Interview #15 With ER aka Da Transporter

                                   ER aka Da Transporter

ER aka Da Transporter is an artist out of Oakland, CA. No matter where he goes, he does his thang and that is putting his heart and soul into his music. He is always on the grind, he has recorded 24 free mixtapes (that can be downloaded on datpiff.com, for the most part) and is currently working on his 25th Hip Hop mixtape. 

His flow comes from the West and it is laced with hardcore, true, and real life observations and experiences that he shares on each track. His eyes have seen a lot and his creative mind isn't afraid to speak what he feels and he bleeds this type of imprint all over his tracks. He's fearless in the realm of Hip Hop and is not afraid of getting dirty tackling every style that Hip Hop has to offer. There are not many artists in the game today, that work as hard as this man does. His creativity is endless and keeps on giving every step he takes. 

The Questions...

What was it like growing up? Where did you grow up? How did it influence your music?

"Well growin' up in West Oakland California was rough as hell! I grew up without a father present, so that made it tough right there and I was always around drugs and killin'. I had to walk home from school everyday, so I saw a lot of shit when I did. But some how I made it out that bitch. It influenced all this music shit in my career because of all the stuff that I saw and lived through, that gave me something to talk about and plus Cousin Mike. He was the one dat got me started doin' dis music shit. I was playin' baseball and I was looking for that to be my career, but them streets and my Cuz Mike was my influence for the music shit."

What drew you to Hip Hop?

"What drew me to Hip Hop was when I was around 10 years old, I was watchin' Yo MTV Raps and I would always stand in front of the TV wit my sista' and we'd be rappin' to all the old school shit that I still knock today like; Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, E-40, 2pac, etc. etc. But what started me rappin' was my Cousin Mike, cause he was in a group called Lower District with him and my homie Q.U Da Scientist and I was always goin' with him to the studio to listen to they music they were makin'. So that's what drew me in."

What are some of the project you have been a part of and what have they meant to you?

"Well I am workin' on my 25th mixtape. It's hosted by Cuz_Hiro from Japan, it's called, "Not Sad @ All". It's an EP that's about to come out very soon and this mixtape means a lot jus' like all my otha' ones I did cause they're all independently owned! Plus I get to work with different people on my mixtapes, it means a lot. So be on the look out for my 25th mixtape on Soundcloud and Datpiff!"

Who are some of the people you like to work with?

"Plan and simple, I'll work with anyone that's about gettin' money and not a bullshitter. Straight up! Their work ethic's gotta match somewhere near mines to even work with me. So anybody for real, that's on those two levels!"

Artistically, who are some of your influences and why?

"I got a few but I'ma jus' name one and that's Tupac Amaru Shakur. I love what he was all about and what he stands for! And that's what I think is missin' in music today, is real life. Street shit! Not that watered down rap that your hearin' nowadays."

If there was any artist past or present that you would like to work with?

"Well you already know the answer to that, Pac all day! He was the one I was listenin' to the most growin' up. So I can say Pac, for real."

What are the things in life that influence your music on a song to song basis?

"Just my personal life struggles. And people that have been around me, there life struggles too. That's basically it, for real."

Can you elaborate more on what got you started in music?

"Well like I said in the first two questions, when I was 14 years old, I started making music with my Cousin Mike. I didn't take it seriously at first 'cause I was focused on playin' baseball at the time and I wanted a future in that. I went back and forth between the two until music became the focus. But yeah, I blame it on my Cousin Mike, thanks bruh!"

What do you want people to get out of your music, what is your mission in your music?

"I want people that listen to my music to leave with a understandin' of real street music. My motivation, hard work, and dedication; and know that anything is possible as long as you work hard for what you want. That is my mission when I spit on the mic. Just keep it real! And they will respect it more."

What keeps you getting into the booth time after time?

"My struggles, my kids, and this is the shit that I love to do. I record all my music on my own, so I can just wake up right outta the bed, put on a track and go to work. So that's what keeps me makin' hits."

What are some of the projects that you are coming out with?

