MSEIZE

AJ: Aight fellas, tell me a little bit about y'all met.
Supreme Wordz: Basically AJ, I was working at Target, and I met this cat…and I guess he seen it in my eyes, because the 1st question out of his mouth was, "Yo, you rhyme?"

AJ: The first thing? He didn't say, "Whassup?" just, "Yo, you rhyme?"
Supreme Wordz: The First thing. I mean, he must've just saw it cause that's what he said.

AJ: [Smiling] So, you just got the rhyming look?
Supreme Wordz: I don't know AJ, I don't know…
Rock Most: He just had it dog…already in uniform from the beginning…red shirt and all.[All laugh]

Wordz: Basically, he and I hooked up with some more guys…and they knew Rock Most.
Rock Most: And when he came in to audition for me…he was like a man amongst boys…and I immediately wanted to work with him…
AJ: Yea, I know what you mean, in any group there's that one superstar that'll stick out…kinda like Busta Rhymes and Leaders of the New School…
Rock Most: Exactly, so we worked together for a few years, and the chemistry just got stronger and stronger to the point where when he did shows, I was his hype man, and when I did shows, he was my hype man.
AJ: So you [Rock Most] Were already in the [rap] game?
Rock Most: Yea, you could say that. We had a house on Glenwood [Decatur, GA] and we had a studio in the basement. He [Wordz] came along and helped take us to the next level. 

AJ: Who's 'we'?
Rock Most: Ohh, we had a crew of about ten guys, and we were like the Wu-Tang of ATL. We had one of the baddest DJ's in the world…

AJ: Who was…?
Wordz: DJ Lord
Rock Most: Yea, he's with Pubic Enemy. Now he travels the world doing shows. But when the crew split up…and the smoke cleared we were left standing. So we just went with it…

Make home ownership a reality!

 

AJ: So, describe your style Rock Most.
Rock Most: Well, my style is just me man. But that's a tough question. I'm always angry at crazy music that comes out so that comes across. {he says jokingly}

AJ: Man, listening to y'all CD the cut - "Who Am I" Outside the name…there wasn't any anger in that one…I actually like the line - "..last cat couldn't pull her then Jhibad just might ." That was pretty hot. The delivery was phat too.
Rock Most: I like to brag for real. We didn't shoot nobody…we ain't fighting, it's just bragging. Talking a lot of trash.

AJ: Well to be honest…that's how it started in the beginning right? When people had a problem with each other in hip hop, they'd break-dance against each other…or two groups would battle [rap against each other] at a park. No violence.
Wordz: Just like in life AJ, whatever you do, you strive to be the best at it. You want to be better than the next guy, for real
Rock Most: Definitely.

AJ: Aight Wordz…describe your style.
Wordz: My style is point A to point B. I'ma get you there…talking trash, bragging…you can try to define it, but there's really no definition.
Rock Most: Can I add something AJ?
AJ: Fa Sho -
Most: We're like Jeckyll and Hyde. I'm like calm…but I get krunk with the best of em, but Wordz? He's like a MANIAC on stage! [Laughter]

AJ: So, how long have you been in the rap game Wordz?
Wordz: Like '97 on the grind, but I had to work to make ends meet…but honestly since like '92. Damn…that's a long time…[laughs]



Rock Most: [laughing] I've been doing this wow…well, unlike most children; I knew what I wanted to do from the beginning. It was like '83 - and I heard Rock Box [RUN DMC] I knew it. I was mama, I'm gonna be a rapper! She said, boy - Rap ain't gonna be around when you grow up! I stuck out my chest like - I'LL MAKE IT EXIST! [Laughter]
AJ: You were like - I'll be the last rapper!!! [Laughter]
Rock Most: [laughing] but professionally, it's been like 10 years - producing and rapping.

