Interview With R.a.i 3/25/09

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Interview With R.a.i 3/25/09

Post by |.R.SON.aLL.| »

Interview With R.A.i

R.a.i, is the 15 year old kid genius of illest. In his first interview, he will explain everything from how he started rapping, to explaining his very complex rhyme scheme. Learn more about his blog, to his picky taste in music. He overcomes the struggles of his very unique style and still continues to drop great pieces in the Distilled Concepts & Scriptures of illest.

Illest Lyrics: Thank you R.a.i for acceptin to do this interview with illest fam ..

R.a.i: Ayy no problem . Glad you guys chose me

Illest Lyrics: We appreciate you taking the time to do this interview. How does it feel to be choosen from illest being an emcee they wanted to see bein interviewed?

R.a.i: It's a great feeling that i garner enough respect that people wanna hear what i have to say. It's a big ego boost, i can tell you that . haha

Illest Lyrics: i feel you deserved to be heard lol. So what really made you so into rap?

R.a.i: Well to be honest, it was because it was the first thing i liked, that my parents didn't like. The whole "parental advisory sticker" on all the rap albums i saw in the store just drew me in. It was sort of like my own little rebellion.

Illest Lyrics: Lol, that's tha most interestin one I heard of so far, so you like a rebel with a cause since you are an emcee ... How did you come to the sense that you wanted to be a rapper?

R.a.i: To be honest it was through a friend. He was tryna rap himself and i got kind of jealous. So i thought to myself "ain't that hard. Just rhyme a few words" but when i came to illest it became apparent it takes a bit more skill than that.

Illest Lyrics: When you came on illest, did you think there was actually going to be talent on the board?

R.a.i: I thought ya'll were a bunch of nerds acting hard on the net ! haha. I came on illest with a very cynical view of being a rapper in itself. I thought, like i said. It was just rhyming words. So i came in on a high horse like most. But soon i was humbled by everyone who actually gave me good advice and critique.

Illest Lyrics: Lol, what made you think that most of illest were E-thugs?

R.a.i: The internet's the last place you'd think to find a hardcore rapper :P

Illest Lyrics: lol true, but illest is a great place for feedback, I admire that too ..now your style isn't only hip hop, explain what is your style exactly to those who don't understand it.

R.a.i: My style. Hmm. Well. I guess it's really influenced by spoken word artists and beat poets.. And thus doesn't really communicate well into a "rap" style per se . I find it's much more easier to write the way i do. There's more room to move around and really express yourself creatively, but along the way im sacrificing essentials such as flow and structure. it's also heavily influenced by Lupe's style .. It's sort of my own take on how he does his ish . And understandably, it doesn't garner as much positive feedback as say complexity would. because imo, its a bit harder to understand and grasp, because really it's written for me and not anyone else. it's my own expression.

Illest Lyrics: I've noticed a lot of emcees on illest bash the fact that your rhyme scheme is rather abnormal, do you get discouraged to drop because of your style?

R.a.i: Of course. No one likes getting bad feedback. But on the other hand i've grown callous to those who not only don't understand how or why i write, but choose NOT to understand how or why i write. But to be honest, no, people's opinions don't really discourage me from dropping. Dropping in the scriptures, sure. But you'll find me dropping in distilled concepts almost regularly (not lately though). After all, like people have said before, such as Rell, my style is more fitted to poetry anyway .

Illest Lyrics: Word, don't ever let no one stop you.. So, i noticed you mention a few illest emcees that keep you movitated ..who influences you the most on illest?

R.a.i: Haha im so fickle minded in this area . Though it may seem trite, I first was heavily influenced by Rell solely based on how he typed With All Captials Such As So. Oh yeah, i was lame like that. But because of that i was really intrigued to read more of his stuff. And i find he is quite ahead of the pack and he brings an element to his pieces no one can really emulate or even try to begin to copy. He's also a whizz with the wordplay which always made me admire his work, because he could think outside of the box. Another one of my main influences would have to either be Hazard or Complexity. Both are just unique in their writing styles and both have their strengths and weaknesses, but both have one thing in common. They're pure writers. But i gotta say my main main influence would deffo have to be Rell. Dude's given me props when needed and he's given me constructive criticism when necessary. Dude's like a mentor to me.

Illest Lyrics: Yeah he alright I guess ..lmao nah ..you heard of the name game right? Well i`ma switch it up, i`m going to name an illest emcee ..and I want you to tell me their weakness in writing ..ready?

R.a.i: go ahead .

