I’m out here Gathering already, and our big homie Hodge hit us up with a last-minute interview from the one and only Myzery!  Myz and the Spanish Side will be performing at this year’s Soopa Gathering, and answered any and all questions that Hodge tossed his way.  We find out about lost Myzery tracks, his status on Psychopathic Records, his views on Bushwick Bill, if we’ll get a Rydas solo album from Twin Gatz, and lots more!

I know you ninjas are all getting ready for the Gathering, and this may just help hype you up a bit more!  Check the latest from Myzery in this exclusive interview below.

MYZERY Gathering Season Interview 2019

It’s been just about a year since Myzery’s long awaited Double LP dropped at the 2018 GOTJ.  That release came with a lot of hype leading up to the Gathering.  Since that milestone season in Myzery’s career, it seems like everything & nothing has been happening, and all at the same time.  But, what you can’t see behind the scenes though, is that this Psychopathic Original has been steadily grinding away, making calculated efforts to get his brand/team more eyes on than ever.  What’s his status with Psychopathic like these days?  Where’s the missing Demon Angel cuts?  Is Twin Gats “The Last Ryda” still being prepped for a release?  In this interview, Myz tackles those more obvious questions…while unearthing a lot of unknown information as well.  Remember the infamous Eminem “Marshall Mathers” song, dissing the clowns…what was the Myzery’s tie-in?  Was Myz on a hidden video game track with Slaine and Souls of mischief?  His views on the late Bushwick Bill’s lasting impact on hip hop, weighing in on a diehard debate of “racial trespassing” claims made by some in the hip hop community, an insane Myzery rap/rock project, and much much more.  It’s no secret that Myzery has always leaned more towards the stance of a gunslinger than a commentator, but when asked anything directly, he doesn’t hold back.  If you’ve been down with your boy from the Hatchet’s grassroots days or from any other stop along the way, this read might just grab your attention.   Also, don’t forget to catch Myzery & The Spanish Side back on a Gathering stage this coming Saturday at 4:15pm.  See you there!

Hodge– I guess it’s pretty safe to say that it’s been a hellava year for you.  I mean, you went into the 2018 GOTJ as the most hyped performance/label release of the event.  Then in true Myzery fashion, you went silent.  Apparently totally off the grid again.  With Psychopathic’s huge hype of the double album release and your return to the GOTJ Main Stage, not to mention comments on the podcast show by VJ like “The Return of a Psychopathic Original”, and the fact that your album (in physical form) sold-out multiple times on the webstore, many automatically assumed that you were 100% back and signed with the label.  Then, shortly after the Gathering, the clowns announced a throwback tour…and from your era, called “Milenko & Friends”.  Yet, what seemed like a given, amounted to a tour, with no Myzery, and well, no “Friend(S)” at all really.  Then, during seminars and interviews and such, ICP mentioned that PSY wasn’t in the market for signing any other acts for the foreseeable future.  Fast forward to May of 2019, and outta the blue you surprise us with an impressive new video for the song “Psycho”, which was originally a Psychopathic release from the 2017.  So, it begs to ask, what is your current standing with Psychopathic Records?

MYZERY–  I feel what you’re getting at.  I’ve had a lot of people approach me with the same confused tone.  But me and Joe never really talked about anything after the album dropped last year.  That album was the main mission.  Get the anniversary record out, with the new shit included, and remind these people what I can do.  That was the plan.  Well, there was some minor talk of a group project with my whole team to be put out by PSY, but those talks didn’t develop into anything.  Yeah, I heard that podcast hype, and yeah, it felt like more projects was coming with Psy or that we was officially signed again.  Nothing more was ever spoken though.  Can’t be the sales, cause I know it went sold-out online .  I dunno, but maybe they really aren’t about signing people like that anymore.  Who cares, we still Fam, and I will still ride for them whenever they call upon me.  The tour shit, I didn’t get that either.  Not my call though.  I woulda done it though.  That whole era was my shit, and I always had a special connection with those fans.  As for that “Psycho” video, we gave Psy a head’s-up, and they gave the nod to shoot it.  Violent J was  the first person I showed it to.  He loved that shit for real!  It got tweaked a lil bit more in Post Production, and I don’t think Psy liked that cut as much, but either way, I think it came out sick as fuck.  I think the second version had a filming theme that not everybody picked up on, but I thought it was genius.  Props to Ponch and Don Quan for lacing that vid so tight.

Hodge– Another Myzery happening that added to some of the confusion about your status with the label was the announcement that you would be guest hosting the NY area release of the Fearless Fred Fury album.  What was your impression of that album?

