http://www.sdraps.com/2010/04/interview-jimmy-powers-califoreigner/#more-48
Jimmy Powers has been making waves in the San Diego music scene in the very short time that he’s been active. After putting in work as one half of Clay Pigeons, Jimmy is now poised to release his solo debut, Califoreigner, which is due out May 4. We spoke to Jimmy about his new album, the many hats he wears, and why he won’t just rap about yachts and beatdowns.
SDRaps.com: How’d you first get into hip-hop?
Jimmy Powers: I’ve always been THAT hip-hop head but I was never in a hip-hop scene or hip-hop community because I bounced around from Boston to Houston to Boston to Chicago to Florida to San Diego. So I never really had a scene that I jumped into. I was always the hip-hop head outside of the hip-hop scene that everyone came to to look for music. I was always spitting. I knew I had some sort of talent. But I really didn’t get into a scene till … I think 2007? 2007 was when I actually started to do stuff.
SDRaps.com: Well, y’know, even as fan …
Jimmy Powers: Oh yeah, since I was a kid. First thing: I got a Paid In Full record on tape when I lived in Houston. And from there, that was pretty much the only thing I listened to.
SDRaps.com: I know you’ve mentioned in your songs that you work for the military and have been in the military. Obviously, hip-hop doesn’t take real kindly to authority figures like the military. Do you feel conflicted at all?
Jimmy Powers: Absolutely not. Because I had the choice to either: get out and go to college–and I couldn’t pay for college–or go to the military. When I was 18, my mother said, “You’re either going to college or the military. As soon as you’re 18, you’re out.” And I had horrible grades. I fucked off all through high school so my only choice pretty much was to go to the military. So I went into the military, did my four years, couldn’t stand it because I can’t stand authority figures and everyone I beat up in high school was in charge of me. So I got out and ended up staying in San Diego because it’s beautiful.
SDRaps.com: Can you talk about your job now then? I know you do something involved with defense.
Jimmy Powers: I’m what’s called a site facilities security officer. They have government contracts that are classified. And I’m basically the one responsible to make sure that the people that don’t have clearances don’t get access to the information in the contracts. But it’s nothing big. The coolest thing I’ve seen is someone take a piece of carbon fiber that was a little piece of angle iron and hit it with a 40-lb. sledgehammer as hard as they could. And all it did was bounce around, no marks, no nothing. So a lot of people look at the classified shit like it’s all Roswell and that crazy shit. But it’s more or less just new technology. Like x-ray. When x-ray vision or night vision was coming out–Kodak came out with night vision. But before they made that technology public, it was all behind closed doors and funded by the government. And then when the company puts it out in the open, it’s nothing. So it’s mostly just new technology shit that I work with. But I work with a lot of communications equipment currently.
SDRaps.com: And that’s a full-time job right?
Jimmy Powers: Full-time job.
SDRaps.com: And then after that, you emcee. And then after that, you go book and promote your own shows.
Jimmy Powers: I worked all my own deals. I worked my own distribution deal through Traffic [Entertainment Group]. I linked up with Foundation Media for my college radio push. I worked with Ridley [Mr. Ridley of Anti-Citizens] trying to get this 2012 shit off the ground. So, hah, I’m busy.
SDRaps.com: What’s 2012?
Jimmy Powers: 2012 Dynasty. It’s the label. The synergy. It’s a collection of people–myself, Anti-Citizens, Kuas & Kraze, Orko Eloheim, Black Mikey. And I’m pretty sure there’s gonna be Verbz, Clay Pigeons …
SDRaps.com: Everyone in SD, basically?
Jimmy Powers: Yeah, hah. Just synergy basically. Because there’s no center focal point for hip-hop in San Diego. You look at every single city that’s known for hip-hop–Minnesota, Rhymesayers. If you look at any city that’s known for hip-hop, it’s because they have a home base that everyone can go to. And San Diego doesn’t have that right now. So we’re trying to do it. We’ll see how far that goes.
