RapTalk.net Exclusive Q&A Interview Sesson w/ Wordsmith

RAPTALK.NET caught up recently with Nu Revolution boss Wordsmith for an exclusive Q&A session. Wordsmith talks about the Baltimore rap scene, his future projects & his thoughts on the current state of hip hop. Also make sure you check out 2 brand new exclusives tracks at the end!! Enjoy!!

Dub MD: Wordsmith, What's good?
Wordsmith: Ahh man everything is moving at a great pace at the moment. I am doing 3 to 4 shows a week along with getting constant work for mixtapes, collabo's, drops, and jingles. Other then that, it's a pleasure to be here with you Dub MD…

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?
Wordsmith: To be honest my career so far has felt like I've been signed. I say that because I have went through a lot of the situations signed artists experience everyday. My first and only solo Mixtape, "Statements & Stipulations," was featured on MTV's Mixtape Monday's and that bought me press with all the major Hip-Hop sites and gained me feature spreads in my local publications like The Baltimore City Paper. I was signed to one of the top Publicists, Tamika Riley/TRI Inc., and had a manager, both of whom I had to let go because I was doing more work then they were unfortunately. I've done a Live show on TV by appearing on Comcast/Adelphia Cables "Backstage Pass Show" and I've done intro slash outro jingles for ABC's Official Heat & Damblock Entertainments commercial radio show in Canada. My first professional music video was shot earlier this year and in '07 alone I have booked, promoted, and performed in events with legends like Chubb Rock & Jaz-O. I really feel like a signed artist in regards to my shows because I have moved past just being an MC. I am being hired to be the entertainment at Birthday Parties & Graduations because of the "Hip-Hop Plays" I perform on stage.

In regards to radio, I was able to strike deals with DJ Pauly D of XM Radio "The City" to do weekly freestyles on his show. I secured US debuts for my lead single, Mami Chula on 92.7 Kiss FM in Charlottesville, VA, 93.9 WKYS and XM Radio "The City" in DC, and Latina 100.3 FM in Providence, RI. Overseas I secured debuts on Germany's number one Urban Station 107.1, Japan's urban station 76.1 FM, & 103.7 FM, The Monster, in Canada. I just added two new wrinkles to my belt by writing a single for an upcoming movie produced by Magic Johnson called "Seventy Five;" Wyclef Jean did the score for the flick, so it should be dropping soon and signing a deal with Vintage Clothing (vintagelimited.com) to dress me for the 2 to 4 shows I do a week.

Dub MD: Coming from Baltimore, what do you think of the Maryland music scene right now?
Wordsmith: Unfortunately, there really isn't one and I am not saying that to knock anyone in Baltimore. I just feel like Baltimore has never had a true Hip-Hop sound, so most MC's look to go the gutter street route because that's all I know. Still, besides myself and The Nu Revolution Camp, I feel like there are a few groups and solo artists in the area who share my vision of making quality Hip-Hop. "Snapz" from ECO Records is a disgusting lyricist that has a pension for nice wordplay, while "Brake Fast Records" reminds me of Wu-Tang Clan. Now, I don't say that because they mimmick them and believe me they don't, but Wu-Tang was the first collective of MC's that were all nasty on the mic. That's how Brake Fast rolls, they are all sick on the mic, especially Incyclopedia Brown and A-Class. I also fool with a group called "Minlus-N-Mccracken" out here because they embody real-life Hip-Hop and they play off each other so well. I respect other groups out here like "Flawless," "Pro & Reg," "Remstarr," "Wade Waters," "Third Kind," and "Sean Toure," to name a few.

Dub MD: A lot of people have been saying "Hip Hop Is Dead" of late, how do you feel about the current state of Hip Hop?
Wordsmith: I wouldn't say it is dead, but it's not in the greatest of shape right now. I can't really even blame a lot of these garbage artists out here because it's the major labels signing them and the corrupt radio stations accepting payola to play them. When you combine those two things together you get the phrase Hip-Hop is dead because the snap music, the constant songs about grills, and continued club jingles don't embody the culture of Hip-Hop. Lets not forget Hip-Hop isn't just the music, its how we dress, its how we pay homage to the pioneers in the game, its how we express this genre of music on an artistic level, and its how we dance to the music. I will take somebody rocking over breakbeats and brake dancing then looking like your riding a motorcycle and snapping back and forth. GET THAT GARBAGE OUT OF HERE!!!!!

Dub MD: Do you have a new album in the works? what's it called & what can heads out there expect?
Wordsmith: I have two big mix albums that will be released in 2008, "The Next Level Series Volume 1" Hosted by 92 Q Jamz Konan and "The Soundscape Project." Next Level Series is done and my first single from that project, "Mami Chula" has been doing decently well as I continue to push it. I am looking at a February '08 release for that and I would like to drop Soundscape 6 months later to round out the year. That project is halfway done and I will be dropping Nu Revolution mixtapes bi-montly starting in October or November.

