Questar ft. Manny Phesto (Official Music Video)
Hard Pill to Swallow Friday, July 17th 2020
Download/Stream Everywhere! Now available World wide
Hip-Hop artist and mental health advocate Farr Well (aka Farrington Llewellyn) is creating a mental health awareness initiative around their new album release, Hard Pill To Swallow. Llewellyn will be hosting a virtual Q&A live panel discussion facilitated by trauma experts & mental health practitioners that centers on the topic of mental health this July 17, 2020 which coincides with the global release of their album Hard Pill To Swallow. Hoping to establish a priority on increasing community conversation and awareness around mental health, Llewellyn will also be unveiling a new event series, podcast and blog.
Llewellyn’s latest musical creation, Hard Pill to Swallow, shows Llewellyn sharing their personal experiences with drug misuse, gun violence, trauma, and mental illness. Inspired by the freeing sense of relief that came with sharing these thoughts and perspectives, Llewellyn decided to take his music one step further and create a community platform that would enable others to actively engage in the conversations they was beginning through their album. “I think that by being vulnerable about my experience with Bipolar and Depression, I can help normalize it; especially in Black communities and other places around the world with little to no awareness. My hope is to encourage those who can't speak about it. A lot of people who manage mental illness don't feel comfortable talking about it publicly.” says Llewellyn. Llewellyn hopes that the creation of the Hard Pill To Swallow initiative will provide new opportunities for community members to grow and feel comfortable talking about the tough subjects that need to become normalized in everyday conversation.
Farr Well is currently fundraising for the Hard Pill To Swallow initiative, encouraging community members to show their support through monetary donations or by signing up to follow through email or social media channels. Supporters can also take part by signing the Use of physical restraints in Japanese psychiatric treatment Petition that aims to reduce the use of restraining practices in mental health facilities in Japan - a place that holds a special place in Farr Well’s heart. Money raised through the fundraiser will be utilized for the creation and execution of the entire Hard Pill To Swallow initiative including the release of the album, Q&A virtual event, and unveiling the platform for mental health advocacy that will be a longstanding contribution to the community going forward. Those interested in supporting the Hard Pill To Swallow initiative can visit IndieGogo for more information.
About the album, Hard Pill To Swallow:
Hard Pill To Swallow sees Farr Well coming to terms with their Bipolar diagnosis and opening the door for conversations on mental illness and generational trauma. Documenting their life from 2015-2020, the 6 song EP is an up-close and personal view of their mental health journey that in turn, encourages people to work through their own hard life experiences. Talking about a tough subject is never easy but with the power of music behind it, Hard Pill To Swallow becomes a meditative listen that sparks an inner dialogue and reflection in every listener. “This album is bigger than me,” says Llewellyn, “ it has the potential to stimulate the conversation around mental illness and trauma in communities where it's stigmatized. It's a ‘hard pill to swallow’ but working through our hard life experiences is the path to healing and building resilience.”
Farr Well music overview on the The OG3(three as san) Underground Hip-Hop show hosted by Pot-C. It airs on the Osumi Community Network which covers the cities of Kanoya (77.2 FM), Shibushi (80.2 FM) and Tarumizu (78.1 FM) in southern Kyushu, Japan.
Gearing up to release “Hard Pill to Swallow” in July 2020, I’ve been reflecting on my mental health journey. I was invited to share the road and path to get here with my friend Pot C on the OG3 Underground Hip-Hop radio show. The show does an overview of songs from previous projects that serve as documentation of my journey. Songs featured are “Rem Free”, “Black Mans Car”, “Stuck”, “Blue Eye Dragon Slayer”, “Depression”, and “Black Man’s Car 2.0”. Listen to my feature on the OG3 Underground Hip-Hop radio show here.
Discography
In 2020 I’m focusing my art on mental illness, trauma and breaking generational curses. In 2018 my mental health was in shambles; I was hospitalized twice after struggling with mania and psychosis. My diagnosis was a hard pill to swallow. It’s been a long road of reflection, coming to terms with and healing. Black Man’s Car 2.0 is the first of many 2020 releases dedicated to my journey with mental health. The song is about finding beauty within tragedy.
Farr Well & REN in the Shibuya ward in Tokyo. The Time Square of Japan.
Hes Got A Gun. Farr Well’s 4th solo album. Released an 5/22/19
1.) Return of Murderapolis?
2.) Got A Gun
3.) Hand Me Downs
4.) Black Man’s Car
5.) Industry Made Me Do It
6.) Maria Shakti
7.) Cardi B’s Revenge
8.) Safe Code
9.) Flaws & All
10.) Get Out
11.) Enough For Us All
12.) Blood Horizon
13.) Who’s Sane, Me or You?
14.) REM FREE
15.) Broke Logic
16. Trial & Error
17.) Wall Paint
FEATURES
Vocals
LmnOP, Truth Maze, Vinny Crook$, Deeq, L’Marie Dior, O.S.P., El Jefe, and Rich Garvey.
