HHA Artist Interview - Fresh
Fresh is well known as one of HHA’s most versatile members. Whether it be in Writer’s block, the download spot or even GFX, he’s always ready to show off his talent.
Ne$$e: I’m sure everyone on Hip Hop Ave knows you, but for those that
don’t - introduce yourself for the people.
Fresh: iight everyone… it’s ya boy Fresh comin straight outta that
f-town in dirty jerz…. if u kno me you know what it is… if u dont
kno me, u aint been listenin to enough real shit haha
Ne$$e: Haha. Well now that you’ve introduced yourself to the public, we
can really get started. Speaking of started - how did you initially get
your start into writing music and making your way into the rap game?
Fresh: well i’ve been writin lyrics since i was in first grade.. but
back then my genres were all over the place. i took a break and started
rappin again in 5th grade once i heard eminems ‘cleanin out my closet’
when i was makin my bed one day haha… but my interest in it kinda
disappeared and later on i got back into it… about 3/4 of the way
thru 8th grade. when i started back up again most recently, i actually
considered it a humorous pasttime. figured it would just be somethin to
do between homework and whatever show was on around 9 or 10 u kno? then
i got into it more and more and soon i elevated with some help and
inspiration from dudes comin on the ave around that time like sacrafyc,
calli, bfc(now wordgames), and i learned a lot from caspa kidd, king
aka “a”, and d wizz… then i got into a group locally called f-town
dips and got a little more exposure durin that time and i started gfx
work around then n i did audio more n more…
Ne$$e: So I take it that a lot of these Ave guys and fellow emcees have
inspired you and help you become the emcee that you are today?
Fresh: yeah u could say that.
Fresh: in addition to all of the things that happen to me and my
experiences… we all have people to help us at some point even if u
dont notice, and sometimes when people do really bad shit to u and ur
life, that helps in some ways too… so situations and mentors both
have helped me become the emcee i am
Ne$$e: That’s right. I think a lot of people have forgotten that hip
hop is an art, and a form of culture. Past experiences helps make the
music creatively, and influences it in a lot of ways. Do you tend to
touch on such throughout your music, or do you just keep it fictional?
Fresh: i like to think i spit real talk with a street edge to it… cuz
i respect someone who can turn nothin into somethin… if i can hustle
tracks, and they can hustle crack… its just the product thats
different. life is a big hustle and we all have different merchandise
to offer the world. i do use a lot of my life in my rhymes but
sometimes il do a sort of narrative track.. just somethin to shout out
the people who dont have some of the advantages i have
Ne$$e: Ain’t that the truth. People also tend to forget that you don’t
have to go through certain hardships to relate to it. Tell us about the
area you live in, and how that help influenced you as well.
Fresh: iight well franklin has hella rap groups and rap ‘labels’ and
solo artists. the most legendary of these is probably MRE (money run
empire) which recently broke apart and became somethin that resembles a
gang due to the fact that gangs like chipset kept givin em shit all the
time. theres the f-town dips, undaground cash incorporated, alwayz
shyne industries, and a less than respected group of up and comers
called flow knockers. the town itself is nothin to either be ashamed of
or to hold in high regard… but still its where im from and where my
friends are…. so i rep it to the fullest… 732 all day
Ne$$e: Word. I’ve noticed that through listening to your tracks, you’re
more of a concious rapper, with a street appeal. A lot of rappers have
a hard time crossing over with that type of persona. Do you think you
can be successful with that?
Fresh: i think that its entirely possible. the rappers i listen to most
are the ones that i consider the next to blow… serius jones, apathy,
cyssero, and some others… they all seem to be able to touch on at
least a few real topics and i think that its emcees like them that can
change the game. i dont think that bein a conscious rapper will be like
a weight that holds me underground… cuz the game is beginnin to
change as we speak. a lot of the emcees comin up right now are actually
a little more real than they let on. once they learn how to make songs
that can cater to all audiences keepin their ears to the radios, emcees
on the come up that can be real will have an easier time gettin
signed… so it all depends on the game itself… the metamorphosis is
the key
Ne$$e: I never viewed it that way. So you’re saying that you think you
can be a part of that change?
Fresh: id like to be part of it. if u think about it tho, life itself
is makin it easier for rappers to talk about real things… katrina,
the problems in darfur, the war in iraq, the elections, stack bundles’
death… as catastrophic as some of these things are, they can provide
the game with better art, and as the underground people realize much
more quickly, better artists
Ne$$e: Art and storytelling is a vision that has become lost in hip hop
lately. I’ve listened to a lot of your tracks, and you show tremendous
potential and rhyming capability. What would you say is the best song
you’ve made to date?
Fresh: id like to say that I Apologize is my best track to date… i
put a lot into that track. u probably noticed theres no hook on that
track, but its pretty much the same length timewise as a regular three
verse three or four hook track, but its a set of nonstop bars that i
spilled straight from what id been thinkin about all of last year and
this summer. its to all my friends, apologizin for not bein able to go
to the same school theyre goin to… cuz i kno it disappoints a lot of
people i kno, and it had been buggin me all year so i finally put the
whole thing into a track. that thing has pain, hope, encouragement,
appreciation, and a whole mess of other things goin on in it
Ne$$e: How was the response to it?
