I just slept for 13 straight hours after getting back from europe and only sleep 7 hours over the course of 3 days. 13 fucking hours. Holy shit. I needed it. Thanks to all of you who came out. The shows were awesome. so much love and the turnouts were great as well. If we took pics together post them on my facebook wall and join the ever growing bock of people with me at shows: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.570798189621477.1073741830.135369443164356&type=3
Annnyway, this is Answers for questions. If you’d like to join the fun, send me questions! either email them to me at phatfriendblog@gmail.com or simply leave them in the comment section. Go nuts. be weird.
Now, lemme wipe the eye boogers away and get to this weeks batch.

You’ve touched on this subject in some ways before, but I’m really interested in what you think of what’s being called the ‘outrage culture’? It seems like anytime anyone posts anything on social media these days, it’s about what they’re pissed off about or what in their opinion is wrong with the world. Like with all things, there’s a positive and a negative impact of such a phenomenon. The positive being that this general outrage could be the motivator for big changes, and maybe it’s what the world has needed all along. The negative is that the internet is just full of noise of everyone sharing their opinions, and nobody really taking actions beyond letting everyone know what they’re mad about. What do you think of this change? Have people always been this way, and the internet is just now giving them a voice? Or, are pissed off people influencing more and more people to be pissed off about stuff?

It’s a mixed bag of good and bad. I’m glad people who would normally not have a voice are now allowed to speak and people are actually listening. That said, the majority of this “outrage” is generally petty bullshit aimed at jokes. People getting mad at jokes , to me, is the biggest waste of time on the planet. I mean, a week rarely goes by where I don’t tweet something then erase it cause I worry about the backlash it might cause. AND I’M ME! imagine if I were a comedian. The outrage culture has entitled everyone to mold the way they hear and see things into their own little ideal world. Everything is a trigger warning. Basically, our ego’s are being coddled at all times and it’s only making us weaker as people. It’s being done for a greater good but I don’t necessarily think that’s a good things. I think allowing people to think every thing they do is “great!” all the time and trying to make us all think “we’re all exactly the same deep down!” is hazardous. Cause, well, not everyone is great. Not every voice needs to be heard. Do you know how many people are fucking idiots? MOST OF THEM. The internet has allowed those fucking morons to have as much of a voice about things they know nothing about as people who are actually educated in those fields. Also, we aren’t all the same. As much as someone would like to tie a bow on america and make it seem like it’s a happy like country where everyone agree on things like sexual politics, racial issues , etc…those things aren’t going away. I’m obviously on the far left life of those issues but I’m also from a major city and was raised to be like that. Not exactly the norm of america society.
My feeling about the outrage culture is everyone thinks they matter. They don’t. Everyone has an opinion. They do. But if Janis dumbfuck from “little shittzville” middle america watches Beyonce at the super bowl and somehow is offended by a musical performance…that’s janis’s problem. it shouldn’t be ours. Back in the day, she would write a letter to the tv station that would end up where it belongs, in a pile that no one cared about. Real revolutions could be taking place right now. A massive changing of how we think but “outrage” over entertainment? Suck my dick. I don’t wanna hear. That said, you have all the right in the world to feel that way. the media just has to stop giving any weight to every person who get upset about some banal bullshit. Good luck with allllll that though cause this stuff is only getting worse. Orwells 1984 is not to far away. Word policing is already here. I’m just waiting for the all grey outfits and the screens with john hurts face on it telling me to keep walking.

you’ve written several times about weird and uncomfortable interactions w fans at shows. but have you ever had a blog reader get too familiar? like submit questions for answers and ask for dr. tony advice and submit demos and leave comments and constantly tweet at you? if you didn’t keep submissions anonymous, would it expose any phat friend stans? this is my 4th or 5th question for answer, but i’ve never done any of the other stuff. do i qualify as a phat friend stan?

