Juxtaposing grassroots influenced lyricism with modern day substance and wit, Torae is a force to be reckoned with.  Corny metaphors aside, the MC has bars, period. HipHopWired.com sat down with Torae to talk about the stereotypes and labels of his sound, and he dropped gems on what it was like working with Hip-Hop pioneers like Pete Rock and DJ Premier, as well as 9th Wonder.  He also talks about the new-found unity within the culture and his new venture as a radio personality.

 "I don't make music to fit in, I don't make songs for the radio, I don't make my album so I can be on the best album of the year list, I don't do my photo-shoots so I can be on the cover of magazines," says Torae.

"I do what I do and if people gravitate towards it and accept it that's great, but at the end of the day I don't want to follow suit.  I want to make dope music and have that affect people's lives.

 "I think a lot of artists are chasing a façade of what they think the industry is.  I want to create the soundtrack to your life…when you're having great times, when you're having bad times."

Peep The Exclusive Interview With Torae After The Break!

HipHopWired.com:  What's the significance of this line for you: “The real sh*%t started creeping back.”

Torae:  That line is pretty straightforward.  That line, “The real sh*%t started creping' back,” meaning there's a lot of non-authentic sound or a more watered down version of music on the radio and the mainstream…but little by little you get glimpses of the real sh*@t.  Dope beats, dope rhymes, ill records, ill concepts.  You get a Jay Electronica every once in awhile, get a new Common every once in awhile, a new Kweli record so I say little by little the real sh*%t is kind of creppin' back into the forefront.  We definitely have a long ways to go, but piece by piece.

HipHopWired.com:  You've worked with Hip-Hop legends (Pete Rock, 9^th Wonder etc) how did you cultivate these relationships?

Torae:  Just being me.  Those relationships, and thank God that those are relationships, and more than just working relationships, just being on the scene and putting out records and being real adamant about trying to bring something to the table.  I wasn't really trying to take away anything from Hip-Hop. I was trying to add on to it. I think that those guys realized that.  A friendship was formed. Preem is like the homie-homie.  That's my dude, Pete is my dude, when he comes to Coney Island he hit me up.  I'm blessed that these guys are willing to work with me and these are people that I can hit up on a regular basis.

HipHopWired.com:  They must drop a lot of knowledge and stories from Hip-Hop's early days…what was the most awe-inspiring or shocking story that you heard?

Torae:  Premo will go on an hour-long tangent just on the first time he and Guru went on the road together and stuff.  I have nothing to add to that conversation (laughs), I just want to soak it all in. Bumpy Knuckles had this song called “Gang Starr Bus,” I remember one night we were at the radio station, me and him, Preem, and they were just talking about some of the wild, crazy things they did. M.O.P. was on that tour and just talking about regular, tour-life sh*@t…from doing shows, to getting into fights, to obviously the female aspect, to not getting along with the bus driver. Just all types of crazy stuff that went on (laughs).

You know what I found really interesting; there wasn't a lot of camaraderie between a lot of artists back in the day.  Dudes would get in the elevator with rivals and it was really a turf war.  They both wanted New York. You would get Boot Camp Click and they would get in the elevator with Wu-Tang and they'd be like Wassup…and that's it.  I found that to be kind of crazy.

HipHopWired.com:  Artists are banning together now though…

Torae:  Yeah I think we started to learn from other regions.  You see a lot of West Coast unity, definitely a lot of southern unity and you saw that the focus moved from New York to these different areas and I think the reason is because their weren't a lot of artists willing to work together and collaborate.  Now, especially with this new crop of artists, we all kind of came up together and kind of friends.  We do the same shows, run in the same circles.

HipHopWired.com:  How are you feeling about the Hip-Hop scene in New York?

Torae:   I think there's two scenes in New York.  There's the more mainstream scene and the more indie/underground scene.  The latter is definitely thriving right now, there's a lot of dope artists out of New York that's making some incredible music.  It's sad that that music isn't being propelled to the forefront.  They're giving people a choice.

I feel like the main thing that's lacking in mainstream is there's not a lot of diversity, so you get the same thing, same formulaic music video and looks.  There's really no individuality.  If you gave the people an option…you hear some Young Money, then you hear some Homeboy Sandman, some Maybach Music, some Skyzoo, it would keep it fresh, because when you listen to the radio once you listen to the same songs and the same content, you start getting people to say, ‘Oh, I'm tired of Hip-Hop…it's wack now.'  

That's not really the case, it's just the type of Hip-Hop they get fed is pretty much the same old same.  With that said, the indie scene is dope,  from Homeboy Sandman to Emilio Rojas to Skyzoo to Sha Stimuli…I could go on and on, there's a lot of dope artists out there.

HipHopWired.com:  Where do you want to fit on the spectrum?

