1. How do you place yourself in a larger realm of the hip-hop industry and world?
Well, I definitely think all of the projects that I belong to are part of an underground movement that rarely gets to the commercial surface of the music industry. When it does it is a great thing. We’ve focused on connecting with individuals in all walks of creative exploration as something that is instrumental to our own message and mission that will help make our art form translatable all over the world.
2. What are your feelings on the current state of hip-hop?
The music industry has gone through so many big changes over my lifetime and seems to be continually evolving at every turn, but I believe that some fundamental aspects stay the same. Maybe the format in which music is distributed has changed, but at the end of the day you still have plenty of musicians out there whose main goal is to share their work with others and network with like-minded people who appreciate their passion for the art.
3. Are you trying to create a unique message to urban youth or a specific world regions through your music?
My message has always been fundamentally the same throughout my career as a musician, and that philosophy is based off of pursuing your passions at all costs and following through with your beliefs and actions. My parents who have always been my biggest inspiration told me for as long as I remember we don’t care what you chose to do, as long as whatever you chose, you do your best at it and you give it your all. I think that my music largely dictates this ideal, because a good volume of my music could be construed as inspirational. While I definitely target younger crowds, anybody can like my music and I have fans of all generations. I strive to make each record have a little something for everybody no matter what point they are at in their life.
4. What made you choose to pursue hip-hop as a career?
I, like many others of my generation were affected by the influx of commercial hip hop that became mainstream in the mid 90’s. In my opinion, around ’93 / ’94 the hip hop artist of that time were achieving more social acceptance than their previous counterparts and started to exhibit a level of talent in hip hop that really was undeniable within the industry itself. While I was affected by all the different styles of the hip hop culture, my love for music really started with my obsession with Michael Jackson’s flavor of pop and the jazz I was exposed playing saxophone in America’s Youngest Jazz Band as a child. I’ve never really liked to call myself a hip hop artist, I feel I am first and foremost a musician. Although most of my music has been considered hip hop up until this point. If the music inspires me to rap I rap, if it inspires me to sing I sing, if it evokes noises that don’t even have meaning well than I follow that to. It just so happens that most of the music has pushed me towards rapping until the Hoy Polloy Project.
5. Is there anything specific in your personal life such as your background, a job, where you live, certain friends, or ties to the industry that make you push your boundaries and inspire your music and message?
When I sit down to write a song, whether I consciously do it or not the song that I write almost always somehow draws on the emotions, thoughts, and aspirations related to that time in my life. It might not always be a literal or easily identifiable translation between my life and the music but it almost always is directly linked in one way or another. That being said my push and my inspiration comes from every aspect of my life and my hope is that my songs touch people who interpret my lyrics and music in their own way. It doesn’t always have to be my translation that they are identifying with; it may be one completely unique to their own situation, but if the music translates to some emotion when they hear it than I feel like I am doing my job.
6. Do you feel that hip-hop artists can be better role models for their community and fans is that something you’re trying to do through your music?
I always feel like the best role models are the ones who are able to simultaneously show their strengths and weaknesses. Often I feel what makes people great is a harmonious relationship between their angels and their demons. Without experience you have nothing to draw on. You need to get in trouble to have something to talk about. If you go through life and its one big picnic your art lacks anything that others can relate to because most people face a variety of struggles in their lives everyday. It’s good for people to have someone to look up to and aspire to be like, but at the end of the day the most successful people take a little piece of what all the great people around them are doing and find a way to make it uniquely their own. They say that nothing is new under the sun, so I try to take the best qualities from everyone around me and incorporate it in my own fabric and I’ve always advocated that others do the same.
7. You’re one of a larger group of artists known as the NOC aka The No Ordinary Cats based out of South Florida. How do you like being at the front lines of a group of extraordinary creative individuals?
As only a handful of people know, I took an indefinite hiatus from making music all together between my 2005 album “Live from 713” and early 2007. I was no longer inspired to write songs, and after five albums and little direction I thought that it would be best to try and tap into my other talents whatever they may be. I had moments where I thought I might be on a permanent break from making music. Receiving KD & JO’s mixtape from a mutual friend changed everything for me almost instantly. I literally called JO just a few tracks into their mixtape and demanded that we get together and write some songs. Having worked with a variety of musicians over the years, they were the first two people who I felt like our musical fusion made sense. It was as if I instantly knew we had so much to learn from each other. I thought if we could combine our talents into something bigger than ourselves than we could make music that would be larger than any one of us individually and in my mind that is what has always made The N.O.C. so powerful. Rams was honestly God’s little bonus because especially in the beginning before Rams even joined the group, I felt that we might already have something extraordinary. After the first session he joined though I knew that Rams addition was the difference between being something great and being something extraordinary. I feel extremely privileged to be at the center of a network of extremely talented individuals. As many know, the N.O.C. network expands far beyond just us four individuals and I am grateful to be a communicator between so many gifted people.