I don’t look at them as phat friend stans. they’re just regular readers. In general, I appreciate them cause they keep asking me questions that leads to me having content. In most cases, they’re good natured and “get it” so it’s not a problem. I got a few people who constantly comment on my facebook wall though that I feel are completely insane. They legit worry me. Their comments are generally off base and just seem slightly deranged. I also a have a few people who tweet gibbersih at me with some regularity but i don’t really pay them any mind. Most cause , well, how can i respond to gibberish?

What are your thoughts on people being “addicted” to their devices? I don’t see the problem as long as an individual knows when to stop staring at the screen and give their attention where it’s required.

Also, is wu tang really for the children?

Definitely have been accused of this. I have this OCD thing where if I have an alert, I gotta get rid of it. So, If I’m at a dinner and I see a text pop up, I legit have to fight myself to not check it. God forbid it’s a group text that has like 5 people rattling off texts a million a minute. I have literally had to mute conversations just so I could get through a meal cause, if I don’t, i will lose my mind and just check every vibration my phone sends me. It’s bad.
I think, in general, we are all pretty bad about this. I can complain all day about dudes walking and texting, blocking up the street but I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t been me before. We are a phone obsessed culture. That’s why out parents look at us with such disgust cause they JUST missed the boat on that and truly don’t get it.
Wu tung isn’t really for the children. Unless you want your kid knowing that ghostface’s dick is “thick like a great adventure cigar”.

Have you seen “The Breaks” ? I thought it was really good!
I watched it. It was cute. I think the thing that impressed me most was the music selection. They dug WAY deeper than I expected. It wasn’t a new story and had similar issues other shows/movies about that era had had (trying to fit too much shit in and cover too many bases. having to have a down”white guy” as an integral part of the story) but I wasn’t mad at it. Sure, I coulda live tweeted it and clowned the fuck out of it but the truth of the matter is nothing like that will ever get made that feels 100% real. So, all things considered, they did a fine job.

Somehow I feel like this question might have been asked, but here goes. If you could be any body part on a female, which would it be? Same question for a male. Also, if you could be a body part on an animal, which animal and what body part would it be?

THe Pussy, dude! I’d just wanna get fucked all the time and when I got my period! woo hooo!!!!!
nah…obviously, i would never wanna be a vagina. Ever.
Okay, here’s the thing about this question…what is like to be a body part? Like, being a leg would be useful but would I have thoughts? Probably not. I’d say being a breast would be mellow. Every now and then I get rubbed but for the most part, I just hang out.
For a guy? being a dick would actually be okay cause that’s basically what we are anyway. Dicks are like our compasses. They’re dumb and have a terrible sense of direction but still, they do guide us more often than not.
What animal would i be? A bird would be cool cause, you know, flight. I would be a falcons beak. Why the fuck not?

If you met yourself from the future, how would you know it’s you?
I’d probably look about the same. I haven’t aged THAT much in the last 20 years. I mean, obviously, I’m older and not as pure as i once was but I haven’t had any great physical fall off. Old, saggier skin…probably in the same cloths. I think it would be easy to spot me, to be honest.

You’ve had some people play bass and guitar on your albums. Do you play any instruments too?
This is one of those FAQ type questions. I don’t play any instruments. I can figure things out on a keyboard but thats about it.

Hey guys! I’m writing this from a hotel room in Moscow. Time no longer exists to me. Sleep is a concept, not a real thing. But, still, I’m loyal to this blog. So, I’m doing it! This is “Answers for questions” You guys ask me stuff, I respond honestly. so simple. If you’d like to join the fun, go for it. Send questions to phatfriendblog@gmail.com or simply leave them in the comment section below. Get weird. Be interesting. it makes it better for all of us.
Let’s see what we got this week. Lots of focused , nerdish questions. Whelp, okay!

RAPID FIRE!
– What would you do if making music for a living stopped paying the bills? / Do you have a retirement fund?
I have no idea. It’s something I think about as I continue to age. I’ve been good with my money and i own a home so I’d maybe get involved in some sort of business like a restaurant or a bar. I do Not have a retirement fund though.

