From the Bronx, New York emerges an extremely talented emcee with the cadence and presence to take the music world by storm.  He dropped a free for download LP/mixtape entitled “Heaven’s Fallout,” on his Myspace page with opening songs such as “Vietnam” and heart-wrenching songs such as “There’s Nothing Left.” This cat proves that a hip-hop emcee is eclectic in the music they listen to and also the music they make.  Freestyling over electronic bands such as Royksopp and the Prodigy and even Fueled by Ramen’s Fall Out Boy, this Bronx-raised emcee shines on his song choice.  Who else could I be talking about?  Who else rocks Supras and spit a clean freestyle for the mainstream masses on BET’s “Rap City” a month ago? Mickey Factz, people; if you don’t know who he is, you will by the end of this interview.  I sat down with Mickey Factz to get more incite on who he is, and what drives him to make music. 

First and foremost, man I would like to thank you for thanking the time out of your busy schedule to do this interview with me.  I wanted to ask you man, why did you pick the name “Mickey Factz?”  Is there any significance behind the name? 

Mickey:

The name Mickey comes from Natural Born Killers. He was a ruthless killer who loved Mallory Knox to death. Mallory is Hip Hop to me. Facts are all I talk about in my music, but since I have an edge to me, the 'z' is added. 

Do you feel any stress on your shoulders being an emcee from the birthplace of hip-hop, Bronx, New York?  Who were and are some of the emcee’s from New York that you grew up on and look up today? 

Mickey:

No stress at all. I feel honored to be from this borough. I grew up on Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Biggie, KRS-One, Big Pun, Big L etc. Any lyricists who could tear you apart in a cipher [as well]. 

Is “Heaven’s Fallout” an album or a mixtape?   

Mickey:

It’s a conceptualized album. It’s my 3rd actually. The first one was “In Search of the N.E.R.D.” The second was “Flashback” 
 
How would you define your music?   

Mickey:

My music is the fork in the road to greatness. Everybody usually makes the right when you get to the fork. But if you want to be daring and feel like you’re REALLY getting somewhere, make that left and experience something life changing. 
 
The internet is a powerful tool man for independent artists, and I can say that I would not even know who you were if it wasn’t for the ‘net.  How do you feel about using the internet to promote and market yourself?   

Mickey:

It’s a blessing for me. I have access to tons of people who surf the net and go on to blogs to find some of the hottest talent out. I use it to my advantage because I'm thinking outside the box when it comes to marketing and promotion. 
 
When you were featured on BET’s “Rap City,” how did that feel to know that you were gaining more exposure to a grander and more mainstream audience? 

Mickey:

It was amazing because the goal is to be seen by everyone's eyes. I can't wait for the next installment. 

Brah, I can hella relate to “There’s Nothing Left” on the “Heaven’s Fallout” release; I wanted to ask you if that was all truthful accounts of what happened to you? 

Mickey:

Yes. That was one of the realest songs I ever wrote. Every word is the truth. It’s one of my more favorite songs on “Heaven’s Fallout.” Really touching…. 
 

I had no idea what Supras were until I heard your song, “I Love Your Supra’s.” I had to go cop a pair after I seen them.  Are you sponsored by Supra and how would you define your style of dress? 

Mickey:

Supra and GFCnewyork have a continuous growing relationship. They understand the direction I'm going towards, and they support it 100%. My style of dress is definitely one to admire. Quite frankly, I'd call it breath taking. 

I know that the Bronx is your hometown, but do you have any other place or city that you can call your second home? 

Mickey:   
The studio. [Laughs]. Homesweet home. 

You are the only emcee that I have heard to use rock and electronic bands instrumentals to freestyle over.  A lot of cats do not realize that hip-hop is a gumbo pot and is mixed of different types of music to make hip-hop.  What bands do you listen to? 

Mickey:

Currently it’s diverse. Vampire Weekend, Janelle Monae, Chester French, Aerosmith, Daft Punk, Telepopmusik etc. I try to broaden the sound that I listen to on a daily basis.

If you could work with any artist, band or composer (dead or alive), who would you want to do a project with? 

Mickey:

I'd work with Jimi Hendrix. [He’s an] absolute monster when it comes to letting music embody him. 
 

Are you touring this summer?  How do you feel about the line-up for Rock the Bells?  Man…I know you’re going, right? 
 

Mickey:

Yeah, I’ll be doing a couple shows here and there. Keep your eyes open. I'll make a surprise appearance at Rock the Bells as well. 
 

Are there any last words that you would like to leave with the HipHopRemix.com heads? 

Mickey:

”The Leak” is available every week for free on my Myspace page at www.myspace.com/itzmickey. 
 
”The Achievement” LP will be due out at the end of the year as well. 

Mickey Factz has all of the charisma and talent to push him into the high-level plateau that he is destined for.  Thanks, Mickey for taking the time out of your schedule to do this interview with me; “Heaven’s Fallout” is a free download on Mickey Factz’ Myspace page.  Make sure you go download it and support this cat. 

Being from the Bay Area where recently the Northern California region’s local hip-hop scene has been slated with the moniker of “hyphy,” there is a truly exceptional producer hailing from Alameda (an island just off the coast of Oakland).  He has made a solid name for himself by remixing songs such as “Tell Me When To Go” by E-40, “Never Be The Same Again” by Ghostface Killah, and even Jill Scott’s “Golden”. Trackademicks might not be a household name yet, but he has the talent from production to do great things in the music world.  I seen Trackademicks at a show he had with Zion I in January here in San Francisco, and I was really blown away by his production and live set!  After meeting DJ Tap 10 (his DJ) and talking to him for a bit, Tap handed me Trackademicks’ “[RE]mixtape Volume 1.” From the first listen of this mixtape, I knew right then and there that Trackademicks would become a producer that I would be looking forward to hearing new material from on a regular basis.  I got the opportunity to talk to Trackademicks about his latest release, “The [RE]mixtape Volume 2,” his formula for remixing, etc:

Being from the San Francisco Bay Area, what local bands, rappers, etc. have been influences on you in the way you formulate your production?  What equipment do you use for making your beats, and do you play live instruments?

The Bay is so prolific when it comes to music. In terms of artists from the Bay that have directly influenced my style, Raphael Saadiq, Hieroglyphics, and the Khayree’s production have all been very important. I think the most important thing I’ve taken from the region is the overall laid back feeling in the music, the classic overarching theme and elements of cool and chill in the music. Khayree’s productions for Ray Luv, Mac Dre, and Mac Mall were what made me fall in love with lead synth lines and beat switch ups in a Mobb music format. Hiero did hip-hop that was so quintessentially west coast that I fell in love with everything from the way the samples were flipped to the enunciation in their raps.  Raphael Saadiq is just amazing. His work everyone from the Roots to Kelis has been important to the soul aesthetic in my music. In my opinion, he’s the best producer out of the Bay…

As far as my weapons of choice, I learned to make beats on an Ensoniq ASR-88. That has remained the centerpiece of my production process. I also use Roland Juno 60, a Nord Lead, a Seil DK 600, Reason, Pro Tools and a gang of records. I played the saxophone from the fourth through the twelfth grade. All that time spent in the school band was extremely important for my development as a producer, as it gave me a background in music theory.

What is the group, Honor Roll?  How did all of you guys come together to create this group?  How did you meet DJ Tap 10?

Most of us came up together.  I’m a proponent of crews getting together organically as we did. There are seven of us in the crew: DJ Tap.10 (DJ/A&R), Mike Baker the Bike Maker (MC), Spank Pops (MC), Moxmore (MC), 1 O.A.K. (Artist/Producer), Josie Stingray (MC), and myself (Artist/Producer). I went to high school with Mike Baker and Moxmore. We joined Youth Radio, a Berkeley based youth organization, and met DJ Tap.10.  1 O.A.K. was also part of Youth Radio. Spank Pops and Josie came to be part of the crew through a close friend. We were all into the same music and understood the importance of making well-informed music for the Fre$h generation to bridge gap between old and the new, infusing it with artistic influences from all genres.  The Honor Roll is here to turn the ideal into reality. 

Your latest release, “The [RE] mixtape Volume 2” had hella songs on it that I was feeling!  My favorite song on there was with Little Brother’s Phonte, “Halfway.” Which songs on the mixtape are your favorites?

“Halfway” is a great song. Phonte is an amazing artist. I hooked up with him after doin’ the Windimoto Remix (he’s the vocalist on the song).  I shot him a few beats and he banged this out with Carlitta Durand. As far as my favorites, I have to say that I love the whole project.  The whole reason I make music is for my own listening pleasure.  I hate to say it, but you might catch me slappin’ my own project on more than one occasion. This love I have for my own music is what keeps me making more. It’s about drive, not vanity.

Growing up, what genres of music were you exposed to that you now can say has helped mold your production style?

Before I was even into hip-hop I was into 80’s pop like Wham! and Tears For Fears, CTI Jazz like Grover Washington and Bob James, and R&B like Cherrelle and Bobby Brown. I would say that my musical sensibility is very rooted in the 80’s, with the prominence of synth-driven soundscapes.  In high school, I really got into electronic music across the board, from deep house, to soulful drum & bass, to trip-hop, to broken beat. I love to mix rhythmic, melodic, and textural differences between all of these genres to create a new hybrid music. I’m biracial, Filipino and Black. I strive to make music how my parents made me… Mix it all up!

You have a very unique sound to your beats, man.  I would describe it as ambient club lounge music or even chill-out at the crib music.  How would you describe your music in your own words?

I usually let the music speak for itself instead of trying to describe it for artistic reasons.

However, taking a cue from the BEST group in hip-hop, Outkast, I call my brand of music “WesternSlapademickTenderSmobbinCosmicMusic”. The music is just that; Super-Sonic-Sensual-Soulectronic- Futuristic-Vintage-Synthetic-Classically-Intellectual-Slap! [This is] the soundtrack from the Fres$hcoast from the Fre$h Generation.

Are you currently working on any projects for anyone else or even yourself right now?  What artists can music heads expect to hear that you have worked with in the near future?

Right now I have a lot on my plate.  I have a 12” coming out on Fool’s Gold Records for “Enjoy What You Do”/”Topsidin’”. I did a couple beats and I am featured on Lyrics Born’s album that just dropped. I also did a song on Kid Sister’s upcoming debut album.  On the remix tip, I just got commissioned to do a remix for Platinum Pied Piper’s first single off their upcoming release.  I’m working with everyone in the Honor Roll on their respective projects. I am also finishing up my album and shopping it as we speak. We takin’these habitual truants back to class!

Are there new up and coming artists currently that you are feeling?  I saw that you did a remix for the Carps’ song “The Tumultuous Adventures of JJ Iscariot & the Insatiable Booty Fanatic.” That shit was hot!

