Artist Of The Week - OnCue


There are a lot of MC’s looking to break into the rap game at a young age. There aren’t a lot of young MC’s like Connecticut’s OnCue, though. Only a high school senior, OnCue has already rocked a number of the states famous stages and has released two mix-CDs. His third mix-CD, I Piss Excellence, is due out in early 2007 and it's an album he feels is “by far my best work to date.” With OnCue gearing up for graduation I sat down with him to talk about his goals in the music world as well as some of the hurdles he’s run into being a white MC who isn’t even old enough to vote yet.

Adam Bernard: A lot of people judge a book by its cover. What misconceptions do people have about you from first glance?
OnCue: From an outside perspective I'm a studio-thug. I'm artificial. My love for the music isn't there. I don't what Hip-Hop is. I'm not Hip-Hop. I read these things on AllHipHop.com, translated it to my own life, and there you have it – my music. I'm a "wigger," too. All these things are not the case. Hip-Hop has been in my life since I was young, before kindergarten my brother would bring home rap tapes and I fell in love with it. The biggest misconception about my music is I'm portraying I am a gangster, or that I make gangsta rap music. I think people get this misconstrued because my delivery sounds alike, but the words I'm saying are opposite. People don't listen to the lyrics, they soak up what they want to hear. I'm used to it, it just makes things harder and that's fine with me. What a lot of people in Hip-Hop get so mixed up today is whose "real." Their definition of "real" isn't honesty, it's who sold the most drugs and shot the most people. But real is what it is, it’s real with yourself and real with the people you surround yourself with.

Adam Bernard: That’s a great definition I agree with wholeheartedly. Now, you’ve been making moves from a very young age, you're just graduating high school this spring, what are some of the obstacles you've run into with being so young?
OnCue: In many peoples eyes my skin color is an issue, but I don’t think me being white is a bigger problem with Hip-Hop than my age. After seeing Paul Wall drop, no one focused on his white skin, but Em and Bubba, they did. Why? I really have no clue. That’s why I say my age is a bigger problem. Let’s go through all the young rappers that were put into the game. First we got Bow Wow, Romeo, the first wave of the little kid rap. Now you have newcomers that are fairly young like J-Kwon and this new dude Jibbs. Let me flat out say they’re all horrible rappers. They might be pretty dope entertainers, they prove they have a steady fan base of 11 year old girls, which I probably do too. At so young of an age, you say 17, shit, I’m so fucking immature, like as if I still have a bed time or whatever, and my parents drive me to school and shit. I’m grown, I’ve seen a lot in life. I study the art of Hip-Hop, I use lyrics, I use wordplay, I also speak about the world around me, I’m not an idiot. Many people want to be famous, I want to be remembered as a dope MC of my time, that’s it. But the age, physically sucks for venues for shows that are 18+, 21+, because afterwards I can’t chill at the bar and speak to the people, so lately I’ve been chill on the booking shit, it’s pointless right now. But one thing I will agree with the general public, I’m still finding myself, not as a person, but as the person I want to be portrayed as.

Adam Bernard: What have the reactions been from older MC's and those already established in the scene?
OnCue: The ones that actually reach out show love for real. The ones that don’t are yet to be heard from. I’m happy with the music I’m putting out, I feel it’s some of the best material coming out of Connecticut, and I’m not boasting, I’m telling my opinion. There are very few overall well rounded dope rappers here, but I think at the end of the day you erase your mind of all the reasons you shouldn’t want to listen to me, I think it’s the truth. Between lyrics, hooks, flows, message, it’s really no question. A lot of rappers here convince themselves they're nice because they rap about the hood. I’m sick of seeing these MC’s all around, they really do all sound the same. If they all hopped on one track, I’d think it’s a solo joint. The whole “I got a nine right up under my vest, and my broad got about a kilo in her breast” bullshit.

Adam Bernard: I know you're off to college in the fall, so what are your plans for your music, and life in general, at that point?
OnCue: My plans are to end up in New York to further my career. I’m not trying to stray too far from CT, and obviously I’m gonna still rep the state, it needs the most help possible. I just purchased studio equipment for a home studio that I can rock up at college, but my main purpose in going to New York is the interning over there. I’m trying to get my foot in the door and witness this business first hand for myself. I want to know my business and get my money right when the time comes.

Adam Bernard: Finally, you're a high school senior who's had his songs on the biggest Hip-Hop station in CT, you've shared the stage with some pretty huge stars, how has this changed your everyday life as a high school student? You have to have your pick of every lady there!
OnCue: People who know me as an artist are surprised at how I am in “real” life. When at the end of the day my name is Geoff to you and not OnCue. I’m a real personable guy, I’m funny, I’m outgoing, I’m usually always in a good mood. It’s funny because I try to separate the social life from the music as much as possible. So once you know me, the whole OnCue rapper aurora kind of fades away and I’m just me, man. But the ladies…c’mon what you think? I’m fresh baby, that’s what they tell me.

Check out OnCue on MySpace at myspace.com/oncue. He also has an album available at mixunit.com/oncuemix.html.

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