Liquid Assassin 2/27/13

Get Local, MN! Interview #4

-Liquid Assassin-

Believe it or not, but today we are sitting down with none other than Liquid Assassin the Home Town Hero. I have a lot of questions for you but first off, how you been?

I been blessed! Working crazy trying to finish this album.

That's good to hear, your last album "Cardell" was a huge success and featured a side of you the fans had never seen. Many people never expected that you would have it in you to sing on tracks, yet you did and you blew everyone away. What is the name of your new project and what can we expect from the album?

Appreciate that. Yea i wanted to do something my father would be proud of. He was a singer and always wanted me to sing. My next album is called "Mongrel". Being Black and White, a lot of people ask me all the time whats my race. So imma just say I'm a Mongrel from here on haha. Its got some elements like "Cardell" and a few Gritty tracks as well.

Sounds great. I just interviewed Izzy Dunfore who won the Sicfux Sickest Sixteen contest and a spot on a  new Jimmy Donn album featuring yourself, would you care to discuss the track? Also are you free to disclose any other featured artists on "Mongrel"?

Congrats to Izzy on winning that. As far as collabs, the only features confirmed are JellyRoll, Mister KA from my label also doing production, and my homie Wildcard. Waiting on a few but I wont drop names till its 100. Not much collaborating on this one.

Too many artist fill up their albums with featured tracks, and I feel it takes away from what the album is really about, them. I'm glad to see you're doing you on this one. Now let's take things back to the beginning, what was it like to start out your career in Minnesota? Who were your influences and what made you decide to give up your baseball dreams and start pursuing a career in music?

I actually got expelled from High School. So everything went down the toilet with that. Then music kinda just happened. Found a way to let out my emotions in a better way with rap. I grew up listening to Brotha Lynch. Definitely was in my house. My older brother played all his music. Also I always be inspired by Big Pun, rest in peace. Greatest rapper to ever do it in my opinion. Also most slept on. Tech N9ne was a great influence too.

Speaking of Tech N9ne, you accomplished a goal most of us could only dream of. Even for a short stint as it was, you were signed to Strange Music, how did that feel, what was it like and how did it change your life?

Being signed to Strange was a dream come true. Definitely opened doors for me and exposed my talent to a bigger crowd

And since then, you have been almost everywhere. What are some of your favorite experiences while on the road? And how do the fans out there compare to the huge, loyal following you still have in Minnesota?

Gettin' to see fans from other states vibe to my music. I never thought my music would reach so many people. I'm real proud of that

Who wouldn't be? You have done some truly amazing things. Take us a bit deeper into the life, this is a question I like to ask a lot of artists who have been through it all and still stand today. Its all about highs and lows. In your career what do you see as your greatest accomplishments, and what has been the hardest part of your journey?

 

My greatest accomplishments would have to be creating the "Cardell" album. I overcame a lot of emotion and sadness but turned it into a musical creation. So I always felt good bout that. Also being on Tech N9ne's record, "Psycho B!tch 2". Being able to perform that on his live show with him a hole tour was really like a dream. That point I felt like "I made it". My all time low my rap career was not being with Strange anymore and Grave Plott kinda leaving with it. I felt alone and it was right after my pops passing so a lot of negativity came down on me. So when i released "Cardell" that's why it was such a big accomplishment to me. I did it by myself and friends who took time out to record and mix the record.

You have made a lot of friends and partners nation wide. What artists are your favorite to play shows or tour with?

Basically everyone I've toured with has been coo. Just like being on the road performing for my fans

Any messages you would like to send your fans as we round out this interview?

I appreciate the luv and support. Shout out to all my loyal supporters. Also shout out to the label 42 Records, Mister KA, and my lil bro bro DJ Sh3vy.

And lastly, do you have any insight, advice or words of wisdom for any potential upcoming artists in the local scene?

Make sure that if you are taking a career in music you are ready to give up A LOT and really make sure this is what you want. Its a huge commitment when it becomes your actual job

Thank you for your time and support, homie. I know you're a busy man with a lot going on. We wish you all the best luck in your future endeavors and can't wait to see you back in MN live again!


