MVRemix: How long have you actually been rapping? How did you get started?

Rockie Fresh: I’ve been rapping since I was in high school. I used to just kick freestyles for people and with friends, and it grew on me and eventually I decided to take it seriously and start recording.

MVRemix: In 2009, you dropped Rockie’s Modern Life. What do you think is different about you and your sound on The Otherside?

Rockie Fresh: I’d say the main difference is that The Otherside was a much more mature effort. With Rockie’s Modern Life, I went into the project wanting to give people something fun. But with The Otherside, my approach was a bit different. I’d say I grew tremendously from RML to The Otherside, and The Otherside is a bit more universal both conceptually and sound-wise.

MVRemix: You were just at SXSW in March. Was this your first big festival? Tell me about what that was like.

Rockie Fresh: SXSW is great. I actually was there the past two years, performing at different hip-hop blog and brand sponsored showcases. I’d say though that my first real big festival experience was at Bamboozle this year. That was what really made me believe that I could take everything to another level. When you perform in front of thousands of people that truly love your music, there’s nothing better.

MVRemix: What’s a consistent theme or message in your songs?

Rockie Fresh: I think the message is generally positive. I’m not going to say I don’t rap about weed, women, and other things like most rappers, but the way that I approach the issues is different than most. It’s more reflective. Every song though has a different message, and many are up for interpretation.

MVRemix: Describe your very first experience rapping in front of someone.

Rockie Fresh: I’d say my first performance was the most notable in terms of rapping in front of people. I had never taken to a stage before to perform, and it was definitely nerve-racking, however, when 500 people showed up to see it, my confidence level skyrocketed. I definitely would say I’ve grown a great deal as a performer since then.

MVRemix: You’ve said that you can be found listening to Paramore and Fall Out Boy. What kind of inspiration do you draw upon from alternative or rock groups? Do you think they influence your music?

Rockie Fresh: Everything from content matter to the sound of the songs. You’ll notice on “Otherside” that there is a lot of alternative rock influence, be it from the samples used or the instruments played on certain records. “The Worth” featuring Mike Golden definitely has that alternative vibe, as do a ton of other records. I actually just did a few new records with Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy and the Madden brothers from Good Charlotte, and this really let me take that alternative vibe to another level and was a dream come true.

MVRemix: I think every region has its different sound when it comes to rap—the Bay Area’s got hyphy music, New York’s rap is tough, political. You’re from Chicago, also home to big rap names Kanye and Twista. How would you characterize Chicago rap, or Midwest rap in general?

Rockie Fresh: Chicago rap has a lot of angst, and a lot of struggle. There may not be one particular sound, but I think we all share a similar perspective as Chicago artists . The people’s attitudes in our city definitely influence the music. It’s a mindset I’d say, being a Chicago rapper. I’d like to say I have some of those qualities, but am also enitrely my own person with my own style.

MVRemix: Which rapper or rappers do you think have influenced your rap message and your rapping style the most?

Rockie Fresh: I’d say Kanye has always been an inspiration, as has Jay-Z. These might be typical, but I’ve also been influenced by artists outside of rap like John Mayer as well.

MVRemix: Tell me about your verse writing process. Do you sit down to write, or write as you go along?

Rockie Fresh: I typically spend a lot of time with an instrumental, writing at random times when I get inspiration. I also often work with my producers to construct instrumentals from scratch for a specific song or concept that I have in mind.

MVRemix: Tell me about the name Rockie Fresh.

Rockie Fresh: Well, Rockie actually has a few different origins, and I’ll leave those up to people to figure out for themselves. If I had to explain it’s origin completely, I think it’d lose a bit of its charm. It just was a name more so given to me by the people around me, who started calling me that.

MVRemix: You’ve been compared to Drake, Wiz Khalifa. How do you plan to differentiate yourself on a competitive platform where mixtapes are a dime a dozen?

Rockie Fresh: I want to make it clear that although some inspirations come from certain artists, it doesn’t mean you are JUST like them. I plan on separating myself by taking a different approach and perspective. I don’t do this to intentionally be different than everyone else, I do it to make music that people will like. I think I am already my own artist, and will continue to grow as that.

MVRemix: You grew up in the 90s, presumably watching Nickelodeon if the title of your last mixtape is any indication. What’s the deeper inspiration behind the title “Rockie’s Modern Life”?

Rockie Fresh: It was really a play on words that stemmed from the cartoon show name, and became something else. As I made the project, I realized I was crafting my own modern version of what hip-hop meant to me growing up. It was like I was taking my life, and applying it to hip-hop.

MVRemix: Any embarrassing moments while performing?

Rockie Fresh: Definitely. Once I had a skipping DJ track, so the song was skipping behind my vocals and I had to keep up with it. It was not a good look, but I managed and just ended up cutting the track and rapping the rest acapella.

MVRemix: What’s up next for you?

Rockie Fresh: I’m headed out on the road this Fall, details coming soon, re-releasing “The Otherside” on July 27th with a bunch of new material and remixes, and recording a brand new project due out in October. Keep up to date at www.rockiefresh.com or twitter.com/rockiefresh

Jasiri X is a jack of all trades; an MC, Activist and Entrepreneur, Jasiri uses his gifts to follow in the footsteps of other groundbreaking, socially-conscious artists such as, Public Enemy, KRS-ONE and Tom Morello. Where other artists proclaim their status as a Hip-Hop mogul, Jasiri dedicates his time to bringing awareness to social, and political issues. Check out, “What if the Tea Party was Black,” and you’ll understand why Jasiri is a force to be reckoned with. MVRemix had the opportunity to talk with Jasiri about what he does, influences, working with artists that share his same passion and fervor for informing the people and future plans.

MVRemix: You are an MC, activist and entrepreneur. How did you become what you are today?

Jasiri X: Reading [chuckles], also I was raised in a household that was very conscious. At a certain point in my life helping my community became more important to me than Hip-Hop, even though I love it. To be able to do both simultaneously has been a blessing.

MVRemix: Your songs always carry a message, and due to the responses you get, you obviously strike a nerve. Is that the intended goal, or are there other things you try to get when you release a new song?

Jasiri X: I want to strike a nerve, but also hopefully create dialogue. I believe the messages I carry are true, and if we can talk about them we can begin to see things eye to eye.

MVRemix: It is great to see you use hip hop in such a positive way, that really has not been seen since the days of Public Enemy. What influenced you to take this approach?

Jasiri X: Public Enemy [laughs], also X-Clan, KRS-ONE, Bob Marley, Nas and Wu Tang.

MVRemix: How was it working with X-Clan’s Paradise the Arkitech and NYOIL when you did “Enough Is Enough?”

Jasiri X: Paradise is like my mentor/brother; I don’t do anything without first having at least a conversation with him. It’s been a blessing to work with someone who has produced classic Hip-Hop albums. NYOIL showed me the power of videos in getting your message across, and he taught me about the video side, and even recommended the program I use to edit. He also connected me to Rel!g!on and Wandering Worx which is my current label, so he deserves a lot of credit in my development.

MVRemix: Your videos have contributed to not only raising awareness about who you are, but raising awareness of issues that are going on in the U.S. How has the reception been from both supporters, and opposers?

Jasiri X: People usually either love it or hate it, especially in the cyber world, but in person I get a great deal of respect from supporters and opposers.

MVRemix: You shot “American Workers vs. Multi-Billionaires” in Madison, Wisconsin, during the people’s takeover of the statehouse. It reminded me a little bit of Rage Against the Machine’s video for “Sleep Now in the Fire.” How was the experience, and hearing the opinions of the people there?

Jasiri X: It was an incredible experience! Seeing all those people in the statehouse gave me goosebumps, and really made me understand the power we have when we unify. The people were extremely nice and respectful, and very educated about the issues.

MVRemix: Speaking of Rage Against the Machine, you performed “American Workers vs. Multi-Billionaires” with Tom Morello, in Los Angeles for the Our Communities, Our Jobs Rally. How was it working with Morello, and do you have any plans on collaborating with him on anything else?

Jasiri X: He did one of the most incredible shows I’ve ever seen, and he was one of the most down to earth people I’ve ever met. I actually just met someone who works closely with him, so hopefully a collab is in the very near future.

MVRemix: You performed and presented at the Netroots Nation, which is a really cool conference featuring people such as, Dan Choi, Biko Baker and other important individuals. How was it performing in front of all of these political activists, and how did your presentation go?

Jasiri X: I got a great reception at Netroots. I don’t think a lot of people knew how powerful a tool Hip-Hop can be, especially politically, when framing our issues. I got recognized a lot too because of, “What if the Tea Party was Black?” which was kinda surreal.

MVRemix: You’re gearing up for a second album, you’re continuing work on your successful series, “This Week With Jasiri X” and you recently headlined a fundraiser for Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha. What inspires you/ pushes you to continue doing all of this?

Jasiri X: Well it’s my job now [laughs]; this is how I make a living so the more I do, the more progress I make, but I also love using my gifts to help others. There is no better feeling in the world.

MVRemix: You are all about change, and supporting problems that need immediate solutions. What would you say to those who also want to make a change, and want to help out?

Jasiri X: Keep pushing and working towards real change; we’re in the late innings and we’re winning so stay focused.

Don’t forget to check out the new video by Jasiri X – Jordan Miles

Jasiri X tells the story of Jordan Miles, the 18 year old honor student who was brutally beaten by 3 undercover Pittsburgh Police officers while walking to his grandmother’s house. “Jordan Miles” was mixed by Diezel and directed by Paradise Gray.

Call Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala at 412.350.4400 and demand he file charges against the 3 police officers who brutally beat Jordan Miles

To say that Albert Shepard, better known as Blueprint, is just a rapper, would be an understatement. His music pushes boundaries, combining influences and sounds that have recently gained acceptance in the realm of hip-hop.

Founder of Weightless Recordings, and a part of Rhymesayers Entertainment all-star roster, Blueprint has paid his dues to get to where he is now. This road has not been easy though; battling with sobriety, and the desire to challenge the “conventions of what hip-hop is,” as Blueprint puts it, led to a five-year hiatus, where Blueprint developed a new aesthetic on creating music. The end result: Adventures in Counter-Culture, an innovative, unconventional approach.

A personal and artistic transformation, Adventures in Counter-Culture showcases Blueprint’s abilities to weave together synths and drum hits, while using intellectual and progressive lyrics. MVRemix talked with Blueprint about this change, support from Rhymesayers, sampling, touring and the newfound electronic R&B sound that Blueprint had crafted way before Kid Cudi or Drake were around.

MVRemix: Adventures in Counter-Culture was not only a musical journey for you, but it led to you improving your life in various ways. How did the process of making this album help shape you into a better person, and a better musician?

Blueprint: Well, when I first started working on the album I really had no idea about the time and scope of what I was trying to do. I understood that I was going to be bringing together a bunch of different genres of music, but I was really unaware of how difficult of a task that would be. So as I got deeper and deeper into the process it started to hit me–that there was no way I was going to finish it and make it the album it needed to be unless I stopped doing a lot of things I was doing.

