SAMPLE NATION 91 // EVIDENCE INTERVIEW
SHOW
INTERVIEW
TRACKLIST
Evidence, Cuts by DJ Revolution, Noelle Scaggs - I Know
Evidence - Start The Day With A Beat
LMNO - Radiant
Dilated Peoples - Ear Drums Pop (prod. by Evidence)
Evidence, Cuts by DJ Revolution, Noelle Scaggs - I Know
Evidence - Start The Day With A Beat
LMNO - Radiant
Dilated Peoples - Ear Drums Pop (prod. by Evidence)
Swollen Members - My Advice
Aceyalone - Hardship
Evidence - Sharks Smell Blood
Pep Love - The Fight Club
Casual - The Shakedown
Dilated Peoples - The Shape Of Things To Come (feat. Aceyalone) (prod. by Evidence & Joey Chavez)
Defari - Say It Twice (Evidence)
Joey Chavez, Evidence - Reservation For One (feat. Evidence (Dilated Peoples)
Visionaries - Audible Angels
Aceyalone - Microphones (Feat. PEACE)
Dilated Peoples - Expanding Man (prod. by Evidence)
Evidence - Moving On Up (feat. Conway the Machine)
Defari - Never Lose Touch
Dilated Peoples, Souls Of Mischief, Pep Love - Center Of Attention
Itch FM x MC Evidence - Itch FM x MC Evidence - Interview
Interview Transcript
Itch FM x MC Evidence
[00:00:00] Maj Duckworth: This is sample nation and I'm maj duckworth
the 2000 era for hip hop is often derided. They ended a golden egg. , commercially at least the beginnings of bad boys, flashy suits. But for me, this is when I began to understand the culture of hip hop and to really become immersed in it and obsessed by it. So when the platform dilated people, debut album was released in 2000, it's just saying special for me. , incredible roams from Iris science and evidence.
Just beautiful production, predominantly from childhood friends, the Alchemist and evidence, both who would go on to work together many times in subsequent years, all topped off with just like incredible cuts from bamboo as a turntablist to myself. I idolized that man, and I'd just bait, copied his style for a long time.
Evidence would go on to produce for lacks at obesity ways, Lincoln park, swollen members, the far eyes, incredible debut planet [00:01:00] Asia, and co-production on Kanye west, the college dropout, which would earn him a Grammy for his work in 2005,
evidence would go solo. Would it release at a weatherman LP in 2007, changing his rap style and voice LP would contain a mixture of the personal and classic kind of braggadocio. He would continue to refine his style as an emcee with subsequent releases for Rome says, and personally, with this new album unload in volume one, I feel he's perfected that star.
It really is one of the best albums of the year. I was just incredibly excited and a bit nervous to speak to him on the phone. So enjoy this is evidence. [00:02:00]
It's weird. I'm going to say it's been long since your last release, but it does kind of feel that way because it was like 2018, , and like I was actually at your last I think it was your last jazz cafe gig for whether or not was that the last gig you did in the UK.
[00:02:19] MC Evidence: There was.
[00:02:21] Maj Duckworth: With the lack of Torin and like live performance. Did it give you more time to like practice or experiment musically? Did you feel pressure to be like productive?
[00:02:33] MC Evidence: I think so. When, when you're in the moment of anything, I don't know if you always realize what you're doing, it's just another day and you're doing that. So I think you realize about those kinds of things. Step back and look at them. So yeah, now that we're getting past a little time and I'm kind of reflecting back.
Oh yeah. Maybe that's it. This time off did allow me to think differently and I'll realize that more as time passes, but I'm just in the moment and I'm a producer. [00:03:00] So being at home working is not something that I'm being alone by myself at home. not something that I'm not used to.
[00:03:09] Maj Duckworth: . We've locked down, like lead into a lot of record shops being closed in. Did that affect how you were like digging for samples and, or were you
[00:03:17] MC Evidence: No, I'm good. I'm good. Forever.
[00:03:19] Maj Duckworth: out? Really?
[00:03:19] MC Evidence: the shop tomorrow, I can keep going forever. You know, I know
[00:03:23] Maj Duckworth: Okay.
[00:03:23] MC Evidence: the best part about the digging is, you know, revisiting the same records, going back to the dollar records you bought when he first started making beats and hearing them with your ear now. If you're inspired and you really want to make a beat, then you can look at records is just source material for you to get your ideas out.
