Muneshine: A Walk In the Park
Ian Flores w/ Muneshine
2008 has been one of the worst winters I can remember here in Iowa. Sub-zero temps, blinding ice, and a biting wind have become more routine than irregular. Still, Muneshine has managed to keep it hot in a cold February. Hailing from Toronto, the Canadian native has been grinding all winter for the upcoming release of his third solo album Status Symbol. I hate to be cliche, but dude has been far too slept on for far too long.
Think back to that time at the record store when you bought an album on nothing more than a good feeling, only to have it become a personal favorite in your collection. After one listen of his debut album Opportunity Knocks, I was convinced I had stumbled onto something, someone, very special. Muneshine was kind enough to sit down and shed some light on the Wax Reform, Status Symbol, and why he will never give up on hip-hop...
Ian Flores: What's good Muneshine? For those who don't already know, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Muneshine: I'm chillin man... everything is good! For those who are wondering who I am, my name is Rob, but when it comes to music I'm probably a little better known as Muneshine. I'm a Canadian emcee / producer originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, been in Toronto for the last 4 years or so. I'm co-founder of Wax Reform (a globetrotting collective of artists I believe we'll talk about a little later in the interview). I'm happy to be here! Thanks for having me homie.
Ian Flores: Opportunity Knocks was your solo debut from 2005...how have you grown as an emcee/producer since then?
Muneshine: Yeah man, definitely. When I put together O.K. it was a bit of an over-night process. Before that record I hadn't really taken myself too seriously as an emcee, it was something I did for fun, I'd jump on the odd track here and there, but for the most part I was focusing on production. After that came out I started to get a lot of good feedback (and input from those around me), and decided it was something to seriously explore. I really love emceeing, do it more now than producing. I've put in a whole lot of work to develop, so when Status Symbol drops I will let the music do the talking and the listener be the real judge of that.
Ian Flores: People on the site have been bumping Opportunity Knocks like crazy...do you feel it got the attention it deserved?
Muneshine: That's dope! It makes me happy to hear the album is reaching people, it's very inspiring. It's easy to say "it was slept on" and things like that, but it's not my job to say it. That's up to the listener as well. As far as I'm concerned it got pretty good attention and it opened a lot of doors for me professionally, so I can't complain. All I can say is, if you liked O.K., you will love Status Symbol.
Ian Flores: A Walk in the Park dropped late last year. How is the creation experience different on an instrumental album as opposed to OK or Status Symbol?
Muneshine: A Walk in the Park was also a bit of an over-night album I put together with my boy Mumbles. Mumbles is a great dude man, I have tons of respect for that guy (and no, he's not that west coast producer from the mid 90's, lol). Mumbles has been running Mumbles Hip Hop, a truly indepedent record label out of his basement for the last few years. He's one guy who has really put his money where his mouth is. He supports local artists like no one else, he presses vinyl (religiously), and keeps his ear to the ground. Sorry for the digression, had to give Mumbles his props.
A Walk in the Park is basically a collection of hip hop instrumentals I produced that didn't get used on other projects. I basically went back into my catalogue and picked out joints that had a nice easy vibe, produced a couple new tracks and we called it a day. By no means was I trying to put together some ground-breaking instrumental masterpiece, it's just beats, says so in the liner notes. I wanted to put out some beats that people can chill to, rhyme to, drive to, whatever to. That was the goal, and I'm real happy with the result. That said, I was completely self-sufficient, making the process all together different than that of assembling an album like O.K. or Status Symbol.
Ian Flores: You obviously enjoy both producing and emceeing. Have you ever considered dropping a complete "Muneshine" album?
Muneshine: I've considered it, but in all honesty I rarely rhyme on my own beats. By the time I'm done with the production process I'm ready to pass it off to someone else to do their thing with it. I'm kind of a split personality when it comes to my creative process, it's either one or the other. I like producing for other artists, and I like rhyming on other producer's beats. I know so many ill emcees and ridiculous producers it seems like the most logical approach. Who knows man, maybe one day I'll take a stab at it.
Ian Flores: So far, you have confirmed Buckwild, Pete Rock, Illmind, M-Phazes, Presto and Oddisee as producers for Status Symbol. What can we expect sonically from this album?
Muneshine: You can expect really dope production, seriously. For the most part I like to stick with the crew when I'm putting together tracks, but there's always going to be a list of producers I want to get at to step into these type of projects. That's where Buckwild, PR, DJ Spinna, and artists like that come into the picture. The album's got a real cohesive vibe. It's not one of those "let's reach every fanbase" kind of albums, they never work. I've put together a collection of tracks that work well together and will speak to fans of hip hop, banging beats, well thought-out and delivered concepts and a few dope guest appearances.
Ian Flores: Now that the album is done, what's next for Muneshine?
Muneshine: Right now I'm back on a bit of a production swing. I'm doing some production for a few up-and-coming emcees (my favorite to work with!), and I'm still writing every day. I'm working on a mixtape that may actually be coming out before Status Symbol over here in North America. It'll be a collection of unreleased tracks, joints I've performed over industry beats (produced by DJ Premier, Dilla, PR, etc.), and a few sneak peeks at some joints off the album. If anyone wants to stay up to date on what I'm doing, they can check out www.muneshine.com or myspace.com/status_symbol.
