From Kenn Starr’s January 29th release, Square One.

This is the first single from renowned Philadelphia DJ crew Illvibe Collective. Illvibe Collective’s new album, All Together Now is coming next year via Soulspazm Records. All Together Now features collaborations and songwriting with artists such as Hezekiah, Bahamadia, Finale, Invincible, Aaron Livingston, John Robinson, Rich Medina, Conya Doss, Reef The Lost Cauze, Supastition, and many more.

LISTEN: Illvibe Collective – “Authentic Raw” (feat. Supastition & Reef the Lost Cauze) (MP3)

Illvibe Collective – “Authentic Raw” (feat. Supastition & Reef the Lost Cauze) (MP3)

Supastition released the following statement via his MySpace blog this weekend, regarding his retirement from the rap game. He will still create, but is not interested in the business of music.

For those who have been asking for updates on myself and my album. Kam Moye is longer an artist on MYX Music Label. As of a few months ago, MYX Music is no longer in business from my understanding. At this point my album is kind of lost in the shuffle and I am hoping to get things resolved as far as rights to the music go. The mother company ABS-CBN took some serious losses in the past year so they cut off finances for it’s smaller subsidiaries including the label. It was beyond my control and nothing could have prevented it. More than a few artists lost their deals. I’ve dealt with a similar situation before when Chain Letters in 2005 was released and two or three months later the distribution company shut down without warning. That’s just the way the ball bounces. Hopefully things will work out for all parties. I wish Karim Panni (label manager of MYX) all the best in his new endeavors. There will be no more singles or videos off of the album. Thanks to those who supported the album. I am grateful for the opportunity regardless.

At this time, I have no plans on recording another professional solo album as Kam Moye or Supastition. This decision isn’t based on my recent situation with MYX Music but based on the state of the music industry and where it’s going. It wasn’t an easy decision for me but I felt that it was the best choice. I’ve sacrificed a lot of money and time and it’s just not worth it to continue with it the way I have done in the past. All isn’t bad news though… I have enough unreleased songs saved in the stash at this point to compile a few more albums. With that being said, I’m going to put those songs together and make them available for free download as soon as I can get clearance from the producers and guest artists involved. There is no release date and there won’t be one. There will be no labels or promo involved. Whenever I can get the okay from everyone involved then I’ll put up a link on my site, Facebook, etc… It’s as simple as that. Not to mention, I have recorded close to 100 guest appearances in my career so I’m sure they will continue popping up on the internet throughout the years. There are some other MC/producer projects that I already had in the works with Dela (from France), D.R. (Electric Ave), and Madwreck. I’m a man of my word so I will make sure that those projects are finished and completed. I’ve been left hanging way too many times by people that I’ve worked with in the music industry so I’d never do that to people I respect. I mainly chose to do projects with them based on their talent, loyalty, and just being good people and friends in general. The collaboration project with Dela may be released on CD/iTunes depending on what he decides to do with it but the other two projects will be free releases. Also, I just provided DJ Concept (Bash Brothers) with over 70 songs to release in a Kam Moye/Supastition mixtape series in order to help distribute the remaining songs in my catalog.

Although I’ll always write and record music, I have no interest in to pursuing it professionally anymore as an artist beyond this point. 5 record deals, 3 albums, 3 EP’s, 5 videos, 12 countries, and 40+ U.S. cities is more than enough for me to be proud of. I know some people will wonder why can’t I still just make music? The truth is that I have never “just made music” because most of my career I have managed myself (until recently), booked most of my own shows & tours, found my own record deals, found my own producers, and most recently recorded my own music. That takes a toll on you and your personal life after awhile. Out of all those duties, I spent the least amount of time rapping and recording music. With music being technically free nowadays, that’s way too much effort for the results I’ve seen. Waking up to see a blog giving away your entire discography for free followed by a single sentence saying “support the artist” is a very humbling thing to see when your rent is due. That’s not bitterness, it’s just today’s reality… I’m at peace with that. I’m going to make sure that the rest of the music in my catalog will reach those fans who have supported me over the years. This isn’t some corny retirement speech or “I quit” rant… just me personally giving you an update on what to expect and what not to expect from me. I’m sure people will interpret it any way that they like though. I had originally written a lengthy and personal message breaking down a lot of things but I realized that nothing on the internet is personal anymore. Thanks all of those who have supported and all of you who will continue. I’ll update you on things as soon as I can. Hopefully you will enjoy the rest of the music and if not then you have more than enough music from me already. Peace and respect y’all. – Kam Moye (Supastition)

