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 Blockhead Interview - Page 2
interview 0068 added 11.06.01 words SuMo KaPlUnK
OK, perhaps it’s a funny question to ask but are you a musical person?
Do I play instruments? No actually. I play a little keyboard because my sampler is a keyboard but all the music I have is just from my ear - I think I have an ear for stuff. I don’t play guitar, I don’t play drums - probably could play some drums at this point because I’ve been playing them on my keyboard for so long. But, I’ve never been into instrumental music other than some soul and jazz - even ‘80s music isn’t really “instrumental” music; it’s kinda like keyboards and drum machines. I’ve never been into rock really so I never really had a pining to want to play an instrument. I played Clarinet in like fifth grade so that’s about as close as I get heheheheh -
Yeh and I bet I’ll see that on Napster soon eh? “Blockhead plays clarinet, Aesop plays the maracas.mp3”
Sumo continues his quest to discuss hotel furnishings with the finest U.S. artists...
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He plays instruments!
Yeh?
Aesop plays bass, he can play guitar, he can play drums alright - he’s one of the multi-talented people.
Would you be interested in working with a live band as a producer?
You mean where I would like arrange the music and tell them what to play?
Yeh.
I could…but it would probably turn out to be like a second rate Roots sound. Nah, I probably wouldn’t - I’m not interested in live instruments really. I don’t have any wants to do anything like that really. Like I don’t really even like the Roots -
[reaching for bell, book & candle] EXCOMMUNICATION FROM HIPHOP FOR YOU!!! Heheheheh…
I’m sorry! Musically, they kinda slip into the higher levels of that Common group to me. They’re not as bad but they tred that line.
Well Like I said to Sixth Sense who is almost the direct opposite to you, to me, I can appreciate sometimes the artistry but too often it sounds like…You heard of Sade?
Uh huh…
It just sounds like that whole pseudo jazz movement of London in the mid ‘80s where you’ve got middleclass people imitating jazz and soul - it’s studied, laboured; they’re not feeling it, they’re just doing it… I like music with heart - like MOP. They’re not the greatest lyricists out there but -
They are the best! That album’s one of my favourite - if not the favourite - album of last year. But yeh, I totally agree with you. Coming back to the Roots, when I hear a Roots song I’m like “y’know, you guys have instruments and have the endless possibilities of what you can do whereas I do samples and y’know can’t do everything with a sample.. You guys can play ANYTHING and yet all your beats are ‘DANG-DANG! D-DANG DANG! DANG-DANG!’” They’re all like based on two notes and I can do that on my sampler so what’s the point in having a band? And y’know, earlier Roots stuff wasn’t even really like that but I guess they got a little pressure from the label and whatever else happens…as you grow as an artist you get a little yes y’know…”experimental.”
...I’d rather listen to Trick Daddy than Kweli; that’s me personally because it’s just as fulfilling...
I gather you’ve heard the Mark B & Blade album?
Ah yeh - “The Unknown?”
Yeh. What did you reckon?
I think the beats are great! I think Blade is kinda like a British Mos Def - but not as good hehehehhe! He’s alright - he’s really not bad, he brings me back definitely to like the early ‘90s where there was a lot of rappers like him. It’s not a bad thing at all but I was more impressed by the beats - I was definitely feeling the beats on that - and considering I’d never even heard of them before -
Well Blade’s been around making records for more than ten years now -
He sounds polished - he definitely sounds polished -
And you can forgive him for sounding pissed off because he’s never got the praise nor recognition he deserved -
Really?
Never, not even in England which is appalling. Mark B? Me personally, I thought the beats were great too but there’s something…something I don’t like about it - he’s worked with another group of artists - Taskforce?
Ah yeh, this kid sent me this tape of them - Dave Paget - I don’t know if you heard of him?
Wow you’re getting’ all the good stuff eh?
People just sending me all this for no reason heheheheh -
But anyway, the way I feel about Mark B is that he’s too much of a hired gun…I think he needs more of a rapport with the emcees -
Does he not really get with the artists?