Then if you're not as inspired, sometimes maybe you're looking for a loop or something to kind of get it going for you. But if you're inspired, man, you can, you can make something out of anything at any time.
[00:03:51] Maj Duckworth: Right. Yeah. That's such a cool way to look at it. Are you like a traditionalist with regards to sampling and do you only sample vinyl or is it anything. [00:04:00]
[00:04:00] MC Evidence: No, anything that works. If I can, I would prefer to sample the vine, look pop sometimes, you know, do the outcome metric and something maybe online and then just order them or find it somewhere by the record, you know, and then actually sample it from that. But you know, we've gotta be seasoned patients.
[00:04:19] Maj Duckworth: Right. Of course. What, what is it you use to sample? Is it an MPC?
[00:04:23] MC Evidence: I use different stuff. There is no real one way I would say generally goes from a turntable to a mixer, to my NPC 2,500 or the ASR 10, but I have a patch bay. I can route it to a SP 4 0 4 sometimes.
[00:04:41] Maj Duckworth: Sick.
[00:04:43] MC Evidence: Yeah, I could do whatever I want and I have converters and analog gear and stuff that I run it through to give it a unique sound.
Put a little color on it and then, you know, get it into a doc, whatever, but eventually everything's going into a [00:05:00] computer anyway. So I just liked to try to run it through shit before I get into the computer and then less plugin there reverse kind of getting it in crappy and then trying to Polish it up in pro tools.
[00:05:13] Maj Duckworth: Of course. Yeah, Yeah. No. And it just sounds better. Like, it just sounds crunchy than I thought.
[00:05:19] MC Evidence: Yeah, something that's hard to copy, you know, plugins are really great. I think there's a really good for like the end process and like detail, you know, but if you're relying on just that, it's not quite the same as having real gear.
(Weather or Not Track)
[00:05:33] Maj Duckworth: [00:06:00] Of course. On like on whether or not there's a track I think alchemy has produced it. And it's a sample Madlib used before. We've your own production? Is that something you take in to consideration? Like if someone's used a sample before or do you just not worry about it?
[00:06:18] MC Evidence: It's case by case with the Matt had used it. I don't think there was rapping on it.
[00:06:23] Maj Duckworth: Not yeah, it was singing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:06:26] MC Evidence: It was like an instrumental, some other stuff. So I didn't really, I hadn't heard somebody else use the two, you know I think master killer or somebody, if he was worst from the worst sample before we used it too,
[00:06:38] Maj Duckworth: Oh really? I didn't even know that. No
way.
[00:06:41] MC Evidence: You know what I mean? Like there is no, you're never going to be the first. Sometimes it's just really rare and you're really extreme, bigger. Maybe it'd be the first to blaze the trail with the sample, but it's a big world, man. Somebody has done something with that. Whether they got it out or they didn't, or they have a beat saved on a disk.
Somebody seen that sample to me. [00:07:00] I usually use a sample if I've genuinely never heard the other record and I don't have any feeling towards it. I don't even know it then. It's good if somebody tells me after, but you know, if I'm going to flip something, somebody else, usually it should be a good reason behind it.
[00:07:14] Maj Duckworth: Of course. Um, Say your new album is called unlearn in volume. One. Could you explain what a title represents?
[00:07:20] MC Evidence: Yeah. Leaving the weatherman saga saga. However you view things, you view it at all is what I've been doing. You know, weather weatherman, layover cats, and dogs, whether or not it's all kind of evidence, AKA weatherman. And I just wanted to start something new. And so beginning again, I'm learning, let me get everything that I thought I knew that was the right way and try something else.
And so that's what I did, but it's not really like a, not really like a genre switch up or something like that. It's more just the [00:08:00] approach of what I'm taking it to kind of stripping it down, it raw, not glossing it up too much. Kind of like what my. Like a 360 almost to like what my first dilated demo sounded like before we ever went to the big studio, I'm going to start something, start from the beginning and don't cheat the steps and then slowly build it up as the volumes keep coming.
Maybe it can get Glossier, more production driven on those types of those types of records, but just don't throw the kitchen sink at the wall. And the first thing.
[00:08:33] Maj Duckworth: Oh, so, so this is like first of many basically.
[00:08:36] MC Evidence: I think so. I mean, definitely part two with that. I think I could keep going with this for awhile, because if I'm learning, it throws all the rules out the window. If I want to make on color and learning and not put it on my house, I can, if I don't want to do drums today, I don't have to. like everything that I was told is the way to do this.