So, socially having something that ambitious kind of forced me to take a step back from a lot of the social things I was a part of, and since most of it wasn’t good for me anyways, it made perfect sense. Things I was doing like drinking almost every night, and staying out until 4-5 am–that had to stop. But, the hardest part of quitting that lifestyle isn’t really quitting itself, it’s finding meaningful things to do with your time, so you wont go back to doing it all over again. So, I started working out and riding my bike more.  That led me to eating better because I wasn’t going out every night. Because I wasn’t going out every night I had time to start reading again, so I got a library card and read tons of books. All those changes allowed me to put 100% into music again, and not get caught up in the distractions–but they also made me a better person.

MVRemix: When I reviewed your album, I noticed there were certain sounds that definitely reminded me of Kid Cudi, Drake and the more synthy, electronic R&B sound you hear in some of the big hip-hop artists nowadays. You had developed this sound way before any of these artists were even known. Were you skeptical at first of how the sound would be received/ were you reassured when artists such as Kid Cudi, Drake, and even Kanye, became popular?

Blueprint: When I first started Adventures it was 2006, it was before Cudi and Drake really existed, and before Kanye had put out 808′s and Heartbreaks, so at that time there was literally nobody doing that and no frame of reference for what I was doing.  I could see where the music needed to go, but it was difficult to get people around me to really understand it because there was nobody doing it back then. Plus, this was right after I had put out the 1988 album and the Soul Position album Things Go Better with RJ and Al, so it was a very dramatic musical change for some people.  I believed in what I was doing but there were definitely times where I wasn’t sure it was going to work out, so it helped a lot that Cudi, Drake, and Kanye did what they did because they definitely made it easier for me.  For the first time, where I was going actually made sense to some people who didn’t get it before because even though Kanye, Drake, and Cudi aren’t doing what I’m doing, they are singing and rapping, and that’s a necessary frame-of-reference for some people to understand what I was doing.

MVRemix: Your philosophy now seems to be, more instrumentation and less sampling, which can definitely be seen on your latest album. Did this mainly develop through wanting to just go against what you were comfortable with doing, or were there artists who also influenced you to move in that direction?

Blueprint: I think it developed mostly because everybody around me was getting sued for samples, and I realized that if I didn’t have any other way of making a good beat then I would probably be next! I started working on doing beats without samples around 2005, actually right after the 1988 album came out, just experimenting and wanting to do something different, but also knowing that my future as a producer could be dependent upon my ability to adapt, and have more than one style of production.

MVRemix: I read in another interview that you had been getting into Kraftwerk, which is a great band. Did their electronic sound have any influence on the songs you wrote?

Blueprint: I don’t think Kraftwerk influenced any specific songs on Adventures in Counter-Culture, but they definitely influence and inspire my instrumental work. They were the first group that made me realize I needed to study to really gain an appreciation, and understanding of electronic music. A lot of people think of electronic music as just dance music, but the history of it has always been a lot more than that.

MVRemix: After a five year hiatus, you came back stronger than ever. Was Rhymesayers supportive of your new sound?

Blueprint: From the beginning they were very supportive. They never told me to go back to my old style, or to do something that would be easier to make or market. They only wanted me to take the music as far as I possibly could.

MVRemix: There seems to be a gap in hip hop where some artists still rely on samples, while others create their own beats/ melodies. You have The Roots, N.E.R.D. and artists on Rhymesayers, including yourself, who seem to want to have their own sound, without relying heavily on sampling. Do you think sampling stifles an artist, or can it help them in a certain way?

Blueprint: There are certain artists who I think just need to have samples in the beats. Cats like Ghostface, MF Doom and the Wu-Tang–cats like that. I think those guys are stifled by not being able to sample as much. But, there’s also a group of people who can create something really unique without it. I think prior to Adventures in Counter-Culture, I was headed down the path of being completely reliant on samples, which is really hard to reverse once you hit a certain point. So, my goal as a producer was to be good at both styles, so that I didn’t have to rely completely on sampling because the sampling laws are getting ridiculous, and artists are getting sued right and left. I’m not at the point where I can afford to pay a lawsuit, so I’ve gotta be careful. Although I can’t really sample like I used to, I still make beats using samples all the time, so I’m still into that style–I just cant do it for myself like I used to.

MVRemix: How has the fan reception been? When I last saw you perform in Austin, everyone was digging it, and I definitely enjoyed your Keytar skills.

Blueprint: So far the reception has been great. Austin was a really good night, and one of the best nights of “The Family Sign Tour.” I’m really happy with how people have responded to the album so far.

MVRemix: Besides working with Rhymesayers, you also have your own label, Weightless Recordings. Are there any new projects going on with either Rhymesayers/ Weightless?

Blueprint: Because of the time I’ve had to dedicate to the new album, I actually haven’t had any time to spend on Weightless this year. The next release should be an instrumental album by producer Latimore Platz, but we’re not sure when that’s going to drop since it’s not completely done yet. Maybe after that we might do another Greenhouse EP and album with Illogic.

MVRemix: Where do you want to see yourself in not just hip-hop, but in music as a whole as you continue to grow as a musician?

Blueprint: As a musician, my goal is to just keep pushing as far as possible, and challenging the conventions of what hip-hop is, and to keep making better and better music.

On album and live, Blueprint delivers a performance that is raw and powerful. One can only imagine the creative thoughts floating in Blueprint’s mind, and if he remains on the road he is on now, hip-hop will continue to change, widening the spectrum, and reinventing a realm that we all have become complacent with. Different, confident and innovative, Blueprint is the breath of fresh air hip-hop needs, and trust me, you will be thankful for it.

He’s currently on the road performing for fans and promoting his forthcoming album “6′s and 7′s” which features the Deftones, Mint Condition and Lil’ Wayne amongst others.

Tech N9ne took some time out of his day while in Vancouver to sit and talk with MVRemix for a while.

MVRemix: What are your thoughts when coming to Vancouver?

Tech N9ne: Vancouver means a whole lot of fans. It means a lot of family that I’ve made in the past times that I’ve been here, and it means a wild, wild, crazy show. That’s why I’m getting so much love, because everybody’s so wild in Vancouver. I can’t wait. I’ve been having people calling me since the tour started like, “You got us on the list?” “You got us on the list?” Yes I do. It’s gonna be massive, they said The Vogue is pretty big and I’m thinking we might fill it up man, we’ll see.

MVRemix: You had two dates in Victoria, how did that go?

Tech N9ne: That’s why my voice sounds like this (a little croaky) because you really can’t do two Tech N9ne shows in one day because it’s so loud and boisterous, but we did it in Victoria. Oh my god, it was so wonderful. The first show was all the young kids, I mean there was 3 year olds man, with Tech N9ne shirts on that they made! I felt like they all came to see the Muppets making it happen, it was so crazy how young they were. The first show was at five o’clock with all the youngsters. The second show was 19 and over, and they were both equally bananas.

MVRemix: Who has served as an influence to your live shows? Which artists have influenced the way you perform?

Tech N9ne: Influenced? Public Enemy, NWA, KRS One, Run DMC, LL Cool J. You know, Eric B & Rakim. The old school taught me how to do a show. Heavy D taught me how to command a crowd and crowd participation; I paid attention. I’ve been in the crowd with some of these guys on stage, all nice and smooth. I was lucky enough to see them then and all those shows. Even Ice-T, he knew how to do a show when he came to town. The old school is what taught me.

MVRemix: Are there any Kansas artists that shaped the way you perform live?

Tech N9ne: Yeah, there’s one guy. His name is Jay Lee. No, there were two guys, Jay Lee and DJ Cutfast. They were in a group with a guy named DJ Icy Rock, who did a lot of music for me in the past. They were in a crew called Straight Funk. Jay Lee taught me how to look at people in the eyes when I rapped, ’cause before I couldn’t do it, I was pretty shy. Like Jim Morrison (of the Doors) I wanted to turn my back to the crowd. But Jay Lee made it to where I looked at people, eye contact, let them know you’re there. DJ Cutfast taught me how to be energetic on stage and play with the crowd, that same clique taught me a lot back then.

MVRemix: How long did the album “6′s and 7′s” take to record?

Tech N9ne: I have no idea. [chuckles] I know that’s a weird answer but I actually have no idea of an actual timeframe because I get the beats and I start to write my life… Probably a month and a half. Maybe. I don’t know.

MVRemix: How many songs would you say were left off of the album?

Tech N9ne: Left off of the album? None. I chose 31 beats, there’s 24 selections on the album. Then Best Buy has three, iTunes has four… I did a lot of music for this album. I didn’t leave nothin’ off. I still have a couple more when I get home that I have to record for iTunes. If I’m not mistaken, I have six more in the batch that didn’t get touched. They have ideas and everything and I cannot use them for the next album ’cause my taste will be different. So I can’t wait to record the rest of them.

MVRemix: When you first started Strange Music, did you have it with the idea that you wanted the company to couple with one of the majors? Or was it always that you wanted Strange Music to be independently done?

Tech N9ne: Well I’ve been with the majors first before I had my independent label. I’ve been with Quest/Warner with Quincy Jones, I’ve been with Perspective Records with Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis, I’ve been on Jcor/Interscope – I’ve done all that and it didn’t work. As soon as I started doing it independently it started working, why would I even want them anymore? We are the major label now.

MVRemix: With regards to alcohol, I saw you talking a lot about KCT – is that your favourite drink, or do you have another drink of preference?

Tech N9ne: That’s my drink of choice right now, KCT, Hennessy spiked Lemon. I also have a drink called Cariboo Lou which is really humungous amongst the college crowd and stuff like that. It’s [Bacardi] 151, Malibu rum and pineapple juice and yeah, those are my two leisure drinks.

MVRemix: How did you initially hook up with Lil’ Wayne?

Tech N9ne: Wayne did an interview from inside Rikers Island with Funkmaster Flex. Flex asked him who he’d like to work with, who would be on his wish list and he said Andre 3000 of OutKast and Tech N9ne. I was like, “Wow”, I had no idea. Just shortly after that I visited him in Rikers Island for 3 hours. We talked and we kicked it. When he came out, I came down to Miami and we did a song for his album (The Carter IV) and then we did a song for my album (6′s and 7′s). Wonderful days.

MVRemix: Does it surprise you that Strange Music has gotten so far just by concentrating on the local scene and it has spiraled into all these other different areas?

Tech N9ne: I’ve seen it grow right before my eyes, and I’ve been planning it since I started. That’s why the chip on my shoulder has always been so big, because I always felt that I was an elite artist. It was just my imagery that made some people stray… That I was a devil worshipper, and I have no idea why. I think it’s because I’m a black guy and I paint my face, I have red spiked hair and how am I satan when I’ve never had upside down crosses on me ever, but somehow people thought I was a devil worshipper. I always knew that I was an elite artist, so like Jim Carrey said when he got all that money for Batman, “No I’m not surprised, I’ve been planning this all my life.”

