Torae: Bar Enlightenment Pt. 1

Just in time for Valentines Day, Brooklyn emcee Torae released his love-themed story in musical EP format entitled Heart Failure. Detailing the relationship process from beginning to end, the EP is reflective of a different side of the emcee who was most recently known for his aggressive street raps on his collaborative effort with producer Marco Polo, Double Barrel. On the heels of his latest release, TWV sat down with the Coney Island native to get his thoughts on some memorable bars, misconceptions about his hometown, and blowing money fast in hip hop’s golden era.

TWV: “If Q-U is hectic, then C-I on some next shit, Prodigy and Hav got the message, the kids was reckless, project homes infested, and no, can’t shit correct it.” (from “Coney Island” on Double Barrel)

Torae: Many people don’t know that Prodigy and Havoc used to record in Coney Island with my man Syl of AS1 Productions. He did their demo that got them their first deal. When they used to come to Coney Island from Queens when they were young and known as Poetical Profits, there were some tough guys out there. It was a play on it for people from Coney Island, because you know they had the song “Q.U. Hectic.” “Project homes infested, and no, can’t shit correct it”? That’s just everyday hood shit. Infested with whatever. It could be vermin, drugs, or a whole wide spectrum of things. In the hood you just feel like can’t shit correct it. It’s hard out there.

TWV: Do you think people have misconceptions about Coney Island?

Torae: People do kind of get it confused. There’s an amusement park, aquarium, and beach there. And it’s a wonderful place. But it’s still a tough neighborhood in Brooklyn. People who run around in the streets know, but just your everyday person from the outside looking in might think, “Hey, that’s a nice place, let’s go visit!” Just make sure you’re out by 6:40pm.

TWV: “One in five of us is dead or in prison man, check the statistics fam, this horrendous damn, to be real, this how I could just kill a man, it’s easier to be a dealer than to heal a man, I’m tryin’ to be a realer man.” (From the “Someday” remix off of Take Another Look [the Madwreck Remixes])

Torae: First off, that’s from the Madwreck remix version, which is from the Khrysis remix version, which is from the K.O. remix. This is going back about three years ago. K.O. reached out about pitching his album. I was just starting to buzz, and he wanted me to be a part of it. It was one of the first features I did around the time right before “Get It Done” came out. I did the verse, he said [Talib Kweli] was going to be on it, and the beat just sounded like one of those uplifting joints. The original Analogic version had the Donny Hathaway sample in it. That’s just what I felt. I was talking about, again, the conditions in the community. I read recently on a blog, “Yeah, Torae is nice, but he has no substance.” I felt that was funny, because I feel I’ve put out a decent amount. But you know, Double Barrel came out on Duck Down, which was a bigger platform, and every person doesn’t hear every song or every verse I put out. This was one that had a little more substance.

TWV: “He on the snare kick, I’m on the pen and pad airin’ it, we had three deals before they could hear this shit.” (Off the title track of Double Barrel)

Torae: That was when people found out Marco and I were doing an album together. We were fortunate. Marco had his fan base and a project out, and so did I. Labels actually got at us, we sat down and had meetings, and we really had three deals before the album was done. That was the basis behind that line. Cocky rapper shit.

TWV: What was it that made you settle with Duck Down?

Torae: A number of reasons. Obviously Marco and I had a working relationship with Duck Down. Buckshot, Sean Price, Shucky, and I go way back. The content, what it represented, and the inspiration of the album tied into Duck Down’s history. It was a no brainer. They’re the biggest independent doing it. That legacy, history, and logo? It’s an honor to be part of that brand.

TWV: “I used to date a broad that look like Buffie the Body” (Off “But Wait” from Double Barrel)

Torae: [laughs]. You gotta finish that though “ass-wise, but her face was similar to Holly.” I don’t know why, but chicks like me. I guess I got a good personality or whatever. In my experiences with the female species, I’ve encountered a few big butt broads. There’s nothing wrong with that. You should embrace ass [laughs].

TWV: “When I was eleven started to chase after it, it took seventeen long years later to catch the shit, and by the time that I got it, it felt like the best years was far behind it, I done witnessed the high heights, the plummets.” (Off “Crashing Down” from Double Barrel)

Torae: I said when I was eleven, and for the sake of rhyming and making things fit I said eleven and seventeen, but I’ve been rapping since I was a kid. Professionally, or seriously doing demos and being in the studio, around eleven or twelve. I said it took seventeen years because by the time I started getting notoriety I was already 27 or 28-years-old. By the time I got in, it felt like the best years were far behind it. The game has changed so much.

I just finished talking to Rah Digga and she was telling me how she loves to write when she’s in the studio. I said I like to get the beat, write, then go to the studio. She comes from the school of sitting in the studio for hours, blowing weed and having parties on Sylvia Rhone’s budget. She can do that. I was paying for studio time and every second counted. When I got to the door I wanted the beat lined up so I could go in there and rap. I’m having fun with it, and it’s a blessing to be in the business and be part of music. But all my Hip Hop homies tell me about the golden era.

TWV: “You should be ashamed of yourself, you gotta make your own lane for the fame and the wealth.” (Off “What’s Wrong With That” from Sha Stimuli’s My Soul to Keep)

Torae: Shout out to Stimuli, that’s my guy. He’s a really good rapper. He’s a bad person, but he’s a good rapper [laughs]. That’s the homie. He’s a bastard because we’ve done a ton of songs together, and I love this one, but we had a crazy song off his March on Washington project, “Coulda Been Me,” which was one of my favorite raps that he or I ever did. I felt like that should have been the album joint. But this line? There are a lot of followers and cookie cutter types that are like “oh, that worked? Let’s do it.” It’s about being original. Not doing “the thing to do.” I feel the people who make the biggest impact are the people who do it their own way. That’s how you become an innovator and legend.