Published: Wednesday - February 28, 2007
Words by Mike Cooper II
Visionaries (Photo: LRG)
A Mexican, Filipino, African/Native American/Filipino, Jap, Filipino, and white boy from the beach walk into a bar. "No, this is not the opener to a racist joke," the town mayor whispers into the ear of his doctor friend as they wait to tee off. That diverse group of performers walking into the bar, are the entertainment. And some pretty damn fine entertainment at that.
As members of the Los Angeles based hip-hop group, Visionaries, 2mex, DJ Rhettmatic, Lord Zen, Dannu, KeyKool and LMNO add as much positive vibes to the hip-hop scene, as they do ethnic diversity.
Truly showcasing the hodgepodge of cultures that is southern California, the Visionaries have become not only local favorites, but pioneers of what West Coast hip-hop can be, if it had the courage. While L.A. has long been known as the Mecca of gangsta rap, there's a new wind blowing in from the Pacific and the Visionaries are the mill that's churning it. Instead of bodycounts and bank accounts, The Visionaries art is dedicated towards peace, love and understanding.
Individually, they've released over 20 solo albums, but it's their collective efforts on the group's four albums that's earned them respect and notoriety. They're harkening back to the days when Cypress Hill caught the same area off guard with a distinctive style.
Their latest album, We Are The Ones, sees the group delivering a message West Coast hip-hop fans having been waiting for, for a long time.
BallerStatus recently spoke with the group's own LMNO (a.k.a. James Kelly), who at first glance comes off as a surfer dude/wannabe rapper, but in reality spits like a hardened veteran of rap's toughest skirmishes.
Previously best known as that guy in the background of D.O.C.'s "Formula" video, there's more to the story now about the said guy who's -- forget that VH1 joke of show -- the next big "white" rapper.
BallerStatus.com: Did you grow up in Los Angeles?
LMNO: Nah, I actually was raised right outside. We had the mountains and the beach right there together, so that was nice.
BallerStatus.com: How did you first get involved in hip-hop? Was that the main style of music you listened to in your developing age?
LMNO: Yeah basically. I mean, just like out in L.A., there was this radio station... if you had access to a radio, you had hip-hop. It played hip-hop all the way up till about six or seven in the evening, then it turned into an all Mexican station, so you could get it for about an hour or so. I grew up as a little kid around a bunch of big kids, you know? One of the homies, Marty, he had turntables. So actually, I got introduced to the DJ aspect of hip-hop through my homie Marty when I was like ten years old. I was living in a melting pot, so I was exposed to a lot of things. I had punk rock fans, skater fans, surfer fans, gangster fans and all kind of fans so...
BallerStatus.com: You're not exactly the stereotypical hip-hop performer. Talk about what it's like to bring all that diversity into the scene and blow people away when they're not expecting something like that.
LMNO: Well, you know, it's kinda like... I don't know. That's the beauty of Visionaries, we really never. Obviously, that was a hurdle if I allowed it to be a hurdle in my life, but it was just growing up in a real open minded area. It developed into more than I started out with, thank God. I think that's what gives us leverage; we don't fall into that trap of trying to put on gangster imagery. We've respected the craft for what it is, and so far so good. We've done alright. But with Visionaries too, you think about the demographic to even be in a group with everybody like that. Just having a white person isn't normal, and you can take anyone of us away and still have that same international type mixed well, which adds to the dynamic. It's really nothing if you think about it. It's very representative of southern California. Just on one neighborhood block, you have Mexican, African and European, and even Asians. We had all those different types of cultures and people with different ancestries and backgrounds all right there on the block.
BallerStatus.com: Talk about the West Coast hip-hop and southern California scene, especially underground wise.
LMNO: It's going good boy. It's definitely like an oasis or false paradise, this underground scene. Everybody in the group has their own opinions, but to me, I don't want to be restricted to just one scene like Christian, vegan, underground or white. I do see where a lot of groups are utilizing that movement, but someone like myself, I'm a defender of it. I'm definitely towards everybody hearing our stuff. I don't know. It's just funny that the music that we're considered is like backpack or whatever. Then when I play for my gangsta homies, they're like "Yo, this is banging." I tell them that once you get past that first little barrier, which is called underground hip-hop... because right away that turns people away because Big Daddy Kane wasn't underground hip-hop. Rakim, he wasn't underground hip-hop. To me that's just another title or label, you just have to be a good musician or performer in this genre called hip-hop.
BallerStatus.com: But the situation has changed now. Being underground isn't what it used to be, what with the internet and all.
LMNO: Yeah, well that's the thing cause, it's like -- freestyling and written rap -- to me no matter what you spit, you're letting your style free, so that's freestyling. But for me, it's like, I think the West Coast, especially man, has always taken this underground approach because other than gangsta rap or the Pharcyde, we really don't have a lot of platinum plaques to contribute, or unless you're shooting somebody on record. You had Dilated coming out real strong on Capitol, but that still doesn't get them to the top because they weren't gangsta enough or black enough, or whatever else. No matter what you do, it's really hard to please the people out there. That's for me, like the one thing I don't want to get pinned into that one category.
