It’s been a crazy year for L.A emcee/singer, Optimus. After spending a quarter of the year as the opening act for Lupe Fiasco’s sold out tour, then working with Rap veterans Onyx for their upcoming Black Rock project, Optimus found himself faced with an unfortunate turn of events. “I ended up with a bleeding ulcer” he tells DX, “After that, I kinda had to stop doing music for a while to get better…I had to just allow life to happen.”

But fortunately for him, ‘allowing life to happen’ is exactly where Optimus draws his inspiration from. Priding himself on drawing from an eclectic mix of influences, this SoCal native creates a hybrid sound he defines as “Street Rock.” “L.A. is a melting pot of different cultures and so is my music,” Optimus explains. “It’s Urban/Rock music mixed with a live band.”

Op’s new album, WhiteNoize (a nod to growing up as kid without cable as well as his internal world of static and conflict) is slated to drop in the first quarter of 2010, but much like the title of one of his latest singles, he’s steady “on the grind” in the interim. From selling out his shows across California to recently working with noted producer J.R. Rotem, Optimus is in his prime.

Important Influences: “A Tribe Called Quest, Run-DMC, Sublime, Nas, Snoop [Dogg] and [Tha Dogg Pound], these are just a few off the top of my head. I just love music so much. I was an instant fan of Hip Hop, but when I heard The Roots’ Organix and Do You Want More?!!!??!, I realized I wanted to rap too. That album changed my life—how out of the box is Black Thought’s thinking? I allowed it to take over my entire being as a person. I loved how the organic drum sounds were mixed on Do You Want More?!!!??!, What a fuckin’ genius record that is…”

Touring with Lupe Fiasco: “It was the time of my life but just so everyone knows:  If you want to do this shit; it’s hard work. Not everyone is cut out for this game–It’s for super heroes. [Laughs] Lupe is a super hero. I’m just a super hero in training. I loved touring, and I especially loved the people that I got to meet on the road. Artists, fans, new friends etc., it was and experience that I’ll never forget.”

On The Criticism White Rappers Face: “I know for a fact that some people question my authenticity… and then again some don’t. The way I grew up…let’s just say, if I wanted to, I could rap about thug shit and it would still be real. I’ve lived a pretty crazy life–jail time and hustlin’– I wasn’t always the nice guy my fans and friends have come to know from my new shit. So I don’t listen to the ignorance. Once they come see a show and understand what I’m all about, they really won’t have shit to say anyway….it’s all love after that. But look at someone like Asher Roth—crazy talent! Lethal tongue! But I don’t think he gets the props he deserves outside of the college demographic.”

Cop The Album: “Everything is real. No samples, all live instruments. No drum machines. Nothing is synthetic –from the message all the way down to the sitars on a couple of tracks. It’s a record for music lovers and eclectic Hip Hop lovers and just plain lovers. [Laughs] It’s a feel good album with dark undertones that balance it out very nicely in my opinion. Expect everything from lyrical Hip Hop shit, to some rock opera orchestra shit, to California Reggae Long Beach Dub shit, it’s everything I am and nothing I’m not.

‘Paperthin’ is one of the singles on the record, ‘On The Grind’ is a joint I’ve dedicated the late Bradley Nowell of Sublime. It’s a Cali summer joint that pokes fun at the industry and has that traditional Long Beach Reggae feel to it. ‘Paperthin’ is my masterpiece of the album though. It’s my song that cleared my head about all the haters in my life who didn’t want this to happen for me and I’m speaking directly to them in the song. Musically, it’s the most haunting and emotional of any thing I’ve done.”

The Current State of Hip Hop: “I really miss the creative elements in Rap music. Hip Hop has been a blessing and an escape for me. I love Hip Hop, but the overall collective conscious of our youth is revolting right now. It makes me cringe when I think about it. But it makes me get on the mic and talk about it that much more.”

Encountering Industry rule #4080: “I sat in the office of one of the most powerful executives in the business the other day and he told me Rap was dead. He said that the young people who are buying records don’t want to hear rappers anymore. It’s funny, the mentality of the people pushing the buttons. How do you work on albums or sign rappers if you don’t have faith in them? I know he’s just doing his job–he’s got kids at home. But Hip Hop is important. These execs can be so out of touch. [To them] it’s not about talent—it’s about a catchy hook. It’s ruining us as a culture. How do we grow? How do we evolve? These labels want one hit wonders. They don’t want stars. They don’t have the patience or desire to nurture their artists into brands anymore.

Me and my producer, Richie Stites, call it fast-food music. One hit and then they drop you before you can leave and become the competition. And this process makes it so the artists can never payback their advances either. This way the label always wins and the artist always loses. I’m not trying to be bitter. I just love this culture and this music. But the mentality of the labels is funny. They’re looking for Pop music, not the innovative or the new.
I miss the rawness of the art-form. Beats, rhymes and life. My record is a dedication to raw expression. You can say I’m a hippie–say what you want…but I’ll cut you too. [Laughs] But it’s insane that there are still label execs claiming Hip Hop is dead. Like my homie Fredro Starr says, ‘Hip Hop didn’t die; it’s just been shot in the stomach.’ But this is what Hip Hop is all about! It’s always been a fight against the establishment, and proving people wrong…so what better of a time to fight than now? I feel good about [the music] I’m making right now and I’m dedicating this project to the evolution of this culture in its truest form, Creativity and an uncensored voice. This is a revolution, whether I have to fight it myself or you REAL Hip Hop fans fight it with me. Boycott this fast-food music. Boycott these R&B thugs and get back to praising one of America’s only true art forms –Hip Hop.”

Check out more from Optimus at www.optimustv.com  and www.myspace.com/optimustv