Interviews

Interview with Ragnar Vallon

Can you introduce yourself? What do you do on a daily base?
My name is Andrew Martin. I'm a songwriter/emcee from Canada. My days consist of taking care of my daughter, Emma, writing music, training Muay Thai at TKO Fighting Arts, and spending time with loved ones. I'm a simple, boring dude.

You are a recognized name in the underground hip hop scene, how long have you been in the scene?
I don't know how long I've "been in the scene", as I've been on different peoples radars, for different periods of time. But I've been rhyming and writing since I was about 13, and I'm 35 now. So, that's how long I've been going at it.

You have worked with Apathy, Doap Nixon, Chief Kamachi and many more. You are also a member of the legendary Dead Rabbits. How did you achieved all of that?
I hooked up with names like Apathy and Chief Kamachi many years ago, before every rappers verses were for sale, to anyone that had the cash. I earned hook ups with legendary emcees, and my induction into the Dead Rabbits crew in 2014, through years of dedication, hard work, and loyalty to my craft. Show and prove.

You have changed your artistname from Words to Ragnar Vallon. What was the reason for the name change?
I'd been Wordsmith or Words for so many years, doing things a certain way, and that persona just became such a part of me, that in order to grow and mature as a man and an artist, I had to kill him off and start fresh. Ragnar Vallon is a unique representation of myself in my eyes, as it is a combination of Ragnar Lothbrok from Viking history, and Priest Vallon, the leader of the Dead Rabbits in Gangs Of New York. 

You are doing a lot of hip hop MMA fighter anthems. How did you start with those ones?
I'd been doing random walkout themes for professional fighters since around 2011, when I did Robert "White Dragon" Thomas's pro MMA entrance theme, and Denis "Bosnian Menace" Puric's walkout song. Its something I had been talking about doing, since back in the Words & Rhymes days, around when I started competing Muay Thai, but only recently did I decide to go full force with it, essentially exclusively making walkout songs for pro fighters, and theme music for media related to the fight world. I love fighting, and I love angry hip hop. The two just seemed to go well together, and honestly, when I started making these theme songs.....Or at least WANTING to make these theme songs, I didn't think it would go anywhere. I genuinely thought this would be a dud, and no one would want me to make their theme songs. Especially not such high level idols of mine. I was wrong, I guess.

These days you are mainly focusing on the anthems for the MMA fighters. 
What was the point where you realised you wanted to invest your time and energy into this?
I released the highlight video/walkout song for Toby "The Weapon" Smith, of Perth, Western Australia, on March 3rd, 2018. That was the first official walkout song released as Ragnar Vallon, and it was received exponentially better than anything I could have expected. Although it wasn't some hit song, it caught a lot of attention in Australia, which essentially put me on the radar of the Australian fight scene, which I follow rather closely already, very quickly, and it was then I realized that this may actually be something worth investing my whole being into, and see where it takes me. I've been going 100% at it ever since, and have done walkout themes for about a dozen of my favourite fighters around the world, plus a bunch more for other professional fighters that I'm now glad to know and follow. 

What can your fans expect from you in the near future?
Any fans or supporters I have can just expect me to continue doing things outside the box, in my own lane, and to be surprised with where this new venture and pursuit will take me. I'm working on a concept album based around the life of one of the greatest American kickboxers of all time, which will be my first album release as Ragnar Vallon. I have no set release date as of now. It will not be rushed.

What artists and/or fighters do you wanna work with?
I want to work with more professional MMA fighters, such as Rory MacDonald or Cowboy Cerrone. I've pretty much worked with the best kickboxers and Thai Fighters on the planet. I'd like to get into professional MMA themes by the end of 2019.

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Interview with Mercy Gang

What is your artist name? 

Our group is called mercy gang. Members are pauly bagz, maine the medicine, dj merc, and hefty metal  (r.i.p ).

Where are you from?

Pauly from Scranton pa, maine is originally from ny but lives in pa, and merc is from Allentown pa.

Are you a rapper/beatmaker or DJ?

Pauly and myself are mcs, and our dj is dj merc.

Do you have a crew?

Yeah we're part of battleaxe warriors Ecw which means east coast warriors. We are also affiliated with marmel from Canada and 610nly of Allentown pa.

