of knowing him from 2023-2025. We had dreams and plans to keep working and grow the Music into something big. The dream has been deferred, but not deterred, as myself and many of his collaborators are still working to keep the Music going. One of my friends and colleagues, Historian and Author Tyrone “rebirthoftheword” Ellington, shared some comforting words upon news of Axel’s passing. He referenced a passage or quote he had read somewhere, paraphrasing that “A man dies twice: Once when he passes, and the second time when his name is no longer spoken or known.” Axel will live on forever through the Music he put out into the World and by its continued impact.
“By Day, By Day, By Day, By Day (Yeah!), Going hard for ‘Midnight in LA!’”.
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little vibe, 2025