1200 – Q&A Interview

-Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? How long have you been making Hip Hop?

I am a musician from Louisville, KY. I studied classical music in college and majored in Music Education at the University of Louisville. Hip Hop is what originally got me into music. I bought a Korg D-1200 at age 12. That’s where the name 1200 came from. I started recording me and my cousins for fun. I taught myself how to operate the machinery and mix. I’d say I’ve been heavily involved in music for about ten years. Not only Hip Hop, but all sorts of genres. I am also the co-founder of a creative collective called the United Legion of DOOM. We have many talented people on our team including musicians, rappers, singers, producers, artists, designers, architects, and more. Recently I became Program Director of a youth program called AMPED – Academy of Music Production Education and Development. We teach kids how to rap, sing, make beats, and play instruments. We also record their music and give them performance opportunities. I am involved with a lot more. Those are just my favorite ventures.

-What influences you in making Hip Hop?

I am influenced by the art of expression. Hip Hop is the ultimate medium of expression. In classical music, composers often have to create moods through music without using words. I played a marimba sextet a couple years ago. The piece was all about the sun rising. If that piece were a Hip Hop song, I’d just rap about the sun rising. Hahahaha!

-Describe your music, and what separates you from other MCs?

My music is influenced by an array of genres. Most MC’s are focused on pleasing other MC’s or imitating what’s considered “hot.” I don’t write like a rapper. I don’t record like a rapper. I don’t perform like a rapper. I’m constantly thinking of ways to make atypical Hip Hop sounds. I’m thinking of how compositions and arrangements affect the aesthetic of a listener’s experience. I’m thinking inside the minds of greats like Thom Yorke, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and Quincy Jones.

 -Who have you collaborated with? Who would you like to collab with in the near future?

I have collaborated with many incredibly talented people. Jordan Jetson, G. Stone, Torey Gutta, Nick B, DJ Deuce, Jazmyn Aria, Daniel Jackson, Jose Oreta, Joey Theiman, Meg Samples, Graeme Gardiner, Jack Holiday & the Westerners, Trey Day, West End Goldie, Tyler Dippold, Ben Jacobs Band, Island Keys, D.J. Hwang, Grand Kaiser, John Mike, KIN Bishop, and so many more people. Some of those people are instrumentalists, some are producers, some are bands, and only a few are rappers. Rappers come a dime a dozen. So it takes a very special MC for me to work with anyone else besides the few I named. On that same note, I would like to collab with more rappers in my city. Jalin Roze and I are doing a show together soon. We plan to do a track as well. That show will also include Bird Zoo, Dr. Dundiff, and Skyscraper Empire. Those are all Hip Hop heavy weights in my city. I also want to work with more string players and visual artists. I have this idea to include a 12 piece chamber orchestra in my live show at Headliners Music Hall. That is currently in the works. I really want to work with visual artists Steve Squall and Tate Chmielewski.

-Your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?

My definition of “Underground Hip Hop” would be music that has deeper meaning beyond what we hear on the surface. That makes sense to me. Example, I have a track on my album called RAMBO. It may seem like it’s just a trigger happy song about the repetitious subject matter we hear in so many rapper’s verses. It’s not though. It’s one big metaphor about our mentality as black people. It’s about how violence is a plague and it has some very symbolic musical moments throughout.

-Production wise, who are your influences? Who does your production?

My biggest influences production wise are people like Kanye West and Mike Dean. Those are people not afraid to mix multiple genres into Hip Hop. I get a lot of influence from them, and I just add my classical flavor. I used to only do production for the longest. Lately I’ve only been rapping. I produced and co-produced most of my album. Nick B did some tracks too. Danny Sogar did RAMBO, and Hwang did Cousin of Death. I will be working with them a lot more in the future. I also have work with Island Keys, HXNS, and Grand Kaiser. Those are all my favorite producers. I’d take them over the big names in the industry any day.

-Any current or future projects you are promoting?

My debut album, SYMPHONY I, came out late last August. Go peep that if you haven’t. It’s a collage of life. Over the summer, Hwang and Nick released albums too. G. Stone did a mixtape early summer. Right now I’m working on DJ Deuce’s mixtape, Jazmyn Aria’s EP, and Jordan Jetson’s album. Soon after I’ll be doing a project with Citizens United. There’s a lot going on. The United Legion of DOOM is constantly working and striving to push music.

-Can you give us a brief description of the creative process of “Symphony I”? Also/ tell us a little bit about the concept and idea behind your Album Cover Art.

The process behind Symphony I was all cinematic. The album is like a multiple-story-line film. Each song has a theme:

A.D.D. – sin

Cousin of Death – sleep

Summer Love – death

RAMBO – violence

OZ – individuality

KY BS – knowledge

1992 – birth

King Arthur – power

The process was all about those themes. I remember one of the last recording sessions, we were doing some last-minute vocals with Jazmyn Aria. I said something about singing like your best friend was just murdered in the street. That’s the feeling RAMBO evokes. It is auditory violence. It has different settings – the streets, a funeral home, the burial site. Every song is like that. KY BS takes you to recess at my elementary school. King Arthur takes you to medieval days. Another thing I constantly kept in mind was the idea of a “symphony.” Composers put so many emotions into symphonies. They evoke so many things and I just wanted to pour my heart into this music. Nick B and I were mixing and recording until like 4 AM the night before it dropped. I went to sleep around 5, then woke up at 7 to go teach. After I got off, we had a show on campus, then a radio interview. I stopped caring about sleep a long time ago. As Nas says, “I never sleep, ’cause sleep is the cousin of death.” I added that sample last minute because sleep was never a priority when there was so much creativity flowing. The graphic series by Grand Kaiser was something I was really excited for. I asked him to create art work to accompany each song and he was all for it. GK had rough drafts of the tracks well before the album came out. He started designing art work for each song and we worked together a bit on the overall idea. As the songs were being recorded, I would look at his art for inspiration. I wanted the music and the visuals to be one. Grand Kaiser is a genius.

-Where can we find your music and info?

http://www.unitedlegionofdoom.com/music and/or http://www.unitedlegionofdoom.com/1200

https://twitter.com/1200MUSIC_

https://soundcloud.com/1200music

https://www.facebook.com/1200music

http://instagram.com/1200music

My personal Twitter is https://twitter.com/SirJrthur

-Any shout outs?

Shout out to everyone who practices this craft we call Hip Hop. Shout out to my family. Shout out to Louisville. Shout out to the United Legion of DOOM.