MVRemix: So you thought back at the middle-end of the 90′s that Hip Hop would be as big as it is today?

Tech N9ne: Totally. I know because poverty will always be there always be black markets. Hip Hop is from the streets, it’s forever, real talk. It is forever, there’s no way to get around that. When you look around, Hip Hop is rock, Hip Hop is country, Hip Hop is pop, it’s jazz, it’s everything. There’s no way around it. It has merged with every piece of music, now with dubstep. If you don’t believe me and hear Hip Hop is country, if it was not there would be no Kid Rock. There would be no Nelly and Tim McGraw song, there wouldn’t be a Jazz thing with Guru (Jazzmatazz) if it wasn’t merged with Jazz…. There wouldn’t be “Walk This Way” with Aerosmith and Run DMC. It just keeps going and going. Yes, I always thought it would be here, it’s just the old timers that thought it would just be a flash in the pan. But it’s not going nowhere, so they’ve gotta deal with it.

MVRemix: A la Fight Club, “If you could fight any celebrity, who would you fight?”

Tech N9ne: I’m a warrior, so… [ponders] I would like to get all the way in shape and see if I could take a punch from Mike Tyson.

MVRemix: Do you think you could?

Tech N9ne: I think my head is strong enough, but I don’t know if my chin is.

MVRemix: Is there anything else you’re working on aside from “6′s and 7′s” at the moment?

Tech N9ne: No, just working on pleasing my fans by traveling to do 82 shows in 85 days.

MVRemix: Any songs that you’re sick of performing? Songs that the fans want to hear but you yourself want to give it a bit of a rest for a while, but you still have to perform that one?

Tech N9ne: No, I haven’t gotten to that point yet. I think it’s a blessing for them to like any song that’s just made from nothing. So when I’m in the midst of doing my serious songs and they’re singing, “Oooh, areola! Oooh, areola!” my joke song, it’s funny to me. I’m not tired of doing it yet.

MVRemix: Any last words?

Tech N9ne: I want them to read this and hear me say, “Together we are a powerful force, as one mind, body and soul. Let no evil enter or attempt to reduce us because of the beliefs we hold. With this love, combined with our strengths, we ward off pain and stress. Technician I am, wholeheartedly in life, and in death.

Before the set, the crowds were thick, packing around the stage and securing the best viewpoints from the balcony. Before long, Trentemøller and his band began at the Vancouver, BC club and entered into their performance filled with eclectic moods and powerful light shows.

With Trentemøller’s music, songs tend to be a lot longer than what people typically expect. Those in the audience that were unfamiliar with him, but had his music recommended by others were treated to an amazing first exposure.

Anders Trentemøller and his band have solidified a live experience unlike any other group, and the Dane has accomplished a lot having been making music in various capacities for nearly two decades now.

After the set on April 13th, 2011, I went back to have a few words with Anders Trentemøller about his forthcoming set at Coachella, how the Ultra Music Festival went and which music videos (check out “Sycamore Feeling” and “…Even Though You’re With Another Girl“) and live performers influenced him.

MVRemix: You’ve just come from the Ultra Festival, how was that and how did it compare to tonight in Vancouver?

Trentmøller: As you just saw it’s a bit more of a rocky concert combined with a sort of clubby sound, and the Ultra Festival was a lot more pure techno [with] a lot more of the other bands I think. So for us it was fun, but maybe we were not in our right element. I think it was much more fun tonight actually [in Vancouver] because it was…

MVRemix: So you prefer the smaller groups?

Trentmøller: Well not smaller, we also play really big stages. But I think that we first play more rock festivals because that fits this sound better. It was fun (the Ultra Festival), it was great; we had a good time and people had a good time. I felt that people were listening to the music a little bit more here – at Ultra it was more about dancing, and that’s fine. But it feels sometimes that you feel you can play whatever and it’s just [raises his arms like a fist thumping raver]…

MVRemix: What sort crowds were you played to at Ultra?

Trentmøller: It was definitely more clubbers and more commercial maybe. Yeah, but it was fine…

MVRemix: Going from that, how is this going to translate with Coachella? Are you going to be doing more of an Ultra type vibe or more like what Vancouver saw tonight?

Trentmøller: I think we’re only going to play 50 minutes, so we actually have to take out a lot of tracks that we played tonight – we played 1 1/2 hours tonight. But I think that we will definitely play the tracks that are more indie kind of sound. I’m not trying to fit too much to what people expect. I really like to surprise people a little bit and just play whatever we feel is right in the moment. We can always change the set-list during our show, and we often do that. It will really depend on how the crowd is.

MVRemix: When you make your music is your sound planned out? Because your soundscapes vary a lot. Is it something that you come up with on the day or is it something you go into planned and with rigorously thinking through?

Trentmøller: When we’re recording it, no, I don’t really have any plans. It’s always very loose and I just do whatever feels right and sounds cool. I don’t really plan too much. It’s much more of what I feel is right in the moment. Of course there’s a lot of layers in the music, but I try to still have this kind of spontaneous attitude to it so it still sounds a bit fresh. I still like also when I’m listening to albums to go back on the fourth of fifth time that you’re listening to that album, you suddenly find new details and new layers that you maybe didn’t hear the first time you were listening to the album. I’m trying to put that into the music also.

MVRemix: Do you create a specific ambience when you create your music? I’d read that you don’t want to be under the influence of alcohol or anything else – you want to be very sober when you do it…

Trentmøller: Yeah, actually because I think when I’m sober when I make music, I’m still on a trip. Because music takes me on these trips, but still I try not to think too much about the whole process because if I think too much about it I might feel a bit of pressure and trying to do what people would expect or something… I don’t know. So I’m just trying to let music talk. Just.

MVRemix: I’ve also read about your different influences movie wise, do they play a role with regards to making your music. I know you’re a Lars Von Trier and David Lynch fan, do you ever watch their films and try and make something after that?

Trentmøller: [wincing] Yes, sort of. Not always. I’m inspired by soundtracks because instrumental music can do something that music with lyrics cannot do. It’s very open and you don’t have an illusion, so to speak, to think what you should feel. Making instrumental music makes it possible to make your own inner movie in a way. Sometimes I make my music to a soundtrack that is not existing… [correcting himself] to a non-existent movie.

MVRemix: A la “Fight Club” “If you could fight any celebrity, who would you fight”?

Trentmøller: [ponders] As a joke? Someone that I would really smash? If “Fight Club” was recorded in the 80′s maybe Ronald Reagan? He was a Hollywood star, wasn’t he?

MVRemix: Yeah he was

Trentmøller: That could be a possibility.

MVRemix: The main question is though, would you win?

Trentmøller: Of course I would.

MVRemix: Your music videos are always really interesting to watch. Which are the music videos that really influenced you?

Trentmøller: I think that I’m not that much inspired by music videos, but much more cinema or art. This guy who has done my latest video for “Sycamore Feeling” is a really good video artist and I’ve been a big fan of his work for the last three years. He’s called Jesper Just. He’s Danish, but he has done some really, really cool stuff and it has this sometimes a bit like David Lynch. I know it’s a cliche. But the video has these many layers to it so you can watch it as a… Sometimes he does some work that nearly looks like a Hollywood movie, but it has some really real layers underneath. So this subconscious is a really big part of his work and it’s something that I really like. I cannot really point out one specific music video that I loved.

MVRemix: That makes sense.

Trentmøller: Maybe actually if we talk about a simple music video, if you’ll remember the “Unfinished Symphony” (Massive Attack) it’s one big, long take and that’s simple stuff. Also Fatboy Slim did a video with some people dancing in an airport. I think that something that has a very simple idea is something that often works. What’s better than a big Michael Jackson budget? A Hollywood music video…

MVRemix: Which shows influenced the way you perform? Are there any artists that influenced you?

Trentmøller: I think then I have to actually bring in my guitar player [Trentmøller beckons in Mickael Simpson, his guitarist/bassist] I think Mikael can best explain it.

[Trentmøller gets up to grab a drink]

Mikael Simpson: You’re not leaving me with this! What was the question? Sorry. I’m the guitarist.

MVRemix: Which are the artists that have really introduced you to these live experiences?

Mikael Simpson: I’m not sure…

Mikael Simpson: For me, I’ve got nothing to say in the [Trentmøller] project. But for me it was bands like Spiritualized. I know that Trentmøller

Trentmøller: I’m too young, even if I’m older than you…

[Both Mikael and Trentmøller begin cracking up at clearly an inside joke, with drink in hand Trentmøller then rejons]

Mikael Simpson: Can I just say something? The cameraman on the “Unfinished Symphony” video that Trentmøller’s talking about is actually the cameraman that recorded the whole of “Twin Peaks.”

MVRemix: Oh really?

Mikael Simpson:Serious. Yeah.

Trentmøller: I didn’t know that. That makes sense.

Mikael Simpson: And the whole thing about the “Unfinished Symphony” video that we really like, well I think it’s the only thing that we really both like, is that you can’t see the reflection of the cameraman in the window.

MVRemix: I never noticed that actually.

Mikael Simpson: Check it out.

MVRemix: Are you working on any remixes at the moment?

Trentmøller: Recently I did a remix for UNKLE, and they also remixed me. It will be out very soon. That was a very cool remix that they did. Now I’m concentrating on touring. This UNKLE remix is actually possible to download for free for two weeks more, then it will be out on iTunes. It’s a track called “The Answer” and it’s free when you go to UNKLE’s website, you can download it there.

MVRemix: Do you have any last words to your fans?

Trentmøller: To just say that we had a beautiful night tonight and the [Vancouver] crowd was perfect. For us it was the first show on our US and Canada tour and it couldn’t be a better start. It was really great.

For the video version of this interview, click here

Trentmøller is currently touring North America, dates include:

4/21 – USA, Chicago, IL, The Mid
4/22 – Canada, Toronto, Mod Club
4/23 – Canada, Montreal, Le National
4/24 – USA, Brooklyn, NY, Music Hall of Williamsburg
4/25 – USA, Boston, MA, Royale

Before the set, the crowds were thick, packing around the stage and securing the best viewpoints from the balcony. Before long, Trentemøller and his band began at the Vancouver, BC club and entered into their performance filled with eclectic moods and powerful light shows.

With Trentemøller’s music, songs tend to be a lot longer than what people typically expect. Those in the audience that were unfamiliar with him, but had his music recommended by others were treated to an amazing first exposure.

Anders Trentemøller and his band have solidified a live experience unlike any other group, and the Dane has accomplished a lot having been making music in various capacities for nearly two decades now.

After the set on April 13th, 2011, I went back to have a few words with Anders Trentemøller about his forthcoming set at Coachella, how the Ultra Music Festival went and which music videos (check out “Sycamore Feeling” and “…Even Though You’re With Another Girl“) and live performers influenced him.

