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PROJECT DEADMAN DROPS THE BIG ONE
by Robert E. Martin
For years
Steve Shippy (aka Prozak) has diligently worked at burnishing his own
brand of musical mayhem with the Rap duo known as Bedlam - carefully
honing his craft and carving a unique place for himself as a pioneer in the
peripheral fringe of music known as 'Wicked Rap'.
With
the new formation of his latest group, Project Deadman, Prozac's world is
set to dramatically change along with the rest of the worlds, as their debut
album Self Inflicted starts to explode in retail outlets throughout the
country with its national release on July 13th.
After
penning fresh lyrics fueled with politically charged content, Prozak started
cultivating his contacts throughout the Detroit Hip-Hop community and quickly
gained the attention of fellow PDM collaborator Mike E. Clark.
A
legendary force on the Detroit Hip-Hop scene that has produced and worked with
artists ranging from Kid Rock to George Clinton and Insane
Clown Posse, Clark was instantly struck by the intensity, depth, and
fluidity of Prozac's lyrics.
Clark
also heads Detroit-based indie label B4 Records and Edge One Studios.
From his work with Bedlam, Clark was drawn to Prozak's acidic tongue,
which has gotten him labeled the 'Stephen King of Rap.
The
two started recording under the moniker Project Deadman and in the
process created a new CD that redefines the powerful potential of Hip-Hop by
melding together and rediscovering the exploration of varied musical texture
with the power of political polemics.
As a
result, the soon-to-be-released Self Inflicted contains 17 insanity-laden
tracks drifting from industrial political screams to slamming bass filled
rhymes, along with multifaceted melody lines. It is a broad stretch from the
monochromatic non-musical orientation of Bedlam, and a definite shout in
a new direction of Rap music in general.
The
album features special guest performances by Kansas City King Tech N9ne,
Flint, Michigan's Breed, and The Dayton Family, as well as
Detroit's own King Gordy.
While
slated for release earlier this past spring, Clark and Prozak managed to catch
the ear & enthusiasm of Mark Cerami (co-founder of the notoriously
legendary Priority Records) who has also played a pivotal
role in the careers of artists such as Dr. Dre, Run DMC, Ice-Cube, NWA,
Easy-E and Master P.
Now,
Cerami's MSC Music has teamed up with another major hip-hop label,
Strange Music, to unleash the Midwest's worst kept secret - the debut
release of Self Inflicted on a national level.
On
the eve of embarking upon a 67-city/ three month tour, we caught up with
Prozak and Mike E. Clark to talk about their new assault of sound,
how their worlds have changed overnight, and the current state of Rap & Hip-Hop
music in general.
Review: How did you ever get the attention of such powerful players in
the Hip Hop musical community?
Prozak: We were working with Strange Music for a while and are
good friends with Travis, the CEO of Strange. He kept asking us how the
album was coming, so we sent him a copy. Three weeks later he pulled us out to
Hollywood and it all started to happen.
Mark
Cerami listened to the entire record a couple of times, called us back the next
day, and asked if we could be there in 48 hours. We flew out there for a week,
negotiated the deal, and that was it.
Review: So what can you tell me about the national tour?
Prozak: It runs from July 18 through September. It's going to feature
us along with five other acts from each of the labels and will be called The
Hostile Takeover Tour. It starts in Santa, Cruz, California and we'll be
doing the entire West Coast, Southwest, and Midwest. We'll be playing Arizona,
Texas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan and doing 24 states in 67
cities. The biggest break we'll have is four days with no shows. Then in
February we're going on a larger tour and hitting Australia and New Zealand.
We're ready for the assault. I know that I am, that's for sure.
Review: Apart from the tour how is the album being promoted?
Prozak: We're buying national commercials on the Howard Stern show,
Comedy Central, SPIKE TV, MTV2 and doing radio in select cities along with a
massive e-mail assault. We've also got national ads in Spin, Hit Parader, Murder
Dog Magazine and Fangoria, but mainly we're doing a street assault with free
CD's and posters.
Review: So how does it feelŠfinally poised for national exposure and
attention after all these years with Bedlam?
