My Trunk Stay Monkey
Whattup ya'll? Anybody know the title of the song with "My Trunk Stay Monkey" in the hook? I heard it on the weekend while houseboating and was too drunk to remember the name. It was something crunk/horrible and had legandary niggerish lyrics. Please help!
I tracked down this interview with iCon THE Mic King the other day while doin' a search for PowerBar Ernie. I don't know how the F I found it but whatever. It's a really good read. Talks about him knocking out Copywrite and shit.
Icon the Mic King!!!!! Damn, I really don’t have to say anything else other than the name to get internet tough talkers and indie fan boys bridges in a knot, the name strikes message board conversations and rumors so much you would think he was a re-appearing character on the Jerry Springer Show. From Vinnie Paz fist a cuffs, End of The Weak bar brawls, to the now infamous Scribble Jam event that might force Power Bar Ernie out of retirement, Icon is always in some shit that has the internet talking. Hip-hop heads have drawn the line on Mr Mic King some think he is an asshole others thinks he is a genius, we at Gorilla Movement take the middle man approach, you know complete asshole but damn is he witty type of approach, and have been feeding the ego since day one. So after Icon KO’d Copywrite in the first round of Scribble Jam, we both thought it would be a good tool to get you all re-acquainted with the emcee you love to hate, so let the milking begin. We sat down with Icon and he gave us the heads up on why he is on the center of a lot of dart boards, why Intricate Spectrum is the slept on version of the Bible, and why if your name is Peter Nelson you might be considering a new moniker. So with no further delay we bring to you Icon The Mic King……
The name Icon The Mic King has already been drilled in the minds of left field hip-hop heads, internet tough talkers, and incompetent battle emcees, but for those that have yet to hear the trumpets signal the reign of the Mic King we would like you to give the readers the official wake up call on god’s gift to poetic emceeing, in other words who is Icon the Mic King and what is he here for???
Man, I’m just here to make good music. It’s as simple as that. I’m not “crazy,” I’m not “revolutionary,” I don’t wear a mask, or a mouse suit, or dress like a boyscout, or rap about how I don’t write my rhymes down, or rap so fast that it can’t be understood. I haven’t been shot nine times nor had my face destroyed in a near-fatal car accident. I’m not knocking everyone else’s gimmicks; it’s just that mine is lyrical perfection. I just put words together over beats very well. I just try to be as original as possible while still sounding ill. I’m here to carry the torch for emcees like Canibus, Eminem, Nas, Pharoahe Monch, and Ras Kass. Right now I’m here to give you the good longwinded read y’all want.
You have been rather quiet on a topic regarding a little scrap at Scribble Jam with Copywrite and people have been dying to hear your side of the story, so the soap box is now yours to milk this promotional cow. What happened at Scribble Jam between you and Copywrite that ended with Pete Nelson having to pick himself off the ground, is there any history between the beef between you and the MHZ member, some say it is over money and beats, and will the war continue on wax or will you leave it at the one punch knockout that you served him at Scribble???
Aight I’m gonna say this all one time so heads can stop asking me. This Pete thing isn’t some spur of the moment publicity stunt that I came up with to get “internet street credibility,” it has history behind it.
In 2001 I was writing this song called “All Hail” that was going to be produced by JJ Brown (producer for Louis Logic, Awar) and I had some punchline that was a play on the phrase “holier than thou,” which coincidentally is a Copywrite song. All my constituents that I spit the verses for were like “yeah that’s dope, but are you dissing Copywrite?” This was shortly after my altercation with the other bol and I never wanted to be known as an emcee that kept creating conflict with established rappers, so I hit Pete up on AIM. It was peace, we were chopping it up and he was like “yeah I don’t think you’re dissing me” whatever whatever. He was mad cool about it and I had just gotten some money from some battles I had won so I asked him to do the hook for the song. He agreed and requested that I send him the money up front and he’d do it before he left for tour. I thought this was how things worked in indie rap so I just sent him the loot. Obviously he never did it.
