A Transcendental Survival Guide to Overstimulation
by Kyle McAfee, Music Editor

photo by Sam Kulla

Making a career in music is an incredibly difficult task. Tribulation after tribulation can lead to disenchantment, which can lead to laziness or calling it quits. A musician on the edge of giving up should simply throw some Buck 65 in their music player. Rich Terfry (Buck 65) has been producing, mcing, and djing for twenty plus years and is still making records, as well as hosting his own radio show on the CBC. In an email interview Rich answered some queries regarding the modern music community, and the sociological ramifications of the internets.

Kyle McAfee (High Contrast Review): In 2002 I wrote to you about sending you a copy of some of my music, and you invited me to do so. Reading through interviews and your website you have consistently shown this kind of generosity toward your listeners, why and how have you kept this up?

Rich Terfry (Buck 65): I am a firm believer in community and people coming together to help each other out. In fact, my biggest gripe in the world is that people in the underground hip hop scene haven’t done more to support each other. There has never been a proper discussion of “post-hip hop” like there was with post-punk, for example. History has completely passed us by and overlooked us. But how could we have ever expected to find support when we didn’t even support each other? There’s never been enough unity. There’s been nothing but petty squabbling over the years. Now, if you read any books on the history/evolution of hip hop, it’s as if the whole indy/underground thing that started in the mid-90’s didn’t even happen. We don’t even exist. I’ve always done everything I can to not be a part of that problem. But there’s only so much one person can do on their own.

KM: Getting music out into the world has become so much more accessible with the internet and its accoutrements, what are some pros and cons now, compared to when you first started making music?

Rich Terfry: The biggest ‘pro’ is that it’s not the huge expense it used to be. But the huge ‘con’ is that it’s virtually impossible to stand out from the pack now. I am SO glad I made at least a bit of a name for myself before the internet took over. It give me a big advantage. I used to be able to give people advice on how to get things off the ground in the music game, but now I have no idea. All I can say is “good luck.”

KM: Another aspect of your career you’ve been consistent in has been maintaining a balance between progressing the art-form while preserving hip-hop’s original spirit, do you feel like a lone gunman in that pursuit, or are there other artists holding it down in this manner?

RT: I’m really happy you see it that way because that’s been my whole M.O. from the start. There seems to be two camps now: people doing what’s hot right now without a whole lot of regard for the culture of the 70’s and ’80’s, and then full-on retro revivalists. The attitude of the revivalists seems to be “nothing good came of hip hop’s evolution after, say, ‘92 or whatever…” Then the attitude becomes, “evolution and advancement is bad, so let’s just keep doing things the old way.” What they seem to forget is that hip hop evolved a LOT between it’s earliest days and the mid-90’s. And most people were happy with the advances along the way. But as soon as it made a step they didn’t like, they said, “fuck this, hip hop sucks, I don’t like it anymore, I just want to sound like Paul C. for the rest of my life.” If hip hop had’ve evolved in a way they liked, and maybe if it wasn’t for the big sampling lawsuits, it wouldn’t be like that. But I believe that there is a strong middle ground. Hip hop can still move forward in a way that doesn’t neglect some of it’s past traditions and values. It’s still very important to me to rock breaks no one has rocked before and the DJ is still very important to me, for example. I can still employ those elements and do new things. It’s not rocket science. It’s not hard. There aren’t a lot of people out there thinking about it the same way (in the grand scheme of things), but there are definitely some (I think. I hope). But just let me say – for as nerdy as this sounds – I still think that some of the most exciting advancements in hip hop these days are being made in the DJ/turntablist world. But sadly, that seems to exist in it’s own separate world now. Hip hop is just rap records for most people now. I don’t hear a lot of discussion of what’s going on with the DJ, b-boy, or graf elements these days. Or beatboxing, for that matter. It’s all fringe. They have their own websites and blogs. It’s separate. I’m sad about that.

KM: The chart-toppers in America right now are using a lot of the Auto-tune, and I know of your passion for psychology, what do you think the auto-tune craze is reflective of in society?

RT: That’s an interesting question… But I don’t think your average music fan thinks about it much. Maybe we can heckle from the bleachers and say, “it’s fake, it’s wrong, it’s cheating!” But I feel about it the same way I do about the whole steroids discussion. To illustrate: over the winter months, the whole A-Rod scandal broke and everyone got on their high horses and demonized him. Then the season started. Before his first at-bat, everyone booed him viciously. But then – in that first at-bat, he hit a home run! And you know what happened? The crowd turned on a dime! The boos INSTANTLY turned to cheers. It’s fascinating. As long as we’re entertained, it’s ok. And as far as hip hoppers using auto-tune goes, I think it’s just a matter of them realizing the power of melody. People love good melodies. There’s nothing melodic about rapping. Not really. Rhythmic, yes. But not melodic. The Beatles are the biggest band ever because of all their great melodies. Guys like Kanye are realizing that and saying, “well, shit, I can’t sing to save my life, so I’ll have to use auto-tune.” There’s something trendy about it right now. But I don’t think most people would use it if they could really sing. I’m sure Kanye wishes he could sing like Bill Withers. So do I.

KM: You are constantly busy; playing live shows, writing, producing, recording, playing baseball and now a sweet day-job with CBC radio. If you could have a vacation right now, where would you go, and what would you do?

RT: I don’t think I’ve taken a break in my life. But I went to Hawaii once and it really did seem like paradise. I’d love to go there and do nothing for a while. But I’d probably only last a week before I started itching to get back to work…

For more info about Buck 65 check out buck65.com or for streaming broadcasts of his radio program check cbc.ca/radio2