I AM NOT A RAPPER by MaJiK
So we just released my first full-length mixtape, the “I Am Not A Rapper Mixtape” earlier this morning after throwing a Mixtape Release Show at Club Bleu in Westminster, CA. You can DOWNLOAD the mixtape for free right now on www.sonnybcreative.bandcamp.com
The idea behind this mixtape is that even to this moment, I wouldn’t consider myself a rapper. When people ask me what I do, I hesitate because it’s so easy to just say, “I rap” but I feel like there’s a negative connotation to the label of “rapper” which is one I refuse to be associated with. My response to them is always, “I write poetry, I do spoken word and I make Hip-Hop music” which then their follow up question is, “Oh, so you rap?” I have to say “Yes” but I’m much more that that. And that’s what I’ve set out to achieve with this project; Yes, I can rap which is why a nice portion of the mixtape consists of tracks that display my ability. But the rest of the tape, I hope to convince you that I am deeper then “money, cars and bitches.” I want to take the average listener and show them that there’s more to this rap shit and why there is such a strong community when we talk about “Hip-Hop” and why it’s so important.
This mixtape has been a long time coming. 4 years to be exact. I’ve loved Hip-Hop since the second I heard Eminem in the 5th grade off my friends cassette player having lunch while he dissed all the pop stars I was currently enjoying on “The Real Slim Shady.” That moment would forever change my life.
I had/have a very active imagination. I loved to doodle and I would constantly day dream about being a superhero and saving the world. My daydreams would mature in variations as life events started to happen but it’s funny to think back that at one point in time, I had day dreams about being signed to “G-Unit/Shady/Aftermath”. This is when I started writing poetry 10 years ago but I was nowhere near rapping. If you would have asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, a rapper never crossed my mind. I mean, it was so unrealistic for me to even consider.
However, my obsession with lyrics and hip-hop would only become stronger. Still writing a ton of poetry as a way to help me understand what was going on in my life, I met Sherwin Sonny_B Boucher II in 2009 trying to become a part of his fraternity. His extensive knowledge with music, as a artist himself, and Hip-Hop is how we were able to connect so quickly. I shared a poem of mine and for fun, we made a song. This is when I would learn how to count beats and we would make more songs. That is how I took my first step on this journey
Even then, I never considered a career being a rapper but with my passion for writing and love for Hip-Hop, I inevitably doubled my library of poetry, what took 6 years to accumulate, with rap verses (a lot of really bad rap verses) in 6 months. Over the years, after sharing my songs, and falling in love with performing them on stage, I’ve developing a small supportive fan base and this once a fantasy has begun to realize itself into an attainable dream to reach listeners and influence them positively the way Hip-Hop has done for me.
And here we are, the “I Am Not A Rapper Mixtape.” I hope that you enjoy it but at least give me the chance for you to say, “I hate it.”
PEACE. ONE. LOVE.
MaJiK
