By: Me Shach Hopkins
C Plus begins most of his days bright and early. That’s one
thing I learned about him from our interview. We had set up a conference call
for 1 pm Eastern Time, which is 9 am Pacific Time, on the other side of the
country. I apologized to him for asking him so many questions first thing in
the morning but it hadn’t seemed to bother him at all. In his coolest voice he simply
replied, “I’m up early all the time.” It
seems there is no rest for the restless and C Plus has been constantly grinding
these past two years to achieve a status that has eluded all too many. With his
latest FreEP, C Plus x Ski Beatz The
Extra Sessions, C Plus has given bloggers some fresh new tracks that show
off just how hard he has been working in the studio and given listeners a
glimpse of what they can expect from him in the very near future.
The first track on The
Extra Sessions is titled Johnny Rockets. Do you like Johnny Rockets?
I like Johnny Rockets but not as much as I like other
things. I think Mel’s out here is like the same thing as Johnny Rockets. I
think Mel’s is a little better than Johnny Rockets. I prefer In-N-Out over both
those spots all day. I think Johnny Rockets is a kind of song more for the
ambiance. I’m not going to say that it’s
a 100% accurate story but it was something pretty similar to that and Johnny
Rockets fit the situation.
I see you also have a
track called Tumblr Wave. Do you have a Tumblr?
I got a Tumblr but the thing is I’m not as poppin on Tumblr
as I want to be. You would think that I was way more buzzin on Tumblr. Naw. My
Tumblr is very inactive. I post a lot of dope shit but I’m not poppin. It’s
funny because I have a photographer homie named Andre Elliot who is like the
wave on Tumblr. He has like a thousand followers and be getting stupid reblogs.
He actually posted a picture of me that got a couple thousand reblogs. He was
like, “Plus you out here. I know your goal. You wanna be Tumblr famous,” but he
didn't even tag me in the picture so it didn’t even matter. I’m not out here in
the Tumblr but that definitely is the new wave. It’s funny because I didn’t say
“Tumblr females” when I said “I’m only f***in b!&%es off Tumblr.” I think
everybody understood me what I meant by that. Because when you scroll down your
dashboard you will see some real exotic artsy type chicks. Know what I’m
saying. So I’m not lowering my standards. I’m only touching the finest right
now. So for me to put that out, a lot of people relate to that because their standards
are the same.
The Extra Sessions was
sponsored by LRG is Lurk Hard out of the picture?
My relationship with Lurk Hard is always gone be solidified.
Gino has been my homie from day one. He has always been looking out. The
relationship with Lurk Hard is more so pushing a line for Sacramento because
that’s a Sac brand. It’s a skate brand. Basically look for me to do a lot more
stuff with Lurk Hard in the future. But it’s just dope because I been hearing
the term heavy lately. I been hearing some people use the term in a negative
way. But it’s just dope to know where that came from. To see my boy, who has been rocking it since
08’, now see the brand itself pop up in a lot of other places. It’s cool to see
that a lot of people are taking interest in the brand. I know it’s popped up in
Workaholics on Comedy Central. We’re seeing a lot of Tumblr models messing with
Lurk Hard as well. So it’s dope to see it get out there more.
Now are you and Ski
working on an album as well?
The album is actually done. The album is like twenty songs.
Right now we’re just in the process of – we used original samples on The Extra
Sessions but what Ski does normally is go back with a band and have them replay
everything live. So the album is done electronically as far as it being
recorded and the production part of it. But he still has to do the post
productions.
What are you calling
that project?
We had a tentative title that I don’t even want to throw out
there yet because it’s not official. So the album doesn’t have a title yet.
SAC TOWN
While Los Angeles may be where all the stars gather,
Sacramento officially remains the forgotten capitol of the Sunshine State. Throughout the years LA and Bay Area artist
have been credited for creating what some would refer to as the west coast
sound, while Sacramento artist have had struggled to find a home in the Hip-Hop
industry. Rappers like Brotha Lynch Hung and X-Raided, to name a few, have
remained mostly unknown outside of Sacramento musical networks. But where those
before him have failed C-Plus has worked hard to achieve.
