I Started Rhyming When I Was 9 After A Trip To Pete Rock House
Above is a portion of my interview with artist Breeze Mantana. Using stories he raps about not only his life,but the lives of others that we all can relate to. In this interview we discuss his street album “You Only Live 2wice,The difference between pushing music online and actually giving CD’s out in the streets/venues,His inspirations,and much much more. Not only do i recommend reading this interview but checking out his street album real dope music. Entire interview after the jump
Yoh: First off I wanna thank you for the chance Fam. For the readers that’s unfamiliar with your music give us some background on Breeze Mantana?
Breeze: No Problem King Thank You For The Opportunity As Well.Im Breeze Mantana,A Lyricist Of Enta Da Dorm Entertainment,From Mount Vernon NY. Same Place As The Legendary Pete Rock. Im 24 Years Old .For The Past Few Years Ive Been Putting Out Mixtapes On The Street,The Old Fashion Way For The Most Part. Doing Foot Work Handing Out Cds For Free At Shows,Other Artist Events. Where Ever I Felt There Would Be A Mass Amount Of People. Alot Of People Might Know Me From My Last Mixtape 07′ “If i Was Signed To Star Trak” From The School Daze Series.A Mixtape Where I Rhymed Over All Neptunes Instrumentals. I Currently Have A Street Album Out Called “You Only Live 2wice” That I Released Near The Top Of This Year Utilizing The Internet For The 1st Time To Push My Project.
Yoh: Word,what motivated you to do things the “old fashion” way & what’s the biggest difference between giving away CD’s to pushing music via the Internet?
Breeze: At 1st To Be Honest I Didn’t Know Shit About The Viral Game.Just Basic Shit Myspace And Things But I Jumped On That Late Too.It Wasn’t Until A While After I Started And Finished You Only Live 2wice I Started Paying Attention.I Didn’t Own A Computer Of My Own Until Maybe 08.I Knew Of The Few Major Sites But Nothing About Blogs At All.i Didnt Have Twitter Till Late 09 After A Friend Forced Me To. But There’s A Big Difference In Foot Work And Using The Internet.When I Was Doing The Foot Work I Would Go To Ticketmaster.com And Look Up Every Upcoming Hip Hop Show And Go There And Hand Out My Cds Either In The Show Or Outside.Some times I Used To Go To Clubs And Hand Them Out Even When Too Young To Get In.I Remember Dj Clue Had A B Day Party At Spotlight Live In The City in 07 And I Was Too Young To Go Inside But I Stood Outside And Handed Material Out.I Also Had A Photographer Associate I Ended Up Meeting During A Special Event Week Another Site Used To Have Once A Year And He Used To Tell Me About Every Event He Was At.Id Come And Do The Same Thing.Its Tiring But Its A Grind And If You Really Love Your Craft Youll Do Whatever It takes.With The Internet its Not Easier But Its More Convenient And A Little Less Costly.With Blogs Its Hard At 1st When Some Of The Owners Dont Know Of You.Your Emails Dont Get Replies And Your Music Might Not Get Posted.The More You Keep Working Though Someone Will See It,You Just Have To Have Patience And Stay Persistent Without Being A Pest.Im A Firm Believer That You Need To Use Both The Foot Work And Viral Game To Your Advantage To Get Where You Want To In This Game.It Will Benefit You More In The Long Run.Its Still Dudes On The Street Who Dont Own Computers,And some of these artist they never heard of in they life So What Are You Going To Do about them?They Need To Hear You Too
Yoh: Yo that’s real and I agree with you,I think computers have made certain artist lazy as far as the footwork hustle. Now what can you tell us about your street album You Only Live 2wice?
Breeze: I Started The Writing Process For You Only Live 2wice Around Toward The End Of 07′,Getting The Concept Together,The Beats,Song Concepts And Things.Once I Do That And Thats 100% Finished Then I Start The Recording Process.I Only Go In The Studio To Record A Project If Im Fully Prepared To Record Every Song For It.I Take Time To Perfect The Song.Playing With Flows And And Remembering The Lyrics Most Times I Dont Use Paper But I Might Have My Phone Or Books There For Reference Incase I Should Ever Forget A Line. I Recorded The Bulk Of You Only Live 2wice In August 08′.Finished it in 2 days. After I What I Thought Was The Finished Project I Started Going Through Alot Of Personal Shit.Some Of It I Talked About On 2wice Some Of It Ill Touch On With My Next Project.So It Put The Project At A Hault For A Minute.Then My Man Sha Whos Like An A&R At Enta Da Dorm And My Big Bro Suggested I Need Two More Songs I Did Those In April Or May Of 09.A Few Weeks Later I Caught A Serious Charge With The Law That Again Put The Project On Hold.Got Bailed Out And Was Going Back And Forth To Court Till August Of 2010.With The Grace Of God I Got Probation And Was Able To Keep Doing This.And Its Funny Because The Concept Of The Project Is Not Only About Me Living With One Foot In And One Out But Me Getting Alot Of 2nd Chances And Escaping Certain Situations.Just Loosely Told In A Cinematic Way.The Whole Project Is Like One Big Movie.The Story Ties Into Each Other And Every Song Has Its Own Concept.I Felt Like That Was Missing In Rap.Look At Only Built For Cuban Links,Illmatic,Reasonble Doubt,Capital Punishment.Those Albums Were Like Audio Movies.Thats What I Was Bringing To The Table With This Project.My Next Project Will Be A Little Bit More Personal Still Conceptual And Cinematic With Interludes And Things Though.