I don't know. Choose to do it or [00:09:00] not do it. I can not think about others that have inspired me and just go off the cuff and just do something that I trusted gut. This type of freedom is something I've been looking for and searching for for a long time. So even if it's just like a goal, you know, or something like, man, I could really get to this place and just taking steps closer and closer to it to term that that's exciting to me.
[00:09:25] Maj Duckworth: Of course.
[00:09:26] MC Evidence: Yeah,
[00:09:28] Maj Duckworth: Yeah,
That's I think that's a, it's a great goal to have. What are the themes and concepts that the album decided while you were writing the tracks? Or was it like you came up with a name for it first? Or how was it decided.
[00:09:41] MC Evidence: no, no, no, no. The songs kind of dictated where I was. Originally I was going to call it, where are we going from here? You know? And that's the last song on the album was the first song I made for the album. I was gonna call it that with.dot dot, kind of like, you know, something new, where are we going?
But then as time progressed, you know, [00:10:00] people, a lot of people talking about the word learning kind of resonated with me a lot where I was talking about listen to a Royce five, nine interview that inspired me. That interview that I sample and put on the album kind of went with that.
[00:10:16] Maj Duckworth: Why was the process of unlearning important to you?
[00:10:21] MC Evidence: Cause know, old dog new tricks, like we don't, we don't like to get older and learn anything new with we're very pattern driven habits, habit types. And so.
There's a new generation coming in right now. I'm aware of it. I'm seeing what all they're doing. A lot of what they're doing is not what I was taught. I'm loving that and it's natural and I'm around it. And then you know, it's just like, Can I, can I do something that most people don't do because most people find what we do. And then we keep repeating that as time goes on and it becomes more of like [00:11:00] nostalgia factor thing. So I was like, how do I stay true to what I love? But at the same time, you know, show that I am a sponge.
And then I am around a lot of great stuff. That's inspiring me. That's new, that's built from a different mindset from what I was talking. So just kinda messing around.
[00:11:18] Maj Duckworth: Yeah, I mean, listening to the album, like it does have like a like juxtaposition of production styles. So you've got like the classic boom-bap, but you also got like the modern dreamless styles as well, like a NAPE or really
sit comfortably.
[00:11:33] MC Evidence: to do trap.
[00:11:34] Maj Duckworth: Yeah.
[00:11:35] MC Evidence: to do traps that I love, I love trust. So it's not for me.
[00:11:38] Maj Duckworth: Hmm.
[00:11:40] MC Evidence: Like from my like time when nobody in the world could see me and I've made some just by myself, like, I like it. It's just not, it's not gratifying to me, for me to make, so I don't want to do something I love that feels like, because you know, I'm going on, YouTube, how do you make trap?
You know? Oh, that's how you do it. Okay. You know, if I, it felt like too, like, [00:12:00] it felt like it's been stepped on and I don't mean that you can't paraphrase it cause that's fucked up. But like in the sense that. The way to do it is laid out for you. Whereas what I'm doing, I don't really know what I'm doing every time I sit down.
Cause it's like, I could, I could put a boom bathroom to it. I could leave the drums out. I could run into the 4 0 4 and low-fi the shit up. Or I could, I, I'm just kind of, there is no formula set and I know that trap is the same way you could do any of the same things. But for me all to say is like, I felt like the modern thing to do.
What most people I'm seeing is like either or you got some Luker than shit, So I'm like, okay, know the loop driven shit, cause I'm from that. But we were essentially speeding the shit up and putting drums to it every time for no reason just cause it was like a rule of law, you know, that kind of attitude like, okay, this is gonna be somebody's kid.
Who's mad at me right now. Or, you know, or. [00:13:00] You know, I'm going to get out to perform it at the show and there's, ain't going to be a big beat and I'm going to have to really carry this shit. Cause beat, ain't doing it for me. Some of the shit I got in the past, it's like before I even get to my first line, places going crazy because the beat is so dumb, you know what I mean?
So maybe I'll try to be the beat with what I'm saying, you know, that kind of attitude whether I got there or not, that's up for people. Just that approach is really, you know, not what I was doing.
[00:13:29] Maj Duckworth: Like, well, like stylistically, I do feel like you've evolved over the last few albums and it does feel like your fan base is like evolved in at least expanded as well. Does it feel like you've started like a new chapter in your career?
