Madchild was recently interviewed by Zach from Straight Fresh. In this 30 plus minute interview Madchild discussed Swollen Members’ latest project, Brand New Day, the recent tour in support of the album, his upcoming solo project, the relaunched Battleaxe Records, and much more.

This is a very long interview but in my opinion a very good read. You can read the full interview below.

From Straight Fresh:

Straight Fresh: Thanks for joining Straight Fresh for this interview. To begin, on June 17^th Swollen Members released Brand New Day. How has the reception been so far for that project?

Madchild: I think it’s been good. I think it’s another solid album. I think that there’s no curve balls. For the amazing loyal fans that we have had for years, I think this is just another one to put up on the chalkboard as another solid album that we’re proud of. It’s a great continuation of what Swollen Members brings to the table.

Straight Fresh: Do any of the tracks stand out as a favorite to you?

Madchild: Yeah, I like the energy, and I like mine and Prev’s rhyme schemes, on “Cock Blocker”. I think that one kind of pops. I probably chose that song right off the bat because it’s a bit of a departure from the rest of the sound of the album. “Cock Blocker” was one of those special tracks that just happened last minute and got added to the album – I like it when that happens. But “Nemesis”, “Jacques Cousteau”, those are some good, classic sounding Swollen tracks. It’s a solo track but I like the vibe of “Park Bench”. I think that single we got is pretty dope…

Straight Fresh: The title track, “Brand New Day”, is that what you’re saying?

Madchild: Yeah. I think it’s dope because we weren’t trying to make singles but it came out as a catchy song. It’s cool when tracks like that happen organically and you’re not like, “Oh, we gotta make a single, we gotta make a hit” – and I’m not saying that song is a hit, I mean time will tell but it definitely seems like people are reacting to it. And it just happened organically, you know, it’s just us doing our thing. I think that’s a pretty dope, pretty awesome song.

Straight Fresh: Definitely. What influenced the decision not to have any guest features on Brand New Day?

Madchild: Well, if you go back in time, you will actually find that Swollen Members is one of the very first hip-hop groups in history to have albums full of features. So we were actually, believe it or not, one of the originators of saying, let’s make music with people that we look up to and admire and build friendships from that. So we used to fly people out – like Del, or Dilated Peoples, or Mix Master Mike, or whoever – and set up shows for them, then we’d kick it and smoke weed and fuck bitches and hang out and have fun, just be kids. That was our first time meeting people – rappers – we looked up to and realizing they were like us, they’re just people, just cool ass people. That’s what I love about hip-hop; just meeting other hip-hop people all over the world and you have that like-minded camaraderie. The only people I can think of that were doing at the time, in New York, was Rawkus Records – doing a lot of collaborative songs and putting them on albums. 

So people don’t really realize that but if they were to go back in time they would realize that we were one of the first groups to put out an album full of features. Now it’s just such a part of the industry that we thought it kind of says something if we just stand on our own. Like, yeah, we have great friends and we could have gotten some amazing guests on the album and we will continue to do that, and I will continue to do that, but I think it was just sort of making a statement – we can make a badass record without following what the industry says today that the protocol is…It wasn’t that deep of a conversation, but it just happened that way (laughs).

Straight Fresh: (Laughs) Word. And just recently you guys put out the visuals for “Brand New Day”. Are there any plans for more music videos for tracks off the album?

Madchild: There are…we were, I’m just being honest, we were – I’m probably not supposed to say this – we were a little disappointed with how the “Power” video came out. Sometimes you go out and say, hey let’s just shoot a video on the fly, and it turns out amazing. Sometimes not so much and unfortunately that one was not so much. So we were like, ok, let’s hope this “Brand New Day” video turns out awesome. And it was cool, I think people like it, but it wasn’t quite exactly what I hoped it would be. So yes, we are going to shoot a couple more videos next week with the hopes that we make a couple videos that we’re really excited about. It’s just a fuckin’ roll of the dice sometimes – you do a video and you don’t know how it’s going to turn out until you get it. Swollen Members has made some great videos in the past, like back in the day, and honestly I think that’s one of the things we could use in our favor right now is a few good videos in a row. Like good ones. So hopefully our next couple rolls of the dice land on seven.

Straight Fresh: Alright, word, and both you and Prevail…

Madchild: Am I being too honest? (Laughs)

Straight Fresh: (Laughs) No, no, you’re giving great answers so far dude. But both you and Prevail have solo albums coming out this year…

Madchild: I’m gonna pull back, I don’t think Prev has a solo album coming out this year. I don’t think that’s true.

Straight Fresh: Oh, ok, that’s my bad.

