For those that might not know, tell us who you are, where you are from, and what style of music you create?

I am Radioinactive. Underground Emcee, Producer, hailing from Los Angeles. I am a musician who has been putting out interesting rap music since the nineties.

You’ve been at this for a while…can you tell us some of the projects you’ve released? and the groups of creative talent you have worked with?

• Early 90s- to mid 90s: 40 oz of Funk, Universouls(Log Cabin Crew: Murs, Eligh, Scarub, Elusive, Tom Slick, Malik the Problem Child, Sahga,)
• Mid 90’s-present The Shape Shifters
• Early 2000s The Weather (Busdriver, Daedelus) TTC(France) Ddamage(France) Nils(Edbanger)
• Monsieur Leroc (Fast Food Nation Soundrack)
• Bigg Jus
• Mush Records:
• Radioinactive: Pyramidi
• Busdriver, Radioinactive, and Daedelus: The Weather
• Radioinactive and Antimc: Free Kamal
• Stranger Touch Records
• Radioinactive: Soundtrack To A Book
• Flying Carpet Studios:
• Radioinactive: The Akashic Record

If you check my discogs they are over 40 appearances on other peoples records as well. I even made an appearance on a Bollywood soundtrack.

What’s the biggest change you’ve noticed in music [business] since the early days at The Good Life Cafe?

Accessibility and Saturation. Back in The Day, I knew a few people with samplers and 4 tracks. I had books filled with songs that I had written and no beats. I would take the bus to the homies house to work on music. We were making demos in attempts to get signed. Nowadays, everyone can make music with their computer. The result is everyone has a record. The underground scene became flooded in the early 2000s because of this.

You are one of the most creative emcees I have listened to… what motivated you to rap like a goat in ‘Farmer’s Market of the Beast’? What inspired you to rap in pig latin at your first performance?

In hip hop as in jazz, musicians/rappers strive to have there own unique style. I was a bugged out little kid. My mom used to make clothes for Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. I wore japanese superhero costumes and Kung Fu uniforms all the time as a little kid. I was definitely on one.

In junior High, at a gifted and talented education competition(I went to EO Green Junior High in Oxnard, same school as Madlib) called the olympics of the mind, we had to come up with our own Utopian society. We chose french for the language, splatter paint shirts for the fashion, super conductor trains as the transportation. We had the task of coming up with a national Anthem as well. Me and Nikisha rapped over Transmitting Live From Mars(DELASOUL) I through in some pig latin in my verse while Nikisha rapped in french.

I came up with the farmers market of the beast idea from George Orwell’s Animal Farm. I would freestyle for hours at a time experimenting with all types of characters. The All Deadly Jizzm and I layed down a precursor to that song on an 8 track that would later give birth to the classic on The Beneath The Surface Compilation .

Who or what influences your creative process(es)? What did you listen to when you were younger? Have your tastes changed/evolved with time?

Man I draw from so many places for influence. Funky Town Pros, Tom Robbins, Frank Zappa, The Last Poets, Guru, Graffiti, Ramelzee, Transor Z, Ultramagnetic Mcs, Spoon Iodine, PRT, Lord Buckley, Salvador Dali, the list is infinite.

What was the last song you listened to?

Sunny Levine’s Can’t Tune You Out and Charlie Parkers “Relaxin At Camarillo”

As someone who has been in the game for a while, how has marketing and promotion changed from the early ’90s until now…with the development of Internet technologies and social media?

Well, I was just on labels in the past. All I had to do was make the music. These days you have to work 4 times as hard for the same result. It is a hyper intense DIY environment. I am fascinated by the game. It is pretty cool to interact with so many cats in real time.

Are there any challenges you have had to overcome (or still face) when it comes to using the Web to connect with fans and find new listeners?

There is so much content out there it seems easy to get lost in the Web Haystack. I’m always looking to enlist cats that can help me in this regard.

What should we expect when we press play on The Akashic Record?

This LP has a Gypsy thread thats is spun through the whole record. Cinematic at times. Even Chump is Surf Gypsy. Well Most people don’t know that Dick Dale was in fact Lebanese. . I pulled from my experiences of staying in the Sahara desert for 3 months with a band of Tuaregs. I utilized alot of Ambience that I recorded in the market places of central and north africa. Everything was tracked onto analog tape. I used a combination of Mpc grooves and antique drum machines laced with live musicians. I had alot of fun making the Akashic. I made it over a 3 year period which made for a varied sound.

What producers and other artists did you work with on this album?

Myself, Burt Gregory, Andre Asmar, and La Caution from France. production wise.

Ellay Khule and Busdriver, and 2MEX make rap cameos.

I had Todd Simon(trumpet) (Ethio Cali)

David Moyer (jungle fyre ), my father on percussion, Matt Alsberg on guitar, and bass. Burt Gregory on Upright and Bass. I played clarinet and Bass Clarinet.

Do you perform regularly? Tour? Where can we catch you live?

I did a couple of weeks this year on the road with 2MEX and Bigg Jus(Company Flow)

I have been doing alot of touring in europe over the years. Hopefully more to come soon.

Where can we grab your albums? Where can we connect with you online?

You can get my albums digitally from iTunes. Badlanders.com carries my records. I have Vinyl, Cds, Cassettes, you name it of my latest album “The Akashic Record” You can order product directly from me kamalsound@

Follow me on twitter @Radioinactive1 and Instagram Radioinactive1. Like my page on Facebook

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cEZI1f1-M0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovrw0MtHlTc

Any last thoughts? Shout outs?

Shout outs to Dave Sitek, Todd Simon, T Spoon Iodine, Sheila Washington and Steve Washington(AURRA), HE3. I have another Radioinactive project coming out in August entitled Radioinactive’s Hip Hop Helmet. Me Busdriver, and Daedelus have been playing with the idea of doing another Weather record. So Stay Tuned.

Word!!!
Radioinactive