Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
THE SQUAD. SPIT 16'S...DIRECTED BY ARI HOTEP
SINCERE DA MISFIST
MAJOR THA LYRICIST
YOUNG YAYO
RICACHE'
RUNAWAY OWL SOCIETY INTERVIEWS VIRGHOST!!!
Exclusive Interview : Virghost Memphiasco . Runaway Owl's Society exclusive
Interview by Mr. Owl.
Today lady's and gentlemen's i'm proudly presenting you, hailing from Memphis, Tennessee
the masterful lyricism: Virghost Memphiasco
Mr.Owl
(Virghost Memphiasco) I am a Emcee/Spoken Word Artist from The Bluff City, Memphis, Tennessee representing my SQUAD., Point Blank Entertainment. I am a father, husband, brother, son, and Human Being that just happens to be blessed with the gift of poetry. Above all, Virghost is a POET...which sums up all of that in one word.
2. When and why did you decided to start rapping?
I always wanted to rap since I was a freshman in High School, but I was too scared to spit my rhymes to anyone so I would just write my raps down on paper and call it poetry. It was my way to escape all of the negative things that I was going through at the time...a way to get things off my chest. I would let people read them and they would ask me why I wasn't rapping and encourage me to start. I didn't actually start rapping until 2008 after my cousin and fellow Memphis Emcee Knowledge Nick asked me to do a Spoken Word intro to his first mixtape "The Appetite for Knowledge." The track was called "Food 4 Thought." After I recorded the track I overheard one of the tracks that was going on his project called "Higher Ground." The original version featured Nick and his Memphis Boy production lablemates Quake the Great, Fever (formerly known as Novacane), and Memphis Boy Productions CEO Brandon "901" Paige. I was so in love with the beat that I asked Nick to let me hop on, and he said yeah. So I wrote and recorded my first 16 a couple of days later. 901 was so impressed with my first that he put on his label and from there the rest was history.
3. What are your future projects and what can we expect for 2011- 2012 ?
Right now I'm working on a new project entitled "Innermission Intuitions." I named it that because it's like my loose thoughts in-between my last album and my next album. It's not an album itself, but it's also not a mixtape...I don't know what to call it. I guess it's more like an experiment. It's totally different from my last release, "The Memphiasco" because it goes more "outside the box." On "The Memphiasco" I took you around the world. On "Innermission Intuitions" I'm taking you to another galaxy! This project also has more guest features than The Memphiasco and new producers. It's gonna be EPIC I promise. I'm also planning a BIG Hip-Hop show here for the Memphis Hip-Hop scene in February..."The Memph-Hop Winter Jam." Guaranteed to be THE best Hip-Hop show of 2012 in Memphis. And I plan on pushing the SQUAD. brand heavily this year. And if you don't know what that means, then you WILL know soon!!!
4. What about touring, do you plan to do a tour outside the states?
Oh most definitely!!! I just booked a show in Nashville for next month and I'm working on Little Rock, Indianapolis, and Atlanta. I've done a shows in Indianapolis and Oklahoma City before a couple of years back and both cities showed me mad love...Can't wait to get back on the road again. Hopefully we can make that Canada trip happen! lol
5. What are your thoughts, on the Hip-Hop scene right now!
Well, if we are talking about Memphis, as a whole I think that the scene here is doing pretty well. There are a lot of dope Emcees in our city making a lot of local and national noise. The only problem I have is when "certain emcees" in the city place themselves on these imaginary pedestals like they are signed to Def Jam or Interscope or something...I hate when artists proclaims to be things like "Gods" or "Kings" when they have accomplished absolutely nothing . They got this false sense of celebrity when in actuality they are only local starving artists. Egos can be a mothafucka in small city like Memphis. But other than that...I really like what's going on in Memphis as far as Hip-Hop is concerned. On a national level, I think that we are witnessing a "New Golden Era" of Hip-Hop. There are SO MANY dope new artists coming out right now...Artists like Kendrick Lamar and the whole Black Hippy Movement, Big K.R.I.T., Yelawolf, A$AP Rocky...man it's so many!!! There is mos def a change going on in Hip-Hop right now and I love it!