Torae:  I'm just a dude that loves Hip-Hop that cares enough about it to try to bring something to it.  Trying to build on the legacy without sounding dated. You can tell my music is inspired by a certain time frame but in no way do I feel like I'm an “old artist.”  People always try to make that connection Oh, he got a 90's sound, nah it's 90's influenced because that's what I grew up listening to and that's what made me want to create music but it's still current.   I'm not rapping about 8-Ball jackets and bombers, that sh+*t I didn't live.  With that same type of energy I try to bring something new to the table.

 HipHopWired.com:  You're a world-traveling artist. Does that mean more to you than “mainstream” success and recognition?

Torae:  I think the two go hand in hand. I've been fortunate…I came in and was able to connect with Masta Ace at the time I did.  I was putting out my first project Daily Conversation, we had the same studio, we had mutual friends…he liked me as a person, he was into the music and he asked me if I had been overseas before.  I was like no, he was like I'm gonna take you on tour.

He took me out as his opening artist along with Marco Polo…it put me in a whole different space.  It put me in front of a whole different audience of people and I was able to take those relationships I built overseas and build upon them.  It was really having good timing and everything lining up for me.

As far as the success I have over there, it's dope, I would love to have it in the states and be able to say I did 20,000 like I did in the Czech Republic.  I would love to say I've done 28 dates in 30 days like I did over in Europe and be able to bring that same energy.  But if you're not a radio artist or a mainstream artist it's more difficult and I'm hip to that. At the end of the day as long as I'm still getting to live that…I just came back from Europe two weeks ago so…I'm not complaining.

HipHopWired.com:  They seem to respect the art a lot more over seas.

Torae:  For sure. I think mainly because it's not right in their face.  Sometimes being in New York and being so engulfed in the culture you take it for granted because it's just second nature, where as you go to Germany and they breathe Hip-Hop.  They live it over there.  There's heavy graffiti, heavy B-boying…they got a whole school of breakdancing.

Not to say we don't have the same things but their so into it though.   It's almost like when you're in school, you might have not been around for the Civil War but you study it, so you may have knowledge of it because you're so into it, studying it and reading up on it.  That's kind of how they are with Hip-Hop.

HipHopWired.com:  How do you plan to change the Hip-Hop game?

Torae:  I just want to tell my story and leave my mark and hopefully spark some of the change and the through process that goes behind making music, I think a lot of artists these days try to make music to fit in.  I don't make music to fit in, I don't make songs for the radio, I don't make my album so I can be on the best album of the year list, I don't do my photo-shoots so I can be on the cover of magazines.

I do what I do and if people gravitate towards it and accept it that's great, but at the end of the day I don't want to follow suit.  I want to make dope music and have that affect people's lives.  I think a lot of artists are chasing a façade of what they think the industry is.  I want to create the soundtrack to your life…when you're having great times, when you're having bad times.

For rules and submission information about the 2012 National MC Search, click here. You can also contact Sebastien Elkouby, co-founder of S&H Public Relations, at SNHPRF@gmail.com or 310-654-1681.

HipHopWired.com:  Your one of the judges for the 2012 National MC Search, do you do anything to prepare for that? What are your criteria?

Torae:  I'm not going in with anything preconceived, I just want that woah factor.  I couldn't make a list of ten things you need to do to get my attention.  It's more about the music, when I hear it if I feel the feeling…that's really all it is.  I can't say Oh, use this type of beat and rhyme this way.  When I first heard Illmatic, I felt it.  When I first heard Jay Electronica,  I felt it.  When I first heard Phonte, I felt it.  It's just that energy you get from the music, from the artists and there's no real formula.  I'm sure somebody out there has it.

HipHopWired.com:  As an MC yourself, is it harder to be a fan of other artists? Would you say you're more critical of other people's music or your own?

Torae:  No, me 100%.  I really dissect my stuff to the point that a lot of times if I don't be like F*#ck it, it won't come out. When I sit with my stuff for too long I start to find every little flaw and I'm so analytical about my own stuff that a lot of times I'll be like Nah, I'm not doing it.  I gotta shake it off and now that I put 110% into it, and then I'll let it go.

HipHopWired.com:  How do you feel about lists (such as the XXL Freshman 10 for example) that try to categorize the “who's who”?

Torae:  I think that when they initiated it a few years back, it was something that was dope because it gave a spotlight to some new artists that people might not have been aware of or checking for…artists that just needed that extra push.  I remember Joel Ortiz being on the first cover, Papoose was on there, Plies, I think Lupe was on there.

It was super dope and I thought it was the illest, and then after that initial one people started trying to get it, and that's when it started to get jaded.  This year they got people voting.  I think the initial feeling behind it is lost, I know artists that that's all they care about. Just make your music and do you and if those accolades come they come.

When people start vying for it, and planning their whole strategy of the year behind it, I think it looses the credibility and authenticity it has.

