Q&A With Veteran Hip Hop Artist Strong A.R.M.

Whats Up Strong A.R.M.!! We really enjoyed your latest two singles!! one of our main contributors BOOM really gave them some great REVIEWS!!  How long have you been making music?  What area code(s) do you rep!? And how did you get your emcee name?

I have been making music for over 20 years!!!! And I am not just an MC, I am also a DJ, and I have been doing that over 25 years!!!!!  I rep the 718 ALL DAY EVERYDAY!!!! But I represent all area codes around the U.S.A. and around THE WORLD!!!!!  When I was in a Hip Hop group I used to beatbox, and my name was THE HUMAN A.M.P. (All Around Music Percussionist) BOXX. When I left the group I was going through names and a friend of mine said that I should call myself Strong A.R.M. (A.R.M. = A REAL MC)!!!! And it stuck with me!!!!! Some of the other names that didn’t make the cut was DATA and DJ Alejandro (LOL)

Us being a LA based BLOG, we don’t really know much about the NYC underground Hip Hop scene!! Tell us about the scene out there!?

Back in the 90’s, N.Y. Underground Hip Hop was all about the BOOM BAP!!!! And MAD LYRICS!!!!! It was very aggressive!!!! You couldn’t just call yourself an MC, YOU HAD TO SHOW AND PROVE!!!!! You had to be ORIGINAL!!!! N.Y. was big on the rule NO BITING ALLOWED!!!!! And today N.Y. Underground Hip Hop maintains that same element!!!!! There really is not many Hip Hop artist in the mainstream music scene right now. There are a lot of RAPPERS though. LOL

Let’s face it, social media since 2015 has grown tremendously, especially IG!!! Tell us how is your IG grind looking, and how have you been able to keep up with the high demand on social media? Do you have a website??

Well really my man Warren J. at Survival Crew Records is holding me down in that arena because he has done the whole marketing and promotions side with record labels before in the 90’s like : LOUD Records, Priority Records, Relativity Records, and WEA Distribution just to name a few (And many other indie labels in between). He studied a lot on the business end of the music industry!!!!! We even had a radio show back in the days on 105.9 F.M. (WNWK). The show was called “THE MUSICAL EXPRESS”. EASY MO BEE even co-hosted some shows with us. There were many famous D.J.’s on the station like MR. MAGIC (R.I.P), THE AWESOME TWO, EVIL DEE, and the famous radio broadcaster MR.GIL BAILEY on the Reggae music tip. I do not have a website but you can check out my artist page on Facebook : www.facebook.com/strongulation . And my man Warren J. has me ALL OVER the internet!!!!! FOR REAL!!!!!!!!! My IG page is actually D.J. STRONGA.R.M. and my D.J. company name is called MAGIC DICE MUZIC.

Please breakdown the creative process to your two new singles “That’s Gangsta & Bet’cha Didn’t Know”?

Well actually, we did the “Original” STRONGULATION in the early 2000’s. And a little after “September 11th”, Survival Crew Records moved to Atlanta, GA. We always kept in touch though. I even went down there, and did some recording. Recently, Warren J. got the idea to put EDM/Dance tracks to my vocals and remix the album. Hence, the name “STRONGULATION 2” (Da EDM Remixes). Since we are both D.J.’s and musicians, I thought it would be worth a shot. And so far, everyone around the world loves the fusion of REAL Hip Hop lyrics, and REAL Dance music!!!! When you deal with the REAL of anything though, you can’t go wrong!!!!! We are also in the process of re-mastering the original STRONGULATION album. So by the time we put out the remix album, the original album will also be available.

How often do you perform live?? Any indie DIY tours in the works?

Right now my man Warren J. is working on my “visibility” to the Hip Hop Nation and the music industry. By the end of the summer though, we will be putting together my STRONGULATION tour. And hopefully, it will be in a city near all my fans so we can ALL experience the STRONGULATION experience together!!!!

How do you feel about the whole XAN & LEAN trend these kids nowadays are on!!!..LOL??? Be honest, do you use some of that stuff??..LOL

HELL NO!!!! I am a GROWN MAN and I do GROWN MAN SHIT!!!!! That part of the culture I think is something that just passed me by!!!! Now, don’t get me wrong, I still drink a little bit, and I might even blow some GREEN sometimes. But to me, I think that they are taking it TOO FAR with all that other stuff. MAN!!!!!

What you got cooking next? Anything special for 2018!!??

My next single is called SLOW DOWN STRONG. It will be another experience of the Strong A.R.M. you are going to see. It is very much in the vein of a Busta Rhymes, Twista, or even a Tech 9ine.

Our most popular question, what is your definition of “Underground Hip Hop”?

Just NO HOLDS BARRED!!!! True LYRICISIM, and always ORIGINALITY!!!!! Like I said before, there is a difference between HIP HOP and RAP!!!! HIP HOP is the culture that everything comes from. RAP is just “ONE” of the elements of Hip Hop!!!!! (They are 5 elements all together). I think that is what is missing now in today’s music. Artist do not study the culture, they only focus on “ONE” element of the culture!!!!! And everytime they “RAP”, something is going to be missing!!!!

Where can fans find your music? Drop all links!!

Because of this digital world we all live in now, I am proud to say that I am ALL OVER THE GLOBE digitally speaking. Here are just a few of them :

I am on ITUNES : http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1301796203?ls=1&app=itunes

I am on SPOTIFY : https://open.spotify.com/album/2w65daWODpmaLGH5DSh68Z

I am on AMAZON MP3 : https://www.amazon.com/Thats-Gangsta-Betcha-Didnt-Know/dp/B076W61KXM/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1520099106&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=Strong+A.R.M

I am on GOOGLE PLAY : https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Strong_A_R_M_That_s_Gangsta_Bet_cha_Didn_t_Know?id=Bt5pns22ljfzupayjyvk676wzoy

I am on TIDAL : http://tidal.com/us/store/album/80454059

I am on DEEZER : https://www.deezer.com/us/album/50691102?utm_source=deezer&utm_content=album-50691102&utm_term=1891105426_1520100059&utm_medium=web

I am on IHEARTRADIO : https://www.iheart.com/artist/strong-arm-30026799/albums/thats-gangsta-betcha-didnt-know-51629245/

I am on NAPSTER : https://us.napster.com/artist/strong-arm/album/thats-gangsta-and-betcha-didnt-know

I am also on YOUTUBE : https://www.youtube.com/survivalcrewrecords

And on SOUNDCLOUD : https://www.soundcloud.com/survivalcrewrecords

Any shout outs!?

I want to thank the Underground Hip Hop Blog and all their affiliates for being a part of Strong A.R.M. and Survival Crew’s journey!!!! SALUTE

I want to give a big shout out to my man Warren J. and Survival Crew Records. They always had my back and they NEVER GAVE UP!!!!! SALUTE

I want to give a big shout out to all my friends and family!!!! BROOKLYN STAND UP!!!!! SALUTE

I want to shout out my man PACASSO from TEAM HIP HOP RENAISSANCE. SALUTE

And a big shout out to my man Brandon of HEATWave Internet Radio. SALUTE

I also I want to thank my fans all around the world!!!! Thank you for your positive responses!!!!! YOU CAN’T GO WRONG WITH THE STRONG!!!!!!!!! ONE

Strong A.R.M.’s IG : @D.J. STRONGA.R.M.

Survival Crew Records IG : @warrenjgallimore