DEUCE MAXWELL (January 2009) | Interview By: Jonathan Hay

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Interview was done in January 2009

Questions Asked By: Jonathan Hay
 

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Dubcnn Exclusive – Deuce Maxwell
A Dubcnn Exclusive
By Jonathan Hay
 www.myspace.com/jonathanhay
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Related Media

After 2AM’
Soothesayin’ (Feat. George Clinton)
Birdsong (Feat. Young Mass of Digital Underground)
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Dubcnn: What’s the meaning behind your moniker and your album title The Plushcat Sessions?

Well ‘Deuce Maxwell’ is not my real name but an alias from back when I rhymed. It’s like a play-on-words…it’s a truth, a fact, and a complete sentence, but other than that it has no significance at all. As far as the album title The Plushcat Sessions, it just sounded like a fly spot to hang at in my mind, that’s it. So my concept was to create the soundtrack to such a place in the mind of the listener.


Dubcnn: What kind of material can we expect from an album as different as The Plushcat Sessions?

Well, sonically I kept it smooth, but I also kept it Hip Hop though. I got records that could be played on R&B stations, as well as Jazz stations. I got some rap on the album, I did a record called “iPromise” with my cat David Macc who has a big following out in Minnesota, he did his thing for me. And shout to my cat Tango who was on deck to feature on my first single “Birdsong” but we kept missing each other, but we’ll hit y’all with something soon though, dude has always been a problem on the mic, but y’all find out soon enough (Tango is the same cat who won Season One of “I Love New York” on VH1).


Dubcnn: How did you get started, and were you always doing Jazz?

I got my start, as most cats do, making demos and sending them out to labels and getting rejected, etc. The first cat to actually call me back on the strength of my demo was Shock-G from Digital Underground. To answer the other question, no, I wasn’t always doing jazz. I used to rhyme a little bit, but my first love has always been jazz, even as a kid.


Dubcnn: How did that connection with Shock-G [from Digital Underground] happen?

I got Shock’s info from the CEO of Critique Records actually, so I called him and told him that I’d be sending him my group’s demo. Shock got it, called me back, and invited me up to Infinite Studios in Alameda where they [Digital Underground] were recording the Who Got The Gravy album. I didn’t end up on the record, but being in the studio with the group I idolize was cool enough for me.


Dubcnn: Your MySpace Page states you’re a Human Rights Activist, amongst other things. So what are a few of your concerns?

Mainly, I am concerned about education -- or rather the miseducation of our culture. Many entertainers use their platforms to self-glorify and create a socioeconomic rift amongst their audience, which is really counter-productive. You have cats doing free advertisements in their raps about Louis Vuitton bags and scarves. Being from the hood, the young consumers keeping up with that stuff are not realizing that if you’re in the hood your money should go towards getting out of the hood, not Louis Vuitton, feel me?


Dubcnn: What’s your opinion on the current state of Hip-Hop?

I love hip-hop, I love the opportunities that hip-hop has created. I like to see the cats that are focused who are able to make a name for themselves, branch out and create businesses, then jobs etc. and keep the cycle going. But on the flipside, I hate the stereotypes that go along with hip-hop.


Dubcnn: What is the importance of promoting this jazz album through hip-hop websites?

There’s no jazz websites that I’m aware of *laughing*…but seriously, it was important for me to market and promote the album to the appeal of the hip-hop audience because the album itself is very hip-hop at its core. Aside from the live instrumentation, I have breaks, kicks, snares, and loops just like a hip-hop album would have. Other than that, I wanted to show people that you could be a lover of hip-hop and jazz simultaneously -- black culture is more than just rap and R&B…


Dubcnn: What are some of your upcoming projects and other productions?

Well, I just did some work for this hot new pop artist named Sabrina and I should have several different parts on her upcoming album [No Rose Petals and Bubblebaths]. I got a project I’m currently producing that’s a classic, but I ain’t saying a word until everything is finalized in ink. I am also reaching out to many people in terms of production. I’m working on material with El DeBarge Jr., I’m collaborating with other producers as well, like Royal Krown, which are the same cats that produced half of the new album from Cold 187um a.k.a. Big Hutch that just dropped. I like to be experimental when I work with people and give them the unexpected; for example I just produced a remake of Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” that a few of my DJ friends and UK connects have been supporting. I’ll make sure I send it to you for the heads to check out.


Dubcnn: What’s your opinion on bootlegging and downloading?

I think the internet has been helpful in terms of getting the buzz going for new artists, it also turns up the creativity in terms of marketing because you have to think of new ways to make your download standout from the 2 million others out there -- for example, Crooked I had the hip-hop weekly series, that was crazy, then other people followed suit, like Killer Mike and a few others. So it can work for you but you gotta have a strategy.


Dubcnn: As a producer, which producer’s career would you say had the most impact on you and why?

Hands down, I would have to say it’s a tie between Quik and Shock G. Both of those cats are very musical and multi-talented and bring a lot of originality to the game that has gone unaccredited for far too many years.


Dubcnn: Any last words?

I wanna thank Dubcnn, my cat Jonathan, Rud, and Lil Jay, and peace to my connect out in L.A., my cat Lee James, and thank you for the opportunity to interview in support of my album. Remember to always contribute your gifts and someone will pay attention. One love to you.