HipHopWired.com:  What do you have coming up, what's your next major goal?

Torae:  Well November we dropped For The Record, and now it's just moving into 2012…continuing to push For The Record, we're shooting a few videos.  I'm gonna do a few remixes because I keep my ear to the street and I think the main thing people were surprised about on the album is I did no features. It was just me telling my story, and telling it as best as I knew how.  Now I'm gonna have some of my favorite MC's jump on. We're actually pressing up vinyl for all my vinyl heads.

I know New York is definitely radio driven but I have a fan base, I sell a sh%*t load of records in New York…it's just really getting to those people and letting them know that theirs gonna be a performance and have them come out and support.

My next major goal…I've been doing radio Sirius XM. Me and my man DJ Eclipse have a show which airs every Sunday night, and that's something I feel is a natural progression for MC's to move into radio.  That's something I'm really focused on.  We have a whole bunch of fun…we break a lot of records and bring a lot of new artists up.  We give them that platform to showcase themselves.

I also want to move into some television and film. Just being on the small screen a little bit…I'm by no way an actor but I've done some acting in the past, been in television shows, other music videos.  That's something I'm looking forward to perfecting.

HipHopWired.com:  What collaborations can we look forward to?

Torae:  I'm gonna leave that cat in the bag! One off top, everybody that looked at my track listing…I saw a zillion comments like Yo, where is… so me and “that” guy will definitely be doing something.  Aside of that, just a few people who sound good on a record. I'm not really into chasing names.

Representing the DMV, Mardi Gra drops a new visual to his new mixtape, Audacity Of Dope 1.5, dropping December 16th.

Candyman 187 has been on the grind for a minute and is gearing to drop his official release If Tomorrow Never Comes this fall.

Reared by Tupac and game certified by Snoop, peep how the West Coast MC plans to marry the club and the streets.

Hip-Hop Wired:   First of all, you have your new single out, “High Off the Fame” with Snoop Dogg as well as one song that is more of a street song “Show Em All”.   How do you manage to merge those two styles? They seem totally different.

Candyman 187:   “Show Em All” is what I do normally, that's my style usually, the street stuff.  The thing is, the industry isn't really willing to open their doors for you unless you're willing to do the pop and crossover top 40 hit, so I reached out to Snoop Dogg, because after doing this for years, we weren't getting the same types of breaks pop crossover songs were.

We got advice from Snoop as to where to get a big break, and we got the beat for “High off the Fame.” One thing led to another, and the song took me a little bit longer because I had to go into the “pop song” mode, but in the end it worked out.  I feel like I was able to keep my soul intact.

Hip-Hop Wired:   Absolutely. Being diverse is important in the new Hip-Hop climate. 

Candyman 187:   Basically, I felt like “Show Em All” wasn't going to get me enough radio play.  So I thought to myself, what I can do in order to get more known?  Do I sit here and continue to do the whole Hip-Hop  to the streets music?   Snoop basically told me that I can always put that type of music on my albums  but you have to put out something that they can play in the clubs.  From there, people will start getting a better general idea of who you are and trying to find out more about you. And once they listen to your album, they know who you really are.

Candyman 187 feat. Snoop Dogg "High Off The Fame"

Hip-Hop Wired:   How did you build your relationship with Snoop, and what made you take his advice?

Candyman 187:   That relationship has been around for years.  I grew up with Tupac  and he brought me into the music game. We also dealt with Snoop a lot in those days. When I came together with Meech Wells, Meech had access to Snoop and beats and soulmechanix. My goal was to create something for the West Coast.  Don't get me wrong, I love New York and the entire east coast, but I still wanted to incorporate an ode to the OGs from the West Coast. As far as taking advice from Snoop, he's just a good person, he talks from the heart. I've never known Snoop to be a dude that would give you advice unless he really meant it.

We had a good conversation about how I needed to change my style of music, how the industry wasn't the same how it was fifteen years ago, and how I needed to work into the system before I could really stray away from the songs being played. He also knew that my parents were part of the Black Panthers, and a mantra of theirs is “You need to work with the system before you can break it”, basically referring to the fact that I have to create songs for the current music industry before I can go astray. That resonated with me.

Hip-Hop Wired:   You and Tupac had a situation called the “Havenotz” and you also mentioned that your parents were  part of the Black Panthers, is that how you and Tupac initially met?

Candyman 187:   Tupac took me in when I was ten. When we got together, he was always into poetry. The first thing he asked me if I had ever tried rapping, and I replied no, I wasn't a rapper, I just wrote poetry. And he replied “What do you think my raps are?” That's where it all started, and he was always a teacher to me. He would always take me into the studio and was like an older brother to me.

