Hi guys. Welcome to “Answers for Questions”. You know the drill, 293 volumes deep…
Listen, I usually don’t ask for favors but my question queue is running dangerously low. I need you to ask me stuff. ASK ME QUESTIONSSSSS!!!! Feel free to ask multiple questions. Go nuts! Get creative! Get weird! Send questions to phatfriendblog@gmail.com or leave them in the comment section. Seriously, ask me anything. i will very likely answer it.
Let’s see this weeks batch, biatch.
Per your instagram picture, do people really tie the open ends of condoms when finished?
I believe you’re referring to this pic
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFEoJ8cxfW3/
As far as i know, that is not a thing but, you know what? I have been known to be blissfully unaware of such practices. If you take a closer look at the pic, the condoms are empty, which only makes it more mysterious. I suppose that’s part of the reason that this pic is so fucking awesome.
When I saw the pictures of you with Willie D, I just knew it was a memorable night for you. So what kind of conversations did you have with Willie D and what was the show like? Also…Do you like Willie D more than Tim Dog?
Yes another Instagram reference:https://www.instagram.com/p/BEXbUonxfdG
For those who don’t know, Willie D (of the Geto boys) is quite possibly my favorite rapper ever. Not to be confused with BEST rapper ever, cause it’s something totally different. But I’m a huge fan of Willie D and got a chance to see him perform in the most intimate setting I’ve ever seen a show in. He played in the basement of a bar I frequent. It’s a small room with no stage. If packed, it would fit about 80 people tightly. But , this night, there were about 30-40 people there, spread across the room. Willie just got in the middle of the floor and rocked a show like it was at a stadium. The thing was, cause he was ground level and walking all over the room, it was mad intense cause he could see everyone. Walking up to people, rapping in their faces. Rapping along with people. I hadn’t see a show like that in forever, let alone a legend doing one. He played lots of old stuff, Geto boys stuff and some new stuff too.
After the show, pretty much everyone in the room wanted to get a pic with him. I generally am not the type to take pics with celebrities cause , i dunno…I’m shy like that. But I couldn’t miss the opportunity. My boy, who organized the event, pulled me into a pic. I gave Willie a pound and awkwardly told him her was my favorite rapper. He was super friendly and gracious. My homeboy turned to him and was like “Yo, this guy makes amazing beats” and then kinda ran down a brief resume to him and Willie looked at me with his eye brows raised like “We should talk”. Alas, that never happened and no info was exchanged but it’s all good. He’d probably sound weird as fuck over my beats but it would still be an honor to give him some.
As for the last question, yeah, I like Willie D more than Tim Dog. He’s got more music, more depth, he’s not just funny and ridiculous. He’s actually a guy who’s made great music.
during the hyperbole cycle following prince’s death, mad people stopped just short of calling him the goat. he made some fun songs and was a fantastic weirdo, but i feel like david bowie was a much bigger loss for music. as a sampling artist, where do you rate prince? is he on mt. rushmore w michael jackson and james brown?
Prince was one of the GOATs of my generation for sure. So was Bowie. They’re both similar , in that they reinvented themselves constantly and made music that couldn’t be pigeon holed. I don’t like the word “Genius” for musicians very often but I think those two are safely in that category. It’s definitely up for discussion that they be on the Mt. Rushmore of music but, limiting that to four heads would make my brain explode. Also, totally subjective. Surely some people would want Elvis or John Lennon there. All depends on what you like. Personally, I was never a guy who bumped a ton of Bowie. I just wasn’t into rock like that. That said, he made incredible music and it was stuff i liked more once i got older. Prince, on the other hand, was a staple of my life since i was a child. I saw “Purple Rain” in the theater when I was a kid. So his music resonated more with me, personally.