Illest Lyrics: Hazard

R.a.i: structure, dudes lines are everywhere, espcially recently, sort of hard to follow his flow

Illest Lyrics: Kurse

R.a.i: Punches . Hes doesnt want an underground feel though. Like he's told everyone he wants to be mainstream so hes doin what needs to be done

Illest Lyrics: HKX

R.a.i: To be honest, haven't really seen a lot of his work. But from what i have seen, it'd have to be a similar case to Kurse. although admittedly hes slightly better with the punches

Illest Lyrics: Ekoms

R.a.i: His audio delivery, dudes got everything else down on lock, but hes still improving with the audio . and hes persistent with it, which is good

Illest Lyrics: Complexity

R.a.i: Running the site . haha just playin. Nah seriously plex is all round dope . I mean even if he has a weakness, i can't find any. It'd be a crime for me, especially, to say so.

Illest Lyrics: Domino

R.a.i: Bein active ( if that counts ). Dude dominated back in his hey day . If only he stayed up and kept on battling. Who knows.

Illest Lyrics: Scott James

R.a.i: His punches need to be abit more clearer. In a bid to be creative, it takes a little extra work for the average joe to connect the dots with his punch lines. I think he needs to stay creative, but tone the out-of-the-box thinking.

Illest Lyrics: Arvincible

R.a.i: His mouth . (if that counts too.) Dude is consistent as hell, a great all rounder and a solid battler, but sometimes he comes off as a bit too blunt, which loses people's respect for him. Lyrically i think he's on the higher echelon. Dude has elevated crazy for the time that he's been active.

Illest Lyrics: And Last, R.Son.All

R.a.i: That's a tough one. It's the case with plex. Dude has already established himself as one of the greats illest has seen, and if anyone has to critique him it wouldn't be me. He's been around for too long and has pretty much become comfortable in his own style. If this were like .. 3 or 4 years ago maybe i could pick out a flaw. I mean, of course he's not perfect. But i wouldn't feel comfortable pointing out one of his weaknesses.

Illest Lyrics: Alright enough of the name game, lets talk a bit more about you, how old are you again?

R.a.i: I'm 15, turning 16 this year .

Illest Lyrics: How does it feel to be consider as the "Kid Genius" of illest from a few of illest`s own legends?, Because you are very young, but mature and talented.

R.a.i: Well to be honest, it's actually very daunting. As with everyone who's been branded with a title of (somewhat) prestige, there's always that fear of not meeting people's expectations regarding your work that always seems to loom above your head. You begin to write for the people, rather than yourself. So for me, it's a bit scary and it adds a bit of pressure so to speak. im selfish when it comes to self expression. haha .

Illest Lyrics: Speaking of writing for yourself, you are in fact an amazing writer for your age, tell us how did your blog come together?

R.a.i: I was bored as hell one lazy sunday afternoon . I ran out of space in a notebook that i write in regularly, and i couldn't be screwed going out and buying a new one. My cousin had a blog so i said to myself "yeah why not". It's slowly drifted from a recount of how my day went to where i post all my poetry or little articles about various subjects. It's a really good way for me to get my say out there, and to show other people what's going on in my head .

Illest Lyrics: Very nice, now one last question that quite a few folks want to know. Explain why feel Lupe Fiasco is better than Joe Budden

R.a.i: Joe Budden isn't my type of dude . I'm very picky when it comes to the rap music i listen to (because everything's so commercialized and bland), and from a relative point of view i just like Lupe Fiasco better. Nothing to it. Music is subjective. People hate what they hate, and like what they like . I have no specific reason for putting Lupe above Joe Budden other than simply that .But Joe is a dope punch rapper . That's truth.

Illest Lyrics: Alright there you have it Illest, now i`ma wrap this interview up. Anything you would like to say that wasn't brought up in the interview?

R.a.i: Nope that's about it . Just glad Illet gave me this opportunity. (finally ) haha .

Illest Lyrics: -interview ended-
Last edited by |.R.SON.aLL.| on Wed Mar 25, 2009 7:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Brah-Vo »

sweeeeeeeeeeeet
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Post by Haz »

Interview Came Out a Lil Rough ..
But Overall Good Shit...
Joe Budden > Lupe LOL.
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Post by complexity »

I thought the interview could have been slightly more probing. I still found it very interesting, it had a good flow to it. I didn't find anything shocking or controversial, but thats not to be expected from RAI. Good interview.
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Post by Dead Silence »

it was good
dont get me wrong
it wasnt the BEST nor the WORST

it was missing the games in it
i dk im attracted to that
to find out what they think of Illest Members

but overall it was good
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Post by Glamtrash »

I fell that this could have went a lot further than it did. Either way, I'm glad Rai finally got that interview lol.
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Re: Interview With R.a.i 3/25/09

Post by Ambiguous Realm »

this interview sucked!..nah jk it was pretty good, i like how u moved urself away from some of the wannabe-thug image u gave off when u first came here and in ur interview u used several words that most people don't oftenly use, overall good interview.. could've been a little longer but there's always a next time
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Re: Interview With R.a.i 3/25/09

Post by 1 !LL B!tch »

Well Illest has th best interviews net wide, if this is an "ok" interview then dang boys you guys are the originators, I liked it.
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