Intrigued Music Blog: March 2012

Interview with Verse Essential

As hip hop moves into newer heights, I have taken the opportunity to interview Laurelton Queens hip hop artist Verse Essential. My admiration has gone to an all time high after interviewing him. Verse has given his message to the community with his rap style. His current album Ingenious has made a good buzz through the Internet. Verse is a living example of not giving up on his dreams and never allows opportunities to pass him by.

He is very well spoken and his lyrics give a message that is powerful to any community. After interviewing Verse, I get the sense that hip hop music is a collaboration of ideas and opinions that needs to be embraced. It's not about being exposed to booty shaking models and embellishing a lifestyle the average person in the hood can't afford. In Verse's album, he's talking to the community instead of dictating what should be popping tonight. He shows a balance in this art form. It's a pleasure talking to him.

1) The album Ingenious has came out, how does it feel to get the album out?

It's a dream come true and a lifelong dream that's now a reality. I gave up on rap in 2006 and various people stayed on my back to get back to the music and not give up. Fast forward to 2009, I made up my mind right then and there to make music and it's still one of the best decisions I ever made. Sometimes I gotta pinch myself to see if I'm dreaming. Not to mention my life is so much crazier. Video shoots, photo shoots, recording sessions, shows, parties, and just knowing that so many people from all walks of life love my music is a feeling that's very difficult to put into words.

2) Are you happy of how the album came together?

I'm very happy although I seen some mistakes that I unfortunately overlooked. This is my first official album and it was a lot of work. It's not easy to make a classic. I had a lot of sleepless night putting Ingenious Deluxe together. Overall I'm happy with the results but most importantly, I made the mistakes I made now so I will try not repeat them by the time my second album is released.

3) Was it difficult getting beats from the producers you wanted?

Surprisingly not really! My producers were excited to work with me because of my hardcore work ethic. I record songs like a madman and my producers love it. The most difficult beat to obtain on my album was the beat for "Children of Rape". The producer Lawz Spoken have put out an instrumental album online and when I heard the beat for the first time, I instantly fell in love with it. It had the sadness I was looking for. So when I stated writing to it, it took a life of its own. But Lawz Spoken did not want to give me the beat because somebody else recorded over it. But I was so determined to have this track on my album that I took the beat, recorded it without his permission and sent it over to him anyway. Needless to say, he was floored by my results. I'm very proud of that record and it's my favorite song on my album. That experience alone proves the point that the music making process is 100% unpredictable.

4) Tell me how you started rapping!

I started getting into hip hop at age 11. My sister used to play a lot of hip hop music from her radio when she did her homework from school. Her radio was my origin to this music. I got exposed to all the legends: Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, The Fat Boys, L.L. Cool J, you name it, I heard it. Most importantly, I got exposed to the legendary Gang Starr. That was it for me. When I heard their sound, a light bulb went off in my head and I knew I wanted to be a rapper ever since. It's so sad GURU is no longer with us.

5) How was it working with Access Immortal since he was like a mentor in a sense?

A blessing! He's a brother to me as far as I'm concerned. When I quit rap in 2006, he got mad at me and stayed on my back. He seen something in me that I didn't even see in myself. So when I committed myself to this craft in 2009, he took me under his wing and I since them grew a pair of my own. He gave me a rigorous lesson on the art of song making. It was difficult for me at first but little did I know, I was learning from the best. I learned about the importance of the chorus and how to structure lyrics to beats. I always knew hip hop as an art form but through him, I learned the mechanics behind it.

6) The track "Children of Rape", some people would not think that's your type of song because of your flow. Tell us what message you was trying to project to the communities on it.

I read an article online called "Children of Rape" and the sadness I felt reading that article was unbelievable. It went into raw detail on how there was such a huge surge of women giving birth in Haiti after the tragic earthquake in 2010. Women were assaulted in refugee camps all over the country and there was no sign of hope. Mind you, all these tragic events were taking place after practically the rest of world donated billions of dollars in aid relief and help rebuild the country. The question I had after reading this article was "what happened to all of this money and why conditions in Haiti went from bad to worse?" I felt compelled to write a song describing the truth of just how bad it was in Haiti during that tragic time in it's history. I'll tell you this; people from all walks of life have thanked me personally for writing this song. To this day, I still feel the same sadness I felt reading that article every time I listen to this song. The message I wanted to get across is no matter how horrific you situation is, you must simply survive.

