Interviews

The Philosofist Interview



1. Who are you?(Tell my music blog audience a little about your self. ie Where were you born? Where do you reside now?)

My name is Matt Ojeda Fry, I was born in Maryland and moved around the East Coast settling on the border of New York and New Jersey. At 7 years old my parents had a great opportunity open up for them, we decided to move out to Seattle. I would consider myself to be from the Pacific Northwest if I had to choose a region. Last fall I enrolled in Colorado College as a freshman, class of 2014.

2. Who are your influences? How did they influence you?

Eminem first turned me onto hip-hop in 4th grade. I had no idea what rap was, haha. I still wasn't super into it but it was definitely something different than what I normally listened to. A couple years later I got introduced to a band known as the Blue Scholars. These two have been my main inspiration since I first started writing rhymes and producing beats. They capture the essence of the Seattle scene really well with mellow beats and extraordinarily conscious lyrics...I don't think I've heard another group quite like them. In any case, the whole PNW scene is sort of like that. You can't always be a dumb rapper making up a new dance or spittin just for the entertainment, yadayamean?
I'm now developing my own style and hearing artists like Skrillex come out with some really cool new dubstep/electro tunes. There are also more psychedelic trip-hop artists like ESKMO and Pretty Lights that I've been diggin lately. You'll be hearing those influences in my upcoming instrumentals and self-produced songs.

3. Is Hip Hop Dead? If so, why? How has Hip Hop evolved? for better or for worse?

Hip-hop is just beginning...it's one of the youngest forms of music out there, it can't be dead. The radio may be dead but hell, I keep hearing great artists from my region every day on the radio that I haven't heard before. 90.3 KEXP shoutout!
I mean, look at the blog movement. We have artists like Macklemore, Chris Webby, J Cole, Mac Miller, XV, the collective Odd Future...man, I know I'm missing a lot of the names but my itunes must have doubled in the last 6 months due to the overwhelming volume of great music. There will always be the commercial element of music for the parties and the drunk folk who just enjoy a good dumb jam that you can boogie to. If you can't appreciate it and want to be a hater, that's your problem.

4. What is your main message? How should people view your music? What make you different from other artists?

I mostly tell the stories of my life and the lessons I've learned through a journey of sounds and lyrics. Some of my songs have a message of social change, of opening your mind to others. Other times I want to just say fuck it all, you fans are stupid as hell, I'm going to hate on people. I have a very two sided personality and it definitely shows. What makes me different is the fact I see YOU for who YOU are. I also see the "us" in the "me."

I have gone through the journey of drug abuse and crime and violence. I understand people. I don't judge. And I come from a middle class family that lives in a predominantly white, rich city. I see you.

5. What are you doing currently?

I have a couple different projects going on. As a rapper, I'm working with an artist known as Beyond Evolution (http://soundcloud.com/evolutionbeyond) on an EP to showcase his hip-hop production. On a long-term scale, I am working on a full-length studio album that I plan to release sometime before I leave college, haha. ETA is 2 years...but I will be releasing material intermittently on my soundcloud (http://soundcloud.com/thephilosofist). I am also trying to put together a mix of trip-hop/dubstep/electro instrumentals meant to rock faces off at parties.

6. What do you think the major problem that our current youth are facing today? What advice would you give them? (if any)

If you look at Egypt and Libya and the situation over there, the majority of protesters and rebels are between the ages of 18-25 (based on population demographics and my own research). We have the largest population out of any generation on our planet. Our problem that we have to face is how much power we have over the future. We have the control. Our thoughts, our desires, our styles and trends, and our new traditions will replace those of old. I believe the future will hold more than we can ever predict because the paradigm we live in now is shifting so rapidly. Be ready.

- The Philosofist

Artist: The Philosofist (Hip Hop/ Rap)
Album: The Freshman Mix (2011)


Get the full album with 3 bonus tracks here: www.datpiff.com/The-Philosofist-The-Freshman-Mix-mixtape.226187.html




Kil Ripkin Interview (Sunday, April 18, 2010)

Kil Ripkin(hip hop/ soul)
A month ago, Kil Ripkin and I sat down and had a phone interview discussing the release of his up and coming album: The Balancing Act. Kil Ripkin is from Brooklyn, New York.

What is the message of your music?

Kil Ripkin: The real message of my music is to think, think for your self, be your self, create your own freedoms. The name of My album is called The Balancing Act. Its basically just a synapses of how I perceive in general and I am saying it through my music and preprocessed that by trying to get everybody to relate to. That's pretty much it right there.

When will your Album hit stores?

Kil Ripkin: Except a summer release.

Is Hip Hop Dead?

Kil Ripkin: Hip Hop Can't be Dead. It dependents on what point of view you are looking at it. I do feel, I mean especially coming from that 90's era, that the energy that we had but for forth is dead but like every thing else, music evolves; even hip hop. You got new artists, that are coming in, bring new life, new energy in. So its not dead. You got different levels of hip hop for everybody. I wouldn't necessarily say its dead, I would more just say that there are a lot of just WACKASS rappers out there. They are preaching to you that its dead. But we got Kats like you, that got powerful blogs, that put forth good energy, good music; so it can't be dead if that's still happening. And I am still on the mic so it can't be dead.

HIP HOP ain't dead. Be on the look out for: The Balancing Act