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11/13/2006 What’s up? Handling business, putting the finishing touches on my debut album, The Renaissance, and getting ready to let the world know who Rugged Intellect is. You just finished your new mixtape, The Gwop Era. How’s it doing for you? The mixtape is doing great. I've been getting phenomenal feedback from everyone who's listened to it. As much as I did it for the streets, the mixtape is mainly targeted towards my industry peers as I seek to establish myself as one of the premier up-and-coming artists in the industry. Did it come out the way you wanted it to? Most definitely. At 21 tracks, the mixtape gives the listener a chance to hear what I'm about over a variety of beats, both original and industry. As opposed to the album format, which is much more structured and topically cohesive, mixtape material allows me to just smash beats lyrically and have a little fun with it. Also with the upcoming release of my debut LP, I felt it was mandatory to put something out there to hold people down until the real classic is unveiled. What was the biggest challenge you faced putting the mixtape together? To be honest with you, putting out this mixtape was not really a challenge at all. As an artist who's in full control of my career, I envision an idea and execute it until I am satisfied with the end product. This mixtape is a real success because it serves its role as an anticipation-builder for my debut LP, which is my main focus as we approach the new year. Are you happy with the response to The Gwop Era so far? From a demographic standpoint, I am extremely satisfied with the mixtape, as it’s been allowing me to expand my fan-base in Europe and Asia, among other places. Looking at the big picture, the release of this mixtape is the first step in branding Rugged Intellect's name in speakers across the planet. No matter how many people may have heard about me, I'm always trying to expand my fan-base and The Gwop Era has been phenomenal in making that happen. Do you think you face more challenges coming from Canada than American MC’s face? Regardless of where someone comes from, they will face lots of challenges trying to break into an oversaturated market like the hip-hop industry. But at the end of the day, the music will speak for itself. Coming out of Canada gives me the opportunity to enter the game from an underdog perspective and I'm perfectly comfortable showing people why I am one of the names that constantly come up when people ask who's bringing the heat. Industry-wise, being from Canada has never been an obstacle to me getting my respect and building relationships with other artists and fans. Also, the fact that people tend to sleep on Canada will benefit me in the long run because when people hear my album, they will be able to see it's not a geographic thing. My talent is obvious independent of where I am from. Has the internet been useful in getting the word out on your music? MC’s and producers are definitely blessed nowadays as a revolutionary invention like the Internet has allowed many artists to get their name out there. As an independent artist with a moderate marketing budget, the internet is a great vehicle to promote my material and develop potential demographics at any time. In this age of technology, it is essential to at least have minimal internet presence allowing fans to check you out. Personally, I can say the internet has been very useful in spreading my name out internationally, getting hits from places like Japan, the UK, Germany and France, which are all huge markets for hip-hop. What is the scene like in Canada? The scene in Canada is a burgeoning one full of talented artists but the industry itself has not been sufficiently developed to create adequate outlets for the artists to be heard. Personally, I had to create my own outlets to get my name out there as they were not available to me at the beginning of my career, but hopefully my success can play a part in helping that situation change. Canada is not known for having hardcore hip-hop artists. Can you change that? I don't know if I am willing to accept such a burden, but I can tell you that when people hear my album, The Renaissance, the perspective on hip-hop coming out of Canada will be changed forever. As an artist who pushes for versatility, the label “hardcore” is a bit limiting and I wouldn't want to necessarily pigeonhole myself in that specific category. In the early years of my career, I considered myself a hardcore artist and lyricist, but with time realized there were many more musical avenues I would like to explore and my upcoming album illustrates that perfectly. How is The Renaissance coming? My debut album The Renaissance is 95% done and we are currently wrapping up the post-production end of things as we speak. This album promises to be the most complete hip-hop joint you've heard in a minute, based on the beats, rhymes and classic guest appearances it contains. As a hip-hop connoisseur, my aim was to create an album that would satisfy me on both the spectator and artistic levels and I think I accomplished that mission with ease. Production-wise, I got my man Domingo on like six joints, Buckwild gave me some heat, Memo from the Molemen gave me some more heat and also my man Adam Sampler, who is one of the illest up-and-coming producers and the man behind my collaboration with Kool G. Rap, "All Fair." Speaking of collaborations, The Renaissance features appearances from Kool G. Rap, Ras Kass, Heltah Skeltah, RA the Rugged Man, Solomon Childs, AG and Party Arty of DITC and CL Smooth. As you can see, the ingredients are all there to make it pop off. All I have to do is deliver it to the masses. You’ve done some good work with Domingo in the past. Is Domingo helping you with the album past contributing beats? As a mentor and close friend, the album would not be what it is without Domingo's expert insight and advice. Anyone that knows Domingo will tell you he is in a class all by himself, as it is rare to see someone who has accomplished what he has be so humble and ready to offer his help at every turn. From day one, Domingo said he had my back and delivered on that 100%, whether by getting legends like Kool G. Rap and Ras Kass to jump on my record, or by handling a large share of the production duties on my album. When all is said and done, our alliance has resulted in some pretty heavy records and you can be sure Domingo and I will continue making history throughout my career. Speaking of Domingo, make sure y'all go cop his album The Most Underrated, dropping first quarter 2007. Ideally, how do you want the album to come out? In the earlier stages of my career, I was specifically aiming at getting a major label deal for my projects, but lacking the required gimmickry to make that happen, I've instead opted to go the independent route by creating my own company, Renaissance Music. In association with Adam Sampler's company, Expertism Music Group, we have positioned ourselves towards releasing the finest hip-hop records with complete control. As opposed to depending on labels to create our records, we are able to produce records from A-Z. The Renaissance LP is a perfect example of that, as we had no label input or help handling our responsibilities. Ultimately, my album is already successful in the sense that I delivered what I think is a classic LP without a million dollar budget or fake industry hype. As a hip-hop entrepreneur, my current aim is to get my label off the ground and operate as an independent. However, I respect and would love to do business with a company like Babygrande, whose vision of putting out quality music is similar to my own. Like I mentioned previously, me and my production company are able to put out our own records so I am looking to align myself with a company like Babygrande who could understand the type of records I bring to the table and distribute the record for me. Babygrande's roster and attitude is definitely something I'd like to associate myself with and hopefully we can make that happen in the near future. What are your goals for the Gwop Era mixtape? My goals for the Gwop Era mixtape are simple: get as many people to listen to it and continue generating buzz for my brand and album. At this point I am devoted to expanding my demographic and I think the Gwop Era mixtape is the perfect vehicle for me to do so. What’s next for you? Up next is the media blitz I will be handling before the album's release. I am in the process of getting advertising and coverage in publications across the globe, so my focus is definitely to continue spreading the word and get people to be part of my movement. Recording-wise, I'm always working on new material, so you know I'll be doing a lot of that. For now, it's all about building the Rugged Intellect brand, and getting people ready for The Renaissance LP. What do you want to say to everybody? Peace to everyone supporting my movement, The Renaissance is going to be a classic so act like you already know! http://ruggedintellect.com http://myspace.com/ruggedintellect http://expertism.net http://domingobeats.com

By Brian Kayser

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