7) In the 90's rappers had a continuity of putting solid albums but the last five years and better, artists put one good album and lost the consistency after that. How do you come in the game without falling for the sophomore jinx?

That sophomore jinx nonsense doesn't apply to me because every single time I go to the studio, my motto is make the songs at this recording session a thousand times better then the songs I recorded at the last recording session. When you record music, you have to be in the right frame of mind in order to make classics instead of just recording music. The sophomore jinx crap only happens if you allow it to happen. If you work hard, give it all you got and shut out the world, the quality of your music can't do nothing but improve. Verse Essential is living proof to this. The sophomore jinx is in the same category as fear; it's a waste of time.

8) Souljah Boy made a huge buzz by pushing his music on myspace and had mad hits. I noticed you're blazing the YouTube scene with videos on a regular basis as a promotional move with made views. How important is promoting music on the Internet in particular youtube?

For a new artist, it's more than an importance, it's a lifeline. Those days are gone when rappers can put out hot songs on vinyl and get an instant industry buzz if the record is hot. That method of promotion is outdated like the typewriter. The reason why online music videos are important is because we are living in a pure digital age. Facebook, Twitter and smartphone Apps have become the norm and musicians of today must go with the flow in order to stay current. In my case, I'm an unsigned independent artist so I have no one backing me. It all starts and ends with me. So for someone in my position, platforms like YouTube are a lifeline for me to get my music out to the public. Without YouTube, Souljah Boy and Justin Biber's talents wouldn't be with us. When you listen to a song, it only tells half of their story but when you see the video to that song, you'll get the full picture. Music is just sound for your ears but videos are music for your eyes to comprehend. The Bottom line is this: I don't care how dope you are, if people can't Google you and see a visual of what you can do, trust me, YOU ARE NOT KNOWN!!!!

9) Take us to a regular Verse Essential track!

My methods for making hit records are pretty simple. When one of my producers emails me a beat and I like it, I zone out to it. Then I start saying all types of crazy lines to myself until something sticks. Then after that, I put the beat on my iPod and I write to the beat on my iPhone and when I'm done, it's off to the studio to make history. Haha! I can write a song in 20 minutes or it can take me as long as two weeks. It all depends on how I feel when I listen to beat. When I listen to beats, I have a 10 second rule. If that track doesn’t grab me in 10 seconds or less, it's not for me. I'm notoriously picky when it comes to beats. Some producers hate me for that but I couldn't care less. That's the key to becoming a good musician, finding methods that work best for you and sticking to it.

9) What hip hop artists inspire you to pick up the microphone?

I don't know where to start. I got too many influences dead and alive. But the one hip hop artist that totally inspired me to rap in the first place is Guru from the legendary Gang Starr. I'll never forget the first time I heard his voice. It was way back in between 1989 and 1990. Good Lord those were the days. Haha. I was home listening to Kool Dj Red Alert on 98.7 Kiss FM recording songs on tape. And you read right: TAPE! And he played Gang Starr's "Flip The Scrip and the rest was history. I made up my mind right there that this is something that I want to do for the rest of my life. And from that point on, all that came out my mouth was music. It annoyed the hell out my parents but I never gave up. Remember this: anything that's easy to obtain is not worth looking for...

10) Name three hip hop MC's and three hip hop producers you will love to work with either old or new school?

The three hip hop emcees I would love to work with are Jay-Z, Common and GZA/Genius. I have been fan of all three of them since the very start of each of their careers. And I mean the beginning, Literary! I swear I was the only dude on the block that thought GZA's "Come Do Me" was hot. I got joked on hard for that but I saw something in GZA that would change my life forever. And when Liquid Swords came out, that was it for me. I wrote so many lyrics down that I thought I lost my mind. And truthfully I did because for the first time in my life, I got to see first hand how powerful lyrics are to everything.

