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Interview

Jon Owens has many aliases, Smash Rockwell is one of them and you can usually find the hashtag #RapGod on his twitter feed, but he’s better known as Casual from the Hieroglyphics Crew. Casual dropped his album "Fear Itself" back in 93’ and was one of the rawest mc’s at that time in my opinion, but you probably didn't know that because you were sleeping on him with the rest of the world. But something the hip hop heads probably didn't sleep on was that Hieroglyphic’s album, 3rd Eye Vision, or the Souls of Mischief's classic album, 93' Til Infinity, in which case, Casual's truculent delivery stood out way beyond what we were use to with the other cats from the Hiero Crew. It's been twenty years since the "Fear Itself" album was bumping in boom box speakers, and although Casual for the most part has been somewhat of a quiet storm in the hip hop scene with only a few solo albums here and there, his new album with producer J- Rawls (one half of The Lone Catalysts, and also produced for Black Star) titled Respect Game or Expect Flames, is something not to be slept on by any means necessary. Growing up in East Oakland, round 82nd Avenue, Casual started battle rapping kids from the neighborhood and from school at a young age and as luck would have it, the love of free styling stuck with him. "I wrote one rhyme and spit it in front of a bunch of kids and they thought I had made it up so to prove em wrong I ran upstairs and wrote another one, after that no one wanted to battle me when they saw how good I was, I started in elementary school and by junior high I was doing battles with high schoolers and doing talent shows and winning all of em."

Growing up around members of the legendary Hieroglyphics crew also had lasting impressions when it came to hip hop and life in general for Casual. He tells me that one of his most lasting memories was hanging out at APlus’s grandmother’s house trying to come up with a crew name, deciding on Mad Circle at first and later changing that to Hieroglyphics. On his most recent album, Respect Game or Expect Flames, everyone from the Hiero crew makes guest appearances except for APlus, but Casual ensures me that he didn’t realize it was going in that direction or he would have definitely grabbed him for a spot. Working with J-Rawls came so naturally that the album was made in the studio over a weekends time. "J-Rawls was extremely hospitable and his beats made my pen move, fast. It didn't even seem like we were working hard. " But one thing is for sure on Respect Game, Rawls definitely switched up his style techniques to a more provocative stance, pairing off perfectly with Casual’s known in-your-face self asserting energy. Casual has always been a very opinionated person in regards to his rhymes and expressing himself even if that comes down to calling someone out on their bullshit if need be. "I just speak freely. It's cool as long as you don't get disrespectful. I have always being this way. My mom said I should have been a lawyer because I love to debate and articulate my point of view." The album it seems is self-explanatory and enlightens the listener as to what Casual has been doing the past couple of years. "La Danse Du Fessie", the third song on the album, even starts off with J. Rawls asking Casual where he’s been. And it’s no wonder that the album cover is the Ankh, the ancient Egyptian symbol of life that many God and Goddesses were seen holding in their hands, having it in flames, the sign which is shown with Heru-Behutet, who took the place of the sun god, Ra, is known for protection. So it’s safe to say that Casual has been through some shit but has always pushed himself through it no matter the everyday struggles, risen out of it, and has put forth his best work to date.

I can’t decide if it’s the internet’s fault or not in regards to hip hop artist nowadays not getting the attention and hype they deserve because there are so many people out there making their own beats and having home studios that any 15 year old kid can do it and make bank off it if they play their cards right but Casual swears that social media music platforms have helped independent artist and major label artist and slowly I’m turning my thoughts to all my friends here at home who are using Kick Starter to fund vinyl pressings and having their Soundcloud pages stacked with comments and shares and it all comes down to that saying "real knows real" it’s all about supporting talented people, your communities, and bringing people together all in the name of hip hop.

Interview appears in GhettoBlaster Magazine Issue 33 at your local book stores nationwide or you can order it directly from the site

http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/

#casual #hieroglyphics #hip hop #interview #ghettoblaster magazine #rapgod #smash rockwell

Jams!

I've been coming across a lot of songs and albums based on the concept of dreams and it gets me thinking about my days and what im doing with them and where I see myself in the future and I think that shit is always important to think about deeply every now and then.

yU has a limited 300 copy 7 inch coming out August 21st 2012 with two really beautiful soulful dream like tracks on them that are of course worth checking out and buying.

http://mellomusicgroup.bandcamp.com/album/yu-7-series-issue-6

#hip hop #rap #sou #boom bap #yU #mello music group #diamond district #Danedra Rowell

Album Review

Dark Time Sunshine

ANX

Fake Four Inc.

That one sentence that person said or that thing that happened yesterday is still on your mind and you find yourself constantly repeating it in your head over and over again. You panic and your heart starts racing and you can’t stop questioning yourself and you wonder if you’ve done something wrong, hands get clammy, you breathe in long and count em, 1-2-3, trying to shake it off. Anxiety. There's no denying that Dark Time Sunshine have released yet another masterpiece. DTS have come a long way from their previous release "Vessel" and have much to be proud of. The new album titled, Anx, short for anxiety, is the new child of masterminds Zavala and Onry Ozzborn and damn, this is most definitely worth listening to. Anx starts off with a banger called "Hosanna in the Highest" featuring one of the lovely Ramos brothers, Ceschi from Fake Four Inc., and sets the mood for the rest of the journey. All of the songs on this album are accompanied by Zavala’s brilliant, trippy, calming textured beats and moves perfectly with Onry’s flow and on point delivery, you find yourself relaxing at times and then coming hard at you is a punch in the gut strong enough to get you sweatin’ again. We need more music like this, mixing all kinds of influences into something bigger than itself that hits people where it counts. A drop of sexiness gets thrown into the mix with Reva Devito singing the chorus on "Never cry Wolf", although the song has underlying tones of heartbreak and anger. It’s packed with special guests, such as Aesop Rock and Child Actor who own their parts with strong confidence. Anx lets you take a step into the panic and confusion and when you least expect it but need it the most, reaches a hand in and pulls you out, reminding you to always look forward because hip hop hasn’t died yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEnw_1pNrMg

http://soundcloud.com/fakefour/sets/anx/

#anx #hip hop #album review #fake four inc #dark time sunshine #zavala #onry ozzborn #dts

David Ramos

Being sincere with and really opening up to another person doesn't happen very often especially during the promotional grind of yet another interview in yet another magazine, but when you find someone real, especially a musician, it's best to have a two hour phone conversation with them, pick and prod and let the tape recorder hum. Several years ago, David Ramos started a record label called Fake Four Inc. with his brother Ceschi, releasing albums by the likes of Astronautalis, Busdriver, Awol One, and Myka 9, as well as his own albums, This Up Here (2008) and That Down There (2011); he performs in the group Anonymous Inc. and was even a member of Little Wings with Kyle Field. More importantly though, David Ramos has put together one of the most heartbreakingly raw albums of the year, Sento La Tua Mancanza, to honor his grandmother Nonna (Italian for grandmother and David’s name for her) and to ask for forgiveness for some mistakes resting heavily on his soul.

