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1/2/2006 How have you been lately? I've been good. I've been on the road a lot and have been doing a lot of press. Things are going all right. We haven't heard from you since you put out the EP "The Best Part." What have you been up to since then? I moved out to Philly and I've been on the road on a regular basis. I had my son in '04 and my daughter earlier in '03, my oldest daughter is a few years older. Has being a father changed the way you approach your music? No, not much. I still do what I do. Before I had kids, I knew what I wanted to do and right now, I feel that I'm moving along that same path. What did you want to give people with "Hear After"? Just another good record that people can enjoy, showing the different aspects of my life and how I'm growing. I'm trying to have fun with the music and do things that have never been done before. I plan my albums out where each song fits with each other in a certain way. When I was young, I used to just write verses. Now I feel that I've become a song-writer as well as learned how to become a good album-writer. I sit and try to plan things out and make sure the record is complete, has variety, and at the same time has a sound to it that people can enjoy in one sitting. Being a producer as well as an MC, what comes first, the beat of the rhyme? It depends on the song really. Sometimes the rhyme inspires the beat and sometimes the beat inspires the rhyme. Sometimes I'll write to a beat and then lay it over a different beat. I try to lay it out so each song comes out as best as possible. What do you want to make when you produce for yourself? I came up in the days where "Low-End Theory" and "Midnight Marauders" were classic albums. EPMD had a level of consistency too. The snare is really important. It has to really smack you in the face. You have to feel the kick and sometimes hear the kick. I basically go for a vibe that fits the lyrics and then incorporate the drums into that vibe, whether it's from an MPC or live musicians. Whatever the case may be, I just try to make sure the drums fit the song. Sometimes the songs don't require the boom-bap. Sometimes it's just an 808 and rim-shot. I just try to have really high quality songs, because the first thing you think about when you think of me as an artist is that I'm underground. Underground really means low-budget, grassroots, and doing more with less. What's more important to me is that sonically, my records sound clear and loud, and it's good in terms of quality. How important is live instrumentation to your music? I wouldn't call it important as much as it's good to have. It's not vital in the sense where we couldn't just hammer something out on the MPC. It's good to have that variety where somebody has the freedom to put into their instrument what you put into your mic. A sample is a sample that you can twist around, but to have a live musician, it's almost as if they're playing to your lyrics. Sometimes the sample can have the same effect. It's a treat and it's definitely a part of music. It's becoming more and more a part of Hip Hop as the music evolves, and it's good to have more resources at hand. Do you ever see yourself branching out into other genres of music? I heard Dionne Farris say that the genre of music is sort of like a vessel. Music itself, it transcends genres if it's good music. I've drawn inspiration from jazz musicians, reggae artists…I do what comes naturally and let people categorize it as they will. This album has a very strong Latin vibe. Songs on the last album were heavier in jazz and reggae influences. I rap, and to me it's Hip Hop. Sometimes you have rock artists that'll rap on a rock record. I love rapping because I love Hip Hop, and that's what I do. There might be some sort of fusion, but Hip Hop is the root of what I've done and what I've come up out of, so that will always be the foundation of my music. If it branches out and it's classified as something else, it'll still have that history of being based on my upbringing in Hip Hop. Speaking of categorizations, it seems as though ever since "Satisfied" came out, you've been labeled as a "conscious MC." Do you consider yourself a "conscious MC?" I think I'm a conscious individual, and I MC. I think it's very astute of you to associate that term with a song like "Satisfied," because you don't really hear too much about that. With press on "The Best Part," it was that I'm doing something and I didn't get much light. For press on "All of the Above," that label came up. Any kind of pigeonhole that you're put into will have a positive and negative effect. The label allows people to easily identify with you, but if you don't identify with the label, you shy away from it. You hit the nail on the head where "Satisfied" put me in that niche. At the same time, there were songs like "Vampire Hunter," "Rage," and "Timeless." There's more to me than just that, and each album has shown that sort of diversity. I just try to spread myself out to where it's not always about one thing. I've been a 5-percenter for the past nine years, but I don't try to drill that point home throughout the album. I may allude to it or make reference to it, and it permeates through the points I want to get across, but I don't beat people over the head with it. Each song is not about one particular thing. If it wasn't for that label, certain people may not have been drawn to me. At the same time, I can't allow labels that people make for me to limit me, whether it's "conscious," "underground," "East Coast," or "purist." They may be true to a degree, but it is not inclusive as to who I am as an artist. You used to teach as well, do you see yourself going back? Yeah, I have to go back and get my Master's. Right now, I'm trying to focus on my music and build a discography that has a lot of quality albums behind it. I have three albums and an EP. Doing a full-length every three years is just the beginning. In the next five years, I'd like to look back and have four or five albums under my belt. Right now, I'm very, very focused on making music and having fun with it, and raising my family off of my legacy. A lot of people may not even realize how far back you go. Do you feel that you get the respect you deserve? From the people that know me, yeah. It's only a matter of time before my music is exposed to more people than I can shake a stick at. I feel that I have real high-quality fans and they compare me to artists that others who love those artists have never heard of me. I think that's a testament to what I've accomplished in building my fan base and being able to influence people to hear my music and be one of the albums of the year. I've definitely gained a lot of respect and notoriety around the world. I never expected it to be like this. Can you pinpoint that one moment when you knew you were going to do Hip Hop and take it seriously? I remember a video shoot with De La Soul and then there was a jam session with the Roots at the Knitting Factory. I met a lot of artists that I respected, and a lot of them were familiar with my music. It was a time when "Longevity' and "Bragging Writes" had been getting out. I had put the music out to the world, but it didn't hit me that the world had received it as well as they did. Lord Jamar, I.N.I, The Jungle Brothers, and The Roots…everybody and their mom was at The Knitting Factory and I got up there to spit, and the crowd received me like they knew me. I thought I would just be some dude spitting a 16 and would walk away unnoticed. They were looking forward to hearing me before I got on. That was one of the moments when I knew I had an effect on what was going on and I could be successful and make my mark. What was it like being on the Stretch and Bobbito show? When I was on Stretch and Bob, the fans would sell tapes of the show. It was a really, really big thing back then and to get love from them and from WNYU back then with Eclipse and Mayhem, and Hard Core Righteousness at City College, that was really where I got my mark and experience on the radio. Then I would go out and meet the original DJ's on the West Coast and other spots, this is around the time when promotional copies of "The Score" were circulating. I opened up for The Fugees at my school. Coming up when I did definitely had it's advantages because the independent scene has grown exponentially over the years. For somebody to establish themselves now, it's a real feat. How important is the live show to you? Being that it's part of my name, it's pretty damn important. DJ's respect it. We put a lot of effort into making sure that our show runs like a party. When Flow-Fader is spinning and I'm getting my drink on, every record he plays is an "oh, shit!" record. When we perform, we try to make sure every song we play is a record like that. I'll juggle when I do "Bragging Writes." It's important to have that show beause that's our chance to give back to the people that have appreciated my records and music, and you can't do that unless you bring 100% and leave it all on the stage. What's your favorite thing to do, producing, DJ'ing, or MC'ing? My favorite thing is to cut a record that I produced and rhymed over! (laughs) All jokes aside, it's probably rhyming. Rhyming is more cost-efficient that anything because you don't need to buy records or equipment or clear samples. You just have to have a pad and a pen and spit. DJ's and producers makes the beats and plays the beats, but the MC gets their message out. That's paramount to me. I love having people quote the lines. I want my lines to really hit home. The feedback for "Hear After" has been real good in that regard. I just tried to elevate production-wise and make it so people see how different it is. I got a lot of flack for "The Best Part" because it was so different from "All of the Above." I'm getting a lot of flack on this album because it's sort of a departure from "All of the Above" as well because there's not as much jazz in it. I wanted to get really deep into the lyrics and concepts. From a craftsmanship standpoint, this album is just as advanced. People that are happy with the record see it as elevation and others want that same sound from "All of the Above," but I can't do that. How do you make sure you keep progressing as an artist? I write for awhile, and then I'll stop for a little while, and then when I go back to it, I'll feel like I made a jump or skipped a grade where it's not popping anymore. Maybe I won't want to kick rhymes from that book because I've changed my mind. I've grown as an artist and person, and looking back on my old music is like looking at old photographs, like, "I can't believe I had that flattop and wore that shirt!" As long as I feel that I'm moving ahead and that people can still appreciate my old albums, I'm doing all right. What would you tell kids today that want to have a career in Hip Hop? Stay passionate and be yourself, and don't depend on it. I can't stop because I've come so far. Before I made my mark and before it got to a point where if I stopped, people would have something to remember, before I reached that point, I was always thinking that couldn't be the only way I make my living. I went to school and got my degree. For me, it really came through because I set it up for my first album to come out right after I graduated. I had things in place and my budget was dealt with. I used my budget to pay for my last year of college. I traveled a lot when I was in school and was doing shows on the weekends and holidays. If things fell through, I was prepared and I had that option where I could say, "I want to go teach the babies and I want to have an influence in an area where I may only be able to get a job where more qualified and more experienced teachers don't want to be there." At the same time, we need to be there because of our similar circumstances with the kids and our connection with music. I wouldn't have been able to do that if I had cut out after my second year and said I was going to tour the world and come back to school later. If the first single hadn't have sold 13,000 in 1995, it wouldn't have made a difference. What's next for you? I'm trying to develop my sound as a producer. I feel that I've become good in terms of sonically making sure my records are clear and loud, but I want to show more of a certain style because I've been experimenting for so long. It's been five years of beat-making for me. I want to branch out and work with other artists and show other artists' my ideas. I also want to work with new artists and artists I've looked up to over the years. I also want to establish myself as a DJ. I feel that people only see me as a DJ from "Bragging Writes." I have to get my mixtapes back up and start doing parties again. I have a real passion for rocking the crowd. As a DJ, I feel that I have an important role to play in terms of breaking artists and setting trends. A lot of the elders complain that DJ's now are really just focused on exclusives and are push-button dudes that don't apply any skills or ethics or creativity to what they're doing. I want to mix the underground with the commercial so that the purists can see that you can't just hate on a record because it's on a major-label or the last album went platinum, and to show the other side that you can't just hate on a record because you haven't heard of the artist. I just have to bridge that gap. I can't let that side of me fall by the wayside because I'm so focused on my music. What do you want to say to everyone out there? I just want to say thanks for the support and for the compliments and the criticisms. I'm happiest at the fact that somebody's listening. I'm just real happy that people are influenced by my music and inspired to create and a lot of people come up to me and tell me to keep doing what I'm doing, and that inspires me to write. A lot of people tell me that my music helps them in times of severe adversity in the same way that Bob Marley. Stevie Wonder, Sade, KRS, Public Enemy, and Brand Nubian helped me. To have that sort of influence like how I've been influenced, I just want to thank them for that because that's what keeps me going.

By Brian Kayser

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