Rather than focusing on following in the footsteps to become the next Great White Hope of Hip-Hop, Mic Sol figures to blaze his own trail. With all-respect due to Beastie Boys, 3rd Bass, Eminem and the like–why should an emcee’s success be based on his skin tone. (It’s the music you should be listening to right?) But Yo, don’t let me preach or be your convincer–go peep the chat and you’ll discover (what we already know) that Mic Sol is ‘all-the-way-live’ in any color spectrum. — Capt. Westside

For starters, tell us a little about Mic Sol. How long have you been emceeing and when did your appreciation for hip-hop culture begin? How’d you get the name “Flowgun?”

My name is Mic Sol and I was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. My apppreciation for hip-hop began with Beastie Boys “Licensed To Ill” and Run DMC. After that it was NWA “Straight Outta Compton.” I used to have my older sister buy their tapes for me by flirting with the clerk (she wasn’t old enough to buy them either) at Coconuts (or Peaches) in Broad Ripple, where the organic grocery store is now across from McDonalds.

I had an old rhyme where i called myself the “Flowgun capitalist”, and I dug it up while I was working on my album. I like the double meaning of like a shogun with a microphone as a sword or your mind as a gun spitting lyrical bullets. Once I released the album, people started calling me that.

Tell us a little bit about your background. How did the ‘fascination’ with the artform turn into something you actively participate in? 

My family didn’t have alot of money when I was growing up, and my dad did and still does work like three jobs. I have hustle in my blood and take nothing for granted. Been writing rhyme poetry since I was about 12 years old. Began writing rhymes and freestyling as a sophmore in high school. Me and some friends began passing around notebooks and we would chain write rhymes during class and feed off each others last lines. We would spit them later and freestyle in the lunch room, you know typical stuff. 

I joined an underground group out of high school in 1998..we called ourselves Mic Surgeons and i was Solomatic Brainstorm. Three of us then formed a group called Triple Threat and released a cassette single..Ha!l But it was hot! We sold it around the area at house parties and places like Lafayette Square Mall. We did our first show at the East Side Skating Rink. We performed and literally almost fought with some people in the crowd talkin shit. It was wild!

Ever venture outside the city limits? You know test the waters..

We even drove to New York City back then and sold our tapes on the streets in Queens, Brooklyn, Coney Island and at Central Park. This is back when hiphop was still somewhat fresh and exciting, especially in New York. It was fun. The group broke up and everyone went their seperate ways. My man Mr. J is still doing his thing in Orlando, FL, and my boy Joe Priceless is doing some big things in Washington DC. 

You’re something of a multi-tasker, as emceeing is not your only form of hip-hop expression, right?

Yeah, I produce beats too. I produced 15 of the 18 tracks on my album. Also, I engineer and mix. My partner Silence is a little more sharper at it than me, but i’ve learned alot, and helped engineer and mix parts of my first album with him. I also used to do graffiti and DJ. I’m involved with coordinating many of the shows I perform at too, recruiting groups, promoting, all that. 
 

On the production side of things, have you tinkered with other forms of music outside of rap?

I used to be in punk rock group briefly in my youth, I played guitar and wrote all our songs. I still got a tape of it, it was pretty fly actually. But my love for punk rock came and went fast and got back on my hip-hop grind, even though I still listened to alot of hip-hop when I was doing that..This is the early 90s we’re talking about. I have produced many a track that I wouldn’t consider rap, from like disco and drum and bass sounding shit to just bugged out psychadelic space shit.

Artistically, who or what inspires you the most?

I have been most inspired by artists like KRS-1, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Wutang Clan, Nas, Biggie, Outkast, Jay-Z, Common, Dr. Dre, and Kanye West. Old school rock, soul and funk I sample and listen too. A person like Curtis Mayfield comes to mind, the Superfly soundtrack is pure genius. Stuff from the 60s and 70s I really love. Jimi Hendrix is one of my favorites. 
 

In a short time, your local “buzz” has gained a substantial amount of momentum. How did you go from “relative” unknown, to that guy that rocks the slammin’ hip-hop sets in Broad Ripple?

Well, my albums been out for about 9 months, and I’ve been doing shows steadily in those 9 months and even before that I was performing in people’s garages and living rooms at the grimiest house parties in the hood on the eastside and in broadripple. I played one of the last shows at the original Patio in Broad ripple, before it switched up. Club Spin is huge for hip-hop in Broadripple, because they were trying to force hip-hop out of there for awhile.

So, to answer your question, I don’t feel like its been a short time, although it may look that way to people. I just worked hard and was constantly on the hustle, calling people up about shows and networking, passing out flyers all night, working the myspace joint, really just getting out there spreading my name and meeting people. Self promotion is key. Practice makes perfect when it comes to performing, the more you do it, the better you get of course. Noone can blaze a stage overnight, it takes time to learn how to work a crowd.

The local music scene in Indianapolis is always bubbling with talent and pockets of interest. As someone who’s in the mix, what are some of the great things about the scene as a whole? What (if anything) is holding it back?

I think there is a lot of talent in Indy. The interest is building for local hip-hop and I can tell just for the fact we have been getting more and more people at our shows latley. I have a dayjob now plus other means to make good money so I’m not really in it for that, though its is nice to get money off of music. We have been throwing free shows recently at Club Spin and the response has been enormous. The main thing holding Indianapolis hip-hop back is the lack of national exposure. Naptown just really isn’t on the radar of the industry. I think every artist who has talent in Indy knows deep down that in order to have a shot at anything big in the industry, they have to venture out, maybe move to a new city. But for me its hard to leave your home, because I have love for the Nap. Plus, I’m tied down to a job and all that. But I know deep down inside that I need to leave eventually in order to have any chance to blow up.

