Flawless Hustle.com Exclusive: The 10 Question(s) Q&A Session Series: 6th Sense

For the 14th edition of the 10 question(s) series we caught up with Producer/Artist and CEO of Notherground Music. 6th Sense is an artist/producer who seems to live and breathe his music, bringing some great artists like Wildabeast, The Kid Daytona and Outasight to the forefront, along with his projects with Mick Boogie, over the past few years he has solidified himself as an underground hip hop mainstay. 6th has just released a brand new project entitled It’s A 6th Sense Mixtape Yo!!, he takes time out to talk about that project, working with Mick Boogie and his plans for the future.

Dub MD: 6th Sense, what’s good fam? For those who don’t know, could you just give a short review of what you’ve experienced in your music career up until now?

6th Sense: Well I’ve been doing music seriously now for about 10 years. I told Bun B that and he said “you act like that’s a long time.” So I know for as long as I’ve been doing this that I’ll continue until I can’t. I saved up for studio time to record demos. I’ve had years of lyrical boot camp with hours long freestyle sessions. Battled, had indie deals, released a 12″, made albums, worked on platinum albums, had songs on the radio, gotten props, gotten hate, gotten love. That’s the short story.

Dub MD: Coming from The Bronx, how does coming from their shape your attitude to the music/culture? And what do you think of the New York Hip Hop scene right now?

6th Sense: Proximity is a big part of many facets in life. I think my family had a big influence on me as far as being open to music. Also I was in many different environments growing up and that always exposed me to many things. Sometimes being in new situations you need to bridge the gap, and hip-hop is a great way to do so.

Dub MD: You’ve got a new mixtape out right now called “It’s A 6th Sense Mixtape Yo!!”, what’s the concept behind the mixtape and why should heads cop that over the countless CD’s out right now?

6th Sense: Well, there’s going to be 3 volumes of the mixtape, all different. I have so much music that hasn’t been heard so I started with his volume 1. It’s me both on the mic as well as behind the boards. When you listen to another rapper’s mixtape they’ll take some beats that are out and just spit on them
That’s the same concept applied to this, except they’re my beats. All the beats are real minimal and there are hardly any choruses. I feel that its minimal approach actually shows off the highest level of creativity. I think heads would like it because they’ll break their neck and their minds might explode

Dub MD: You’ve got a lot of support from hip hop fans online, how important do you feel the internet is to underground hip hop these days? Do you think it’s helping or hurting the game in the long term?

6th Sense: I think the internet is important for a lot of things, not just hip-hop and not just underground hip-hop. The internet is always a great source of information and now with the high speeds a great source of content. I feel like the internet along with the economy has absorbed the role that mixtapes and hip-hop mags used to have. The record store too.

Dub MD: Where do you get the inspiration to make the type of music you do? What is the beatmaking/writing process like when it comes to working on your projects? And why do you think musicians that keep integrity in their music, never make a real mark on SoundScan?

6th Sense: Most of the times it’s the artist I’m working with that gives me that extra energy, that extra inspiration. For this project, I think the reason the beats are a little more minimal is that I knew that the artists I work with or would want to work with, wouldn’t necessarily want the track
The beats were crafted and I was able to just go in and say what I wanted to say, no rules, no formats. I even casually joke about it on the mixtape. I don’t know but I feel like the artists that keep integrity are the ones that make the biggest mark on the people and culture.

Dub MD: You’re always working in the studio with various artists; do you have any new collaborations/projects in the works? What’re they called? And what can heads out there expect from them?

6th Sense: It’s A 6th Sense Mixtape Yo!! Volume 2 and 3 will be next. I’m working with too many great people right now, and all I can say is keep your ears and eyes open and I’ll be there.

Dub MD: It’s been reported through various websites and blogs, your working on a new project with Wildabeast called “Both Nice”, what’s the status on that and when can we expect to hear some new music?

6th Sense: People can definitely expect to hear some Both Nice material on the next volumes of the “Mixtape Yo!!”

Dub MD: You’ve released a good number of mixtapes with mixtape mogul Mick Boogie, how did that connection come about? And have you got anything else in the pipeline with him?

6th Sense: “Me and Mick Boogie, rockin 2 years strong / More than a dozen mixtapes and a bunch of hot songs.” I’m getting up with Mick later tonight at the Peter, Bjorn, & John show, and I’m sure we’ll think of something new and exciting to do.

Dub MD: You’ve shared the bill with a lot of legendary hip hop artists, If I’m coming to a 6th Sense show what am I going to experience, that I won’t experience from just listening to your material on CD?

6th Sense: As I’ve gotten deeper into producing I’ve fallen back quite a bit from performing. At this point you could almost call me unseasoned. I’m almost positive though that when called upon the rust would shake off instantly.

More recently I’ve been getting my performance jones’ in as Outasight‘s DJ. I’m like the hypeman that has to stand behind the table to make sure the music don’t skip. My role is simple, effective, and essential.

Dub MD: What is on tap for 6th Sense for the rest of 2009 and beyond? Do you have anything to say to the fans? Anything you wanna get off your chest? Any shout outs?

6th Sense: There’s always a lot of things going on at once, so I never like to specifically plug anything, because the specifics always get modified and changed. All I can say is keep your eyes and ears open, cause there certainly will not be a shortage of any music. I’m all about making music.
I’m working more with vocalists now than with MCs. It’s not a “fuck hip-hop” thing, it’s just what I’m doing. I’m really excited for people to hear all the production I’m doing that’s upcoming. I’m excited for 2010 because the setup is about to get super upgraded as well, so watch out.

I’d like to give a shout out to Mr. Tibbs and his entire family. For those of you that don’t know Mr. Tibbs, we were in a group together called The Understudies. Shouts to anyone that was a supporter of the original Understudies. Mr. Tibbs took me under his wing when I was 15 and showed me so much about the game and hip-hop.

I could write a book on that, but the reason I’m giving a shout out to Mr. Tibbs and his family is for their tragic loss this past week. Tibbs‘ brother Dre was a beautiful person who’s life was tragically taken away, and I just want everyone out there to send their love and prayers to Tibbs and his family.