Wafeek, a St. Louis bred MC, inspires to break all boundaries with his inventive brand of hip hop. Some artists forge ties forever to their overarching identities. Identities that both define and limit them. Tupac will forever be tied to his thug life persona. Notorious B.I.G. went to the grave married to the affluence loving playa ethos of Big Poppa. Though both Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace were exceedingly more than the sum of these stereotypes, the prevailing sentiment of their careers could be fleshed from their alter-egos. These characters shape our cherished but cataloged stereotypes. We have our bullying alpha thug, the image conscious man of leisure, and the political oriented ‘conscious’ brother. Their personifications combine to limit how a rapper can be perceived.

Wafeek doesn’t comply with any established rap character. Even the tag of ‘conscious’ rapper has been illogically placed before his title upon first listen. That is until the critic investigates the words ofthis unique artist. Wafeek’s a bit too profane and comical to be considered conscious. A tad too smart to be gangster; a little too earthy to be considered a player. Somehow, amazingly, the MC manages
to enthrall his audience with witty wordplay. A refreshing playfulness in a game overburdened with grim tough-guys. A dexterous flow suited for the dance floor yet still suitable for extended contemplation. Wafeek’s gift to the game is a little bit of himself, the man rather than the image.

Arize had the pleasure of talking to Wafeek, whojust released the mixtape The Lip Service, available for free from his MySpace page (www.myspace.com/107103705) . Wafeek chatted about the rise of anewcomer in an over saturated marketplace, how he tried not to enrage Muslims with his first moniker as a rapper, and the reason he left the land of the arch for sunny California. He even talked about his upcoming HBO special that will air on HBO On Demand. Wafeek had a lot to say about himself and even more to say about the world at large.

Arize: How are things with you?
I’m trying to get these two production teams together so I can begin to make the record I want. It’s pulling teeth to bring musicians together in one room. I’m working on an email to crack the whip.

Arize: I heard a little bit of your music, downloaded the mixtape. It seems like you are a fairly positive hip hop artist. Do you think that’s missing from the game right now?
I think…thoughts like that are a little dangerous. Especially when you’re talking about positives and negatives. Mainstream hip hop is a little out of balance. It caters to a certain demographic that is going to sell records. I don’t try to be positive per se, because fans will build somebody up and then find skeletons in the rapper’s closet. I never wanted to be positive or negative. I just don’t want to be limited. A gangster rapper is just as limited as a conscious rapper when it comes to subject matter. You’re not going to let your conscious rapper go in a certain direction just as much as your gangster rapper.

Arize: It seems like Lupe Fiasco is struggling with that right now.
Lupe; he’s a great example. You heard about Fiascogate. Midnight Marauders is one of my favorite albums. It made me want to be a rapper, but to each his own. People build you up, just like they built Lupe up. Then suddenly that vision people had of him is gone.

“Mainstream hip hop is a little out of balance. It caters to a certain demographic that is going to sell records.”

Arize: Are you purposefully contrarian by character?
Of course it’s by nature. I’m lucky I got the baby face thing going for me but I’m a little bit older. I went through that phase when I was trying to be Mr. Super Positive. I was going to save hip hop. You kind of get out of it because you realize that’s bullshit. I just want to get laid, just like anyone else, like any other guy. It’s about that balance. Tupac is an example of an artist with balance. He has this whole body of work and it ran the gamut. But Tupac could be a hypocrite, or a contrarian. I like that term. I think that was just who he was. He was a writer. I don’t want to leave out songs because they might not necessarily be “who I am.” That’s too much of a fucking head game.

Arize: I think a lot of what record companies and maybe even artists are going through just to make themselves icons. Do you want to be one of those iconic rappers or do you want to be known as a technical rapper; a technician you may say?
I think to a certain degree icons are technically sound. Rap gets a bad rap sometimes, much like wrestling. They have all these big guys posturing, trying to be tougher than anyone could possibly be, but when you look at some of the greatest rappers, a lot of them were technically amazing. They brought something that people could relate to, as well. I just practice as much as I can and try to become technically proficient. But then after that, you have to do a lot of soul searching and a lot of work on who you are as a person. I just did this HBO special: it’s called The Song Story. They take three different indie acts and they reproduce a song. They put us indifferent situations. They put me in a studio and there are these different musicians. They’re playing tables, these Indian hand drums. They put you in places you wouldn’t see off your normal everyday environment of making music. Taught me about who I am. You’re going through the motions of just writing music without analyzing [like] “who am I?” “why did I just say that?”

Arize: You really haven’t come to a conclusion.
I definitely want to be an icon; I’m ambitious as hell. My attitude is that I want to be the best. What’s the point of doing this to be mediocre; to just be okay? Michael Jordan is recognized as the greatest NBA player ever and there is somebody on the street that could kick Michael Jordan’s ass. But Michael Jordan made it to the
biggest stage and he won consistently to prove himself.

Arize: Do you think that’s changing in rap a little bit? I’m sensing this kind of shift, I hate to evoke his name, but it’s led by Kayne, with Common in the mix a little bit, or even Jay-Z to a certain extent. But I sense, I hate to use this term, but a middle class rap, one that reflects the whole black experience or an urban experience.
I live in Inglewood and I ride the bus. I don’t think it’s just a middle class thing, but a full representation of what it means to be a black male. Jay-Z did us a big service, although I don’t think he totally bought into Kayne. I think that was more Dame. He gave Kayne that important co-sign. But at the same time, Kanye had something to say. I think that’s what the Midwest could be known for. I think he’s proven that you just don’t have to get your entertainment from gangsters.

“They have all these big guys posturing, trying to be tougher than anyone could possibly be, but when you look at some of the greatest rappers, a lot of them were technically amazing.”

Arize: It’s weird you mention it’s a Midwest thing. Even when you look at Chicago, you’ve got a lot of artists who emerged from there this year. You got Cool Kids; you got Kid Sister. You got a lot of artist that seem to not be from the same vein, but they emerge from a similar cocoon. But I wanted to ask you why you moved from St. Louis to LA? Did you want to be on a bigger stage?
Definitely. It was a total business move. I had a nervous breakdown in St. Louis. It was the pressure of being in this small community. There are about ten rappers in St. Louis, that with the right production and A&R, could be huge successes. So you watch yourself watching talented people eating away at each other. People you would normally get along with. I went back home to St. Louis and the love was unanimous. I had never seen such a diverse crowd. There were college girls dressed up like pixies to straight up gangsters who had to leave their gat in the whip to get past security. But I had the chance to go L.A. with a production team who wanted to work on an album. I had to take the opportunity.

Arize: What’s the name of this production team?
They’re called the Art Thugs, which is strange because social violence is the way we approach making music. We’re not afraid of being too edgy. We just want to bring that [edge] back hip hop; wait, we don’t want to bring back anything. We want to go forward. The only way we feel like we’re going forward is to express what we experience…and we have a wide spectrum of experiences. Why shouldn’t I be able to present the experiences I’ve had?

Arize: So where are you right now with record labels?
I’ve been having conversations with Atlantic. They wanted me to go a certain way, though I’m learning it has to be natural. I talked a little bit with Downtown Records; I believe they did the Gnarls Barkley album. But right now, I’m thinking independent. It’s a really good opportunity to get out there. Couple that with the HBO special that’s coming out early next year. I’m creating a buzz for myself. With that leverage, I can write my own ticket. Record labels are becoming big banks. I just want to be truly independent and do it on my own.

Wafeek - “Dead or Alive” ft. Karma:

Wafeek - “Just Go “:

Links:
www.myspace.com/wafeek