Old To The New Q&A (Part Two) – Mr. Complex

In the first instalment of this interview with NYC’s Mr.Complex, the Rotten Apple resident spoke on coming up with Organized Konfusion, releasing his first 1995 single “I’m Rhymin'” and his more recent work in the world of film and television.

In this concluding part, Complex discusses his reservations about returning to the music game, the story behind his recently released “Swiss Chocolate Cake” album and his hopes for the future.

The engine to his comprehension is just too complex.

In the late-90s artists within the independent scene like Mos Def and The High & Mighty were capitalising off the success of their singles by releasing albums but that wasn’t something you did immediately – was there a reason why you didn’t release a full album at that point considering the success of your first releases?

“I remember when I started to put out singles that I was getting crazy props from Pharoahe was like, ‘You’ve really got the ball in your court right now. Take your time and get your material how you want it. Don’t rush.’ But I think maybe I should’ve rushed and dropped an album in 1997. But around that whole time it felt like I was having to re-set the people around me each time I put a single out because I was working with different labels. I mean, the first single came out on my own thing, then “Visualize” came out through Raw Shack, and then after that I was working with Nervous Records as part of Polyrhythm Addicts. At the same time Rawkus was trying to get me, and they’d signed me to release “Stabbin’ You” as a single, but they were sitting on it for so long that I dropped “I’ma Kill It” just to get back out there. But it always felt like I was re-setting because I was working with all these different labels.”

After Organized Konfusion dropped their last album in 1997 Pharoahe Monch almost started his career over and seemed to approach being as a solo artist as if he was introducing himself to the rap world all over again – was it strange for you to see your mentor in that situation?

“It was weird because he was someone I would look to for advice given that he was more experienced in the business than I was and had already put out albums. At that time Pharoahe was riding around with me everywhere after coming off of the Organized Konfusion situation and people were always like ‘Oh s**t! That’s Pharoahe!” (laughs) So Pharoahe had come up to Rawkus with me and then the label started asking me if he’d consider doing songs with this artist or that artist. So I told Pharoahe he should talk to them and the next thing you know he had his own solo deal with Rawkus and really started taking off.”

That must have been a very busy period for both of you (laughs)…

“It was funny, because I was rolling with Pharoahe doing his shows, doing Polyrhythm Addicts shows and doing Mr. Complex shows all at the same time. I remember doing three shows in one night (laughs). There were days when I didn’t even know where I was going to be the next day because I was doing so many shows. I would be on a plane sometimes with barely a days notice. Pharoahe would call me up, ‘We’re going to Amsterdam.’ I’d be like. ‘Okay, when?” He’d say “Tonight” (laughs). It was fun but at the time I really didn’t know it was going to end. It’s easy to start taking that sort of thing for granted. I remember I was working through that whole period at the post office doing night shifts (laughs). I’d get no sleep during the day, then I’d be working or doing shows, so at times it felt like I was really killing myself (laughs). But then towards the end when I was doing the group thing with Polyrhythm it really started to kill my spirit because we didn’t get it to pop the way we wanted it to. We were fighting each other and it was kinda depressing. I mean, we were doing shows for really small crowds just to get a couple of dollars. Then I’d go home to my wife and family, now ex-wife, and hear stuff from them about what I should be doing, so the whole music thing really got depressing. 2005 and 2006 was a real hard time as I was almost homeless, having to sleep on friends couches while I tried to rebuild myself.”

Having gone through those disappointments and experiences as an artist, how has that influenced the way you’re approaching your music career today?