Thank you for having me!


Once again, for Get Local, MN this has\been J. Zarins. Dedicated to bringing you the rawest interviews from all your local favorites. Thank you for your continued support, and see ya next time!

GET LIVE, GET LOUD, GET LOCAL, MN! 

Jimmy Donn 2/20/13

Get Local, MN! Interview #3

-Jimmy Donn- 

I have been lucky enough to catch up with Jimmy Donn, the godfather of Sicfux Entertainment, for an interview of monsterous preportions. Sicfux is a huge movement, getting bigger by the day, but let's take this back to the begining. What got you started in the local scene and who were your biggest influences?


I basically started around the same time as Atmosphere. The scene in Minnesota was very minimal at that time. This was before the home computer studios. So the artists around at that time were really dedicated to music, because recording and releasing a two song extended play single back then would cost around $1,000-$1500. I was heavily influenced by Dr Dre, Warren G and Scarface. The music they made really spoke to me.


I have always thought of you as one of the great pioneers of local music, and through the years you have mentored many artists that are still out there making moves today. Tell us what you feel have been some of your best signings and what do you look for in local tallent before you take them in?


For starters, Liquid Assassin. I found him, put him in his first recording studio and recorded his first song. I even named him Liquid Assassin. He went on to be a part of Strange Music and now 42 Records. We remain really good friends and still network together several times a year. But the team I'm working with right now are amazing. Killa Capone, Bobby James, Cloroks, Kingpin and so on. That's the future, and I really believe that. I'm trying to take the back seat and let these talented artists drive. They are already in their own lane. When I'm looking for an artist, I'm looking for an original sound. Someone who knows who they are and is not afraid to turn that up to 11.


And right now you definately have an army of tallent at your back. When you started Sicfux Ent. did you expect things to blow up this quickly? Also, what does Sicfux mean to you?


I started Sicfux Ent to put together a few songs with Kingpin under the name Dopesic. The first person to feature was Killa Capone. Somehow that turned into Dopesic being Killa, Kingpin and myself. Within a year we started hearing people yell "Sicfux 4 Life" in malls or chanting it at shows. We became a movement without even realizing it. But what it all comes down to is this. We are a family of rejects, castaways, left behinds and nobodies. And we are perfectly comfortable with that. Because people are starting to realize that there are more people who feel like us than don't. So our family is constantly growing.


I understand that members of Dopesic and Sicfux Ent. have been nominated for various TC Hip-Hop Awards for the second year in a row. It has to be exciting for any artist to be recognised like that. But you are up against some tough competition. What are your thoughts on the matter?


We are just happy to be nominated. That means we are making enough noise and that's good enough for us. The awards are a little more mainstream than what we do, so winning best group award last year for Dopesic was a complete surprise. I guess we will see what happens this year.


I wish you all luck, but I'm also glad to see you don't let the nominations go to your head. Its important for artists to stay grounded in reality and not forget where their roots are planted. You have been in the scene longer than most, could you explain your trials and tribulations for us? What would you say was the most difficult thing for you to accomplish in your career as well as what you feel has been your biggest accomplishments?


I have definitely made more mistakes than advancements. It's a constant evolution. My biggest mistakes have been taking advice from people who don't have my best interests in mind. That's why I only listen to my that inner voice now, or what most people call your gut feeling. Definitely one of the hardest things to accomplish is the respect of fellow Minnesota artists. I work with a lot of well known heavy hitters in the Twin Cities, but there's always a few artists who really don't know me, who pass judgement as if they do. That seems to be the one thing that gets to me. But at the end of the day I feel good because I know who I am and I know how far I have come. Because I can feel it in my bones. After so many years of being dedicated to the same thing, you can't help but feel it. My biggest accomplishment this far had to have been my last ep "South of Heaven" (available on iTunes). Because it features well known artists such as Dizzy Wright, SwizZz, Stevie Stone and others. And not one of those features cost me a dime. That tells me that I have made some good relationships on a national scale.