The Carps are the homies!  As far as new artists, there are a couple that I’m feeling. I’ve been on Janelle Monae for a minute. She’s out of Atlanta and just got signed to Bad Boy. She’s about to make a crazy impact.  Santogold is also a monster. I’m feeling her project real tough right now. I’m also anticipating J*Davey’s upcoming project.

Lately, hip-hop has been labeled by media heads as this being the “age of ringtone rap.”  How do you feel about this?  How do you feel about the whole playing field of hip-hop as a whole right now?  Do you believe that your influence can be a great impact on the music world?

It’s funny because the very term “Ringtone Rap” is telling of where the game is. In its current inception, mainstream hip-hop is largely dictated by commerce and not art. Much of the music that surfaces is a reaction to what is popular, an attempt by labels with artists and producers (read “indentured servants”) trying to jump on the bandwagon (which is now sitting on 24”s, of course!). That sounds harsh considering I like some of this “ringtone rap”.  I feel that music production tools have become more cost effective and user friendly.

Now aspiring beatmakers can make music cheap and fast. I think this is a good competitive environment because it forces the cream to rise to the top. The only issue I have with the current state of hip-hop is the lack of importance placed on originality and musical legacy. It seems that newcomers are just making music, disregarding unspoken rules because they haven’t been educated on the game. I believe that this is my primary function. I believe any  sound has the ability to make an impact;  its all about it being relevant to the audience. I chose to lead by example. I make music for people like me. People who love all kinds of food and aren’t scared when it touches on the plate. Funny thing is, I’m finding a whole lot of people who have the appetite and just need a suggestion on where to dine.

What are your top five favorite producers of all-time; who are your top five favorite bands and who are your top five favorite bands?

This is a super hard question… My answers change from week to week, with the same revolving casts and players… There are just too many strong frontrunners to name…

In no particular order:

Top Producers: The Neptunes, Dilla, DJ Quik, James Murphy, The Soulquarians…

Top five Artists: Outkast, N.E.R.D., Sade, Prince, Tears for Fears

If you could work with any musical band or artist (dead or alive), who would you want to work with? 

This is a hard one… Stevie Wonder, Raphael Saadiq, Todd Rundgren, Dilla, Big L, Stereolab…

 “The [RE]mixtape Vol.2” is a free download on Trackademicks’ Myspace page and it is definitely the most complete release I have heard this year so far.  He remixes artists such as Snoop Dogg and Pharrell to even bands such as the Editors.  Make sure to look out for any production slated by Track; it’s sure to keep your ass dancin’ and your head noddin’ the whole musical experience.  Thanks, Track for the opportunity, brah.  You have one hell of a bright future ahead of you. 

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{mosimage}The Maryland/ Washington DC area has never truly been known as a hotbed for producing hip-hop emcees on a national scale, but after attending a CunninLynguists show and seeing this young cat, Substantial (hailing from Prince George’s County, Maryland) I realized that I could not have been more wrong.  I went to college out in Maryland and I had never even heard of this cat Substantial from any of my peers from the Mid-Atlantic region.  In fact, the first time I had heard of Substantial was on Nujabes’ “Metaphorical Music” LP; Nujabes remixed Sub’s “Blessing It” and “Think Different.” On his latest solo release, ‘Sacrifice” Substantial displays the essential elements of extreme cadence and epic production within the 16 songs on the LP.  You can catch Substantial’s two videos for the songs, “It’s You (I Think)” and “Resurrection of the House Party” on YouTube.  He sat behind a merch table at the CunninLynguists show when I walked in and seemed like a truly humble dude.  Substantial and I talk about his latest album, “Sacrifice,” his collaborations with Nujabes, and what he views the plateau of hip-hop at this present time.

First and foremost, I would like to thank you Substantial for taking time away from your busy schedule with your touring with CunninLynguists to conduct this interview with me.  First things, first.  Tell the readers why Substantial is bringing true substance to the hip-hop game.

The substance I bring comes from my everyday experiences.  I am constantly trying to be the best “me”.  So as long as I stay true to myself, I’ll always have a somewhat unique perspective because there’s only one me.

Being from the Mid-Atlantic region of Maryland/DC, a lot of our readers do not know too many rappers/emcees from the region.  Frankly, man, the only hip-hop cats I can name from the area are Wale, Spank Rock, Kev Brown, and you.  Who are some of the big names in the Maryland/DC area that most of the readers might not have heard of? 

My man Oddisee has been doing the damn thing for a minute.  He’s down with Kev Brown, who you mentioned before.  Then of course, there’s Ken Starr who’s also down with them.  There’s folks like Asheru, Storm the Unpredictable, Kokayi but a lot of times around here, we’re overshadowed by the local Go-Go bands.  It’s all love though.

Are you working on any projects right now?  What is keeping Substantial busy nowadays?  Are you apart of any hip-hop groups or crews?  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I’m mainly promoting my album, “Sacrifice ” right now, but I’m trying to wrap up this EP with a producer named Burns from Pittsburgh.   It’s gonna be a 6 song project and [going to] keep the listeners wanting more.

I’m apart of Extended Famm, [With]The Joe Brothers and The Plague so of course, my pen gets little to no rest.

In my spare time I do graphic design, martial arts, and watch movies.

I met you touring with the CunninLynguists cats in San Francisco; what other artists have you toured with?  How is it going touring with CunninLynguists?  What city has been the most hype crowd so far on this tour, and what city do you most like performing in front of?

I have also toured with other members of QN5 Music (Mr. SOS, Pack FM, Session, & Tonedeff) and Nujabes.  Most of the time when I’ve toured, it’s been solo.

The tour with CL has been great.  They are some of the coolest folks you’ll ever meet and very professional.  The city that was the most hype was definitely Eugene, OR.  When I saw our tour schedule, I did not expect them to be that hype. But, they were pretty damn “awesome” (That was our official tour word).  The city I had the most fun performing for was tied between Victoria, Canada and Bend, OR.  All of the shows were a lot of fun, but it’s rare to see crowds so hyped about an artist they’ve never heard of.

Are there any other genres of music that you draw you’re musical influences from? 

Although I listen to everything, I tend to draw most of my influences from Jazz & Soul Music.

How did you end up with being on QN5 Music with the likes of hip-hop cats such as Tonedeff and CunninLynguists?

I’ve known a lot of the artists on QN5 Music for years and had been featured on a lot of their releases. It was only a matter of time I guess.  Once I was close to finishing “Sacrifice”, Tonedeff offered to help finish and release it.  We’ve been labelmates ever since.

How did you end up with working with the Japanese producer, Nujabes?  That song “Think Different” on his Metaphorical Music LP was hot!

Thanks bro.  I met Nujabes through my friend, Sphere of Influence.  The next thing I know, I’m in Japan recording my first full length LP.                      

I heard you mention that you were cool with Kool Herc.  How did you end up meeting him and have you ever worked with him on any songs, parties, or shows?  How does it feel to be acquainted with a hip-hop giant?

I met Herc through my wife’s college professor and not too long after that he ended up spinning at my wedding.  We’ve worked together a few times.  While I was working on “Sacrifice,” I recorded him and used his vocals for the hidden track on my album and I also do fliers for his parties occasionally.  He’s a truly great brother.  It’s rare that people get to meet the person who had a hand in creating what you’re passionate about, so I know it’s a blessing to be able to call him a friend.

On the song “A PG Boy,” you talk about growing up in Prince George’s County, Maryland.  For the cats that are reading this right now, can you please explain to them a little more about your area?  From growing up in Maryland, is the local go-go music a big influence in what you listen to?  I know you got some Backyard Band and CCB songs in your iPod, man.

Ok surprise #1, I do not own an iPod.  Surprise #2, I don’t listen to Go-Go that much.  [I] gotta keep it all the way real with y’all.  I still fool with Chuck Brown and I used to listen to a lot of Rare Essence and Northeast Groovers when I was younger, but I haven’t been following it as much these days.  I do mess with a few of the new bands like LISSEN, UCB, and Mambo Sauce though. 

As far as what it’s like around here… it’s everything.  Wild sometimes but laid back.  A lot of minorities are doing really well for themselves out here, but the hoods here are nothing to sleep on.

You had a real smooth, jazzy tone to your latest LP, “Sacrifice.” Did you produce anything on the LP?  Who else produced on the album?

I didn’t handle any production on the record.  I left it to folks like Kno & Deacon (CunninLynguists), Tonedeff, Fero Navi, Burns, Von Johnson, Donnan Links, Studio Steve Wallace, Final, Definition and my man Algorythm.  Algorythm handled the most production on the project.

Since the title of your current album is “Sacrifice,” what do you feel like you had to sacrifice to get to where you are today?  What would be the ultimate goal that you would like to accomplish in your lifetime?

I sacrificed a lot of rest, money and time with my family. The ultimate goal would be to raise and support a healthy family while doing what I love.

I was watching your video for the song “It’s You (I Think)” and I wanted to know if there was a female that was inspiration for the song.  Was there a muse in the female form that made you decide to write the song?  It was a great song by the way man, and if you haven’t checked out the video, readers…go do so on YouTube!

Thanks again.  There were actually 3 females that inspired the song.  Each verse is about a different girl I dated when I was younger.

I was looking on your Myspace page and seen that you were coming out with a clothing line.  Where do you get inspiration for your fashion designs?  I heard you say that you did graff (graffiti); do some of your designs come from this?  What’s the name of the fashion line?

Well I used to really want to have my own clothing line, but I don’t really think about it as much anymore.  I do have my shirts and hoodies that I push to promote my name, but that’s pretty much it for now.  Yeah I still do graff (in my black book) here and there and I definitely use some my graff skilsl in some of my designs.  I had a few different names I threw around back in the day, but nothing official right now.

If you could do a collaboration with any bands, artists, producers, or composers (dead or alive), who would they be with?

Wow, we could be here all day with that one. 

OK, well for those still with us:

Amy Winehouse, Common, De La Soul, Dr. Dre, Dungeon Family, Elzhi, Erykah Badu, Guilty Simpson, Jill Scott, Kanye, Lord Have Mercy, Lupe, Mint Condition, Neptunes, Pharoah Monch, Portishead, Radiohead, Sean Price, Stevie Wonder, The Roots, and Timbaland (Just off the top of my head)

For those that have past:

J Dilla, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Stan Getz (This is my short list because I could turn this into some marathon shit easily.)

I would like to thank you Substantial for taking the time to help me put this interview together so the hip-hop heads can get to know you better as a person and emcee.  Are there any other things that you would like to say to the readers? 

Thanks.  And to the readers… Buy my album!

