Vibe.com, March 24th, 2006
The following information is to be kept confidential…
A majority of today’s hip hop artists can satiate their listeners by catering to the clubs or dishing out punchlines. How many of those artists, though, can truly call themselves revolutionary? Scratch that. How many can call themselves revolutionary and gangsta?
That’s where M-1, one half of the uncensored, socially conscious and politically-charged rap duo Dead Prez, intends to make his mark with his debut solo album, Confidential.
“It’s going to be shocking just to be out with an album because in today’s world you don’t get this point of view from nowhere,” says a focused and excited M-1, sitting in the conference room of Koch's New York City offices. “The sound is something I have been experimenting with and it’s not the chamber music that we (Dead Prez) been making before.
“If you already feel Dead Prez and want to know how I think individually, this album will stand out.”
M-1, who cites Sun Tzu (author of the influential "Art of War"), Ho Chi Minh, Malcom X, Mao Zedong and Muhammad Ali, as his revolutionary influences, has always prided himself in going against the grain, even if that meant strife with the mainstream industry.
For instance, he and Dead Prez partner, Stic Man, dropped their video for “Hell Yeah” in 2004, which depicted them carjacking a lost All-American white family in the hood and robbing a white pizza-delivery man. The harsh, but honest view protrayed in the video made Viacom’s major outlets like MTV and BET - which aired the video after midnight due to its "uncensored" imagery - afraid of playing the video.
In hindsight, M-1 still feels the images and overall message in the video were just portraying the harsh reality of race and class in America, a depiction that is hard for many people to stomach.
“Hurricane Katrina told us the same thing that video ("Hell Yeah") did,” says M-1. “When people aren’t getting reality, a dose of reality is some sh*t. People will be like, ‘Wow, that’s a lot to chew on’ because they’re chewing on Laffy Taffy. To me it wasn’t even that crazy of a statement that we made in that video.”
While mainstream media turned their backs on Dead Prez, one current label president understood their message and their drive and embraced them. His name? None other than Jay-Z. Jigga jumped on the “Hell Yeah remix “and delivered similar lyrics that dealt with race and class.
“Some people believed when we did the song with Jay we would betray the revolutionary code," explains M-1. "I struggle with that idea because our idea of a revolution just doesn’t include one type of person.”
And though by sticking to their formula - to deliver powerful messages in everything they put out - they've seen others in the business get further much quicker, M-1 won't compromise his sound nor his purpose. “They’re trying to sell two million records to little White kids in America. I’m trying to sell to everyone around the world,” says M-1, who has performed in Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Italy, Switzerland and Norway. “To me my music is a revolutionary tool; it’s a weapon. Some people don’t use this music for that.”
On Confidential, which drops March 21, M-1 collaborates with the likes of prominent jazz guitar player and producer Fabrizio Sotti of Sotti Records, Q-Tip and Styles P, who M-1 says he respects for being able to talk about the harsh reality of jails in “Locked Up,” and then jump on a Mariah Carey record to 'hood it out'.
In addition to Confidential, M-1 has high hopes that “Broken Rhyme,” the Detrick McClure directed film he acted in, will be funded. Dead Prez is also close to reaching a distribution deal, one that can allow their next album to drop as soon as this fall, and is shopping for a distribution deal for a collaboration project with The Outlawz, whom they have been steadily working with since 2000.
But for now, M1’s focus is on Confidential and making his situation on Koch a beautiful experience, all while paying homage to the art of MC’ing. “Within this Koch system I would love to sell 100,000 records, but I want to be able to keep this legacy of music in the world,” M-1 says with intent. “I’m one of the soldiers in the field and I want to make something for Afrika Bambaatta, Rakim and KRS, that still holds truth.
"I have no problems with the clubs, but damn this is too much. We’re being slapped in the face! At the end of the day, I want to get my money and bring respect to the game.”
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