I am honored and privileged to bring you guys the thoughts of criminally slept on artist, Devine Carama. I was listening to his latest album, Heart Of A King, and I thought that the album was so insightful and different that I wanted to see if I could get him to elaborate on some items through an interview of some sort. Lucky enough for us all, he obliged.
Be sure to cop both his albums, Blood Of A Slave and Heart Of A King at your earliest and support good music.
Interview:
HHD: Your name and music have recently started garnering a lot of attention with the release of your last two projects, Blood Of A Slave and Heart Of A King. But you have been fine tuning your craft for a long time. How long have you been actively crafting albums and performing at venues?
What were the factors that contributed in your decision to pursue a career in music?
Devine Carama: I actually wrote my first rhyme in the fall of 1996 called “Flyin’ Datrz”.. I been writing and spitting every since man. My first performance was at a high school talent show in 1997. So my roots in this game are long and deep, pause. But I didn’t really begin taking the craft seriously until around 2006. In 2008 while working on my first LP (Devine Intervention) I finally decided this is what I wanted to do for a career. Being a single father of 2 kids and also pursuing careers in basketball & baseball early on is what led to my late arrival to that decision.
HHD: You hail from Lexington, Kentucky which is a smaller hip hop market. Give our readers a little bit of insight as to what the hip hop scene in Kentucky is like? Positives? Negatives?
Devine Carama: Unfortunately there aren’t many positives about the hip hop scene here in Lexington, Ky.. Talent is definitely our biggest strength. Artists like CunningLynguist, Nemo Achida, Rob Jackson, Sheisty Khrist, myself all hail from the Lextown and have recently made a name for themselves on the underground or mainstream hip hop scene.. And there are many other talented MCs who are virtually unheard of that reside in my home city as well… That’s the positive aspect. The negatives however far outweigh our strengths.. Because the hip hop market is so small we lack fan support and venue support for any individual artists or collective to generate a strong enough buzz to get noticed abroad. Not to mention EVERYBODY is a rapper now, so our already small market is now oversaturated with artists. 90 percent of the attendees at most of our local hip hop shows are other rappers! If everybody is a rapper, where are all the fans? Those 2 things coupled together have created a “crab in a bucket” mentality amongst local artists here. Everybody is competing to be king on an “ant hill”.. Competition is good for larger markets but it’s bad for smaller markets. Unity is what we need in our city. If we all ever decided to come together I think we could make a mark on the hip hop game just like other cities have (ATL, Houston, NY, Philly, Chicago, etc.)
HHD: When I listen to a Devine Carama project, I feel a distinctive spirit in the music? What have been your musical influences to this point?
Devine Carama: Life & God. I’m a very very very honest MC. My music comes directly from whatever emotion I’m feeling at the moment. I also feel a responsibility to promote positive aspects of the “black experience” in my music because so much negativity is promoted within our communities so I try to combat that with my gift.. As for music inspiration, I tend to gravitate to the more lyrical & soulful MCs. Nas, Common, Blu, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Joe Budden, Phonte, and Elzhi… I listen to those guys daily..
HHD: I love Blood Of A Slave and I really enjoy listening to Heart Of A King. Can you tell us about the concept of both albums? In your own words how are they similar and how do they differ?
Devine Carama: Blood Of A Slave was originally suppose to signify the “struggle” black men in America have between balancing good and evil and where they are and where they come from. While Heart Of A King was suppose to focus more on the maturation of the black man in America and where they are headed. Blood Of A Slave ended up being a darker more lyrical laden album while Heart Of A King was brighter, soulful, & more hopeful… Both albums had contradictions spiritually but I was ok with that because it was a true representation of where I am in my walk with God and where I believe many are.. In a “lost generation” striving for better.. Far from where I want to be, but getting closer with each step I take.
HHD: I follow you on the social networks and I sensed excitement, yet apprehension, when the witching hour of your album release came about. Why did you have that ‘apprehension’ with the release of Heart Of A King?
Devine Carama: I knew it was a big release artistically. I’m 31 so my days as a rapper are numbered. This is a young man’s game. So I knew this album had to take me to the next level and a step closer to my goal in making this my career. Also, as a student and fan of the game I really wanted this album to stack up against all the other great albums that were released this year. So I was excited because I was confident it what I created, but I was nervous because I wasn’t sure everybody else will feel the same way and I knew what was at stake if they didn’t.
HHD: Reviews and thoughts of Heart Of A King are starting to trickle in, how do you think people have perceived it? Do you think people understand what you were conceptually doing with this project?
Devine Carama: Great. Blogs, fans, magazines, etc have all LOVED the album so far. People actually understood what I was going far. I think a lot of people were a little thrown off at first because it’s so different from Blood Of A Slave which was universally accepted. But once people understood the theme and the flow of Heart Of A King and just excepted it for what it was, the response was that it is a great album. That’s all I can ask for man.. Haven’t heard much from other rappers though but I never expect too.. lol
HHD: I want to talk to you about a couple of tracks in particular. First, I want to talk about the track Purgatory. I think that track is one of the more enlightening joints off the album. You shine your light on a number of different topics and contradictions, some of which (i.e. homosexuality) are things that just don’t get discussed in hip hop music. Give me your perspective about this joint and explain why you gave it the title, Purgatory and the chorus “where you wanna go is neither heaven or hell…”
Devine Carama: Purgatory may be one of the biggest records I’ve ever done. I think so many times as rappers and just as people in general we try to manipulate our own perception. We either only shed light on the good parts of our lives in order to be elevated or we only shed light on the negative in order to get sympathy. Some people agree with everything they see on Twitter and just follow the trends & some people are just contrarians and will go against anything popular.. I just try to be that honest voice of reason. Some of my views unpopular and some aren’t. Sometimes I agree with Democrats and sometimes I agree with Republicans. Sometimes I treat my girl like a queen and sometimes I treat my girl like a hoe… I am a flawed man that is trying to do the best that he can. A lot of people call that being a contradiction. I call it being real. I wanted to write a song that completely exposed myself so people could see me for who I really am in hopes to inspire them to expose themselves so that they can become better people. Honesty is our life’s bookmark. Can’t tell where we are as individuals if we are not honest with ourselves.
HHD: Midnight Souls is a song that dabbles in hypocrisy and those who fall short of their aims. How much of this song is on lessons you have learned personally? How much is it based upon others you observe? Without putting it in rhyme, what are you trying to impart to the listener?
Devine Carama: I know a trillion girls that relate to the queen I talked about in the first verse and I’m sure many readers know a girl or few like that too… Just a young pretty girl trying to find contentment and happiness in the nightlife and through acceptance of her physical appearance instead of in God and what’s inside of herself… The second verse was actually pieces of experiences that me and my younger brother had as we began making that transition from young adult into manhood. Again, I just wanted to portray some images that I felt other teens could relate to in hopes of showing them (in the third verse) that this generation is a little spoiled but it’s not too late to recapture what is rightfully yours!
HHD: As things progress for you as a man and an artist, how are you going to define success? What in your mind does success look like?
Devine Carama: Changing lives. If I never get signed and never have the opportunity to be heard by millions of people I’d be content as a thriving indie artists that is heard by only hundreds or thousands of people.. As long as my music is inspiring and motivating those people and enabling me to provide for my family at the same time.. That is success to me.
HHD: You have two great projects under your belt within the last year, what’s next for Devine Carama moving forward?
Devine Carama: Linking up with a German production team for a FREE LP entitled “NoStylegia” which is a combination of “no style” & “nostalgia”… Details coming sooner than you think! Also I’m going to redo Nas’ “In Was Written”.
Hip Hop Dependency 