welcome to vegalounge

interview with yenta (transcribed from recording)


YENTA: Sincere Vega is the vocalist alterego of Master Order, the producer. Both are members of The Mocha Project which consists of Trey Wright, Nya Thryce, Christie Cohen and a few others.

Vega: can i talk my shit for a minute?

YENTA: YEP

Vega: well basically, i came into tha game tryin to produce. my old camp was probably tha livest camp in flawda so i was doin production for them kids. time passed and nobody was blowin up so i picked up the mic for myself. here i am and alladat.

YENTA: whats up with your topics? not really along the lines of your competition out there... where does the energy come from?

Vega: i just wanted to be honest. i aint from tha hood, im from a middle-class family of educators. i wasnt neva no thug, i was a band geek... nasty on tha sax.. i just decided that all this fake shit these kids talk about today is destroyin our future as hip hop heads.. look at all the merchandising thats jumpin off already... not sayin that eating is bad but.. when you get a chance to say somethin to a mass of people... SAY SOMETHIN!!! so i do. i give them myself. i give them my sadness, my fears, my weaknesses, my dreams.. i relate to the ones whose only hero is some D-BOY ass nigga. i relate to the real person behind the fads and expectations. im sincere.

YENTA: "BELLY" fan, huh?

Vega: funny. but yeah, sorta... i was always this dude.. i just used to go by SIN VEGA but it kinda made me seem more sinister than i am... so im SINCERE.

YENTA: sincere, its cool... you have some rather harsh tracks though.. drugs, violence. you're saying that you're not sinister?

Vega: im not sayin that sinisterness isnt a part of my character, but im bigger than that.. there is a dark side of all of us.. those songs are sides of my dreams and things that i think are funny in my twisted sort of way.. youre such a pry-er

YENTA: im a yenta

Vega: yes you are

YENTA: we havent seen you on the stage in a minute, whats goin on? are you one of those closet rappers?

Vega: thats it.. naw, my music is in so many different directions that my live show wouldnt really be definitive.. of me.. until recently ive been a music machine.. just cranking out track after track depending on the way i felt that particular moment in time.. if i was cryin i was cryin.. if i was drunk, i was drunk.. but im working very closely with Trey Wright from THE MOCHA PROJECT to put together a very intimate unplugged and acoustic style of show.. just me, him, the guitar, the keys and some mics

YENTA: cool

Vega: its gonna be nice. i just want to get away from the typical "whos that guy up on the stage at open mic night" thing..

YENTA: haha

Vega: its true.. people need to connect to an emcee just like a vocalist or any other performer so imma take it there. i hate to be at the club and "mc nobody" is up there with like twenty dudes screamin nothin...

YENTA: true

Vega: i just want to be appreciated, you know? give them somethin that they need...

YENTA: i like it. let me ask you, who are some of your biggest influences and why?

Vega: this is gonna be funny. youre gonna laugh..

YENTA: i've been laughing anyway

Vega: nice. remind me to tell your boss youre an ass.

YENTA: (laughing) ok ok so tell me

Vega: well. the first hip hop tape i had was Slick Rick's "Adventures of Slick Rick". i had to sneak and listen to it in the middle of the night on the yellow walkman.. you remember the waterproof one? i remember i had no idea what a "dope fiend" or "crabs" were but it was funny. i did understand that this guy was painting pictures and i dig it. as far as my production, ive always wanted to make music like SADE. as a matter of fact, i spent my whole life trying to find a vocalist who was up to par with her so we could do that thang... then i could marry her..

YENTA: wow

Vega: after those two, theres Tribe, Pete Rock, Kwame, that dude that did Biggies old shit..

YENTA: Chucky Thompson?

Vega: sorry, vo'ka cran... yeah.. and the master... Devonte Swing.. those guys are the ones i picture when i touch the keys... you know.. classics... as far as emcees.. Nas, Jay, Q-tip, Common.. i sound cliche dont i?

YENTA: no.. i like all of them.. anyone else?

Vega: old Smiff n Wesson. back in the Bucktown days.. tha whole Boot Camp was dope

YENTA: aren't you from Florida though? no Luke or 95 South?

Vega: you got jokes.. no really.. they lived on the radio.. but i was never into that.. no story to tell.. and i was never a dancer unless you was talkin about tha 'runnin man' or tha 'kid n play'... i didnt really even get into hip hop until my first roomate in college put me on... dude had like 10 cds.. this was back in 1995 so cds werent really jumpin off yet, we had tapes... but this dude had "Illmatic", "Do You Want More", "Only Built For Cuban Links", "Liqud Swords".. straight classic albums.. the biggest influence on my rhymes id say is this cat Diallo i met around then.. Diallo from Strong-I..

YENTA: excellent choice of sounds.. i remember the 'kid n play'..

Vega: tha leg hop?

YENTA: i can still do it!

(to be continued)