MAKING OURSELVES BETTER: May 2010

Monday, May 10, 2010

On Deck Mag

It’s 8:30 am on a Saturday morning. I just finished interviewing Spocka Summa and the whole F.A.M crew except for one. I’m at the Boiler Room Studios in the Elmwood part of Providence. For a local rapper this studio is pretty official. A short teenager with child star looks is behind a Mac computer typing away reviewing tracks. I walk in and he doesn’t even notice me. He stands up goes in the booth and spit eight bars to finish an unfinished track called”Manners”. “I see liquor everywhere where. I take some time to see how I got here. All I see is them girls, girls, girls. They tell me shit like how I’m there world, world, world. And I just be like bitch please, bitch please. Where the fuck your manners at.” Catchy huh. This sixteen year old rapper is the youngest on the F.A.M roster and closest to the hardest working.

So what’s your name and where are you from?

I go by Jerrell or Willzy J Spocka, Willzy J, the new nigga of this winter and many more. I’m from the Irvington/Newark area of the great state of New Jersey. I live right now in Providence Rhode Island.

Who do you affiliate yourself with; you seem to have quite the local support of rappers from R.I and Jersey?

I’m with my brother Spocka Summa F.A.M Entertainment but I’m fully Making Ourselves Better. One time for Bryndon, Merk, Kidd, Hustle. And Joey Zuzu and the whole Triple Crown crew. There’s more but they know who they are.

So what’s your brand of Hip-Hop or your kind of music?

Umm I want to say alternative Hip-Hop; it’s not your stereotypical Hip-Hop music. Like I really don’t listen to Hip-Hop that much anymore. Only three Hip-Hop artists are on my iPod, the rest are mostly alternative rock and rock.

What do you listen to?

I’m a big fan of Grizzly Bear and Kings of Leon. I listen to Peter Bjorn& John, a whole bunch of Bob Dylan, Nirvana mostly shit that sounds good.

Why don’t you listen to Hip-Hop?

I mean I listen to Hip-Hop, like suppose if a song comes on the radio. I’ll listen to it but on my personal time on my iPod only three rap artist.

And they are?

I listen to Kanye West, Jay, and Drake. They’re the guys on my iPod right now, things change though because J. Cole is the guy I listen to lately so he might make it four.

So what types of project are you working on, doing, released. I got side tracked with the whole I don’t listen to Hip-Hop thing. I’m thinking hmmm another Kanye?

(Laughs) I could tell. You know I’m only sixteen so I’m taking things slow. I’m working on Few& Far Between and much later on Above and Beyond which are like mixtape-albums.

And you’re only sixteen...so is it only rapping or is it singing…rock?

Yeah, I’m young so I’m not in a hurry like” I got to release a million songs. Oh let me release a whole bunch of unnecessary mixtapes.” School is definitely an important thing in my life right now. I rap mostly with some singing, melodies, and a whole bunch of other shit.

Singing, like Drake or singing like Kid Cudi.

Umm if you want to call it Drake, I guess. I sing to give my raps a break. If I’m going to rap on eight tracks it gets repetitive. All you hear is “money, cars, hoes” and that’s ok I guess but I’m a really nice guy and I Iove to sing. So a few tracks might be R&Bish. But I also try alternative rock; I did over Grizzly Bear “Two Weeks”, which is a risk. I take risks that I hope people enjoy because my music tells stories.

So like I’m impressed, do you have a blog or website? I like you; you seem very humble and different. Make your shout outs to whoever, man. Thanks.

You’re definitely welcome. For the exclusives go on makingourselvesbetter.blogspot.com, where you can get the exclusives and latest news on Jerrell. Umm one time for Bryndon, Merk, Rico Jordan, Kidd, Hustle, Marcus, Serious Hustle, Joey Zuzu, Spocka Summa. Damn, that’s a lot huh.

(Laughs) I’ve seen more.

And whoever else I forgot thank all of ya’ll, this is not a one man show.

Alright man good luck.

Much appreciated.