4th Pyramid

Behold one and all, young and old, wack and fresh, the latest interview through the wonderful medium that is so perfect for interview, the revolutionary ICQ. Today, I sit down with 4th-Pyramid, producer extraordinaire, and chat about whatever I damn well feel like! Enjoy all!

Andy: First and foremost, “what set you claim”?

4th-Pyramid: what do you mean by that?

Andy: where are you from?

4th-Pyramid: hah, my bad. Toronto, born and raised.

A: any upcoming releases or current releases that the people need to know about?

4th: well….there’s obviously “The Light Is But The Shade Of The Darkness”, the full instrumental project right there. Then I got plans for a vinyl EP in spring. A little sooner than that, me and C Rayz Walz are about to do this collaboration that could pop up on a 12″ this winter.

A: C Rayz Wallz? How did you get involved with him? And is that not the best name in hip hop?

4th: Well, I was in New York umm about 10 days ago and just there this last week actually, and me and him were just hanging out. My man Wax told him I was coming to town to link up with J-Zone, and he had heard that my beats were on some different shit, so me, him and J-Zone just hung out all day and C Rayz was feeling the vibe.

A: what did you do on this day of chilling?

4th: Well, I write for Rebirth Magazine too, so I was interviewing J-Zone. J-Zone’s DJ (can’t remember his name right now but he’s a cool kat) and C Rayz were with us. Just walked around NY, went to Fat Beats, ate at the Olive Garden. Like I said, we were just chilling….

A: Fresh! What artists are you currently loving?

4th: Loving? hmm….that new Apathy Compatible 12″ is pretty sick. Ain’t really anyone out there that I can say I’m loving at the moment. Who am checking for of late…Necro (on the beats), that new J-Zone EP, and I’ve been loving this Godfather Don demo track “True Love”..shit’s banging

A: listening to any Canadian artists these days?

4th: Umm..not really. I’ll check what comes out but nothing comes to mind. I check for BrassMunk, Obscure Disorder, Serious….even the Halifax scene (Tachichi, Sebutones, etc…) but that ain’t really my steez. Musically, I’m in my own world. I keep an ear out for what’s dropping, but I’m more into going back and studying older shit

A: I noticed a lot of jazz influence on “The Light is But…,” Who are your favorite jazz artists or jazz records?

4th: You obviously have the classics, Miles Davis/John Coltrane and all that stuff. To be honest though, I rarely sit down and listen to a Jazz LP in its entirety. I’m more of a live jazz improv kat. Rather go to a jazz bar or a jazz festival. Did you hit up the Beaches Jazz Festival this year, shit was alright.

A: Beaches Jazz Festival? Cant say as I did. That’s the problem when you live in the prairies, there isn’t much musical exposure. the Edmonton “jazz festival” is basically jack soul and Paula Cole. I want to see someone like Jimmy Smith, but no such luck. That’s why I need to move to T.O. or Vancouver!

4th: Hah, word. Edmonton..never been there, don’t really feel the need to either

A: Avoid it at all costs. The scene here is so horrible, it makes me angry. What are your interests other than the all powerful hip hop?

4th: Traveling is dope. Chewing gum passes the time nicely. Can’t forget the other powerful drive or what we call ‘the 2nd head’..

A: The 2nd head, hahaha, well put! What is your favorite album?

4th: Nas – Illmatic probably, that or Nightmares on Wax – Smokers Delight

A: Was that one of your first hip-hop albums? (illmatic that is)

4th: hah..not really…Eric B & Rakim – Paid In Full would’ve probably been the first rap album I sat down and listened to and enjoyed

A: how would you describe the T.O. scene, Jamaican gangstas? classic hip hop haven? new york clone?

4th: a little bit of all those. NY Clone would be the best description though. Toronto’s really close minded, you have a metropolis who waits for shit to blow up in NY before buying it here. Hip-hop out here sounds generic, a dime a dozen hip-hop. Toronto doesn’t support their own, so why bother..

A: what is the scene in Montreal like?

4th: Well I was only there for a few days, but the English scene seemed tight knit, a little more of a community environment than down here. Remember though, I’m not in any type of click or crew, a lot of Toronto heads don’t know who am I, those that do kind of act like I don’t exist.

A: do you have any affiliation with say Bomb Shelta Association?

4th: No no no no….zero ties musically with the BSA. We’re friends, and that’s all. There’s some kind of misconception out there that 4th Pyramid & Bombshelta Association are like fam, probably because of this one picture of me with a couple of them that’s floating around. I speak to a few of them on a friendship level strictly. I was going to do a cut with Tyranny but that never materialized

A: any reason you’ve stayed away from the crews?

4th: No particular reason, but a lot of these ‘crews’ have been formed 6-7 years ago, I wasn’t even a teen then, and I wasn’t all that involved with the scene, so I’ve never really broken into one click. I’d also just rather do my thing as a soloist and work with whomever when it happens.

A: so how old are you then?

4th: 18

A: really? how did you get into production at such a young age?

4th: Don’t really know, started playing 4 years ago, got good at it, stuck with it. I started out as a rhymer and I still do rap, all those beats you heard on that album, I was supposed to rap on, just never got down to doing vocals on them and the beats held their own

A: i’m surprised at your age, I figured you’d be at least 22 or older! how did you get involved with rebirth?

4th: Man Rebirth runs some kind of sweatshop. Wax approached me when I was like 16 asking me to write and help him with audio stuff on the page. That dude would ask a 10 year old to join the staff if he saw potential (check Bermz)… haha just bugging

A: hahaha, wax is interesting to say the least! The staff and page continues to grow however, and much props on that stuff. Anything you want to ask me?

4th: you??… umm nothing in particular, you’re the harshest reviewer to write about my shit. You even called a few of those breaks right on. I got nothing left to say though. My album should be dropping in the UGS Store real soon so stay on the lookout for it and be sure to support it.

A: well, its been great talking to you, all the best with the new album and I hope it sells well. Everyone out in internet land, check out www.4thPyramid.com and support 4th-P! Thanks for the interview!

4th: word thanks for your time