Columbus, Ohio emcee Copywrite has undergone a transformation. The once sharp-tongued punchline emcee made quotables with bars like, “I like my chicks like Erykah Badu, with no common sense,” often talking about sex and drugs in his three studio albums, and works with MHz and The Weathermen. However, approaching this month’s God Save The King, due February 24, Copy says he’s finally being true to himself.
Photo by Mara Gruber
“[God Save The King] came about because I was working on a project that was supposed to be a UK-only release. And at the time, the album had nothing to do with spirituality or God,” began Copywrite to HipHopDX last week. “It was a play off the Sex Pistols album called God Save The Queen, because they’re a UK group. So we figured that since I’m a big fan of the UK and UK Hip Hop in general, I’d make an album where I [collaborated] with a lot of UK artists. So I basically figured I’d do this album real quick as I was working on the MHz [Megacy] album. But also during the course of that, I realized I didn’t like doing worldly music any more.”
Now a global release, with single “Swaggot Killaz”
featuring Jakki Da Mota Mouth, Copywrite further revealed his connection with faith and spirituality, “I’ve been a Christian since I was 16 and been rhyming since then as well. I was saved the same year. And I almost quit Rap for God. It was sort of God’s way of laying the foundation for what I was about to do. Towards the end of the album, I couldn’t write the way I used to write. I didn’t have any enjoyment in it because I felt I was lying. I didn’t want to write about sex or smoking weed or embracing drug addiction. I just lost interest and started changing who I was through Christ and my wanting to be closer to Him. So the album title related with me in that way as well.”
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With this transformation, Copywrite also admitted that he’s no longer entertaining beefs of any kind. The former Eastern Conference Records artist has had profiled feuds with 7L & Esoteric, High & Mighty and most recently a 2009 one-way attack on Asher Roth, but that’s all stopping he now says. Copy stated, “Man, you know what beef is? Beef is stupid. Beef is insecurity manifested by human actions. I’m not really into Hip Hop beefs. And it’s funny ’cause I didn’t even know people looked at me in that light, that I was involved with all these beefs. I never felt that I was in any beefs. Nowadays, it’s just stupid man. I appreciate old school Hip Hop beefs where it was strictly on wax and solely based on skill. Nowadays, being a Christian, you can diss me all you want but I’m not gonna respond back even if I can roast him so easily. My beefin’ days are over.”
Copywrite’s God Save The King releases February 24, 2012 on Man Bites Dog Records.
Additional Reporting by Jake Paine