Just to keep the balance in between Lil Jon / Travis Porter posts… Here goes Kam Moye aka Supastition’s new video for “Splitting Image”, from the album of the same name. Directed by Matt Koza.

It’s been a long time coming for this man and this interview.  I have been a fan for nearly 5 years and it was my pleasure to sit down with one of the dopest underground emcees out in 2007.  Supastition hailing from the land of the Justus League and the Little Brother has made quite a name for himself over the last 5 years.   He is consistent lyrically, production is always on point, and has yet to disappoint hip-hop fans worldwide.  While he hasn’t blown up in the states as much as overseas, his time is coming.  With the new EP available digitally through Reform School Music on August 28th and continually working on his next full length, Supastition has been very busy.   He is on tour constantly but we did get a chance to sit down and talk about the upcoming EP, his forthcoming album and the digital vs. terrestrial way of doing things.  Get to know Supastition, you won’t be disappointed.

HHS: I’ve been a fan since “7 Years of Bad Luck” EP and I’m glad we finally are getting to sit down, how are things?

Everything is good; everything is on the up and up.  Definitely trying to push the new record, stay touring and stay grinding.

Since this is your first interview with HipHopSite.com, do a short introduction to the readers.

I’m Supastition repping North Caroline and Reform School Music.  My first album dropped “7 Years of Bad Luck” dropped in 2002.  Then I got on the Okayplayer Compilation which ?uestlove and Okay Player Records put out. I did some work with Krs-One, Little Brother, and a lot of other cats.  I stay on the grind.

The “Leave of Absence” EP is being released digitally only.  What are you feelings on the digital vs. vinyl argument?

It came down to me because I decided I was going to do this on my own and on my own label.  A lot of record labels now won’t touch and “EP”, they want you to add songs and make it an album.  But to me it’s a whole different concept than creating an album.  With the EP I can make 8 cohesive songs, but it’s not a full album.  I have moved more units digitally than CD sales here in the U.S.  So being my own label I felt financially it made much more sense to do it digitally at first.  Originally “Leave of Absence” was going to be a Limited Edition EP and I was only going to press up a couple of thousand until my album came out.  The EP seems to be picking up a lot of steam and there is a lot of anticipation, so that’s a good thing.

How can the public grab the album on August 28th since its digital only for now?

You can get it from ITunes of course and the other digital online stores.  If you want more information head over to supastion.com and my myspace page, myspace/Supastition.

The last album “Chain Letters” was originally released on Soul Spazm and then again with Rawkus, why didn’t you sign with Rawkus at that time?

To be honest, it all comes down to the business paperwork.  I’ve never been a type of person to sign with a label just because they are hot right now.  I know too many artists that have signed to big majors and when you speak with them you see they are locked down for so many albums, they don’t own their masters and all of that.  I am all about controlling my music, every album I have put out I own my masters and my publishing.

Exactly, look at your people Little Brother?

Exactly, Phonte is one of my closest homies in the music industry and I can tell you everything isn’t always what it seems.

The first single “Word Has It” is produced by Khrysis, is this also going to be only available for download or is vinyl coming for us old school heads?

I’m going to definitely do vinyl for the single; the buzz is crazy on it right now.  It will probably come out here in October.  Like my other releases it will come out in Europe or Japan first, but we are definitely going to vinyl on the single.

With that said, do you think that putting out something on vinyl versus putting out digital only singles, not albums the response is better from the DJs?

When it comes to singles I think the response is better with vinyl.  People take vinyl a little more serious.  But, as far as business is concerned it’s one of the worst investments.  It costs so much to press and yet you don’t see any loot off of it.  I still want to press up the vinyl, because there are still a lot of collectors out there that appreciate it for what it is.

