Carl Roe is easily talented enough to become one of hip-hop's next big stars. Given that, he hasn't done alot of interviews yet. His star is just beginning to rise and the press hasn't caught up with him significantly. Blood Is One, the first blog to reach out to this phenom, is proud to present a short Q&A with this up and comer. Here it is:
With your military past being a big part of your identity as a rapper, do you plan to keep this part of your "schtick" for the long haul?
The military will always be a part of my life. Any soldier will tell you that once you cross over from being a civilian, you never truly return to your former self. I have no motivation to make the military my muse or gimmick. The Army is something I did that was bigger than myself. I can't represent the Army doing what I'm doing... but i definately can represent soldiers. It's a hard life, but a soldier makes it work under the harshest conditions. I'd say my "schtick" is standing by the people that share my values of respect, honor and loyalty. Those three things can get you anywhere.
You've been working with Kenan Bell quite a bit, for Blood Is One projects as well as with him on a solo basis. Kenan's material and yours are quite different, to be honest. What is it about him that you find to be so synergetic?
First off, I would like to really recognize Kenan Bell as a "free artist." By that, I mean he is free from cliches. I really feel he caters to a large audience that has been suffering from the "same 'ol, same'ol" for years. The fact that Kenan's material is so different from mine is what really draws people to either side. At this time I am not too certain where I fall in terms of categorizing my material. I say what I think and feel at the time in hopes that listeners tie in my experiences with theirs. Kenan does the same thing. I think we are both very sincere in how we convey messages. I really enjoy his clean approach, oddly enough. I really get grimey about the lyrics sometimes, but it all ties into my story. Kenan tells HIS story and nobody else's. This fact alone has built an enormous amount of trust in ME as a listener. I'm not hearing a bunch of "empty" fuck-you messages and curse words..... I'm hearing HIM. That is a feat that he is conquering right now.
You've received a great reception from alot of hip-hop websites, including mine, Refined Hype and others. What do you think of this? Are you surprised or were you expecting it?
I didn't know what to expect. I just picked up my passion again after honorably discharging from service and now here I am. I am at the stage in my life where a soldier is attempting to reassimilate into civilian culture, and it's very difficult. Every day is a challenge, and my music reflects certain aspects of this phase. My upcoming EP, The Broken Time Machine, really touches on this subject. About the website recognition, I haven't begun to tap the many excellent resources out there, but they are in my sights. This EP needs to be everywhere and people need to hear the story of "Joe." Bloggers, writers.... I welcome them all and hopefully they connect with the music the way some have already. It's been a long time coming and I have had several road-blocks but I pushed through them. Refined Hype's blog post about the track We Own The Night was actually the first time I realized people might like this stuff......... a lot. So I plan on it being a ride.... get off one ride and hop on the other. One of my best buddies, and marketing partners, told me a year ago, "You're already famous. People just don't know it yet." We will see.