Madchild: No, no, that’s ok. I know he was talking about doing something but I don’t think Prev has actually pulled the trigger on doing the solo thing yet. I think he was talking about it but I don’t think he’s really started that yet. When he does, I think it will be amazing, like when he really sinks his teeth into it and decides that that’s something he’s going to take seriously and wants to do then I know he’ll do amazing at it. But I think he’s only been toying with that stuff a little bit, so no, I don’t think he has a solo project coming out for 2014. But hopefully 2015!

Madchild: But yes, I have a solo project coming out called Switched On. It’s a nine song EP and it’s coming out end of August, beginning of September. I just shot four new videos for it and I’m gonna keep shooting videos. I’m going to put out a nine song EP on iTunes and then I’m gonna take nine songs from my favorite EPs in the past that have not been in stores and attach those to it, so Switched On will be like an album – a collective album, in stores. So they’ll get nine new songs and they’ll get nine songs they might not have heard before, so they’ll get good bang for their buck. I’m actually really excited for this project and I don’t want to talk about it too much because we’re still pushing Brand New Day but I fuckin’ murdered this EP, bro, I murdered it.

Straight Fresh: Word! I’m definitely looking forward to that then.

Madchild: Thank you, thank you bro.

Straight Fresh: Do you have a tentative release date in mind for the project?

Madchild: Yeah, I’m thinking like probably first week of September. But I’ll drop some songs and put some videos out throughout the summer to get people ready for it.

Straight Fresh: Alright. Battle Axe Records was recently re-launched. Aside from Brand New Day and your solo project, is there anything else we should be looking forward to from the label this year or in the near future?

Madchild: Yeah, I think Slaine will probably most likely be our first signing. Slaine is like an extended family member who, to me, is an amazing emcee and just an awesome personality – he’s an actor as well – and great friend. That’ll probably be the first signing.

Madchild: I would like to…it’s a funny thing because on one hand I would like Battle Axe to be a label where we’re focusing on Slaine or seasoned veterans – and I’m not saying these are people we’re signing, ‘cause that’s not the case – but La Coka Nostra is an example, or Ill Bill or Vinnie Paz. These seasoned veterans that are legends in their own time and that are still relevant and are still murdering 99% of the rappers on the planet. Hopefully I can consider myself one of those people and to me that’s a fuckin’ winning combination – Battle Axe Records: Where Legends Live, you know what I mean?

But then there’s the flip side, like hey we also want to go find a bunch – not a bunch, just a handful, a few – of 19 or 20 year olds that murder it as well, where we can nurture their careers and they can flourish for the next 15 years. Right now, the main focus will be Madchild and Swollen Members for the first bit of course, sort of make that the two staple artists and build a foundation from that. Then, we’ll see – if I see some really amazing, young, talented rappers once I start putting my feelers out then maybe they’ll be the new generation for Battle Axe. That could be the way that it goes down, we’ll see.

I just definitely don’t think Battle Axe will be a label that follows trends. I don’t think Battle Axe is going to be, like, well this is what’s popular this week so everybody jump up and down and say this word, you know what I mean? I dig relevant music, I listen to what’s crackin’ today, I like it…but I also think that there needs to be a home for rawness and purity in our culture, and classic things that last a lifetime, not fifteen minutes of fame which is what a lot of these artists today are and are going to be. That’s fine, but it sucks for them because I can tell you I’d rather have a career that lasts 15 years, which I’ve had, than be popular for four months, you know what I’m sayin’? Whatever we do, I got to believe that that artist can withstand the test of time.

Straight Fresh: Word and kind of on that topic, you just mentioned it’s been nearly two decades now that Swollen has been doing their thing…

Madchild: Fifteen years, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s been fifteen years (laughs). A decade and a half, motherfucker, I’m not that old yet (laughs).

Straight Fresh: (Laughs) What’s it like for you, though, when you look back at the career that you’ve had? And how does it feel, after fifteen years, to still be going strong and, like you said, be kind of living legends in your own right?

Madchild: It feels good, yeah, it feels good. But what feels good is that I feel like a brand new artist as a solo artist. Even though, like you say, I’m a living legend or whatever, I still feel brand new. I still feel fierce and exciting. Madchild is essentially a new brand, even though I’ve been in Swollen Members for fifteen years. Like, Madchild is still new and exciting. We still do all these shows and it’s 15 or 16 year old kids and the room is full…I must be doing something right.

Straight Fresh: That’s got to be crazy, man, that’s got to be crazy. Room full of 15 or 16 year old kids who weren’t even alive, or just being born, when you were starting out.

