DON'T MISS TODAY:

Back to DJs & Producers Section

2/14/2011 @Breezemantana You recently released your mixtape You Only Live 2wice. Are you happy with how it’s doing? Yes, I am very happy with how it’s being received. Honestly I really didn’t think people would understand it with it being so conceptual and a lot of today’s music being “fast food hip-hop” as some would say. So it’s a blessing that everybody loves it thus far. I just need to work on getting more viral promotion so it can reach more people and get back to the foot work on the street. What inspired the title You Only Live 2wice? A few different things one of them being an old James Bond film called You Only Live Twice. A couple things that inspired the title were me living a double life with one foot in, one foot out and being given second chances in a lot of situations. So it just made more sense as I was preparing to start the project. You show your story-telling ability on “Shots in the Dark.” How do your stories come together? Most times it will be real experiences that I’ll add a twist to or I’ll just sit there and think for a very long time with the beat. Once I get a line, it’s over. I can go from there. It’s very natural to me. I Don’t have to force It. I’m A Pisces so we’re very vivid and we have strong imaginations. Even when explaining something to my friends or family I’m very detailed and vivid. On “Theme Music Part 2” you talk about how a lot of people don’t respect the pioneers. How would you describe your approach to hip-hop? I’m not with following what everyone else is doing. I’m A rebel. I’ve always been since a child. That’s why I’ve gotten into some of the trouble I have. When everybody else Is going right, I’m going to go left and do what I want to do because I want to do it, not because so and so is doing it and that’s what’s hot right now. As far as “Theme Music Part 2,” that was something I felt needed to be said. I get real mad when I see new rappers taking shots at vets or not paying homage to those that came before us. Like I said in the song, they built the groundwork we’re standing on and have influenced us all. You’re down with the Enta Da Dorm crew. What’s been going on with D. Rymz and everyone else? D Is great he’s working on his project New School Ransom. It’s going to shock everyone Rappers are In trouble! That’s all I’m going to say. I’ve been waiting on his project for a very long time so I can’t wait. Everyone is good though. We just debuted our first comic book BattleMasterz Issue #0 from our company Dorm World Comics in October during The New York Comic Con at The Jacob Javits Center so everyone is focusing on that and making sure we have a successful year in music and in all our other ventures. You’ve dropped a lot of mixtapes in the past. How effective have they been? They have been very effective in getting people to pay attention to me and the Enta Da Dorm Brand. Our first mixtape, The 914 Mixtape, did very well but it was our last mixtapes in ‘07 from the School Daze Series, If I Was Signed Vol. 2 And 3, that helped us personally in building my fanbase and relationships with a lot of important people. I did so much footwork with that project and at the time I didn’t know much about the viral game. If I Was Signed To Star Trak helped me gain a lot of attention. I Put in a lot of work for that mixtape. What’s your favorite project that you’ve released so far? It’s a toss up between You Only Live 2wice and The 914 Mixtape. I say that because The 914 Mixtape built the foundation and it was just so raw. It’s special to me because it’s when we, me And D. Rymz, just started working together in ‘05. You Only Live 2wice is like my baby, though. I’ve been working on this project for the last three years and a lot has went on and changed in my life during that time and made it what it is now. Is it ever difficult putting out quality music for free? Not at all! For an artist coming up it does nothing but good for you. It’s helping to build my following and get people familiar with the Enta Da Dorm brand. Projects like this show the people I can make a whole album not just a mixtape, so when I do finally drop a retail album they will come out and support because they know Enta Da Dorm puts out quality music and they trust our brand. It may dent the pockets because you aren’t receiving any profits but you get back what you put in eventually. What’s next on your plate? Next up is an actual mixtape called The Price of Loyalty. I’m already eleven joints in. I’m going to sit down and figure out who I’m going to get for features and to host it, so if anybody wants to work get at me .After that will be an EP called Beautiful Nightmares and another full length project like 2wice called The Devil Wears Prada, which should be out around the end of 2011, top of 2012. But you can expect something from me before the summer. Me and D. Rymz might be doing another project soon too but we’ll see. Until then I’ll be pushing You Only Live 2wice and shooting visuals for it. Twitter.com/Breezemantana Facebook.com/Breezemantana BattleMasterz.com

By Brian Kayser

Share This Article