Black Liquid: State of the (Richmond Hip-Hop) Union
It’s 3:00 AM and Strange Matter is finally at peace. One hour earlier, the venue was crowded with fans of RVA underground hip-hop attending the final Face Melt Friday of 2011. While most people left more than content with the event, the night’s co-creator and host, Black Liquid, is not satisfied.
“I’m upset! Not everyone got on stage tonight and that upsets me,” he explains. “What I’m trying to do is give people an opportunity, and I understand that it doesn’t always work out the way we planned, but I promise that I will straighten out anybody who didn’t get on tonight tomorrow at the radio station.”
There is no doubt that Black Liquid works hard--in addition to his work on Face Melt Friday, he hosts two weekly radio shows (one each on WRIR & WDCE), has released 15 albums since 2008, performs live constantly, and seems to be omnipresent on social media.
But what really sets Black Liquid, born Rob Fields, apart is his passion to give opportunities to others, and to reach people with his message. He keeps a schedule more like a political candidate than a hip-hop artist: I’ve seen him shaking hands at First Fridays, taking pictures at The Camel, handing out his album in front of Strange Matter, and delivering his energetic message in support of RVA hip-hop to anyone that will listen. His enthusiastic campaign led me to wonder: what if Black Liquid was elected President of the RVA Hip-hop scene? He is already one of the scene’s most vocal advocates and visible ambassadors. What if we created this magical position and gave Black Liquid free rein? What would be his report on the State of Richmond’s Hip-Hop Union?
READ THE FULL VERSION OF RVA #7 HERE
Though we’d previously agreed to start the interview following the Face Melt show, I quickly realized that a 4:00 AM interview with Liquid after one of his most successful and frustrating nights would not make for the appropriate level of detail required for this subject matter. Instead, we met up 21 hours later at the WRIR radio studio.
Is Richmond Hip-Hop more style or more substance?
Neither/nor, for the situation is hostile. The problem with Richmond hip-hop is the negative way in which people perceive it. Professionalism is what’s lacking, in that many of us don’t take what we do seriously beyond the actual performance. We need cats to step their games up. When we do that, it will not be about style or substance; it will be that our style is substantial and our substance is quite stylistic.
Let’s say that you won an election last night and today you are the President of the Richmond Hip-Hop scene. As President, what is your first order of business?
I would draft a constitution and rule number 1 would be: No [prerecorded] vocal tracks during your live performance. The one thing that separates a 2 point shot from a 3 point shot is the vocal track. I mean, do you really believe in yourself? Do you have the power that you’ve been blessed with when you stand on that stage for a live performance? Did you record that track with the idea that you can spit it in front of people? Or did you just do it for the studio, so your mans and them can nod their heads to it? See, that’s where the line has to be drawn. So I would be like, ‘Yo, no vocal tracks.’ And you’ll see real quick that a lot of the Richmond scene would disappear for a while, because all these people have talent, but they refused to challenge themselves on stage. I don’t use a vocal track. I go out there buck naked, and I know everyone can do it. I was in the same position, where I was fearful that I wouldn’t be able to represent what I did in the studio properly onstage, until I realized that the experience needs to lead. Do not stress yourself over perfection. Be imperfect, for that is perfection.
If you were going to change something in regards to the Richmond hip-hop climate what would you like to see changed?
I would like to see the collective work together to change the perception of RVA hip-hop. The perception when it comes to underground hip-hop for venue owners is that hip-hop means no money, no profit. Like it or not, these venue owners are all a part of what we are doing. I would like to see us artists take responsibility to raise the bar, and operate with a high level of professionalism. I would like to see the venue owners drop the fear and give us an opportunity beyond just booking one night to do a showcase. We need more outreach, more support, more promotion from within the infrastructure of the venue. I want to see standards broken, not set.
What needs to happen in order for artists to come together and venue owners to drop their fear? Do people not talk enough to each other?
People talk about themselves to each other, but they don’t talk about the situation. People don’t realize that they are just a picture within the mosaic of this scene.They want to be entitled, they want to have expectations, instead of seeing that success is a mentality, and effort is what yields results. So what needs to change? People need to get over themselves. Get over the next man’s business plan, and see that we are in a position to pioneer. There is nothing like the scene here anywhere else in the world, because we have built this from the start. There are a lot of people sleeping on it, but at the end of the day, the logs that we saw today are going to be the ones that allow us to pave the road and move forward.
So, what is the State of the Union in RVA hip-hop?
The state of the union is fear. The venues, the people out there who have access to opportunities, are afraid of us because we are not a profitable business. As artists, we do our best to screw each other instead of trying to find a way to make the most out of every situation. If we can create a business model that serves all of us, we can create opportunities that would give us so much more leverage in this city. So the State of RVA hip-hop is also a state of disarray. We work together in the sense that we are all in the same cafeteria eating the same tater tots, but we don’t join up and put the tables together.
How do you put the tables together?
The only way to put the tables together is through a form of submission. People have to submit to the greater will to put things together. There is a blue leg and there is a yellow leg on the Voltron joint. You have to be willing to be part of a team. You have to be a solider before you can be a leader. Everybody has to play a part.
