First of all I gotta say thanks to all the interviewees for taking part in this, and it's a shame that I couldn't get Man1x for a "4 interviews" issue. I was a bit busy so I couldn't come up with a bigger variety of questions so most of them are the same. The interviews were done separately but I'll add each member's answers under each question that was the same for everyone.
01. So you've just turned 18, how do you like the feeling man? I was just looking at some pictures from when I was 18 the other day and I look so childish, lol. That last year of high-school was awesome though it felt a bit bittersweet given that it was the end of an era. How do you feel about that aspect of it? I'd really love to go back in them classrooms for at least a day, there was so much to it. Not that I'm a person who dwells on the past but still.
InsaneTRex94: Honestly, I don't really care. Everyone I've talked to today is wondering why I look so miserable (I don't, I have my normal everyday frown on my face). I mean, the only thing that I really care about doing now that I'm 18 is voting. I just don't like birthdays in general (my own birthdays I mean. I like to celebrate others' birthdays, but I don't like getting gifts because I always feel like I owe that other person something).
I'm sure that when I'm older and finally develop some sort of passion in me I'll wonder why I looked at my 18th birthday like any other day but whatever.
02. I'm glad I got caught up with some ish and that I'm late with this interview because now I can ask you about your trip and the Hopsin show. Sure there's a whole thread about it but can you summarize the experience for us and how do you feel about it now that some days have passed?
Trimss: Well, it was amazing to say the least. Basically, SajN and I got in London for Hopsin's show and chilled together the whole day. We were visiting London a bit, then trying to find Westwood's studio but we totally failed at that.
Now that some days have passed and I got the chance to rest, I'm even happier that I went there. I have absolutely no regrets. SajN is a cool dude, and we had a lot of fun. We fucking met one of our favorite rapper, man. That feeling is pretty amazing.
We were so exhausted though.. Complaining every 5 minutes about our legs. I mean we were trying to sleep at King's Cross! lmao.
03. Zabe my man, what's been good fam? Let's open this with some funny story, tell us something "left" that has happened to you.
Zabe: What up, Slim? I'm good, this interview is gonna be… well, not classic. I'd say "enough". But anyway, my story begins in my school. Basically, one of my friends prides himself on being disgusting as possible. He farts, he pervs and he does a surprisingly good impersonation of an woman's orgasm. Anyhow, he was bragging (in his mind anyway) about how he could eat anything. Apparently, he had sucked out a tampon lying in the street before. So our little group wanted to put him to the test. So, one fateful lunchtime, we took a strawberry he was eating, covered it in piss and he willingly ate it on camera. I uploaded the video to YouTube, and almost immediately we all got suspended. And then we did it again with a apple. Welcome to Ireland.
04. One of the usual questions. Talk about your all-around experience on TR. How did you like it here at first, how do you like it now, favorite/least favorite members, etc.
InsaneTRex94: I've liked being here, I don't know how many people have liked me being here but fuck them. There's a lot of interesting and funny-as-fuck people here, and a lot of assholes too. I look at my old posts and just notice how much younger I seemed. It's like, I seemed timid until I established myself as an [over]active member here.
It's been a bit hard to post here recently, I'm not gonna get into it because so many others have already. I don't see myself leaving for a while though.
Favorite members? You, of course. Menzo, Geno, Rev, Amaranthine, Trimss, Embase, Eedee, DGAF, Hage, Lello, Miller...well, those are the ones who come to mind right now. It would be so much easier if I actually ever did a shoutout thread.
Least favorite? The tranny who will not be named...also the little bitch who suffers from both Down syndrome and Fetal alcohol syndrome: Hopsinshadie (but he/she/it hasn't posted for a while so it's all cool)...well, those two are the only ones I've felt like killing before.
Trimss: I was here around the Relapse time, I know I registered during that time because I downloaded it here. But I'll never be able to find that account again. That was the period I started to listen to more rap, and I heard We Made You and got reminded of Eminem.
So I checked his earlier stuff, fell in love, waited for Relapse. Relapse and its complexity helped me a lot with the vocabulary and stuff. I still like TR, some only see the negative sides but on the real, there are still a lot of good and chill members here.
