Welcome to the next level of WordSound--WordSoundVision, a new branch which will specialize in our growing interest in film and video. We not only like to watch, we like to do it as well. So in this section, during the next few months, you will look on in amazement as a feature film is made before your very eyes.

As with anything and everything we do, WordSound cannot compromise its vision for such considerations as marketing, regulations & red tape, or politricks. So, once again, we are donning the war paint, ducking below the radar, and executing this mission guerilla-style--just as we have released the boldest and most original music over the last 7 years.

Independent film has become as much a misnomer as "independent" or "alternative" music, and we wish to challenge the imaginary boundaries of this realm as well. Like you, we do not have millions of dollars. But we do have million dollar ideas. We also have the knowledge, wisdom, and unde rstanding to approach any task and execute. Our ability to survive and thrive without any outside funding or sponsorship speaks of our power. In this manner, we will make a film the likes of which you have never seen or heard. The film (on DVD) and its accompanying soundtrack will be released as a double-disc set on WordSound, completely bypassing the traditional modes of distribution and theatrical release. But eventually we will hijack the big screen, too.

What kind of film, you ask, has not been done yet? To this I say, an honest one. Film, after all, is not reality, but a fabrication, an approximation of the real. Our film will use no actors--just real people playing themselves--and we will shoot in real locations. Most everything that occurs during the course of the narrative is a real event as well. Ironically, this honest film is called "Crooked." It's about something we know too well--the music industry--and specifically what happens when art collides with commerce.

For the last seven years, we have poured our blood and sweat into our productions only to be derided for our risk-taking or largely ignored. In this business, as with any other, it's who you know that matters. Access. There is no shortage of raw talent out there, but access to the upper eschelons of power and control is for the few. So how does one gain access? It's all about playing the game. Knowing what buttons to press, who to impress, what formulas to follow, and how to fit in. There isn't an artist out there today on the Billboard charts or MTV who isn't almost exactly like somebody else and who didn't, in fact, cop his/her whole schtick from somebody else. We as human beings like to be comfortable, we like to be safe, we like to do what everyone else does, and above all, we like to fit in. But some of us refuse. Personally, in my time, I have known a lot of people who fall into this latter category--the misfits, the misunderstood. I myself am one of them, and proud of it. WordSound is a veritable looney bin brimming with unbridled energy. But the point being that these types of people are the ones who have the real power to affect a change. While everyone else is going with the flow, they dare to step off the beaten path, risking everything in search of truth.

On a spiritual level, that is what "Crooked" is about. It is a quest to achieve one's goals despite harrowing odds. It is an intimate portrait of an artist and his creativity. It is also about the sheer struggle to find your voice and be heard amongst the madding crowd. Most of the WordSound/BlackHoodz roster is involved in the production--making it a community effort--and we are funding the entire project through the sales of our records. In this way, Crooked promises to be a revolutionary production created solely by artists and not accountants. We know what "underground" means because we live it everyday, creating the illest sounds on the planet. Our visual expression promises to be just as raw and real as our music.