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4/24/2006 What's up? I'm good. I'm just coming back from a show. I'm really just recuperating right now. Everything is good. Things have been going real good for me so far. A lot of fans outside of the JUSTUS League don't know you. How do you want to introduce yourself to everyone who doesn't know you? I go by Edgar Allen Floe for those who don't know me. I was featured on some JUSTUS League mixtapes and I have my crew called the Undefined. I do a lot of production for my crew. I go by Slicemysta on the beats. I'm just trying to bring some wisdom and deliver some wisdom that cats can carry on for years to come. Hopefully cats feel it and stay with me down this long road of music. How would you define your role in the JUSTUS League? As a league, we just kind of work together on a musical level. If there's anything we can do to better each other's careers, we do it. I'm one of the common denominators. If people need me for a show, production, or engineering, I'm there. I wear a lot of hats. I'm one of those dudes people can appreciate. I'm very lyrical and what I say is thought-provoking. That's what you'll hear from Edgar Allen Floe. Are you happy with the response to your mixtape "Floe Almighty"? Yeah, I'm real happy. I've been getting a real good response so far. I stepped it up from my first official release, "True Links." People really liked that, and when "Floe Almighty" came out, cats were like, "You really stepped it up." The reviews have been pretty solid and people understand it. I'm a very independent dude when it comes to making things happen, from producing to engineering. "Floe Almighty" is all me. What are your goals for the mixtape/album? The main thing with that is that it's more of a promotional thing. It's a mix-CD, so the label that I'm working with, Shaman Work Recordings, we've been talking about the best way to spread the word before my "Streetwise" LP drops, which will be later this year. We were talking about the best way to promote it. I'm definitely going to do some collabs with all types of cats. "Floe Almighty" is full of remixes and exclusive tracks. We decided to drop this and see what we could do with it. I'm really happy with how it's been going. We actually got MTV Mixtape Monday's for it. That was real good that we got that a week after it came out. Everything is moving real smooth so far. What was your inspiration for writing "The Torch"? I felt like it was time for some new cats to step up. Everyone's looking for the next breed to carry the torch. That's what "The Torch" is about. The next generation needs to step up and understand their role. We need to have some type of longevity in it. We have to keep the torch lit and going. That's one of my standout joints. A lot of people really feel it. Maybe down the road we'll have a 12" for it. Who knows? How do you and 9th Wonder work together? We work pretty well as far as our musical tastes. We mesh really well. 9th will call me up and tell me he has some beats for me to check out. He already has an idea of what I'll sound good on. I'll go back and write them, and if he's in town, we'll record it. If he's not, I'll go record it and let him check it out. He's confident in my talent and I'm confident in his, so when we record together, we make good music. We're like a Guru/Primo combo. Since we have the same musical tastes, it's real easy to record with him. He's not afraid to tell me what he thinks, but he also believes in what I do. How is it different working with Khrysis? He's still coming up. He's paid his dues. For the most part, it's the same thing. He'll let me hear some beats and we'll do the same thing. He's a little more opinionated than 9th. He had a lot more suggestions when we were recording "True Links." Nothing major, but he does say what he feels a lot more than 9th does. We have that same bond with music. It's easy to put something down with Khrysis. He's going to be a big dude on the production side in the future. You have a real distinct voice. How important is that? I think it's real important. That's one of the first thing fans notice. They say I can hold down a hook with my voice alone. From that, I want to have that type of voice that grabs you and makes you pay attention. A lot of cats have it and a lot of cats want it. I know that's one of my strong-points. I feel that if I can grab you with my voice, I can have you nodding your head when the beat comes on. It's very important. Guru said for him it's mostly the voice. How's your support in North Carolina? As a lot of people already know, we built the JUSTUS League from the ground up. It was hard starting out. We tried to hook up with clubs and we let them listen to our material, and they would tell us that we might want to open for someone else or do a show with more established artists. It wasn't a talent issue, but they wanted us to get with someone that already had their rock in the game. That guaranteed a crowd would come in. It was hard at first, but we just kept at it. We started doing more and more shows in the area and our reputation started growing. We do have a good fan-base out here. It could be better, but North Carolina is like a lot of places. They may lag on something hot until the masses hear it, but we do have our core fan-base that has been with us since day one. We appreciate that. How's your "Streetwise" album coming? It's almost done. I have a couple verses I have to pick up from some cats. Of course I have 9th Wonder and Khrysis on it. I have my extended family, Battlesquad, doing production. I'm keeping some other things under wraps for now. I may have some collab's with label-mates. It should be out sometime this Summer. We're probably going to get "Floe Almighty" pressed up again and after that does it's thing, "Streetwise" should be ready to come out. I have fifteen or sixteen tracks that's a nice variety. I think cats should like that. Why the title "Streetwise"? I've had that title for probably two or three years. It's all about when cats see the word "street," they figure it's shoot-em-up, bang bang. Just because you know cats in the street doesn't mean you're doing those things in the street. Talib Kweli says he doesn't rep the streets but he reps the people in them. That's like me. I chill with people like that and I respect what they do and they respect what I do. It's about being wise to that. The streets are not as boxed in as people think. There are a lot of smart people out there with good ideas. Even though I don't rap with traditional thuggery, I still rap for the people in the streets. Are people ready for the album? There can never be too much promotion, so we'll have to keep spreading the word. "Floe Almighty" has been good, but there's definitely more work to be done. Shaman Work has been doing a great job at getting me out. I really appreciate that. It's been great so far. I think they'll be doing some big things to promote the album so that when it drops, it will get some good promotion. What's your main focus right now? Just keeping things going as far as the music. Once "Streetwise" is officially finished, I'll still have other projects. I have my crew Undefined and we're working on some stuff. Median is working on "Release." That will be out hopefully later this year on Halftooth Records. I'm engineering his joints. That's coming out real good. I'm trying to do more collabs and mixtape joints. I'm just trying to stay busy and I'm still doing the shows and everything else to keep the name out there. It's never-ending, but I love it. What do you want to say to all your fans? To all the fans, especially the ones that have been there from the beginning, I appreciate all the love we've been getting. Cats understand that the game is in a strange predicament right now. It's not sure which way it wants to go. Thanks to all the fans worldwide. You'll hear a lot more from me and the League. Hopefully you'll hear me progress and you'll hear me reach more and more people. I'm a very independent cat and I try to lead by example. Hopefully beyond the music you'll appreciate the grind and appreciate my career. Thanks to everybody. Word up.

By Brian Kayser

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