MVRemix: In your new work, do you feel youre bringing a new style to your songs?
MC Paul Barman: When I first started I couldnt understand the emphasis like style was a good thing. I always thought if youve got style, the opposite is substance. And if youre concentrating on style, youre not concentrating on substance. Now, I understand that style can be a great thing, and so Im trying to come with more or less a different style every song. Although as a whole I would say my style is much more direct which means less third person storytelling, much more from the heart because Im more in contact with my own heart. And with a science theme. Im now able to present information. I was really upset when I saw that some of my songs were not as mentally nourishing as they could be, especially since I kind of have objected to the blather on the radio. Also, I think theres been a lot more crazy ass lying in the world, so it just seems that telling the truth is a lot more profound. The album is called Tears of Joy. I was just talking to my buddy the other day about how comedy is just the shit. Its the best. Nothing could possibly be better than making someone laugh. And its also by far the hardest thing to do. Now, theres a thin contrast there which is ironic distance, is an easy thing to do. So my new album will have a lot of work thats not funny. And for me thats a big achievement, but then again I know that funny is the greatest aspiration. So I guess theres kind of a conflict there.
MVRemix: Whos doing the production on Tears of Joy?
MC Paul Barman: Well the stuff Im playing you is by Casual T from Cincinnati. And he was my DJ at the Toronto gig at the Over the Top fest. Other producers are Bimos, Al Obregon, actually I should say Clusaki, Chopped Herring and Dub L. And Prince Paul and I are going to do something and there will be some guest MCs that arent confirmed, and other producers as well.
MVRemix: What type of equipment do your producers use?
MC Paul Barman: Regular stuff, most people I work with use MPCs, Tek-12s and pro tools.
MVRemix: On Paullelujah, on track 3, you say, I started rhyming when radio was unbearably lame.
MC Paul Barman: Well first of all I was kind of biting Jay Z. Because one of my favorite rhymes from him is the Hova outro. [He then proceeds to rap the Hova outro.] He sampled Jimi Hendrix just to be like, I could kick the illest rhyme and sample the most expensive record. Because I could afford it, cause Im the best MC." That wasnt on the radio when I started writing, what Im talking about is, for me, there was kind of dead period between the end of the Golden Period and before Wu-Tang which is the only time I stopped listening to hip hop more or less.
MVRemix: What years would you say marked the end of the Golden Period?
MC Paul Barman: Well, I would never say there was nothing good at the time, I just didnt have access to it. I think anytime you categorically dismiss a genre, like a lot of people say, I hate gospel, or I hate opera, or I hate country. Thats impossible, because there are so many great artists in each of those genres. Someone who understands you, and has a wide knowledge of that music needs to bring you some, I guarantee youll find some. I guess Im talking about like 1990 to 1993. But a lot of peoples favorite hip hop came from the early 90s. That was before there was Blazing hip hop and R&B was on every station.
MVRemix: I read in an interview that you said you would like to work with Fresh Prince, or at least with Fresh Prince in his early days.
MC Paul Barman: Well Jazzy Jeff is one of the best producers of all times. And Will Smith, first of all, how in the world are you going to front on Hes the DJ and Im the Rapper? I absolutely love that album and when I got it I ran to get Rock the House which I had on tape and I cant find it. [He seems really angry that he cant find the tape, which is understandable]. I mean, Will Smith, come on, hes a mastermind. He bubbled from the bottom to the very top. Hes broadly knowledgeable, he skipped college. You should check out an interview with him in Wired, he talks about computers and stuff. Ill send you the link or something. [He does send me the link]. I dont remember saying that, but it kind of reminds of saying things youre not supposed to say.
MVRemix: Would you ever consider putting out an early 90s style album with Arrested Development?
MC Paul Barman: I guess so. Those are talented guys and girls. When you say early 90s, I think Ive kind of been stuck in being in love with the sampled sound and digging for records. So maybe the answer is actually no. Check it out, its the gay parade today. It looks like these are some stragglers. [This needs explanation. It was the Gay Pride Parade in New York and MC Paul B is distracted and intrigued by what seems to be two lesbian teenagers with rainbow flags that he sees outside the window.] Im thinking that maybe that format that I fell in love with from the late 80s is maybe not so fresh anymore. I hate to say it. I think a lot of people have been saying it for a long time, maybe now Im feeling it a little bit. So with plenty of exceptions Im kind of feel that way. So this album Im working on is going to be like a hip hop blow out. And then the one after that will have no samples, all live instruments and Im starting work on that one too.
MVRemix: How did you meet MF Doom?
MC Paul Barman: I met Doom through Prince Paul.
MVRemix: Describe the events that led up to Prince Paul showing interest in your work, after hearing Enter Pan-Man. And describe how you reacted.
MC Paul Barman: Its pretty simple. I pressed up 500 copies of the 7. Actually it was more like 550 cause they said they couldnt stop the machine in time and it chugs out a few extras and I was like, whatever I ordered 500, then I had to get more covers printed out. Ive told this story a million times. I printed up the 7 in time for the Risdee Student Sale in 98, which was on Benefit Street on a beautiful spring day. And I sent them to a few people, Williard Espy, whose wife returned it to me and said he was too blind to read it, and I was like, but its a record. I sent it to David Foster Wallace, whose book The Broom of the System I was really impressed by. And he sent me a nice note which I cant find. And to Prince Paul which I sent care of Tommy Boy. And as Ive told many people over the years, if you ever want to get something to somebody, and you dont know their address, dont fucking bug friends of friends till you get something thats not your right to have. Just find out who theyre affiliated with whether its their publishing group or their record company which at the time was Tommy Boy and put C/O which is care of. And its federal mandate that it eventually reaches that person. Then again, with hip hop who knows? It might go in the fucking trash, cause everyone is fucking insane. I think I didnt know about Psychoanalysis and in 98 I was kind of like, where the hell is Prince Paul? I didnt understand what was going on with De La and after 3 Feet High and Rising, he was somebody I was really waiting for the new records to come out all the time. So anyway, I just thought, you know what, I bet Prince Paul would like it, simple as that. And its really a testament to him that he got Enter Pan-Man cause I knew that was the good one. But its on side b, so he had to get through side a, he had to really give me a chance a few times. So then I got a letter, at the time I was living in Queens, and I knew it was from him cause of the envelope. And I couldnt believe it, I was so excited, I ran around my apartment in circles before I opened it and I had his contacts and we started up a phone relationship. Then he asked me to meet him at a club, not that far from here. So we were initially going to do one song, then an album, then an EP, which I wrote while I was living in Chapel Hill North Carolina.
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