Madchild has been making authentic Hip-Hop for over twenty years. Silver Tongue Devil proves he’s unstoppable! Thank you Madchild from the bottom of my heart! This interview helped me reach a new level as a journalist. Also, thanks for the invite to join Baxwar! Salute! Don’t sleep on the new Silver Tongue Devil release, Madchild kills it on every track!

Madchild: How you doin brother?

Chad Thomas Carsten: I’m doing good!

Madchild: Let’s do this!

CTC: The main goal for Silver “Tongue Devil” and what inspired the meaning behind it’s title?

Madchild: The name behind it, no matter how long I do this for, I’m always going to stay razor sharp! I’m always going to be fierce lyrically.  I’m always going to care about word complexity and wordplay, rhyming combinations that have extra thought put into them, ya know. I’m not saying that I’ve come up with wordplay that no one else has come up with before, because probably everything has been said, but I definitely put a lot of thought into my wordplay. It’s a very important part of this whole thing for me.  Of course, the music is important and the beats that I choose, but how I write to those beats and which beats I choose and how I choose to flow on them and then how I’m able to come up with word combinations that blow people’s minds, is complexity! It’s my main goal as an emcee. So, silver tongue devil just means, ya know, I’ve said it before, but I’ll rip 99 percent of rappers faces off when it comes to tracks, because I’ve put in that extra work. I don’t leave my music to number ten and put a bunch of other things in front of it, my music’s number one. Meaning that, I’ll lose a girlfriend over my music, I’ll lose whatever over my music, except for family of course.

But I have to make my music my number one priority! If I don’t, it’s going to lose that razor sharpness. Just like guys like Tech N9ne, he raps way faster than I do, but the point is he always stays sharp. You know you’re always going to get a sharp fierce product from him, Rittz or Yelawolf, guys like that. I don’t rap as fast as them, but my wordplay is of the same caliber. I hope it’s ok for me to say that, but I’m going to say it, because I believe it.

CTC: That’s some pure dedication man, respect!

Madchild: Thank you. But ya man, I just lost my girlfriend over all this. *Laughs* I hope the fans appreciate it. *Laughs* If I don’t put this first, like look, we’re in a over-saturated world where there’s a million rappers and that’s great, they get a chance to live their dream and make music and videos, but the only problem with that is guys like myself, (Immortal Technique, Ill Bill, Slaine, Evidence, Everlast, etc)  put years and years and years into their craft and then started putting out music and videos. What happens now, because it’s so easy to write a song and make a video all on your lap and shoot it with your friends, because your friends are learning how to do videos/photography, it creates a huge, huge, huge overwhelming over-saturation of artists. I’m all for everybody getting a chance to live their dream. My only concern is that sometimes people rush things a little bit and maybe should spend a little more time on perfecting their craft. Like, if you write two songs and put a video out and claim “I’m a rapper!, but maybe if you’ve waited till you’ve done fifteen/ twenty songs and really mastered your craft and worked on it, I guarantee you, it’s going to be wayyyy better and then you’re going to be at a point where you’re more prepared to release it for the world to see.

CTC: I agree with that! It’s like you said in the song “Jackal”. “So many rappers now, don’t matter if you’re twice as dope. Tryna’ ride a rusty bicycle back up an icy slope!”

Madchild: Yes that was the whole point of that line, I appreciate you getting that line.

CTC: The art cover reminds me of Stephen King’s “Creepshow”meshed with the golden age of comic books. Who exactly did the art for Silver Tongue Devil?

Madchild: I hired one of my favorite artists (to do the cover). I’m very much into collecting art/just getting into collecting art.  I hired L’Amour Supreme to do the cover and he just went nuts with the song title and did whatever he felt was right and it just came back perfect! It’s not just an album cover, it’s a canvas. So my company paid for half of the artwork and I paid for the other half, so I could be able to keep the canvas and hang it up on my wall. So, that’s what made it exciting for me, was to be able to acquire a piece off one of my favorite artists. We just did an instore in New York for Mishka Clothing. Supreme is creative director for them. I got to hang out with him and he came to the show. We got to kick it and build and get to know each-other. He’s just super down to earth and humble. Super, super, cool guy, Supreme’s just amazingly talented! I paid attention to every detail on this album, from the look of it, to the music. I went as far as getting Evidence (who is one of my close friends) to do the photography and I even had Rob the Viking of Swollen Members to do the art/writing for the track-listing on the back cover.

CTC: Oh yea! Having a dope album cover is important. Some people may even buy the album, simply because the album cover looks kick ass.

