If you have ever heard the classic track “Community Initiative,” you would know that Wise and I go back a few years. In some ways, I am his boss. In other ways, he works to the beat of his own internal tattoo. As an MC he has progressed from a few well written verses on the Freak Base collective mixtape to a man of staunch belief and exacting word play. In the coming months he will release his first official set, “Community Spirit,” along side Community League cohorts Special Opp, Document 1 and DJ Thundercat. For now, you can catch him every third Friday at the Cellar in Wantage, usually with a Guinness in hand.

 
What makes you wise?
Knowledge.

I was born this way and I've been trying to live up to the name ever since! Except for a period around year 8 when I was acting the complete opposite, but I think I'm starting to settle into it now haha! The thing is, even when I'm not being particularly wise I am still being Wise, nah mean?

How does a kid from Bampton get interested in rapping and hooping?

When I was about 10 I was into all the pop music, taping Fox FM, all that nonsense, and I just seemed to gravitate to the occasional hip-hop track that would make it into the charts. On a school trip to St. Briavels my mate Neil played me House of Pain and Vanilla Ice on the Walkman, next term we found out about Snoop Doggy Dogg and it was a wrap from there!

As for the Bball you can blame crap American TV, I remember myself and Jean Pierre playing on the netball hoops in Primary school trying to be like the "cool kids" we saw on the box (JP always got me with the bounce between the legs move!) Plus I liked the shoes, Blacktop Pumps were the best things I had ever seen. When I was about 13 a court was built in the village, there was 6 of us who basically lived there (Thundercat, Nath, Pick', Ronnie, Gibbo and myself). We played 2 on 2 everyday and practiced trying to dunk, on a good day we'd play 3 on 3 as long as the sun was up.

Who are your heroes?
Well, obviously there are many members of my family for many different reasons and I hope that I can be as brave and kind and compassionate as they are.

In the more traditional sense of influential and inspiring people Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury have long been 2 people I admire. Not surprising given how much of my life I have dedicated to basketball but also in a more general sense - ethos, personality - although of course I don't know these people personally, merely through media representation. I particularly love what Steph is doing right now ( www.starbury.com)

The RZA, because his thirst for knowledge is so apparent and inspiring. Of course everyone would love to come close to his achievements in Hip-Hop but he is truly a wise and knowledgeable role model and I have learnt an awful lot from him.

You like fantasy books, what are your favorites? And, why?
I have always loved stories and I guess you could class any fictional work as fantasy but these are my favourites of that specific genre:

Lord of The Rings - I can relate to the brilliant portrayal of village life in The Shire, I am yet to read all the satellite works but I imagine they add even more depth and richness to the world. Plus Tolkien invented his own languages for it!

Harry Potter - wonderful, wonderful story with inspiration drawn from all aspects of classic literature and then some. Has opened me up to many new interests and is quite inspirational.

Tales of Redwall - a favourite in my younger years.

Chronicles of Narnia - recently read these in full, brilliant, the idea that with a little imagination you too can visit Narnia, it is waiting to be discovered!

His Dark Materials - Wow! Asks a lot of the reader in the beginning but builds to a monumental, perception twisting climax. Certainly makes me think differently about the town of my birth. Plus 3 of the 5 here are Oxford writers, must be something in the water.

Who has the best boobs in the world?

Not sure but I think I'll know when I've found them.

Some people say "Liberals are cunts because they have unfounded believes and think their ideas are the only ones that matter." What do you have to say about that?
 

What are your sources? This sounds like an "unfounded belief" to me.

I say it is a ridiculous sweeping generalisation which could not possible be true. Some people do not hold well informed beliefs that they are able to articulate and express well, others may be perfectly adept at explaining the same beliefs.

As a definition of "liberal" may include being open minded then I would suggest it is unlikely that a "liberal" would not be open to other peoples ideas.

"Liberal" beliefs tend to include ideas of personal freedom within society structures. Everybody has power, in our social structures we tend to divest that power to groups and other individuals, such power tends to corrupt so I believe it best that it is spread thinly and that those wielding power are open to scrutiny to ensure they are working for the greater good.
 

What was your best experience performing?
 

There was a good moment at The Cellar in Wantage the other day - Thundercat on the decks, Mr Shaodow, Redeye and myself passing the mic whilst Document 1 beatboxed...everybody was having fun and I was really feeling the vibe (it's not often I freestyle in public! hehe).

To be honest most of it is all a blur but I love looking out and seeing my friends have a good time.

There are a couple of others: I performed as Eminem in my 6th Form Variety Show - looking back at the tape I was really awful but at the time everybody loved it, it was a big crowd and that was my first time rapping in public.

I once rhymed with a bunch of dudes at the back of an Amtrak headed to Chicago out of Denver, they made a lot of noise and seemed impressed; one guy was filming it for a cable show in Detroit. Not sure if that counts but it is a top memory.

What do you think of when you hear Birmingham?
 