[00:13:43] MC Evidence: I don't think so. I think, I think this is, yeah, I think so the new book, not a new chapter. So I kept doing the same chapters, different chapters of the same book.
Maybe it's a, it's a horror guy who does comedy or [00:14:00]
[00:14:00] Maj Duckworth: Right.
[00:14:01] MC Evidence: drama guy who does his documentary.
[00:14:03] Maj Duckworth: Like how long have you been working on this project? Did you start at, during.
[00:14:09] MC Evidence: I started long time ago, but not really in the attempt of making the album. I just, I had that song. Where are we going from here? I did it. And then I had seen like rock bands and like certain artists who were really dope to me. Performing new material before it ever come out, like on tour. Now I want to hear some new shit and I'm working on the studio, not mixed, you
[00:14:29] Maj Duckworth: Okay.
[00:14:30] MC Evidence: was always like, fuck bands can do this.
You know what I mean? And I'm like, I, I started performing that song. I've been doing a song check YouTube. I don't know how long, probably two years, maybe more and performing that song and just to test it out and it would go over crazy good every night. So I was like, okay. A new kind of like, and the guy who produced it said bash, I've known him forever.
He's amazing. So I was like, okay, different. So [00:15:00] maybe there's something here with this. And then I picked it up and put it down and had some crazy drama in my life, personal stuff. I was just like, kind of just working through life at the same time while I was making music. And then around last year I put out the phone and learning.
[00:15:18] Maj Duckworth: Yeah,
[00:15:18] MC Evidence: On a whim. I just have made it one day and put the video out and made a video the next day and just put it out. And that got a really different response from things I had done before. And that's from a writing around that point is when I started making this album seriously.
[00:15:33] Maj Duckworth: I mean the album does feel like a progression from your previous work. We've like each release. Do you try to push yourself to keep kind of progressing musically?
[00:15:43] MC Evidence: Yeah. I do. How is that? But the other ones that kind of had a format of what I'm going to do, you
[00:15:49] Maj Duckworth: Right.
[00:15:50] MC Evidence: there'll be evolution cause my life evolved. And I feel like I produced and that I was saying, so I'm seeing different people come over and have their recording and I pick things up and people [00:16:00] inspired new people come along environment.
So there's growth and all the layover and cats and dogs, but they're all from the same. I know what I'm doing before I do it. This one, it just different
[00:16:16] Maj Duckworth: Do you worry about stagnate in musically then
[00:16:18] MC Evidence: no, never. They never, I can never get, I mean, get writer's block maybe, or like a moment of like a low or something like that.
That those are the days I just go to sit there and just absorb, you know, or watch rap battles or listen to someone's new album or music. I love music, always.
[00:16:39] Maj Duckworth: Yeah. I was happy to hear cuts on some of your tracks as well. Cause like I remember you this is probably a long time ago for you, but I remember you were interviewed for the documentary scratch and you mentioned like, Dilate. It was a group of like all elements of hip hop are represented.
Do you still feel like, or elements of hip hop are [00:17:00] important to your music?
[00:17:01] MC Evidence: All elements of hip hop music. I mean, Just that to stop the tape there for a second, because that is a terrible question. Just like so badly worded. And the worst thing is that it's not evidence that mentions this in scratch. It's Baboo what a moron I am., it really speaks to how much of a proper gazer evidence is that he still attempts to answer.
[00:17:23] Maj Duckworth: anyway, here is the part from scratch that was actually referenced in. So enjoy.
(Scratch Documentary Excert)
[00:18:00]
[00:18:08] Maj Duckworth: right now, back to evidence. I mean, what
No. Yeah. Like using scratchin and just like, I suppose, just in a sense of, yeah. Not like, obviously you talked about having a formula and So I just fought. It
was like,
[00:18:26] MC Evidence: about scratching,
[00:18:27] Maj Duckworth: yeah, I suppose scratching.
and like just represent in the art form, I guess.
[00:18:32] MC Evidence: Yeah. Representing the art form. And that's a gray area, whether I'm doing that or not. I don't, you know what I mean? But, but scratching is.
Yeah, I love scratches on records. It makes beats sound crazy. There was a point where it was getting, we were over killing it. You know, I know that. And so there was a time when one of my early evidence stuff there's a little scratching or maybe like one or two songs, really heavy scratching and then the rest of the record, none of it.
But.
