Chrysalid: Musicians for Katrina Relief CD is a project organized by coalition of international musicians using their art to raise funds in support of the victims of hurricane Katrina.
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Over the years, there has been much debate as to what the term “evolution” really means. Some say evolution is the adaptation of a species to its environment over time, exchanging the weaker traits for the better ones to sustain survival. In the case of Allenp0et, or ‘Allen P0’ as he often calls himself, it was something very different.
Born New Years day in 1982, Allenp0et was the first child of two young adults starting out their lives together. His father was a military officer, his mother a teacher. By the time he was 4 he had found himself living in Kellinghusen, a small town in Germany due to a tour that his father was on. Being a military child he learned how to make friends quickly and always had a quirk for clever words and communicating with others well.
At age 15, he began to harness his love for music in the form of hip hop songs. Within his first attempts at being an emcee, he realized he had a gift and that making music was so much more satisfying than just listening. He honed his craft and ventured into creating music as well as penning lyrics. At age 19 he had a very peculiar dream, in a time when he was troubled with how both his musical tastes and visions were changing.
“I had a dream in which Edgar Allen Poe came to me and said, you are me, reincarnated!” Allen P0 said humorously when recalling the awkward experience. “Ever since, I've been using the moniker or should I say my special deviation of it.” Allen P0’s favorite author was the deceased writer, and seemed fitting to describe his ever evolving style. “His work was so descriptive and unapologetically real to me. His descriptive essence made his writing so spooky at times. I want to bring my listeners that kind of reality; true emotion that’s unapologetic in its delivery and often unsettling in tone.”
Only time will be able to tell if Allenp0et’s evolution is complete. At his core he delivers with a voice that’s extremely rare in modern music, choosing topics of a symbolic nature, versus the petty ranting of pop culture and its often capitalistic, bottom line first undertones. Will Allenp0et’s vision cause extreme change in the modern music environment? With eclectic beats and a lyrical repertoire unmatched by those in the industry, a sure bet would be on his survival.
"The Waiting Game" was inspired by some of the horrific events captured by mass media after the wake of the devastating Katrina. I was emotionally distraught over the actions (or lack thereof) by our governments and powers that be, in the face of such emergencies. While donating clothes food and money made me feel like i was at least doing SOMETHING to help, my heart still yearned to speak of the poorly handled situation. I learned about the Katrina Relief Project while casually cruising KVR, and instantly fell in love with the idea of raising even more support. The song in itself is a highly emotional one for me, but keeps the unrelenting political undertones of the 'AllenP0et' style. Its easy to understand the inspiration if you think of the words as being said by the victims as they awaited those long, torturous days for FEMA and their own government to help them.