Artist-to-Artist: ZeeDubb and Ulogy

On Thursday May 12, hip hop invades Vicksburg, MS for the Vicksburg Hip Hop show. In what promises to be a groundbreaking night for the city, a number of Vicksburg artists join forces with some Jackson artists to give the city a rare glimpse into the world of independent Mississippi hip hop.

Our guy ZeeDubb is behind the show, and is headlining the evening. In advance of the show, we put ZeeDubb together with Ulogy (also performing at the show) for our next installment of the Artist-to-Artist Series, where we have two artists interview each other.

Click on the link on the right of this page for more information.

If you haven’t yet, get the VICKSBURG HIP HOP SHOW PODCAST BY CLICKING HERE.

First, Ulogy has some questions for ZeeDubb:

1) How did your name come to be?

My name came from my pure laziness of adolescents. When I use to kick it with my cousin in Michigan or Florida (wherever we may be visiting), we use to rhyme and I looked up to him. Dude could rhyme all day without stopping. He called him self Jay Dubb so I called myself ZeeDubb...my first name was actually Zee The Apostle, back when I rapped in churches lol.

2) We want everyone to enjoy our music that will do so, but if you had to describe a ZeeDubb audience, how would you identify them?

A ZeeDubb audience would be a mixture of everybody. No matter what the race or age, my audiences are fans of good Hip-Hop music. But as of right now, I prefer to not perform around my type of audience. I like to perform around "swag" enthusiasts and skinny jean rocking grown men. Why? Because I don't like to talk about anybody behind their back. lol.

3) Do you have any goals for your involvement with hip-hop?

My goals are to continue this great INDIE movement in Hip-Hop right now! I love to see great artists coming out on their own, pushing their own music, making themselves a demand and I want to be that demand.

4) Name one thing that you feel that hip-hop is missing locally?

I think that the Hip-Hop scene, locally and nationwide, is missing balance. There's no balance in what's being heavily promoted, and I feel bad that no matter how deep, or profound, or creative my songs can be, I'll be out-shined by some dude who can make a dumb phrase like "racks on racks on racks..." It's 2011 and n***as is still rapping with auto-tune? Go lay in a grave with Osama!

We need more spontaneous actions. We need to just set up the turntables and speakers and hook up the mic and just rock anywhere! Middle of the park, outside the malls, next to Subway, anywhere! And DJs! Please support more local artists! I know there's a million to choose from, but weed out the garbage, weed out the radio clones, and when you hear someone good, spin their music!

5) In what areas musically do you feel you need growth in, and what areas are you most comfortable with? (Ex. Areas like the dynamics of the stage show, recording, etc.)

I've yet to feel comfortable about anything I've done musically in the past 2 years. I can definitely see how much I've changed and grown but there's no once that I go back and listen to a new recording and I'm happy about the way I rapped it. There's hasn't been one time I've gotten off a stage and felt that I performed the best way possible. Maybe I should have done another song, one less song, one more song, I'm never comfortable. Which is fine. I tend to stray away from something when I get to comfortable with it.

Now, ZeeDubb has questions for Ulogy

1. Why the name, "Ulogy"?

"Ulogy" comes to be from the Greek word "eulogia" which means to "speak well of" or "well spoken". That's how the term "eulogy" gets used for what happens at funerals. At its root, "logos" is there which speaks to God's ability to speak things into existence. We also have the power to affect outcomes by what we say, and because I have always been strong in speech, I exercise my right to bend words to my will.

2. What artist (of any genre) inspires you the most?

Not sure if there is any one artist that inspires me most, but since you have forced me down this shoot of questioning, I will say Big Daddy Kane. In his reign, he wasn't afraid to use big words in his flawless cadence, and you could always understand what he meant by the context. I also believe that he was one the first to turn hip-hop toward more skillful and intelligent wordplay.

3. I hear there is a collaboration with 7even:thirty on your next project. What's that about?

The most direct collaboration between us on my forthcoming album is a track called "Roller Coasters With Smoking Holsters", and in the track we hunt down stereotypical rapper-types and torture them {insidious}. Aside from that, there are some other projects coming down the VIntage Noize pipeline.

4. What makes your music different from the million other Hip-Hop artists out there?

I've been told that the tone of my voice cuts through tracks powerfully without overkill, so I guess that's unique. My subject matter should definitely set me apart from most in that I like my content can shift into many directions because of my love for classical writing. I also seem to have a unique brand of humor that comes out in the music without my trying.

5. Does being a teacher have a great impact on what you rap about?

Certainly. It makes me recognize the worth one must have to be in a position to say things before other people. It is a distinction to be an orator at any capacity, and many abuse the privilege.

(Bonus Question) Will you and ZeeDubb ever drop a collaborative project?

If so, it won't be until after I have had more time/opportunities to expand my rap base.

That's all for now. If you missed it the first time, click HERE to get the ZeeDubb/Ulogy Collaboration track "Fanfare."