Following our interview Trentemøller quipped about how much enjoyment he gets from touring, but for the band to take days of here and there while touring is a rarity. The expense of having the eleven people involved take a day off means hotel costs and huge expenses. He also mentioned about his acceptance of the public’s perception that Trentemøller is a DJ as opposed to an artist as his Royksopp remix and other remixes have earned him higher notoriety separate to that of his solo music.

One thing was settled that night though, Trentemøller and his band can easily captivate an audience by their music alone. No emceeing or “We love you Vancouver” needed in order to have people leave happy and roar. Just play the songs and leave the stage.

After a long struggle, rapper Scribes emerged to beat the odds and drop a very polished encore to his sizzling debut, Sleepwalk (2007). What Was Lost – a title suggestive of the album’s arduous conception – features a renewed commitment to Scribes’ hip-hop roots that does not disappoint. The album, released February 2nd, represents a significant revival for the Seattle rapper, and offers a more contemporary depiction of the artist, who’s approach has certainly adjusted and developed in the years since his debut.

What Was Lost comes off as being less politically involved than previous releases (EP Summer Sampler 2009, and the revolutionarily charged Sleepwalk), but in it’s place Scribes has portrayed a more personal image – running the gamut from brooding and dejected, to even quite fun and celebratory.

The following is part two of a two-part interview I did on March 12th with Scribes at his workplace (Wilcox Boxing), in which he tells the story of how his album was stolen just weeks before it’s release, the road he took to re-recording and releasing What Was Lost, and also, what was gained along the way.

Written by Adam Salazar

MVRemix: Talk about the theft of the album.

Scribes: So, Sleepwalk came out in 2007, and then I started recording the following album, which was with BeanOne from Dyme Def. I wanted to record with BeanOne because I had heard Framework’s HelloWorld and I was like, “Man this is my favorite local album that I’ve ever heard; if there’s one producer that I want to work with for the next album it’s gonna be BeanOne.” So, I started working on the album with BeanOne. [We] demoed a lot of the songs at my house so that I could get an idea of it out of the shitty recording setup – even recorded some stuff with BeanOne – I didn’t find we got the best takes at his studio. His studio got repossessed and shit like that, so I just left those recordings there. And then I took the album to this studio… I thought it was called “In-Flight,” when I was recording there because of this act named “Birdie” which was one of the bigger acts; like the foundation for the studio, but I think it’s called Forever Green Studios – with a guy named Aaron Angus, and the people recording there was One Below from Binary Star, and Grayskul, and a couple other acts. So, I was recording the album there and was really close to finishing it. We were coming close to the mixing phase of it – certain songs had been mixed, certain songs were ready to start finalizing. I was like, “Man, I’m trying to release this one my 21st birthday in February,” and then in November of 2008 I had a studio session booked and I called Aaron up, like, “Yo, just making sure we’re still on for the session today,” and I never got a response so I left a message on his phone, called him up a bunch of times but he never picked up, so I didn’t go to the session that day. I couldn’t get a hold of him for a couple of days, then he sent me an email like, “Yeah, on this-and-this day last week someone broke into the studio; broke the window, climbed in, and stole everything in the studio,” except for . . . I don’t remember totally . . . like the gun I think. But they ripped off everything in the studio. I was backing up on-site. I didn’t have an off-site backup, which I learned you shouldn’t do. We lost the on-site everything. Most of the acts that were in the studio had prior releases – what they lost was stuff that had already been released, or it was stuff that was maybe like their side-project or whatever. I think that me and JFK probably got hit the hardest, but JFK was recording a solo project that he lost – Grayskul is his biggest moneymaker I’m thinking. For me, it was like I lost my “Grayskul,” my main album, so I was ready to . . . lose it. But they had an idea of who they thought it was; they had a pretty good idea of who did it. I wanted to go get into his personal house, you know what I mean, I wanted to get my shit back. I would do what it takes. But nobody else was really willing to go with me, or do that. I was kind of frustrated. No one was organized about it, like no one gave a fuck. I was already at that time, like, “Man, I don’t fucking know how I’m going to even put my album out, because I don’t have the money.” I was really frustrated and dealing with the struggles of life, and then it was like – now the album is gone, and I had just busted my ass. There was a lot of really, really frustrating personal situations to get here and now everything that I had to show for it, to represent that, was gone. And so I’m really down to get into this person’s house and get my shit back – do whatever I gotta do, and no one was really down to help me. And so I waited for a while, like, do I just sit here and wait for some of it to get recovered? Or do I start over? Start spending money [and] start the project over again?

Well, fuck it. I went in to record the Summertime Sampler EP, which a couple of the tracks from that went on the album. So the Summertime Sampler I started recording probably around February or something, and that got dropped in May. I didn’t even drop that to get big off of; I just dropped it to remind everybody that I’m still here. Hella people come back with some mediocre follow-ups, and I’m like, “Nah,” I’m this age now – yeah, Sleepwalk was released two years ago, but I’m still [here]. Not only am I still here but I’m better. I’ve evolved. Just to remind my hardcore fans and political connects that I’m on top of my shit. And then after the sampler was done I was like, “Well, let’s finish this album up.” The album was a combination of stuff that was lost from there, and stuff that was lost that changed. Most everything got changed if it was already on the original, and then there was also some new songs.

MVRemix: How much do you feel the incident changed the final product? For better? For worse?

Scribes: I mean it’s definitely better. The thing is this project is so much cleaner – everything from the recording, to my ability as a singer, to my delivery as a rap artist [and] the writing on the new songs. Everything is better than it was. That’s the truth. But the hardest part for me about What Was Lost – and I stand by it a hundred percent like I stand by everything that I’ve put out because it represents a certain chapter of my life – is that the foundation of a lot of the songs on the album . . . [were laid] when I was really young. So, certain songs – three of the verses were written when I was 19 years old, and then the chorus [came later] and it’s me at 23 years old. So, I did my best to make sure that I adapted it to fit me as best as I possibly could at age of 23 – not the 19 year old that wrote some of those songs.

MVRemix: Did it feel strange to retrace your steps on those tracks or did it feel the same? Better?

Scribes: [Better]. A lot of that had to do with my engineer too. Because my engineer – Teal Douville – he was important because he pushed a lot of the songs in different directions than they were before. So we kind of changed them. I realized how filthy Teal was over the course of recording the Sampler, because that’s where I recorded that at, and he made a lot of contributions to “Roll My Way,” and songs like that. So he was big on that. [He] made it so that some of the songs weren’t just straight up re-recordings of shit that I had already done – we made some changes.

MVRemix: How did the theft affect the album financially?

Scribes: (Sighs) So, it was already difficult and frustrating and hard financially, as it was before. Because artists like me – everything has been paid for by me. You know what I’m saying? The only money I really got from anybody was the money from Mike [McCready], which basically paid for the production – so it paid for everything that’s BeanOne on that album. After that, when the album got stolen, had I been like a rock group we would’ve lost everything, you know what I mean, and had to replay all the instrumentation. But since I’m a rap artist and we had production [and] . . . beats, I could go back and get the beats from Bean, so I just had to re-record all the vocals and remix all the beats – so that was cool. But the financial hardship of re-recording it was unbelievable. I thought it was hard before, [but after] I thought that I would maybe break.

MVRemix: The original name of the album was supposed to be Thruourmusic. How about the meaning of the new name, What Was Lost – is that a reference to What Was Lost in the break-in?

Scribes: Yeah, [and] what was recovered, you know what I mean. I guess the foundation of the album’s recording is What Was Lost.

MVRemix: What does What Was Lost mean to you personally? As an accomplishment? As a statement? What inspired you most when putting this album together?

Scribes: I’m very proud of the album. I wouldn’t say that I stood around and listened to it all the time because I’ve heard it a lot (laughing). I’ve heard it a lot, and it’s been a long ordeal. But I’m very proud of the album; it’s a huge deal for me because I kind of forgot what it’s like to ever even put out music, or to have people hear your music for a long time.

MVRemix: What kind of statements were you making?

Scribes: The thing about me – especially now – which is different [is] on Sleepwalk is like, “Okay, I’m going to address these issues.” It’s from the heart, but it was like, “Okay, I see the policies of this in black and white and this is what I’m going to address.” In this album I didn’t really think about it like that because I was in a much more difficult financial situation, and I didn’t always have the luxury to really think about stuff [like that].

MVRemix: So in a way, whereas Sleepwalk was more subjective, this album is maybe more personal?

Scribes: It’s more personal. It’s a lot more personal, and it’s also just like: just say it how it is. This is life. I didn’t think about being politically correct, I just was like: this is what my life is right now. Call it how it is. Say it how it is. That’s why this probably might offend some people – especially in this area – more than my previous album, but at the same time that’s why it’ll probably hit more people in the heart.

MVRemix: What Was Lost has been received as being less political than your previous two releases, especially Sleepwalk. Do you think that’s true?

Scribes: Oh, absolutely.

MVRemix: The track “Forgive Me,” seems to possibly address this perception. Is there merit to that idea?

Scribes: [It’s] funny, “Forgive me,” more than anything was about my frustrations with the Seattle scene. And don’t get me wrong, it runs parallel to that of like the bullshit that you’re going to face trying to break into the national scene as well, like trying to make it on Clear Channel, you know, as opposed to making it on indie-radio or the indie scene. It was my frustration with just seeing everything from behind the scenes, and seeing how people conduct themselves and how they behave, and what business transactions actually lead to promotional opportunities, and the way that certain artists – and I’m not going to say any names – put themselves out there on stage or what they do, and what actually happens behind the scenes. There’s like a contradiction . . . And that goes for commercial artists, sure, but I spent so much of my time disliking commercial artists when I was doing Sleepwalk, and before Sleepwalk, that after Sleepwalk I saw the contradictions that existed on the end of the political artists. I started seeing artists who were quote-unquote “conscious,” or “not commercial,” and “indie,” and artists that were supposed to be so focused on improving the community, and I saw their contradiction, and I was like, “You know what? I really can’t fuck with this.” That’s also a part of what made me less political . . . when I started to see the climate in which their music came out of, and the community that it came out of, and the self-righteousness. It made me like, “Yo, man that’s why the hood doesn’t bang your shit, you know what I mean? That’s why people in the hood don’t want to hear your rap [they] don’t want to listen to that.” I see it now. And again, I’m not taking shots at anyone when I say it, because there’s certain artists in the community that I have a lot of love for. But I definitely got exposed to the bad aspect of the business.

