Interview: We’re here with Arizona artist The Raskal and we have a whole lot to talk about with him, most of it surrounding his upcoming “Defined Controversy” album. First off, where did you get the name The Raskal?

The Raskal: It’s actually a childhood name. I’ve had it since I was about 13. I was always getting into trouble. I was always very mischievous. I basically got labeled a rascal by all of my friends.

Interview: Ok. Being a “rascal”, how would you describe your overall sound of music?

The Raskal: My personal sound I would say is raw and unique. It’s also very heartfelt and real. It’s my own sound and it doesn’t sound like anyone else in the industry right now, or previously in the industry.

Interview: Being a “rascal” or rebel, do you feel you ever acted out a little too much? Do you look back with any regret?

The Raskal: Nope. I believe that things happen for a reason and I’ve learned from my mistakes. As far as childhood mishaps or problems, I don’t regret anything because it was a learning experience. It was a lesson to make me a stronger person.

Interview: Do you think that rascal attitude ever shines through in your music?

The Raskal: (laughs) I do. I think sometimes the old me comes through in my music if I feel a beat that takes me to that place. I do believe it does come out in my music at times, yes.

Interview: And growing up in Arizona, which artists were your influences?

The Raskal: As a child I listened to a little bit of everything. As far as hip-hop is concerned, I basically latched onto the west coast scene. I would say 2Pac, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren, House of Pain, Cypress Hill and DMX also had influences on me. I’d include a few other east coast rappers but overall I was west coast influenced.

Interview: That’s a nice list you have there. You mentioned listening to a little bit of everything. Take us into more detail on that.

The Raskal:  Growing up in my house, rock was the primary genre that was listened to. I grew up listening to heavy metal – people like the Scorpions, Metallica and stuff like that from my father. That’s pretty much it. Rap and rock were the two main genres growing up that I listened to.

Interview: You mentioned latching onto the west coast scene. There is a lot of confusion with the Arizona scene. Some consider it west coast, others don’t. What is your take on that?

The Raskal: I think we’re our own coast. I think that the southwest fits us well. I think we do have a lot of west coast influence by the way that we dress and talk. The music movement out here is predominantly west coast hip-hop; you don’t hear a lot of east coast stuff out here. You have a lot of chicano and west coast rap out here, dating back to NWA and 2Pac; even current west coast like The Game, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and so on. Musically, what’s pushed harder to clubs and in the streets is west coast and chicano rap, which comes out of California as well.

Interview: Well put. When did you find out you could rap at such a high level?

The Raskal: I didn’t think I could rap at all in the beginning. I was just doing it to mess around with my homies because they were all doing it. I decided I would try it because of that. When I realized I could do it at a high level is when I competed on the radio out here in a rap battle about your schools that was based on caller’s votes. I won that by the first week and I continued to win for 25 weeks before retiring. That was based on all callers’ votes so everybody was calling in. That really boosted my confidence and that’s when I really started hitting the scene hard back in 2000.

Interview: Wow, so you issued out 25 defeats?

The Raskal: That’s correct. And then I retired but I came back because the radio station called me and wanted me to come back to bring up their ratings. I came back and won my first week again, and won four more weeks. So I won a total of 5 more weeks and then I stepped down again. So in the end, I won a total of 30 weeks and never got beat.

Interview: Ok, wow. So that is when you began recording music? After that experience showed you that you could rap at high level?

The Raskal: That’s when I started making my own music and I started working on my first album.

Interview: No doubt. Since then, what personal sacrifices do you think you’ve made for your career?

The Raskal: I’ve made a lot. Unfortunately my first time around, it cost me my wife and not seeing my kids for a while because I went through a nasty divorce. It took a lot of time away from my family and my friends and my career as far as work is concerned. I pretty much dedicated my life to hip-hop and music. I did at least 5 shows a month every month for about a four year span. I was really giving it 100%. I made a lot of sacrifices. I lost a few friends along the way and gained a few unwanted friends along the way. Most importantly, the loss of my first wife and not seeing my kids for a while was the biggest setback.

Interview: You mentioned having children. How did that affect your life and career?

The Raskal: I think it inspired me more than anything. As a father, the first priority is to make sure my children are taken care of. It inspired me to make better music at a higher level than anyone else that was here in Tucson making music. I think it pushed me harder to make better music and to get an actual album out. I wanted to get an album out, promote the music and make money for my family.

Interview: In terms of your first wife and the divorce, could she not deal with all the time you were spending away from the family?

The Raskal: Yes. It was a big trust issue. I was going out of town a lot and she saw how the females reacted to me. It was basically a big trust factor. I was doing a show up in Northern Arizona and that’s when she gave me the call to tell me that she was leaving me and couldn’t put up with it anymore.