[00:19:00] It's just something to me that will never ever get tired if it's done right. It will never, ever be tired. With that said, you know, like on this one too, like the scratching on last time is really low and in the background, it's really like an instrument it's not loud. And then the bamboo got more busy on the one with current weight and he cut it up more just cause it felt like that.
Yeah, I'm not doing it for any other reason. I just loved the way this shit is. It's not for like a, like a law. Like we were talking.
[00:19:29] Maj Duckworth: . In reference to the attract, start the day with a beat. Do you set time aside to be creative or is that like very literal? You'd literally start the day with.
[00:19:37] MC Evidence: If I can't, that's what's happening, you know, with my son, it makes a difference. And so the. The chaos of that song is really special to me in the sense that like she's in there screaming while I'm rapping, then he hits he's hitting buttons and making the sequence change by accident while I'm tracking the beat things that weren't supposed to play next to each other.
I kind of liked how it worked out. So like [00:20:00] him being nosy kind of made the piece interesting to me and all kinds of stuff. Like, it's just like a whirlwind of like where my life.
[00:20:11] Maj Duckworth: Is it harder to find time to make music now that you have a child?
[00:20:14] MC Evidence: Yes. And no, the yes. Part is she comes first. And so the reality of it is I just can't get to it as fast as I want it to because yeah. Or, you know, Without school Corona made it really interesting
[00:20:29] Maj Duckworth: I bet.
[00:20:29] MC Evidence: you know, dropping them off and dropping them off at eight 30 and getting right to the beat. That's still starting to do, but now became something else.
So the way my life has been going is like I have him cause you know, raising him solo by myself.
[00:20:45] Maj Duckworth: Yeah. of course.
[00:20:47] MC Evidence: Yeah. And so the, like, it's like everyday him, as long as I can, until I have to do something work-related and then it's to his grandmas he gets to be there and [00:21:00] has that side of his family still get to be with him, which means the most to them and everything.
And so, and then I come back here and do what I need to do, and then just work.
In my day or two that I got and it all equals out to kind of same because the truth is a lot of my studio time is watching YouTube is smoking weed, talking to people, talking, talking about the song we're going to make. You know, it's a lot of like
[00:21:27] Maj Duckworth: Of course.
[00:21:28] MC Evidence: slash inspirational. I don't think nobody.
I know like walks into the studio at 12 o'clock all right. Put that up. Let's go. Like, it never happens like that. If it happens in the weirdest times and on the, at the most unpredictable times, that's how all the good music I've seen. Most people renting a studio from 12 to 12 or 12 to six. It's harder to make something great in like work time hours, you know, so equally it all up right now.
I'm probably doing more than I was doing before. I'm just making it count.[00:22:00]
[00:22:01] Maj Duckworth: Right. Like I know for myself, I go through like creative peaks and troughs. Do you struggle to stay motivated or are you always just motivated?
[00:22:32] MC Evidence: I have, yeah, my best friend is optimist.
[00:22:35] Maj Duckworth: Of course. Yeah.
[00:22:39] MC Evidence: some days I wake up and I'm like, fuck, I woke up at eight 30. He's already made two beats shit
by wake him up.
[00:22:50] Maj Duckworth: Of course. Yeah, no. How silly of me? Like I think what's interesting about this album is like on my first listen, I very much listened to it on a surface level. And it was like, [00:23:00] it came across as like a very straightforward hip hop album. And I think. Negatively. And, but I do think it
rewards multiple lessons and the personal come through.
Do you feel this is one of your, most personal albums,
[00:23:13] MC Evidence: Yeah. I mean, no, I mean, my last album, I literally painted picture of what I was going through and, you know, dealing with having a kid and his mom literally like rapping about chemotherapy and I'm like, no, I mean, then on the weatherman.
[00:23:33] Maj Duckworth: Of course
[00:23:33] MC Evidence: My mom passed, you know? And so like, no, those were just as genuine as anything else.
So, but I would say the overall guard of me, but now I'm more now my voice that I'm speaking in, I'm more comfortable to speaking. And I took down, took down some of the reverbs and delays and the double tracks and got rid of a lot of that shit. And it definitely feels like more me and you. In a room [00:24:00] vibe.
I'd say it's my most conversational.
[00:24:04] Maj Duckworth: I see. .
So like was it important to like put your personal feelings into your creative pursuit, into
music?
[00:24:12] MC Evidence: I, I literally had no fucking it and I know that sounds crazy.
[00:24:17] Maj Duckworth: Right.
