Can you give as a little introduction to you as an Artist?
I'm a rapper and producer in the group Four Elements & Beyond (F.E.B.). I'm not too sure which one I enjoy doing more or which one I would consider my main passion. It really depends on my mood. I hail from NY and I think that's pretty evident when you hear the way I write and my style of production. I was pretty much given the name "Tha Monsta" since I was younger, just by being a beast of a dude. I carried that with me into music.
How long have you been making music?
I actually wrote my first song around 6th or 7th grade. It was awful haha, but nonetheless it had bars and a hook. I also used to freestyle a ton when I was a kid and force my younger brother (and F.E.B. crew member) Miggs to get in on it with me. That's how I started really developing the skill and feel for rhyming. I didn't start taking it seriously till around 2003, though. I was still finding my style…shit, I'm still finding my style now. Either that or I just enjoy switching shit up a lot and keeping things fresh. I guess I just chalk that up to growing creatively.
How many songs /albums have you released to date?
Damn. My group and I have released a lot of music over the years. We've got a few mixtapes as a group. I've got 2 solo mixtapes under my belt (The Concrete Jungle & A Monster's Touch) both hosted by Statik Selektah. Even though they were mixtapes, I produced like 28 tracks between the two. We just hit the 1 year anniversary of my first official LP with my man Werd Life (F.E.B.) called 'The Sewer-Side Kings.' I produced that whole project. This EP 'Jackson Brolick' which is set to drop Feb. 11th will be entirely produced by me as well.
Can you tell us about your new project and the background and inspirations behind it?
'Jackson Brolick' is going to be an 8 track EP. I produced all the songs. It's straight up New York boom-bap to the core. I don't make that wack shit. This is not 90's hip-hop, but when you hear this you're going be like "Oh, I remember this feeling!"
The album features the rest of the F.E.B. team, MothaBug from Word of Mouth (an 8 piece fusion band from Savannah, GA), Apathy (AOTP/Demigodz), DJ JS-1 (Rock Steady Crew), DJ Kwestion (Jedi Mind Tricks), and Shylow.
I've got some sick conceptual songs on here, hard hitting hype joints, and some tracks where I just drop knowledge on heads.
The title is a play off the artist Jackson Pollock. I see some similarities between his abstract style of drip painting and how I go about my craft in both song/bar structure and production. Plus that name sounds so dope, right?
How have you ended up in the music industry?
I wouldn't really say I'm in the industry. I've made some good musical career choices and got some play on TV shows, radio, and other spots, but that's all from grinding. We're an independent label with ZERO funding. We do this all on our own. EVERYTHING is in house. Everything is in our hands. As overwhelming as it may get sometimes, we have complete control of how our product sounds and looks. That's not to say we wouldn't like a push on the promotion end, but we definitely like having complete creative control.
What do you think of the music industry at the moment?
Well we all know mainstream hip-hop fell off a huge cliff for a while. It looks like some people on the scene are breathing some life into it, but to be honest I've distanced myself from it so much it hurts. I'll always be a fan first, but when you hear so much garbage over and over, it gets depressing. However, when you look at hip-hop as a whole, it's doing great. I still hit up shows of major artists who are killing it! They just don't get that mainstream shine anymore. Those big labels want the puppet/get-rich-quick lames. That shit don't fly.
Who inspires you when you make your music?
To be honest, my own team inspires me. I've never been the one to watch and study a style to try and mimic it. I just go digging in the crates, find some dope shit and get to it. Me and the rest of the team spit ball concepts and shit is like magic. The chemistry is RIDICULOUS. You gotta have that as a group. It shows in our music and our live show.
Who have you collaborated with so far in your Career?
As an artist, I'm always trying to build. If I work wit somebody, their shit gotta be dope and I need them to respect my shit too. Like I said earlier, I worked wit Statik on my 2 mixtapes, Domingo (producer for Pun, KRS, and many more), DJ JS-1, DJ Kwestion, Shylow, Apathy, some foreign and local heads as well. I'll work wit anybody that got heat!