Substantial is a hella humble cat with extremely tremendous potential; go do yourself a favor and buy his latest LP entitled “Sacrifice.” You will not be disappointed.  Make sure to check out Substantial on his Myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/substantial).  Defining Substantial in a short synopsis: Substantial brings the raw aspects of a true emcee to life in a hip-hop landscape currently that is infused with cliché acts.  Sub, thanks for the time!

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For those that don’t know but should,  who is “Dame Grease?”

DG: I’m a producer who has produced for almost everyone.  DMX, Nas, Jay-Z, Freeway, Mary J. Blige, Kelis, Cam’ron, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, the LOX, Nore, Scarface, Yukmouth, LL Cool J, T.I., Juelz Santana, etc.

You are a multi platinum selling producer, what inspired you to get where you are today?

DG: My surroundings as a youth, everything I’ve put into my music and production is something I’ve experienced so that is really what influenced me.

How difficult was it to break into the mainstream hip hop scene?

DG: It was hard but everyone has to pay their dues.  Once I established myself working with the LOX and DMX I was able to break out.

Who was the first artist to give you that chance?

DG: Probably the LOX, working with them in 96/97 is really what first established my buzz as a producer.

You produced the LOX's dedication to Biggie Smalls “We'll Always Love Big Poppa’” and the DMX track "Get At Me Dog" did you expect both singles to go so well?

DG: The Biggie song we didn’t really expect to do as much as it did.  It was a really sensitive time, but when they let Puff hear the song he was crying. They actually thanked us and said it really helped.  It also inspired them to do “Missing You” which was the A-side to the tribute single. “Get At Me Dog” was crazy because I actually produced “If You Think I’m Jiggy” for the LOX, which was the last big song of what people described as the jiggy era.  Then I produced “Get At Me Dog” which set off that whole new era of Hip Hop, it was definitely a risk at the time but it paid off.

At what stage of recording a track do you realise it’s a hit?

DG: It’s crazy because sometimes you know it as soon as you think of the concept for the song.  Sometimes it’s just that strong that you know what the concept is capable of doing. From there all you have to do is put the song together and physically bring the idea together.

Your name is appearing in credits all over at the moment with the likes of Jay–Z, and Nas. How important is it for you to keep you’re name known?

DG: To keep it real with you, I wasn’t as concerned with it as much during the early part of my career. But now it’s everything because it represents credibility, good business, and solid hits.  At the end of the day all you really have is your name and credibility.

It has been rumoured that you will be stepping back into the studio to record a new album as an artist.

DG: The new album I have coming out is called “Goon Muzik,” it’s actually done and will be dropping May 27th on Babygrande and my label Vacant Lot.  On this one I’m on a lot of the songs, but I don’t consider what I do rapping. I look at it as hood narrating, almost like the narrator of a story.

Your mixtape on myspace has created quite a buzz is it going as well as you first anticipated?

DG: I knew the Respect the Producer instrumental mixtape would be big because everyone from fans to artists have been asking me for it for at least the past five years. Because when you look at it as a whole each song is like a piece of the puzzle that describes my career. There’s hits I’ve had on there from 1998 all the way up to this year.  To give you an example, I gave Max B a copy when he was at the studio and he was telling me that he’s gotta go in on all of these joints *laughs*.

Could you speak a little more on you’re project hiphopworld.tv?

DG: All I can really say is that I have my own separate site HipHopBrain.com that will be launching soon.

What else have you got planned for 2008?

DG: Other than Goon Muzik on May 27th, hopefully I will have my other album Sour Diesel out by summer.  Sour Diesel is more of a compilation with artists over my production.  I also have Max B’s mixtape coming soon, Meeno’s new single dropping, and mixtapes across the board from my artists at Vacant Lot.

Before you go is there anything you’d like to add?

DG: Be on the look out for the Dame Grease brand.

{mosimage}With S1 on the boards, Myone and Myth (and S1) on the mic, the Strange Fruit Project bring ‘that feeling’ back to the soul of the hip hop industry.  With an array of soulful and jazz laced tunes this trio from the small town of Waco, Texas has made their mark in the minds and hearts of TRUE hip hop heads around the globe.

URB Magazine put them on their top ‘100’ list but the group has far exceeded everyone’s expectations with the release of their last album “The Healing.”  HipHopRemix sits down with S1 and Myth from Strange Fruit Project to talk about their music, their live show, what music means to them, and who gets all the ladies–

Wreck HHR: For those that don’t and should know—can you tell everyone who Strange Fruit Project is and what you are all about?

S1: Strange Fruit Project is a group that consists of two emcees and myself, S1, who produces for the group as well as MCs.  As a group we are trying to bring balance to the industry. As far as our sound we have a wide range of music that can’t be put into a specific category. Our message that we are trying to bring always has substance and we try to inspire people and motivate them to overcome whatever obstacles they are going through in their life.

Wreck HHR: Where did the name Strange Fruit Project originate from?

Myth: The name came from the Billie Holiday song from back in the day called “Strange Fruit,” which was from the late 1930’s or something around there. The song was about the lynching in the south and the racial tensions that were going on in that area. That name is just such a powerful name and it represented what we were about—uplifting our people and inspiring people through all the negative tensions going on through our daily lives, and how music is such a powerful tool to use for those exact reasons.

It also comes from us being from the south and us being kind of strange…

Wreck HHR: Coming out of Texas do people automatically think you guys are going to talk about candy paint and grills? Has anyone put you into that category before they have listened to your music?

S1: Not really…I think even just the name alone puts a different tag on the group.  We really never get pigeonholed as far as people thinking we are that type of group.  When they hear us and dig deeper into the name then they know that we are definitely about something different.

Wreck HHR: In the (good) Texas hip hop scene you got Bavu Blakes, Strange Fruit Project, Mojoe, etc—tell us about the Texas hip hop scene and what are people overlooking?

Myth: That’s a problem we are always facing, man. Trying to get to the fans that there is more to Texas than what is being shown and heard.  You got cats like Bavu, K-Otix, us, and a bunch of other cats holding it down but it’s still an un-tapped market.  Hopefully, very soon things will blossom for everybody and real Texas hip hop!

Wreck HHR: From the un-signed hype section in The Source with Symbolic Elementz (S1 and Myth) to Strange Fruit Project—how did you guys hook up with Myone and what was your goal as a group?

S1: Me and Myth are cousins so that’s how we formed Symbolic Elementz back in the day.  As far as Myone—we actually met at a job that we were both working at and we noticed we had the same similarities and likenesses as far as music.  So, I invited him to one of our sessions one day and after that session he would always just want to be at our sessions because he was so enthused and loving what we were doing.  So, there came a point where we had an extra space on a song so we were like, “hey, you got something for it?” And he came through with a rhyme and ever since he’s rhymed with us.

As far as the Strange Fruit Project goes—as time went by we recorded more and more material together and we decided to put together an EP.  The EP actually turned into an album called “From Devine” and we put it out ourselves.  The response was so great we just decided to stick with the group and that’s what brings us here today.

Wreck HHR: Your last release “The Healing” was your most celebrated album to date.  What set it apart from “Soul Travellin” and “From Divine?” And why was “The Healing” good for hip hop?

S1: I would say “The Healing” set itself apart because sonically it appealed to more people.  It wasn’t just an underground album—the spectrum that it covered was so much broader than “Soul Travellin” and “From Divine.”  Also the people that we associated with on the album branched us out to a wider audience from the songs with: Erykah Badu, 9th Wonder, Little Brother, Vitamin D, and Jake One. Working with them not only touched our fans but fans of their work also checked us out.

Myth: Sonically, it was real different because on the first two albums S1 was doing the majority of the production.  On “The Healing” S1 did a bulk of it but we also had other producers. 

The reason the album was good for hip hop is because right now in the game the industry is flooded with a lot of garbage.  This was one of those albums that had substance rather than straight garbage.

Wreck HHR: Myth, who is the dopest lyricist out of the trio and why?

Myth: (Laughing) We never got that question before! I would have to say Myone! He’s the hungry one.  He is where me and S1 used to be.

Wreck HHR: S1, who is the biggest pain to work with up in the studio?

S1: I would have to say none of us to be honest.  When we are in the studio the chemistry is always just so good. So, I would have to say “LOL” on that one (Laughing).

Wreck HHR: Who’s got the most game when it comes to the ladies?

S1: (Laughing)

Myth: Right now it has got to be Myone, because me and S1 are married so…

S1: Yea, we’re married so we got to pass that one onto him…

Wreck Loose: Ahhh, by default only huh?!

S1: (Laughing) Now, Back in the day! Back in the day…

Myth: (Laughing) Yeah, back in the day that’s different…

Wreck HHR: For all the producers that might be wondering—what equipment do you use, S1?

S1: Right now, I am using Reason. I also use Motif and Roland synth boards.

Wreck Loose: It’s safe to say that the majority of hip hop is stale and saturated, so, what is and what will Strange Fruit Project bring to hip hop fans and the industry?

Myth:  We definitely bring consistency! We will never venture too far away from what we do and how we developed our current fan base.  We just want to deliver good music!  I mean, we may experiment a little bit here and there, but most importantly we want to stay consistent with what we do.

S1: Exactly.  We are always going to supply our core fans with what they want to hear but at the same time we will always try to push the envelope to give them something new and fresh every time they listen as well.  We want to find a balance between those two aspects and work from there.

Myth: And that’s a difficult balance, dude!

S1: Yea…it really is.

Wreck HHR:  Do you feel that independent fans are ‘stuck up’ with their music and that’s why you don’t want to go out of the box so much? Do you ever catch that vibe from fans?

S1: I think it’s all pretty much love.  I would definitely have to say the love from the fans overrules the stuck up fans.  I mean, you get that vibe at some shows but the love that we get over powers that vibe.

Wreck HHR: What does music mean to you and what does hip hop mean to each of you?

S1: Music means a lot to me because without music just think about how dry the world would be.  Everything is music, everything is sound, and it plays a big part of how we function every day.  Music is a voice and it gives us that platform to express our voice.  Now it can come from a negative and positive perspective—you have some major artists with 5 million people that wait to listen to what you have to say and you can build with that voice or you can destroy with that voice, so, it’s a very powerful thing.

 Myth: Hip Hop is also powerful because its a voice from an urban culture perspective.  Like S1 said, it is such a powerful platform to be on and us artists just have to use it the right way.

Wreck HHR: What is the best thing about being on stage performing and what is the best thing about a Strange Fruit LIVE show?