[00:24:17] MC Evidence: People start, you know, start talking about God is best. Sometimes I tune out, but like, and I believe in God, I'm just saying like how so believable anyway, I'll just say it. I just couldn't, I wasn't in a great place and it was hard to pretend to write about the happy ones.
You're not fucking happy.
[00:24:39] Maj Duckworth: Of course.
[00:24:40] MC Evidence: It's a hard front, it's easier to talk about, to lie about the money. You're going to get chicks you back. Great. You are, any of that stuff is way easier to wrap and lie about than it is like literally swag out when you don't feel like that. You know, it's just hard to do. So the easiest thing that was coming to me was other bars.
[00:25:00] And I didn't want all those bars on my album. I wanted, I didn't want to bring people down, but it was what I was going for. And then I looked at the body of work that I chose to be. This album. And I just said, I think, I think it's positive enough. And I think it shows enough strength on it where I don't, I don't think I'm bringing people now
[00:25:18] Maj Duckworth: No.
[00:25:18] MC Evidence: I felt like it was
[00:25:20] Maj Duckworth: Yeah.
[00:25:20] MC Evidence: like, damn, this guy's fucking depressed, man.
This sucks. You know, obviously I didn't want it. I wouldn't, I wouldn't have put the album out. So, you know, those bars, the ones that I'm talking about, like the tailor made suit rhyme and those types of things. Those rhymes just happened. Like my, I didn't have to write, like my hand just moved, you know, even if it's simple, it's just like, I was, I knew what to write.
Cause it was close to me. Whereas, you know, sometimes, like I said, it's just it's just too hard to pretend. So the, the moment that I'm good on there, start to deal with the deed or talking to the audience or moving on up or a lot of those. [00:26:00] That's how I was feeling good. And I caught those, you know what I mean?
And those are they're awesome.
[00:26:05] Maj Duckworth: Did you debate whether to be so open then? Or was that just not something you thought about,
[00:26:12] MC Evidence: It was bad. Or I wouldn't have an album to put out like, literally, cause I couldn't write much out, but when this was kind of what had happened
[00:26:19] Maj Duckworth: right?
[00:26:20] MC Evidence: and then we're over, we're over. We're broad strokes. Cause there's so many, I don't stick to one topic on any song either. I say so many little different things.
So like one line could be happy and the next one could be balanced that out. And so I write them like little pieces more nowadays than I. And so there's a lot of topics within each song. And you know, that's inspired by the rock Marci and people like that. They just drop a little gem on you real quick and move on, you know, trying to pound the whole thing is to me, it's that, or, or storage zone sticking to one thing the whole way through.
And I didn't really, you know, [00:27:00] I got a couple of little moments of storytelling, but for the most part, it's, it's just a lot of, it's just a lot of fucking pain at the wall.
[00:27:07] Maj Duckworth: You said you write in little pieces. What, what do you mean? Like you just, when, when inspiration comes to mean, or like just
[00:27:15] MC Evidence: I mean, like not having to stick, having to stick, stick to any one thing for too
[00:27:21] Maj Duckworth: Right.
[00:27:22] MC Evidence: you can address something and then drop it and then move on to the next thing. All within a verse, you could have one verse about 16 different things versus having to,
[00:27:31] Maj Duckworth: Yeah.
[00:27:32] MC Evidence: and those types of things keep me interested.
As a listener when I hear other people doing it. And especially when, when you're talking about in the replay value, like, oh, just caught that I'm a fourth. Listen now just caught this.
[00:27:44] Maj Duckworth: Yeah.
[00:27:45] MC Evidence: many things that did like that on this album. So many things where it's like, if I sat down and told you, oh, this is that.
And this is that I have no shit, cause I'm just doing it for me. And if somebody else catches it,
[00:27:58] Maj Duckworth: Yeah, well, [00:28:00] yeah, it's a great album, man. I really, really liked it. Like in, in the past you talked about not using or not relying on the success of dilated people used to push your solo work. Why was that, so important?
[00:28:14] MC Evidence: I liked that that you didn't say Ray Kwan over the Wu Tang clan. You just said Ray Kwan. Cause he earned. And then, you know what I mean? She did enough. He didn't have to have that boot thing. When I was starting to do solo shit, everything was like evidence club dilated people. So I was like the only way to really get rid of that is to earn it.