Big things happen when you know how to play the game. I hope a lot of upcoming talent will read this interview and take lessons, because you definately know what you are doing in this. I have word that you are just released another EP titled "Dopesic". What are your goals with this new project and how does it differ from past projects?



Yeah, we released it February 10th. It's actually my solo ep titled "Dopesic" and each song features members of Dopesic as well as a couple national features such as Jelly Roll and Liquid Assassin. With all projects we just want to keep creating new material that somehow maintains that dark cloud. Even if the song is positive there's still something dark about it. That's our method of operation.


Well, you can't have light without darkness. The underground has been pushing that fact for years. There is a depth in the darkness that the mainstream can't even come close to touching. What have been your influences throughout the years and what is your opinion on the state of the local rap and hip-hop scene in Minnesota? Who do you have your eye on in 2013 outside of the Sicfux?


Well like I stated before my influences started with Dr. Dre, Scarface and others. But as time went on I started to get into artists like Vinnie Paz and Slaine. I'm also into Yelawolf and of course the homie Rittz. Actually been into both if them before Eminem and Strange Music got involved. Locally I'm looking forward to hearing the new Kamikazi and Infinity material. I've always liked what they do. Also I'm watching Prof explode as a national artist much like Atmosphere did. And I've been down with POS since his first national release. The scene in Minnesota is huge.


What are some dream collabs for you and the members of Dopesic that you would like to see happen in the future?

Yelawolf, Rittz, Riff Raff, and Hopsin to name a few. I know Kingpin would like to hook up with Krazie Bone on a track.


Those would be some epic collabs, and I know that atleast a couple of those are well within your grasp. Speaking of Hopsin, the Funk Volume DFUOB contest is coming up. Is anyone in the crew planning on entering this year? And while we are on the topic of Contests, we understand that Izzy Dunfore just won the Sicfux Sickest Sixteen contest and a slot on an upcoming track featuring Liquid Assassin, is the track already in the works? And what are your views on the contest as a whole?


Not sure if any Sicfux artists are going to participate in the Funk Volume DFUOB contest. I know Playboy the Beast did last year and destroyed most of them. GrewSum won it a couple years back. So we are definitely capable if we do. The Sicfux Sickest Sixteen contest was our first attempt at something like that. We gave a $750 cash prize to Izzy Dunfore and he will be featured on a future song with Liquid Assassin and I. We haven't started it yet, but it's in the mix. A lot of people think we set it up for him to win, and that's just not true. He's a genuine man and artist. I don't feel he cheated and I know we didn't rig it, so there you have it. Next up is the Sicfux Sickest Song contest. The winner will be featured on DJ Demik's "Kush Effect 3" and will relieve $420 cash and 20 complementary copies of KE3.


Sounds like a great deal, contests are a great way to draw out new talent and I look forward to watching this contest unfold. I urge any artists reading this article to participate in it, even if you don't win its still a great way to network and make new fans! I have just a few more questions for you, the first is about the new Killa Capone project. Manson was a huge success and this next album looks to be even bigger with production by the son of Dr. Dre whom you met up with in a recent trip to California with DJ Demik. How did all of this come to be, and has Killa started work on this new album?


Over here at Sicfux we have a team if people looking out for the entire team. Our artist liaison Paul hooked up a meeting with Curtis Young while I was out in LA meeting with comedian/rapper Andy Milonakis. He took one listen to Killa Capone and knew instantly that he wanted to produce his next album. We are heading back to LA to do some stuff in Snoop Dogg's studio and get the ball moving. But Killa has already mapped out the entire album in his head. I'm telling you I'm working with geniuses over here. 2013 is looking amazing.


That my friend is both Dope and Sick! (But I think you mean Snoop Lion lmao) You guys keep doing bigger and bigger things all the time. Pushing boundrys and breaking limits, but it all comes back to one thing, the fans make the movement. Is there any messages you would like to express to all the Sicfux and local music fanatics out there?