Yoh: Do you consider yourself a perfectionist? The concept was very dope,exactly how long did it take for you to really break down the idea of adding movie segments intertwined with the music? Do you consider the way your project is setup and flows will make it stand out compared to others?
Breeze: Thank You I Appreciate It.I Dont Exactly See Myself As A Perfectionist But I Do Take Pride In Perfecting My Work Before The World Hears It To My Best Ability.It Took Me A Long Time To Find Certain Movies To Fit The Concept Of Some Songs.Im A Movie Head So I Had To Watch Alot Of Movies To Take Them From From.Some Of The Interludes Are Just Me And Ones I Did Myself Like “Dots House” “Interstate Chronicles” “Revolving Door” And A Couple Others.As Far As It Standing Out I Definitely Think It Does.Its Totally Different From Anyones Project Right Now Whether It Be A Mixtape Or An Album.If You Could Find One That came out recently and Similar ,put me on id love to hear it because i havent heard anything like this in years.
Yoh: Haha I can’t think of any honestly. So if you had to pick one track from the album that you feel best describes you as a artist which one would it be and why?
Breeze: HA! Its Hard For Me To Pick One Theres A Few Of Them,One Of Them Being My Favorite On The Project “Lost” If You Listen To That And Some Of The Songs Im Giving You Jewels.Im Not Necessarily Promoting Street Life,I Tell The Story Of Both Sides.I Talk Alot About The Downside.The Stress.The Paranoia.The Everyday Battle Of Really Wanting To Leave The Whole Shit Alone To Do Better For Myself.Alot Of Rappers Dont Talk About That.They Talk About The Glory.They Talk About Flipping 100 Ki”s That They Mightve Never Seen In Their Life.I Speak For The Everyday Mid Level Nigga Who Just Wants To Be Able To Pay His Bills,Take Care Of His Kid,Get Fresh And Have Money In His Pocket.I Also Talk About Real Life Shit.Nobody Talks About What Happens When This Kid Doing All This “Trappin” Goes Home To His Girl And He Has Issues To Deal With There. Or His Family Or Taking Losses.I Always Say Any Nigga That Truly Been Out Here Doing Whatever Has taken Some Losses Your Not Always Up! You Frontin If You Say That.Niggas Be Having All These Super Man Raps Like They Dont Have Problems,They Dont Love Anybody They Dont Have No Type Of Emotion.Its Disgusting. I Been Broke Before Ive Been Up.I Know How It Feels To Have 10 Stacks At One Time And I Know How It Feels To Be On Your Last 20 dollars Looking for a nigga to rob because you have bills to pay.and thats what i convey in my music.In A Freestyle You Can Say All Types Of Wild Shit.But In Songs And Projects Like This I Want People To Be Able To Relate And Take Some Jewels With You.
Yoh: Basically it’s no facade in your music,no green screen,just real life,which any one can respect & relate to. Now while listening to the album I can tell you have a disdain for the “pop-hop”. Do you feel that’s a problem with music as far as hip-hop goes?
Breeze: I Mean Im A Story Teller Too.Every Song On You Only Live 2wice Isnt EXACTLY What Happen To Me. Some Of It Was Just Story Rap,Some Of It Was My Situations Loosely Told.But Thats What Makes It Art.Thats What Made It Like An Audio Movie.My Next Project Beautiful Nightmares Will Be A Little Different Alot More Personal.What I Wont Do Is Tell You Or Anybody Else I Was Some Super Thug And Was The Biggest Huslter On The Block And Had All The Money And Im Rich Cause That Would Be A Facade.Im Just Like The Listener.Im A Regular Nigga That Just Happen To Get Into Some Trouble at times.Im Not No Super Gangster Im Not No Super Thug.I Love.I Hurt.Ive Done Some Hurting.I Regret.Im Happy.Im Mad.I Get Disappointed.Every Emotion A Regular Human Being Has. As Far As “Pop Hop” I Feel Like Thats Not A Problem.The Problem Is Theres No Balance. Everybody Is Either A Killer.A Rayful Edmond.Super Rich Blowing Stacks.Drving Fast Cars And Fucking Mad Bitches.Niggas Never Loved No Bitch But They Have A Kid,A Baby Mother,Girlfriends And Sometimes Even A Wife.Some Of These Rappers Never Had Any Chicks Till They Became Rappers.The Average Listener Cant Identify With All This Crazy Shit Their Talking About Thats The Problem.I Dont Only Like Underground Hip Hop.I Like Some Mainstream Rap.There Just Needs To Be Balance.Everybody Cant Be Gangsters,Everybody Cant Be Ballers And The Flyest Niggas Alive.But Im Starting To See Things Change With The Emergence Of Some Of The New Dudes.Much Respect To Everyone Doing They Thing I Listen To A Wide Variety Of Hip Hop.I Respect Alot Of New Cats While Still Keeping The Classics And Legends In Rotation.