– What would your job have been if you couldn’t make music for a living?
Some bullshit. All my jobs prior to music were service industry or places a record store. I’d imagine I might be bartending. Honestly, I’m a college drop out. I’m not exactly trained for anything. In a dream world, i’d be writing for something comical but you know, that’s a best case scenario.

– You seem pretty laid back. What irritates you the most on a daily basis?
Inconsiderate people and slow people. They can often be one in the same. But when I see someone who’s clearly only thinking about themselves, it’s makes my blood boil. And people who are slow are just an extension of that. They’re basically like “Oh, you’re time is important to you? How about go fuck yourself cause the world begins and ends with me and my personal clock”. Side note: I’m the promptest person of all time.

– Do you have a favorite country to visit while touring?
I feel like I haven’t visited it yet. I loved Australia (and I’m going back this fall) but I’d like to see Spain and maybe Iceland. To be honest, I travel so much that leaving NYC is never something I really feel like doing for pleasure.

– If you had to go on a 2 week vacation with Adele where would you go?
Probably some fancy island where she would pay for everything. I bet she’s fun.

– Who are some of your favorite visual artists?
Truth be told, I don’t really follow that world. i grew up around the arts and it numbed me to it at a very young age. I can barely even appreciate it outside of a passing “Oh, that’s cool!”. There are tons of great artists out there, I’m just not really paying attention.

Why were hip hop drums so terrible in the late 90s early 2000s? Don’t get me wrong I love some 80s and early 90s drums and I love the sound and variety of today’s drums but drums across the board from underground d to main stream(with some exceptions) in the late 90s and early 2000s were very simplistic and weak. There was no knock. And I say this Looking back because I am talking about songs from an era that were important to me (I am 32. So like my HS era). Was it because of equipment of the era? People making there own kits and not sampling? Or was it just a shitty trend?

I don’t know if I agree with your opinion but I think what you’re referring to was the growth in popularity in synthesized drums sounds, versus good old break beats. I contend that both have their merits. People stopped using break beats or chopped up parts of breaks and started using sounds that came from certain keyboards. It made of a cleaner, less authentic feel. I think some of it worked fine though. It was when people started dabbling with 808 kits (aside from miami bass music from the late 80’s/early 90’s) on a larger level. Southern raps emergence played into that. I dunno…i think you can make dope drums with any thing if you use them right.

You have answered sampling questions before but do you have any insight as to why sampling keeps going away and coming back? I know sampling started to fade out in the late 90s because of lawsuits and the popularity of Swizz beats and Timbo. But I am confused as to nowadays it seems that Record labels could pay for samples and Indy artist couldn’t. And now record labels rarely clear samples unless you are Kanye. But Indy artists still sample tons of records I notice. Do Indy artists just say fuck it, because they figure they won’t get sued? For the record I much prefer sample based records.

It goes away cause it is both dangerous and a money pit. When you sample, you cannot license the song to tv or commercials. That’s where a lot of money comes for people making beats. Even if you do clear the sample, the writer of said sample will get the lions share of the money so it’s kinda pointless. However, it comes back because sampling is timeless. People will always like a nice samples loop. Any time a major artist releases a song with a sample, it becomes a hit. “Hotline Bling” is a perfect example. As for indy guys still sampling, it’s cause they don’t clear shit and just keep their stuff under the radar. Only people on a major stage have to worry about getting caught or , even having enough sales and radio play for the owners of the sample to notice, let alone deem them worthy to sue.

I’ve noticed that you seem to be less ‘nerdy’ than most of the emcees you’ve worked with or around (Aesop, Slug, EL-P, Vast Aire, Illogic, Murs etc) does this affect your social dynamic or interactions at all?

We’re all nerdy on some level The type of music we make kinda dictates that. Even something cool like “Run the Jewels” is still kinda nerdy at it’s core. And that’s a good thing. Nerdy just means being obsessive about something. it could be star wars or it could drums machines. We all got our “thing”.
In everyday life, i’m not really a nerd type though. I’m socially comfortable. I like going out. I like doing things. I play sports. Not saying those other guys don’t but being a nerd is not something I’ve been accused of in my day to day ever in my life.

