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In the world of Hip-Hop, if you have the “gift of gab” then most likely you’ll be headed towards a prosperous career. Right now the genre is thriving on the “what he has” or “what she has” scenarios. So basically all you have to do is add in a catchy beat and nice hook and you can pretty mush exploit yourself for as long as you desire. Even though the subject matter is all the same, (cars, jewelry, clothes, and cash).

Consumers buy into it like it’s a new invention. But a lot of today’s artists also choose to take the safe route, and try not to venture out of their lane. It’s always good to be on the safe side, but as artist shouldn’t you occasionally push the envelope as well?

Even with Dog The Bounty Hunter’s recent racist rant, a lot of rappers still chose to turn the other cheek and not address the situations such as those. Unless you’re as outspoken as Kanye West, chances are you’re like most people, just waiting for someone else to speak upon the issue first, and then you’ll come in with your two cents.

The same goes for many other categories too, it just doesn’t stop with race. In the artists defense though, a lot of them do take on taboo subjects like racism, sexism, and political injustices. And if you have a pen a pad, make sure to write down Witchdoctor as one of them.

For the people that are familiar with him, you’ll remember him as current member of the Dungeon Family, which consists of Outkast, Goodie Mob, and others. And if you’re not too familiar with him, it’s probably because he talks about the things that most people are afraid of, or just choose not to listen to.

After securing a publishing deal for his poetry, hard work and perseverance paid off for this versatile performer, as he is now in association with Adult Swim’s Williams Street Records for his album Di ary Of An American Witchdoctor.

Many artists talk about God, but one listen to this 10-year veteran and you’ll soon get the idea that his involvement with God goes far beyond thanking the Lord Jesus Christ for irrelevant things, such material items.

What would you say makes this album so different than your previous releases?

I would say this album is a more mature album, I would say it’s more for adults. This album is also a little bit more crafty. Actually I was just listening to my first album, and then I listened to this album, and this album right here has more action.

How did you first hook up with the Dungeon Family?

Well me Khujo, T-Mo and [Big] Gipp all went to the same high school. We were on the football team and all of that. But we all knew each way before the music got started.

What would you say you learned by working alongside artists such as Outkast and Cee-Lo?

I wouldn’t really say I learned something by working with Outkast and Goodie Mob. But I will say that I learned about longevity. When you mention Outkast and Goodie Mob, I was right there in the beginning of their careers. Like Goodie Mob got five albums, and I’m on four of them. And Outkast got like five albums, and I’m on three of them. So I was right there, know what I’m saying. So I would say the longevity part of it all, because I’m still around today.

I hear you on that… You also got a book deal to publish your poetry. How did that come about?

The book came about a period around 2003-04. With me being an underground artist, we were trying to do whatever we could to get a deal, and get our music out. I had a lot of written material, so I just flipped the script. I was like okay; “If I can’t get no record deal this year, I’ll take all these lyrics I got and put them in a whole ‘nother form and get a book deal instead of a record deal.”

Because it was really hard at that time to get anybody’s attention. So I just took all the lyrics I had and intertwined them, and put it in a book. So I ended up getting a book deal before I got a record deal. So in 2004 I did a deal with a company called Publish America, and they gave me a 3-book deal. So that was good, and it made me feel like; “Okay, well at least I got something coming out.”

Do you think there was any particular why it was hard for you to find a record deal around that time?

I felt like the industry was just over looking me, and underestimating me. It’s like every time I hear people mention the South, I never heard Witchdoctor’s name, so that was just like fuel for my fire.

Just as far as Southern MC’s, I never heard Witchdoctor’s name and I just thought that was preposterous, you know. So I just felt like I was going to really turn up this rap thing a notch, and really show people. Because everybody’s been underestimating me, and I feel like I’m the best in the world. And that’s just hands down. Like damn Atlanta rappers. I feel like I’ve always been one of the best in the world, since I got into rap music. And I plan on proving it with this new deal I got from Williams Streets.

Its like Williams Street is the new machine, and that’s what I’ve been waiting for, for the past ten years. I got a lot of material, and a lot of good projects I’m coming out with in the future.

But was it frustrating for you just sitting around like that?

Oh, it’s always frustrating. Especially when you know that you’re just as good as the people that are out today. Rap music is just like the NBA and the NFL. Whoever performs the best, is who makes the money. But it’s not like I was just sitting around, and watching other cats. I was never not doing nothing during that period. I was just sharpening up my pen-game. And I was getting a chance to see what was good, like seeing what other people’s weaknesses were.

All of your material has a message behind it. Do you make it a point to only write songs like that?

Well I definitely spend a lot of time with the writing part of the music. Even before I listen to a track to record on, I might have spent a week or a month just on the written words. So I do spend a lot of time, just thinking about what I’m writing.

It’s all about what I can say to make the listener be like “WOW!” That’s what I’m doing right now. Just thinking of what I can say that is going to amaze you, or just something you ain’t heard before, know what I’m saying.

