The meaning of TABLEEK comes from an Arabic word that essentially means to propagate the truth. Lofty ideals for a Brooklyn, NY born, (The) Springfield, MA raised Emcee whose stumbles and triumphs have been laid bare via 25+ years of underground rap.

Let's start with the first demo for my group Maspyke, which was recorded right before the end of high school.  Consisting of three joints ("Five Fingers", "Showtime" and "Over Achiever"- if I remember correctly). 

As things would go, my cousin Gary "Vonquest" had the demo with him during a chance encounter with  Allstar (the cat who was behind hits by SWV, Naughty by Nature, and others). Allstar was feeling the demo, and expressed wanting to meet the group at his studio. 

What was ill about this first encounter to Allstars spot in Springfield was that when we arrived at the studio Doug E Fresh was just chilling in the building with cats and said he was feeling the demo too. That brief interaction was a confidence boost like you wouldn't believe, and led to us signing a "production deal" with Elektra/Head UP Records. 

Signing to the label, led us to moving out to Fort Lee, NJ, where aside from the weekly harassment by the punk ass Fort Lee Police, we began our advanced class for learning real studios environments (Quad, Sony, Hit Factory, Electric Lady) and got to record and create records with Chante Moore, Ronny Jordan (RIP), and others. 

When a "transition" occurred at the label, we quietly slipped out the door, and have remained fervently independent ever since. 
 
Independence comes with more pros than cons, and in a 21st century that is seeing a drastic transformation in whatever the powers that be determine what is "popular", the underground is where I have thrived, and where I intend to remain.  

Stay tuned. 

Salaam, 
TABLEEK