1. Do you collaborate when writing material, or is it a solo effort? lyrically i handle everything that isnt a guest spot. production wise for the most part Blockhead and myself handle the majority, with him doing usually at least half. occasionally we will bring in some other producers, el-p, rob sonic, etc. but me and Block have been working well together for a long time. but yeah the lyrics are all me. 2. How do you prepare for a show? Any specific things you do to get in the right headspace? well we plan a set and rehearse a lot. that's how it starts. as for like directly before the show i pretty much just stretch, warm up my voice a bit backstage, drink some tea for my throat, give a pound to Rob Sonic and Wiz as a sorta toast to a 'good show', and thats it. i do like a little quiet time before jumping on stage, but sometimes thats hard to find. me and rob pace a lot too. 3. Where is your favorite place to perform? hm. NY is kinda a given just cuz it's NY and theyve always had my back in a major way. its really just been awesom kinda fighting through the oversaturated ny scene and making it to a point where we can consistantly draw out some people. our brooklyn show the other day had over 5000 people at mccarren pool, and that really felt like the pinacle of all ths shit we've been working for. it was a pretty awesome day. as for other clubs and venues, the 9:30 club in d.c. is probably the greatest actual venue in the country as far as hospitality, cleanliness, sound, etc. just really above and beyond. LA is always good, SF. i mean, these are all the big cities that are also equally as nerveracking to play at. sometimes doing some tiny town in the middle of nowhere is incredible because the fans are really receptive and thankful. to be honest, any city can be great on the right night. 4. What's the worst thing that's ever happened at a show? in sao paulo brazil once we headlined a festival, and it was so hot where we were performing that none of our gear would even turn on, turntables, computer, nothing. all overheated. we somehow, after about an hour, got something to sorta work and basically winged it, but it was just terrible. songs were speeding up and slowing down drasticall in the middle, records werent playing right, i mean everything that could go wrong went wrong. ha. imagine going on stage and nothing turns on. your just standing there like ummmm... hi. luckiy the following day it cooled down and we got to sorta redeem ourselves. 5. What's your favorite art besides music? i went to school for painting, and i really love drawing, illustration, etc. visual arts. i occasionally still try to get busy with the pencils but i never realy go hard at it like i should, or like i use to. i still am a massive fan and really love checking out artists and illustrators. it was kinda my original plan in life. i have been taking draing classes since i was really young, and eventually got a bachelor of fine arts, but i dunno, somewhere along the way the tides changed and music kinda moved into the front. 6. Do you have any guilty pleasures? i dunno, i'm not too ashamed of the things i like. maybe i should be. haha. 7. What's your favorite Chinese-food dish? probably general tso's chicken, though i cant eat that shit anymore. im trying (sometimes) to eat a little better these days, and so much chinese food is so heavy. 8. If you were compared to an animal, what would you be, and why? maybe an elephant cuz im big and slow. and cuz elephants are fucking bad ass. 9. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever done at a show? in houston last year, while i was literally in the middle of rapping, a fan was trying to hand me something. i reached out to grab it and realized it was a hamster. a live hamster. like a pet hamster. i took it and was rapping with a live hamster in my hand, holding it up, walking around stage. after a minute or two i handed it back. it was very surreal. later in the night after the show the kid was freaking out cuz he had lost his hamster at the club. its like 'hey guy, why the hell did you bring a hamster to a rap show?" 10. Which other artists (living or dead), inspire you? my whole WM crew continue to keep me on my toes creatively. jeremy fish, chris ware, john darnielle, redman, epmd, i dunno i could do this forever. thanks best a.r. http://www.myspace.com/aesoprockwins