To celebrate brothas and sistas out here doing the thang,
EU presents: Masters of the Universe, a column that will spotlight
underground entrepreneurs. Cats that have "unplugged" from the
corporate world to pursue a dream, and they said 'later for the
mainstream'......................

> In this era of massive haterism and Bush economics, we
will recognize our people that are making a positive impact on
society, showing that we can get out here and make it happen in many
ways. Regardless of the negative portrayals that we receive on the
daily, we know what's really going on, right? Hip-Hop is running this
thang, now and the powers-that-be are doing everything they can to
stop it! But they can't, yo. They can only try to contain
it.....................
 
> Our featured masters are the Jones brothers of Jonesbro
Films and StreetLaw Records. Jonesbro has produced a documentary
depicting Nashville street life called "Tales of South 8th Street".
They are preparing to release two new projects in the '05:............one, a film
entitled "Hip-Hop Cashville." The other, an animated piece called "The
Cashvillians". Yeah, it's going down, people.........Remember,
though.....the revolution will not be televised..........
 
> FK: What up, Monteon?
> M: "Just chillin man, eating steak and shrimp with Jesus right beside
me."

  FK: Yeah, feel that. Nothing that lasts is possible without Him, believe that people.....…….<chu’uch>………..So, how did Jonesbro Films happen?

> M: "Well, we started the company and began work on Tales of South 8th.  We just did it, you know? You can sit around and talk about
what you want to do all day, but until you take action, its just words."

 > FK: Yeah, that's real.......

Tales of South 8th
 
      The film is a gritty portrayal of life in these mean
streets, where many people mistake it for a game, until them thangs
come out..............Filmed on the 'east side', production began in
April of 2001 and took a year to complete, but not without a little
drama...........
 
> M: "I was still living life with one foot in the streets and the
other foot trying to do the right thing. We had run-ins with law
enforcement and some local haters while we were filming. You know,
some people were feeling it and others were just hating.....anything
you do, there's gonna be some haters.....you just do what you do and
move on....It was definitely a learning process."
 
      Jonesbro handles every aspect of the production process.
Monteon writes the material, brother Jermaine creates the music and
brother Michael handles the technical side of creation. They are
currently running a commercial that airs on BET and on The Prevue Channel promoting "Hip-Hop Cashville" and "The Cashvillians".

> FK: Do you promote in any other cities?
> M: "Yeah, everything we produce goes regional. Kentucky,
Tennessee, Atlanta, Mississippi, Florida, North and South Carolina, and
the list goes on. We do promotions in these cities all the time."

 

          Jonesbro Films is set to release “The Cashvillians” and “Hip-Hop Cashville” in February………Catch some exclusive clips on our website……you know the spot…………………EU

 

FK: Tell us about Hip-Hop Cashville.

M:  “It’s a documentary about the struggles of being an independent artist in Nashville and what we had to go through to get our music heard.”

FK: Sounds like a hot plot. You told me the concept of “The Cashvillians”, and for those Beavis and Butthead fans out there, this is a definite must-see….

M: “Yeah, Beavis and Butthead, the hip-hop version.” 

FK: How did FYE get involved with the projects?

M:   “I talked with some people there and told them what we were doing. They got more interested after they heard about us through our promotions. FYE initially offered to run the film nationwide, but we chose to release in the cities that we had been putting work in already.”

      

      M: "We don't want to try to be too big before the time is right. You always have to crawl before you walk."

   

 StreetLaw Records
 
        In addition to Jonesbro Films, the Jones brothers run a
record label called StreetLaw Records, working with artists: Family 1st, Dell & Digum, Dough Boy, and SanBow...........................

> FK: So, how did StreetLaw happen?
> M: I started in the business selling CD's 'out da trunk' for South
8th Mafia. I did it for a while and realized that I could be doing
this same hustle for myself.
 
 On South 8th Mafia
 
> M: I learned a lot about the business in those days. Some
organizations focus more on street activity than on the business, and
business suffers because of it. I had to learn to keep things
separate. They didn't' t work well together.
 
> A short while after the South 8th experience, Monteon
forged a new partnership with a friend and started Mo'Noize
Records........
 
> M: Yeah, at Mo'Noize I was the office manager and pretty much
everything else for the company. That's when I knew that StreetLaw was
right around the corner.
 
> FK: What artists did you work with there?
> M: "At Mo'Noize, Dell & Digum were our main focus. After I left Mo'Noize, D&D stayed and tried to make it happen, but nothing really materialized. Now, they're at Streetlaw."
 

 
 On Reppin' the Real Sound of Nashville
 
> M: "There are a lot of hot producers in Nashville, but these artists
don't use them like they should. We want people to know about it, so
we keep it right here. Underground hip-hop been in
Nashville"....................
 
> FK: I know, right....Remember that track about Hadley Park back in
the day? Shot out to Big Steve....Holla at ya boy...........From
Pistol to Kriz Kang..........shot out to Dusty Smokes, the mad cab
driva....I ain't forgot about ya....holla...NoSleep, what
up.........the Ville been doing big things..........
 
> FK: What can we look for from StreetLaw in the ' 05?
> M: "Besides the HipHop Cashville Movie and The Cashvillians, look out
for Dell & Digum album, Family 1st Album, and like I said with success
comes drama, so that too."

FK: Mo money, mo' problems.....B.I. said it best.........................

 Ah-ite..........Cats out here doing things, ya'll.
Nashville is an untapped resource of multi-talented artists and the
country is starting to recognize. EU will be there broadcasting the
revolution as it unfolds.............
 
 
> Look for "Hip-Hop Nashville" and the "Cashvillians" coming
soon....To contact Monteon at Jonesbro Films or StreetLaw Records:
visit http://www.streetlawrecords.net

>FK, out...................