You also seem to be very spiritual. Did you come from a church background?

Being from the South, there’s a lot of churches everywhere. So just being from Atlanta, I do have a church background. But my real background is God; know what I’m saying. My relationship with God is bigger than the church. When a lot of people think about God, they tend to only think about the church, when God is everything and everywhere, he’s just not centered at the church. So yes, I do have a background but it’s with God, and not the church per say.

Yeah I hear what you’re saying. I’ve always felt that way too… So how did you get in touch with Adult Swim’s Williams Street Records for the release of Diary Of An American Witch Doctor?

Well during that period when I came out with my book, back when I was unsigned, back in 2004. Then when 2007 came around, I went on the Internet and I really wanted to do something different from what everybody in Atlanta was doing. Because during that period everybody in Atlanta was rushing to do mixtapes, and trying to get attention that way. So I just thought about how everyone was over looking the Internet. So I really took a strong hustle towards the Internet and crunked-up my Myspace page, like it was a street corner.

I took all my albums and put them on sale on my Myspace page for $20.00. I had the attitude that my music was so authentic, that it wasn’t in the stores or nothing so it’s worth $20.00. So if you buy a Witchdoctor CD, you might be riding to something that ain’t nobody in the city got. And I felt like that was worth $20.00. So right when I started that, Williams Street Records bought an album that I was selling on there called King Of The Beats. And after they purchased the album, they sent me an email to have sit-down and pretty much the rest is history.


How was the experience like on the Adult Swim college tour?

Man that was the jump off, and exactly what I needed. When Williams Street said that I was going to open up for Ghostface [Killah], which was exactly what I wanted to hear.

There’s certain people I really want to be on tour with, and Ghostface was the perfect situation. When I thought about his crowd and how he’s from The Wu-Tang [Clan], I just knew that I was going to be getting a “rap crowd”, see what I’m saying. It’s like if they’re coming to see Ghostface, then they’re coming to see edgy lyrics and they’re not going to get any R&B singing or none of that.

If you’re coming to see Ghostface then you’re coming for those rough lyrics. So that was the perfect crowd for me, and the perfect situation to hook up with a cat like that.

Did you and Ghostface get along with each other right from the beginning?

Ahh. We were more business, like more show-oriented. We weren’t hanging together and smoking blunts together, we just kept it business. We didn’t really meet until after the fourth or fifth show. We just kept it business, like I’d come in and do my work, and then he’d come in and do his work.

I can dig that… So would you say college tours are like any other venue? Or are they a little bit different?

I would say the college tours are a little bit better, more so than working clubs. Because when you’re working a college tour, you got campus police and the regular police. And usually rap shows bring violence, and that’s why there aren’t a lot of shows. So anytime you go on a college campus, you’re going to have that extra security. So it’s a more safer environment for the artist to perform. And also college kids are not necessarily out there trying to crank up some violence.

Still keeping on the subject of touring; do you think live shows are a dying art form in Hip-Hop? Or are they still relevant?

I felt like about 2-3 years ago they were dying out. But they’re coming back to the forefront again with the emergence of my new album coming out. I feel as if the game will be stepped up. Like I said, I’m not a new artist, I’ve been around for a while. Its just been a minute since I’ve been back on the scene. I’m a veteran, and I feel like I’m going to kind of change the game as far as live performances. And then people are going to have to step it up, you know.

You have subject matter that ranges from racial issues, to political issues, right down to spiritual topics. Do you ever worry that “materialistic rap” might overshadow what you’re trying to get across?

I’m not worried because you gotta think, I’ve been overshadowed my whole career. [Laughs] Ain’t nobody seen no videos of me, and ain’t nobody heard me on the radio in years. So it’s like my whole career has been overshadowed. I feel like by me signing this new deal and with some of the respect that got, I feel like I will NEVER be overshadowed again.


Through my deal with Williams Street and the whole Adult Swim situation. Like right now I have a commercial running on The Boondocks and this is my first commercial, know what I’m saying. Witchdoctor has been in the game for ten years, and ain’t ever had a commercial. So that whole situation with me out the scene will never happen again.

So what makes you take on issues like that, when most artist prefer to stay away from those topics?

When I tell you my favorite subject is God, when I tell you that; it means I’m a people-person. When somebody says they really love God, that means they really love people too. So when I say that, it means that I’m not writing popcorn bubblegum raps. I’m 36 years old, and I might be one of the oldest rappers in Atlanta.

So I want to say something that people can ride to for ten years. So that means saying something that everyone is scared to talk about. And sometime when you have a relationship with God, he can have you to say something that’s going to convince somebody else. So you might say something to me, and you won’t know that it affected me in some kind of way.

Just like right now, you’re interviewing Witchdoctor and after your name goes up on the article, people are going to be randomly chosen by God to read this story, and they’re going to be affected by what you wrote. And that’s going to make people look at you in a different way. Just like my album is going to make people look at me in a different way.





source-sixshot

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