6th Sense: Sounds from the Notherground
R.M. London w/ 6th Sense
In today's overly saturated music market it has become a rarity to find an artist that not only pushes the boundaries of music creatively, but captures the essence of the artform and makes it their own. As I popped in my first taste of the Rawkus Certified 50 I didn't know what to expect. However, after my first spin of "It's Coming Soon" a New York bred MC named 6th Sense shattered any pre-concieved notions I had and showed me there are still artists out there who can satisfy the 'indie' craving for rapidfire lyricism and still satisfy my love for crisp and whip-breaking production.
Tonight we sit down with 6th Sense and talk about the Rawkus 50 experience, his album and new Mick Boogie Mixtape, the Notherground movement, and why his next solo album will likely be his last...
Rhymehouse: You were recently apart of the new Rawkus Records experiment where they signed 50 artists and released digital albums on the label. What are your thoughts about the entire project and the end result?
6th Sense: I think it's cool. Checks are about to be sent out. Truthfully, there is no end result, people'll be checking for all the albums for who knows how long.
Rhymehouse: Did you think it was a total success? Innovative?
6th Sense: It's too early to give a final word to the whole process. I definitely applaud Rawkus for making a move in the realm of artist development that every other label is straying so far away from.
Rhymehouse: Do you believe that digital albums are the new wave of releasing music for the industry? You think it will kill off the Compact Disc?
6th Sense: The trend of digital sales would certainly indicate that digital albums are the new wave of releasing music. I personally think there are extreme advantages of releasing music digitally. You're not going to see much illegal downloading. I can't speak to broadly but all I know is that there has been zero illegal downloading of the albums we released digitally. That's "It's Coming Soon" and Wildabeast's "Many Levels." I definitely think the CD is going to be outta here sooner then most think. To be completely honest, I don't know if we at Notherground Music would consider the CD format for the future, only for collector purposes I would say. There are other mediums we are currently exploring for future releases, but I don't want to go any further than that, because, hey, it's a secret.
Rhymehouse: As a working artist-- What are your feelings about filesharing, bootlegging, and people sharing records over blogs and the internet? Does this help or hurt an artist in the independent realm?
6th Sense: Sharing is caring... only if you care. Blogs are cool. Support your artists.
Rhymehouse: What is your usual creative process when recording a new album?
6th Sense: I don't even know if I can truly answer that question. It's just that the process is always different. The vision musically can determine the process towards creation. All I can say is that a lot of work is done... tons.
Rhymehouse: Sonically, on your new record "It's Coming Soon" you teeter back and forth between what fans would call "mainstream" and "underground" and show a lot of versatility-- What was your purpose on this album?
6th Sense: Well I produced the majority of "It's Coming Soon." Each song was sort of a capture. The direction and sound of each track is kind of making a point that in the future, this type of song will be even larger and have more grandeur. Almost every song deals with that feeling of being on the brink, a tipping point. It's the only way to describe the mindstate of the album.
Nothing was really forced per say. We've always made records that can cater to the masses, the everyday people. The people that appreciate good music and good hip-hop. When Frequency brought the beat to Run It By Me to the studio, it was obvious it was minimal. It sounded current but it had that quirky shit to it that Freq knows I love. Everyone in the studio had the mean crunchy face. We knew what time it was when it came to making that track. It's one of my favorites. The first verse is a glimpse into the future. The second verse brings it all home.
Rhymehouse: What was the difference between this album and your debut "Highing Fly"?
6th Sense: I produced the majority of this one. This one was for real.
Rhymehouse: What song off of "It's Coming Soon" would you say represents you as an artist the best?
6th Sense: I haven't made the song that best represents me as an artist yet. As far as "It's Coming Soon," the production on Future Music gives a great glimpse into my own style of production, with no samples. Frenzy gives a great look at how I view the industry, got some great word play too. There's a lot of gospel being spoken on I Wanna Tell Ya & Run It By Me. I love the picture painted on Midsummer Night's Dream... damn I'm feeling myself, but shit. Ha.
Rhymehouse: You also have a huge buzz going around off the "Go For It" Mixtape with Mick Boogie-- How did you get hooked up with Mick and what does the Mixtape expose to heads who might not know who 6th Sense is?
6th Sense: I'd say it started with a freestyle I had done for a Cornerstone Mixtape. Mick Boogie & Terry Urban were the DJ's hosting that month's mix. My man Evan Frank, part of my management team, told me Mick liked the freestyle. We went ahead and Mick was down to do a whole tape.
