One Time @ Bandcamp With... Fresh Daily

If you haven't heard the name Fresh Daily before you may very well be living under a rock. Having gotten steady exposure from the likes of 2DopeBoyz and all their biters for the better part of two plus years now he is now making waves via his FREE mixtape Mothership/Land. You can download it at his bandcamp page here. You can read an interview with Fresh recording partner Benamin here. And you can read my thoughts on the project here. Or you can skip my shameless self promotion and just read what Fresh had to say about life, music and the pursuit of happiness!

Introduce yourself? Where are you from, how long you been rapping?
I'm from Brooklyn, NYC and I've been rapping for about 9-10 years now.

What was your mindset going into the lab to make Mothership/Land?
Well, a big point for me was to really make something that made my fans culturally aware. I had also just gone through a break-up which made me question how I approached relationships since I have a few that haven't worked out quite the way I would have liked them to. So to combine those two mindsets and really explore if there was any effect on people of color regarding our social structure and how we go about building relationships and friendship. Especially in regards to our history in this country as a people.

Did it turn out how you envisioned it?
Honestly it did, I only wish I'd have gone into more depth and been able to express some thoughts I left half spoken on. It turns out however some things I felt I didn't fully expound on turned into great conversation starters and sparked dialogue with people listening to it.



What were you listening to growing up?
I was listening to Christian radio and spanish christian radio, my mother is a strict pentecostal Puerto Rican mother. As soon as I got my hands on hip-hop in my teens my first albums were Arrested Development, Fugees The Score, Busta Rhymes When Disaster Strikes and Cru The Dirty 30.

You rock over maybe my favorite Flylo cut from Cosmogramma, did the beat inspire the rhymes? To your knowledge has he heard it?
The beat inspired me to dance. I wish they played more of that type of stuff in clubs. But really when I heard it it might've been one of the hottest tracks I've heard in a while and I knew nobody was really ready to rock on it but me. I don't know if FLYLO has heard it. I love that guys stuff but I get the impression that he's super selective with what he listens to. Maybe it got on his radar. I met him once, shortly after I rocked over one of his beats for my track "WinterFresh" and introduced myself, his eye widened in recognition and said "ah, wassup man". Could be he heard of me, could be I misinterpreted that.

In 2009 you and a bunch of others got the internet in a frenzy with the release of "Super Friends" - talk about the session or sessions behind the song? Will their ever be another cut or maybe more?
I don't know honestly. I helped organize that posse cut and I also leaked it to the blogs but the steam fell from it once the video director dropped the ball after shooting the video. It's not my song though, its from Chris Faust who used to rhyme under the name "Print". His project was called Comic Books and it was dope. If one of us blows up don't be surprised if that video magically re-surfaces. Everybody on that record is a dope emcee I've worked with. I don't know about doing another posse cut just yet though. I'm all for it, I'm just not gonna be the one to organize it.

How did you connect with DJ Spinna?
You know, for YEARS I wanted to work with DJ Spinna but couldn't somehow make that happen. It so happens Sucio Smash who runs High Water Music is good friends with DJ Spinna and linked us. It turns out we have similar tastes in sound and beats so it was a very natural process.

Talk about "Space x Time" from you, the emcee's, perspective...
"Space x Time" was fun to write because your mind reads "Space x Time" in a very science fiction-y way. But in relationships sometimes you need both space and you need time so the challenge really was to let the beat be space-y and synth-y and write about a relationship and time management. I'm NOTORIOUS for being LATE everywhere. TreZure the Empress who sang on that trakc came up with the idea. She's ILL.

Thanx (Fresh Daily) from Nicolas Heller on Vimeo.

Have you ever been to Seattle? Are you listening to any music, hip hop or otherwise, from our city?
I like the beat scene I was put up on by now defunct Seattle based blogsite-turned event FreshSelects. I believe producers DevonWHO and Hi-Res are from Seattle. I've never been. I'm dying to come out there though...somebody book me! I have a live show for yall!

Is there camaraderie among the young rising talent in NY?
Slightly. NYC has a history of being more competitive than helpful. Its a tiny city of over 8 million people all trying to succeed many of which are doing precisely the same thing. It's a situation that has sufficient pressure to create a competitive environment. There are some kindred advanced souls however that realize we can succeed together however and to those I salute.

Last Words? Advice? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
ADVICE: Humbleness counts. Be signature. Smile when you rap.
SHOUTOUTS: AOK, HIGH WATER MUSIC, Benamin, Pacool, Jinesis & A. Bell

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Thanks to Fresh Daily for hitting me back with these responses, thanks to Benamin for doing the same and forwarding my questions to Fresh. Lastly a HUGE shout out to @ParkerJoe for hooking me up with Benamin to make this week happen!