Artist Of The Week - PreCise

A couple of weeks ago PreCise sent me a whole lotta music and a whole lotta information about himself and his company, Illicit Visionariez Entertainment. When I started listening to his music it turned out he was a whole lotta dope on the mic. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, PreCise is a self described “full time employee, full time student, and full time artist.” Somehow he still found the time to sit down with me to discuss his music, as well as one of his most embarrassing freestyle moments, and the project he’s working on with two prominent former Artists Of The Week.

Adam Bernard: To start things off, due to the spelling of your name I have to ask, are you before, or Pre, Cise, and if so, what is Cise and why you are before it/him?
PreCise: {Laughs} I have to commend you on asking me the most genuine and original question I have been asked to date! My name was originally Malishez (pronounced “Malicious”). I was in the department for a name change due to the surfacing of the hip-hop group The Clipse, one of the members of which was named Malice. His rise to fame left me searching for a new name. I would go out to these local cyphers and freestyle and one day after the cypher wrapped up a friend of mine approached me and said that every time I rap, I spit on-point. He said that I flow with crazy precision. He said, “yo son, you should call yourself Precise!” It stuck and since that day I have been known as PreCise.

Adam Bernard: It sounds like you’ve been rhyming for a while. When did you first pick up the microphone and put words to music?
PreCise: In terms of music, I was never really interested in hip-hop until I reached the age of 10. I’ll never forget it, my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Mohammed, assigned my class a project in which we had to analyze and decipher the meanings hidden in the song “Gangsta’s Paradise,” by Coolio. From that day on I was addicted to hip-hop, and music in general. I started writing my own rhymes to industry instrumentals and began to try my hand at freestyling. To tell you the truth, I was HORRIBLE when I first started, but my lyricism grew with time. Also, I supplemented my rhymes with poetry and short stories. I didn’t actually pick up a microphone until 2009.


Adam Bernard: You noted you weren’t so great when you first started. Do you have any embarrassing freestyle moments, or demo tapes you wish weren’t floating around?

PreCise: {Laughs} I do not have any disaster demo tapes afloat. However, I can remember some embarrassing freestyle moments. I recall I was taking place in a freestyle cypher with a bunch of other emcees. Everyone was really going in with their rhymes. My turn was coming up and I was trying to gather my thoughts. Mind you, I was up the entire day taking care of my niece, so all I had running through my head was daytime cartoons and children programs. I stepped to the center of the circle and started my delivery. Every punch line that came out of my mouth had a cartoon reference. People were laughing at how silly it was. I remember clear as day I ended my rhyme with “and that’s what happens when you battle dinosaurs from your imagination!” {Laughs} Needless to say... EMBARASSING!

Adam Bernard: Embarrassing, but hilarious! Moving to a more skillful time; what are you working on now and when will people be able to hear a PreCise album?

PreCise: I am actually working on several projects, one of them being The Brother’s Piff, in which you will find me along side The MC Faceman and Warren Britt for what is sure to make you feel “Piff Wit It.” I am also working on my solo project as we speak. I am looking to release it in the summer of 2011 and I’m linking up with a plethora of underground, and a couple of not-so-underground, talents for it.

Adam Bernard: When people play a song of yours what do you want them to hear?

PreCise: I want people from all walks of life to be able to play a song of mine and be able to relate to something in it. I want them to make a connection and hold that relevance until it reverberates in their souls. I guess what I am trying to say is that I want people to hear a little bit of themselves every time I speak.

Adam Bernard: We’ve spoken about freestyling a lot during this interview. What attracts you to the art of freestyling and keeps you doing it?

PreCise: Oh man, there truly is nothing like it. You have to be clever and well poised. You’re literally thinking a thousand things in a second and trying to focus in order to formulate THAT bar, the one that is going to have the person to your right gasp or the person to your left grab their face in amazement. I don’t claim to be the best freestyle rapper in the world because that is hardly the case, but I do enjoy it immensely and will continue to use it as a tool to sharpen my written lyrics.

Adam Bernard: In addition to your music you also co-founded Illicit Visionariez Entertainment. Tell me about that venture and what you hope it will grow to be.

PreCise: Illicit Visionariez Entertainment is the byproduct of several nights of sitting in a room with other talented artists and friends, freestyling and writing music. One day a very close friend and I decided that we wanted to give our crew a name. I.V. was born! It started out as a group gathering and blossomed into meetings for shows, studio sessions, recruiting, and a myriad of other things. In the short amount of time that we have been actively pursuing music many blessings have been bestowed upon us. We’ve had several collaborations with strong underground talent. We’ve performed for great causes, such as Fighting For Futures, and I’ve even been featured on the Empire State Volume 1 mixtape hosted by Hot 97’s own DJ Jazzy Joyce, which led to spins of my single on Hot 97 itself. So to answer your question, I hope I.V. will become the culmination of all it’s members dreams! Shouts to GoRDo, Gypsy, Ghetto Preacher, Juswyze, EZ and Quiet Storm for making I.V. an integral part of your life. Also, shouts to the newest I.V. additions: Lyriq and Dru the Monster.

Adam Bernard: Finally, has PreCise ever been imprecise about anything?

PreCise: This is such a deep question. I am human like everyone else! I make mistakes and at times have poor judgment. However, I stand by all of my decisions. I accept my blessings and losses, and learn from them both.

Related Links

Bandcamp: preciseiv.bandcamp.com
MySpace: myspace.com/preciseiv
Facebook: facebook.com/preciseiv
Twitter: twitter.com/precise_iv