As a huge follower of West Coast independent hip hop I have heard numerous groundbreaking records, most of those coming out of the highly touted Los Angeles/Southern Californian scene. After falling in love with the Pacific style I immediately searched for more Californians who could rock the mic like their L.A. counterparts. The Bay had Zion I, Sacramento had The Cuf, and my first introduction to the San Diego scene was a "Chemically Imbalanced" MC by the name of Blame One.
While, for the most part, all of California seemed to fall under one sonic umbrella, Blame One stood out from the crowd. With a multi-syllabalic flux that flows constant like creek water, mixed with deep conceptual tracks, and a sprinkle of braggadocio-- Blame is in a realm of his own.
Tonight we got a chance to catch up with Blame One to follow up on his new "self-made" video, talk about his new album, and to introduce the San Diego MC to those that might not know...
Rhymehouse: For those that don't know- Who is Blame One and what does his music represent?
Blame One: Blame One is an emcee, graff writer, Dad, Companion, Friend, vinyl collector, 9 to 5er, avid hennessy drinker, deep thinker, class clown and people watcher. My music represents all of the above.
Rhymehouse: What sets the San Diego/West Coast hip hop scene apart from the rest?
Blame One: San Diego is still an untapped resource as far as most of the world is
concerned. What sets us apart is that we are hungry and were gonna let
it be known by all means necessary.
Rhymehouse:What local fellow San Diego artists should we look out for?
Blame One: Deep Rooted for sure. All the older cats of course.. Orko, LPSD, anything my man DJ Shag is a part of., Kutfather, Adikt one has some good compilations. All these heads have different styles but are all solid in thier respective genres. There is alot more, u can usually find all of our music at www.accesshiphop.com
Rhymehouse:Priest, Thief, and Wizard was a critically acclaimed record by Okayplayer, etc. Can you tell us about the new album and what sets it apart from your other releases?
Blame One: My new album is going to be called "Days Chasing Days." What is going to set this one apart is a few different producers, more polished and more progress. Same format, I am just taking more time on this one.
Rhymehouse:What is the feel/style of the record?
Blame One: I would say it is just a progression from my other releases. The only way that the feel has changed is that I ended up with more thoughtful type songs (not purposely). Less braggadocio (although there is still some on there).
Rhymehouse:If you could show a hip hop fan one song from the new album to get them excited about it-- which song would it be and why?
Blame One: Thats a tough one for me. I really have listened to the songs sooooooo many times at this point, its hard for me to say. I would most likely say something like the joint I did with Black Milk just because it's someone people aren't used to seeing me work with.
Rhymehouse:I saw the video for "Supreme Beings" the other night. How did you get Hype Williams to direct one of your videos? *smiles*
Blame One: It was either put 40,000 towards my kids future education or do the supreme beings video. As you can see, the video was well worth the money spent!
Rhymehouse:What is your creative process when recording a new album- from start to finish- do you have any quirky/outlandish methods?
Blame One: First off, people hate me because I never have song titles...ever (until its time for pressing). I usually start by hitting up my folks for beats. I usually lock my self in the room after my kids are in bed and start writing. I usually write an entire song in one sitting. I don't usually come back because I feel like you can lose sight of your original intention and feeling you had towards the topic at hand. I usually record the song the next day, I send all of my songs to Exile and my homeboy Dame for review. Then I work on getting cuts if needed and mixing. All the while im asking friends to help me get the art done and set up places that will carry the album, etc.
Rhymehouse:Name one artist that you have worked with that made you push yourself even further musically and creatively when recording?
Blame One: Exile because that dude is pretty wild. He often rejects songs of mine that I really like. But I appreciate it because in the long run, the outcome is better then I expect.
Rhymehouse:You are still releasing singles out on vinyl. How do you feel about the new digital wave of music and distribution. Are these new methods good for independent artists or do you prefer the old school route?
Blame One: Digital has its ups and downs. It definitely helps for artist like myself because its easy to put music on Itunes and you dont need any physical product which equals easy money. Its hard to describe in words but there is just some type of magic involved in vinyl. For me, there is nothing like having your work on wax. I didnt even really feel like an artist until I had wax. Nowadays its too easy to make and create music and release it to the public. That is the reason there is 5,000,000,000 wack ass emcees and producers checking myspace accounts at this very moment.
Rhymehouse:If hip hop was a woman-- what would she look like today?
Blame One: Back in the days she was really sexy in a down to earth kind of way. You would see her riding her bike in your apartment complex and she would wave. She currently looks extremely sexy, drives a benz, flings ash from her cigarette out of the window as she laughs with her girlfriends and doesnt notice your there. But I'd still hit it.
Rhymehouse:I hear you're a cognac connaisseur-- What kind do you recommend?
Blame One: Hennessy (the current drink of the hip hop hall of fame), I also like Meukow.
Rhymehouse:Has someone ever mistaken you for MC Serch?
Blame One: Funny you should say that. People that know me that are not into hip hop saw that show he was doing and were like "you remind me of that one dude from that rap show," ha ha thats cool though, I have love for Serch.
Rhymehouse:What would you say to a young kid today that wanted nothing more than to become a rapper?
Blame One: I would say that money isnt everything and there is plenty of ways to make money. Anytime you challenge yourself to take part in any of the arts, make sure that what you leave behind for the world was worth the attempt. You can actually change the way people think and/or help them to see your point of view at least.
Rhymehouse:What does hip hop mean to Blame? What does Blame mean to hip hop?
Blame One: Hip hop means the world to me. I met all of my closest life long friends though hip hop, I met my lady at one of my shows with my group mysterys extinction. From that lady I have two of the best children in the world that have changed my life completely in the most amazing way. It is my world ever since I can remember. What I mean to hip hop, I mean well.
Rhymehouse:What upcoming projects can we be on the look out for and where can we find Blame One if we wanted to listen/buy your music?
Blame One: Look out for my album Days Chasing Days (hopefully this summer), Look out for a new 7" collab I did with Fred Fades from Norway. Look out for a project with myself and KanKick (digital release only). Johaz from Deep rooted and I have something on the burners as well. As far as my current music...
