El Prez: If I was President

The West Coast has produced a plethora of artists that have carved their history into hip-hop culture. More specifically LA has also carved out a place throughout the different time periods in American History. Whether it was the Watts Riots, Rodney King beating, or the creation of the Black Panther Party LA’s relevance and role in history on all levels has it’s place. Newcomer De Andre Harvey better known as El Prez has had first hand experience with the many historic events overtime that we’ve only seen through our television screens. Take that and combine it with a new generation of music coming out of the West Coast and it’s easy to see why El Prez took it upon himself to be known as such. “I want a leadership type name cause I want to lead a movement.” Whether El Prez ends up in the front or rounding up the back of movement time will tell whether El Prez will make his place in history, but with endorsements from the likes of 9th Wonder, his campaign is looking good.

Scheme: When did this music thing start for you?
El Prez: I was always a fan of hip-hop since I was a kid and I tried to do all elements of hip-hop culture, I just wasnt good at any of them ha! But around my Senior year in high School, I picked up the mic ands tarted battling cats on campus etc.

Scheme: Why the name El Prez?
El Prez: I wanted a leadership type of name cause I want to lead a movement, not follow it. Also a lot of women said they liked the name when I started out, so that sealed it.

Scheme: What are you the product of?
El Prez: I’m definitely a product of the post-riot generation of South Central Los Angeles. Which means I have a jaded view on a lot of life issues that affect minorities in the inner city nowadays, such as police relations, race relations, and that govt as a whole, becasue we dont trust ‘em like PE[Public Enemy] once said. Yet I still have the ideas instilled in me to want to change that atmosphere, while this current generation of teens etc, seem to lack that activism quality. Plus I grew up on florence and normandie where the riots started and popped off, so I witnessed a pivotal moment in Black America I seen Reginald Denny get hit by the brick ya’ feel me?

Scheme: Has the front door view been hard for you to keep your sanity and continue to do what you do?
El Prez: yeah it has been hard at times, but I learned that everybody makes their own path in life and are responsible for themselves, so if you wanna be a millionaire or a president [laughs] go for it and dont worry about what other people think of your decisions. A lot of times we get caught up in complaining so much about the chips stacked against us, that we feel its impossible to do something about it

Scheme: With that said what can people expect from you on your debut album content wise, sound wise etc.
El Prez: You can expect to hear LA on a hot ass summer day, with palm trees, sticky green, chuck taylors, and crooked cops everywhere! Or better yet, you wanna hear what Kobe Bryant’s 81 point performance sounds like, go cop my CD.

Scheme: Do you feel like from the days of Easy E, Too Short, N.W.A. and Dr. Dre Cali music has taken a turn with the likes of you, U-N-I, Blu , Pacific Division etc.?
El Prez: yea I feel that way more that ever because its kinda like the best of both worlds in LA right now. We are still LA to the core, but we can rap our asses off and LA in my humble opinion, has the best lyricists out rite now, no matter if its gangsta rap or “underground” or whatever. Like Battlecats brother, Mykestro will rap circles around most cats in the game today. So will my boi Bad Lucc that messes with snoop, these are gangsta rappers though another thing is that everybody knows eachother and is cool with other artists, so thats a good thing,because with the gang culture out here, it used to be VERY hard to do that

Scheme: so besides what you see on a daily basis what inspires to make the music you make?
El Prez: Wack emcees and trees, lots of trees only the good stuff though. I’m like the 2008 Mad Rapper tho cause I think a lot of stuff out is garbage and it just motivates me to help the fans ears out and save ‘em from all of this wack music floating around

Scheme: [Laughs] a lot of people have many different goals when entering this art form/industry what are yours?
El Prez: I just wanna have a career that I love, and thats music. So it wouldnt matter if I made enough to pay the bills, stay in a 2 bdrm apt, etc…as long as I dont have to throw on a suit and tie and sit in a cubicle like Office Space, then Im satisfied.

Scheme: Speaking on everything you’ve seen in LA what are your feelings and perspective on the Sean Bell verdict?
El Prez: Who is really suprised at the verdict? Out here in LA we look at the Police as a gang anyway, just like the bloods, crips, ese’s, etc. They’re all the same. So I dont trust cops and feel that they might shoot me everytime one stops me, and I’m a normal citizen, not a thug by any means, but essentally, police are the terrorists of our community. they patrol the ‘Hood’ like a police state. I dont know about other partws of the country, but out here in LA we ahve something called the CRASH Unit, which is the gang unit of LAPD, and they’ll just run up on you for no reason, asking for ya ID and quesitoning you just because you live in the neighborhood. Its like where’s your slave papers at?

Scheme: With a name like El Prez what would be your platform or top three issues you would address in America and how would you deal with a Rev. similar to that of Former Pastor Rev. Wright?
El Prez: My platform would be a human rights platform and my top three issues would definitely be Race relations, the economy, and education because my loans are too high, I cant get a good enough job, and hardly any white people at my Job can pronounce my name right ha! So we need changes and I would throw rev. wright under the bus because he def threw Obama under there why is the man talkin nowout of all times?!? I’m a conspiracy theorist like the next black man, but its a time and place for everything. the clintons got Something to do with it [laughs].

Scheme: So when it’s all said and done what do you want people to remember about you as a person and then for your music?
El Prez: that I was smarter than most people thought and it was a hell of an experience, casue experiences last a lifetime…and he could roll blunts with the best of ‘em

Scheme: When is the album dropping?
El Prez: The Album just dropped in April of this year, its available thru my myspace page for FREE or you can cop a physical copy at elprez.bigcartel.com. Its a dope album with rhymes and beats from U-N-I, THX, 3AM, Cheapskates, and more, and a Vid for “Uaintuponthis” feat U-N-I and Danja