AWmusic

I still remember the first hip hop track I ever heard – The year was 1990. The words “So you’re a philosopher?” opened the track. A response of “Yes” and “I think very deeply” was scratched out on a turntable. Then it hit. The beat in a four-four timing with a heavy bass line became my instant intoxication. Boogie Down Productions were my gateway to a whole new sound; a whole new world that I was entering with open eyes. A desire to fully understand this music, it’s origins and everything it had to offer. I quickly latched on to hip hop and the more I listened, the more I started to understand not only the art of writing rhymes, but more importantly the message that was being presented. A form of true expression. The ability to tell one’s deepest story and have it relate to the struggle of life we all face. I could always see the feeling behind every word that was said, even with being a white boy brought up in a suburban setting. To me that wasn’t important. I also had problems and hip hop became an outlet, helping me understand the issues of others and the ability to tackle my own.

Ok, why the nostalgic relapse? This just makes me realize the true essence of hip hop, which is something we all need nowadays. The business has taken certain elements from the original form and bastardized it so much we are now left with a completely new genre. A catalogue of club songs made up almost entirely of hooks and littered with vocoders, all being produced by the same handful of people. I can’t say I listen to hip hop without someone automatically assuming I mean this commercial garbage. Why do I have to stress that what I listen to is underground and conscious? Hip hop was derived from the underground and brought forth with a conscious message. It’s a shame this isn’t recognized by the masses.

Maybe they don’t get it, but there is a continually growing scene dedicated to the music, the message and the still ever growing struggle with life. I’m reminded of this every day as I find new artists with their own stories. An abundance of talent that lurks beneath the surface of mainstream rap. This became even more apparent with an email I received last week.

Based out of Seattle, Alexipharmic looks to be the epitome of conscious rap, with a selfless approach to spreading his word. He is completely aware of social issues that not only surround him, but the rest of the world and wishes to let it be known the life struggles of all. His most recent album ‘American Beauty’ is a showcase in his attempts to open people’s eyes to the amazing things America has to offer; those things that are all too often clouded with constant force-fed imagery of turmoil and destruction. An awakening to the realities that make up what is often seen as a disgusting nation by others. The very root of America is it’s citizens. Beautiful, heart warming people that, like everyone else, are just trying to make it in this world. A reflection of this is displayed in the front cover, collected images of homeless men and women brought together in a mosaic form depicting the face of America. One of the best album covers I’ve seen in a long time.

His opening track ‘American’ features clips from everyday people interviewed on a thirty state tour, all giving their views on what makes their country, lives, loves, values, downfalls and everything in between. A theme based on what America is and what it can be…. What it needs to overcome. A message that being rich is a full heart, not a bank account. We all have one life, make it yours because in the end we all turn to dust.

As I work my way through the album I begin to get a clear picture of who Alexipharmic is, as a person. He opens his soul with each song; stories of his growth into the man he is today, the affects of losing someone close, sex as a special moment of respect for both parties more than a means to just get off. He helps us to understand life is a series of dreams we all make for ourselves. In order to really live, you must dream. You must have a voice, an opinion and a means to make your vision stronger. To stand for something and use your power to fight for beliefs, a message we have to regain.

A collection of lyrics that really make sense and hit close to home, whether or not a citizen of America. These are messages for humanity. ‘American Beauty’ features a few guest appearances including P.O.S., Cas One, Grynch, Sarah Smalley and Braille. With intense lyrics and production from MGI, Budo, Elliot B, DJ Figure and Infekt, each track grabs your deep inner being and thrusts you into the importance of thought. Although Alexipharmic has prior releases, ‘American Beauty’ is his debut on his label Elephant Memories. He has also let it be known that 50% of all ‘American Beauty’ album sales will go to the Portland based charity Mercy Corps. He is also putting together the American Beauty Tour, which is set for fall, where he has teamed up with the Feed The Children foundation and will donate 100% of the net proceeds to help homeless and underprivileged children across the U.S.

As I said before, this man is truly selfless. With a vision of a better life and world for everyone, we should all take a hold of his message. Alexipharmic is that of what I remember hip hop being. A true form of expression with a message you can not only hear and understand, but also feel. It’s amazing to have these feelings come back…. Gives us hope for the state of music and our state of life.

