Interview Time: Bizarre
Bizarre As we enter the studio to discuss his solo career, Bizarre is sitting in the booth with a bright yellow polo shirt and baggy jeans. He sits back in the leather sofa, which he blatantly takes up. He has his hands in his pockets and seems very relaxed.
What age did you decide you wanted to become a rapper and was there anyone in your life that influenced you?
I decided I wanted to become a rapper at the age of ten. The person that influenced me was my music teacher. First I was in the glee club and he told me that I couldn’t sing, then I wrote a rap about Martin Luther King’s birthday and performed it at the school talent show and it continued on from there.
Did doing rap battles and getting involved in open-mic nights and talent shows help?
Yea, it all helps, everything little thing helps, open-mics, rap contests, talent shows. We did everything we could. We used to put $40 in the gas tank and drive to New York, which took 13 hours from Detroit, so you know we did everything possible to get heard, just struggling.
What made you so dedicated and how did you keep yourself motivated?
Just knowing that at the end of the light, I had a goal to be made. I just basically had a mission, there were a lot of obstacles in the way but you just had to stay strong, overcome them and be determined.
After 2 successful albums with D12 you’re now due to release your debut solo album ‘Hannicap Circus’, with some excellent collaborations. What are we to expect from that?
Basically we got songs like ‘Coming Home’ with Raphael Saadiq, we got ‘Bad Day’, which is a remix of the Ice Cube song ‘It Was a Good Day’. We got songs like ‘Hip-Hop’ where I’m just talking about my hip-hop career, and then you got songs like ‘One Chance’ where I’m talking about the struggles of being an artist, just saying you only got one chance, don’t give up. There might be a good job that comes along and you have to turn it down, because you can’t really put in the hours and be a hip-hop artist at the same time. I got a variety of stuff on the album.
The track ‘Coming Home’ feat Raphael Saadiq allows your fans to see another side to you. Was it important for you to let your fans see that Bizarre is not always wild and crazy and like any ordinary family man, you miss home?
(Laughs)
I wanted the fans to see that side, so I told Raphael (Saadiq) we should do this song called ‘Coming Home’. My group and me have been through a lot of crazy situations. When 911 happened we were in London and we had to stay over here for two weeks. When we finally got back on the plane to Detroit, there was a bomb threat on our plane and we had to make an emergency landing. It was a lot for us to go through. So it made us appreciate being home sometimes.
What do you think about the UK music scene? Is there anyone that has impressed you since you’ve been here?
It’s pretty dope (good). I haven’t heard anyone lately but I’ve been hearing Dizzee Rascal on the radio. I like his style. I did a song with Natasha Bedingfield, which was dope. My girl Kelly Osborne is supposed to come over here soon with here album, Floetry too. I like Craig David too. The UK is definitely not struggling for artists. You have a lot of talent out here.
A lot of people would say that the UK urban music artists shadow the US artists, would you agree with that?
I think the UK has its own style. I don’t see anybody from England trying to talk like they’re from New York. You all got your own accent, your own style of dress, you all definitely different.
Do you think it’s important to be unique?
Yea, definitely, that’s what makes a person different. I definitely had to be different, because as you know there are a million rappers out there trying to make and if you rap like everyone else nobody is going to pay attention to you.
What advice would you give to any young talent out there trying to make it?
The advice I would give is to be determined, never give up. No one says it going to be easy and the end of the day this is a job and it’s a lot of hard work. You got to have a goal to achieve. We’re not all here just popping champagne and living in million dollar houses. We’re all in one-bedroom apartments, eating jerk chicken everyday. (Laughs)
What can we expect to see from you in the future?
We just did a movie with Adam Sandler, a small role. D12 is also shooting a movie called ‘Haunted Cribs’ starting in September. So the acting is really coming along. I also got a record label and I’m going to start putting some acts out from Detroit more and more. That’s the plan for the future.
Name your top 5 favourite songs of all time and why?
1. Devin the Dude – Dooby Ashtray.
He talks about dying on his last blunt and he needs to smoke weed and he’ll do whatever he has to do to get it.
2. End of the Road – Boyz 2 Men.
It’s a classic but I aint gonna say why I like it coz everyone will think I’m gay.
3. Be Country till the day I die – Petey Pable, Coz I love fishing.
4. Rockstar – Bizarre, Coz it’s my song.
5. Rockstar – Bizarre, Coz it’s my song
Why do you like fishing?
It calms the nerves it’s a challenge, the challenge to make the fish bite the bait.
You wear a shower cap in your latest video. Are we going to see your own brand come out?
(Laughs)
I love my shower caps; there’ll be a line of Bizarre shower caps in a store near you very soon.