S1: The best thing about performing is actually connecting with your fans.  To be able to experience the audience enjoying what you are doing, and you can see it on their faces, to see that they are really feeling and loving the music that you are presenting to them is just a beautiful thing.  The best thing about a Strange Fruit LIVE performance is we don’t just rap songs in our shows there are always some extra tidbits that we add to our shows.  We don’t just want the fans to stand there and listen, we want the fans to get really involved and feel like they are apart of the show as well.  We are always bringing something extra to a show rather than just rapping to a beat.

Wreck HHR: What is next on the horizon for Strange Fruit Project—anything we can be on the look out for?

Myth: Actually, while on tour we have been exclusively selling the project we have called “The Lost Documents.” It consists of unreleased materials from our first three albums and some new material also. Then, we got a crew album we will be working on soon.  Then of course our new album!

S1: We also just completed shooting our new video for our next single which is “Get Live” featuring Erykah Badu.  So, be on the look out for that online on myspace and youtube!

Wreck HHR: Tell everyone why you NEVER mess with Texas!!

Myth: Because Texas does everything BIG!!!

You can check out Strange Fruit Project at the following places:

http://www.myspace.com/strangefruitproject

http://www.om-records.com/

and check out the lost documents record at:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/strangefruit5

Who is Louis Logic? Throughout his illustrious career, Louis Logic has worn many faces as he journeyed through the ranks of the independent hip hop scene. He has been the tactless, inconsiderate, Bukowski-esque drunkard that delivered us the classic debut record entitled, “Sin-A-Matic,”  he has ripped callous compositions with the likes of Apathy, Celph Titled, and Jedi Mind Tricks, and has also displayed the softer, self deprecating, and sensitive side to his loyal fan base.

Whether it be behind a keyboard serenading straight from his soul, or in front of J.J. Brown, captivating crowds with a cocky, yet charming, cadence—Louis Logic is a rare and unique master of ceremonies.

With a humble, vintage-t draped swagger, Louis embodies that “it factor” that only few are blessed with. On stage he owns the crowd with minimal banter. The signature ‘fro swaying like blades of grass blasted by a bout of breeze, as his head swivels on every lyric. On every recording—he delivers. Louis has been one of the most consistent hip hop artists of the last decade, and continues to transmit sonic beauty to all that lend their ear.

Who is exactly is Louis Logic? He is more than just Sin-A-Matic, more than comedic tales of drunken debauchery and failed relationships, more than just a rapper—and as the die hard Lou fans grow older and mature with his music—that is all becoming clearer.

In a special impromptu conversation with HipHopRemix, Louis Dorley takes off the Louis Logic mask and reveals his “c-side”—the one we don’t hear through our speakers or see on stage. Lou sits down with Wreck Loose and talks about his maturation in music, his latest projects, what “Kiss Her Stupid” is, his dissatisfaction with urban music, his “major” break, and his strong feelings about homophobia in hip hop, and music in general.

Wreck HHR: What’s good in the life of Louis Logic?

Louis Logic: I’ve just been rehearsing like a lunatic for an up-coming show I have at the Knitting Factory in New York. This will be the first show I ever have where I get to play a real piano. For half of the set I will be on a baby grand—so half the set on piano and the other half with JJ (Brown). As I move forward I’m hoping that I can develop a separate career from playing the piano, rapping, and singing and eventually take them apart from one another. 

I don’t have enough piano material to play a whole set, but I am still learning and getting better. It’s been a year and a half and my improvement has been really dramatic because I dedicate a lot of time to it. So, I’m hoping over the course of the next year or so I will have learned enough and shown enough improvement to be able to carry an entire set on piano.

I have been working on the first songs for all piano and vocal release. ..

Wreck HHR: I read in a blog that you were thinking about going into another direction with your music, you are anticipating acquiring a new fan base, and might lose a chunk of your current fan base—is the piano/vocal direction what you were talking about in that blog?

Louis Logic: I guess we’ll see what happens with it. At this point, its not that I won’t make anymore rap records it’s just that I’m not really excited to do it right now. My current situation from a business standpoint doesn’t necessarily make me want to do more. I feel that JJ and I have made records that were greater than the size of their appreciation. I’m not bitter about it. I am really proud of what we were able to accomplish. I have lived off music for years, bought a house—I just always thought that we were a lot more polished, catchy, and commercial friendly than you garden variety ‘underground rapper.’

Wreck HHR: Especially with the ‘Misery Loves Comedy’ album…

Louis Logic: Well, thank you. I’ll chalk that one up in the compliment column. I thought it should have been a bigger record than it was. I thought it might have done something for us like Norah Jones’ album did—where she started out on Blue Note and got picked up and turned into a pop record when it was intended to be a jazz vocalist record. I thought that might happen to us with the ‘Misery Loves Comedy’ album. I thought we had made something that was hybrid and catchy enough that it could be re-packaged and sold to kids who like rock and indie rock and ultimately the same kind of audience that bought the Gnarls Barkley record.

{mospagebreak} 

Wreck HHR: Did you receive backlash from fans? Was the album too different for your usual ‘Sinamatic’ Lou fans?

Louis Logic: There’s always going to be backlash when you make a second album because it’s always going to be slightly different from your first album. In our case, it was pretty mild. We did find some fans who were disappointed in the direction that we took and thought the record was less shocking and cartoonish, but we also found that we won a lot of new fans. Our female listenership dramatically increased with the new record, which is…GREAT!

I noticed the people who didn’t like the record as much didn’t seem to take note of the improvements that we made. They didn’t notice how much more confident this record sounded and how well executed it was. All they noticed is they missed the ‘crazy character’ and the hostility that was on the first album.

Wreck HHR: Do you feel as if underground hip hop fans have a tendency to hold their favorite artist down? Do you feel they starve for that one style and don’t appreciate when you grow?

Louis Logic: I’m sure there is that type of thing going on but it’s up to the artist to how they react to it. You can’t blame the fans for feeling how they feel—that’s the whole point of art. People will interpret it however they like and you can’t get mad at them for how they do that. I’m not angry at the kids who got upset at the change and format of my records. What I was upset about in the beginning was that I couldn’t understand how people missed the improvements. I didn’t understand how they didn’t catch it was a better executed album, better written album, better produced album, and better delivered album. It was just confusing. It was a vastly superior effort.

But, that’s the thing about art, it’s not always about how it was done, sometimes it’s the mood, the time, and place that a piece of art captures. I think for the people that felt that way about ‘Misery Loves Comedy,’ relative to the ‘Sin-A-Matic’ album, that was the case. They were really married to the feel and time that the ‘Sin-A-Matic’ album captured for them. I can’t blame them for that. I’ve felt that way about artist’s records before that I really love. I feel fortunate that a majority of my fans did stick with me and enjoyed the album a lot.

Wreck HHR: So, is this your last hoorah with JJ Brown then?

Louis Logic: Absolutely not! Me and JJ are actually working on another project, BUT, we decided to make some changes to how we present our artistic efforts. For 8-9 years now I have been the front man. JJ Brown and Dan Maier, 5G Productions, have provided me all my recording, engineering, and production needs. At a certain point we realized there was more we could put out to people as far as what our camp could create than just Louis Logic.

JJ has been doing a lot of production behind the scenes, started working on his own album, etc., which was right around the time when he dropped that Ludacris album with all Jackson 5 music. Now, JJ has stepped into the driver’s seat of 5G Productions and we are going to be putting him out there as the guy we want everybody to check for. His new record I have been co-writing with him and it’s shocking how good he has gotten at writing and delivering rhymes. His record is turning out so good—for hip hop fans that want to hear an album with serious shit talking and the occasional conceptional song, they might like his record a lot better than my last release. It’s a really fun record with incredible production and surprisingly well written rhymes. I’m really proud of JJ—I think he is going to surprise a lot of people.

Wreck HHR: I loved that Ludacris Remix album he did!

Louis Logic: Oh it was incredible! After he made that record he started to gain a lot of attention from a lot of major beat management people. JJ has been entertaining interests from major label parties at this point because of the Ludacris deal and was recently hired to remix the entire Gym Class Heroes album with nothing but Hall and Oates music. Hall and Oates management is involved, Gym Class is involved, Atlantic Records is involved—and it is a toss up right now with who is going to put it out. But, it’s going to be a huge record for JJ.

Consequently, the studio people who created the pro tool sessions for JJ to work with left out the ONLY guest rapper appearance on the album, which was a bonus cut and a remix of the song “New Friend Request” by the Gym Class Heroes that had Papoose on it originally. They left out Pap’s accapella accidentally and JJ decided that instead of pointing out the mistake that he would use it as our gain, so, this record will be a big release for me too! Because I ended up filling the verse for Papoose. I’m pretty excited about it and everyone else was extremely excited about what I did.

So, who knows what will happen in the future. I think big things are on the horizon for all of us, but it’s hard to say how this will all play out.

{mospagebreak} 

Wreck HHR: Are you working on any other projects?

Louis Logic: I so have another album that is a Louis Logic vocal album that is definitely a rap record. I started it two years ago and it’s produced entirely by a Danish production duo. They make their beats by playing live instruments and sampling their own music.  They play guitar, bass, keys, and drums and their little brother goes to a music conservatory and plays the trumpet, which means we get to use the trumpet and any other instruments that we choose from his classmates at the conservatory.

It’s an exciting record and we have unlimited resources in terms of what we can add to a beat sonically. It is turning out to be quite an adventurous project. Time signatures those aren’t common to hip hop songs, a lot of wild arrangement, and about as much singing as the ‘Misery Loves Comedy’ album. I think it’s funny that no one noticed that there was just as much singing on ‘Sin-A-Matic’ compared to ‘Misery Loves Comedy’—perhaps even more!

This record will be called: “Spork” by Louis Logic featuring Beatman and Rockin’. Hopefully it gets finished by this year but I don’t know who will put it out.

Wreck HHR: Are you getting tired of making hip hop music? Or is your new direction about you learning more about music, maturing, learning music theory, and wanting to explore more with your music?

Louis Logic: It’s a little bit of both actually—In learning more about how music is made on a traditional level, It has opened my eyes to the lack of adventure, rigid conformity, and predictable compositions that rap music has, which is disappointing because hip hop can be bigger and greater than what it is. I don’t know if I’m the guy that can fix that but I have decided that I do not want to contribute anymore to the trite and dull conditions of letting a song ride on the same beat measure loop. It is sad, and there is SO much more that can be done with this music! Vocally, its music that lends itself to the greatest complexity, but, musically, its one of the most simplistic constructed forms of music made today.

I don’t see how people don’t acknowledge that, take note if it, and DO something about it. I guess it is because most rap artists aren’t traditionally trained and music and they use what resources they have and know. Perhaps, some find picking up an adult beginner’s book to music theory is boring. But, by learning theory and spending the time learning about these things, it will put me ahead of the garden variety rap artist. Is it a career risk? Sure…maybe this will blow up in my face. But, I really don’t think you should make art if you don’t want to take risks, push your boundaries, and experience new things with each artistic effort you make.

