Flawless Hustle.com Exclusive The 10 Question(s) Q&A Session Series: Fred Knuxx

Written By: Dub MD 15. Oct, 2009 1 Comment

Interview by Dub MD
www.twitter.com/dubmd84

For this weeks Q&A session, we caught up with the self-proclaimed “King Of Grind”. The Delaware based emcee Fred Knuxx has been stready on his grind for several years now, having created a substantial buzz online, with countless mixtapes, collaborations and features under his belt, The Big Deal from The Small Wonder is set to put his label politics this year behind him and is ready to focus on releasing all his music the right way this year and next. Fred Knuxx talks to us about his label situation, his new album “The Big Deal” and whats its like being an artist from Delaware.

Dub MD: Knuxx, what’s good fam? its been a minute since our last Q&A session, and you’ve done a lot since then, for those who have been under a rock, what are some of the things you’ve done over the past year or so?

Fred Knuxx: Awe man I have been busy working on projects, recording non stop. I have a few online projects I am trying to release before the year is out. Trying to close 09 out with a Bang and start 2010 off right. I just released King of Grind street LP over the summer and got a lot of positive feedback from it. Over 10,000 downloads collectively so I can’t complain.

Dub MD: Coming from Delaware, how does coming from there shape your attitude to the music/culture? and what do you think of the “Small Wonder” music scene right now?

Fred Knuxx: Being from Delaware gives you that underdog mentality far as music is concerned. We get overlooked by other hip hop scenes that’s close to us like Philly, D.C., Baltimore and Jersey. Other areas already had the spotlight shed on them but being from Delaware makes you work 10 times harder. That’s why I call myself King Of Grind because you have to have the mind frame to grind harder than the rest just to get some recognition.

Talent wise we have a lot of great artists here that are doing there thing. Some artist is getting love from radio stations outside of DE in the Philly area so that’s always a good thing for the state. We are heading in the right direction as a state.

Dub MD: You’ve been working on your new album called “The Big Deal” over the past year or so, can you give us a little background on the album, and when can we expect to hear it?

Fred Knuxx: Well at first it was suppose to be my debut album but I think creatively I am heading to a different direction. The Big Deal is already done but I have decided to release it online sometime before the year is out. The concept is basically my first impression to the game. I feel like since Delaware is so small there has to be something big to come out of the state to put DE on the map. That’s how I came up with my alias The Big Deal which is short for The Big Deal from the Small Wonder.

I have been recording new material that’s more concept driven over the past few months and that’s the direction I want to go in the future so my official Album will be released in stores sometime in 2010 once I get into a better situation.

Dub MD: With this new online album, what artists and producers are you connecting with this time around? and what’s your label situation like just now?

Fred Knuxx: With The Big Deal I stuck to the basics with my producer X–Plosive. I think we have the best chemistry and for your first album you want to work with people that can bring the best out of you. Also I have great producers like Judah and A-Million. Far as my label situation I am currently a free agent.

The label I was signed to WongGee or as I would like to call Wrong Gee Inc. (Laughs) turned out to be frauds. I have been dealing with that for the past few months that’s why I haven’t been in the public eye like I wanted to. I was getting my legal situation straight. I won’t go into details because I believe what goes around will come back around, but I will say this they did not hold up to there end of the contract.

You can’t expect to keep and artist and not pay them their advance. Simple as that. At the end of the day this is a business so you have to always stay focused and make the right business moves for your family. I thank God I was able to get out of that dead situation without any complications. Now I can move on and make it happen and hopefully land in a better situation.

Dub MD: Its been heavily reported now for about 4 years, that your now mythical album “Delafornia” is in the works, whats the status on that project and will it ever see the light of day?

Fred Knuxx: (Laughs) Delafornia is like the underground version of Detox. Who knows when it’s going to come out. I feel like we should have been released that project a couple years back when we had a serious buzz for it. I have to holla at the homie Jazzy D and see what he is trying to do with it.

Since that project was a collective effort it’s a matter of getting everyone together and putting it out. I have a couple digital labels interested in putting it out so hopefully we can release it before the year is up. It will eventually come out (Laughs). I feel like some of the music on there is timeless and still relevant so it will make its way to the fans.

