We Spoke With Mr. MFN eXquire
In the realm of the real and the fake, many rappers sport a façade of authenticity. Mr. MFN eXquire is not one of those rappers. After spending a night with him before and after his show on September 25th at the Shadow Lounge, it is apparent that his oddball style is nothing short of genuine and his personality bleeds into his music. His ability to take a small venue and create an atmosphere of intimacy absorbed even the most casual fans into the spirit of the show. Sure, on wax his lyrics get nasty, and he acknowledges this, but entwined within his dirty style is the uninhibited soul of underground hip-hop that refuses to retreat in the face of a label or main-stream pressures. So what did the man himself have to say about his music?
Bryan: If you could work with one producer, who would it be?
Mr. MFN eXquire: Rick Rubin, who I am actually supposed to work with.
Zack: Oh…so like a “99 Problems” type song?
MFN X: Yeah but more Licensed to Ill.
B: Is there any artist you want to work with?
MFN X: I don’t know… not really… maybe Kendrick.
B: If I was to say one artist I want to see you with it would be him. He’s killing it right now.
Z: You into Black Hippy?
MFN X: Just Kendrick really… I wanna work with Freddie Gibbs too.
B: He just came out with a new mixtape… you cop that… Baby Face Killa?
MFN X: Nah, haven’t had the time, been on the road.
B: What albums inspire you?
MFN X: So many you gotta narrow that down like… inspired me to live or to rap?
B: Both.
MFN X: As a rapper…everything. It might be Future, it might be El-P or it might be Soulja Boy… I just love the art… I love to rap… I love it. In my Life… Ready to Die was the first album I fell in love with… and you guys know Royce?
Z/B: Yeah.
MFN X: Well he has an album called Death In Certain that is one of my favorites. And when I was younger I listened to some Ma$e.
Z: Like before he was a pastor?
MFN X: Exactly. [laughs]
B: How do you see yourself in the future?
MFN X: I’m gonna be that person that takes underground rap and makes it mainstream.
Z: Hell yeah.
MFN X: You guys got any other questions? Ask me whatever you want.
B: Would you do Camp Bisco again?
MFN X: Hell yeah!
B: What a crazy atmosphere.
MFN X: Yeah, a bunch of hippies and drug addicts.
Z: Wish I went, I wanted to see Big Boi.
B: Yeah, he came on like a half hour late for an hour set.
MFN X: That sh*t is never really the artist’s fault.
B: Do you plan on signing with a label?
MFN X: I am signed with Universal.
B: Oh, do you like being signed? Because there are a lot of negative connotations with record labels now…
MFN X: I mean it’s money…
Z: Money’s alright …
MFN X: [laughs]…yeah I mean other than that yeah I like it. They know they can’t make me do nothing I don’t want to do. Like if they want me to do a song with Rihanna, it’s going to be a grimy song still. I like being the elephant in the room. El-P always says, I’m reeking havoc and that’s exactly what I plan to do.
Before the interview eXquire explained the two sides to him. One side is the MFN which is his raw stage persona the other is just him as a regular guy. We got a chance to speak to a regular guy and got the benefit of having a candid and laid-back conversation with one of our hip-hop idols. Not only did he give us unlimited access to him, he also was eager to tell us about who he is and even showed us the unreleased cover of his upcoming EP, Power & Passion. It’s crazy, but you’ll just have to take our word for it and get the EP when it drops October 30.
interview by Zack Wolfe
