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Buck 65 remains a Halifax hip hop legend even if he still hasn't acquired the wider acceptance he deserves for his wacky brand of hip hop. In his decade and a half of making music, Buck has always prided himself on pushing boundaries, whether it was the live performance art he used to hype up his early one-man shows, his multi-syllabic raps and treatment-like cassettes during the Language Arts days, or his total musical overhaul when he signed to Warner and released two countrified albums with a lot of live instrumentation. So, obviously Buck 65 was up for the challenge when, in 2007, he was approached to collaborate by Belgian electronic producer Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê, who had debuted the previous year with her album Lullabies for the Warriors under the recording moniker Greetings From Tuskan. Once they realized the chemistry was there, what started out as a song or two of Greetings From Tuskan featuring Buck 65 evolved into a full-length project, More Heart Than Brains, that has finally been revealed thanks to Anticon, the label that released Buck's seminal Man Overboard album ten years ago. Through two separate interviews – the rapper and producer have yet to meet in person – Urbnet has unraveled the history that brought them together and the future they plan to have continue as Bike For Three, as well as a little more picking of the brain (and heart) of the always interesting Buck 65.
Part 1: Buck 65...
URBNET: I'd like to start with the subject of our last interview, Situation. It's regarded as a bit of a return to form for Buck 65. Do you agree? Was it deliberate?
Buck 65: I think of Dirtbike as more of a return to form than anything. That is, if by "form" we mean Language Arts era stuff. But Situation was definitely more "hip hop" in the eyes of some people. A lot of that had to do with [Skratch] Bastid making the beats and doing the cuts. But I still had my usual guitar guy play all over it. And I guess I could admit that I made an effort to step up my rapping in a technical sense. But I'm no Sean Price. I don't try to be. And in the end, Situation was still weirder and darker and whatever-else-er than most other hip hop records these days. It also sounds decidedly like a early to mid-90s hip hop thing. That old trick...
How important was the role Skratch Bastid played in helping bring the old Buck back?
The whole 1957 concept was all mine. But otherwise, it really was [Bastid]'s record. I originally thought the record should have been billed as "Scratch Bastid featuring Buck 65". But we decided to put it out on Warner and with the way my contract works and stuff, we had to put it out under my name.
How did the fans react to Situation? Was it well-received by the label?
I don't really know to be honest. The labels (Warner and especially SFR) were very supportive. It's my best selling record so far, but that's not saying much. It didn't sell very well.
Since Situation you have recorded and released the Dirtbike trilogy of albums, which you've already mentioned, for free at that! How did Warner feel about that?
I acted alone with that project. But I ran into the president of Warner in a record store one day after they came out and he just kinda laughed about it. I think they see me as a bit of a wild horse. But they also know that doing things grassroots style is important in my career and they support most of my wacky ideas.
As you said, Dirtbike brought back even more of the old Buck 65, a return to the Language Arts style of album creation. Is that what you were going for? Are you happy with the final product?
In a manner of speaking, that's exactly what I was going for. And it felt very, very good. It was the most creatively satisfying thing I'd done in a long time. It sounds like shit, but I love it.
Have you started work on your next album for Warner?
I have started on it, yes. Working on Dirtbike opened my eyes to a lot of big ideas. And having taken control of things the way I did there, it raised the question, "What does my relationship with Warner mean?" And "What can they do for me that I can't do for myself with projects like Dirtbike?" Having thought about it a lot, I can tell you that the next record I do for Warner will be very different from anything I've ever done before. I'd rather not get into the particulars yet, but I can tell you that I'm accepting outside help on this next record to a greater extent than I ever have before. Hint-hint...
You've also made some recent guest appearances with some upcoming Canadian hip hop talent. How did the collaborations with D-Sisive and Classified come about? Are you happy with the outcome?
Those guys are pals, so the collaborations came about through friendly means. Emails. Encounters on the street. I think my verse for the Classified track got inserted slightly "off", so I was a bit bothered by that. But that's the hazard of working long-distance and digitally, I guess.
Your newest project, Bike For Three, is on Anticon. Why Anticon and not Warner? (or why not Strange Famous, for that matter?)
Joelle was in charge of the business side of things for the Bike For Three record. All I know is that when I asked if she wanted to put the record out on Warner, she said, "No way, Jose!"
A fair bit of focus for Bike For Three is on the fact that you have yet to meet your production partner in person. So, how did you meet then? And how did Bike For Three grow out of that?
We met on MySpace and have never met face-to-face. That situation created a lot of mystery that we were both very interested in preserving. It had everything to do with how the songs came to be. We were both inspired by the wonder of the almost-total stranger on the other end of the line.
I'm sure you had many other possible choices of who to collaborate with, so why this particular person?
Simply because her music is so incredible. And also because she puts everything she's got into it. She gives Bike For Three her very best. She doesn't just throw scraps at it like a lot of people do with projects outside their main thing.
