Viktor Atkinson (think I spelled that right) ... Dude is a true fan and always ask me questions through myspace. I answer everything in elaborative detail so I don't always have time so I told him I'll do an interview which will answer all his questions. If anybody else has any questions as well leave it in the response section and I don't mind responding and answering it here. Shit why not ...shout outs to viktor here's the questions he came up with and my answers are underneath1. When you are ghost writing do you dumb your lyrics down or are you still lyrical?...... ..
When I write for other people I basically cater to what that individual’s market is. I can’t give a artist who’s looking for a commercial hit a verse like I did on “4 in the clip.” Basically I just take the approach of writing what I would like to hear that particular artist do at their highest level. Its not really a dumb down vs lyrical thing in my head. Its more of fitting what that artist’s need is. I try to always be lyrical no matter what I do even if I can’t get intricate with it.
2. How much time does it usually take you to write and record a song?
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It varies depending on the record. Some songs I just do a verse and don’t go back to it for like a week or so if there’s no deadline. Other records I knock out quickly within a day. Everyone always ask me about “Name Droppin” and that took me about 3 days. Total of 6 or 7 hours I would say. Sometimes I step away from the beat and just relax and then go back to it later. ....
These days I’m trying to put out a lot more material so I don’t have that luxury but then again I’m also in the type of zone where all I have to do is just sit and apply myself and I’ll get it done. ....
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It definitely varies though. I like to write the song first then record it a couple days later so I have it memorized cause I hardly ever replicate the same delivery on every song. I’m real precise with my rhyme patterns on where each word lands and etc so I like to have the joint written and I’ll take care of the rest. Keep in mind most of my joints I write I don’t just write 16 bars. I write like 40-plus bars on most of my records so it takes a lot of mental stamina. “Straight Slaughter” was 90 bars. That’s a lot and I wasn’t just babbling. Its good though cause I’m honing my skills. When somebody ask me for 16 bars I do that shit in 15 minutes cause I overwork myself for my own shit.....
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3. When do you think you will get your website up and running?....
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My dude that was supposed to build it runs his own website so I’m hoping soon but can’t answer for sure. I’m trying to make it a real easy site and easy to use with a lot of content. Also a place where people who are into my shit now and also those that will be in the future, can have easy access to me. If I knew how to build websites It would be done already but that’s not my shit. So lets just say April sometime. Damn I’m like a politician the way I answer questions.
4 If you could collaborate with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be?....
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Andre 3000, Nikka Costa, Janelle Monae, Ray Charles, Nina Simone, Jay Z, Steven Tyler, Kanye West, Scarface & last but not least Robyn Thicke.
5. Does your family ever comment about you talking about them in your songs and are they supportive of your career in rap?....
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My mother hates the fact that I talk about drugs and violence. She hates that shit. I try to explain there’s a message and a plan with what I’m trying to do in the future but you know she thinks my music focuses too much on the negative. What I try to do is channel my negative thoughts and opinions through my music and etc. The clever lines and wordplay my family who’s not into Hip Hop won’t understand. They are supportive for the most part but you know at the end of the day they don’t get it. In the beginning they were FAR from supportive but now they learning to accept it. Especially since other family members are telling them how well I’m doing.....
6. If you weren't a rapper, what do you think you would be?....
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Writing a book or a screen play. I love writing and creating. That’s all I think I could ever do. I still plan on doing that. Also a Psychologist.
7. What's up with that Crooked I/Green Lantern mixtape you're doing, any idea when it is going to be completed?....
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Crooked and I took a break from that cause of some other plans but we plan on doing that soon. We were initially just going to put it out there but we want to do it and get a situation out of it. Maybe a one off with a label or something. I would say end of this year or maybe early next year.
8. So far, who has been your favorite artist to collab with?....
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Crooked I. He’s the most challenging MC for me cause he comes off hungry in every damn bar. He pushes me and he’s also the easiest to do shit with. You send him something and tell him what you need and he does it. He doesn’t care what it is. He’s honestly the realest dude out there.