Interludes By L’Marie Dior
Production, Instruments and more
Katrah-Quey, K-Nine and K.Nine produced all the instrumentals.
Mixing & Mastering by Stony Well
Artwork
Cover Art by Lowend
Safe Code cover by Artur Un
Black Man’s Car cover by Artur Un
He's Got A Gun is Farr Well's contribution to the gun violence conversation in North MPLS and beyond!
An exploration of gun violence in poor & Black communities. Other themes include mental illness, purpose and the plight of being an artist.
Interludes L’Marie Dior…
"I picked up a camera because it was my choice of weapon against what I hated most about the universe: racism, intolerance, poverty. I could have just as easily picked up a knife or gun, like many of my childhood friends did…" - Gordon Parks
Listen or Buy Farr Well’s He’s Got A Gun project on all streaming platforms
Read The Review for “hes got a gun” by press plug here
He’s Got A Gun Press Release
REM FREE is the first visual from Farr Well's album "He's Got A Gun".
AZ Tek’s Ghost, 8/4/18
Relic Resurrection
AZ Tek’s Ghost is a 3 song EP inspired by Trap music. Essentials, Bloody Stiletto and Trust explore the struggles of Black youth living in survival mode. Each song was produced by Marc Rice of MPLS House. He encouraged me to embrace my past, during a time I felt socially responsible to make “conscious music”. The topics range from hustling, gun violence, mental illness, drug addiction, Sex work, etc. We bring listeners into the mind state of young men growing up in impoverished and neglected communities. We acknowledge the ugly truths; and speak them in the language of the youth. Together we resurrected a relic from my past, an old persona I outgrew as I evolved; thus the title AZ Tek’s Ghost.
Support me
You can find AZ Teks Ghost on every major online platform.
Link Below
FOR My White Friends
I never finished “For My White Friends”. I was admitted into a psych ward before I could. The 3 songs, Blue Eye Christ, Blue Eye Dragon Slayer and Stuck were released as singles leading up to the release. You can listen to other songs from the unfinished project on Soundcloud.
Karma Candy, 2/18/18
Conversations about love and dating led to the making of #KarmaCandy. Teaming up with the talented Jada Brown, we blended poetry, hip/hop, jazz, the blues and harmony's to create a modern sound over live instruments and production. Karma Candy was Valentines Day inspired; a tape about our trials with love and loss. Reflections on the friction felt while pursuing relationships in the modern age. A reminder that we must create our own rituals around love.
The project is 4 songs plus a bonus Freestyle track. Songs include Choosin, Our Way, Available and Karma Candy.
Producers include K-Nine, Katrah-Quey and Sao Mao. Featuring live instruments from Ayo Odumiye and Zachary Charles.
Bridges From The Northside, August 16 2017. Download Bridges From The Northside
from the northside getting treated like an outsider.
The whole point of leaving the hood is to evolve, come back and build your community up. Bridges from the Northside was about connecting the worlds. A lot of this project was about looking back to my past for perspective. I was living on the Northside again, but this time as an individual; a person who had expanded his horizons.
1.) Applause
2.) Northside For Life
3.) Guest Service
4.) House of Mirrors
5.) SNShine
6.) Depression X Masturbatory soXXX
7.) Homecoming King
8.) Closing In
9.) Life on Earth
10.) Bridges
Features
Vocals From
Jada Brown, Vinny Crook$, Jay So Creative, and Muja Messiah with vocals.
Production, Instruments and more
K-Nine, Yon LGND and Katrah-Quey produced all the instrumentals.
Electric Guitar by Guitar Crazy
Scratching by DJ Advance
Organ by St. John
Cello by Daniel Zamzow.
Mixing & Mastering by Stony Wellz
Artwork
Cover Art by Kenneth Caldwell
Chameleon Lifestyles, 12/31/16. Download Chameleon Lifestyles
1.) Time Machine
2.) World Ready 2.0
3.) Feeling Good
4.) Blunts X Coffee
5.) Faith X Preparation
6.) Blind 20/20s
7.) Talk My Shit
8.) Polyamorous Misoginist
9.) Body Count
10.) I Pretend
Features
Vocals From
ANVKIN BLK, MetaSota, Niles, ShaVunda Brown, BLK M N0. 1, OGCIC and Nekima Levy-Pounds
Production, Instruments and more
Jess Listen, Billy GoldBOOM and K-Nine
Artwork
Cover Artwork by Bectta Collective
Inside Cover Art by Alicia Holder
Blunts X Coffee Art by Katherine Parent
Time Machine & Blind 20s/20s Art by Carla Schleicher
the Re-Introduction
Chameleon Lifestyles was growth. A real coming of age project for me. At the time, I had just begun to process my journeys through the rich scene of sub-culture offered in the Twin Cities.
“I play so many roles that they call me Bipolar and I don’t know what’s real like I’m under psychosis” - blunts x coffee
Khem Clan: The Introduction (March 23, 2016 ). Download Khem Clan The Introduction
Farr Well, by AZ Tek (May 31, 2014)
Art work by Tacoumba Aiken
Had to Farr Well to grow.