6. Who and what are your inspiration to making music?
My biggest inspiration has to be my wife and kids. They give my art purpose and reason. Before I got married and had kids I just rapped to prove a point; to show people that I am a dope emcee. Nowadays, I don't care about any of that. I'm just trying to bring a positive message to the world through my art. Outside of my family, I would have to say Nas and Marvin Gaye. I think that they are the two dopest artists of all-time. Locally, I think that my biggest inspiration has to be my SQUAD., Point Blank Entertainment. The talent and competition within our group most definitely driven me become the Emcee that I am today.
7. What have been the ups and downs since you started making music?
I think that my biggest down musically was December 2009 and the whole year of 2010. I went on an unwanted hiatus. My lights in my apartment had just got cut off. My wife (fiance at the time) had to move with her sister and I had no where to go so I slept in my cold apartment during a time when the temperature in Memphis was below zero. Me and my wife eventually moved with my parents until we got on our feet but that didn't last long at all. Me and my dad don't get along staying in the same house so you know how that goes. As far as the highs go, I've had so many. My album release was probably the most special thing because I worked so hard and put my all into the album and the show.
8. Recently you released a project called "The Memphiasco",how was the project received?
It was received extremely well in my city. I got way more feedback than I expected. I had so many people calling me, messaging me, coming up to me at shows telling me how they really like my album. I even had a couple of people tell me that my album was the best album they had heard this year anywhere! One dude posted a status on his Facebook page saying that the only albums he's been listening to was J. Cole's "Cold World," Wale's "Ambition," and Virghost's "The Memphiasco." I was like, damn! It felt good to be mentioned with national artists like that.
8.5 What was the first lp/cd/cassette and or mixtape you ever bought
with your own money?
Man I don't even remember. I think I bought Mos Def's "The New Danger" and Talib Kweli's "Beautiful Struggle." Before that, I was just bootlegging everything I listened to. lol
9. How do you spoil yourself?
To be honest, I can't spoil myself anymore because I'm too busy spoiling my daughters. But, when I do get a chance I like to vibe and listen to music and smoking on a clove cigarette.
10. Talk about your hometown (Memphis)?
I love my city. I know a lot people have a lot of bad things to say about it but all in all, I like living here. It has it's ups and downs. It has it's ignorance and stupidity, but it also has good down to earth people and a rich music history. I wouldn't claim any other city over. AND YA SAY BLUFF CITY!!!!
11. Who's been supporting you in your career?
The three main people that I can say that have supported me to the fullest since day one is my wife Megan Somerville, my cousin Sonya Somerville, and my SQUAD.bro Denario "Yayo" Dodson. They have always been there with me on this roller coaster ride critiquing me and showing me encouragement, keeping me levelheaded and on my toes.
12. What do you think his overrated in the rap game?
I think that Odd Future is TOTAL overrated. Tyler the Creator is all right but the rest of them niggaz is wack!!! I also think that a couple of artists from Memphis that get a lot of shine on the local and national stage are VERY overrated but I won't get on that. Don't want to ruffle nobodies feathers.
13. Who do you think is the best producer alive?
It's hard to really say that there is a "best" producer because there are so many great ones with so many different styles. But I will say that my two favorite producers are 9th Wonder and 40.
14. Who would be your ideal dinner guest, living or dead, and what
would you serve them + what music would you play?
Dr. King. I would server him a Tostinos Pizza and play the whole Memphiasco album. lol
15. Thank you for taking the time out to speak to us, any final Thoughts?
Yeah make sure you check out my music on my Bandcamp page athttp://virghostmemphiasco.bandcamp.com/
And get at me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/VirghostPoet
And oh yeah..... SQUAD.
Dope music/Hip-Hop by Virghost Memphiasco.
Virghost Memphiasco on the net.
http://www.facebook.com/VirghostPoet
http://virghostmemphiasco.bandcamp.com/
Thanks to Virghost Memphiasco for the time he give me to make this interview.
Support your local Hip-Hop, stop saying Hip-Hop is dead , Hip-Hop is alive!
Peace!