When Nonna initially got sick three years before she passed away, all of the doctors wrote her off. David started obsessively caring for her, taking turns with his mother and sleeping in the hospital every other night. Eventually, despite the doctors' previous certainty that she would soon die, she became strong enough to come home. She would have her good days and seemed to be getting better, eating and walking again. From an outsider's perspective, for the three years he became his grandmother's principle caretaker, David was deeply obsessed. He'd do certain things like not change his clothes for weeks in fear that if he did she would get sick again. He would constantly repeat rituals, knowing it was irrational but always having a sense these were helping her. "Making this album and recording songs became part of the preservation, I wrote passages of memories, I wrote these songs, that weren't too different from a journal. It became a substitution for the rituals I was doing. When my Nonna passed, recording these songs took over that process of ritualizing. It was something I had to do to keep her with me, to keep her alive."

Recording close to 60 songs in the basement late at night, he started out with just vocals and built songs from the ground up with heavily altered Casio pre-set drums, cheap drum machines, live drums, auto-harps, and more. Ceschi helped him with instruments and vocal tracks, as did Lizzie Lee and Max Heath (also a part of Anonymous Inc.). "On this album it's more free-flowing, sort of like a journal applied to songs. There are a handful of songs that are completely folk-driven and have very little basis in hip-hop. However, on the hip-hopesque songs, while occasionally forgetting about rhymes, I feel it is still at its core hip-hop, not spoken word over beats. Many times it was a matter of fitting things I had written to songs. In fact, on the songs Oskar Ohlson (Knertz Collective, Pumpernickle) produced, who is over in Germany, I would take his beats and extend them by sloppily copying and pasting the music to make the song longer. I couldn't cut the lyrics at unnatural points, especially because the songs are stories." Adding and taking away parts of songs and mixing them repeatedly became an obsession in itself, and trying to take such a story and compile it into roughly forty-five minutes got even harder. Many of these songs were previously released on the La Tua Mancanza cassette, and now they are being released in a reworked and rerecorded form on CD and digital along with four new songs as Sento La Tua Mancanza.

Having something this important to you so available and in so many hands could have its downside, but Ramos didn’t do this for anyone else. "Truth is, people don’t always give a fuck about how you want your story to be told, when you put your album out there, it’s no longer in your control, I put the tape out mostly because I needed to put something out immediately." David released one hundred self-distributed tapes at first; his friend Nic helped pay for the tape with money he had won on a scratch-off ticket, and received heartfelt responses from strangers thanking him for helping them through rough patches in their own lives. The tape became the starting point for Sento La Tua Mancanza. And here we are.

At one point during my long conversation with David, I actually turned off the tape recorder, not because he was getting too emotional about the importance of this album and his Nonna, but because I was, because this was all too real and conversations about shit like this don’t often happen. He told me that some people see silver linings, but he has yet to see them and that he was glad people could interpret the songs in their own way and get something helpful out of them because he never expected that, but it still did little to help with his grief and that’s as real as it gets. "The album is out there, and for me, it means what it means. I am most proud of having my grandmother’s drumming on it, her writing on it, and her voice on it. Now that it is done, I find myself in a place similar to the time immediately following her passing. I really shifted my purpose in life from taking care of my Nonna to making this album, and now, it is almost scary that the album is done."

This is in the #32 summer issue of Ghettoblaster Magazine (look for Aesop Rock on the cover) out now at your local bookstore/Barnes and Noble or you can order directly from the site http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/

http://www.fakefourinc.com/

http://soundcloud.com/davide-ramos

#david ramos #sento la tua mancanza #ghettoblaster magazine #hip hop #folk #fake four inc.

Paten Locke

How did you get into hip hop and when did you decide that you wanted to make this into something more? Influences?

umm hmmmm, Honestly it was when I was a kid maybe 7 or 8 and my babysitters boyfriend would come over and he would have a box and be like windmillin and breakin in my kitchen, first time I saw that I bugged out and been on that bboy asthetic ever since even if I dont bboy in terms of dancin ha! Anyhoo, as far as music, I don't know, I started saying Fatboys rimes around the same time and I would record their raps and or my own stupid raps with my friends again, I was like 10 at the time then I went on to get into other things along with rap, like punk and metal then "3 ft High and Rising" came out I got mega interested in rap again and by "Low End Theory" I started to look for old records to sample and collect, starting with my pops collection which was pretty quality. I didnt write my first serious rime til around when "whut? thee" album came out. I decided to get serious when I bought my first 1200s round when OC dropped "Times Up", started spinnin, was always freestylin, ...a good friend abandoned his beat machine at my crib cus I had so many records, the feedback was always positive and I loved creating anyway so I just dove all the way in, but I did it because I loved doing it...the beats, the record search, the rapps, the battlin, I just loved it...so it didn't matter if people dug it, but they seemed to. Then at some point, labels and other artists started diggin it, and then a bunch of records come out from productions for other artists to Asamov to Smile Rays to a solo record and here I am, doing what i've always done, but putting it out for the public.

Can you tell us a little bit about moving from Boston to Florida in the 90's and starting the group The ABs and also joining forces with The Smile Rays? Do you enjoy djing or performing on the mic better?

I was born in Boston then moved to Chicago for high school then moved to Jacksonville in mid 90s. Met Chief rocka busy basic right when I moved to Jax. He was into records already too and is the consumate bboy so that was my mans from day one then I met Joe he was rymin and had his own ill steez then Ignatz or Willie Evans Jr as yall know him and he was already rimin and producin in a group called Deep Rooted they was friends and I was friends with all of em. They were the illest cats to me in Jax when I moved to Jax and I was very critical at the time(ha! critical was an early rapp name of mine even). I was fanatically into hiphop by the time I moved to Jax, so yeah, long story short, Base and I ( and Slue) formed LGA, a diggin in the crates crew then me and Base and Joe was all down with Willie when he was doing "Underground Utilities" he had a song called "The Bazaar", we all rapped on it then we formed a group ...of solo artists! and put out a pretty well regarded lp called "And Now" I did some beats and rapped on all the songs.

I always knew Bat But as Britt the fotographer, he was always a cool dude, then he says he's making beats and im like ummm ok didnt take him serious for a long time, because he had long hair and I knew him as a fotographer. Again long story short, right after Asamov put out "And Now", he played me some beats, I finally took him serious because it turned out he was dope then we sorta camped out for a couple of years and made records, me, him and his lovely wife, Daisey. A few labels heard the music, and wanted to put it out so we called ourselves, "The Smile Rays", and put out two lps and a few vinyl only releases. I did the rimes, Bat did the beats(sometimes id help) and Daisey did the saingin.

as far as djing versus mcing, ahh, it depends on the day, but I turn on the decks on at the crib far more than the mic...

