Artist Of The Week - P.Casso

P.Casso is an emcee that first came to my attention when former Artist Of The Week Homeboy Sandman mentioned him to me. I was finally able to see him live a few weeks ago and it didn’t take long before I figured out why he was so highly recommended. A part of the AOK Collective with Fresh Daily, Homeboy Sandman, 8thW1, Nola Darling, 2 Hungry Bros. and Print, P.Casso wowed the crowd even though he only was only on stage for a few verses. It was technically Homeboy Sandman’s set, but since they have a group together, Dubble Dragons, the name being an ode to one of the greatest NES games ever, he had P.Casso join him for a couple songs. On November fourth people will be hearing a lot more from P.Casso as he’ll be releasing his latest album, For Your Consideration…A Hip-Hop album by P.Casso, which is why this week I caught up with him to find out more about his music, how he earned his title as the Earth-Tone King, and why he feels the visual aspect of being a musician can be just as important as the audible.

Adam Bernard: Start everyone off with some background info. Who is P.Casso, why did he move from Buffalo to Brooklyn, and what makes him unique in this increasingly crowded rap game?
P.Casso: The man, the myth, the legend... {laughs} I'm just a Hip-Hop artist. I got my name from the old "paints pictures with words" metaphor. Plus I've always admired Pablo Picasso's artwork. I think I'm unique because I consider myself to be the Neo of the Hip-Hop Matrix. I see green numbers scrolling down everywhere. Most of these rappers are just that: rappers. I'm also a producer, and in addition to that I read a lot of fiction and watch classic films. I also am on Hip-Hop blogs daily observing the trends of our culture. When I record a song I'm not just thinking about my 16 bars, I'm thinking about the high hat and snare, the video concept, the outfit I will wear when I perform the song, the song's viability overseas, and so on and so forth. I thrive off of creativity and am always striving to bring my music to the next level. Leaving Buffalo for Brooklyn was an easy choice. I knew that I had to be in a major city to pursue my dream.

Adam Bernard: How did you come to be known as the Earth-Tone King and what does that title mean?
P.Casso: Comic books traditionally operate on a primary color scheme - red, blue and yellow. Think of Superman or Spiderman’s costumes. One of the greatest comics of all time, Watchmen, was a dark and realistic superhero book. The artist, Dave Gibbons, decided to use intermediate colors, greens, browns and purples, to enhance the realism. Inspired by this idea I became used to wearing a lot of earth tone colored clothing. DJ Sucio Smash had a Live Mechanics sponsorship and wanted to know what color T-shirt he should give me. My partner in rhyme, Fresh Daily, informed him that I wore a lot of earth tones. When I walked up to Sucio the first thing he said was, "I heard that you're the Earth-Tone King," and my alias was born.

Adam Bernard: You seem like a really creative person. That being said, what are your feelings on the state of creativity in Hip-Hop in 2008 and how do you feel you’re being creative musically?
P.Casso: We're in a great time right now as far as creativity. I feel like you have the underground, the mainstream, and the overground. I think the overground is where a lot of talented independent artists exist who normally wouldn't get a lot of publicity but do now because of the internet. It's kind of funny because I'm noticing that a lot of my older beats are starting to get love from my fans and peers alike. I'm talking about beats that are like three years old. I used to sample and produce a lot of weird and bugged out beats and I feel like Hip-Hop is thirsty for that sound now. I want to exist in the same creative space as Andre 3000, or Kanye (West). People expect them to come out with innovative songs. With other artists it’s just more of the same. I want to set the bar for the new Hip-Hop sound.

Adam Bernard: Is there ever anything that happens in Hip-Hop that surprises you?
P.Casso: I'm surprised at some of the new internet "artists" who are getting heavy cosigns. I remember the days when in order to make a splash in the industry you needed to have a smash single and/or album. Now all you need is a blog site and a free for download mixtape.

Adam Bernard: On the cover of your upcoming album, For Your Consideration, you are very well dressed. What's up with the tux? Be real, did your mom pick that out for you?
P.Casso: {laughs} I wanted to design an album cover that represented a higher standard of Hip-Hop. I wanted people to look at me in a Tuxedo and think "he must have something to say!" People are visual learners and I just wanted to do something different.

Adam Bernard: In what other ways do you use visuals with your work?
P.Casso: I mentioned before that I read comic books. I also watch a lot of movies. Film direction is another one of my passions. I visualize every song I record. I just did a video for my first single, "Mr. Hollywood," directed by Steven Tapia. I hope to release a lot of videos and content for the internet to express my visual side more. I mean, I'm supposed to be P.Casso, right? Time to paint some pictures.

Adam Bernard: Speaking of painting pictures, when someone puts on For Your Consideration, or any of your albums, what are they in store for?
P.Casso: Something new. Something progressive but still lyrically sound. I'm trying to bridge the gap between old school 90's lyrical Hip-Hop and futuristic progressive stuff. At the end of the day, I do whatever I need to do to make a song hot. I try not to stay in one creative space. If Hip-Hop fans invest in my talent they will not be disappointed.

Related Links

MySpace: myspace.com/picassosounds
MySpace: myspace.com/aokcollective
AOK Mixtape: My Crew’s All Winners