You have created a
large collection of music in such a short period of time. That being said, does
it bother you that a lot of your stuff still remains underground?
Well it’s cool. I’m okay with being an underground artist
with the amount of music that I have out because with the blog-sphere and the
internet I feel I’ve finally found the foundation to present my music and put
it out there in a fashion that today’s audiences are more susceptible to. The
younger kids are used to disposable music and function stuff. There are only a
handful of people that are checking for the music that I’m doing. But at the
same time I feel as though the younger audience may appreciate the content a
little more. I sat down with my boy the other day and we did the math and
counted up all the music I’ve put out since I was 19 back in like 06. I have
like twenty something tapes out. But realistically only a handful of them count
as official releases because I feel as though I did what I was supposed to do,
not just as an artist but also as a business man presenting music. My first
official release was in 2009 “All Eyes On Me,” which was a tape I did with FTC
and DJ Flow. So ever since then comp and curriculum have been used for releases
to make it more official as far as: having the website up, blog posting it, and
having everything mixed and mastered down.
How do you think being
a Sacramento rapper affects your image? Do you think that if you were an LA
rapper you would still be labeled an Underground Rapper?
I think that if I would have put the same type of ground
work into the blog-sphere in LA as I did in Sacramento I would have a lot more
traction as an artist. I wouldn’t say that I would be necessarily bigger but I
would definitely be in more of a prominent position to get to where I’m trying
to simply because there is a more exposure. I think that is the main problem
with the city where I’m at. In Sac you have a whole swelling of talent and like
a bunch of amazing artist and that’s really all you have. There is no music
industry and there’s no outlet to the industry. It’s really like sink or swim.
If you can get your music out there through the blogging then you have a
chance. But as far as establishing a kind of from-the-ground-up type of
movement here in Sac, I just don’t see it happening, for the simple fact that
there is no industry. There is no money here. It’s really just a bunch of
artist sharing music and cultivating it with other artist. There is no
consumerism – No fan base. You got the kids and the younger audience and the
homies supporting the music but there is no business here.
As far as my image, I don’t really think it affects my image.
I think I would still be just as dope or just as appealing or not appealing to
somebody whether I was from LA or not. I think that fact that I am from a “soft
city” makes me that much doper.
COLLABORATIONS
Humble in his demeanor, yet hungry in his grind, C-Plus has
built industry connections that reach as far New York City. This network has allowed him to work with a
number of equally talented producers to create a variety of sounds. C-Plus
flowing over a hot beats, each one sicker than the last, has gained the attention
of listeners and made him Sac Town’s own savior.
You did a track,
“Heaven Is” on Ski Beatz 24 hour Karate School Presents Twilight which led to
your latest project The Extra Sessions. How did you and Ski link up? Describe
studio sessions with Ski.
Ski and I got up via Ustream and YouTube. He performs on
Ustream when he’s making beats and doing sessions, stuff like that. He does a
good job interacting with the fans. He put it out there like you know, “Who do
you guys listen to? Who are some young artists that I should be checking for?”
I guess more than one person on Ustream and Twitter told him to check for my
stuff and shot him a link. He clicked on my link and liked what he heard so he
just reached out. He reached out via Twitter. I was at work I wasn’t even on
Twitter at the time. My boy hit my phone like, “Yo Ski Beatz trynna get at you
on Twitter. Get on your Twitter right now. Get back at him. Make some music
with that guy.” So we just put two and two together from us linking on Twitter.
About a month later we did another record and then we did “Heaven Is.” It’s
kind of been history from that. We just have a real good vibe in the studio.
It’s like a real natural vibe. We did “Heaven Is” and like the first like line,
“Old Jordan’s and fresh songs/ Airy horns and beezy keys what I’m best on,”
that all came as soon as he played the beat. That verse kind of put itself
together. It’s crazy because when I recorded the verse I might have messed up
the first two takes. But the third take I got it, I rapped the whole verse all
the way through, the hook all through, and like eight bars into the second
verse. So we just kept that. We recorded the song in less than thirty minutes.
