I enjoyed this article so I thought I'd share it.
Ballerstatus.com interview in regard to an article they are writing on the White Rapper Show.
Interview conducted by Nick.
Nick: First off, thanks for doing this.
I have seen the letter you wrote to Serch in response to the white rapper show, and was especially interested in what you said about audiences. Is Serch's assumption that a rapper is not really a rapper until he performs in front of a black audience valid in the contemporary hip hop climate?
Sage: "No, his assumption is not valid. I have doubts that he was really serious about that, but since he said it I thought it deserved a response from someone who actually meets the criteria of what he thinks constitutes a 'real' rapper."
Nick: Why did you feel a need to speak out about the show?
Sage: "I read his blog and had an hour to spare so I let the words spill. I thought that the purpose of the show was ridiculous. It turned out to be almost exactly how I predicted. They had more interest in maintaining a status quo than they did allowing the public access to the talent that is bubbling in the underground."
Nick: Other people I have spoken with suggest the show has set white rappers back 10 years. Any thought on that statement?
Sage: "It's not about setting 'white rappers' back ten years. That's not going to happen. All it will do is instigate more work from white emcees to prove themselves and be better than expected, which has been their driving force for a couple decades now. My concern has little to nothing to do with whities in hip-hop. I think it's sending race relations and society back. Also, I think there has been damage done by endearing wack rappers to the vast VH1 audience."
Nick: Did you see any redeeming qualities in the show? (That is, if you watched)
Is it fair to blame Serch for the nature of the program?
Sage: "I don't blame Serch for the nature of the program. I don't believe he conceived the idea for the show or the way in which it would be run. However, the show does more to promote Serch than anything else. As is the nature of reality television, the viewer is given the chance to learn more about the humanity of the people involved. In this case, they actual characterize the contestants while giving Serch and the 'judges' great promotion. That's fair I guess. I watch the show and learn more about how Serch acts as a person. He reminds me of my high school football coach. Makes me feel bad that I said anything nasty to him. Haha. The redeeming qualities of the show seem very calculated and impossible for anyone with their roots in hip-hop to disrespect. I mean, here they are throwing Kool Herc, Grandmaster Caz and Flash into the mix. Shit...give them all a show and let them evaluate the new breed of hiphoppers."
Nick: Do you think hip hop is a good forum for discussing race?
Sage: "Absolutely. It always has been. I think it opened up the discussion more than any art form that came before it. The only way this helps is when the discussion is honest."
Nick: Briefly describe how your career has developed and what it was like coming up in the Northeast? (I am trying to judge if there is considerable similarity or difference for white rappers coming up in different regions... though obviously the people one considers a core market and the music one makes has some bearing)
Sage: "Well, I think I addressed all of this pretty well in the open letter to Serch. I also run through the basics in a song on my Human the Death Dance album called 'Underground for Dummies.' I started rapping at the age of 8. Not many people in my area were into hip-hop but their were a few. I had access to a Boston college radio hip-hop show called Rap Explosion on 88.9 WERS. There was also 95.5 BRU and 90.3 WRIU in Rhode Island. Along with certain rap magazines, these shows helped give me access to raw hip-hop before Yo! MTV Raps came along. I took it all in. I recorded myself and emulated as many styles as I could. I was able to buy one tape a week and I absorbed everything. I started entering battles at the age of 12. White boys were obviously not given much love without earning it so I earned it. I ripped cats and got a good name for myself but I had little to no crew. It was tough to build with anyone in my area. My first show was in 1994 opening up for Artifacts and Ill Al Scratch in Boston. I worked with a few local producers and eventually formed a band in college. I hoarded radio time by visiting the radio station almost every single day to freestyle and get my name out there. I also involved myself in spoken word and hit up as many open mics and poetry slams as possible. I stopped battling for a while but then I was made aware of huge battles that were taking place so I stepped back into the ring. This is when I won the Superbowl Battle in Boston and then I won the Scribble Jam battle in Cincinnati. I also moved to Brooklyn to look for more outlets and opportunity. It was around this time I was able to hook up with Anticon, and that's when I was able to release my first proper solo album after years of bootlegging my unreleased material. I was able to tour with Atmosphere and adopt a large part of their audience in a time when a few indie acts were blazing trails on the indie tour circuit. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to apply all of my resources and teachings while they all culminated into one big snowball."
Nick: Do you think the racial make up of rap has changed drastically since you were introduced to hip hop?