AJ: Tell me about evolution as an artist.
Wordz: Well, you're always evolving AJ. With each song
Rock Most: One of the biggest things was learning how to rap about other stuff than ourselves. As an artist, you love your art, but if you wanna make a living doing it, you have to learn compromise. Never compromise like integrity - but, find out what it takes to make a business out of it and make it interesting.
Wordz: We had to learn other styles besides battling on the mic. When you rap for different crowds - you have to have diversity, know what I mean?
AJ: I feel that…

AJ: I also noticed the diversity in your songs - like the last song on the EP - "Go Home." You're talking about girls who go to the club, and don't dance - I REALLY like that one. And on track one - "Datsdatish," to the other cut - "Who Gives A…" There's a lot of diversity, but they all sound good.
Rock Most: 'Preciate that AJ. [Laughter…]
Wordz: Another thing…no one can label us - East, West, Down South…by listening to our styles…cause of the diversity…

AJ: What about all the talk about money, women, cars, and sex?
Rock Most: I don't have a problem with that…but it's like…
Wordz: It's like when you - The A Spotn / AJ

Telling It Like It Is
Hip-hop outfit MSEIZE fight the mainstream

by: Ben Brown


I’ll start this off with a confession: I’m not as knowledgified as I’d like to be in the ways of hip-hop. For personal reasons, I tend to keep my musical microscope focused on the harder-to-find artists, and for me, it’s always been easier to dredge up bands that are more on the -end of the range.

Feel free to poke fun if that’s your game, but from my position, it can sometimes be hard to weed through the commercialized mess of mainstream rap artists to get to the good stuff. It’s the same story for music, but, well, that’s just my background.

But I know that good stuff exists. In passing, I’ve found nuggets like Clouddead, Octavius, Subtitle and my favorite of all, Beans. Those artists, to my listening ears, have a forcefulness that’s hard to find in these times, hip-hop or otherwise. It’s that kind of energy that tilts my curiosity toward an event booked for April 9th at the Soapbox: MSEIZE and their Outer Party Experience.

Underground artists usually stay underground—sometimes by choice, sometimes by force—because their minds are focused on elements that conflict with mainstream convention. Hip-hop assembly MSEIZE, based out of Atlanta, are precisely on that note. Comprised of members Supreme Wordz, Rock Most and DJ MVP, these gents challenge the system to a thoughtful battle, where they let their criticisms fly regarding the state of rap music today. They say, “When you think of hip-hop music and partying, you see the women, the cars, clothes and bling: all the materialism and negativity. We want our music to take you beyond that.”

However, they don’t let their convictions go over the top. Good for them, too, since that’s the “critical” error that trips up most seemingly intelligent musicians: They try too hard and their flamboyance in doing so makes them as bad as the murky mainstreamers. MSEIZE know their turf and have the integrity to stick with their principles.
They also have a dedication to crowd interaction. I’ve been to far too many shows that isolate the audience as a bunch of heads that just paid for the band’s gasoline and hotel room. It’s nice, for once, to know that you are going to see a show where your money feels well spent, where you won’t have that “why did I come here?” numbness that droops on your face all night. Rock Most and Supreme Wordz are known for their ability to involve everyone willing, and their energy does have a command potent enough to infect every member of the audience—including those positioned all the way against the back wall.

Their album, OPX: The Outer Party Experience, is a document that’s leaving an eye-opening mark on the regional hip-hop scene, as the group seems to be gaining disciples with every lyrical lick.
Here’s what we have so far: underground mentality; check. Far from over the top; check. Good performer-to-audience chemistry; check. A hit record; check. Do you really need any more reasons to go to this show?

Fine. I’ll break out the secret weapon: Headlining this event is Camp-Lo (of the hip-hop super-ensemble Hieroglyphics). You may recall his last appearance at the Soapbox a while back, and if your memory serves, there was a heck of a lot of people there. Count on it again.

Lighting the fuse that night will be local lyricist Joey Etc. with Fuzz Jackson, DJ Stevie Mac and DJ Walrus. That’s plenty of good entertainment for a Saturday night in Wilmington.

I could just punt and yawningly ask, “What else are you gonna do anyway?” but let’s get serious here. We have a national hip-hop act (Camp Lo) supported by a deserving sensation (MSEIZE) and Joey Etc., etc to blast the night off properly. Even to my -and-roll gut, it’s a no-brainer.

As to not forget, write this down: The Soapbox Laundro-Lounge, Saturday, April 9. Camp Lo, MSEIZE, Joey Etc., Fuzz Jackson, DJ Stevie Mac and DJ Walrus will take the stage. Wise it would be to get there a bit early, per the crowd Camp Lo herded in the last time around. . - Encore Magazine - Wilmington, NC 4/8/05

Muse musings

® Nashville hip-hop fans, Victor and Regi Wooten made you look silly. Why? Because they were at one of the better indie rap shows to play Nashville in years and y'all weren't. The show featured DJ Lord of Public Enemy on the wheels of steel. Yes, that Public Enemy, one of the greatest ever in the game, and where were you people? Working out to the latest 50 Cent video? The House of Hip-Hop tour rolled up to The Muse last Saturday night, featuring some up-and-comers from the ATL.

