Q&A With Mic Pro
What was the earliest hip hop memory you can recall?
Hearing ‘Can’t Touch This’ by MC Hammer and ‘Ice, Ice, Baby’ by Vanilla Ice when I was five years old. I never heard no shit like that, people rhyming over music, I was hooked to the art form ever since. I use to rhyme words together on the bus ride to elementary school every morning. I wouldn’t start rapping for another 10 years but I had to basics down.
When was it when you realized that rapping was for you?
Sometime in the early 2000s when I started to come up with clever bars that I felt the world needed to hear. This was the era of punchlines and I was coming up with bars on a Cassidy level back then. Bars like “Clapped the witness, then got lock for abusin’ the lama/Judge had to cut my sentence, like usin’ a comma” that was about 2004, I realized I had a gift for creative lyrics.
Where did your moniker originate?
My monikers really just my first and last name abbreviated, but it fits the main aspect I wanted to focus on, and that is the art of flowing. I’ve watched many great lyricist come and go and what I realized is the ones with great flows had more longevity then those who didn’t, that was my shift from just having great bars to having great verses and songs.
What was the title of your first track? Is it still out?
The first song I ever did was called ‘Breakdown’ in 2004, the same one with the lama bar. That was the Myspace era and I didn’t get much traction other then my neighborhood, but I had the summer on smash with it. It’s no longer out, maybe on Bandcamp somewhere; along with the b side I recorded with it called ‘Split Decisions’.
How are you coping with this whole Covid 19 situation? Has it delayed any new music production by any chance?
The whole Covid virus thing hasn’t delayed production or release of music only because I own my own recording studio. I’m also an Audio Engineer graduate from Full Sail University so I record, mix, and master my own music. The control the sound of the whole project from start to finish. But the virus has killed off performing live so I’ve been trying to find other ways to market my music since that outlet is closed or now. I’ve been using this time to connect with my kids, from watching movies, playing video games and sports, my son seems to like football and boxing, and doing anything we can while in quarantine. When that new Marvel New Mutants movie dropped I bought out the theater and packed it with my family and friends just to get out the house, we wore mask so we was
good.
Please breakdown the creative process of your new album “Staring Thru My Rearview“. Tell us a little about the album cover concept!
The Creative process for ‘Staring Thru He My Rearview’ was simple. I just wanted to tell the story of where I come from. Tales of drug dealers, like local legend Chicken Wing, who was gunned down five houses from mine, to girls who get involved with the wrong guy and hooked on the same dope that the dealers sold. This type of shit used to happen right outside my window cuz we had a payphone and we stayed in a complex building on the corner. The album served as my chance to let the world know what our music sounded like outside of The Clipse. I put my ear on the pulse of the streets that I came from. I wanted to transport the fans to the same streets I was born in.
The cover was shot in my driveway in my 94 BMW drop, by Antonio Vaugh, who goes by Adynasto. He came up with the concept of the Cali background, palm trees and shit, and put ‘These Nutts for President’ on the license plate.
Who is your personal favorite all time best Hip Hop producers? Also, who is your ultimate MC collabo?
Dr. Dre hands down, every album he touches is flawless front to back, from beats to the quality of engineering. If you listen to Doggystyle the All Eyes On Me you can hear the difference in audio quality dip on Pacs album, Dre puts that shine on the records when he’s involved.
Any new music we can expect for the rest of 2020?
I’m wrapping up my next album now. It’s a joint album with producer Mozart Jones, who is a Dr. Dre protégé himself. I don’t wanna reveal too much yet but it’s titled ‘Goat On The Menu’ and is a street tale. I will be dropping the first single in the next few months.
We have to ask, with all this social discourse and revolt, protesting and rioting, exposed police brutality toward blacks and BLM, how do you feel about this? We would love your perspective on the climate we are living in right now.
I don’t mind answering this question at all; first and foremost fuck the police. Now that that’s out the way, I feel like they use their position of power to get away with murder, and then hide behind their badge to get the charges dropped. Your motto is to serve and protect, then why are you serving the black communities, and protecting the white ones. It’s 2020, and we are still struggling to come together as a nation. Racism is something taught, and it’s time the white community finds a way to overcome their hatred for their black brothers and sisters. We have to stand in union to defeat this enemy, just like we stood together after 911. And as far as the cops, I’d like to see departments screen for racism and hatred better. If you have any type of background that might suggest you are racist then you should be automatically declined to serve in a position of power. Power comes with great responsibility, and should only be given to those who can remain neutral and fair to all types of people.
What is your definition of “underground hip hop”?
Underground hip-hop is that realm above the local scene, and just below the mainstream. It’s a level where you can be nationally, or even internationally known, but not yet a household name. Maybe you dropped an album and it got exposure on major hip-hop sites but didn’t chart. Or maybe you hit the charts but it was like 156 on the top Billboard or some shit. It’s like playing for a minor league sports team, you’re respected, but not on a professional level.
Where can people find you on the web? Drop all the vital links.
https://www.facebook.com/micproofficial
https://www.instagram.com/micproofficial/
https://twitter.com/MicProOfficial
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1rVxAUCklrdc6H9kVfthb5
