Exclusive Interview: Kam Moye

1) Well first off, the $64,000 question. You've changed your name. We'resure it's a long story, but kind of give us a run down on how the name change came about, and the deeper meaning behind it.

Actually I didn't change my name. I'm still going by Supastition but I just needed an outlet to release music that was more introspective and encouraging. That's why I chose to create the Kam Moye persona. It's more of an alias but its also the shortened version of my given name. I think that's what throws people off. I've always liked the way cats like Madlib and Doom used different names on their projects. I'm a Gemini so I guess I gotta let out my other sides. I rhyme faster and aggressive on Supastition records but I'm more laid back on the KM records and I'm speaking on personal situations.

I always thought it was kind of backwards how you are allowed to be everything in hip hop except for just being yourself. Too many people get caught up in what others expect them to be. I can't count how many people around who told me not to release music as Kam Moye. That's like telling me that I can't be myself. I felt limited sometimes when I recorded as Supastition and it started clouding my creativity. I had fans saying that I'd never top The Deadline or Chain Letters no matter what I did after that. It got to a point of where I didn't know if I was actually making music from the heart or doing it to outdo my last project. I had to ask myself whether those same fans would accept me going in a new direction or not. I'm proud of what I've done as Supastition so I would never officially change my name. But ending the Supa name meant that everything would carry over into the KM catalog. At the end of the day, I chose to create something brand new and start all over with it. That's what birthed the Kam Moye project. I wanted to make music with a purpose this time.

2) The new EP, Self-Centered, is a lot of goodness. Give us some insight on the creation of the project. How long did it take? What is the core feeling of the project in your opinion?

I had some the songs for a close to a year and a few of them were recorded less than a week before it came out. That's the beauty of technology! My idea for Self-Centered was to introduce people to who I am now as a person instead of who I was when my first record came out. I recorded my first album around 2000-2001 and it came out 2002. That's 8 years ago! My perspective and attitude has changed so much since then. The bitterness and anger has been replaced with humility and modesty.

Self-Centered EP is an intro to my upcoming album Splitting Image. Nobody had ever really heard of Kam Moye prior to the EP and I intentionally didn't go hard promoting it so it was a shock to some people. I gave it away for free because I wanted it to reach as many people as possible and gain some real Kam Moye fans at the same time. Not just old Supastition fans. The feel of the record is very soulful and gives you a closer look into my life and what I've been through. It's not about being the illest emcee for me anymore. It's about making self-reflective music that hopefully someone can relate to. I didn't wanna use the same producers that were on the past Supa albums so I linked with some newer cats.

3) Being from NC, let us pick your brain on MC location. We know you've expressed some discontent with home support in the past. Is NC your end all be all for your heart? Would you feel more at home with your type of artistry in say, New York, or London?

That's another part of me that has changed. Being known in NC mattered to me when that was all I had going for me. It's no secret about where I'm from and I'm proud to be from North Carolina. At the same time I'm not blind to the fact that I probably get less support at home than anywhere else. I can live with that and it doesn't bother me. I really don't see anyone from NC who gets unconditional love like that. I look at the bigger picture and it keeps me motivated. Hopefully later down the line my track record will speak for itself when people discuss the history of NC hip hop. I did it on my own from touring to working with well-respected rappers, DJ's, and producers.

I just make the music that works for me. I'm not focused on any region in particular. NC has been unfairly judged in some ways because there weren't enough people in the spotlight at once to show that we aren't all on the same shit. When the Justus League craze was going on, I think I was one of the few NC cats who stayed in their own lane and didn't try to leech on to their movement. We've worked together and I'm real cool with some of them. Of course, there were always people who tried to attach my name to them. I had an album out prior to Little Brother and I wasn't one of those dudes who were banking on their success to for my own personal gain. The critics started labeling the JL sound as the North Carolina sound so alot of rappers and beatmakers got overlooked. I had always heard from day that I rap like I'm from New York so that alone let me know there was gonna be too much love at home. I started rapping before they started separating everything into east, west, south, and midwest.

4) It seems as if the name change is a setup for something huge for the fans. What have you got churning in the works? I know you shot a video this last weekend, how'd it go and what was it for?

I had no idea that recording under a different name would give me that much attention. Honestly, I didn't expect it to even surpass the Supastition name. I figured I could just go in and drop a few projects and nobody would give a damn about it. The fact that it was a different name and a free release that literally came out of nowhere kinda made people more curious to see what it was all about. I've gotten heartfelt messages from fans telling me how much they could relate to the struggles. That's love right there. My next focus is to finish up the Splitting Image album and find a good home for it. If no labels want to give me a good situation then I'd be more than happy to release it on my own. I doubt if I'm giving that way for free too though. I've gotten most of the beats already but I just need to sit down and finish writing and recording. I'm trying to make sure that it flows perfectly and touches on topics that I haven't done before.

I just finished up the video for 'Black Enough' in ATL this past weekend. I hooked up with a director out there named Rick Foy and he strongly supports what I am doing. We plan on doing a series of videos and working together on different projects. I'm excited to see what the final version of the video will look like because I believe in that song.

5) I know the "angry MC" you're leaving behind, but if you could absolutely annihilate one label/label head/industry cat who would it be? And why?

He ain't an industry person but Bill O'Reilly would be one of the first to go. FOX News would be out of business if I had the power to make it happen. I can't believe somebody gives a company that much power to broadcast so much biased and misinformed news. Its ridiculous!

6) Better year for hip-hop, 1988 or 1994?

That's hard to say for me but I'd have to go with 1988 because that era is when I first started rhyming. Hip hop was new to me then and I would be blown away by everything about it. The experience for me was better in '88 but '94 was one of the high points for releasing music. There was so much good music coming out that you just felt like this is what its supposed to be like. At that time, all of the 'hip hop would never last' talk died down and it was perfect.

7) Collaboration you're most proud of, producer or MC, your song or theirs. Did you ever collaborate with someone else and have it be surprising of the
talent on the other end?

I'm proud of everything that I've done with Illmind and M-phazes because they looked out for me. 'The Williams' was a great song for me but it was the first sign to show me how knowing someone or affiliations made a world of a difference. It was a good and bad experience.

8) If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

That's easy....I'd be able to teleport. I'd go on tour and do about 4 or 5 shows in one day in different countries. Hell, even if I could teleport I'd probably still have trouble getting into Canada and the UK!

www.myspace.com/kammoye
www.myspace.com/supastition