Words with Dan Leung

The first time I met Dan Leung was in Guangzhou. At the time, I was in Hong Kong, and Guangzhou is not that far from Hong Kong, so a few guys and I decided to cruise out there for a skate trip. Dan was living out there at the time. The guys I was with were already on a friendly basis with him, so he met up each day to cruise with us. On my last day there, I made the silly mistake of leaving my travel bag in the trunk of a cab.  My passport and clothes were in that bag and once I realized where I had left them, I knew the chances of getting them back were slim. The first thing you need to do when you lose a passport is go to the police station and file a report. Dan helped me out big time with that. He knew where to go, and what to say.

Besides helping random fools who have lost their passports, Dan’s also a professional skateboarder. He has been skating professionally in China for a good minute. In addition to killing it on the board, he is also a talented beatmaker. Together with Jinsfake, Dan (who goes by Dancancook) recently released ‘The Alliance’, a 22-track beat album. Boom-bap, ambient sounds, and excerpts all combine for a solid listening experience on this one. I recently threw some questions Dan’s way about his new project, skating, and life in general. Read on to see what he had to say.

  1. Let’s start with the basics. Where did you grow up and where are you now?

I was born in Hong Kong, but I grew up in Shanghai. Now, I’ve been back in Hong Kong for almost 4 years.

  1. You’re fluent in both Mandarin and English? How did that happen?

I’m half Scottish and half Cantonese so I grew up speaking both. Then when I moved to Shanghai, I started learning Mandarin.

  1. How did you get into skating?

A couple of my friends in Scotland just started skating before I moved away so that’s how I got introduced to it, but I didn’t start until I got to Shanghai. I didn’t know anybody so I convinced my mum to buy me one of those shitty complete boards that you could buy at any big supermarket and I would just skate around downstairs our apartment. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing or that you could even do tricks.

  1. Who were some of the local guys you looked up to when you first started skating?

There weren’t too many skaters at that time but whoever I was skating with would be the ones influencing me.

  1. Can you tell us a little bit about the Shanghai/China skate scene when you first started getting into skating? What were some of the companies or guys that were big back then?

There wasn’t much going on when I started skating. Not like it is now anyway. No one was sponsored and any company that was around wasn’t making big moves like these days. Everything was still relatively new.

  1. A lot of people refer to you as ‘Jiba Dan’. How did you get that nickname? How do you feel about it? Do people still call you that?

It was just a nickname I had when I was a younger. The people that still call me that are mostly close friends and people who have known me a long time. I don’t feel anyway about it. It’s more a play on the translation of Dan in Chinese which can mean egg or balls and ‘jiba’ means dick so you have “dick and balls” haha.

  1. You and I met in Guangzhou in 2011. You were living in Guangzhou at that time, right? What were you doing out there?

That’s right! You lost your wallet in the cab, I remember. I was just bouncing around from city to city around that time trying to figure out my next move. That’s when GZ was a hot spot for teams from overseas to come film at like Girl, Chocolate etc. Ant Claravall would mostly be with them on this filming trips and would ask me to join and help take them to spots. My homie hooked me up with a place to stay and I just chilled out there for a bit.

  1. You were a local at LP when that place was still popping off, right? How often would you skate that place?

Oh man. I was there almost every other day at least. That was a great time for skating at LP.

  1. What were some of the hijinx that you would see when you were there? Any bum fights?

To be honest, I never saw many fights at LP. We were all there just doing our thing, having a good time. Occasionally, you would see a car crash or two on the street right there but that’s about it from what I can remember.

  1. A lot of people who’ve lived in Shanghai for a while feel like the city has changed quite a bit over the last 5-10 years. What’s your feeling on that? Are there any changes (good or bad) that you can testify to?

Everything changes at some point. A city like Shanghai is constantly developing.

  1. You’re living in Hong Kong now, right? Why did you move there?

Ya, I’ve been back in HK for 3 years now. Multiple reasons.