Interview: How did you take that at the time?

The Raskal: At the time I was devastated. I was lost and didn’t understand. Basically, I just wanted to make things right with my family even if it meant me giving up music; I never did that though. It devastated me and put me in a dark place to where if you listen to my first album versus my second album, there was a big change. It put me in a more angry state. It put me back to that place that you asked me about earlier – it put me back to my rascal roots as a child. And that reflected through the music and my personality.

Interview: Ok. Coming up in Arizona, the hip-hop scene isn’t as strong as let’s say a California, New York, Atlanta or even Houston. What are your thoughts on that?

The Raskal: One of the biggest problems with Arizona hip-hop is the radio stations, the clubs and the DJ’s. You don’t get a lot of support. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the hottest artist. For some reason whether it’s Tucson or Phoenix, you can’t get on the radio. A lot of local DJ’s will not spin you. What it boils down to is that there is not a lot of support in Arizona for Arizona artists – whether it is hip-hop, rock or country music – it doesn’t matter. It just seems like there is not a lot of support in the areas where we need to get heard.

Interview: Speaking about the support, you’re speaking on the radio, clubs and DJ’s. In terms of artists, what is the artistic unity like in Arizona?

The Raskal: It’s not where it needs to be. There are clicks that get along but overall, there are Arizona artists that will even hate on their own artist just because maybe one is doing more than the other or they don’t like their style or might think they’re biting off somebody. Overall as a state, we don’t get a lot of support. You can even look at it when you watch Arizona Cardinals football games or Arizona Diamondbacks baseball games. Half of the audience will be cheering for the competition. If you watch an Arizona Diamondbacks game and there playing the [Los Angeles] Dodgers, half of the crowd is Dodger fans. I think Arizona is still trying to find what we really are in order to branch out. We just don’t support each other. There is not a strong culture here like in other markets.

Interview: So is there a lack of overall image or symbolism?

The Raskal: I think so. The symbolism is a good point. Here in Arizona, we have people from Mexico, California and Texas. It brings a lot of different cultures to our scene. And then you have cats moving down from New York. Basically, there is not a symbol here for Arizona. There are a lot of people trying to figure out where they fit in instead of just rolling with their own style.

Interview: So would you say that overall the local Arizona scene has been supportive or jealous of your high-profile moves?

The Raskal: I think with this album, supportive but with previous albums, hatred and they didn’t understand my style. I stuck to my roots. If you listen back to my previous albums, my style has not changed – it’s progressed but I’ve stuck to the roots. I think people are starting to appreciate how loyal I am to my own style, along with the progression I’ve made in my career. At the beginning, there was a lot of hatred from other artists because I was doing everything that other artists weren’t doing.

Interview: With that kind of different style in such a small market such as Arizona, did coming up in a small market make it hard for you to gain notoriety?

The Raskal: No it really didn’t just because as I said, when I was on the radio doing that rap attack, I was getting notoriety on the radio airwaves. On top of that when I first came out, Tucson was excited because I was labeled the next big thing. They thought something good was going to happen for our city or state.

Interview: Ok. Tell us about Ruff Life Recordz and what you guys represent.

The Raskal: We represent realness. We all grew up together. All the artists on my label, we’ve all known each other and work well together. We all have similar backgrounds and have all been through a lot of shit in our lives. We’ve come together in the music world to bring something new to the airwaves and neighborhood that a lot of people aren’t doing.

Interview: It’s time for us to get into the album. Why did you title the album “Defined Controversy?”

The Raskal: I had a theme for my previous albums. “The Game Will Never be the same” and “Rearranging the Game” so I was actually going to name this album “Game Over” to stick to that theme but when I started putting the project together, I changed the name to “Defined Controversy” because it’s a controversial album. It’s not going to be for everybody. The nice thing about the album is that there is music throughout the album for everybody. There are songs for love, the radio, club songs, low rider songs and gangster songs. I mean, there are songs for everybody. It’s a controversial album and it doesn’t stick to one road. I basically branched out to not only go outside of Arizona, but to basically go global with my sound and bring something to the table that nobody has done before.

Interview: What is the release date and how will the fans be able to get their hands on the album?

The Raskal: The targeted release date is February 7 2010. Right now, I’m currently working on the rest of the distribution deal. We don’t have the distribution deal set yet. With that being said, they’ll be able to purchase it online for sure, and then the mom and pop stores and then hopefully by my release date, will have a nationwide distribution deal that can pick it up in all the local stores as well.