MYZERY–  “WTF” is my shit.  You could tell that Joe was being extra picky wit the production here.   I don’t know that any other artist could re-create the formula those guys laid down.  They don’t observe boundaries, l’m talking at all.  You can hear that shit, especially in releases like this.  They ain’t ever tethered to any standards or rule books.  That’s why they will be remembered forever.  That “do what we want” attitude is way too risky for anybody else, but my boys, they just don’t give a fuck or take no orders from anyone.  Respect.

Hodge– Not to bring the mood down, but we gotta touch on the recent passing of Bushwick Bill (Geto Boys).  You guys personally introduced me to Bill, and he couldn’t have been cooler.  Just a genuinely chill guy, especially when considering that the age old adage of “you never want to meet your heroes, cause they will always disappoint”, definitely did not apply to my encounter with Chucky.  Growing up on his music, I think that even though they are praised by even today’s audiences, they (and particularly Bill) might still be underrated.  Even their name might have marginalized a wider audience from experiencing their level of profound talent.  Those boys could speak on anything in their rhymes, and they did just that.  What are your memories of the late great Bushwick Bill?

MYZERY–  Yeah, I remember when we kicked it with him.  He was cool as fuck.  I got this unreleased track with Twisted Insane and Danny Diablo called “where my meds at”, where I give him props.   I’m with you Hodge, the Geto Boys always take people back and put a smile on their faces.  But I hope it’s not on just some “My mind is playing tricks on me” or that Office Space song.  They got worthy tracks for days.  Even way into the 2000’s they were linking up to drop masterpieces like “The Foundation”.  Scarface is always gonna stand out in historians minds, he had those bangers with 2PAC and HOV, but if you ask me, Bill’s voice was the most distinctive of the group.  His voice WAS Hip Hop.  You can go study their live sets, no matter what acoustics or mics they were using, Bill’s voice always carried better and above.  Think about this for a second also.  When Bill was diagnosed as terminally ill, and with the most ruthless form of cancer, think about what he said in his first press release after that news.  Has anybody ever had more balls?  I’m talking real life shit, not characters we idolize in movies, with meticulously laid out scripts.  This real fighter said “Fuck Death”.  I ain’t scared, it’s been here before.  It didn’t take me then.  And if it wants to take me now, do it then Bitch!  But til that time I’m gonna tour, make my music, and set my family up properly for when I’m gone.  No pity party, no generic optimism.  Just a real Man, showing REAL guts.  I will never forget his stance in the face of death.   He will be missed no doubt.

Hodge– So, I know that in past conversations we’ve touched on the friendly encounter you had with a young Eminem at a Fashion/Hip Hop convention out west.  You guys just seemed to gel and even made small talk of collaborating one day.  It’s clear that nothing further ever materialized, as it was just a chance encounter.  However, it wasn’t until I heard some excerpts from Violent J’s audio book that I learned about a second encounter with Marshall…and under way different circumstances.  Nearly everybody that listened to hip hop in the early 2000’s has heard Eminem’s Marshall Mathers LP.  It outsold pretty much everything ever.  One of the tracks on there, also called “Marshall Mathers”, features a distinctive diss towards ICP.  The diss mentions a scenario where ICP and Eminem had a scuffle at a club in Detroit.  According to J’s audio book, that incident was actually made possible…because of you.  Let me explain, Violent J mentions that while staying at his place after a wrestling show that you performed at in Detroit, you asked him to take you out and show you the Detroit club scene.  What unfolded that night was the infamous altercation that Eminem turned into bars for his album.  Can you expand upon the details from that crazy night in the D?

MYZERY–  I’ve heard that song many times.  It never really occurred to me that it was from that trip to Detroit.  Now, Ponch has told me the same thing, and with way more details than that song speaks on.  The thing is, I was really young then.  And not to sound like I’m proud of it, but I was really owning that reckless youth label back then.  From what somebody else told me about that night, we were gonna have to bounce around that same time anyways, cause I may or may not have been putting the boots to somebody else in that club that night.  But as for Violent J’s explanation of the events that night, I’m gonna have to co-sign whatever homie wrote about, cause I was livin reckless and Joe didn’t drink or do anything back then, so his mind was the clear one.