Your 2009 album Super Ramen Rocketship sold really well...what was the concept and idea behind making this album? Who all did you work with on this? and J Brown wants to know if you still eat ramen and if so what flavor?

Im not sure if u can say it sold really well.... it did oookaaay haha! oh yes where was I..but it definitely opened the door for me to do a whole lot of things since then. I didnt have any features on the record whatsoever didn't want to on my first solo, I wanted to do it all myself because I felt that's what I trained for. The concept was basically ...in tough times a man with ideas has to use what means he has...even when it's not much of anything ... for instance the ramen...which isn't the best food/fuel...and still find a way to make that into something that is great...super...when u work like that it may be able to take you to where u ultimately want to go...rocketship...? yeah, and it was a collection of songs I wrote specifically for and during that project...for me, it was part display of my view of hiphops sound ...i e ventilation ....and the lp was part reflective of my real life...i e after you..where i speak to my daughter, Asha, in words she could easily understand at the time....so my debut album was really just an introduction of Paten Locke and the start of that story...and I am proud of it. I did all the beats, and all the rimes, all the cuts.... Batsauce engineered the record for me though. I flew myself to Berlin to record the whole thing, got on the plane with only some beat sketches. And yes, I still eat ramen...,not nearly as much as when I made that record though my favorite flavor is mad.

You have worked with some impressive names (Mr. Lif, Akrobatik, and Edan) what is your most memorable experience so far?

ahhh, I don't know, i've been all over the world with the three of those guys...some of my closest friends right there...shit me and Edan just went to Bahrain! that's the Middle East kid! But yeah, i've done Coachella, Bonaroo, Roskilde, Hiphopkemp, been to Iceland...Europe over and over with AK and Lif and Bat and Daisey and Willie and Edan...all these things I did with my close friends, it's all memorable. Something that sticks out is when I opened up for Jam Master Jay and chopped it up with him back when (rest in peace), he was very very cool and Rundmc is the best ever. But anyday could be the most memorable talking to my daughter, diggin in the crates, buggin out, making beats I love it, never a dull moment.

What are you working on now as far as recordings goes? Maybe an album with Edan or a Dumbtron album?

Edan and I are constantly building, there may be a song or two in the works Edan and I are most likely going to go do more shows in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia in September.

Willie and I are always speaking on ideas, both for respective solo ish and for DumbTron. There may be a Dumbtron album being worked on at the moment and a Dumbtron 45 might even be available very soon!

And uh, yeah a tidal wave of releases is about to embark upon yall ears... aside from the ish with Willie, and E...im working on my next solo album... I intend for it to be rather different from my first record...producing a new Dillon album, producing a project with Scienz of Life, and about 5 other projects im producing fully all to be finished by years end. There are some mc and beat features i've done and will be doing to look out for and a few dj mix cds i'll be sellin on tour and such...oh yeah, and a limited cassette soon! a video for Rap Athletics aaaaand a whole lotta other more shit as well stay updated on all of that and more over at my site--

PLANETLOCKE.COM

I heard at this most recent Soundset Festival in May, Dumbtron, which is you and Willie Evans Jr., got called back up on one of the stages after Atmosphere and Brother Ali to play again? Sounds like you two really made an impression on everyone. What was that like performing with everyone there?

Yes we did. We performed the song "Dumbtron" and it went quite well, shit was very cool. Cats had a lot of nice things to say afterwards. Biggup to Rhymesayers for having us that's the homies over there. Shout to Kevin Beacham, Jbird, Slug, Print, Groove, Ev, Brother Ali and all of them dudes.

I wanna brag on you because HOLY SHIT you are playing a dj set in Spain at the Portishead shows?! how did that come about?

Edan got the request and said to me "yo u wanna do this show in barcelona and we can both dj sets the next night too?" he was like "i think portishead is putting it together". I said truuuu....how much is it paying? hahaaa! jokes nah, I was like of course yo! so we did it and it was extreme dopeness both nights... Biggup to Portishead, they kill shit in the studio and live....very very dope. Very happy to put that on the resume no doubt!

You're a well known crate digger. Whats the best find and your favorite record store you've been to?

ha! I don't know, i dig every day sooooo....here's one, finding "Niagra" which is a German joint in a store in the hood that mostly sells southern gospel was ill...and it was in like 2010 when it happened...crazier.... my fav record store is, well, this week it's Cooks... ha!

Who are you feeling as far as music goes right now?

Willie Evans Jr, Edan, James Brown, Large Pro, Doom, Fela, Dillon, D.A.R.T.S., Dilla, Mal Jones, Nas, Biz Markie, Fabreeze Brothers, Waxwell, Has Lo, Della Reese, Madlib, Danny Brown, Bobby Bland, Gal Costa, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Samiyam, and much more. A lot of new stuff actually but a whole lot more very old stuff. I love music...you do too dont yall?

--word be careful out there this planet is a dangerous and strange place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJPfqr6phl4

http://patenlocke.bandcamp.com/

http://twitter.com/patenlocke

#Paten Locke #hip hop #edan #willie evans jr #rhymesayers #soundset #portishead #records #vinyl #super ramen rocket #batsauce #lady daisy #asamov #the ab's #interview

JAMS!

http://soundcloud.com/youngadults/blvds-by-yngadlts

I keep getting sent new songs and albums by people and im so blown away by how amazing everything sounds. This one by YOUNG ADULTS is a straight up testament to that. I've replayed this song all morning getting into it more and more each time I play it. The talent is undeniable and the song is sexy as fuck and all I can imagine is Kate Moss or some model getting down to it in her underwear. Based out of L.A. these guys are definitely worth keeping your eyes and ears open for. Check out YOUNG ADULTS soundcloud and the rest of their jams here--

http://soundcloud.com/youngadults

http://theeffectoflivingbackwards.tumblr.com/

https://twitter.com/@YNGADLTS/

#L.A.#young adults #soundcloud #yngadlts #music #hip hop #beats

Album Review

BATSAUCE

STARCROSSED

Being in the hip hop scene, I first heard of Batsauce from the group, "The Smile Rays" when they were doing a set in Jacksonville, Florida at the annual "Summertime in the City" event and immediately took a liking to it, after tracking down his work with Jedi Mind Tricks, Mr Lif, and Paten Locke, I knew this dude was going places and far places at that. Most recently though I was completely blown out of my chair by Batsauce when I heard the "Bat meets Blaine" album in 2011 with Qwazaar. I've been nerding out as well and following his 365 beats a day project he was doing on soundcloud and knew that this new album would be great, but im pretty blown away by it. Batsauce's new instrumental album, STARCROSSED, is super dope and takes the cake, I mean, dope enough for me to sit at work in the back room and listen to the whole thing when im suppose to be working, nodding my head with a big ass grin on my face hoping my boss doesnt walk back here and catch me. Batsauce is a genius when it comes to producing, the beats are so perfect and the sound bites he uses are just enough to balance it, there's nothing worst then hearing a hip hop/beat album and every other track have it be some bite from a karate flick or italian movie. The lovenote songs are my favorite (there's three of them) and they are sly and sexy. Batsauce once again has produced beats that are super spacey jazz, funk, and soul. It's all a beautiful blend of new and old sounds alike. Batsauce has given us yet another album that is not to be slept on.