I sent Alexipharmic a couple questions to gain some more insight to who he is on both a personal and professional level. What I got back blew me away, so I wanted to share it:

You say your album was written while on the road and that you interviewed people from all walks of life on your stops. The first track ‘American’ has various samples of people’s opinions on America, are these from some of the people you got to talk to? How was it being able to stretch across those 30 states and connect with people on that level?

I was incredibly fortunate to be able to take that trip the summer after graduating college. Visited friends and family I hadn’t seen in years, went to 15 baseball stadiums, explored a lot of cities, and – most importantly – met a ton of interesting people. It was initially pretty awkward to go up to complete strangers and ask them questions out of the blue, with a tape recorder in hand. Some people thought I was soliciting them and didn’t even let me get to the point of “hey, this is for an album I’m putting together” before they high-tailed it in the other direction. However, the more confident and comfortable I became in my approach, the more easily it was to carry a completely random 15-20 minute conversation. Out of a lot of these conversations came the samples that you hear on “American.” What I found was that a lot of the reason people were shy at first was because they’d never really been given the chance to speak their mind about the state of everything…but once they got going, it was almost a cathartic experience – like they were anonymously getting a load off their chest. Met a lot of really cool people, so it was awesome. A fair amount of the sound bytes also came from fans calling a digital voicemail that I slapped on all my websites, and leaving messages about their thoughts on a whole range of topics. There were hours upon hours to edit through, but it was a great process.

Did you find a common theme with what most people had to say about their country?

Even though people talked about tons of different topics, it seemed that a common theme underlying almost all of it was their desire to see something…anything…change for the better. Now, I’m sure almost all of their definitions of “better” were vastly different, and it wasn’t all political either. Some people just wanted a change for their better in their job, their relationships, their lot in life. Pretty much everyone had their silver linings, but when it came to thoughts about the country, I’d say change was a big constant (cliché as that may sound these days). 

Your lyrics are very consciously centered and you speak about the truths that surround people on a daily basis.. How do you feel about the abundance of generic hip hop and the lack of a real message it displays to those in this scene nowadays and do you see a return of true progression, or a constant downfall in mainstream rap?

Since I was born in 1985, I feel that my experience of living through hip hop is a bit limited. Even though I rocked YO! MTV Raps pretty much since I learned how to tie my shoes, I missed out on Rakim, KRS, Flash, Freddy, etc. when they were all brand new, and so I don’t really know what it was like to live in the scene back then and can’t comment on it from the beginning. But I can say in my own experience of being a fan of hip hop, the staple “money, cars, hoes” generic rap has seemed to have slowly eroded socially aware hip hop over the last decade or so. I thought we hit the bottom of the barrel content-wise with Ja Rule, but it’s insane seeing what its come to in the last couple years. Video-wise and musically. Its almost come to the point where “hip hop” songs are nothing but an indecipherable hook or a dance like the stanky leg that goes with it. I mean…really? Its gotten so bad that I’m looking back on the days of Ja Rule with nostalgia. (But I can’t front, I rocked Rule 336 back in the day). All that ranting aside, though, I can’t knock the rappers that make it, or the record label CEO’s that manufacture it, or the public that buys it. Most rappers want to be famous, CEO’s want to make money, and people want to dance at clubs. As long as there’s a demand, it will always be there. And I don’t think all of it has to have meaning…sometimes you just want to get stupid to an amazing beat and don’t really care about the words…at least I know I do now and again. But honestly, I think it’s only a matter of time until it gets so bad that people say, “Aright, hold on. Someone please rap about something that you actually know” and then the generic hip hop will swing back into the progressive being popular again. Outkast, Nas, The Roots, Talib…those guys are still around and making incredible music as they always have. And then you have amazing independent artists in Atmosphere, Sage, Ali, P.O.S., etc. that have grinded tirelessly and carved a completely brand new and incredibly loyal fanbase for themselves that I think will stick with them for a long time as they achieve more and more commercial success…the independent will take over the mainstream eventually.  

You’re very big on social issues. What sparked the 50% of album proceeds going to charity? How did you get involved in the Save Darfur Tour and Feed The Children foundation for the American Beauty tour?