We were always a family and when Tupac put together Outlawz, I was way too young, but he and I later created a movement called “Havenotz”, which includes pretty much 90% of the world, and it came together. Sooner or later, we started working on an album, but he died before we could finish it. We started having it said on a couple of the songs, and we planned to put the entire thing on the Euthanasia project , and it was supposed to come out through that, but God had different plans for us.

Candyman 187 - "Show Em All"

Hip-Hop Wired:   What's the new plan for you guys? You already have two singles out, an album, and you have an independent project in the works.

Candyman 187:   I have people supporting us. I was fortunate enough to meet a group of people who were willing to support me with money, and I don't want to mess that up. I want to play by the rules of the game before I change the game. We're doing a double album.  As far as I know, no other artist has come out with a double album as their first, and I've worked with many people like George Clinton and Digital Underground, so there's a lot of work I'm putting into both albums.

The first album is some of my older work, while my second album is my newer work. It's risky, but my whole life is a risk, so I'm just taking it and running. I've got a song with Jim Jones on the album, and a couple other big names. I can't quite talk about all of it yet, but a lot of those artists showed love  from both coasts of the U.S., and I feel blessed. It's coming this year. It'll be called “If Tomorrow Never Comes.”

Hip-Hop Wired:   Why did Tupac decide to mentor you?

Candyman 187:   After we both grew older, Tupac realized how much dumb Shyte I was doing back in the day, and he took me in and tried to guide me in the right direction.  It seemed like everyone else in my life was trying to push me in the wrong direction, but he was leading me into the right. I remember when I met him again, he asked me for my number, and I gave it to him, thinking that he wasn't ever going to call me and put me on.

But sure enough, a couple days later, the phone rang.  We just started writing, and people told me that he saw the power and hope inside of me, and he wanted to bring that out.  I'm not taking any shots at anyone, but a lot of the work the people who worked with Pac made as compared to the work they're putting out now isn't as good.  Pac pulled that out of people.  I credit him with turning me into the man I am, and he believed in me when no one else did.

Hip-Hop Wired:   What's behind the name Candyman187?

Candyman 187:   We used to call Weed “candy”  and I always had it.  That's where the name came in. Back then, weed wasn't as socially acceptable and everyone thought Tupac had the biggest “sweet tooth” in the world. The 187 came from when Tupac sat me down and basically told me that we were all born to die, and that we were all eventually going to die. The only question is, can you beat the odds?

Can you beat the statistics? If one of your friends dies at 25, the next has to die at 30 and so forth. That's where the 187 came from, because when they put 187 next to your name, that's because you're under a death sentence. It freaks out a lot of people and radio stations when they hear it, but I have to do it with a name that Pac gave me first, and maybe eventually I'll use another name on my second album.

Hip-Hop Wired:   You've mentioned that you're Pakistani.  You also  said your parents were part of the Black Panthers, how did this come about?

Candyman 187:   I'm half and half. So, I'm from both sides. I always joke about that, saying I'm a “n*gga and a terrorist”. For me, I feel like it's the best of both worlds. This time around though, I feel like the revolution surrounds all races.

For More info on Candyman 187, log on here http://candyman187.com/ and follow him on Twitter at @Candyman187

Some heat from San Antonio, Texas.   The boy Shame Gutta been killing it down bottom this summer.

Peep his visual "Wanna Be" and his track "Summertime" below.

For More music from Shame Gutta, follow him on Twitter @shamegutta and HTPexclusive.com.

"I got love for this game but I'm really getting bored..."

Until its arrival, check out Mangoo asking "Who Got It" below.

Jackson, Mississippi's Josip On Deck spits some serious flows over the L-Boogie beat.

Check for yourself and for more on Jossip, click here and check out his mixtape Retro 1980:  The Chronicles Of A Retro Kid here.

They say the first time its luck.  Well then we don't know what to call Mr. ColliPark.

After making the Ying Yang Twins household names and blowing up Hurricane Chris and Soulja Boy, DJ Smurf is about to strike again with Translee.

Don't say we didn't warn you..

Know Translee feat. Mr. ColliPark - Part 1

The Return Of Mr. ColliPark and his new protege Translee after the jump!!!  [More]

Know Translee feat. Mr. ColliPark -Part 2

Translee - "Story To Tell"

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Young Nefff - "Pretty Girls"

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Download Neef's Trensetta Mixtape Here

Described as an artist that "paints a clear picture" when he spits, Stealth gives a vivid example of life's beautiful struggle.

Noted for his honesty and vulnerability, this emcee who's found a new home in Atlanta, is actively adding to his mixtape regime.

His latest work is a track entitled "Demons" ; a flip of Diddy and Dirty Money's single "Angels" that details a young man running from his issues.

Check it out below.

"A Demons Story"

"Speck Of Gold (Remix)"

http://www.twitter.com/stealth_ismetal

http://www.thesixtyone.com/#/stealth/

http://www.myspace.com/thakidstealth