BBRS Interviews: Zilla Rocca

Who is Zilla Rocca? Please tell us more about yourself.
I'm Zilla Rocca, the Corrupt Novelist. MC/producer from Philly. Speakeasy door buster. Comic book devourer. Chaser of loose women and good bourbon. Pleased to meet you.

Where did you get your name from?
I had other rap names over the years that were pretty heinous so I picked one that meant nothing on the surface and let it shape and grow with me into something interesting over time.

What was your first encounter with Hip Hop?
Hmmm... my first hip hop memory was Young MC "Bust a Move". I used to watch hours of MTV when I was a kid in South Philly, and that was one of the only hip hop videos they used to air on daytime programming. And I remember memorizing the lyrics then trying to make sense of the story, like "wait... YOUR best friend Harry... has a brother Larry... in 5 weeks from now HE'S getting married... he's hoping YOU could make it there cause if you can... in the ceremony YOU'LL be the best man... why would my best friend's brother make ME the best man and not his own brother?" These were my thoughts at 7 years old. I've been stuck on hip hop ever since.

When did you start rhyming and producing?
I started rhyming in '97-'98 when I was in high school. I was always writing and drawing as a kid: journals, short stories, my own comic books. So writing rhymes became my obsession once I realized that even though my voice was weak, my flow was a nightmare, I had no equipment nor knew anyone else that rhymed for real... I could at least pen some ill shit! I start producing in 2002 under the wing of modern dubstep/street bass giant Starkey and Noah Goldstein, who engineered Jay and Kanye's "Watch The Throne", when we were in the group Crooked Soul back in college.

Where do you get the inspiration from?
Nowadays it's from comic books, films, my friends Has-Lo and Curly Castro, Raekwon, Roc Marciano, Italian and Spanish records, Mos Def, great whiskey bars in Philly, Shabazz Palaces, Buddhism, David Lynch, and anything written by Ed Brubaker.

What equipment do you use for producing?
I used Reason, Logic and Abelton exclusively. I also use a Axiom midi controller, M-Audio Fast Track Pro, and a lil' turntable. My setup is pretty basic. I like being able to work fast when I make beats and knowing all the equipment inside out helps me get the sounds I want quickly.

How much time do you invest in making music?
I used to spend ALL of my free time making music. Doing hip hop overruled time spent with females and even my own family. All of my friends were rappers or producers or DJs. I was putting out projects fairly regularly and absorbing think tank pieces on the industry, going to conferences, scheduling meetings for my old label Beat Garden, doing spreadsheets, going to shows, etc. After about 4 years of that process, I was burnt out and felt like I was dipping into madness. So now I do music maybe 3-4 hours a week. I have a real life now and it makes music come easier. It's fun again. I have more ideas. I'm surrounded by people that are driven and creative and speak the same language artistically as me. I don't worry at all about where my career is or how many downloads I have. When the time is right for my break to come, it will come. I'm enjoying everything now, not just trying to advance to the next thing.

You call yourself the Noir Hop originator. Please describe Noir Hop.
I coined that term because that's the kind of art I've always been drawn to. Q-Tip said something enlightening about making "dark" music versus making "hard" music. "Hard" music makes people want to fight and pound their chest. "Dark" music is more suggestive; it could be sexy or dangerous or spooky or sultry. There's more room to manuever ideas when you make Dark music. Noir books and movies deal with murder, sex, betrayal, slang, loneliness, greed, revenge, and honor. Those are recipes for Dark music. It has teeth to it. I like watching and reading stuff like that, so that's what I make. Raymond Chandler rap.




You recently released the "Nights & Weekends" EP, tell us more about it.
"Nights & Weekends" is about all the wrong choices you make in your 20's and all the adventures you get in to. It used to be nothing to go out drinking all night, talk to a girl, go to another bar, meet another girl, then end up at the Oregon Diner in South Philly until 4 in the morning. My 20's are just about over now. I still have fun but it's with a wiser demeanor. Even still, you look forward to your nights and weekends because as an adult, that's when things get live. Who gets busy when the sun is up?

