» Photo » WORDS BY Je e’V by Eliot Miller o an Brown f Munki Boi St
udios
2
4-year-old Riddles is more complex than your stereotypical rapper. Contrary to most lyricists, he didn’t even grow up listening to Hip Hop. But that didn’t stop him from developing superior skills along with some creative concepts. What’s the theme behind your latest CD? What can people expect to hear? It’s called Remedy: The Mixtape. Basically, it’s like everything these artists are missing in the game. We got a bunch of prescription bottles on the cover that say things like Hip Hop Knowledge, Swagger, Lyrical Ability. The music I do is mixture of R&B and Hip Hop, it’s like the origin of Hip Hop. They can expect a lot of wordplay, a lot of cuts in there for the ladies – that’s a majority of my audience. I love ‘em. So has one of those ladies managed to lock you down yet or are you still mingling? Um, I’m not mingling, but I’m not locked down. So with the whole concept mixtape, and with your name being Riddles, I figure you’re a pretty intellectual type of dude. Is the wordplay and being able to express yourself what got you into rapping, or was it something else? Oh yeah. You know what’s crazy? Like a lot of artists, I started off doing poetry at a young age. I began rapping when I was 16. In poetry you got different rhyme schemes and patterns. Once I started rapping I took my knowledge of poetry and put it into ridin’ beats and making music. I started listening to DMX and Jay-Z when they first came out and that’s how I got into Hip Hop. 28 | OZONE
So you weren’t actually raised on Hip Hop? No, DMX and Jay-Z actually introduced me to Hip Hop. I was raised around my grandparents and they listened to blues. My mother listened to old school and R&B. I was raised up around that so it influenced my music. That’s why my music isn’t so hardcore. I wasn’t raised in the streets and I don’t do street music. I don’t support violence. I don’t knock it, but you won’t see me doing it. So your song “This Ain’t That” with 8Ball has a lot of rock instruments in it. I take it you were influenced by a lot of different genres. All of it. You hit it right on the nose. I’ll listen to the alternative station; I’ll listen to R&B/old school station; I’ll listen to the Hip Hop station. I love all kinds of music. I listen to everything and it all influences my music. How did you hook up with 8Ball for that song? My peeps that own my label had a few connects. They were saying I did a lot of songs for the ladies and I had that locked down, so they thought I should get on a song with 8Ball, who’s a legend, and it would be a good look for me. I was like, I don’t know, I don’t wanna sway away from what I do. But it came together well. How long have you been with Munki Boi Ent? Is The Remedy mixtape your first project with them? Oh no, I’ve been with them forever, before it was even called Munki Boi Ent. I was the first artist on the label. It was just three of us – me, my manager, and J.