Pseudo Slang

Emcee Sick labels his plight a cliched one, at best. And he’s right. The story behind the Buffalo hip-hop duo Pseudo Slang is the typical musical tale of those involved trying to make good on their industry dreams. In this case, it’s not about image or fame or money, although undoubtedly each and every one of those things remain nice. Instead, it’s about creating their brand of conscious hip-hop and having it heard by a hopefully appreciative audience.

One decade after coming together, the duo of Sick and Tone Atlas still wait for their turn in the spotlight. But it’s that tenacity along with their talent level that will eventually get them there. Few make it to that point of pursuing their dreams full-time, but Pseudo Slang possess what it takes.

Stereo Subversion spent some time with Emcee Sick to discuss the ins and outs of their latest album, We’ll Keep Looking, as well as the rigors it takes to even think about the next project.

SSv: It seems the project’s been a long time coming.

Emcee Sick: Yeah, it does really feel that way. [Laughs] Pretty much the project took so long because we were orchestrating a bunch of touring between the recording of the album and its estimated release. Then we did a lot of touring and we were all supposed to move to Chicago and do a bunch of stuff there and the touring got a bit grueling in the middle there.

Tone had to go back home and deal with family stuff and I continued touring, I mean. It definitely affected the identity of the group a bit and pretty much I stayed on the road for two to three years. He went back and did day job stuff and things like that. Then we had to go back to the studio and do some things, but I was on the road. So it definitely affected the release of the album. Things like that happen though. It wouldn’t be the first time.

So I finally came off the road because I had to make money – the road makes money but it’s not enough. We finally got it all together and finally handled all the issues. We talked to Japan and got these cats in Japan to release the Japanese version of it, so once all that fell into place, the rest went smoothly.

SSv: What does that do for hopes when you keep pushing back the project?

ES: You know, the hopes and expectations kind of get a little mixed up at times when you’re on the road; it changes the way that you look at the industry and the art of it. Being in the studio is one thing. When we were recording the album, we would do spot dates and stuff, but we weren’t really touring. So therefore, we were just living in the studio and being in creative mode. When you head into touring or performance mode, it’s a whole different consciousness.

You just try to deal with things as they come and only handle one thing at a time. Once I got off the road, we were definitely concerned if this album was going to be shelved or what was going to happen with it. Money was tight, but I needed to go back and re-record some things. It’s not the first time people have told this story so it’s one of those classic sob stories of hip-hop.

But truthfully, I had got out of the studio, we kept in touch with everybody to maintain connections and do that thing and then we finally sent the album out to be mastered. I knew that Fat Beats would put it out; it’s a good album, so it would be a shame not to. What I’m working on now is a full tour and then an overseas tour and then we’ll go back into the studio. All I’ve done in the studio lately is more cameo stuff, so it’ll be nice to really go back in and go back into creative mode because I’ve been in performing and touring mode for four years.

SSv: The songs on the disc, how much time do they span?

ES: [Pause] Hmmm, wow. It must span over three to four years of really dense recording, I’d have to say. When we were on the road, I released Thank God It’s Not Another Mixtape with Fat Beats permission. We didn’t release it commercially, but it was just some CDs I could sell on the road because this album wasn’t ready and people wanted something on CD to be able to pop on the road. So some songs on the Thank God It’s Not Another Mixtape were actually part of that recording and then I’d count probably 15 to 20 other songs that are just floating around. They’re not released, but they’re part of that archive.

There will be probably three We’ll Keep Looking releases. There are some throwaway tracks around, but I don’t consider them that. But we’ll keep putting that out on Thank God It’s Not Another Mixtape and then I’ll put out two lost tapes kind of things going forward. Most of that stuff would be from that three to five year period that we were recording – theoretically for We’ll Keep Looking. We didn’t have that name in the beginning. We had a couple names and a lot of arguing about what we would call it, but I would have to say it’s probably three or four albums worth of material recorded and some of it still I could see going back into the studio with and doing a bit more editing.

SSv: What’s the timeline on some of those?

ES: Well, the timeline doesn’t exist now because when you release an album and Fat Beats is pushing it hard… it’s selling well. So right now, the timeline could be opened back up on those if I had two things – one, I’m in the process of getting the booking aspect. All these years, I’ve been doing the booking myself and so needless to say I’d love to free myself from that. But it’s not as easy as saying that because if you don’t have a dedicated booking agent, you feel that you should really just do it yourself because you’ll do a better job. But for right now. I’m talking with a guy who actually might work out perfectly.

The other aspect is simply money. To go back into the studio, I’ll need some money. But that will come from touring, so that creates the timeline for jumping back into that material. It’s really just about money. There’s never one point in the whole process where I felt like I’ve been in the green. I’ve always struggled to pay the next bill, so hopefully with the album getting out and having a dedicated booking agent for these tours, I do see us getting into the green. But you always say that. You’re always thinking that’s going to happen and then you go to do it and you say, ‘Oh, almost.’

Related posts:

1. Pseudo Slang-Walkin feat Grap Luva

Tagged as: Buffalo, Hip-hop

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