Madchild: It is, man, and what’s crazy is their parents probably liked our music. Now what I make transcends and it relates with the generation of today. Kids want realness now just like they wanted realness ten years ago. I don’t feel like I’m getting older, I feel like I’m getting better. Like some people get old and get married and have kids and are just like, I’m old now. I don’t live my life like that – I fuck 19-year-old bitches, travel around the world, and stay in shape. I live like a younger person, I feel like a younger person. I don’t feel like I’m at a point where I’m looking back yet, I feel like I’m still looking forward.

Straight Fresh: That’s dope.

Madchild: Yeah, I think when the time comes – five or seven years from now, whatever – when I feel like it’s time to reflect back on what I did, I want to be proud of my whole body of work. Of course, there were some bumps in the road, losing three million dollars to drug addiction for four years, putting out a couple albums that were probably curveballs, but if I can look back at the whole body of work I did as Madchild’s career and Swollen’s career and Battle Axe’s career and be like, yeah dude, we fuckin’ murdered it. That’s going to feel good and I think the next five to seven years of work that I do will depend on how I feel when I look back at that time. I think that’s another reason I don’t look back right now is I still feel like I have so much left to accomplish.

Straight Fresh: Word, word. Earlier this year we linked with Johnny Richter, who’s obviously a former Kottonmouth King. During the interview he mentioned a collab he was working on with you. Do you have any information regarding that?

Madchild: Yeah, I know we’re supposed to do a song and I definitely will. I have respect for him; he’s a cool dude. And, yeah, I’m definitely going to do a song with him…but it hasn’t been done (laughs). I mean I just got back from doing 50 shows (laughs). I tell you, I just did 14 feature verses in the last four days…

Straight Fresh: Damn.

Madchild: 14 bro and I murdered them! I lit the fuckin’ shit up. I did 14 verses in four days.

Straight Fresh: That’s fuckin’ sick…

Madchild: That’s pretty crazy right?

Straight Fresh: Yeah (laughs), yeah, that’s really crazy, yo. Can you give us any names of who you did the verse for?

Madchild: There’s a whole bunch of people. I have this broker dude now, so people have to go through him to get a verse from me. I wasn’t doing verses for a long time ‘cause I didn’t want to put myself out there like that. But this is dope because all the artists talk to this dude, he brokers the deals, there’s that degree of separation and I’m not soliciting myself. I think rappers who solicit themselves look real thirsty, you know what I mean? I’ve never been opposed to making songs with people if I thought the songs were cool but I’ve seen a lot of rappers make that their gig like, oh hit me up for a collaboration. I am not that dude, I’m not going to do that and it just looks whack. Now it’s a professional set up where they can deal with this broker – and he’s a cool dude and I trust him – and I’m giving the guys enough of a deal where it’s more affordable. We’ll see how it works out, it’s an experiment right now and if it goes well then I’ll continue.

But yeah, I worked with a bunch of dudes, um, shit…fuck, I just did 14…a lot of American guys. One guys that comes to mind is Q Strange…Scumbag, Whiteout…let me think here…Brad Shanks…bunch of names. I just did three interviews in a row dude, so they’re not all coming to me. But all just up and coming guys, right, just guys working on their music, so it’s all good. But, you know, when I do features with more known artists then it’s more of a collaboration thing. I didn’t do songs with guys like Bishop Lamont in the last four days; these were all paid verses…

Straight Fresh: With up and coming dudes…

Madchild: Yeah, yeah, up and coming dudes. But I think it’s cool that I haven’t done much of that so now it’s kind of a special thing that I’m opening the door for that a bit.

Straight Fresh: Word and you brought up the tour that came to a close recently…

Madchild: Where are you out of?

Straight Fresh: I’m out of Connecticut but I was at the show in Boston, at The Middle East.

Madchild: Oh, that was a fun night.

Straight Fresh: Yeah, dude, it was sweet. I think it was a Tuesday night or some shit. That was dope.

Madchild: Yeah, that was a crazy show.

Straight Fresh: But how’d the tour go overall for you?

Madchild: It was cool, it was good, not every night was like Boston, you know what I mean? There were some incredible nights like Boston. I remember San Diego was really dope, Orange County was really dope, L.A. was really dope. And then there were good shows – Colorado is usually fuckin’ retardedly banging! Those shows were cool but we had just been there like six weeks before and we murdered it, like 700 or 800 people each show, so I just think we came back a little soon there. Vegas was cool, Arizona was cool…they were all cool; all the shows were cool. New York was actually a good show. It was fun.

Straight Fresh: Word and you guys are out of Canada. There’s really only been a handful of Canadian artists that have been able to have that crossover appeal and success in America. Obviously Drake is on that list, you have someone like Classified, um…

Madchild: Yeah, but hold on now, here’s a good question – and I have nothing but respect for Classified – but besides Drake and ourselves…

Straight Fresh: Oh yeah, don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge Classified fan – I was actually listening to Classified before getting into Swollen – but even he hasn’t come close to reaching the success you guys have.

