Interview: HEZEKIAH “Hurrying
Up To Wait With Hezekiah”
An Interview
with HEZEKIAH (
Nov 2006 ) Interview
by Todd E. Jones aka The New Jeru Poet toddejones@yahoo.com
Hezekiah, as a name, is defined as one who God has
strengthened. As an artist, Hezekiah has been strengthened with the
gift of music. He is both a producer and an emcee. Sharing a legacy
with The Roots, Bahamadia, and Beanie Sigel, Hezekiah is Philadelphia
to core. Hezekiah’s production work includes Aaries, Intense, Zap Mama,
Grand Agent, and J-live. He is the driving force of The Beat Society,
which earned him critical acclaim. On Grand Agent’s “Fish Outta Water: The Remixes”, he
shared remix duties next to the respected producers J. Rawls, Ge-Ology,
Illmind, Street Orchestra, Kev Brown, and Shitake Monkey. As an emcee,
he made a guest appearance on John Legend’s “Ordinary People (Illmind
Remix)”. His also scored some music for the Showtime series, “Street
Time”.
After many years of paying dues, Hezekiah finally
released his debut album on Soulspazm Records. “Hurry Up & Wait” is a soulfully
diverse collection of astute hip-hop. Guests include Grand Agent,
Bahamadia, Arlynne Page, Santi White, Chief Kamachi, Scratch (from The
Roots), and Aaron Livingston. Although Hezekiah produced a handful of
songs, some production duties were contributed by M-Phazes, Illmind,
Tony Whitfield, Anthony Accurate, and Rick Tate. Stand-out cuts include
"Conscious Porn", "Gypsy Slang", and "Right On".
Hezekiah found his strength in music. As the rhythm
moves and the melodies linger, his power grows. In the future, he will
create new album, more production work, and more opportunities. When
music is Hezekiah’s strength, the rhythm guides him.
TODD E. JONES: “What goes on?"
HEZEKIAH: “Cool.”
TODD E. JONES: “Your debut album, ‘Hurry
Up & Wait’ was released on Soulspazm Records. Tell us about
it.”
HEZEKIAH: ”Okay, Rawkus and Soulspazm re-released 3 Soulspazm albums,
mine being one of them. The album is timeless. That’s what we all
felt. To me, it’s just a reminder to let people know I’m still
hustling.”
TODD E. JONES: “What do you think makes ‘Hurry Up & Wait’ a timeless
album?”
HEZEKIAH: “The funk you can never put a time on is the funk from
Parliament to Outkast to Badu. Five years from now, it will still be
cool. As long as you take chances, you can make classic music.”
TODD E. JONES: “What song on the ‘Hurry
Up & Wait’ LP took the longest to complete? Why?”
HEZEKIAH: “'Before I Go' took the longest because Illmind had to
mastermind the vamp, at the end of the song. He’s a crazy dude.”
TODD E. JONES: “Do you have a favorite track on ‘Hurry Up & Wait’? Why?”
HEZEKIAH: “‘Children Don’t Play’. Then, ‘Psycho Chick’. ‘Children
Don’t Play’ because of my second ego, Johnny Popcorn.”
TODD E. JONES: “Who is Johnny Popcorn?”
HEZEKIAH: “Johnny? He is the Hezekiah that grew up on punk and
skating. This is what I do for fun. Me and my partner, Tony Whitfield
hits the studio and wild out. I'll send you some.”
TODD E. JONES: “Do you still skate? I still have my old school Steve
Caballero board by Powell-Peralta.”
HEZEKIAH: “I have a 1996 large deck before they went hip-hop. It
rides nice and I skate most of the time. I was just out this
morning.”
TODD E. JONES: “What is the meaning behind the title, ‘Hurry Up & Wait’?”
HEZEKIAH: “Truth be told, the album came out last year. When it
came out, it was already 3 years old. That is what I mean by timeless.
That’s where the title came from, the wait. Also, the labels making me
rush just to put me off.”
TODD E. JONES: “When creating a track, do you have a set theme and
pre-written lyrics, or do you start with an idea or the music first?”
HEZEKIAH: “I never write to a track. When I do, I tend to write
dumb stuff. So, when I make a track, I come up with the hook. Then,
comes the writing of the rhymes, when I am out in the street.”