Time passed, my name started to garner its buzz and I started networking and getting on more shows and all that. Then I think this was the summer of 2003 when Alaska and them were throwing those “Best Damn Rap Shows” at North Six in Brooklyn right after Pete’s album came out I emailed him like “what’s up with my money, I’m coming to the show.” For the first time in like over a year he replied to my email like “yo dog, I got you just gimme a few weeks.” That night he came late to the show and he left right after he got offstage. Then there were a couple shows where we were both on the bill and he’d cancel. So there was a whole lot of this going on and a whole lot of our mutual friends trying to smooth it over and make it go away. I gave too much of a fuck around then and I didn’t want to create anymore problems for myself so I just charged it to the game.
Then I finally saw dude again at a show in Columbus at Bernie’s and I stopped caring. I was with Dos Noun, this kid Tymez and some other heads from Pittsburgh. Dos and Tymez were like wait til after we perform to approach him. So I did. When it was my turn to rock I just started freestyling and was like “Fuck Copywrite.” By then I guess he had left. I didn’t know because I had seen him walk in and out a bunch of times that night. So his boys approached Tymez like “yo we got pistols” and all this. This one white bol was like “how you gonna diss my man when he ain’t here?” I was just like “call him and tell him to come back then.” We stayed for about a half an hour. Nothing happened. We left.
This all brings us to Scribble Jam. I had seen dude walking around with his stuff early in the day but I knew if I started a fight I’d get kicked out and I was supposed to be hosting the prelim battle (which is a good way to get people to put the name with the face). So I waited and while I was hosting this kid (Moodswangz I think his name is) said “you’re getting your ass beat like Copywrite in that lobby fight.” After he was done I was like “YOOO!! DID YOU HEAR THAT LINE?!” and I repeated it and I was like “Anybody who says a line about Copywrite got my vote. Fuck that dude.”
Afterwards Pete walks up on me like “Yo, you wanna take this outside?” Mannnnn let me tell you I felt like it was my damn birthday!!!! I replied “I sure do! I’m gonna go put my stuff down, I advise you to do the same and I will be right back.” So I went and put my box of merch down by the Ground Opening booth and I said to my man Rob Viktum “yo this dude Copywrite really think he want it with me!” and I ran back over to Pete and the two of us started walking outside. I kept looking back because I ain’t know how many heads he had with him… after all we were in his home state. He saw me doing this and he was like “who you waiting for dog?” That’s when I realized he knew he was in over his head.
Funny sidebar though…some random dude had been following us out the door and Copy was like “who is this -- your backup?!” and I was like “Man I don’t know this muhfucka.” Then I asked the cat “yo do I know you?” and he was like “yeah we met at such and such a show.” How come I can’t find a fan when I wanna sell a cd? Haha.
Anyway first off shout out to Priest from Ground Opening for taking them pictures I owe you one dog. Secondly, I gotta tell y’all the pictures are out of order but them photochops are hilarious. We got outside and he starts to lead me by the cop car they have in front of Annie’s. (picture where he’s pointing, I’m listening and there’s a cop car to the left). We’re shouting so a crowd has formed and I’m on some “WHAT!” shit. (picture where my arms are out and he’s got the “uh oh” face) I was like “I aint fighting you next to no cop car” and I walked over to a handicap spot and pointed at it and was like “here this is where you belong.” Then he comes over and he tries to convince me to take it further in the parking lot I guess so nobody would see and I was just like “nah, we doing this here” and he starts swinging. The best way I can describe it…he swings like a retarded T-Rex. The crowd that had formed started laughing as I was backpedaling my way out of the arc of the swing and I started taking pictures with my sidekick. (picture where I’m holding the phone). I put my phone away and was just like fuck this I’ma rock this fool. (picture where I’m walking toward him and there’s just cars in the background) and he started backing up with the “fuck I’m bout to get hit – hard” face. Next picture is the one where he’s by the door with the “shit, here it comes” face. The next picture is the swing. The final picture is where he is successfully ROCKED in his grill with his hat flying off and some bol in the background with the “OH SHIT!” face. After he hit the ground and slid into the fence I stood over him and shouted “EARLY!”
