Damn Venom. Your links never seem to work for me. Anyway to copy and paste it on here?
G-Macc: An Interview with The Vampire of 24th Street
May 12, 2008, 1:08 am
Filed under: Interviews
By Michael Ramek
Sacramento, California-based producer/rapper G-Macc is among the most creative and uncompromising artists in modern hip-hop music.
Hailing from the South Sacramento neighborhood known as the Gardens, G-Macc, a long time member of the Garden Blocc Crips, weaves true life tales of gangbanging and street hustling through a dark tapestry of gothic imagery, vampire lore, and horror film ambience. His ruminations on the macabre coalsesce into singularly unsettling aural nightmares; ones in which modern day tribalism, violence, and retribution are imbued with foreboding qualities of the supernatural and occult.
G-Macc’s intricately layered soundscapes- a blend of classical composition, horror cinematics, and menacing, bass heavy G-funk- create a singularly frightening and captivating musical atmosphere. No less impressive is the lyrical skill that he brings to the fore, a seemingly effortless yet intensely dynamic rapid fire delivery, relentless in vehement tone and vicious intent.
Having contributed his considerable production skill to an ever growing number of records, mixtapes and compilations within the thriving Sactown rap underground, G-Macc is set to return with his latest full length record, the aptly titled “V.A.M.P.i.R.E.”, due out later this year. He is also hard at work on Dark Muzic, Inc., a larger, media-based project.
I recently had the opportunity to conduct an interview with G-Macc, and the results are as follows:
Talk a bit about the neighborhood you come from. What was it like growing up in the city of Sacramento and how did it influence your music? How has it changed over the years?
I come from 24th Street in Sacramento, California…a neighborhood called “The Gardens” or “Garden Blocc”. I guess you can say that’s where the Sacramento ‘dark muzic’ sound originated. When Brotha Lynch Hung, a rapper from the Gardens, released his first album “24 deep”, it put a stamp of legitimacy on that sound. Naturally I’m going to follow the path of one of the forefathers of Sacramento rap. His music influenced me to create my own sound…the dark muzic, inc. era.
Coming up in the Gardens is really like coming up in any other urban nieghborhood. But I’ve seen my hood change over the years. Some for the good, some for the bad, but I have a lot more dead homies now than I had a year ago.
For the most part, over the years a lot more [rap/hip-hop-related] talent has come from my neighborhood, as well.
A fascination with the macabre figures prominently into your lyricism-particulary the lore surrounding vampire legend. When you adopted the vampire motif, was this imagery intended simply as a metaphor or were other motivations in mind?
I chose to use the vampire style not simply as a metaphor, but rather to express or describe a way of life. Also, vampire movies…horror movies in general affect the way I bring my dark sound out in my music. I like to create a movie script through my songs.
Have you always had a fascination with old horror films and books?
Always. The dark world always interested me. Looking at a horror movie is like
looking in a mirror. I can see the darkness in myself when I’m watching the
screen.
Horror and the macabre are recurring themes in your music, and so is the gang culture prevalent in south Sacramento. What is your history and current relationship with the Garden Blocc Crips…when did you became active in the gang? Do you still maintain close ties with your set?
I became active in 1990. I started representing what I thought was the realest
gang. I still have close ties with a lot of homies…the big homie Lendogg, Big
Cyco, Big NoLove, and Big Oreo, just to name a few.
You mentioned earlier that you have lost many friends to gang violence over the past year alone. On a number of your songs off your last record, “Tha Graveyard Shift” [2005], you speak candidly about the murder of two close friends from your neighborhood, casualties of the ongoing Sacramento gang wars…
The song “My Pistol” off “Tha Graveyard Shift” deals with the murder of my friend Solo. Solo was one of the lil’ homies from the hood who pushed the line daily. He was shot and killed and it affected all of us. We still miss him and love him to death. I was angry when I did the song, there were still pissed off emotions there. We did the song a week after his death.
“1-thought” off the last record is about a close friend of mine that was murdered a few years ago named Lil’ Blu. It was probably one of the most emotional songs I ever done. He was a true friend to everybody. I ran the streets with him when I was younger.
Local rapper First Degree the D.E. released the Sactown “Gang Wars” compilation a few years ago, which brought together rival gang members from opposing sets in the studio. You were featured prominently on the Crip side of the record. In retrospect, do you feel that that project helped ease the escalating tensions between Bloods and Crips in the Sacramento valley?
It probably fueled it (laughs). Naw, but it definately brought a few Sac rappers
together to do something good.
To what degree do ongoing gang-related tensions in your neighborhood play a role in your drive to produce music?
My music is affiliated with the gang lifestyle and I like that about it…it’s what makes me who I am. The hood plays a large roll in my music. My music speaks for the people in my hood who don’t have a voice to speak, but my music is also firmly rooted in my personal lifestyle as well.
Though you have stated on your records that you don’t consider yourself a rapper and don’t particularly enjoy rapping, you are one of the better MCs I’ve heard in a long while. What influences go into your rap style, and how did you develop it over the years?
Well, watching Lynch helped me develop my style in terms of flow and delivery. I also spent a lot of time listening to a lot of Sacramento rappers and it sounded like many of them were just reading a rap verse over a beat …I didn’t like that. That pretty much taught me what not to do in my music. Lynch Hung, COS, X-Raided, and Sicx were the only ones that seemed to do it right.