Prozak: Honestly, I've been doing this so hard for so long that I feel
sicker about doing it than ever. Now I have to do even more and that means to
do more I have to go from one rage into another. Maybe at the end of year I'll
sit back and think about it, but right now I'm not worrying about it and just
trying to keep with the workload.
Most
artists get a major label deal and say, 'Oh, we're signedŠI can sit on my ass.'
That's why labels drop artists, for doing nothing. I'm going to seven states
personally tomorrow on a promo run and just keep getting more crap to do.
We
just found out that Best Buy is taking pre-orders on their website, and
the CD is selling enormously, even though it hasn't been released yet. The
label tells us pre-orders are exceeding their expectations, so the shit storm
has just started.
Review: Will you be doing any videos behind it?
Prozak: We opted against video because we felt our money would be better
spent in buying more commercials, posters, and free sampler CD's for the street
assault. What's a video going to do for us? Videos are a gamble because you're
not certain they'll get played. On our next album we'll shoot a professional
video just for our fans to put on a DVD Documentary, but I don't see us getting
mainstream play.
Review: So when will you be performing in
Michigan?
Prozak:
We're working on a show for September 11th in Detroit, but wanted to do one
underground small ass show. Rolly Collier at The Watering Trough has
always been a great friend of mine, so we've hooked up a show to do there for
free on Saturday, July 3rd at
9 PM.
It will be free to all ages.
I'm
from Saginaw and wanted to hook Saginaw up with a free show so they could get a
taste of Project Deadman before everybody else. It will be our first
appearance.
Mainly, though, since we signed the deal, time is deleted from my life. But you
can't have too much successŠyou've got to work twice as hard once you start to
taste it.
Mike E. Clark *
The
Musical Mastermind Behind PDM
Review:
Briefly relate some background material in terms of your previous endeavors
and how that relates to your interest in Project Deadman.
Mike Clark:
Well I have been a Recording Engineer / Musician, writer and now producer in the
Detroit area for over 13 years. I have worked with many artists in the past such
as George Clinton, Kid Rock, ICP and many more. I have always been into
Rock, R&B, and Motown styles. I started to get involved in working with Rap
Music as early as 1988, so I kind of developed my own style based on those
influences. I have always liked the darker side of music.
Review: How did you get interested in Project Deadman and what do you feel
distinguishes it from other projects you've worked on?
Mike Clark: PDM is different from any other thing I have worked on
because I am a part of the group. I make decisions as to what we do. I write
and produce the tracks, so I'm not just a hired man as in my other endeavors. I
have much more creative control of Project Deadman. PDM helps me focus on a
particular sound and type of music, and I go from there.
Review: Given the current contemporary terrain of Rap and Hip-Hop in
general, how do you feel the new Project Deadman CD contributes to the evolution
of the
idiom?
Mike Clark: I don't know. The music is unique and produced well, so I
will have to wait and see how well the CD does before I can say what our
contribution will be. We are introducing many styles on this record, yet at the
same time remaining consistent. It is a rap record with musical hooks and
melodic melodies. Heavy beats and a lot of soul. The record is not "mainstream";
it is more like the "next stream" I hope.
Review: Stylistically, what was the biggest 'challenge' presented by this
project?
Mike Clark: My biggest challenge is making songs that are relevant and
have some
"staying power" - songs that will be good 30 years from now. I don't want to
sound dated. We're coming from the heart on this record. Trying to get people to
think and at the same time, give them something to bump to on their car stereos.
Heavy ass banging beats!
Review: I understand that 'Wicked Rap' is a clearly
delineated 'fringe' Corner of the Hip Hop market, yet undoubtedly similar to
Punk Rock when it first came out, possessing a devoted base of fans. Is PDM
targeted strictly towards that market, or do you feel it will cross over into
more expansive boundaries of the Rap community?
Mike Clark: The Project Deadman music does fall on the dark side.
However I feel PDM music has soul, and has a positive yet pissed off quality. It
is definitely geared toward a more underground "non-mainstream" market. Mainly,
its just music, and it's not just geared toward a "Rap" community. The record
has many qualities, such as Rap, Rock, Soul and Industrial.
