P. Casso is a hard workin', LyricaL pumpin', Collaboratin', Future Perceptin' MC/Producer of Hip Hop! When I first heard his music I felt like this was not another Cristal floatin', Grill Frontin' Hip Hop ARtist. This guy has some soul to him. His music is a mix of everything from jazz to pop and he does it well. His mixes blend a variety of genres together and are held tightly by his grooves and rapping style. It's genuine, it's soulful, and it's infectious as hell.

P.Casso's, The Future is Now Vol. 1, has a number of pieces that I can describe as atmospheric hip Hop. It has a real sweet funkiness to it combined with a socially conscious message. Here is a hip hop artist who is using his producing abilities to bring forth a new generation of hip hop to it's audience. It's innovative and fresh and if this is the future of Hip Hop then I want to be first in line. P.Casso is bringing in what Hip hop has lost and shaping it to a new level of sound and taste.

How long have you been doing music?

I've been writing raps and dabbling in production since I was about 15, but I didn't take music seriously until 2003.

Do you feel you have a certain style to your rapping?

I feel like I have a style all my own, but at the same time I have yet to truly find my creative voice. I intentionally try to rap in various styles so that I can't be pigeon holed into one style.

I guess you can say that I represent the "new" New York rap style, which is
street mixed with conscious. I try to mix mainstream with underground so
that 5 years from now if I ever get established, and I want to do a club
song, I won't get accused of "selling out."

What influences your music?

Music influences my music. I listen to older hip hop and other genres like jazz, reggae and rock. Movies and Books also influence me as well.

What's your fascination with scaring people? You had a lot of funny scaring people vids on your MySpace.

I didn't know that I was fascinated with scaring people...That's an interesting question. Let's see... well I love horror flicks, and I love the look on someone's face when you jump from behind a corner and yell "boo!" Those reactions are priceless.

How do you feel the state of hip hop is currently?

Hip Hop is at a really interesting stage right now. You've got a whole bunch of sub-genres in Hip Hop, and they're all fighting for the top spot. You've got the whole Crunk/Dirty south movement. You have the conscious/backpack movement, and you have the street movement.

Hip Hop became really stagnant when 2000 came around. Rappers like Nelly ruled the charts while the Mos Def and Kweli's never got the love they deserved. Now you've got Lupe Fiasco rapping over Neptune beats. You've got Diddy getting his rhymes written by Pharoe Monche. Fans are tired of artists getting props because of money or stature, the fans want talent.

The music industry as a whole is in a transitional stage. Because of websites like MySpace and because of independent record companies the industry is more about the artist and the art form and less about the business.

How do you feel you are leaving your mark on the hip hop world?

Well, I have yet to leave so much as a blemish, much less a mark. I INTEND to one day be in the list of the top 10 greatest MC's and top 10 producers, but that's wishful thinking.

Who are you listening to currently that you feel is making a significant mark on hip hop/music today?

Currently, I like Lupe Fiasco. I think his album is excellent, plus I really respect how he got into the game. He's making a way for artists like me to get established. He's one of the most important people in Hip Hop right now just because he proves to major labels that "real" hip hop can sell without the addition of poppy club songs.

Your a producer as well...what things have you been working on in this arena?

I mostly produce for myself and a few artists that I know...I do reggae and R and B also, so I've dabbled in those fields. I worked with a pop artist in Jamaica who had a song of mine that did very well. I've done a couple of R and B tracks...I'm looking for some artists to work with right now so that I can expand my non- Hip Hop production talents.

Is your song" My Space Groupies" a true account of your experience on My Space? How did you come up with the song?

It's funny that you ask about that song. That song was supposed to be a joke, and my friends didn't really think that I was going to do it. After I recorded it, I started getting all these hits on my page. Then other artists started telling me that they too had myspace songs.

It was really interesting. Now you see major label artists doing songs about MySpace. I never thought that it would be taken so seriously. The song is sort of a problem for me because even though I appreciate the attention it gets me, I don't want people to think of me as a gimmick.

As far as the story being true, well it is definitely based on my experiences on myspace. I've been hit on by a couple of females who were way too young, so it was easy for me to write the song.

Craziest rhyme you ever heard?

Hmmmm..."Confessions" by Cam'ron. Or anything by Necro or Bizarre from D12.

If you would like to know more about P.Casso say hello to him on his MySpace.

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