Interview: Goals and expectations are two different things said. With that said, what are your goals for this project?

The Raskal: My goal is to basically become the cornerstone of Arizona hip-hop. I obviously want to sell a lot of records and get them into different avenues and markets that I haven’t had my previous music in. Basically, I want to get a big record deal and make a difference in hip-hop at some point with a new style, something fresh and something nobody has ever heard before. And I basically want to keep it real, 100%.

Interview: Take us behind the music and share with us some of the studios the music was recorded, mixed and mastered in. Tell us about some of the experiences with that situation.

The Raskal: The majority of my music has been recorded in Arizona in 5^th coast studios in Phoenix and we use a studio here in Tucson. Also, I’ve recorded up in San Diego with Steve Vicious, a west coast banger. It’s been a great experience actually. A lot of the bigger artists that I’ve worked with have been very supportive and humble. They have been great to work with overall. I’ve met a few hard asses, basically assholes, cocky and arrogant – but you get that in any genre. I’d say the overall experience has been phenomenal. They’ve inspired me and helped me lyrically; they’ve made me step my game up. I stay in contact with the majority of them. Some of us have actually become homies throughout the process of working together.

Interview: I have a list of some of the larger guest appearances here but you go ahead and name some off.

The Raskal: We’ve got Tha Realest, King T, Kokane, Prodeje from the South Central Cartel, Chino XL, Hopsin – we had some other artists on the album that didn’t make the album. We have a lot of west coast rappers – Roscoe, Spice 1, Jayo Felony, Knoc-turn’al, Mr. Shadow and Kozme. We did have Shade Sheist but he actually didn’t make the record. We also had verses from Dru Down and Copywrite that didn’t make the album. I also had a verse from Willy Northpole that didn’t make the record.

Interview: In terms of production, I’ve had a chance to hear some of the music and the production is phenomenal. We’ve spent a lot of times on the guest appearances, let’s talk about the production. Who did the majority of the beats on the album?

The Raskal: Actually, there wasn’t really one particular person that made the majority. I branched out to numerous producers. I have Steve Vicious who is a west coast legend. Mr. Wise Guy who is actually Mr. Shadow’s exclusive producer is on the album. Sykk 1 who is actually an artist on my record label appears. Simes Carter is on the album who is best known for producing “Candy Kisses” for Amanda Perez; that’s one of his big hits that he went on to make. Roca Dolla and Lifted out of Phoenix, both from 5^th Coast. MC Magic and Angel Lopez also produced on the album. There is a variety of different producers on the record. That’s why it has the unique sound that it does. It doesn’t sound stale and you can tell there are different producers involved. I think I have the perfect team of producers for this project.

Interview: And overall, how would you describe the specific sound of the production?

The Raskal: Top notch. I would say that the production is definitely overall throughout the entire record; it’s one of the hotter albums from start to finish. I don’t think there are any stale beats on the record. And it’s a double disc record.

Interview: That is definitely something the fans can look forward to. Overall, what is next up for Raskal and Ruff Life Recordz? Is it just focusing on the “Defined Controversy” album?

The Raskal: Yeah. We’re shooting two more videos for the project in January and March. We’re really trying to flood the market, that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re basically trying to hit every avenue possible so that this album can’t be denied and the Raskal can’t be denied anymore. We’re going to wait for the album to drop and we’re going to hit hard with the promotion and start touring again. We’re just really going to try and elevate the game and get it in as many avenues as possible.

Interview:  Which two videos will are you shooting in the New Year?

The Raskal: “Ready or Not” which will be one of the first singles off the project featuring Simes Carter; will be shooting that one in January. The video will be directed by the same guy who has done all of my videos, Mr. Iroc out of Phoenix, Arizona. The one we’re shooting in March is called “A Son’s Story” which is a tribute to my father who passed away in July of 2009.

Interview: We’re sorry to hear that. That should make for an introspective song and video. That’s all we have for you Raskal. We want to thank you a whole lot for your time. The album “Defined Controversy” should be in stores February of 2010. Make sure you all go check for it as we have a lot more on the way with this man right here. Do you have any last words before I let you go?

The Raskal: I just want to thank everybody who helped me on the project. I thank you for interviewing me and taking the time out of your day to make this happen. I just want to thank the fans, the people who have supported me and have been loyal to me throughout all the bullshit. The game is a tough game so I want to thank everybody that stuck by me. Most importantly, I’d like to thank my family for everything they’ve done for me; they’ve inspired me to keep going.

Be sure to check out The Raskal on MySpace at www.myspace.com/theraskal and on his Youtube page (which contains many music videos off the project) at http://www.youtube.com/mrrufflife.

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