Dreaming Of Better Days.
Iz: Hip hop culture originated in The Bronx, but out in North Carolina, which might as well be a million miles away as far as a head is concerned, in terms of what both places are known for musically, there has been a movement going on since The Justus League broke through, to get the spirit of hip hop back up. What is going on in North Carolina that's perpetuating a call for the return to the original spirit of hip hop.
Cy: I think it’s been 2 major developments in NC that have helped us to get more recognition. The main thing that's going on is that the people who grew up during the Golden Age are becoming more active in helping young people who want to continue the tradition. There are clubs, nonprofits, studios, and venues available to me in North Carolina now as an artist that you would've never imagined being here during the Golden Years of Hip-Hop. That includes radio, TV, and the local colleges, who all have integrated some form of local outreach more and more into their programming and event schedules over the last few years.
Secondly, there are just so many kids who have become involved in Hip-Hop in some way. Artists, producers, DJ's are literally EVERYWHERE! North Carolina is still 1 of those states that is searching for a "signature sound," but there are mainstream and underground artists everywhere. Slowly but surely, we're networking more with each other, and hopefully we'll continue that tradition that Justus League began.
Iz: Up here in Toronto outlets both retail and radio wise, for hip hop are few and far between, is there a similar slog for your team down there?
Cy: Definitely. We've lost a ton of "Mom-N-Pop" Hip-Hop stores, which were my 1st means of getting my music out the public. So, the game has really gone global now for independent artists. Its funny, 1 of my favourite lyrics from Phonte is when he said, "Yo I ain't never heard an act to blow and go global...Then come back home and still be called local." Unfortunately, for a lot of us Underground artists, that has been the truth. My folks back home have no idea websites such as Down Rock have been posting my music to the masses for years, because most of them are not internet blog followers. Yet and still, there are local acts who do "dope boy music" who never have to worry about outlets like the internet, because they have a local following. It’s much harder HERE to get a following when you're preaching the street gospel and trying to raise consciousness and awareness.
Iz: Surely the internet with youtube and other ways of communicating/broadcasting have made it a bit easier to be heard, but how much further, do you feel, the underground has to dig to get up top?
Cy: Underground music needs to be honest with itself and the people, it IS as much about making money as the "dope boy music" it says it abhors!! We (Underground artists) may (or may not) not spend our hard-earned money on gaudy chains and rims, but the truth is WE wanna support ourselves and our families through our music. We wanna nice crib, nice cars, trips to PuertoVa-wherever, clothing lines, etc. So to continue talkin that "We are the world" and "Save the dolphins" crap on wax, then be seem at the All-Star game hugging up on some magazine/video chick or doing collaborations with a artist JUST to boost your music (who does the same music you're preaching you DONT support and feel is destroying your market?) Its hypocrisy. Its one thing if you're a torn soul like Nas, who I feel, has tastefully walked the line between Conscious and Mainstream his entire career, but I give it up more to Lil Waynes, Waka Flockas and the like cuz they DO NOT blur the lines on why they do what they do. They tell u right up front, "I'm about money, hoes and clothes." Well, Cyrano Sinatra is NOT about those things, bottom line. And you won’t see me selling myself (out) to get to the"top."
With that said, it is tremendously hard to get to the surface even in the Underground b/c it goes against what you're about (as an honest artist) to peddle yourself like you're a Rainbow vacuum cleaner. Managers, social websites, parties, yada yada yada. Like I said, to make it nowadays, u cannot be a Stokely Carmichael on the mic. The people don’t wanna be led, they wanna PARTY. And the rappers who you see who make it from Underground to mainstream are joining the party, not bringing the partygoers to the Underground. Again, you can’t beat them and join "them." The hybrids between "dope boy" music and "conscious" music are the most successful. Drake, J. Cole, etc all tell you how much they'd like the world to change, then they also tell you how many women they are currently swimming in or how the one they loved broke their hearts. It’s advertising, and at the end of the day we are JUST artists. So, the least conflicted souls are usually the guys who find comfort in 1 particular avenue. I myself haven’t found one I've been content with that hasn’t asked more of me than I was willing to compromise, but I remain hopeful. I'm still digging...lol
The team stays busy and releases a lot of music. Check the sounds at some of the links below.
FAN exclusives here:
http://www.reverbnation.com/
http://backpackers-anonymous.
http://www.freeatlastmusic.com
+FREE MIXTAPES+
>>Cyrano's Republic (prod by Cynergy Soundz & JSLIKK):
www.datpiff.com/Backpackers_
>>The Official Back 2 Lyfe Mixtape: The Return To Greatness (produced by CENTRIC):
http://www.datpiff.com/Free_
>>Still Lovin It: A Mixtape Ode To McDonalds (produced by JSLIKK):
http://www.datpiff.com/
EARTHQUAKE 