215HIPHOP.COM ~ Philly Hip Hop

July 2008
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Verso Interview

Posted by jt215 in Interviews

Interview w/Verso
By: Justin Weleski

Born on an island and raised in a city. Verso’s been that guy you’ve been seeing around the Philly hip hop scene for a minute now, but now can currently be heard! His debut album “Audio Visuals” is in stores now and features such talents as: Documentalz, Reef The Lost Cauze, Thee Phantom and more. But were not here to talk about them, so instead let’s learn a little more about the man behind the visual audios, and what he thinks about Jamaica, rap music, and the Philly hip hop scene. Which by the way, can now be heard on Power 99’s air waves!

Click HERE to purchase Verso “Audio Visuals”

215: How old were you when you moved to Philly from Jamaica?

Verso: 3 yrs old.

215: How often do you go back to visit, and do you still have family there?

Verso: I used to visit every summer until I was like 14 and then like every other year or so. I still have a lot of family there.

215: Do you do any shows out in Jamaica? And is your album available on the island?

Verso: Not yet. We’re working on that though.

215: With such a large number of Philly MC’s. Do you feel that you may be able to advance much stronger as an artist on a small island, rather than in a city like this?

Verso: There are a large number of artists in Jamaica as well. They love hip-hop but it is clearly not the primary music there, so the market is a lot different. Most artists in Jamaica are trying to reach beyond the island to places like America, The UK, other parts of Europe, and Asia. I love Jamaica and intend on establishing a presence there, but my focus is on working my album here first. I always prefer for people to embrace me as opposed to me asking to be embraced. So the way I see it, I have to work hard enough for Jamaica to recognize what I’m doing.

215: What’s your thoughts or comments about how Bob Marley has become such a pop icon, and how he’s become almost the face of Jamaica?

Verso: Bob Marley is without question the face of Jamaica. He blazed an amazing trail and set reggae music up to be the diverse and powerful art form that it currently is. I’m admittedly biased in this particular train of thought but I often wish that Hip-hop, or more-so popular rap, more closely reflected the current state of reggae music in that it is more balanced. Jamaicans and other fans of dancehall respect and appreciate a wide range of artists, messages, and subgenres in a way that I don’t feel we as the Hip-hop consumers do. I feel like we are much more divided into sectors that ultimately work against each other more often than not. Bob Marley showed the world that heartfelt, emotional, and honest music can truly touch people. He deserves to be the icon that he is. Some other people deserve a lot of that credit too but there’s no questioning his legacy. (He is one of our National Heroes so again I’m admittedly biased.)

215: On the song “The Banger” you speak on how many east coast MC’s are very one sided to be on some gritty street rap. And your style is more about concepts and just being lyrical. So why do you feel that the spectrum of rap you represent is so much better than the other spectrum of gritty street rap or dance music? Because at the end of the day, isn’t it all about just making some good music?

Verso: I don’t feel like my style is better than street rap or dance music. My problem is that I don’t believe everybody who does it. I stand behind my music because it is my truth and the way I feel about things. I feel like in this current age of rap music, people tend to follow trends that don’t necessarily reflect themselves. Good music is absolutely what it’s about and I always give props to other artists regardless of what kind of music they make. I’m more about the artistry and the honesty of the work. I would be writing rhymes whether it was financially lucrative or not. My motivations go beyond capitalizing off of hip-hop in that way. I feel like a lot of the times, artists don’t even necessarily want to rap about the things that they do but, “that’s what’s selling,” or “that’s what’s hot right now,” or “that’s what the labels are looking for.” I have the same problems with people who are not true to what’s perceived as a more positive type of rap. If your style is all image underneath your still wack, period.

215: I heard somewhere that you first started recording music with STRESS of Krush Unit. How did you guys meet?

Verso: I hooked up with Stress a long, long time ago when I was recording for another studio and we connected as people, as well as musically. We have a lot in common from family backgrounds to musical influences. I brought him to the studio I was working out of, and the dude tried to get him to be an in-house producer but it didn’t work out. That was before Krush Unit became what it is and before Stress and I became who we currently are. And we actually have yet to record music together but its something I’m sure will happen. I have a lot of love and respect for him as a person so we’ve always kept and eye on each other. That project seems inevitable, just waiting on the right time.

215: On the song “Stuck in Our Ways” you speak strictly on the underground Philly rap scene. And how the scene is very split up, and artists only care about themselves and there own crews. But what do you really expect? Because honestly, hip hop isn’t a tree hugging/unity type of culture. And especially in 2007 with so many rappers out, you have to look out for yourself or you’ll never rise above just being local. So again, what would you like to see happen in the Philly Hip hop scene?

Verso: I understand the competitive, go for self nature of rap music but at the same time, I don’t feel that going for yours has to mean that you go against another artist. I feel like there is this prevailing mindset that we cannot coexist as artists and I disagree with that. It may be the case if people are doing the exact same thing, but that goes back to the point of “the banger” which was honesty and originality. If people were completely being themselves, they wouldn’t feel the need to get the next artist out of their space, because it would be their space. In cases where people’s spaces overlap, I see it as more of an opportunity to build rather than oppose and compete. If I’m nice and you’re nice, let’s make good music together. If one is better than the other, that’ll come out in the music without directly attacking the other artist. I feel like that applies to every part of the Philadelphia rap scene, not just the underground. (Just my opinion) I feel like this is the most important song in Philadelphia right now. We have way too much talent and untapped collective power to not be a more significant region within Hip-hop in general, and rap music specifically. We just keep being stuck in our ways and its clearly not helping us get anywhere.

215: The last song on your album is a reggae track. Do you record reggae often? And why did you choose it for the end of the album?

Verso: I don’t record it too often but I do write it and am working on more of it. I think it ended up at the end just because the album seemed to flow better that way. There’s a bonus track after that song which kinda allows me to end the album twice. First on a playful partying note ( I love dancehall) and then on an inspirational/emotional note (Everybody goes through some things in life). I’m not sure if that reggae track fits anywhere else on the album. Good question.

215: What is your involvement in Squadzilla, and for those who don’t know, who and what is Squadzilla?

Verso: Squadzilla is a collective of individual artists that come together to do projects and shows. It’s a network set up to allow its individual members to help one another further their musical careers. I am no longer a member of Squadzilla due to some philosophical business differences but maintain a good relationship with the squad.

215: Album has been out for a minute now. So how has is been doing and the feedback you’ve been receiving?

Verso: It’s been doing well. Surprising me in a lot of ways and more than anything, it seems to be establishing me as a part of the artistic community in Philadelphia. I’m getting a lot of good feedback on both the music and the artwork. I’ve just been focused on pushing it to be as big as I possibly can because I feel like the messages on it are important, even beyond me as the artist.

215: The actual cd for your album has actual grooves on it as a vinyl record does. Whose idea was this and is there a meaning behind it?

Verso: That was my idea and as far as the meaning, it just represents the essence of Hip-hop. It all started with vinyl so it’s just a way of paying homage to the history of the culture.

215: What’s in the near future for Verso?

Verso: We’re getting ready to shoot a video for stuck in our ways in the next few weeks. Other than that, just working on music, working the album and trying to get shows both in and away from Philadelphia. Thanks for the interview. I’ll be working toward another one. (They just played Stuck In Our Ways on Power 99 for the first time, as I was doing this interview. Hope folks take it as intended. Guess we’ll find out soon.)