Originally in Movement Magazine http://movementmusicreviews.blogspot.de/2012/07/batsauce.html

http://soundcloud.com/batsauce

www.Batsauce.com

#Batsauce #movement magazine #berlin #jacksonville #hip hop #album review #starcrossed #the smile rays #beats #producer

Dillon Maurer

I don't remember where I met Dillon at but I do know that one night at a mutual friend's house after one of Maurer's shows a few of us were passing around a blunt and he said something to me that snapped me out of the bullshit attitude/depression that I had been dealing with the majority of my life. I of course was just high enough to freak out and had to leave the house to get away from everyone BUT the next day I emailed him and told him thanks for the jedi mind trick because lo and behold I woke up happier than a fucking baby with a titty in its mouth that morning. On the real though, Dillon has some mad style when it comes to rapping and he keeps it balanced with super witty songs and then BAM! will make ya wipe your tears away with your drink napkin when he starts rapping about his family. His album, "Studies in Hunger" is worth checking out. (review of the album coming soon!) This is another one of the interviews from the diy zine I did by the same name, you gots to chill---

Growing up, what was it about hip hop that made you more interested in it and actually stay a fan?

Individuality and the ability to express yourself outside of what the 'norm' is. And I thought it was cool as shit. None of my friends were into it, so I was the outcast in the neighborhood.

How has hip hop and the whole culture of it impacted your life for the better?

It gave me something to identify with and a reason to make me feel like I can do something kinda right instead of a whole lotta shit that's wrong. What are your top ten hip hop albums?

These will rotate around but basically

de la - buhloone mind state and stakes is high tribe - low end and midnight marrauders gang starr- hard to earn, pharcyde - labcabincalifornia digable planets-blowout comb Public Enemy - It takes a Nation... Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle (i was in 5th grade, that was my shit!) Pete Rock - Soul Survivor Wu Tang - 36 Chambers Slum Village - Fantastic I & II

Who’s the "wackest" rapper of all time in your opinion?

Who cares. all of em!

When it comes to supporting performers, djs and rappers, why do you think its’ always such a love/hate relationship?

Because most of em suck and don't put in the work to deserve the support. If you aint feelin the shit DO NOT support it! That's one of the only ways wack will not exist anymore. That or a zombie apocalypse. And then we're all fucked. Except for Mal Jones - I'm confident that he's prepared to survive a zombie apocalypse. #fuggup

Most memorable show you've seen?

Juice Crew reunion concert in ATL. I was with J Dilla's Uncle Herm, Posdnous & Phife Dogg and we were all geeking like 3 year olds. That was epic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm1xR6-fCXk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=cp85nj4kFX8&NR=1

He also does a food blog which is awesome and I look at it when im too broke to cook food

http://dillonatethat.com/

Album Review

David Ramos

Sento La Tua Mancanza

Fake Four INC.

I got the opportunity to do an interview with David Ramos for Ghettoblaster Magazine and I didn't really know what I was getting myself into when I replied to the email telling them I was down to do it. Interviewing David was hard but only because the subject matter that I had to bring up for the interview was tough. The passion and the sincerity that which he spoke about his Nonna was well worth it all. When someone passes away that you are close to, you feel like nothing can take that pain in your heart away and the truth of the matter is nothing can and nothing will, fuck it, you know it will always be there when you drive by that spot where you use to go together or you hear a song that reminds you of them or you randomly find something in your house that use to belong to them. Sento La Tua Mancanza is Ramos' preservation of and substitution for the rituals he was doing in order to keep his grandmother alive. Listening to this album and really hearing the words lets you know that it's okay even if that "okay" only last the length of Ramos' album. All of the songs are super personal and are more or less like sneaking in David's journal. I can't even really begin to go into each song and describe how they all are because it's not about the single songs it's about the album in its entirety meaning something more than words can describe or do justice to. I let my dad listen to "Still There" when I was over for Sunday dinner a week after I did the interview and it had my dad tearing up, my dad who is this huge beer guzzling dude from the mean streets of Miami, that song had this guy wiping tears off his weathered face. The thing that sticks out about this album is that it's not some over produced "hip hop" album with "super sicks beats" (although they are super sick!) with some dude on it rapping like a hard ass, there is none of that bullshit on this album which is wonderful and refreshing cuz this is as real as it gets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtebdB-48gg

http://fakefour.bandcamp.com/album/sento-la-tua-mancanza

#David Ramos #Fake Four inc.#hip hop #sento la tua mancanza #2012

Molecule

Molecule stands out in the hip hop scene here in Jacksonville and its all for good reasoning. He host the monthly Artwalk go to joint, The Lyricist Hour, which happens downtown. That block is ALWAYS poppin' with huge crowds and the best thing about it, is seeing all the children hanging out with their parents listening to m.c.'s spittin' rhymes or watching djs scratch on the tables and witnessing these kids being a part of this at a young age. Every month the theme of the event changes and it's nice to see such a positive hip hop community take charge of things and make this happen. Mal is a super positive role model for a lot of people in the city.

Growing up, what was it about hip hop that made you more interested in it and actually stay a fan?

HipHop had always been a part of my life since as far back as I can remember. As a young kid in the Bronx, my brother Christopher Castle, then Smokey D was in a few NYC rap crews. Their names were the Fantasy 4, and Sophisticated 4. They would open up for Cowboy, an early HipHop pioneer and worked closely with Cool Herk passing out flyers, and doing live park jams. I was too young to go to the park jams, but those were my earliest memories of HipHop, and is actually what sparked my interest as a youth. My father, John Jones, was a trumpet player in a jazz band in the city and would have me in smoky jazz clubs that he played in helping out in the kitchen, and I would get to hear all kinds of jazz artist that came through. One of my dad's best friends was pianist, Barry Harris, and as a young boy I would sit in on lots of their jam sessions, so my earliest influences in HipHop came straight from my family.

How has hip hop and the whole culture of it impacted your life for the better?