.....MSEIZE, an ATL duo, dropped lyrics for the head and beats for da club, combining Southern crunk and East Coast underground. - Nashville Scene - 8.04.05

Most arguments about hip-hop are boring, and at this point, a good deal of fans-most of whom are under thirty-have been hearing and participating in the same discussions for half their lives. While some debates, such as East Coast VS. West Coast, the question of what types of imagery are most detrimental to the future of the form, and ethics over sampling are almost universally recognized as pointless and dated, hip-hop is a music style perhaps more ripe for conflicting opinions. As even its fundamentals continue to change on a yearly basis, hip-hop means a lot to many people, but it also means different things to different fans and artists.

MSEIZE is a bold and potentially disastrous name for a hip-hop group. An obvious play on the plural of "MC", but with a self-assured and conquest-minded twist, the name is the sort chosen by artists who want to change the face of hip-hop. By altering the spelling of one of the indisputable institutions in hip-hop, MSEIZE are willing to take the risk of appearing overly confident. And, as the name strongly implies, they just might redefine the art of rhyming in their own way.

The two MC's in the group met shortly after Supreme Wordz moved to Atlanta from Winston Salem, after moving to North Carolina from his hometown of Maywood, Illinois. Rock Most, a fellow solo rapper and producer who had lived in Atlanta since 1992, produced Supreme Wordz for two years until the two found that the chemistry between them was more than enough to fuel a collaboration. The two would release the first MSEIZE album, Like Thieves in the Night in 2000. While the duo were still developing their skills individually and as collaborators, the album received its fair share of local radio airplay. It would be three more years until they found their DJ, MVP. While MVP had just arrived on the Atlanta music scene at the time of his joining MSEIZE, he had been working on the turntables since he was in his early teens. A year later, a staggering four years after the group's debut, MSEIZE released OPX-The Outer Party Experience.

Four years is an eternity in the music world as a whole, but in hip-hop, a four year absence generally signifies an extended hiatus at best. Luckily for MSEIZE, the music on their latest album far exceeds its predecessor in terms of lyrical maturity and sonic sophistication. "The music has evolved," says Rock Most of the group's transition in the past four years. "It's more well-rounded now. Like Thieves in the Night was hot for its time, but, speaking for myself - I do most of the tracks and engineering - I can mix better now. The mix wasn't that good back then. We're also better as lyricists. I think we've grown in every imaginable way. The last album was fun, but I think we got a little deeper on this one."

MSEIZE are aware of the usual cliches about "keepin' it real" or any of the common criticisms of many rap lyricists. However, as corny as some of these sentiments are, MSEIZE believe that there is truth to the concerns over lyrics and artistic representation. "Everyone wants to represent and express themselves," says Rock Most. "In expressing ourselves, we're basically saying 'hey, we're two regular guys'. We're not ballers, thugs, pimps, or anything like that. We're artists. As far as a level of social consciousness, [Supreme Wordz] has kids, and I love kids and want to have them some day, and I have a lot of young people who look up to me, so we hope to show them that being intelligent isn't being lame. You can be cool and still be smart. You don't have to dress any way other than how you want to dress. We just stress being oneself." While MSEIZE may not care to write lyrics with violent or sexually explicit themes, they're also wary of writing lyrics that come across as too blissfully positive. "The reality is that for every positive there's a negative," says Rock Most. "I consider myself a somewhat righteous dude. But, at the same time, there are negative sides to me. And I think that some of those [Golden Age] rappers could have been more successful if they had shown both sides. Like today, I might be the most giving, generous, friendly person, but tomorrow I might be mad at the world. For one thing, it's very interactive. We're not one of those groups you just go in and watch. People hear our music, and then they come to see our show and they like us even more. The music sounds good-we can rap. But ultimately, it comes down to the performance."

