Sup juggalos and juggalettes and ninjas worldwide. It’s your boy BeZerk here, once again with some fresh flavory freshness for your bitch asses. I’ve stated in many interviews that I got much love and respect for the Chi Town scene, so once again, I dug thru the virtual streets of the Windy City and found something real good.

Coming out of the Chi, Mission:16 has done over 200 shows from the Midwest to the East Coast. They have gotten to open for and work with some of the following: Anybody Killa, Project Born, Primer 55, Motown Rage, Awesome Dre, Critical Bill, Bizzy Bone, SenDog of Cypress Hill, Saint Dog, Hopsin, Axe Murder Boyz, Prozak, Mastamind of NATAS, Blaze Ya Dead Homie, The DRP, and Mars. Which is a very impressive list.

You know me juggalos, I pretty much let you decide for yourself of what you like, but I advise you check this out for a fresher sound than what is usually put out. So without further ado, here’s Beast and Steevy aka Mission:16.

Interview for: Mission:16
Members: Beast, Steevy
Real Names: Matt Pole, Steve Degaf
From: Chicago, IL
Rolls With: C.R.A.C.K.

Faygoluvers: How did you guys come up with the name Mission:16? Why not Mission:15 lol?

Mission:16: We wanted to incorporate the 16, because as any MC will tell you 16 bars is what we have to present our art. As far as the Mission, well the mission was always to kill every 16 we wrote. So, there you have it “Mission:16” Our stage names are Steevy and Beast well Steevy is a misspelling of Stevey written by a close friend of mine, and I decided when he passed away I would always hold onto that. Beast is a name that I chose because everyone around me always said I was some kinda beast all bearded and fat haha you know so i rolled with it.

Faygoluvers: Who do you guys consider as an influence?

Beast: Personally the one person that made me want to rap was Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park. He showed me that you can be a fuckin rocker and still spit an ice cold flow. As far as what I listen to, well that’s a really mixed bag. I love metal Slayer and Hatebreed are two of my favorite bands, and my scream is highly influenced by Randy Blythe from Lamb of God. On the hip-hop side I’ve always been a real big Bone Thugs fan since I was a little kid. Of course I cannot forget my juggalo roots. I’ve been bumpin ICP since the 3rd grade and have no intention of stopping rocking my hatchet. Much love to all of Psychopathic.

Steevy: To be general about the matter 90’s hip-hop is a real big influence for me, whether it is East, West, South, or Midwest, so much great music has come from this era it would be too long to get specific. Midwest horrocore has a large influenece as well which is reflected on some of the material we produce. When it comes to the rock genre, I perfer Classic rock and 90’s grunge to the other sub-genres of rock. And last but not least the Psychopathic family has change my outlook on music greatly. I’ve been down since 99′ and ever since and have made love for every Lo and Lette out there.

Faygoluvers: What is your guys’ favorite Faygo flavor?

Beast: My favorite faygo flavor was Candy Apple Faygo. I cant get it here in Chicago anymore, but it was that SHIT. I will take RedPop as my Favorite in its place however

Steevy: Peach Faygo, I will take Pineapple as a back up.

Faygoluvers: How long have you guys been doing music? Both individually and as a group?

Beast: I’ve been writin flows and performin’ in lil bands and shit since I was 12. So shit 12 years now? Yessir. And Mission:16 has been rollin’ since July ’09

Steevy: I began writing small poems in grammar school, but I started writing 16’s in 07′ and laying them down in the booth in 09′.

Faygoluvers: Who have you guys had the chance to work with?

Mission:16: Our resume grows longer and longer, including performances with the likes of Anybody Killa, Project Born, Primer 55, Motown Rage, Awesome Dre, Critical Bill, Bizzy Bone, SenDog of Cypress Hill, Saint Dog, Hopsin, Axe Murder Boyz, Prozak, Mastamind of NATAS, Blaze Ya Dead Homie, The DRP, Mars, and many many more. We have collabs with many local artists including Kids in the Stereo, Decept, Psycho of Slumhouse records, Dark Half of LSP, Etcetera (who’s interview and info you can find here as well).

Faygoluvers: Who would you guys like to work with in the future?

Mission:16: We’d like to work with anybody who takes their music seriously. This shit is not for everybody and we have no qualms pointing out when it ain’t for YOU.

Faygoluvers: What do you guys think makes you unique from other groups or artists?

Mission:16: Our live show stands out very much from anybody else out there we would like to think. Our show is very high energy we have set up skits and shit we do during songs adding a theatrical level to our onstage perfromances. We’re not just some rappers standing on the stage rocking back and forth. Throw that shit out the window we’re all up in your face and all over the stage. Also were not talkin about the same ol shit like everybody else.. money and bitches and yadayadayada were also not all blood and guts all the time either.

Faygoluvers: You guys have a new album coming up called “No Filler All Flow.” What can the juggalos expect from this album?

Mission:16: Our fellow juggalos can expect to hear a lot of raw emotion, cold flows and heavy bass laden beats. Also we hope people really LISTEN, we stay lyrical and want to make people think…bust out ya dictionaries people. When we say No Filler All Flow we mean NO skits NO bullshit NO repeats NO candy ass CRAP gettin in the way of the pure lyrical flow and ingenuity brought to ya.

Faygoluvers: What other projects do you guys have in the works? Any other CDs, solo projects, mixtapes, merch, or music videos coming out?

Mission:16: There is a looot of stuff in the works in the world of Mission:16. We’re already planning ahead to our next album and Steevy is planning a mixtape of his own featuring a lot of Beast of course. Beast has small side projects slated for next year with Etcetera (also of C.R.A.C.K.) and Shannon Pounds of Kids in the Stereo. We will be featured on a bunch of peoples mixtapes from all around the city as well this summer. There is a video in the works right now for a yet unreleased C.R.A.C.K. single “Funerals for Dummies”. T-shirts will be available later on this summer

Faygoluvers: You guys have a couple big shows coming up including one with Prozak in Chicago and one with Psycho Jesus (returning to the game motherfuckas) and Mars in Milwaukee. What can you say you expect from these shows, and what other shows do you guys have?

Mission:16: We regularly preform at open mics in and around Chicago, so make sure you check out our Facebook and Reverbnation pages for updates on those. As far at the Prozak and Mars shows we have comin up you can expect a high level of energy, and some never before performed tracks so make sure you make it out to those… Prozak will be appearing with us at Reggie’s Rock Club 21st and State St in Chicago, IL and the Mars/ Psycho Jesus show will be at The Rave in Milwaukee. We’ve got tickets for both so feel free to hit us up

Faygoluvers: Shout outs?

Mission:16: Shout outs to everybody who ever helped us make our way big shouts to C.R.A.C.K. Banned From Chaos, Q-Storm and King Midas, Kids in the Stereo Tipsy Sasquatch, Dark Half, Big Decept, Slumhouse Records, the Ghost Clique, Lil Head Productionz, Tiger O’Stylie’s for lettin us do whatever the fuck we want, all the BEAST’S East Siders, our Friends and Family thanks for always havin our backs and bein there for us.

Websites:
Mission:16 @ Facebook
Mission:16 @ ReverbNation
Mission:16 @ Myspace