Interview with Verse Essential and Kidd Called Quest

In 2013, we are starting to see an emergence of one emcee, one producer equals one project. This works to their advantage to disseminate musical chemistry. This equation has made so many successes bringing it back to the Guru and Premo Gang Starr days. This includes the Laurelton Queens/Rochester duo of Verse Essential and Kidd Called Quest. Verse has made a name for himself with an impressive album, two solo mixtapes and two group mixtapes under his belt. Kidd Called Quest has made himself a household name in the 585 with high recognition producing tracks for Craig G, Pumpkinhead, Golden, Azariah, Volatile and many other emcees. The tag team duo part of Young Black and Gifted discuss about their project “No Invitation Needed” and future projects.

Ty DJCJones (Intrigued): The project “No Invitation Needed” is about to drop. How much of it is completed?

Kidd Called Quest: We are done with the whole album just have to get a few things ready and it’s a go I really think people everywhere will love the project from the creative storytelling and the gritty joints it’s just a straight raw new york feeling album.

Verse Essential: 100 percent of it is completed. It's only 10 songs. No more, no less. Quest and I didn't want to make a long album to begin with. It was originally supposed to be an EP but as we kept recording, it took on a life of its own. I'm very pleased with the results and I'm sure the fans will be as well. We just have to wait and see what the outcome of the all the hard work Quest and I put into "No Invitation Needed"

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): For those who don’t know about you guys, how you guys hooked up and what made you guys decide to come up with “No Invitation Needed”?

Kidd Called Quest: We link through face book and I started hitting verse with beats and around that time I was already building up the (Young Black And Gifted) movement me and Azariah already had the ( Long Time Coming) completed Golden and I started working on the (PMS) album I figured since I was already hitting verse with joints and he was eating up the beats it would only make since that we both did an album together for the (Young Black And Gifted) Movement that’s where the whole Idea for (No Invitations Needed) came along I was cooking up tracks for both that and (PMS) at the same time.

 

Verse Essential: Quest sent me an email about 2 years back saying he liked my music and expressed interest in working with me and I was on board to make new music with new people. He sent me a few beats and I was blown away with one particular one that got turned into the track "Rich vs Poor" off the album. From there Quest went on to produce the song "Wouldn't Change A Thing" off my "Freedom Is Mine" mixtape. I love that record!

How "No Invitation Needed" came to about is because of the interview you did for Quest months ago. You asked Quest what you thought of me and he inquired that he wanted was to do more music with me. When I read it, I was already down for the idea of doing more music with Quest. After that, he called me up and asked if you wanted to record a project together. I said yes and it's been history ever since. As we kept doing more and more songs, we both knew we were making something special that the fans are going to love.

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): The Queens anthem “Jamaica Queens State of Mind” is the truth right now, it’s on heavy rotation. What was the process of making the record?

Kidd Called Quest: That Was just a beat I put together in like 5 minutes I had found the sample on this record I brought for 25 cents at this thrift store I had the drums I wanted to use in my head and I wanted to flip the sample different I know static used it on the (Spell My Name Right Album) I wanted it to have a real gritty Ny feel to it and verse pretty much brought out the whole ideal and took it to a new level with the song.

Verse Essential: I started working out at the Jamaica YMCA on May 1, 2013 and every day when I walk to the gym from the train after work, I would see the same images of struggle day in and day out. Dudes on the block hustling 2 dollar metrocard rides, cigarettes and anything else that can make a fast buck to get by and people working two or more jobs just to put food on the table. Single mothers doing the best they can to raise children on their own. The murder rate doesn't drop. It just rises. You can smell the fumes of despair from the concrete when you walk through Jamaica Queens.  That's all I kept seeing when I walked to the gym every day. And it doesn't bother me because I have been living in Jamaica Queens since I was 13. It's all I know even though I was born and raised in The Bronx. So when I got the beat from Quest, I was in this exact mindset when I wrote it. I'm very proud of that record because I never done a record representing where I'm from before. And now I did. 

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): With this track out, has it opened many doors for you guys? I assume the doors were opened when you both were out on the scene beforehand.

Kidd Called Quest: Yeah some stations are playing that song on air and blogs are getting their hands on the song as well but it's getting things ready for the next steps and creating a buzz.

Verse Essential: Kidd Called Quest and I have had doors opened individually before but with this record, the fans opened to us differently and it feels wonderful. I'm getting love worldwide and it's a testament of our hard work. I'm just proud I'm putting Rochester and Jamaica Queens on the map. Through this record, I'm starting to headline shows, do more interviews and get out there more to the people. I strive to be a better artist not just a better rapper. That's my mindset when I make music. So slowly but surely, the doors are opening for Quest and myself. And the scary part is: We are far from done!

