Brooklyn is home to some definite legends in the lyric game. From Biggie to Jay-Z and on, BK has birthed some lyrical geniuses. Now being that I’m a hip-hop fan but not an aficionado, I can’t and won’t draw comparisons. But what I will say is, I know a lyrical liaison when I see and hear one. And my lyric-loving citiXIns…WordSpit is such a dude!
Upon first glance at this young man, you just see this cute guy. He’s got a flair about him, inspite of his small frame, and he almost looks like a little boy because of it. But get him talking about his passion for words, rhyme and the craft (yes I said CRAFT) of hip-hop and music, and his conversation is all grown man! The emotion that oozes from him is infectious, just like his smile. His big, expressive brown eyes light up and twinkle when he speaks of his influences in the game. Ask him what his future looks like, and you will get a loud and exuberant…“We Da Illest!”
Hailing from East New York, Brooklyn, WordSpit has been into music since he was a toddler. His father was a musician and owned a studio. After he was done jamming with his buddies, he would put little WordSpit in the booth and let him do his thing.
“I would freestyle for hours and hours and from there it just progressed. When I was able to finally translate my message [as I got older] and say what I felt I wanted to speak about, I started hitting the streets. I started to learn the history of hip-hop and that’s when I really fell in love with it. I mean I always had a love for hip-hop, but when I started studying my history, [reading about and listening to] the Rakims, the Canibus’, the Nazirs, the Jay-Zs the Mellie Mels, the Curtis Blows…that’s when I REALLY fell in love.”
As most hip-hop heads know, part of loving the greats is appreciating the battle scene on the streets. Being a Brooklyn girl myself, I know that it’s not uncommon to walk down the street and come up on a cipher in progress. And the energy is so intense that you wind up watching for what seems like forever, to see who will outwit and out rhyme the next cat and be crowned ‘king for the moment.’ One of WordSpit’s favorite MC’s is Canibus and for those that are old enough to remember he was a huge battle rapper in his day.
“Rakim, Naz, Canibus, all of them were big influences. I always revert back to them cuz they all brought something to the table that I take away from. Canibus was a beast on the battle scene and it’s funny because I spent a small portion of time on that battle scene. At that time there wasn’t EVERYBODY rapping, so you could still find the hidden jewels out there. Me and my brother would just walk down the block and see kids and we would be like oh, you rap? They’d say yes and we’d be like we rap too. My brother would start rapping first, and I was mad short so they would look at me [like what can he do]. Then [when] I would start destroying dudes, I would get mad respect from the older cats and then the younger cats would dig me to!”
Understanding that battling earned him respect, but that he wanted to make more of an impact and conduct big business, WordSpit decided to focus and put his thoughts together for public consumption.
“I knew that battling wasn’t gonna do it. I mean it’s cool when you in the streets and you trying to obtain some respect but if you really want to obtain a legacy you gotta make music that people are going to relate to. I knew that I wanted to take my songs and give people that emotion. So I took that to the open mic. That’s where it [really] started, on the open mic scene. And from there it just progressed. I just kept being persistent. I met up with some great dudes and one of them shot my first video for free, ‘Not a Joke This Year.’ I was very persistent and that’s how it all started. Then I linked up with Dave [his manager] and we been going ever since.”
Since he didn’t have a lot of tracks and a physical CD, WordSpit played the game correctly by using his first video as a promo kit of sorts. He would send out massive e-mails and requests for any and everybody to check out his video and give feed back. Over time he began getting some blog love and then he got really smart. He began meeting up with and free-styling with rappers that were more known than himself. With the surge of camera phones and Youtube uploads, they would catch these artists doing their thing, and he’d be right there getting it in as well. So as a result, people began to take notice of the dude with the small stature and the large personality.
After linking with his manager Dave and getting some hot records unders his belt, WordSpit put out his first project, Coolest BBoi Stance. Putting out the album gave his fans, naysayers and those that weren’t familiar a chance to check him out officially.
“When I dropped [the album], being that people didn’t know what I actually sound like, they were like WHOA! The reaction was, ‘these don’t even sound like freestyles, like these actually sound like songs.’ Not only did they sound like [real] songs, it catered to different emotions and covered various topics. I felt like people started embracing it and me.”
