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Manifest Destiny: Pizmo ain't about being a has-been. "I want to stay in the game and hopefully resurface once I do die down... Rebirth is important." Rebirth of Rhyme Oakland MC-producer Pismo flips a limitless concept. By Paris King I first learned of Pismo from a group of graphic designers in San Fran. Then he pops up at a Living Legends Festival. Known for his lyrical and musical skill, it's time to lift the lid on one of the Bay's best-kept secrets. Paris King: My name is Paris King. This is an interview on September the ... Pismo: 5th, 'cuz it's rent. It's the last day of rent. PK: ... of 2002. I'm sitting here with Pismo. Maybe you could tell us what that means. PIZ: Pismo stands for Perceptions Inside Mentally Orbit. I used to be looked at, from where I'm from, as an MC that has concept when I rhyme. I'm always trying to have a story behind something. PK: When you say concept, how does that manifest in your writing? PIZ: Mmm ... It manifests in different ways, from talking about the four elements of hip hop to just a day in California (the new single 'Chasin' The Sun'). I talk about things that a lot of these MC's don't talk about. I would say that 90%-95% of the MC's out there nowadays are talking about how dope they are, or what they have, their material possessions. PK: In the stores right now, is there anything that you would recommend people to get of yours? PIZ: I just had a 12" last year come out called "The Game," and that did pretty well. It's a song speaking about the hip hop industry, and I'm actually mocking the game in a way. Then on the B-side, I have a song called "Production Products." That's out there still rotating a couple of places, and I'm on a lot of different people's stuff, including Bas-1's last album. I did a guest appearance on there, both MCing and DJing, and I'm on the new Various Blends stuff that's coming out, and some stuff across seas, too, with DJ Tonk from Japan. PK: Across seas you've had a bit of success, some notoriety, and I'm wondering if you could shed a little light on the differences from the Bay. PIZ: It's a little more musical in the hip hop world, which is still not as well accepted in America. It's accepted here, don't get me wrong, but across seas, it's very big for something that's totally different. It's a certain kind of vibe to the music, too. I think they dig that I'm not trying to be the hardest rapper out there. I just try and do musical stuff, so ... that's the difference. They're kind of open to all forms, whereas out here, if it isn't kind of like this, then it ain't ... You know what I mean? PK: Yeah. You're a producer and a writer of music that stands alone without lyrics. That's a pretty interesting hat to have, somebody that's equally strong in both. When I think of the list of people that have both of those, it's pretty short, so I was wondering if you could shed any light on the influences that you might have had? PIZ: My influences start from producers. I have a lot of different influences in different genres of music from Miles Davis, Thelonious, and Herbie Hancock to people like Led Zepplin, the Beatles, Brian Eno, Towa Tei, John McIntyre from Tortoise, and all kinds of stuff. In hip-hop: DJ Premiere, Pete Rock, Prince Paul, people like that, and lyrically from an MC stand-point, some of my influences are people like Common, De La Soul, Kool Keith, Tribe Called Quest, and all that kind of stuff. Some positive ... not always positive ... you know, just a different style. I like styles, it's one of my biggest things. It's not so much how many words you can fit in there, it's how you flip it, your flavor, you know what I mean? Lyrically. PK: One thing I notice about the artists that you mentioned is that they all have a sense of longevity, and a sense of outlasting where music was when they began. That's something that I feel about your music. PIZ: Yeah. My record label is called Sho Records, and Sho is a Chinese symbol in Ga that stands for longevity. I don't want to be a has-been, you know what I mean? Here today, gone tomorrow, and "Yo, that song was tight five years ago" kind of thing. I want to just stay in the game and hopefully resurface once I do die down, because everybody dies one day, but it's the rebirth, you know what I mean? Rebirth is important. PK: Well, speaking of the rebirth, maybe we could talk a little bit about your new album. PIZ: The new album is called High Definition. It should have been out a while ago, but there's been life that came in the way, personal problems with family, and health, and some other stuff too, but it's about to come out real soon now. I got guest appearances from Taketha of Wu-Tang Clan, and also Doodlebug a.k.a. See Knowledge of Digable Planets. It's an album that is talking about how I've grown. I've gotten higher musically, mentally, physically, spirit-ually, and I'm reaching all of these different plateaus, and this is my definition of being higher, you know, in that sense. And, it's just a very personal album. It talks about pain, it talks about love, it talks about niggas, it talks about jazz, and you know, it's all within the whole spectrum of hip hop. PK: Are you