I guess to start things off for those who aren’t familiar, who is Intrinzik? Can you tell us a little about yourself, some of the things you’ve done, etc?

I got my foot in the juggalo/underground door in 2002 when my band Fallguy opened up on several southwest and west coast dates for Twiztid’s “Mirror Mirror” tour. Our song “Getchoskymaskon” was a huge hit in the underground and I rode that success to start a solo career in 2003 with my solo debut album “Double U I Double L.” Throughout the years I have been doing shows and records with some of the biggest names in the scene and have built the Underground Hustlin’ brand to be a household name in the genre.

What’s new, what’s changed with you since you started doing all this years ago?

I have completely changed on a personal level through a raw food and yoga path and that has expanded my awareness tremendously. When I started this journey it was only about “What can I do for myself and my band/team?” Now it is all about “What can I do for others?” This shift has led me to start my artist services company, Underground Hustlin’, and led to huge amounts of success and rewards.

You’ve had Underground Hustlin’ running strong for a while now, can you explain a little what UGH is?

UGH started strictly as a CD compilation series that artists could submit music to, pay a fee and get hard copies to sell and distribute. Since its inception, UGH has blossomed into a full blown artist services company and the compilation itself has exploded leading to huge hosts, artist features, an annual playing card series and tons of other services within the service. I am the A/R and sales department of the company and McNastee is the art and marketing side of it. The combination of the two of us is an unstoppable force.

What services does UGH offer to artists?

McNastee and I have been working for years behind the scenes to strengthen our relationships with artists and labels of all caliber, manufactures of all items needed to promote an artist/brand identity and also perfecting our own music, art, sales and communication skills. We can pretty much offer an outlet for anything an aspiring and established artist needs not limited to graphic design, CD/DVD replication, flyer/sticker/poster printing, audio mixing/mastering, collaborations, booking, management, video production, and the UGH compilation services. We excel at high quality, fast turn around and competitive pricing on the full gamut of services we offer.

You’re coming up on UGH Volume.. 50, is it now? I remember Volume 1, and looking at where they are now, the mixtape series has come a long way. How did you first come up with the concept, and to what do you attribute it’s continued success?

I remember clear as day waiting for a plane from Austin, TX to Phoenix, AZ after a show at SSXW with Tech N9ne. I was talking with my hype man at the time about how many big shows we have been doing and how small the percentage of people at those shows were leaving with our music. We had 2 more huge shows with Tech N9ne coming up and I said that from now on we should do something to where more people were leaving with our music in their hands than the headliners. I called up maybe 10 artists in our area and offered to put their song on 2,000 promo CDs to be passed out at the next few shows for $100 each. At the time the artists didn’t even get copies of the CD. By the time the first one was out there was already a huge demand for a 2nd.

I got AMB and Phunk Junkeez to donate a song for UGH2 and filled that one up even quicker than the 1st. From there it just got out of control. We were pushing UGH2 at a Hatchet Attacks pre-party in Denver with Dark Lotus and filled up UGH3 at that very show. The first 7 volumes of UGH had no hosting or even mastering. I just put the songs in a CD burning software program and pressed them up. After a while we started putting more effort into the packaging, audio quality and marketing of the product and by UGH8 we had transitioned to having our CDs hosted and mastered.

A big turning point was UGHX. I had a friend of mine who was getting into porn offer to host UGHX. By the time the CD was full and ready for hosting she went MIA. This caused me to reach out to Ron Jeremy to see if he would host in her place. At the time the price tag was too much for me but I maintained a relationship with his manager and by the time UGHXX was ready, we had the cash to make it happen. UGHXX was huge in so many ways that it pretty much put our product in a position where nobody could touch it. Since then we expanded the operation to offer artist avatars on the CD artwork with different themes such as poker cards, horror trading cards, clay action figures and so much more. If I have an idea I bounce it off McNastee and he takes it to the next level. A UGH CD now makes our artists the stars and the hosts more of a support function.

By doing so many projects with so much trial and error we positioned ourselves to offer these services to all of the artists who submitted tracks to our releases. There is a huge learning curve every time you try something new and we are able to bypass all of that pain and time-wasting for our artists when they needs something done efficiently.

I tell everyone that I am not a talent judge (ie Simon Cowell) and that I am a facilitator. THAT is the #1 factor contributing to our success. We work with EVERY artist who has a passion and desire to be involved with the UGH brand. A lot of people ask if there is going to be “whack” artists on our CDs. All I can say about that is a lot of people think Intrinzik is “whack” and that is not stopping me from being part of this project. When you put your ego aside is when real success manifests. Most artists can’t objectively sit down with their records and give them a fair critique because they are emotionally invested in their music. I have been calling this “First Band Syndrome” for years. When I was in punk bands it was so obvious who was in their first band because they were so disconnected from their position in the music world. This is why you have so much turmoil amongst underground artists because they all think they are the best or they deserve all of the shows/opportunities. It is when you can see through that illusion that the real magic starts to happen. By giving ALL artists the opportunity to be heard the “whack” artists become able to assess their situation compared to the “dope” artists and the “dope” artists can sell the “whack” artists verses and slots on their shows. You need dark to know light and you need “whack” to know “dope.” So when an artist asks me that kind of question I know they do not see the big picture.