For the EP you used Kickstarter, a site where fans can help artists with funding projects. How was that experience?
The Kickstarter experience was incredible. It was a gamble and it paid off. You really find out who exactly is a FAN of your music, not just some faceless downloading entity. Fans put up money. Downloaders are just previewing your stuff; they're like tourists passing by. I didn't know how many true fans I had until we hit our goal and passed it. Folks chase after numbers but you need to solidify fans more than anything. Fans will check for you a year from now. They'll tell their friends about you. They'll tweet your stuff, post it on Tumblr or facebook, etc. Downloaders just hoard your stuff on a laptop or iPod on hard drive and that's fine. I appreciate downloads because at least folks have something of mine. The Kickstarter campaign made me realize there's people around the world who want to hear more from me, and they put up their money to make it happen. This album won't exist without them.




You were part of Crooked Soul and Clean Guns, and currently are in 5 O'Clock Shadowboxers and the Wrecking Crew. Please tell us more about it.
Crooked Soul was experimental as all hell. We were doing Stankonia meets Dizzee Rascal type of rap that flew over people's heads. This was before iPods and blogs, like '02-'03. Clean Guns was doing more straight forward east coast underground rap. I was handling more production. 5 O'Clock Shadowboxers was Douglas Martin aka Blurry Drones sending me beats from Seattle using sample sources I'd never heard in hip hop before. It took off and exhumed my noir instincts. Wrecking Crew is Has-Lo, Curly Castro, Small Professor and myself, just friends in Philly who make dope shit and understand the same obscure U-God references. We're kicking around ideas for an official Wrecking Crew release now.

What are you currently working on?
Now that "Nights & Weekends" is done, I'm not writing anything for a while. On the post-production side, we're wrapping up "Wu-Tang Pulp", an homage to the Wu that features recreations of our favorite songs from the Shaolin cannon and features from emcees and producers from around the world who we are cool with and respect. It's taken about a year to finalize and we're right at the finish line. It's something that people have been wanting to hear cause it's something I been wanting to hear, namean? Has-Lo and I working on a Jaylib-type of project where he rhymes on my stuff and I rhyme on his. And probably once the winter hits, I'll finish writing the sophomore 5 O'Clock Shadowboxers LP, which is about 80% finished and titled "No Vacation For Murder".

What artists would you like to work with in the future (rhyme and beatwise)?
Oh man, well the new Shadowboxers album has features from 2 of my all-time heroes and one of my new favorite emcees, so I'll keep that a secret for now. Here's my dream list of collaborations: Edan, Mikey Rocks, Dan the Automator, cLOUDDEAD, Aesop Rock, El-P, Mike Patton, Raekwon, Blu, Nocando, Hanni El Khatib, Ski Beatz, Mos Def, No ID, Shlohmo, Gonjasufi, Ta'Raach, Tom Waits, Jack White, and Shabazz Palaces.

Who do you listen to yourself, any recommendations?
I've been bumping the new Blu album "No York" alot - really interesting piece of music. Of course, I gotta recommend Has-Lo's album "In Case I Don't Make It". We're finishing up Curly Castro's next LP "Fidel", so I'd recommend his LP from the beginning of this year "Winston's Appeal" to hear his foundation. Dr. Quandary's "Sigils" album is nasty. I've been listening to "Ram" by Paul McCartney, "Pneumonia" by Whiskeytown, and the soundtrack from the new movie "Drive".

When are you coming to Europe for a tour?
I'd like to come next year. The bulk of my fanbase is in the UK, Australia, and Russia. When the right situation presents itself, I'll be there with the fly passport and fedora ready to rock!

What are your interests outside of Hip Hop?
I've picked up video editing this past year which is really fun to do. I love sports, reading, working out, hiking, going to shows and art galleries, and getting drunk and dancing all over Philadelphia. This feels like a question from a dating website, with all due respect.

Any last words?
Cop "Nights & Weekend" at Bandcamp digitally for whatever price you like, or grab the CD at Bandcamp for $10 (there's only 50 CDs for sale so get it together!). Take time to learn more about liquor. Listen to more Wrecking Crew and World Around Records artists. Own one black suit, one gray suit, and one blue suit. Always open a door for a women and give a firm handshake to any man you meet.

Thanks to Zilla Rocca for the interview.

Visit http://clapcowards.com & Zilla Rocca's Facebook for more info.