It seems to be more of a business thing - he’s a great producer and very professional - which is one thing UK hip hop is often lacking - he’s very professional but I think sometimes the professionalism comes before the artistry…But that’s me personally. If I hear a great producer and they’re working with Foxy Brown or sommat that disappoints me as a fan -
Yeh that’s true…
But as a fan I’m an idealist so like when it comes to guys like Aesop or Sage Francis I feel they should be going platinum but they’re not and in reality, they wont unless they do a Domingo album or somemat…
Well yeh, stuff like that will never go platinum ever and it’s no fault of theirs’. Something that goes platinum is the stuff that’s on MTV and the something that goes platinum is the stuff that’s on the radio and people don’t really wanna listen and think when they watch TV or listen to the radio. When you’re listening to the radio, nine times out of ten, you or I might wanna hear an Aesop song and take it apart and just enjoy it - but that nine times out of ten, people just want to hear some crap… any crap with a hook - anything with a hook and a stupid lil’ keyboard beat; it’s easier to grasp…
Currently right now in the UK we’ve only got one national hip-hop shows in England -
Tim Westwood? -
Yehyehyeh; WANKER!
Hehehe! Yeah I’ve heard about him…
He’s really got behind Ja Rule and Memphis Bleak - and to me Ja Rule is the most untalented human being on the planet -
HE IS THE WORST! I cannot agree with you more. Ja Rule is the worst thing to happen to hip-hop since…I dunno…since like the Reggae ballad hehehe y’know…
Yeh well: it depresses me, it offends me - it’s just horrible because that’s what’s getting into the mainstream in England and that’s what people think “hip hop” is. The magazines they’ll give like 8 page spreads to Mariah or Kelis but y’know…I don’t think I’ve seen Aesop in a magazine yet…
That’s too bad man.. Well y’know he’s got to sell like about ten times more copies before that goes on. He’s got to blow up - But Can. Ox are starting to get interviews, I think they’ve got a little part in XXL and y’know if all goes well for Aesop, that will happen for him as well.. I think they’re really lucky to be on Def Jux, because there’s a lot of other people like y’know Sage Francis and - even those Freestyle Fellowship guys aren’t really gonna get the exposure because they’re just not gonna put out like that…It’s too bad..
So Def Jux…. I take it you haven’t been signed as well then?
No. I’ve done like ten of the beats on the album but I work for Aesop hehehe.
And you’re not worried about not being signed yourself?
Um, well I’ve got a breakbeat album coming out on Mush in the near future - I got the contract for it a few days ago. I figure like I will eventually put something out - especially after this Aesop album comes out I’m hoping people are gonna be happy with the beats I did on that - I think it’s a big step up from “Float.” I think that’s in both basescases; I think Aesop stepped it up and I think I stepped it up a lot. Aesop’s beats on this album are really phat too actually!!! I dunno…we’ll see what happens..I’m not really a pushy guy, I don’t really try and get myself in positions - I just kinda see what happens - lay back and hope everything works out heheheh..
I gather there’s a group between you guys and the Weightless family known as “The Orphanage?”
Oh yeh, it’s Aesop, Illogic, Slug, Blueprint and Eyedea -
...I think the beats are great! I think Blade is kinda like a British Mos Def - but not as good...
And are you involved with it all?
I might do a couple beats for them - they recorded like eight or nine songs when Aesop was out in Minneapolis and they were all Ant and Blueprint beats but there might be a couple Blockhead joints…I did a joint with Illogic and Aesop and a joint with Atmosphere including Eyedea and Aesop and those might end up on the album - but they’re not in New York so it’s hard for me to put my finger on it - it’s good stuff tho’, it’s a lot less abstract - people are going to be surprised when they hear it - but hey! It’s not simple by any means!
Yeh, I did notice on Aesop’s Def Jux compilation track, it’s a lot more overtly battle orientated -
A lot of people had a lot of bad things to say about that song hehehhehe! A lot of people aren’t happy with that song.
