Fade
The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
Hardboiled recently won our Battle That! Competition, becoming the 4th champion in our yearly battle tournament. Hailing from Chicago, this artist takes the time to tell us about himself, his battle experience, and where he's headed with his music...
Sup Hardboiled, what's new?
I've been playing a lot flamenco guitar losing track of time and life, been getting involved in some group projects, and still been making banging tracks along the way. Also, winning the Battle That! is what's new!
What's with your name? And your avatar of an egg? Did you hatch yet?
Hahaha I guess you can say I'm hatching. I'm finding out who I am. Before, I felt I had a purpose in life but felt confused and lost, I felt stupid and ignorant yet was smart enough to know it, I felt angry yet was a pushover for people, I was socially conscious yet I didn't do much in society, I was overly nice yet a sincere asshole. Now, I'm just an asshole. LOL. Really, I think the biggest thing is that I'm accepting who I am finally. So I'm not as high strung, insane, or paranoid as before. I really thank flamenco for giving me the sanctity of sanity.
Hardboiled is my creative artist name. I think eggs are a good metaphor for a lot of things, like birth and hatching. So I gots to have an egg avatar. Being hardboiled to me is about being in this boiling environment of ours, everyday life, and becoming calloused and hardboiled. But I realize so many people are like this already. People can be aggravating. They don't want to work with you, they work for themselves. Everybody is doing their own thing and don't work for a common goal, so of course we're all stressed out cause we're competing against each other everyday. People are always tearing each other down. So I usually have a bad attitude but I try to do something positive with that negative energy that's handed off to me by others. Thus I'm hardboiled and stubborn towards that cold attitude, which gives me the passion to create. Creating is truly hard to do, that's what I do.
Tell us about yourself.
I'm an artist who loves to create through any medium. I play flamenco guitar, make hip hop beats from beginning with the imagination to recording, DJ, rhyme, and play some keys. No, I don't do these things to be "cool" or get girls or money. I do them cause otherwise I'd be out strangling people. Music is therapy for me.
Good music comes from passion and desire, which stem from feelings of oppression, sadness, anger, and I'm sure positive emotions fit in there somewhere. Many of the great artists throughout history have been reclusive emotional individuals. For example in the context of music, I totally didn't understand heavy metal. Why would someone be obsessed with death? All the skull-wear, crazy screaming, energetic loud music was way too much for me. But I got into guitar through a metal player, Zakk Wylde. Since then I've realized that people that love heavy metal really love life. They love life so much that they fear death, so they are obsessed with it. They walk the line between life and death, where passion lies. Passion gave persecuted and poor gypsies the strength and power to create flamenco. That is the same passion that created the blues, and the same strength that gives us good hip hop. I ain't a fakeass 1 or 2 cds worth of music in 5 years type of artist. The only thing people need to know about me is that I live the art and always will. It's like a basic need for me, to create.
A good inspirational movie for music is Desperado, which ingrained this idea of creating in my mind. I know the movie doesn't seem like an inspirational movie at 1st, but for me it is. One thing El Mariachi says that sticks out in my mind is "It's easier to destroy than it is to create." That really hit me cause I'm either walking around in a positive mood about life and people or I'm in serial killer state of mind. I'm moody and probably manic depressive. In a way I'm like my favorite comic book hero, Wolverine, who's been a loner so long, been misunderstood, and he's been taken advantage. So of course due to this he's got issues, and he'll rip your face off if you mess with him. So that's the destructive side of me I have to deal with everyday. So back to "Desperado" and this idea of creating vs. destroying... To me the movie is about El Mariachi rediscovering, finding, and reclaiming his former self and innocence before the world corrupted his soul and made him into this destructive beast. El Mariachi is trying to get back to being the creative person he was through guitar and love.
How does it feel to win the mother-of-all battles, the Battle That! Competition?
It really inspires and motivates me to make more hip hop beats. I haven't been able to make many in the past couple months, but now I definitely feel I can still bang out dope hip hop tracks.
I didn't really think I would win the tournament because my beats don't sound "hip hop" enough. That's what I thought people might think. Though I just consider my beats and songs music, period. I don't label them one thing or another, and since I have so many influences like heavy metal, rock, flamenco, electro, new wave, soul, blues, folk, experimental, and hip hop it would be hard for me to say I'm just one style.