SDRaps.com: So on the off chance that you have any spare time between your day-job, booking shows, promoting shows, writing, recording, and performing, what do you do to chill?
Jimmy Powers: Frisbee golf. Drinking. Design, I do all my own graphic design as well.
SDRaps.com: Alright so let’s talk about Califoreigner. Why’d you choose that title?
Jimmy Powers: Because from Day 1 that I stepped foot into the San Diego hip-hop scene, just because of my Boston pride, everyone has always looked at me as an outsider. And I felt like an outsider. So Califoreigner is just basically me trying to navigate through the West Coast hip-hop scene with an East Coast mentality. Trying not to step on too many feet. Trying to gain allies and shit like that.
SDRaps.com: You mentioned that you’ve lived in Boston, SD, Chicago, Houston, Florida. Why’d you move around so much?
Jimmy Powers: My mother was married when I was 2 years old to this guy named Leo Pompeo who was part of the Winter Hill Gang with Whitey Bulger, that dude who’s on the FBI Most Wanted list. My mother was married to him and he used to beat the shit out of her. So she jumped in the car one day with me, drove to Connecticut, went in bar, called Leo, and was like, “Fuck you, I’m out.” Then we ended up just driving and ended up in Houston, Texas. I don’t know why we were in Houston. Then I lived in Houston for eight years. Started getting involved in gangs at 10 years old, which is funny. So my mother was like, “Alright, this ain’t gonna happen.” So we moved back to Boston. And then from Boston, most of it was the military. Going to Chicago for boot camp, kicked it in Chicago for awhile. Was in Florida.
SDRaps.com: You mentioned your dad a couple of times in your album. Do you mind talking about your dad a little bit?
Jimmy Powers: Absolutely not. One of the main reasons my parents never got married was because my dad fucked with heroine. I guess he became sober sometime in my single-digit years. And then when I moved back to Massachussetts, he was fine, he’d been sober for years. My mother couldn’t handle me so she sent me to the city to live with my father. I ended up being in this one-bedroom apartment with him. He partitioned off the room with particle boards so that was my room.
Yeah so I guess the whole time I was living with him–but I didn’t know. That was when I was 15. But when I was 16, I was at work one day and he had overdosed in the bathroom. And we had no idea that he was back on heroine. So from like 16–when I had turned 18, he had stolen my credit, ruined my credit. I hadn’t talked to my father for years. I just now started talking to him again. I have a three-year-old little sister with him. Three or four, I don’t even know. Yeah so, I never really had a “father” relationship with my dad. I mean I know, he’s cool. We get along. I see him when I go home. Yeah but the whole drug thing kinda fucked it up.
SDRaps.com: You could’ve gone the obvious route and done a whole album of battle raps and beat the shit out of dudes, slice ‘em with syllables or some shit but you didn’t.
Jimmy Powers: It’s too simple. One of the main reasons is that all that battle rap shit is easy. And as I got older, I realized it doesn’t match my personality. And then talking with Blame One. Blame’s like an older brother to me, a mentor. He told me, “You have to find your niche. You can’t just do battle raps because that doesn’t make you stand out. It just throws you into a pile of fucking everyone that’s doing battle raps. You can’t just be a super-lyrical weird dude because then you’ll be in this pile with them. You gotta find someway to stand out.” And I figure, honesty. And … honestly, reality is a lot better than fucking make-believe.
SDRaps.com: Do you think there’s not enough honesty in hip-hop?
Jimmy Powers: Absolutely not. Especially with the mainstream shit. You know people then you hear them in a song talking about owning yachts and crazy-ass shit like that. And you’re like, “No, you don’t, dude. That’s complete bullshit. You can’t even pull that off.” And I don’t own a fucking yacht so I can’t talk about owning a yacht. But I can talk about my strong family ties, my weaknesses, shit like that. It’s just honesty. I think it paints a better picture of the person.