As an artist and I would say an ambassador for this current Richmond hip-hop scene, do you feel more pressure in 2011? Do you feel like you are under the spotlight to represent for RVA hip-hop?
The weirdest thing for me is being perceived differently than I was a year ago. At this time a year ago, I had done a few things, sure, but this year has been very educational for me. The pressure that I’m under is not the pressure to do the things I do. When people come up to me and say, I respect what you do so much, that is when I feel pressure, because I want to convey to them that what I’m doing is no different that the greatness that lies within them. I want people to get better, because when they get better, I can be better myself. That is the only way we will continue to grow, if we inspire each other. So, I’m under constant self-pressure to inspire others. I feel it more than ever.
Are you the hardest working man in RVA hip-hop?
No. No matter how hard you work, no matter how good you are, there is always someone out there doing better. I’m just a man who works hard at working hard.
Is that important to you? Not really the title but the effort?
It’s essential. There is no time to waste. I can’t sit around and say I don’t want to do this or that, because I know that we have something special here, and we have to keep pushing for it. I don’t really care about results. I could die now. I have fifteen albums out and over 150 tracks. I dropped 9 albums in 2010. And I’ve worked heavily on some other projects--Slugg Tapes, etc. I’ve made impressions on people that I never thought could happen. I have inspired people. So to me it’s already a job well done. Now my forward motivation is really to continue to inspire others.
The single from you that has caught the most buzz this year is “Can I Get a Deal?” Do you really want a record deal?
I want an opportunity to create a sustainable business model. A deal would give me the opportunity to invest in what we are already doing in Richmond, and to expand to new territory outside of the city. Back in the day, 10 years ago, VA had a lot of biting. Either you were acting like a dude from up north, or down south. Now I see a lot of individuals in Richmond, and despite that fact that they do emulate certain creative practices of major well known artists, there is way more individuality.
Why do you think everyone is starting to pay attention to Richmond’s hip-hop scene?
It’s because the internet grants us so much access to the music industry. Everyone can now see that there are local artists doing the same things as artists on major labels. So the old standard of celebrity is dead. What makes a person a celebrity these days is how many people you can touch with your work, and the internet allows anyone to touch anyone with their work. While we have progress, we are not where we need to be yet. We are just like Atlanta, just like New York, just like Cali or Cleveland. We are all out here pursing the same goal. And now, with the capital game really gone because of the internet and free downloads, the true currency is people’s attention.
With 15 albums on the street right now and being heavy in the Richmond hip-hop scene since 2009, what have you learned through this current journey about you, as an artist and a professional?
What I’ve learned as an artist is that you have to touch the people. You have to inspire them and really make an impression. When I first started, was really raw, I was crass, I was an asshole. I’ve learned so much about respecting the rules and respecting the infrastructure. Make things work, but never act as if you are bigger than the situation.
I respect your studio work, but your studio albums have nothing on your live show. Have you thought about doing a live album?
I’m addressing this in my new music. I’ve already recorded a new iTunes single. We recorded in one take for the live feel. What I want to do is transcend everything I’ve done in the studio. Everything I’m doing now is about taking the intensity and the energy of a live show. Everything I’m doing is off the top. I’ll do a track in an hour, or 40 minutes, or 20 minutes. It’s all about capturing that live energy. What I’m working towards is the fusion of the studio content with the live energy that was missing.
Tell me about the New Juice Crew and your role in the group.
The New Juice Crew is based upon the idea of in productivity and work and the old school hip-hop ethics of Big Daddy Kane and etc. who laid it down back in the day. A lot of people think that it’s based on the idea that we drink 40s, we get it in, we get drunk, blah blah blah, but it’s all about productivity. For example: 40 day, the Juice Crew holiday. You hear about 40 day and you just think that these guys are just drinking 40s all day. The reason why we drink 40s is because we spent a whole year on the discipline path, ya know, and now we all take one day to celebrate. The Juice Crew is about more than hip-hop, because hip-hop itself is about more than hip-hop.
What advice would you give to an independent artist in Richmond that sees what you’re doing and wants to get on a similar grind?
If you want to be at the top, start at the bottom. Be everything that you don’t want to be, because nine times out of ten, people are doing all they can not to be those things. Be everything that is uncomfortable, that is unforeseen, irrational; not what people want, but what people need. That is a form of integrity. Give yourself to the people and you will get so much more back. These days, if you want to view hip-hop as a monetary thing, if you want to view this thing as a fame thing, if you want to view it as something that serves you, you will lose.
So tell me what motivates you.
I feel like I have died so many times, and this is something that I’m living. What I’m doing now may be a conduit to what I do later. But for me the time is now. If I wake up in the morning that means I have today. I don’t have time to think about tomorrow. If I don’t do this now, how the fuck will I know what later brings?
If you had one message to give to people, what would it be?
The thing that I want people to understand most about me is that I am just like you. If you like what I’m doing, know that you can be better. So help me get to another level, so that you can get to another level. Once we get there, we can get somewhere else. And we just do that over and over again: progression.
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