By Shamora EvansSM: First, "congrats" on signing with "Freeway" and "Free Money Records"! Do you have any idea as to when you might be dropping your firstalbum with the label?
P89: Well, right now, everything is in the building process so, as of right now, we don't have a date for that. I got mix-tapes coming out real soon, and the one on deck right now is "All Victories Earned: Volume 2" hosted\ by "DJ No Phrillz". Also, I have the "Best of P89" mix-tape coming out soon with “DJ Unique” from Jersey, so be looking out for that. I took a brief hiatus after my last project in 2007 because I was under poor management, but now we're where we at now. The album has been done for a while now, actually. I completed the album a while back, but right now "Freeway" just finished his album, "The Stimulus Package", and that's dropping February 16th. So, be sure to pick up a copy of that.
SM: We'll keep our ears open for it...Now, the first time I ever heard your music was when you did a track called "2 of the Illest" featuring "Freeway" back in '07, and that was "fire"! So, tell us about your latest single, "Free Money".
P89: Actually, the single came not too long ago. I don't use no pen and paper, so when I heard the beat, which came from “Your Future Producers” (a production company in Germany), that's when I came up with the concept. Then, "Free" heard it, and he laid his verse, and I did mine. I was just hype about the whole "Free Money" thing because it was all new to me, and he had already told me to just start repping "Free Money". So, that night, I came home and came up with the concept for the song "Free
Money". I like it because, to me, it's catchy. I'm lovin’ that track, and you know "Free" always gives 150%, and he did his thang on that joint.
SM: When you recorded your album "Feel Good Music" back in '07, your production team included "DJ Big", "DJ Curious", and "Philadelphia Freeway", who was the Executive Producer. Who will be helping with production for the next album?
P89: You know, to clear it up, when I first went in with "Exit Entertainment" it consisted of "DJ Big", "Riddick", “AMP”, and “ZEEK”. I also had some outside production from "DJ Curious" (out in California) and "Skazey". But, ZEEK and Big did the majority of the production on that album. So, the only difference is that I'll be trying out other producers, too, but Exit Entertainment is still where it’s at. Still, sometimes you just have to make smart moves, and right now, "Free Money" is where it's at.
SM: Good deal...So, you have a song called "The 215" that you wrote as an anthem for your fellow Philly natives. What was your inspiration for the track?
P89: You know, when I actually recorded the track, I wasn't home in Philly. I was somewhere recording with Big in the studio. It was just one of those things, and I was just missing home at that moment, but there was always something that I felt was missing from the Philly anthems of other rappers. When I heard the beat that DJ Big was playing on the Triton, and then he played the sample on the Triton, and the rhymes started coming to me. I knocked out "The 215" in, like, an hour. Everybody was just vibin', and when he started playing the beat, I just started talking about everything that Philly is, in general. I wanted to make a ‘hood anthem’ with that summertime feeling. It was to explain what it's like where we're from, so if people didn't understand it, now they do. So, it was another example of how we do in Philly.
SM: And another song I like a lot is "F.A.M.I.L.Y.", which I heard on your MySpace page. Was that song based on personal experience, or is it a glimpse into the life of a man experiencing those issues?
on that track because it wouldn't have been real because that's what was on my mind when I heard it. But, it's all true, and I missed a lot of things that I shouldn't have missed with my son and daughter due to the living arrangements their mothers have. As a matter of fact, if you look at the 'comments' on my
page about that song, a lot of people leave comments like "I feel you", "I've been through that, too". So, that's where the origin of that song came from.
SM: Alright, and you have a "Money to Blow" freestyle on your MySpace page that's really hot, too. Name two other tracks that you believe you could spit over and murder the track.
P89: I'll put it to you like this...I'm really into the soulful sound of hip hop so, for me, the best song right now is the "Mos Def" and "Talib Kweli" song "History", and that's a track that I would definitely want to spit on. But, if I had to say another joint, I would take it way back to the "Black Moon" era. I would do a freestyle over the track "How Many MCs" by "Black Moon". Honestly, that's one of my favorite joints; I'm a Hip Hop junkie. Another song I would love to go in on would be that “Common” joint, "Go". I really like those MCs that really do 'hip hop' because hip hop is not the way it used to be, not to knock anybody.
SM: Cool, cool...Now, you started your rap career as a "battle rapper", and many music critics argue that "battle rappers" have difficulty writing hot enough material to complete full songs. What would you say is the biggest challenge in transitioning from battle rhymes to honed lyricism?
P89: Well, I would say that for a battle rapper it's different because when I started out, I was 15 or 16. But, for one, it's not the same because back in the day battle rapping is different than what it is now. Today's battle rap emcee is already a strong lyricist, so I guess the transition wasn't hard for
me because I don't write anyway. Back in the day, rapping wasn't something I really wanted to do, but I knew that I could and other people agreed. I wanted to make sure that when I did my transitions, it made sense. So, the hardest part of going from battle rapping to writing full songs is that you have to try to fit everything you want to say in 16 bars, and ‘Big’ was the first one to help me with that.
SM: Before your recent signing with "Free Money", you've always repped "Exit Entertainment". How did you become a music artist at Exit Entertainment and with "Free Money Records"?
P89: I still rep Exit Entertainment because I'm loyal, but I started out with Exit entertainment when Big found me. He met me through a mutual friend, but he didn't get to see me in action until he saw me performing in a club. Then, he pulled me aside to see if I wanted to do Exit Entertainment, and
that's how we came together. As far as Free Money Records, Free[way], he's a real dude, he's a real humble cat. He saw that I was hungry, showed love, and brought me aboard. I kinda reached out to him a little bit just asking a few questions, and now I'm reppin' Free Money to the fullest. But, I still talk to
everybody at Exit Entertainment on an every day basis.
SM: Do you have any upcoming live performances that your fans can attend and, if so, when and where will you be?
P89: I don't have any shows right now because the details are still being worked out. But, hopefully, if everything goes right, I'll be in your town real soon! I have great management now, and that was part of the reason why I had to take a hiatus from music and performing back in '07. But, my new manager,
Teressa, is very good.
SM: Now, besides your MySpace page at www.myspace.com/p89ave, are there are any other websites your fans can visit to keep up with your music, shows, etc.?
P89: Yeah, I do tweet on Twitter [@P89ave], and I have a personal Facebook page, but I do most of my promotion on my MySpace page. Anybody that's out there and supporting my music in any kind of way, I just want to say "Thank you"! I'm heading back towards that era when there was "feel good music" and not all the flash. Hip hop music is what I'm about, and for anybody that's gonna do it, don't listen to other people that say you can't; keep going! And, for anyone that has not downloaded the "All Victories Earned: Volume 1" mix-tape, you can get it at http://www.datpiff.com, or you can find it on my MySpace page. But, you need to get it to understand “Volume 2”.