What are you reinforcing? Because there is, like I say, “The Devil Machine.” There is [this] overwhelming machine that everybody reinforces – [well] not everybody – but the large, large majority of people reinforces. And that’s really a negative, or evil machine no matter what network of people you’re functioning in; whether that’s a counter-cultural leftist group, or a right-wing Bible-belt group. There’s going to be some type of really fucked up value that exists on their list of values. That’s just how it goes. And I’m the type of person who really [tries] to kick it with everybody and try to be open to everybody, and kind of drift between cliques, because I kind of like take the good things out of those cliques. But I always come across the value that everybody follows just because everybody else is following it, you know what I mean? Everybody is down with it because it’s on that set of values. It’s like, “Man, I can’t see things so black and white anymore.” And I guess “Forgive Me,” is about like: Are you going to reinforce that evil, or are you going to sit there and fight out of the corner and try to beat it? Are you going to be like everyone? Is it possible to beat that systematically reinforced evil? Are you going to try to fight against it? Is it possible to fight against it?

MVRemix: There seems to be a few references to estrangement from friends and family on What Was Lost, specifically on tracks like, “Moving On,” and “Pass You By.” Would you agree with that?

Scribes: (Sighs) Yeah, I mean, “Moving On” is a tough one for me; it’s definitely pretty personal. I tried to leave it open-ended so as not to cut ties with people, because there’s people that I care about that fit that song, you know what I mean, and I don’t want the [relationship completely cut]. My relationship with my direct family right now is probably better than it’s been for a long time. We’re cool. We hang out and talk more. But, a lot of the songs – this is where I go back to saying that the foundation for those songs were me at a young age. A lot of them were written – “Pass You By,” for instance, song like that – when I was staying on Beacon Hill [when] I didn’t talk to my family at all. I would exchange phone calls every once in a while, but – it wasn’t because they weren’t reaching out to me. There was problems that I didn’t really want to talk to them [about]. So it was a lot of isolation from them, which took its toll on me and came through on the album.

And then also, “I’ll Be Gone,” is specifically the combination of the rap grind – the hip-hop grind; trying to survive, stay afloat; the financial struggle of it all; the multiple jobs to support it. But then also at the end of the day, being disconnected from the family, not having people necessarily to rely on; holding it up yourself.

And then, “Moving On,” is really just specific to friends. For me, a lot of people went off to college and went and got their degree in certain things. For me, I didn’t get to experience that. I went right into this. A lot of people go off to school and would get to experience all these things and go to class or whatever and they would come back after months and months of being away, and I would be sitting there – having been forced to grow up and whatever – and they would come back and assume that I was the same person that I was in high school, and they didn’t spend enough time around me to know that anything had changed. And I don’t blame them for that, but they would go away and they’d come back, and this was the case up until they graduated and they come back and stay here for good. So I’m 22 years old now, and you still think that I’m that 18-year-old kid because you are closer to the person you were when you were 18 because a lot of them didn’t necessarily have to develop the financial independence, or the professional independence that I had. And that’s all on a college tip.

For me the other set of people I’m left around are people who are in the town. And a lot of people are in the town not because they are trying to have a rap career, but they’re in the town because they’re not doing shit with their lives, you know what I’m saying, because they are stuck on the couch. They’re like behind the speed bump you have to hop over to get momentum. Like when you’re a kid when you’re sitting in the bathtub and it starts getting cold, you know, and you sit there and rather than hop out and get clean you’re like, “How can I just not move and get warm,” you know what I mean, and me, I’m like “Man you got to get the fuck out of the bathtub,” (laughing) you know what I mean? And you’re just sitting there, and you’re freezing your ass off, and it keeps getting colder and colder but you don’t want to get out because it’s going to be hard, you know? It’s like that in life. You’ve gotta step out of your comfort zone. I know that you don’t have any momentum, it’s hard as fuck right now, but the longer you stay there the harder it’s going to be to get moving. And the people in the town that I’m with – they are so, a lot of them are just like stuck doing not-positive things, and were not able to get over that speed bump and do positive things, and that’s what’s frustrating. The fact that they’re drowning [has ended] up pulling me with them, and it’s very frustrating to be financially taking care of myself, running a rap career, [and] for the most part not being able to have a consistent, functioning relationship with a woman because of how chaotic my life is. There’s always women because of this business, but it’s difficult to hold down a relationship. A lot of times [you have] to be kind of out of contact with your family, and then to have your friends be not even on a parallel wavelength – totally out of touch – some of them even drowning and pulling you down, it’s a lot to handle. There [was] so much shit going on at once when the album was recorded. I don’t know. It all kind of made sense; one problem happens and it causes a domino effect of other issues, you know what I’m saying? I think that it made it into a reality with that album.

MVRemix: It sounds like on one hand you have some resentment towards some of the people this is directed at, but on the other hand you may be reaching out to them with some of those songs. Is that accurate?

Scribes: That’s the thing, with a lot of them – some of them are so far out of touch I don’t even know how to like try to [reach out to them]. It was basically me being passive a long time ago when I was young, and then the problems grew to a place where it’s like now, you know, we’re so far out of touch I can’t even . . . I don’t even know why I would even to talk to you anymore, you know what I mean? There’s so many of you that have this fucking problem, that have something that [has] like totally separated you from me that I don’t even know how to say it except for to put it in music, you know what I mean?

MVRemix: Do you think those people will listen to this album and hear the message?

Scribes: I don’t know. I mean, we’ll see, I don’t know. The thing that is hard is [that] there’s certain people that definitely are and definitely aren’t [going to hear the message]. And I know that some people might hear things about them – and it’s not about them. And then some people might hear it and think that it’s not about them, and it is about them, you know? And some people – that’s the thing with the album because once it comes out, it’s not like a music video where everyone watches it at once and it’s like, oh, now it’s right in your face. It’s like, “Nah, this is track 8 on a 12-track album.” Who knows what they may even listen to? You know what I’m saying? So I don’t know what’s going to happen, it was definitely worrying for me because I didn’t want it to feel like I was going behind people’s backs – it wasn’t like that. I didn’t even want people to think that the conclusion of it was like, “Fuck you guys,” you know what I mean – dissin’ people. But it was just kind of like, “Man, some of you guys really need to get your shit together, but at the end of the day I care a lot about each and every one of you.”

But I can’t handle the negativity, you know, “You have to make some changes in your life, because I don’t want the same shit in my life.” So, we’ll see.

MVRemix: There seems to be a lot of (deserved) criticism of the mainstream, and the mainstream recording industry on the album. Can you talk a little about your thoughts on that?

Scribes: I definitely don’t hate the commercial world like I used to. I’ve been mostly out of touch with individuals functioning in the commercial world, so I’m sure that once I get down to L.A. and I’m functioning in the scene I’m going to have some frustrations. I don’t know. It’s hard. When you take specifically urban, commercial, black music, there’s a tendency when it comes to white fans – especially music purists – to hate it when it happens and to like it 30 years later, you know what I’m saying? That’s why everybody listens to Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and jazz artists – it’s great music, you know what I mean, first and foremost – but they wouldn’t of kicked it with those jazz artists had they been [there] at the time. And there’s a lot of people who hate the commercial world now who will like some of it later. Sometimes people just hate what’s new because when something is new history hasn’t been written yet, so things are still open-ended. It [hasn’t] placed in history, or been written in history as a particular age or period of history that people categorize, so you don’t know where things are going. So people a lot of times hate on shit, but two or three years later, or even later than that it’s like, “Oh, that’s what this is – that’s what The Chronic was, you know what I mean; that’s what 2Pac’s Makaveli was,” you know what I mean, or whatever it was.

But at the same time, there’s a lot of commercial shit that is garbage. And there’s a lot of Clear Channel stuff where they’re just not gonna let anything on the air except for the same songs they put on repeat. It’s weird. An artist like me is kind of in an odd place because I’m somewhere between independent music and Clear Channel, because so much of my influences were Clear Channel artists from the 90’s, and urban artists from the 90’s. In general I want my music to always sound new, but I just don’t want it to be toned down. Basically at the end of the day I don’t really give a fuck about what you’re doing – whether it’s commercial, underground, independent – some alternative network of music – unless it’s good. If it’s good, that’s what I care about at the end of the day. I’m not like a music purist, I would say. But it’s definitely difficult to get recognition like artists with Clear Channel play.

But the thing about the album that I think is pretty tight, not to sound arrogant, but I feel like it’s got the underground edge – you can’t knock it for it’s writing because the writing is there; it’s better than what most artists can produce as far as their writing goes. So you can’t knock me as a rap artist. I didn’t dumb my shit down. The production is somewhere in-between underground rap and commercial rap – a lot of the production – but you can’t knock it either because the beats hit, you know what I mean, the melodies are filthy. And then the singing could appeal to Clear Channel audiences. The melodies, and the sounds can appeal to Clear Channel audiences, and have something that balanced the edge of the raps or whatever. It’s very much still a side of me, it balances the edge of the rap, but at the same time it isn’t dumbed down at all.

That, very much, is what is tight about working with BeanOne, [because] BeanOne just has a really quirky style, because BeanOne is a straight-up hip-hop-head, and he’s a straight up like, graffiti-type. Probably more so a hip-hop-head than I am. I’m a rap fan. I grew up very much influenced by rap as the element of hip-hop, but he is very much someone who is down with all the elements and shit like that. I have love for all of them, but I just don’t know it as well. At the same his time music – his beat style is very, like, quirky; Clear Channel meets underground, type of beat style.

MVRemix: What kinds of thing would you like to see happen in hip-hop? What is your vision for the future of hip-hop? What directions would you like to see explored, and what directions would you like to see left behind?

Scribes: I’m just interested to see where things go. I know what I want to do. At the end of the day I just hope that the other artists out there keep building and evolving doing tight stuff. Like if they want to go in that like straight bass futuristic thing and it’s tight, they have my blessing, you know what I mean? And maybe I’ll even like try and work on some of their beats and see what I can do with it. But if they want to go in a different direction, I don’t know. I mean it’s an interesting time and I really don’t know where things are going to go, and I think that when it comes to the internet, like I just said, I don’t know where things are going to go. If this was the 90’s there would be a much more distinct [path] of things; “This is what’s going on right now.” There’s so many avenues to listen to music and so many different networks of people, and networks of music and followers, you know what I mean? There’s no one radio station. It’s overwhelming.

I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing, I’d say it’s a trade-off. Because you get some of what you want, like: it’s easy to record music right now; but it’s over-saturated because everyone can record music. You know? You can promote an album for free online, and you don’t need to invest as much money if you don’t want to in pressing up CD’s and this or that, and you can get music faster and easier from places, but at the same time, because that’s the case, everybody is throwing music out there, and from every single dimension of the internet you are receiving music. So it’s like it’s a little overwhelming. It’s a trade-off. It’s a really different business. And I’d say specific to hip-hop it’s interesting because I see things I never thought I would’ve seen growing up in the 90’s. I grew up [and] everyone wore baggy clothes, and everyone had to be hard as fuck, you know what I mean? Even if you were flashy, you had to be on some shit. And it’s tight, it’s definitely tight to see that people don’t necessarily have to fit that exact formula; they don’t have to be gangster; they don’t have to be hella flashy. When I was growing up you had to be a thug, or you had to be a thug who was “jiggy,” you know what I mean, or more “Puffy.” And it’s tight to see that you don’t have to be like that anymore. I never would have thought I would see young black rap fans and rap artists rocking skinny jeans and mohawks, and dyed hair, rolling around on skateboards and shit like that. So it’s tight to see things diversify.

