1. Now for everybody out here in the digital universe, what’s your name & location?
AWKWORD. I recently moved from NYC to Upstate NY to be with my new wife and kids.
2. What inspires you to be who you are?
My mental illness, my mom’s (RIP) heart and activism, my love for nature and the innocent youth, my lifelong guttural disdain for injustice and inequality, my allegiance to and love for Hip Hop culture, and my need to write and record rap. And ILL BILLand Remedy helped me realize this could be possible.
3. Before the age/era of “super producers” most Hip-Hop album’s were handled by a DJ/MC & one “producer” (occasionally being the DJ themselves). If you could do a whole project with one producer who would it be and why?
Because he’s the GOAT, DJ Premier. But because he’s the future and a long-time friend and collaborator, I would choose the incredibly talented SRFSCHL captain Harry Fraud.
4. Where was the first show you ever rocked?
I performed at my high school when I worked with the Anti-Defamation League to create and host the first-ever/now annual Diversity Day. I performed in my hometown in Connecticut for MLK Day. I rocked mad parties and entered freestyle battles at Vassar College, while earning my degree in Sociology and English. But my first REAL performance was probably Don Hill’s in NYC or Tuxedo Junction in Danbury, CT. Can’t really remember. But I ended up doing shows a lot, opening for BLESTeNATION and The Cool Kids, J Live, Masta Ace, Grandmaster Caz, and many others.
5. How did the collaboration track “Bars & Hooks” (Produced By Harry Fraud, and featuring Sean Price, Shakespeare & The Kid Daytona) come to life?
Fraud has been producing for me for more than a decade. He and I chose the beat and agreed on Sean Price as the main feature. We got our verses recorded. And Shakespeare was in Fraud’s studio with me, so it made perfect sense to ask him to do the hook. His voice and his writing are great. And then not long after that, on Halloween I think, I was at a club in the Lower East Side of Manhattan with Statik Selektah and ATG, and we ran into Daytona, who I had never met before that. He loved the idea and recorded his part at Fraud’s studio within a day or two. And that was the start of their relationship — now Daytona is signed to Fraud’s Surf School label.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RxMJ43kdlw&hd=1
6. What made you want to do a project for charity? Was that your initial plan from the beginning?
I have been an activist, community organizer, volunteer and philanthropist for years, and since I am no longer as active on the streets and in the community centers, I wanted to give back — specifically to the youth in the neighborhoods that birthed Hip Hop and keep it alive and fresh today — through my medium: rap music.
Doing this album, World View, for charity was actually was not my original plan. The concept really started through myspace more than 5 years ago. I dropped my solo debut LP ‘See the Light’ (no longer available), and DJs and producers from all over the world were contacting me on myspace asking for acapellas so they could create remixes. That gave me the idea of publicizing on myspace a remix contest, with the best submissions being used for a free remix mixtape. Realizing the global nature of this, how worldwide Hip Hop has become, I thought of the name “World View”, as the album would essentially illustrate the world view of Hip Hop. What ended up happening though was that I continued to make more and more new music and receive more and more positive press, so I expanded ‘World View’ to include 38 songs across two discs. The first, featuring mostly new music, was released February 2 through DJBooth, with all proceeds going to a 501c3 charity fighting to eradicate street violence through education and empowerment of “at-risk” youth (Guns 4 Cameras). The second, featuring a lot of new music and a number of remixes, was released March 17 through DJBooth as a FREE thank you to my supporters.
http://AWKWORDrap.com/World-View
7. I’ve heard from an MC I respect before say something along the lines of “Don’t let your name describe you”…Are you really awkward, Awkword?
My name is more than anything about being a tragic personality — accepting, owning, taking pride in my problems. One of them was feeling like an outcast, an outsider, uncomfortable and awkward within a community of people who were conservative, Christian, rich, racist, homophobic and misogynist. So when I chose the name AWKWORD it was a direct response to all of them, and who I used to be, as well as a celebration of being different, and overcoming the awkwardness. Today, I am anything but awkward around others. But I will always be different, never following trends, perpetually pushing boundaries.
8. If you were in the middle of nowhere, on a deserted island, and could have one THING with you what would it be?
Sunscreen or sunglasses. My partial Palestinian Jewish heritage doesn’t help — I am not a fan of sunlight or heat.
9. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
http://lyricallyfit.com/breaking-news-is-awkword-retiring-talks-working-w-legends-
In the home studio, recording with my talented wife and daughters. And in my library, writing.
10. Any last shout outs?
Rest in peace, my brother Praverb, who we lost yesterday completely unexpectedly. He had a wife and baby child. And he was one of the good guys in this perverse rap game. Help us pay for his funeral costs at bit.ly/Praverb-Fund
CONTACT:
[@AWKWORDrap]
Rap Singer. Activist. Sociologist. Gonzo Journalist.
NYC x Upstate NY x Worldwide
DOWNLOAD THE ALBUMS:
djbooth.it/wrldvw X djbooth.it/wvbonus
AWKWORD.bandcamp.com/album/World-View x AWKWORD.bandcamp.com/album/World-View-Bonus-Disc
FOLLOW, SUBSCRIBE & CONNECT:
http://twitter.com/AWKWORDrap
http://facebook.com/AWKWORDrap
http://instagram.com/AWKWORDrap
http://youtube.com/AWKWORDvideos
LIBERATION LIVE 