Yoh: Word! Any plans to drop some visuals for the project? The cinematic theme could make for some real dope videos
Breeze: Yeah I Plan On Shooting 10 Videos Before The End Of The Summer And A In Depth Documentary Explaining The Concept,Breaking Down Songs And How They Came About.My Writing Process On This One,My State Of Mind, Everything.I Actually Shot A Video For “Hate Is Love” But Dude That Did It Just Disappeared On Me So Im Going To Do It Over ASAP So Expect Those Soon.Visuals Are Very Important Now a days.
Yoh: New Artist are joining the hiphop community every day it seems,when did you realize you wanted to rap as a profession?
Breeze: I Started Rhyming When I Was 9 After A Trip To Pete Rock House,Then I Got Some Cds For Christmas Later Down The Line That Inspired Me More.I Didnt Record My 1st Song Till I Was 15 Though,A Producer By The Name Of Spunk Bigga Whos Produced For Fat Joe,G Dep,Young Gunz And A Few Other Vets, Took Me Under His Wing For A While And Taught Me Song Structure And Bar Arrangement. Before That I Would Just Write Until It Sound Like The Verse Should Be Over. I Put Out 2 Mixtapes With A Crew I Had Sometime After That And We Used To Go Around Selling Them In The Hood.I Probably Didnt See It As A Profession Till I Was 18 But I Always Took It VERY Serious.It Was Never Just A Hobby To Me Or Something I Was Playing With.I Knew I Had A Talent I Just Wasnt Sure How Far It Would Take Me.Before I Started Writing I Used To Draw When I Was Young I Was Nice At That Too,I Used To Think I Was Going To Be An Artist Before That Trip To Petes House Haha.
Yoh: Word Pete Rock house? Dope. So you never had a back up plan if hip-hop didn’t work out?
Breeze: Yeah Pete Was A Friend Of My Step Father At The Time And He Brought Me There.But To Answer Your Other Question Of Course. I Still Have Back Up Plans Now ,Plans A-Z .Even When I Was Doing My Little Trouble Shit I Always Wanted Better For Myself Since A Young Kid.Thats What Separated Me From Other Kids In My Neighborhood. Theres A Million Other Things I Can And Want To Do,But This Music Is Where My Heart Is.Im Going To Use It As A Stepping Stone To Get Further.I Always Dreamed Big And Seen The Big Picture.
Yoh: I feel that Homie. Just a few more questions and it’s a wrap man.
-Your dream collaboration dead or alive and why?
-Your biggest influence on your music and style?
-What’s more important when it comes to your music creativity or longevity? Basically would you go against the grain before you follow the leader
- Favorite movie
-What does success means to Breeze Mantana?
Breeze:-
1.My Dream Collab Would Be Me,Raekwon,And Ghost Simply Because Were All Vivid Story Tellers And I Feel Like Rae And Ghost Are Two Of The Best Story Tellers To Ever Do It.
2.My Biggest Influence Is Big Punisher,Hes A Big Part Of The Reason Why I Started Writing To Begin With Along With Everything Else I Told You.
3.Both Are Important To Me,You Can Always Be Creative And Still Have Longevity.I Would Never Compromise My Integrity And Beliefs For Any Amount Of Money Or Fame.I Always Had A Problem With Authority And People Telling Me What To Do,Unless I Truly Know Its For My Own Good,So Playing Follow The Leader Isnt Really An Option For Me.If You Go Against The Grain Most People Will Love You More Than To Watch You Follow What Every Other Person Is Doing.
4.Thats A Hard Question,I Have So Many,Probably A Toss Up Between Bronxtale And The Long Kiss Goodnight.
5.Success Just Means To Me Being Able To Make A Living Doing What You Want And Love To Do,And Have Longevity In Doing So.Being Able To Create Opportunities For People Other Than Myself.Being Able To Send My Daughter To College Everything Paid For.When You Love Your Profession So Much,Your Having Fun And It No Longer Feels Like A Job ,Your Still Be Able To Provide Well For Yourself Thats Success To Me
Yoh:I wanna thank you man once again for a chance to interview you. All I need know is your social network/music links so the people know where to reach you. The tapedeck wishes you much success and looking forward to the visuals along with future projects. Best of luck Breeze.
Breeze:No Problem King I Appreciate The Support
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