"Well I just dropped my 24th mixtape, "I B Smokn" on soundcloud.com/e-r-aka-da-transporter and datpiff.com/profile/oakland1000/mixtapes, and you can go download that right now. Plus I am droppin' my 25th mixtape, "Not Sad @ All". That's an EP you can find very soon on those two links I just gave ya'll. The story behind my 24th mixtape, "I B Smokn" is that I just wanted to make a mixtape for the summer so that everybody would have somethin' to ride to when they're smokin'. My 25th mixtape was really an unexpected mixtape I'm makin' with Cuz-Hiro from Japan 'cause we did like 3 songs already together so I just told him we should just do an EP. He was with that, so I said cool. So I named it "Not Sad @ All" because I did a track with him called that already. I wanted to tell people that there can be two sides of being not sad at all, that is why the cover of the mixtape has a happy mask and a sad mask. It can be for the haters that hate on you and the bitches that are not loyal to you, so at the end of the day if I get a hater or two or If I do get an unloyal chick, then I am not gonna be sad at all. You feel me?! 

Where to find ER aka Da Transporter...

Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheOakland1000/videos

Soundcloud:

https://soundcloud.com/e-r-aka-da-transporter

Facebook:

 https://www.facebook.com/Erakadatransporter510

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ERDaTransporter

Blogspot:

http://erakadatransporter.blogspot.com/

Datpiff:

http://www.datpiff.com/profile/oakland1000/mixtapes

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=E.R+aka+Da+Transporter

Feature: Is Hip Hop Dead?

                                       

                                        Is Hip Hop Dead?

Many say that Hip Hop is dead, some of the current artists out there would disagree (I'm sure). It seems that Hip Hop has gone where a lot of music goes to get beaten up, left half dead, and then put on life support, the meat grinder known as the Mainstream (pop music scene). Once greed gets a hold of a genre of music, it changes forever. Ideas to pump out as much money from it like the utters of a cow, are put into place. Artists band together (the top earners) to make music not with an idea for a song, but to form a collaboration that will make the most money for the album (give it more notoriety, share fans and what not). 

The Underground...

After the Mainstream has "their way" with it, it goes back to a smaller cult following (or shall I say the underground). That is where Hip Hop can once again flourish, in my opinion. It will give Hip Hop a chance to re-find itself again (because now, Hip Hop influenced pop music sounds the same as most of the other electronically driven pop songs).  By going back to the Underground, Hip Hop can go back to being the movement that it once was; where only the artists (and MCs) that truly deserve an audience, they can find one through their hard work and skillful and meaningful lyrical play. Hip Hop used to form movements through the reality that was painted through words over a sampled beat or 808 beat. These words opened up the eyes of the world and flashed a spotlight on to the struggling urban areas and helped facilitate the strengthening of the urban infrastructure (which still struggles to find balance today). It was the platform that continued on Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of equality.

Cultural Impact...

Currently, it is not just Black Americans that enjoy some success in the music genre, whites and Latinos do as well. In this way, you might say that Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream has succeeded through music. Every country in the world is now buying into the Hip Hop culture with their own version of it. In Europe, there is quite a sizable movement (I personally credit it to missing the Hip Hop movement because of the Electronica movement that swept through the region).

Hip Hop Still Exists...

It's hard not to fall in love with what Hip Hop has to offer, the earthy lyrics about our society and it's often use of samples that reflect where it got it's bearings (samples of songs from the past, especially in the beginning). The realism of the lyrics is what has drawn so many people to Hip Hop (and the ability to congregate and dance to the music through heavy tribal bass sounds). Though Hip Hop doesn't appear to be what it used to be (mostly because of the digital technology that has been developed during it's lifespan and the molding of other popular styles with it's own; to create a more mainstream sound), you can still find it on such applications like Soundcloud where creativity stays attached to it's roots (along with the still relevant artists that stay under it's umbrella to stay dry from the wet manipulation that is the major labels and media outlets). There are artists like; Rakim, Common, Mos Def, RA the Rugged Man, and KRS-One (to name a few), that still uphold the laws of old. There are also artists like Tech N9ne that refuse to give into the Mainstream to stay in complete control over their music.

So is Hip Hop Dead?

I don't think so, Hip Hop has had such an influence on our culture that it will never die. It has gone where it belongs, in the Underground, where no one has any control over it other than the artists themselves. If you think the club sounding Electronica influenced Hip Hop (I call it hip pop) is real Hip Hop, then you don't know what you are talking about. My guess is that you have never heard songs from it's grassroots. Go listen to some real Hip Hop people, expand your horizons. The Mainstream aims to keep us in a box where everything sounds the same and they do a great job at accomplishing their goal. Hip Hop is the mastery of lyrical rhythmatics that maximizes the spaces between the beat with words spoken with techniques that are unmatched by any style or genre of music. Go pick up a KRS-One or Big Daddy Kane or a Tragedy Khadafi CD and see what it is all about...