  1. What kind of stuff are you skating these days? Having lived in Hong Kong before, I know that place is not the easiest place to just cruise or skate flatground in. Do you feel like the way you skate has changed since moving there?

It’s definitely not Shanghai marble but I’m still skating ledges.

  1. How’s your Cantonese?

Not as good as I want.

  1. You have been making music for a while now. How did you get into doing that?

I got into it a long time ago with a few friends from school just messing around making beats on GarageBand and then someone would rap over it. I still have those files somewhere.

  1. What kind of equipment do you use to produce? Are there any machines or software that you really like working on or with?

These days I’m mostly using Ableton. I still have my MPC 1000 from years ago that I still use occasionally.

  1. You just dropped ‘The Alliance’ with Jinsfake. Who is Jinsfake and how did you guys go about collaborating on this project?

Jinsfake is a homie from Beijing. We are both part of a local record label “Undaloop”. We’ve been sending each other tracks for a while now and we just decided to do a tape together.

  1. Have you had any MCs jump on any of your tracks? Or, are there any MCs that you’re currently working with?

Only done tracks with local Beijing legends “Purple Soul”.

  1. What’s your feeling on DJing for a live audience? Is that something that you’ve been doing or are trying to get into?

Naw, not really. I just like making beats, that’s all.

  1. Are you pretty up to date on new music? Is there anything that you’ve recently been listening to on repeat?

I’m still listening to “Bandana” by Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, if that’s considered new. “Alfredo” “Eastern Medicine, Western Illness” by Preservation is a really good album. If you haven’t heard that you should.

  1. Ok, on to the personal. You just had a baby, right? I imagine your time is a bit more limited now. How has it been balancing that with everything else?

That’s right. Little man just turned 1. It’s been ok. My wife and I got a system which works, so we chillin.

  1. What’s a typical day like for you these days?

Just a normal day. Wake up, hang out with my son. Feed him some lunch. Go skate. Come home and do some work. If I’m not skating, I’m working on designs for Avenue & Son. Some nights, I’ll be making beats.

  1. Do you currently have any skate or music projects in the works that we can look out for?

Skate wise. New Balance Numeric Asia will be putting out a video featuring Sangoe, Jasper, Mak, and myself. Music wise, I have a couple ideas floating around for a beat tape. Then, Jinsfake and myself will be working on a new one again real soon!

  1. Thanks for doing this interview man. Are there any shoutouts that you’d like to give?

Stay safe!

Check out some of Dan’s video parts in the links below.

‘My Road’

‘Seek Know1edge’

Q & A WITH B.WHITE(THE 58s)

WHILE PARTS OF PITTSBURGH LIKE LAWRENCEVILLE AND EAST LIBERTY ARE STARTING TO FEEL THE EFFECTS OF GENTRIFICATION, OTHER SECTIONS ARE STILL FEELING THE SLOW BLEED OF THE ONCE VIBRANT STEEL INDUSTRY THAT HAS ALL BUT ABANDONED THE AREA.
NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE BRADDOCK AND MCKEESPORT ARE FILLED WITH EMPTY MILLS AND SHUTTERED BUSINESSES THAT CATERED TO THE WORKERS THAT INHABITED THESE BOROUGHS. THE LACK OF JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND THE BLIGHT THAT GOES ALONG WITH IT MAKE THESE PLACES THE PERFECT SOIL FOR BREEDING CRIME. IT IS ALSO THE PLACE THAT ONE OF PITTSBURGH ‘ S MOST SKILLED MCs CALLS HOME.

BORN AND RAISED IN MCKEESPORT, B WHITE WEARS HIS CITY’S NAME LIKE A MEDAL OF HONOR. OVER THE LAST DECADE B HAS BEEN BUILDING A REPUTATION OF MURDERING BEATS. WHETHER IT’S A CLASSIC EAST COAST BOOM BAP TRACK OR A CLUB BANGER, HE SHOWS NO PREJUDICE WHEN HE’S ON THE MIC.
WITH SOME PRETTY BIG MOVES ON THE HORIZON, WE SEIZED THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK B SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT GOT HIM TO WHERE HE IS AND WHAT MIGHT BE IN STORE FOR THE FUTURE…

 

1. How long have you been taking mcing seriously? What’s motivated you the most to grab the mic?

I guess I’ve always been serious about making music but my mid 20s I really realized the gift I had so I gave it a run. Been running ever since. The motivation comes from hunger. Simple as that. Im hungry as ever so thats the motivation.