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): Not for nothing, I gotta take Premo’s words when I listened to some of the joints on the project: This aint no sweet shit (laughs).

Kidd Called Quest: Defiantly it’s something that hip hop lovers are going to like and it’s in its own lane.

Verse Essential: Hell no ain't nothing sweet on this! I'm a rap artist not an R&B artist. I make nice records from time to time but not on this project. Expect hard hitting beats and rhymes that are from the heart. Me and Quest was in a zone with this album and our mission was to make dope, real music. The fans are going to be happy with this one.

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): Kidd Called Quest, you also worked with Golden and Azariah. Shoutout to them, they did their thing at The Art of Lyrics. Describe the creative differences between Verse, Golden and Azariah?

Kidd Called Quest: Each artist have their own style Azariah has a Real aggressive flow that people like and sounds hype, Golden just go nuts over beats and Verse has that real golden age raw style  but at the end of the day each Mc is in their own lane.

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): Kidd Called Quest, you made a concept that no one did on the Golden project P.M.S. (Passion Music Soul): a male producer and a female emcee project with no guest appearances. What made you come up with that idea?

Kidd Called Quest: I wanted the main focus to be on the artiest just like the (Long Time Coming Album)

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): Verse Essential, your first headliner at Art of Lyrics got the crowd jumping. Do you think you had more pressure being the headliner as oppose to just being in the card?

Verse Essential: Not at all. I had a blast being the headliner on the card and it was an honor. To tell you the truth, it made me more humble because it's all on me. If I came to the showcase with a big ego and have given a lackluster performance, that can destroy my career. Instead I treated all the other artists on the card with love and respect and that gave me the energy to give a better performance seeing them do their thing. In the end, no matter how much success and good fortune comes my way, I will always have a slice of humble pie. Everybody has an ego but how you control is what will truly define you. I watched other artists develop egos when a small amount of success came their way and then crash and burn. That's not the way I want to go out. I'll rather go with grace and dignity knowing that I'm doing this from the heart and not just creating a big appetite for my ego. 

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): Kidd Called Quest, with projects with Azariah, Golden and Verse under your belt, is there another Kidd Called Quest production album in the works?

Kidd Called Quest: I was going to do a (Put Your Headphones On 2) but now I want to just focus on getting the YBG name build up there might be one sometime next year.

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): Verse, you’ve worked with other artists and you also been in a group. Can you describe the difference between working on your solo joints and working on group projects?

Verse Essential: There is no ego between Quest and I. We are both just regular guys that are bonded with the music that we both love so much. This is my first completely solo project and I LOVED IT because I didn't have to deal with nobody's attitudes, issues, egos or schedule conflicts. It was just Quest and I as one. That's it. That's the difference between doing a solo project and a group project. I can sit here for days talking about the horror stories and all the crap I went through working with groups. I wouldn't wish it on anyone or my worst enemy. Doing music with a group is an absolute nightmare when all the members are not on the same page. That's why you will NEVER see a new Art Form Rejects album or a new Empire Nation project with me involved in it. In my heart, all of that is finished and it will forever stay in the past. I'm on a new path and I'm not wasting a second looking back. I lost my father in January 21, 2013 so that alone forever changed the way I look at my music and my life. My view of success is this: "It takes teamwork to make the dream work". That's the state of mind that got me where I am today. It's just sad that a lot of people from my past don't understand how powerful that state of mind truly is. I was so focused on "No Invitation Needed" because it was just me saying what I feel with just one person doing all the beats. It was a blessed experience and you will definitely see more solo projects from me in the future.

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): Making a song and shooting a sixteen are two completely different elements. Both elements can sell records since the beginning of the hip hop era but I noticed the gap has widened further. Is it the content itself or people are more attuned to subject matter and feel good music?

Verse Essential: It's both. The way hip hop is displayed today is totally different but still the same as it was back in the day. You still have to know how to write and perform a 16 and still have to know how to move the crowd. People still want subject matter but the music has to be dope. In the end, people want to feel good or at least feel something when they listen to music. The rules of this music have not changed in my honest opinion.

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): I always believe that keeping things in grown makes the movement better. Every group that stays in grown makes better music instead of branching out too much. What is it about staying in grown that makes the creativity cohesive and organic?