8. Sciamachy is your first solo album since The Late Night Walrus. How is your solo style different from your presentation on say the Dinosaur album released with The NOC?
Sciamachy is the third album recorded under the abbreviated artist name of K Sos. In 2008, I did the PRESPORT which was the album that got The N.O.C. back together after our first break, and then I followed up with the Late Nite Walrus in 2010 (which very well may be my favorite Beery Cover). Sciamachy is an album I’m extremely proud of. Originally released Sept. 12th 2011, I had Beery complete the artwork for the re-release because I felt like it is the album that relates to the greatest amount of people with its message. It’s an album whose songs belong together. Several of my other albums have focused on contrast instead of harmony between different takes. Sciamachy was the opposite. A few songs that ended up on the Hoy Polloy project were written during the Sciamachy period but didn’t fit the mold of that record and were therefore omitted. Making solo albums allows me to explore different aspects in relationship to the process of making an album. It is a challenge that I enjoy very much. I like that my different projects allow me to explore my potential for different roles. In No Ordinary Cats I am largely an organizer. My role is knowing that only so much fits in the bottle and properly executing what and how things fit in the bottle. In the N.O.C., J.O. and myself leave most of the songwriting up to K.D. and Rams. In my solo projects, I am forced to develop the concepts and that is why I enjoy the challenge of making records on my own.
9. You recently released another album titled “On the Way to Rome” with guitarist Nick Romanelli, which is a bit of a divergence from Sciamachy. You’ve incorporated more live instrumentation as well as focusing on some new collaborations; How would you describe your progression as an artist from this record to the last?
Well, the Hoy Polloy project was actually born out of the Sciamachy project. Roman (guitarist and recording engineer Nick Romanelli) contributed the guitar solo to the first single off of Sciamachy “Stay if You Will”. I was so blown away by his heartfelt solo that I reached out to him to do some acoustic remakes of a couple older songs of mine, but after the first few sessions we both began to lean toward writing new material. After several stabs at old songs we began to explore several styles in several environments to see what we could come up with. Since Roman and myself played all of the instruments on the Hoy Polloy album it gave us the freedom to really make any kind of album we wanted which is essentially what “On the Way to Rome” is suppose to represent. There is no genre you can corner that album into, it crosses just too many lines. I like what the Hoy Polloy album shows off. It is going to be interesting to see what the live experience of that album is going to translate to in the coming months, as we gear up for shows with our new drummer.
10. You’ve worked with Beery Method Studios on the artwork for all of your album covers. What is unique about working with Beery his style and how would you describe the symbiosis of your mind and his to formulate unique and eclectic artwork to correspond with your music?
Ironically, Beery and myself have never met, we’ve had numerous lengthy convos over the years about the artwork and music but have yet to cross paths in person. It is that elusive nature, in addition to his undeniable talent at pairing his art with my music that has made this one of the best partnerships that the No Ordinary Cats network represents. Time and time again Beery’s own evolution as an artist has matched ours in a way that seamlessly fuses our two artistic passions. I feel grateful to work with such a visionary on what is about to be the sixth project in our lineage.
11. If you were to give advice to a young independent artist who wants to pursue a hip-hop career, what is the best words you could give?
I would tell him don’t pursue a hip hop career. Pursue a career of expression. Express yourself. Feed the inner you and you will live a happy and fulfilling life.
12. Do you have any new upcoming projects coming down the pipeline?
I’m glad that you asked that because we are just putting the finishing touches on the second No Ordinary Cats album Romans. It has been a long four years since we put out DINOSAUR and some of us weren’t even sure there would be a sequel, but once fans get a taste of the new sound, they’ll understand why it took so long, these things don’t just happen all the time.
13. Any shout outs or thank you’s to your people?
Other than the official artist for the N.O.C. Nick Beery, I have to send a shout out to all of our affiliates at Skinny Buddha who have made so many great things possible for us. I am so thankful to every single person that has come out to support us, purchased our records and spread our music to others. You are truly what keep me happy and what keeps this whole machine going.
14. Where can we find more of your music And keep up with the latest news on K SOS?
The best place to follow us will be through our Facebook: No Ordinary Cats or our Soundcloud: No Ordinary Cats. The Hoy Polloy album is available at TheHoyPolloy.com on the SkinnyBuddha site. Sciamachy (The Re-Release) as well as the new No Ordinary Cats album Romans will debuting via Skinny Buddha May 5th.
15. Any last words for your fans, the hip-hop community, the media, or general public?
First Single from Romans available on Soundcloud: No Ordinary Cats. April 1st.
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