TODD E. JONES: “How did you hook up with Bahamadia for ‘Gypsy Slang’?
What was that collaboration like? Was it done in the studio?”
HEZEKIAH: “That joint was so fun. Bahamadia is a pro. She did
like two takes and it was a rap. Brainstorm did the track. She is a
nut. I had a bunch of rhymes. I put down like five verses and kept the
best two. Baham? I knew her sense forever. It’s Philly.”
TODD E. JONES: “Was ‘Gypsy Slang’ done with Bahamadia and you, both in
the studio?”
HEZEKIAH: “Yes, all but the cuts by Static of Illvibe. He put
them down the same day we mixed it at The Roots studio. Most of the
guests on the album are from Philly like Scratch, Kamachi. Bahamadia,
Static, and Santi White.”
TODD E. JONES: “You produced most of the album, but for the other
tracks, what made you choose the producers for ‘Hurry Up & Wait’?”
HEZEKIAH: “I wanted a sound that I don’t quite do, but would
still fit my format. So, Illmind and Brainstorm had what I needed.
‘Before I Go’ was the first track I ever heard from Illmind. He wanted
to play more, but I already hade a hook. We did it on the spot in one
hour.”
TODD E. JONES: “How did you hook up with Soulspazm Records?”
HEZEKIAH: “They are from Philly. The host of Beat Society put us
together. We’ve been cool ever sense.”
TODD E. JONES: “What is the meaning behind the name, Hezekiah?”
HEZEKIAH: “It's Hebrew. He was a king, in the bible. The name
means ‘one who God gave strength to’,
but I was named after my father
and his father. That makes me the III.”
TODD E. JONES: “Would you consider yourself a spiritual person?”
HEZEKIAH: “Somewhat. I'm human. It goes from Gandhi to the strip
club… fast. That's why I made the song 'Conscious Porn'. No one is one
sided. If they say they are, it's a lie.”
TODD E. JONES: “On the song, ‘Power, Money And Influence’ from Guru’s ‘Version 7.0: The Street Scriptures’
album, Talib Kweli remarks that Pro-Tools made producers lazy. Do you
agree?”
HEZEKIAH: “Yes. Me and my boy were just talking about that last
night. You can hear it in today's music. All the cats that make real
tracks like Just Blaze, Kwame, J Dilla, Premo, and so on, came from
another time. We made something out of nothing sh*t. The SP1200 had 8
seconds of sample time and Pete Rock killed it! These new kids wouldn't
know what to do with that.”
TODD E. JONES: “You are also an established producer. If you had to
choose between being an emcee or a producer, which one would you
choose?”
HEZEKIAH: “It's hard. I love doing both the same. There's a craft
to each one that always pushes me to be better. Also, I'm a
nerd.”
TODD E. JONES: “What are some songs you are most proud of?”
HEZEKIAH: “'Yelling Away' for Zap Momma, this joint I did for
Redman called 'The Goth', and the Nas remix for ‘Thief’s Theme’. Oh
yeah, my new album.”
TODD E. JONES: “Tell us about your new album.”
HEZEKIAH: “That is why I’m up so early. It features Freeway,
Black Thought, Jazzy Jeff and more. It is a Philly joint. It is so much
ahead of 'Hurry Up & Wait'.
The music is so hard and personal. It's writing well from the battles
to the stories into the end. It's a ‘play straight through’ album. I
can’t wait to put it out. It’s called, ‘I Predict A Riot’. It will come
out on Rawkus and Soulspazm in February or March 2007”
TODD E. JONES: “Who are some producers you would like to collaborate
with in the future?”
HEZEKIAH: “Just Blaze, Mr. West, and Jazzy Pha. In the
after-life, J Dilla, and Scott La Rock.”
TODD E. JONES: “Who are some artists you would like to collaborate with
in the future?”
HEZEKIAH: “Nas, Will.i.am, Cee-Lo, Speech, Ben Harper, and the
lead singer of System Of A Down.”
TODD E. JONES: “You did production for J-Live on his album, ‘The Hear
After’. How did that connection happen? What was he like to work with?
Was the song done together in the studio?”
