You Talking To Me?

I decided to interview myself. I got bored. I think a lot of issues get touched here, and shit...What happens when I talk to me?

What aspect of making music excites you the most right now?

 I guess making beats and recording. There's nothing like rewinding your own product after it's done. I make a beat and immediately tell my compatriots to give it a gander, or we record a song, and it's on repeat for about an hour. New material always gives me a stiffy.

What aspect of making music gets you the most discouraged?

There really isn't anything living or otherwise that can discourage me from making music...however, there are factors that make me chill for a moment....whether that be a better musician or a worse musician. A better musician makes me re-evaluate what I'm working with, makes me step my game up. The booty cats, they make me question if I should keep pursuing the dream as is, or should I do what they do?

What are you up to right now, music-wise? (Current or upcoming recordings, tours, extravaganzas, experiments, top-secret projects, etc)

I'm currently focused on beats and writing songs. Ace Boogie and I decided on the next M.T Bag LP, "Separate But Equal." I know Skeem would be down, but Fauste doesn't really give a fuck. Other than that, it looks like I probably won't get anything with "The Affiliates" for a while, if ever...I got beats to make for Fauste's Lust Complex, I've been trying to do Music For Dummies for a month now, I got appearances to make on Ace Boogie's BP, I got shit to do on The M.Ost of Skeem. I'm "availably" busy.

What's the most unusual place you've ever played a show or made a recording? How did the qualities of that place affect the show/recording?

The weirdest place I've ever played...a church, with Stuntman by my side. We got the fuck censored out of us. The cleanest song we had, "Wartime", was omitted from the show....It was uncomfortable. I thought it was terrible, people loved it though. The most unusual recording spot, Papa Smurf's house. His uncle was right in the next room, it was a cheap $2 lookin' mic, it was just cramped.

In what ways does the place where you live (or places where you have lived), affect the music you create, or your taste in music?

Downtown Cincinnati opens up my creative ports whenever I'm down there. The Queen City is home of some of the most talented people on the planet. I guess it affects me like, "All these other people are making masterpieces and creative shit, you better play your part and hold that up!"

When was the last time you wrote a song? What can you tell us about it?

I write raps all the time, but the last time I wrote a SONG...Late November, or early December. It's called "Storm Out." It's a tale of a couple who fight and are separated by a tornado. The first verse is from the man's perspective, and the next is the woman's. Each verse ends describing how they plead to the Heavens to live the previous hours over again....there is no third verse, which gives a lot of breathing room to the listener like, "Did they get their wishes? Are they still alive? Did that really happen?" You know, having fun with the rap?

As you create more music, do you find yourself getting more or less interested in seeking out and listening to new music made by other people...and why do you think that is?

I'm glad I asked this question. As Third World Records cranks out more music, I simply haven't the time to seek new music, unless I catch it on my own and agree to listen to it, or it's highly recommended by a friend. I don't like a lot of music in our common era. I've been seeking the past, where the music was made for the sake of music, and not a dollar. On top of not having the time, a lot of new music doesn't raise my eyebrows. Everybody's sounding like each other. Following each other in a giant circle, Tweeting and shit.

Lately what musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a listener? (Old or new music? Music like yours or different from yours?)

As of late, I've been all over the place, but my main squeeze right now is Alternative Rock, Ska, Dancehall, and Jazz. Overall, I have to go with anything made between 1960 and 2000. Those 40 years were about MUSIC, no saturated commercialized bullshit, you know?

Name a musician or band, past or present, who you flat-out LOVE and think more people should be listening to. What's one of your all-time favorite recordings by this musician/band?

I'd have to say, Metallica. Hmmm...I'd have to give it to "Nothing Else Matters" from their Black Album.

What's the saddest song you've ever heard?

Easy. "Fool On The Hill"--The Beatles. I nearly broke out into tears listening to this joint, I swear it's about me sometimes. You know? It's like everybody wants to be my friend when they have the time, but when it comes to me being human, "...nobody wants to know him."

--midas has spoken--to midas