Darkside News recently posted an new interview they conducted with MenacE. In this interview MenacE discusses his first taste of the music industry as a roadie for Shootyz Groove and if he is happy with the response his last album “Too hip for the room” received.

He also discusses his opinions on the FBI’s  decision to classify Juggalos as a gang, if he has ever been to the GOTJ and more

You can check out part of this interview below.

From Darksidenewz.weebly.com:

Hey, thanks a lot for taking the time to do this interview. For the people out there who might not be familiar with MenacE do you want to give us a little overview of what it is you are about?

No problem brother it’s my pleasure.  It’s hard for me to imagine there are people who aren’t familiar with me at this point given the overwhelmingly inviting and seductive sex appeal I possess but unfortunately there are many who are still not aware.  My sound is a fusion of hip hop and reggae, I’m sort of the bridge between those two worlds.  Like if Sublime and Eminem had drunken unprotected sex, I would be the love child.  Growing up I was always into the whole California reggae-rock scene, and while a lot of those bands mix hip hop with their sound, I always felt that they all had a more rock n roll approach over all.  Even to this day bands like “The Dirty Heads”; those dudes rap and they’re both awesome MC’s but most people would view them overall as a rock band.  So I always felt there was never a solo artist or a real “reggae-rapper” if you will and I felt compelled to fill that void and mix it with comedy and pop among other things along the way.  I don’t think I consciously am “about” something or stand for anything as an artist but I enjoy encouraging people to not take themselves so seriously, to loosen up, smile and laugh at things a little more.

You got your first taste of the music industry as a roadie for Shootyz Groove, what do you think you learned from that experience and would you say it has had any impact on you as an artist?

That has an insane amount of impact on me as an artist.  First of all Shootyz Groove is one of the most underrated bands in the history of music, period, especially when it comes to the live performance aspect.  They were among the first wave of bands to mix rap and rock in the early 90’s, a scene which didn’t really break on a huge commercial level until the late 90’s, but in my opinion they were the truest and purest form of “Rap/Rock’, and still are to this day.  They were doing a show with Kottonmouth Kings when I met them, they had broken up some years before that but were getting back together performing shows at their fans request.  They had quite a few gigs lined up and they needed some extra hands on the road so I jumped at the opportunity.  I didn’t really know much about them but I soon realized how much respect they had in the game.  So many big bands and industry people know and respect them very much.  311 took them out on the road when they heard they were back together and that was a crazy trip for me to be behind the scenes on a tour like that at such a young age.  Aside from all of that the guys in Shootyz Groove are incredibly smart and have sort of become mentors to me.  Aside from music they have sort of become like big brothers to me on a personal basis.  We still talk frequently to this day,  Dose Big actually played a ton of shit on my album, keys, percussion, guitar etc.

Your last album ‘Too hip for the room’ has been out for a while now, have you been happy with the response to that?

No I’m not happy at all.  I want to sell millions of albums so I can live in a mansion and pass out on a float in my pool with an empty bottle of Jack Daniels floating next to me in the water, at 12 noon.  Until then I will never be happy.

You can check out the full interview by clicking the link below.

Darkside News Interviews MenacE

Websites:

• darksidenewz.weebly.com