Lello, SajN, Rev, the mod team basically, Alm, Eg, ImANoob, you basically everyone who posts in backstage too. You gotta learn to know the community and the members. Like Alm is a great member, but some only notice him for his trolling and think he's just a dumb fuck. Sure, he can piss you off when he wants. But he still my *****.
Zabe: I don't even remember how I ended up signing up around here. If I recall correctly, it was a couple of weeks after Hell: The Sequel came out, and I just wanted to see what people thought. I then preceded to ignore all the Eminem sections. The section that really got to me though was Creative Writing. I know it's not gone, but rest in peace. When I joined, that place was crazy active. It's kinda disappointing to see not just that section, but the whole forum crumble away before your eyes. It's picking up a little bit now though, which is good. Favourite members? Hmm, I'd have to say name and Man1x (our fallen soldiers), and of course your good self. And the staff too, the forum gives them too much shit to be honest.
05. Talk about some of your favorite MCs. When did you become a fan of that certain artist, what drew you to him, favorite songs/albums, etc.
InsaneTRex94: Oh, fuck, that's gonna take a while... Well, first, we'll start with Eminem, of course. I also gained interest in D12, Dr. Dre, Obie Trice, Royce, and 50 Cent around the same time I got into Eminem...well, because of Eminem. Basically what happened was one of my friends at the time (let's say mid 2006?) was a 50 Cent fan, he showed me "You Don't Know", and Eminem's verse really clicked with me. So I asked him "Who's the guy on the second verse?" He told me it was Em, and a few days later he decided to show me some more Eminem songs. He played me "When I'm Gone", and I fucking died after that. I was like "FUCK! Who is this guy? I need more of his music!" so he emailed me Without Me, Lose Yourself, The Way I Am, Cleanin' Out My Closet, and Till I Collapse...I think that's it. I was so drawn into the passion he put in his music. A few weeks later, I went for vacation and was at my uncle's house. He heard me playing Without Me and basically gave me his copy of The Eminem Show. I fucking loved it. I asked him who D12 was, because they were on When The Music Stops and I really enjoyed Swifty's verse and Mr. Porter's verse. I also told him I really liked Dr. Dre's verses on Say What You Say. He bought me Devil's Night and gave me his old copy of 2001. From there, I got into Shady/Aftermath. By the next year I had purchased SSLP, MMLP, Encore, Curtain Call, The ReUp, D12 World, Cheers, Second Round's On Me, The Chronic, and Get Rich or Die Tryin'. These guys were who I listened to for the first 2 years I listened to rap music. Eminem is who got me into music in general.
Now Tech N9ne...one of my friends was (and still is) a major underground hip hop head. He was listening to Caribou Lou by Tech N9ne one day, and I enjoyed it, so he recommended some songs by Tech to me. This is around 2009, a little before KOD had come out. I enjoyed Tech's music, not nearly as much as Eminem's, but I listened to him whenever. In 2010, though, his Seepage EP had come out, and I decided to listen to the song "Seepage"...I was astounded at the energy he put into his music, I just fucking died. After that, I went and I grabbed everything I could of him at the Best Buy nearby. I had in my possession KOD, Sickology 101, The Gates Mixed Plate and Everready. I was especially drawn in to KOD. After that, I bootlegged the rest of his music. I’m planning on ordering the CD's I bootlegged once I get some shit settled. I got into Krizz Kaliko a little later, but only recently have I realized how good of an artist he is. I've listened to Krizz more than anyone throughout this last month or so.
I got into Slaughterhouse around 2009 when I heard them on Royce's Street Hop album. Not much else to say.
I got into Brotha Lynch Hung in 2010, after I had become a hardcore Tech fan. I saw his album Dinner And A Movie on their site, decided to check it out because I enjoyed his verse on "Strange Music Box"...it was fantastic. I had heard cinematic songs before ("Stan", "Kim" and "Just The Two of Us" are prime examples) but I don't think I had heard a concept album like that before, where there was a story being told throughout the album. Then, when I found out it was part 1 of a trilogy, I eagerly began waiting for the rest.
I got into 2Pac, Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z, The Wu-Tang Clan, and Redman (fucking love this dude) and Xzibit at the same time, after I was listening to Dre's music and decided to check more '90's rap.
