North Carolina is blowing up right now, aside from 9th Wonder and Little  Brother, there is a lot of talent about to emerge from NC.  Splash is one of those talented emcees who seems to have it all together.  From storytelling to  battle rhymes to working with the most sought after producer on the planet.   Splash is about to touchdown.

Since you are relatively new to the game, tell everybody who you are and  who influenced you?

I go by the name of Splash or Splash D, I did a lot of traveling I’m very well  traveled.  Some of my favorite groups are Whodini; I was a huge fan of Whodini.   I was influenced a lot by Nas and Biggie, Tribe, Wu-Tang, Kool G Rap, etc.  My  parents were big hip-hop heads; I had older brothers and sisters.  I was always  that young kid that was hanging around and they would ask me “what do you  know about Krush Groove” and I was like 2 or 3.  I have always been a fan of  hip-hop.  I was beat boxing in preschool.  (Laughs)

Coming from North Carolina a lot of people lump you in with the Justus League and the Little Brother camp, but that is actually not the case, explain.

Here is the deal; I’m on Amplified Truth, that’s my label.  Hall of Justus  recordings and Amp Truth are like cousins, that’s my family.  I’m not in the Justus League and I’m not part of the Justus League but that is my family.

A lot of people say you can’t make it outside NYC or LA, but it has been  proven over and over again you can with the right niche, what are your thoughts on that?

I don’t think as far as people that analyze hip-hop as far as magazines and the  media have actually figured out how big this hip-hop thing is.  I mean there are  cats in Kentucky that know about Splash and 9th and North Carolina.  I mean  would have thought you go to hiphopsite and see 3 artists for North Carolina   dropping albums.  If you let the mainstream dictate what’s going on, then you just  don’t know.   People that come down to North Carolina they think they have  entered a whole new world.  There is so much talent here.

Do you plan on staying in North Carolina or moving at some point?

I’m in college right now, I get out in May.  I want to do a lot of traveling and with  this music I know I will be doing a lot of traveling.  I want to go to Europe; I lived  in Germany for like 4 years.  I want to come out to Missouri and go to Vegas I  want to go all over.  I hear Canada is nice, so I want to go up there and do shows  and meet fans.

The album is called the “Ripple Effect” and it came out in February, is that  right?

Yeah, the album is called the “Ripple Effect” and it came out February 15th.  It’s  doing very well right now; I go to the net and see something different everyday.   It is moving a lot faster than what I expected at first.  It is 17 tracks and it’s a real  in depth album.  It’s one of those albums that you can just sit down or ride around  and listen to the whole thing without skipping any tracks.  I haven’t heard many  cats that delve deep into themselves and expose themselves to the world, like I did  on this one.

Let’s talk about the album, you did record at Little Brothers studio and 9th gave you some tracks, how did you guys meet?

I met 9th at a radio station and in 2001 I did a battle at NC State and he was  djing.  Then I met him again at another radio station in Durham, he was there  playing some beats, so I told my manager I wanted to work with him.  I thought  he was dope before he did the track for Jay.  So he was playing some beats  and me and this other cat were just going back and forth.  I was feeling every  beat and it was real genuine.  It started with a single or two and then it just  turned into a whole album.  During the recording process he got the call from  Jay and the rest is history.  It’s happened so fast, it’s really unbelievable.

Are there any other producers or guest appearances on the LP?

The other producers are Khrysis, he is part of the Justus League and believe me he  is real dope.  He is making a lot of noise right now and he just did the lead single  for the Sean Price album.  K Flat is another producer, he reminds me a lot of the  Alchemist, I would love to see Alchemist and Flat do something together in the  future.  I got my man out of my camp that did the joint with me and Jean Grae.  A  lot of people have really been feeling that cut.  I’m telling you North Carolina is  hungry, lots of people doing big things.   Supastition, K-Hill, lots of cats really  doing it.

What would do you plan on doing 5 years from now?

It’s hard to say, this hip-hop thing has changed so much in a 5 year span.  I mean  we got Kanye going 3 and 4 times platinum and you weren’t seeing that in ’99.  In  5 years I hope still be doing this music thing and just having fun and living life.  Hopefully I will be recording with some major artists and letting the world hear more of Splash

So who is one emcee and one producer that you would really like to work with?

As far as producers I want to work I would want to work with some cats with a  proven track record like JayDee or Just Blaze.   Plus, there are a lot of up and  comers like Jake One or Madlib.  As far as emcees go, I would want to work with  somebody with longevity, somebody like Nas or Jay-Z of course, even Ras Kass.    Somebody who I know is going to be around.

Any shout outs?

I just want to give a shout out Amp Truth, my label, to the Justus League and  really all NC; you guys don’t even know what is coming out of NC.  Pick up the  album “The Ripple Effect” and support hip-hop music.