Everyone in the crowd surrounded me like I just won the lottery and it clicked in my mind that I did. Any publicity is good publicity right? My man MacLethal was like “yo Mike, get back in the venue!!” because the bike cops showed up. So I went back in to enjoy the fanfare. Heads told me that afterwards Pete was like “On some human being shit…yo on some real human being shit…that was just fucked up.” Now his story is that he was drunk. Someone brought it to my attention that this is the same rapper that once said “I’m at the point where rappers get high before they challenge mine/so when they fuck up they’ll have an alibi.” Well Pete, you got rocked, walk it off.
After that he tried to get live with Mr. Dibbs when dude was just trying to see if he was alright. All I have to say to that is BAD EXECUTIVE DECISION!
As far as diss songs, that shit is tired. He can go head and diss me, I’ll hit up Celph Titled and have it pressed up and we can sit on the beach in Tampa and laugh while the money comes in. It’s whatever though we can take it there, I know my enemies very well I can pull dirt on him for days, I’d eat his food. Some heads are walking around thinking dude is a better rapper than me and I don’t wanna take it to lyrics with him. They must have never heard me rap. All dude does is punchline shit…even that “June” jawn is constructed like a punchline song (emcees know what I’m talking about)…I do punchline shit rarely and I’m still better at it. So whatever he wanna do we can do that but you won’t see me dropping no diss track first, I already won.
As far as me leaving it at that, that nigga needs to pay me. We were actually supposed to tour together before this and I told the agent look I wouldn’t have a problem with dude if he just paid me what he owed me. But now I want that shit plus compounded interest at the prime rate in 2001. I know heads that wanna roll on him in every state, if anything I was just an instrument of karma in this situation and I’ve opened the floodgates. A lot of people he’s fucked over have hit me up. This one dude from Seattle I think it was hit me up on myspace like “thanks for knocking him out. Him and his boys crashed a party at my house one time and charged up my credit cards and stole shit.” A bunch of rappers have showed me love on it. Dude told the booking agent that he wants me to call him so maybe this will get straightened out. Until I get my money I’d avoid me and mine if I was him.
From a Copywrite fan’s perspective, can they ever take the tough guy persona of Mr. Pete Nelson and the claims he makes on record seriously again without thinking Icon The Mic King, and do you have any career advice for the man whose image you completely shattered at Scribble Jam???
I personally don’t take any of these dude’s tough guy personas seriously and it just goes to show how more and more indie rap is becoming like major label shit where heads are so caught up in what the image is. People get into fights everyday, yahmean. This wasn’t my or his fight or last fight but these fans on message boards have never been in a fight so they are living vicariously through us. Like every other indie rapper altercation (sans the Vordul-Will High thing) it aint that big a deal. He got hit, he can’t fight, he fell down. Big woop he lost a fair one. It happens.
With all that said, no I don’t think he can be taken seriously. If we are counting by indie rap images or fight scorecards I was the worst person for him to be punched in the face by. So it’s not so believable if he was to say something about being an untouchable superhuman who will fuck anyone up. That site them Boston kids made has a good example of the type of line he can no longer say.
I would suggest he either just do that Powerbar Ernie shit full time or adopt a hodge-podge of all the gimmicks. Wear a mask, a mouse suit, boyscout hat, act crazy and revolutionary and rap super fast about how he’s been beaten up a lot and doesn’t write his rhymes down. He’ll do some crazy numbers amongst the 13-17 year old demographic. Or he can just put out an emo song called “I never said I could fight” and start all over again denouncing his past work. Or better yet he could actually truly get signed by the Roc and this will all be overwritten with revisionist history.
You toured the US constantly this past summer with Dos Noun where the highlights of the tour included opening for Ja Rule, almost being arrested for fighting with a sound man, a former crack head Pharcyde member jumping on stage during your set, and having your Greyhound bus golden ticket revoked to name a few. What were your personal favorite moments or calamities of this summer’s hectic tour schedule, and how does an Icon the Mic King live show differ from just simply going out and buying your record???