It was such a natural vibe that we were going on that it kind of just came
together organically and it’s usually like that every time. I don’t one take every single song but it’s
just so easy to make music. The only pressure there is, is the pressure I’m
putting on myself is to rise above lyrically, switch my flow up, and do stuff
differently. It challenges me in a good way. But the vibe making music overall
is real natural and easy going. Ski is a real cool dude. That is good for the music in this era and
that’s the type of music that we are bringing to the table.
The Young Champions
project you did with Lee Bannon was dope wassup with you the two of you?
Bannon my nigga. He be on the hype. He got the ADHD so bad
that he just jumps from wave to wave. I couldn’t even tell you what he’s
working on right now or what the sound of his music is. But I know he somewhere
in tucked away in Brooklyn working on some tuff shit with Joey Bada$$ Smoke DZA
and Cinematic Camp. I just got up with them a month ago when I was in New York
so we’ll get together and work on music again in the near future.
You have worked Cardo
and Sledgren both former producers of Wiz Khalifa coincidence or not?
Those are Wiz producers. Those are the guys that helped him
establish him and build his sound. So that’s definitely his sound. I would say
it is coincidence that I’m working with them because they are relevant
producers and they have dope music. I wouldn’t go out of my way to make music
with them to sound like Wiz. People don’t understand that my management is
Smokahottas. He has relationships with the Taylors and the Jets. So those
relationships, the same way a lot of my relationships are, are with mutual
friends. Smoke was like, “I got an artist I think he trynna hop on your beats.”
I sent him a song and we been working together ever since. I fucks with
Sledgren and Cardo. I actually just met Sledgren face to face. But it’s one of
those things like we have been going back and forth via email and over the net
the last couple of years. We got that initial mutual relationship hooked up
already so it’s gone be dope when we actually get in the studio and work hands
on together. But shout outs to Wiz whole camp.
Throughout your career
you have worked with many different producers and mashed well with them all.
How important would you say a producer or production in general is to your
musical process?
I think producers are crucial. Especially I think for me. I
hate the term piggy-back, but me working with Sledgren and Cardo was definitely
a bigger look for me than it was for than it was for them. Me working with Ski
Beatz was definitely a bigger look for me than it was for him. Even though I
started working with Lee Bannon in 07’ he was still already more established as
a producer than I was a rapper. So me working with Bannon was a bigger look for
me than it was for him. But because we are in something that is so dope and as
boundless and classless as music, all the other bullshit gets dismissed. They may
have an ego as a producer as them being dope but they don’t have an ego as a
talent or as a person or as an artist. So all that shit gets kept outside and
we can work together on an equal level. It’s an equal playing field when you’re
in the studio because all that is already established. Either you’re dope or
you’re not dope. So if we both dope and we’re both coming together with a
mutual glow of course what we make is gone be dope. Two positives added
together only equal another positive.
So I think for me just having that soundscape, and being
someone that’s an overly excited fan of Hip-Hop and having so much respect for
my elders – for me to work with some of the cats that I’ve worked with that are
paying homage is dope. As far as Bannon using samples and how he chops it up
he’s paying homage to Premier I feel. Then you got cats like Cardo &
Sledgren who are heavy on the bass line and incorporate the cowbells and incorporate
the funk. They paying homage to DJ Quick and Warren G. Then you got cats like
Ski who are from that element. So he’s just showing how relevant he is by
tweaking his sound. So to be in that pool of all that dope shit and just to be
able to climb up out of it and present my own shit is a blessing. Me being able
to pair myself with some the productions that I have is definitely a key
element of me succeeding as artist.
What can we expect
from C Plus this year?
Me being on as cocky as that sounds. I feel like there are
people that have been waiting for hella long, people that been feeling me since
All C.I.T.Y. which came out in like
10’. I fell back and saw how the game worked. Now I have a further
understanding of how to release music and how to build industry relationships.
The industry is politics and now that all of that is handled I don’t have to
worry about that and I can just focus on the music. I just want to get the
music to the people, get on the road, do shows, and put out dope videos for
people to see me.
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