2. Most rappers often get pigeonholed as a street rapper/battle rapper/or lyrical rapper or whatever may be the hyped term for the moment. You have been able to avoid that by basically encompassing all of the above. What influences as a mc has impacted this?

Well of course the usual suspects Jay-Z, Scarface, Tupac & so forth were my influences because I grew up in that era. But I would say my neighborhood and the city of Pittsburgh have more influence on my music than anything or anyone ever could

 

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3. On the production side you have worked with dudes who have made a long list of hits as well as cats who are just beginning to get some shine. Who are some producers you’d like to work with? Is there anything in particular you’re looking for when listening to some instrumentals?

When I listen for beats im really just checking for something hot. Or something with potential to be dope. I know my lyrics and style can add a whole new flip to a beat that the naked ear doesn’t hear on a “blank” canvas. As far as who I’d like to work with, I’d say whoever got heat. Im not biased at all. Famous or nameless I’ll rock with you if its good music.

4. Your catalog is one of the more consistent collections of alot of mcs putting out releases these days. Do any of your albums stick out as a favorite? Which one would you tell someone who hasn’t heard b.white to check out first?

For a first time listener I always recommend my latest work. It just seems natural. But in my opinion, “The Verdict” is my best album.

b

5. Any words on your next release (date/title/features)

I’ve been working alot with the New York based label Deep Concepts Media (DCM) who signed Nature and also working alot with Hubbs. New song with Nature coming soon. But im not sure on any dates or titles. In time, in time haha.

6. How has your creative process changed since you first started recording?

It’s remained pretty consistent. Write in my free time and record EVERYTHING with Big Jerm. Im just alot more confident due to my experience.

7. If you could go back 10 years what advice would you give yourself when it comes to this music business?

Don’t do it. Buy real estate instead.

big jermID LABS producer BIG JERM

8. Any monumental moments you’ve had from being an mc (any stand out shows/recording sessions/discussions)

My last show @ the Rex Theater. We sold it out. Everyone came. Easily my greatest moment in music. Also, I record with the best engineer in the world. It becomes normal after working with him for so long but it’s not, its a blessing. I thank Big Jerm all the time.

9. This day and age a good chunk of artists have been able to find success  without a label. This also means taking on many different roles besides just being an mc. In an ideal world do you see yourself taking this route or finding a home on a proper label?

I would like sign as long as my creative control isn’t interfered with of course. Theres alot of parts of this business I dont like doing. I just want to make albums and tour. In a perfect world the label would handle the rest. But we all know that’s not the case.

10. What have you been listening to lately?

Lynyrd Skynyrd, Etta James, BB King, Bob Seger, Al Green and the list goes on. Rap, not so much. Im easily bored. I listen to Skynyrd’s “Mr. Banker” everyday. I know, im a weirdo haha.

11. Wax or flowers?

Both. I call it making a salad. The rig been dropping me lately though, so I been resting……..for now.

12. You take being from the Mon valley very seriously. ..explain to outsiders what McKeesport is like

Its a steel mill town with no steel mills. Just a fading history. It encompasses what America is turning into right under our nose. No work and alot of crime. So we get cornered into making bad decisions. Thats gonna produce grimey people, its simple. Im the epitome of the Mon Valley and I’m gonna rep that til I’m gone. It feels like my duty. In a strange way I’m proud of that.