The team of artists I have assembled are not only good musicians but AWESOME people. At the end of the day I can’t keep putting out mixtape after mixtape if I don’t have the support of my customer base. That keeps me and McNastee on our toes in terms of who we get to host, what kind of packages we put together and how fresh we can keep our image over the years. It’s all about evolution.

You’ve had a wide variety of hosts on the Underground Hustlin’ mixtapes, everyone from Snoop Dogg to Ron Jeremy.. Who were some of the other big names you’ve had host, and who would you say has been your favorite so far?

They are all my favorite because they all present themselves with obstacles and rewards. If people only knew some of the things I had to go through to get these bigger names to turn in the final hosting files they would send me a thank you card. At the end of the day each one is a lesson in patience and an opportunity to strengthen my skills as a person and businessman. To get to UGH 50 you need UGH 1 – 49 so to label any of these releases as a non-favorite would be doing my brand a disservice. For those who don’t know we have had the following hosts: Menacide, McNastee, Intrinzik, Delusional, Jason Porter, Jay Reno, Mars, Ron Jeremy, Cappadonna, Krizz Kaliko, Daisy De La Hoya, Esham, DGAF, Marz, Snoop featured on a single, Potluck, Prozak, Spice 1, Bizarre, Axe Murder Boyz, MC Eiht, Pakelika, Necro, Boondox, Brotha Lynch Hung, Kung Fu Vampire, Mastamind, King Gordy, Kutt Calhoun, DJ Clay, and CES Cru.

Do you intend to keep UGH going, or have you planned an eventual cut-off point for the series?

I see no limits. In my promo videos I always say that this is the beginning of UGH. We are expanding in so many ways now and will eventually have a TV show and a DVD series. Along with the services and compilation we have now, UGH is going to expand massively. As our artists become more and more well known we will be able to pull from our recourse pool to have our own hosts and tour headliners. I see the UGH compilation as a farm series for the underground. I see it every day. A UGH artist joins a big tour. A UGH artist collabs with a huge artist. Nobody cares about the non-Psychopathic, non-Strange, non-Subnoize artist like we do. But these artists are the future and its obvious. There are so many awesome artists out there who have yet to host a UGH CD and I will not stop until they all have. The bigger we get the easier it will be to afford bigger hosts and features. UGH is also a place these bigger labels look because our artsits are good at handling business and in this business, business is usually more important than music.

Besides Underground Hustlin’, you’ve been working on another personal “come-back” project. Would you want to tell us a little about that?

One day it just hit me that Sicktanick and I have been friends for so long but have never done anything musically together. I hit him up and said I would be down to do another album if he handled the beat making side of it. After working with his team at the Sick Beats, we put together a pretty dope collection of instrumentals which eventually became the “Real Time” album. Along with Sick, another producer named C4 helped make some custom beats to my visions. It has been a long time in the making because UGH will always be my top priority. Once I gained some steam I knocked out 12 tracks with very few collaborations. I tried to make “Real Time” as interactive as possible by posting lots of video blogs and Facebook stuff for fans to contribute ideas and feedback to.

Is there an overall concept or theme to the ‘Real Time’ album?

There really is not. At first it was going to be like a farewell album but once I penned the title track “Real Time” I got a very strong desire to stay in the game. So you will have half of the tracks reflecting back on my career and wanting to quit being a rapper and you will have another half of the album which focuses on controversial topics and inspirational stuff. It is a pretty schizophrenic album and I think the cover to it ties it all tougher perfectly.

Now you’ve been working with Sicktanick and C4 on the behind-the-scenes production for ‘Real Time,’ but who are some of the artists (besides yourself) we can look forward to hearing on the album?

As I mentioned there are very few collabos on this album. This time around I didn’t want to rely on big names to get attention, I wanted to give some shine to the UGH artists I enjoyed over the years. I have a song with Genghis Ganj, Sick and Raz, Insane LOC and of course McNastee. I also have a chick named Yael doing a sick hook for a song called “I’m Done.” A lot of the songs are so personal it’s really hard to add other people to.

I understand you have an Indie-GoGo campaign running right now in support of ‘Real Time,’ can you tell the readers what you have going on with that?

In a nutshell I am offering fans the chance to get advanced digital copies of “Real Time,” full digital Intrinzik libraries, personalized autographed “collectors” versions of “Real Time,” their name in the CD insert of “Real Time,” their names shouted out at the end of one of the songs on “Real Time,” their image and likeness expressed as a GTA character drawn by McNastee in the art of “Real Time,” UGH CD packages, Collaborations, custom instrumentals and the microphone I recorded the album on. To get the full idea of what’s going on I put together a ridiculous promo video and it can be seen at the campaign’s page at www.tinyurl.com/INTGogo

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3mpk_Gavnw[/youtube]

How do you feel this new album compares to your previous ones? Obviously you’ve had a lot of experiences, been through some changes, but as far as your style and sound, can we expect classic INT demeanor or is this a “new artist” emerging?