Man…you just listed all the wildest moments I think. Being on the road the way me and Dos have been doing is just some straight up guerilla shit. We hardly get paid so we had to game greyhound like that because otherwise we wouldn’t make any dough at all. Heads don’t appreciate that he and I were committing a misdemeanor (the cop tried to tell me it was felony though) every time we got on a greyhound bus. It was cool though it lasted 10 months and I prolly saved 10 stacks and if it wasn’t for that golden ticket I wouldn’t have been able to build as much momentum as I have over the past year. We’re not trying to wait for anyone to give us anything we are just stepping up and taking it. The wild shit is Dos is out there in Europe doing the same type of thing right now. Our grind is unparalleled. Nobody else is grinding on this tour shit like we are at our level. They all complain about how there isn’t enough room in the tour van. What you cats know about riding a bus for 13 hours sitting next to a man who smells like he hasn’t bathed in a year and looks like he has a flesh eating disease?!
The Ja Rule show wasn’t nothing, I just augmented my set a little, made it shorter and more accessible and I ripped that show. The Heiruspecs were on that show too so it was an interesting night, but we all showed who the true showmen were that night and the crowd enjoyed us. I had tried to get the dude from youhavebadtasteinmusic.com to do an intro for me but he decided against it. It woulda been funny.
The sound man at that Asheville show was just pusillanimous. Most of the spots I rock at are indie rock clubs and believe me I understand that nobody cares about lyrics especially at those type of shows so naturally their soundmen is used to singers who don’t want to hear themselves. My voice is not the strongest so if I shout all night, it will be absolutely shot for the next show. I told that fool to turn us up in the monitors at soundcheck and he didn’t…he turned us DOWN. Believe me when I tell you I don’t want to be your stereotype “YO TURN MY MIC UP!!!” rapper. Every night I try to introduce myself to the soundman, be respectful, refer to them by name, and have the crowd cheer for them throughout the night. Dude never complied so I just let him have it. He cut me short, kicked me out, and called the cops. It’s a funny story you can read it at the blog on my site.
The Fat Lip thing happened a couple weeks ago in LA. This muhfucka had the nerve to jump onstage in the middle of my set and the host just straight introduced him like “yo everybody look it’s fatlip!!!” and the dj handed me my cd when we were only 20 minutes into a 30-40 minute set! So I respectfully told FatLip to get the fuck off stage. I was mad as hell. Honestly that was another man I wanted to punch in the face. We had gained so much momentum and were about to just seal the deal and kill it for like 5-6 more songs and this fool just came up and ruined it and as such we weren’t really able to sell as much merch as possible. It was a packed house at the Knitting Factory opening for the Gza. Fat Lip was not on the bill. Man I was salty as hell…but it’s all good I still got to leave a mark on LA and I will be back to rip shit on the Clash of the Titans tour. We will get it right then.
Only other wild thing that happened recently is this one promoter in Dallas during the “Remembering the Glory Days” in May tour canceled on us without telling anybody. We had to fly out there for a show that never happened so I brought a turkey, a brick, and a holy man to his home (no homo). That is all you need to know.
An iCON show is just raw. Pure energy. It’s different from my records because I don’t think I capture the passion or energy in my voice as well on record. I’m like a happy little kid onstage running around, jumping, just trying to entertain and bring something different and make heads walk away like “wow, did you hear that?!” I got some tricks and routines I do that will never be on record. So come out and check the show, I guarantee you’ll have fun. I can’t wait until people know the words, then we’ll have even more fun.
Speaking of tours, you have recently been added on the “Clash of The Titans Tour,” with Cappadonna, Killah Priest, and RA The Rugged Man, how did you manage to get involved with this tour, and what are you hoping to walk away from the experience with???
With all the oversaturation going on in the market now you gotta wear multiple hats to stay afloat so I got involved on this tour a little bit on the back end (no homo) to help snatch up a spot. All I’m trying to do is some fantheft on this tour and make enough money to get right. I just love performing and this is just another opportunity to rock for a lot of people.
You had the opportunity to do a few shows in Australia last year and there was some talk of you hitting Europe on a tour sometime this fall. How important is attacking the overseas market to you, and from you experiences in Australia how different are non-American hip-hop fans???
It’s like everyone says, they appreciate it more. In Australia heads only knew me from a battle DVD and sparse mp3s they found on the net and it was still a few hundred people that came out to see me. Right now Dos is setting it up so he can just live off of European shows if the US never catches on. Man I’m down to go anywhere at any time to rock for anyone. I don’t care where it is. Send me to Iraq as long as you can guarantee nobody’s bombing the building, I’m there. I haven’t gotten over to Europe yet and I would love to, I have fans everywhere and they’re all important to me but I’m a lot more intent on locking down the US than just jumping ship like a lot of rappers do, but if I was to jump ship I’d probably move to Australia and try and go major haha.