At the same time though, it’s a trade-off because people have to pay fewer dues to the street, and maybe don’t have to establish quite as much credibility as they used to, because everybody is a rap artist nowadays. And so many communities are involved in following, or producing, or making hip-hop music [whereas] back in the day you had to have a little bit more credibility. You had to like, pay more dues, to earn respect. Take an artist like Mac Miller: If you take some of his songs you gotta give him his props because – break down his bars, and his sound is not bad, you know what I mean? He’s got some songs where it’s like, “Oh, that’s dope.” But it’s like, I don’t know what his story is, or what he’s been through, so I’m not criticizing him, but it’s like, well, it appears to me that he doesn’t necessarily have to like, check himself on certain things. And he’s able to have the freedom to do things that he maybe shouldn’t have the freedom to do. That may sound wrong, but I don’t know.

I’m interested in seeing how things will go. I noticed a lot of change when Obama got elected, because I think there was a lot more racial tension in general – and I think there still is – but as far as in rap and hip-hop goes there was a lot more. There definitely still is, but things [have] mixed in an interesting way between college students who follow rap and go to shows, and futuristic black rap artists on that spaceship tip – skinny jeans and tight pants, and you’ve got your old-school, more gangster style rappers, and you’ve got your conscious rappers – it’s a weird, unusual melting pot. I never thought I would’ve seen it. But there’s nothing wrong with that.

MVRemix: Now that you’ve finally captured What Was Lost, what are you excited about doing next? What would you like to experiment with? What are you looking forward to? What can your fans look forward to? What’s next for Scribes?

Scribes: I want to record another project. I want to build a team, and I want to create a team of people where we’re able to produce interesting extensions of what Scribes is – [where] it isn’t necessarily totally me. The recording and the songs and the stuff that’s all like what I do – but videos, interviews, graphic design, whatever else. Building a brand. Seeing where I can take the brand and what I can build.

And also, I want to just record something great again. I just really want to get back in and record something great. I don’t know; I feel like I kind of want to put out something shorter than an album, because it seems like people lose interest. It just makes more sense. I don’t know. It would be tight to record an album that is less than 10 tracks. I don’t really want to put it in a box; we’ll see where it goes. I really want to build a team to establish an interesting brand and see where we can take things. And then I just want to keep recording.

MVRemix: Artistically, what are you excited about exploring to get you to that next great thing that you’re talking about?

Scribes: I honestly would just do what I feel like I haven’t been able to do, because while recording What Was Lost, I felt kind of like obligated and tied to shit that was older. I want to be able to take something and see what I can build with a really contemporary sound. Like I said, whether that’s on the Clear Channel end, or the KEXP end. I want to see what kind of contemporary stuff is out there, and I just really want to make something that sounds…

I don’t want to experiment to the point where I feel like sometimes people get over-experimental, and forget what their foundation is. I kind of hear something in my head; this sound that is like – I can visualize it and hear it and picture it in my head, but I can’t like… I don’t know. I’m kind of like looking for that. So that producer – find producers to work with [and] make it happen.

I see the crowds that I kick it in, and the crowds from my shows, or that are influenced by music, and crowds that aren’t. Anything from the clubs in Belltown where you go out and kick it and dance to the top 100 billboard artists, to next door where you go see some independent artist coming up on tour. I’m just interested in seeing how I can take those different things that are contemporary and make it into my next project.

MVRemix: Where can people download the new album and check in on upcoming shows?

Scribes: www.Scribesmusic.com

What Was Lost comes off as being less politically involved than previous releases (EP Summer Sampler 2009, and the revolutionarily charged Sleepwalk), but in it’s place Scribes has portrayed a more personal image – running the gamut from brooding and dejected, to even quite fun and celebratory. The following is part one of a two-part interview I did on March 12th with Scribes at his workplace (Wilcox Boxing), in which he tells the story of the road he took to releasing What Was Lost – and also, what was gained along the way.

MVRemix: Did you grow up in Seattle?

Scribes: I went to school here, lived here, worked here, graduated from high school here. My mom lived in the Wallingford area, and then when my parents split my dad moved to the Lake City area for a while, and different neighborhoods in the north end. Then when I moved out I was living in Beacon Hill for a while, and then I spent some time on Capitol Hill, and now I’ve been living in Belltown for a while.

MVRemix: What do you remember most about coming up around town? Who did you listen to?

Scribes: I don’t know the national scene that well so, I don’t know what is Seattle and what isn’t, you know what I mean? I guess I would just say that the biggest influences for me was: In general I’m kind of like a sponge, so I pick everything up, you know I’m always soaking stuff up in the world around me. But I think the biggest thing in Seattle that probably influenced me was my school experience I guess. Just from the diversity, the teachers, and the different neighborhoods.

The rap scene influenced me in certain ways. I wouldn’t say that I’m a huge fan of all the music that Seattle has produced – as far as rap goes – but as far as the way that I function as a businessperson [in the] community that I came up on. That was like the rap scene that I experienced. Whether I’m a fan of it or not, I was definitely influenced by it.

MVRemix: What influenced your taste in music? What influenced your style?

Scribes: Originally I’d say that, [because] my dad was kind of like a 60’s baby – I wouldn’t say he’s a hippy – but [those were] his years. My mom was like a couple years younger, but about the same time. So, my dad’s musical taste was very much, like, soul and rock & roll. It was a combination of white and black music, but it was very much rock & roll. So, anything from The Temptations, to Little Richard, to even Elvis Presley, you know what I mean – on the whiter side; The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Al Green, Aretha Franklin. So there was that.

And then when I got to be in 3rd or 4th grade I started getting heavily influenced by rap music – I would say black, urban music in general. So, R&B, Rap – I wouldn’t even say hip-hop, because that wasn’t even a word. If I used “hip-hop” it was to describe just the music side, it wasn’t to describe the break-dancing and everything else, because that’s not necessarily what I was influenced by. It was rap music. So, anything from 2Pac, to Biggie, even, you know, Boyz II Men, Aaliyah – artists like that. That’s what I grew up and witnessed. That’s the side of rap that I watched – “The Chronic 2001,” Snoop Dogg, whatever, Nas.

And then when I started rapping it got a little bit different, because before I was rapping was kind of like my middle school phase, and in middle school everyone burned mixes. So, they’d go on Limewire, they’d go on Morpheus, and Kaaza, whatever they’d used to download music, and we’d burn really long mixes of random stuff. So we’d get all these songs – whether it was a pop song, or an R&B song, or a song that people bang in the hood – it was all mixed together. So, I kind of heard a lot of the songs from 2Pac’s album, Nas, Biggie, Eminem, DMX, whoever, but I hadn’t listened to their albums because it was all mixed up. So, when I started rapping – I was about 15 or 16 – I went back and did my research more, and was actually listening to their albums as opposed to listening to all their songs from throughout their career all mixed up into one. So, it helped me put all their careers into perspective; this is when he was doing this – this is when he was doing that. Especially if you take someone like 2Pac: 2Pac’s evolution from “2Pacalyspe Now,” to “All Eyez On Me,” before he died, was [a tremendous] contrast. So, when I grew up I would have a mix and it would have “Brenda’s Got a Baby,” but then it would have “Do For Love?” track two, and those are from two completely different periods of time. So, that was an influence. I would say that in general, I was always influenced by contemporary urban music. And when I started rapping, I went back to learn a little bit more about the golden era, or the golden age of hip-hop, because I didn’t witness that. There were songs that came back to my generation in middle school – even if you weren’t listening to rap in 1993, because I was in kindergarten, you know at I mean, you would still hear “The Chronic,” when you’re in middle school. So, [there’re] songs that you grew up on no matter what. But there [were] certain artists that I didn’t witness, especially on the East Coast because, I would say that my influences and what I witnessed was very much West Coast, because I’m in Seattle. Even though Seattle’s not Cali, for me and my middle school experience, and cats from the hood and stuff like that, they for the most part they were banging that type of West Coast rap.

When I started rapping it got a little bit more complicated because Seattle’s rap scene – it’s not even a rap scene, it’s a hip-hop scene. I don’t feel like Seattle would even want to use the word “rap,” because it’s like almost politically incorrect to them (laughing), which I don’t necessarily agree with [but] I understand their point. But Seattle’s scene influenced me because when I started rapping, I kind of had this edge or this influence, which, if you’ve heard my album is like a combination of R&B and hard, hard bars. And that’s kind of like what I grew up on. So there’s that element, but then when I started actually functioning as a rap artists all of the opportunities in the city, it was a very much different network of rap music and hip-hop; you know Blue Scholars, and Common Market. And some of them produce great music, and you’ve got to give them their props, and I followed it in high school, and I started getting into the scene in high school. That music influenced me in certain ways, [but] they were very much on the KEXP side of hip-hop, and I was very much growing up on the KUBE side. And I have a lot of love for KEXP, but I’d say sometimes it’s a little bit difficult for an artist like me to try and market my sound, or express it through the lanes that might be more appropriate to promote an artist like Macklemore, or Blue Scholars. But you’ve got to give them their props, and you’ve got to give KEXP their props; there were certain artists from that network, like Immortal Technique who influenced me. I’d say for the most part, the acts that came through Seattle were not what I grew up on or what I was originally influenced by, but they still influenced me because that’s the only scene that I’ve ever known about functioning in, or ever promoting my music in. If you ask a lot of artists in Seattle who they were influenced by, they’re going to say a totally different set of artists than I might say – especially the older cats, they’ll be like, “Run DMC,” they’ll be like, “Sir Mix-a-Lot,” you know what I mean, and they’ll hit you with hella East Coast, late 80’s early 90’s cats. You can’t expect a kid who’s – I’m 23 now – you know what I mean, how old was I when those cats were relevant. KRS One, I bump KRS-One now, but I didn’t grow up on KRS-One. He’s on a different coast and he was around when I was too young to even understand what was going on.

MVRemix: What artists did influence you the most?

Scribes: It’s a hard one because, like I told you, I just soak so much up that I’m constantly just taking in information that I think I can use and being influenced by things. I think that any artist who’s doing big things [is] a collage and an evolution of their influences. So, they take everything [and] all the artists that influenced them; they probably made music that sounded exactly like those artists and then, once they developed the actual skills to say, “Oh, I know how to make this music,” then they kind of put their twist on it and made it evolve. So, it’s hard because I’ve been influenced by so many people, but I would say that if there was one artist of like my top 5 rap artists, the one artist that was my model for everything was probably 2Pac because 2Pac was like Martin Luther King or Malcolm X of my age group. And I only really caught him like maybe right before his death [or] right around his death because I was still young – and I don’t know if it was necessarily healthy because there was some disingenuous and corrupt marketing as far as his post-death music releases go. But whatever the case it influenced me and a lot of my peers, and he was like my model for everything, because musically, it was the full package: the persona, the music itself, the political significance, the contradictions in his music – “I Get Around,” talking about what its like to be a rapper and all the hoes on your dick, and [then] “Dear Mama,” you know, the sweet side, then the “Hit ‘Em Up” gangster side. I guess he was just the model for [me]. Which, when you talk about Seattle jams, what makes it sometimes a little bit difficult to try and promote myself in Seattle – not to the consumers, but to the establishment – because a lot of establishments like I said, they probably relate a little bit more to other avenues of hip-hop.

