I’ve said it before, that I’m mostly a beat man and rarely listen to the voice behind the mic. But on a few occasions there will be an emcee that gets my attention and Big Hodge out of South Carolina got my ears ringing.

Big Hodge is straight raw talent. Growing up between Brooklyn, NY and South Carolina, he’s got a flow that represents the entire east coast.

If you’re not familiar with Big Hodge, make sure you check out his mixtape, Grimey & Gutta Vol 1, and see for yourself. You can preview some of the tracks here before you download.

I had the pleasure of hookin’ up with Big Hodge a few weeks ago and he gave me a little insight as to what he’s all about. Check out the interview below…

Kevin: Hey, what up man, thanks for stopping by the site and sittin’ down with me. Let’s start by hearing a little bit about you. Where you from and how long you been doin’ this?

Big Hodge: Well I’m from Bushwick Brooklyn; you see I’m Brooklyn to the heart! They can’t take that away, that New York Brooklyn swag is what makes me. I’ve been back and forth for some years now between BK and South Crack so I’m pretty much just an east coast dude. I’ve been doing this since late 1997, composing and writing around 2000 songs. You know just going hard at it!

Kevin: Seems like there’s a lot of raw talent coming out of the Carolinas lately… must be something in the water. Hip hop in the past has usually been defined by its locale (east coast, west coast, dirty south). With talent such as yourself and MIDIMarc coming out of the South Carolinas and most of the Justus League members coming out of the North, do you think the Carolinas are finally making a mark in hip hop? Where do you see your music fitting in… more east coast or south?

Big Hodge: Well my music can pretty much rock anywhere, therefore I look at the whole market and make music for everyone; up north, dirty south and out west. I just mainly focus on making good music. South Crack can make a lot of noise, they just need to spotlight more of the real music makers not the typical lame wanna be commercial cats that yell on tracks! There is a lot of talent there; they are just not showcased. Look at North Crack. They have a lot of flavor, so more acts are showcased out there. Sorry I’m just calling it as it is.

Kevin: No doubt man. I noticed your flow tends to have a mix of a New York/Southern swagger. Tell us a bit about you influences. What did you listen to growing up and who made you want to get into this biz?

Big Hodge: Well my influences always been Biggie, Jay-Z, Nas, Pac, Big L, Kool G.Rap, a lot of my hometown heroes and Pac, ya dig. When I heard Illmatic, then Ready To Die, then Reasonable Doubt it made me wanna put life on paper in a cinematic form so vividly, but stay as much as me without copying; bringing the game more artistic vision.

Kevin: Ok, well who do you listen to now? What artists do you respect in the game and who do you see coming up as being the next big thing (besides yourself of course)?

Big Hodge: Lupe Fiasco, Jay-Z, Scarface, 50 Cent, Lil’ Wayne, and Kanye; any artist that can lyrically take you to a place in their shoes. As far as respect, there’s only a hand few, because I come from a background of hard work being put in, not just an accident or a flash in a pot that makes a single get a lil money then dats it. I respect the longevity with a message and purpose in music.

Kevin: When I first heard your mixtape Grimey & Gutta Vol 1, I was like, “man, this cat’s got something to say”. Tell us a little bit about the process of putting that tape together. I understand MIDIMarc did some beats for you… who else did you work with?

Big Hodge: Man when I was making Grimey & Gutta I had so many setbacks. First someone stole my master copy of the files back in early ‘06 so I said I’ll keep it moving and make more music. Then more pain came from the misfortunes of double-crossing, losing people, my grandmothers passing, and losing jobs. You know from being at all time highs to hitting rock bottoms you can hear my hunger, my joys and my pains. So Grimey & Gutta will always have a special spot for me. It was my all put in to a little project. As far who I worked with, of course MIDIMarc, DJ Forge from NC.(watch out), J Roc The Beat, Pusha from Chi-Town (spoken words), Firebeats from Texas (how u want it).

Kevin: So what’s next? Grimey and Gutta Vol 2? Any plans to work on an album? What’s in store for you in 2008?

Big Hodge: Of course I have Grimey & Gutta Vol 2, then my artist a.battle who just came home with his mixtape from the bricks to the booth. Then 3 more workers comp mixtapes. Also I have the album buddy I’m talking a classic trust me. The green light is on its called perfect timing look for some videos to be out soon .I’m shooting some surprises in New York and Miami in coming months. So look forward to a big year from Big Hodge and the workers comp!!!!

Kevin: I appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. Is there anything else you wanna add that we didn’t get a chance to touch on?

Big Hodge: Indeed! Hip-Hop stop letting these accident mc’s kill the art. A.battle is home so Houston we have a problem. Flaqo keep being the mouthpiece! Killa let’s keep getting this cracking like how its suppose to, and the rest who hold me down.

DOWNLOAD Grimey & Gutta Vol 1

• Big Hodge’s MySpace Page

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