Yeh? I loved it -
I’m glad somebody did then - may be it’s just the internet - I get really weird mixed signals from the internet because that’s the only way I can really like hear what other people think unless I know them….People are like [in a winging voice] “I don’t like your beat…he’s just…” - y’know, just complaining.
Do you spend a lot of time on the Internet?
Nur, may be like ten minutes a day. I go everyday but just to check my email and check a couple websites that I’m into. I have a really low functioning computer so I can’t listen to music and I can’t use Napster so…no big loss….
Do you have a day job?
Yeh kinda. I work in a bakery…I work there part time and it’s OK - pretty boring…
Are you working towards making your art your profession?
Yeh definitely; that’s the goal hopefully - and if not, I have my hand in a lot of other arts y’know. I’ve done a little acting and a little writing…. So I’m not really worried. May be I’m just too optimistic right now!?
Acting?
I used to have a public access show - basically the show I did was with a bunch of my closest friends and it was a skit comedy show and it’d be on every Tuesday at midnight and it went on for like two years. We got a following - MTV used to call us and they used to want to talk to us about stuff but nothing ever came of it of course. It was all improvised skit comedy and we were pretty good. And I’ve done a lot of like student films not that that means anything heheheh…I think that if I really wanted to I could do something with all that but music’s definitely my first choice.
Do you think New York people get the media they deserve in terms of comedy - I mean, is the comedy on TV representative of what people like? I ask this because I went to this comedy club last night and it was predictable… It was like: a Jewish compare and you could predict what jokes he’d be telling, a fat Black woman doing her routine and you could again predict her whole routine - May be it’s just one of those culture differences but in American comedy they seem to do a lot of identification and in-group based “humour” so it’s like “Yo! Anyone from Baltimore in the house? Is there any brovaz in tha house!? All my Jews represent!” I find that alien.
It’s definitely something that happens - but it’s not just in New York. There’s just so many people and so many different types of people, people just feel the need to group themselves or others - I don’t think it’s a good or a bad thing it just is how it is and I can’t imagine it being any other way. That’s how it’s always been as long as I’ve been alive y’know and as long as it’s done in a way that’s not trying to degrade anyone it’s fine - as far as the media in New York, you get what you’re given hehehhe…
Do you go out clubbing much?
I don’t go to clubs but I go to bars. I’m like a twice a week drinker. I find actual clubs with lighting and big sound systems that’s something which if you’ve lived in New York you’re whole life you don’t really do that - or you did that at one point and you get over it. People who come to New York, that’s the the people who go clubbing - like if you’re from Long Island or jersey or upstate New York, they come into the city to go clubbing but it’s really nothing. I did it when I was like 15-16 - and not even that much; I did it enough to know that it wasn’t really my scene, just loud and crowded.
What does the near future hold?
Just hopefully doing more work and putting out some good music. I’ve been dealing with a few rappers really that aren’t really known that I really think are good like this guy Low Deck. He’s very good. It’s very rare that I a rapper that I have never heard before and I’m like “Wow! That’s a style I’ve never heard before!” - He’s like somewhere between Cage, Aesop and Thirstin Howl III you get Low Deck heheheh - it’s a weird comparison but he’s just a really smart emcee and he’s original and I’m trying to do stuff with him. I’ve done a song with him and I’m gonna work with his crew Johnny 23 and give them some beats and hopefully give him more beats. I wanna get him on my compilation too! Who else? I just love working with Aesop and I don’t see myself stopping working with him but I’d like to work with others - I’m gonna give the Atoms family some beats, and just work with like-minded people who’re feeling the same stuff I am. Peace to everyone!
Thanks to Tony for sparing the time to pop round that Sunday afternoon: it was great to finally be able to put a face to the name and the beats…..If you don’t already own a copy of “Float” (released on Mush records http://www.dirtyloop.com) shame on you! Aesop’s 4th album tentatively titled “Labour days” is scheduled to drop in early September on El-P’s Def Jux imprint following the lead single from that project which is set to drop later this summer.
  
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