Fresh: it got the most hits out of any song i put on myspace… its at
about 200 i think right now… and considerin my hideously low number
of friends in relation to other local artists and other emcees on
myspace in general, thats a lot of plays… and everyone who heard it
said it was really good, even if they dont kno a lot about rap
Ne$$e: That is a lot of plays, especially for an artist on the come-up.
How do you feel about music being so available on the internet, and how
it affects hip hop as a whole?
Fresh: well it depends… everythin has a backdoor or a loophole, pros
and cons etc. emcees gotta evolve with the times… and the internet is
a great medium when it comes to exposure… but as everyone knows, it
messes with profit. even if u do nothin but sell tracks on the curb…
chances are ur music is bein distributed among friends… i can almost
guaruntee some of the same artists complainin about limewire
underground use it for their own reasons too
Ne$$e: Haha. So what type of websites do you use to promote your music,
and how do you feel it helps and doesn’t help?
Fresh: i use soundclick, myspace and purevolume…. soundclick i use
mostly for stuff i cant get on the myspace or my older tracks that im
willin to let people download for free… myspace is my main one, cuz i
ended up leanin more towards usin that after people said “hey you
rap… do u have a myspace?” cuz most people that arent already in
music dont kno about soundclick (in my experience). purevolume is just
so i can get my name out on another site
Fresh: and it helps in a few ways
Fresh: it gets exposure and thru the whole myspace extended network for
instance, i can get in contact with bigger names like apathy, motive,
and serius jones, all three of whom ive contacted thru myspace
before… i also remember gettin in touch with one of young zee’s
managers at some point. its also good cuz its a way for us emcees to
move as the listeners move. i heard a while back that myspace topped
google in hits… and if thats true, id want my tracks playin on that
site u kno?
Ne$$e: Yeah, I feel you. So, where do you see yourself within hip hop
in the next five years, and what do you ultimately want to do?
Fresh: iight well i cant put my finger on it and be too sure but i
think in five years i’ll be at college or signed… to me its one or
the other. if i get signed while im at college, imma do my best to keep
up with both ends of my life but if i get signed before college, i’ll
have doubts about goin there cuz my goal is to be a well known producer
and artist in the game and to work in/own/run a studio and have my own
label.
Fresh: ultimately though… i want to leave my mark on the industry as
someone who really can be considered an artist… cuz honestly a lot of
dudes nowadays are all on that shake that ass side of the fence and i
wanna change how the industry is populated. i want people to be able to
hear tracks that are both ill and real… i wanna bring back the art to
the game that i think it currently lacks in the mainstream
Ne$$e: Awesome. So to wrap things up, we’re going to play a little game
called “Word Association”. Basically, I’ll name someone off the Ave,
and you just give me in one or very few words what you think of them.
Alright?
Fresh: iight
Ne$$e: Casper.
Fresh: about to be signed
Ne$$e: Ghost Writer aka G-Money.
Fresh: potential
Ne$$e: Inc.
Fresh: knows what it is
Fresh: haha
Ne$$e: Heh. Sydeil.
Fresh: stand up guy
Ne$$e: Queen.
Fresh: nice to peeps
Fresh: actually
Fresh: “is not spoonz” is probably a better answer
Ne$$e: Haha. Bosco.
Fresh: streetwise
Ne$$e: Sacrafyce.
Fresh: hes got that fire within
Ne$$e: Wordgames.
Fresh: THESIS… haha. ill dude
Ne$$e: C-4.
Fresh: stop hating hov
Ne$$e: Rush.
Fresh: funny dude
Ne$$e: Myrikal.
Fresh: my dude from LP
Ne$$e: And last but not least… Ne$$ey Ne$$e. >_>
Fresh: ahhhh shouldve seen this coming. my answer is… : knowledgeable
Ne$$e: lol. That’s it?
Fresh: yea
Fresh: i was lookin for a word that meant “wins arguments with
paragraphs” but alas nothin came to mind
Ne$$e: Haha. That’s better. Anyway, that’s it for another interview on
the Ave. Any last comments or shoutouts?
Fresh: iight shoutouts to these dudes: casper… ur gonna go far my
dude, wordgames… still waitin on a collab haha but u kno what it
is…. sac, noonz, & the cpr affiliates… keep doin what u doin my
dudes u got a good sound, pap£rs…. the one and only protege.. u kno
wats good, future… get in the booth rite quick man and show people u
can hold audio down and keep goin even if dudes are hatin…and to diss
regard, sons, unfinished business, da kings of beef, lyrikal prodigies,
all the graphics heads… keep up the good work people yall are givin
the ave a good name (even tho most dudes dont kno)
Fresh: also to calli and to sac again… dwizz too… yall been
inspirin me to get better… good lookin out on all the help i got from
yall from then to now
DOWNLOADS:
I apologize
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