I feel I define the music, the music doesn't define me. I won't be limited by genres or terms people make up to separate things when they are all really connected. I think being a DJ gave me this open mindedness about music and it also gave me a great ear for good music. Digging for records as a producer also gives me appreciation for other types of music. So since my style was different, I really didn't think I would win the battle. Winning definitely makes me think I can still be accepted in the hip hop world, which is really motivating to me especially since most of my experience in music has been from the hip hop art forms. I'm a turntablist DJ, I was really into breakdancing and was in a crew, I do social commentary via MCing, and I make beats.
Though I do all those hip hop things to the realest, I feel like many people judge me off the bat as not hip hop. Like it's in your blood er something, and I'm not the "right" appearance for hip hop. So I was surprised to win the battle. I'm elated to be recognized for doing music that I started in and got a true appreciation of music in, hip hop.
I know you used that same beat for your Beat This! win, did you plan on using it in the finals, or was it a spur of the moment decision?
Coming into the battle I didn't know which beats I was going to use for the whole battle except the final. I didn't care who it was up against or what type of beat they were using, I felt like that beat represents me best so I knew it was going to be that one. If I lost I would be fine with losing as long as it was that beat, which represented me to the fullest. I love all types of music, so I mix em together like a mad scientist in a lab. Let the explosions begin!
Are you a big fan of rock music? Because your winning beat "Heaven & Hell" is almost a rock beat!
I love rock but I usually like particular artists or specific songs rather than musical styles. I think the vital aspect is the artist who makes the music, not the genre.
Rock is just like hip hop to me. There are soooo many crappy, commercially motivated, crappy musicians, that I don't listen to strictly rock. There's very little good music in the contemporary world and a whole lotta shit. To find the good music I don't limit myself to genre. It's just like digging for records. I keep an open mind and dig, dig, dig. I always seem to find at least 1 artist from every genre that I really get into. I recently got in Tom Waits, a blues artist who has really taken his music to the creative limit. His music isn't really blues anymore, its just good music.
What kind of setup do you have?
I got an MPC 2000XL, a Korg Triton, Jackson guitar, Cordoba guitar, Avalon pre amp, Shure mic, Sonar, Software editing and mastering tools, and a PC.
Do you find that you've grown a lot with your music since joining IllMuzik?
Yes, I feel like the other members give good feedback and great ideas for songs. I like jumping in the showcase to listen to beats. That can sometimes lead to my own ideas.
What's your favorite part of the Battle That! Competition?
I'd say predicting who you might go up against so you have the right type of beat ready. Sometimes you have one that fits perfectly, sometimes you gotta come out with the big guns and just swing cause you don't have a beat that can really be compared/contrasted with your opponent. That's what I did for most of the rounds. Especially when I faced X-Sinna I didn't know if he was saving a beat for that semi final round, so I had to use a technically masterful beat. Being in the Battle That! is like playing a chess game.
What's your least favorite part?
I'd say how often it occurs. It's a lot of fun, so I'd be great if there were more of em.
Have you collaborated with other members of IllMuzik? If so, who?
I've done a few collaborations in the past. I can't remember off hand, but I remember MCing on beats by SamOck and Philsiarri/Dj Excellence. Two Ill beatmakers! I'm down to collaborate with whoever on some hip hop.
If you hadn't of battled, who do you think would have taken it?
Young Qyu's beats were solid. They had an eclectic sound to me, were well mastered, and had dope rhythm so I would have voted for him for his originality. The hip hop and electro elements in his tracks were banging.
Have you been involved with battles on other sites?
No. I've been looking for sites but haven't found others with beats battles, though I plan to check out Rocwilder's site when I get the chance.
What about live beat battles, have you competed in those?
I need a calendar, the first live battle I was supposed to be in, I realized a day too late. Besides that nope, I'm a recluse who makes beats at home. But now, living in the Chicago, I'm definitely going to hit up battles and do something with my talent.
Are you going to be defending your title next year?!?
I'm definitely coming out. I'm working on a new style. I've been doing the rock and hip hop thing, but I've been getting really good at flamenco guitar.
Any last words? Shoutouts?
Check out http://myspace.com/hardboiledink for when I'm doing open mics, battling, links to my beats and song, etc. Thanks to the IllMuzik fam and the few people who don't judge me off the bat and accept me for who I am. Those people hold me back from snapping, I do the same to everyone I meet. To those that doubt me, stand in line, clown me, give me your hate, I'll use it to fuck you up or hopefully to create.