HEZEKIAH: “When J-Live moved to Philly, he moved 3 blocks away
from me. Oddisee was working with him. J-Live picked the beat from a
beat CD.”
TODD E. JONES: “Do you think that collaboration through the Internet or
mail has a major effect and change on the way the songs come out?”
HEZEKIAH: “Yeah. You can get a lot more finished, faster.”
TODD E. JONES: “What about the quality or the feeling of the song?”
HEZEKIAH: “Yeah, I agree. It’s not the same.”
TODD E. JONES: “What LPs have you been listening to during the last
couple of days?”
HEZEKIAH: “System Of A Down, Pearl Jam, and Sean P.”
TODD E. JONES: “What was the last incident of racism you experienced?”
HEZEKIAH: “This group of white prep kids on South Street, two
days ago, beat-boxing in my ear and making hip-hop jesters in my face.
Dumb sh*t. Also, why the f*ck on HBO, you can watch 'The Wire' or
'Def Comedy Jam', the two black shows, a week before it airs using On
Demand? They didn't do that sh*t with ‘The Sopranos’ or ‘Entourage’. Is
it that they don't want us to rate higher then their other shows? That
sh*t is bugging me.”
TODD E. JONES: “Where were you on the September 11th terrorist attack?
How did you handle it?"
HEZEKIAH: “Sleeping in Philly. My boy called me 4 blocks away
from the towers. I told him this ain't the first time that happened. I
told him to run. He got out of right before the 2nd one hit. My mom
always said it was set up. From Pearl Harbor to whatever war, if you
want answers, follow who had more to gain. They are the ones who did
it.”
TODD E. JONES: “You have done a myriad of work with Grand Agent. How
did you two begin working together? How is working with him different
from other artists?”
HEZEKIAH: “Philly is a small town. That cat is a pro. I love
working with him. I want to do more. He comes up with some crazy but
straight hooks. His cadence on my tracks matches so well. It's
like Nas and Premo. It’s Philly, just Philly.”
TODD E. JONES: “Word association.
When I
say a name of a name, you say the first word that pops into your head.
So, if I said, ‘Flava Flav',
you may say ‘Clock’, ‘Crack’, or ‘The Surreal Life’. Okay?”
HEZEKIAH: “Philly.”
TODD E. JONES: “Gangstarr.”
HEZEKIAH: “Hip-hop.”
TODD E. JONES: “Dead Prez.” HEZEKIAH: “Black.”
TODD E. JONES: “Public Enemy.”
HEZEKIAH: “Timeless.”
TODD E. JONES: “Common.”
HEZEKIAH: “Pimp. (Laughs).”
TODD E. JONES: “Cassidy.”
HEZEKIAH: “Canibus.”
TODD E. JONES: “Mos Def.” HEZEKIAH: “Poet.”
TODD E. JONES: “The Roots.”
HEZEKIAH: “Music.”
TODD E. JONES: “Sadat X.”
HEZEKIAH: “Voice.”
TODD E. JONES: “Curtis Mayfield.”
HEZEKIAH: “Life.”
TODD E. JONES: “Atmosphere.”
HEZEKIAH: “Nothing.”
TODD E. JONES: “J Dilla.”
HEZEKIAH: “Genius.”
TODD E. JONES: “Eminem.”
HEZEKIAH: “Skills.”
TODD E. JONES: “Grand Agent.”
HEZEKIAH: “Future.”
TODD E. JONES: “George Bush.”
HEZEKIAH: “Boooo!”
TODD E. JONES: “Do you have a favorite sampler / drum machine?”
HEZEKIAH: “I just use the MPC 2000.”
TODD E. JONES: “How are Philadelphia audiences different from other
audiences?”
HEZEKIAH: “Philly don’t know what Philly likes. It’s funny. They
say they like something but then, they don’t come to the shows or buy
the album or movie. Is that just Philly?”
TODD E. JONES: “What’s next?”
HEZEKIAH: “A Grammy and money. My next album, ‘I Predict A Riot’ and a bunch of
other people’s stuff that I hope will make the cut.”
TODD E. JONES: “Final words?”
HEZEKIAH: “Life is too short to sleep. So, if you can, don’t.”
Interview: HEZEKIAH