Itch FM has a nice chat with DJ MK about going to dodgy estates and how he got started in the music scene.
Interviews
Truth be told, if it’s Latino hip-hop then well, I guess you’ve sold me already. Aside from that obvious bias, we’re also big fans of Mic K-llejero and BigFingz TV, so that works nicely too. Big Dutty Deeze sits down with the man, and chops it up with him.
My Top 10 Battle Rappers by Innuendo. Rapgladiators.com caught up with Liverpool battle rapper and emcee Innuendo as he compiles a chart of his top 10 battle rappers and explains why he chose them specifically.
Backstage at Paid Dues hardknock.tv caught up with Immortal Technique. In this interview Immortal talks to Nick Huff Barili about early Hip Hop memories, being locked up in prison, Monsanto lobbying Obama, interactions with fans on twitter and the work he is doing with The Green Light Project. Oh yeah and his new album Middle Passage is coming!
“That’s a disgrace. It should be a human rights abuse,” said Technique when asked about the Act. “It should be banned. They really want to control the food industry in general. And I think what’s disgusting about them is that — Listen, we know Monsanto and their parent companies have given the Obama administration money.” Immortal Tech on the Monsanto Protection Act.
Immortal Technique further spoke on the Obama administration and revealed that the people should not be so easily swayed due to what President Obama symbolizes.
“I understand and I know the type of commitment that certain individuals have to the Obama administration. They think that under a Republican administration they would have never gotten any acknowledgement on gay rights,” Technique explained. “I know that there are people that are 40, 50, 60, and they black and they grew up in a completely different America. They couldn’t even picture a black president… We live in a slightly different America in a lot of places, but I know that people support him because he symbolizes that for them. But I remind people that the only reason he signed that Monsanto shit is not out of the kindness of his heart, but because they lobbied him and gave him money…And that takes away from the credibility of this country and that’s damaging to America.”
Want more Immortal??? Make sure you check out our previous conversations with him at www.hardknock.tv
Mobb Deep join forces to speak about their break-up, which Havoc says was “bullsh*t,” but in the end they both agree that “Mobb Deep is forever.” The duo also share their thoughts on the relevance of record labels, West Coast artists they admire, and the importance of the freestyle.
Exclusive in-depth interview with De La Soul at Paid Dues. Part 3 of hardknock.tv’s interview with De La starts with Pos sharing that he first wanted to be a DJ before an MC because back then the DJ was the life of the party and the MC was just doing echoes. As the interview goes on, Dave says that he enjoys some Gangsta Rap like NWA but that when Gangsta Rap started talking over Hip Hop culture De La never felt pressured to follow in the footsteps.
Pos continued saying that De La always fit in to a few different facets of the culture and that they could tour with LL Cool J and RunDMC and then go do a Fine Young Cannibals tour. Dave goes on to say that some of their most memorable song experiences were corroborating with different artists from the Beastie Boys, The Gorillaz, Chaka Khan to Teenage Fan Club to so many others.
Before they let De La go they asked them that having seen what Tribe Called Quest went through with their documentary, would De La be open to doing a documentary themselves. You are going to have to watch the interview to hear what they had to say on this topic!
Here You can check out part 1 and Part2 of hardknock.tv interview with De La Soul
Backstage at Paid Dues hardknock.tv caught up with two leaders of the independent movement Immortal Technique and Tech N9ne. In this interview the two Techs talk about what it means to be independent, how technology has helped the movement and the need to improve Black and Brown relations in LA.
Stay tuned on Thursday for Nick Huff Barili’s sit down conversation with Immortal Technique exclusively at www.hardknock.tv
Last night, after a hard day of saving the world in our respect parts of the globe, Davie West, Quebec local and I sat down to a nice chat over the wonders of Skype (all interviews should be conducted over Skype). He was very open and honest about his music, his life and his future plans. He literally only decided to pursue rapping as a career in the last 3 years, so it was interesting to hear a relatively new perspective. Over here at HHLAT we always admire hard work, hustle and a desire to follow the carer path you want, not a civilian ending, and Davie is a perfect example of that. If you’re not aware of him then I suggest you read this, and have a listen for yourself. For fans of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Jae Apollo and Lupe Fiasco.
Words: -Aimee
1) Standard question that I always have to ask, because everyone always wants to know. Who are you?
I’m a 21-year-old poet/rapper from Quebec City, Canada.
2) To someone that’s not aware of your music, how would you describe yourself and your sound?
Just a young guy trying to make the most of life. Doing my best to learn and evolve as a person every day. I love meeting new people… I actually speak to random people in the street all the time haha. Very outgoing… Ambitious!