How old are you?

I'm the old head of the group I'm 39, merc is 33, and pauly is 30.

What kind of music do you make?

Hiphop, with elements of rock infused in at times.

What kind of artists are an inspiration to you?

For me it's nas, Redman, wu, tribe, the roots. For pauly icp, twiztid, em, tech 9, snoop. For Merc DJ Premier, dj am , dj muggs, the wu, cypress hill, aotp, to name a few. Also a big inspiration for us is our brother hefty metal who unfortunately passed away in 2015 a week after we dropped our debut album.

How long have you been making music?

As mercy gang over 5 years. Pauly around 10 years, merc 12 years, and the old man around 25 years.

Is music your job or just a hobby?

It's definitely a job for us. At times our music trumps our regular jobs.

Can we expect some albums of you this year/next year?

We have an album slated for July right now called M.E.R.C.Y the album. M.E.R.C.Y stands for murder every rapper coming at you. Along with this album we are dropping a bonus project for our fans for being so loyal and patient.

Can you name some artists you want to work with?

We had the honor to work with alot of legends on our first album animal rap, like tragedy khadafi, blaq poet, madchild, and shabaam saadeeq. This album we have records with ug of the legendary Cella Dwella, Ren Thomas, Ffc and Elz Sinatra of Dead Rabbits to name a few. But in the future we would love to work with Nas, Redman, twiztid, tech 9, mayday, diabolic, smif n Wesson it's so many to name.

Thanks for the interview. 

Thank you and it was great working with you on this project brother respect. R.i.p Hefty metal.

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Interview with Earleybird

What is your artist name?

Earleybird

Where are you from?

Northern Virginia, USA

Are you a rapper/beatmaker or DJ?

I rap and I do my own production as well.  I have been doing both for over twenty years and I consider myself prolific in each art.

Do you have a crew?

I had a crew but they all gave up making music after one album didn’t propel them to whatever level they were expecting it to propel them too.  I have some day ones who still make music, and good friends who make music, but I am a primarily a solo artist, basically out of necessity, not desire.  I wish I had a crew, but I am always the odd man out.

How old are you?

Old enough to have come up during hip-hop’s “golden age”, not old enough to retire yet.

What kind of music do you make?

Meditative, introspective music about thoughtful topics.  Topics like love, mental illness, feminism, lust, war, masculinity, privilege, God, race relations, poverty, perseverance & family

What kind of artists are an inspiration to you?

My favorite artists are Sam Cooke and Billie Holiday. I own all the music Sam Cooke recorded as a secular artist and as a gospel artist.  I have over 24 hours of Billie Holiday music on my computer.  Other influences are Stevie Wonder, Prince, Marvin Gaye and Daniel Johnston.  As far as hip-hop, my major influences would be Special Ed, (for the way he enunciates and pauses between lines), Show And A.G., Hiero, WuTang, Project Blowed, Gangstarr and Dungeon Family.

How long have you been making music?

I started making music as soon as I heard hip-hop.  I got a Young MC tape for Christmas in ’89 when I was a little kid, and I went home and transcribed the lyrics.  I have been writing and performing since 6^th grade.  I made my first mixtape in 1997, on a dual cassette tape machine with one turntable.  Three years later I got a computer and started collaging sounds on a wav editing program called Soundedit.  Now I use Garageband primarily. Since 2005 I have released 16 official albums.

Is music your job or just a hobby?

This question kind of bothers me.  I’m not here to “sell” my music.  I hate capitalism.  Prince tried to control and limit how his music was handled and released, and that all went to hell once he died.  It is a gift to the world, from an artist to other artists.  The main goal is communicating, so why do I concern myself with making money off of it, when that would limit who could hear it?  My main concern is making the music, not the industry of selling it.   No, music isn’t my sole source of income, but we live in a capitalistic society that doesn’t value music or musicians and the ones they do value tend to be watered down and easily exploited by the smoke and mirrors of the industry.