You’re talking to one right here.  I still buy a lot of things I like, granted I don’t like much but what I like I buy.  If we don’t support the artists we love, they won’t be there anymore and we will be stuck with the “A Bay Bay”‘s of the world.

(Laughs)  We definitely need some balance.

Khrysis did the single, does he lend any other production to the EP?

He just did “Word Has It” on the EP, but he has two confirmed joints on the upcoming album.  I consider Khrysis part of the team along with Illmind and M-Phazes.

Who else lends production to the EP?

M-Phazes does production on this, my man Marco Polo and Anthony Accurate who is out of Atlanta and is real dope.  Another producer named Analogic who is out of New Jersey and my boy Mad Wreck who did production on “The Deadline” and “Chain Letters”, he also engineered all my past projects. On my EP’s I like to work with up and coming hungry producers.

What makes this EP different from your past efforts?

I have a little more freedom on this one. This one is also a little more aggressive.  On “7 Years” and “The Deadline” a lot of people associated me being bitter at the industry and rapping about how broke I am.

(Laughs)

If you listen to “Chain Letters” there was only one song on the vibe, and I haven’t been doing songs like that in a while.  Lyrically I’m really stepping it up.

Early in your career you were characterized as a battle rapper, any songs about taking out emcees this time around?

Not really, I may have one or two joints but that’s about it.  Between the ages of 18 and 21 that was my entire life.  Now I’m married with 2 children and I’ve moved on from battle rhyming, I have other things to say.  Plus, there are some real sharp hungry emcees on the come up, so they can hold down the battle circuit.

Everything you have done has received critical acclaim, have any of the majors been knocking?

I have been approached by two majors but what they offered wasn’t what I was looking for.  They liked my music but they wanted to put me with this producer or that producer and I couldn’t work with the people that helped me get there.  You have people like Illmind and M-Phazes who have really looked out for me.  A lot of people don’t know on “Chain Letters” and on “The Deadline” we didn’t have much of a production budget so what we did was on the strength of the music and I won’t turn my back on those people.  Plus, how majors are set up a person who makes the type of music I make it’s a lose-lose situation.  Even if you get offers from big labels, if you make music that doesn’t appeal to mainstream fans, it’s a losing situation.

In the past most independent’s artists goal was to sign with a major label, is that the direction you are heading?

Not really.  If it comes and the paperwork is right and they give me the freedom and let me own my music, then I would sign with a major.  It’s not something I’m interested in, I set up 4 tours on my own and I have been able to survive on this music thing.  If I can do that and live, why do I need a major?  I’m not ever trying to be a star I just want to be heard and to take care of my family.

If picked up will this EP turn into and LP?

No, the LP is all new music.   The LP is on a completely different vibe.  It’s all still Supastition but I try to grow with each release.  I don’t want any of my albums to sound the same.  I think a lot of people got it confused after they heard “The Deadline” they associated me with jazzy boom bap production and automatically put me in that category.  I’m always trying to flip it up and do something different.

Anything you can tell us about the upcoming album?

We don’t have a title yet, I was going to name it “Hell or High Water” but found out that was being used by somebody else, so we scrapped that.  As far as production, M-Phazes and I have about 5 tracks and then we have 2 from Illmind and some stuff from Khrysis.  We are sticking with the family but we are out there looking for a big name to lend some production, maybe Primo or somebody like that.

You’ll have to holler at Torae, they just dropped a double 12″ with Premier

Actually, I just finished up a track with Torae for his mixtape; I have a lot of respect for him.  We run in the same circles, plus I know Preme played the joint I did on Marco’s album on his Sirius Show and put it on his mixtape, so we’ll see what happens.

What’s next for Supastition?

Right now we are concentrating on the EP and we have the Reform School Music which is the label and we are working on making that the brand.  I’m also setting up a production tour for Europe with Illmind, Marco Polo, and J-Zone.  We hope to have a producer from each country we go to up on stage with me hosting.  The European market has shown me a lot of love so I’m trying to give back.