Sage: "Of course. I remember how astonished I was in 1997 to find out that a lot of the underground cats were actually white. This was a time when people seemed to mask the fact that they were white. It wasn't rapped about and no one was really publicizing that fact (keeping their pictures off of album covers and what not)...for good reason. But it was crazy how many white kids were actually making good hip-hop while the general accepted mentality was that white people have this innate ability to understand and execute hip-hop. All of a sudden there was a huge indie explosion where white people were saying 'Fuck it. This is my passion and I'm going to pursue it.' El-P, Cage, Eminem, Sole, Esoteric, Non-Phixion, Necro, and a slew of others. This is ten years ago mind you. 5 years before that I was hard pressed to find any other whitey doing this shit. I think everyone was keeping to themselves. Maybe everyone was so embarrassed by the Vanilla Ice debacle that they felt like they had to hide for a few years."
Nick: How do you feel that your experiences coming up through the spoken word circuit and battling might differ from other white mc's?
Sage: "I think it made me more well rounded. I cut my teeth in various environments and benefited greatly from it. I still don't know any other white emcees (since you specified that) who are able to do one as easy as the other. I hardly follow the spoken word scene at all, and the battles that I check out these days are a far cry from what I think is interesting. People aren't even rapping to a beat anymore. Haha. And if they are, their system is so loaded with crutches and cheat techniques that it feels like they are rehearsing verses they should have saved for an album. I also find almost every new cat in either genre to be way too derivative. Originality has gone the way of the Dodo bird."
Nick: Scribble Jam has always seemed a multicultural affair, how have your experiences been at that festival, and how do you think it represents hiphop as a whole?
Sage: "Scribble Jam is such a strange phenomenon considering the city it is held in. It's a massive gathering of people from all over the world who are interested in showing off their skills whether they be graffiti, b-boying, DJing, emceeing or beatboxing. Oh, and PROMOTION. Can't forget that one. But this takes place in grimey grimey Cincinnati, which is a place most artists don't even visit while on tour. My hat goes off to Mr Dibbs, Kevin Beacham, and everyone else who was able to make this such a huge annual event. My first year there was in 2000. I literally snuck in without paying because I was dressed in heavy metal clothes and I told the doorman that I was the sound guy. I was surprised to find out that people knew of me there...and that's thanks to Napster. The love I received was unexpected and exciting. There were over 100 people in the preliminary round. By the end of this long, long, long battle I was able to pull out a victory even though most people were mainly excited that the thing was over at that point. The organizers have fixed this problem since then. But every year I go back it's a beautiful experience. All the intermingling of artists and fans who normally wouldn't be around one another. It's also interesting how people from different parts of the country and world are able to pin their regional styles up against other regional styles. If you have your hustle on, the merch sales aren't too bad either. I remember selling shirts out of my suitcase in the pouring rain. People did not give a fuck. It's a big party. I'd like to return again this year."
Interview conducted by Nick.
Nick: First off, thanks for doing this.
I have seen the letter you wrote to Serch in response to the white rapper show, and was especially interested in what you said about audiences. Is Serch's assumption that a rapper is not really a rapper until he performs in front of a black audience valid in the contemporary hip hop climate?
Sage: "No, his assumption is not valid. I have doubts that he was really serious about that, but since he said it I thought it deserved a response from someone who actually meets the criteria of what he thinks constitutes a 'real' rapper."
Nick: Why did you feel a need to speak out about the show?
Sage: "I read his blog and had an hour to spare so I let the words spill. I thought that the purpose of the show was ridiculous. It turned out to be almost exactly how I predicted. They had more interest in maintaining a status quo than they did allowing the public access to the talent that is bubbling in the underground."
Nick: Other people I have spoken with suggest the show has set white rappers back 10 years. Any thought on that statement?
Sage: "It's not about setting 'white rappers' back ten years. That's not going to happen. All it will do is instigate more work from white emcees to prove themselves and be better than expected, which has been their driving force for a couple decades now. My concern has little to nothing to do with whities in hip-hop. I think it's sending race relations and society back. Also, I think there has been damage done by endearing wack rappers to the vast VH1 audience."
Nick: Did you see any redeeming qualities in the show? (That is, if you watched)
Is it fair to blame Serch for the nature of the program?
Sage: "I don't blame Serch for the nature of the program. I don't believe he conceived the idea for the show or the way in which it would be run. However, the show does more to promote Serch than anything else. As is the nature of reality television, the viewer is given the chance to learn more about the humanity of the people involved. In this case, they actual characterize the contestants while giving Serch and the 'judges' great promotion. That's fair I guess. I watch the show and learn more about how Serch acts as a person. He reminds me of my high school football coach. Makes me feel bad that I said anything nasty to him. Haha. The redeeming qualities of the show seem very calculated and impossible for anyone with their roots in hip-hop to disrespect. I mean, here they are throwing Kool Herc, Grandmaster Caz and Flash into the mix. Shit...give them all a show and let them evaluate the new breed of hiphoppers."
Nick: Do you think hip hop is a good forum for discussing race?
Sage: "Absolutely. It always has been. I think it opened up the discussion more than any art form that came before it. The only way this helps is when the discussion is honest."