"I see so many artists," Supreme Wordz chimes in, "and they just get up there and walk back and forth, and they rap the whole time. They're rapping to themselves or to the guys on stage with them." Many hip-hop groups alternate between coming up with beats or lyrics first, but MSEIZE has kept their methods of making music surprisingly consistent. "Our creative vibe is basically Rock Most vibin' on his own for a moment, coming up with some hot, hot tracks, tracks that make you want to jump out [of] your skin," exp - Southeast Performer Magazine / January 2005

Take the OPX Challenge: MSEIZE

Interview by Meika F. Louis-Pierre for Atlanta Fever Magazine



In Latin, Carpe Diem means “seize the day”.  If there is one thing that Rock Most, Supreme Words and MVP, better known as MSEIZE, knows it’s that today is the day to seize the mic and take the industry by storm. Their debut album, OPX: Outer Party Experience has garnered rave reviews and requests for performances all over the southeast. Their diverse style and lyrical creativity help this fearless trio further redefine what hip hop is and more importantly, what it is not. Grab a seat, take a listen and let them MSEIZE you.



AFM: Explain the MSEIZE concept. Give me two words.

MS: Hip and Hop. The “M” can stand for many things. Seize the mic. Seize your mind. Seize the money. Seize the moment. Seize your mama. (laughs) So, to give it two words is kinda hard.  Good music – Hot music.



AFM: What separates MSEIZE from the rest of the hip hop world? Everybody says they have hot music.

MS: As far as diversity, nobody’s matching us. We’re going to hit you from all aspects – from every angle of the globe. We got conscience lyrics. We got party songs. We have stuff that sounds like it was played by a live jazz band and we have stuff that sounds like it was made to get crunk in the club. Our whole thing is making good music. We don’t really want to be in a box. We try to stay as wide spread as possible.



AFM: With that diversity, what influences can we hear on the album?

MS: Jazz, rock, funk…but still hip hop based. The people that have influenced us are everybody from Ali Shaheed Muhammad to George Clinton…Run DMC, Tribe Called Quest, Outkast, Goodie Mob…



AFM: Rock Most, I read that you did some work with Public Enemy, how did that come about?

MS: Well, I’ve know Griff for some years and he wanted me to make a particular track and it was supposed to feature Chuck D. It basically fell in my lap. I was at the right place at the right time doing the right thing with the right people. It was definitely one of the most powerful experiences in my production career. You know, when Chuck D is asking you, ‘how did that sound?’, I’m like, are you serious?



AFM: When for you, Supreme [Words] was the moment that you knew that hip hop was what you wanted to do?

MS: I was always dabbling in writing and never really took it seriously. I would have to say [it was] maybe ’92, when I first hit the stage; that’s what got me – just the love from the crowd. Cause even in high school I was writing, but I was keeping it to myself. Cats would be battling by the lockers and I would kick a rhyme here and there. But then I hit that stage for the first time – oh my god – it was over from there. I was like, yep, this is what I gotta do. This is me; I can do this. Rocking the crowd – there’s nothing like it. It’ll do it for you every time.



AFM: What about you, MVP? When did you first fall in love with hip hop?

MS: I grew up listening to so many different kinds of music but I fell in love with hip hop when I started deejaying. Before that I was listening to old soul groups, music from the seventies, rock – stuff like that. I just have a pure love for music in general. But when I started deejaying and rocking the crowds like that, that’s when I really found my appreciation for hip hop.



AFM: Rock [Most], you are from Ohio right? How did the group come together from there?

MS: I got here right outta high school and I had a studio over on Glenwood and Candler Road and some cats that I knew knew somebody that Supreme knew and they brought him to the studio because he needed a place to record and they needed tracks. We were looking for groups, so all these guys came through and he stood out so I started working with him. It got to the point where he was my hype man and I was his hype man when we did shows and it just seemed like a natural evolution – our chemistry was that tight. When everybody else in that crew fell off, we were the two left standing.    



AFM: And you picked up MVP when?

MS: [Rock] I used to work with him at Mars. (laughs) [Supreme] We needed a DJ and he needed a group. He just started hanging out with us. When we first met him, he was still honing his skills as a DJ. He hung out for a while and eventually we had to push him out of the nest and onto the stage and he’s been our DJ ever since.



AFM: What spots have you played already?

MS: We’ve done Penny Hardaway’s birthday party, we opened for Joi, Apache Café, Vinyl, Earthlink Live, Visions, the Aquarium. We’ve been to Charlotte, Macon, Columbia…



AFM: Where are you headed?

MS: We’re getting ready to go to Alabama. [Rock] I’m trying to set up something in Ohio. That’s where I’m from and I have a lot of ties up there and the hip hop scene is growing tremendously. So anywhere where we’re welcomed, we’re going to go and give them the show of their lives. It’s - Atlanta Fever Magazine