First and foremost I’m a producer not a rapper. I make beats…that’s what I do. I’m not really into rapping. People hear me say I’m not a rapper because I don’t consider myself one at all. I construct music. I create my songs and rhymes like someone would build a haunted house… piece by piece, section by section.
Your production work is also among the most creative I’ve heard in some time. You create these dense, dark compositions… it sounds like most of your beats are not sample based, but rather rely on intricate synth work and layering. Is this true?
Very true. But sometimes I’ll use a sample. To me, a real producer can create
beats and music from the heart…by using their own gifts, not by sampling
someone else’s. Sampling all the time doesnt make you a real
producer.
What equipment did you use when you started making beats and what gear do you use now?
I first started making beats on the “Dr. Rhythm 550″ drum machine and the ASR-10
when I was young. In 2000, I started using the [Korg] Triton keyboard. Now I use either the MPC or the Phantom board.
What is your mindset when putting together your beats and lyrics?
That’s simple. I sit and think to myself, “How can I scare the children on this one?” and then I get high, go into a trance, and create the beat. “Alone on tha roof” is a term I use when I’m in [this kind of] zone by myself… just me and my thoughts… It makes me feel like I’m up on a rooftop when I’m so high off that purple cusche weed.
I write my lyrics like an author would a novel…the young Stephen King (laughs).
What are you trying to convey through these dark soundscapes?
Sacramento started with a dark music theme and I intend to wake up what has been asleep for so many years since the Sicc [Brotha Lynch] era. I want my dark music listeners to see that this kind of music still exists.
CWAY Muzicc from Sacramento is a relatively new label that has been putting out some of the darker, more uncompromising rap/hip-hop records of late. You have been actively affliated with the label for some time…talk a bit about its inception and your role in its operation.
Cway was created by Big NoLove (Mike Carraway) and his son, Sav-Sicc (Mike Carraway, Jr.) in 2002. NoLove made me his head producer and second decision maker in 2003. We started going out to Salinas, California once or twice a week to get our projects done. It was hard work and a struggle but it made us a family and we had hella fun. I always enjoyed working with them. That’s an era in my life that I will never forget.
What CWAY releases are you currently working on?
I’m about to do some tracks on Sav-Sicc’s new solo album, Bleezo’s new album, and NoLove’s new album. On the upcoming CWay compilation “New world Order” I did a song called “Pause”. I would’ve done more on that album but I was working on four other projects at the same time.
Cover art for the upcoming Cway Muzicc compilation “New World Order”.
I know you’ve also been hard at work on releases for your own imprint, Bluerumm Muzic. How did the label come about?
BlueRumm Muzic started in 1998. I created it while driving to the Bay Area in a stolen Ford Escort with my homegirl Erica. When we were at Pier 39 in San Francisco I got a hat made with that name on it. It’s not a label, it’s a production team and a way of making music.
What future releases are you planning for Bluerumm Muzic?
Future releases. Well, I’ve got a mixtape in the near future called “The Alter Ego Project”. I’ve also got my second solo album which I’m finishing up called “V.A.M.P.I.R.E” and I’m producing the “Return of tha Ripgut” album by Brotha Lynch Hung.
Dirty Ern has a record coming out on Bluerumm… he’s my close homeboy from back in the day who introduced me to rap music. He’s a true rapper. He’s working on his album and it should drop in 2009. He started my music career and was there from day one along with my cousin D.v.S. I’m also working on a number of other secret projects that I can’t mention right now. But the dark music is coming.
Cover artwork for upcoming Bluerumm Muzic projects. From left to right: Dirty Ern “Rethink Ur Release” CD, G-Macc “V.A.M.P.i.R.E” CD, and the G-Macc “Alter Ego Project” mixtape.
In terms of production, songwriting, and lyrical content, what makes ”V.A.M.P.i.R.E” different than your last solo record? What can we expect from your latest effort?
What I’m doing now on the new record is different than “Tha Graveyard Shift” because this time around I have complete and total freedom to do what I want [with regards to every aspect of the record]. I did a lot of the production myself. The creativity you’ve seen on “Tha Graveyard Shift” is really just a sneak peek at what you’ll see from me in the near future. As far as what to expect…you can expect a horror movie.
When is “V.A.M.P.i.RE” going to be released? Is there a release date?
No release date for it yet. But it’s coming.
Do you often feel frustrated by the lack of radio attention (on the West Coast and elsewhere) devoted to underground rap music? With so much raw talent, why do you feel Sacramento doesn’t get the attention it deserves?
I don’t really care about the radio…..never did. I also don’t think that Sacramento as a whole is delivering a message strong enough for the rest of the coast to take seriously. Bottom line!
What other MCs and rap/hip-hop-related records have you enjoyed most
lately?
I enjoy listening to more creative rappers like First Degree the D.E. and other Sacramento artists such as Zigg-Zagg and Sicx.
Last but not least, are there any closing comments or anything else you’d like
to add?
Shotz out to my Internet Promotions Manager “Venom”, my cuzzin D.v.S, shotz out to the big homie Emil, and entire The Dark Muzicc, Inc. following.