The thing is, I don’t even know if he’s bar-for-bar the best rapper ever, but in my eyes there’s no question.

MVRemix: When did you realize that you had a talent for rapping?

Scribes: I was always a pretty good writer; so, I think I remember it was in like the 5th grade I started writing poetry and started writing more, and started to realize that I kind of had a knack for writing. But I’m kind of the type of person where I always had to have some type of skill. So – I think it’s even in this book over here (gestures towards a nearby boxing book) – there’s this line [from] Mohammed Ali where he’s like, “Boxing was nothing, it was just a means to introduce me to the world.” So, I think ever since I was a little kid I’ve been trying to develop a certain skill to establish a platform to say something from. So, I was always trying to develop a skill, and, writing was just one of the skills that I developed. And I don’t know if I’m naturally talented in general at many things, or if it’s just a certain confidence that I developed when I was young to get off the couch, kind of, and pursue a talent or skill, because a lot of people don’t have that confidence – they just have this feeling of failure so they don’t necessarily pursue a talent and they don’t put their heart into it. And don’t get me wrong: there’s thing’s you’re going to be better at or worse at. I was a good basketball player, but I wasn’t as good of a basketball player as I was a boxer. But I did have a knack for writing and it kind of showed early, like elementary school, middle school, and I kind of let it grow while I was pursuing other things; I was doing boxing and basketball and other sports and this and that. And it came back when the war was going on in Iraq or whatever, and I just remember being really heated and frustrated, like, it was just a combination of political frustrations, teenage frustration, frustration with my family and things that were going on and it was just like, “Man.” I remember seeing freestyle battles at my school and being like, you know, maybe I’ll be a hip-hop artist. Because before that happened, I was always like, “Man there’s no possible way that you’re ever going to be a rap artist,” you know . . . part of me always pictured myself being a rap artist, but . . . “You are white,” you know. I grew up on pre-Eminem hip-hop, so there were no white guys doing it, and then I also experienced post-Eminem hip-hop, and I was just like, “There’s no way you’re going to be that.” But then, I remember seeing a bunch of freestyle battles and, you know, I got into it for whatever reason, and that was probably sophomore year in high school or something, and I started recording projects and after I had gone from freestyling and messing around for like a month at a time, I started recording with producers in my high school, laying the stuff on wax, and I was like, “Yo, let’s record an album.” [I] did an album over the course of three or four months, and by the end of the album – which was like the beginning of my junior year – I was just like, set on being a rapper, and after that everything came second to it.

MVRemix: Was that Sleepwalk or Pre-Sleepwalk?

Scribes: Well, pre-Sleepwalk I went by “Prophit,” so it was like a combination of the two words, and that was in like 2004 maybe, that I released that. You know, I wouldn’t go out and promote it now (laughing), you know what I mean, and say that I made the album because it’s not something that I necessarily stand by as like, “Check me out,” but given the circumstance I’m definitely proud of it as an accomplishment. And after it came out everything came second – schoolwork – everything. And Sleepwalk was the following project.

MVRemix: Who are you listening to right now?

Scribes: I probably get most of my music from YouTube. Music has changed so quickly, you just pick up stuff from random sources all the time; I don’t even know how you get it. You might see a link on Facebook or something, you know what I mean; you might see something on a blog or whatever. I’d say that I was kind of ignorant to the blogs up until this fall of 2010 when my video came out and it started getting posted on the blogs, and [then] I started following blogs more.

As far as rap music goes: Nipsey Hussle, J.Cole. I feel like I bump old school music for the most part. Aaliyah. Whatever else.

MVRemix: How do you know Macklemore?

Scribes: I think the first time I met Macklemore was probably in the 90’s, because my dad started dating a woman named Laurie – they had just started dating – and she was a family friend of Macklemore’s family. So, I remember meeting him – [we] didn’t really talk, I had met him like once. I had always kind of heard about him – not as Macklemore, but as Ben – and his mom would kind of keep me posted on what he was doing, and this or that. But we never really talked; he was like six years older than me, you know, so, they were just kind of family friends. And then when my album – my first little CD in high school – came out [and] I started working on another one I was always doing free recordings. And I realized, man, free recordings is not the truth, that shit is whack as fuck, because when your doing a free recording your always feeling that someone doesn’t really want to be – for the most part – recording you. So, you know, you’re kind of like on their time. You’re always sacrificing something to pay for that. And I think I was a senior in high school, and I was like, “Fuck it, I’m going to invest some money in recording,” and Macklemore has a studio, and I just knew him from around and we were family friends I guess. So, I went and started recording at his studio and did the whole project there, and [did] shows together. I went back with him, I knew him for a while.

MVRemix: How did you meet Mike McCready?

Scribes: Here actually [Wilcox Boxing]. Mike was one of the people training, with his wife, I was one of the trainers working, and we just became friends before anything else. I knew him; we would kind of talk music, and I would keep him informed on my career, but [it was more] friends than a business connect. But then he said that he wanted help to finance the album. He said he just wanted to help me out.

MVRemix: Had he heard your previous work?

Scribes: Oh yeah, Sleepwalk had already been out, I had given him the album and he was, you know, blasting it; giving it to all his friends and contacts. They’ve always been really supportive – him and his wife Ashley. Ashley, I think said, “We should help him out,” and they did. They’ve been very supportive.

MVRemix: Did you know who he was when you met?

Scribes: Well, my boss had told me, or whatever. I wouldn’t say that I grew up listening to a lot of Pearl Jam, but Pearl Jam was always relevant. My dad had always talked about Pearl Jam, and talked about Stone [Gossard] and Mike being like relevant local figures – not [just] because they were in this [huge] rock group, but also because they happened to be active as local people. But I didn’t know Pearl Jam’s music that well, [but] once I was kind of friends with him I started trying to go back and [listen].

MVRemix: Let’s switch gears. What was it like shooting the video for “Roll My Way”?

Scribes: It was crazy. I mean, there was some really fun moments and then there were some really difficult moments. Because, you know, the thing about shooting that video in particular and Jon Jon’s [director Jon Augustavo’s] videos is that they are organic, but they also kind of look like you have a high budget when you do them. The look of them is pretty specific, and it’s difficult sometimes. I wanted to make sure it looked professional like we had a big budget, but I wasn’t working with a budget, you know what I mean, I didn’t really have shit. So, definitely, to establish all that [in the] scenes [it was] work. But it was important. Jon is very much like a freestyler when it comes to his videos. He shows up and just kind of captures. He very much freestyles it and I’m very much pre-composed. Everything that I do in general is very much like my music, very thorough and written out, whereas Jon – he’s just having a good time (laughs). I learned some things from Jon. But it was crazy, because there was multiple, you know, events, parties, and multiple shoots. And generally Jon’s videos are more simplistic and they capture interesting shots or whatever, and I wanted to add some really specific conceptual themes to the video. So, it was definitely hard.

MVRemix: Who’s idea was it to do the video?

Scribes: It was mine. I didn’t know Jon – I hollered at him. It was like spring of 2010 and I was like, “Man, I’ve got to shoot a video or something,” and I was just kind of saying it – I didn’t think I was actually going to make it happen, you know. [But] my engineer was like, “Yo, holler at Jon,” and Jon had only shot like two videos: he shot Eighty4 Fly, and Wizdom and Grynch. And 84 Fly – no one really knew that name yet. People know Eighty4 Fly’s name now in the town now, but no one really knew it yet. I hit up Jon, scheduled it for the summer time, and what’s crazy is that I hollered at him when he had just done a couple videos, nothing big, and by the time my video started shooting he probably released three more videos, and they were like SOL, J. Pinder, The Physics – reasonable names. And then by the time my video was released he had probably done like five or six videos, so my video kind of like picked up the momentum – followed his momentum and his name. (laughing) He was busy this summer.

MVRemix: Was it easy/hard to fund?

Scribes: It was difficult; I mean it’s been difficult to fund this whole of life in general, you know I mean, and its definitely something that I’ve busted my ass trying to [do]. The video was a landmark in my career [because] the album got stolen, and it was just marking a point of, “You’re hitting rock bottom right now.” It got stolen in 2008, and I shot the video in 2010. So, that entire two-year period or whatever was just like me trying to climb out of a hole. There were already problems that existed in my career and I was struggling before, but I had enough momentum not to get fucked with. And so when the album got stolen it was an indicator of [being] at the bottom now. And a lot of people kicked me while I was down. I went through a lot. The whole period of time I was like, “I don’t know if I’ll ever climb out of this. The album might make or break me.” And then the video – I kind of almost lost it over the course of shooting it. I came really close to a tipping point, a breaking point of not even being able to finish it just because of all the work it took. And then I did, and it ended up kind of marking the next landmark, or indicator, like: you’re reimbursed.

MVRemix: Who were some of the people in the video? Was that HAVi Blaze I saw?

Scribes: Yeah [HAVi Blaze]. Most of those people I just grew up with, you know what I mean, freinds from high school, back to middle school. My brother brought some of his friends out from his high school. The barbeque scene [was] some of my friends from high school, people here and there, so it was more like, small groups of people kicking it kind of low-key. The house party scene was like my brother’s friends, some of my friends, some people at one of my shows.

MVRemix: I noticed the chorus covers 2Pac a little bit, was that a shout-out to the “old-school jams . . . [you] miss,” that you talked about at the beginning of the track?

Scribes: Yeah. The whole song is kind of like that because the whole song consists of quotes. Even when the melodies or the lyrics aren’t direct quotes from somebody they convey a certain emotion for me that reminds me of that period of time. Outkast quotes, Devon The Dude quotes, Mary J Blige quotes, 2Pac of course in the chorus. It’s kind of like you have the actual literal quotations that are referencing songs that convey an emotion parallel to that of what I was trying to convey in “Roll My Way,” and then also the chorus and the singing brought back a certain sound or feel that reminded me of a lot of music that I grew up on, which is like I said, Aaliyah, TLC, stuff like that.

Da Circle which consists of Fatz D’ Assassin and Goodtime Slim, are also rappers that you definitely need to check out. Hailing from the streets of NYC Da Circle has been around for awhile. Starting out as The Usual Suspects with six members, Da Circle eventually became the duo that it is now, and a loss of members has not slowed them down. Working with people such as Poisen Pen and I.T., Da Circle obviously is someone to know about.