Sup Hardboiled, what's new?
I've been playing a lot flamenco guitar losing track of time and life, been getting involved in some group projects, and still been making banging tracks along the way. Also, winning the Battle That! is what's new!
What's with your name? And your avatar of an egg? Did you hatch yet?
Hahaha I guess you can say I'm hatching. I'm finding out who I am. Before, I felt I had a purpose in life but felt confused and lost, I felt stupid and ignorant yet was smart enough to know it, I felt angry yet was a pushover for people, I was socially conscious yet I didn't do much in society, I was overly nice yet a sincere asshole. Now, I'm just an asshole. LOL. Really, I think the biggest thing is that I'm accepting who I am finally. So I'm not as high strung, insane, or paranoid as before. I really thank flamenco for giving me the sanctity of sanity.
Hardboiled is my creative artist name. I think eggs are a good metaphor for a lot of things, like birth and hatching. So I gots to have an egg avatar. Being hardboiled to me is about being in this boiling environment of ours, everyday life, and becoming calloused and hardboiled. But I realize so many people are like this already. People can be aggravating. They don't want to work with you, they work for themselves. Everybody is doing their own thing and don't work for a common goal, so of course we're all stressed out cause we're competing against each other everyday. People are always tearing each other down. So I usually have a bad attitude but I try to do something positive with that negative energy that's handed off to me by others. Thus I'm hardboiled and stubborn towards that cold attitude, which gives me the passion to create. Creating is truly hard to do, that's what I do.
Tell us about yourself.
I'm an artist who loves to create through any medium. I play flamenco guitar, make hip hop beats from beginning with the imagination to recording, DJ, rhyme, and play some keys. No, I don't do these things to be "cool" or get girls or money. I do them cause otherwise I'd be out strangling people. Music is therapy for me.
Good music comes from passion and desire, which stem from feelings of oppression, sadness, anger, and I'm sure positive emotions fit in there somewhere. Many of the great artists throughout history have been reclusive emotional individuals. For example in the context of music, I totally didn't understand heavy metal. Why would someone be obsessed with death? All the skull-wear, crazy screaming, energetic loud music was way too much for me. But I got into guitar through a metal player, Zakk Wylde. Since then I've realized that people that love heavy metal really love life. They love life so much that they fear death, so they are obsessed with it. They walk the line between life and death, where passion lies. Passion gave persecuted and poor gypsies the strength and power to create flamenco. That is the same passion that created the blues, and the same strength that gives us good hip hop. I ain't a fakeass 1 or 2 cds worth of music in 5 years type of artist. The only thing people need to know about me is that I live the art and always will. It's like a basic need for me, to create.
A good inspirational movie for music is Desperado, which ingrained this idea of creating in my mind. I know the movie doesn't seem like an inspirational movie at 1st, but for me it is. One thing El Mariachi says that sticks out in my mind is "It's easier to destroy than it is to create." That really hit me cause I'm either walking around in a positive mood about life and people or I'm in serial killer state of mind. I'm moody and probably manic depressive. In a way I'm like my favorite comic book hero, Wolverine, who's been a loner so long, been misunderstood, and he's been taken advantage. So of course due to this he's got issues, and he'll rip your face off if you mess with him. So that's the destructive side of me I have to deal with everyday. So back to "Desperado" and this idea of creating vs. destroying... To me the movie is about El Mariachi rediscovering, finding, and reclaiming his former self and innocence before the world corrupted his soul and made him into this destructive beast. El Mariachi is trying to get back to being the creative person he was through guitar and love.
How does it feel to win the mother-of-all battles, the Battle That! Competition?
It really inspires and motivates me to make more hip hop beats. I haven't been able to make many in the past couple months, but now I definitely feel I can still bang out dope hip hop tracks.
I didn't really think I would win the tournament because my beats don't sound "hip hop" enough. That's what I thought people might think. Though I just consider my beats and songs music, period. I don't label them one thing or another, and since I have so many influences like heavy metal, rock, flamenco, electro, new wave, soul, blues, folk, experimental, and hip hop it would be hard for me to say I'm just one style.