Dub MD: Where do you get the inspiration to write the type of material you do? what is the writing process like when it comes to working on your projects? and why do you think mc’s that keep integrity in their music, never make a real mark on soundscan?

Fred Knuxx: I get my inspiration from just living life. Seeing everyday situations and people going through struggles or success and my own struggles and success stories. I may have some songs that are fun but I believe you have to have substance. When I write my songs I listen to the beat and just try to what I feel like the beat is moving my spirit to do. Whatever is in me at the time I express on the beat. I usually come up with the concept and hook and build the verses around it. I don’t really get inspired by rap like I used to because I feel like most R&B and Hip Hop you hear on radio now is the same thing just packaged differently.

I think some artist with integrity slip through the cracks and make it like Kid Cudi, Wale, Asher Roth, J. Cole to name a few. They are new artist that are trying to bring substance to the game. There are still a lot of artist out there that don’t make marks on soundscan because they won’t compromise the art to make a dumb down hit for the radio. It’s funny because when you listen to the radio it’s the same formula sex, money, drugs, material things over a catchy beat with a simple hook. If you took away those topics we would be listening to silence on the airwaves (Laughs).

When you really look at the soundscans closely most of the albums that really sell big are the ones with substance. Jay–Z, and Eminem had hip hops biggest selling albums in 09. Raekwon did good and Jada did great. Even for R&B look at what Maxwell did after a 8 year hiatus. Look at the newcomers like Asher Roth and Kid Cudi, both of them made a pretty good mark on soundscan this year. Majors are starting to look at that and see Substance can still sell. Just imagine if Slaughterhouse gets a major machine behind their movement. I could sit and complain about what’s wrong with the game all day but I choose to work on being the solution and do my part for hip hop.

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 its helping or hurting the game in the long term?

Fred Knuxx: I feel like the internet is the best thing going for an indie artist. It puts you on the same playing field as a major artist.You can see on underground artist music and interviews on most popular sites right next to the top name artist. 10 years ago that would have been unheard of. For me it has helped my career a lot. Being from Delaware I don’t have access to the same outlets or connects that artist from the big cities have.

The word wide web has introduced me to fans not only outside of my state but outside of my country. My music is being heard all over the world to the point where my main producer is from Germany. I have made a lot of serious moves and connected with some important people thanks to the internet. It’s the future of this music industry.

I think the internet took off so fast at first it hurt the majors at first because they weren’t prepared but now more majors are aware of the potential of the internet so they are starting to capitalize now. Whether it’s going to help or hurt the game I don’t have an answer but it’s the way of the future so we have to get used to it. For now on we are going to see a lot more digital deals going around.

Dub MD: What do you think is your most defining and unique characteristic that sets you apart from every other artist out there? and how would you describe your style to those who still haven’t heard your music?

Fred Knuxx: I believe my honesty separates me from most artist. I try not to follow trends but create my own. I am not afraid to be me 100% on a track. Those are characteristics that separate me in life. For those that might not have heard my music you should expect an honest man expressing reality in music.

I never been afraid to be different that’s why it’s hard to label my style of music because I do what’s in me. I could make a fun party record and the next day, write a song about love and peace because that’s who I am as a person. My ultimate goal is to make a positive impact in peoples lives through my music.

Dub MD: You’ve rocked a lot of stages over the past few years, If I’m coming to a Fred Knuxx show. What am I going to experience, that I won’t experience from just listening to your material on CD?

Fred Knuxx: You can expect a true connection that you might be able to get from my CD. With live shows I try to connect with my fans and play off the energy in the room. There is a certain emotion that you can only get from seeing my live show. There might be certain songs you might not understand or like until you see them performed live.

I love being on stage more than anything because that is the one place where you can actually see the people that support you. That is a humbling feeling. I try to make sure the people that paid there hard earned money to see me gets more than their moneys worth.

Dub MD: What is on tap for Fred Knuxx 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?

Fred Knuxx: Get ready for The Big Deal to hit the online outlets soon. Hopefully Delafornia too (Laughs). I definitely want to thank all my fans that have continued to support my music. Follow me on twitter.com/fredknuxx and myspace.com/fredknuxx. Shout out to my family (Shyree & JRod), Starcore Ent. (The Gift, Roddy Rod, Ron, X-plosive) Dub MD for always showing love and the whole 302. Keep God first and everything else will fall into place.

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