The three producers I would dream of working with is Rick Rubin, Dj Muggs & 9th Wonder. It's funny because if I was asked this same question 2 to 3 years ago, I would have given a totally different answer. But as I started recording music on a professional level, my tastes in beats changed dramatically as well. I'm no longer into the whole underground boom bap sounds. It doesn’t move me anymore like it did in the 90's. But let me tell you first hand from me, words can't describe Rick Rubin's genius. Who you think gave RUN-D.M.C. their signature sound!!?!??!!? For God's Sake, this is the brain that created "WALK THIS WAY" by Aerosmith and RUN-D.M.C. The greatest Rock/Hip-Hop record ever freakin' made. Needless to say, to me, he's your music producer's producer. And to work with him will be heaven on earth for me. That's the level I want to be on. A good musician must and I repeat MUST have a well trained ear for music. No matter what the genre. It's impossible to master a craft if you don't take the time to study it first.

12) What is next for Verse Essential?

A whole lot! First of all, my second album is well in the works and I'm recording a lot for tracks for it. It's called "I'm Not Supposed To Be Here". That should be available for purchase sometime in 2012. I'm taking my sound to a brand new direction that is going to make Verse Essential new and improved to the world again. I promise you and my fans, old and new, that it will sound nothing like Ingenious Deluxe and you will be surprised. You'll just have to wait and see.
Second, I'm a part of the supergroup EMPIRE NATION which consists of Access Immortal, J.D. Nero, Jukstapose, Dayz Da Empora & myself. Our mixtapes "Empire Nation Vol.1" and "Empire Nation Vol.2" is available online for free online and "Empire Nation Vol.3" is already in the works. Last but not least, I formed a group called ART FORM REJECTS which consists of Che.sko, Noyz Beatmaker & myself. Two producers, One Emcee... Our debut album "Blood Written In Ink" is well in the works and we just shot the video for our debut single "Prototype" recently. That project should be available for purchase in 2012 as well. I'm also a part of the musical compilation called "Audiowear" and I performed at the museum of Art and Design in New York City for that project in fall 2011. Not to mention, I have various exclusive live performances, videos, radio appearances and new projects in the works. I'm a very busy man and it's all a blessing. As my mother always said to me growing up, "Beat the iron while it's hot"

10) What do you want the community including hip hop to see you as?

I want my community to see me as an artist that works extremely hard to give the world my best. I put in over 100% when it comes to anything I do so my music as well as my image are no exemptions to the rule. There are too many wanna-be's, slackers and lazy doo-doo rappers clogging up the industry today. I work with all the God-given strength in me to make sure I'm never associated in that class. I was taught that whatever you put in is what you'll get out. You can't expect to plant seeds for potatoes and expect to get strawberries. At the end of the day, all I am is a dedicated hard working musician striving to be bigger than everything that I am.

11) Where do you see yourself years from now?

A lot bigger than what I am today! I see myself having a huge catalog of albums, videos and mixtapes. I see myself doing big tours and shows in front of crowds in the thousands. I see myself living the dream and being something even I thought I could never be. That's why I work so hard. Life without purpose is a life not worth living. No dream is too big and at the end of the day, it's up to you to make it happen. That's the reason why people fail at their dreams because they stop believing in themselves. It sounds like an after school special but it's the truth. The moment you stop believing is the moment you will fall...

Once again, it was a pleasure interviewing Verse Essential. You can contact him at the following social connects:

a) www.twitter.com/VerseEssential

b) www.reverbnation.com/verseessential

c) www.facebook.com/verseessential

d) www.itunes.com/verseessential

e) www.myspace.com/verseessential

f) www.youtube.com/user/verseessential

g) www.google.com/verseessential

h) www.cdbaby.com/cd/verseessential

i) http://verseessential.bandcamp.com

Go cop that Ingenious album, the album is off the hook. Tracks produced by DJ Ruckspin, Juan Lobo, Laws Spoken, Karniage, Todd Sykes. Go get at that!!!!!!

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Sunday, March 11, 2012

Interview with Verse Essential