And the last one I'll talk about is King Gordy. I got into his music after I heard his verse on "Horns". Up until then, I thought he was simply a hook singer, based off his shit from the D12 mixtapes. When I heard that verse, it actually shocked me. I'd heard offensive shit before, but that had crossed any line I ever had imagined. After that, I decided to check more of his music, and ended up becoming a fan of his and losing almost any limits I had. I just fucking love his voice, his music makes me laugh more than most other things will...but sometimes he has some really fucking good personal tracks too. Sometimes I wish he'd do more of those.
Trimss: Machine Gun Kelly: I think if you search for the first MGK thread on here, you'll see one of my posts. I've been listening to him for like two years, it was a thread FreeSpeech made that introduced him to me. I think I saw it on Worldstar Hip Hop though.
Then ChristinaE12 linked us to the Lace Up mixtape, and I fell in love with his music. People always let his image guide their opinion about him, but they shouldn't do that. Let the music speak. I met him and have a picture with him, well, he's signing an autograph for me.
Favorite songs: All We Have, The Return, Save Me, End Of The Road, Halo, Letter 4 my Fans, etc..
Hopsin: Well, I got hooked up when he posted on TR. That's simple as that. The guy is ultra dope, his style is amazing and I love the message he gives. He's also a chill dude. I met him and have a picture with him.
Favorite songs: Where Will I Go, Pillow Man, Ill Mind 5, Kill Her, Sag My Pants.
Yelawolf: I heard Pop The Trunk a long time ago, and loved it. But I stopped paying attention until the rumours came that he was going to be signed by Shady. I downloaded Trunk Muzik and the Arena EP, and I immediately loved his sound. He doesn't sound like any other rapper, he's unique and creative. Just listen to his new EP with Barker.. That shit is unique, amazing. I met him and have a picture with him.
Favorite songs: Marijuana, Love Is Not Enough, Be The One, Howdy, Trunk Muzik, Director's Cut.. and a lot more.
Kanye West: Let that man get cash, let that champagne splash. One of the greatest artists of our generation. Lately, he's been disappointing but I know for sure his next solo will be monstruous. He actually was my first favorite rapper, thanks to GTA 4 and Flashing Lights.
Favorite songs: Flashing Lights, Homecoming.. I mean, Graduation, the whole album.
And a lot more like Tech N9ne, Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, the obvious ones like Pac, Big, Jay-Z (I got a lot of respect for him.), 50 Cent, Nas, Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson.. I'm not a Hip Hop head, and I never claimed to be one.
Zabe: I've only been into hip-hop since about 2009, so my knowledge of "classic" or "old-school" rap is very limited. However, if I had to break down my top 5 right now, I'd say Jay-Z, Eminem, Nas, Common and Big Boi, in that order. To save a bit of page space, I'll just talk about Jay-Z. My first Hova album was The Blueprint 3. I'll never understand how so many people don't like that album. I admit that it is inferior to other albums in his catalogue, but it's still great. After that album, I just got into hip-hop in general. I'd say my favourite song of his is 22 Two's. The whole faux-live vibe of the song just gets me going every time.
06. How's the rapping thing going for you? If I remember well you said something about quitting which disappointed me. It wasn't until I turned 18 that I started rapping at all, and you already have a head start.
InsaneTRex94: I've been trying to get back into it, I basically have a full verse written, just in fragments, for Everyonesacritic (or however he spells his username lol). I've not had the time to write. I feel like what I'm writing is a bit smarter than what I used to write. When you said that you could put shit up on RapGenius, I basically took the approach where I need to have shit where there's more orange than white.
I've got ideas for a mixtape, which will be called "Stream of Consciousness", it's going to be completely reflective of my mind. It's be based off thoughts that come to my head and I happen to write down, no matter what the thoughts may be. Any emotion I’ve ever felt, any recurring thoughts (such as those I love, those I hate, fear of failure, social taboos and why they’re viewed as so bad to discuss, any jokes that I’ve thought of)…it will all be discussed in one way or another. If there is something I feel like I need to explain but can’t explain in a full song, then it’ll either be just a 16 or a skit. This is all assuming I ever start it.
