Learning Series 2 - Beyond Basics - week 8 — Philadelphia Furniture Workshop
Beginner 3 - Ladderback Chair - week 4 (evenings) Raydar Ellis: Off the Radar - Exclusive Hip Hop News, Interviews, Rumors, Rap & Music Videos | Allhiphop
Raydar Ellis: Oh yeah, definitely  in life. Growing up in a mostly white, New Jersey neighborhood, [I went] to an all-black college, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. When I first got down there, kickin it with MCs and all that, they were like, Why you talk like that? – things of that nature. Can you send a lil bit more urban? It was like actors on casting-calls. Its funny that you brought up the minstrel thing and Little Brother, because I didnt really wanna compare myself as an MC doing it, I wanted to talk about the actors element. A lot of people equate sambo as slang for sellout.
Raydar Ellis: Yeah! We all know I Gotta Have It and we all know Be a Father and stuff, but like, that line struck me. I was a freshman in college. That was a turning point for me. That was one of the first times I started looking at [Ed O.G.] like that, and started digging at where he was coming from as a writer. The same thing with 7L and Esoteric  I first found out about them online. I was bumping Word Association in my dorm and stuff. The writing and rhythmic patterns that Eso was using, it really struck me. I studied that. At that time, Brick [Records] was still distributed by Landspeed. Looking at the Landspeed catalog which was like The Beatnuts, Freddie Foxxx, 7L and Eso, I was like, Damn! That brought me towards the Boston Hip-Hop stuff, and then the Mr. Lifs and others, it helped me deal with what was going on at the time. Most of my campus was coming into the Crunk era at the time  the Bia Bia and Cash Money and all of that.
AllHipHop.com: Five years ago, you were in a dorm room discovering your present-day peers. Today, youve got a premier record on a respected independent label. For those closet-MC dreamers out there, got a word of advice?
Raydar Ellis: You have to live it, but living is learning. For people trying to get into this industry, one thing that is key is to immerse yourself in it. Theres kids out there that write 16 bars, write a hook, and get a beat, and think thats it. Theres kids out there that do a flare [scratch], do some stabs, and think, Im a DJ. Theres kids [relying] on Serato. It wont be long til some kids have no clue of what vinyl is. You gotta love this culture! When youre worried about your single charting, your show booking, your distribution, thats all youve got to look to, like I love this. br>