For more information on PackFM, read our old 2001 interview and check out PackFM.com

MVRemix: It has to be asked, but properly - what does the F.M. stand for - and why is it packed?

PackFM: Good one, I'll get right on it

MVRemix: Really though, can you explain your moniker?

PackFM: Well the story goes like this, as a kid I was into the NYC graffiti scene. The older kids on the block wouldnt let me go bombing with them because I didnt have a tag of my own. So I looked across the street at a packaging warehouse and just chose the name "pack". People always called me that since then. The FM crew came about later in high school. Since people already called me "Pack" and my tag was Pack FM, I just kept the name when I started to rap.

MVRemix: Please tell me we'll be seeing the album this year.

PackFM: You will defnitely be seeing a PackFM full length non mixtape, official rap album this year. This summer if we're lucky. I've been working on this album "whutduzFMstand4?" for maybe the past 5 years and every year I throw away like 6 songs and start over, but now I'm at a point where the album is following a certain formula and I'm really happy with how it's shaping up. The fans will be pleased.

MVRemix: Can you give me some more details - concepts, featured guests and such?

PackFM: Well it's definitely a little more than the average fan would expect from me. It's more than just 15 tracks about how nice I am. I cover alot of things that happen to me in life. It's not all "deep", but it's shit thatI go through like being late for everything or things that happen at shows. It's actually somewhat of a solo E-Famm album, lots of fun but it has way more edge to it. I kept the appearances in the family. I didnt want people buying my album just because MC Famous is on it, that's what "Featured Material" is for.

MVRemix: QN5 publicize 2005 as Qthousan5, elaborate on that.

PackFM: Well the obvious definition of it would be "The Year of QN5". However it's also a movement we're starting. "The New HipHop" is a phrase that we've associated with "QthousaN5" where we're trying to make sure that instead of taking hiphop back as so many people seem to be caught up in, we take hiphop forward and try to do something new constantly. Each month in QthousaN5 is slated to give the fans some form of new hiphop, be it shows or album and single releases. So far we've kept our word in doing so.

MVRemix: What inspired the "Featured Material" compilations? Why did you decide to put them before your debut?

PackFM: The first "Featured Material" mix cd was done in 2001. I had a buzz going around then from all the battles I'd been in, but I wanted to prove to people that I knew how to make songs. So I gathered all the tracks I recorded from 1998 to 2001 and compiled a "best of" mix cd for the fans. It included battles of me against some of the most popular underground mc's so kids were quick to pick it up. The quality of the tracks on that cd were not up to the standards that I gained working with QN5 so I did a second installment which featured all of the B side singles I'd done from 2001-2003. Eventually there was a popular demand for me to do a Featured Material Vol.3., so I decided to make it special and record a few songs specifically for it and have DJ JS-1 mix them all together. I'm probably one of the first MC's to ever release a nationally distributed 12" single off a bootleg.

MVRemix: Whatever happened to the planned video's for E-F@mm's EP?

PackFM: The Extended F@mm project was such a blurr for me. It came at a time when all four of us wanted to establish our names as solo mc's, so it was hard for us to focus on the "Happy F*ck You Songs" EP promotion as well as our own careers as soloists. Eventually we all decided to just put the group on the back burner until our own agenda's were complete.

MVRemix: Did Skillz finally wrapping up 2004 after you annoy you?

PackFM: Not at all. The only reason I did my version was because someone told me he wasnt going to. I knew the fans wanted a "rap-up" so I figured I'd step in and fill the void. The track got me alot of recognition that I'm happy for, but the rap-up is Skill'z thing, I don't want to be known asthe "rap-up" guy anymore than he does.

MVRemix: What will you do if another interviewer references your battling?

PackFM: Well like I said before, that's one of the thing's I'm known for, so I expect it. It just bothers me that I havent battled in years and I've put out enough records to at least give them another topic to discuss. The truth is that most people don't even check for your music, they just check for your buzz. So the buzz around PackFM is he won alot of battles. I just wish the interviewers would read the rest of my bio.

MVRemix: What are your thoughts on [unreliable] promoters?

PackFM: I'm a promoter myself here in NYC. I understand what promoters go through more than the average artist does. I can usually see a bad show coming about a mile away. Some people who throw shows are fans, not promoters and dont have a grasp of what it takes to fill a venue. So there have been many times when I travel 2000 miles to perform for about 30 people and it can look bad on the artists like "Man all he can get is 30 heads? Brother Ali sold this venue out last week" The truth of a situation like that is that if there was a Brother Ali show one week before, chances are all those kids who went spent all their money on the tickets and buying merchendise and cant afford to go to another show one week later. A smart promoter who really wants to bring an artist like me out would add me to the Brother Ali show.

MVRemix: Everyone has a certain selection of music they revert back to every now and again to relax or reflect. What material do you revert back to every once in a while?

PackFM: I love classic Hip Hop music. I broke out all my older cassettes the other day and just listened to all the music that inspired me to be the mc that I am today. It ranges from old Common Sense to Natural Elements freestyles off the radio. I just like to listen to what made me a fan and remember what it takes to gain some of my own.

MVRemix: Which movie impacted you the most?

PackFM: I'm not much of a movie buff, 80% of the movies most people have seen I've never watched. I watched "Glory" as a kid and that really showed me a lot about racism and the history of hate that Black people recieved in this country. That always stuck with me.

MVRemix: A la "Fight Club," "If you could fight any celebrity, who would you fight"?

PackFM: Mini Me because I'd probably kick his ass easily.

MVRemix: Aside from the album, what else are you working on?

PackFM: That's my main focus now. I'm actually turning down a lot of projects so that I can focus. At this point every single rhyme I create has to go towards "whutduzFMstand4?"

MVRemix: Any last words to fans or potential fans that are going to be reading this?

PackFM: Sup y'all.