HipHop has definitely changed my life for the better due to the fact that it kept me out of jail, and out of harms way on many occasions where I could have became a product of my environment like so many of my long time friends. And as you already know, it continues to do so. The release of The Proudest Dad Ever also brought me and my son Jabari together with many of my family members that I haven’t been in contact with for years. Even family I hadn’t met yet, so yeah, Hip Hop continues to change my life for the better.

What are your top ten influential/favorite hip hop albums?

Beastie Boys - License to Ill,

Eric B and Rakim-Paid in full,

Run Dmc-Run DMC,

Nas- Illmatic

A Tribe called quest-The low end Theory

Wutang-36 chambers

De la soul- 3 feet high and rising

Biz Markie-Goin off

2pac- 2pacalypse now

Big Daddy kane- Long live the Kane

Who’s the "wackest" rapper of all time in your opinion?

The wackest in the game?? Too many to mention..Haha.

Most memorable show you've seen?

The most memorable show I’ve ever seen? Lots were memorable, but I think the most memorable was seeing The Notorious B.I.G. perform at metro park in jax, because I was standing right behind him the entire time he rocked, The crowd was insane, and my crew East Unit had opened up for him on that same stage. #Goodtimes

Best vinyl find or record store?

Best Record store in jax is undoubtedly DJ's records and tapes for it has stood the test of time for so long. long live DJs records and tapes! Found My Message to the Blackman 45 in there yeah!

What are you feeling right now when it comes to music?

What? I'm still listening to the classics. Haha, but there are still lots of dope newness out there. Definitely feeling the music of my bro's Willie evans jr, and Paten Locke right now though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqczqRxuu_k

#Mal Jones #Molecule #proudest dad ever #you gots to chill zine #Lyricist hour

Myka 9

Myka 9 is one of the nicest and down to earth dudes i've met. After a debauchery filled night I walked down the stairs of the house I crashed at and lo and behold, Myka 9 and his friends were chillin' on the couch watching t.v. after having just gotten into town that morning. He played at Shantytown in Jacksonville that night with a live instrumental band and after hitting a joint a few times and finding a wall to lean up against, I didn't leave that spot for the entire set. His vocals are insane and so jazz filled on top of the funkiest music, if you ever get a chance to see him live you have to go. I shot him a few questions over the web while he was still on tour...

What was the song that made you want to start rapping?

Rap dirty blow fly

When do you write?

When the mood is write.

Do you write lyrics out longhand or on a computer, blackberry, etc? Or do you improv a lot of your lyrics in the studio?

All the above!

What happened with the Freestyle Fellowship? Any plans for new material or shows?

FF kept a PROMISE wich is the name of our upcoming LP on decon media!

Is it true you ghost-wrote some songs for NWA's first album?

I wrote two songs for rappinstine on nwa and the posse.

A lot of hip hop acts still have trouble pulling off concerts, but you've been out there with a live band putting on a big show! What sort of work goes into the Myka 9 live experience?

Depends on the budget! Ha ha! In general my vocalese talent with bad ASS beats and stuff from my catalogue mashed with a live band or dubstep dj or hiphop dj or acapella or beat box or any genre instrumentalist or accompanying vocalist suitable for my efforts at the time ! Sometimes I even play drums keys trumpet with video serato mash up and lots of whirling lights ! Can't forget the pyrotechnics and smoke machines!

What sort of influence do you take from jazz in your performance and lyrical delivery/flow?

My folks did jazz! I like virtuoso element of musicianship ...in my case rapping I hope!I still practice!

You often hear that hip hop is a young man's game, but your career is a contradiction of that, to what do you attribute your longevity? And alongside that when do you think hip hop will have its equivalent to muddy waters or miles davis, a person who will be creating vibrant work well into old age?

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MCS should be name of my next tour! Ill play Javier bardem! Buena vista social club underground MCS!

I've noticed you've keep subtly changing the way you spell out your name, why is that? Is each spelling a slightly different persona?

I thynk each spelling was an adjustment and it confused the market place.

You've worked with everyone from Prefuse 73 to the aforementioned NWA, what has been one of your favorite collaborations? Would you tell me a story from that?

Performing with watts prophets and last poets at the same time (at a college )and freestyling with tupac and biggie at the same time (in a club) and rocking payed dues with FF and soundset with haiku de tat and maritime hall with run dmc and Penn relays with bdp epmd oh and the roxy with the roots wutang bus pharcyde oh and with TALIB Kweli during Haiti benefits In NY and my bday in Europe!

Tell me about who you are working with now. And what projects you have lined up next.

Got my own label m9 entertainment m9ENT.com .new magic heart genies LP.new FF LP. New artist roster! Its all love!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jooFkun_rl8&feature=related

#2010 #Freestyle Fellowship #Myka 9 #interview #fake four inc

Album Review

TWIN PERILS SPEAK AND DESTROY

Speak and Destroy feels like Deer Hunter, if for two hours you relived the entire movie. Obvious talent coming out of the East Coast, Lone Ninja and June Marx voices work well together. Any hip hop coming out of Brooklyn nowadays needs to be given a chance but I feel as though you have to really listen closely to get what message they're trying to put out there. Good album nonetheless, especially if you find yourself on a road trip, considering there's twenty-five tracks on the album but most likely if your just chillin' at your house you'd take it off close to around the 16th song. June Marx did an excellent job producing the instrumentals, shit goes hard truthfully. All in all its just too damn long, it would of been better broken down and released as E.P.s. Not my favorite but check out that sick album cover picture! (Holographic Pagoda Recordings) by Jessica Whittington

*Originally printed in Ghettoblaster Magazine

#Twin Perils #Speak and Destroy #Holographic Pagoda Recordings #Ghettoblaster Magazine #Lone Peril #June Marx

Album Review

LONE NINJA FATE PERIL

Wait this isn't an Mf Doom or Wu Tang album? Similarities are definitely there what with all the movie and sound clips and the subject matters (ninjas). Beats are super dark and epic and the lyrics are thought provoking but the delivery is sort of flat so the message is lost. It’s obvious Lone Ninja has seen some shit beyond your usual ignorant radio rapper but there's a certain lack of urgency in his delivery and it just ruins the album for me plus all I can think of is Rza when I hear his voice. He has tons of potential; I just wish he would spit it out. The songs "The Beyond" and "Enemy Base" are the big shiners on the album just because they have collabs on them so it takes away some of the embarrassment. Blaq Masq throws down with the production though, I guess. (Holographic Pagoda Recordings) by Jessica Whittington

*Originally printed in Ghettoblaster Magazine

#Fatal Perils #Holographic pagoda recordings #Lone Ninja #album review #Ghettoblaster Magazine