For the track “Nighttime Kill”, you mention the option of wanting to be as big as Tech N9ne and Hopsin. I know you’ve been making music for over twenty years and Swollen Members had critical acclaim before those cats. What exactly is the point of that line?

Madchild: The bottom like is look, Swollen Members at one point was that big! In Canada, we were the biggest thing in the country. There was a time where Swollen Members sold nine hundred-thousand albums. Then I come out with my solo career, but at a time where you can’t sell music. I’ve sold over one hundred thousand albums, but it took two years. It’s very difficult to sell albums these days, but I can still manage to sell albums. I had a very successful run with Swollen Members. We won four Canadian version of the Grammy’s. We had top ten hits on the radio, making our own kind of music, not selling out. We weren’t trying to make music for the radio, we were just doing what we did. We had this crazy 4 to 5 year run of  this wave of success that we rode, where it was just Swollen-Mania in Canada. While we were still an underground success worldwide!

So, coming back and starting over after losing everything to drug addiction, of course you’re going to have artists you look to and admire and say, “That is a blueprint or a business model (as well as a long list of talent), that I feel that I have, that I would like to attaine by reaching that goal .” We have Battleaxe Warriors (an incredible following and loyal fanbase)! It could be way bigger than it is, but I closed the books eleven months ago, because it was getting too big too fast and it was becoming way out of control too quickly. I pumped the breaks and we kicked out a bunch of people that had the wrong attitude of what we truly stand for. But now we’re re-opening the books and we will be building Battle Axe Warriors properly. We have five-thousand members right now, with fifteen- thousand more applications and I shut it down to make a point. I’ve told people I’m not doing this for money, it’s not about the cash, I make my money selling merchandise and touring. It was to show people if I was a money grubbing guy, I would’ve let everyone stay and we would have over twenty-thousand members, but I’m not that guy money grubbing guy. People need to stop thinking that I’m doing this for cash.  I don’t make money off Battle Axe Warriors, everything that comes in goes back into the family.

I just did a trip to New York, The Gathering of The Juggalos, Vegas and California. I loved what I saw! I met a bunch of Battle Axe Warriors that I never had the chance to meet before. These are solid motherfuckers! Guys like Diabolic (who’s an incredible emcee) to Adlib (who is like one of the main warriors), who has gone out and got like over four hundred sold warriors to join, just on his own! They helped clean up the whole mess and we got rid of all the idiots who were being racist and disrespectful. They had to go! That’s not what Baxwar is about! It’s about positivity, self-improvement, honor, loyalty, respect and also about the music. Keeping the underground not only alive, but keeping it thriving/moving forward. Self-improvement with ourselves, but also for our culture. We’re here to preserve the Hip-Hop culture, but progress at the same time. Some of the people just didn’t get it and can go off and do other things that they like, but every single one of our members is documented. I know exactly how to get a hold of every single member. I have their personal addresses and phone numbers.When the books re-open, one day the numbers are going to jump up to fifty-thousand members and they’re going to be solid members I’m going to take time doing it, it can’t all be built in a day.

Take a look at Juggalos for example, it’s not organized the same way and it’s a different thing, but it’s an incredible movement! I always speak so highly of the Juggalo movement and ICP in interviews. People are surprised, but they’re just judging a book by it’s cover, without getting to know what it’s all about. I’ve toured with ICP and I’ve been to to the Gathering four times. I’ve gotten to know how wonderful these people are! They always have each-other backs! If someone doesn’t have a meal, they will buy their homie a meal. Or if someone doesn’t have a place to stay, they will let them crash at their place. I want that to be part of what Battle Axe Warriors, that’s a real movement and a real family concept. Just because they don’t have them documented, doesn’t mean they don’t have all that love and have each-others backs. To me that’s incredible! How anyone can go and disrespect that, makes no fucking sense to me!

CTC:Wow! I knew about Battle Axe Warriors being a huge movement, but now I have a totally different outlook and it’s even more amazing brother! And I agree about the Juggalo movement too, too much judging without looking into what the family is about. Now that track with Ceekay Jones, “Everytime”, it’s truly captivating and shows a different side of Madchild musically. I really love the acoustic aspect. Let’s discuss the track.

Madchild: That is a song I’m really honored to be able to do. It was one of the first time’s in a long time, that I worked with real producers. Ceekay Jones wrote the hook and sang the hook. The makers produced the track. These are real producers. I usually just get a beat from C-Lance, Aspect or Rob The Viking, or I go over to Evidence’s house and make music with him. Speaking of Evidence, him and I are working on an album right now and it’s going to be fucking crazy! But we’re talking about Silver Tongue Devil, that’s what we’re focused on. But I usually just get beats and record it in my apartment and send it off to Rob The Viking. Rob does the drops, adds the sound effects, mixes the song and it’s done.

