Today is the day that Uncommon Nasa delivers his latest album, Land Of The Way It Is. It’s only fitting that we shine the spotlight on the man, his career, and his music.  He has been a steady contributor for independent hip hop since 2004.  He, and his roster of artists at Uncommon Records, continue to push the limits and boundaries of hip hop.  He features and fosters a blend of unique sounds and ideas with the vintage boom bap rhythms that he grew up with. He is a trailblazer among his peers because there are few who are willing to deviate from the norm and try something different. Nasa does this on a frequent basis Graciously, Nasa agreed to sit down and answer some question from the HHD camp and here is that end result:

Interview:

HHD: You were obviously a hip hop fan before you were an artist. But when and how did you make the transition from fan to artist?

Nasa: Man, I think I hobbled my way through that process throughout my teenage years and into my young twenties. I don’t think there’s one point where that happened, it really happened over time. I wasn’t that kid in High School that was ill, I recorded with friends like everyone else, and that’s about it. I actually stopped writing for a period after High School until I was about 20 or 21, but by then I started to work as an engineer and was surrounded by some pretty heavy duty talent. That was both really intimidating and inspiring, it also raised my learning curve tremendously during that time.

I think with “Land of the Way It Is”, I’ve finally come into my own – not just as an artist, but now also as a solo artist. I feel comfortable with the subject matter and as a song writer as opposed to someone just trying to prove something on the mic.

HHD: Uncommon Records has become a bastion for avant-garde hip hop talent since 2004. The team has a sound all unto itself. As the owner, tell the readers about the direction of the label both past and present?

Nasa: As we head into 2014, that will be our 10th year of existence. We’ve been steadily finding, collaborating with and promoting Progressive Hip-Hop talent. Primarily we’ve done this as an A & R operation. I’m really proud of what we’ve been able to do. From coast to coast, all different styles, we’ve put out some memorable albums that all fall under that “Progressive” ideal.

Going forward though, I need to take the label into a different direction. Starting in 2014 everything we put out at Uncommon will be produced by myself, or at least primarily so. The only exception being for Agartha Audio aka Dig Dug since he’s been with me from the beginning of the label and represents our sound musically as much as anyone. At this point in my life, I just need to be hands on in everything. I might drop records as an emcee with other producers, but if I’m dropping an album now and utilizing the pipeline we have set up, I need to be an active part of that musically. I’ve earned that much. I wouldn’t do anything differently in the past, I’ve loved running Uncommon as I have, but I’ve also neglected my abilities as a Producer in doing things that way. It’s time for me to shine a little and let more then my inner circle know how, frankly, good I am at producing full lengths. So, if you like my beats and always wanted to hear more, you’re in luck. If not, well…you lose.

HHD: I’ve talked with you over social networks previous to this interview. In those discussions we’ve referenced music back in the late 1990s and early 2000s where really this independent hip hop movement got started. Do you take any inspiration from that time frame? What artist or groups would you catch yourself listening to around then?

Nasa: I’d say a large majority of my inspiration comes from that era. I see myself and the label and all of us in this scene as part of that era’s lineage. Chronology is super important in hip-hop to me, and I see what I’m doing as part of that next step after that period, and that period as the next step from the period before that.

That era was something I was heavily involved with, in the late 90’s I was enrolled in Recording School in Manhattan. I went to shows constantly, listened to Stretch & Bob weekly, visited Fat Beats as often as I could. I was engrossed in that movement as a fan in the late 90’s. Later on, I got involved in it personally working in studios and meeting almost everyone I’d been listening to. I saw the success that those guys had making progressive hip-hop and I still aspire to live off of this shit as I saw many of my peers do back in those days. We need to get back to a point where a kid can come from humble means, get into the studio, say something with the music and then not have to work a full time job at the same time. Really, a large part of “Land of the Way It Is” is about just that phenomenon. The idea that in these times, you have to work twice as hard. Dedicating full time hours to creating and promoting your music while working full time hours for someone else, can’t be seen as fair anymore. It’s a trap, and creativity is suffering because of it. Who knows how much great music we missed the chance to hear because of people just not having the will power to pull all of that off?

HHD: You are a man of many hats. You rhyme, you produce, mix and engineer, and you run a label. There are not too many others who can claim all of those. What challenges does that pose to you?

Nasa: I touched on this a bit earlier when I talked about the future direction for the label. The challenge though, is that inevitably something will suffer. Even if it doesn’t suffer enough to hurt you, in fact, deciding what to let fall by the way side IS the challenge itself. For instance, if I go deep into writing and producing a record for myself, am I pumping out beats for collabs as much? If I have an album to promote for Artist X in Month X on the label, is my album being worked on that much that month? There are even pitfalls within specific roles. In years past, I didn’t have the time to dedicate to booking tours. So in that aspect of one of the roles, I’m behind. I’m just scratching the surface of stretching my legs out and getting my music to the people through live performances. I’ve done more shows in the last 12-24 months, then I’ve done over the rest of my career combined, and I’ve been at this for about 15 years. And remember, also as I pointed out, this is all still while holding down a full time 40 hour a week job. I think the biggest mistake you can make, is to try and take on everything equally all at once. It’s all about time management. You only get one chance to live this life, don’t waste it on BS, use your time wisely. Use your 9 to 5 to put yourself in the financial situation you need to be in to pull all this off, if not, get another gig.