WordSpit used his project to tell the journey of an MC. He wanted to let it be known that he can surf genres and mix sounds and still tell the stories of the every day person; addressing what we all go through emotionally and in life, period. When I asked him to describe in words the music, his response was “there are no words to describe the essence.” He feels that it just IS.
On the album there are a few known producers including Jrrah and Marcus D and features with artists including Shaliek Rivers and Cocoa Sarai. He has plans to work with others on future music, but stated that his dream collabo would be a huge mash-up of artists (past and present) to create one sound.
“My dream collabo – me, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Rakim, Naz, Canibus, Kurt Cobian, System of a Down… its too many to name them all! I got big dreams, I want Nirvana, Avril Lavigne… It would be some real We Are the World ish, some real power, genre crossing music!”
With all of his confidence and passion, behind the music he describes himself as a regular guy. He’s single and loyal to his fans and loves to just have a good time, all while trying to make his mark on the world.
“I’m out here like everybody else; out here to make it and leave a legacy. I don’t want to just say I rap, but I wanna say it meant something to someone. Behind the music I’m still getting my GED. I’m still playing video games because that’s what I like to do, and that’s real. I’m just a regular dude.”
It’s funny how the extraordinary, always find themselves to be ordinary. WordSpit says that he is just a regular dude, but to that I say “c’mon son!” Not many regular dudes can say that they landed a national commercial with one of fast food’s largest and most notable chains by simply freestyling in a dollar van!
“I got the McDonald’s gig by persistence. My boy came up to me and was like I did this show called Dollar Van Demos, and I was like I don’t even know what that show is! So I went online to check it out and was like yo, they rapping in a dollar van, that’s kinda cool! So I hit [them] on Myspace and Twitter. They were like we’re not shooting right now. So I hit them again and they were like we’re not shooting. I was like okay cool, but what up though?! Then I hit them up AGAIN and was like check this video out. I just kept hitting the dude. I know he got tired of me, so finally he was like tell your manager to hit me up and then it just went from there. After that, by God’s grace or whatever, somebody saw what they were doing with Dollar Van Demos, and they wanted to make it part of their commercial. They told me that I was the last artist that they submitted. They had sent in everyone else and he was like wait, before you make your decision check this kid out, your gonna love him. They did and so they invited me in. I was in this all white room like in Bruce Almighty and I was freestyling and I got some good feedback from them. Then badda bing badda boom…we’re here!”
To go from East New York, to a national commercial was a surreal situation for WordSpit but even with the success, he’s stayed pretty humble. Though confident in his ability and destiny, he’s very laid back in his personal time, filling it with Cartoon Network and hanging out with his friends. He enjoys a good time and optimistically looks forward to the future ahead, encouraging his fans to do just like he did and make things happen.
“If you wanna do something in life, do it to the illest extent of your capabilities. It’s not just me, not just you… we can walk down the block and learn from each other. Be persistent on your journey towards whatever you want to do, the stars are up in the sky and you can be there too!”
This fun loving, B-Boi is not just a dope artist but such a dope presence. He has done great things already and I believe that it’s just the beginning for him, with his positive attitude and approach to the business.
Miss Pitch and I encourage you to check out his mixtape, “Coolest BBoi Stance,” and the links below for his commercial and newest video “Poet’s Haiku.” Follow him on Twitter (@wordspit) and for more info check him out at wordspitwashere.com, myspace.com/wordspit and youtube.com/wordspit. While you are doing that, me and Miss Pitch are going to find a sliver of linoleum and see who can do the best backspin ending in the “Coolest BBoi Stance!”
*Editor’s Note – Special thanks to go2girls PR (www.thego2girls.blogspot.com) for connecting us with Wordspit and his team! For additional pictures from the eXclusIve photoshoot with Wordspit, chick HERE.*
Big shout out to the homie Wordspit, he’s def dope and def an artist people need to look out for!
Very dope interview. Wordspit is a amazing artist & a great person…. O yea #wetheillest
Salute.
This kid Wordspit got the goods.
This is def another look in the deeper side of Wordspit
If you havn’t been to a show you don’t know what your missing his energy is sick, the messages and contents of his lyrics are real and you can def relate to so come out and be the Illest with us -Presi
Amazing interview, the best to date, love it!
WoW!! Great interview. in a nutshel?….WORDSPIT=ILLEST