We are not concerned with staying in any one category; we're just making a
record. And we hope people can feel what we're doing and at the same time make a
little $$$ so we can do the next record. We want to keep you guessing and coming
back for more... and make you think.
Review: What is your take on the current 'state' of the music in the Hip
Hop & Rap market? It seems many of the artists scoring big on the charts and
getting regular rotation on MTV all rap about similar topics - which drives the
coolest Escalade, who has the biggest crib, who owns more bling bling, who
smokes the greenest bud. This seems like a very self-possessed and sad state of
affairs in general, contrasted to the early days of Rap and Hip Hop when you had
artists like Public Enemy getting more into the political climate of the
country.
Given your position and reputation in the
Midwest, I'd be interested
in hearing
your thoughts on this.
Mike Clark:
I like a lot of that "bling bling" crap on the radio. I love pop music. When I
get tired of it I can turn it off. I agree with what you're saying. A lot of the
popular music on MTV and the hit radio stations is shallow, self-possessed and
just plain stupid, but at the same time it is entertainingŠat least some of it.
I
think MTV and radio is like a "pop culture" mirror - a reflection of our
society. And yea, it isn't a pretty picture but sometimes we have to look at
ourselves before we can change. The pendulum swings. And I think it's about to
come crashing back at us. For the good I hope. Kids really do put way too much
love into car rims. That's really weird.
Review: In a similar vein, what do you think about the FCC crackdown that
is happening regarding radio stations in general and Clear Channel in particular
pulling the Howard Stern show and claiming to not give airplay to hardcore Rap
and Hip Hop artists?
Mike Clark: It is total bullshit. First of all, Clear Channel pulled
Howard Stern off all of their stations 2 days after he started to talk against
Bush. The FC now just fined Howard Stern on a show he did 3 years ago! I feel
they want him out because he is talking against Bush.
Howard Stern reaches something like 13 million listeners. He is #1 in just about
every market. Obviously "the people" want to hear Howard Stern!. So who is
George Bush or the FCC telling us what is indecent? If you don't like Howard
Stern you have the "freedom" to turn it off.
The QVC channel offends me. But I am not trying to yank it off the air. I just
choose not to watch it. The stupidly of the Jerry Springer show offends me so I
turn it off! Big deal.
Now
the FCC wants to pass a bill to fine personally 500 thousand dollars to anyone
they feel broadcasts something "they" feel is "Indecent". However there is no
clear definition of what is indecent. What are the rules? What is indecent?? The
word Nigger? the word Faggot? The "F" word? They are just words. Who cares? If
we don't like it we can turn if off! We the people will not endorse it if we
don't like it! Right?
I'd
rather my kid see Janet Jackson's boob than see the violence of "Passion Of The
Christ". A lot of stupid religious people are making their children watch that
violent movie "cause its Jesus"!!!
That
is insane! How can the FCC now go back and fine Howard Stern on something he
broadcasted 3 years ago??? Who's next? The recording industry? Are they going
to start fining recording artists every time an artist's song is played on the
radio that the government finds "indecent"? What is this? The Taliban? George
Bush - he's got to go! It's all getting out of hand.
Review: As a big George Clinton fan, Prozac tells me you worked on some
Projects with him. What was that experience like?
Mike Clark: I worked with George Clinton between 92-94. George has been
around laying
down tracks in the studio since the early '60s. He has worked with a lot of
people. I learned a lot from him. He had a really intense vibe. You could feel
the minute he walked into the room. It was awesome watching him work out vocal
harmonies and parts. It was some of the best times I've had in the studio. He
was never afraid to take chances. If there was a mistake on the
tape he'd turn it up! He was a lot of fun. He is like a god.
Review: What do you think is the best way to describe 'Self Inflicted'?
Mike Clark: Its Just a good record. It has a lot of heart and soul in
it. It's kind of dark and rough around the edges. Just how I like it. We want to
keep the project entertaining and not limited to ourselves creativity. We want
to continue to try new ideas with many different artists, and at the same time
give you something to think about. We want to remain relevant with the times and
just make good music. We want to make you feel many different feelings - good,
bad, happy, sad, violent & calm. This is just the beginning. Thank you for
giving us this time and letting us speak. And please...VOTE!
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