Both signed to Viper Records I.T. and Da Circle were representing their label throughout the whole week of Austin, Texas’ SXSW 2011 music festival. Taking a break out of their crazy schedule both groups talked to me about their music, the SXSW atmosphere, future plans and other things.

MVRemix: Let’s start off with who you guys are and what you do.

Immortal Technique: I’ve been doing this for about a decade now, so where do I begin? I was born in a military hospital, came to New York, started battling, making CDs independently and linked up with a bunch of rap acts that I had seen. Poisen Pen had introduced me to Da Circle who were a couple of brothers that represented drive and hustle that I saw when I was working a day job and trying to do everything I could. They’ve been holding it down, doing 9-5 gigs, writing rhymes, paying dues and making stuff happen. Then we got together one day and they said “We got a couple of song ideas, can we make this stuff pop off,” and I said “Let’s do it.” Through Viper Records we released an independent project called The 360 Deal that enabled them to get their music out there, and they were also a part of The Third World with Rebel Armz. So realistically speaking, they’re a part of the family. We’re here at SXSW to show people that independent hip-hop is not the future, but we’re the only one available. It’s either that or corporate slavery.

MVRemix: Da Circle when I was looking you guys up I found out one of your biggest influences is Wu-Tang. How was it working with them at Rock The Bells, and do you plan on checking them out here at SXSW?

Slim: Well the plan was to hit them up, but we heard they cancelled, so we’re heartbroken. That was definitely on the itinerary though. Working with Wu-Tang at Rock The Bells was an honor for me. Wu-Tang is one of the most legendary groups in the history of what we do. It was an honor.

Fatz: To touch on a subject my big brother Immortal Technique touched on at a show, new Rock N’ Roll artists pay homage to older groups. In hip-hop I feel there is a general disconnect and disrespect between the older generation and the younger generation. We see Wu-Tang as iconic. Wu-Tang, EPMD, Slick Rick, Run DMC, Krs-One and A Tribe Called Quest, all of those groups are iconic. If they didn’t do what they did and they didn’t make the noise that they made, then I wouldn’t have this road to travel down. I think some of the younger, vivacious kids do not show the proper respect to pioneers that did it before them.

Immortal Technique: I wouldn’t say all of them, some of them do. We are more than willing to set-up meetings between them and the Zulu Nation. We are more than willing to introduce people to Afrika Bambaataa and Kool Herc. Because if they hadn’t of done what they did, there wouldn’t be any Nas, Wu, Tribe, none of that. So I think that it is not only important to realize that they are the fathers to what we add, but the grandfathers, and the great grandfathers in soul, R&B, jazz and all those art forms that incorporated the message into the music. It seemed back then that everything meant something. A song wasn’t just about love; it had a different dimension. It wasn’t just about sex, violence, but how those things affected the soul of the human being. In other words, music use to have soul. It use to have a meaning behind it, rather than just the self-glorification for the self. We’re trying to connect the past and the future because we represent the wisdom, knowledge and experience that the past has given us, so that way we can pass this on to the younger generation of the future.

Slim: You have to think about it like this. If you have a brother, a father, a grandfather or an OG in the hood that has knowledge, you’re supposed to respect them. You can’t just say “Yo, I’m doing me, chill.” You have to respect what they bring to the table because they’ve been there before and they know how to do what you’re trying to do. That is all we’re saying and that is what we’re trying to do.

MVRemix: What do you think about independent/ underground rappers like MURS, who also goes hard at the people who disrepsect past MCs and do not pay homage to those who paved the way for them?

Immortal Technique: I’m performing at Paid Dues so I guess that says a lot. If I didn’t like that brother and I didn’t like the message he had, I wouldn’t be involved with him business-wise. I believe this leads into another topic where you’re not only saying things, but actually acting. You can say “Oh I’m not going to sell out,” but your actions will reveal what you’re going to do. Don’t tell me what you value. Show me what you spend your money on and I’ll tell you what you value. I’m going to tell you what you love because that exposes everything about you. Being in business with MURS and Guerilla Union shows that I believe that their heart is in the right place, and they’re trying to preserve the culture of hip-hop by giving independence a voice. We do that at Viper and give independence a voice, where we make sure that the artists have their creative vision fulfilled to the fullest of my abilities. In other words I don’t tell a guy, “Don’t rhyme about that.” As long as the song is hot and the mixes sound all right. I’ve had people bring in stuff where the snare is way up and the bass line is messed up. That is when I come into it, and take care of the technical aspects of it.

Slim: We can attest to that (laughs). On The 360 Deal we had some songs that made him cringe a little bit, but it is still on the album and that is how we wanted to express it.

Immortal Technique: If something doesn’t sound right, in terms of sonically, I think that is where someone with more experience, like myself, will step in. It has been a long ride and it will get more hectic as The Middle Passage comes out. I have a documentary coming out this summer and everything is busy, but that is what’s up.

MVRemix: Tell me a little bit about The Middle Passage and when can we expect that to drop?

Immortal Technique: Hopefully at the end of the summer time. Premier and I just announced in front of all of the cameras that we were working together. I’m also working with six other producers that we will reveal at certain times that are strategically planned out, but there is a lot of really incredible talent on the production. It gave me the opportunity to work with people with different sounds. The album has a diverse sound, the lyrics are still very brutal, the topics are still very relevant and we’re going to show people that if I didn’t rhyme about this type of stuff, they wouldn’t know about it. I’m back, not that I ever left but I was busy touring all around the world, while other people were arguing about who had the hottest mixtape that they didn’t even make any money off of. We did it the old-fashioned, punk rock way of getting into the streets and playing different towns. That is something that we always try to do.

MVRemix: Most people know you for just being hard and making songs like Dance With The Devil and Obnoxious, but they don’t know that you help children in Gaza, Afghanistan, and you pay your dues in not only rap, but in places that most people consider bad places. What is your take on that?

Immortal Technique: I think it is interesting because it brings me to a prime topic about The Third World. When I made the album I told people, “If you think it’s hard living in the hood of Texas, or the hood of New York, try living in the Gaza Strip with no water.” South America, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, all of those places. I went to Afghanistan with OMEID International, and we built an orphanage and a school with underground hip-hop money. No corporate sponsorship and no one’s political agenda. It is things like this that make me continue to rhyme about the things I do. It’s not that we don’t like Democracy or America. We like the idea and the message of America, but we don’t like the fraudulent way in which people come across it. We really don’t want Democracy, but we want the natural resources of another country. There is something fundamentally wrong with the way of thinking if you’re trying to justify that in any shape or form as a person who lives in America. Bottom line.

MVRemix: How have you all liked SXSW and the whole experience?

Slim: It’s been a beautiful experience. It’s a party for musicians and it’s what we’re here for. We’re here to preach that independent message, what we do and how we do it.

Fatz: I’m loving it out here, the energy is up and we’re just networking. We’ve done two awesome shows and we’re just loving it out here in Texas.

Immortal Technique: We appeared, did guest appearances, we’ve just been all over the place. We’ve played at about 17 clubs, crashing parties and stuff. We’ve been hanging out with people with rugged feet, everything. Shout out to Chino XL, Rebel Armz every day and Mohammad Dangerfield. SXSW 2011, MVRemix, we out!

More information about Immortal Technique can be found here: Viper Records, Immortal Technique and Youtube

More information about Da Circle can be found here: Viper Records, Twitter and Facebook

Also check out the organization Immortal worked with in Afghanistan: OMEID International

Mohammad Dangerfield which consists of rappers Rugged N’ Raw and Hasan Salaam, are performers that you should definitely know about. Both have received critical acclaim for their independent work, and for their work as Mohammad Dangerfield. Working with the likes of U-God of Wu-tang Clan, Brand Nubian and Consequence, Mohammad Dangerfield keeps things fresh while also working with those that have paved the way for artists like themselves.

Signed to Viper Records Mohammad Dangerfield shares the same label as underground heavyweight rapper Immortal Technique and rap duo Da Circle. Mohammad Dangerfield embarked on multiple tours in 2010 and performed during Austin, Texas’ SXSW 2011 music festival. Along with touring, the group’s self-titled album was released February 22, 2011 to positive reviews.

During SXSW’s festivities I had the opportunity to talk with Mohammad Dangerfield about SXSW, the music they make, working hard to achieve success and influences.

MVRemix: Since we’re here for SXSW what have you thought so far about the experience, and is this your first time out here?

Rugged N Raw: This has been our first time here at SXSW and it has been an amazing experience. We have done five shows in three days and the response has been crazy. The people have been great, the spots have been great, everyone rocks out with us and they talk with us. It has just been a great experience.

Hasan Salaam: It’s dope because there are so many artists out here with so many different styles of music being put on, and everybody just has their own sound. On the hip-hop level it’s cool because I’m seeing people from both the east and the west coast that I haven’t seen in a long time, and being able to connect and network with all of these people is just a really blessed thing.

MVRemix: You guys have played with artists such as U-God, Rakim, Talib Kweli and Kurtis Blow. How was it working with people like that who influence the music you make?

Rugged N Raw: I mean for me working with people who were at the forefront of what we’re doing and just having a lot of respect from other people in hip-hop is a cool thing. Although we do create this music for ourselves, we do hope that people can relate to the music and understand everything we’re saying. To be able to share the stage with those types of names is just a sign that we’ve been putting in our work, and that we are not afraid to do our own footwork. The reward may not come right away, but to be able to share the stage with those bigger acts, and afterwards have people come up to us, buy a CD and remember us, is truly a lot of gratification.

Hasan Salaam: To work with all the artists that I have worked with just shows that we are doing what we need to do to get to the places we need to be, to make sure that the people hear our work as individuals and as a group. Like my brother (Rugged N’ Raw) says we do our own footwork. We’re passing out fliers and connecting with people. We’re not like those artists who say “you can talk to my people.” You can come and talk to me, which is why we’re out here connecting and handing out fliers. If there is anything worth having in this world you have to work hard for it and you got to do it yourself because they’re no free handouts.

MVRemix: Where can people check out or download some of your music?

Hasan Salaam:Go to modanger.com where you can download our EP for free. For future stuff I have my next album called “Life in Black and White” which will be out some time this year.

Rugged N Raw: I have a bunch of stuff planned as well, but mainly just check out the self-titled album. It has a bunch of good songs on it and to be honest our album is the shit.

MVRemix: Any last words for the people back at home who will be reading this?

Rugged N Raw: If you are reading this then you are instantly cool. Even if you do not like us but you are reading this you are still cool. Continue to support Hasan Salaam, myself, Mohammad Dangerfield and we will continue to support ourselves and other dope artists in the future. Stop complaining about the state of music because music is on and poppin’, and Mohammad Dangerfield is at the forefront.

You can find more stuff about Mohammad Dangerfield, Rugged N’ Raw and Hasan Salaam at Viper Records, Mo Danger, Twitter and Facebook.