Thursday, April 18, 2013

John Rendez’ There Can Only Be One Press Conference

John Rendez

“It’s now or never.” These were the words of rapper and composer John Rendez (John Robert Porter Jr.) when I asked him why this was the right time for him to come up with a new record. Almost two decades after he released his debut album Metal Dog back in 1994, John Rendez aka Metal Dog now has released his sophomore effort entitled There Can Only Be One, which he self-produced and distributed by Polyeast Records. In line with the release of his new album, John had a press conference over at Polyeast Records where he answered questions regarding his album and other things.

Right off the bat, John proudly said that his first album was ahead of its time. But he feels that this new album trumps the old one in terms of production especially with the how technology has advanced in studio recording throughout the years. When asked what he has been up to during the gap in between albums, he responded that he was out there experiencing life, having fun and also starring in some movies as well.

There Can Only Be One boasts of 11 tracks penned by John which is a mix of high end rap and those with mass market appeal. John’s songs lean towards more to the old school, east coast, rock/metal influenced ditty compared to the R&B flavored hiphop music that other rap artists have put out recently. Aside from the rock/metal influence, the album also had some reggae vibe and even a bit of opera thrown in the mix.

While current rap releases by other artists feature big name collaborations, John went all solo with this album feeling that it’s not in his nature to work with other artists. But he is not closing doors in working with other artists especially when it is for the right reasons. Instead of artist collaborations, John had on board for this album mega-producer Jonathan Ong as well as Robert Javier and Tony D. of Sonic Studios.

The lead single in the album is the title track There Can Only Be One which John said could be interpreted in many ways. Most people would automatically think that this song is dedicated to Nora Aunor, whom he has been rumored to be romantically linked with. But he explained that he and Nora are just good friends and that he just takes care of her. Going back to the song, John likened it to a wrestling match like the Royal Rumble where the last wrestler inside the ring is the winner; therefore there can only be one.

John believes that the songs in the album reflect who he is. And based on what I heard in the album, I think that he is aggressive, unapologetic and brimming with confidence and swagger. The album may not be for everybody, especially the younger set since some of the tracks have explicit lyrics. But there are still some songs that are radio friendly like Kembotan and the re-recorded Everbody Sayaw. John also mentioned that they had to tone down a bit some of the songs to make them more marketable. After all the chitchat, John Rendez, in true blue Metal Dog fashion, summed up what he thinks of There Can Only Be One: The Best Album of the Year.

There Can Only Be One, distributed by Polyeast Records is now available in record stores nationwide. The song There Can Only Be One and the rest of the tracks can also be purchased online via MyMusicStore Philippines.


There Can Only Be One

Tracks:
1. There Can Only Be One
2. No More Musik by the Suckers
3. Ratt9MM
4. Under the Ground
5. Sowerzitat?
6. Coming to a Theater Near You
7. Plastik Pala
8. Kembotan
9. Metaldog
10. Domination
11. Everybody Sayaw

Text by RAd
Photo by JR Bustamante

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