And so that means I can't, I won't do shows I won't perform the dilate is my verse of the dilated songs. All rely on that. You know, I want to let people run that when their book is man, this type of thing, and this could hurt in other places at retail. If I don't do it, but I'm going to do it like that 10 years later, 12 years later, or whatever it is since I [00:29:00] started shit, however long, it's been 2007 since I started doing solo shit
[00:29:08] Maj Duckworth: Well, it's definitely
[00:29:08] MC Evidence: now.
[00:29:10] Maj Duckworth: Yeah,
[00:29:10] MC Evidence: Yeah, I don't think, I don't think he walked around and say that anymore. And that's not. Cause my love dilated peoples. Pardon me and my crew and everything. It's just something I wanted to achieve. Cool.
[00:29:23] Maj Duckworth: Yeah, you have, I think you have definitely I remember like on I think it's on the platform. The scholar club was mentioned. Do. you feel like London has been important to your career?
[00:29:34] MC Evidence: Yeah, I do. Yeah. I definitely think my one's important to dilate people's career, especially to me as a solo artist. You know, I don't have the machinery in place that I had when we had dilated in the part of the phone or whatever it was, you know what I mean? Like I don't have that machine. So now it's more, if I'm doing whatever I'm doing in London, it seems to be like a Testament to what [00:30:00] is genuine, you know, without any strings being pulled.
I mean, all of you, bro, you know, Rocco was really big on us doing Europe and he was really big on that at that time that I didn't understand it as much. And so yeah, a lot of credit to him. Making sure that we did a lot of free shows and flying over there to do free press and sit down for two weeks just to talk to people and do nothing get paid, no money things.
I didn't understand what that would come back later, instrumental in making sure that we did a lot of that stuff. So I think that's come back.
[00:30:38] Maj Duckworth: Yeah. Well you I'm planning to, I mean, obviously things are a bit up in the air in a minute, but are you planning to tour this album?
[00:30:46] MC Evidence: I have September books in Los Angeles, put up the show, sold out really, really fast,
super exciting, got Damo, Genesis wonder and fly. Hanneken my special [00:31:00] guests. So that's huge. It's going to be like a dope nights from doors til the end of the night, all the way through. I don't know, New York and Chicago, a couple other places are getting booked, anything for me overseas pretty next year.
[00:31:13] Maj Duckworth: Yeah. well, probably be a bit safer then as well. Hopefully.
[00:31:18] MC Evidence: Yeah, yeah. And you know, I have my, my son going to start in kindergarten now sort of thing, me being around more is going to be way more important.
[00:31:29] Maj Duckworth: Of course.
[00:31:29] MC Evidence: So if you see me out, if you see me out there touring. No, that it's serious. I'm putting on a good show. I'm not, not going to just be able to go to any random, small city anymore than have money to book, man.
And I'm glad about that. It's just going to be like major city type things and shows when they come.
[00:31:51] Maj Duckworth: Right. How, how does it work with having a child then going on tour? Who like, if you don't mind me
[00:31:57] MC Evidence: I mean, Yeah, it's been, [00:32:00] it's been interesting. I haven't experienced, I'm getting to that point where I'm to I'll have the answer for you by next year. He's been in preschool
and preschool is flexible. You know, you're going to have that three to five. He can be in preschool three days a week, four days a week.
It was no problem. And he's got a huge family, cousins and aunts and uncles, everyone loves them and real sense of family. So he's. But once kindergarten, first grade, all that stuff comes around. I don't want him missing school and all that.
[00:32:27] Maj Duckworth: No, of course not. Yeah.
[00:32:28] MC Evidence: there's going to, there's going to be arrangements made and it'll get done when there's a will.
There's a way, and I will find it, but I don't want to do, I don't want to be. I'm missing a lot of things, even doing all that super important too. So we'll figure out the best way. The beauty of it is he was born literally on a stage. He's been around music, my music lifestyle, all his uncles are the alchemists and crime, condoms, and Domo's, and they all have crazy names.
[00:33:00] And
he's like, you know, he's like living in like a video game worlds or something.
[00:33:09] Maj Duckworth: Yeah,
[00:33:09] MC Evidence: Right.
[00:33:10] Maj Duckworth: well, Yeah.
That's well, that's perfect. So
what does success mean to you? Has your idea of success changed as your career?
[00:33:19] MC Evidence: Weed. I just hit the marveling at your question. Yeah, I mean, everybody wants success on their own terms. I think that's the general, most people we get, how do you, what's your idea of success or doing what I want to do the way that I would like to do it. And then you can get more into the general term of what that is.