The tape to me is great. A lot of people are enjoying it more than the album, and I don't blame them... plus it's free, ya know? 23 original tracks, you got Peter Rosenberg from Hot 97 interviewing me throughout the tape, you got tracks from Wildabeast, Jelani. You got me rhyming over Thom Yorke, Beck, John Mayer. The whole thing is ridiculous, and there's so much on there that no other group of artists would dare try.
Rhymehouse: What did you touch on in the Mixtape that no artist would try exactly?
6th Sense: The whole approach is something fresh. We got our own lane, straight up.
Rhymehouse: Wildabeast, Jelani, and Frequency are also featured on the tape and are apart of your Nothaground imprint. How did you all come together and what is the crew all about?
6th Sense: Wildabeast is the Hood Hippie. He's got an album on iTunes through the Rawkus 50 called "Many Levels". I produced 9 tracks, and Frequency did 1. We have a video dropping for the title track, "Many Levels" directed by Adam Hall that is gonna blow people's heads off... literally. Will also has a project dropping soon called Wildahead Portibeast where he's rhyming to Portishead music. There's a track for people to preview on the Go For It mixtape. Jelani is the Hood Preppie, the son of Dapper Dan. He's got a free digital album dropping very very soon called "Wait, You Can Rap?!?!" It's 12 cuts, and I think I produced 9. A joint of his called "The Proposal," it's produced by me and features myself and Wildabeast, was just got put on a Cornerstone Mixtape by DJ Premier. We're going to be doing a video for that song real soon.
Frequency makes beats. Me and him got maybe 40 songs all together in the stash. He's kind of a big deal. He's working with Trackmasters right now. Him and I did "Think About It" for Snoop Dogg on The Blue Carpet Treatment, and we're keeping our fingers crossed right now with sample issues as far as him having a track on Ego Trippin. He should have some stuff on Lil Kim's next album.
Let me say this though. Notherground Music is a movement. And I'm not just saying that to say it. It's WAY more then just the people I spoke about. There's a ton of artists that ride with us. People out there with the same goals. There's the DJ's that support us. There's the movers and shakers that speak on our behalf in their travels... because they want to. They want to incorporate us into what they do because we share mutual admiration. Notherground Music is an operation built on love and we got love for everyone riding with us.
Rhymehouse: Along with rippin' Mics you also produce AND you have a degree in Music Business. Out of the 3-- which would you choose as your career for the rest of your life if only one shot was available?
6th Sense: Doctor.
Rhymehouse: haha
6th Sense: "I'm a jack of all trades, I'm just trying to be the king of one."
Rhymehouse: As a industry major and a guy that has been involved in the industry since a young age-- what are your feelings about the direction of the hip hop industry as a whole. What are you going to do to change or add to it and how can hip hop fans come together and help the cause?
6th Sense: Hip-Hop needs to usher in a new wave of cats to breathe life into it.
Rhymehouse: What upcoming projects can we look out for from 6th Sense?
6th Sense: On the production tip, I just did this Joe Budden remix. Look for a couple beats on the Mick Boogie & Lil Wayne Hello Brooklyn mixtape. Did some tracks for Haffa and Billionz, both artists of Scram Jones' Beast Music. I'm working on some stuff with Nature. Got a lot of work about to happen with a lot of great underground artists, but I don't want to put it out there just yet.
On the non-production tip, I dropped some bars to Teyana Taylor's "Google Me" track, look for that on your mixshows. There's gonna be an "I Wanna Tell Ya" remix with some great MC's rhyming along side. My next album is going to be my last. The title is "Realizing What It Is."
If you noticed the theme of "It" in both "It's Coming Soon" and "Go For It", that's because I eventually want to drop an album called "It". "Realizing What It Is" will be my last solo album I make. If I get to continue on, I will drop "It". I think that's all for now, I'm sure I forgot something.
Rhymehouse: So, 3 albums and out like Lupe. Why would you want to call it career after such a short career?
6th Sense: I've been doing this since I was 15. I consider Go For It like an album. I got two albums that never saw the light of day. I'm sure as time goes on some fuckwad will see to it that they do. I DID say solo albums. I'm not gonna stop making music. I mean, look at Wildabeast's and Jelani's albums. In some ways I almost feel they're mine because I have such an attatchment to them. I'll always be working on projects, always. And I'm not going to stop rhyming. The career is massive and is only going to prosper.
Rhymehouse: There are TONS of artists and MCs to peep out there now-- tell all the hip hop heads why they should check out 6th Sense and Notherground--
6th Sense: In light of this interview, I don't think I got to answer the question. The music should do all the explaining for me.
Rhymehouse: Outro...
6th Sense: http://notherground.blogspot.com-- that's for everything. Seriously, everything. Also we're going be having Notherground Radio start up very soon, streaming from the UK out to the world. NothergroundTV is always coming with new episodes.
