"That's not reality, that's a few hours of footage of (people) trying to personify cool..."-- Rusty P'sMdM- I have spoken to a few groups (here in Indianapolis), so with my first question, I'd like to pose a something I've asked them: Who's the best in your crew?
RP's- Our crew is based on equality. There is no best.
MdM- How difficult is it (exposure-wise) being a Hip-Hop artist in the Midwest, and to a greater degree, a state not neccesarily known for hip-hop (like Wisconsin)?
Rp's- It's extremely difficult. Although exposure these days seems to be a matter of who you know and what doors they could potentially open for you. All it takes is to know the right person with the right connection and the rest is up to the artist. We've done alright with exposure. There are people who know about us in several continents, which is pretty nice. We just don't have the scouts or agents coming here to check for us, so it's our job to spread our music as far as we can, which is the whole point in the first place.
MdM- How different is the response (if any) between when you perform in your hometown as opposed to out of town shows?
RP's- Funny you ask this. We used to comment all the time about the difference between a home town crowd and an out of town crowd. Milwaukee is a strange city in as much as a lot of the artists here aren't very supportive of other artists and most of the people who make up the hip hop scene call themselves artists as well. These people have adopted the attitude of "That should be me up there, fuck those dudes". As long as we've been making music and performing in Milwaukee, these days we get a pretty good crowd that come specifically to see us and we put on great shows here. Out of town, it's just a bunch of people who either came to see us or just to have a good time and either way, we give them what they came for. We usually get a great response out of town.
MdM- Do you have any upcoming projects? If so, when can we expect them?
RP's- Well, this is tough to answer. Our idea machine is always turned on so anytime we finish a big project, we always say let's chill for a little bit. But it always ends up with one of saying, hey, I got this great idea, and we're all with it so we set sail on another mission.As far as actual projects, we have been talking about possibly doing another Rusty Ps vs. Milwaukee album, but if we do that it likely won't be released for another 2 years or so. We are in the beginning stages of creating a Mega group with the people who became good friends of ours after having performed with them so many times. The idea was to put together us, the Rusty Ps, The Crest (from Madison) and Carnage (from Minneapolis) and put out an EP and build a small tour off of it. So far we've gotten as far as everybody being down to do it. We'll see what happens.We're always working on new Rusty Ps material as well, it's just a matter of how we want to present it. Still haven't made any decisions about that.You can always check the website or myspace for updates on projects and releases.
MdM- Most journalists and critics try to define an artist's sound and most, if not ALL, get it wrong. With that said, how would YOU describe it?
RP's- I guess the best way to describe our sound is honest, funk based love music. Not love like New Edition love. Love like, the music we make is designed so that it can be enjoyed by anyone, anywhere. The music we make is made out of love for the craft, love for the art and love for the people, so in a sense we are sharing our love of music with the world. And it's funky!
MdM- Aside from yourself, what can the public expect (in the near future) from artists in Milwaukee?
RP's- I think you're just going to start to see and hear a lot more of it. There's been a lot more groups and acts coming out lately. Hopefully you'll see more solid projects that give people a better idea of what's going on here than what you may have heard.
MdM- You guys have formed some solid relationships over the years. With some groups not lasting more than 2-5 years, your original group was (loosely) together since elementary school. How did you guys do it?
RP's- We're family. That's the only way to explain it. It's unconditional love. Of course you get on each others nerves sometimes, but you always love your brother anyways. We're all like minded individuals who came together to achieve the same thing. It really makes the music that much deeper when you consider that we're not just trying to make a hit, we're making music that, in the end, what you hear is what our collective souls sound like. It's a priceless element to what we do that can't be imitated or faked. It comes from knowing each other as well as we do.
MdM- What do you think it will take for the Midwest to "explode" as seen recently in places like Miami, Houston, and Atlanta?
