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12/12/2005 What's good? I'm good…maintaining, working. Can you give the people some background as to who S.U.P.R.E.M.E. is? S.U.P.R.E.M.E. is a child of Hip Hop. I grew up in the Bronx, the Mecca of Hip Hop. I've seen so much, from hanging out with KRS-O.N.E. and Slick Rick on a daily basis, to Guru…these dudes are like fathers to me in the streets out here. I have a total love and respect for this culture. As far as in the industry, I'm one of those cats that everyone knows but the people don't. I've done shows with Kay Slay, opened shows for some other people, it's all about grinding right now. People will know who S.U.P.R.E.M.E. is. What did you learn being around KRS and Slick Rick? Love for the culture. I learned that if you came into this culture for something other than love, than you had no right to be there. I was born when Hip Hop had that big change, and I'm fortunate to see that. My mom had me when she was 19, and she's a Hip Hop child too. I've seen the culture, and I'm not raping the culture and not knowing where it came from. What are your earliest Hip Hop memories? The block parties and the ciphers. Seeing Doug E. come out to the block to chill. Watching Video Music Box with Slick Rick. Back in the day there were no ego's. You could talk to anybody. Everybody just showed love. It was the passion for music that made people want to get together and do stuff. Would you say that motivated you to start MC'ing? Yeah. I was in love with the music. I started writing poetry when I was 12, and when I turned 16, I realized how much I loved music so I figured I would take it that way. How do you think coming up in the Bronx affected your music? I think it had a lot to do with what I'm doing now. The area and time period shaped the man I am today. I was raised in a Bronx Catholic school, and going from the Catholic religion and seeing what's going happening on the block, and the conflicting things happening, it definitely messes with your psyche in a creative way. What makes your music different from others out there? It's straight full of passion. You will never just get one thing from me. Every time you hear a S.U.P.R.E.M.E. track, you have to ask yourself if it's a S.U.P.R.E.M.E. track, because I reinvent myself each time I step in the booth. Most dudes can't even do that with each album. I try to go for something different and delve deep into my mind. I give people what they need because it's part of being human and having different emotions. Sometimes I want to party and sometimes I'm depressed. Sometimes fans just want the ill flow and metaphors. I guarantee whatever I put out is going to be full of passion and be the best I have to offer to this culture. What was your motivation for writing "The Lesson"? I wanted to give people some wit and flow on there, and some joking around. That song was a challenge between me and my dudes. They heard the beat and were like, "Damn, how are you going to flow on that?" I never back down from a challenge. 10 minutes later, the song was done, and I'm working on a "Lesson 2" right now. Do you think songs like that are missing today? Yeah, definitely. If anything, I think one of the big things missing in music right now is creativity and putting passion into it. The new thing in Hip Hop is to complain and asking when are we going to change. Everyone's making a "Hip Hop needs to change" or "lets bring New York back" song. Just do it. Do this for the love. Study your craft and make your music, and that's how you can change Hip Hop and make an impact. Do you feel like a lot of the new kids are lacking the history of those who came before them? Definitely. I want to shout out my man Joell Ortiz. I was talking to him the other day. That's a real dude, the passion is there. A lot of people just want to get in the game and make some money. That's a shot at me and everybody that takes Hip Hop culture seriously. You have to have a complete knowledge of the history of this culture in order to be able to love it fully. I love it way too much to see people do this. I got love for every pioneer. Some are still on the block. They didn't get no royalty checks, they did it off of straight passion. How has getting on shows like "Mad Ciphas" helped you? That's real helpful. I was putting my videos out and doing all that. It's another form of networking and getting out there. Mad Ciphas has shown me a lot of love, shout out to Gabo. What are you working on now? Right now, I have "The Born Supremacy Volume One" out for about a half-year. A lot of people have been showing me love. I have a CD of R&B remixes, just to give people something different. I have the Street Music DVD coming out soon, Street Music is my company. Jim Jones, D.R. Period, AZ, Daddy Yankee, they're all on there. I'm just working. Anytime you see the name S.U.P.R.E.M.E., you know that's where good music is coming from. I'm grinding out here. Hopefully you understand where I'm coming from and you like the music. What's your ideal plan for dropping your debut album? I wouldn't really call it a plan, but I would like to find a good home and give people what they need. I don't really think about my debut album. I have around 100 tracks. I don't do many collabs. I really don't have any plans right now, I'm just looking for my deal. I have a couple of album concepts done. With all the tracks I have, I can have an album together anytime. Right now, it's about people hearing me and what I have to offer. What's been the most frustrating part about coming up? I'd say the different egos in the business. Me being a part of a time period when everyone was out there for the love of the music, I had to learn that there are a lot of people in here that aren't humble anymore. I stay humble and stay reaching out to people. Anybody can holler at me and I'll holler back. It's always love from me. What's it going to take to make S.U.P.R.E.M.E. a household name? I think it's going to take an open ear. As long as you have time to listen to 3-5 minutes of music, then you have time to get to know S.U.P.R.E.M.E. and love him. If you like a certain kind of rap, 9 times out of 10, I have that for you. I'm here to cater to everybody. I have so much to say. As long as you have 3-5 minutes, you'll find out who I am. There's other "Supremes" out there, do you see that being a potential problem? Everyone chose the name "Supreme" for a reason. I have no problems with anyone else, they do them, and I do me. I spell my name S.U.P.R.E.M.E., which stands for "Supernatural Unstoppable Power Righteously Rippin' Every Motherfuckin' Emcee." What's next for you? I'm just talking to different labels, getting them to listen to my music. I'm always doing shows. You can go to my website and find out where my next show is at or hear the new tracks I uploaded. I do about four tracks a day, so it's nothing. Labels are hollering and things are looking good. What do you want to say to everyone? I'll holler at y'all man. Y'all my niggas. I stay on this site all day on the audio section. Understand my love, my lyricism, and everything I'm bringing to the game. I don't want to be nobody else but myself, and I want everyone to love me for who I am.

By Brian Kayser

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