Hodge–  Before we move away from the Eminem stuff, I wanna field a more controversial topic with you.  Recently on her popular Hip Hop Podcast, Flipmode’s own Rah DIgga (who you’ve actually collaborated with in the past) hosted a rather heated conversation about Eminem, with 90’s hip hop mainstay and member of Brand Nubian, Lord Jamar.  On the topic of why he’s been so critical of Marshall through the years, Jamar admitted that at the core of his discontent with the people claiming Eminem should be ranked among the greats, is that Shady could never wear that crown, as hip hop’s roots are embedded in a particular soil, a soil that Eminem is simply trespassing on.  What are your views on claims like these, claims that if your skin is the wrong tone, you don’t have a permission-slip to participate in the hip hop community?

MYZERY–   As rappers, you can’t ever front on the years of gems those men were droppin on the game.  And I know people think of Brand Nubian as in some kind of 90’s capsule, but nah, they kept releasing solid shit, even up through their “Fire down below” record in like 03 or 04.  But as far as Jamar’s views on the racial ownership thing, c’mon.  I’m not with that at all.  You know what’s really crazy, and not to stay on the Em stuff either, but when we chopped it up at that Fashion conference way back in the 90’s, nobody there was fuckin with him.  Even though his talent was already undeniable, his white skin had all these artists straight buggin out and hating on him.  Shit was ridiculous to me.  So as for the Jamar thing, I mean, what if all the rock n roll focus was on race and not talent.  Would that mean legends like Hendrix, Kravitz, Living Color, or even acts like Sevendust should be ignored by their peers or fans.  Fuck outta here with that toxic way of thinking.  I remember peers hating hard on BONE THUGS when they first arrived.  You can’t hate on those brothers.  It was only because other rappers knew they couldn’t rap that fast, or with that much fire.  Let’s appreciate talent for talent and stop making excuses why other’s successes are undeserving or on some conspiracy shit.

Hodge– Switching it up now,  I’m happy to hear that your brand has ventured out into the video game world as well lately.  Can you speak on how that came about?

MYZERY–  It was crazy to me how that video game spot even happened.  I got an email from this guy named Dan Houser that said he’s been a fan since the EP.  He told me how he just developed his first video game (Couch Party Game Night), and it was some type of throwback game like Goldeneye.  I haven’t gamed in a minute, but when I was big into it, it was Goldeneye and that old nWo N64 game, so of course I was down.  I did give him this Clean Edit version of the “don’t make me angry” cypher.  The one that features- Slaine, Opio, Mastamind, Ed O.G., and Scarub.  I guess music industry “clean edits” and video game clean edit definitions don’t match though.  He had to pull that shit ASAP over the game’s rating.  Dan’s a good dude though.  He does good work.  I know he plans to turn the Steam game from a PC game into a PS4 release.  He still puts up Myzery banners throughout the game to.

Hodge–  This one’s a bit random, but what’s this I hear about you guys running into WWE’s Paige at one of the NY dates from that “Slam Fest” tour?

MYZERY– Shit, I don’t even know.  The Goth looking chick right.  Yeah, I’m not up on the current wrestling scene.  That’s my boy Fuego’s thing.  I think we only ran into her cause she was dating a dude from that Attila band.  She seemed cool with everybody though.  But speaking on wrestling chicks, to this day Fuego claims that another Goth looking former WWE girl or whatever named Shelly once hit on him, but nobody else agrees with that, ha.

Hodge– Is it true that you guys were also present for that whole Dark Carnival Games convention fiasco that went down?

MYZERY– Yeah, we were there.  It seemed like a good time to.  Not sure wtf set people off so bad, but it turned ugly real quick.  Dumb shit like that probably cost a lot of people a good time, and lost a ton of money for my boy Rob.  That was a shame.

Hodge–  You seemed to have developed a knack for making cameo appearances at all these shows/events over the last few years.  I’m talking about events like- Juggalo Weekends, Hallowickeds, Kickoff Party’s, DCG Con, etc.  Why are they always so “unannounced til the last moment” type of spot appearances?  Do you ever wonder about how many of your diehard fans would have attended, if given more notice?

MYZERY– That isn’t by design though.  Nine times out of ten it’s because I was a late invite.  Plus, and I’m not saying its best for business, but I’m not really big into livin my life through social media posts.  And it might seem cold or whatever, but most of the time I just prefer to be disconnected and outta sight.  That’s just suits me best.  I love my fans though.  You can’t tell me that I’ve ever turned away a fan or didn’t appreciate every memory I’ve had talking or reminiscing with them.  Some people just don’t need or want that big center of attention thing 24/7.  That’s me right there.

Hodge– I don’t know how I missed this in the last few interviews, but how did you feel about Twiztid including your joint track “Meat Cleaver” on their 2017 re-issue of Mostasteless?  I know that historically it belongs on there, but 2017 was like the height of your personal issues with them and some of their label mates.