Maybe I’m going to go a little too far off the beat path for kids that are into my earlier records, but there will be somebody out there who likes it. Maybe there will be more…I don’t know. I’m willing to take that risk because for me, the journey part is the most fun. I don’t even know where I’m going to end up next year and I love it!

Wreck HHR: With this Gym Class Heroes Project you will be working with a major label—does the thought of being on a major frighten you any? Do you like that independent freedom more? Are you ready to make that jump if it is offered to you?

Louis Logic: I don’t know if it’s necessary anymore. I think with the dramatic changes in the industry with how records are received and the trends in sales—I don’t think being on a major label is any better for me, per say. The living that artists like Justin Timberlake or Kanye West achieve, to me, is not that different than the living guys like Slug (Atmosphere) or say, The Shins, achieve. You don’t need a major label to accomplish these things anymore. You need to be successful enough to sell a couple hundred thousand records on your own and be able to pack in 1,500 fans in every city you play. It is no longer about what big label you are on…everyone is finding their own way to get in, fit in, and make it work. So, I don’t really worry about it anymore.

Making myself proud of my own efforts, keeping myself interested, and retaining a listenership is my concern these days. This is also one of the reasons why I decided if I am going to do this there has to be a point where I am going to separate the two things. I didn’t think it was a good idea to try to change my “Louis Logic” accomplishments into something else. It would be better to start something else all together. Maybe I will continue to make Louis Logic records…but I don’t know. JJ and I both agree making, what we feel, is a world class effort for a fan base of 15,000 people is not what we had in mind. How many more of those do I have left in me? I don’t know. Maybe none.

Wreck Loose: Can you tell us more about this new solo record you are still working on and this new Louis sound?

Louis Logic: Well, I decided to actually not call it a ‘Louis Logic’ record because I wanted to separate my name from this project all together. So, I went the Nine Inch Nails, Cat Power route of hooking up a name for a band that really isn’t a band…its just me.

Right now I am working on an EP for it and the EP will come out under the name—Kiss Her Stupid.

{mospagebreak} 

Wreck Loose: You mentioned earlier that you don’t listen to hip hop records anymore—how come?

Louis Logic: It doesn’t really feel like magic anymore to me. They aren’t really fun anymore to me. I can’t listen to them without thinking about my take on the mix, delivery, writing, and the mastering. There is no magic because I know how people make everything that they make because I do the same thing. It just became a mechanical thing for me and it became depressing, so, I stopped.

That and combination with the fact that my first album was so heavily compared to Eminem that it frustrated me to no end. I felt like listening to other people’s rap records might of crept into my sub-conscious and maybe there were things in that record that was inspired by Eminem—despite the fact that we came out right around the same time. I didn’t want to hear anything like that ever again. While making demos from the “Sin-A-Matic” album a friend of mine advised me to stop listening to my rap records and dive into my classic rock collection. So, that’s when I got heavily into classic rock, indie rock, and folk rock and it pretty much took over my iPod.

Wreck Loose: So, that’s where you get your inspiration from? Who is the artist that inspires you the most?

Louis Logic: Definitely, Rufus Wainwright. He doesn’t get a lot of love from the rap community because he is very, very, very gay and unfortunately rap music is still heavily plagued by an accepted homophobia, which I really think is fucking lame and tired. He is a BRILLIANT pianist/singer/songwriter. I love Elliot Smith…

Wreck Loose: That is THE dude!! One of my favorite artists as well…

Louis Logic: He’s the fucking shit! Did that dude ever write a melody that wasn’t completely fucking charming?

But yea…there are a lot of artists that inspire me out there and I think it’s a great addition to me as an artist to be an avid listener of music and to have so many networks of music that inspire me.

After a music nerd tirade between me and Louis,where we switched favorite indie rock groups back and forth like kids did baseball cards back in the good old days, we got to talking about the trends of urban music, the decline in record sales, and a new movement that Louis thinks hip hop artists will begin to follow very soon….

Louis Logic: …There’s a fuckin’ fall out going on in urban music, man. It’s crazy! A Jay-Z record not going gold, a Pharrel album remixed by Questlove not even being released! That’s crazy!

Wreck Loose: Do you think a new “renaissance” (Source: iCON the Mic King) in hip hop music is about to come in?

Louis Logic: I know what you mean…and sure…I think we are headed for something like that. What seems to me that is happening is there is a nuclear fall out happening in urban music and everyone is dying. There are only going to be a few survivors and its going to be those people who are able to adapt and evolve into something different that can survive this fall out. If you ask me, and this isn’t why I started doing what I’m doing, its going to be the people who are hybrids or some bizarre combination of things that still holds people’s interest. I think people are bored of regular rap records as a whole…and I don’t blame them! It’s been too many years with too little change…

I think you are going to see those artists who DID bother to educate themselves musically because they saw what was happening and they wanted more. I just heard of this guy who plays guitar and rhymes—and its going to be people like that who usher in this new rap sound that survives.

I almost look forward to seeing the end of the time where it’s ok for a rapper to ONLY be able to rap. With the increase in learning music theory, learning an instrument, etc., I think you will see a need to be able to do those things and it will be apart of being a ‘rapper.’ I don’t know if you know this but I was told that one of the reasons Del (the Funky Homosapien) has been quiet for so long is because he’s been studying hard on learning music theory. He has been in hiding just reading and absorbing as much as he can. I think you are going to see more of that and what is going to happen is there is going to be so many of us that it will become the norm and the thing to do. I can’t wait for that.

What started it for me is the fucking smug look on other bands faces when they ask at a show what kind of music I was playing that night and when I would say, “I’m a rapper”…the look, the smug look on their face. Musicians don’t respect rap music and I’m fucking sick of it.

Wreck Loose: You know what I never understood is when these majors sign great hip hop talent but instead of pushing them to the public—they sit on the shelf. Why do you think they do that? Why are they afraid to start new trends, and why do you think they hoard these artists?

Louis Logic: There’s got to be many explanations why that might happen. With what I know and have experienced a good example would be Columbia/Ruffhouse in the 90’s signed a girl that could rap and sing and was just as good as Lauryn Hill and signed her JUST to shelf her so she wouldn’t compete with Lauryn. They specifically signed her to shelve her. Sometimes, they’ll sign an artist thinking that they can convert them, and this seems to be what is happening with Apathy, and try to make them into a version of something that is already out there—what they find is a) the artist can’t convert b) the artist is resistant in the process or c) they try it, find some success, and put some feeler music out but no one reacts, so, they just cut their losses. But they aren’t going to let you out of your contract…I mean, can you imagine them dropping Apathy and another label picks him up and makes millions? I think that’s why you see artists like that getting shelved.

{mospagebreak} 

Wreck Loose: Disgusting politics of the business…

Louis Logic: Yeah it is disgusting but that’s what it is—a business. Also, with these declining record sales, surviving is such an important part of it that taking risks is not a widely accepted option. It’s more about doing what they are sure will work…because if they don’t…they won’t have a record label anymore.

It’s going to be exactly what happened to the Dinosaurs, man. It has to die; it has to kill itself the way it is going. What is going to arise out of that? That’s what everyone is wondering. I feel like I have a leg up. We’ll see what happens…maybe I am wrong. All that I know is that I’m going to be proud of the music that I am going to make. I’m finally going to make music that actually sounds like the music that I listen to. It’s been too many years that I have been making music that sounds like what I don’t even listen to. I feel a little bad about it at this point…like, it’s almost starting to fuck with me.

Wreck Loose: Like you robbed yourself all these years?

Louis Logic: I mean…yea…maybe…or that its not fair to kids that really do want to make boom-bappy underground records to sell to the 15,000 kids that want to buy that, and I’m just taking up one of their spaces. I’m selling my ‘hybridized’ efforts to that audience and half of them buy it because I HALF like his records. I would much rather wander off the path and go so far out there when I finally look around when I reached where I am going…there won’t be anyone standing next to me because it’s something that no one else is doing. You won’t know what to call it.

I’ve been having trouble naming it myself when I try to tell someone what I am trying to accomplish with my music now. The best thing I have come up with is: hokey, dark humored like Tom Waitts material, with rapping, folk rock like singing, etc. I have been doing cutesy, charming, silly stuff for so long…now I am trying to fuck with dark humor.

Wreck Loose: I saw a 30 second clip with you and JJ Brown and it was one where you got extremely fired up after they asked you a question about homophobia—do you feel that some hip hop lyrics should be censored?

Louis Logic: No, no, not at all. It just makes me sad that it is a prevailing attitude. Some people are going to make music that is over the top and cross the line. A lot of artists have grotesque material but they are in the minority…but not in hip hop. The prevailing attitude about homosexuality in rap music is ALMOST as grotesque as it is in Reggae—which is probably the most homophobic genre of them all.

I guess when I got into Rufus (Wainwright) is when I got more vocal in my defense about gay people and speaking out against homophobia. It just annoys me when I would try to get people to listen to Rufus and when they would find out that he was like—they wouldn’t like the songs. That’s bullshit, man. There is a lot of gay people that have completely changed my life—Freddie Mercury is a great example. I’ll go to bat for that guy any day…I’ll get into a fucking bar brawl over it!

JJ Brown had actually expressed concern over this issue when I was speaking out on it during the ‘Misery Loves Comedy’ press interviews. He asked me if I was going to continue to speak on it considering the fact that fans might start thinking that I myself was gay and my response was, “Good! Let them think that. I fucking hope that they do!” I want people to understand that even If I was—there shouldn’t be anything wrong with that! That’s how strongly I feel about it. You go ahead and think I’m gay…does it fucking matter?

Wreck Loose: I’m actually shocked to hear that coming from you, who has a reputation for having “insensitive” lyrics—

Louis Logic: Historically, I have been a pretty crass guy in my music and have made a lot of really, really sexist music that was disgusting…but I thought I was just being funny. Basically, you got to own up to what you have done as an artist. My BMI representative told me one time, “you say some stuff that’s very offensive, but, I like it. You just have to be ready to own up to these lyrics. People are going to challenge you on it. If you back down, bite your tongue, or take it back just because people challenge you—you are going to look like a hypocrite! Be prepared to stand by your words…”

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Wreck Loose: I’m starting to wonder just how many people have challenged you to drinking contests…

Louis Logic: Oh, Jesus…I cannot even being to tell you. For me, the drinking was never about I can out drink you! There was a point in my life where it was a problem and I don’t have anything to prove to you, buddy. I almost got evicted from my apartment because I was drinking so heavily—you think you are cooler than me because you can do more shots without puking? I almost ruined my life! I got nothing to prove to you. At a certain point this stuff came to me with age and I just stopped worrying about what others think about me. It applies to the drinking thing, the sexism, and the physical violence thing that I used to rap about. Now, you’ll see me in interviews talking about how much I HATE physical violence. Its not “man” shit—being a man isn’t being stronger or being able to punch another guy out. I don’t want to impress you with my boxing skills; I want to impress you with my music.