How pleased were you with the consumer response to your debut album the “Intricate Spectrum” EP, if there was anything you could do differently with the record what would it be, and since it is never to late to get those album sales up give the readers that slept on the project a little inside look on “Intricate Spectrum” the creative concept, the producers you worked with, etc.???
Ehhh…I’m leary of the term “debut album.” It’s not an album, it’s an EP. The debut album is going to be “self: sent erred.” Anyway heads liked it. I haven’t heard anyone say it sucked or it was “aight”, people give it a 4/5 or 8/10. It didn’t get the type of press I would have wanted, but with no money what can you do. Beyond Space Ent re-released it with the enhanced CD and the proper hidden track in May. It’s doing ok, if you’re just finding out about me that’s the record you wanna go and pick up or at least download and then go pick it up. I wouldn’t have done anything different musically. I think it’s very tight lyrically and it’s pretty well produced. I wish I’d had more of the rhymes memorized when I recorded them... there’s little delivery details that bother me about it but I think it’s a great record. Most of the songs were recorded in one day in a marathon recording session (shout out to Eibol from Fingerprint). The real differences would have come on the handling of the product. The single has still never dropped. I think a lot of radio djs woulda spun “Fuck You Pay Me.” I also wanted to do a video for “Hatred.”
The concept of the record really just that I’m capable of so many different types of styles and techniques and am pulled in so many different directions – here’s a snapshot of a lot of that. I worked with Burns (Jus Allah “White Nightmare”, Dos Noun), Chum (Demigodz, LoDeck), Varick Pyr fka Lazarus Divine (Sage Francis), DJ Trends, Godamus Rhyme, amplifya, and on the pre-release bonus tracks Dr Sixshot. You can get it at your favorite internet record store or on my site. Or any store that orders from Revolver USA.
You and Chum the Skrilla Guerilla of the Demigodz, are planning on releasing a collaborative record this fall by the name of “Mike and The Fatman.” In which Chum has stated that this is the best you have ever sounded on record. How did you and Chum first link up creatively, what was the creative vision of the project, and what can listeners expect from the record???
Yeah I think I agree with him about me sounding my best on there. As in I think I finally mastered my voice. Lyrically it’s a little toned down and more accessible…it’s the perfect marriage of boom bap and space rap. The beats are fire. Chum delivers as usual. I met Chum in 2000 at Braggin Rites in NYC, then again at some battle at UCONN, and eventually I think I just IMed him one day because I was in CT staying at my mom’s house on some school break or something and we’d decided to do a 12”. He eventually became my go-to producer/engineer, I was recording everything with him and a label approached me about doing a full project so we said fuck it let’s turn the 12” into an EP. We scrapped 2 of the songs we made for the 12 and kept the last one and just started banging out joints. Chum is always talking about being fat and we’re 80s babies so one day I was like “yooo! Let’s be called Mike and the Fatman!!” as a play off that show Jake and the Fatman and the one song we kept fell well into the concept so we just started building everything else around it in a cop motif. As per the regular iCON modus operandi there are no guests on this record however Poison Pen and Kwote Scriptures show up to teach on the 12” b-side “Recognize Kojak.” This record is absolutely finished and ready to go. I’m fielding better deals for it right now so I don’t know if it’s gonna still drop this fall. In a perfect world it’d probably drop in November though.
Both you and Chum have claimed that the art work for the album that was done by Sean Clarity is on some next, next, next shit. Since Chum was to lazy to answer this question we are going to try it on you, what are some of your favorite hip-hop album covers of all time???
