Tha Blog is Hot presents…an exclusive interview with CURT@!N$!

Posted at March 9, 2011 by Julie J Comments Off

After The Higher Learning Tour stop in Seattle last week, I was able to catch up with Curt@!n$ for a few minutes. We tried to find somewhere quiet, which ended up being this empty, back parking lot (he’s done worse, he assured me) and we chatted for a few minutes in the rain.

Naturally, as soon as I spotted the “Fashion Genius,” I had to tell him that that his blog influenced my wardrobe decisions for that fine evening. He told me that he had noticed my jacket, and that he liked it! Yeah, in case you couldn’t tell, I’m still pretty geeked about that. You can read my review of the concert here, but let me just reiterate how impressed I was with the confidence and energy of his live set.

Between his music, energy, and fashion, Curt@!n$ is just a hella interesting dude and I still think he’s cool even though he doesn’t like cats. He was a good sport talking to me while being under the weather, both literally and figuratively, and we had a good convo. We talked about how fashion affects his music, how he got into rap, and books…among other things. As usual, you’ll just have to click the link to keep reading!

Julie: So how did it feel, when Kanye called you a “Fashion Genius?”

Curt@!n$: It felt good and bad at the same time. It was good in a sense that, you know, sometimes when you do things out of the sheer love and passion for what you’re doing, like I just genuinely love style and clothing, fashion, etcetera etcetera, so me just doing me and being in my own little zone and creating my own little style, is just something that I love to do. The bad aspect is that it puts this spotlight on you, and now people start to emulate that because they feel like, ‘oh, if Kanye says it’s cool, then Imma do it too because I want him to think I’m cool.’ So then, copycats is just poppin up all over the place. So you know, I kinda, it’s more good than anything. It was a great honor, it came super left field, like I didn’t know he said it until two days before it came out. Actually, I saw him, he told, I was like ‘Really?’ It was dope, it was a great honor.

Julie: Do you feel like style and fashion kind of manifest themselves in your music?

Curt@!n$: Yeah, I try to make a well-dressed song, if I say so.

[both laugh]

Curt@!n$: I always, when I record, I always make a song and think of the video. I’m a very visual-driven person, so I always think about the video, what I’m going to wear, the lighting, the location, and you know, it’s more asthetic than style. I’m a very aesthetic driven person. My music is very aesthetic driven.

Julie: Who are some artists that you like to listen to?

Curt@!n$: I like a lot of Gnarls Barkley, I listen to a lot of 70’s soul music, you know, anybody from that soul era, a lot of indie rock, MGMT, Passion Pit, Empire of the Sun, Kings of Leon, Mike Snow, I like just random music, in hip hop I’ll listen to Kanye, Lupe, Rick Ross, Jeezy, Outkast, just a wide range of stuff.

Julie: How did you get into rapping?

Curt@!n$: LL Cool J made me start rapping. He had a verse on EPMD’s Rampage, and it just blew me away. I was just fascinated by everything he was about. And I just tried to emulate him, and I wanted to be him, until I figured out who I was.

Julie: Do you have any upcoming projects?

Curt@!n$: Yeah, Leader of the Free World. I’m working on that now, I started before I got on tour, and since I’ve been on the road, I couldn’t record. As soon as I get off the road, I’m back on it. So that should be coming out in like May.

Julie: So how did you, Evidence and Fashawn end up together?

Curt@!n$: Just mutual acquaintances, me and Fash did the 730 record with Chace Infinite. Evidence and Fash, they’ve done records together. I’ve never done anything with Ev, but we had mutual acquaintances and mutual respect for each other. When the opportunity popped up, I was like ‘hell yeah!’ And everybody had the same reaction, when Fash talked about tour, with Curt@!n$, ‘hell yeah,’ Evidence ‘hell yeah,’ me, I was like ‘hell yeah let’s do it.’ Gilbere Forte was supposed to be on the tour, but it didn’t work out at the last minute, but you know, it’s been dope so far.

Julie: Cool. Did you have a good time in Seattle on Sunday?

Curt@!n$: Yeah, I was a little under the weather so I walked around a little but, like an hour or two, got some grub on at The Cheesecake Factory, went back upstairs in the hotel and I was dead! I was very, very out. I don’t get sick very often, but when I do, it just bothers me more mentally because I’m ‘ahh I’m never sick!’ It’s more mental than physical. So I just slept the night out, sweated it out…

Julie: Since I ask everyone this…what’s your favorite book?

Curt@!n$: My favorite book is The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. That is…yeah, my favorite book.

Julie: I studied English Lit in college, so…

Curt@!n$: Yeah? I’m a big book junkie.

Julie: Yeah? What else do you like?

Curt@!n$: Another book I like…The Alchemist, of course, which is very popular book.

Julie: Yeah, that’s what Fashawn said!

Curt@!n$: My first tattoo was kind of the theme of The Alchemist, ‘maktub’ which means ‘destiny.’ That was my very first tattoo. The very first book I ever read that touched me was The Art of War, that’s an awesome book. Another great book I read When Hollywood Had A King; it’s a biography about Lew Wasserman, who was like one of the most powerful agents in the movie business and it’s just a very super, super dope book, When Hollywood Had a King. Another one of my favorite books…Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite, and It’s Not How Good You Think You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be, both books…I mean his name is on the tip of my tongue…he’s one of my favorite authors…I’m trippin right now…he wrote three books, God Explained In A Taxi Ride…but get those books! And the author’s name, and he’s real dope. And Chasing Cool, by Gene Pressman. I mean, I’m just a big book junkie. I’ve been collecting books and literature since I was a kid and I read a lot. On tour, I’ve been reading while we’re on the highway. Right now I’m reading Leviathan 666by Dr. Malachi Z. York. I’m on Book 2 of 4.