beats, breaks & big smiles 2.0: Interview #28

California Love

One of this year's most interesting albums is Second World by an emcee calling himself a.hymnz. Some of you might not have heard about him, but you should lend him your ear. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

I suppose that not everyone out there know who you are. Would you mind sharing some light on that subject? Who is a.hymnz?

a.hymnz, born Jason Scott Furman in '78. I was a b-boy, graff writer turned mc/vocalist from a little village in central California by the name of Kingsburg. The second son of a Leo and Pisces as a Gemini that grew up on the west side of the tracks and ran with misfits and hoodlums. An ex skate boarder whose only real offence was curfew violations, herb possession and vandalism so I don't got no stripes. A poet turned nerd rapper, an abstract surrealist! who ventured to Long Beach in 97 to attend a now bankrupt school for design, Brooks College, where he expanded his mind and outlook on life, art and spirituality in which I mesh together in my music. Probably ate too many hallucinogens in college, but that just added to the styles,tones and energies that I learned to manipulate. I use to sit at the edge of a b-boy circle and take it all in, and by the middle of the night be able to mimic what I saw. Never really had anyone to show me how to do things but got tips along the way, for the most part I felt my way through it all. I was fortunate enough to have experienced the L.A. underground and jungle scene in those days and that experience helped to shape who I am as an artist today.

I saw AWOL One and Circus at the school I went to get booed off stage by a bunch of materialistic fashion police, and to me that was the best shit ever. Not that they got booed. but to see the reaction between real hip hop and rap. At the time I understood and followed the underground path with no thoughts of being signed or going mainstream. And as a graff writer and b-boy I enriched myself in all of the elements of the hip hop community and culture as well as spiritual welfare, something that resonated with me all of my life and tends to bleed out into my music, and the message I try to convey. not everything or everyone that claims to be good really is, and a lot of those that are deemed bad really are not. I learned to be a better judge of people and to see through peoples masks at that point.

Working a lot with my boy Murdoc or David Samuels, founder of Mind Theater Records and Articulate Sounds, I developed my style and honed my craft. A lot of who I am can be contributed to the support and time that he gave me as well as other close friends that really pushed me to do something with my talents.

a.hymnz, Jacobz'Ladder, Aux.Inx. These are three different names that I associate with you. Is it classic hip hop schizophrenia looming, or what’s the story behind these names?

I have gone by quite a few names in my past from yo’dif’runtone- yodif cause in college people would call me yoda, runt one – cause I was always a runt and I have always been a little different. Also been know my zonk and poe~wiz da dub dukted kalf, but a.hymnz kinda is the one that stuck.

a.hymnz or artcher hymnz an archer of hymnz, a to z with hym in the middle is the embodiment of all of the lives I have lived present, past and beyond. Jacobz'Ladder - jacobz' plural is the connection and path that I started long ago and was a label that I wanted to start when I was yonger. Aux.inx was a name auxillary ink being the vocal painting of my style and was also a crew name that myself and Murdoc had a few years back. Murdoc and I grew up together breakdancing and writing and both ended up making music. When we first really came together we had a group called nophuralmindz with his cousin Kiko and friend Lupes. But everyone kinda went their own ways and branched out. David and I are the ones that really took it further and continued. Murdoc and Lupes created Broken Language and released an album under that and then we all came together as a hip hop band Semantics adding other members and elements to that sound, but I eventually left the band due to personal issues I was having at the time and focused on my own path as a.hymnz.

What do you wish to accomplish with your music?

All I have ever really wished to accomplish with my music is to progress and be heard to keep climbing Jacobz'Ladder and growing as a person, artist and human.when I was in school I had trouble getting up in front of my class and speaking, I was quiet and inverted, still kind of am, but through hip hop and my music I have been able to conquer fears, find confidence and develop into someone that I am happy to be. I don't see artcher as a alter ego or split personality, but myself as one person now. I grew as a vocalist in garage bands and playing music with my friends most of them played acoustic guitar and so listening to a circle of them I stepped in one day and began to scat in which my freestyle ability developed from. I played percussion in marching band so I learned timing from that the art and creativity I got from my mom and structure from my day, depth I attribute to my grandparents. So I guess I have accomplished what I set out to do originally, but now I see it as a way to meet new people and hear others stories. I really enjoy collaboration as it reminds me of being with a band or crew, and I love that live energy

You’ve been working quite a lot with variex. How did you guys hook up initially?

I met variex. off of MySpace and was a fan of his music for quite some time. Funny thing is I had a dream one night that I was hitting Factor up for beats, and he told me he was extremely busy but I should hit variex. up. I did that next morning and off the beaten path was born. variex. is a great dude and has helped me pull a lot of shit together through out the years and I am so thankful to have been able to work with him.we have started a crew called Universal Roots that actually started back in Brooks College with my souls twin brother Habitat or F8th Folson of TasteBuds Records back then he would be getting on the mic at underground parties and I would be rocking the circles. We roamed the L.A. underground together for a few years and developed Universal Roots, but this last year brought in Variex, Oracy and his brother Leaves or Hiru the hidden light whom was on the off the beat path album. We all meshed well together with our own styles and artistry and I am excited to bring this full circle and what the future holds for us working together.