Wreck Loose: I’m down with that philosophy—I’ve never been in a fight my entire life…

Louis Logic: That’s awesome man! You should be super proud of that. I’m one of those idiots who believed in it. I thought it was real. I thought if I wanted to be a rapper and be apart of it I HAD to punch people. I was a terrible fighter…I lost so many fights!!

Wreck Loose: Since I’m a literary guy I want to know what you have been reading lately, and what literary character embodies Louis Logic and why?

Louis Logic: The last read that had an impact on me was Ayn Rand “The Fountainhead” and the last book I recently vanished was Kurt Vonnegut’s “Hocus Pocus.” I’m a big Vonnegut fan.

A literary character that embodies me would probably be a character in a John Irving novel, because they are always filled with these sensitive, floundering men who have a lot of love and passion to give, but they are just so fucking clumsy with how they do it. They always run into an endless stream of trouble within a romantic relationship. They are guys that are filled with promise but have that reverse Forrest Gump type luck that continues to complicate their life.

I mean, that’s why I wrote the ‘Misery Loves Comedy’ album. There has got to be a camera somewhere…watching this and cracking up! Someone has got to be setting up these disasters for me to fall into. But, I love it. I am my own favorite punch line.

Who is Louis Logic? Perhaps one of the greatest underground rappers to ever live? Lenny Kravitz’s stunt double?

Whoever he is, and whatever name he chooses to be called—I hope he continues to make good music. I hope he continues to kiss her stupid.

Soon enough Jones will be “seriusly” Disturbing tha Peace when his debut album, “Life is Serius,” drops late this summer. A renowned battle rapper who is mostly known for his appearances on MTV’s Fight Klub, the SMACK DVD, his 13 consecutive Fight Klub wins (which led to his dethroning of then battle king, Jin), and of course his laid back and comedic demeanor when clutching a microphone or shooting the breeze with an interviewer.

In a monotonous hip hop genre that is screaming for something fresh—Serius Jones offers a new, versatile, and un-expected sound that can please the radio audience as well as break the necks of old school hip hop heads that are still living in 1992.

If you have been sleeping on Serius Jones or had the thought come across your mind that a ‘battle rapper’ can’t make good music—than you ‘seriusly’ need to open up your ears and check out the New Jersey MC that definitely ‘got next.’

HipHopRemix sits down with Serius Jones to talk about his deal with Ludacris’ DTP label, his new album, money, if he has ever used writtens in a battle, and why he isn’t doing the obligatory ‘new artist’ track with Akon. Lets get serius for a minute.

Wreck HHR: From Fight Klub to Disturbing the Peace/Def Jam—how do you feel about the big jump from being in the battle scene to a major? Are you ready?

Serius Jones: (Laughing) I was born ready! So this wasn’t a surprise to me because this was the standard. I needed to be in a situation where I could get my thoughts and my artistry to the masses. It’s only right that I am in a ‘major’ situation that can back me. So, I wasn’t surprised…a part of me was relieved. I quickly learned that having a deal doesn’t mean anything in terms of succeeding—it really means the journey just began.

Wreck HHR: How did you get hooked up with Ludacris? How did the deal come about?

Serius Jones: First of all—DTP got hooked up with ME. They said I was building my name and building my status as a brand. I was buzzing crazy in the streets, I had millions of viewers online with youtube, my MySpace plays were over a million, and I was on T.V. every other day with Fight Klub, that quickly became one of the top shows on the whole MTV network based off my battles. Once they found out that I could actually make crazy songs it got to the point where it only made sense for them to make the move. When it came to what I felt that I needed—it only made sense for me to make that move. So, the rest is history!

Wreck HHR: It’s a common argument that rappers within the battle scene can’t make songs, can’t construct a solid album—how is Serius going to smash that misconception?

Serius Jones: Serius ALREADY smashed that misconception…unless someone is out of the loop and hasn’t heard a Serius Jones song yet. If you still live under a rock and don’t know that Serius Jones is the truth musically…you will. At the end of the day though, I don’t feel that people have done their homework as far as knowing what a true MC is in terms of real hip hop. If there are saying a so called battle rapper can make a song then why is Eminem selling damn near ‘diamond!’

There are a lot of different artists that came from the battle arena, especially if you’re from the east coast where your talent is tested on a battle ground. That’s where you really hone your talent if you’re from the hood. A lot of these rappers aren’t MCs…they’re just rappers. So, they haven’t even had a battle and don’t even understand the art of it. Then they try to talk about it, they try to speak on battle rapping but they don’t even know what a true MC is! Serius Jones is the ultimate MC. I do everything and anything as far as MCing is concerned.

Wreck HHR: What separates you from all the saturated sounds coming out of hip hop today—what do you have that’s fresh?

Serius Jones: Me! (laughing) I’m the freshest thing breathing as far as I’m concerned. In terms of music—my story is more diverse than your average rapper…period! I’ve dealt with so many aspects of life from college to jail, corporate America to the streets—I feel that I’ve been on so many different plains of life itself. I think that’s what gives me a broader scope in music.

Wreck HHR: Murder Mook and a hell of a lot of battle rappers seem to come equipped with writtens—is that something that’s just apart of the battle scene? Is that true that they are coming with writtens? Did you ever come with writtens?

Serius Jones: Of course. For an MC not to write a rhyme is like a painter not using a brush. There is nothing wrong with writing a rap. The only wack thing is when some pretend that they aren’t writing it (laughing) when they really are. Every MC that was actually on the top of their game has written before, but me personally—I CAN freestyle. I don’t expect everyone to freestyle every time. People got it confused and it’s a misconception that if you’re battling someone you are supposed to only be freestyling. It’s like being in a fight and someone says ‘no kicking,’ if you’re fighting…anything goes! If you’re fighting someone and they know karate and whup your ass…how are you going to say afterwards, “no fair…he was doing karate.”

Whatever situation I’m going into I go all out. Whatever I got to do to win I’m doing all of the above. That’s how any real MC and how any real competitor should look at playing any kind of sport as far as I’m concerned.

Wreck HHR: Did you see Jin just got his ass handed to him by Iron Solomon?

Serius Jones: I ain’t seen it but I heard about it. Poor guy…

Wreck HHR: You’re a new artist on the come up…are you going to have that obligatory single with Akon like everybody else?

Serius Jones: (Laughing) You know what’s funny…Akon is actually my dude! I knew Akon before he even blew up like that. What’s funny is I was actually supposed to do a song with Akon but I got the same attitude as you—if something seems so typical and so manufactured to do…I don’t even do it.

Wreck HHR: It’s like it has to happen for new artists…they got to do that song with Akon to get on or something…

Serius Jones: (Laughing) Like its in their contract, right?! I mean me personally…no one is going to expect what the fuck I’m doing. That’s how I like it. Even in battles…the reason I’m a step ahead of everyone is because the angles I attack things from. No one ever expects me to come from that angle. It’s like a punch or any type of attack—if you come straight forward and someone can see you coming, it has a lot less of an impact then if you don’t see it coming…or if you know its coming.

Wreck HHR: Speaking of trends, for people that haven’t had the chance to hear your songs yet, is it going to be about rims, money, and cars on your upcoming album, “Life is Serius,” or is the LP going to have some originality?

Serius Jones: It’s going to have all aspects of life. I’ve had rims, money, and cars…but it’s not about what you say…it’s about how you say it and what your experience in that area actually is. I don’t understand why a lot of artists come out and say the same exact thing the same exact way—getting money, their rims, their jewelry, etc. Me personally…I’m more of a substance type of dude. I like real shit and real life. I like content that will affect my mind and affect the way that I feel throughout my day. If it doesn’t feel relevant to me to what’s going on in my mind and in my life—I can’t ride up in my car listening to it.

I make music that is music to LIVE to…not just to club to or party to.

Wreck HHR: Who produced “Life is Serius” and who appears on the album?

Serius Jones: I don’t have a lot of guest features but I do have a lot of producers. I got a lot of dudes you never heard before, classic producers that you definitely know of—Trackmasters to Kwame, Buckwild to Melay…Melay is a crazy problem. He’s all live organic…drums, bass, horns, and spoken word. It’s going to be crazy…honestly.

I know everyone says that, but my shit is classic. That’s the standard…if it’s not classic, it would be a failure in the eyes of the fans. I’m putting everything that I’ve got in my motherfuckin’ soul in this album to make sure that this lives forever.  

Wreck HHR: The media keeps on blaming Hip Hop for EVERYTHING it seems. Why do you think Hip Hop is such a popular scapegoat? What do you have to say to those that use it as one?

Serius Jones: What I have to say to anyone that blames hip hop first is of course—fuck you! But, in terms of people blaming hip hop this is the same thing that’s been going on since the beginning of time—they have always blamed black people and the black culture for the downfall of society because white American never wants to be wrong. They are allergic to the truth, because the truth hurts. They have attempted to destroy a whole race and a whole lifestyle. If you look at the American lifestyle it’s the furthest from natural lifestyle on the planet. At the end of the day they want you to be a consumer, they want you to believe your only purpose in this life is to contribute to this fucking matrix and make the people who control it richer.

It’s just a media tool and a way to keep the blame off of the people who the blame belongs to. If anything goes wrong—just pull hip hop out of the bag and make them the enemy again. And anyone that believes or goes along with that mentality/thought is either stupid, or just plain racist motherfuckers that already want us to be the bad guys anyway.

Wreck HHR: You went to Florida A&M and then wen’t onto rap. Is it surreal to go from a college student, to the battle scene, straight to Def Jam/DTP? What’s it like to work your way up in this cold ass industry?

Serius Jones: Yo! This shit is a hard grind…trust me. This shit is the grimiest, craziest game that there is to play. It’s worse than the streets. The entertainment game is so slimy and cheap you got have thick skin and really got to be a go getter. You can’t let nothing stand in your way that will stop you. I’ve developed that talent through my life by going through different situations, dramas in the streets, and by winning and overcoming. I always say that winning is a sport in itself—once you learn to win and surround yourself with people that are winners—that’s the setup that you need to get to where you want to be and that’s what I did with DTP/Def Jam and even my entire camp and the people that I have around me.