[[The gang shit in Houston was on some Ese shit...South West Cholos in Alief, SW Houston, looking back, I think what the fuck would I look like running with a bunch of Cholos??? haha...seriously though]]
Jimmy Powers has been making waves in the San Diego music scene in the very short time that he’s been active. After putting in work as one half of Clay Pigeons, Jimmy is now poised to release his solo debut, Califoreigner, which is due out May 4. We spoke to Jimmy about his new album, the many hats he wears, and why he won’t just rap about yachts and beatdowns.
SDRaps.com: How’d you first get into hip-hop?
Jimmy Powers: I’ve always been THAT hip-hop head but I was never in a hip-hop scene or hip-hop community because I bounced around from Boston to Houston to Boston to Chicago to Florida to San Diego. So I never really had a scene that I jumped into. I was always the hip-hop head outside of the hip-hop scene that everyone came to to look for music. I was always spitting. I knew I had some sort of talent. But I really didn’t get into a scene till … I think 2007? 2007 was when I actually started to do stuff.
SDRaps.com: Well, y’know, even as fan …
Jimmy Powers: Oh yeah, since I was a kid. First thing: I got a Paid In Full record on tape when I lived in Houston. And from there, that was pretty much the only thing I listened to.
SDRaps.com: I know you’ve mentioned in your songs that you work for the military and have been in the military. Obviously, hip-hop doesn’t take real kindly to authority figures like the military. Do you feel conflicted at all?
Jimmy Powers: Absolutely not. Because I had the choice to either: get out and go to college–and I couldn’t pay for college–or go to the military. When I was 18, my mother said, “You’re either going to college or the military. As soon as you’re 18, you’re out.” And I had horrible grades. I fucked off all through high school so my only choice pretty much was to go to the military. So I went into the military, did my four years, couldn’t stand it because I can’t stand authority figures and everyone I beat up in high school was in charge of me. So I got out and ended up staying in San Diego because it’s beautiful.
SDRaps.com: Can you talk about your job now then? I know you do something involved with defense.
Jimmy Powers: I’m what’s called a site facilities security officer. They have government contracts that are classified. And I’m basically the one responsible to make sure that the people that don’t have clearances don’t get access to the information in the contracts. But it’s nothing big. The coolest thing I’ve seen is someone take a piece of carbon fiber that was a little piece of angle iron and hit it with a 40-lb. sledgehammer as hard as they could. And all it did was bounce around, no marks, no nothing. So a lot of people look at the classified shit like it’s all Roswell and that crazy shit. But it’s more or less just new technology. Like x-ray. When x-ray vision or night vision was coming out–Kodak came out with night vision. But before they made that technology public, it was all behind closed doors and funded by the government. And then when the company puts it out in the open, it’s nothing. So it’s mostly just new technology shit that I work with. But I work with a lot of communications equipment currently.
SDRaps.com: And that’s a full-time job right?
Jimmy Powers: Full-time job.
SDRaps.com: And then after that, you emcee. And then after that, you go book and promote your own shows.
Jimmy Powers: I worked all my own deals. I worked my own distribution deal through Traffic [Entertainment Group]. I linked up with Foundation Media for my college radio push. I worked with Ridley [Mr. Ridley of Anti-Citizens] trying to get this 2012 shit off the ground. So, hah, I’m busy.
SDRaps.com: What’s 2012?
Jimmy Powers: 2012 Dynasty. It’s the label. The synergy. It’s a collection of people–myself, Anti-Citizens, Kuas & Kraze, Orko Eloheim, Black Mikey. And I’m pretty sure there’s gonna be Verbz, Clay Pigeons …
SDRaps.com: Everyone in SD, basically?
Jimmy Powers: Yeah, hah. Just synergy basically. Because there’s no center focal point for hip-hop in San Diego. You look at every single city that’s known for hip-hop–Minnesota, Rhymesayers. If you look at any city that’s known for hip-hop, it’s because they have a home base that everyone can go to. And San Diego doesn’t have that right now. So we’re trying to do it. We’ll see how far that goes.
SDRaps.com: So on the off chance that you have any spare time between your day-job, booking shows, promoting shows, writing, recording, and performing, what do you do to chill?
Jimmy Powers: Frisbee golf. Drinking. Design, I do all my own graphic design as well.
SDRaps.com: Alright so let’s talk about Califoreigner. Why’d you choose that title?
Jimmy Powers: Because from Day 1 that I stepped foot into the San Diego hip-hop scene, just because of my Boston pride, everyone has always looked at me as an outsider. And I felt like an outsider. So Califoreigner is just basically me trying to navigate through the West Coast hip-hop scene with an East Coast mentality. Trying not to step on too many feet. Trying to gain allies and shit like that.
SDRaps.com: You mentioned that you’ve lived in Boston, SD, Chicago, Houston, Florida. Why’d you move around so much?
Jimmy Powers: My mother was married when I was 2 years old to this guy named Leo Pompeo who was part of the Winter Hill Gang with Whitey Bulger, that dude who’s on the FBI Most Wanted list. My mother was married to him and he used to beat the shit out of her. So she jumped in the car one day with me, drove to Connecticut, went in bar, called Leo, and was like, “Fuck you, I’m out.” Then we ended up just driving and ended up in Houston, Texas. I don’t know why we were in Houston. Then I lived in Houston for eight years. Started getting involved in gangs at 10 years old, which is funny. So my mother was like, “Alright, this ain’t gonna happen.” So we moved back to Boston. And then from Boston, most of it was the military. Going to Chicago for boot camp, kicked it in Chicago for awhile. Was in Florida.
SDRaps.com: You mentioned your dad a couple of times in your album. Do you mind talking about your dad a little bit?
Jimmy Powers: Absolutely not. One of the main reasons my parents never got married was because my dad fucked with heroine. I guess he became sober sometime in my single-digit years. And then when I moved back to Massachussetts, he was fine, he’d been sober for years. My mother couldn’t handle me so she sent me to the city to live with my father. I ended up being in this one-bedroom apartment with him. He partitioned off the room with particle boards so that was my room.
Yeah so I guess the whole time I was living with him–but I didn’t know. That was when I was 15. But when I was 16, I was at work one day and he had overdosed in the bathroom. And we had no idea that he was back on heroine. So from like 16–when I had turned 18, he had stolen my credit, ruined my credit. I hadn’t talked to my father for years. I just now started talking to him again. I have a three-year-old little sister with him. Three or four, I don’t even know. Yeah so, I never really had a “father” relationship with my dad. I mean I know, he’s cool. We get along. I see him when I go home. Yeah but the whole drug thing kinda fucked it up.
SDRaps.com: You could’ve gone the obvious route and done a whole album of battle raps and beat the shit out of dudes, slice ‘em with syllables or some shit but you didn’t.
Jimmy Powers: It’s too simple. One of the main reasons is that all that battle rap shit is easy. And as I got older, I realized it doesn’t match my personality. And then talking with Blame One. Blame’s like an older brother to me, a mentor. He told me, “You have to find your niche. You can’t just do battle raps because that doesn’t make you stand out. It just throws you into a pile of fucking everyone that’s doing battle raps. You can’t just be a super-lyrical weird dude because then you’ll be in this pile with them. You gotta find someway to stand out.” And I figure, honesty. And … honestly, reality is a lot better than fucking make-believe.
SDRaps.com: Do you think there’s not enough honesty in hip-hop?
Jimmy Powers: Absolutely not. Especially with the mainstream shit. You know people then you hear them in a song talking about owning yachts and crazy-ass shit like that. And you’re like, “No, you don’t, dude. That’s complete bullshit. You can’t even pull that off.” And I don’t own a fucking yacht so I can’t talk about owning a yacht. But I can talk about my strong family ties, my weaknesses, shit like that. It’s just honesty. I think it paints a better picture of the person.
[[The gang shit in Houston was on some Ese shit...South West Cholos in Alief, SW Houston, looking back, I think what the fuck would I look like running with a bunch of Cholos??? haha...seriously though]]
