{"id":15700,"date":"2011-08-18T10:17:57","date_gmt":"2011-08-18T15:17:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ugsmag.com\/?p=15700"},"modified":"2022-09-11T10:30:45","modified_gmt":"2022-09-11T15:30:45","slug":"truth-universal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ugsmag.com\/truth-universal\/","title":{"rendered":"Truth Universal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Truth<\/div>\n
I\u2019m laying on my couch and Thrust swings by with the New Orleans rapper Diego \u201cTruth Universal\u201d Martin who took a jaunt to the T.Dot for the North By Northeast music festival this past June. Within an hour of meeting him for the first time, we recorded a song and planted the seeds for this interview where I found out he\u2019s been doing songs and touring with Skipp Coon and his producer Mr.Nick (look those guys up if you haven\u2019t). Truth\u2019s been rapping for 20 years, but has only seriously been writing, recording and performing for the last decade. He linked me with a couple of his albums Resistance Vol. 2: Polygraph<\/em> and Guerilla Business<\/em>, but he\u2019s got plenty of other releases recorded and in production. He\u2019s a political rapper \u2013 by which I mean, he raps largely about social issues, rather than sweating the size of a medallion or what kind of kicks he\u2019s wearing. We got to talking about rap, politics and insurance companies\u2026<\/div>\n

Introduce yourself, your crew and affiliations…<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m Truth Universal\u2014Diego Martin, Trinidad born, New Orleans bred eMCee. I\u2019m affiliated with the InnerRecess Collective, Liberated Territory and The Bomb Sniffing Dogs.<\/p>\n

Your raps are very politically driven, you deal with topical themes involving the U.S. government, have you always had a strong political message in your music?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, when I started I was just getting a grasp of Self-Knowledge. I am strongly influence by artists like PRT, KRS Public Enemy, X-Clan, Digable Planets etc. But I\u2019m also strongly influenced by those that I felt did Hip Hop like it was supposed to be done like EPMD, Special Ed, 2 Live Crew, Clark Kent + Dana Dana, Jazzy Jeff + The Fresh Prince, Geto Boys, UGK, Tim Smooth. I just \u201cbattle rapped,\u201d if you want to call it that. No particular point or topic, just some braggadocio shit chocked full of similes. As I learned more about myself, community, and world affairs, all that made its way into my music.<\/p>\n

How long have you been rapping for? How did you start?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been rhyming for about 20 years. I\u2019ve been releasing material and touring for about 11 years. I started out just freestyling in high school and what not. When I got to college, my roommate\u2014Eric Bell\u2014encouraged me to write the stuff down. I took his advice, and started writing songs and recording at my man Pantha\u2019s PIT Production dorm room studio at LA Tech. I also used to link up with my dude U.P. at Grambling State University, which was like 5 miles up the road from Tech. DJ Phil from the Ricky Smiley show used to be there in U.P.\u2019s room scratching and mixing all the time.<\/p>\n

Your moniker Truth Universal…is there really such a thing as a universal truth?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think there is, and it\u2019s what I seek, strive to speak, and strive to live. I feel that your name or attribute should reflect what you as aspire to be or achieve. That\u2019s why I have that attribute. It\u2019s not because I\u2019m extra arrogant and bereft of humility.<\/p>\n

There most definitely is right and exact truth that cannot be challenged.<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on certain rappers being referred to as “conscious rap” \u2013 aren’t all rappers rapping conscious?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have an appreciation for just about everyone\u2019s expression in Hip Hop. Some of the music that I love the most, people probably wouldn\u2019t think I gravitate to. And of course mostly everyone exhibits some level of social consciousness, and has some commentary. It could be disdain for police repression, selling dope because you have little to no alternatives, their take on various social issues, etc. Cats are also depicting their reality through rhyme. But the bulk of this, that you hear the most of anyway, is dealing with the fa\u00e7ade\u2014trapping, clubbing, material acquisition, sex and violence. If 95% of what you hear is perpetuation of the fa\u00e7ade, we are not advancing. I think the conscious label speaks to an individual possessing some degree of understanding and analysis and is able to articulate things affecting their community. Somebody who\u2019s considered \u201cconscious\u201d has just recognized the fa\u00e7ade and it\u2019s evident in their work. I wouldn\u2019t have a huge problem with being categorized that way for the purpose of identification. However, it can alienate and discourage people from supporting my efforts. People who come from the same or similar background that I\u2019m striving to present this work to, may feel like this is over their head, or it isn\u2019t their \u201cthing\u201d per se. Deejays are like, \u201cI can\u2019t play this in the club or radio mix because\u2026\u201d Also, there\u2019s usually a preconceived notion that when the music is \u201cconscious\u201d it\u2019s going to sound a certain way, and it\u2019s not really as palatable as most popular music. It\u2019s a false notion. In actuality, I know a good many eMCees doing similar work who not only stress substantial content, but they put a lot of work into having a fresh presentation (rhyme delivery + production) as well.<\/p>\n

The labeling happens anyway, but I choose refer to myself as \u201cprogressive.\u201d I aim to encourage progression both artistically and socially.<\/p>\n