Sometimes you get in touch with an artist and you just know you’ll hear a lot more of him in the (near) future. Preach Jacobs is one of them. Next to his solo efforts, he collaborates with artists as Marc Mac (4Hero) and Denz and brings honest music with a very fresh vibe. Asher Roth and B.o.B. in XXL’s Class of ‘09? Forget about them. Preach Jacobs is definitely in our “Class of 2010″.

Preview: Preach Jacobs & Denz – Falling

 Can you explain to readers who don’t know you yet, why they should listen to Preach Jacobs?

Should is such a strong word. I guess what I could say is that, I believe that I’m the type of artist I would love to listen to. People support what they relate to, and I feel the music responds to the common man, the average person dealing with the same stuff I’m dealing with. Trying to pay bills, falling in love with chicks that give you headaches, having a dream, these are the things the average listener goes through that I don’t think enough hip-hop artists do when they get to a certain point. I mean, how many of us can relate to an artist having a million dollar chain? Huge house? Shit, most of the listeners are like me: Trying to stay above water.

An European label will release your upcoming album, you already went to Japan – what do you think of the scene/industry in the US nowadays? Because it seems to me that conscious/jazz-influenced artists have more success overseas nowadays…

I agree that artists that make the type of music I’m making is well received overseas. I think it maybe a few reasons: America is over saturated with rappers/emcees. Especially my region (South East in America). Everyone is putting out a mixtape or something. When I went to Japan, you could hear boom-bap hip-hop on the radio. Something you wouldn’t really hear in the states. I just think that people overseas appreciate good music first, and imagery and bullshit later. And America is now about “how does it look?” before “how does it sound?” I’m cool with that. I want to travel anyways and see how hip-hop music can have such an impact on the world. That’s the humbling thing to me. But I feel that now that things are more digital, it’s not going to matter where you are anymore. The question would be about how dope it is, and that’s what’s going to matter. The way it should be anyway.

 You’re based in Columbia, South Carolina so why do you release “Maple St. Sessions” on a London-based label?

It wasn’t anything intentional, but it seemed to make sense. It just seemed like the right people that understood the music and the project. The energy and vibe of it meshed so well. The artwork was done by my man Sammy from Piensa Art Company based here in South Carolina, and our concept was to have a Blue Note vibe with it. It seems that most American based labels would stray away from it, but R2 or I would say more open minded international folks ‘get it.’

What can we expect of the upcoming release?

Just really solid dope stuff. I’m proud of all of the records on there. It’s basically a project that I’m very passionate about. The great thing about being on an indy is that we can make the music we want, and the label will put it out as oppose to being on a major that’ll force you to make a certain record that you may not be too happy about. The EP has all the elements of what I love from jazz to even afro-beat. It’s a very warm, soulful record too; something that Denz did a great job with handling the mastering and how to sonically make it match to what we’re doing.

Preview: Preach Jacobs – Cool Out (Denz Remix)

Why did you choose to work with Denz for your new album?

It’s very difficult to find people that ‘get’ what you’re doing. And we kind of got in touch with each other when I started working on some stuff with Marc Mac. We just started talking online and were fans of each other. We were just making tracks for the hell of it, and then it eventually turned into “we should put this out, someone may wanna pick it up.” It’s funny, because I don’t see it as a choosing thing, I feel that you don’t choose what you believe in, it chooses you. I believe the energy just made us gravitate towards each other and I think you can hear it in the music.

You also work together with Marc Mac of 4Hero, can you tell me something about that collaboration and how it got down?

We have some stuff that we’re working on now and hopefully will be done soon. As of now the idea is for an EP titled ‘Passport,’ but who knows it may turn into an LP. I’m just thrilled to be working with him. I was happy to be apart of his ‘In Between the Lines’ EP, available in all digital outlets.

What’s the meaning behind your song ‘Outta Here’? Maybe a wrong interpretation, but do you want to get out of Columbia, because you want to see as much of the world as possible as an artist?

I think you kind of hit the nail on the head in some regard. I remember speaking to someone at a party and it was a young woman probably early 20s and I mentioned to her that I was going to head to Japan the following week. She then mentioned that she’s been there and then ran down a list of the places she’s been. And I was kind of jealous. I feel that being worldly is something that my family or even the hip-hop generation isn’t too fond of. I mean, I think of that Mobb Deep song where Havoc is like “no matter how much loot I get, I’m still gonna be living in the projects…Forever!” I mean, what the fuck? I think many people believe that what’s in front of them is all that life has to offer. And I have a black-southern family where people don’t go anywhere unless they’re in the military. It stems from the old Jim Crow South where cities were racist as hell, so if you didn’t have family out of town you didn’t travel. I didn’t want to be like that. I wanted to see the world and that’s what I felt when I wrote the song. Ironically enough on the hook I mentioned I want to go to London, the Motherland and Japan. Before the end of the year I would have done two out of the three.

The interludes on the new album sound like an interesting speech. Can you tell the readers what you’re trying to ‘preach’?