I wouldn’t call it a “hobby” because that cheapens what I do.  It is more of a compulsion or an obsession.  I look at it the way graffiti writers look at graffiti.  I have an addiction to making songs, the way a graf artist is addicted to getting their name up.  I don’t know how to cure myself, it is therapy and it is helpful to my well-being.  I don’t care who listens or how many people listen, I’m compelled to do it. It would be cool to have a large following, but then again the trappings of fame seem lame.  I don’t care about a record deal or getting signed, I just do this because I am compelled to.  I used to run with a lot of graffiti artists when I lived in Brooklyn, so I appreciate their DIY aesthetic of just doing it.  The art of getting up.

Can we expect some albums of you this year/next year?

I just released the “Earworms” album last month, the “Earth Day” album drops next year on Earth Day and I have commissioned Gregg Deal, who is a really cool artist, to do the cover for the “Earth Day” album.  I’m also currently working on a project called “Content” and working on some experimental songs for an EP titled “Lambo Calrizzian”.  You can check out my music at www.getthatworm.com or you can download all 16 of my previous albums at www.audiomack.com/artist/earleybird

Can you name some artists you want to work with?

I already work with the artists I want to work with.  I have a lot of friends, like Substantial who I have known for twenty years, who I work with occasionally.   I’m more interested in working with cover artists than rappers right now.  I commissioned a great piece by DJ J Scrilla, I mentioned Gregg Deal and I have been waiting on a cover from Ibrahim Baaith for about four years now, lol.  I’ve been trying to get Ron Wimberly to do a cover, I’ve known him for twenty years, but he doesn’t seem interested when I ask him.

When I made my album “Things Are Not What They Seem” I enlisted The Witchdoctor and Myka Nyne to be on the album.  I am past the point of trying to get other artists who already have followings on my records.  That is the only time I enlisted artists who I never knew personally and paid them to be features.  I still look up to them and I enjoyed working with them, and I love the songs we cut, but as far as artists I want to work with, I would have to meet them and would want to work with them without paying them an appearance fee.  I would want it to be a natural situation where they are just as excited to be on my project as I am to get them on mine.  That being said, I am down to work with just about anyone who has the time to devote to making music.  I work primarily with artists I know personally and have become friends with, such as Silentmind, who I hadn’t met until we finished the “Spirit Ciphers” album, but now I consider him a good friend of mine and you can tell because we have continued to make music together.  But I don’t really want to work with any big name artists unless they want to work with me first. That being said, if anyone wants to collab, feel free to reach out to me on my website.

Thank you for this interview!

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Interview with Julius Sleazer

What is your artist name? 
The ultra immortal, unstoppable mega force, JULIUS muthafuckin SLEAZER.

Where are you from?
I'm from the rugged northern terrain of the nasty Nickel City, Sudbury Ontario.

Are you a rapper/beatmaker or DJ?
Super duper rhymetard extraordinaire.

Do you have a crew?
DEAD RABBITS

How old are you?
33 years on planet Earth, almost 34. I heard a certain dope ass Dutch producer shares the same b-day as me

What kind of music do you make?
Kick you in the teeth hip hop music

What kind of artists are an inspiration to you?
ACDC, The Beatles, Motörhead, NOFX, Rancid, and Ixion Form. Super dap slap to big Ix

How long have you been making music?
I first started as a bass player in a punk rock band called Guilty By Association, when I was 15 years old.

Is music your job or just a hobby?
It's my job to keep hip hop raw as fuck.

Can we expect some albums of you this year/next year?
I have 3 projects nearing completion for 2017. An E.P. a full length, and a group effort.

Can you name some artists you want to work with?
Would love to do an album with Ixion Form, also could probably get bizzy with my man Vas from Philly.

Thanks for the interview.
Remember kids... Always support DEAD RABBITS! VALHALLA!

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Interview with Klive Kraven

What's your artistname?
Klive Kraven is my artist name formerly known as IQ among several other aliases.

Where are you from?
Born in Baltimore, Maryland. Raised in Pasadena, Maryland now residing in East New Market, Maryland.

Are you a rapper/beatmaker or DJ?
I am a emcee and producer. I have been emceeing/writing since I was a mere 6 years old. As for production I picked that up a little later in 2001 at the young age of 13. I have stuck with both since and continued to hone my craft on the microphone and on the boards. There is always something new to learn if you dig deep enough!