Without the Sicfux out there representing us, there's no us. We know that and that's why we are so proud to document our lives and the lives of our friends through music. I feel we would do this with or without a following, but our fans aka Sicfux are amazing to us. They are loyal and supportive 100%. In return we do our best to give them quality music to listen to.


And do you have any messages or advice for upcoming artists trying to find their way in the vast sea of local talent?


Follow your heart. Honestly that's all it boils down to. If you have the energy to go years without being able to provide for yourself and your family, the energy to fight with your family because most of the time you are choosing music over them, and you have thick enough skin to listen to and read the negative views on your art and still stay focused, then by all means do music. But if you think that it's as easy as hooking up a cheep home computer studio, burning a few CDR's and passing them out, then doing a couple shows and boom! success. This is not for you. This lifestyle will eat you alive.


Thank you for your time and sharing some insight into the world of Sicfux Entertainment with us. It has been an eye opening experience for me, as I am sure it will be with our fans as well. We will have to sit down and chop it up again some time!



LINKS!

 Twitter @Sicfux
 Instagram @Sicfux

 Videos
 Dopesic "Learning to Fly"
Dopesic "Barely Breathing" feat. Kutt Calhoun
 Jimmy Donn "The Day God Died" feat. Killa Capone

Kamikazi 2/15/13

Get Local, MN Interview #2

-Kamikazi-

We are chopping it up with a true Midwest Chopper, Kamikazi of Streetsound Entertainment LCC. Our first question for you is how long have you been in the game and what was it like for you starting out? Were you always a "chopper"?


I came into the underground scene in 2006 when I signed with StreetSound Ent. My first show was at the Red Sea in Minneapolis. Starting I admit I kind of had it easy by stepping into a label that already had a following and fan base. When Liquid Assassin reached out for a Collab which was "Rush Em" that pretty much got my foot in the door as far as building my name in the beginning. StreetSound offered unlimited access to a studio and funded what was needed. It's the only label confident enough to financially back my music. I performed as a solo act in the beginning before meeting Infinity. Back then I didn't have a lot of music because I wast into mixtape beats yet. Everything I recorded was exclusive but at the same time by doing that slowed the process down for releasing tracks and building my name. After linking up with Infinity and him signing to StreetSound Ent. as well that was when the fire was lit and we hit the shows hard for a few years. As far as starting out chopping I was always a fast rapper having been a fan of Bizzy Bone and Twista I bled over into my music long before I stepped in the scene. This was before chopping became the trend. A lot of people looked at it as a gimmick but people like King Sandman elevated the listeners out here and Tech N9ne solidified the genre.. In my opinion. When it became the in thing i focused on chopping as a means to separate myself apart from the average rapper since not everyone can do it. During that time it became easier for me to write in that style and was no longer something I forced myself to do.. Now it just comes naturally. I'm by no means the fastest but I like to dance around the verse and do what the beat tells me.

Being one with the beat unlocks so much potential for amazing tracks. Who are some of your biggest influences and why?

Tupac, Twista, Bizzy Bone. Tupac taught me it was okay to write about emotions and weaknesses and he opened my eyes to politics and conspiracies. Twista brought that powerful street music I was into at the time. And he really showed me different patterns of riding the beat and his clarity was next to none at the time. Bizzy Bone came with the melodies and deep meanings in his music. like Tupac, Bizzy had a poetical way of digging in the soul and writing things about myself that I wouldn't otherwise reveal to people. Any video of Bizzy you watch of him in the booth you can tell he feels what he's saying and he's a little off brandish which leads people to think he's crazy. But I feel like I get it.

I should also add Busta rhymes to that list. But later Busta.. (Haha) Around Big Bang theory I became a real fan. His concepts and word play are phenomenal. His music in my opinion is the definition of hiphop. He taught me to step my concepts and lyrics up.

So many strong influences for a strong rapper, it all makes sense. The name Kamikazi, how did you come up with it and what does it mean to you?

