Combining an average joe sensibility along with syrupy west coast beats, clever samples, and witty rhymes Potluck's weed inspired song topics include everything from life and loves tribulations to neck-snapping battle raps.
Back in 1995, 1 Ton, who originally hails from San Diego, and UnderRated, who was born and raised in Humboldt, met at a dj trial. "We were the two tightest djs there, so it was natural we hooked up," remembers UnderRated about the first encounter.
Despite the fact that they were from different backgrounds, 1 Ton is African-American and UnderRated is Jewish, the two formed a musical chemistry as Emcees, Producers, and Djs which translated into some of the best club and house parties Humboldt has ever seen.
In 2000, the group released their debut album "Humboldt County High." They distributed the record themselves up and down the West Coast through a label they formed, called Lost Koast Productions.
In Humboldt, "We became so popular, we were selling more albums than Brittany Spears," smiles 1-Ton, about the groups early days. Songs like the weed inspired "Humboldt County High" and the more serious "Whats Your Purpose" catapulted Potluck into the mix of up and coming West Coast rappers.
Potluck went on to release 2 more full length Cds: 1. Potluck "Tha Lost Koast Kollective" (2002) a compilation album featuring Potluck with underground MCs from Brooklyn, NY. to Humboldt County, Ca. and 2. Potluck "Harvest Time" (2005) which features collaborations with Tech N9ne, E-40, The Mystik Journeymen, and Equpito.
Currently Lost Koast Productions and Suburban Noize Records have teamed up to bring you Potluck "Straight Outta Humboldt" which is primed to go down as a marijuana lovers classic. It has appearances from Kottonmouth Kings, The Luniz (I got 5 on it), Tech N9ne, and a host of others. It is scheduled for release Summer of 2006.
To date Potluck has toured the U.S. and performed with the likes of Too $hort, E-40, Atmosphere, Tech N9ne, Lloyd Banks, Living Legends, Bone Thugs, J5, Andre Nickatina, Blackalicous, and Kottonmouth Kings.
Interlude
Potluck Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
a time to every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, and
a time to die;
a time to plant, and
a time to pluck what is planted;
a time to heal;
a time to break down, and
a time to build up;
A time to weep, and
a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and
a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and
a time to gather stones;
a time to embrace, and
a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain, and
a time to lose;
a time to keep, and
a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and
a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and
a time to speak;
A time to love, and
a time to hate;
a time of war; and
a time of peace.
do you know what time it is?
The lyrics to Potluck's song Interlude contain a poetic adaptation of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. These verses suggest that there is a time or a season for everything under the sun. The song mentions different events that happen in life, such as birth and death, planting and harvesting, destruction and rebuilding, weeping and laughing, mourning and dancing, gaining and losing, keeping and throwing away, tearing and sewing, silence and speaking, loving and hating, and war and peace.
The song reflects on the various ups and downs of life, emphasizing that everything eventually comes to an end and that we need to prepare ourselves for whatever may come our way. The repeated question at the end, "do you know what time it is?", leaves the listener to ponder the meaning of these words and the importance of being aware of the season they find themselves in.
Line by Line Meaning
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven:
Life has its ups and downs, but every event that occurs has a reason, a purpose that we may not always understand.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
There is a time to come into this world, and there is a time when we must leave it.
a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted;
There is a time to sow the seeds of our future, and there is a time to reap what we have sown.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
There are times of destruction and times of restoration.
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
There are times when things fall apart, and times when they come together again in new ways.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
There are times of sorrow and times of joy.
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
There are times of grieving and times of celebration.
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones;
There are times of removing obstacles and times of building foundations.
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
There are times to express love and times to hold back.
A time to gain, and a time to lose;
There are times of abundance and times of scarcity.
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
There are times to hold on to things and times to let go.
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
There are times of destruction and times of creation.
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
There are times of reflection and times of expression.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
There are times of compassion and times of animosity.
a time of war; and a time of peace.
There are times of conflict and times of resolution.
do you know what time it is?
The song asks if the listener understands the meaning behind these lyrics and if they are aware of what time in their own life they are in.
Contributed by Carter E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.