[Interview] Evidence: Saving Hip-Hop For A Rainy Day

Evidence is what you would call a veteran in this thing called hip hop. He’s been creating music alongside Rakaa and DJ Babu as Dilated Peoples since 1997 and has a handful of songs that will forever live in backpacker infamy. But as a solo artist is where the Venice, CA emcee has really excelled and, unfortunately, been slept on. I could remind you that he’s likely the only emcee that gave Eminem a run for his money when he dropped the severely underrated diss track “Search 4 Bobby Fisher,” but that doesn’t encapsulate the depth and lyrical prowess of Evidence. Look no further than Ev’s The Weatherman LP, The Layover EP and the recently released Cats & Dogs to understand the nature of an emcee who speaks from his heart over stellar production. While in Las Vegas rocking alongside Dom Kennedy, TWV spoke with Evidence on his solo career, why his music has become so personal, going from white label vinyl to bloggers posting mp3s, why Brother Ali didn’t end up on “Late for the Sky” and his thoughts on the West Coast’s musical resurgence.

TWV: Cats & Dogs is a lot more personal than anything you’ve ever done with Dilated Peoples. Why is that?

Evidence: I didn’t go solo to leave my group. It was just more of an outlet to create the music that I wasn’t able to as a part of Dilated. Not that I wasn’t allowed to do it; it just didn’t fit. A song about my mother or about the tooth fairy wouldn’t have fit. I had the opportunity to do a solo album in 2007 once I got off the label. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be but it has evolved into a solo career. I’m enjoying the ride that it’s taking me on right now. It just feels natural. If the records are darker then that’s the half of Dilated that I represent.

TWV: Were you nervous at all about how your album would be received?

E: A little bit. Any artist that says anything different is lying. To what degree varies depending on the artist. I know some people care but they don’t let it affect their campaign. I know other artists that do care and it totally affects their campaign. I’m somewhere in the middle. The Dilated albums never really bothered me. We got praised but there wasn’t anything really personal on those albums. You may not like my voice or whatever. But on my solo records it’s all me. If you don’t like those personal songs, that might hurt a little more. The Weatherman LP was received pretty well and this one as well. For a solo artist I think I have a pretty good batting average.

TWV: How does it feel when your more personal records like “Chase The Clouds” connect with people?

E: It’s dope. Any popular song gets weird after a while. I like performing that song for audiences that don’t know my music instead of those that do. Every artist has a set of songs that their fan base knows that you can use as a crutch. Before Cats and Dogs came out I didn’t want to perform any songs off of it at all because I didn’t want it ending up on YouTube and that being the first impression of my album. I would perform a lot of my old shit and I started to feel weird about it. I’ve seen The Roots perform “You Got Me” with like a million different variations. I truly believe in my heart that it’s just because they’re bored of it. I’ve got to keep myself entertained. Even though there are fans that want to hear it exactly how it sounded on the album but sometimes I feel like “fuck that.” Not that any of my songs are a huge smash but I can understand the feeling. I can imagine that Bon Jovi is tired of performing “Wanted Dead or Alive” all the time and want to yell at audiences “Listen to our new shit!” But it’s dope to know that any song you create reaches people. For Dilated it has always been “Worst Comes to Worst.” That’s the first song that started reaching a lot of people.

TWV: Where does everything stand with Dilated as of right now?

E: We’re starting another album right now. It’s titled Directors of Photography. We haven’t really broken too much ground on it. We’ve picked out a couple of beats. I’m nervous about it because we haven’t released an album in some time. The chemistry is there because we still work together.

TWV: How strange is it to perform and not have Babu behind you or Rakaa by your side?

E: I like it. It’s not that strange. It’s different. I don’t miss a word. There’s no hype man. It’s just me. It’s definitely a true test of an emcee to rock any size crowd you are put in front of. Common and Talib Kweli  are two of my biggest inspirations when it comes to that. I’ve seen them rock stages by themselves and really rock it. They aren’t just up there. Black Thought rocks for dolo but he has a band and that comes with a totally different synergy. I’m talking about a big ass stage and you.

TWV: Your career has gone from white label 7” to the rapid releases of the blog scene. How different is it for you to adjust to the changes in the music industry. Do you enjoy where it has gone?

