KNOXX PERFORMING WITH MONEY B OF DIGITAL UNDERGROUND AND RHYMEFEST-WICKED HOP
SCOTT KNOXX & MIKE PAYNE-WICKED HOP
SCOTT KNOXX PERFORMING 50 GRAND
SCOTT KNOXX THE PRODUCT FREESTYLE
SCOTT KNOXX GET IT ON!!!
As promised, today is the very first BRiSON GRiND SESSiON and 1st up to bat is Milwaukee native Scott Knoxx. Knoxx has been on the serious grind since the 90's when we went to high school together. Spittin at the games, rhyming in the halls, and just making sure that anybody with ears could hear him, and finally, all of the hard work is paying off. Scottie Knoxx is definitely soon to blow! His determination and passion for music is apparent from the 1st time you listen to one of his flows. But the grind doesn't stop there for Knoxx, he is more than your ordinary rapper...this dude is an all around business man. Peep his bio and you too will see why.
Scottie Knoxx:
FORT KNOXX EVERY Sunday 11AM-12PM PT FOLLOWED BY THE INFAMOUS RECORD BREAKERS FROM 12PM-1PM PT ON
CHECK OUT MY INTERVIEW ON YAHEARDMAGAZINE.COM
Scottie Knoxx: Milwaukee’s Finest
Scottie Knoxx started rapping at age ten, battling his older brother Ace . Not long after that, he was competing in lunch room battles. At a young age, Knoxx’s impressive rhyme style coupled with his determination found the youthful rhyme slinger winning several talent competitions around Milwaukee. Knoxx began recording at the age of 15 when he began writing the blueprint for what would soon become Shady Biz Records. In 1999 they released Knoxxism, a pairing of Knoxx’s spine-tingling flow with Shady’s unorthodox sound effects and soulful drum patterns. The album garnered a huge buzz throughout Milwaukee and quickly spread Knoxx’s name in the streets.
Maintaining that buzz and continuing to grind, Knoxx has aligned himself to make something happen within a short span of time. Landing a production deal with Rico Love’s Division 1 Records, Knoxx has placed ‘all his eggs in one basket.’ Hopefully, the seasoned MC won’t loosen his grip on his future anytime soon. It’s his knowledge of the business and exposure to heavyweights that has him poised to make something happen for his city.
YHM: What are you doing to get yourself ready for the national scene?
SK: We just did like 6,000 mixtapes in the city, and we getting ready to get the scene poppin’.
YHM: How long have you been grinding on the music scene?
SK:On the professional side, um…three-four years.
YHM: Why does it take so long for guys to get on?
SK: Because nobody looks here too often. Small cities may get overlooked because as a whole, they might not have a great music scene, but there are a handful of people doing something.
YHM: Why is it so hard for cats to get airplay in Milwaukee?
SK: Because we’re a mid-market. They take music that they want us to hear and they play music they think the demographic wanna hear. I think where we are, the average demographic here is 35-year-old women. Those women ain’t worried about what I’m doing. Radio won’t support us until we do better in a different market. I know the DJs and they know me, but there’s so many politics and red tape; I just do me.
YHM: Rico Love is having success in larger markets, but yet in Milwaukee he’s hated by so many. Why is that?
SK: I think the biggest thing is that it takes a lot to get up and go somewhere and not know people. You’re your own support system. It’s jealously when you’re worried about what another person is doing instead of yourself. Grown men shouldn’t worry about that. The biggest thing with our city is that no one has come out and put the stamp on it yet. Coo Coo Cal had the biggest chance, but it didn’t happen. There’s the anticipation to do it first.
YHM: How did you and Rico hook-up?
SK: I met Rico back in ‘97- ‘98. I used to go record and the engineer used to tell Rico about me. We linked up and we did some good music. He left town and I had moved to New York. We got back in contact last summer; we chopped it up and I got the production deal through his company.
YHM: Out of state what’s the scene like for you?
SK: We just go out of state and get our work off. We test out our singles and all that. You got to get the people to listen to you; once they listen to you, they ask about you. You just have to be in position to do something with the attention. When you on the low coming up, you shouldn’t be looking too hard for a profit; you looking at face value.