planning on doing any performing for the new album, or after its release in the Bay Area? PIZ: In the Bay, it will probably be a little later on, unless some shows come up, or whatever. I'm kinda, right now, not trying to follow the trend of all these artists out here that's doin' a lot of shows, but they don't have any material. For me, that just kind of defeats the purpose. I'm kind of past doing the show thing right now, because I got to eat, and I've got to handle my business the right way. But I got a tour coming up in Japan this November, and we're going to hit, like, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Osaka, and all them places. It's a month long tour. PK: Well, I definitely am of the opinion that the Bay Area needs you as much as you can spare yourself from the world. PIZ: Yeah, it's just I got that coming up first, and that's when the album's dropping, so anytime after that, if anything comes up, totally, but before, I'm not doing anything until the album's finished. PK: How do you feel about performing? PIZ: Performing is cool. I'm not into it as much as I used to be, because I think the studio has become more my home now. Whereas before I used to just want to be a MC, now I'm really into production and arranging music. That's my main thing now, but I love to perform. Everybody gets the jitters, but once you hit the stage, it's just like 'Damn, this is the shit.' You know what I mean? So, I love it, I still love it, but I'm not as hungry to do it as I was when I was younger. PK: So, who else is in the Bay that you're interested in? PIZ: Man, I'm loving ... you (laughs). I'm loving people like Pep Love and Hiero. I like Hobo Junction, Rational, I.Q. I like everybody, man, Bas-1, Bicasso. PK: You're talking about a lot of people with a lot of roots here, too. PIZ: Yeah. Like I was saying, Oakland is my second home. I'm originally from Stockton, California, but the whole Oakland scene has accepted me, and I'm grateful for it. I've learned a lot out here, just as well as getting my own from Stockton, and I think that's why I stand a little bit apart from a lot of the people that's out here. I got a little Stockton twist to it, but I like a lot of people out here man, for real. It's a lot of talent out here in all genres of music, from DJing, to jazz, to all that stuff, you know. PK: Do you check out any of the DJ scene, DJ culture in the Bay Area, or abroad? PIZ: I'm totally into the DJ scene. Some of the people I listen to are the Oakland Faders' DJ Spare and DJ Platurn; the whole Beat Sauce crew: J Boogie and Raw B; Rasta Cue-Tip, that's my man, and he's a vet, who else ...You got people like Mike Nice, and all these DJ's out here, there's so many of them, I can't name them all, and they all hit different levels of Djing, too, and Jah Yzer--I love him on the whole roots and reggae tip. I love them all, and frequently see them. The whole Wicked crew from back in the day, the whole house and jungle scene, or drum and bass, or whatever you want to call it. You had all them. I used to listen to all those different DJs, man. PK: Tell the world something about you as a person. PIZ: As a person, I'm a nice guy, and I can't find a woman that can understand that, and I need a woman that ... naw (laughs). PK: You're not joking. That's getting printed (laughter). PIZ: No, I'm just chilled out, man. I usually just sit at the house all the time, just doing music, or listening to music. Everybody be thinking, 'Oh, man, you must have a party life.' But that's not the case at all. I just kind of chill at the house, and people come by to do sessions. I just had Mission over here the other day, or now they're known as the Crown City Rockers, and we was just jammin' all day. You've been here and jammed, you know, and that's me, man. I just do that, and try to work to get some money, 'cuz I'm broke. PK: So you're doing this music thing pretty full time... PIZ: It is full time, now. I'm hustling, man, and hopefully, I'll reap the benefits from it. PK: Where do you see music going in the next couple years? PIZ: Well, as far as hip hop, I think it's expanding. But the problem with it right now is we've got people out there that are representing it in the mainstream in a very narrow fashion, and the world is believing that's what hip hop is, and that's just not the case But once that door opens for you and me, and all these other cats that are trying to push the limit of doing something different within your shit, it's going to go to limitless measures, man. You already have people doing this spoken word stuff, and it all falls in the same genre. It's going to get big as soon as people open their minds, and start to really see truth, instead of what's on TV, and what's on the radio. PK: Thank you. If I could ask one more thing, would you kick a couple lines of verse maybe that I could print to the people? PIZ: "Afterwards/Go back, refer/May bring power surge/ Sit back, relax, splurge/Intake lane, then merge/If track is whack, purge/Blends for his, and hers/Break down the sounds heard to understand ... /Afterwards." Paris King is a local musician currently enrolled at the Ex'pression Center for New Media. [ East Bay | Metroactive | Archives ]