How did you get into rapping to begin with? Early influences?

I began rapping because after band after band broke up I felt it was the only way for me to develop my craft. I began freestyling with my boy Rick and started a local group called Next of Kin. after that another friend Jacob started acquiring tables and records, and he would drop instrumentals and I would rap. We put out a mix tape called Time Travelers and is the real birth of Jacobz'Ladder. Smoking herb, drinking, bbqing and having fun. My first influences where Del and Hieroglyphics, Aceyalone and Freestyle Fellowship, Visionaries, Outkast, Brand New Heavies, The Pharcyde, The Nounce, Living Legends, Atmosphere and a lot of other California hip hop, and bands like Portishead , Rage Against the Machine, Madness, Operation Ivy and Rancid.

Back in the 90's there was a music station called The Box. Before The Box I listened to whatever my brother listened to, death metal, ska, rock, and what ever played on the whack radio stations. The Box really opened my musical influences up to a whole new world and hip hop just resonated with me and gave me a way to find myself and to channel my creativity in a positive direction.

Do you mind sharing your creative process with us?

These days I do a lot of ghost writing. On my way to or from work, when ever a thought comes to mind. I use to do a lot of word play but as I get older I am working on bringing some more solidity and depth into my writing. Then I look into beats and what writings match. A lot of the times I would mismatch verses and edit it all together into a cohesive track. Although if I get a beat that just speaks to me which I feel are my more solid tracks it just kind of flows out of me. I really look for those types of beats these days, kind of like painting I do a bunch of motion sketches and paint what I see within those lines or positive and negative spaces. For the past few albums I have used a Boss digital 4 track recorder that took a lot of time and had no way of punching in and fixing shit, so I would have to do it all in one take. variex. or Oracy have really helped in cleaning up my vocals for me and I am eternally thankful for that, ‘cause without them my music would have not been what it is. I finally was able to upgrade and now have a better working method for recording and look forward to learning more of that process in the upcoming projects I am working on

You've been working with some of my favourite emcees and producers on your records. Do you have any dream collaborations?

Dream collabs for me would have to be Adeem, The Chicharones, Aceyalone, and David Ramos, and to do more tracks with Ceschi and James P. Honey. I have such appreciation for the music they make and the people that are, but other than that I've always dreamed of being a part of a crew the size of Wu Tang, Living Legends, Heiro or Visionaries. I just love the energy between people and how creativity sparks and the brotherhood in it all.

I’ve been talking to other artists about this. What is your view of the so-called scene? It is a real international scene where artists from all over the world create music together without necessarily ever meeting. Does that make it harder to get a good vibe going when creating a song?

I am actually a big fan of this international scene and honored to be considered a part of it, and to be honest I have found it easier to work on stuff with artist abroad then with a lot of artist in my local area. It is more supportive then the local scene and I find a lot more like minded and humble people out there then I do at home. Now don't get me wrong, there are a handful of dope artist in my local scene and I respect what people are doing, but I find it more accepting in the international realms. So I tend to aim more of my creativity towards that while working with local artists that deserve more respect than they have gotten from our local scene. Oracy, Leaves, Splynter, Murdoc, and E.Rose Just to name a few are all dope local cats that should get more recognition. They are all dope in their own way, along with countless others that I haven't worked with.

How did you hook up with New Cocoon?

I hooked up with New Cocoon through variex., and have been a fan of what they are doing before that. They are a talented group of artists that have bonded together to put out some really dope music and I am honored to be a part of the collective. I am inspired by what we are doing individually as well as collectively.

Upcoming projects?

Universal Roots = myself, variex., Oracy, Leaves and my boy F8th Folson are working on putting together an album and building for the future. As well as I am working with wormhole to get a New Cocoon compilation together and I am working with my boy Splynter on an EP. As well as starting work on a new solo a.hymnz album in which I will feature some dope artist that you have as well as haven't heard of. I am constantly writing so who knows what else will be on the list of things to come but those are the ones I would say to look out for.

Final words/shout outs/last thoughts?

I'd like to give a shout out to everyone that has been supporting this scene and the music we all make. Shout out to everyone that is supporting the Free Ceschi campaign, if you don't know about it you should defiantly look into it. Ceschi has not only helped in building this scene but has really supported all of us. I would like to thank Epic cause without the track Side Effects most people wouldn’t even know who I am. variex. and Murdoc for always having my back and helping me to grow and find my own style and voice. All of New Cocoon, I love my tribe and all that we are doing. And to Michael at beats, breaks and big smiles 2.0, much respect for everything you do for us artist and exposing our art form to a wider audience. My wife Andrea and kids Kylee and Levi who keep me grounded and focused on what matters most in life, and to everyone that has ever listened. You have all help me become the man I am today and to continue to grow. Be on the lookout for the new projects in the near future and the video for Light Posts feat. Tommy V, Thorts, and variex. from off my last album Second World coming really soon.

Peace and blessingz

a.hymnz