The best thing to happen to hip-hop in Connecticut is Apathy. For years he’s been putting in work and repping his state. After years of grinding and perfecting his craft, Apathy found himself on the other end of a phone conversation with Interscope head honcho Jimmy Iovine, who flew him out to Cali, gave him the royal treatment, and then signed him.

Although the deal didn’t last it was a big accomplishment for Apathy and for hip-hop. A fixture on the underground, Apathy stays rapping with his click, the collective, the Demigodz, which consists of extremely talented rappers from Ryu to Esoteric.

Now doing his thing independently, Apathy is working harder than ever and continuing to put out that quality music hip-hop so badly needs. Sixshot.com caught up with Apathy to discuss Connecticut, Jimmy Iovine, and Eastern Philosophy.
 
Sup man, what's good?

Just workin' homie. I'm getting' ready to do the whole family thing but I stay on the grind. So I had to do this for you. 

What was it like as a youngster in Connecticut?

Connecticut is a confusing place. People perceive it to be a nice, rich ass area but it’s not like that through the whole state. A lot of CT is grimey. We're sandwiched in between NYC, Boston and Providence RI. It's a very industrial economically fucked up area. Anywhere there are poor people, it's gonna be grimey. I grew up poor, around poor whites, Puerto Ricans and blacks. I grew up following hip-hop, like a religion, more than music.

You're the hottest rapper to come out of your state. Why didn't Connecticut ever really blow up even though it's so close to New York?

That's probably the reason it didn't blow up. It's in the shadow of NYC. Plus it's all about circumstance. Just because NYC blows up, doesn't mean someone from CT has to blow up. It's just all about the artists and the material they're putting out. That R and B chick, Cassie, came from New London CT. but as soon as it popped off for her she made the switch REAL quick, and started reppin' NYC. 

Do you feel it's an advantage being from a state that has less competition?

I don't view competition as a regional thing. I view competition as a business and music thing. My competition is other rappers in my genre not just other rappers from my area. My music branches out beyond CT, so I’m not competing with just CT artists. I'm competing with artists from all over the world.
 
Just so everybody knows, what's a Demigod?

A Demigod is half human, half god. Half man, half deity.

Who exactly are the Demigodz?

The main group is Celph Titled, Motive, Ryu, Esoteric, Emilio Lopez, and me. Demigodz crew is definitely more extensive though. It's not something that's defined but there are people who are definitely Demigodz, and always will be. Open Mic is the founder, and originator of Demigodz. Rise, Scoop Deville, Spin 4th, Blue Raspberry, Tak, Cheapshot, Chum, 7L, Majik Most.

You're known for your slang and sense of humor. Do you think it's important to have those in your music?

It's important for me to have those things but it's not mandatory. There are artists who I love, like Guru and Rakim, who are serious and to the point and then dudes with a lot of character and panache, like Ghostface and Lil Wayne. So I think it's all about, in relation to what kind of artist you are.
 
"School" and "Smackdown" were crazy. What was the creative process like on those records?

"Smackdown" was a perfect record for that time. The indy boom of the late 90's. That was just us having fun, doing a "Live at the BBQ" style record with our homies. Rise and Celph had classic verses. C-Rayz killed that song. That's one of my favorite verses in rap history... "Ya not worthy like James without the Laker Jersey".

"School" was a very serious song for me. I wrote that right after Columbine happened. It was so horrific, but I understood WHY, it happened. The school system is so fucked up. Academically and socially. When you're in high school kids are merciless, fuckin assholes. And the clicks, and the segregation and categorization of people, is insane. I remember watching it all go down and thinking, "I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner". I was very sad and upset, with the whole psychology behind it. Suicide is one thing but that's a tremendous amount of anger to want to take out other people with you. Especially random people. I just wish these kids knew that once you leave high school life is so much different. I hated high school.

When did your reputation start to spread further than Connecticut?

Pretty much around the time when I appeared on the Jedi Mind Tricks first album. I was also fuckin' with the internet pretty heavy at that time. Trying to spread my name. That was actually an exciting time. People were still buying music, and there weren't as many rappers, as there are now. You knew who was who. Company Flow and The Arsonists were some of the big names back then, not just any asshole could put out music. You had to be official.

Jimmy Iovine flew you out to L.A, that's a big deal. How did that go down? How did you get his attention

This guy named Jason Mcguire, came across our music, our Demigodz EP, where we jacked the intro to Dr Dre's "The Chronic". He showed it to Jimmy and Jimmy loved it. Jimmy had it in his car for weeks. They flew Celph and I, out to LA, rented us a nice SUV, put us in the Standard hotel on the Sunset strip, gave us a company cell phone to use. We were fuckin’ gassed.

How does it feel to be signed to a major label after you've been exposed to the independent scene?

I got signed in 2003 to Atlantic Records. I had never been happier in my life. No matter what happened, good or bad, nothing made me happier than the fact that I got signed to a major label. I never thought that would happen in a million years, when I was younger. So just the fact that I accomplished that was a big deal to me. Not everyone can say that. I left Atlantic this past year. Indy might definitely be the way to go for the future. It's really hard, almost impossible for new hip-hop artists to be successful on a major these days and meet or exceed people's expectations.
 
How would you describe your rap style? 

I have no clue. I try to do a little of everything. I'm a student of my idols. Big L, Wu-Tang and Tribe inspire me as much, as Nas and X-Clan do. So it's hard to define.
 
With so many rappers out there, what do you feel you're bringing to the game?

Classic, good music. Everyone feels you have to change with the times, and pay attention to what other people are doing. Well, I don't feel artists should be stagnant but you should be true to what you feel and what formed you, as an artist.
 
Tell us about Eastern Philosophy.

I listen to it all the time. I'm very unapologetic for that. I love that album. I'm so proud of it. That album was so important for me. That was my Illmatic, or Reasonable Doubt. That was a throw back to the early 90's, east coast hip-hop that made me the artist that I am today. That was me paying tribute, and showing respect to all my teachers. Gang Starr, Wu Tang, Black Moon, D.I.T.C., EPMD, Tribe, Nas. That was me reliving a time period that was like fuckin’ magic. That shit will never happen again. Even though I tried to emulate it. It still wasn't the same. It's just me showing my blueprint. What made me. 

With a major deal, why are putting out an indie release?

I'm not on a major anymore. Indy is the way to go.
 
Tell us about The Bearer of Bad News. What can we expect from that?

I don't think I'm gonna use that title anymore.
 
Anything you'd like to tell the fans at Sixshot.com?

Stay tuned. www.myspace.com/apathy.