Madchild: Oh, no, I was just curious. I wasn’t even comparing us because I have nothing but respect for him and Classified just murders it in Canada and he makes amazing songs. I’m just asking, because I’m curious, do you know of any Canadian groups or rappers that I don’t know of that can go and headline tours in America?

Straight Fresh: (Laughs) See, I said you guys, Drake, then Classified, and then I kind of drew a blank after that…

Madchild: (Laughs) Yeah, it’s crazy, right?

Straight Fresh: I mean, the only other Canadian name that I can think of with even moderate success is Eternia – who I’m a fan of for sure – but I don’t see her going on a headline tour in America.

Madchild: Eternia? What’s that?

Straight Fresh: (Laughs)

Madchild: Is that a girl rapper?

Straight Fresh: Yeah, she’s a female out of Canada.

Madchild: Oh, ok. There’s a new kid coming up that’s doing good, SonReal. Have you ever heard of him?

Straight Fresh: What’s that?

Madchild: SonReal. He’s an up and coming young kid from Vancouver. He’s doing really good and I think he’s starting to come to America.

Straight Fresh: Word, I’ll definitely have to look into him.

Madchild: He definitely has a Drake-esque sound to him so if you like Drake then you’ll dig him. SonReal is talented, man, he makes good songs.

Straight Fresh: Word. What I was going to ask, though, is what do you think it is that separates Swollen Members from the rest of Canada’s hip-hop scene? Why are you guys able to make that short list of Canadian artists who could succeed in America?

Madchild: I don’t know, maybe it’s just that we went out and did it. I’m not sure. You got to actually get up off your ass and do it for it to happen and it doesn’t happen right away. Maybe people tried and it didn’t work so they went back and were comfortable smoking weed and doing shows here. I don’t know. I’m really not sure.

Straight Fresh: Word, I feel you. Last question I have for you is where did the name Swollen Members originate from?

Madchild: Uh, let’s end on a better question than that. I’ve answered that question probably 80,000 times. You’re doing a great interview so let’s end on something better. Come up with something that you’re actually curious about.

Straight Fresh: Alright, are you guys still cool with…fuck, I just completely drew a blank on his name. Um, are you guys still straight with…shit, that other dude who used to be in Swollen…

Madchild: Moka?

Straight Fresh: Yeah! I can’t believe I forgot that (laughs).

Madchild: Yeah, oh yeah, we’re cool with him. He’s a good guy. He’s a Mason now and he’s as high up level of Mason that you can be.

Straight Fresh: Oh word?

Madchild: Yeah, yeah. Apathy is a Mason too, I don’t know if you knew that, but Apathy is really into that Mason stuff too. But Moka is great, I just saw him the other day and he’s always working on music and putting out projects. He’s a great guy.

Straight Fresh: Alright, cool. Then here’s kind of a cliché and overused question, but if you could collab with any artist, who would you choose?

Madchild: That’s a good one. Any artist…

Straight Fresh: Yeah, I guess dead or alive.

Madchild: Well, let’s do alive and let’s keep it hip-hop because otherwise I’d be like, Jim Morrison or whatever (laughs). So alive…can I have a producer and an artist?

Straight Fresh: Yeah, I was going to ask about producer next (laughs) so go for it.

Madchild: Producer, I want to work with Premiere. And that will happen in the near future. That’s one of the things on my bucket list…is that what the people call it? A bucket list?

Straight Fresh: Yeah, a bucket list (laughs).

Madchild: As far as a rapper, I guess if I could work with anyone I’d want to work with Eminem…

Straight Fresh: Oh, that’d be fuckin’ sweet!

Madchild: Yeah, that would probably be the top of my list. There’s other people that I think would be amazing, like I think it’d be dope to do something with Kendrick Lamar. I actually think it’d be really interesting to do something with Drake, I think people would trip out. I think that would be really cool too. Those would probably be my top three most exciting.

Straight Fresh: Word, that’s a pretty solid list…

Madchild: I’d also like to do a song with – and I think it’s possible – with Alchemist or Evidence making the beat and me, Danny Brown, and Action Bronson. That’s something I’d like to actually try to make happen.

Straight Fresh: Damn, that’d be awesome. Well that’s all the questions I’ve got for you. Is there anything else you’d like to add or leave us with?

Madchild: No, I just want to thank you guys for your support and James let me know you guys have always been supportive. And that was a really good interview.

Straight Fresh: Word! Thank you, man, I really appreciate that. And thank you for taking the time to answer our questions.

Madchild: No doubt, peace brother!

Straight Fresh: Peace!

Websites:

• battleaxewarriors.com