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Sum Patten of the Vinyl Junkie Clique

by size 13 / Published August 30‚ 2006 at 2:05am

’ I ran out the shower drippin wet, turned that beat on and wrote the song right there in the living room, naked, angry and wet. I was angry because nobody was being creative anymore.’
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An emerging artist continually putting in work and paying dues, who first appeared on The Dosage EP in 1999, Sum Patten has a style of his own. He draws on the sounds of East Coast, West Coast & Southern Rap. He is part of the Vinyl Junkie Clique (vjcrecordings.com). The originality in his wordplay, flow and delivery is undeniable. Originally from Atlanta, now in New York and soon to be in Los Angeles, his music is as diverse as the cities by which he been influenced.

How has you sound developed?

Well, I thought I had something to say back in 99, but I really didn't know sh*t. Now I really got something to say and my musical tastes have broadened, so I'm trying to incorporate everything I've learned since then into my music. Of course I can't do everything, but I'm concentrating on what's natural and progressive. I've learned to speak to the people, remain artistic and still have fun, and that's the most important thing ever, besides water.

What lessons have you learnt over the years?

Life is only as difficult as you make it. Every artist is insecure. You have everything you need at your fingertips. Time is precious. The body is a map of the universe. If it makes you tense, don't do it. Everyone has a story. Women are crazy.

Your discography is listed on http://www.vjcrecordings.com. Looking back, what are your thoughts on these releases?

We were ahead of our time. Everybody's finally starting to catch up, a little bit. We weren't even tight yet.

You're based in New York. However you also put in work in Atlanta. How has the time spent in ATL shaped your rhymes?

I became an artist in Atlanta. I became a professional and business - minded artist in New York. It's only right. Atlanta is a precious little progressive town in the heart of the Southeast. People only know about OutKast and the Crunk movement. There is an army of forward-thinking artists and musicians down there who influenced me.
I learned how to be a storyteller down there and speak to people's hearts. It's all about being human and heartfelt down there. I'm glad I found that before moving to NYC, cause they're out of there minds in this city.

How would you describe the scene there, before you moved to New York?

Organic, small and directionless, sounds like a baby panda. I miss that, but they've outgrown it since I left.

What words describe your MCing style, for those who haven't heard your rhymes before? Bluesman meets dark poet and drunken party rocker. Maniac songwriter, energetic – thinker, futurist, Southern - charm meets martian book thug.
Breakdown how your debut LP 'The Lil Folk' came about?

I had been in New York about a year and a half. I came to my man BadTouch, who is now a VJC producer/engineer/songwriter and told him I wanted to record a 10 - song album. I was writing a song for that called "Ole Gnat Grind" and I have a line in there that goes "i aint preachin, but lil folk reachin/for low ceilings, gold shillings in the coliseum" and I said to myself "Crikey! That's my album title! 'The Lil Folk'! - I wanted to write an album dedicated to people who are in the struggle but have their eyes on big things. The lil folk are nothing but game pieces to the power players of the world and disposable. We also deal with everyday things and might not have a bunch of money, jewels, guns, bitches and drugs to brag about. Not that we would even if we did have those things. It has lots of meaning.

Which track off the 'The Lil Folk' are you most proud of?

September.

September is a great track. Where did the idea for this track arise?

Thanks. That song is about being in a relationship with a great person who's good for you but both of you are suffering from a bad case of being selfish and you don't realize it 'till it's too late. That's the most important song I've ever written, because it was my first time writing something almost everyone can relate to. Plus I displayed my pimp ass harmonica technique for the first time. September is my favorite month of the year. It represents change and the coming of the dark unknown.

Ninjas and Flies sounds like nothing else in Hip Hop music now. It is remarkable. How did this track unfold from the initial idea?

Good lookin'. The hook comes from an old racist white redneck limerick. I have family members and other Black people I know from back home in the South who just kind of adopted it, flipped and use it as a tongue in cheek thing, my people are good at that kind of thing. That's how hip-hop was born actually, Black people taking bullshit and making it useful. Anyway, I was angry at the state of hip-hop, and I had been sittin on that monster ass beat from my homie X-Man of The VJC for weeks, but didn't know what to do with it. One day I was in the shower and that thing at the beginning of the song where I'm screaming just jumped out of me. Again, I said ‘Crikey!! That beat is N*ggas And Flies!!’ I ran out the shower drippin wet, turned that beat on and wrote the song right there in the living room, naked, angry and wet. I was angry because nobody was being creative anymore. Not just cats on the radio, but these underground cats too. They shit be soundin' flat and unentertaining quite a bit. I have my reservations about the song concept and title because I'm not sure that the white kids in the hip-hop culture will understand where I'm coming from and take it out of context. I'm not dissin my people or my culture, just the assholes in it. It doesn't give them license to use the N word either.

What was the inspiration behind the song Opium?

I was trying to learn how to use pro-tools. So I wrote a quick diddy about my lady and recorded it. And there we have 'The Opium'. I've smoked it before, but I was thinking more about the fragrance of Opium's essential oil.

You're part of The Vinyl Junkie Clique. What is the crew’s mission?

Turn music on its ear. We are about to bring new meaning to the words ‘diverse’ and ‘revolutionary’. We are the first nationwide hip-hop syndicate, with members in 5 major cities across America.

What does the VJC Academy mean to you?

Learning what it means to have a crew that is family. We have our own language, style and culture. It's about nation building.

Intellicrunk is a heavy posse jam. How did you approach your verse?

With weed and bourbon.

Which groups have influenced you?

Run DMC, OutKast, The Pharcyde, Goodie Mob, A Tribe Called Quest, Tha Alkaholics, Hieroglyphics, Geto Boys.

What's next for Sum Patten?

I'm working on hip-hop's first Sci-Fi / Fantasy epic with my homie BadTouch (myspace.com/badtoca). It's called "The Nobody Hole", and nothing like it has ever happened in the history of music. I'm finishing a new collaboration album with independent super-producer Belief (myspace.com/belief). It's futuristic dusty space folk-funk. He made the beat for September, so expect more of that vibe, but elevated, refined, polished and wilder. I'm finishing my book now, called ‘The Tao of the MC’, which is a spiritual treatment of my craft. I'm relocating to Los Angeles in a few weeks where the rest of The VJC is. Once we're all in the same city, everything changes. Watch.

Any final words / shout outs?

Check out my man Malkovich of the Los Angeles crew BLX, he's got a visionary mixtape on his hands (myspace.com/malkovichmusic) featuring the entire next movement of dope MCs. If you dig my stuff, you gotta check my homies Clan Destined, they're the Ghost & Rae tag team of the VJC (myspace.com/clandvjc).

Thanks to Sumkid Patten for taking the time. You can find out more about his music and the philosophies of his crew The Vinyl Junkie Clique by going to vjcrecordings.com.

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