Album Review

GEORGIA ANNE MULDROW SEEDS I’m sad to admit that I'd never heard of Georgia Muldrow before this, like kicking my ass for not finding her sooner, knowing Madlib though and his genius made me ever more excited. Madlib has done it again with this one, producing his first female vocalist. Georgia's "Seed" is funky soul goodness with the illest samples and beats I’ve heard in a while. The album is very organic and Muldrow's vocal abilities are apparent especially on her song "Calabash". This shit is definitely one of those albums that you put on when you're trying to chill out, after a long, hard day at work. Reminds me a little of Badu with a twist of Portishead, engulfed in African and gospel roots mingled in making it also a head nodder. Her vocal pitch is very comforting nothing outrageous but soothing. "Husfriend" is seriously the most bangin' track on here in my opinion, that beat is sick! To get to the point, it's just nice to hear a females voice over some Madlib and have it be this good. .(SomeOthaShip Connect) by Jessica Whittington

*Originally printed in Ghettoblaster Magazine

#Georgia ann muldrow #seeds #madlib #album review

DJ LORD (Public Enemy)

Imagine working a 9-5 job and within two weeks DJing overseas with one of the biggest hip hop groups of all time! That’s exactly what happened to Lord Aswod, better known as Dj LORD, from Public Enemy. He replaced Terminator X in 1999 and has been playing sold-out shows since. On top of that Dj LORD has won numerous turntable contests and is currently on the DJ Lord: Raising Hell tour. I caught up with one of the hardest working men in hip hop for a chat...

So you joined Public Enemy on their tour in 1999, which is a huge deal, how did that happen and was it a big desicion to stay with them? And were you intimidated by PE’s legacy when you joined?

-It was MAJOR!... Basically it happened in what seemed like the course of 2 weeks....My room mate(Rock Most) was doing production for Professor Griff and was told PE needed a dj because Terminator X has just announced his retirement after The Smokin' Grooves tour. Griff heard of my rep on the ATL. Underground DJ battle scene as well as DMC,ITF,etc battles..Long story short I came home from my 9-5 to find Griff in our living room..we chopped it up about the tour..I met Chuck shortly after..Griff got my passport expedited and i was on TOUR headed to Belgium with NO rehearsal. The decision to stay was a no-brainer..I grew up listening to PE..Chuck was and still is my hero. I was very intimidated by it all but this was my big break..All that blood,sweat & tears plus insane dues paid?..it was my time.

How did you get into turntablism? -I first got into turntablism in Savannah,Ga practicing with Dj Jeff Nice,Dj L-Trec,Dj Ally-Al 210 & Katoka,...it's a small city so we all would build on what influences we heard of mixtapes,VHS tapes,t.v.,ANYTHING and basically spar. As time went on we all got better and went on the other levels...Guess I was the Last Dragon of the clan.

Did your family play records when you were growing up? what are some of your favorite record finds?-My cousin Bernard in Chester,PA played records as a dj..he had the setup and all whcih of course sparked my curiosity in the first place which of course would get me punched out everytime he would catch me messing around his setup. On Sundays my Mom would always play records while cleaning as well as my uncles throwing basement parties so I have a unlimited amount of classic,funk & reggae songs in my head from childhood.

Do you remember the first record you ever cut/scratched/whatever? -The first record I skratched was Rockit by Herbie Hancock..The video possessed me. You've won quite a number of turntable battles, how do you go about getting ready for one and what are some of the bigger competitions that you have placed in? -Getting ready for a dj battle was always a war-like ritual for me..I would practice like a maniac...then back-off..do something else like practice Kajukenbo (my Martial Art at the time),watch Animal Planet,eat a bowl of cereal..ANYTHING to re-set..then hit it relentlessly until the routine was tight.....which of course is never enough..heh. I've won a few DMC regionals,placed in a few ITF regionals,Kool-Mixx wins,Guitar Center wins..constantly climbing that ladder

what kind of equipment do you use? -As far as dj set-up I use 2 Stanton Str8-150s,Akai MPD24 Pad Controller(Ableton) & Rane TTM57 Mixer

I read somewhere that you're also doing a little bit of dubstep stuff, any plan on sticking with that and do you feel like dudes like Skrillex are kinda watering down the music? -Actually i do a LOT of dubstep stuff...I was a member of Trillbass when I first started getting the feel and now damn near 65% of my gigs are dubstep laced/requested. I think artists like Skrillex have taken MAJOR steps for dubstep....it's 'everywhere' now and it did'nt get there by a gang of people chiming in on chat boards,etc ranting on how much they 'hate' Skrillex....cut the bullshit.

Do you feel any commonality with artists like DJ Spooky, Christian Marclay, Aphex Twin… guys with a more experimental, avant-garde take on turntablism. -Yup..we're all fam..they may have a different approach but it started with them playing with records to take the sound further.

So Jazzy Jeff honestly doesn't get the respect he deserves but you've cited him as a big influence on you..can you elaborate on this.. -Simply put Jazzy Jeff is the muthafuckin' man...I tell him this everytime I see him on the road..He inspired me from the beginning from the sounds to the equipment he used(at least form what I saw on album covers)..I would spend countless hours trying to figure out his style

I know you use to frequent Jacksonville, any interesting stories? -lol..wayy too many to list here...ask Matt or Steve

What projects do you have lined up for the rest of the year? -Lookout for The DjLORD:Raising HELL tour(first show kicked off Jan 7th in Mobile,Alabama) my Dubstep cd 'Essential Kill' ft. The Contraverse dropping in April..as well as a few upcoming collabs with Chuck D,Rock Most,Hulk & Dj Sagewondah, PE have anything coming up? -P.E. just completed Operation Skid Row..a free show in Downtown L.A.'s Skid Row district(the goal of the free show Sunday was twofold: for hip-hop artists to perform gratis for skid row residents, and to spotlight the economic and political plight of L.A.'s homeless),We are dropping TWO albums in 2012,the PE exhibit opening on Feb.1st at The Grammy Museum,The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and a few world tours lined up...also plans in the works to tour with Cypress Hill...stay tuned

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PdSTq21qrk&feature=fvwrel

#DJ LORD #Public Enemy #Lord Aswod #MOVEMENT MAGAZINE #HIP HOP #TURNTABLISM #RAP

Blueprint

Blueprint hails from Columbus, Ohio where he's famously known for his collab. on RJD2's song "Final Frontier". After joining RJD2 for a couple of albums, they joined forces in Soul Position. He is also a member of The Greenhouse Effect which consist of himself and Illogic. Racking up a number of solo albums with Weightless Records and Rhymesayers he's been a staple with the underground hip hop scene for well over ten years. While he's not producing albums for himself or other artist he's touring heavily..while over in Europe with the Family Values Tour I got a chance to shoot him some questions ---

You've been on tour for quite some time now with "The Family Tour", clearly staying very busy. What do you do in your spare time when you have a day off?

