The Roc Boys Family Reunion…

treatment on Flickr”>

Ughh, physician on my last little world wurlwind Run, I made a stopover in Stockholm sweden. 1st Time out here rocking solo actually. But not my 1st time here.

The 1st Time I was here in Sweden was with Jay-z and the Roc Boys Band.

In fact, my time here was the 1st Blog Post I ever made when I used to have this tour blog up for LTD Magazine. Peep myself, with Members of the Horn Section site seeing in the Old City Below.

Now of course, this brought back many a memory for me.

If ya’ll been paying attention to my recent journeys, I actually missed doing the last tour with Jay as my schedule went from working with the 3 stripes of the Blueprint, to the Three Stripes of Adidas. I’m not really sure if I ever will go on tour again to be honest, you know when its time for the kid to leave the parents nest, your success is when you make your own path, when you find your own home.

I did a lot of travelling when I was on tour, and did many significant groundbreaking events . Being the First Hip Hop Representative on the 1’s and 2’s to celebrate the inauguration of A U.S. President. Backing up Jay for tons of Rock Festivals all over europe, helping him hold down the headline spot at the Glastonbury Festival, the 1st Time A Hip Hop Act ever did that…

I actually DO NOT miss a lot of it. The Touring life… It’s a hectic one. Every nite you sleep in a different bed. You live your life on buses and airplanes, and trains. You are gone from the place you are visiting before you even get there . It seems glamourous, but that lifestyle is meant for a strong chosen few, not everyone is meant to handle it.

You leave your friends and your family behind, constantly surrounded by unfamiliar faces with the exception for the people that are on the road with you. So the People you travel with… they become your family. The Roc Boys, they became my family, for better and for worse ;) .

Now , the Roc boys have gone through some personnel changes throughout my time with Jay – mostly the Horn section changes, and now my man Young GURU is on the 1’s and 2’s . The last time we were on tour, this was the lineup, and mostly its stayed the same –

Out of everything on tour I could miss, chillin with the roc boys on the top of that short list.

Now don’t get it twisted. I was The Asian Dude with a bunch of black Folk on tour… so best believe I got a lot of heckling. But its like a tour of duty when you go to war I guess… You go through a shared experience that no one else has, you end up making brothers.

When we made a stop in Indiana last month, I did an afterparty for one of the concerts, and for the 1st time in a while I got to see the Roc Boys,and it was like I said above… A family Reunion ….

When we got together, it was all pounds and smiles… A lot of, “we miss you brother neil”, and I mos Definitely missed them… even after all the crap they would give me ;)

The Roc Boys ARE :

Omar Edwards – Musical Director / Keys
Shaun Carrington – Guitar
Tony “Chicago” Russell – Bass
Tony Royster Jr – Drums
Brett Baker – Percussion
Jeff Bradshaw – Trombone
Aaron Goode – Trombone (current)
Lamont Caldwell – Sax
Monty Reynolds – Keys
Lee Hogans – Trumpet
Matt Cappy – Trumpet (current)
YOUNG GURU – DJ

And me ;) Yours truly, gets to say he Rocked with the Best. Here below are some of our greatest hits ;)

The Roc boys on the way to Nigeria – on the G4 ;)

Roc Boys at the All Points West Festival

Roc Boys at the Inauguration of President Obama

Roc Boys Horns at Electric Lady Studios

Hazing the Roc Boys

Me And Matt Cappy At Wimbledon

The Roc boys and Jay are about to head out on tour again soon. Right now they are gettin ready to tear down COCHELLA . Myself… well my own wings are spread now… and I got a bit of touring to do of my own ;) CALIFORNIA AND HAWAII… HERE I COME.

Roc Boys. Salute .