13. Where would you be without hip hop?

I dont know. Probably exactly where I am now. But I wouldn’t have been able to do this interview and for that, thank you hip hop. Thank you too Iggy. You’re a stand up guy. Salute

http://http://www.datpiff.com/The-58s-The-58s-mixtape.222483.html

 http://http://www.datpiff.com/B-White-of-The-58s-The-Evidence-mixtape.266411.html

http://http://www.datpiff.com/B-White-The-Verdict-mixtape.364896.html

http://http://www.datpiff.com/B-White-The-Anomaly-mixtape.482351.html

http://http://www.datpiff.com/B-White-The-58s-Present-The-Blizzard-Of-93-mixtape.563298.html

HAVING WORDS WITH GAMBLE(HIGHER LEVEL ART/BENCHERS UNION)

gamble int 2

1. When did u start getting into graffiti?

I started painting for real in ’96. But, really got interested around ’94. I had a couple friends that grew up in Chicago that would geek out on my comic book drawings and would always tell me how I should be painting graff. They had mad freights and full blackbooks already, we we’re all like 14 to 17. Basically, I appreciated it a ton as a kid, and got into it on the side without them knowing at first. Me and my other friends used to run around bridge spots and ride our bikes all around abandoned shit, so we had spots, and found spots, it was only natural that we got into painting those spots. My favorite thing about coming up then compared to now is how it was so natural, of course we racked and found our own fats and skinnies off of other cans on the shelf. You had to develop style and techniques off of who you actually painted with and the few heads you saw around. Things have changed a lot since then. Now a days, it’s not even close, it’s entirely a different game. Not even the same at all. 

2. Back in the day magazines held it down when it came to getting fame nationwide…you got any favorites you’d like to see make a come back? Video series?

Yeah the old magazine/video hype was a big deal. The names I remember are like VideoGraff, Gtv. The FX video. A lot of Philly and east coast stuff. That shit was just cool to see. I was living in the PacNorthwest for much of those years. So as the magazines go, CanControl was a great representation of that community. The KYT guys had “Indecent Exposure” which was full of street shots and politics. The Euro scene had Backjumps on store shelves, there were so many mags in the late nineties. But, the best movies ever made are WildStyle and BloodSport tho!!

3.Did graf get you into art or did you already know you could paint before you caught the fever?

I could NOT paint before graff. I could draw better than anybody I knew till I moved out west. But painting the right way is a whole ‘nother thing. As painting goes, I did it the right way ( I think) … 1000’s of hand styles over the early years, mostly bad, until I could hold my own. Not to mention, to even be relevant you had to go out every night, and cover a ton of ground. Then doing terrible outlines, fill ins, and wack pieces, trying to gain can control. I think you can see everything you need to know in a hand style. Hands show your fundamental skill. If you can do a gorgeous piece with terrible hand, you probably never did real shit. I know plenty of people who’s pieces aren’t that great, but their hands are solid as fuck. Hands equal real graffiti. Pieces are eyecandy and fun. It’s an ongoing study. Anybody who says different is either not challenging themselves anymore, or not as good as they think they are.

GAMBLE AT LEGENDARY PRODUCER, HI TEK'S CINNCY STUDIO

GAMBLE AT LEGENDARY PRODUCER, HI TEK’S CINNCY STUDIO

4. Your company HIGHER LEVEL ART has allowed you to explore the more commercial side of graffiti. What are some projects you’ve worked on?

HLA started as my portfolio for freelance work and gradually I added people to it to encourage it to be bigger than myself. Having a solid team has allowed us to get national and international work. My favorite gigs have always involved travel. I love to travel, but hate to pay for it, so anytime I can travel to work the better. The UFC house for their reality TV show was a personal favorite. I grew up doing Japanese Jujitsu/Judo, and remember when the Gracies’s put on the first UFC’s and the Brazilian craze started in martial arts world. Plus moving on from that into graff, only to 15 years later meet Dana and be offered the house gig. It was worlds colliding for me. I felt like it was a great completion to a circle. My best childhood friend is a BJJ blackbelt and runs several schools of his own. Some of his students were some of the biggest names to ever come off that show, so it was really satisfying to be able to get back into that world for my art. I feel like in ’97, I went towards pushing my painting, and my dude went to BJJ. It was an honor for sure, even if it was just a reality TV show. 