It defiantly is like a “Tricks of the Trade” part 2. There are slamming beats and my signature voice on top of them. The subject matter is a little less narcissistic and the beats are more up-to-date but I think that is the best comparison I can make. It was fun to get back to the roots and not have such detailed song arrangements with rock musicians accompanying it. Beats and Rhymes baby!

What prompted you to want to make ‘Real Time?’ Was it a long process that came together over time, or did you sit and decide to write an album? What was that song-writing process like?

I felt like it was time to do something. I wanted to stay relevant. The song-writing process was very slow at the beginning but once I got in the groove I started cranking out 3 verses in one sitting with very little revision. Once I wrote “Real Time” I re-discovered my love for making rap music and the rest of the album finished itself. I don’t think I will ever wait that many years (4-5) between albums again.

Now we mentioned it had been a minute since you last released a full length album, did everything still feel natural to you, or were the first few steps like doing it all over again?

Everything is totally different now because you need so many elements to releasing a successful project in 2013/2014. I felt like I was writing songs that would be easy to adapt as music videos. You need to build hype up for so much longer because people’s attention spans have shrunk to basically zero now and they are infiltrated with so much span in email, facebook, sms, Twitter and so on. I offered a cypher opportunity for UGH artists to be featured on the album’s bonus track and also the Indie Go Go campaign to allow those fans the opportunity to contribute more to the project than just a pre-order.

You have one video out for ‘Real Time,’ do you plan on putting out any others? Or releasing any more singles before the album drops?

We are going to shoot a few more videos for sure. I have a song called “Why U Mad” which is kind of like a tribute to Pantera and also a dialogue going on inside my brain about self love and self loathing. It is one long conversation between my consciousness and my ego. A lot of people will think it’s a “hater” song but that is only the very surface level of it. I think we are aiming at getting a video for the song “Michael Jordan” and “Dark Sermon” as well. We shall see over the next month or two how much we can cram in.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohwG7f0ykrM[/youtube]

What was the making of the “Real Time” video like? Did you already have a concept, or did the video kind of direct itself?

I wanted the whole video to take place in a social media timeline and show that although computers have turned us into computer-like zombies, they are also very useful tools in making art and broadcasting information. The original editor I was working with had that capability but he did not have his heart in the project. I then sent the footage to Alex at Doenut and he put his own spin onto it. The Kutt Calhoun cameo was a last minute thing. He was in our studio recording the collab with Chuck E Lee and he offered to do a few shots to add him as a character that added to the video’s plot tremendously. The whole video was shot on a cell phone and if you look closely features a lot of my Facebook network and UGH artist clay figures that McNastee made for the DJ Clay volume. All the comments and hidden gems make it a video worthy of several views.

Was there anything else you wanted to say about the ‘Real Time’ album? What is the projected release date?

I am trying to get it out by the end of 2013 and don’t see any major roadblocks at the time. There are tons of ways for fans and artists to connect with me and get involved with the project. I have no problem with anyone hitting me up with ideas or questions about how they can get involved.

The album was a blast to work on and I grew so much personally over the 2 years it took that the listener will be able to hear the transformation. I am not going to say the clichéd “It is my best album to date” but I will say it definitely contains some of my best songs to date. I would much rather listeners come to their own conclusions.

What else is in store for Intrinzik and UGH? Any big plans for the near future?

All I can really say is we are working to make UGH50 the biggest thing we have ever done. It will coincide with the release to the 2014 poker card deck which is already light years ahead of the 2013 in terms of designs and artist features. Stay tuned and the host will be announced very soon!

I also have a project I am working on with Crossworm called “UGHLY” and it will be out in 2014/2015. We have only discussed ideas at this point but I know it will be much more eclectic than “Real Time.”

What are some ways fans can get ahold of you and find your music?

www.undergroundhustlin.com

www.facebook.com/Intrinzik6T7

www.twitter.com/Intrinzik6T7 

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 480-326-4426

I definitely want to thank you for taking the time to do this, we at Faygoluvers certainly appreciate it. I guess to wrap this up, did you have any last words?

First off I want to thank FLH for having my back since Fallguy came on the scene in the early 2000s. I can’t count the times that I have met fans who heard about me through that old version of FLH that had Fallguy and Intrinzik in the artist list along with ICP, Twiztid, Blaze, ABK, etc. That was a huge boost and FLH has also helped me move so many CDs on the store. FLH is an awesome site run by awesome people!

Much love to all the fans and artists who continue to support INT and UGH. You guys are the reason I keep doing this stuff!  Peace out ya’ll.. “Real Time” is coming!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa