"I was born and raised in Naptown... I don't know HOW to be anything else!"-- Don VIi- What got you into music?
DV- Man... as bad as it may sound DEATH got me into music. My father passed in January of 1993. I was only 8. Six days later My grandmother passed. My siblings and I were sent down to Corydon, IN. (20 miles from Louisville, KY.) to live with our great aunt and before we had left I had made a tape recording of (local radio stations) 96.3 WHHH and 105.7 WTLC. I listened to those tapes for about 8 months strait until we moved back to Naptown. When we came back I just started putting my feelings down on paper.Then I started to rhyme and everything I wrote I would recite to "Art Of Noise," a beat used by 105.7 for the intro to the Mr. Loverman Show. I never got serious about anything til I was 12 or 13, and I recorded for the first time.
Ii- Why is it that local artist's have such a hard time working with each other?
DV- Most everyone makes most situations about themselves and don't much care to let the next man shine. Then everyone feels that they gotta make it for themselves, which is true, but if you know something the next man doesn't it shouldn't hurt or hinder your hustle to give them some advise or guide them in the right direction. Whether or not they choose to listen is on them.
Ii- How difficult is it to get radio play in Indianapolis, and do you think radio is as vital now as it once was in the past?
DV- I bet that most locals from Naptown would say it is very difficult. I personally have not tried nor do I care to get radio spins at this time. We (AMANI and I) hit the streets first. Also I haven't even released anything that I've wanted spun on the radio. Most locals here just complain and haven't done anything worth complaining about. If you do your homework you will find that there is a procedure to follow. If you don't follow that procedure, you won't get spins. I do know now that the radio is vital just off the fact that we've had discussions with label executives that have said they've heard about us though the grapevine but want us to get radio plays. So when I drop something single worthy to myself... I will try AND GET plays.
Ii- Do you have any upcoming projects? If so, when can we expect them?
DV- As you may know AMANI's "12 Rounds" dropped Oct. 2nd and I have two tracks that he has featured at the beginning of the mixtape. I will be dropping a mixtape around Christmas (or) New Years called "Mr. 400 Pound Swag" so look out for that... in the meantime you can check out my dude J MIX's "I See The End in the Beginning" vol.3 hosted by me, and stay updated by checking me out on myspace.com/donvakabigbiznezz or myspace.com/streetfoodmuzik. Also, catch up on the silly things we do on youtube.com keyword: AMANI39
Ii- On the mixtape "12 Rounds" you have 2 tracks, one of which happens to be a personal favorite, "We Dope, We Fresh." I gotta ask, how did that track come about?
DV- Right on, I'm glad u like it. Really it was an accident I got the beat off soundclick.com. I had it on my cell phone memory card (cuz we joke around and freestyle a lot in the car). We just left the club and was sitting outside Club Level in my Caprice, just got done talking to some females and, jokingly, I turned the beat on. AMANI immediately started singing "We parked outside, I got your broad, u know we fly" and I added " We Dope, We Fresh!" We laughed it off then he said what did we just say and from there it was on. I recorded the track on my birthday and (since then) people seem to love it.
Ii- 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 your sound/style?
DV- I would describe my style as ME. I was born and raised here in Naptown and I don't know how to be anything else. So when you hear my music, it's me expressing myself the way I know how. You will not hear lyrics about things that I haven't lived. As far as my beat selection goes, I'm more prone to pick southern style tracks with heavy bass lines, crisp snares and fast hi-hats.
Ii- What can the public expect (in the future) from you and your crew?
DV- In one word... GREATNESS. I don't necessarily have a crew, it's just myself and AMANI. We both have tremendous talent, drive and focus. There is nothing we cannot do, let alone if we put our minds together. We are determined, so there is no other way but up.
Ii- Who are/were your influences for getting into Hip-Hop?
DV- I had a lot of artists I was influenced by but, I've always been a heavy dude most of my life so I took more liking to the "heavyweights" in the game... literally. Such as Scarface, EightBall, Notorious B.I.G., E-40, Big Pun, Bun B, etc... Other artists I follow and respect now are: T.I. , Kanye West , Eminem, Lupe Fiasco, Ludacris, Jeezy and Gorilla Zoe
Ii- What was the FIRST local record you heard, and how did it make you feel?
DV- Preeny Mo's,"Naptown Riders." It felt good to hear somebody on a song reppin' my city! It made me feel like I was part of something. The first video I saw of someone from Indiana was Ric Jilla's "On Da what"... That made me feel good, too...
Ii- As a part of Hip-Hop culture, there are aspects that, everyone must admit, promote & condone negative ideals. How can WE change the public's perception of Hip-Hop (as a culture) and it's music?
DV- I don't think that there is a correct answer for that, if there is one at all. I can say is that people who perceive hip-hop in a negative manor usually don't listen to it nor have they tried. When certain situations turn sour, people need a scapegoat and that is why hip-hop gets the bad wrap most times because people don't want to take responsibility for there own action so they lay the blame on us.
Ii- Where can we see you perform soon?
DV- You can usually catch us every Wednesday at the Ugly Monkey downtown, we have a show in Franklin, IN Oct.11th and we have shows at the Caribbean Village on Oct.31st along with (Indianapolis artist) Keylo G.
Ii- How has the mixtape game helped (or hurt) artists in Indianapolis?
DV- I don't feel that it has done either. People just need to get out here to these shows and support! These artists need to put some money behind their craft and get a solid street team together and hit the streets hard. There are so many people who rap and actually have talent that will never be paid attention to because they don't invest in themselves.
Ii- As lame as it sounds, is Nap gonna have to create a dance in order to get noticed?
DV- I dunno...Maybe. Gimmicks aren't my thing but if somebody were to be creative in that manner and got more people paying attention, more power to them.
Ii- When I first got in contact with you, I mentioned that during a previous interview that AMANI mentioned you and spoke very highly of you. How did you two hook up, musically?
DV- Man... I met AMANI back in 2002 thru another friend of mine at the only under 21 spot called J2 out in Mooresville. J2 had rap battles every week with a prize of $100. Our mutual friend would get in the battles and win the prize money. Every so often AMANI would say "I'm tired of the same people winning and battling, I can do this!" He started battling every weekend and he would win. He won about 10 consecutive times and we was just chillin one night and I was like "What you gonna do next?" He said, "What do you mean?," then I came up with the idea that we should do a mixtape, duplicate 10,000 copies and give them away all around the city. Four mixtapes later you have us here right now.
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