5. HLA has painted a number of schools. How did that come about and what has the response been?

About 5 years ago, we received a handful of emails from individual teachers that had been given a budget to get their rooms painted. We then got ahold of the superintendent so that we work out a deal to be the sole painters of the project. That first round was 13 rooms. We’ve since done over 50 in that one school district alone. Also we’ve spread to other schools who’ve adopted the same curriculum. The kids and the teachers love it. We encourage the teachers to incorporate their teaching lessons into the themes they choose. Priority number 1 is getting the kids excited to get into the classrooms, in competition of the stimulating, constantly entertaining world we live in. When not in school, they are inundated with such vivid images and stimulation, to be asked to sit in such a sterile environment as a traditional classroom, it’s ridiculous to expect them to fully engage in learning, for real.

6. Explain the #besomebody project and your involvement

#besomebody. is a motivational movement and developing network/platform to connect people of various interests in sort of a teacher/student or mentorship program. At the time of the tour, the founder was looking to do a global activation of his idea. The basic idea was to go to 16 developing markets and impact the city or town in a way that was unique to each location. I was the only painter, along with, a videographer, the founder, and manager. The 4 of us had to acquire paint, hit media, find spots, and edit the video of each spot in about 3 days. The tour was about 6 weeks long, worldwide. It was a really great opportunity, to good to pass up, to travel the world and not only paint in each town, but actually connect with people. If you want a list, here it is, in order.. Austin, Dallas, Mexico City, Cincinnati, NYC, London, Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Casablanca(Morocco), Shirati (Tanzania, Dubai (UAE), Manilla (Philippines), HongKong, SanFrancisco.

gmble int 4 dubai

  gamble tattoo pic

7. In the last few years you have taken tattooing pretty seriously. Is this something you could see yourself doing full time?

Absolutely. It’s a craft I’ve always enjoyed, but years ago, didn’t want to do it, cause I wanted to paint signs, murals etc. At the times I wanted to take it on, those I’d like to teach weren’t interested, and at other times, tattooers would approach me when I wasn’t interested. But finally the stars aligned for about a year and a half in Erie, PA with my big homie, Suga. He’s got a solo shop, Steadfast Tattoo Parlour, in Erie. He’s the best, fuck whatcha heard.

8. Do you have a favorite medium when it comes to art?

Not really, tattooing is awesome, I wish I had the clientele at this time to do nothing else. Aerosol is fast, and fun, but you can only take it so far down in scale. And brush painting is really satisfying to do, but not really a viable way of life. So, as my old boss used to say, .. “You gotta sing, you gotta juggle, you gotta dance.” Meaning, don’t think you’re gonna get away with only some of your efforts.

9. Did 20y.o Gamble ever think graffiti would take him around the globe? 

Hell no. I did drugs and went to jail too much to think about anything past the end of my fingertips.

 

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10. How did u get involved with the MODERN URBAN LEGENDS comic book and is it going to be a full on series?

I have want to do a true graffiti comic book forever. I’ve had stories written and started too many times over the years. But, what actually made it happen was my man Teel of the MUL’s. Teel was talking about it among some people and he was bullshitting with Jaber about it. Jabs said he should talk to me, the rest is future history. Teel and I had already been working together, but he didn’t know about my comic drawing stuff. So this comic we’re doing, Modern Urban Legends, is memoirs from Teel, myself, and others told through the eyes of our lead character, RazeOne. We fully self produced the first issue, and are working out the details on future expansion. I am currently drawing the 2nd issue, and 3rd is written. So, yes it will be a series. It’s truly a for us, by us operation, so we require people pick it up and support so we can take it to the level we all collectively want to see.

11. ) Give me a good chase story

This one’s just funny. A few years back, we were 9 deep in a yard in Louisville. The same weekend the Kentucky Derby was being run. So there’s alot of people from all over the world in town. Just so happens we had a lot of the team in town as well.

