With Wordsmith's latest, Jackin For Beats: Wordplay Edition, out now, we decided to link up with the GYMR CO-SIGNED emcee for a brief interview about the project, his take on hip hop today, and more.
Q: What are you trying to achieve with this mixtape? How will your versions of the songs be different/better than what we’ve already heard?
A: I have never been too big on spitting over industry beats, as I would rather give full-length material to my fans. Being honest, this tape came out of nowhere a month and a half ago when DJ Delz hit me up out of the blue and said he wanted to do a Jackin for Beats tape with me. I knew, prior to that, he had done official Jackin for beats tapes for Trey Songz, Joell Ortiz, Termanology and more, so on the business tip it was a good look. My other reason for doing this tape is I have never released a project where I just went in and flexed my lyrically ability without worrying about a hook/bridge to complete a track. Now, what makes this tape different is that, though these are freestyles, when you see the tracklisting you will notice all of them have there own unique names because they are concept freestyles with actual subject matter. Overall, the tape plays like a full album and was mixed/mastered with top quality in mind; shout to my engineer Capish for that.
Q: What are you trying to achieve with your music in general?
A: I want to get my music to the level that it touches people's lives. Yes, this is my dream, but I really want to take my celebrity when it reaches that level and help people in general. I feel like, if your fortunate enough to get rich or become star, God would want you to share that with those less fortunate.
Q: You seem to get a lot of support from 2DopeBoyz, HipHopDX and the other leading hip hop-specific blog sites. Why do you think that is?
A: I think it's because, four or five years ago, when most artists and even major labels weren't concentrating on the Internet too heavy, I was already thinking of the future and how things were moving to digital. While most artists are trying to find an in with these blogs now, I was talking, sending music to and building relationships with them years ago, and now blogs are like the new A&Rs for the labels. My relationship with even 2DopeBoyz is deeper than most know. One of the owners of the site, Shake, used to handle the audio section on HipHopDX and was the one who broke me on that site, and when he left, things didnt change -- I kept sending him exclusives... So my gamble of connecting with bloggers four-plus years ago ended up working in my favor.
Q: What are the major issues in society today that need fixing? Do you think about these things when you’re writing?
A: Major issues are our health care, quality of life and lack of jobs -- basically, all the things that allow us to live as Americans and as human beings in general. I think three years ago I touched on more serious issues like this and I still do to a degree, but as you grow as a musician your views and way you deliver your music might change; that was the case with me.
Q: How would you describe the state of hip hop today? What are the biggest high-points? Biggest problem areas?
A: It's a plain mess because artists that aren't really prepared to be on major labels are getting signed and are in and out the game in a year. We are in the era of fast-food hip hop, where labels want to make that quick money off of these snap songs. I'm sorry, but the pioneer artists didn't struggle so we could make all this money and corrupt the game.
Q: We heard from one of our favorite emcees (and frequent GYMR contributor) AWKWORD that you are one of the most professional, down-to-earth emcees he has ever collaborated with? What makes you so different? What makes you so easy to work with? Why replace humbleness with arrogance in a rap game that seems to thrive on antagonisms and machismo?
A: First off, I appreciate AWKWORD for saying that... Hmmm, what makes me different? I think it's my belief in being personable with people and keeping a humble attitude. I'm thankful to be doing music and I am thankful for the people -- good and bad -- I meet in this game. I also live in reality when it comes to my career, and I don't paint a false picture of my success.
Q: Speaking of AWKWORD, what made you decide to work with him on the joint Notorious for his World View project? (More questions on this, and on you, to come for your World View participant feature, but we wanted to get you some love on the site in advance of that.)
A: I really liked the subject matter and AWKWORD was very professional when he hit me up about doing the song. A lot of the times I turn down features because artists can't provide a plan for the track they want to do. I'm all about being strategic and setting up a plan to promote a product, and I remember getting the email from AWKWORD and it was probably a little over a page long, explaining his history and why he was doing the track. You don't get that everyday, so that piqued my interest from the get go. I think alot of artists don't understand why they can't work with certain other artists. Its all about the presentation and how you present yourself to people alot of times. So, in AWKWORD's case, he knows how to state his case; props to him for that.
Out Now From Wordsmith
1.) Wordsmith - "Jackin For Beats (Wordplay Edition)" (free)
2.) Wordsmith -"Vintage Experience" (itunes)
3.) Chubb Rock & Wordsmith - "Bridging the Gap" (itunes)
4.) Refined Hype x DJ Booth x Coast 2 Coast x Frostwire Present: Wordsmith - "The Vintage Vault" (free)
5.) HipHopDX x 2DopeBoyz x Coast 2 Coast x Frostwire Present: Wordsmith - "Overdue & Underrated" (free)
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