RP's- I really don't know. The way the music business works changes so much it's hard to say what makes any event happen at any given time. I would like to think that it's just gonna take more hard work, more people making music because they love to make music and more people paying attention to us, but I really can't say.
MdM- As a part of Hip-Hop culture, there are aspects that, everyone must admit, promote & condone negative ideals. How can WE (as a part of Hip-Hop) change the public's perception of Hip-Hop (as a culture) and it's music?
RP's- To me, it's all about the music that's being made. Everything starts with the youth and when they listen to music, they're looking to be told what's cool and in turn, that's what they do. Kids don't look to their parents to find out what cool is. They look at videos and see rappers spending ridiculous amounts of money, hanging out with fine ass women and they think, shit that looks pretty cool to me. But that's not reality, that's a few hours of footage of people trying to ultimately personify "cool". I think what we can do is be conscious of what's going on in the world and make music that honestly reflects that. In some cases you're going to have music that reflects the negativity as well because negativity is a part of reality. As the music makers, we have the power to change minds through the messages we put out into the world. Every word we speak and every note sends a vibration into the universe and that vibration affects everything. Let's make more positive vibrations and change the world in a positive way. I think the culture has become very accepting of anyone who wants to be a part of it, like it was in the beginning. This is a beautiful thing. They way it was meant to be. I think the more we can convey that hip hop was created to be a form of inspiration, a form of education and a means of speaking ones mind, the better off we'll all be.
MdM- Do you guys have any tours lined up for people to come see you?
RP's- We're just doing spot dates here and there, and recording as much as possible. If we get this project with the Crest and Carnage off the ground we'll be touring for that. It will be a circus of entertainment. Each act will do a set of their own and to headline the show we'll all come back up and do our group thing with everyone. If we get this going it will be huge, and a brand new way to experience hip hop, so keep your fingers crossed!
MdM- Being from Indianapolis, the first I'd ever heard come from Milwaukee was Coo Coo Cal. But, you guys are 3-time WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) award winners (5 time nominees), and voted "Best Of" 5 times. How do you guys stay so consistent?
RP's- We just don't stop. We've never taken a break. We are always working on something and working to get our music to the people. I guess we're always relevant because we've never not been actively participating in the music culture of Milwaukee. We don't have to worry and say, "well, it's been a long time, I don't know how this is going to be received." We just keep doing what we do, and thankfully there's been people who love it and give us some recognition for it. It feels good to have people vote for us like that. We've never solicited votes from anyone for anything. If we win, cool, if we don't, cool.
MdM- You guys have a hell of a resume, almost 15 years in the game, working with acts as diverse as The Pharcyde to Eminem. Does the thought of "retirement" ever come across your minds?
RP's- Nope. The only thing we talk about is evolving. What are we gonna do next. How we're gonna change with the times in order to stay relevant without compromising our artistic integrity. I think all of us will be making music of some kind one way or another. I'm sure at some point we'll get sick of only making hip hop music and start to branch out to other genres. Will the Rusty Ps last forever? Who knows. I can say that we have no plans to stop. We all love music way too much to not have it be a part of our lives.
MdM- Are there any acts that you haven't worked with? If so, who and why?
RP's- There's a lot of acts we haven't done anything with. I would love to work with Kool Keith, I think he would have invaluable knowledge to share on top of being funny as hell. I would like to work with Shock G from Digital Underground. The closest I've gotten to that was doing a show with them and taking a bunch of shots of Hennessey at the bar with Shock. I could go on really. Ultimately I just want to work with people who I can learn from.
Man, I appreciated these cats blessing me with this interview. Not only because I've ONLY posted hometown talent (which isn't bad, but Nap isn't the ONLY city in the Midwest), but to give some insight to how the game works in places like Milwaukee, STL, etc. If ya'll wanna hear more from the Rusty P's, check 'em out at their online home, http://www.rustyps.com/. And like I always say, if you're NOT supporting your locals, you SHOULD be!
Peace and God Bless,
Double Ii
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