These days, you’ll see more and more people attempting wearing as many hats as I have for over a decade. Some will succeed and some will fail. Not everyone is qualified to mix their own records, not everyone has the drive to promote their own records. It’s just that simple. I don’t believe you should be limited by the old phrase “Jack of all trades, Master of None”, BUT, you should recognize that phenomenon if and when it does start to seep into your work.

HHD: In many ways you and Uncommon Records as a whole have already left a footprint on the hip hop music scene. I am curious as to how you are going to define success for yourself. In running a label do you ever let the word “legacy” run through your mind?

Nasa:  I appreciate and thank you for saying that, in terms of us leaving a “footprint”. I think to answer your question, that’s why I started a label. I think it’s an interesting question because after a certain point you give up on having a “legacy”, you just create because you were born to create. I am of music, so all that I do and all that I am is of music in my mind. Music to me is as essential as breathing and waking up in the morning. I’ve tried to push it to the point where whether it’s writing, performing, producing, mixing, mastering – when I wake up I’ve helped create something else. I need to touch something musically every day. Doing this will take care of any legacy questions down the road. That’s the legacy right there that I’d want to leave.

HHD:  Your new album, Land Of The Way It Is, drops on August 6th, but I have heard the title of the album, mentioned all the way back in 2011. How long have you been working on this album? How much time have you put into it?

Nasa: On and off for about 2 years. As we talked about, when you’re running a label and promoting X amount of records a year, plus working a 9 to 5, it’s impossible to get everything done on the schedule you’d like it to. But that said, I’m glad this album got to gestate a bit. It evolved over time to include more subject matter about myself and my story coming up as a lower class youth then I originally foresaw and I think that added more depth to the record. I think there was a period where I’d write songs and record them that took about a year (on and off) and then earlier this year it all got kicked up to the mix and master phase where I was just banging out a few mixes per month until it was done. This album was actually completed in May, but for once in my life I actually just sat on a record. It’s hard to do that in this digital age, but I knew with a record like this that took so much out of me, I needed to sit and focus on the way I wanted it to come out. I planned ahead and dropped it one day after my Birthday.

HHD: The title, Land Of The Way It Is, suggests an album whose content is based firmly in reality. This almost seems like a critique of an industry that prides itself on fantasy. But, in your own words, tell people why you gave the album this title?

Nasa: It’s inspired by a term that Jim Starlin used in his classic Adam Warlock run. In that book, Warlock is trapped in a clown world of people preaching conformity. It’s been said that the whole book was a metaphor for the problems he was having with his editors at Marvel and that he was sly enough to get that past them to print. That whole thing resonated with me strongly. At the time I started with this record, I was at a different job where my management were making some of the dumbest decisions imaginable. My own career was trapped in a malaise and the creative part of my work there was being muted more and more. That’s the genesis of the record. But the title and the album itself is really about the life of an artist being kept from creating. You can hear this on “Two Days” pretty heavily, the imprisoning feeling of having to work for someone else, while you could be home doing things that are worth far more. “Land of the Way It Is”, is just that. This is the way it actually is, not the way it’s presented by other rappers or musicians.

HHD: My favorite track off of the album is Pasta w/ Butter. The arrangement is dope and is relate-able to a lot of people. Do you have a track off of this album that you would consider to be a favorite?

Nasa: Props to Skribe1 for making that beat then. I hate to say it like this, but I really like my whole my album. I listen to it regularly as if I wasn’t the one that made it. Even though, as I said, it was a long process, I’m still not sick of it. A lot of songs mean something to me in different ways, Pasta w/ Butter is definitely one of my favorites. Background Check (because of the subject matter), Twenty-Two (because it helped me conquer some things that held me back), My Ego’s Big (because that beat and the emcees all rock so ill). It depends on my mood that day. I’d like to think this all means I’ve actually made a dope album, rather then that I’m vain, haha.

HHD:  You have quite a few guest appearances on the album, and one of them is Prince Po who I would give legendary status to. What’s it like hearing yourself on a track with a member of Organized Konfusion? When you drop a verse along side someone of that caliber, do you put extra pressure on yourself as an emcee?

Nasa: Ha, I didn’t even mention this one before. Frequent Flyers was a dream come true. I grew up a HUGE Organized Konfusion fan. Just being on a track with someone like Prince Po is an honor. I don’t reach outside of my circle for cameos often, because I feel like I know all the best emcees doing it personally and that’s real talk. But when I do, someone like Prince Po is who I want to reach out to. As far as pressure goes, the trick is to drop your verse before the cameo emcee does (even if you end up flipping the order later) and have a clear concept of what you want that person to do for you. If you send someone a beat and tell them to drop an ill verse, the song will probably suck and you’ll be trying to beat an ill ass emcee at writing an ill verse. I wouldn’t have reached out to Prince Po if I didn’t think he would be able to nail Frequent Flyers in particular as a concept and he certainly did. Props to Willie Green on that beat too.

HHD:  The inevitable last question is, after this album drops, what does Uncommon Records and Nasa have in store for the people for the rest of 2013?

Nasa: I’ll have a follow up EP before the end of the year. I’m already knee deep into finishing it. I’m also about to start work on a full length with Producer, Black-Tokyo and a collab EP with my longtime friend, Wooden Wand (both will surface in 2014 hopefully). Besides that, I’m in the midst of producing several LPs and EPs for the label in 2014 for some talented folks.

HHD: Any other comments or thoughts?

Nasa: I just want to thank all the people that have hung with me and my music over the years. I hope “Land of the Way It Is” does you proud.