9. Who are some of your favorite artists (other than yourself)?....
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Right now I would say Crooked I, Janelle Monae, Andre 3000, and Scarface.
10. How much does ghost writing generally pay?....
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Depends on the budget and how you have your business set up. I know people who wrote hits that made as much as you did right now for doing this interview. If your business is up to par it depends on how bad they want the record. You can make anywhere from 3 – 7 grand if you’re an unknown writer. Its like selling a beat.
11. How did you and your producer, Veterano, meet?....
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He was outside holding up signs that say “will make beat for good.” I picked the sad dog up and put him in the studio and we did “Urban Legends.” I kept him every since lol. Nah I met him through another rapper who told me he was talented and he sent me some tracks. We chopped it up online and then on the phone and we slowly built a relationship where we not only wanted to work with each other but it eventually led to us having chemistry. It took a while for us to understand each other but we actually do. We poke fun at what we both don’t vibe with about each other but at the end we both know we’re talented and if we meet halfway and put in work, it usually leads to quality shit.
12. What are your plans after you release Untold Scriptures 2, do you have another solo mixtape planned right after that or are you just going to take a small break?
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After Untold 2 I’m going to just go hard and keep promoting myself. Maybe leak some records here and there to keep the buzz going. After Untold 2 I think I would have established myself the way I want. I’ll probably hit the road, promote as heavy as I can. I have a project me and Veterano talked about doing which is like a movie album. Where every song leads into the next. If Vet and I can get some things going with that I might just get right into that. I think that can be huge.....
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13. Would you rather sign to a major record label like Def Jam or Interscope and release an album, go to a independent label like Amalgam Digital, or just keep dropping mixtapes?....
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Well my man I’m currently doing some things with Amalgam already. I’m releasing both Mixtapes I already dropped on Amalgam in the next coming weeks. I may do Untold 2 with them not sure yet. Its still in the works we’ll see. I like the indie scene. You can get a private investment and flip your own product and do what you love doing. I think if I can grow into a commodity eventually a major label will hand me what I want. In a perfect world that’s what I would like. I want to work towards getting a unbeatable situation but that all depends on my grind and opportunities that are provided for me.
14. When you're writing your songs do you usually go back and rewrite them or do you stick with the original product?....
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Damn I thought I covered all the tracks with the question you asked earlier. This is a damn good question. I sometimes rewrite. I analyze and breakdown certain parts I think I can make better. Sometimes I’ll change lines while I’m in the booth even. I’ll look at the paper and be like “nah I should say this that don’t sound right.” So yeah it depends on the record. I usually stick with what I wrote but I would say I go back and edit about 30% of the joints I’ve done. Mostly minor changes like 2 – 4 bars and usually its either the end or beginning. There’s some joints I wrote where I just changed the beginning and ending a bunch of times before I was happy with it. Example “Four in the clip” I wrote the ending differently a few times. I remember certain little parts on “times are hard” where I just kept fucking with it. ....
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I didn’t want to do a 2nd verse to “Means of Survival” but I didn’t know if I could come off the hook and get any better lyrically and substance-wise than what I did on the first. I remember writing the beginning of the 2nd verse a few times and that’s why I think that shit just came out where I go “I speak it from the heart/ I’m reaching to be greater/ I seen it from a far, like the zenith to the nader.” (or whatever I said)I remember thinking I just had to push myself and write a 2nd verse and finally I just went from the heart and talked about the struggle. It came out natural and I ended up really going in towards the end on real issues people go through all while getting crazy with the rhyme schemes. I could have spit for 100 bars on the 2nd verse on “Means of Survival” once I got in this zone. I had to really force myself to stop that’s why I stopped at such an uneven count. I usually stop at a 4 bar measure on that verse I think I stopped at 22 or some shit. I just remembered all that right now funny. Damn I hope this is interesting to somebody lol.
15. Will you be doing any concerts or anything any time soon?....
.. ..Yes sir I plan on going on plenty of tours. I haven't signed anything yet but in a few I will finally get the right situation to finally leave.