Who would you like to collaborate with in the future?
Wow..that list is OD long so I'm gonna have to give you the shortened version. RZA (mainly, but anybody from Wu), Immortal Tech, DJ Premier, Alchemist, Vinnie Paz, MOP, D-Block, The Beatnuts, Kool G Rap, Slick Rick, Mos Def, Lauryn Hill, Saigon, Black Thought. I could really go on and on.
What was the first album u bought?
The first album "I" bought was Biggie's 'Ready To Die.' The reason why I phrase it like that is because the cashier at the record store wouldn't sell me the CD cuz I was too young, so my mother had to cop it for me. She was like "I wanna hear what this is all about when we get home." I played it for her and she was like, "Oh no, I can't let you listen to this." Imagine her face when she heard "One More Chance" and the following skit haha. I was in love with hip-hop ever since.
Whats your favorite song at the moment?
I'm digging that track "God Bless" by Vinnie Paz. That shit is hard!
If you had to sell your music collection tomorrow, what album would you leave in your drawer?
Ah man. It would probly have to be that copy of 'Ready To Die' on sentimental value alone. Or on some conceited shit, I'll save one of my own albums like SSK since I don't got millions printed.
What do you think of TV music talent show competitions?
I think they're kinda corny. First of all, none of them cater to hip-hop anyway so it's kind of irrelevant. They did have that one show, the White Rapper Show. It was such a joke, though. I got love and respect for Serch, but those contestants?!! Chill, I woulda ate them alive. Yoww.
What do you do when your not making music?
I'm big into cooking. So not only do I be cheffin it up in the lab, but I get it in in the kitchen, too. My knife game's impeccable.
How many hats do you own?
I'd say around 50 or so right now.
How many followers do you have on twitter?
Yo on some real shit, my Twitter game is weak. I can't keep up wit all these sites. I'm not really on it like that. If you wanna hit me on there, it's @FreakThaMonsta. I'm on Facebook and Instagram the most, though.
Facebook: Freak Tha Monsta
Instagram: Colossamer_Rivera
How do you feel about Underground Hip Hop at the moment, do things need to change?
I think the underground hip-hop scene is the dopest place to reside right now. It's stacked wit so much talent and so many cats that wanna preserve this culture. When you look at all the shit that's floated to the top, it's laughable compared to the artists we got at this level. Unfortunately, even the underground is saturated with a ton of fans turned rappers that wanna sip Cristal and have a Rollie wrapped wrist, but can't write a song or even a decent bar to save their life. If you are one of those people and you're reading this….stop! This is not for you. UPS is definitely still hiring.
What are your thoughts on the All That Dope Shit Blog?
Yall are doing ya thing over here! There's a lot of blogs out there, but as a hip-hop site you're either gonna be one of two things. You either gonna do the work, seek out or sift through artist and songs that YOU feel are dope and give them a lil shine to try and break them…OR…You follow the trend and just post the same ol' shit that every other blog got with the hopes you're blog pops off. I think you guys are doing the right thing here. Keep that shit up.
Anything else you would like to add?
All I wanna say to everybody out there is that we got something different going on. We're far from your run of the mill rappers. My team and I put a lot of effort, time, and thought into everything we do….every line we write. We're perfectionists.
We currently got a Kickstarter campaign running. Everybody needs to check this out, pledge and help spread the word. This is your obligation as an underground hip-hop fan. Support cats that are really doin it.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/12206128/dope-sandwich-productions
Link up wit us on the sites below for FREE music downloads, albums, merch, updates, and all that ill shit.
Youtube: BeyondTheElements
Facebook.com/FreakThaMonsta
Facebook.com/FourElementsandBeyond
Facebook.com/DopeSandwich
BeyondTheElements.Bandcamp.com
FourElementsandBeyond.com
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