The interludes were just my way of explaining where I was coming from. Like, I talked about traveling and talked about the direction of hip-hop and how I believe that somehow someway there needs to be a revolution in the music. Not on some, grab-guns-run-up-inda-crib shit that we always hear people shouting. But a revolution in people’s buying habits. There needs to be a shift that brings the common man back to the music. We’re not relating to artists anymore because people aren’t speaking on our behalf. I mean, our economy just went to shit last year, the most offensive thing an artist can do is talk about how he spends 10 grand at a bar. I can’t relate to that shit. And I believe that the time is coming for a blue-collar emcee to step up. On some Bill Withers tip. There’s a Bill Withers documentary (that I want to see badly) where they show an interview and he said that he was offered tons of money from record labels to sign. And he was like they wanted him to be on the R&B shit with flashy suits and background singers, and that wasn’t his style. So he passed. That’s some beautiful shit to me. And this is why his music is timeless because he spoke to the ‘people.’ All the other flashy shit looks good and all, but it doesn’t last.

And what about your album ‘Garveyism’. Can you tell me about that movement?

 The ‘Garveyism’ album opened a bunch of doors for me. It was the first project I did where I acted as a record label, promoter and set out todo this for a profession. There were things I wish I could do over, and somethings I wouldn’t do again. The energy and love for the project was vibrant and something that I will always hold dear. The concept was to focus on running your own business, be self aware and take care of your community. Those were things that Marcus Garvey spoke about that stuck out to me. I even reached out and got in touch with one of his sons that live in New York and he told me he loved the album. I still have the message he left on my answering machine. I still believe in the effect you can have with the music. Making tracks is cool, but to me if there’s no purpose in trying to reach people, then I don’t need to do it.

You also write (interviews, etc), but what does writing/journalism mean for you? Is it just a hobby, or also a big passion with lots of ambitions?

I believe that being just a ‘rapper’ isn’t going to be enough these days, if you’re trying to make a living with it. I mean there’s some people that are able to do that, and my hat’s off to them but for me, I believe that what I really want to be is a ‘brand.’ I don’t want to have my site as just a place for people to hear my music, because after they cop the disc, what else is there? I want to incorporate all the things I’m passionate about from music, writing, reviews to even my comic strip. I want to be a person that people will trust. They’ll come to the site and be like “hey, Preach suggested I cop this record or check out this cause. I’m going to listen to him because I trust his judgment.” Ultimately that’s what it’s going to be about. And why not? I do tons of shit. Half the magazines that write about me, interview me and I tell them I’m a photo journalist and then get hired or vice versa. I feel that in today’s climate, you have to do everything that you’re passionate about and have them cross promote each other. Because everybody’s a rapper, but not everybody can do all the things I’m doing. That’s the key, how are you going to be different?

What did you learn about Hip Hop as a (Hip Hop) journalist?

As a journalist I find it humbling when I speak to many of my heroes and find out how similar we are. It makes me feel like I’m not as far behind as I may think but sometimes saddened that my heroes still go through the bullshit. I mean, music is very serious to me if you look at it from a spiritual side. Fela Kuti said in his documentary that musicianship is the “profession of the gods.” He was like; take it seriously because you’re upholding the words of your ancestors. I know some folks may not look at it that seriously, but you know these are people’s lives. It helped me not be so dismissive with shit. Some people are quick to throw a cd around, or not pay attention to the details but its like, these are people’s lives in this. People went through some shit to write that song that you just bob your head to for three minutes. It’s something that I take seriously and I’m honored to promote artists with a write-up when I can. At the end of the day, the music is what matters.

Preview: Preach Jacobs & Denz – Oh Yes

Next to the writing and your music, you sound like a busy dude. How does your life looks like nowadays?

Tons of traveling. This past summer I’ve been doing music and journalism full-time. I write for a few publications and have a regular gig in my city as a music writer and crime writer (of all things). So, if I didn’t have my laptop I would be separated from the world. I have a bunch of shows lined up and overseas opportunities coming so I’m just trying to be smart about everything because you know, a lot of this stuff is my own dime. If you’re in it for the money, this is the wrong profession. You have to invest time and energy and things will come.

If you’d have the power to change something in the world of music/Hip Hop, what would it be?

I wish someone with money would have the balls to put out independent sounding music out with major backing. There’s tons of records that are fantastic and I’m always saying to myself “if this dude had major money backing it, damn.” That’s something that I still wish would happen. I remember hearing rumors back in the day about a ‘Def Jam Left’ when Jay was there, but that didn’t happen.

Is there any news about the upcoming European tour?

I’m doing a bunch of stuff on my own. You know, it’ll be dope to have a booking agent or publicist but everything is done through me. So I’ve been blessed to go to places with the connections and friends that I’ve met over the years. There are always opportunities but I have to make sure that it’s the right ones. As of now I have some show coming up in London in November and I’m very excited to meet Denz, Marc and all the DJ’s and producers I’ve only spoken to through Facebook or Skype.

What can people expect of a live-show by you? 

A great fucking time. Performing live is something that I love doing, and honestly enough as insecure as I may get about things in my life being an arty fartsy bastard, performing is one of the things that I’m confident about. That’s my true love is being able to translate those songs live and have a crowd of people feeling what you’re doing. I’ve toured with my backing band and I’ve done shows just with my Macbook. Either way, people are going to feel it by the time that I’m done. And I have fun with it, most hip-hop live is just boring as hell. You have tons of people just sounding like they’re pissed at the world. And I’m like, if you can be happy on stage, then quit. For me, sometimes that’s the only time that I’m happy.

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Words by: Danny
More info: Preach Jacobs

‘Maple St. Sessions’ drops on October 27th. You can pre-order it at www.preachjacobs.com.