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| Ced Hawkins 'Alcohol Follows The Water' |
Born in Brooklyn, and raised between New York City and Atlanta, Georgia, Cedric was blessed to have the influences of southern funk and gospel coupled with the emerging sounds of hip hop in the mid eighties. "As a kid growing up in New York, my mother took me to see Broadway plays, musicals and dance companies all the time." "This lead to me becoming interested in the arts early, and with all of the resources available in the city, she was able to push me in various directions."
Cedric showed musical abilities at an early age, playing drums at four, and by seven picking up the piano and guitar. He was also a member of the prestigious Billie Holiday Theatre Company, performing in several off-Broadway productions including "The Bed-Stuy Story", and "And the sun god said that's hip". "The music that I was exposed to in New York was a mixture of the classic records in my mother’s collection (Ray Charles, Sinatra, Odetta, Wes Montgomery, and Quincy Jones), to dance, pop, and rock which included Queen, Billie Joel, and obviously Jimi Hendrix, and Zeppelin”. "Living in Atlanta allowed me to get into funk, soul, gospel, and rock through my discovery of Parliament, Earth Wind and Fire, Al Green, and my biggest influence, Prince... "All of these artists including Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, and Sly Stone, have all served as the blueprint for how I learned to write and produce songs." In particular, artists like Prince, Stevie, and Rick James, who all produced and played the majority of the instruments on their albums, which I still do today." Cedric has worked as an engineer, and/or producer on projects with Parliament, Silk, and the Ying Yang Twins, as well as artists that he is developing for his own Trifacta Entertainment, Inc. imprint.
As a music executive, Cedric is CEO of the Trifacta label, and one of its chief creative forces. "As a label, my goal is to restore some of the luster associated with hip hop and R&B." "So many companies now are just concerned with the bottom line, and in my opinion, are willing to sacrifice quality for quantity in respect to generating profits for their companies." "At Trifacta, we feel if we make the best music we can, and promote it properly, we will inevitably succeed." "Great music has, and always will sell itself."
-Cedric Hawkins
Alcohol Follows The Water. . .
The rain fell from the evening sky, as black as the night the drops reflected. A few drops fell into the glass and blended with the liquor. Ced made a few circles with his hand, stirring the drink absentmindedly. He was thinking of a melody. The drums rolled around in his head and the bass notes of the coming storm gave him an idea. He shook ashes from what was left of a cigar on the porch and walked back upstairs, leaving the rain to finish singing its song so he could go to his studio and do the same.
The last bedroom on the right wasn’t exactly a world class music studio, but the music didn’t know that. As far as it was concerned, it was the best studio in the world. In actuality, two antique chairs flanked a television set with the sound turned off. A couple of candles and incense were lit, and Ced sat on the edge of his bed, humming to himself. Instead of a woman, he shared his bed with a couple of guitars. A dresser across the room served as a workstation. The computer screen was dancing to the music coming from the monitors that sat beside it. Colors flashed across it, showing the various waves and data bits that to most looked like that indecipherable neon code from The Matrix. To Ced, it all made sense. The album was almost done. He stood up and stretched. Now it was time to do the vocals. He was ready.
Bo Diddley never got a chance to work with Tupac Shakur. Dr. Dre, though he loved “old-school” music, was just a thought when Otis Redding died. And Jimi Hendrix never had the opportunity to jam with his best and brightest pupil, Prince Rogers Nelson. But if things were different, and all of these men could have the ability and circumstance to be in the same space working together, then the result would be Alcohol Follows the Water.
Musical trends, like fashion, comes in waves. There was jazz in the 20’s, swing in the 40’s, rock and roll in the 50’s, acid rock and funk in the 60’s, disco and classic r&b in the 70’s, new wave in the 80’s, and gangsta rap in the 90’s.
Now, in the 21st Century, the music landscape has changed, though much remains the same. There are still phases when the people want to dance, and others when they want to bob their collective heads and just listen. Some music is for listening to alone with a glass of whatever you like (Vintage Wine), and others are for making love to. Sometimes you just want everything to be quiet so you can hear yourself scream (Radio Silence). And at other times you find yourself on a beach in California watching the locals do their thing while you daydream (She Walks By).
With the debut of his first solo release, Alcohol Follows the Water, the artist known as Ced takes us on a funky, rocking and soulful journey through the ghetto on the way to Oz and beyond.
The rain fell from the evening sky, as black as the night the drops reflected. A few drops fell into the glass and blended with the liquor. Ced made a few circles with his hand, stirring the drink absentmindedly. He was thinking of a melody. The drums rolled around in his head and the bass notes of the coming storm gave him an idea. He shook ashes from what was left of a cigar on the porch and walked back upstairs, leaving the rain to finish singing its song so he could go to his studio and do the same.
The last bedroom on the right wasn’t exactly a world class music studio, but the music didn’t know that. As far as it was concerned, it was the best studio in the world. In actuality, two antique chairs flanked a television set with the sound turned off. A couple of candles and incense were lit, and Ced sat on the edge of his bed, humming to himself. Instead of a woman, he shared his bed with a couple of guitars. A dresser across the room served as a workstation. The computer screen was dancing to the music coming from the monitors that sat beside it. Colors flashed across it, showing the various waves and data bits that to most looked like that indecipherable neon code from The Matrix. To Ced, it all made sense. The album was almost done. He stood up and stretched. Now it was time to do the vocals. He was ready.
Bo Diddley never got a chance to work with Tupac Shakur. Dr. Dre, though he loved “old-school” music, was just a thought when Otis Redding died. And Jimi Hendrix never had the opportunity to jam with his best and brightest pupil, Prince Rogers Nelson. But if things were different, and all of these men could have the ability and circumstance to be in the same space working together, then the result would be Alcohol Follows the Water.
Musical trends, like fashion, comes in waves. There was jazz in the 20’s, swing in the 40’s, rock and roll in the 50’s, acid rock and funk in the 60’s, disco and classic r&b in the 70’s, new wave in the 80’s, and gangsta rap in the 90’s.
Now, in the 21st Century, the music landscape has changed, though much remains the same. There are still phases when the people want to dance, and others when they want to bob their collective heads and just listen. Some music is for listening to alone with a glass of whatever you like (Vintage Wine), and others are for making love to. Sometimes you just want everything to be quiet so you can hear yourself scream (Radio Silence). And at other times you find yourself on a beach in California watching the locals do their thing while you daydream (She Walks By).
With the debut of his first solo release, Alcohol Follows the Water, the artist known as Ced takes us on a funky, rocking and soulful journey through the ghetto on the way to Oz and beyond.
-James E. Barron III, Thurs. Oct. 8, 2009
Great Piece on Ced Hawkins! He sounds like a very inspirational and driven man...
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