So we’re painting, usually it’s a pretty chill spot, but 9 heads at noon in the daytime, taking there sweet ass time, can always be risky. We were clowning around chilling did 3 or 4 end to ends, everybody going pretty large. One of the homies is taking flicks, we’re kind of wrapping it up. When I notice, he’s talking to somebody through a gap in the auto racks. I look under, I see shoes, typical cop shoes. He’s telling my dude to put down the camera and stand still, everybody splits down the tracks, while he’s chatting with the copper. Then he breaks out the other way. I didn’t want to run forever the direction everybody else went, and I didn’t know the route out the way he went, so as the cop climbed through, I rolled under. I watched his feet walk towards our scraps, and I skipped out down the tracks, silently stepping on the ties, on my side of the line. When I got a few cars down, I split through a path in some trees. As I came out of the trees, I was going to casual walk down the street, but there was a cop car staring head on at me. 

I realized that car was empty, but could hear more coming fast. I hit the deck. The grass I was laying in was only 2 or 3 feet tall and not very thick. It was a terrible hiding spot, but I couldn’t go anywhere else. So I just pressed myself as low as possible into the dirt. I could hear the other cars crunching and pulling up behind me. They got out, walked down the little grass trail. I could see them all, entirely, all they had to do was look at me, they couldn’t miss me. It was fucking Noon, on a sunny day. They were oblivious. I layed there and could hear them all talking with the first responding cop. They asked him “So, you had some kids tagging the trains, huh?”. He was like “Nah! , These guys were good… Professional… Real Professionals”. It was hilarious! They walked by me, again! They didn’t even glance the slightest bit to the left. I was right there, like 20 feet away, laying on the ground. I heard them spread all the paint and shit they found on their car hoods. They bullshitted for a few, loaded up, and took off. I called the homies, got swooped, and we cracked up over the “Real Professional” line. We had a cookout and clowned. 

12. Where would you be without hip hop?

It’s definitely my foundation or starting point, but don’t at all think it all fits in the same box anymore. The good ol’ days for me.. Tribe, Freestyle Fellowship, Hiero, DasEfx, KrsOne, Old Wu, all that shit. Taking hard copy flicks. Having to actually go places to see things in the real world. I think Hip hop, like graff, is totally different than what it used to be. The internet has both bettered and worsened all of this, as it has most things, and people, in the world. I digress.

MAKE SURE TO KEEP UP WITH ALL OF GAMBLE AND HIGHER LEVEL ART’S PROJECTS

https://www.facebook.com/HigherLevelArt

MIXTAPE MONDAY!

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FOR THIS WEEK’S MIXTAPE MONDAY WE PICKED DETROIT ‘ S DJ HOUSE SHOE ‘S TRIBUTE TO LEGENDARY PRODUCER, J DILLA, THE KING JAMES VERSION.
“House Shoes Presents The King James Version” (House Shoes) is a lovingly and expertly constructed journey through the building blocks of Dilla’s beats – the dusty OG vinyl grooves that he sampled.From the basis of a Frank-N-Dank cult favorite, through that of a Fantastic SV moment, to Donuts’ irresistible ingredients, Shoes’ thorough work shines the light on his friend’s ear for a sneaky loop, his affection for perfectly imperfect chops and his knack for extracting the soul from a forgotten musical fragment and making it something altogether new, something his own.

Long Live King James
-Chairman MaoXXL

http:// http://www.mixcrate.com/houseshoes/the-king-james-version-vol-one-chapters-1-5-179832

SPEAKIN WITH GHOST THE ILL FIGURE!

SOME TIMES PEOPLE ARE SAID TO HAVE BEEN BORN IN THE WRONG ERA. THEY HAVE A CERTAIN CONNECTION TO THE PAST FLOWING THROUGH THEM. GHOST THE ILL FIGURE COULD EASILY FIT INTO THIS CATEGORY. WITH A FLOW REMINISCENT OF HIP HOP’S GOLDEN ERA AND LYRICAL CONTENT HARKING BACK TO THE DAYS OF PUBLIC ENEMY AND POOR RIGHTEOUS TEACHERS.