This is a whole different experience. These guys studied/went and did research about my life, not knowing me personally. They read the stories of what I went through and came up with the chorus specifically for me and my life and what I went through. That was such an honor! I know this song has the potential to be on the radio, it’s a bigger song, but it’s a real song, it’s a timeless song. There is nothing fake or corny about it. I’m not trying to act like a 17 year old kid, jumping up and down saying “Turnt Up!”. This is real music! I’m super proud to be part of that song and I’m super proud that it’s out. Is it going to catch on and become bigger? Time will tell. I believe that it will, but only time will time. It’s on MTV right now in America. They took half of the views already. It looks like we only got thirty-thousand views in a couple days. But it’s actually more like seventy/eighty thousand views, because MTV took most of the views. It’s going to build. I think real music speaks for itself and that music speaks from the heart. As long as I’m making music from within and not making it for the wrong reason, then I’m happy to continue to make it. Yes, it’s different sound, but it’s a real song and it literally like, fucking touches people’s emotions. It went to straight to my heart when I heard it. They’re amazing producers!

CTC: It grabbed me by the heart too man!

Madchild: Thank you!

CTC: Another track that is bound to catch the hearts of fans is “Painful Skies”, what’s the story behind it?

Madchild: It was just me sitting down at the computer and writing and recording it myself. I didn’t want to work with big major producers, not saying C-Lance isn’t a big producer, he’s a dope producer! C-Lance is sick! He works with Vinnie Paz (full time), Rittz, Chris Webby and myself and works with a lot of other emcee’s. He’s doing very well for himself. I love working with him, I love the chemistry him and I have together. C-Lance had sent me that track and that was a different beat to what he normally sends me. That topic just came out of me, it just poured out of me!

I started writing and just didn’t stop till it was fully written. It was like a layer within me that was just waiting to be said. That song was about a best friend I had that was part of my old life style, that I’m no longer apart of. I had to change my life to get back into music and pay attention to music full time, to get a second chance and be allowed back into the states. I’m not disrespecting who I was hanging out with, because I’m not talking about having any regrets, I’m talking about the changes I had to make to move forward in my life to achieve the goals I wanted to achieve, while I’m still young and full of fucking energy to be able to keep rocking and making music. I wrote it about myself, but I don’t want to make the video about myself, I want it to be universal, so everyone can relate to it.

We’ve all lost friends, some friends that we thought we were going to be with forever. I think a lot of people can relate to that. We’ve all had disappointments in life and we’ve had great people we’ve lost in our life and from whatever reason we had to move on from the friendships.

CTC: Thank you for making that track. Can’t wait to see the video! The track “Slut”, was that meant to be a follow up to “Dickhead”?

Madchild: Yea I say so, but it wasn’t on purpose. I just heard the beat and I was thinking about how there is a million rappers out these days, as I mentioned before.  It’s the same with chicks becoming models. Any girl that’s a 5 to a 10, now thinks she’s a model, because she found some guy who bought a camera, that thinks he’s a photographer. You got this huge overload of guys that are claiming to be a photographer and are like, “Let me take your photos so you can build your portfolio.” Then you have a million girls that are attractive/semi attractive, saying that they’re a model building a portfolio. I was thinking about the whole world changing, due the internet.  It’s crazy how every girl thinks she’s a model, because she’s putting pictures on instagram. I was thinking about being single and being on the road. And how I’m pretty fucking fortunate with my job as far as when I am single, I do extremely well when it comes to the ladies.

When I put out Dickhead, I thought people were going to just think I’m an asshole, but it turned out to be the girls favorite song. When I do shows in Canada and starting in American now too, usually it’s the front row, but in Canada it’s the first three or four rows are girls and when Dickhead comes on, they go fucking nuts! And the point is younger people just have a good sense of humor. I didn’t premediate what this song was going to be about. I just heard the beat and I just had this experience with this girl that I met on the road. She jumped on the tour bus with me and came back home with me. We dated for awhile and it didn’t work out and she went home. That really did happen. And I just started writing about it and the song just happened. It was just another one of those songs where I didn’t stop till I was finished writing it. And it was just funny and I said fuck it, people thought Dickhead was funny, they will probably think Slut is funny too. I didn’t make this song, because Dickhead was successful, it just happened. I didn’t even make a video for Dickhead and I’m killing myself for it. I didn’t make a video for it, because I was going out with Pink Dragon, she was such a psycho with that shit. But imagine if I would’ve made a video for Dickhead, It has two-million views from someone else who uploaded just the song. I probably be on a whole different level right now, that could’ve been a viral video. But I didn’t, because of a girlfriend. Never going to let a girl get in the way of my career again. I’m going to start performing Slut on my next tour. I got sixty shows coming up. And again, I did not make Slut, because of Dickhead.

