Published: Wednesday - March 22, 2006
Words by Jorteh Senah
Apathy (Photo: Babygrande)
Rapper Apathy is a 90's baby in the sense that he is highly inspired by the unparalleled creativity produced by rappers of this era. The uncompromisingly lyrical rapper, who religiously listens to Illmatic, at least once a day, has been honing his skills in the underground circuit with his group, the Demigodz, for more than a decade.
The Demigodz gained a substantial buzz in their hometown of Connecticut, which spread throughout the tri-state area, even landing industry fans like Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda. Eventually Apathy and the Demigodz could no longer be ignored by mainstream music moguls, as they were presented with a record deal by Interscope's Jimmy Iovine. But, instead opted for Atlantic Records, due to Interscope's priority to other new artists. The road to stardom would become even more challenging, as Apathy has found himself signed to Atlantic for three years without even so much as a single being released. Unperturbed Apathy continues to produce music for his fans via indie label Babygrande Records.
His latest release, Eastern Philosophy, reinvents the vibe of those classic 90's records that have molded his craft. We caught up with an extremely exhausted Apathy fresh of his tour with Fort Minor and Little Brother to discuss the new album, as well as his unreleased Atlantic album and the state of east coast hip-hop.
Ballerstatus.com: I know you just got off tour with Fort Minor and Little Brother, how was that?
Apathy: Well, I'm used to grinding it out and having grimy tours where I have to rent a bus or a van or some sh-- like that. With this tour, because it was Fort Minor, we had the big tour buses and elaborate stage setups and stuff, so I've got a little bit spoiled. But, the tour was absolutely incredible.
Ballerstatus.com: Well, you got a taste of what it's going to be like once your album on Atlantic drops.
Apathy: [laughs] Exactly, I'm like, "Damn, this is what I need right here." It's so nice.
Ballerstatus.com: How many cities did the tour pass through?
Apathy: We did about 10. It seemed longer because we had our days off and all the traveling and everything, so we were out on tour for a good minute.
Ballerstatus.com: Which city showed you the most love?
Apathy: Well, for me personally, because of my fan base and where I come from, I'd have to say Boston and Rhode Island was bananas. Those fans were nuts out there. That's where our big fan base is for me and my crew the Demigodz.
Ballerstatus.com: I know you're from Connecticut, but where specifically?
Apathy: All over, I've never lived in one place in Connecticut longer than two years in my life. Like, I've literally lived everywhere. That's why I call myself the king of Connecticut.
Ballerstatus.com: What was the cause of this nomadic lifestyle?
Apathy: Well, my parents were divorced and I bounced back and fourth between them. And when I was like 15, 16, I was staying with friends all the time. I moved to New York for a couple years when I was real young and I just did a lot of crazy sh--, so I was just all over the place when I was young.
Ballerstatus.com: How did you get on the tour with Fort Minor and Little Brother?
Apathy: Styles of Beyond is part of Demigodz, our crew. And he knows Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park and they've been down with him for a long time. Mike just signed them. Mike heard us and our crew and he loved it. He loves what we do, so he shows us mad love. Mike and their label, Machine Shop, shows us love like we're their artist. It's like we're family.
Ballerstatus.com: I guess you could say Mike is in the "Rap/Rock" type of forum and I know you dibble and dabble with the "Rap/Rock" aesthetic as well. How much of that is going to be present on your album?
Apathy: It's not on Eastern Philosophy, but I'm going to do it as much as possible because I love it, and it's not like some forced sh--. There's a lot of forced "Rap/Rock" songs, where you know there's drums with an exaggerated electric guitar and it just sounds phony. So, I try to sample like going back to the Run DMC's "Walk This Way," King Of Rock type sh--. That's always been there. I grew up as a little kid and who the f--- else didn't, listening to Run DMC and Beastie Boys. That's what I know, so for people to say that's strange doesn't even really make sense to me. I also grew up listening to a lot of classic rock, so when I sample something, I do it right. I don't just sample some random rock sh-- and just get wild over it. I sample things that are smart. Like, I tried to sample that White Stripes sh--, Depeche Mode and I'm about to do a little mixtape just f---ing around on some promo sh-- where I'm sampling Led Zeppelin. That's a big thing to me, I love classic rock.
Ballerstatus.com: Besides the Beastie Boys, Limp Bizkit and recently the Jay-Z/Linkin Park collaboration, it seems that the "Rap/Rock" genre seems to come and go...
Apathy: I don't mean to cut you off, but that's one of the things I don't like. Like, I'm not a fan of that Limp Bizkit type sh--. I mean no disrespect to them and I don't give a sh-- really, but I'm just not a fan of that. I don't think it's done properly. I'm not a fan of the lyrics, I don't like the raps over it 'cause it's not like real ill raps. But, then when you hear like MOP over some rock sh--, it sounds right. When you hear Jay-Z rapping over some rock sh--, it sounds right. I'm a fan when it's done right, but I'm not a fan at all when it's done wrong.
Ballerstatus.com: I looked up your name in the dictionary and the word "apathy" has two meanings: the first one being a lack of interest or concern in important matters, and the second is lack of emotion or impassiveness. Which one of those definitions pertains to you or the type of music you make?
Apathy: None of them really. The reason why I choose that name is because my farther put me up on that word and made me look that word up because it pertained to a conversation we were having. I was probably like 13 or 14 and I looked up the word, and the word at that time with me being so young, it was real deep to me. I was like, "Holy sh--, that's like a crazy concept." I didn't even get it and I had to sit and think about it, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much that's how the world is, how society is, and how people are. So, I took that name to remind myself and to reflect that and to show that's how society is, to be like a daily reminder and something I wear like a tattoo.
Ballerstatus.com: You said you came up with your name when you were 13, so you've been rapping for a long time. Did you join the Demigodz crew around this time?
Apathy: Yeah, I joined up with the Demigodz around 1994 and that's when I first started really taking being a lyricist seriously. That's when I really wanted to be a lyricist and sit and actually writet songs and verses. When we started doing sh-- back then, we were recording our little four tracks and doing things here and there, like going up to radio stations and sh--. I was like 14 or 15 at the time.
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