news on new, highly anticipated albums, to interviews, to concert
riots, to tour-dates…We got it all. This week, we have insight on El-P’s religious views, why Illmaculate has decided to hang up his battling gloves, why Cage is mad at security and when/where Brother Ali is headed.
insight to Mr. Producto’s religious journey.
realized that my spiritual life exists only while on planes. During the
experience I found myself praying, and I don’t even know how to pray.
So this is my song about religion, which I think a lot of people can
relate to. It’s my admittance of being an asshole who thinks he’s
better than God until the very moment when I realize that not only am I
not, but I really, really want God to love me and take care of me,” he recently said through a statement.
completely surprised me by how generous he was creatively…Every part
I asked him to do he did several versions of so that I could choose my
favorites. It made me wonder if I were as famous as he is if I would be
that cool. I hope so,” he said of the artist.
and various other high-profile battles, is now working on releasing his
LP. But, before the LP drops, he’s hitting us off with a Rain Check, in the form of a mixtape.
what he had to say.
Illmaculate: Well, I got The RainCheck Mixtape dropping mid-April, hosted by DJ Vlad.
The album is already 3/4 done and there is big things in the works with
that. I don’t expect to have that out til late this year after finding
the right home for it. But from what is completed already, it’s pure
heatery.
HHDX: How’d you hook up with Tone and the QN5 Fam?
Illmaculate:
I met Tonedeff at Scribble Jam 04′ and we continued to keep in touch
after. I’m a fan of his work, he liked my tracks so we made something
happen. I like to think the first of many.
HHDX: Any big battles coming up?
Illmaculate: No battles on the schedule right now. I’ve hung the gloves up more
or less. But when I get the opportunity to do Fight Klub or 106 I can’t see passing it up.
HHDX: What’d you think of egotrip’s (White) rapper show? Honestly.
To be completely honest, I’ve never watched that show and will never
watch the show. From the trailers I’ve seen it is absolutely
embarrassing. The whole idea is corny to me. But most reality shows
are, so to each his own.
HHDX: What can fans expect from the mixtape?
Illmaculate:
People can expect to get a taste of what my music is about.The mixtape
is a mixture of exclusive tracks that got bumped off the album, new
tracks over commercial beats, and new heatery made specifically for the
mixtape. It features the likes of Iron Solomon, Okwerdz, Hommy Hom,
Lush One(DelMon), Animal Planet, Respek BA & a lot more. The entire
purpose of the mix-tape is in the title, it’s a rain check for the
album.
HHDX: What would you like people who haven’t heard you yet to know?
People should know that I’m working hard to make this happen. I take it
very seriously and I’m bringing something to the table that needs to be
heard.
Illmaculate:
At this point I’m not sure what label will be lucky enough to pick it
up. I couldn’t even give you a guess. Ideally, I see myself fitting in
at a Babygrande, Rawkus, fatbeats or Nature sounds type label very
well. We’ll see though.
HHDX: Why have you chosen to “hang up the gloves?”
Illmaculate:
Battling is very time consuming. At least for me. It isn’t just going
to a battle and competing. It’s hours of practice almost daily trying
to hone the freestyle game. Plus I feel like there isn’t much more I
can prove battling. Musically, however, I still have a lot to prove.
With quitting battling I’m devoting all my time to doing exactly that.
HHDX: What is it that “needs to be heard?” What separates you from others?
from my handsome looks? Well, I really pride myself on versatility. I
think this is going to be an album people will have a hard time not
liking. There is really something for everybody. I know that’s sort of
became a cliche, but I’m better than pretty much anyone else that’s
said it. Again, that’s just something that I’m looking forward to
proving.
Cage, who will be performing at this year’s Paid Dues, was recently involved in an unusual situation. Later, he logged onto MySpace and had to
vent. Why tell you about it? We’ll let him speak for himself. Here’s what he had to write:
I
was denied entry [to a concert] over not bringing I.D. I have played
hundreds of shows and I have never had to show my I.D. unless I was
drinking.I left my wallet at the hotel.I have never had a club break my
balls. I was unable to perform because I was being fucked with for
reasons I do not know.I would like to applaud the meat head security
team and management that ruined everything and could later be seen
flinging teenagers into walls when they began shouting fuck the blind
pig and refund. I have never seen anything like this in my life. I want
to apologize to everyone that paid to get in and or were attacked by
the blind pig security.Young college kids are great to beat on eh pigs?
A Fucking Shame it was packed.
This all leads up to the actual LP drop-date, which is slated for April 10. Get ready.
THE UNDISPUTED TRUTH TOUR
4/10 – Duluth, MN @ Pizza Luce
4/11 – Fargo, ND @ House of Rock
4/12 – Mankato, MN @ What’s Up Lounge
4/13 – Iowa City, IA @ Picador
4/14 – Omaha, NE @ Sokol Underground
4/16 – Aspen, CO @ Belly Up
4/17 – Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
4/19 –
Menomonie, WI @ University of Wisconsin
4/20 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
4/21 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
4/22 – Bloomington, IN @ Bluebird
4/23 – St. Louis, MO @ Washington University
4/24 – Louisville, KY @ Uncle Pleasants
4/25 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
4/27 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Festival
4/28 – Columbus, OH @ Skully’s Music Diner
4/29 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
5/1 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Lounge
5/2 – Boston, MA @ Middle East
5/3 – New York, NY @ Knitting Factory
5/4 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Church
5/5 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
5/6 – Charlottesville, VA @ Starr Hill
5/8 – Carrboro, NC @ Cats Cradle
5/9 – Wilmington, NC @ Soapbox
5/10 – Mt Pleasant, SC @ Village Tavern
5/11 – Orlando, FL @ The Social
5/12 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
5/14 – Birmingham, AL @ The Nick
5/15 – New Orleans, LA @ Parish @ HOB
5/16 – Austin, TX @ Emos Lounge
5/17 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
5/18
– Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
5/19 – Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum
5/21 – Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse
5/22 – San Diego, CA @ Belly Up
5/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour
5/24 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Downtown Brew
5/25 – San Francisco, CA @ Slims
5/26 – Reno, NV @ New Oasis
5/29 – Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall
5/30 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
5/31 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project
6/1 – Bellingham, WA @ Night Light
6/2 – Missoula, MT @ The Loft
6/4 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
6/5 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
6/6 – Kansas City, KS @ Record Bar
6/7 – Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
6/8 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