Do you have a crew?
Yes, Goldminded Records is my team. We were established way back in 2001. We have evolved quite a bit over the years. Different artists, different logos, different staff. Things definitely change in time. The evolution of Goldminded Records is actually quite intruiging. So much has happened over the last couple decades.

How old are you?
Currently I am 29 year old. I will see the big 3-0 in February of 2018. I suppose I am getting old hahaha.

What kind of music do you make?
I make grimey hardcore Hip-Hop overall but I delve into many sub-genres of Hip-Hop as well. I feel I have a unique blend of sounds in my array. From the "Mountain Man" series which is a spaghetti Western vibe. To "Hobo With A Shotgun" which is a more funkadelic vibe. All the way to my "Death Comes..." series which is a more Horror vibed sound. Each of these vibes have a specific and certified sound.

What kind of artists are an inspiration to you?
Over the years many artists have inspired my from my production to my lyrics. To mention a few: Big Pun, Canibus, Eminem, R.A. The Rugged Man, Ill Bill, Necro, Havoc, Rza, Premeir, Large Pro, Muggs and more. Those are specficially just Hip-Hop influences. Outside of the genre there are many as well, but to name a few: The Beatles, John Carpenter, Rick Wakeman, Tiny Tim, Frankie Laine, Ennio Morricone, Hans Zimmer, Frank Sinatra, John Harrison, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi, John Carpenter and more.
How long have you been making music?

Is music your job or just a hobby?
I think it is am a mix of both to be honest. I do have a 9-5 because the business can be hard to keep STEADY money coming in. But I do have contracts with some companies that purchase production from me in bulk. Also there is always a fan/artist who wants to build so verse/beat/studio services net nice side cash. Additionally, merch and digital sales help as well. But always nice to havea back up plan. I am actually working on getting my second college degree because of that very same reason haha.

Can we expect some albums of you this year/next year?
100% you will see a TON of new music from myself and Goldminded records. I am getting ready to unveil something never seen before in music period. I am quite proud of this and details will soon follow. I can however announce, that a FOURTH Mountain Man album is happening. "The Resurrection of Mountain Man" will drop in 2017. I am also working on "Unique Universe" as well. My "Detox" if you will, haha.

Can you name some artists you want to work with?
Some heads that I would like to rock with would be: Action Bronson, R.A. The Rugged Man, Ill Bill, Necro, Chris Rios, Snowgoons, Apathy and Premier. I could go on for days though haha.

How can fans check you out and get your merch/material?
Our official website is about to launch and likely will be up by the time this goes public, check us out at: www.GoldmindedRecords.net. You can find us on all major social medias including: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat, Pinterest and more. Just search for Goldminded Records or GMDRecords. Finally, you can find us on all major streaming/digital services such as: Pandora, Spotify, Itunes, Amazon, Googleplay, Napster, Emusic, Bandcamp and more.

Thanks for the interview.
Thank you for taking the time for ask the questions and helping keep the culture alive by supporting independant recording artists. The opportunity is greatly appreciated. Respect and salute.

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Interview with Eskr-One

What is your artist name?

Eskr-One

Where are you from?

Ottawa, Ontario

Are you a rapper/beatmaker or DJ?

I like to stay as well rounded as possible.My first introductio to hip hop culture was my dad playing me Grandmaster Flashand the Furious 5 which he had on vinyl. I went on to watchStyle Wars and that got me heavy into graffiti and from there I went on to explore hip hop in all its elements.I started dabbling is turntablism at 15 had apair of XL500s my parents got me and I practised many scratch techniques. I was obsessed with DJ Q Bert and Mixmaster Mike. I always freestyled with my friends an thats how I started writing and homing my rapping style. I also am a huge vinyl collector, mostly sci fi, horror and fantasy soundtracks and have done some beatmaking as well with my MPC500 and FL Studio. But these days I am focusing on my rapping.

Do you have a crew?

