Mykestro Interview Part 1 Now Up!

[Styles1]

Los Angeles lyrcist Mykestro who recently dropped his mixtape Emotion On My Sleeve as a world exclusive here on Raptalk.net hooked up with us again for a new several part indepth interview! There will probably be at least 3 or 4 parts all together and each week we will be dropping a new part. Stay tuned next week for Part 2!

Styles: After fans not hearing from you for a while, you really came out of nowhere with this new Emotion on my Sleeve Mixtape. What took you so long in between projects?

Mykestro: We’ve talked on and off in between projects. I just didn’t feel the need to do one. We are oversaturated with mixtapes. Everywhere you turn someone is dropping a new mixtape. All of these DJ dudes do mixtapes consistently with the same artists. You see the same dudes on the cover and you get the same basic drops. That shit gets old. Between that and all of the snap music, dance music and all of the little kiddie shit that’s been going on – I didn’t want to get caught in the middle of any of that shit. I kind of simmered down some and then when I felt it was time I wanted to go ahead and drop something.

Styles: Do you think that is an effective marketing plan, because out of sight is out of mind in this business.

Mykestro: Yes and no. I understand that you have to stay relevant but I don’t want to really be relevant in a time where music is wack. It’s like beating up a skinny dude with glasses on [laughs]. Everything is so bad that you got people that want to take advantage of that and shine during that time because it will make them look that much better than they really are. I want to get in and stand out when Eminem is about to come out or other rap dudes like Crooked I. I want to be mentioned in those categories versus being mentioned in the brackets where all of the little funny shit is going on or that’s been going on.

I could have easily put out a few mixtapes a couple of years – that’s nothing. The music side is easy. It’s just the politicking takes all of the fun out of it. There aren’t many dudes like yourself that will reach out and say “Hey, this is what’s going on” with the latest up-in-coming dudes. All of these other sites and big sites are all politics. Why should I work my ass off for a tape? Just so it can go on two or three websites? That takes the fun out of it. You put your heart in to something and it goes nowhere because of politics. Rap has become like sports in a sense to where it’s not necessarily the best man is on the courts or the fields. I’m sure that there are local dudes at the parks that will light some of these NBA dudes up. But Rap now is a politics game. I just don’t want to get caught in the whirlwind of all of this shit.

From time to time I will jump on different forums and read what people have to say. It’s just a bunch of critics. People are afraid to be fans. I saw you say on the 2nd page that Mykestro will put out a 2nd tape if you guys comment that you want it. Why can’t people just comment because they like the mixtape? You had to bait somebody in to make a comment. But then you will see someone say, “Who do you want to hear do an album with Dr. Dre? Or be on the Snoop album?” I’m like, “Who fucking cares?” What are the chances of anybody getting an album done by Dre? But you guys would rather give 2,000 replies talking about that then some shit that is actually going on and not impossible to happen. I just don’t want to waste my time with it personally. I try to do it for the fans and the people that love what I do – people that love music in general – good music for that matter.

Styles: Does that stuff really discourage?

Mykestro: Ah yeah, of course! Anybody that tells you different is probably lying. It’s not like it makes you say, “Damn. I want to quit.” But I put a lot of effort in to my music. I don’t know about the rest of these dudes. For me, I put my heart and soul in to it. If you don’t have any emotion in what you do, then you are not doing it hard enough. Some dudes just do it for the check. Then you’ve got dudes like Crooked I that smashes the internet for a year straight. It’s funny because you go on the forums and see other rappers making comments and they can’t even stand in the arena with that dude [Crooked I] for one week, let alone 54 weeks. So how does that make me feel when I see someone put so much work in like that just to see only a few comments get put toward it? Then the next thing you know, Lil Wayne will come on Raptalk or something and the rap forums will give it a million fucking comments. That’s just the politics of what’s going on. Everybody wants to complain on how bad the industry is and how people don’t support the music – and those same people don’t want to do anything about it.

