Hi there! It’s a monday. That means, time for me to answer questions you guys send me.
I’ve been doing this forever (since myspace was a place people really cared about) but it never gets boring. Probably cause I don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting.
Anyway, if you’d like to be a part of the magic and feel you have something unique to bring to the table, please ask me anything. Send me questions to phatfriendblog@gmail.com or leave them in the comments below. I’m always in need of new questions and all I ask is for you to be creative about what you ask. If your question reads like an Urb magazine interview, I probably don’t wanna answer it.
So, let’s get into this weeks batch…
What do you prefer to be called in person? Tony or Blockhead? Is it weird for strangers to call you Tony? Or is it weirder for close friends to call you Blockhead?
None of my real life friends call me Blockhead. That’s weird. In fact, it’s one of those things that, if a person I know well in real life (outside of music) calls me, something is wrong with them. I’ve had people who knew me before music call me that in public (and they aren’t joking or fucking around) and it’s clear they’re doing it in a corny, social scene kinda way.
The only people who call me that , who know me, and I don’t mind are people I know via music. Rappers, producers, promoters etc..If you met me as “Blockhead” than I’m blockhead. But, honestly, I introduce myself as Tony, even when I’m at shows backstage.
As for fans, I get called both. Being called Blockhead by a fan makes more sense to me. When a stranger comes up to me and is like “Hey Tony, What’s up?” it confuses me and makes me think I’ve met them before and don’t remember them. So, that can be strange. However, when they call me Tony it does mean they’re actually aware of me beyond just being the guy who’s music they heard on Pandora or saw my video on Youtube. So, it doesn’t really bother me. That said, just for the sake of clarity, I wouldn’t mind if all people who know me 100% via my music and have never met me before just call me Blockhead.
What do you make of The recent somewhat alarming winter weather
patterns hitting the south east? Have you seen the movie “day after
tomorrow”? I fear that more extreme weather is becoming a norm – more
tornadoes, way more snow in the south than in recent memory. Is this
fear mongering? Or have we reached some critical point on our planet?
I mean, it’s global warming, right? Is there any question? More heat, more cold and more natural disasters.
I can only speak for where I am but ,in my entire life, I cannot remember a winter worse than this one. Sure, we’ve had bigger blizzards but never this relentless shit show that’s been going on since december. Not only the cold but the snow. Like 10 inches, then a day off and another ten inches. It hasn’t snowed in NYC in weeks and there is still snow on the ground. This is what living in Minnesota must be like.
While I do see this all as global warming, there is a part of me that’s like “Well, if the winter was this bad, maybe the summer will be mild?” after all, last summer was brutal but the winter previous was pretty mild. Wishful thinking, right?
But, yeah, we’re fucked. I watched a video of an iceberg the size of Manhattan breaking off an ice cap the other day. That can’t be good. I’m an ignorant person in many ways (don’t read/watch the news or try and stay on top of current events). I tend to pick a side and roll with it based on gut instinct but the world coming to an end in the next 150 years sounds about right. The scary part of that is that those last 75 years will probably SUCK too. Motherfuckers will be back in caves. Sure, out technology will be awesome but it won’t matter when we can’t go outside without bursting into flames. Really makes me wanna have kids!
What would you rather do for a FULL SIXTY MINUTES —> Listen to someone’s long and drawn out story about “this crazy dream they had last night” OR Listen to someone’s long and drawn out “this one time when I was trippin’ balls, man…” story?? Or do you think you would have a perfectly equal and balanced bias against both of these things?
I’d much rather hear the second option cause , at least, that actually happened.And, truth be told, some stories of people tripping can be amazing. One of my nephews has one that is all time top 5 stories ever that includes him pissing on his chest with an erection and hitting on his own mom. Dream stories, however, are the fucking worst. I don’t mind a brief synopsis of a dream. MY friend told me she dreamt I was on a flying hamburger the other night and that was cool. But in depth dream descriptions that have back story and different parts? Fuck all that noise. I’d rather read fortune cookies or watch someone else play video games.
