You all may remember a video I posted about a week ago from this up and coming artist out of Tennessee named CP. Well, I had the opportunity of getting an interview with him earlier this week.

This Tennessee rapper/producer who originally hails from New Jersey is one of the most humblest, sincerest persons I’ve dealt with and has a real passion for his craft. He’s got his debut mixtape coming out within the next few weeks and I think we’ll be hearing big things from him in the future.

Many thanks to Jonathan from Same Plate Management for hooking up this interview. If there are any artists out there looking for representation, hit me up and I’ll put you in contact with Jonathan… real cool guy.

Anyway, check out this interview and listen to some of these tracks from CP and let us know what you think!

Kevin: Yo what up CP? First and foremost, thank you for taking time out of your schedule for this little interview session. It’s much appreciated. Let’s start by you telling us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and how did you get started in this game? And what does CP stand for?

CP: What up. Thanks for having me. I’m Colin Patrick Martin, otherwise known as CP, and I’m from a place called Lebanon Township out in New Jersey, (don’t even ask people from Jersey where that is, no one will know). I got started rapping when I was around 16 maybe 17. I formed a group called the ‘Dead Poets’ in high school with some other dudes I knew who MC’ed and we attempted to record an album. But I really had just gotten into Hip-Hop after being a drummer in the Punk and Ska scene for most of my youth before that. So my style was a lot different and I didn’t really understand the music, I just knew it was for me.

Kevin: I hear you are not only a rapper, but you produce most of your own beats as well. Tell us a little bit about that. Do you find it easier to rap over your own beats than to switch your style up over someone else’s beats? Or is it easier for you to just lay down some vocals over someone else’s beats and not worry about doing the whole song yourself?

CP: Really rapping is formulaic, somewhat like the Blues. But instead of the formula being in the melodic structure of the song, it’s in the rhythmic structure of the rhyme over the beat. In other words, I think I do equally well over my beats as opposed to other people’s beats, however the only difference is: with my beats I kind of know what I’m going to get. I know, for instance that my beats, as a very general rule of thumb, tend to be at around 90 BPM. With another persons beats you have no idea what you’re getting into until you try writing to it, or flowing over it. So sometimes I like that surprise element, but that can also pose a challenge by making the song harder to write. I think for me, it’s a little different because I started making beats and rhyming all at the same time. At first, I didn’t have any friends that were musical and also into Hip-Hop. So, I started making tracks out of necessity and because I was already a musician before I was rapping, I caught on pretty quick. So now, I can’t really separate the two. I love producing and rhyming.

Kevin: About your production… what kind of setup do you have? How do you go about coming up with beats? Do you sample at all? Tell us a little bit about your process.

CP: My set up is pretty basic but over the years I’ve compiled some dope equipment that helps me get the job done. I do all my production in the box, meaning in my computer. I have a turntable, that I sample records from, that feeds into my computer via a Behringer mixer going into my M-Box. Once I have a sample I like, I record it into Pro Tools and bounce it down into a program called Recycle, which allows me to chop the sample up a little easier. Then, I put the actual beat together in Reason. I sample everything or at least try to. I was inspired by a movement, or more concisely an idea if you will, called music concrete in which all of the songs are made up of recorded, then manipulated sounds. I love hearing the hiss on a record and I like it when things sound a little broken and used, not sure why, I just do.

Kevin: As a rapper, where do you draw your inspiration from? Life, family, specific situations? Also, if you can, describe to us in words what your style is like; your flow.

CP: I’ve always drawn inspiration from things, people, animals, and places that I know. I think all my rhymes, no matter how unrelated to my own life they are, have a lot of my own experiences in them. If I am trying to express let’s say, a trip to the gas station on a hot day in Phoenix Arizona, I’m not gonna be able to draw on my personal life for that but I am gonna be able to draw on the places I saw when I went on vacation there, the things I’ve read and heard about Phoenix, and the people I met while I was there. On the other side of that coin I do a lot of material that has my actual life in it, places I’ve actually been and things I’ve actually done. And to be real, the two are equally important to me and I do both to keep myself interested in my own rhymes. Now as far as my flow goes, I have heard from a few people that it sounds similar to Jadakiss’, which would make sense considering he had a big influence on me during a period, maybe 5 to 6 years ago where I decided to really sit down and workshop my rhymes and make them better. Listening to Jada helped me get a feel for how rhymes are actually structured over the rhythms and how many different ways you can say the same line. But anyway… my flow… my flow is generally slow, with very stiff rhyme schemes, strong rhythmic accuracy, and clever punch lines.