It makes you as an artist feel less enthused about saying, “Hey. I’m about to put a mixtape out.” And that shit is for free! It costs me on my end! When I read stuff and people are out there dropping comments to try and push my buttons, I just pick up my pen. It doesn’t mean that I will go out of my way to put out another mixtape out though. Just think if I would have put out those two mixtapes out at the same time like you and I had talked about before? Giving out music for free! You’ve got artists giving out there music now. I’ve got a set-up at home, but there are those that have to pay for studio time and other stuff, just to have it go on the internet and get criticized. If you don’t like it, then don’t say anything about it. I get stuff that I don’t like all of the time and I just go right past it.

Styles: Why the name Emotion on my Sleeve for the mixtape?
Mykestro: Because it’s just really how I am feeling. When I am interviewed, I tell it how it is. I give it to you straight up. I chose that title because I listened to the music that I picked for it and I put the songs in alignment like an iTunes playlist just picking how I feel. Every song was an expression of how I felt at the time I did the music. Some songs have aggression. Some records are for the chicks. Then I’ll have a girl record to where I am going through something different than the prior chick record. Candy is an all around girl record. One Two is a party record but nothing Top 40. These are just the emotions in my music of the things that I am going through in my life. I don’t think there is anything wrong with showing your emotions. People just have to know how to control your emotions, and that’s the difference. I’m not on there like the Mad Rapper. I might be concerned about how the state of music or how things haven’t necessarily bounced in my favor but I don’t have any Mad Rapper approach whatsoever.   Here is part 1 of a new interview that I did with Mykestro. I will be breaking it up in to about 3 or 4 parts because he has a lot to say.

http://raptalk.net/website/content/view/1096/54/

[SO PRUP]

me and mykestro have had are words in the past but i must say I feel dude on the politics and the mixtape thing. 

[Funkstradamus]

i feel exactly what Stro is talking about...this board and most boards are full of ignorant ass wanna be critics who post silly shit just cause they enjoy getting a rise out of people.   I been on this board for years...but i barely post cause i dont wanna be a part of all the childish-ass bashing and hating.  West coast rap these days is depressing.  I remember when the West was so innovative and original you had artists from every coast trying to copy our style.  Now the Wst has sunk so damn low trying to get spins they copying what everybody else is doing.  Like Stro said, "we don't wanna hear Plies til we fly to Florida..."  I support the artists that truly keep it West Coast like Stro, WC, Battlecat, Terrance Martin, Amplified...etc.  It hurts my heart when i see West Coast artists doin songs with T-Pain and Lil Wayne to get spins...chasing down Lil Jon to do tracks when its plenty of West Coast producers like Dae One and Amp still trying to get on....  I support all West Coast artists when they do West Coast shit... (like that Fixxers shit Quik and AMG did or Daz's Gangster Crunk...miss me with that...) And the sad part is no matter how much cats imitate the south right now, no matter how many Lil Wayne features they do...MTV and mainstream still ain't playing they shit....I miss the days of Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, MC Ren, The DOC, Ras Kass, Xzibt, vintage Death Row...when niggas was about lyrics AND tight beats...now in this mixtape age niggas will rap over anything whether they sound fucked up on it or not just cause every other rapper did a freestyle to it too...  Its fucked up how a few haters can fuck shit up for the true fans of the last of the real shit like me.  I been a Stro fan for years...fiending...checking on Myspace for new tracks...scooping what i can and making my own Stro mixtapes for my ride...but i dont post em or sell em cause i want the nigga to eat and keep making that good shit...(and yes haters...i bought a hard copy of the first mixtape straight from Myke's website!) Hey Stro if you reading this...don't let these haters stop you from doing that real shit...your true fans my not all be posting all the time...but they damn sure listening....


PS.  slide ya boy a copy of that second mixtape...i know what to do with it....my Pioneer in my Lincoln is just waiting for it..

[Lunatic]

crazy interview styles! lookin forward to the next part(s)!