Coming from where I came from there was only one mindset and only one way to deal with each other, but when I went away to school when I was 17 it just opened up my eyes. Even though I wasn’t taking advantage of school, it opened my eyes to a lot of aspects of life that I never even really thought about. That’s what really made me the better artist that I am today—getting up out of the hood and seeing the better things in life.

Wreck HHR: Could money change Serius…perhaps make him less “serious?”

Serius Jones: (Laughing) Nothing can make Serius less serious…except for Serius. Money shouldn’t change people, it should change what people do, or change how people move, act, or think, but as far as the core of a person’s soul…if money can change that in a person than that person is un-worthy of the blessing of money—and a lot of people are like that. It’s not really the money; it’s the power that comes with the money and what you can do with it. A lot of people say it wouldn’t change them, but it’s a matter of what direction you change in.

Wreck HHR: Life is serious, the current state of hip hop is serious—tell us why your new album “Life is Serius” is good for hip hop and why should all the hip hop heads cop it A.S.A.P.?

Serius Jones: Life is “Serius” is actually bigger than the album…it’s a movement and basically a statement that I’m using to shed light on the fact that life IS serious. Even though we run around partying, spending our money, and trying to enjoy the time we have—it’s also important to us as men and as in people in general to put more into our lives so we can get more out of it.

“Life is Serius” as far as the album is concerned—it’s classic shit, it’s classic hip hop, it’s life, and if you don’t really know why you should buy my album than you really don’t understand hip hop and don’t understand where we are at as far as the game is concerned. Serius Jones is the only thing that is keeping hope alive for the pure hip hop fan that really appreciates classic music. I care enough to put everything I have into this. A lot of people don’t care enough and only do this because they want some money, or are only doing it because they want to be that dude…I’ve always been ‘that dude.’ When I dedicate my life to something and dedicate my life to an actual idea—I’m going to make sure that thing lives forever. So, whether or not you cop my album…soon enough you will know…

Wreck HHR: What’s next for Serius after this album?

Serius Jones: I got movie roles that I’m looking at, I’m producing a T.V. show, I got a clothing line that I’m apart of as far as the creative direction goes, I’m writing a journal type article for another hip hop website every other month where I get to basically zone out and say whatever I want to say, I’m also producing and making beats, and writing some hooks for R&B singers.

Wreck HHR: So, when can we hear Ludacris and Serius on a record?

Serius Jones: (Laughing) You tell me! Luda is my dude but because I’m so focused on Serius Jones I never really stopped to try to make that record happen…but definitely real soon!

Wreck HHR: Give us an outro!

Serius Jones: I just want the fans to know that If they are supporting Serius Jones I appreciate the love a 100% from the heart. This is not a gimmick, this is not your typical rap bafoonery—this is actual real life history being made from the bottom to the top. I’ve grinded from the streets to here and now I’m taking it to the next level…I hope you all are ready for the ride. This is Jersey 100%, LaFayette Ave., Englewood—anybody that understands my struggle will know why life is SERIUS!!!

When did fun become taboo in hip hop? With all the “hard,” mean muggin’ motherfuckers out there a lot of hip hop fans tend to forget the foundation of this movement. Hip Hop was a block party, a street corner night club, two turntables, a microphone, and a Cheshire cat smile that erased the stresses that were peeking over the horizon into the year 1980. Many have forgotten how to have fun…but there is one ‘boss hogg’ that still remembers.

Enter—J-Zone. The eclectic producer, emcee, and DJ who has rocked crowds from NY to Australia, who has worked with Biz Markie to Devin The Dude, and one who has NEVER failed to make a hip hop head laugh with his various aliases and antics. Whether it be Captain Back$lap the Tom Jones of Rap, Chief Chinchilla, Kenny Hoggins, Mr. Don’t Holla, or just plain J-Zone—you can expect genuine entertainment.

With the mundane and faux at the forefront of hip hop and its charts, Zone has always been a cold beer in hell, a breath of fresh 0², and the musical stand up comedian that you can always count on for a laugh.

HipHopRemix.com sits down with J-Zone to talk about his music, why he is stepping away from the mic, production methods, fat girls, horrible jobs, and why Zone wants to knock Paris Hilton the FUCK OUT!

Wreck HHR: So, how are the ‘hoggettes’ treating you these days?

J-Zone: (Laughing) I’m retired, man…all the ‘hoggettes’…I fired them! Ain’t no more hoggettes, man. I had to get them out of my life—they were becoming an ulcer.

Wreck HHR: Did J-Zone settle down?

J-Zone: Yeah, I’m focused on other things now. Keeping up with the ‘hoggettes’ will give you an ulcer…they didn’t have no talent anyway. I couldn’t squeeze a song out of them, so, that was on some ‘menudo’ shit—short lived.

Wreck HHR: (Laughing) Whats new in the world of J-Zone—what kind of projects are you working on?

J-Zone: At the moment I am doing a lot of different things behind the scenes. I stepped away from the emceeing thing and I’m trying to move onto the next chapter of life. I’m still doing production and doing beats for different people. I’m DJing a lot—I have a monthly mix show called ‘Gators and Furs’ that I do for fun and I just put up the first edition last week. Workin on some side projects too, some stuff that's kinda different for me.

I’m also writing for a couple of basketball magazines—Reverse, a French magazine, I do a lot of NBA blogging, and I’m also trying to get a gig covering high school basketball in New York City. I’m also going to be teaching a music course in the fall at a college.

Trying to diversify myself—still do the music thing but stay behind the scenes and focus more on production and DJing…trying to stay out the spotlight. Rapping is a young man’s game, so, I’m trying to stay away from the limelight as far as being an artist.

Wreck HHR: Stepping away from the mic—is that from growing and maturing? Or just getting sick and tired of being an emcee?

J-Zone: It’s a lot of different things, man. First and foremost I’m getting older, so, me as a person, I’m changing and to be the J-Zone character that people expect you to be…and that character is always going to be apart of who I am…but, as you get older you kind of want to try new things. On top of that my career was kind of strange—I came out with a certain sound and had a niche following but then halfway through my career I wanted to try some new things and a lot of fans didn’t like the direction I went in. So, I found a different fan base but never found it all the way.

There was just a lot of things in my career that got pigeonholed and put in a box, so, it became, “J-Zone…what’s up with Lucy Liu?!” From a emcee and production standpoint I just got pigeonholed and wasn’t really able to escape what people really wanted from me and try something new. And on the flip, a lotta people thought I was a one trick pony so it became 'did I change what made me dope to begin with or did I do the same shit over and over?' I couldnt win! The humor also hurt my career as a producer because people saw me as a novelty act even though I worked hard and took my production and work ethic very seriously.

After a while you get really tired of the grind, you know what I’m saying? I only made music to have fun and never really tried to impress anybody, never really cared about selling a whole lot of units, and never was out to make albums to try to please. Music to me was always therapy. I always did it for fun and when it feels like it’s not fun anymore and you are feeling like you are running in quicksand, fuck it. That's what happened at the end of my career when it was like I was enjoying making the records but everything else was a pain in the ass, so, I was like I might as well put all my energy into something else that could have better results.

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Wreck HHR: It seems as if a lot of artists are fading out, retiring, or just overall sick and tired of emceeing and grinding lately…

J-Zone: Yeah, it’s just hard, man. On the indie rap level we ain’t selling Jay-Z units, we ain’t selling Eminem units—its really draining being an artist. When you are a musician and an artist and are doing this for fun and a hobby becomes your living, it’s hard to separate. All my life music has been a hobby, but then when I put out my first record it became my living, then every record you make is yours until it gets released. But after its released, the critics, fans, your peers, everybody judges it and its now their property to percieve it how they want.

So, a lot of times it just takes something out of you. A lot of people expect certain things. Earlier in my career I did 3 albums with me, Hug (Huggy Bear), and Shid (Al-Shid), and afterwards we all wanted to go our separate ways because we all wanted to try new shit and things hit a ceiling with us. We aren’t thinking about what the fans think at this point, we are thinking we are three grown men solo artists who want to try something different and are growing apart, but then the fans look at it like, “Aw, man! This is how we are accustomed to you. You had a formula and it worked and you fucked us! You guys need to make a re-union! Where's the Old Maid Billionaires? Where's the accordion beats?” And we didn’t realize it. We didn’t realize the first impression really gets to people. When they first get familiar you that’s the set picture. Click! And every album I did since then, it's like "well its nothing like the first three, why bother?" Everyone when thinking of Nas, thinks of him sitting on the project bench doing ‘Illmatic,’ but now he’s 30 something years old and he ain’t living in Queensbridge no more, he can’t make another Illmatic, but fans don’t see that.

Biggie, on 'Life After Death' didn’t sound like he did on ‘Ready to Die,’ because he wasn’t living on Fulton Street hustling drugs anymore. Artists, we grow and change as people, but a lot of fans don’t get it and it can get really frustrating when you are trying to create stuff, do it from your heart, and you can’t get your new stuff across—it’s something that always happens and it really wears you out.

Wreck HHR: You make some off the wall beats—is there a certain trick, style, or method you have as far as crate digging or sampling goes?

J-Zone: My thing is to just go against the grain and go with what feels good. In terms of keyboards and sound modules I never went out and bought the same shit that everyone was buying, I would buy the weird shit that no one wants. When it comes to sampling I just use music that no one else uses. Everybody likes soul records on 45 rpm now, its the trend, I don't care for that style though. I just listen for what I like and get stuff that appeals to me, I don't care. I really don’t follow trends and that can help or hurt you. The good thing about having a signature sound is you create your own thing, but the bad thing is people pigeonhole you and you have a tendency to get old quick or if you try new things you've fallen off. My secret is if it sounds funky and sounds good to me then I roll with it. I don’t play no rules. When I’m making music I’m only considering me, that helps and hurts me, but that’s my approach to beats. Even if it sounds too crazy to rap on…I would still rap on that shit.

Wreck HHR: Where did the sample from “Candy Razors” come from?

J-Zone: It’s from an un-released Britney Spears album from 1943.

Wreck HHR: For all the curious producers out there—what equipment do you use?

J-Zone: I use the MPC 2000, TR Rack Module, a Roland 8080—a synthesizer module, an old analog board, a Sony effects processor that I run a lot of my sounds through to give it a weird ass sound, to try to change the chamber of the sound. I got a lot of analog outboard gear, I like to doctor stuff…I’m not really a loop kind of guy…I like to take sounds and chop, manipulate, and play over them—I like to really fuck with a beat. Kind of like that Ultramagnetic thing where Ced Gee would manipulate sounds, change them, and fuck with them. I was never like lets find a loop and its over—I like to sit and the studio and fool around…I get curious.

Wreck HHR: What does your record/vinyl collection look like? Do you have a library like Madlib or Questlove?