Yeah it’s an ill cover. My favorite covers. Man that’s hard. Let me get my stereotypical “look I been listening to rap forever” answers out the way…. OK – Stress, Public Enemy – Takes A Nation of Millions…, BDP – Criminal Minded, BDP – By Any Means Necessary, Wutang – 36 Chambers, Raekwon- OB4CL, Method Man – Tical 2000, Pharoahe Monch – Internal Affairs, Nas – Illmatic, Nas – Street’s Disciple, Dos Noun – Compelling, Ghostface – Iron Man, Ghostface – Supreme Clientele, Gza – Liquid Swords, Heltah Skeltah – Nocturnal, Aesop Rock – Labor Days, Aesop Rock – Bazooka Tooth… C Rayz Walz – Black Samurai, Camp Lo – Uptown Saturday Night (yeah I know it’s a play on the Marvin Gaye “I Want You” cover) I’m sure I could do this all day.
Have you started to begin working on the follow up to “Intricate Spectrum,” if so what artists and producers will you be working with this time around, and how will this record differ creatively, concept, and sound wise from your last solo record???
Right now I’m in the middle of doing a bunch of one-producer projects with all the producers from I.S. “Mike and the Fatman” is the first, next is “the Tao of Michael King” with Dr Sixshot, after that is the “Peter Chung Files” with Godamus. I have no real timeframes for those I’m just gonna do them and drop them whenever they can drop. I’m trying to make as much shit before I fall off as possible so when I do I can just be like “boom here you go!” “The Tao of Michael King” is going to be built around a lot of eastern philosophy influenced themes. Sixshot just makes tight beats. Stylistically I’m going to take it there with the syllables and imagery, it might be kinda out there on some metaphysical and/or existentialist shit…who knows I haven’t written anything for it yet. “The Peter Chung Files” jawn is gonna be all space rap story songs…like “Parallel,” “Lotus Flower,” “The Story Ends.” I think Godamus and I murder those so nicely. It’s going to come with a book of short stories…all the songs written out in story form and some of the older songs written in story form and some just straight stories that never became songs. Think Philip K Dick meets Peter Chung (Aeon Flux). Each project with each producer essentially takes their part of the spectrum and amplifies it into a full record. The first thing heads are going to be able to get their hands on will be “Rent Money Music II: C-Notes for the Car Note” which is just a collection of features and songs I had laying around although this time I did end making a lot of exclusive stuff for it. I also have some 12”s and a 7” in the works.
You were featured on fellow Fallen Angelz member Awar’s album “Glory Days” on the track “Angels and Demons.” Besides being featured on the record, you played a big part on trying to help promote the record as well and kind of took the emcee under your wing, how did you and Awar link up, and for those that are still sleeping on “Glory Days,” why should the drop what they are doing at this very second and buy this album???
Awar was an angel before I was; I met him through LouCipher (former angel). Me and A just naturally clicked. I’ve always been one of his biggest fans and supporters so once he started the album it was a no-brainer that I be involved. It’s something I’d do for any of my people if I’m in a position to help out but I feel Awar is one of the few left in the lyrical elite anywhere so he needs to be heard. His album is so tight that I wish I made it. Straight up. He says some things that I am like damn I wish I woulda been writing that day and captured the line first. It’s a very well-produced album…with beats from M-Phazes (Supastition, Raks One), JJ Brown (Louis Logic), Styalz (me), and Vanderslice (Access Immortal) so even if you don’t like lyricism you can nod your head to the beats. Diabolic, Poison Pen, MANiFEST, Dez, Shane, and I are all on it. I think “Angels & Demons” is one of the tightest songs to drop in the past few years. HipHopSite reviewed the LP and you can get it at Sandbox as well. I’m working on his website as we speak (awarmusic.com) but you can check snippets at www.iconthemicking.com/awar for now. If you like it, support it. He has a project in the works with Dez and Chum that should be fuego. Dez is also a beast. Check him out at www.dezmatic.com He has a project with Nobs on the beats that I will co-sign all day.
Speaking of the Fallen Angelz, who are the crew’s official core members, what does each member bring to the table personality and style wise, and will there ever be an official Fallen Angelz studio album???
