 RAPTALK.NET have been given the chance to hook up with Supastition an underground Hip Hop artist from Greenville, North Carolina, now living in Charlotte. He is a respected lyricist, who has worked with popular underground rappers like KRS-One, Cunninlynguists and Little Brother. Supastition has released three official projects, 2002's 7 Years of Bad Luck, 2004's The Deadline, and 2005's Chain Letters. He talks about his experiences so far in his career, his up coming projects & his label sitution, Enjoy! Dub MD: Supastition, What's good?
Supastition: What’s going on man. I’m doing good right now, Just staying focused and keeping busy as always! Dub MD: For those who don't know, could you just give a short review of what you've experienced in your rap career up until now?
Supastition: Aight, I was on a couple different indie labels back when I first got into the game but nothing really jumped off like I wanted it to. Made some bad choices and signed with some labels that didn‘t benefit me too much. It was a learning experience for me. I got my real first opportunity when ?uestlove’s company, Okayplayer Records, selected a song I did with Nicolay from Foreign Exchange to appear on their album, ‘True Notes Vol 1‘. After that, I dropped 2 more releases with Soulspazm Records and I’ve been featured on alot songs from different artists. Dub MD: Coming from North Carolina, what do you think of the North Carolina music scene right now?
Supastition: We’ve got some talented cats out here. I wish it was more unified as a whole than just separated based on cities though. I think the NC hip hop scene is slowly getting the recognition it deserves but we still got a long way to go. We’ve always been known for our R&B and soul singers like Jodeci, Nina Simone, Horace Brown, Fantasia, and others. People are just shocked that there are people in the South who don’t make the music you would expect to come out of our area. Everybody here ain’t country and on some backwoods shit like the world expects us to be. We got family from all over who migrated down south so we are influenced by different places. There are some ill artists coming out of NC right now. Dub MD: What do you think of commercialization of hip hop right now, do you think its showing disrespect to its pioneers?
Supastition: Hell! we all championed for hip hop to get more airplay on the radio about 10 years ago so I expected the music to change when it started making money. As far as commercial radio, you gotta really look at commercial music for what it is, to advertise and sell something. That’s with any business so I can’t be mad at the popular music on the radio and what they play on commercial stations. Commercial music is about selling people a lifestyle and fantasy that helps them escape from reality at home so those fans don’t want to hear about anything that reminds them of the life they already have. Just take a company like McDonald’s, when you think of a cheeseburger, they are the first place that comes to mind even though the food is fucking terrible there. You hate the place but you will still eat there if it’s convenient and within your reach. Their first priority is making money and they don’t give a damn about who invented the cheeseburger. It’s business! That same principle applies to commercial music and their disrespect for pioneers in my opinion. I’m more disappointed with the way people who claim to be ’hip hop heads’ don’t respect the pioneers. They treat artists like they are disposable sometimes as soon as they aren‘t making ground-breaking music anymore. They just hang ’em out to dry. Dub MD: Do you have a new album/mixtape in the works? whats it called & what can heads out there expect?
Supastition: I just released a mixtape called ‘Guest of Honor’ with my man DJ Forge. it’s a mixtape that showcases some of the guest appearances I’ve done in the past few years with people like Little Brother, Marco Polo, and cats like that. That’s available through my site Supastition.com. I’m just finishing up an EP called ‘Leave of Absence’ that will be released digitally in late August. It’s kind of my reintroduction to the game since I took about 2 years off from releasing albums while I was touring overseas alot. I’m releasing it on my own label so I don’t have hear labels in my ear telling who and who not to work with. Dub MD: With this project, what producers & artists are you connecting with this time around?
Supastition: I got production from Illmind, M-phazes, Khrysis, Anthony Accurate, and some up & coming beatmakers. It’s gonna be crazy! The guests are kept to a minimum but I’m gonna have a few surprises though. Dub MD: Can you tell us a little about Reform School Music and what your label situation like just now?
Supastition: Reform School Music is a label I started with the intention of releasing my own side projects. I felt like I was being pulled in different directions by label people and producers who all wanted me to do music that fit their sound. They would say Nicolay’s beats are too smooth for you or you should work with this person more. So the name ‘Reform School’ came to me because I’m breaking all the rules with my label and going against the biased opinions I was receiving. I got the freedom to do what I want musically and nobody can really steer me in any direction. The label allows me more freedom. As far my label situation, I’m just building with different labels to see who is interested and what they have to offer. I might go back with Soulspazm & Rawkus and I might not. It’s all about the paperwork and giving me a good situation. I never signed anything exclusive with labels in the past so I can do an album in one place and then switch to another at anytime. I want this next album to come out with some promotion behind it so I’m not rushing. "Commercial music is about selling people a lifestyle and fantasy that helps them escape from reality at home so those fans don’t want to hear about anything that reminds them of the life they already have. Just take a company like McDonald’s, when you think of a cheeseburger, they are the first place that comes to mind even though the food is fucking terrible there." Dub MD: You recently recorded a track with Royce Da 5'9" called "Best To Do It", how did that collaboration come about?
Supastition: All of that came through DJ K.O. and his album. He approached me about doing a song with Royce on it and I was game for whatever. My man M-phazes did the beat for it so of course that was a plus for me. I don’t know Royce personally at all but I think he is a beast though and a very underrated lyricist. Dub MD: For your fans who haven't seen you perform yet are you planning a worldwide tour anytime soon?
Supastition: I perform overseas probably more than I perform in the US but people should be able to catch me real soon. I’ll be back in Europe again for the 4th time in August and September so international fans can see me then. Also, I’m trying to do a little east coast promo tour in October so I’m getting that organized now. If anybody is interested in booking a show then they can email supamusic@gmail.com.
Dub MD: What do you think is your most defining and unique characteristic that sets you apart from every other emcee out there?
Supastition: Probably the emotion and anger I bring to certain songs. You can tell that I’ve been through alot and I ain’t making up no fictional shit. As far as the flow, I’m about lyrics all day. I’m not one of those dudes who just moonwalk over dope beats. You know the type, that kind that let the production carry them. I’m from the old school, it’s about spittin’. Dub MD: Out of all MC's you've worked with so far, which ones did you feel you had the best connection with both personally and on the track?
Supastition: I’d say Little Brother because we know each other personally and we come from the same place. They are professional when it comes to recording and they value your input on songs too. We go in the studio together and go to work. I’ll play them songs from my album and they’ll play me their albums before they come out. It’s mutual respect. Dub MD: If you could describe yourself as an emcee in 4 words, What would they be?
Supastition: Voice, charisma, flow, emotion Dub MD: What is on tap for Supastition for the rest of 2007 and beyond?
Supastition: I’ll be recording like I got 24 hours to live haha. Just recording, setting up shows, and trying to feed the fam. You’ll see more of me in the next year and I’ve got some big things planned so stay tuned! Dub MD: Do you have anything to say to the fans? anything you wanna get off your chest? any shout outs?
Supastition: Respect to the fans who truly ‘support’ a brotha by buying albums and going to shows. If every person who claimed to love good music would actually support artists they liked then the game would be so much better. People think an album ain’t worth their $13.99 unless it’s flawless from beginning to end. That’s borderline arrogance. Shouts to y’all at Raptalk.net for giving me the opportunity and not asking me the token ’who are your influences?” question haha. DUB MD
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