Hmmm, let me see, my good friend Wayne who lives there, hours and hours of my life spent at New Street Station (the half way point of my trips to and from Uni), buses that don't give change, oh and of course the answer that you are fishing for pertaining to Question 5!

You recently released a banger of a track about chess, what draws you to that game?  

It's the game of life! I have been fascinated since reading RZA break it down in The Wu-Tang Manual (do yourself a favour and pick it up!), how 64 is the number of creation, the yin and the yang, the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching - to explain about the game I would only be repeating his words.

To really feel the game and be engrossed in it takes a deeper level of concentration to channel your power, like Tai Chi, or Lyra's Alethiometer! After a game I always feel very focused and calm.

I've always been a bad loser but it doesn't hurt so much with chess. As long as I can learn from the game, from my mistakes - and I nearly always can - I know I can come back stronger next time.

We hear the track is being remixed, can you talk a little about that and who has been working on the project?
The track in question - War & Piece: Wise's Gambit - was created for a Hip-Hop Chess tournament in Washington DC called Bum Rush The Board (www.myspace.com/wbljournal). A similar event was being held by Hip-Hop Chess Federation (www.myspace.com/hiphopchess) on the same day in San Francisco so naturally I alerted them to the track aiming for maximum exposure.

Adisa Banjoko (The Bishop) runs HHCF, he is really enthusiastic and he is putting together a Hip-Hop chess album, we decided to do a remix for it and he contacted some producers! The first remix was by Fanatik and there is another remix which is occasionally on the myspace page, I don't even know who produced it but I love it!

 
A lot of people know you as a big time concert goer. What was the best concert you have ever attended?
 

A very tough question. My first was pretty good, Anger Management, lot's of favourites there - Eminem, Xzibit, Cypress Hill. Some of the greatest have been Wu-Tang Clan in London recently and Kanye's first London gig, those both had the best crowds too which is so important. Snoop was special. One Nation Under a Groove was a great event, Hip-Hop was truly in the building that night, I may put the review up on www.bluntedpresents.com soon.

The one that had it all though has to be Harry Love's Birthday Bash aka The Cuban Linx...II Tour back in 2005. Blimey what a line-up: DJs MK, Harry Love and Sarah Love (Cash Money also in the house), Jeru the Damaja, Chester P freestyling, Terra Firma as a warm up and of course Raekwon the Chef!

The worst?

Lloyd Banks, in London. What was I expecting, really?! In my defense there really was nothing to do that night. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, I went with Gritz and we always have a laugh but the actual show was simply dreadful.

Honourable mention goes to watching England lose on penalties instead of going to the Dilated Peoples gig down the road.

The wildest story surrounding a concert you attended?
You should know Pants, you were there!

I have seen some pretty dumb things happen at gigs - someone hit Snoop with a bottle during his last song in Nottingham and a shirtless, gold sporting Nas jumped into the crowd after a shooting at his gig in Brixton, but personally? Wildest story? As I said, you were there...

Inexplicably it was another Lloyd Banks concert, but that really was irrelevant, I didn't even see him. It was at a club in Denver on All-Star Saturday, a night which involved: Grinding all night with girls in VIP, 2 bottles of Vodka, a $1000 bar bill, running away with said bill and credit cards, some very professional security people, handcuffs, getting lost and falling on my face in the street.

Can't see myself experiencing all that lot again any time soon!

What types of beats are you attracted to?
Tough to say, I like soulful heavy tracks but mostly because they tend to bring out the personal type of song that I like to listen to. When I am making songs I don't really pick beats, Thundercat is always working on something new and if we have an idea we just run with it, those that don't go anywhere tend to get left by the roadside. I also work with Document 1, he makes a lot of beats that I love but I haven't used many so far, I guess I work better when the beat and the song progress together.

What types of ladies?
I am a sucker for pretty faces, and as beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess there is no way to describe types!

"Light, kinda dark, short, sorta tall

Slim, kinda thick, I swear I love 'em all!"

How is the new Harry Potter?
Bloody brilliant, a wonderful end to a wonderful story. My favourite of the series? I'll have to let it sink in over a few more reads before I can say.

How do you reconcile reading it as an adult?
I enjoy it.

What draws you to astronomy?
Look up. It's beautiful. It's fascinating. My telescope is my most prized possession, distant galaxies are fun to search for but only appear as a tiny smudge with my equipment so I most enjoy looking at the planets. Did you know that Venus is visible in a clear sky during daylight? True story.

What causes do you think are very important?
I don't know, how can one thing be more important than another? There are so many causes and effects in our global society. Start with striving to be a compassionate and loving person. Knowledge of self, if you truly know and love yourself and realise the nature of mind then you can know and love others. Start with that and we'll be half way to solving the rest of the problems.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Living Life. Being joyful from one breath to the next.

What is next for The WISE?
Cup of tea I reckon, that was a lot of questions!

Do more shows, release Community Spirit, make more music and I'm trying to go abroad and teach English for a while, I am at my best when I leave the island!

Positive Energy Activates Constant Elevation