Sabac Interview /// 2004

Being that you’re part of a highly successful crew, what motivated you to embark on a solo project?

My highly successful crew motivated me. The world we live in, the streets, Necro, a lot motivated me.

Non-Phixion have always been known as politically-minded rappers, but you seem to have taken things one step further with Sabacolypse. Can you break down the concept of the album for us?

The album is more dealing with the internal and external revolution. Non Phixion has always brought theses kinds of issues forward and it is something I feel is needed in hip hop plus it is who i am.

What do you want the listener to take away from the album?
Whatever they want. I feel for me to project what i want the listener to take away is weak. It is like art listen make an assessment and take away what you will.

Is there any particular song that stands out to you on Sabacolypse? Why?
I have a Dream because i got to share my vision of what I hope will one day come true. Plus i love the beat and the singing all that shit…

Do you think you would have made an album like this, had it not been
for the current political climate in the US (Iraq war, presidential election etc)?

Fuck yeah…. I have been doing songs like this for years. Things were never good. There has always been issue in the world that need to be addressed and I chose to address them with music.

Were there any politically charged hip-hop albums/songs/artists that
inspired you during the making of this record?

Not really, hip hop has been kinda wack. What did inspire me musically was Bob Marley, System of a Down and Necro.

You’ve got a picture of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara on the cover of Sabacolypse. How influential is he for you, in terms of his ideologies and the things he achieved in his life?

Very!! I could get into it a lot more but I am on Warp tour now for two months and have limited time but i can say for what he accomplished, how he accomplished it was remarkable.. He was a man with vision and goals and sacrificed a lot. Motivated and consistence.

On the Non-Phixion album, you had everyone from Pete Rock to MF Doom to The Beatnuts behind the boards. On your solo joint, it’s just Necro. How did working with one producer for the whole album change the
creative process?

I was great. We got to really vibe and experiment musically. Bringing in guitars live bass congas and shit here and there. Necro is a great person to work with very creative. It didn’t affect the creative process at all, it just added.

Necro is best known for his controversial, horror-influenced rhymes.Going into the Sabacolypse project, did he have much of an awareness of the issues you talk about on the album?

He had a tremendous amount of awareness. Necro is a Revolutionary in his own right. He knows what’s going on in the world, he hates racism and gave me the opportunity to speak about theses issues on my album and
was 100% supportive.

Being that Necro produced all of Ill Bill’s solo joint as well, can listeners expect a similar sound on your LP? Or did you consciously try to do something different?

It is very different. A bit more melo but still aggressive.

What guests do you have on your album? How did you hook up these
collaborations?
All the guests on my album are friends of mine. The whole non-phixion crew, necro, Mr. Hyde, Vinny Paz, immortal Technique, Dash Mihok and all the background singers, all my peoples.

Should we be on the lookout for any videos from the album?

Yes I just shot the video for A Change Gon’ Come, the militant metal mix and hip hop mix. It is off the hook. I shot the video in Spanish Harlem the concept is ill and it looks great.

Do you plan to put out more solo stuff in the future and, if so, will it be on a similar vibe?
Yes i do .. It will be similar in a sense that i will still touch on issues but it will be different cause I always work to get iller lyrically etc.

How do you think your solo work will influence the direction of the
next Non-Phixion project?

The same way Ill bills will and Goretex’s will. We are always influencing each-other and the next album will be a bit of all three.

How would you describe the average Sabac fan? Is he/she the same as
the average Non-Phixion fan?

For the most part yes. I have been meeting more people lately who have the sabac album and they are very cool and want to talk about the issues of the world etc all good.

With Non-Phixion, Q-Unique and Immortal Technique all coming out on Uncle Howie Records, and the Non-Phixion solos all coming out on Psycho+Logical Records, there seems to be a big overlap between the two camps. Do you plan to do more together in the future?

It is always a collaboration. These are two different labels but one family.

Is being signed to an independent label an important part of your political ideology? Would you ever do something on a major label?

Yes it is great to be independent. If a major wanted to sign me it would have to be a great deal and I would have to have the freedom to say what ever the fuck i wanted. Being on a major would maybe mean more people hear the message but it would have to be correct.

You’ve got a sizeable underground following in Australia. Do you plan on visiting our shores anytime soon?
I am fiending to come to Australia. I have been wanting to come there for years. My boy Dash mihok who is on track 19 spent 9 months in Australia filming Thin Red Line and he said it was one of the greatest places he has ever been to. Q-unique was there and he said we need to go because there is a lot of love, please get us there…

If the opportunity came up, would you be interested in collaborating with MCs and producers from Australia?

Of course as long as we see eye to eye that would be dope.

Now that your solo projects are out of the way, what’s next for Non-Phixion?
The Nuclear Truth!!!!!!!!!!

Sabacolypse: A Change Gon’ Come is out now on Psycho+Logical+Records thru Method/Shock

[alert type=blue ]This article was written for ozhiphop.com by regular contributor Chris V. [/alert]