Dub MD: With these projects, what producers & artists are you connecting with this time around?
Wordsmith: Well, I am not big on collabo's because I prefer to do my projects the old school way and only have 2 to 3 guest appearances, so the songs with guests are special. Usually, I keep my appearances in-house by working with Nu Revolution camp MC's Black Knight, Kontact & SoL, RhymeZwell, All-Biz, and Deedman. I do plenty of collabo's with other industry artist on numerous mixtapes, so I save my real projects for myself and my crew. It is the same thing with my producers, all my production pretty much comes from Camp producers Professa, Strada, Capish, DeMo, All-Biz, and Street Level. I do some outside work with my man Lucki Handz out of Philly, Contejous out of Canada, Anti-Star Beats, Lef from Lefhand Productions, and Daren Joseph (Producer of Juelz Santana's Whistle Song) out of Maryland.

Dub MD: You have a project in the works with the legendary Chubb Rock dropping in October, how did you hook up with him and what can we expect from the project?
Wordsmith: Man, I will tell you want, working and doing shows with Chubb Rock has been a true blessing. I grew up on Chubb Rock by watching him on The Box and Yo MTV Raps, so I am in shock sometimes when I talk to him. I get more excited when I work with pioneers in the game rather then artists out today. I mean, Chubb treats me like I am on the same level as him when in actuality we all know that is not the case. I was surprised to see how knowledgeable and funny Chubb is on a regular basis and we both know we came together thanks to God. He had his hand in us meeting and he chose a DJ named Speek Greene out of Connecticut to make it happen. Speek asked me to do this mixtape track for one of his mixtapes, so I wrote this song called "Block Party Bonanza" that was straight old school. Speek new Chubb, let him hear it and the next thing I knew I was rocking next to Chubb on the track. About a month later Chubb hit me about doing an album with him and I was floored. From there I set up 5 pre-quel shows, so Chubb and I could get use to rocking the same venues and so we could be seen together. The project is called "Bridging the Gap" and I can truly say it will be one of the better albums in 2007, no matter how big or small it gets. The project will fuse the old school Hip-Hop of the 90's with the new school Hip-Hop of today. Everything from Jazz, Blues, Step Music, Underground Hip-Hop, and Mainstream singles will accompany this album. We even have a two part story called "Chocolate City" that is similar to R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet" series in theory, but not concept wise. The Production is being handled by Professa, Strada, Capish, DeMo, & Street Level of my Nu Revolution Camp with outside production from One Condition and Daren Joseph. RhymeZwell, SoL tha Analyst, Black Knight, and Kontact are the only features on this album, we do it old school baby!!!

Dub MD: Do you have any joints in the streets right now we need to check for?
Wordsmith: Of course…I dropped a joint I did with Jaz-O called "A Rap Retrospective," I have a big Nu Revolution Camp track called "Legion of the Lyricists 2: A Call to the Champs," that will be dropping on the mixtape were doing, I did a remix with Q-Tip & Busta Rhymes for a track called "For the Nasty," that will be dropping in the next two weeks, I recently did a track with the cat names "I.N.C The Poet" out of the UK called Freedom Fighters, and I will be dropping two singles off of a mixtape I am hosting with DJ Herc called "March Madness" and "What Ya'll Want" Featuring RhymeZwell, Black Knight, Kontact & SoL.

"Lets no forget Hip-Hop isn't just the music, its how we dress, its how we pay homage to the pioneers in the game, its how we express this genre of music on an artistic level, and its how we dance to the music. I will take somebody rocking over breakbeats and brake dancing then looking like your riding a motorcycle and snapping back and forth. GET THAT GARBAGE OUT OF HERE!"

Dub MD: You have your own imprint Nu Revolution, can you tell us a little about that and what your label situation is like just now?
Wordsmith: I put the Nu Revolution Camp together about 2 years ago and I have to say it's more of a movement then a label at the moment. It consists of myself, Kontact & SoL, Black Knight, RhymeZwell, All-Biz, and Deedaman on the MC side, while my brother Professa out of Vegas, Strada out of Canada, DeMo out of Boston, Capish out of Poland, Street Level out of Sweden, All-Biz out of NY, & RhymeZwell out of Beantown round out the production team. We have a voice impersonator specialist who goes by the name D-Dub, DJ Andrew is our Web Technician/Graphic Designer along with our main designer Scott Miller. Shannon Smith brings up the anchor as our lead promoter based out of Texas. I mean, I set it up, so we basically operate like a label without the money involved. I am definitely looking to sign that big record deal, but I want to position myself to get a good contract as well, so I have been very blessed to meet and work with a lot of these people in the camp. I like the fact that we are diverse and I guess that comes from my background of being the son of a former Army Colonel and moving around so much….

Overall, our goal and mission is to make nothing but quality music. Notice I didn't say quality Hip-Hop…we strive to make quality music because no one in this camp fits into a single box. The limits have to be tested in our crew and that's what keeps our music fresh.

