Hip Hop Congress

Hollering in Seattle: An interview with Asun and Jerm of Alpha P

Hollering in Seattle: An interview with Asun and Jerm of Alpha P
Shamako Noble

“The way is in training,”

Miamoto Musashi-The Book of Five Rings

“Cause if I don’t say I’m the best tell me who the hell will”

Fife Dog-Worldplay

I will confess that it is often difficult for me to write any interviews or articles without having a perspective that is influenced by my experience as an emcee. So it is with no light heart or mind when I say that the story of Alpha P (First Platoon)-one of Seattle’s greatest Hip Hop progeny- strikes me very much as the story of independent Hip Hop from the Mid 90’s to now. Not necessarily the whole story; as Hip Hop history and herstory is too large to be told buy one group. But, most certainly it is the story of the emcee: their choices, their trials, their philosophies and their codes.

To begin with, Asun and Jerm are dope. And, while, this statement may very well betray what is known about the nature of art, I feel as though this is more truth than fact or opinion. Not a subjective truth, but the type of truth that emerges from trial, experience and the undeniable ability to affect a state of being with your own. Over the last year I’ve had the chance to see the both of them in individual and collective environments. Both cats operate with a unique sense of self-knowledge and intuition as well as with an understanding of the game that would betray interpretations of their position in Hip Hop. Fortunately, their integrity and self honesty makes it difficult for them to care. In my time with them I’ve had the fortune of seeing them on stage separate, together, in bars, in workshops and on the block. We’ve joked, talked about the most serious of issues, and of course, been in many ciphers.

Asun aka Suntonio Bandanaz is a fast talker, an emcee and thinker of the greatest speed. His demeanor is calm and assuming, but his insight is obvious, his humor razor sharp and his ability to hit the sound bite on the nail unmatched. He is, perhaps, one of the world’s greatest freestylers and is most certainly the greatest I’ve ever witnessed (these days you can just never tell where someone dope is going to come from so I know I haven’t seen everything).

Jerm aka Mickey Knox has the appearance of being more quiet and reserved, but is in fact, quite beastly in his presence. You can feel Jerm enter a room, and his musical approach is just like his persona: somewhere smack dab in the middle of b-boy and d-boy. A bit of a control freak at times, Jerm somehow travels through worlds both confidently and reluctantly, knowing who he is, but not necessarily knowing where he belongs.

In this was my greatest interest in Alpha P. Beyond being a fan who was been completely won over in the last year, I also believe that Alpha P is the personification of one of our cultures greatest crises. When we separated ourselves into categories that we didn’t make up, we made it harder for all of us to simply be ourselves.

Our interview took place in the home of Julie C, a member of Alpha P and community organizer extraordinaire. I sat in a chair directly across from them while they sat on the couch, all of us fading in and out of the movie war. My questions were to range from how they began and what they thought about Obama (obvious) to what they felt about separation in Hip Hop and the philosophy of freestyling (not-so-obvious).

The history of Alpha P contextualizes the history of Seattle Hip Hop for many that don’t know. Originally a street clique from the South End of Seattle with some members from the Central District (Seattle’s mainly Black Area, currently in the process of gentrification), the group was called First Platoon. In a time where Asun describes Seattle Hip Hop as “tribal”, First Platoon emerged through the process of the street grind, selling tapes and CD’s, and honing their craft on the block. At this time in Seattle there was West Lake, a neutral ground where all types, Hip Hop, Black Nationalist and Five Percenters, Punk Kids, Grunge Kids and Straight youngsters could all gather and lounge in an open community. Asun and Jerm agree that it was there that your skills would be tested. Being anything less than fresh (and thus fresh coast) would not be tolerated. It was in this ethic that First Platoon was formed. No one was allowed to join the crew if they were not up to snuff. In this environment, while tribal, the scene was far from fragmented.