The official core members are MANiFEST the Mulinyan, Diabolic, Awar, and me. We’ve had a lot of heads come and go but the only four I can be sure of right now are those. We’re all lyricists. We’ll all take your jawn and be like “what?!” Fest is more the dude who wants to get signed though but he can get down and dirty with you, real dude, hustler-type. Bolic is a goon/scumbag who’ll just as soon bite your face off on the mic and his will punch you in it in real life. If you looking to get robbed that’s your man. Awar is a cool real personable dude who will stomp your face in. He’s probably the nicest most stand-up guy out of all of us, but he will definitely beat your ass. Studio album? I doubt it. I hardly ever see Bolic anymore, he’s running with Immortal Tech/Viper Records so he is about to do big things. Fest I haven’t talked to on some music shit in a while, he has his own agenda, but heads will always pop up on each other’s projects. You can trust that. Awar and I have planned on doing a project for some time though; we have a bunch of songs together as it is. He’s on my “Binary” 12” on the title track.
You worked with C-Rayz Walz on the track “IndieInBurns” which ended up being released as a 12inch on Third Earth Music before they went under. How did you two link up, since the song came off almost flawless and proved to be a perfect combination will you and the Sun Cycle Emcee be working together again in the near future, and what was your take on his appearance on MTV’s “Made” with his claims that the, “Blizzard is Coming???”
I knew Walz from the battle scene, it was one of those things where I’d always see dude and there was a mutual respect but we never had done much more than been in a cypher together or in the same battle. I’d become cool with everyone else in Stronghold and when Kimani said he was down to do a record he was like “yo why don’t get you C-Rayz.” So I hit em up and we just started building, it wasn’t like he just mailed me a verse. We kicked it, ate pancakes, chopped it up on the phone about some whatever shit and it was wild how everything just came together. He left a verse on my voicemail one day and he hummed this beat and it sounded just like the shit that was on Blockhead’s beat tape so I played it for him and he was like “WORD!” He laid his verse in one take. It was the stuff legends are made of. I think it’s a very tight song and it’s a shame it’s never been performed. I’d like to do another song with him in the future but I don’t wanna have to come up any further off other people’s names so when I’m more established I’ll see if we can make it happen again. I never got to see the full episode but I’m more than happy for him. If anyone deserves it, it is C-Rayz Walz, he truly is a beast and he works harder than your favorite rapper.
Sometimes I feel the persona of Icon the Mic King is taken the wrong way and people seem to take your confidence as you being hard to work with having an attitude, or being conceited but those that have met you always walk away with the notion that hey that Icon is a nice guy. Do you feel that you are misunderstood by the general public???
I don’t think I’m hard to work with at all. I’m very open to people’s opinions especially in the creative process because even if I don’t agree with you your idea may be the catalyst for me to come up with something crazy. I am very confident, arrogant, or whatever you want to call it because I’m there when the rhymes are written. I know how good they are. I make them that way on purpose. Personally dealing with people I’m a lot more selfless than people expect. It’s very hard for people to separate the rapper from the person I guess. I’m misunderstood pretty much because they don’t know me; they only know what their friends told them about me. I’m only an asshole when people give me reason to be. I don’t wake up every morning like “hmm…who can I piss off today?” Ask people I run with, I hold my people down probably more than most of their other friends. If you come at me the wrong way how do you people expect me to react?
There was talk before of you dropping the Mic King title and going with the more humble sounding name Icon, is there any truth to that, and if so why???
There was? Icon sounds more humble than mic king? Haha. I didn’t hear anything about that. Heads have been trying to convince me to just go by Mic King or Mike King since it’s my real name. I’m at too much of a pivotal point in my career to be worrying about changing names. I’m the same rapper no matter what I’m called. Who really cares at this point?
Most people first heard the name Icon the Mic King through the battle circuit and you have since retired, but with organized events like Scribble Jam putting up $10,000 to the winner how hard is it to not dust the gloves off and get your car paid off, and since you have hosted and judged the battles the past two years are there any of the new battle emcees that get the Icon the Mic King seal of approval???
Man. I actually succumbed to it at Scribble this year because I was having such a good weekend and BoRat ate my lunch because I was unprepared and out of practice. Normally I just don’t care; I’d rather tour, make music, and sell records than worry about new and different ways to call somebody gay. But out of the current battlers my favorites right now are Iron Solomon (aka AM Boogie), iLLmacuLate, The Saurus, Justice (australia?!), and NoCanDo. Heads have really taken it to a new level and actually rapping, murdering the syllables off the top. I just enjoy watching now. It’s sad to say the east coast ain’t repping like it used to, but that’s because all the good dudes got other things to do with their lives. I’m glad AM Boogie is holding us down though.