I feel I define the music, the music doesn't define me. I won't be limited by genres or terms people make up to separate things when they are all really connected. I think being a DJ gave me this open mindedness about music and it also gave me a great ear for good music. Digging for records as a producer also gives me appreciation for other types of music. So since my style was different, I really didn't think I would win the battle. Winning definitely makes me think I can still be accepted in the hip hop world, which is really motivating to me especially since most of my experience in music has been from the hip hop art forms. I'm a turntablist DJ, I was really into breakdancing and was in a crew, I do social commentary via MCing, and I make beats.
Though I do all those hip hop things to the realest, I feel like many people judge me off the bat as not hip hop. Like it's in your blood er something, and I'm not the "right" appearance for hip hop. So I was surprised to win the battle. I'm elated to be recognized for doing music that I started in and got a true appreciation of music in, hip hop.
I know you used that same beat for your Beat This! win, did you plan on using it in the finals, or was it a spur of the moment decision?
Coming into the battle I didn't know which beats I was going to use for the whole battle except the final. I didn't care who it was up against or what type of beat they were using, I felt like that beat represents me best so I knew it was going to be that one. If I lost I would be fine with losing as long as it was that beat, which represented me to the fullest. I love all types of music, so I mix em together like a mad scientist in a lab. Let the explosions begin!
Are you a big fan of rock music? Because your winning beat "Heaven & Hell" is almost a rock beat!
I love rock but I usually like particular artists or specific songs rather than musical styles. I think the vital aspect is the artist who makes the music, not the genre.
Rock is just like hip hop to me. There are soooo many crappy, commercially motivated, crappy musicians, that I don't listen to strictly rock. There's very little good music in the contemporary world and a whole lotta shit. To find the good music I don't limit myself to genre. It's just like digging for records. I keep an open mind and dig, dig, dig. I always seem to find at least 1 artist from every genre that I really get into. I recently got in Tom Waits, a blues artist who has really taken his music to the creative limit. His music isn't really blues anymore, its just good music.
What kind of setup do you have?
I got an MPC 2000XL, a Korg Triton, Jackson guitar, Cordoba guitar, Avalon pre amp, Shure mic, Sonar, Software editing and mastering tools, and a PC.
Do you find that you've grown a lot with your music since joining IllMuzik?
Yes, I feel like the other members give good feedback and great ideas for songs. I like jumping in the showcase to listen to beats. That can sometimes lead to my own ideas.
What's your favorite part of the Battle That! Competition?
I'd say predicting who you might go up against so you have the right type of beat ready. Sometimes you have one that fits perfectly, sometimes you gotta come out with the big guns and just swing cause you don't have a beat that can really be compared/contrasted with your opponent. That's what I did for most of the rounds. Especially when I faced X-Sinna I didn't know if he was saving a beat for that semi final round, so I had to use a technically masterful beat. Being in the Battle That! is like playing a chess game.
What's your least favorite part?
I'd say how often it occurs. It's a lot of fun, so I'd be great if there were more of em.
Have you collaborated with other members of IllMuzik? If so, who?
I've done a few collaborations in the past. I can't remember off hand, but I remember MCing on beats by SamOck and Philsiarri/Dj Excellence. Two Ill beatmakers! I'm down to collaborate with whoever on some hip hop.
If you hadn't of battled, who do you think would have taken it?
Young Qyu's beats were solid. They had an eclectic sound to me, were well mastered, and had dope rhythm so I would have voted for him for his originality. The hip hop and electro elements in his tracks were banging.
Have you been involved with battles on other sites?
No. I've been looking for sites but haven't found others with beats battles, though I plan to check out Rocwilder's site when I get the chance.
What about live beat battles, have you competed in those?
I need a calendar, the first live battle I was supposed to be in, I realized a day too late. Besides that nope, I'm a recluse who makes beats at home. But now, living in the Chicago, I'm definitely going to hit up battles and do something with my talent.
Are you going to be defending your title next year?!?
I'm definitely coming out. I'm working on a new style. I've been doing the rock and hip hop thing, but I've been getting really good at flamenco guitar.
Any last words? Shoutouts?
Check out http://myspace.com/hardboiledink for when I'm doing open mics, battling, links to my beats and song, etc. Thanks to the IllMuzik fam and the few people who don't judge me off the bat and accept me for who I am. Those people hold me back from snapping, I do the same to everyone I meet. To those that doubt me, stand in line, clown me, give me your hate, I'll use it to fuck you up or hopefully to create.