Kevin: Most rappers have a message that they are trying to get across, while others do it just for fun; to live in the moment. Is there a certain message you try to get across to people through your lyrics? Is there a certain group or people that you target in each of your songs?

CP: Yes, there is a message and it is this: Think, don’t accept things for just being the way they are, question why they’re that way, and you will live a happier, fuller, more independent, and more aware life. I don’t think the majority of my songs are targeted at any specific group of people. However, I will say that since I do have a deep rooted genuine love for Hip Hop as a set of ideals and an art form, I feel the need to talk to those other people that share my love of it, to offer my two cents on why it has been so twisted and narrow mindedly portrayed in the mainstream media.

Kevin: That’s what’s up… I really enjoyed the new video, “Like A Son”, which is the first off of your new mixtape The Stash Box. To me, what made that video awesome is its simplicity. Was that intentional or more of a budget decision? Also, tell us about the song. What’s that song about?

CP: Well the video was very generously made for us by Court, and shot in front of and around where my mom still lives in Jersey. The simplicity was intentional, and also a budget constraint, being that there really wasn’t a budget at all. The song is about me, and my relationship with where I’m from. There are also a number of bars dedicated to a friend of mine Craig, who was a friend who died while I was away for my first year of college. He was a dude that I grew up with; I went to middle school and most of high school with him. He got arrested our senior year and had to go to rehab for a while after that, and I really didn’t see him that much. But he was someone I can remember getting fucked up with, doing stupid shit, and just willin out with as a kid. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere in New Jersey, with nothing going on, and nowhere to really go. So we did allot of drugs, drank allot of boos, and snuck out at night and roamed the roads and shit. So it felt like there was a parallel there, we were two middle class dudes from the same place doing the same shit commin up, but he apparently killed himself before his 20th birthday. What do you say, when you feel like someone who could have just as easily been you has such an unhappy life that he decides its not worth it. So that got me thinking about what being where I’m from taught me, and I tried to explain how it made me feel, and just give you a general picture of the scene I was in.

Kevin: So The Stash Box is set to drop any day now. Tell us a little bit about the process of putting that together. How long did it take from start to finish. Did you produce the whole thing yourself? Who else worked on it with you? Any guest spots on the mixtape? Any freestyles?

CP: I hate to say it but this shit it still in the process. Still trying to get art together, and have the tape finalized. So really when its finished its finished. But its cool, all the time I’ve been spending on it will pay off in the end, when I have something dope to play everyone. As of right now, some of the tracks on the tape are from as long as 2-3 years old. Its been a labor of love, most of the time I was recording this mix tape I was also recording a solo album, along with various other projects and guest spots, and going to school for my Bachelors of Science in Recording Industry. So it took some time. No I didn’t even produce the majority of the tracks. There are industry beats on there, along with beats from hommies of mine like DJ Small Head, Wolfe, Zim from Basement Politics, Joseph Random, and Domingo, plus some I don’t even know where they came from. But I have a few beats on there. Okay so who’s on the tape? Well I’m going to make sure I get everyone, so hold on… ah ha: Skyzoo, Pumpkin Head, Wordsworth, Don Cerino, Dee, Rhyme Scheme, and the Nappy Roots. The whole tape is being blended / hosted by BK One, and there’s scratches on there from Truth Speaks, and DJ Small Head.

Kevin: After the mixtape, what’s next? Can we expect a full album from you this year? If so, can you tell us a lit about that and when can we expect it?

CP: I don’t know exactly when you can expect it but I can tell you that it’s near completion on a rough level already. I have about 10 songs done for it, and I’m shooting for about 12-14. So far its already got features from: Sadat X, C-Rayz Walz, Brother Ali, Reef The Lost Cauze, Akir, and RA. The Rugged Man. And production from Joseph Random, DJ Small Head, Panic from the Molemen, and me.

Kevin: Damn, that sounds like a tight line up! Thanks again for stoppin’ by CP. I’m def looking forward to hearing both the mixtape and the album. In the meantime, CP and his manager have offered us an exclusive listen to a few of CP’s joints. Check em out below!

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...