Raze: Today B Boys and B Girls, I’m going to be interviewing Detroit native M.C/beat maker/producer - Darkness, half of the duo Ghost & The Darkness. Tired of accusations of being just a “Gangsta Rapper”, I thought it only right that we let Darkness speak for himself and get some things off his chest.
Raze: Good afternoon Darkness, hope you are well. I'd like to start by letting you introduce yourself and give you the opportunity to tell us what you’re about.
Darkness: YO YO my main man Raze, yea I'm great, well 4 those of you that don’t know, I am The Darkness, of Out Of The Dark Productions, 1half of Ghost and The Darkness, I’m an Emcee, most label me as a"Gangster Rapper" but I'm way past that, all u have to do is listen. I’m 20 years old, I started rapping about 5 years ago, started producing beatz when I got out of prison in January 2005.
Raze: We'll go back to the prison bit later, but for now we'll concentrate on the music. So what inspired you to start rhyming? Who were the MCs you looked up to?
Darkness: My inspiration, was hearing all of these half ass emcees getting rich off of bad rap, so I was determined to get into the game and bring it back to tha lyrics, MC's I look up to, Tech n9ne, DZK, Bone Thugs, Yukmouth, and of course the originals from MC eiht to the old Westside Connection.
Raze: Yeah cause on listening to your rhymes, although you are termed by some as a "Gangsta Rapper" I feel you transcend that label, and are an M.C first. Also I've heard you got love from politically charged MCs who can also see through those stupid azz labels.
Darkness: Yea, that means allot, any one can be a "Gangsta" in front of a mic, that’s old, I wanna take it back to good music, from tha lyrics to the beat, in tha words of tha great phenetik "NO SLACK" pisses me off tha crap music such as "Laffy Taffy" and Chicken Noodle Soup" get radio play, but real talented underground artists that are just pushed aside.
Raze: As a real artist, as opposed to a manufactured co opted industry Nigga, do you sometimes feel that you are banging your head up against a wall when trying to get heard by an industry that is only concerned about soundscans?
Darkness: Sometimes, but I refuse to lose, as I see it, if bad music is all that’s available to tha mainstream customers, then that’s what there gonna buy, simple as that.
Raze: Good point, so talk to me about your upcoming projects. What have you got lined up?
Darkness: As Soon as a certain package is delivered, the EP "Blow They Mind" produced by... hmmmm what wuz his name?? OH YEA, RAZE BROOKS lol that’s in tha UK, here in tha states The Album "Sun Down Crimes Up" Will Be dropping sometime soon, its near completion, its a double album, kinda a "Good Side Bad Side" kinda deal, mine and ghosts Solo Albums are already completer, gonna b a bit b4 those drop though.
Raze: So on the "Sun Down Crimes Up" you got a positive and negative side, kind of like Ice Cube's "Death Certificate" Is the negative representative of the life you had before you went to prison?
Darkness: yes, and far deeper than Cubes Album, believe it or not, we have music on there for tha street kid to tha Emo rocker kid who hates his parents n wears black lipstick lol.
Raze: Lol, yeah I feel what your saying, cause we all know that a lot of Cube's rhymes were written about his friends and not him. On one of your tracks you refer to red being your favorite color - is there still any affiliation with the Bloods?
Darkness: Yes, I was heavy into tha gang thing, but that’s my past, I still got love from tha bloods and crips I jus don’t bang anymore, once u get n that it’s for Life, but they respect me, so I wasn’t assassinated for "getting out" as is tha usual member.
Raze: Yeah it's good that you got out and moved on to more constructive things. You represent Mount Clemens, Detroit - do you think that Eminem has helped give the D more light?
Darkness: yes, but 8mile the movie was a complete misrepresentation, but yea Em opened it up for tha D, and white emcees all over tha world.. But he’s not from Detroit
Raze: We bumped heads on myspace.com, how has that been for you?
Darkness: myspace? with out it, I would a never met u and a few others that I enjoy working with, and I think its one of the best promotional tools out there, and those who think otherwise because your page isn’t popping, its not tha web, its your music =P
Raze: True true, cause you've had over 130 000 plays which is a staggering amount for an unsigned group. A lot of established artists aren’t getting those kind of hits, so what's your secret?
Darkness: I Cant Be Directly Compared, ppl hear my trax, and it’s unlike anything they've heard, from voice tone, to content, to tha production...being original always helps...jus like I cant compare your beatz to anything on this planet lol
Raze: Lol so how did you get Ghost up in the mix? Did he see you doing it and think I gotta do that or did you encourage him?
Darkness: I was doing it alone, making tapes in my living room, and one day he jus grabbed tha mic and started rhyming, he was like 9, and I asked "u like doing this?" and he said "HELL YEA" and its been on ever since, he's a 15 year old child prodigy, has his own style, and its hot, he impresses me every time he drops a verse.
Raze: Yeah, I was shocked when he told me how old he was. So is it rhyming for him or is he gonna be a pro footballer?
Darkness: I think it’s gonna be rhyming, that’s where his heart is, but what ever he decides, I got his back 110%
Raze: So let’s get technical. What equipment do you use to record?
Darkness: in tha tool box we got "Magix Audio Studio G6 Deluxe, Acid Pro, A MXL 990 Condenser Mic, A Yamaha Motif ES-8, And an M-Audio Box by fast track.
Raze: Nice set up. So what do you prefer - producing or MCing?
Darkness: I like MCing, cuz u can do that anywhere, from tha block outside tha party store to tha stage, producing, u have to b in a set environment ya know.
Raze: So you talked earlier about radio, have you had any success on the airwaves?
Darkness: Only Local, We get about 15-20 spins a month on Detroit radio stations, a few cuts produced by you,-D, but that’s as far as it’s went.
Raze: That’s not bad so I’m a play some word association with you now.
Darkness: let’s do it
Raze: Mc Ren
Darkness: One of the Greatest.
Raze: E Rich
Darkness: Deeper than all tha oceans combined, his lyrics make u think, they really do
Raze: myspace
Darkness: A great place to promote music, or get stalked, and Toms a genius
Raze: Menace To Society
Darkness: One of my favorite movies, cuz that’s my old hood to tha T , jus in Michigan not Cali.
Raze: Dave Chappelle
Darkness: ha-ha a comedic genius, I’ve dug him since "Half Baked"
Raze: Jay Z
Darkness: ppl might be mad, but I don’t like em... all who r like "why" down load "Swagger Jacker" by Camron, and u'll lose respect for em to, he's bit lines all tha way from KRS ONE to Nas and that songs has all tha proof.
Raze: George Bush
Darkness: An Idiot, who jus so happens to run tha country.
Raze: Bill Clinton
Darkness: The Best President since Reagan
Raze: Condoleezza Rice
Darkness: Giant Smile... all that comes to mind ha-ha
Raze: Louis Farrakhan
Darkness: a racist.
Raze: So Darkness. I think that about wraps it up, have you got any shout outs and plugs you wanna put down before we go?
Darkness: URL
www.myspace.com/Darkness06 Shouts, RB Records, A-Bomb, BankRupt Records, Kurupt City, And All Struggling underground artists, KEEP GRINDING!!! -The Darkness