Ian Flores: At this point, you are approaching vet status on the indie scene. How do you stay humble and continue to grow as an artist, and not let the grind get to you?
Muneshine: It's hard not to get discouraged as an artist with the way things are going in the industry and everything, but this is what I love doing and nothing's changed as far as that's concerned. I just keep doing my thing man. One thing I've learned about this business is that those who succeed are the ones who never give up. Everyone has those days where they sit back and think 'what am I really doing this for?', but it's the ones who snap out of it, put the pen back to the pad, the needle to the groove and sit back down in front of the MPC that will perservere. I have a lot of respect for a lot of artists who are doing this day in and day out. I understand that struggle, but like I said, I love it. I wake up everyday with new ideas, so I can't see that desire to succeed burning out any time soon.
Ian Flores: What is the purpose and goal of Wax Reform? How did you all come together?
Muneshine: Wax Reform consists of: myself, Dminor (L.A.), Presto (Holland), M-Phazes (Australia), Illmind (N.J.) and Emilio Rojas (N.Y.). We're basically a group of friends who contribute to each other's projects. We aren't a group, we aren't trying to really push our collective as a brand, we've all known each other for years, have great mutual respect and enjoy working together. The purpose and goal of Wax Reform is to put out great music without compromise.
WR started with myself and Dminor. We all essentially met online in the late 90's and early 00's through various avenues. At the time I was living in Saskatoon, so I really had no choice but to reach out through the internet to build my network. These were guys who were all in a similar position looking to do the same thing. It was a natural
development.
Ian Flores: Wax Reform has been busy. What's in the works for this coming year?
Muneshine: Man, there's a whole lot in the works right now. I can't let the cat completely out of the bag, but to name a few projects that are near completion, there's my new album, Status Symbol, the Phaze One album (M-Phazes & Emilio Rojas), Dminor's debut full-lenth, Supreme Goodie, and Illmind and Presto are of course doing tons of production for an incredible list of artists. There's a lot to look out for. We're in the process of updating our website as well, so if anyone wants to stay tuned or get in touch, they can do so at www.waxreform.com.
Ian Flores: What's in Muneshine's CD Changer right at this moment?
Muneshine: Um... right now in heavy rotation I've got: Blu & Exile's 'Below the Heavens', Y Society's 'Travel at Your Own Pace', some Giorgio Moroder stuff, some Hall & Oates stuff, Kanye's 'Graduation', James Taylor's 'One Man Dog', and D-Sisive's 'The Idiot: Hijacked'
Ian Flores: Over the past few years what hip hop artists/records, in your opinion, have made strides in progressing hip hop culture/went outside the box/and really impressed you?
Muneshine: D-Sisive, a Canadian emcee (and good friend of mine) is completely outside the box right now and I love what he's doing. The late J. Dilla stuff was out there and completely dope too. I'm not necessarily looking for someone to re-invent the wheel... I just wanna hear something dope, that's what really impressed me about the the Blu & Exile album. It's nothing brand new, but it's so well executed. Ihighly recommend picking up that album (and by picking up, I mean BUY it).
Ian Flores: As a producer I'm sure you love to dig: What are some of your favorite spots to dig? What is the WEIRDEST record you have in your collection?
Muneshine: I love digging, and I'll dig anywhere there's records. Records are getting ridiculously over-priced with the new popularity of digging for breaks so it's a little discouraging, but there's always gems to be found, just takes a little more work these days. There's a lot of dope spots to dig in Toronto, but my favorite spots to dig are garage sales in small downs, flea markets, stuff like that, that's where you come across the most random stuff. I don't really have any weird records man, my collection is pretty straight forward, weirdest record is probably some stuff I got from my grandparents before moving out here, can't even think of anything off the top.
Ian Flores: What one record would you save from a burning building?
Muneshine: Funny you should say that... I was evacuated from my place last week due to a 6 alarm fire just across the alley and up the street, and oddly enough, didn't even think about grabbing a record until I was outside, lol. It'd be absolutely impossible to pick one record man, honestly... but it'd probably be my signed T.R.O.Y. 12''... both Pete and CL signed it for me back in the day, so purely for sentimental value, that'd be the one.
Ian Flores: What does hip hop music/culture mean to you, what does Muneshine mean to hip hop?
Muneshine: I really love hip hop culture man, as corny and cliche as it sounds, even though it's sort of lost it's indentity. I remember cyphering at house parties, buying mixtapes, working my ass off and saving for my first set of technics turntables, then my first MPC. All these memories mean a lot to me. I will never forget how I got into hip hop
and how it's impacted my life. I don't really know what I mean to hip hop, but hopefully I'm creating something that gives someone somewhere that same feeling.
Click Here to check out Ian Flores' Got Next feature on the Wax Reform!
You can catch up with the latest from Muneshine and the Wax Reform at the following sites:
http://www.myspace.com/status_symbol
http://www.myspace.com/waxreform
http://www.waxreform.com
