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Twin Town High (vol. 8) |
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Speakin’ Out: MaD SoN of the Unknown Prophets breaks down love, life and progres
Thursday 11 September @ 14:16:12 |
 by Brandon Bagaason
Recently, I met up with Northeast Minneapolis rapper and Northside resident MaD SoN of the Unknown Prophets (which also features MC/producer Big Jess and DJ Willy Lose) to talk about love, life and their forthcoming W.E.T. EP. It went something like this:
PULSE: So from what I understand, [the Prophets] met and/or formed at Edison. Did you meet before that?
MaD SoN: We met about sophomore year in high school at Edison. Jess was doing rap music. He’d been doing rap music since seventh grade. I was playing guitar. And I was actually in a rock band. I’d do rock bands with people from my school and shit.
PULSE: What was the name?
MS: I couldn’t even remember. I think there was a band called Welkin. I don’t know what it even stood for. [Around the same time] Jess had me put some guitar down on some of his tracks he was recording for an album. And I always wrote. I just never wrote rhymes, like emcee rhymes. So I started trying to write in that form. That’s when I started rapping. I tried rapping, and it came out cool.
PULSE: When you started, what were you trying to do? What was the message you were trying to get across?
MS: I just wanted to do anything that had to do with music. I love music. I love classical music. I love blues. And rap music uses all forms of music.
PULSE: What about the lyrics?
MS: I think everyone, when they start rapping, it’s just shit-talking. Just talking about why they’re the best emcee. As we progressed, when we actually formed the Unknown Prophets, it kind of had a religious theme to it. Just because we talk about God, not to convert but just ...
PULSE: Spiritual.
MS: Yeah, finding your spiritual side and having meaning. Adding meaning to the lyrics instead of just “I’m a dope emcee.”
PULSE: Unknown Prophets was the first name you came up with?
MS: Yeah. Unknown— ’cause no one knows us. And Prophets—’cause, at the time, we were talking about spiritual stuff. In the Bible, people that God spoke through were called prophets—words with a message. Another reason I like prophets, prophets could speak in tongues. They could go to another city and be able to speak to a different people in their language, and Hip-Hop’s like that—universal language.
The way I see it, we want to send out a positive message through our music. And me coming up to you and saying—hey, you need to live your life good and try to be the best person you can be—if I say that to you, you might think I’m being corny.
But if I can put it to a nice beat and get your head bobbing—and the hidden message behind that is be a better person—to me that’s like speaking in tongues.
PULSE: That’s what you came to shortly after you started writing. Is that still the idea now?
MS: Yeah, still the idea, it’s always been about positivity.
[distraction walks by]
So the meaning behind the new EP is... you want to know about the new EP?
PULSE: Nah, What do you want to be when you grow up?
MS: Alive. I want to be successful with whatever I choose to do. Right now, I choose to do music, so I’m hoping to be succesful with that.
PULSE: Are you going to rap forever?
MS: Nah.
PULSE: Are you just goin to drop it some time?
MS: Nah, I want to do music. I want to do music with the Unknown Prophets. I want to do solo shit. I want to do different types of music. I want to get back into playing more guitar and make an instrumental album or blues album. I want to open a restaurant. Money we generate from album sales, I want to keep reinvesting—buying businesses in Northeast and North Minnapolis. I live over north now. I want to establish something—give back to the community.
PULSE: So, you’ve been recording at Sparkamedia Studio?
MS: We’re actually working with a guy, his name’s Alan, he’s working as our manager right now. He worked with Stevie Wonder for years. He started out with Stevie Wonder doing engineering. He’s in a lot of bands. He does sound for Gloria Estefan and Luther Vandross. People that have stood the test of time, he’s worked with them. He knows a lot of people in the business.
PULSE: Is he from here?
MS: He’s from here, South Mpls. That’s who we’re working with, he’s really showed us a lot. Ever since we met him, we kind of approached the music differently. Incorporating bridges and instead of just—rap, chorus, rap, chorus—actual song formats.
PULSE: Is that where you’re recording the new album?
MS: The EP we did half at Jess’ house and half at Sparkamedia. The full-length will be all recorded at Sparkamedia.
PULSE: Is the EP all Big Jess beats and you and Jess rapping?
MS: Actually, our guy Mizzo at Sparkamedia is doing beats on the new Prophets album, and he did a couple beats on the EP. Other than that, it’s just Jess. I do a song with this cat, Tek. And Jess does a song with Glo Pesci from the Abstract Pack, Braille Brothers now.
PULSE: Is the production Jess did in L.A. [for Braille Brothers] coming out?
MS: They [Braille Brothers] do a lot of work, but when it comes time to put it out, they aren’t satisfied with it, or waiting for the best time to put it out. I heard it. It’s dope. But they haven’t put it out yet.
PULSE: I know you re-issued World Premier (the group’s debut disc from 2000), are you going to get distribution soon?
MS: We’re actually trying to get distribution through Crosstalk.
PULSE: Is that in Chicago?
MS: Yeah. We sold a lot of copies of World Premier and Now You Know (Unknown Prophets sophomore full-length from 2002) through them. And we’re going to submit to Revolver and Fat Beats to see what they can do. If not, we’ll just keep doing the footwork ourselves. We might be getting [distribution] through Boiling Point.
PULSE: Are you rapping on any other albums coming out?
MS: Xcalibur has a mix CD coming out —we’re on a song called “Come Ill, Don’t Trip.” He’s in the process of recording it right now.
PULSE: And you’re on the Willy Lose tape.
MS: We have a song called “What you got on my 40.” It’s the title track on the mix CD Willy put out. And Jess has a hidden track.
PULSE: What’s the time frame for the release of your solo album?
MS: I’d like to have it out within the next six months.
PULSE: Are you working on that right now?
MS: Right now, our focus is on the fulllength album. The name of it is supposed to be Against the Grain but that’s kind of still iffy. I’m working on solo songs in between. And Jess will be coming out with a solo album too.
PULSE: Is there a theme for the new EP or album?
MS: Against the Grain—we approach our lyrics differently than other people might. We don’t talk about the bling all the time, but we don’t do avant garde rap either.
The name of the EP is the W.E.T. EP. It stands for whodaeverthought—because if you knew how we started and sounded back then you wouldn’t think we’d be doing this now. People from Sweden, Japan and Australia buy our albums. And if you ask people I grew up with and went to school with, they never thought we’d do this shit.
PULSE: Would you like to shout out any local artists?
MS: Nah, epl. Big up to Snakebird. What up to Bobby Hat & Gamble. Rhymesayers. Interlock. Icerod. Icerod’s got an awesome liveshow. Illuminous 3 has a nice live show. Golden is doing really good. There’s so much talent here, man. I got to shout out all the crews. And a group called Tucker Get Down—some friends of mine.
The Unknown Prophets headline their W.E.T. EP release party on Sun., Sept. 14, at First Avenue. With Juice, the Cunninglynguists and Kanser. 5 p.m. $8 adv / $10 door. 701 1st Ave. N., Mpls. 612-338-8388.
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