Old tonedeff interview 7/5/05

[complexity]

Its worth reading, and i actually specifically went out looking for something like this.

LatinRapper.com: For the people that might be unaware, tell them who you are and what you do.

My name is Tonedeff, with no space in the middle. No capital D, two f's, just one word, Tonedeff. I'm an emcee, producer, singer/songwriter, piano-playing graphic artist and an all around nice guy.

Why the name Tonedeff? After listening to you, one can tell you're not tone deaf.

That was very clever. (laughs) Basically the name is a play on words and it's always embodied my style cause I'm a fan of wordplay, good wit and lyrics. Also I've had the name since I was 12 years old.

I know it sounds mad ol' school, you know "Tonedeff", but I just kept it since I was 12 because I made the conscious decision that this is the name I started with and this is the name I'm going to finish with. I know a lot of cats change their names like 85 f**kin' times in their career.

How many years have you been making music?

I've been writing since I was 9 years old and I've been recording professionally and doing shows since I was 12.

What artists and crews are you affiliated with?

I'm down with The Plague, the all-around collective in New York City, which is 12 of the nastiest emcees you're ever going to hear in your life. QN5 Music is the label which is made up of myself, CunninLynguists, PackFM, Mr. Mecca, Session & Kynfolk. Extended F@mm is the group I represent along with PackFM, Session & Substantial.

What does QN5 stand for?

I dont have a funny answer for this. QN5 stands for Quintic Nickelism to the 5th power. Now, the short definition is: we're 5 steps ahead of the game. The long definition sounds way too f**kin' ridiculous for me to explain.

Could You Define 'The New' Hip-Hop?

Oh! Yeah, that's my favorite subject. As a matter of fact, ArchRival, The New Hip-Hop is basically this - it's music without genre. It's music that is simultaneously mainstream, underground, middle of the road, below the road, above the road, artistic, catchy, danceable and melancholy, it's everything. The New Hip-Hop is a quick way to say "I don't give a f**k about if it's underground or if it's mainstream - f**k the categorization!â€