J-Zone: It’s small. I got two big bookcases with three shelves full and 7 milk crates…and that’s it! I don’t believe in keeping records just to have them. I was never one of those guys to buy a record just because someone else sampled it. I buy records that I A) Like to hear or B) Like to mess with—I’m not going to have a record just to have it.

I couldn’t have anymore than maybe 2 thousand and I’m constantly downsizing. I’ll go through and just get rid of shit that I don’t want. I really don’t see the value in having tons and tons of records. I like to have records that have a purpose. I’m not one of those cats that have to have it because it’s rare…

Wreck HHR: What is the absolute BEST hip hop beat you have ever heard?

J-Zone: The best PRODUCED hip hop song would probably be something from ‘Fear of a Black Planet’ by Public Enemy because the way they were layering shit. I like the shit that sounds like chaos, I like noise, and dissonance. “Revolutionary Generation” or “Brothers Gonna Work it Out” by PE—the way they manipulated noise broke all the rules in music at the time and wasn’t just a James Brown loop and some drums, they were just building a wall of sound and I always really liked that shit. Most of the shit on ‘Fear of a Black Planet’ was just great. Doing that doesn’t really fly anymore at least in rap…only on experimental shit. Cypress Hill's first album had a lot of my favorite all time beats too.

Bombsquad and 45 King are probably my favorite producers.

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Wreck HHR: 45 King is a wizard. I got to ask…have you ever actually been “Hoggin” before?! (FYI: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hoggin)

J-Zone: (Laughing) NEVER! Nobody believes me when I say it. I think close…I’ve been half hoggin’…never been full hoggin! Like on my song “Lightweight” that was just an exaggeration…the girl was just half hog. I’ve never gone all out boss hog (laughing). I need a lot of Long Island Iced Teas to do that! And I don’t even drink like that anymore, so, I don’t think I’ll be hoggin’ like that in this lifetime…but you can never say never, man…

Wreck HHR: I’m all for fat girls!

J-Zone: Oh, I have nothing against them! Women are beautiful of all shapes and sizes. There are a lot of big girls that are pretty…so, hey…like I said…never say never. A lot of girls are too skinny nowdays anyway. Fuckin’ shriveling up and shit. Dying of anorexia…shit ain’t cool…you need to eat, girl! Eatin salads with nothin on it and you're 97 pounds ain't cool. I need a girl to have at least a lil ass on her!

Wreck HHR: Say a day like in the song No Consequences (http://ohhla.com/anonymous/j_zone/whup_ass/no_con.jzn.txt) really happened—what would be the first thing that you would do?

J-Zone: I don’t even know. I ask that shit to the audience every time I perform the song. I dunno…I’d probably sit home and do nothing like I do everyday (Laughs). I do everything that I want to do, man. I don’t let anyone stop me…if I really want to do something—I’ll do it. Maybe I’ll get a Jeri Curl and not have to worry about my girl getting mad…

Wreck HHR: What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?

J-Zone: Oh God! Saxony Icehouse! They bag ice cubes and shit. I worked there for a month and they had us doing all types of dangerous shit. Our boss was just a fuckin racist…he probably was a fuckin Klan member…he was a DICK! It was me, my friend Petey, some heavy metal dude, and a bunch of Mexicans that were working there. I guess they felt, since they had a mostly minority staff, that they could do some racist push around shit. I needed money bad…it was a summer job in my first year of college. The shit I endured on that job, man…I almost killed a guy one day…went after him and they held me back. It was just a real negative experience and to this day I still have nightmares about that place. I had to actually get counseling once because I had such strong feelings of hate towards this guy and I was having nightmares 2 years later. The shit that went down at that place, man—never work at a icehouse! It was a fucked up job and that guy was an asshole. From that day on I knew I wasn’t going to work for nobody else ever again. That traumatized me from taking orders from people—that was a really fucked up job!

Wreck HHR: I still say telemarketing is the WORST job…

J-Zone: I did that too. I worked at AAA, I was a custodian when I was in high school…I had a lot of little bullshit jobs…worked in a toy store. I had a lot of jobs but NOTHING beat that Icehouse because it was physically and emotionally fucked up.

Wreck HHR: If you had to take one bitch, one record, and one miscellaneous thing to a deserted island to chill with for the rest of your life—what/who would it be?

J-Zone: If I could take one girl I’d take Darlene, Ice-T’s wife on the cover of Power, I’d take Darlene in the 80’s. What a dime she was. The record would be Tim Dog “Penicillin on Wax.” The one misc. thing would be a clean pair of underwear (laughing)—you got to have a clean pair of draws!

Wreck HHR: If you could have one free punch on anyone in the world who would it be?

J-Zone: Paris Hilton. I just want to fight her.

Wreck HHR: So do I! Fucking HATE that girl…

J-Zone: She’s just like a skinny, skanky, nasty bitch and I just want to cock back on her one good time! I can’t even pinpoint what I hate about her…she’s just the kind of bitch you want to knock out.

Wreck HHR: I know how you feel—I went to high school with girls just like her.

J-Zone: She’s just a skank. She would be fun to knockout! I’d wake her up , knock her out again, wake her up…fuck her real good outta spite…kill her…fuck it.

Wreck HHR: If you were elected President of the United States what would be your first order of business?

J-Zone: I’d make all these kids stop wearing their grandmother’s earrings! I see boys that are 15, 16, 17 years old and they got tight ass pants, big long shirts, and these big ass earrings. Men wear studs and hoops which is fine, but these dudes now wear big girly earrings and try to act mad thug—that shit is just backwards to me. That’s like emo-thug to me. I know we looked fucked up as kids too with our fashion but these guys are wearing HUUUUGE silver dollar earrings in both ears and just look ridiculous.

If I was President I would be like you got to take care of that, man…you aren’t supposed to look like a woman.

Wreck HHR: The First J-Zone Amendment…Don’t wear Grandma’s earrings!

J-Zone: Yea…there’s nothing wrong with wearing earrings. You can go look at my Myspace page and look at my old pictures and can tell I was a funky, poorly dressed teen, but we never wore woman’s clothes. I’m waiting for men to start wearing dresses but run around acting HARD.

{mospagebreak}

Wreck HHR: (Laughing) Al Sharpton has recently been protesting for the censorship of hip hop lyrics—what would you say to him if he came knocking at your door?

J-Zone: I would say go out and fight some of the real problems going on. Why at my local High School they won’t let anybody in wearing red because of the gang problems that our out of control. The school is closing for good in 2 weeks. The music can definitely have an effect on the kids but at the end of the day I grew up listening to the NWA, Eazy-E, and Too Short. I had a father to show me right and wrong and entertainment versus reality though, which is where the real problem is. Parenting.

Instead of censoring, Sharpton needs to come down and to these schools and speak to these kids. Banning CDs won’t eliminate the problem, it'll make the music more appealing if anything. But going to the kids and speaking about it may help. Instead of rolling over somebody’s CD…call him up and tell the artist to go into one of these high schools and tell the kids that killing each other over a color ain’t cool.

I feel like Al Sharpton has done a lot of great things but he has also picked a lot of trivial battles. Him and Jesse Jackson should come into the community and put more pressure on these big platinum rappers to come back into the hood to talk to these kids. Rolling over these tapes isn’t going to do shit…that’s too easy of a scapegoat and that is foolish of him to do that. Reverend Calvin Butts did the same thing in 1993 and that didn’t stop anything, so, he should know by now that censoring hip hop and banishing tapes ain’t going to do no good. Get into the community and talk to these knucklehead kids.

Wreck HHR: What are your thoughts on hip hop right now?

J-Zone: It is what it is. The market is over saturated with crap, its all about movements, big names, and who endorses you, it’s not about fun. Everybody is divided, beefin about NY vs. the West vs. the South. That's just stupid. De La Soul, NWA, LL and Slick Rick all toured together back in the day, think about that. Intelligent Hoodlum and Too $hort. Totally different styles, but it was all music and all that really mattered was good or bad. I feel as if the industry needs to totally blow up and fall apart just to create something better. I feel if no one is making money off of music it’s going to weed out the motherfuckers that aren’t doing it for fun and all you are going to have left is people who are doing it because they enjoy it.

I make my living off of music and it hurts. We are all losing money and no one is getting paid. All music is just so accessible with the technology and the internet and it has leveled the playing field. Someone can wake up, make an album, and put it on the internet. Then, you are judged by how many hits you get on your Myspace page. So, it completely levels the playing field. It’s not like back in the day where if I wanted LL Cool J on my record I would have to work, and work, and work, and work to get a name, a budget, etc. It's not really about catalog and earning your way up anymore. Everybody is equal at this point and everyone wants to over-saturate the market. They want to drop ten albums and ten mixtapes…

And you can’t tell me that all of these artists are doing it for the love…some are doing it because it is easy. There is no filtering of the market…everything is put out dumped into a box that we are all in, squirming to find an indentity. There is still positive things happening today, there is still good music coming out, I embrace the new technology myself. I'm not being negative or complaining, but as a whole the industry is in a bad spot. I think it has to self destruct and start over. We got to get it to where having an album is a PRIVELEGE…where making an album means something.

Wreck HHR: I just think its insane that people are getting signed off of Youtube right now. Justin Timberlake signed a little girl straight off of Youtube recently…that is insane to me!

J-Zone: Yea! Like, back in the 90’s you’d have to put out an independent record like Cash Money, E-40, Too Short, and Ludacris. Then these dudes would take over an entire region and then the majors would pick them up and that’s what did it. Now, it’s a single game. Like, Mims ‘This Is Why I’m Hot,’ no one pays attention to the albums…people are giving out singles deals now.

It’s about hits on your myspace and youtube. It’s not about how great of an album dude made or your catalog. Being an old school dude like me it threw me off at first and now I’m realizing it’s just a new game, a new era, and you can do two things—you can complain about it or you can try to find your calling and swim.

Wreck HHR: Spurs or Cavs?

J-Zone: Unfortunately, Spurs.

Wreck HHR: You damn right!!

J-Zone: I want the Cavs…but the Spurs are too fundamental and they execute too well.

Wreck HHR: I like their (Spurs) hidden dirtyness…

J-Zone: There like…real conservative…but REAL dirty.

Wreck HHR: They remind me of a team full of Jeff Hornaceks…

J-Zone: They got the old school values but will go out and throw elbows. Manu Ginobli is a flopper though and I can’t STAND that guy!

Wreck HHR: C’mon! You know you loved Vlade Divac back in the day…he was a genius!!

J-Zone: Oh god…flop king. I like Finley and Horry though, so, worst comes to worst my man Finley gets a ring because he deserves it.

Want to know more about J-Zone?!

http://www.myspace.com/jzoneoldmaid

and

http://www.zonesite.net