New York’s PremRock releases his new album tomorrow, Did You Enjoy Your Time Here…? We sat down with him to discuss. Words by Grown Up Rap Editor Ben Pedroche.
Your albums tend to have intriguing, off-beat titles, and the new one is no different. What’s the meaning behind Did You Enjoy Your Time Here…?
Usually I start with an alternate title than the one I land on. This isn’t by choice but seems to be the process. That was the case with this one. Sometimes a phrase sticks in my head and repeats on a loop until I do something about it. I wrote this phrase on a piece of construction paper and placed it above my work desk so I saw every time I sat and started to do something creative. It was helpful and became a mantra. It holds a lot of meaning to me. I am also a sucker for phrases that can produce a myriad of emotion and responses. Some will see the title and think it’s deeply existential and pondering what we did with this life and others may just chuckle like it’s a ploy about did you like the record. Both can be true!
It’s been four years since Load Bearing Crow’s Feet. Do you feel like you’ve evolved as an artist since, and is their much connective tissue between that album and the new one?
There’s certainly some connective tissue there and it’s an evolution no doubt. A lot of life transformation occurred between these two records. Soul searching and other clichés. I continue to evolve as a writer and a rapper without a doubt, it’s imperative. The craft demands it of you. I would wager that those four years more has changed than just about any four years I’ve had save for maybe age two to six that feels like a massive shift and probably 12 to 16… maybe 20 to 24 too. Okay.. losing the plot! The fact remains it was a big change and I’m grateful for the lessons. I tried to capture all of what made the time so impactful throughout this record and ask myself important questions. The good, the bad, the ancillary and the ugly.
How do you approach solo albums compared to something like ShrapKnel? Is the process radically different, solo versus a group dynamic?
It is a radically different process. ShrapKnel is the spirit of friendly competition but also camaraderie and collaboration. Castro is the engine there and I haven’t been shy about stating that. He makes it go. I try to keep pace with his ferocity and when I finally do we make some pretty incredible stuff together. Solo work is far more personal for me and takes longer because it takes a lot from me. I don’t have a ton of cutting room floor stuff. I do have a bunch from the last four years thought which I’ll find a home for soon. But in essence the solo stuff has to fit an incredibly specific set of criteria that even I’m not sure I could list. I just know it when I know it. I am unabashedly governed by vibes.
And when inspiration for a song comes to you, do you know right away the idea will be for a solo project, or for ShrapKnel?
I have a pretty good idea. Sometimes it will be repurposed into a ShrapKnel song if I didn’t like where it landed on the solo scale but usually it feels pretty separate and within the confines of either field. But I would say bars are nameless sometimes. I write couplets constantly and they certainly have no designation until it becomes more clear or maybe a beat dictates it’s landing place. Lots of couplets float until they find a home and I’m certain some have been interchanged between the two entities being settling in to composition. I do reference things within the universe of both. You’ll hear nods to songs or phrases. I like it, those Easter eggs. If you catch them you feel like you’re part of a special club.
You tweeted recently about Willie Green, a man who’s engineering expertise is a key component of what makes Backwoodz such a dope label. The Bandcamp for the new album also describes him as being the one who weaves everything together. Tell me about your process with Green, and what he brings to a project like Did You Enjoy Your Time Here…?
Green is one of my very best friends but even when I make the separate distinction between that and work it becomes pretty clear he is simply the best combination of talent and professionalism I have ever been around. Everything is placed, organized and presented with precision and intent. Sure, he’s an artist with artistic whims and decisions but when the chips are down nary a file is mislabeled or misplaced or under a stack of wires. It’s always where it needs to be and when it needs to be there. I don’t know if folks understand how rare that is in the arts. He was more involved in this project than really any other solo of mine. We recorded the whole thing together which hasn’t been the case for some time. It felt good to get ready to travel to his space again. The excitement but also the need for preparation is a fun part of the process. He also helped select and source beats and playing liaison in a few cases. We sequenced the record together in person, going over alternate listings and whatnot but ultimately he will always give the floor and final say to me when it’s time. He put up with my sudden changes in direction while maybe muttering under his breath obscenities but never breaking stride! Having the ability to engineer that high number of producers into a cohesive sound is also a great skill to possess. Simply put though, the record wouldn’t exist without him and Backwoodz would be what it is without him.
Returning to ShrapKnel, what’s coming next from you and Castro?
We will have quite a lot to say this calender year is all I can really divulge at the moment. If you are a fan of ours you will be really pleased. We haven’t stopped recording much at all since Nobody Planning to Leave and we will lay that bare soon enough.
Lastly, what do you hope people take away from Did You Enjoy Your Time Here…?
I hope it sparks inspiration in whatever discipline you express yourself in. If you write I hope it makes you write and then re-write, if you build miniature cities I hope it makes you add another story to that skyscraper. You don’t have to have that artistic expression either maybe it’s a respite or a break from the mundane time at the gig. I hope you take away something that lasts. I don’t have to tell you things are bleak right now and being an artist is a form of protest in and of itself. I hope it helps fortify your decision to keep creating and to never stop. I create albums to hopefully stay with you and not one’s that are easily digested in one listen. One listen reviews probably won’t favor me as an artist at all and that’s cool with me. I hope it accompanies you longer than the 45 min it runs. I hope it soundtracks something important in your life. I hope you enjoyed your time with it. It helped save and reshape me to make it in some ways. It was a catharsis. But it isn’t solely mine anymore… so maybe you can take away part of it and make it your own.
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Did You Enjoy Your Time Here…? comes out Friday, March 21 via Backwoodz Studioz – listen and purchase here. Follow PremRock on X and Instagram.