Southern Pulse Magazine #2

There’s a joint that I still play from “A Dream Deferred” - Spike Lee Was My Hero featuring Talib Kweli. That song is a gem. How did that track come about?

Growing up in Brooklyn, Spike Lee was always one of my heroes. My dad made me watch Spike Lee movies and I wrote reports about him. I was listening to beats that I was going to use for that album and I got the beat from this kid called Tall Black Guy who is a producer out of Detroit. As soon as I heard those horns it was like super-hero theme music.

I started thinking about my super-heroes. My father was always my super-hero but my father is right here. So I looked for a super-hero that I can’t touch. And it was easy, Spike Lee. I started writing it right there.

You’re a hardworking artist. What keeps you going?

The passion for the music. We’ve seen artists come along for a year or two and then disappear. That makes you wonder what their love and passion was really like. I think a lot of people get in the music game because they see the lights, cameras, money, etc. We all love those things but you can tell when people don’t have a passion for the music. If I was to strike the lotto for 200 million dollars tomorrow I’d still make music.