ONE OF THE CORE MEMBERS OF THE ILL NOYZ CREW, GHOST EMBODIES ALL THAT IS HIP HOP.  WHICH IS WHY WE CHOSE HIM FOR OUR FIRST INTERVIEW.  TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO GET TO KNOW GHOST THEN MAKE SURE TO HEAD OVER TO HIS BANDCAMP AND SUPPORT THAT REAL HIP HOPISH!

ghost the ill fig inter

  1. Who were the first emcees that inspired you to start rapping?

–Believe it or not, I never used to listen to rap. I only use listen to what my dad did and that was like funk and some classic rock (Though he liked a few rap songs himself). I started rapping in like 2000, just messing around. I would freestyle over the computer’s Sound Recorder and stuff. But when I started listening to Rakim, Nas, and Mobb Deep, I began to get more serious and started writing lyrics. This was like 2003. Since then, many emcees have inspired my writing. When I first heard Black Moon, I went through a whole rebirth and reinvented my style. Same thing happened when I heard Sunz of Man’s album “The Old Testament”. It’s like going through a renaissance. It wasn’t until I got with ill-Noyz that I solidified my style and became comfortable with it.

  1. How did you link up with the rest of the ill-Noyz Crew?

–In high school, the group started with Syphon X, The Realist (Gabe), and I. I wanted to start a group so I like recruited those two. We were called Potential Felons (or Mic Killas). But that went nowhere and it fell apart. Then, in like 2010, Syphon X, Moppa Flo, and I got together to form a hip-hop band. Syph was on drums, Moppa Flo was on bass, and I was on the mic. Towards the middle of that year the band fell apart, so Moppa Flo and I got with my man L.A.B. and decided to drop the band idea and just work on doing an album. That’s when our first album, Imbibe, was recorded. Then we brought The Realist back the following year and recorded The Odyssey.

  1. What nonmusical influences seep into your emceeing?

–I am influenced by many things: from God, to current events, to books, to conversations I have with people. One of the things that greatly influenced my so-called political overtones was the 9/11 attacks. And this was around the time I started rapping seriously. I was like 9 and I just remember seeing the footage of people free-falling out of the building. I was like, “What hell is going on?!” Two years later, my brother is telling us that he’s going to Iraq. That was another influence on me. I should probably give a shout-out to the whole Bush Administration because if it wasn’t for me growing up in the time of their lies and dirty work, I wouldn’t be the type of person who seeks the truth in everything. Lastly, of course, I’m greatly influenced by black history, thanks to my mother. She always instilled black pride into us and told us about our history. She used to always take us to the library and I would always get a ton of books. One year when I was in middle school, she told me to read Roots. That book literally changed the course of my life and was the start of molding me into the person that I am today.

  1. On Golden Age Memoirs, you said that you were done after that. Since then you have released an LP and an EP…What changed your mind?

–I have too many musical ideas. I love rapping and will probably always write lyrics, but one day I will stop releasing music. But I really don’t know when that will be! I’m currently working on like 2 or 3 things and have another 2 projects on hold. The reason I said that I wanted to stop was because I was feeling disheartened about rap. I didn’t want anything to do with something that I thought, at one point and may still be, was a detriment to the black community. But one of my dudes said that we need cats like you to shine a different light on the genre. So I was like “Okay.” I changed my name from the negative Malevolent to the more positive ill-Figure and started recording more serious songs. A lot of my songs are just lyrical boasts because that is what hip-hop is about. But I’m not going to release an entire barrage of insults against another for something that isn’t nonmusical. I keep it hip-hop.

ghost-abb

  1. American Born Black is a very politically charged statement. While most of the music scene in Erie seems politically ambivalent, you took issues head on. What type of feedback have you received from A.B.B?