BallerStatus.com: How do you feel about the overall state of hip-hop right now? There were some tremendous albums that came out, some fresh faces like Lupe and the Kidz In The Hall, and then NAS, Luda and Jigga did their thing.
LMNO: To me, the overflow and accessibility of all these rappers is going to eventually dumb it down. When I was coming up as a kid, not even the rapper to be, I just was overwhelmed by it. You were a fan. You wouldn't ever think about, if you saw Big Daddy Kane or Kool G Rap on the street, running up to them with a demo or a CD to try to sell it to them for five bucks with your name on it. It's like everyone just wants to be a star now, instead of just playing their role and like having a real humble job.
BallerStatus.com: You're saying this generation isn't content with being hip-hop artists as almost a hobby or a way of having fun? It's like the young ones now go into for the cash, the fame, the booty, and most importantly, to be top dog for however long they can. It's as if these new artist could give a damn whether or not the buyer enjoys the record, just as long as they hand the money over the counter. And that's sad quite honestly and explains some of the sh-- that comes out these days.
LMNO: You're feeling me. These artists don't want to go to school full-time, they want to throw it all into hip-hop and if they fail, they'll end up on the street corner with a couple interesting stories to tell, but that's it. It's like everybody's taking the easy way out. Hitting the "easy" button so to speak. And it's especially like that now with the whole computer business.
I was just telling the homies yesterday that we've got to reinvest in some two inch reel-to-reels, and bring it to that level again because who's to say if a digital depression goes down, and if and when it does, then what? Everybody's music and craft and heart, all their artwork is all on this digital base now. We have this dependency now on something we don't fully understand nor have control of. We basically just log on and log off and can put some tracks on like that, where as in the past, you had to save up your cash just to buy the reel tape. That was a different struggle.
Now it's like log onto CoolEdit or whatever and it's done. I'm not computer savvy at all. You put me in front of one and I'll be waiting for "PacMan" to come on. I think that's kind of my advantage right now because if computers were to somehow crash or fail, I'm not going to be bothered. Everyone else will be back to square one. To me, technology, it ultimately going to... 'cause imagine how bands feel. My uncle's a drummer and he told me stories of playing parties and the whole band would split $20. Now, you have rappers making thousands per show to spit 16 bars. It's a beautiful thing, I'm all for it and more power to them, but there's a cause for all the violence and hustle within the industry and the roots go back to some of that. It's a business now as opposed to a purely a form of expression and you have a bunch of folks in the game who never went to business school. They learned the hustle on the streets, so you know how that turns out. Hip-hop needs some Drano right now if you ask me.
BallerStatus.com: Talk about what each individual member of the Visionaries brings to the group as a whole.
LMNO: Well shoot man, basically one attribute we all bring is heart. I think that's the ultimate. The fact that everybody wants to be good at what they do, and conversely make sure what they put out is good, that's the biggest thing. Like 2Mex, he brings like the whole drive, as far as the hustle, to the table. He brings a good, dedicated vibe that keeps us working. And then KeyKool, he has his hands in everything, all aspects, which every organization needs. Basically with Visionaries, we're just trying to find our internal niche. It's like trying to figure out who's the chef, who's the host of the restaurant, who's the waiter, who's the entertainment for the restaurant. We got this establishment called Visionaries, that's cool, and now we're trying to figure out who does what within it. You can't just have like six bomb chefs and nobody to run the restaurant. We've been doing this for 15 years now and are still waking up with new energy and ideas.
BallerStatus.com: Yeah? Who have been some of your favorite artists to work and perform with outside of the group? Do shows with?
LMNO: Oh snap! Definitely my homies out here, who I do all my solo shows with, and Evidence of Dilated, are some to name a few.
BallerStatus.com: Describe more what it was like growing up out there for you?
LMNO: I mean, at a certain point, it takes someone from out of town to remind you how much... sunshine and palm trees... how much that stuff counts. I go out of town all the time, and come home to realize how much I do like living out here. I'm not like the Dodger fan, the Lakers fan or the Angels fan. I just by circumstance live in southern California. But like, what I've been able to take from it is the diversity factor. That's the one thing man, southern California shows you that we're all one of God's people.
BallerStatus.com: Living out there, with the heavy traffic at times, and fast past lifestyle, what to you do to wind down and chill out?
LMNO: Honestly homey, I think I can't sleep, so it's like I don't get away. I find every way I can to be in the studio. So it's like my recreation is the studio. I grew up playing soccer and basketball and all that. Once I got to a certain age, though, and that determination kicked in, this is what we do. This is what we wake up in the morning for, making music.
BallerStatus.com: You wouldn't be doing anything else in the world?
LMNO: Nothing G! I tired. I tried the balance, and having multiple jobs, this and that. Trying to do music and work those minimum wagers isn't right though man. So, it's just forced me to hustle and hasn't really seen me stopping to relax. I relax in my own life, with my wife and child when we're able to get out of town. Maybe go to Lake Tahoe or something, to get away. That's what we do -- and obviously I don't bring the studio with me. But for the most part, working your craft is part of enjoying life.
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