Brutha Smith Interview

Articulate, passionate, opinionated & bold. A refreshing, intoxicating blend of real-life grit, unabashed honesty mixed with in-your-face attitude, Brutha Smith has established himself as one of Northern California’s powerhouses in the underground rap/hip-hop community. Since 2008, Brutha Smith has been serving up a non-stop helping of raw energy & entertainment to his abundantly loyal fan-base.

What is your name?  Brutha Smith

Where are you from?   Sacramento California

How long have you been making music? Most of my life in form or another  but I begin making Hip Hop in late 2008

How many songs /albums have you released to date?   4 albums: The Time, The Second Hand,  Lotus Effect And  EFFIGY

Can you tell us about your current release and the background and inspirations behind it?   My Current Release is called EFFIGY and it is a album of songs covering very personal story from my child hood and in to my early adult hood.  Dealing with my parents drugs addictions my own sexual addictions and abuse of drugs and including personal story of dealing with mental illness and creating art to save both my self and help those i love, it covers the bad side of those things as well as how we survived and grew back from them.     Like an Effigy is paper man you burn to show your distain this album is a Auditory Effigy of the person i was and the people they were and buy making these songs i am burning them and making space in my life for  more love and new life.   While honouring who i was and where i came from.

How have you ended up in the music industry?  I wrote poetry most of my life as a form of therapy for my own perennial demons and issue’s, Then I started to see the world around me suffered in some of the same ways i did, in 2008 there was a huge push in my home state to finally allow people to get the right to marry who where gay, i had written about this and recored a song about it.  I performed it at a benefit concert to raise money… the rest was history.

What do you think of the music industry in 2015?  It has never been more open and ready for creativity before in the history of the world.  Right now technology has made it the common mans game, and that is wonderful, more vibrant and diverse stories pop up in music all the time.

Who do you think the most influential artist is in 2015?  For me I love the writing of Robert Smith of the Cure, Even though he is not in the Hip Hop genre his words are so visceral and they feel so real and raw, for Hip Hop is has got to be KRS ONE  beyond music he is the EPITOME of an MC

Dead or alive, who would be your dream collaboration?   I’ll answer both sides of this. Dead,  Tupac, it sounds like an answer that every rapper would say, but he was at his height in my early 20’s and he spoke both of the street and of the heart in ways that were faulty true and powerful for that time.   He made it cool for a thug to have a heart and to expose him self and try to emulate that in my music  my heart and how i can be a man and still show a softer more personal side.

Alive, it would be KRS ONE  just the process of making the track would be a hip Hip 101 class and would be a day i would never forget, and i feel he would push my talent and my message to a better place and help me grow both personally and professionally.

What was your first album you bought?  Public enemies fear of a black planet. “on cassette tape”

What’s your favorite song at the moment?   Oh god that is a tough one.  I currently have J Coles last album on reapers in computer, and i like a lot of Danny brown, on the local scene  in my city i am slapping Task1ne  J terrible, Dizz, Floss, Cherry Red,   Mr Pchill  any one from sacramento.  My city Shits on most others.     ?

Who is the most influential artist now, and 10 years ago?   10 years ago, i would say my Twiztid, now I am more in to style like childish Gambino

If you had to sell your music collection tomorrow, what album would you leave in your draw?   I would never sell my collection it is a part of my soul.

How do you think you differ from other artists?  I don’t know if I do,  I am a human and so are they, I make music and so do they, maybe it is in my story… my life is different then theres so my story probably are where is and out. But we all bleed for our art, seat for it and love it like a secret mistress

What is your favourite saying?   Every person you meet, knows something you do not.

What other hobbies or interests do you have?   I like to draw flowers.

Do you have any tattoos or piercings?   Yes, many.

Tell us more about your upcoming project or this new project?   What more can i say?  My Favorite song is a toss up between  “Never knew him” a song about losing and then finding my father, and  “ a purple boy” me dealign with my personal abuse and depression issues.

This album was very tough for me to make and has humbled me, but also i have never felt such pride in how much i was able to open my self up and let me true inner voice shine.

What’s in the pipeline for the future?   Next up is a very different album called   “The green eyed party monster.” it is a party mixtape that will feature some of the best MC’s in my city and cover one night in a story mode of how we get down and party, will be realised later this year.

Thank you for your time and may you carry on making dope, fresh music.

Thank you as well for supporting me….

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