Dub MD: You've been real consistent on the mixtape scene for years now, how important do you feel mixtapes are to an upcoming artist?
Wordsmith: I am fifty, fifity on the mixtape scene because I see a lot of artist do tons of mixtapes with a hope they will blow like 50 Cent did. Usually, that's not the case because of the MC's that are mainstays on mixtapes seem to lack actual songwriting skills because on mixtapes most of the time your doing quick freestyles over industry beats, or your doing mad collabo tracks, or your just throwing something together to get it out. Now, I do think mixtapes are good to release quality material that isn't fit for radio or won't have any marketing behind it. Your track ends up getting marketed through the mixtape, which is good. Other then that, I think mixtapes are best used as a pre-curser to an artists studio album because it wets the listeners tongues and creates a little more buzz for the project. Personally, I only do mixtapes now with people I really fool with on a personal level or if I am offered a hosting dutie on a mixtape. I say that because by hosting a project you can inject more of your influence over the mixtape, where as if you just get a track placed, its in the mix with everything else and may not stand out….Dub, you know I got you on anything because we have built in the past…

Dub MD: What do you think is your most defining and unique characteristic that sets you apart from every other emcee out there?
Wordsmith: If were talking about today's generation of Hip-Hop, I would say what sets me apart is my diversity and the fact that I don't care what anyone else thinks. I am saying that in a good way because back in the day, no MC's copied one another's styles or feared being creative. Now, that is all most MC's do because they want to make money or labels are forcing them to sound like so and so from down south or from the Midwest, etc, etc.

Other then that, I would have to say my stage show sets me apart because I incorporate props in my show. I graduated with a Theater Arts degree in College, so it's not too far fetched to catch me using confetti, cotton balls to represent fake snow, a fog machine, umbrella's, stools, chairs, tables, crates, and anything else that will help create that visual for my songs. It just feels natural to entertain a crowd and have them guessing what your gonna do next. The art of performing is gone in the game because most rappers don't care these days. They would rather have the audience sing most of their lyrics, so they hold the mic out to the crowd and basically relax on stage like it's a beach. The only other movement I see on stage from today's MC's is they make a swift movement to grab their nuts before they spit. I didn't know MJ was back performing again. Bottom line, give the people a damn show, I mean they do pay to come see you…

Dub MD: For your fans who haven't seen you perform yet are you planning a worldwide tour anytime soon?
Wordsmith: I will be in the UK in December for the first time for some shows and I am sure you will catch Chubb Rock and I on the road as well. You can go to myspace page at www.myspace.com/classicwordsmithmusic or www.wordsmithmusic.com and see where I am performing next. Trust me, you will want to catch one of my shows and get the full effect of the Wordsmith Experience.

Dub MD: If you could describe yourself as an emcee in 4 words, What would they be?
Wordsmith: Sorry, Dub I need 6 if you don't mind…haaa. I would say "The One with the Classical Flow!!!"

Dub MD: What is on tap for Wordsmith for the rest of 2007 and beyond?
Wordsmith: Look for me to finish up this year strong with the release of Chubb Rock and I's "Bridging the Gap" Album. Everything else will fall in place along with that!!!

Dub MD: Do you have anything to say to the fans? anything you wanna get off your chest? any shout outs?
Wordsmith: To the fans, if you want that good mix of today's mainstream Hip-Hop and the old school underground, continue to check out new music from The Nu Revolution Camp and I. Before I go I want to send shout outs to my parents, my kids Ezequiel & Ladavius, my grandparents, my brother and his wife Michelle, Juanita, Malika, Sol, Kontact, RhymeZwell, Black Knight, Deedman, Strada, Capish, DeMo, Street Level, All-Biz, DJ Andrew, D-Dub, Shannon a.k.a Cactus, Jeannie, Chrishawn, Zory, Alichia, Clifford, AJ, Denise, Chubb Rock, Snapz, E.C., Travis, Brake Fast Records, Soulstice, Wade Waters, DJ Denox, Joel from, DJ Herc, HipHopdx.com, Mista Montana, DJ Pauly D, Minlus-N-Mccracken, Tanisha from 92.7 Kiss FM, J.B., DJ Madd Dogg, Contejous, Chad & Colleen, DJ Yadi, Strictly Hip-Hop 88.9 FM, Notts Most Wanted Productions, Footage, Ecks, Mr. Crf, Shuzz from Joint One Radio, D. Chase, and of course my man Dub MD. I know I probably missed some people, so I apologize now. I love everyone and thanks for believing in me. My final shout out is reserved for GOD!!!

Check out these raptalk exclusives from Wordsmith called "Twilight Of My Arrival" & "Freedom Fighters", Right click & save as to download:
Wordsmith - Twilight Of My Arrival
http://media.raptalk.net/audio/Wordsmith - Twilight Of My Arrival.mp3

Wordsmith & I.N.C The Poet - Freedom Fighters
http://media.raptalk.net/audio/WordsmithI.N.CThePoet-FreedomFightersProducedbyCap.mp3

Watchout for the "State Of Emergency Vol. 2" mixtape hosted by by Nu Revolution's own Wordsmith coming soon!!!

DUB MD

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