I've read in interviews that you'd prefer not to meet Joëlle in person. Do you think it would change the dynamic or sound of your collaborations?
Yeah, I think we're afraid of the idea of destroying the very well we're both drinking from for the project. We both fully intend to continue this project forever.
Amongst the songs about love and loss is your cover of MC Shan's “MC Space.” Why that song? Why this album?
It's one of my favorite songs ever. I love MC Shan. He's my favorite rapper of all time. So I wanted to pay homage. And I thought Joelle's production would lend itself interestingly to that song. As far as including it on this record (and I know it sticks out like a sore thumb), I think we just needed a bit of a break from the heaviness and figured anyone listening might too.
Speaking of which, was writing this album cathartic? How much truth is there to it all?
I guess you could say it was cathartic. Is killing yourself cathartic? Making this record was total agony. It was the most intense creative process I've ever experienced. It was so heavy. Jesus. It felt like bleeding to death. Not only is it all true, it's all pretty private stuff. What the hell am I thinking releasing something like this? All true - except “MC Space”. I've never been to space.
You've got a new gig with CBC Radio. What made you decide to get back on the radio?
Well, I love radio. I always thought of it as the ultimate dream job. And although things are going pretty well in the world of Buck 65, the state of the music business makes me a bit nervous and so when the offer for a security net came along, I took it.
When you first got the show, I read that you wanted it to be about songwriters. Is that still the idea behind the show? Does hip hop get much play?
Yeah, it's pretty much a singer-songwriter show. But it's evolving everyday. I don't program the music on the show, but I do have some input. I would love to play more hip hop on the show - we do play some - and hopefully one day, we will. I think, first, I just need to prove myself and stick around for a while. I'm the new kid on the block and don't have a lot of authority... yet.
And finally, let's end all the confusion once and for all: Where did the name Buck 65 really come from?
Outer space.
And there you have it.
Part 2: Joëlle Phuong Minh Lê
URBNET: What inspired you to do this Bike For Three project?
Joëlle: It happened quite spontaneously, actually. I passed [Buck] a message, he loved the sounds and we kind of started doing tracks together. It was not planned to make this a separate project; the first idea was to do a few Greetings From Tuskan tracks with him on it. But finally it turned into this whole being on it's own.
Why with Buck 65? What drew you to him as someone you had to collaborate with?
Well no, I did not specifically reach out for him to collaborate with. It just happened. Of course I knew his music and I really like his style, but I never imagined something like Bike For Three coming to life. It went all very natural and not like we were saying "Yeah, let's do an album." It was this dreamworld that started to exist and we did these tracks and there suddenly was this album taking shape, nothing conscious really.
Where did the name Bike For Three come from? Is there any meaning to it?
Yes there is a meaning to it :)
How did your approach to this project differ from how you would work to create your own music as Greetings From Tuskan?
There is a voice, which obviously makes a big difference in the sense that a lot of the listener's attention will go to the lyrics and voice of Buck 65. I am normally used to putting in all these little sounds and bells and whistles and create this little world that only me has control over [sic]; now that was not the case. It was like drawing over someone else's drawing. Heehee, if that makes sense. Its a funny way of interaction with humans, I must say, doing music together.
Do you think it's important to the end results of the music that you and Buck never met and just did everything over the Internet? Do you think it would change the music if you do meet?
I think the mystery helps to create this fictional world where all the sounds live in and the fact that we never met makes it that the other person becomes something that you imagine yourself. So, him – and mostly his voice – became part of that world. There was no intrusion by how someone really is in real life because that can always be completely different than how you see someone that you just contact over the Internet.
Were you surprised at how personal Buck got with this album?
That also went very natural. I always put a lot of personal feelings and emotions in my music. Every track is a whole story or happening for me and I think he just tuned into that. I could not see it otherwise to be honest.
When you made the beat that Buck used for "MC Space", how much did you know about the song you were making? How did you feel about putting that song on this highly personal album?
Actually that was Buck's idea. I did know MC Shan, but not this track. He told me he really wanted to do that for long time already, and I just went with the flow. It was really fun because I had no real emotional attachment to that track and could approach it really in a more objective manner.
Why did you decide to got with Anticon as the label and not something with more push, like Warner?
For me, personally, it has always been a dream to be on Anticon. I love what they are doing and they always stood out for me with the things they put out. Warner was never really an option. And to be honest, I think that this album belongs on Anticon and I feel they know best how to bring this music to the people, unlike Warner who work in a whole other way.
Are there plans to continue the collaboration with a new album? Any ideas where that one will go?
Some tracks are slowly coming together yes. The direction still needs to reveal itself, actually. But, yes, stuff is in the works.
Anything else you'd like to add?
A big thank you to all the people that shared their love for the music and took the time to write and talk about what they are feeling. I've got some really touching and beautiful messages from people who were touched by the music. And I think that is really the best reward I could imagine.
Thanks.
And thank you too!
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