E: Blogs are weird. At the end of The Weatherman LP run was when I really discovered the blogs. By the time The Layover EP came out is when I started really paying attention to the blogs. I saw that people were posting my performances and commenting on my music. I finally made it to NahRight and 2DopeBoyz. I thought it was dope at first but lately I don’t like it as much. Not to say that I don’t like what they are doing, I just don’t like looking at it every day because it will drive you crazy as an artist. So many people can write anything about you. You can get 30 good comments and then one bad comment will make you want to jump off a building. For every artist at some point, if you want to be big, you have to be bigger than the blogs. I don’t mean that I’ve graduated the blogs because there are so many bigger artists that are on the blogs. I just mean that you have to appreciate that you’re on them but not living by it. As an artist it’s difficult to look at people saying “I love you” and then “I hate you” and then “I love you” again. I can’t imagine anybody who is really big goes to these comment sections to see what’s being said. Most artists are too busy to look because they are touring and creating music. I respect the hell out of it. I know it’s there, but to be on it all day is just a little too much.

TWV: How did the collaboration with DJ Premier happen?

E: DJ Premier loves what we’ve done and he’s supported all of it; but to work with Preemo costs money. No matter how much he likes you it’s a business. You work with him, you pay him. That’s how it should be, right? He’s earned that. When we were on Capitol we had a bigger budget and we hired him for “Clockwork.” He won’t work with anybody. The fact that he’ll work with you says something. When I went indie in 2007 I tried to get him back then but I didn’t have the money. This time I made sure to get it right. He made a good deal for me. I got him the money and I got the track. It’s that simple. I hear all these nightmare stories about how long he takes but that wasn’t the case for me. I think I made a good song. I think I still kept it raw enough, but at the same time I didn’t use Premier. I made a chorus that he scratches up. It wasn’t just like I laid a rhyme. It was a good marriage.

TWV: What made you come over to Rhymesayers?

E: I always knew they existed but I was on a major label. When I left Capitol and was doing solo shit it was a whole new world. The Decon and ABB deals were all one offs. I had some interest from major labels but I decided to go with Rhymesayers. They weren’t hunting me down but they also don’t take on artists that they don’t really like. I’m honored.

TWV: “Late For The Sky” featuring Aesop Rock and Slug would have been a backpackers dream back in 2003 but its finally came into fruition in 2011. How did this finally come together?

E: The idea of the song was mine. The first guest I thought of was Slug and then I figured I would have Brother Ali. I figured I should have one song that was completely Rhymesayers. Slug said Brother Ali was not the move because people already know how that would sound and we wouldn’t be breaking any new ground with that. So he suggested we get Aesop Rock because that would get people talking if nothing else. I sent it to Aesop and that was the first time we really chopped it up. I sent him the song while I was in Germany, he sent his verse. I liked it and that was it.

TWV: The artists involved in this new resurgence of the West Coast were merely kids when you, Rakaa and Babu were releasing “Work The Angles” in 1998. What’s it like to see these kids grow up and become what they are today which is actually reflective of the groundwork you laid over a decade ago?

E: I don’t know…I’m from the West and I’ve lived there the whole time. It’s hard when you are hearing this stuff all the time. I don’t watch BET or listen to the radio and I don’t realize that the West Coast is in a “resurgence.” To me it’s always been that we’re innovators and everyone gets a chance to be new. Some people get to be new twice and reinvent themselves. I still have to do my homework on some of these artists. I am tired of people liking artists because they feel that they are supposed to like them; especially older cats trying to cosign new dudes. You can smell the fakeness of that shit a mile away. I know Fashawn because he’s lived at my house. I know Blu. I don’t know Dom Kennedy or Kendrick Lamar’s music. Not to say that I wouldn’t become big fans of them both. I’m just in my own world right now and just really focused on my career. I’m over at Alchemist’s house every day. I’m listening to a lot of Roc Marciano lately. I don’t trip off the west coast. It’s all love. I’m from Venice, Dom Kennedy is from Leimert Park and I’ve never bumped into him anywhere. LA is a big place. I don’t believe that just because we’re all from the west that we all should hold hands. To be honest we don’t all see each other like that. Please note that there are no shots. But it’s the reality of the situation. You don’t walk the streets from Venice to Hollywood and bump into people.