Verse Essential: It's extremely important because keeping in grown makes you grow as an artist as well as a person. It's always good to branch out but you cannot stray away from what you known in the first place. To me, a good rap artist studies the craft. How a 16 is constructed? Where to put a chorus on a beat? The amount of verses you should you add to a beat? Should the song be short or long? These and much more are elements that any songwriter needs to know and in order to get these elements down packed, they have to stay in grown. In music, there is no such thing as "I done it all". You’re never done. Look at Jay-Z for example. He's 43 years old and to me he's making the best music of his life. He's got it all but he's still making music. Why? Because he stayed in grown after all these years. He never changed some of the ways he makes his music. Musically, he is growing old gracefully and that's where I'm striving to be with my music as well. Bottom line: In order to stay relevant, you must stay in grown. 

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): What do you guys think about hip hop nowadays with all the new trends coming out?

Kidd Called Quest: I can’t knock the new trends to hard they do what they do we do what we do.

Verse Essential: I LOVE IT! I love how different the artists and the trends are today. I get inspired watching Drake, Kendrick Lamar, French Montana, Rick Ro$$, Meek Mill, Odd Future, Joey Bada$$ & Pro ERA , Chief Keef, A$AP Rocky, Elzhi, Ransom, Nipsey Hu$$le, Black Hippy and so many others do their thing. They and many others are carrying hip hop into new directions. You can't just have the old school classics and THAT'S IT. There has to be new artists because if you don't have new artists, you will never have change. And that's the thing a lot of hip hop fans are afraid off. I embrace it. Some of my own fans are surprised by what I like because of the music I make. But I tell them just like I'm about to tell you is a real artist always had a wide ear for any kind of music in any form. I love Hip Hop as a whole being not just a piece of it. Don't get me wrong, there are some rappers that are complete trash and some of them I had the unfortunate experience of doing songs with but nevertheless, I will forever continue to love this music and all the new cats that's taking it further. I can't stand fans that want old shit and refuse to make room for the new stuff.  This is music so ENJOY IT AND STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT IT.

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): I’m not sure if you guys know about this but there are rumors that Noreaga is dropping his final album Melvin Flynt part 2 and then going to retire to give the new artists some burn. What are your thoughts about that?

Kidd Called Quest: Hopefully Nore leave us with something crazy that will inspire the up in comers. 

Verse Essential: It's a beautiful idea. He had his time and now he's making way for the new artists to get their time. You can't be on top forever and all good things must come to an end to make way for new things. I hate seeing old outdated rappers trying to stay relevant but in reality, they are just hogging up the spotlight meant for somebody else. So the fact that Noreaga is stepping down and making way for the new talent to shine is a beautiful thing. I just wished some of these old school rappers adapted to that way of thinking. Straight up!

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): What does it takes for aspiring artists to get their grind on and keep themselves consistent in the music business?

Kidd Called Quest: Hard grind and welling to give it their all keep going.

Verse Essential: The belief that you are the best at what you do. You have to believe in yourself first and foremost no matter what people say. If you stop believing, the dream is already over. I had people talk behind my back and say to my face that I was trash but I didn't let the negative feedback stop me and guess what: I'M STILL HERE! So obviously I'm doing something right or else I would have been long gone. Another important thing that keeps an artist on their grind is having the right people around you at all times. The people that you start out with are mostly likely the people you don't end with. Let's face it; some people are just dead weight. You can't be afraid to cut people off when they start to hold you back. I don't care how dear of a friend they are or if they are family. When they become dead weight, it's going to hold you back and as an artist, the objective is to move forward. When people just walk away out of jealously or some other dumb ass reasons, take it as a blessing and make sure you keep them at a very far distance. I count my lucky stars every day when a person acts funny and decides to take a walk. Trust me that list gets longer and longer when you’re on your way to the top. I have no respect for a person with funny ass ways. I don't give a damn who they are. At the end of the day, you just got to feed people with long spoons, keep a clear head and try not to let anything move you and you'll be on your way to achieving your goals. The road to success is never easy. It was never meant to be.

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): What’s next for both Verse and Kidd Called Quest for late 2013 into 2014?

Kidd Called Quest: Possible a whole (Young Black And Gifted) project with all 3 artiest I have to get some beats done for that and much more

Verse Essential: I'm just about finished with my 2nd album entitled, "I'm Not Supposed To Be Here". That should be ready for release in 2014. I'm also about to work on another project with Kidd Called Quest. That's going to be crazy and very different. You just have to wait and see. 

Ty DJC Jones (Intrigued): For those who want to download your music or do collabs, where can they hit you up?

Kidd Called Quest: Kiddcalledquest.bandcamp.com, I tunes ect… twitter.com/jayquest

Verse Essential: I can be reached at Verseessentialmusic@gmail.com for collaborations and other business inquires. You can find my music on Verseessential.bandcamp.com, iTunes, Amazon, cdbaby.com, ughh.com and many other places. All you have to do is simply Google me and you'll have a lot to choose from. And to check out all my videos, please go to YouTube.com/Verseessential