“Now, there’s a lack of unity, based on resources and access to resources,” Asun proclaims while smoking on a cigarette. Jerm nods his head enthusiastically in agreement. “And there’s also a lot of ego and unwillingness to step outside of comfort bubbles. Right now the equality of cooperation has not been visualized yet to be made a reality for a lot of different people at a lot of different levels and what it comes down to is finances.”

The level of economic and social insight provided by the two wordsmiths never ceases to amaze me. Their unintentional synchronicity makes it all the more fascinating. In a conversation about emcees and community work, Jerm reflects on his experience and evolution in this process. “I used to do that type of work all the time. And then at one point, it just didn’t make as much sense for me to be investing my time in that, when I could be out there getting money. And it wasn’t that I didn’t care or didn’t like doing it, it just wasn’t effective. It wasn’t effective for me and I don’t know if it was effective for the youth because at the end of the day, the youth needed the same thing.”

Despite confronting economic hardships head on (both members agreed that the economy was in a terrible place with not a lot of hope for improvement in the near future, but unmoved because of the strength of their own hustle), both members of the group expressed an extreme clarity when it came to their music. I couldn’t help but ask them what their philosophy on making music actually was.

“My philosophy initially was to be as tight as I possibly could and channel some real shit.” Jerm is enthusiastic, passionate and clear as he starts off contemplative and grows more directed as he continues to communicate. “As I grew, and got a good response from interactions with people on the street I felt like God blessed me and that I should do some shit with that. As I grew further, I wanted to reconnect the whole Seattle field; you know the hood shit, the super black homies, just people that you grow up with. So I want to use that now link up the chain again”

Asun doesn’t miss a beat, “There’s always been a spiritual connection to the music that we make, the goal of trying to make it the best it can be.”

Jerm, feeling the moment continues, “And we advise ya’ll to do the same. We were definitely the ones that stood for our generation. Not just trying to get props or gain acceptance. We looked for those that were reminders of ourselves or reflections of ourselves and we knew to share the gift so that others can get into it. Plus a lot of us came from broken homes, so it ended up being more family than crew. Probably wouldn’t have done a lot of shit if not for the crew. Cats help each other and see the savage and filthy within each other. I know the world needs an Asun, or a Rufio, or a Haj, or a Shamako”

“Or a Julie C!” Asun exclaims.

“Or a Julie C” Jerm quickly replies.

At one point in Tacoma, during a Hip Hop Debate event, Asun and I started a conversation about emceeing and Dragonball like power levels. Asun’s understanding and approach to emceeing reminds me of my own, only it’s depth and natural being feel far beyond mine. RZA once said that the purpose of the emcee should be to be a living word. In many ways, Asun embodies that and so I ask him about his philosophy on freestyling and the relationship it has to power levels. Asun does not disappoint in his answer.

“Freestyling is as close to freedom inside of a person’s body as one can get. All that matters is the now. You’re living in the moment and nowhere else. There are some that say that freestyling is a written verse that has no home, which is a large part of it. Because I am West Coast, if it is not from nothing then it is not a real freestyle. Freestyling, in it’s ideal is about becoming the gateway to that second, that moment, the now. Your body is doing what it’s supposed to do and everything is tight.”

“As an emcee you may need to up your power levels. I did kind of learn that lesson and I’m glad I went through that. Once you start understanding your own life, it makes it easier to talk about your position and it really becomes you being. Once you have reached a certain power level-say you practice freestyling everyday for an hour a day, your ability to freestlye for a minute without fucking up, or repeating yourself will be higher than somebody who freestyles once a month. That’s power levels. The higher the power level, the greater your ability to be in that moment; to be in that wavelength, the greater your ability to affect the moment.”

Jerm, a giant of a spirit often caught living in multiple worlds, is asked about what living in those different and often extreme situations is like, and how it’s affected his music. “It’s hard to have my little brother at a show or some shit, and to hear him be like, nigga why are we here instead of being in a mansion and ‘lac, nigga. Why are we at this remedial Hip Hop shit to be positive, fuck being positive man, let’s be evil, nigga?”