Who has given you the most support? Emotionally and/or creatively?

The two people who have most supported me are my boys T and Silence. T and I came through with finances to build our studio, Silence has been essential for all the technical shit in the studio, and for mixing and production. But before all that, these guys were my good friends since high school, so it all came naturally. I would do anything for these dudes, they are my brothers. Silence and I have been rhyming and producing together for years, and we taught each other alot of shit when it comes to making hot beats. Also, my family and all my friends and fans who come out to my shows. I’d like to thank all of them and I do when i see them. 

A lot of people think that making a name for themselves even on a local level is easy. That you can put together a mix-tape or album with a few CDR’s. What are some of your experiences as an independent artist?

I’ve spent the last few years with a recording studio in my bedroom, and one that actually can make quality product. So I can feed that money I save from studio time into other things. I need to do to make this music shit pop off!

When I was working of my album, I literally did nothing but work at my job and then hit the studio, sometimes with Silence but mostly by myself. I got cabin fever like a motherfucker. I had a release party already scheduled at the Casba in Broadripple, so I had a deadline I had to meet. I got the project finished and mastered with like 2 weeks left until the party, took it to the CD replicator place and they dissed it because I had some movie samples. The move samples I felt were necessary for the album’s overall flow and concept, so I decided to just do it myself. I burned Cds one by one for hours, printed labels on them, bought blank cases and printed covers at Kinkos. It was really time consuming but I ended up saving money. But yeah it took awhile for people to give me respect and know my name, but you can do it if you work hard and actually have something original to offer. I still got a long way to go.. 
 

Every rapper has got a crew. So tell us a little bit about the Green Gloves Click?

Well the Green Gloves Click right now is pretty much Me, Ace and Silence. Its basically just the people I perform with at shows. Ace and I are doing a project together, but not sure if that is going to be the name of the group. Green Gloves Productions is the name of my production company. We have a group idea brewing that would consist of Rusty and Skits from the Mudkids, Ace and myself, but that is just talk at this point, nothing has really been recorded or conceptualized. We’ll see how it goes, we are all artists who like to let things flow naturally, shit sounds fake when it is forced.

If you listen to the song, “Whole Lotta Love” on my myspace page, it was a song that we wrote in like 20 minutes, a spur of the moment type thing. Thats how we do it. That was the first song I ever did with Rusty, and it was the first time he had been to our studio. It was produced by Silence and it is a banger. T is part of green gloves, and so is my boy Dave, who is another friend I’ve known since high school. He designed my album cover and many of my flyers for shows.

Entertaining as it may be, does a program like VH1’s The White Rapper Show come off as offensive or as a setback to those emcees (that are Caucasian) that are credible?

I actually sat and watched it for the first time today and I’d have to see it is pretty garbage. There a couple people with talent, but overall most people on there are not real MCs. I don’t think it is offensive, but it might be a slight setback because most of the rappers on there just suck and they act goofy. It just doesn’t seem like they represent hip-hop to me. I do wish people could look past color and just accept good music for what it is. But every white rapper has to deal with being compared to Eminem ,Vanilla Ice or even Bubba Sparxx. You just got to get used to it! I’ve heard it all trust me. 

I was asked recently if I would ever go on that show, and I’d have to say that I’m not sure. I would crush the competition and get major exposure, but risk always being known as that white rapper reality show guy. Tough choice.

Hot-topic of the moment. Is hip-hop dead?

If you think hiphop is dead now, then you have to make the argument that its been dead for several years, because alot of this bullshit on the radio has been around in one form or another for long while. My favorite period was like 93 to 97, so I am an old school cat. So yeah I’d have to say that if its not dead, its on life support. I still like the music that is being released, but it seems it burns out quicker and I get sick of Cds, because if an album is halfway decent I play the hell out of it! There just is not much quality coming out. Honestly, I mostly listen to my own stuff and other local groups. 
 

Do you have any personal favorite up-and-coming local music groups or musicians in the Indy area?

My partner Silence and I have been working with the Mudkids recently, and I really dig the stuff Rusty and Skits have been doing for their soon to be released solo joints Silence and I are both producing for them, and I’m featured on some of their tracks, and you can check either of our myspaces for a taste.

Also have an artist named Ace One, who is off the hook, he is been performing with me on stage for awhile along with Silence. He will be releasing projects with both Silence and I, and we may do a collaborative group album. I like other locals like Twilight Sentinels, Freeze and ULH, Bottom Line, Brittany Street, Concrete Beats…there is alot. 

What effect does your music have on listeners or what is it that you are trying to convey?

My first Cd was kind of just explaining how I became who I am and basically documenting my life from like age 16 to 25. I wanted people to realize that I’m telling them real stories. Also wanted to prove that I am among the best lyricists and beatmakers in the city. For the projects I’m working on now, I ‘m just making sure the beats are molten lava right now, because most people only really hear the beats anyway. If you have incredible beats and your flow is halfway decent, your on your way. As far as my lyrical subject matter, I’m not sure yet but I know I want to do something a little different than what you’re used to hearing from me. I really don’t want to repeat myself.

Fresh into the New Year (2007) what are some of your goals that you’d like to accomplish with your music?

I want to take over the fucking world, or at least just make enough money to live off music.
 

The Lyrical Lounge would like to thank Mic Sol aka “Flowgun” for taking the time out and granting us an interview. (Flowgun album available for purchase at: www.cdbaby.com, so go get it) Mic brought up a great point, people need to “look past color and just accept good music for what it is..” I’m down with that..now let’s make that statement a movement party-people!!

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 1st, 2007 at 6:25 am and is filed under Interview, Music, The Lyrical Lounge (Hip-Hop). You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will be moderated but will appear as soon as humanly possible.