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Catching up with Prozak Future Plans, The Next Album, Post-our Relaxation By Robert E. Martin It was no accident but decidedly an engaging surprise when Saginaw's Hitchcock of Hip-Hop, Prozak, managed to secure four major wins at this year's 2009 Review Music Awards Ceremony, including Best Hip-Hop Artist, Best CD Release of the Year (For 'Tales from the Sick') and Review Artist of the Year. Over the past year Prozak's latest release managed to breakout in BillBoard Magazine's R&B Hip-Hop charts at #52 its first week of release, outselling such mainstay icons as Jay-Z and Mary J. Blige, while catapulting the Saginaw native to a whole new level & dimension of success. The DVD that accompanies Tales from the Sick was shot entirely in Saginaw at a cost of $135,000, which Prozak invested into the local economy. Indeed, since it dropped a year ago in June Tales from the Sick has managed to re-appear on the Billboard charts seven times. I caught up with Prozak the day after the close of his yearlong tour at Clutch Cargos (see accompanying review) to present him with his much deserved awards, discuss his newfound success, and ruminate over his plans for the future. Review: When we last spoke you were just dropping Tales from the Sick. Were you surprised at how well the CD hit? Prozak: It's done really well and hit the Billboard charts seven times within the year, so it's been really successful. I've got no voice left because yesterday was the last day of the tour. We did 178 shows last year and have been going for it. Review: What do you feel distinguished this release from your prior material to really shoot it out there? Prtozak: Well, in Bedlam we had specific stuff that we wanted to get out there and with Project Deadman there was a group agenda there as well. With me just doing Prozak it's what I want to do. I listen to Metal and Rock and different material, so when I do my own stuff I just do what I want to do. That's what makes it different. With a group there is one aim with everybody in terms of where it goes. This album is as diverse as I am. Review: You also feature sound bites with Bush talking about energy policy and spin a lot of political issues into your lyrics. What are your thoughts about GM declaring bankruptcy today? Prozak: It's funny because the tour we just completed was called the End of Days Tour and I think that's about right. Who knows how near we are because everything always restarts, there's always recessions, and things come back. But a lot of political stuff is on this new album because you have no choice but to be consumed by how messed up everything is right now. There's no way you can write 22 tracks in this time frame we're living in and not have some kind of anger or inspiration from it. Review: So what are some of your future plans? Prozak: We're slated to drop the next release, which will be called The Hitchcock of Hip Hop in September. It got pushed back because of so many tours and shows that we've been doing. I've had no time to start hammering it out. Plus I don't want to drop something inferior to Tales. The next release has to be better and the DVD has to be as good. It needs all the elements, so I'm not going to rush it. By June of next year we'll definitely have the follow-up released. Other than that, I'm working on a ghost-hunting show and directing music videos. But the next release will definitely be more diverse than the last. I've got guest artists like Bonecrusher and Twista on it and tomorrow I'm in Slipknot's studio in Des Moines, so I'm going to mix it up. I'm trying to Rob Zombie, dammit. I'm gonna take him hostage. Review: What were some of the best cities that you played on this recent tour? Prozak: They were all pretty good. The biggest markets I would say were Denver, Minneapolis, and Kansas City. We performed in Louisville for the first time and Wooster, Massachusetts was insanity. There were so many good shows it's hard to count. Out of 42 shows about 20 were in extremely great markets, ten were solid, and some were hit and miss. We did Traverse City, which I'd never done before. I looked at that and said, 'What are we doing up here?' But the small shows were awesome because you can meet every one of your fans, literally. Some of those shows are cooler than the 4,000 seaters. Review: Have you performed in Europe yet? I know you're big in Germany. Prozak: We sell well in Australia a lot for some reason. But no, I haven't gone over there yet. I'm not sure they'll let me across the border. We'll just find out. I definitely want to do more Saginaw shows. It's crazy that I've played all over the country for most of the year and haven't had a show in my own hometown, so I'm setting up a fresh Wickedstock this year for sure. I want to see this scene come back alive. Review: Any other thoughts? Prozak: Yeah, I want to say rest in peace to MC Breed. I heard about him passing on the road, which sucks. We've lost a legend. Other than that, Thank God Bush is gone, too. |
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