Nick: Briefly describe how your career has developed and what it was like coming up in the Northeast? (I am trying to judge if there is considerable similarity or difference for white rappers coming up in different regions... though obviously the people one considers a core market and the music one makes has some bearing)
Sage: "Well, I think I addressed all of this pretty well in the open letter to Serch. I also run through the basics in a song on my Human the Death Dance album called 'Underground for Dummies.' I started rapping at the age of 8. Not many people in my area were into hip-hop but their were a few. I had access to a Boston college radio hip-hop show called Rap Explosion on 88.9 WERS. There was also 95.5 BRU and 90.3 WRIU in Rhode Island. Along with certain rap magazines, these shows helped give me access to raw hip-hop before Yo! MTV Raps came along. I took it all in. I recorded myself and emulated as many styles as I could. I was able to buy one tape a week and I absorbed everything. I started entering battles at the age of 12. White boys were obviously not given much love without earning it so I earned it. I ripped cats and got a good name for myself but I had little to no crew. It was tough to build with anyone in my area. My first show was in 1994 opening up for Artifacts and Ill Al Scratch in Boston. I worked with a few local producers and eventually formed a band in college. I hoarded radio time by visiting the radio station almost every single day to freestyle and get my name out there. I also involved myself in spoken word and hit up as many open mics and poetry slams as possible. I stopped battling for a while but then I was made aware of huge battles that were taking place so I stepped back into the ring. This is when I won the Superbowl Battle in Boston and then I won the Scribble Jam battle in Cincinnati. I also moved to Brooklyn to look for more outlets and opportunity. It was around this time I was able to hook up with Anticon, and that's when I was able to release my first proper solo album after years of bootlegging my unreleased material. I was able to tour with Atmosphere and adopt a large part of their audience in a time when a few indie acts were blazing trails on the indie tour circuit. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to apply all of my resources and teachings while they all culminated into one big snowball."
Nick: Do you think the racial make up of rap has changed drastically since you were introduced to hip hop?
Sage: "Of course. I remember how astonished I was in 1997 to find out that a lot of the underground cats were actually white. This was a time when people seemed to mask the fact that they were white. It wasn't rapped about and no one was really publicizing that fact (keeping their pictures off of album covers and what not)...for good reason. But it was crazy how many white kids were actually making good hip-hop while the general accepted mentality was that white people have this innate ability to understand and execute hip-hop. All of a sudden there was a huge indie explosion where white people were saying 'Fuck it. This is my passion and I'm going to pursue it.' El-P, Cage, Eminem, Sole, Esoteric, Non-Phixion, Necro, and a slew of others. This is ten years ago mind you. 5 years before that I was hard pressed to find any other whitey doing this shit. I think everyone was keeping to themselves. Maybe everyone was so embarrassed by the Vanilla Ice debacle that they felt like they had to hide for a few years."
Nick: How do you feel that your experiences coming up through the spoken word circuit and battling might differ from other white mc's?
Sage: "I think it made me more well rounded. I cut my teeth in various environments and benefited greatly from it. I still don't know any other white emcees (since you specified that) who are able to do one as easy as the other. I hardly follow the spoken word scene at all, and the battles that I check out these days are a far cry from what I think is interesting. People aren't even rapping to a beat anymore. Haha. And if they are, their system is so loaded with crutches and cheat techniques that it feels like they are rehearsing verses they should have saved for an album. I also find almost every new cat in either genre to be way too derivative. Originality has gone the way of the Dodo bird."
Nick: Scribble Jam has always seemed a multicultural affair, how have your experiences been at that festival, and how do you think it represents hiphop as a whole?
Sage: "Scribble Jam is such a strange phenomenon considering the city it is held in. It's a massive gathering of people from all over the world who are interested in showing off their skills whether they be graffiti, b-boying, DJing, emceeing or beatboxing. Oh, and PROMOTION. Can't forget that one. But this takes place in grimey grimey Cincinnati, which is a place most artists don't even visit while on tour. My hat goes off to Mr Dibbs, Kevin Beacham, and everyone else who was able to make this such a huge annual event. My first year there was in 2000. I literally snuck in without paying because I was dressed in heavy metal clothes and I told the doorman that I was the sound guy. I was surprised to find out that people knew of me there...and that's thanks to Napster. The love I received was unexpected and exciting. There were over 100 people in the preliminary round. By the end of this long, long, long battle I was able to pull out a victory even though most people were mainly excited that the thing was over at that point. The organizers have fixed this problem since then. But every year I go back it's a beautiful experience. All the intermingling of artists and fans who normally wouldn't be around one another. It's also interesting how people from different parts of the country and world are able to pin their regional styles up against other regional styles. If you have your hustle on, the merch sales aren't too bad either. I remember selling shirts out of my suitcase in the pouring rain. People did not give a fuck. It's a big party. I'd like to return again this year."