I collaborate with many MCs and producers worldwide.  I am apart of Optext which is a Apss One and Sadida from Texas,USA, ILLtemper from Philly, USA and Donny G from Canada. I also roll with a huge collective of artists called Dystopianz founded my LA rapper Ganjre  The Giant. Dystopianz have is a large group of hardcore MCs, producers, graff writers, tattoo artists and artists. I am also involved with a Canadian movement called SFTS or Strictly For The Streets founded by Roch from Toronto. I work with alot of other brilliant artists like Plague Plenty, Roch.Beatahoe, Rated R, Blaq Masq,Casacas,Toombs, Shushi,Drew Dollars,Trem Bison, Lone Ninja,Grim of Dead Rabbits, Bender of Flight Distance (KOTD Champion) Jnyce of Psych Ward and just finished huge tracks with Blaq Poet of Screwball.

How old are you?

Just turned 30.

What kind of music do you make?

Hardcore, concious, hiphop

What kind of artists are an inspiration to you?

Ill Bill, Ghostface Killah,MF Doom, Q-Unique, Tom Morrello, RZA, and all the artists I work with inspire me.

How long have you been making music?

For fun and a hobby like 11 yrs and seriously on my grind for the last 2yrs. So 13yrs all together.

Is music your job or just a hobby?

Its my life now. I had a pretty rough and crazy run until I sobered up and got clean in May 2012 and now I just focus all my energy and passion on positive building, my family my fiance and music.

Can we expect some albums of you this year/next year?

Allied Forces EP with Sadida, Casacas and Beatahoe, 3Demons EP with Rated R and Julius Sleazer, Blaq Masq's production album and more Optext and Dystopianz music and also just tons of single because Im always hungry.

Can you name some artists you want to work with?

Killah Priest, Ill Bill, RZA, MF Doom, Madlib and I could go on forever lol.

Thanks for the interview.

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 Interview with Halfwit

What is your artist name?

My name is Halfwit

Where are you from?

I am from beautiful and sunny Ventura, California

Are you a rapper/beatmaker or DJ?

I am mostly a rapper, I am trying to train myself to make and fully produce beats, I know some tricks but I still need practice. IMO anyone can be a disk jockey lol but I'm no hard style dj if that's what your asking haha

Do you have a crew?

Yes my first crew is Conceptual lyrics (Hesh studios/half wrath ent) also I roll with Street Gryme and Voodoo Docterz.

How old are you?

I'm 19 going on 20 years old

What kind of music do you make?

I make satyrical hip hop and rap music. I love that dirty grymey underground shit. But I'd like to also start making doom metal, reggae and punk rock and other types of things as well (but not as seriously just to be able to say "hey look at what I did"

What kind of artists are an inspiration to you?

All sorts of artists are inspirations to me. My first musical inspirations where my dads band synoptic sinfoney, eminent and rob zombie when. As I got older I got heavily ino black sabbath, slayer, iron maiden, Korn, system of a down and disturbed. Later in middle school (8th) grade I started listening to necro, spm, Afroman, cypress hill, tech 9 and killa mike. That's when I started rly getting into hip hop.

How long have you been making music?

I recorded my first song at my friend games house with the homie critic back in 10th grade. I was fifteen at the time. We never used that track for anything and it was never finished but we recorded something lol.

Is music your job or just a hobby?

Right now music is on the fence. Im getting paid as an assistant sound tech and I'm being trained as an engineer and how to mix and master music etc etc but I'm working on making it into a job. The way i see it though until I'm selling CDs, pushing beats, charging for music videos, selling collaborations and getting payed to perform, my music can only really be considered a hobby. Sadly.

Can we expect some albums of you this year/next year?

Yes I'm going to be getting on the ball with this album here really soon. I have some songs that's are in the works that I need to record a few things for. And they will be killer when they are done. But I should be dropping my lp later this year and maybe if I have time a small mixtape or ep.. Definitely music videos and a couple remixes!

Can you name some artists you want to work with?

I'm working on a song right now with gmo skee and Whitney Peyton. That one will be amazing once it's released. But as far as artists I'd like to work with still I could name a million but here are some I'm going to reach out to in the next year or so. Marcanum x, mad child, inspectah deck, block McCloud, Kung fu vampire, kid crusher, mc cumblood, sun sun scissor hands maybe more. I UNO.

Thanks for the interview.

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Interview with C.V.S (The Horrorcorest)

What is your artist name? 

