{"id":1768,"date":"2009-01-28T11:23:03","date_gmt":"2009-01-28T15:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ugsmag.com\/interviews\/kazmega\/"},"modified":"2009-02-09T11:30:49","modified_gmt":"2009-02-09T15:30:49","slug":"kazmega","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ugsmag.com\/kazmega\/","title":{"rendered":"KazMega"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"Kazmega\"<\/p>\n
Photos by Jon B<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

KazMega – “Juggernaut” <\/strong>
\n\n

A.O.K. & KazMega – “D.R.E.A.M.”<\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/ugsmag.com\/media\/AOK-and-Kaz-D_R_E_A_M.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/p>\n

KazMega is an untapped talent. He is a producer and sometimes rapper from Edmonton who few people know about because he has yet to release a debut album. Who knows? Maybe this will spur him to do so. Calling himself the progeny of Edmonton\u2019s hip hop studio (and collective) Tuffhouse, Kaz flew the nest and built a small, but palpable reputation as an independent producer among the capital city\u2019s underground rap operatives. Peep the interview.<\/div>\n

Introduce yourself, crew affiliations etc\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

They call me Kaz, KazMega. Affiliations: Tuffhouse, D.G.C., L.B.A.<\/p>\n

How come you\u2019re such a dope rapper and you don\u2019t have an album?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m a dope rapper without an album because I\u2019ve been spreading myself out, been doing the production thing for a bit. I\u2019ve got 3 or 4 albums which I\u2019ve done full production on that need to be released. But with my own project, balancing it all out is tough.<\/p>\n

Why hasn\u2019t this stuff seen the light of day?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mostly just busy and I\u2019ve gone through so many different versions of myself, doing different kinds of music because it\u2019s been such a long time of doing stuff. For example when I was 13 I thought a tattoo of a Nike check would be ill. When I first started an album when I was 19, I had a completely different concept of what hip hop was than I do now. So there\u2019s just a whole bunch of stuff that I\u2019ve been sitting on. But I\u2019ll release a mix-tape with all the dumb shit I\u2019ve dropped before.<\/p>\n

Are you one of them producer\/rapper types?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am, but I don\u2019t really rap to my own beats. I\u2019m not one of those guys who produce having a song in mind. I hear dope samples, I produce beats. That\u2019s how I\u2019m done making a beat, I\u2019m tired of hearing a loop over and over again and I usually don\u2019t spit to it. There\u2019s a few of them that are so dope I have to spit to them.<\/p>\n

\"Kazmega\"Does that mean that you sell a lot of beats?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A lot of unknown artists who are just working on their first albums. Baby C is one dude. He used to be in a group with Black Blaze\u2026people don\u2019t really remember him, but he was a battle kid back in the day. He was in the finals in the first Hip Hop 4 Hunger and kind of fell off the map. I\u2019m also doing beats for him, so both of those guys. This girl from Tuffhouse, she\u2019s pretty good, she\u2019s come down from Guyana. A singer from Africa\u2026another singer\u2026so it\u2019s all people who don\u2019t really have albums out. But I am working on the new Politic Live album, I\u2019m doing a bunch of beats for them.<\/p>\n

Is there a difference between making beats for a singer and rapper?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, big difference. Basically with a singer you have to pretty much be producing the beat with them there with an idea of what the songs going to sound like; with an idea of what the bridge is going to sound like. Whereas a hip hop beat, you make what ever sounds good to you and sell it.<\/p>\n

A lot of people seem to be setting up their own studios, so what would give you an edge over someone else?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nothing. My studio I don\u2019t even want to promote it as a studio, I just want when I give someone a beat, something to get done with it. That\u2019s why you\u2019ve never heard any of my beats, \u2018cause I give people beats and nothing gets done with it. Or they write to it never gets recorded to\u2026Really I set this up so that I can put it out or lay something down.<\/p>\n

What about a producer album of just beats?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I could do that. I\u2019m currently in the works (for like the 3rd time now) with videogame guys\u2026Bioware trying to get them soundtracks and stuff, but there\u2019s a whole bunch of copyrighting stuff. With them, I can\u2019t be doing any sampling with them at all. I basically got a bunch of Reason patches and downloaded a bunch of movie original soundtracks and learned how to compose stuff. But after that, you still gotta know how to copyright it. Trying to make a business out of it, but there\u2019s a lot of hoops.<\/p>\n

Why do you think nobody releases anything?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s too many cliques in the city. That\u2019s why I\u2019m not really a clique; I\u2019m affiliated with a bunch of people. There\u2019s a lot of guys when I first started freestyling\u2026battling\u2026we all came up together and we never made a crew. I think Edmonton should be a crew. Once all that is realized, everything will totally blow up. Right now, underground cats will only go to underground cats show or this crew will only go to this crews show\u2026I think if you don\u2019t like someone\u2019s music, you\u2019ll still go to the show. I think there has got to be a lot more collaboration\u2026<\/p>\n

Also, I\u2019m gonna put this out there because I think it has to be put out there\u2026the whole radio scene\u2026so I\u2019m calling out Urban Metropolis. They are not helping the scene at all. I think they\u2019re more hurting the scene with how they choose people who are opening up. When people finally do get the chance to open up by someone big\u2026they\u2019re playing the whole ticket game: \u2018sell tickets, you can perform.\u2019<\/p>\n

Does that mean the opener has to buy the tickets?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Basically I\u2019ll be like: \u2018hey, Urban Metropolis can I open up for Nas,\u2019 then they\u2019ll be like \u2018alright, well you need to sell a hundred tickets,\u2019 and you\u2019ll be like \u2018yeah, I can do that.\u2019 Suddenly you\u2019re opening up for Nas, they\u2019re not like: \u2018hey let me hear some of your stuff? Can you rap?\u2019 That\u2019s not the priority. I think an enormous downfall of the Edmonton scene is because of that, if that got fixed I think the whole scene would change fast.<\/p>\n

How\u2019d you get involved with Tuffhouse?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If I\u2019m a child of hip hop\u2026I\u2019m like the offspring of Tuffhouse. All those guys you see rollin\u2019 Tuffhouse are basically the neighborhood there Duggan \u2013 I lived in Duggan. I was kind of seen as the little brother\u2026even though I sucked they kept on telling me to do it, until I got really good. I\u2019ll always be affiliated with Tuffhouse, there\u2019s no paper contracts or anything like that.<\/p>\n

Is it important to build a strong scene in Edmonton\u2026Alberta\u2026Canada?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think that\u2019s super important. I think that the South is probably the best example of that. Hip hop just totally blew up there. The South is really running shit right now. They\u2019re self-supporting, they sustain themselves\u2026they don\u2019t listen to New York stuff unless it\u2019s screwed and chopped. To them Nas is like garbage, that\u2019s how they see it.<\/p>\n

What do you think government could do? Is that an answer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They actually pretty good, I think we got it good with the government. I think with the boards and stuff who govern who gets the money and whatnot\u2026they maybe want to spread it out a big more. People who know how to do it are doing it constantly, so there are always the same people who are getting the funding.<\/p>\n

Shouts?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tuffhouse, Blaze, L.B.A. crew, Balzac\u2026he\u2019s got the mad opinions of rap and more hip hop than a lot of rap, so extra shouts. John Dubs\u2026a guy who makes crazy beats, Touch, Dj Nato. I know I\u2019m forgetting people, don\u2019t hate me. I\u2019m gonna do a general Edmonton hip hop scene shout out!<\/p>\n

For more KazMega check out myspace.com\/kazmega<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Kazmega\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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KazMega<\/a><\/blockquote>