I became Kamikazi in 1999. I struggled with a name for years before flipping a page during history class and it jumped out at me. Aside from its usual reference of being a suicide pilot I discovered another definition.. Divine Wind. But me being slightly off brandish and daring I ended it with an "i" (sarcastic voice). I heard there is a rapper named Kamikazi in Mississippi who came out under David Banner or something. But like Tech N9ne said "I ain't changing my name for no mf'n body". LOL

Hey, you gotta do you in this game and you can't let anyone derail you. Momentum is a huge part of success and you know a lot about that. I know INK (Infinity N Kamikazi) have opened for Strange Music in the past. What does it feel like to share a stage with the Kansas City King, Tech N9ne and who else have you opened for in your long journey through the game?

We were blessed to open for tech 7 times. We held down that slot for a couple years in Minnesota. Performing in front of that crowd is like no other. And to get the tech crowd to respond to our music was magical. Who better to share a stage with then the hardest working artists in the business. Which also reminds me I forgot to add him to my list of influences! "This Ring" I became a fan.
I've opened for more then a couple few. Ill see what comes to mind. Haystak, D12, Young Buck, Yuk Mouth, Slaughter House, e40, Chamillionaire, Rehab, Afroman, Lil' Wyte, Tech N9ne, Obie Trice, Grave Plot, ..I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

One man can do a lot on his own, but with a strong backing he can go a lot further. Describe what StreetSound Entertainment and your partnership with Infinity means to you. Also what is the essence that makes INK such a powerhouse duo?


Infinity and StreetSound are definitely irreplaceable pieces of the puzzle. Seriously the only people who believed in me from the gate. Two people i will always respect. I have a StreetSound tat on my arm because I wouldn't be right here in this day without them.
I think INK brings a balance with our music. From punch lines to metaphors. Rhyme and reason. Rapid and slow delivery. Red pill blue pill. Melodic beats to drum and bass. ..we all have a light and darkness within us. I feel like we all bring our own ingredients to the pot, and the end result is INK

I understand that you have a couple projects set to drop very soon. A Kamikazi solo entitled "Angels & Demons" and an INK project "Red Pill, Blue Pill" do you have release dates set for them? Also are you at liberty to discuss any featured tracks on the albums?


Pushing for march for "Red Pill Blue Pill" but honestly whenever it's done we are dropping it. But no later then march. "Angels & Demons" I'm pushing for the same thing but its in need of a few collabs and the people I reached out to didn't send anything back. "Red Pill Blue Pill" features Twisted Insane on a track titled "Armageddon" produced by Ryder Lyfe which is being turned in for mixing as we speak. This track will be the first single. Should be released in the next couple weeks. As of now that is the only completed Collab. That definitely could change before march.

What do you see for the future of Kamikazi and StreetSound Ent. as we progress through 2013 and into 2014?


Music, videos, shows, and more music! We have all been in the same boat through all the ups and downs. If that didn't stop us then I see nothing but time and opportunity to do what we came here to do.. Put out good music and have fun doing it. And hopefully working with more talent willing to work with us. Minnesota stand up!

I have a feeling that there will be a lot of people wanting to work with you. As we round out this interview is there any messages you would like to send the fans?


"Red Pill Blue Pill" and "Angels & Demons" coming march 2013 for free! Much love to all fans and supporters. Hit us up we respond.


And lastly, as I ask all of our interviewees, do you have any advice for upcoming budding artists in the local scene?


Advice. Be yourself and do you but lend a hand whenever possible to your home state up and coming artists. High horses fall hard and inflated egos fly away. Don't let money be the main objective. You can't please everybody. And surround yourself with like minds. Most importantly always remain true to you and the people who helped you get there.

Thank you very much for your time, Kamikazi. We appreciate your support in our movement tward unity and publicity for all artists. All of us look forward to what SSE has in store for the future of music in our great state. For Get Local, MN this is J. Zarins saying Get Live, Get Loud, Get Local, MN!


Appreciate you reaching out!

LINKS!

 Www.youtube.com/curbswirvin
Www.facebook.com/iamKamikazi
Www.reverbnation.com/infinitykamikaziINK