Published: Monday - July 24, 2006
Words by Kennita Hickman
The Procussions (Photo: Rawkus Records)
The Procussions rock the stage with an energy that feels spiritual. It's as if performing gives them a "musical holy ghost." If that's the case, consider their performance a revival. Of what? Good music.
Comprised of Mr. J Medieros, the Portuguese rock child Rez, who appears more neo-soul than hip-hop, and Stro, the production whiz-kid, The Procussions seem mismatched. Their individual styles are so abstract, it's mind-boggling to think they found a kindred spirit in each other.
We should be thankful they did. Their Rawkus Records debut, 5 Sparrows For 2 Cents, celebrates their individuality as hip-hop artists and their common love for great music.
Hours before they took the stage at a show outside their hometown in Colorado Springs, Ballerstatus hooked up with The Procussions. Between bites, Rez, Mr. J and Stro opened up about life, guilty pleasures and the struggle to make great music for you.
Ballerstatus.com: How did you guys come together as The Procussions?
Mr. J: We met around '97, '98, just being in the hip-hop scene. It's like a small town, small hip-hop community. I was on one side of town, they were on another side of town. We were b-boy crews that would rap, break, DJ. After a while, we got over the whole battling just to be battling thing and started working together.
Ballerstatus.com: What was the music scene like in Colorado Springs?
Rez: In the Springs, there wasn't that much music going around. You had a couple movements. As a whole, there was a lot of talent going on. But, nobody really trying to break it and take it to the next level.
Ballerstatus.com: How difficult was it to adjust to life outside of Colorado?
Stro: We had our first show within the first two weeks [of being in California]. It was very noticeable how different it was in terms of the local scene. We got spoiled with shows in Colorado. [And Cali] has always had a strong local scene. We hopped right in there. After the first show, it was noticeable that we had some work to do. We were competing with artists, who outside of Cali, had sort of legendary titles. We felt like we reached the point where we put ourselves in the fire and had to grow as professionals.
Ballerstatus.com: Let's talk about the album, 5 Sparrows For 2 Cents. You did all of the production on the album, right?
Stro: Yes.
Ballerstatus.com: How would you define the sound?
Stro: People tend to pin us as jazzy hip-hop. I think it's turned into what the three of us sound like together, which can be jazzy, can be soulful, but can also be aggressive and rock infused and also be more straight forward hip-hop. It's definitely a more eclectic mix on this record in terms of production. With the first album, a lot of the production was done beforehand and everybody just wrote to it. With this album, we started from the beginning, with a basic idea. It was more of a working together that created this album. Sonically, it's a step up in that hopefully it sounds good. The overall feel is there's a lot more emotion and depth to it than anything we've done up to this point. We've finally found a foundation to grow from.
Ballerstatus.com: When did Rawkus get involved? You mentioned the album was already done. How did it get to them?
Mr. J: With our first album, we were on an independent label that we ran ourselves. We had traveled around the world and sold a really good amount of records for being from Colorado. Rawkus approached us. It was the first time we had a meeting with a label where we felt like they understood the direction we were going in. It was the only time things really connected. We have great creative control, great sales and marketing control.
Ballerstatus.com: Spirituality has been mentioned a couple times. Obviously there's a lot of room for excessive behaviors (in this industry). Is it difficult to be spiritual in this industry?
Stro: It's difficult on the level that we're faced with the temptations that any man is faced with. But, it feels like it's a bigger deal for other people than for us. It's crazy, some people get so into the religious aspect of what a Christian man is supposed to look like and sound like, they try to pick apart everything about you. In our own personal walks with GOD, we're comfortable with ourselves and the screw ups we'll make. We're being ourselves. We're not perfect. We try to present ourselves as real as possible.
Mr. J: The hardest thing I'm starting to realize is trying to be humble and trying to learn how to get yours. The industry is crazy. Being humble doesn't help you very much. You have to prove why you should be here on the bill as opposed to there. Why isn't our album in these stores? If I drive 13 hours, are things gonna be prepared? Will the show have been promoted properly? I'm trying to find the balance between living a life that's meek and humble, and being in the music industry and on stage, where the persona needs to be bigger than what it is.
Ballerstatus.com: If you were to sign to a mainstream label, is there one that you feel would understand The Procussions sound better than the rest?
Stro: It would be a situation where it remains to be seen. You'd have to have someone on the team [with an] independent mindset or street cred to pull that of. People in the majors handle their business very well. But, it feels like -- and this is my personal opinion -- [the majors] are business oriented and once they get something that works money-wise, they stick with that formula. So in order for that to work, we'd [need] someone daring and someone else willing to put money behind something's that different, but can also be marketed and promoted.
Ballerstatus.com: Critical acclaim or commercial success?
Mr. J: Unfortunately, critical acclaim has been the thorn in our side since forever. We always talk about wanting to have a car and own a home. We sacrifice a lot of stuff, so that we don't have to sacrifice our drive. If any of those things were taken away, spiritually or a part of our beings for something material, that's not a trade you should make in life. There's a stereotype that to be commercially successful, you can't be yourself. When we get commercial success, I hope that we can say we're still ourselves and that people have finally caught on to it.
Ballerstatus.com: Do you have any weird guilty pleasures?
Mr. J: We're on tour with Aceylone and there's some things I really wanna listen to. Vanessa Carlton is my favorite. Love her to death. But, you tryin' to say Aceylone smoking weed in the back, we're driving and I put on some Vanessa Carlton on. It just doesn't happen. I listen to a lot of female vocalists [who sing] sad, sad stuff.
Rez: I'm the opposite. If I'm driving, you're listening to what I wanna hear. So, if I wanna put on the Culture Club, that's what we listening to.
Ballerstatus.com: Well, it doesn't have to be music. It could be...
Mr. J: Rez's guilty pleasure is MySpace girls. Every time, we got a spare second, [he's] on the phone with random girls. He'll walk three blocks just to talk on the phone.
Rez: No, no, no. I do talk to girls from MySpace, but I met them in person before. So, MySpace is just like a phone call now-a-days. It's like I'll meet a person and I'll say "email me, I'm on MySpace" and they'll say "hey I'm on myspace, too."
Stro: The guiltiest, in terms of music, is I love 60's and 70's music. Like the stuff that's very hippy. Some of it even makes me cringe. Like, they're singing about playing with a hula hoop. But, with the beat behind it, it's dope. I even love the chipmunks stuff. I grew up listening to it and if I could find the box set, I swear I'd buy it.
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