07. You're well known for that Barney Stinson avatar. When did you start watching the show, what's your favorite Barney moment, and how do you feel about the decline of the show?
Trimss: Well, I started watching the show like when the third season was going on. I loved it and I think Barney Stinson is a legend.
It's hard for me to pick a favorite Barney moment, but I have two funny ones right now that I'm thinking of.
I love when Ted is trying to teach him how to drive and he just goes nuts because he can't do it.
I also love the episode where he's shown as a hippie, and why he became who he is. He took his revenge on life, and has now everything he wants to have. Well.. Almost.
What I think about the decline? I still enjoy the episodes, but I think they should stop milking it and giving us real clues about who the mom is. They're just trying to make some money out of it, but they should stop doing that. It's better to have a short show with a great ending that an unnecessary long ass show.
08. If I'm not wrong you're still in high-school. Speak about your experience in there, do you think you appreciate it enough?
Zabe: Yeah, at the moment I'm doing my A-Levels. They're… interesting to say the least. I'm doing Maths, Physics, History and Media Studies. A variety of subjects. School's a tough thing to appreciate when you're in it. Sure, I'm probably look back in ten or twenty years time and say, "damn, that was good." But as of right now, all I see is the boring work and the dickheads who I'm supposed to call "friends". That's not to say that it's not fun though. Just a few hours ago at the time of writing, I was filming for my Media Studies coursework, shooting from different angles and storyboarding and interviewing. It's a lot of fun. And, as someone who wants to do journalism, it's very good for learning the tricks of the trade.
09. Do you like reading? Books, comics, magazines, whatever. Any favorites?
InsaneTRex94: I used to be the biggest fucking bookworm I knew. I've stopped reading as I got more into listening to music, but I'll still read once in a while. Harry Potter and LOTR are what I read still to this day. I've read each series over 100 times each. That's not an exaggeration.
Trimss: I'm not that much into books. I like reading but I never do it for some reason.. I have to though. I read all the Harry Potters and I don't think I'll ever find something that connects with me that well. I loved it, and I'm still a HP stan. So yeah. I watched and read animes.
Zabe: I'll tell you something, about 2 or 3 years ago, I used to be a ma-housive reader. I would read books all the fricking time. I don't know if school just soured me on the whole experience, but now, I can't read without being mind-numbingly bored. I don't look down upon others who do read though. They have the capacity for the intelligence required to read at a non-idiotic level. I do, however, read magazines like Gamesmaster (a UK gaming magazine, similar to Game Informer or something like that), just because of the content / blatant advertising.
10. Speaking of comic books, what's your favorite superhero and why? And if there's a movie adaption for that character, how do you like it?
InsaneTRex94: Spiderman, no fucking doubt. He's probably the coolest hero, as far as his personality. I didn't like any of the Toby Maguire movies but the new one is fucking AWESOME.
Trimss: I'm more of an Anime guy than a Comic Books guy. I mean, my favorite super hero is definitely not someone like Spider Man or Superman, but more like Goku or Seiya. I grew up reading mangas and watching animes.
I was never really interested in Comic Books, though I love the movies, I never read a book. So yeah.
Zabe: My favourite superhero is Batman. (SWEAR TO ME!) I like the idea of a hero, who, at the end of the day, is just a normal guy who could die. I like that sense of vulnerability. I think the Chris Nolan trilogy or the Arkham games display this perfectly. This dude may be strapped up to the nines but he's on your level. And maybe that's more threatening.
11. Do you like video games? Give us your preferences regarding gaming.
InsaneTRex94: I used to play, before I went to university. My first video game was Paper Mario. I still play that, it's an amazing game. Some of my other favorites are Spyro (the PS1 games, the rest aren't good), Crash Bandicoot, COD (I don't play anymore but MW2 consumed me for a good month and a half), basically the whole Mario series...I think that's it.
Trimss: Of course I do. I had a Xbox 360 who died months ago and I'm saving money to buy a new console because I can't stand the fact that so many great games are being released and that I can't play with any of them. Asassin's Creed, Fifa 13, Dishonored, Prototype 2 (which is already old), Gta fucking 5.. And a lot more.