Mr.Owl
BRAND YOUR MUSIC INTERVIEWS VIRGHOST
Durand James Somerville, better known by his stage name, “The Virghost Poet,” is a Spoken Word Artist/ Rapper/Singer/Songwriter/Producer/Promoter based in Memphis, Tennessee. He is best known for his powerful stage presence and how he demands and grabs the attention of the crowd during his breathtaking performances. He is also known for his brilliant studio mind using his creativeness to produce many classic underground hits. Brand Your Music caught up with the MC to talk about his latest EP “The Invisible Man,” the Virghost brand, and how poetry and Hip-Hop influence his overall sound.
How would you describe the Virghost brand?
The Virghost brand will always and forever be R.A.P. (Rhythm and Poetry). I’ve been representing that since day one. If you listen to any of my raps or Spoken Word pieces you will find that my words and ideas are heavily driven by rhythm, whether it be the beat or instrumental I’m writing to or the complex web of rhyme schemes that run through my head when I’m composing. The Rhythm is like the engine that produces all of the ideas, the metaphors, and the similies, thus giving birth to The Poetry.
Explain the name Virghost.
I came up with Virghost a long time ago before I even started performing. I used to post my earlier poetry on these little poetry websites onilne but I didn’t want to use my real name because I was scared one of my family members might stumble across one of my poems and tell my father (whom is a preacher by the way) about the vulgar, yet enlightening things that I had written about. I wanted it to be something that stood out so I just took my zodiac sign (Virgo) mixed it with the word “Ghost.” I chose the word “Ghost” because I felt that my words were my true spirit, the essence of my soul and that part of me will NEVER die. Even when I am dead and gone my words will still be here forever. Plus, Virghost just sound cool. Ha, ha!!!
You’re very talented in the sense that while you do poetry you’re also very musical and have released two mixtapes and an EP. Do you have different influences for when you write poetry versus when you’re writing a song, or is it that the influences are the same but the way they’re portrayed is different?
It’s funny because the one person that inspired me to write poetry was actually a rapper, and that rapper’s name is Nas. Growing up in Memphis I was so acustomed to hearing rappers like Yo Gotti and Three Six Mafia, more club/party oriented music, but when I was first introduced to Nas I was like “Wow!” I had never heard anybody rap about the things that he was rapping about. It was so creative, so analytical, so metaphorical, SO POETIC! It wasn’t even rap to me. It was POETRY!!! Poetry in Rhythm with a beat. I used to think that spoken word and rap were different, but I found out there’re really not. They are the EXACT same thing. As a matter of fact Rap was birthed from Spoken Word! Just go listen to the late Gil Scott-Heron and The Last Poets and you will see. The only difference in my opinion is that the Spoken Word bar can be stretched longer than the Rap bar because it is not confined to a beat. But they both are still the same for me. Once I get in that “mode” they both flow the same.
Talk a little bit about your latest project? What was your inspiration? Who did you work with?
Well, my last project was “The Invisible Man EP.” It dropped April this year under Point Blank Entertainment. The entire album was produced by local Memphis producer Kenny Wayne. It featured some of my label mates from my Point Blank Entertainment family (Megan J, Young Yayo, Ricache’, Major tha Lyricist, and JD Smoove). It also included local vets Jason tha Hater and T-Y. It was basically an introduction of me as an emcee to people who didn’t know or think that I could rap. Most of the people in Memphis that knew about me only knew about me as a spoken word artist because that’s what got me out there. What most people didn’t know, I started rapping the same time I started performing Spoken Word. When I came out back in 2009, the Spoken Word scene was really popping in Memphis so that’s what I focused on. There wasn’t really a big boost in the Hip-Hop scene until Late 2010/Early 2011. By that time I had already established myself in the city as a Spoken Word artist so that’s what people saw me as. No one really took me serious as an Emcee, even though I felt like I could rap just as good as the young emcees that they dubbed “elite” on the Hip-Hop scene. I felt that I was being overlooked when it came to my rap skills. It was like I was Invisible. So I wanted to use this project to make myself visible to the people as an emcee also, so that when I drop my album this Fall, people will be familiar with me as an Emcee. It seems to be working.
Where can people go and get more information about VIrghost?
You can contact me at facebook.com/VirghostPoet.com. You can check out my music on my bandcamp page at virghostmemphiasco.bandcamp.com. For all other inquires visit pbenation.blogspot.com .
http://www.musicthread.net/2011/08/04/brand-your-music-interview-series-with-virghost/
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