In my spare time I've been working on a lot of video projects. Last year I started messing around with video editing and I've been learning a lot about it and experimenting with it. I've got a few small video projects I try to work on to keep myself busy during down time out here. Either that or writing stuff for my blog at printmatic.net, but mostly video stuff.

I know with the Rhymesayers label you took a six year break inbetween the 1988 album and the new one, adventures in counter culture, was there a reason for this? and Do you still plan on releasing things on Weightless Recordings? You were rocking with Greenhouse Effect for a while back in the day, and then decided to do your solo thing, do you think you will do another collabortive in that vein anytime soon?

The main reason for the break in between albums was that I was unsatisfied with what I was doing artistically and wanted to something way more ambitious, but before I could do something more ambitious I had to have a better understanding of music. Unfortunately, it takes years to really learn about music and learn to write songs that aren't just rap songs. I was happy with the straight-forward hip-hop stuff I was doing, but I felt like I had to talent to do more, and the only way to do that was to take a break from releasing new records and really dedicate my life to learning about music, and following it wherever it took me.

I still plan on releasing things on Weightless Recordings, but last winter when I saw how much time I was going to be touring I decided that I needed to take a step back from my role in running the label, so I talked with all the artists and slowly started shifting my focus to my solo career. Everybody involved was really understanding when they realized how long I had been putting out records but had never truly been dedicated to my solo career. I'd done many Greenhouse and Soul Position albums, as well as produced a ton of albums for other Weightless artists like Zero Star, Illogic, and Envelope, but I never real made myself or my career a priority. But with Adventures in Counter Culture coming out I decided that I needed to change that and shift my focus, or else I would go my whole career not knowing what would've happened had I really pushed it as a solo artist. There were other roles I had to give up as well that were preventing me from concentrating on self, so it was a gradual process of coming into my own and realizing that for me to be successful long-term I had to put myself first. I do plan on doing more Greenhouse albums this winter with Illogic though. I really enjoy working with him and it doesn't interfere with what I'm already working on.

I do plan on doing more Greenhouse and Soul Positions though, hopefully next year.

Watching you perform live recently there was a definite branch out of the hip hop realm a bit, what influenced that and have you gotten any negative feedback from it?

I felt I had to change the live show to really do the the album justice. Because Adventures in Counter-Culture is such an eclectic and progressive album I felt like I had to do something really different and innovative on stage to match that, which meant that all the standard nuances of a hip-hop show had to go out the window as well. Not because I feel like don't love those things, but because i feel like I'm in a different place and I want to push boundaries and challenge people. All the people who come out to shows expecting me to do what I've been doing for years are taken aback by the new performance style, but overall it re-energizes them and the way people view me now has completely changed. Before I was just a dope rapper, now people view me more as an artist who can and will do whatever the fuck he wants to do, which is what I feel better about. I hate feeling like I'm being safe, and the only way to ensure that doesn't happen is to constantly challenge myself in every area of my art.

I have been heavily influenced by rock performances more than hip-hop performances over the past few years, so that influence comes out a lot in how i setup the live show now.

How are the dynamics of playing with a live band different from just a DJ, I noticed there were a lot of instrumental jams during the show and that isn't something you hear often during hip hop sets...and how did you meet your bassist Bobby Silver?

They dynamics of playing with a band are really different, mostly because whenever you do something live you introduce the potential for error. There are nights where i hit bad notes and although it sucks, it makes me feel more alive because I know I'm actually taking risks and that it's not programed. The biggest advantage is that you can put together something really unique and one of a kind on stage. I can throw in instrumental jams and blend them into the vocal stuff and it feels like one cohesive piece--not just thrown together. It's really hard to create a set that's one cohesive, continuous piece of music with just a DJ, but adding instruments has allowed us to do that. At heart I'm a hip-hop dude, and will always be, so that mentality will be present in what I do, but now we can do so much more with it.

I met Bobby thru the rock scene in Columbus, and from spending many nights drinking with him until 4-5 am in the morning, back before I stopped drinking. He was in a band called Brainbow that is an incredible band that I've been a fan of forever. Me and his band collaborated a couple times so we've all been friends for a while, and he always said that whenever I start incorporating live musicians into my show to hit him up. So when I started planning out the live set he was the first cat i reached out to.

I gotta ask...Whats up with the keytar?

The keytar is my secret weapon! It was always something that i used to joke about bringing on stage for a hip-hop show, but they were always too expensive until the latest one came out with the Rock Band video game. I did some research on it and found out it could be adapted for my show and i i brought it on tour with me immediately, without even really practicing that much at home with it. I just felt like it gave me something completely different on stage that kind of bugged people out when they saw it because its the last thing they expect at a hip-hop show.

Knowing that you have played in Jacksonville a couple times, how have your experiences been so far in the city? Jacksonville has a very deep rooted hip hop scene and im always curious to hear about peoples opinion and experiences of it... And word on the street is you have plans on coming back soon?

So far my experiences in Jacksonville have been great. It reminds me of Columbus in the way that it's a smaller market and how the acts in the city have great camaraderie. I already knew DJ Therapy from touring with him back in 2007 and we had been friends since, and I just met Willie Evans Jr, and i think he's a really dope artist too. Its awesome that they come out and support me when I'm in town or just shoot through to say whats up. I like the people in the city as well. Cant wait to play there again. I'll be back Saturday Dec 17th @ The Phoenix Taproom.

Do you still write your rhymes shorthand? like in a notebook or do you mostly just jot em down on a smart phone or computer?

I still write all my rhymes in my phone. I used to do it on my sidekick but now I've got a blackberry. I haven't had an actual notepad in almost 10 years. It helps to be able to do it on the phone when you're touring a lot.

Growing up did your parents play a lot of music in the household? Do you remember that first song that you heard that made you go " damn! this is awesome!"?

Yeah definitely. My parents played a lot of gospel and R&B in the house when i was growing up. I think the first song i really repeated over and over again was "Boogie on Reggae Woman" by Stevie Wonder. We had the 45 and i would sneak off into my room and listen to it on repeat over and over.

Who are some other lyricist that you look u to?

Always looked up to guys like Rakim and Saul Williams the most. I think they're both incredible writers but in completely different ways.

Anyone out there that you are looking forward to working with or want to?and what albums or books are you into right now?