But I think moving towards that, yeah. Starting a record label right now, based on my production producing a lot of producing, a lot of artists coming out soon, I'm still on rhyme stares for, you know, for my evidence thing I can do on learning too will be on there. But [00:34:00] as I move to the next year, as I'm going to be trapping, a lot of releases learning the ins and outs of this, and yeah, I want to broadcast more from.
Me out to the world and not have to go chase, chase the showdown for, to pay the mortgage. You know what I mean? That type of
[00:34:19] Maj Duckworth: Right. Yeah.
[00:34:20] MC Evidence: So, so yes, I guess the answer is I'm bossing up and doing, doing it the way I want to do it. Dictating my moves and creating.
Here's my idea of success and I'm moving closer towards that. Everything
[00:34:41] Maj Duckworth: What's the name of the label. Do you know yet?
[00:34:44] MC Evidence: bigger, bigger picture recording. And so, you know, I take photos, I'm a photographer. So
Yeah. I've seen your photos.
[00:34:50] MC Evidence: photos
[00:34:51] Maj Duckworth: Yeah, the wicked.
[00:34:51] MC Evidence: from my photos could be an artwork now, and then I can produce the record. And then I got 45 was Fiat [00:35:00] again, or album with planet Asia. And then I'm doing a show in LA within that's who's opening for me.
And then I have the merchant table and I'm selling vinyl and some limited some, all day shirt, you know random, items on there. And just as a generalization, like I'll start to create sound, you know, in a look and something that I love when I take the records and I find labels, you know, and I could be like, okay, this is bigger picture kind of.
Five was the one on here like that could find a record one day. Like, that'd be crazy just doing, seeing what alchemists has been doing him. Just kind of giving me the playbook on a lot of shit too, showing me like, yo, you're bugging what you need to be doing. You know? Cause I've produced, I've produced albums, but those were for other labels
[00:35:49] Maj Duckworth: Okay.
[00:35:50] MC Evidence: that I took in advance for, I think got some money to do.
And I produced songs for people. I've got Grammy, all kinds of shit for things I've produced. But those were all few and far in [00:36:00] between and they come on one person's record and go away. And a year later you have a placement somewhere else, but it's like I said, I never really got to control my sound and like enter the producer conversation.
So that's something that really I really want to do over the next year.
[00:36:17] Maj Duckworth: Is that the most important thing then kind of taking control back.
[00:36:22] MC Evidence: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm learning, you know, I don't want to be evidenced on my own label yet. I don't, I don't even know how the shit works. Like I'm going to have trial and error and I'm going to have a bang, you know what I mean? And there's going to be a lot of learning curve, learning what distribution is and all kinds of different stuff.
So I'm going to do it to my production and learn, learn it through there. And then as soon as I feel. I have a machine that's drop oil on the gear. going to essentially be my own artist on my own label.
[00:36:52] Maj Duckworth: Right. That's so cool, man. Yeah. I bet that's exciting as well.
[00:36:57] MC Evidence: Super exciting. I'm just like, cause [00:37:00] all this music, should you fucking adolescence. It's all that. so it's like, I just finding ways to make the shit fun and exciting right now.
[00:37:11] Maj Duckworth: Yeah. Is there anything I didn't ask you that you'd like to mention? Just
Absolutely not you've covered everything.
[00:37:18] Maj Duckworth: okay.
[00:37:19] MC Evidence: I, don't not quite sure when volume two of learning will drop, but I'm definitely well into it. So
[00:37:27] Maj Duckworth: Really sick.
Yeah. Nice.
[00:37:31] MC Evidence: We'll turn off. Hopefully I don't make it the same where I drop every three years now making me, and my goal is an album a year now
[00:37:39] Maj Duckworth: Oh, nice.
[00:37:40] MC Evidence: my
[00:37:41] Maj Duckworth: Yeah.
[00:37:42] MC Evidence: my big picture productions coming out with all this stuff I'm producing.
Definitely have a lot to tweet about.
[00:37:50] Maj Duckworth: Well, Thank you so much, for your time, man. I really appreciate it. And the albums wicked, like I really enjoyed it, so,
yeah.
[00:37:57] MC Evidence: you so much, sir.
[00:37:58] Maj Duckworth: [00:38:00] Unlearning volume one from evidence is out now. And I personally think it's incredible. So go get it.
I've been Maj Duckworth this is sample nation. , if you want to find out any more about the show, go to www.majduckworth.com.