Honestly, I can’t pinpoint anything in particular that really sparked the 50% going to charity. It’s just something that always made sense to me to do. The way I see it, the only reason I’m able to be alive and do the things I do is because of a ton of sacrifices made by people around me – friends, family, and complete strangers alike – have allowed me to be here right now doing what I love. Now, a lot of what I’ve accomplished is because of the hard work I have put into it myself, that’s true. But I wouldn’t have even had the chance had the cards not fallen in my favor at some point down the line. So it’s my duty, my compulsion, and my blessing to be able to give back. I’d do 100% if I could, but then I wouldn’t be able to eat. The Save Darfur Tour and American Beauty Tour were both just extensions of this same paradigm. I created the Save Darfur Tour because I wanted to help the victims of the ongoing struggle in Darfur, and so I thought, “hey, why not create a tour.” At 21, and never having done a tour at that point, I had no idea what I was in for logistically when it comes to all the pieces of touring…securing the artists, travel, promotion, booking, etc…and I can definitely admit I was grossly unprepared for a lot of it. But the tour raised a lot of awareness, most of the shows had great attendance, a lot of really great artists that had never really met one another got to perform and travel together, and I learned a lot. That learning is definitely translating over into the American Beauty Tour. I’m really looking forward to the partnership with Feed the Children and helping to raise awareness of and feed hungry and homeless kids in the US.

You’re a Zen Buddhist, right? Did that come before or after your start making hip hop? Does it impact in how or what you write?

That’s definitely the closest philosophy or religion with which I align, and it came before I started writing. I got exposed to Buddhism around 10, 11 years old, and really started getting into it a couple years later. I was raised Lutheran at a really laid back church with an incredibly humble, noble, and genuine pastor, but it just wasn’t really for me. I’m not sure why, but I’m just not really wired to fully have faith in god, or really even worry about that. Zen definitely influences how I write, for sure. One of the main tenants of Buddhism is just being present in the here and now, and making the most of the moment right now. Because, really, that’s the only thing that’s tangible, that’s real. So it helps me to focus on being completely present when I write and trying to communicate clearly and with as much truth as possible. Some of the themes that underlie a lot of my lyrics – making the most of the present, not worrying about god or some after life in order to make heaven on earth, helping the world around you – can be traced to a lot of Buddhist philosophy. 

You say that ‘American Beauty’ is your label debut, but you also have a few other album ‘Good Side of Bad volume 1 & 2′ and ‘Run’.

It’s the label debut because it’s the first album I’ve officially released under a label. I suppose it’s sort of splitting hairs a bit, but Run was released before I really understood how a lot of music works, and it was completely fly by the seat of my pants. The beats were made to songs I already had written, and the producer approached me with beats he made to the lyrics, and so it wasn’t really an organic album that came together the way they usually do. The Good Side of Bads are B-Side EPs more or less. They are really fun to make, but aren’t full and complete albums like American Beauty.

Tell me a bit about the Elephant Memories label. How did that come to form?

Senior year of college I investigated setting up an LLC, getting my business license, and started brainstorming names for the label. I had about 50 ideas, but Elephant Memories just stuck out to me. I thought it sounded cool, and the meaning behind it comes from the theory that elephants remember their ancestors and can go to a graveyard and pick them out…they have reverence for where they came from. So the mission statement of EM – “Respect the past. Progress the present. Protect the future.” – comes from the idea of elephants never forgetting. Musically what this means to me is to pay respect to the legends of true hip hop by making progressive music that empowers the listener and lays a socially conscious foundation for the future…at least that’s the hope.

If you had to sum up your goals in life for hip hop and humanity, what would they be?

Oh man…how much time do you got? Since I’ve rambled quite a bit in the previous questions, I’ll sum it up like this…

Life/Humanity Goals: Help others realize their full potential. Do well by doing good. Leave the world a little better than it was before I got here. Be truly happy. Have an English bulldog named Lola.
 
Hip Hop: Always give 50% of my net profits to charity. Make music that is relatable, has a message, and is enjoyable to listen to. Perform with Nas, Outkast, Atmosphere, Brother Ali, P.O.S., and Devin the Dude…all at the same show.

A big thanks to Alexipharmic for the chance to review ‘American Beauty’ and helping to remind me that there’s more going on in this world than what’s outside my front door. Check out more info and where you can buy the album at www.myspace.com/alexipharmic.

For your ears:
Alexipharmic – American
Alexipharmic – Sun
Alexipharmic – Stardust (ft. P.O.S., Cas One, Grynch & Sarah Smalley)

Tags: album, Interview