Where did the name Balistik the Messiah come from?
I’ve gone by Balistik for as long as I can remember, probably since High School. I’ve always liked the concept of Ballistics being objects that are set on a path towards a specific goal or target, destroying anything that may interfere. “The Messiah” was a name given to me by many good people of mine. It kinda stuck with me, I guess. Besides, I’m sure there’s a ton of people out there calling themselves “Ballistic”.
Talk about how you started in music. Who were your favorite artists to listen to growing up and how did they influence you?
I actually started writing back in the 6th grade, when a friend of mine had spit a rhyme to me that supposedly “he wrote”…I was so amazed at the fact that it was possible to write something so appealing to the ear out of his imagination that I went home, sat down, and attempted to write my first HORRIBLE rhyme. As a small child, my brother had these two speakers that were twice as tall as me blasting sounds of Tribe Called Quest, Chi Ali, Brand Nubian, & Jeru the Damaja. So those are my roots. However, the first tape that I actually saved up with my own money & bought was “The Slim Shady LP” by Eminem. The second was Big Pun’s “Capital Punishment”. It was with those two tapes that I was able to truly see the beauty of wordplay, delivery, & breath control could do for a Hip Hop song. I’d have to say that it was then, that my passion for it really started.
You’re also a recording engineer. Which do you enjoy more: this or being a recording artist?
Being an engineer has it’s moments, as does being an artist. I sometimes go through phases back and forth where I prefer one over the other, but both are equally beneficial and fun to me. Engineering has helped, me in so many ways with my own music. Engineers are FORCED to listen & hear things in a song that the average listener may not notice in a recording. This has made me particularly choosy & VERY critical of my own work. I more than often end up recording & mixing myself, just because I find myself frequently displeased with the way that many people tend to mix my vocals, or lack there of. I just feel that I am the most familiar engineer that I can go to. I can look at one of my own songs that I recorded and always find problems with the mix all the time, even if the mix isn’t bad at all. Engineering has forced me into perfectionism. They say that after you get into the engineering field, that you can never listen to music the same again. This is true. I am SO picky! So sometimes I have to listen to music through the ears of an “artist” and close my “engineer ears”, in order to truly enjoy a beautiful song. As far as picking one over the other goes: it’s difficult. Recording a great songs and putting a great mix together take ALOT of time and work. However, I would have to say that, right now in my life, NOTHING is more satisfying than creating a beautiful piece of music that you can call your own.
What are your top career goals?
I have many crafts that can lead me down different roads and I am always exploring my options. However, should God grant me the gift of doing so, I wouldn’t mind becoming a presence in the music industry who is genuinely respected in his craft. I plan on becoming someone who wears many hats, and wears them well. Nowadays, with the Industry going the way it is, it’s not safe to plan for one career, but to be fertile in many fields, ready and able to travel down any road. I would say that my ultimate career goal would be to simply do what I love to do, and be merited and loved for it, while maintaining enough income to support myself and my family comfortably.
Talk about the group you’re a part of, Fresh/High Society. How would you describe the groups music?
Fresh/High Society is a three man Hip Hop group composed of myself & my two partners AO & Verse-A-T.I.L.E. I have my own style of music that is quite accurately showcased in “The Vault”. I take great pride & joy every time I’m fortunate enough to make music with them. Fresh/High Society’s music, while maintaining deep Hip Hop roots, tends to push the “Hip Hop” borders aside, when it comes to style, subject matter, and production. Every time I work with them, I am forced to think “outside the box” with my songwriting and expand my mind even further musically from what I am normally used to creating. I feel so comfortable working with them that it’s almost second nature to work on a unique concept with them for a song. I feel that working with them allows me showcase myself in a different light for the listeners, lighten the tone of my music up while, at the same time, adding a vaguely familiar grittiness to the songs. It’s hard to categorize us as a group, and we like it that way.
What are the 5 most played albums on your iPod right now?
Aww man this is hard. Right now, immediately. I’d say the top 5 most frequent albums on my iPod would be (not in any particular order):
1) Drake – “So Far Gone”
2) Jay-Z – “The Blueprint 3″
3) Joe Budden – “Escape Route”
4) Radiohead – “In Rainbows”
5) Kanye West – “808’s & Heartbreak”
Your from the birthplace of Hip Hop, the Bronx, New York. Why is that important in 2009?
Hip Hop has come such a long way, and it has changed so drastically. Many argue over whether or not it’s changed for the better. Regardless of the fact, change is impossible to avoid, and we can and should always look for and embrace the beauty in change, rather than rejecting it. However, we should NEVER EVER forget where we came from, because we are our roots. There’s nothing I love more than the perfect blend of tradition and innovation in music. It is the best music. I love my borough. I love where I came from. It made me who I am. Believe me, you will always catch me representing The BX anytime I get the chance to do so. As played out as it sounds, we are greatly overlooked. Being able to make beautiful music and come from The Bronx is so important because it reminds the Hip Hop industry not only of where it came from, but that there are still a lot beautiful, creative, fresh, marketable individuals & artists that can bring so much to this thing we call Music. If only the light would just take a glimpse our way.
Besides music, what are you into?
I play A LOT of video games & I love computers. Besides music, I’m a part time nerd.
If you could only order 1 drink at a bar, what would that be?
That’s easy. Bacardi 151 & coke.
Describe the perfect women:
Brazilian…..lol….nah lemme stop. The perfect woman doesn’t exist, brother.
What is your personal philosophy on life?
My philosophy on life is that we are all, every living and non living object, placed here for a purpose: To provide each other with experiences (good or bad or otherwise) that lead to the progression and continuation of time. This progression of time is what we know as “life” itself. How we use these experiences and how we let them use us determines the direction that our lives will go. There is nothing that doesn’t happen and there is nothing that doesn’t exist for a reason or purpose. I can go on all day with this, but that’s another interview.
What is “The Vault”?
“The Vault” is a collection of all of my previously released songs in the past that have never been put on to disc, as well as some new ones, all re-mixed down & slightly mastered. Over the past 6 months, I’ve gotten so many emails & questions from people asking me where they can get this song or that song. Now it’s all here.
/>Download “Faces” HERE.
“The Vault” drops THIS TUESDAY-9/22/09
Tags: AO, balistik the messiah, istandard, iStandard Blog, istandard producer showcase, istandardproducers, istandardproducers.com, medik, track