CTC: You can still do the video, it’s never late bro. Why don’t you make a double feature video for Dickhead and Slut, like a part 1 and part 2 story. I could just imagine the scene right now of you throwing the rock through the window, as a little kid. *Laughs*

Madchild: That would be pretty amazing. You hit the nail on that one. We’ll see what happens.

CTC: Can’t wait! On the song “Electricity”, you mention how other rappers don’t talk about real shit anymore. And I agree with you, but what’s your perspective on this topic?

Madchild: That’s a real important issue. Am I the only rapper that is not afraid to to talk about depression, loneliness, anxiety, or OCD?! When I’m talking about this shit, I’m not doing it to sell records. I do my best to try to be fucking normal, which tells you that I obviously have fucking issues. I’m not afraid to admit it, because I want my listeners to know that that they’re not alone! I want my listeners to know that they’re not by themselves, because I guarantee you that a lot of my listeners go through similar problems. You can’t tell me that you or everyone you know is fucking perfect. Why does everyone have to talk about a car that nobody can fucking afford?! Why does everyone have to talk about being in a hottub with eight girls drinking champagne, when most of us are not in hot tubs drinking champagne with bitches. I’m not saying I’ve never done that before,  I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to. But not everyone gets to do that shit. And I definitely am not able to go out and buy a Bugatti. I guess I partly know the answer, people like to daydream. They imagine it and get to live that life for a second. Then they will spend all the money that they have to looking good for that one night at the club and be completely broke the next day.

CTC: Great answer! By the way, You and Slaine killed it on “Don’t Stop”. Not just that track either, you guys always kill it together! Let’s discuss your friendship.

Madchild: I was a fan of La Coka Nostra. I’m friends with Everlast and Ill Bill is a great guy. Slaine and I are good friends. I’m becoming good friends with Everlast. I’ve been fortunate enough to become better friends with one of my heroes. Slaine is another person I respect immensely. He’s a fucking incredible guy. He’s an amazing actor and he’s one of my favorite artist’s. Just like Everlast is one of my favorite, all time favorites. When Slaine and I get together we have a certain chemistry that happens. That’s why I only work with a certain amount people and don’t work with a million producers, is because of the chemistry with the certain people I work with. Slaine and I have this friendly competition when we make a song. Not to outdo each other, but we just both fucking aim to kill it lyrically. We came up with the idea of Supreme Villain and we were going to put that a long time ago, but Slaine went on his own path/his own mission he had to go on.

He’s now been sober for over a year. Congratulations to my brother for being sober for over a year! It was what was needed in his life and I had to give him to time to go through that experience. It’s a long drawn out spiritual experience that you go through when you get sober. But now he’s back murdering shit, back out touring with La Coka Nostra, back making music again, so we are going to get together and do the Supreme Villain project and will announce it when the time comes. We’ll start putting out songs and videos and go on tour. Realistically it will happen in the early part of 2016.

CTC: Hell yea! Glad it’s coming to fruition! Salute to Slaine!

Madchild: Thank you. I just realized how much time has went by, I have a U Stream coming up in a few hours.

CTC: I didn’t realize how much time flew by myself. *Laughs*

Madchild: It’s ok brother. Great interview tho! This is a real conversation and people will get to see more of the real me. Ask some more questions. I still have some time left.

CTC: Alrighty, on the final part of “Zero”, you mention having to relocate to California, from Vancouver B.C., so you can be surrounded by better people to keep motivated. It’s no way meant to be disrespectful towards your home city. You love your home city! Can we discuss that moment of your life?

Madchild: I had to see if I could get myself a real chance beyond Canada. I had done everything in Canada that could be done. All I was doing was more of the same things. When I came here ten months ago, I was a ghost, nobody knew who the fuck I was. Now when I got outside, I get asked four to five times a day for an autograph or a picture. And that all happened in ten months! Imagine what It’s going to be like two years from now if I stay in LA. This is one of few places to be in the music industry, if you want to try and take things to the next level. I love it here and I love the weather. I have some of my best friends that live here. It sucks for my family, but I’ll see them when I go on tour and I have a best friend in Vancouver that I miss, but we still talk on the phone.

