MC Supernatural: Freestyle King

After first hearing the Sugarhill Gang's classic "Rapper's Delight" -- brought home by his mother -- this future rapper was instantly hooked into the music. After putting the record on repeat and learning every word and rhythm of the song, the kid -- who would later become the freestyler extraordinaire MC Supernatural -- found out he had a knack for spitting off the head when he turned over the record and played its instrumental, spawning a freestyle session that would last until the present day.

Today, after years of freestyling and his famous stage shows, Supernat is back with his first full-length album, aptly entitled S.P.I.T., And spit is what he does. The freestyle phenom, who's stage shows can wow most any spectator, gives BallerStatus some insight on the long-awaited release, his past and rhyming ability. Supernatural is his name, and skills on the mic is his game.

BallerStatus.com: You got the album, S.P.I.T., in stores now. Tell me about the album.

Supernatural: S.P.I.T. is finally a body of work that I'm comfortable enough to put out to the masses. I've been waiting a long time to do it and I finally had the opportunity to do it. It's pretty much a real solid collection of songs with a little bit of my views of how I see things on this planet, you know? It was a long time coming -- my first whole written project.

BallerStatus.com: You've been in the game for years, what took you so long to record a full album...being that your last album in 2003 was a collection of freestyles.

Supernatural: Umm, I recorded four albums prior to this; they just never had the opportunity to see the light of day through the politics of the music business. So, there was albums recorded prior to this, they just never got out. But, now I finally had the opportunity to get with a good label that believed in me and believed in the product. I took that opportunity and did what I had to do with it.

BallerStatus.com: The previous material you said you recorded...is any of that on this new album or is this all fresh material?

Supernatural: Nah, this is all fresh -- everything on it. It's like some fresh baked cookies.

BallerStatus.com: How would you say your new stuff differs from the stuff you recorded in the past? As far as your mind state and overall topic matter?

Supernatural: Oh man, I was younger then, it was a different time in my life and I was just speaking what was on my mind.

BallerStatus.com: Being that most of your fans are familiar with your live shows where you wow everyone with your incredible freestyling ability, how do you feel people that know you for freestyling has/or will react your actual album?

Supernatural: Well, the reviews I've been getting on this new album have been surprisingly fresh and very direct. Nobody has really destroyed the album or said it was wack, so that was good for me. I've been very happy with the reviews it's been getting. They are very good, strong reviews, so...the word on the street, everybody says like the album, so you can't be mad at that. I got a little page on Myspace where I go check what the fans are saying and how they're feeling about it, and everybody is saying how they are glad that I finally put out this project. And they also said next time not to wait so long [laughs].

BallerStatus.com: What would you say your favorite track on S.P.I.T. is?

Supernatural: Ohhh, that's a hard one 'cause I have a few of them that I like. But, "Not That Way" is one of my favorite tracks on the album, which was produced by Marco Polo. I also think "Guess Who's Back" is one of my favorites, produced by Bean One out of Seattle. The joint with me and Raekwon The Chef ("Black Opera") was dope because I had the opportunity to work with someone as legendary as Raekwon. The one song I really, really like a lot is "Rise." That's one of my favorites on the album.

BallerStatus.com: I was at your record release party in L.A. and at every one of your shows I've been to, you get so much love from the audience. You got love that night from the crowd as well as the numerous artists on hand to support you. How does it feel to get that kind of support, being this is your first full-length album?

Supernatural: Man, I couldn't have felt any better than how I felt that night. It was a beautiful thing and I was glad I had the opportunity to be able to even have a release party. Then for it to turn out on the magnitude that it did, it lets me know that I'm still very prevalent and that I still have something to say and the love is still there for Supernatural. That's what was beautiful about that whole night. And to end it off with that colossal freestyle session, that was basically historic. You ain't gonna get that no where else. It just shows me that the vibe and spirit of hip-hop that lives through me, lives through all my friends and my peers, and they all came out and showed their support and love. It was beautiful thing.

BallerStatus.com: Yes, the freestyle sess was incredible. Will.I.Am spit for so long, I didn't think he was gonna stop.

Supernatural: Oh yea, he came off that night. That was probably one of the illest nights I've every seen him explode. I mean, Will is dope to me regardless. The thing is, a lot of people don't look at him as "real hip-hop," and I think that is bullsh-- 'cause he is a very creative and innovative person. Just because his records go pop, that doesn't mean he's pop. I think that's what that whole thing was about that night. He was just showing everybody "Hey, I can spit too...with the best of them." And he was up there with the best of them and he's one of them.

