Darkstarz Records – Q&A Interview
Tell us a little about yourself. Where you are from? How long has your label been in existence?
Caper: I go by the name “Gee Dark” when I produce and when I rap I go by the name “Caper”. I am from Harlem, NY but reside in Bronx, NY. I also create websites, shoot music videos, and create graphic design and other stuff. A lot of the artist on DSR are multi-talented and bring a lot to the table. Darkstarz Records was formed in 2001 but was called Darkstarz Prouctionz but in 2005 Darkstarz Records begun its journey. DSR has been operating for almost 9 years and we continue to grow stronger each day. Our main objective is to give you the rawest hip hop and continue to keep the real hip hop essence.
What influenced you in making an Indie Hip Hop Label?
I’ve been a fan of hip hop for a long time and I have seen the industry change music into garbage. I Decided I wanted to build a record label for real artists, producers and more. A lot of the generic hip hop on the radio today is over rated, monotonous and lacks substance. I wanted to build a label where artists had control of their music, looks and have a chance to continue to grow in a family oriented setting. Unlike a huge majority of record labels we created a family amongst the artists, producers, a&r, DJ’s and more. After being exposed to the golden era of hip hop and experiencing the great legends who built the path of hip hop. I wanted to keep the true essence of hip hop alive while allowing ourselves to be creative as possible. This is what helped to spark “DSR”. Originally I created “Darkstarz Productionz” as a music production company since I was making beats until I saw that my mission was to become a label with everything I was already doing.
Describe your music, catalog of artist and story/image behind your label?
Our music has so many artistic thoughts and reasons that the explanation would become infinite. Our music is raw, creative, emotional, energetic, and comes from all walks of life. We create music with themes, experiences, thoughts on politics and life. As DSR we are many Emcees, Producers and DJ’s. Here is a breakdown of the artists, Producers and DJ’s on the roster. Caper, P.C.P., Skampoe, Jigsaw, Bloody Raw, MC Saunt, Kash Saboture, United Soul Artists, Redd Rebel, Inphynit, Smarts, Stylemaster, Belle, Gravestoneface, Deathstar, Beautiful, The Grand Architect, Black Raven, Barcode, Lucid, ZBN, Dj Quality, Tito Beats and G-Scum. The roster continues to grow every day. Unlike other crews we are from different parts of the world so we all experience many different situations on various levels. Our image is just staying true to our music and bringing the raw attributes of hip hop with multiple styles.
Any future MC’s your thinking about recruiting, and how would an Indie MC go about being a part of your label.
We have our eyes and ears on certain artists we will not name but we continue to grow every day. If an artist is interested in joining DSR they can simply email their music links to darkstarzrecords@gmail.com or visit us at http://darkstarzrecords.com we do not just accept any artist to join our DSR family. We take the time to screen artists before they can be part of our elite team. A lot of people can make music but it takes a different kind of person to be a part of us. We look for talented Artists, who are positive, ambitious; willing to work hard, respect themselves and others. We don’t treat our artists like money-making mules we treat them like family.
Your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?
Caper: My definition of underground hip hop is pure lyricism, boom bap beats, creativity, energy and making music from deep within. Underground hip hop is not about making idiotic songs about nothing or the aim for money. We understand our position as artists and want to continue our revolution in music with superb lyricism and creativity.
Production wise, who are your influences? Who does your production?
Our production influence ranges from many gifted producers like RZA, Dj Premeir, Pete Rock, 4th Disciple, Dj Muggs, D.I.T.C., Dr Dre and so many more. The DSR Production is done by in-house producers like Barcode, Lucid, Clanarchy, ZBN, Redd Rebel, Gee Dark, Deathstar, GraveStoneFace and Tito Beats. But we also deal with other producers such as Sunz of Man/Wutang producer Su-Preme, Luka, Chief Bob, Aak Da God, Uno da Cypher, 12elve, Green Dutch, Kenny Dubb’s
And who would you like to work with?
We would love to work with RZA, DJ Premier, Big Daddy Kane, KRSONE, Eminem, Chris Rivers, Kool G Rap, Black Moon, Cypress Hill, Soul Assassins, Immortal Technique, Diabolic, and so many more. This list would become infinite lol.
Any current or future projects you are promoting?
We are currently working on a DSR album featuring all of the artists on Darkstarz Records. Jigsaw & Barcode just released Their EP “Left of the Flesh” , Bloody Raw is working on their album “The Poetry of War” , Redd Rebel is working on “Bomb da Vatican”, Deathstar is working on his EP album “Schizophrenia”, P.C.P. is working on their new album “The Eviction Notice” , Belle will be releasing some new singles. The grand Architect is releasing “The Gene Pool” and so much more.
Can you give us a brief description of the creative process of Schizophrenia? Also/ what was the idea or concept description about the single Art Cover.
This is “Deathstar’s” single so here is his answer.
Deathstar: The track has actually been on the back burner since November last year, I actually had the beat since 2011, I was really struggling with Drugs at the time, I even contemplated if I was really insane, I decided to get different emcees would help explore the concept of The voices in my head, I went in November 2013 and recorded my verse, the idea behind the artwork is just a basic idea of me fighting the demon inside, the artwork is for the new ep, basically a sane versus insane state of mind.
DSR: We all have different creative processes when it comes to music. Either we write to what the beat makes us feel, we may just freestyle a whole album or may have certain thoughts we want to assemble into a dope album. It all depends on our projects. But we all work very well together and our styles come together to construct the ultimate underground hip hop army.
Where can we find your music and info?
You can find our music on http://darkstarzrecords.info , http://darkstarzrecords.com
We are also on iTunes, Google Play store, and every major store online.
Add us on these Social Sites:
https://facebook.com/darkstarzrecords
http://soundcloud.com/darkstarzrecords
Instagram @DarkstarzRecords
Any shout outs?
We would like to thank everyone who supports our hip hop movement. Shout outs to My Uncle Tony, Su-Preme, Hell Razah, GGO, Button Pusher, Wu-tang, Wu Corp Army, DSR, Our Families, Friends and supporters.