C.V.S (The Horrorcorest)

Where are you from? 

Ontairo, Canada

Are you a rapper/beatmaker or DJ? 

Emcee

Do you have a crew?   

I did, but now im back on my own grind trying to shead light to the horrorcore scene 

How old are you? 

29

What kind of music do you make? 

Horrorcore/Rap

What kind of artists are an inspiration to you? 

growing up Eminem was a big part of why i became an emcee, but as the year progress i became more invovled in the underground scene listen to...Necro,Grave yard diggers, also listing to mason,ozzy, and so on

How long have you been making music? 

10 years, but the last  5 years I've taken it to the next level.

Is music your job or just a hobby?

its my hobby/passion... Thats why i have a full time job to fund this passion as it get expensive.

Can we expect some albums of you this year/next year? 

yes, I will be dropping my debut ablum ealry may of this year titled (BlackClouds) with feauters like, J-nyce,kilz,trip points, and beats produced by Jminbeats, Anno, J-nyce plus more so be on the look out for that 

Can you name some artists you want to work with?

i would like to work with,necro more with j-nyce and and a few others from the undergrond like,swann lord lust and i few others...

Thanks for the interview.

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Interview with Cocaine Chris

What is your artist name?

Cain

Where are you from?

Cincinnati,Ohio

Are you a rapper/beatmaker or DJ?

rapper

How old are you?

29 yrs old

What kind of music do you make?

lyrical rap muzik

What kind of artists are an inspiration to you?

Eminem,Slaughterhouse,Nas,Jay-Z,Big L, 2-Pac,Kendrick Lamar,Yelawolf, THE FRATERNITY, just to name a few

How long have you been making music?

10 yrs

Is music your job or just a hobby?

music is my first love, far from a hobby to me

Can we expect some albums of you this year/next year?

2-Man Cypher album " Queen City Bastards" dropping January 1st 2014, K.O.S( King of SpazMuzik mixtape),and Cain & Glory 2 album

Can you name some artists you want to work with?

Salute to all the underground up and comers continue to do y'all thing but honestly I got all the rappers I wanna work wit right now in my circle of assassins "FRATERNITY 4 ETERNITY" ya dig! But if other artist reach out I'm happy to collab I just don't have any artist I can say I'm searching to collab wit outside my click at the moment.

Thanks for the interview.

 

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Interview with Edd Bundy

What is your artist name? 

Edd Bundy

Where are you from?

London, UK

Are you a rapper/beatmaker or DJ? 

Rapper, Producer & Graphics Artist

What kind of music do you make? 

Hip Hop

What kind of artists are an inspiration to you? 

My 'clique' aka my family are my biggest inspirations. TMB, Supreme The Truth, MoTioN mainly, I would call them family & have been working with them the longest. Also shout outs have to go to Dark Arts, Dr Creep, Nico The Beast, Anonamix, MystiGal.. There's too many to go into deeply, but also anyone I've ever had the pleasure of working with & fans.

How long have you been making music? 

Since the age of 14 I have been writing music but only recording from 16 so all in all music has been a part of me for 10 years.

Is music your job or just a hobby?

Both.. Its my source of income while raising my daughter so respect to anyone who has bought artwork / beats & verses from me. At the same time I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't a hobby first.

Can we expect some albums of you this year/next year? 

Most definately.. Including: Hood Kings (Bundy & Supreme) & DSeize - Raiders Of The Lost Art, Edd Bundy - Collectors Edition 2: The Collabs (Hosted by TMB), Pesticide 2 (Bundy, Anonamix & MoTioN), The New Terrah (Bundy, Tha Soloist, Mark Deez, TMB), all coming in 2014, there will be more but those details are on lock for now.

Can you name some artists you want to work with? 

Well there's a tonne, but a lot are waaaay off ever happening haha, if I had to name some people.. J Mega, Celph Titled, Paz, Diabolic, Stu Bangas, C-Lance.. There's a mass of others but let's just say I'm happy to work with any paying customer or anyone I've been a fan of and am a fan of. The scene is full of too many people to put a whole list into an interview.

Thanks for this interview! I am looking forward to listen to your upcoming projects.