YHM: You did some joints with Rhymefest; how did you get that cracking?
SK: You got to have a good business relationship with people. It’s one between me and Rhymefest that’s like that. He wants to tap into the Milwaukee market and I want to tap into his market. It’s mutual.
YHM: What other major cats are you working with?
SK: I’m supposed to do a record with C-Murder. Hopefully, that’ll pop off soon. We talked on the phone and it’s just a matter of getting the song done now.
YHM: At the end of the day, what do you want to known be for?
SK: I want to be known for doing something for my city other than rapping. That’s good, but I want more. I want something for my community.
It isn’t easy to capture the ears of the underground rap scene, especially when there is a plethora of rappers vying against you to do the same. However, Scott Knoxx welcomes the competition and has already built a respect level on the streets through his savvy rhymes and lyrical wit that’s not going to be easily taken away.
Knoxx began making a name for himself early on as a teenager. His first album, Knoxxism, dropped in 1999 and instantly authenticated his talent and presence on Milwaukee’s hip-hop scene. Followed were appearances on several albums nationwide and his creation of mixtapes that featured other elite rappers throughout Milwaukee and coast to coast created a buzz.
With over a decade of experience on his side and gaining the ears of multiple listeners, Knoxx is ready to take his skills to another level. His latest album, Live from the Animal House, proves his compassion to make a deeper impact through collaborations with NuStyles, Rico Love, Juelz Santana, JR da Supastar and Mike Payne. When asked to describe his musical style, Knoxx explains, “My style is hard in like a tough-street aspect, but sensible at the same time. I feel like I’m picky about what words I use and it’s not what you say, but it’s how you say it.” Knoxx declares that his music is a lot of him which encompasses his humor, business acumen and passion for this industry.
Looking toward the future, Knoxx hopes to morph Milwaukee into a powerful rap capital and make it more conducive to hip-hop music and culture. Developing mixtapes monthly and working on his new solo album anticipated to drop in November ’06, is just the beginning to his strategy. “I’m focused on flooding the streets of Milwaukee and the market to see what will work, what will not, and coming up with different sounds to see the response,” says a determined Knoxx. “Overall, I think my swagger and attitude is different from other rappers and that will ultimately win people over. Everybody wants to be a tough guy and that doesn’t matter to me. My life is about handling business, figuring out more ways to flood the market and feeling my music.”
Taking that approach, the maverick purports that he wants to bring back the days that you could put in an album and listen it to it all the way through without skipping a beat—creating classics.
It’s that thinking, coupled with his talent, wisdom and musical ingenuity that should deliver Knoxx nothing but impressive music. He says however, to reach that point, everyone must first support local artists. “If it’s good music and it’s local, support it in everyway you can,” says Knoxx. “Call the radio stations, buy the album…ride with the artist all the way until the end.” Until the end…let’s go!
What's good fam? I need a ticket homie!! U know my 24th b-day on the 19th, right!! Now there's 2 b-days to celebrate, shit gon' be crackin!!! Holla at cha boy!! Peace
WATS GOOD DIS BANG. IM MAKING REAL LIFE MUSIC FOR MY PEOPLE. 1 OF DA BEST RAPPER OUT & FROM DA CHI. I GOT KILLA BEATS FOR SALE FIRST COME FIRST SERVE. I GOT BANGERS AND MY PAGE AND LISTEN TO MY NEW HOT SONGS "DIS WAT I WANT". DA REAL GONE FEEL IT AND DA FAKE GONE HATE IT SHO SOME LUV. IF U FEELING MY MUSIC PUT ME ON UR TOP FRIENDS AND HIT ME BACK
What's up fam, I see yah doing yah thang!! Oh yeah, be sure to tell yah folks to check me out on the Keeping it real, hot and fresh blog/talk radio show! Every Monday night 9pm EST! Tell them to log on to www.xxbn.net and be sure to call in with their thoughts and comments. The call in number is 646-200-3136