–The feedback has been mixed. It wasn’t as good as that of Golden Age or Imbibe. Some disliked it because they thought it was racist and hateful while others saw where I was coming from. Many seemed to like how I addressed both sides of the problem. But regardless of feedback, it was an album I felt I had to do. People seem to have lost the valor to speak their minds and call it how they see it. I wanted to put it all out there on that album, though there were ideas that I didn’t get to record. The inspiration for A.B.B. came to me my freshman year in college. The title comes from this graphic novel I read in one class called American Born Chinese. I had Public Enemy’s Greatest Hits CD and I kept bumping Fight the Power. It was literally on replay. Then I thought to myself, “What happened to this?” Nobody seemed to be making bold music like that anymore, so I said I’m going to bring back that old Public Enemy style. So I went and recorded the first track for the album The Revolution. I had other songs that weren’t as hard-hitting. A couple years into recording the album, I cut those songs and decided to make every song a fierce one. I wanted to demonstrate the frustration and anger that people have. Not everything is Kumbaya and We Are the World.

  1. You have done a good chunk of your own production on your releases. Do you favor emceeing over producing or vice versa?

–I like them both. Writing lyrics is definitely easier though, but producing is fun. I always have beats in my head. And I’m a sample junkie, so I’m always looking for them. I was just telling my man L.A.B. about this beat I made that I think is a masterpiece; and I envisioned the whole thing before I even made! People always used the drums from this Sly and the Family Stone song (which some probably know, but I’m going to leave it unnamed for now) but I noticed nobody ever used the main riff in the song. So I combined both, broke out my bass and stacked the bass line, and then added a bunch of other samples to it. It’s real old school like. There are lie 3 Sly Stone samples, 2 James Brown samples, 2 Earth, Wind and Fire samples, the Bar-Kays, Atlantic Starr, plus a couple other samples on that track. Yeah, I’m very proud of it! So I’d say I like producing just as much as emceeing, but I don’t think my productions are as recognized as my lyrics.

  1. You have been taking your academics very seriously. What are you going to school for and what are your hoping to do when you get done?

–I graduated in May with a Bachelors in Political Science. I’m looking forward to interning on Capitol Hill with hopes of doing legislative work. I’m also studying for the LSATs because I’m thinking of law school, but you never know what the future holds. If a job isn’t dynamic enough, I get fed up with them quickly, so I could be all over the place in the next 5-10 years.

ghost

  1. Give me 3 MCs that make you want to be a better MC?

–Ghostface Killah is definitely number 1. And I did not bite his name! But if I could rap like anybody, it would be him. Supreme Clientele was one of my renaissance albums that I would just study for weeks. Another would be Kanye West. I admire his artistic artistry. We know he has had some dope production, but I think he is a pretty good lyricist also. The third would be Black Thought. The Roots have, I don’t know, how many albums and I have yet to hear a whack verse from the man. That is what I strive for. An honorable mention would be Killah Priest because the jewels that man drops in his rhymes are nearly beyond comprehension!

  1. What does hip-hop mean to you?

–To me, hip-hop is a Higher Infinite Power Healing Our People. If it doesn’t reach that threshold, it ain’t hip-hop! Hip-hop is a positive and artistic culture. I hate the stain that has been put on it by commercial gangsters and sites like World Star Hip-Hop and even shows like Love and Hip-Hop. None of these have anything to do with the culture itself and they sure aren’t remedial to the people of the culture. It has been hijacked by corporate America though, so what we’re seeing on the surface is not hip-hop. It’s all underground now because only in the underground will you find cats with the integrity to represent the culture to the fullest. Another thing is knowing the history. A lot of cats don’t even know what MC means or who is credited with originating hip-hop music. I want to start my own street trivia show and ask some of these rappers out here easy hip-hip 101 questions like: What does GURU stand for or which crews were the Bridge Wars between? I think I know what the outcome would be.

get busy ghost

10. Final words?    –Shout out to you, Iggy, for the several opportunities you’ve brought about in the last two years. Peace to all the real hip-hop heads and thanks to everyone that has supported ill-Noyz and I over the years. Peace!

http://ill-noyz.bandcamp.com/album/golden-age-memoirs

https://ill-noyz.bandcamp.com/album/american-born-black