What was the last album you bought, movie you saw, or book you read that inspired you to write, or to hit the studio???
Last cd I bought was my man Silent Knight from Jersey’s mixtape. He tried to give it to me for free but I was like fuck that because son is niiiice. Sin City and Batman Begins were that crrrrrrrrrrack (roll the R like Fat Joe do). Book….Siddhartha...That was compelling. I’m reading this William Gibson book called “Mona Lisa Overdrive” right now…intriguing so far. Music doesn’t really inspire me anymore though. It’s sad to say but I feel like I’m at the point that the only inspiration can come from books and movies not about reality. Reality is pretty boring to me and that’s all heads are rapping about these days.
Do you have any last words, shout outs, disses, Springer Final Thoughts, or Zen Ideologies that you would like to leave the readers with???
Yeah it’s silly that I had to sock a dude in the face to get your attention, now that I got it’s time for you to recognize kojak, check out the music, and come to the shows. I’m what your iPod’s being missing. Labels and promoters holler at me, I’ll be your savior. www.iconthemicking.com Come and post on the forum so I have something to do when I’m bored out of my mind in the tour van. Shout out to Gorilla Movement for giving me the platform to give birth to the truth. iCON the Mic King. Fallen Angelz. Gully Bears. Ground Opening. Styalz Fuego!!! The time is now! Let’s get it! Peace.
- taken from gorillamovement.com
iCon THE Mic King - Rent Money Music
Tracklist:
1. Not An Intro
2. Ahead Of My Time (feat. Tonedeff)
3. Ides Of March
4. This Means War (feat. Pack FM)
5. Codename: Fuckyall (feat. Uncle T, Tonedeff, and Pack FM)
6. Scream Easy
7. Philaflava Radio Intro
8. Spy Vs. Spy
9. Idiot Box (feat. NOBS)
10. Wildfire
11. Maturity (feat. Shambhala)
12. Obligatory Posse Cut (feat. E-F@mm, Cunninglinguists, Elite, Pumpkinhead, Breez Evahflowin, Kameel-Yen, and Squijee)
13. Jin Vs. iCon round 1
14. Illadelementz Radio Drop
15. Philaflava Roll Call Verse
16. Greener Grass
17. The Verse That Never Was
18. The End
download
Oh No - Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms
Tracklist:
A1 Intro
A2 Beware
Rap [Featuring] - Cali Agents
A3 Black
Rap [Featuring] - Wise Intelligent
A4 Gets Mine
Rap [Featuring] - Buckshot
A5 Interlude
A6 To Be An MC
Rap [Featuring] - K Jay
A7 To Be An MC Reprise
Rap [Featuring] - K Jay
B1 Keep Tryin'
Rap [Featuring] - Roc 'C'
Vocals [Featuring] - Aloe Blacc
B2 Know Better
Rap [Featuring] - Wordsworth
B3 Second Chance
Vocals [Featuring] - Aloe Blacc
B4 Low Coastin'
Rap [Featuring] - AG
C1 Hank
Rap [Featuring] - LMNO (2)
C2 No Aire
Rap [Featuring] - Vast Aire
C3 Cut Session
Scratches [Featuring] - DJ Romes
C4 Smile A Lil Bit
Rap [Featuring] - Posdnuos
C5 Keep It Lit
Rap [Featuring] - MED , Wildchild (2)
D1 Mama Skit: Callin' In T For Some Food
D2 T. Biggums
Rap [Featuring]; Vocals [Featuring] - Dudley Perkins , Georgia Anne Muldrow
D3 In This
Rap [Featuring] - Murs
D4 Lights Out
Rap [Featuring] - Frank-N-Dank
D5 Basement (Interlude)
D6 Coffee Cold
Vocals [Featuring] - Fergus MacRoy
download
Julius "Dr. J" Erving
$80 + shipping
Labels: Black Gallagher, Dr. J Jersey, Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms, iCon THE Mic King, Oh No, Rent Money Music
posted by Swann @ Wednesday, September 26, 2007
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