Last Words?

That’s about it; make sure to pick up “Leave of Absence” EP on August 28th.  Check out my myspace and supastition.com.  I’m not going anywhere; I’m going to keep doing more joints.

    If there was an issue with his first album, it would have to be that the production didn’t quite hold up to Supastition’s wee average lyrical barrage. This time Supa has enlisted the likes of Illmind, M-Phazes and Nicolay to provide a sufficient enough backdrop for Supa to paint his lyrical mastery.

    While the album does showcase his lyrical dexterity, Supastition’s highlights come in the form of concept songs. “A Baby Story” is a compelling narrative about the pitfalls of materialism. Although the conclusion can be viewed as a bit absurd, Supastition’s brutally honest narration drives the point home in stellar fashion. Supa continues to bring forth interesting concepts with “Split Decisions” which is recalls a love affair ruined based on certain decisions. Supa even delivers the humorous ode to the ladies that aren’t all that they are blown up to be on “Special Treatment.” Check for the laugh out loud third verse that possibly a few emcees can relate to.

   When Supa chooses to let it rip, the results are pretty satisfying. The triumphant horns of “Rise” allow Supa to lament about the hard work it took to get where he’s at today. “Hate My Face” is driven by Jake One’s pounding production and Supa does it a bit of justice by menacing the track with reasons why people should hate Supastition. Another worthy moment is “That Ain’t Me” where Supastiton lets it be known that he is far from the “crunk-isms” that dominate the southern region.

   Although there are a few moments that just don’t deliver the snap and spunk (mainly because of the production) of the aforementioned tracks (the so-so “Blood Brothers” and “Always” are good but after hearing the rest of the album it is safe to say he can and will do better), Chain Letters is a resounding success for Supastition. For one, he proves that Phonte and Big Pooh aren’t the only true emcees to come out of North Carolina and he also showcases a talent that will be of great interest to observe blossom in the near future.

Obviously he’s had much time to sit and write because on this LP, it’s like his biography. He has more words to start a new dictionary series, and he’s one of the few emcees who could spill their imagination into rhymes with such clarity and attentiveness to intricate details. On “Celebration of Life”, his deep sleep takes his pen writing a ghostly masterpiece where he finds himself chillin’ in the hip hop lounge of music-heaven, a place where he describes the scenery: “Then I looked around to find that Bob Marley’s on acoustics/Seeing Freaky Tah and Big L together trading pool-sticks/With beats banging out the speakers too hot to stop/On the turntables I saw Subroc and Scott LaRock!”

Over a continuously maneuvering fluid groove, jump on this ride and follow his flow down this lesson lane about hip hop and the irony of life – through the deceased. Sharing a heap of scenarios, hilarious punch lines and fearless call-outs throughout many cuts like “Da Waiting Period”, “That’z Muzik” and others, Supastition can grab the attention of anyone who can listen. You don’t have to be a listener of hip hop to take notice of this guy’s wit. His pain you’ll have to sympathize with also, and on “Mixed Emotionz”, of which the SECRET CUT at the album’s end is remixed by Freshchest Prose, you will have a better listen as the piano-riff sinks into your skin’s raised pores.

On “Best of Life” he gets into even more of his personal side. This time, his bio touches on re-patching strains between him and his mom, then he tries to prove to his kid and baby’s mother that his fatherly role is more than just a mere act. He continues in the third verse to express in a rare non-insulting and sensitive way, how he’s found real love through marriage to the perfect woman, despite her difference in race. However, “Hip Hop Vs. Life” is his most explicit biographic description, getting into details of his struggles up the hip-hop ladder, even though he feels as if he hasn’t moved anywhere. Trying hard to convince his shaky confidence and fragile sanity that he can’t give in, the unrewarding efforts seem to much for Supastition to hang on, so through the hopeful “Dreamland” he imagines all the things he’d do and be if he had a million dollars. But reality has it that Supastition is still one broke-ass brother, and by his effortless supply of downtrodden blues, he has enough sob stories to replenish the careers of John Lee Hooker and BB King.