My dog loves it here. It’s sunny everyday! It’s pretty tough to be in a bad mood here. Shit’s changing so fast for my career, the awareness is spreading super fast, just because I’m here. Unfortunately, B.C. is like Seattle and has three hundred days of rain. I can get depressed from that much rain. That’s a reason right there to stay in LA. But I love Vancouver and I spent the first half of my life there. I will always represent Vancouver and when I get to the point hopefully, when I am bigger and I can afford to have two places, I will have a second home in Vancouver, where I can travel back and forth. Right now, I love being in LA. I hope people understand and I hope they can respect it, but we have to do what makes us happy in life. Being here makes me happy.

CTC: I feel you on that one bro! I’ve had to relocate myself. For the track “Braindead”, can we discuss the line, “I seduce you with my suffering” and what exactly is the meaning behind that line?

Madchild: We talked about it, but I really do try to be normal as I can all the time. When I say seduce you with my suffering, I’m just talking about pain and loneliness. Even tho I am the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life, there are still times where I’m lonely as fuck! I don’t care, I’m an open book, I’ll tell you how it is. I don’t care who reads it, It’s just how it is. I didn’t go to Christmas last year, because I was working on music to get the Silver Tongue Devil album done so I could get my fans/family something new to listen to. I felt bad that I didn’t go, but it was the first time I’ve missed Christmas and that day I made a super dope song that made the final tracklisting. I only get to see my friends that I have here, once in a blue moon. There are times where I spend a week in a half without even seeing anybody, except me and my dog. I go to the movies by myself and I sneak my dog Lola in with me. I have ton of amazing days, but I have days where the monster kicks in and the demons are knocking at the door to get in.

CTC: That’s very deep! What does being Underground mean to you?

Madchild: I’m not a fucking teacher and I don’t ever want to be considered a teacher or ever want to be considered to be some guy that’s Mr. Serious all the time. I’m not that guy. I’ve spent stupid ridiculous amounts of money on toys, art, and Japanese clothing and I drive a G Wagon. I like nice shit, even tho I’m an underground rapper. I’ve made it very clear, that just because you’re an underground rapper, doesn’t mean you have to be broke. I like being successful and I like having nice things. And I like being financially stable, I don’t want to be broke my whole life, just because I’m underground. I disagree very much with that concept that people think just because I had success, I’m not underground? So what?!

Tech N9ne, who’s a multi-millionaire, is a sellout now?? He’s not a sellout! He’s made the same music he’s made his whole entire life.  He’s successful, because he worked his fucking ass off! What, ICP are fake now, because they’re worth sixty-million dollars?! They’re not fucking fake! They’ve stuck to what they’ve done their whole life too. So, what’s wrong with me wanting to do the same thing as them? To me a sell out is when you sell your soul and start to make songs that are not you/not real at all for business reasons. As long as you’re staying true to yourself and true to your art and true to your own heart at making music like, when you finish making that song you’re like, “Fuck, I can’t believe I just did that! It’s so fucking sick!”, that’s being underground! Preserving the culture and progressing at the same time, that’s being underground. Being real and connecting with your fans and calling them your family, because they are your family. That’s underground. I try to stay humble and try to stay grounded.  I don’t think I’m anybody special, because I’m not. I’m just an ordinary person that got lucky. I don’t’ walk around with an attitude, I treat people how I want to be treated. I thank every fan wholeheartedly when I meet them. I try to make sure that every experience when I meet a fan that they walk away like it’s a special experience. As long as I can continue to do that, then I feel like that I’m being the best artist that I can be.

CTC: Final Words

Madchild: I want to thank everybody that bought Silver Tongue Devil. I don’t think they understand how much of difference they’re making when they actually go out and buy an album, when it’s so easy to get music for free. All these independent artists that are so dope and they put so much into their music, when fans buy our music, they’re literally keeping the underground alive! They’re showing the industry who pay attention to all this shit, that the kind of music/Hip-Hop that we make, still not only matters, but that we’re flourishing, we’re not going anywhere! We’re taking over! That is fucking important, because there are cultures/subculture that have been around for thirty years and they just die. With the support of the fans/family going out and actually buying albums, they are saving what we believe and what we love. I want to thanks fans from the bottom of my heart, for actually buying my album with their hard earned dollars. Words can’t describe how much that I appreciate it! This is not a sob story, I’m telling you the straight fucking facts.

The day that people stop supporting what we do, that’s the day that the sheep win and the wolves die. What I mean by that is, the sheep are the ones that will listen to whatever that is put in front of them on the radio. And that’s the man/the machine, the rich high people that decide on what gets put on the radio/what’s going be popular and the sheep just accept it. The wolves are the ones that go out and find the music for themselves and become part of movements. They find music that they love and believe in. They live that lifestyle to the fullest! Those are the wolves!

Interviewer: Chad Thomas Carsten

Websites:

• Battle Axe Warriors