Interviews

Interview with Spose

Spose has been making a name for himself in the Maine Hip-Hop scene as of late. A regular on the top sold albums list at Bull Moose Music with his debut album, “Preposterously Dank”, WPB catches up with the Wells, Maine MC.

WPB: For those that don’t know who you are, could you give us a little intro?
 
Spose: My name’s Spose. I’m a 22 year old emcee from Wells, a small tourist town in Southern Maine. I’ve been making music since I was in second grade and started rhyming when I was 14. I used to do battles back when that wasn’t the stupidest shit ever. I’ve always wrote songs. And, this past February, fulfilled my decade-long goal of creating an album. I released it on my own label Frothy Four Records and it’s called “Preposterously Dank.” Outside of rapping, I’m a semester (or two or three?) away from graduating with an English degree from Suffolk University in Boston where I’ve been living for the past few years. In the summers, I sweat balls in the kitchen serving lobster rolls to tourists. In my free time I smoke the ganj, write, rehearse with my band, plot, scheme, and get drunk.

WPB: How/why did you choose the name Spose?
 
Spose: The name Spose was bestowed upon me by some kids I went to high school with because I rhymed and I needed a rap name and I said “suppose” a lot. Great story, huh?

WPB: Are you originally from Maine?
 
Spose: Yes sir. Before I lived in Wells I lived in Scarborough, Sanford, and Springvale.

WPB: You rep Wells now, is there a scene growing there?
 
Spose: I think the short answer is “no.” However, a lot of my friends - kids I grew up with and what not - are crazy crazy talented musicians. Having started this label, I hope to grow the scene around my music, my man Stiky-1’s outter-space-R’n'B-sex-rap “Doctor Astronaut” project, and a few other friends’ projects. So, if there is a scene growing, it’s only in the seedling stages. I do shows mostly in Portland where there is and has been a hip-hop scene growing for several years. Wells is just what I know and I think it’s fuckin lame when kids rep towns they’re not from. If I repped “Portland” because it’s the closest city, then I would be an assbag. Which I am not.

WPB: How long have you been MCing? and what got you into the art?
 
Spose: I’ve been rhyming since I was 14. I always played music - been playing guitar and making all sorts of music - since I was in second grade. But rapping was always what I excelled most at. I always loved the Beastie Boys growing up and could effortlessly rhyme along to every Snoop or Biggie song. I grew to love their attention to the details and have always enjoyed impressing people with wordplay, wit, cleverness, all that.

WPB: What are your thoughts on the Maine hip-hop scene? and do you listen to any local artists?
 
Spose: I think the Maine hip-hop scene has it’s bright spots but, for the most part, is populated by liars and posers. There are too many kids reproducing styles they’ve stolen from other places. I have much love and respect for many of the people I’ve worked with and admired over the years - kids like Ghost, Achromatic aka Jim Brown, my friend Cam Groves, the dudes in Boombazi and Lab Seven, miss Sontiago, DJ Shade, DJ Jon, my man DJ Foodstamp, my homeys Luch and Eliza, DJ Harps, and so on and so forth. There is so much promise in that group, but there is also not much cohesiveness in the scene and - barring most of the heads I just mentioned - everybody always seems at odds with one another. I’m hoping to change that. I’ve already begun building a movement around good-vibes hip-hop, including my music, Luch & Eliza’s music, and a couple other heads who I think are not only talented musicians but not douchebags, genuinely good people. I’m trying to ! ! build a movementa that contains little or none of that pontification and talk-down-to-the-listener rap you hear on stage most of the time.
 
As for who I listen to locally: Luch & Eliza, DJ Foodstamp, and, as one should, The Rustic Overtones have always been one of my favorite bands.

WPB: What is something artists can do to improve the scene here in Maine?
 
Spose: Stop lying! Stop faking! Be yourself! Quit the act! Chill out!!!!

WPB: Do you have a favorite venue to play at in Maine?
 
Spose: THE BIG EASY has become my home. I love the venue. I love the people that run it. I love Jim the sound man. They treat myself and my backing band The Danks very well. And we always draw a big crowd and have a crazy good time. Plus The Big Easy is the HOME for hip-hop in Portland, having hosted Hip-Hop open mic nights for YEARS with DJ Shade and Boondocks.

WPB: Who are your musical influences?
 
Spose: I’m into everything, man. Rap wise, I love the great emcees that were big when I was growing up: Biggie Smalls, Eminem, Jay-Z, etc. I also am inspired by rap that exists outside the confines of mainstream constrictions: OUTKAST, Cannibal Ox, The Beastie Boys, etc. I also really like soulful authentic neo-soul hip-hop shit a lot: Erykah Badu, The Roots, Mos Def, etc. My favorite bands are Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, etc. I’m really just a product of the 90s trying to hold onto the good-ass music that came out of that era. These days I’m really into My Morning Jacket, Cee-lo and his work with Goodie Mob.

WPB: You have a new release out now, tell us about the album, and what inspired you to call the album, “Preposterously Dank”?
 
Spose: My album “Preposterously Dank” is in stores NOW. It’s all original music, authentic, lyrical hip-hop. No lies. No bullshit. Dope beats, fresh rhymes. It’s an album that I put endless days-off and work into and am proud of because it is an accurate reflection of my life. The single “Fuck It” has been getting crazy play on college radio, on and in Portland on 94.3 WCYY’s “Spin Out” and 95.9 WRED’s “The Blast.” The album showcases my talents in varying forms without me pretending to be something I’m not (e.g. “I’m boney but not phony / Baked but not fake”). Head over to my myspace http://www.myspace.com/spizzyspose to sample four tracks from the album. And, as you might assume from the title, a lot of the album deals with suburban boredom and coping with that through use of, what we like to call, “trees.” Thus, the title refers to both pot and my rhyme style and persona, deeming them all “preposterously dank” (”! ! dank” meaning good, dope, ill, etc.). I wanted to call my album that because 1) it was an outlandish thing to call a rap album and I wanted to break the mold and 2) it uses a big word, “preposterously,” to showcase my intelligent side, and a small word, ”dank,” to showcase my pothead party-kid side.

WPB: Your album has sold a bunch of copies locally, do you have any plans for a global push? supporting tour?
 
Spose: I’m currently concocting my plots and schemes for world domination, yes. Just by relating to the listener and getting the word out and playing at colleges and word of mouth and what not. And by putting my logo on the moon. And the sun.

WPB: Where can people pick up the album?
 
Spose: Bull Moose Music in Sanford, Portland, Portsmouth, NH, Scarborough, etc. Undergroundhiphop.com, and Wheels N Waves in Wells, ME. Or from me at a show.

WPB: Any upcoming shows/events you wanna plug?
 
Spose: Catch me at the Big Easy in Portland EVERY MONTH!!!

WPB: Any shout outs?
 
Spose: Shout out to Kristi Cochin, my fuckin babe. And to my devoted, incredible backing band The Danks - Aiviet, A-Bomb, and Gilman. Shout outs to We Push Buttons also for supporting local music!!!

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