Vizion

Über das neue Mixtape “Man Apart”, den aktuellen Aufnahmestatus des nächsten Albums “Bleed”, Gary’s Rapszene, die großen und kleinen Schwierigkeiten beim Unternehmen Aufstieg – im Gespräch mit Vizion.

 

How are you doing? Introduce yourself to our readers first.

I’m doing well, thanks. Name is Vizion, I’m an independent emcee outta Gary, Indiana. Ich bin das Beste! *laughs*

You recently released a new mixtape entitled “Man Apart”. What’s happening on this one?

“Man Apart” is the official mixtape, 20 Songs deep, no interludes or skits and mixed by the world famous DJ Risky Bizness. It’s not just a bunch of beatjacks either, its an authentic ‘mixtape’. Guest features include: The Grind Family, Vakill, Father Tyme. Production from the Molemen among a few others…

If I got it right, this is just a foretaste of your upcoming album. What are you going to offer us this time?

The new album is about 85% finished. The tentative title is “Bleed”, ’cause that’s what I feel I’m doin’ on it. Won’t be many features, if any at all – and the plan is by the time it gets wrapped up, ill have national distribution. Almost the entire album will be produced by Indiana Jeune – a producer who has worked with alotta cats from Daz Dillinger to Brandy. It’s basically graduation time – you gotta keep growing with your music if you expect to achieve longevity. Artists like Jay-Z, Outkast, Scarface, artists like that constantly evolve and will always be relevant to this genre, that’s what I’m on…

When will it hit the streets?

The official release date is Jan. 28th, but there will be a few thousand out before then, so it’s whatever…

You let off alot of music, don’t you feel like your ideas and concepts might draw to an end sometime?

Sometimes I actually think that’s possible, and then I hear a new track that inspires me, or just get charged about something going on in my life… so nah, I doubt that’ll ever happen…

Tell me about your everyday life in “Scary Gary”…

It’s gangs, dope dealers, hoes, snitches, real cats, violence, good people – I don’t imagine it’s different from any other hood. It’s smaller than most major cities, which makes it harder for us to be seen on a national level. Unless we’re the murder capital again…

 

The local rapscene has been blowing up within the last years – how do you comment this development?

I think it’s alotta things. Everything in life moves in cycles, the south never used to get respect, and now they basically own rap music. With the midwest tho, you gotta understand, the midwest is a ‘consumer’ market. We ‘buy’ more rap music than any other region in the states. Anytime a midwest artist has blown, it’s basically been isolated – Bone, Nelly, Eminem, Twista, Kanye, Common. These are all platinum artists – but they are definitely not the only talent in our market. It’s very peculiar how our area operates – our how the machine operates our area. But I
digress…

What about the possibility of local networking? Are there any special meeting points or chances to set things in motion?

We do pretty well for ourselves. Most of the local artists in the Chicago market are like 2 phone calls away. Just like anywhere else, it’s people that don’t get along, but I think we’ve become real unified in the last few years. Most of us already know each other from the street, so its usually copastetic, as far as forums, seminars and meetings, not too much of that. But that’s definitely something we should strive towards.

Are there any specific rappers local/nationwide you would like to work with?

Local cats that I don’t know? Prolly Yung Buk from Psychodrama, Payroll, Legendary Traxster… Nationwide? That’s a nice sized list, for different reasons. I lean towards rappers that move me or who have a unique swagger – Ras Kass, Scarface, Bun B, Young Bleed, 8ball & MJG, Brotha Lynch, Mr. Mike. It’s a bunch actually, but that’s off the top of my head…

 

How do you understand your work as a rapper – day-by-day hustle or well organized process of coming up?

I think both go hand in hand. It’s an everyday hustle with anything, but you gotta have a plan, you gotta set goals and have a map to achieve them. You can’t just say “hey I can rap too”, shit is not that easy…

Is there anything you would like to improve about your life, your music or your business?

I’m trying to learn patience right now. The music will grow on its own at the proper pace, the business aspect is trial and error, and I’ve made alotta errors *laughs* But a loss is just a lesson for wins, so I’m on the right track…

You even did a video clip a while ago – tell me about the shooting. Will there be even more videos in the future?

The shooting was good times, I had some homies in it that kept me rolling the whole time. That’s what we do tho. It’s not always mean mugs and pistols, we real people – we talk alotta shit and jive on each other all time. I’d rather be laughin’ than mean muggen’ anyday. I got 2 songs I plan on shooting for in February, but it’s not in stone, so I don’t wanna disappoint by talkin’ about it…

Where can people buy your music and which albums and mixtapes are available so far?

You can get advance exclusive copies of “Man Apart” autographed by me, The Grind Family, Father Tyme and the 1st Battalion at www.thetipcds.com and after that they will be available at www.cdbaby.com/vizion2 . My previous 2 releases are currently out of print, but I plan on repressing them early next year if time permits.

Do you have any last words or shoutouts?

Don’t forget to check out my website, www.viziononline.com – thanks for the opportunity and thank you to all my fans outside of the states – you’re very important to this process.