I’m writing this while listening to “The Music Scene” album off Youtube. So the question is – how do you feel about having your whole discography on Youtube? Do you see it as something inevitable and helping promoting you to people or otherwise, like “stealing from you”? Me personally, I buy LPs and MP3s of the music I like and I first heard about you via Youtube and I’m using it for sharing the music I like – such as yours – with my friends, but it may not always be the case…
Also, how do you feel about artists (or their record companies) pulling their stuff off Youtube (like Bob Dylan)? Fighting the windmills or doing the right thing?
I have no issue with my music being on youtube. For one, it’s just a “way it is” kinda thing. If people don’t wanna pay for your music, they’re gonna find ways to do that. Secondly, it’s exposure. Sometimes I’ll read the comments on songs of mine on there and see people just discovering me cause of that song. Perhaps those people will come to my shows. Perhaps they’ll buy a record some day. It can only help an artist like me.
As for artist pulling their stuff, I get why they would do it but I don’t see the point, personally. It’s a very old mind state to do that but there’s also something to be said for making your music exclusive. It forces the hand of the people who wanna hear it.
I don’t have the type of pull as someone like Dylan or Prince and they don’t need new fans. their music will always be something people will seek out.
Speaking of prince…it was so ill to realize that, when he died, his entire catalogue was not on youtube. People were scrambling for songs to put up on their facebook walls and came up with nothing but interview clips.
Hi Dr. Tony! This video recently got to my hands, i guess you may have seen it. As you are so much more aware about this culture.
I liked it because i basically only knew about hiphop what you write in your blog, never thought it could be such a complex thing. Most of the people do not realize the labour you guys as producers and musicians do, even though i have followed you for years i didn’t knew much about it.
Any thoughts, critics or comments you would like to add?
I have mixed feelings about this video. On one hand, it’s kinda cool to deconstruct hip hop lyrics like that. Strip away everything and simplify it to just syllables. It’s a way I’ve never considered looking at hip hop. Probably cause,by doing so, you’re kinda taking any human emotion or feeling out of it and turning it into an mathematic equation.
I think what I don’t like about it is the unnecessary nerdiness being thrust upon hip hop. Like, sure, these rappers changed how rapping was done but I guarantee they didn’t sit down and think “I should go “a-c, b-d, a-d,b-c” in my rhyme pattern!” Nah man, they just wrote the raps that came to them. They innovated without the pretension. I’m not saying this video is saying they did that but these term paper like break downs usually just come off as masturbatory to me. It’s cool for a little bit but after a while i wonder if the people who do them even like music or just feel the need to turn everything into math. It’s as if they have to justify the validity of rap by making it into something scholarly. To me, it kinda defeats the purpose of it all.
How did you see America before 9/11? Is your view on the nation different as a result?
hmmm…It’s hard to even remember before then , at this point.
I’d say it was just carefree. We assumed we were untouchable. War was something that happened elsewhere and we were this civilized country with no worries. Whoops!
To say it was a simpler time is an understatement. Like, the thought of terrorism didn’t even cross my mind and I lived in the one place it was most likely. I remember the first WTC attack happening and I didn’t even bat an eyelash.
Hell, flying was simple. We didn’t have to take our shoes off. Liquids could be large containers and not in a special bag. It was a free for all. There was no fear or looking around your plane at anyone of possible muslim descent with a raised eye brow. I feel bad for any muslim person who has to get on planes now cause, inevitably, there’s gonna be some dumb asses who assume they’re up to no good just by being on the plane. It’s ridiculous.
Is my view of the nation different? I mean…i guess so. We’re still the same people. Some of us are rational and have logic. Others are living in constant fear and think the worlds gonna end any days now. 9/11 definitely allowed a lot of people who were looking for a reason to freak out to finally have a reason and that created a dangerous and reactionary faction of the US. The culture of fear was really put on the front lines and, honestly, it’s the reason a fucking turnip faced moron like Donald Trump is a presidential candidate. So, yeah…the country is much different because of 9/11. We “handled” it when it happened but we’re also still feeling the repercussions to this day in a major way.
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