Laws (June 2010) | Interview By: Jose Ho-Guanipa

Working off the strength of his mixtape and a huge cosigning from some of the hottest producers in the game (JUSTICE LEAGUE), LAWS, a Central Florida battle rapper and producer turned MC, is ready for his moment to shine as a recent signee to Warner/Asylum. We sit down and discuss with him his lead single "Hold you Down" and working with Pete Rock and 9th Wonder.




As ever, you can read this exclusive interview below and we urge you to leave feedback on our forums or email them to jose@dubcnn.com.

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Interview was conducted in June 2010
 

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Laws // Video Interview // Dubcnn

The Video Interview

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Dubcnn.com what’s good I’m here with L-A-W-S laws. What’s going on man?

Laws: What’s good Dubcnn?

Dubcnn: Not much we’re here in the hotel room, Roosevelt Hotel. You’ve been in the studio all day and you’re out here from Florida.

Laws: yeah I’m from Spring Hill, Florida. West Central Florida.

Dubcnn: First off, who are you working with out here in California?

Laws: I’m actually doing spot dates of the Revolutions Per Minute tour with Reflection Eternal.

Dubcnn: You doing any recording out here?

Laws: Yeah I actually finished the recording on my next project, which is called Overtime. It’s a deluxe version of 4.57 it’s got some bonus tracks on it. I also did some work with Pete Rock.

Dubcnn: You were just telling me you’re from a small town in central Florida.

Laws: I was actually raised in Long Island. At the age of 15 I moved to Florida, Spring Hill, a little suburb on the west coast of Florida.

Dubcnn: Dubcnn: so tell us about your story. How’d you end up here?

Laws: Let me give you a brief version. I was born in Brazil and I was adopted by a Puerto Rican family from New York and was raised in New York. Relocated to Florida, picked up rhyming at about 15 years old. Started out as a battle MC, gained my notoriety and through that I linked up with Justice League. ‘Cause they are originally Tampa natives and I was one of the bigger battlers in Tampa, one of the biggest, me and a couple other kids. That’s how it happened. We put out a mixtape together last year, it was called Your Future Favorite Rapper, it was hosted by DJ Smalls, and I wound up signing my contract with Asylum Warner off that internet mixtape last year. Then I put out 4:57 and here I am in LA.

Dubcnn: Would you say the internet helped you out starting out your career?

Laws: The internet helped me immensely. Especially coming from where I’m from, away from everything. The internet was my way to reach everyone across the world. So thank you Al Gore.

Dubcnn: So tell us about the music. What’s your vibe, your style? What do you think you represent as far as hip-hop?

Laws: There’s not a stance that I take as far as politically or ethically. I’ consider myself a musician. Might be talking about a number of different things on different songs. I might contradict myself a thousand times. I’m just a fan of music that happens to create music. I do a lot of different styles, but whatever style I choose, it’s gonna sound organic and be something great for me. I promise to deliver... I feel like I’m campaigning for your vote. Basically every CD is gonna be something really cool and something really different from the last thing.

Dubcnn: How exactly did you link up with Justice League. They’re some of the best producers in the game.

Laws: I had a couple of independent projects floating around. I had one with Rawkus called super killer thug Rap! For my old school fans. There was a particular track in there called “Where My Horns At”, that I self produced. I used to be a producer. And Rook from Justice League heard it and he heard a lot of promise and he heard about me battling and saw a few battles I was involved in. He kind of helped me channel my aggression as a battle MC into songwriting. He just took what I do and channeled it into another direction. Then we put together your favorite future rapper together. That’s how it came together, then I got signed. So it all happened pretty quick.

Dubcnn: You’re doing dates now, you’re signed to Warner. What do you have cooking in the over as far as your music?

Laws: I got Overtime coming out. It’s for the DJs, it’s a tagless version of 4:57 and its got some bonus tracks on there. I got some new production from Illmind, 9th Wonder, new justice league beat. I got another project called Yesterday’s Future, which is a dedication to Paul McCartney, hopefully coming out in July, and the album. I got a ton of stuff coming out and a lot of music coming out for people who are hungry for more. And I highly encourage people to get 4:57, ‘cause it’s free and its great. And get your future favorite rapper while you’re at it. It’s myspace.com/lawshiphop. I’m sorry that it’s so promo, but I really want you to go back and listen to the other stuff. It’s great, it’s still good, so check it out.

Dubcnn: Where’d you come out with that slogan? Your Future Favorite Rapper.

Laws: That was my mixtape, and I came up with it after completing it. Some people got it twisted. It’s actually a play on words, and it’s often misinterpreted, ‘cause I worded it stupidly. What I really met is I’m your favorite rapper from the future. ‘Cause I rap like I’m from another day, and I’m here today for these present rappers. People thought I meant I’m gonna be someone’s favorite rapper in the future, and when I finished it I realized it works both ways. I do feel at the rate my skill is accelerating that I would be someone’s favorite rapper. And there are some people that do consider me their favorite rapper and I’m very flattered by that. There are many talented artists in the game right now.

Dubcnn: One of the dudes from the West Coast that you’re working with is Khalil. Tell us about that.

Laws: Khalil is one of my favorite producers of all time. I’ve been a fan of his since he was doing beats for Roscoe and “Candy Bar” by Keith Murray. I love Khalil. I rocked a track of his called hold you down. And it was already featured on GTA Chinatown wars. It was a beat he did for that. He kind of tossed it to me and asked me to do something with it. I knew a few other people had rapped it before but I put my version out. We didn’t even push that specific song and it became the one that got noticed. Sirius XM’s been playing it – Hip Hop Nation’s been playing it and it kind of grew legs. Me and Khalil have a lot more work coming out for the album. It’s been a great working relationship. He’s a great humble dude, extremely talented. His team is extremely talented. It’s just a blessing to work with someone that great.

Dubcnn: Another guy who’s really been a proponent of your music is 9th Wonder. How do you guys feed off of each when you’re working together? Why do you think he really liked you?

Laws: I met 9th after I made “Shinin’” from 4:57. He heard it and he told Khalil about me, he told a lot of people about me. We actually got into the studio after 4:57 to make a few more records and I got to actually watch him create. It’s really surreal for me, you have to understand, a couple years ago I was salivating over hearing the listening and the minstrel show. Little Brother is one of my favorite groups of all time. So for me to be sitting in the studio watching this guy searching for a sample on his record player, tapping on his MPC, while I’m writing rhymes. The whole experience has been surreal. And 9th and Khalil are cut from a certain cloth of people that have been successful but they haven’t let it get to their head, which is how I’d like to be. You would never know from those guys that they’re as successful as they are. They’re very humble very talented dues. Thank you 9th as well.

Dubcnn: Definitely everyone check out this dude’s music. We expect big things from you. Give us some last words.

Laws: Check out myspace.com/lawshiphop, get the mixtapes. They’re beautiful pieces of music. Check out my twitter/com/lawshiphop, all my show dates are one there. Shout out to Fan 4, Mason Kane, Shouts out Justice League, love you guys, 2010. Let’s get it. Dubcnn.