It depends. I say the following words in every interview: I never sit down and think about what song I’m going to write. I’m not into coming up with a jam for people who are into specific genres/vibes. When I feel the need to write I do so and what’s supposed to come out does. I’ve written party songs, serious songs with meaning, sad songs… It depends!
3) That’s why I like your music, because it varies. I mean in ‘Much Needed Conversation’ the vibe is pretty heavy, then ‘Last Night’s a straight party song.
Thank you. I actually get pretty emotional when I perform ‘Much Needed Conversation’, live. Brings back not so good memories.
4) In-keeping with the lyric theme of questions, what are your influences when writing?
Just how I’m feeling at any given point in time. Could be absolutely anything. If we’re talking hip-hop artists theres Eminem, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Biggie…. I also like slower stuff like City & Colour, Bon Iver, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Deathcab For Cutie. I like a few bands. I’m really down with acoustic as well. Nico Marchese, a guy from NY, produced a lot for me!
5) Going to back to what you said earlier, it’s interesting that you call yourself a poet as well as a rapper. I’m always intrigued when MCs describe themselves as poets; is poetry something you have a strong background in, or do you find it’s simply synonymous with rapping?
Well, every song I release is a poem at first. I tend to write stuff down and then adapt my art to a beat. Also, I’ve always enjoyed playing with words…That’s pretty much what got me into rapping. I think rap/hip-hop is poetry at first.
I didn’t take it seriously at first, but I’ve always enjoyed making words rhyme and playing with them.
6) So what got you into hip-hop in the first place?
My life. It just happened out of the blue. I woke up one morning and decided to hop on a free beat site and start using my poems as songs. I had never thought of expressing myself in such a way. It started off as a hobby and then grew into a passion. I’ve been listening to hip-hop forever! Always been a big fan of the music and culture. Had never tried making music until like 2-3 years ago though!
7) Before 2/3 years ago you had another life career intended?
Yeah! I used to play high-level basketball for a long while which took up a lot of my time. Before I dropped out to pursue this music dream, I was to enter a ”social work” program. That’s still what I want to do if my music doesn’t work out.
8) Don’t take this the wrong way, but a few of your tracks are a bit more poppy, was this intentional or was it simply the way things come out?
I always try to create a hook or choose a sample that will stick on the listeners head. If it came out poppy, all the better haha.
9) Although I gotta be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of the bit about hoes in ‘Chillin’. Are you off the mystoginist lines now then I hope?
Yah! I’ve been with a girl for nearly two years (The song ”My New Drug” is for her). I wrote that ‘Chillin’ a couple years ago when I was single, and was on an alcohol diet.
10) So what are your plans for the next couple years then?
I’m working on my new project right now. Gonna be releasing that probably next fall. Just gonna be releasing a lot of music, and try to spread my stuff as much as possible. That’s where travelling comes in. I actually went to LA for a month in January. I plan on hitting places ”close” to home, like Toronto, Boston, New York often for promo… and my next big trip will be next January. Gonna be hitting up London and Paris! Can’t wait.
My new project is a big mix of stories/experiences/emotions. My man Nico Marchese (@NicoMarchese) is going to be producing most of it. I already have like 5 songs written.
11) Last words?
I’d like to thank you guys for taking the time to interview me. I’d also like to thank the people who stay bumping my music and believe in me. Can’t wait to share this new music with you guys. Second single off my new project dropping soon. It’s called ”Mum”.
Legendary rapper B-Real explains what Snoop Dogg and Suge Knight dropping their long-standing beef means to West Coast hip-hop, and the volumes it speaks overall. B-Real also speaks about his relationship with Tupac, and how things changed when he signed to Death Row and started building his legacy.
Here is the second part of the De La Soul interview with Hard Knock TV we posted last week (View pt1 here). Part 2 starts with De La sharing their thoughts on what has kept them together as a group after all these years.
As the conversation progress De La speaks on the new generation of MC’s. Pos points out that although he likes certain songs from Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Joey Badass, etc and he appreciates bits and pieces from them but he doesn’t think that there is one album that is setting the bar. Maseo points out that Hip Hop just turned 39 years old. When it first started most people outside the culture thought it was a fad and wouldn’t be around for too long. “We are in our episode of the 80’s with disco and r&b…but we are coming out of that.” “It became big business.” Dave adds that its about having a balance. We need more platforms like Paid Dues that allow artists like Jean Grae, Tech Nine, Scarface, etc a chance to be seen more than just whats on MTV, Billboard Charts or who is number one on Itunes. “Never forget that there is another side to what is going on than up there on the charts.”
hiphoplifeandtimes 