MVRemix: For those that are now hearing about you for the first time, tell us about yourself?
Zhaoski: I’m a D.J. / Emcee/ Producer from Detroit; I started out producing in 1989 with a rap group call M.C. Swift & DJ T.E.C.H. I was DJ T.E.C.H. (which stands for The Extra-ordinary Chosen Hands). Around 1998 I became part of the Track-e-zoids production team who has done tracks for One Be Lo, Majestik Legend, Elzhi, Juice (from Chicago), and many others from the Michigan Hip Hop scene. I’m currently working with Big A. on the “Conscious Gangsta” album and Solomon Caine on the U.K.version of my U.S. album produced by Solomon Caine from London & a couple joints by E.N.V.O.Y. from Canada. Aside from that I’m simply about edutainment, growth, and empowerment for the people.
MVRemix: Tell me about your B-Boying history and the Southfield Floormasters. How did that group name come about?
Zhaoski: That was back in my school days; I was a youngster and much more daring.
I was the head spin king, I once sprained my neck trying a hallow move, my Mom was pissed. The name was base off the New York City Breakers original name the Floormasters and we lived near Southfield freeway, so we just put the two together.
MVRemix: How did you get into graffiti and where did the tag ZoRo originate?
Zhaoski: I use to know a couple kids from the suburbs who did mad burners, I was only good at tagging my name ZoRo which was me wanting to be like Lee from the movie “Wild Style” and I only threw it up in my hood behind a couple of buildings nothing major.
MVRemix: How important do you feel networking is to independent artists?
Zhaoski: It’s everything, being independent in some cases means less resources and less money to work with, so you have to wear more hats and come out of your shell and not just talk to people but connect and build relationships with fans, vendors, fellow artist, etc.
MVRemix: As a songwriter, who has influenced you?
Zhaoski: Of course there’s the unusual famous influence like Nas, KRS 1, etc. but personally cats like One Be Lo has shown me how to build songs and concepts, Magestik Legend has shown me it’s more to hip hop than just writing lyrics, he’s amazing with his recording techniques. Those are my direct influences.
MVRemix: How does living in the Detroit shape your attitude towards music, art and culture in general?
Zhaoski: It’s a blessing and a curse being from the D. On one hand you have some amazing talent here i.e. J-Dilla, Proof, D-12, Slum Villa, Subterraneous, A.M.L.-Lab Techs, Invincible, Black Milk, Guilty, Finale… the list goes on. But on the other hand, we have no major musical outlets or companies but with the internet we may not need them and the radio is straight bullshit! So we have to work a lot harder to get our music to the mass which is probably why we got that “don’t fuck wit the D” mentality that comes across in our music. What’s really fucked up is, the only ones getting the attention of the majors is Eminem, Kid Rock, and The White Stripes who I support and they all claim to be from one of the Blackest cities in the U.S. You do the math!
MVRemix: How did the name Solomon Caine come to be?
Solomon Caine: The name Solomon caine was something I thought up one day I was looking for a name that fitted my personality so I chose the name Solomon because Solomon had great wisdom and paired it with the name Caine because Caine killed his brother Abel so I feel I got the wisdom along side the dark characteristics of mankind light and dark is a balance like good and evil.
MVRemix: Tell me about the album, "Zhaoski The Prodigy." How did the title come about?
Solomon Caine: Well the title was Zhaoski's idea, I mean listen to the brother rhyme and you can see why it's called The Prodigy.
MVRemix: How long did the record take to record and how planned was it - ie did you set out with a tracklisting and stick to it or record a number of songs and chose a select amount leaving the rest on the "cutting room floor"?
Solomon Caine: This album came out of special circumstances. Zhaoski contacted me and was like, "I got a whole album done. I want you to do the beats." So he just sent it, I got at it and everything just fell into place. Mine and Zhaoski styles are very compatible musically.
MVRemix: What do you wish to achieve with the album?
Solomon Caine: I wish to show people what Zhaoski and myself feel real Hip Hop is and I wish to grow as an artistic force.
MVRemix: Any videos planned?
Solomon Caine: Yeah, when I get time. Most def.
MVRemix: What next do we have to look forward to from you?
Solomon Caine: From me next will be a project with myself and my music partner Envoy with an MC called Infiinito 2017 from Chicago. Zhaoski is working on his next project with his homie Big A. If ya wanna check Myspace music, my address is http://www.myspace.com/9theye and Zhaoski is http://www.myspace.com/zhaoski
MVRemix: Any last words?
Solomon Caine: Yes, keep powerful and positive and don't let people in life ever drag you down peace.
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