BallerStatus.com: Let's talk about how you got into hip-hop. Can you tell me your earliest memory of hip-hop?

Supernatural: It would probably have to be hearing the record "Rapper's Delight." That record was brought into the house by my mother and with her bringing that record into the house, I can say that honestly, that was my first touch of hip-hop. That's what changed me too and what made me start looking at music different, thinking about the whole rap thing. What happened was I learned all the words to the song and then in turn I flipped the record over and learned the instrumental. I used to rap the words that I had learned over the instrumental until finally it got to the point where I just started making up my own words. That was probably my first introduction to hip-hop, then after that came all the other stuff.

BallerStatus.com: When did you start freestyling and when did you realize you had a knack for it?

Supernatural: That's what I was saying, when I turned that record over and started rapping to the instrumental. That was all off the head; it was always off the head. That's how my whole freestyle thing was birthed. It was birthed off just sitting in the house having a good time, and it was by myself a lot of the time. But after that, I finally got comfortable enough to come out and say "Hey, this is me."

BallerStatus.com: How do you keep those skills so sharp? You seem like you could just rap for days...do you have to practice, or does it just come naturally?

Supernatural: I practice. It's a lot of practice, definitely. I'm always making beats now and I'm always in the house listening to music, so I'm just always formulating little attack plans. That's always been my steez, just to stay on point with my skills.

BallerStatus.com: Now, you said you're always in the studio formulating. Who are you working with these days as far as producers?

Supernatural: I work with anybody that has hot beats. If you're beats are hot and it's something that I can form from, I'm gonna check em out. On this last album, I had a lot of homies step up to the plate and they were like "Yo, we got you. This is how we gonna make it happen."

BallerStatus.com: Would you say your freestyling ability has helped your career or held it back and why?

Supernatural: The freestyle thing has done nothing but help me. That's the only thing I could ever say. It's like having a gift that is that powerful...no matter if I put out a thousand hit records or I out a few hit records, or no hit records, freestyle is always gonna be there. That's what's paid my bills, it's fed my family and kept me out of the streets. It's only helped me. If it wasn't for freestyling, you wouldn't even be on the phone with me right now.

BallerStatus.com: At your shows, you have a few things you always do (The 3 Emcees, 3 Words, etc), how did you come up with the ideas to do at your shows, and why do you feel the crowd reacts to them so well?

Supernatural: Those ideas came from being put in a situation where I had to formulate a show in a short period of time. I went to Europe and I started thinking about how I could make this freestyle show into something that could be feasible that people could absorb. So, I took all my best tricks, combined them into one, and that's how that all came about.

BallerStatus.com: When you first started performing, what was the crowd like then, compared to your shows now?

Supernatural: Oh the crowd, it was the same reaction. When I got that reaction, that's what made me go, "You know what? I'm gonna start to work this thing right here." That's was what...'cause I always got good reactions, but I used to just go on stage and just freestyle. There wasn't any type of form to the show. Once I discovered that there was a form to it and I can do it, every night on that first tour when I first formulated my stage show, I was always like "Wow, the crowd loves it." So every night I would try something new and add something to it, until I came up with the formula you see now. That's why I think the crowd reacts is because no matter how many times you come and see Supernat, you're always gonna see something that's gonna make you say, "Damn, that sh-- is dope. I didn't expect that." You always leave with a memory and that's the thing that I think people get off on...is the fact that they know something is gonna happen at one point during the show.

Even with the routines I do, they are always different because I still have to freestyle them. That's what makes it so fun.

BallerStatus.com: Last year or so, I heard that your son is following in your footsteps... whats up with him?

Supernatural: He's going to school right now. I got him focusing on the whole school vibe, but we're trying to get him in the right direction right now. I work with him everyday, as far as freestyling. If I'm not working with him, he's working it himself. It's been a beautiful for him and it's just beginning. I'm just glad that he has a father like me who's gonna show him the ways of hip-hop in the ways he should be seen, so he's lucky [laughs].

BallerStatus.com: How does it feel, being that your son wants to be like dad?

Supernatural: I love it. There's no way I could ever hate it. It's like the fact that he does what he does and it's nothing that I forced on him or said "Hey, I want you to be like me." He did his thing and it was his choice. Every time I look at him, I'm like "At least I know the future of hip-hop is safe."

BallerStatus.com: Any last words?

Supernatural: Just let people know to please support the S.P.I.T. album. The only way that the underground will every go platinum is if you go buy it. I hope that one day I can say that I got a platinum record off an independent label. That would be my biggest achieve me. I just want everybody to support the record and know that there's much more coming.

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