Psycho-social question: why do you think teenage (and some grown-up) boys feel the need the need to draw penises everywhere, and why do teenage (and some adult) girls put hearts on everything? Both are mad annoying and uncreative at this point but the trend continues. Thoughts?
First off, i didn’t know that was a “thing”. I mean, I’ve seen Superbad but is drawing dicks a huge issue with todays youth? I had no clue. That said, I totally get why teenaged boys do it. It’s cause they, much like men of all ages, are obsessed with their own dicks. I suppose when they’re that age and they’re just a pile of confused hormones, the best they can do to rationalize the amount of time they’re spending milking their dicks is by drawing them. Another aspect of this is that, much like farts, dicks are funny. They’re funny when you’re a kid and they’re funny when you’re an adult. It’s just one of those things.
As for girls drawing hearts, I have no idea. The thought of entering the mind of a teenaged girl is as terrifying as Carcosa (#truedetectivereference).
I’ve never been to New York but I plan on visiting my friend in Brooklyn later this year. I’m 29 years old so I’ve seen about 29 years of people’s interpretations of NY through TV, movies, books, music, etc. In your opinion, who has done the best, most truthful job of interpreting your city? Who has done the worst?
That’s tough to say. Cause certain movies zone in on certain facets and eras of NYC and nail it. I can only really judge what I know. “Annie Hall” and “Mean streets” could be perfect but I don’t remember that NYC cause I wasn’t there when they came out. A movie like “Kids”, had MANY flaws in how it represented NYC (The Washington Square park beat down was kinda ridiculous) but it nailed some really details. I definitely related to living and being a kid in downtown Manhattan during the summer to how that movie portrayed it. Even a movie like “The Wackness” was on point at times. Sure, there were parts in that film that were clearly just switched up by some studio guy to make the story work better (his weed selling methods were not exactly plausible and the “Cool bas ass” kid being asian and no puerto rican was a misstep) but the vibe of going to school on the upper east side and being that age in the pre-Guliani NYC was on point. Spike Lee’s had some good moments of capturing NYC too. Thing is, there’s never been a movie that I was like “Yup! They nailed it!” but that’s probably cause , in general, the movie making process is too tampered with to ever pull it off.
As for worst interpretation, pretty much any whimsical Rom-com. The sex in the city movies are a fucking joke and , not only misrepresented NYC but , somehow, ended up making their terrible reality more of an actual reality in the city. I blame cupcakes.
feel like I’ve heard you say something along the lines of ‘there are very few rappers who should make their own beats’. maybe not tho; cant remember; im dumb.
you’ve written on the all-time best rapper/producers. how about the worst? the dude’s whose music would be great if they’d just give up the half of the equation they’re real bad at.
First off, pretty sure I never said that statement. Most successful rappers who make their own beats are actually pretty solid.
As for people who shouldn’t do one or the other…
#1 on this list has got to be Eminem. His fucking beats are the worst thing ever and , seemingly, turned him into a worse rapper. That’s a guy who needs another person in the studio with him to be like “Hey man, how bout we don’t use the Triumph the insult dog voice on this one?”.
Dilla and Madlib should have never rapped. They weren’t the worst but it was unnecessary. Quasimoto was a fun project and very quirky but, I dunno, the dude is clearly better at making beats.
To a lesser extent, Del shouldn’t make his own beats. I say this cautiously cause he’s made some awesome tracks over his career but one of his last solo albums that he totally self produced was pretty weak. So, it’s possible he can still make dope shit and just had a rough patch. I dunno.
If I had still rapped, I would have made this list easily.
What’s your take on the Outkast “comeback”? Are you holding your breath for a new album or is this just a way for these dudes to re-fill their bank accounts?
It’s wishful thinking. I really wanna hear Andre rap again. Especially over good beats. He’s been in the habit of dropping a verse a year on some R&B love song with a total nightmare of a track behind it so, to hear him rock over an actual good beat would be refreshing.
I think it could happen and it could be great but they’ve waited too long. All their fans are old now and , while it will get tons of press, I dunno if the generation that guides musical tastes will give a shit. Pitchfork will have to make their minds up for them.
Filed under: thoughts and shit Tagged: answers for questions 