MYZERY– I didn’t learn about that til about a year after it came out.  They own the masters for that song, so they were in the clear legally.  I don’t think they kept it on there to fuel anything else.  To think about it, I’m sure they didn’t like including it at all, but thought removing it woulda fanned that fire even more ya know.  That was around the timeframe of most of my issues with them.  Kinda makes me laugh though.  Like they couldn’t remove it, or couldn’t keep it, without it looking odd either way.  I don’t know for sure, but I doubt they moved many units of that re-release anyways.  People love to try and snitch to me, as if I care at all about what they doin or saying over there about me, and nobody even seemed to know that this release ever came out at all.  I really have no idea though.  It’s a good song though, they are lucky to have that one.  That captured that classic, that un-fuckwitable sound of what Psychopathic and only Psychopathic is capable of right there.

Hodge– On your website theirs a graphic for an upcoming Twin Gats album titled “The Last Ryda”.  Is it just a coincidence that in the Gathering profile section for this year, Twin Gats is briefly referenced there as well?

MYZERY–  Well, that album is in the works on my end for sure.  I don’t know anything about Psy wanting to partner up for its release or not.  If they heard what I got done already, I think they’d want in.  Again, I don’t even know if they interested in other artist’s projects much anymore. I think their energy is back into ICP more now.   My Myzery stuff tends to be more of an outlet or therapy sessions to rid me of some of these demons in my closet.  Twin Gats though, that’s just like a collage of gangster flicks, extra heavy on the gutwrench and cutthroat, and turned way the fuck up.

Hodge–  In the linear notes of your Para La Isla/Demon Angel double LP from last year, you reference a bunch of tracks that didn’t actually appear on either disk.  It’s no secret that you’ve been sitting on that crazy cypher with Slaine, Souls of Mischief, Mastamind, Scarub, and Ed O.G..  Where’s the Rah DIgga (from Busta Rhymes Legendary Flipmode Squad) track at?  Earlier you mentioned the Twisted Insane and Danny Diablo track.  How about the one mentioned with King Gordy?  That track sounds epic on paper.  A dope Kuma track was floating around the internet prior to the double LP release as well.  I’ve reported before on a “More Demon/Less Angel” EP that you’ve mentioned to me.  I guess what I’m getting at is, are you still aiming to release these tracks in any kind of official capacity?

MYZERY–  I am thinking about releasing the compilation with all those tracks and some more at the Gathering this year.  I have a few more I want to get mixed down better and thrown on there.  Anyways, it might be sooner than later that people can finally get these tracks.  My bad on the wait, I was just wayyy to particular on the tracklist for Demon Angel last year.  The wait is almost over though.

Hodge–  So it’s no secret that you’ve been growing increasingly bored with the current trends in Hip Hop production lately.  You even referred to most modern beats of sounding like “a bunch of timed lawn sprinklers just circling around”.  That being said, care to spill the beans on your newest/craziest project to date?

MYZERY–  You’re talking about that rock experiment.  Yeah, most modern beats do nothing for me.  Bass is gone.  Why though?  But yeah, I found an actual full instrumental of a famous rockers album.  But I’m no rocker though.  I’m gonna spit bars all over this shit.  Kinda how Jay-Z did on Collision Course, or how A-Plus schooled it over a Red Hot Chili Peppers album.  Funny thing is, it’s a Marilyn Manson album, but the music behind his singing, it already shouts hip hop.  I’m closing up some other projects, then I’m tearing into this full force.  I’ve been ready for something like this though.

Hodge– Alright man, I’m gonna wrap this up, but I just wanted to say thanks again for taking the time out during this chaotic time of year and answering some questions with me.  I look forward to your ever changing stage presentation/set list, and am certain you guys are gonna once again leave the stage with Gathering Heads left in a frenzied mess and stocked up on memories.

MYZERY–  We plan to deliver for sure.  I think we’ll always be hard pressed to bottle some of that same  performance magic we delivered in 2015, I mean everything aligned perfectly for us that night.  Last year was a highlight to though.  The more seasoned we’ve become, the bolder the moves we make.  I’m still forever grateful for the lasting support through this strange ride through hip hop’s underground.  If you would have bet a 17 year old me where I was about to perform in a week or so, and for the amount of years I’ve been putting it down like this, I woulda lost that bet every time.  Thanks for the years and opportunities Fam!  Like our gear says “FAMILY IS EVERYTHING”.  Believe that shit

Websites:

• Myzery.com