Not so much right now. I've been doing so much touring that collaborating with people would probably be very difficult right now. Hopefully i do some music with Dj Therapy while I'm in town. He and I have been talking about it for a while, so once I get the beat from him it's gonna be on. Lately I've been reading a bunch of technical books about film making and trying to learn Ableton Live so i can start incorporating it into my live show more. I would like to read more fiction but it's hard to find the time because i've been so busy reading all the manuals lately, trying to stay sharp and aware of the newer technology thats out there as far as beat-making goes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwheKAZHrEk&feature=related

#September 2011 #Blueprint #RHYMESAYERS #HIP HOP #RAP #MOVEMENT MAGAZINE #RJD2 #greenhouse effect #Soul Position #Weightless Records

The Scapegoat

Jamie Garvey, M.C. from Scum Of The Earth (also pictured; Wax Atom, one of the most badass DJs ever)----I met Jamie years ago at a house show in Gainesville, Florida. We were both pretty wasted and wound up running down the street in the rain to some church and talked about the late Darby Crash from The Germs. Flash forward years later and we've managed to keep in touch pretty well. Jamie is very opinionated and a huge smart ass but thats why we all love him. I did a self published zine by the same name (you gots to chill) and interviewed a bunch of rappers for it and this is the interview from it--

Growing up, what was it about hip hop that made you more interested in it and actually stay a fan?

It just was the first music that really grabbed me, that I could call my own. My mom had a really big record collection of classic rock records that I would listen to and enjoy, but when I heard hip-hop it spoke to something inside of me that those records were not reaching. I think I saw break dancing for the first time on Sesame Street and was fascinated by it. When I was in preschool there was a "big buddy" program where we were assigned "buddies" from the 8th grade, and one of those kids used to beat box into one of those mini karaoke machines that they had in the classroom and it used to blow my mind. I didn't understand at the time that those were elements of a larger culture, mostly because I was five years old and probably didn't care anyway, but I knew that those sounds and sensibilities felt right to me at that age.

How has hip hop and the whole culture of it impacted your life for the better?

It has provided me with great music to listen to. It also provided me with an outlet that I might not have had otherwise which has allowed me to travel to places I probably wouldn't have been before. I've made lifelong friends through these travels, and even got to kiss ladies that wouldn't give me the time of day otherwise. I think the focus on hip-hop as a subculture can be both very empowering and very limiting, as there are many subcultures that share very similar sensibilities and attitudes to hip-hop, but not necessarily the same sounds and movements. I would like to see the focus shift to the underground art community seeing itself as one movement rather than several factions. I think that there are things to learn and grow from in many different scenes, and therefore limiting oneself to being a "hip-hop head" is not very much different then limiting oneself to being a "southern Baptist." the only difference being you get to smoke pot and wear cooler sneakers.

What are your top ten influential/favorite hip hop albums?

Public Enemy- It Takes a Nation of Millions Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet Geto Boys - S/T Boogie Down Productions- Criminal Minded NWA - Straight Out of Compton Nas - Illmatic Treacherous 3 - 1st Anniversary @ Harlem World (tape) the Cold Crush Brothers side of the same tape from the Harlem World show

2 Pac - All Eyes On Me Crass - Feeding of the 5000

Who’s the "wackest" rapper of all time in your opinion?

Local "conscious" rappers fucking drive me crazy. I'm talking dudes who just appropriate the whole culture, buy the right backpack, awkwardly use slang words, and swear to god that they have an important message to tell the world. Dudes that call themselves shit like Intellekt and The Messenger. Dudes who you could walk up to and slap with an open hand and they wouldn't do shit about it. it's those types of dudes that make it harder for people like myself to explain that I am an emcee, mainly because those idiots are out there making a parody of the whole thing. The sick irony behind it is that they think that they are being as authentic and true to the culture as possible. The point that they are missing is that instead of being true to a culture, they need to learn how to be true to themselves.

When it comes to supporting performers, djs and rappers, why do you think its always such a love/hate relationship?

Rapping is a very base level thing. The formula seems relatively simple to many people. You rhythmically say rhyming words in a way meant to entertain, teach, or impress people, depending on what you are trying to do. The very simplicity of the idea makes it very competitive by nature. Also, there isn't an objective way to judge that one person is a better "emcee" than another, whereas you could more easily define someone as being a better piano player than another, or being a better drummer than another based solely on skill level. With rapping there are many more factors to create bias: style, content, rhyme schemes, quality of voice, delivery, and numerous other factors. So while you could easily say that Jimi Hendrix was a better guitar player than Kurt Cobain regardless of whose music you prefer, the same kind of comparisons can't be so easily made with emcees. The other factor is that there are so many people doing hip-hop that it becomes hard for some people to stick out of the crowd. so then they start hating on somebody who is getting that attention. It's also such a personal and passionate thing for most of us, that sometimes you look at someone and feel like they aren't representing the art form correctly, or that they are fake as shit, or whatever the case may be. Also, from my experience many hip-hop performers are the most needlessly egotistical people I have met. Delusional even. Coming from a punk rock background, where everybody understands they are going to have to work a real job and are basically just kids trying to have fun and express themselves, it is really impossible for me to relate to the kid who works in the dish pit and just recorded a preachy ass conscious demo and all of a sudden has the ego of a superstar. I think those kids are just setting themselves up for a whole lot of disappointment and bitterness when they realize that they are just like everybody else.

Most memorable show you've seen?

I hate to say it, but it's not a hip-hop show. I have seen some good hip-hop shows, but have for the most part been underwhelmed, even by groups I really like. It's disappointing to me in many ways that there is a certain code and set of movements to be done at hip-hop shows. It's at some points akin to attending Catholic church: You put your hands up here. You yell here. Now is the time for girls to come onstage and dance, etc. Sometimes it gets exciting and they shake up beers and spray them into the crowd. I am definitely generalizing, but there is a lot of truth to that generalization. I always get written off by the hip-hop community when I bring up punk rock, but if you go to a wild punk show, you have no idea what the fuck might happen. Things will get broken. A lot of times you can't see the band because the stage area is completely swamped with people. Bodies fly through the air. There are injuries. People grab the microphone and sing the songs themselves. The band is by no means "off limits" or untouchable to the crowd. These are the shows I prefer to attend, and also the type of atmosphere I try to create when performing.

Best vinyl find or record store?

1,000 hip-hop LP's for $50 at a junk store in Lawtey.. Too many amazing gems to name. One thing I did get was a pre-release promo of Doggystyle on green vinyl with a 12" style slip cover with the hole in the middle, and printed on the cover was a Christmas wreath that said "Merry Chirstmas motherfuckers from your friends at Death Row records". I did the math, and I paid exactly a nickle for it.

What are you feeling right now when it comes to music?

SS Decontrol, Mauser, Mac Dre, Scarface, Reagan Youth, Brian Eno, Cocksparrer, Elvis Costello, Asshole Parade, Copywrite, hip-hop 12"s from 79-83ish, Blowfly, Four Tops, Hickey, Future Virgins, Gil Scott-Heron, War (and any related side projects/solo albums), and a bunch of other shit. People need to stop limiting themselves to one genre and labeling themselves as one thing. Variety is the spice of life, and I'll be damned if I get stuck on one flavor .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2ens0SsQwk

#Scum of the Earth #Florida #Scapegoat #zine #hip hop #rap #2012 #wax atom #gainesville

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