Novatore is a hardcore hip-hop artist from the south side of Chicago. In February of 2015 he released his debut mixtape titled, “Dystopian, which received a great review from Underground Hip Hop Blog (UGHH). Months later, in July, he released his first EP tilted Suicide by Radio. Novatore has collaborated with Lord Lhus, Jak Tripper, Gore Elohim and did two show dates with Awol One and Necro on the 2015 Terminator Tour- west coast edition.
1. Whats good Novatore?
Whattup whattup!
2. For starts how did you come up with your name?
My name is based off of an early 20th century Italian anarchist/Illegalist. His name was Abele Rizieri Ferrari but his pen name was Renzo Novatore. He was killed in an ambush by the national military police of Italy. On his body the detectives found some false documents, a Browning gun with two full magazines, one hand grenade and a ring with a secret container filled with a lethal dose of cyanide. Pretty bad ass!!
3. You got a wild style. Are you the lost member of Onyx (laughs)?
Haha! I wish. Where my royalties?? (laughs)
4. You bring a lot of fire and intensity to the mic when you record. Was your style always full throttle or did you start with or a more mellow flow?
I pretty much started that aggressive. I’ve actually been toning it down just a bit in an effort to incorporate more technical ability and to better annunciate.
5. We checked out your video for “Slaughter”. The visual matched what we picture when we hear your grittiness in rhyme form. The song was dope too. True Underground flavor. What project was that video off of and was that your first official video?
Thanks man. Yeah that was my first official video for my first mixtape titled “Dystopian”.
6. So you are from the Southside of Chicago. The news coming from that part of the Chi is worse then what we hear about the Bears (laughs), just kidding, but in all seriousness its a rough part of America. Did you surroundings mold you into the emcee you are today and is that why you come hard on each track?
haha truuee. Yeah, I can definitely say that my experience growing up in Chicago has made me a pretty intense person, which definitely shows in my music. I also played in punk and metal bands and am kind of just used to being loud. My live shows are loud as fuck as well.
7. It seems like most of these artists since 2009 and up coming from Chicago have a whole different sound. Before it was pure lyricism from Twista, Common and an older version of Kanye West. Now its music from Chief Keef and a lot of youth making these simple abc gangster records. For starts how do you feel about the current state of Chicago hiphop?
I’m not super stoked on it. There’s not much support for underground artists who aren’t fitting into the mold of what’s popular at the moment. Which I think is the bigger problem.
8. What do you think about artists like Chief Keef?
In terms of those recent Chicago artists who have made a name for themselves (chief Keef, Lil Durk etc.), it’s definitely not the direction I’d like to see, but I enjoy it for what it is. Especially when I’m suuuuper drunk (laughs). Yeah, I’m obviously more inspired by like artists like Non-Phixion, Jedi Mind Tricks, Wu, etc. A lot of the trap/drill music can be super repetitive and kind of stereotypical.
9. Your video for “Vengeance” was crazy dope! How did that track come about and was the video a hidden shot at someone on your bad side (LAUGHS)?
Thnx! That track was kind of inspired by my hatred for society (laughs). Like I saidbefore I played in political punk and metal bands for years and it was kind of la statement of like “yeah, I’m rapping now but not much has changed”, and nah, I just like brutal visuals. I was kind of was inspired by that scene from the movie Reservoir Dogs where dude gets his ear cut off. I have an even crazier, more sick, video coming out any day now for a song called “Laced Up”.
10. You just recently dropped your most recent mixtape for “Suicide By Radio”. What was the overall concept you were going for with that project and where can our readers get that?
For that EP, the concept was basically that 95% of radio music sucks ass and is infuriating. Really only one song on it (the title track) specifically focuses on that topic but all my songs are pretty much the anti-thesis of pop music.
You can find it on iTunes, Amazon mp3, or you can get it on my band camp:
11. Whats next for you in 2015?
Got the new video for “Laced Up” dropping. Going to keep playing shows and working on my first full length LP that I plan to release some time next year. The beats on this one are sounding insane so far. Way more Boom Bap, way more minimal. Still dark as ever.
12. What’s the 5 year plan for Novatore?
Shit, besides don’t die…. I wanna release this LP and spend like a full year just promoting the shit out of it. Get on mad shows. I plan to start touring soon. We’ll just see where the music takes me. I’d really like to get on a solid label too just to help with promotion and distribution.
13. It was good chopping it up with you homie and we look forward to hearing more. You got a raw style and we love the intensity. A lot of artists are missing that spark nowerdays. With that said, the floor is yours, give any shout outs, any plugs.. the floor is yours…..
Shout out to mix tape kings and Tha Advocate for the interview! Shout out to Jeff the Chef, anyone who has ever done a feature for me (except for one asshole who will go unnamed), my girlfriend, DADA creative, DJ lil High, UG promotions, Glock Lesnar, Addam, Flow, and all the people who support me and come to my shows, rock my shirts etc. Check my videos, Check my music, and be on the lookout for my LP dropping next year. Peace!