Interview w/ Rated R

Every now and again i shall be conducting interviews with some of my favourite underground Hip Hop artists, in a bid to promote them even more and get information for fans who would like to learn more about them. With that said, here we go... 

(MYSTI) So, first things first. To those who do not know who you are, what you do & ultimately what you are about, please feel free to introduce yourself.

(RATED R) I go by the name Rated R. I'm an independent/unsigned Hip-Hop artist. Preferably the underground style as it's coined... I live in central NY state where there's not much of a "scene" so I've used the internet as a tool to promote and grow my brand beyond the local word of mouth. I'm just about real Hip-Hop music. I write about whatever I feel like writing about, and then I put it out for the world to hear. Hopefully they like it. If they don't no hard feelings. Haha

(MYSTI) Well now everyone knows you are Rated R (hopefully lol or all hope is lost), how did that name come to fruition?

(RATED R) Well, when I started writing as a teen I went by my nickname Rexxx. But eventually I discovered an mc making some noise by the name of Reks. So I changed my name to Rated R cuz my content is explicit. Haha

(MYSTI) Obviously you are a fan of Hip Hop or you probably wouldn't be making the music you do, but who were your biggest influences within the whole culture and what other music genre's do you feel have helped you get to where you are right now? 

(RATED R) I have many influences. Actually more groups than solo artists... From Run DMC to N.W.A., Wu-Tang, Bone Thugs, Outkast, Non Phixion, etc. I'm also a huge fan of Kool G Rap, Rakim, Nas, Big Pun, Necro, ILL Bill, etc... Other genres I listen to are old school heavy metal, soul music and classical, but nothing inspires me like Hip-Hop.

(MYSTI) One of your highly rated projects (to myself & others) is Audio Onslaught with the produced Trilian, how did that come about and do you feel that this in turn pathed future ep's you have done with other producers? 

(RATED R) I met Trilian a couple years ago through Facebook and we've become great friends. I love his beats and he's a great guy who believes in my talent. It was only right we made albums together. At first I bought a few beats I was diggin, but I love just about everything he does so it just eventually got to the point we had an album's worth of material we split into 2 ep's.



I think when other producers on the come up that were diggin my work heard the albums with Trilian, it made them wanna collaborate not just on one song, but on an album as well.

(MYSTI) Personally, Siamese Psychos 2 is my favourite ep to listen to of yours, I feel you work well with Edd Bundy production, it just seems to fit. Was the Siamese Psychos series something you had both planned for a while? Or was it more of a spur of the moment type project? 

(RATED R) Edd Bundy and myself had worked on a couple tracks before SP & SP2, but it really was spur of the moment. And even though it was a naturally fast process, we killed it! Hahaha

 
(MYSTI) Everyone always asks "What is your favourite track you've done?", but I want to know what is your favourite VERSE you've ever done? Was it on your own project or a feature verse? 

(RATED R) My favorite verse???... Too many to choose, but my overall all time favorite song of mine is "Trapped In Hell" it's produced by Cold Voice out of the country of Latvia. It's a track from one of my albums titled "The Anti-Piracy EP".

(MYSTI) You have a lot of ep's produced completely by one producer. If you had the opportunity to create an album with one producer (underground or mainstream) who would it be?

(RATED R) My dream album with a producer would be with DJ Premier hands down.

(MYSTI) I think its about time I mentioned the latest projects, Rated R & Silly Grinn ep and also the new Poet On Drugs project that's a lot of music in a small space of time, how long did each take to complete? And what was your mentality like taking on so much work at the same time?

(RATED R) Both ep's were fun to write & record for. It flowed naturally, there was no pressure. My favorite holiday is Halloween haha.. So I had made the 6 track ep with Silly Grinn months beforehand to ensure it'd be out on Halloween day... As far as Poet on Drugs(P.O.D.) that's the main group I'm in. I'm always working on something for P.O.D. The ep was one of my favorites to work on due to dope beats and chemistry.

(MYSTI) What tracks or other projects do you have planned in the near future? (if you can say right now)

(RATED R)  I love to work on music, it's what i do.
The next project I'm working on is a Poet On Drugs lp entirely produced by L.O.B. and I'm working on a solo lp. Plus I'll be featured on Army Of Darkness The Lost Book Of The Dead Vol. 2, The Shark Brothers and Dystopianz compilations, an ep entirely produced by Stylez Tha Shadowfigure. It'll feature Solomon Childs and Godilla.... Oh and an lp with Metafivez and The Cavern Dwellers. Haha

(MYSTI) You are known for your distinct style and gritty voice, is this something you would look to build on and experiment with if given the chance or is it a case of if it isn't broken, don't fix it?

(RATED R) If it ain't broken don't fix it. Hahaha.. My voice is natural. When it's not as grimy sounding then I'm trying to alter it. That's okay though cuz I have alter egos I haven't addressed yet. Hahahaha

(MYSTI) Obviously Hip Hop is a difficult scene to break through, if you could tell your younger self to do anything differently or had any words of advice, what would you say? 

(RATED R) I would have just told my younger self "if you're gonna pursue a career in Hip-Hop, move back down to Brooklyn before you start a family in Central NY(Upstate)." Hahahaha

(MYSTI)Can we expect to hear further work from you & producers you've already worked with such as another Audio Onslaught or Siamese Psychos 3?

(RATED R) AO3 or SP3???... Never say never. I got mad love for Trilian and Edd Bundy so ya never know...

(MYSTI) Finally, for anyone who wants to hear more from you or wants to listen to any of the projects we have discussed here, where would they have to go?

(RATED R) 

I'm on social media and music sites just like every other artist on the grind. I'll drop you some links if you don't mind including them in this interview.

...And thank you for having me. Much love & respect, it was a pleasure.

(MYSTI) The pleasure is all mine, looking forward to hearing more from you in the future.

https://www.facebook.com/RatedRcny
https://ratedrcny.bandcamp.com/music
http://www.reverbnation.com/ratedrcny
https://soundcloud.com/ratedr-3
Twitter: @SeanRatedR
http://www.audiomack.com/artist/rated-r-2
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu-lr8WBHzwnf2z4qAAtlrA