“It’s gonna be a different feeling because I know how to have fun with it now. I’m going to attack it differently. I do have a few reservations about whether people are going to look at me now and say ‘Who is this old man? What the hell is he talking about?’ (laughs) But I keep thinking back to my last show in 2005 in Germany with Kurtis Blow on the bill. He kept telling me all these stories and in the same way that you were asking me earlier about being a part of the 90s independent movement, I was asking him about being a part of that first wave of rappers and how he continues to do what he does. And some of the issues I’m dealing with now regarding how fragmented the Hip-Hop audience is and how a lot of my original audience might not even listen to Hip-Hop much anymore or have any real interest in what I’m doing now, those are all things that older artists have gone through before us. So now I’ve got to find my audience again or let my audience find me. I mean, just a matter of years ago on MySpace I had ten thousand fans, now today on Facebook I have seven hundred (laughs). So where have all the people who were coming to my shows gone? Where are all the people who were buying my records? How do I make sure those people know I have a new record out?”

Your recent video for the “Holy Smokes” single is definitely memorable – where did that concept come from?

“Where did it come from? I don’t know (laughs). I just knew that I wanted to do something a little crazy that would make people want to watch it again. I played around with some ideas and then decided on having the girls beat me up (laughs). I did actually get caught a few times while we were shooting. One girl really caught me in my adam’s apple and another one stood down on the back of my leg with her high heels on. Most of the girls in the video are actresses that I’ve worked with before on other projects who always said I should let them know whenever I was doing something with my own music. So I really wanted to do something that would standout because the one thing the Internet has done has made it very easy for anyone to make a track or put a video out there, so if you’re competing for people’s attention along with all this other stuff you have to make sure that what you do is entertaining and will be remembered. There’s more to being an artist than just getting an account on Facebook (laughs).”

So how did the “Swiss Chocolate Cake” album originally come to be recorded and why was it initially left on the shelf?

“The first time I ever went overseas in was to Switzerland in 1997. Years later, around 2002, I found this record in a friend’s office that was a compilation album from a Swiss producer called Vasi. I looked on the back of the cover and there were a bunch of artists on the record and one of them was actually the promoter who had originally got me out to Switzerland for that first trip. So I reached out to him and he booked me for another show out there in 2003 with DJ Crossphader. I was then introduced to Vasi and some other guys and we went to the studio the day after the show and I recorded about four songs right there and then. At the time, it still was quite a big deal for a Stateside artist to be working with producers from Europe, and it was really humbling for me because they were really happy for us to be working together. I was due to fly back to New York, but I told them that if they brought me out to Switzerland again I’d do a whole album with them. In total we ended up recording about seventeen songs, but then after we’d done all the recording everyone went back to what they were doing, everyday life got in the way, and nothing happened with the project. So when I started wondering what had happened to all the tracks, some of the ones I found had already been mixed and some of the others needed a little work, but out of that I decided on the ones that would then make the album.  It’s funny to get behind a project containing music that I recorded almost ten years ago because I find myself second-guessing the project and wondering if people would get into it. But then I listen to the album, and it is good. It’s something different from me which is cool and the great thing is that people who didn’t know the story behind the album heard the music and didn’t think it sounded like something that had been recorded years ago.”

So with both “Swiss Chocolate Cake” and the “Forever New” album dropping this year are you looking beyond 2012 as far as your music is concerned or does the future depend on how these projects are received?

“I mean, I’m hoping that the “Swiss Chocolate Cake” album will be enjoyed, but do I think it’s going to be an album that people are forever rewinding and playing again? I really don’t know because in today’s market it’s hard to say something like that. I just really wanted to get it out of my system because I felt it wasn’t a project I could release after the new album that I’m working on now. It had to come out before “Forever New” as a way to try and get a little buzz going again. But what will happen after I release the new album later this year, I really don’t know. I mean, the fun I had touring with L-Fudge and Crossphader a decade ago seems like a lifetime ago now. So if I start touring again and I’m not enjoying it like I used to or I’m constantly fighting with promoters for money like towards the end last time, then that’s not something I can do anymore. But when everything started to slow down the first time around, I always said to myself that if I did get back out there making music and travelling again then I’d definitely treasure every moment the second time around.”

“Swiss Chocolate Cake” is out now on Sub-Bombin’ Records.

Ryan Proctor

Mr. Complex – “Holy Smokes” (Sub-Bombin’ Records / 2012)