Jerm’s commentary reflects the pressure of many Hip Hop artists, and particularly Black one’s to exist in a paradigm of what is right and what is wrong, what is positive and what is negative, and what is economically viable and what is not. Jerm makes a definitive declaration about his integrity.

“I can’t be a two face, not for long at least, I get conflicted and it’s hard to do that. I want to just be who I am.” I ask him how much money he thinks he can make just being on the grind, just being Jerm and his response is powerful. “The question isn’t how much I can make the question is how much I can save. “ After a laugh, a number is revealed, “About 50,000 a year.” Not a bad salary.

Jerm’s music is universal, and cuts across boundaries or assignment placed by comfortable categorizations. I want to know if this is calculated or just a product of who he is and what he does. “I think it comes natural because I like so much different shit, so many different elements are a part of it. But I do think about it, making songs for different vibes or different moods.

I ask Jerm where the divisions come from.

“From the spectator. From the spectator there’s a need to categorize and divide. For that cats that love and the fellow cats, it’s not there.”

We talk about their time on the road, and their level of experience and savvy becomes even more visible. Jerm drops game and it is fucking hilarious.

“Don’t go to Salt Lake City.” He starts dropping gems for the folks coming up. “Having someone who can take care of the managing is a very big help for an artist, most of the time you have to do everything yourself, get somebody if you can. Asun chimes in, “Make sure cats are doing promotions, even if you have to send people two weeks ahead of you to make sure the promotion is going down the way it’s supposed to. “ Jerm keeps it moving, “One time we were trapped in Modesto and the lady that booked us got fired. She took the booking fee and the club didn’t know what was going down. So there we were stuck in Modesto with six people at the show and they all worked at the bar.”

The stories and gems continue, and it occurs to me that these two could write a manual on various aspects of the game that could provide maximum science for many that are entering the game now. All and all, when our conversation was done, I had ten pages of notes, and more material then I was ever going to fit into a single interview. Even their view on Obama was a trip. While they both agree that hope is great thing to have, and they would choose Obama over McCain, they also agree that they’re faith is not totally in him or this system. Asun describes this concern in a very descriptive manner.

“You’ve got a bag of thumbtacks. You can put that bag of thumbtacks in a box of oatmeal but that still leaves you eating a bag of thumbtacks. With this situation, it used to be the case that Black people could go to other countries and people would be like, ‘I hate Americans’ and you could be like, ‘that ain’t me’ and they’d be like, ‘cool’. With this, now cats are going to see the oatmeal box, and it’ll be called “ya mama’s oatmeal’ and cats will be like, “naw, that’s ya’ll feedin’ us thumbtacks.” It’s a dangerous thing.

At the end of the day, what’s most amazing about these two is that they understand themselves, they understand their crew, and they understand their relationship to the music they make and the culture they participate in. So while they may face challenge after challenge, the purity of who and what they are still shines through bright as day.

As we conclude our interview, we reflect on what Hip Hop means to us and the world. Jerm breaks it down. “Hip Hop has changed my life; I do understand why people say it’s some bullshit. The un-soulful corny element of Hip Hop is what people see mostly. That’s the difference in what my brother thinks and what I think. My Little brothers experience with Hip Hop doesn’t have the elements in it that were there before when we were coming up. Don’t get to see the inside elements of it; the simple thing of being able to freestyle and flow and then for one to go and dig in themselves, and get closer to who they really are. “

While writing this article, some of Asun’s comments help place it all in perspective when it comes to who and what Alpha P is about. “Hip Hop culture is something that is a wavelength. We are constantly putting together a wavelength that helps everybody, but, also helps yourself at the same time. That’s a part of what makes first platoon, first platoon. Look what I saw, and look you can see it to, as well as for the people that are already seeing. Everybody going through some crazy shit in their ordinary lives.”

I, for one, understand why the world needs an Alpha P.