Gears of War 3 has to be one of my absolute favorite game ever. It's flawless to me. There's a sad scene on there.. It almost made me cry. Cry.. for a video game. First time ever.
Zabe: God damn it, I LOVE GAMES! In fact, I even run a little site with my friend Mark called Mad Method Gaming (http://madmethodgaming.wordpress.com). It hasn't been updated in a while, but we're sorting stuff out and it should be running at full speed pretty soon. I own a Playstation 3, and I'd die for that machine. I like pretty much every genre. My favourite games of aaaalllllllll ttttttiiiiiimmmmmeeeee are Super Mario Bros. 3, Kingdom Hearts 2, Portal 2, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Lylat Wars.
12. Talk about some interesting experience with a girl. Like some argument or prank or something.
InsaneTRex94: Well, I don't have many interesting experiences with girls lol. I get along with them decently well but I don’t think I’m engaging enough in conversation. I’m also very “whatever”…my cousin had actually said last night that she couldn’t envision me in a relationship at all. And I agree. Also, I can't exactly be "interesting" around girls, otherwise I don't think any would want to hang out with me…only one of my female friends is cool with me going “too far” as far as my jokes are concerned. The other night we were discussing which drugs we use to go to sleep, which evolved into just a general drug conversation. In a Facebook thread that had 18 other people. Not very interesting, but it's safe to say I abuse drugs much more seriously than she does. We do enjoy making fun of my roommate, calling him gay and whatnot…he’s dead scared of horror films so we forced him to watch Silence of the Lambs with us. Still, not very interesting.
Trimss: Talking about girls shout out to EG, Guess_Who, Amaranthine, Alex, UofL. Keep posting girls.
I don't really know what to say about this. The only interesting prank I did was with my cousin. We called one of his friends, a girl, and we were playing Gta. So we put the phone near the TV, turn the volume up, and started to shoot people on the streets.
I think she was kinda scared and wanted to call the police or something. We were dying though, that was funny as fuck.
Zabe: Real talk, I've never been in a serious relationship. So forgive me if this story is a bit shit. So, basically, I fancied a girl I knew for a long-ass time (since we were little kids) and after some time, we just stopped talking, not because of any disagreement, but because we were hanging out with different people and moving on. Then, one day, as young people do, she did description thingies on Facebook for people. I asked for one, and she said something like "it's a shame we haven't talked in a while". And I said something that I regret saying, and will NEVER, EVER, EVER say again. I said "it's not my fault you're so good-looking that I can't talk to you". FUCKING JESUS CHRIST, I WAS RETARDED. I was then ridiculed by everyone everywhere for a long, long time.
13. What's your dream job and what do you think you may end up working?
InsaneTRex94: Shit…okay, with me, I have absolutely no vision of my future. No idea. No passions. It’s horrible, but it is what it is. I don’t really have a dream job. I’m gonna end up with some engineering job of some sort, most likely.
Trimss: I don't have any dream job. I'd like to have a job as a translator or in some embassy or something. That's what I'd like to do.
Zabe: My dream job is either to be working at IGN as an editor or as a rapper/producer. The first because I'm a huge gamer and the second because I love rapping and producing. However, I am training to be a journalist, so I will probably end up working in some newspaper. But hey, I love the idea of a career in journalism. I live to write, and this is the perfect way to do it. I'd also love to travel the world, and this career could potentially help me do it.
14. The other usual question, how do you like this magazine and do you have any advices for its improvement?
InsaneTRex94: I fucking love this magazine and I’m very happy it’s back. To make it better?...how bout a section labeled “Take A Trip in T-Rex’s mind” or something? That could always be fun. Nah, I don’t know. Just keep doing what you’re doing, expand the magazine further, just keep it up and try your hardest to keep it going.
Trimss: I love this magazine, I thought it wouldn't last but actually, it did. You're doing a great job for TR, and that's really kind of you.
Thanks for all of this Slim Fiasco, and keep doing this. Shout out to every TR member that interacted with me in any way.
Zabe: Well, first of all, you're doing a great job, Slim. Kudos. However, I can see it's putting pressure, and it's not bad to ask for help sometimes. Just remember, I got your back. But generally, keep up the great work.
