Mindz I is a Hip-Hop artist from Trenton, the heart and capital of New Jersey. By producing his own music and playing his own instruments, Mindz I blends Rock and Rap with a east meets west mentality. Having a conscious approach to past, present, and future issues. Mindz I first started writing songs by playing the bass guitar and jamming with family and friends. Soon he started producing and mixing songs with guitars, synthesizers, samples and cuts from movies, t.v. shows, video games, and internet videos to create the ever-evolving style that is Mindz I. With the release of Mindz I’s first EP called iScience, not only is Mindz I creating a new style of music, but also a new way on how music can be experienced. Recording his music with Holophonic Sound and Brainwave Entrainment technology, Mindz I music gives the listener a visual experience with a psychedelic theme to open your mind and paint the picture of the music within you. Mindz I took some time to chat with us, here’s what he said..
1. So whats good Mindz I? How did you come up with your name?
It’s ALL good MTK. There could be no other name for what I’m trying to express in my music. The name Mindz I can represent the internal intuition within you that is hidden as well as the third eye.
2. We have heard of a lot of artists from Jersey, but none of them ever really branded Trenton yet. Other then what we hear in the news headlines how would you describe your city and the hiphop scene out there?
The Hiphop scene in Trenton is live and on the rise in my opinion. The art and culture in Trenton is amazing, you can meet all different sorts of people with all different styles. We get it jumping at the MillHill Basement in downtown Trenton, I just hosted an open mic event there called The FlowJam. The Jersey Fresh Jam is every summer and it is a Hiphop and Graffiti arts event. People come from all around to this event to tag up walls, drink, chill, smoke, rap and listen to some dope Hiphop by heads from all around the way.
3. How did you first start producing? Which instruments did you learn to play first?
The first instrument I starting with was a bass guitar. I only learned a few songs but I would create my own bass riffs in repetitive bars and then eventually rhyme to them with a drum machine. I would jam with other guitarists who played the 6 string, write songs, and then eventually I bought recording equipment to record it. Basically, I feel you can’t wait around for stuff to happen and for people to do something for you. So I decided to do everything I needed to create these songs.
4. Your sound fuses Rock and HipHop together. What is it about meshing the two that brings your artistry to life?
The best music is made in the Jam. In the moment of creative energy fusing with another persons creative intuition. Bass & guitar, drums & rhyming, or Rock & Hiphop. All music can flow together. I’ve never liked just one genre of music.
5. Have you ever made a strictly Hiphop or Rock record?
I recently released a song and video called Lyrical Legend for R.A. The RuggedMan’s definition of a rap flow contest. I went hard on this and kept it true to Hiphop. I made it as a song more than anything, and made it as a tribute to hiphop legends. I am working on just rock songs for the future, but it will have a slight Hiphop feel to it because of the rhyming.
6. Which genre of music do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy Hiphop because it is a raw art form that isn’t broken down at first. Hiphop is the use of everything else. It started with sampling other music, but it is the expression of the artist through rhyming. Rhyming is a very ancient art form.
7. On “When The World Ends” you went pretty deep man. Do you think the world is really closer to end?
I believe how something begins, so shall it be in the end. Even scientists have a big crunch theory, how the universe that began with a big bang will end with a big crunch. My world just began but the sign of the times are crazy.
8. Keep it real were you worried on 12/21/2012 (laughs)
Nah, like I said my world just began. I said that then and I still say that. 2012 was understanding ourselves because how can something end when our origins are withheld.
9. Who are your top 5 favorite rappers of all time?
I’ve always stayed underground when it came to lyrical content, that is where the illest rhymes are. On a more mainstream and all time rapper aspect, I would say the greats like Big Pun, Big L, DMX, Canibus, & Nas.
10. After listening to you for a while we heard a lot of complex lyrics. Does the modern day hiphop bother you as of late? If so, what do you feel is lacking?
Hiphop is lacking its soul. It is unoriginal and watered down. You can only break down and duplicate a substance so much, eventually it becomes worthless. People are literally giving their music away for free now. Whole albums! I make free music too, but I put work and effort into my art and projects. The new iScience is $9 and worth the money.
11. You recently dropped an album on ITunes titled “iScience”. How would you describe that album and what will the fans get if they purchase it?
The album is a trip and it is the birth of Mindz I. All the first songs I wrote while jamming with my brother and my friend, who now plays guitar live at Mindz I shows, Cs Adams. I say it’s a trip because it is made to be a journey from the first song to the last. No one has experienced this style and sound before. It is the evolution of music and the human conscious experience of it.
Buy here – https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/iscience/id951837618
12. It was great chopping it up with you. The floor is yours. Feel free to leave any shout outs, links to your music, etc.
A lot more Mindz I Music on the way, stay connected and link up on Facebook and Twitter
https://www.facebook.com/Mindzisite
https://twitter.com/Mindzisite