Could you beat Rhonda Rousey in a fight?
Fuck no. She’s beat the shit out of me. I’d last maybe 4 seconds before I tapped out or just cried.

Hey there everyone. Hope you enjoyed your long weekend (US ONLY). This is answers for questions. You guys ask me stuff, I answer. Simple stuff. If you’d like to ask me anything, please do! Send Questions to phatfriendblog@gmail.com or simply leave them in the comment section below. Be weird. Be creative!
Also, I’m leaving for a european/russian/tel aviv tour on wednesday so I dunno how functional this blog will be while I’m gone. You never know but don’t be surprised if I don’t post for a week or so. Not like you care but for the 4 or 5 people who do…just a heads up.

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you were going to die?

Hmm…I’ve been in situations where i’ve felt very threatened (being robbed at gun point, a plane having insane turbulence then the lights flicker off, a car crash where we flipped over, seeing a shooting at a pool hall) but I honestly can’t say I ever felt I was gonna die.
In all the cases above I just sort of assumed things wouldn’t get that far. I’d say the car and plane situations were the scariest cause those were out of my control. But turbulence happens and the car crash happened so quick, it didn’t really give me time to think i was really going to die.
Now that I think about it…the closest I’ve come to truly feeling like I might die was choking on pizza cheese while eating alone in my house once. I legit had to reach in my throat and pull the cheese out cause I couldn’t breath. That was one case where I felt a legit moment of terror and mortality.

What are some of your favorite names of porn films? Strictly talking about the name, regardless of subject matter. Have their been any films name after hip hop artists/albums that you’ve come across?
The whole idea of funny porn names is far more hypothetical that a reality. Sure, “Edward Penishands” exists and there have been plenty of porn parodies of real movies but the majority of them are called shit like “Latino cum swappers 28” and “Where the boys Aren’t vol 39282”.
I have yet to see a porn that references something hip hop related outside of the obvious “Hip hop honeys” kinda shit that’s basically using the phrase hip hop to mean “black”.
It’s a shame cause you could flip rap album titles into porn titles easily…
“It takes a nation of millions to hold this cock”
“Gay outta compton”
“All guyz on me”
“Step in the anal-rena”
“The gape adventures of Slick Rick”
“The Life of Pablo”

Sup. Got a question. Beyond Reach is one of my fav tracks you made because of the lyrics. Who wrote ’em? How did Baby Dayliner and you came up with the song? You both share the emotions of the lyrics?

“Beyond reach” was a song that Baby Dayliner had made way back in the 90’s. It was done on a four track and he made it while he was still searching out his sound. He wrote the whole thing. I had always loved it and thought about sampling it in some way cause it never came out and it was just sort of sitting there.
I forget exactly how my version came about but I must have been reminded of that song and thought “I should remix that on my album”. I hit up Baby Dayliner and asked if he had a copy and he sent it to me. That’s about it. The piano and vocals are all parts of his original song. everything else, I added. As for the emotions of the song, it always hit a nerve with me. I can’t say I relate personally to those feelings of young loneliness but the overall mood definitely grabbed me.

Being an “anarchist”, I believe that society’s endstate will be one of freedom from wage slavery, and having machines care for our immediate needs - also, money will stop being a thing. It might take a thousand years (if we survive that long), but I think it will come around.

My question then is: do you think people will still be rapping, or b-boying or doing graffiti or whatever without money being a part of it? Without the profit motivator determining the charts? Without labels propping some acts up and not others? Or is material gain and fame an indispensable part of the industry? (save for some small acts that defy it)

This already happened in a sense. When record sales started to not matter anymore, the whole landscape of music (especially hip hop) changed. People no longer could “get signed” and “sign a big deal”. MTV stopped playing videos. Everything was illegally downloaded. So, all these people who were angling to make rap music simply as a means to get rich were suddenly in a bind. It’s no coincidence this happened during on of the most stale eras of rap. The mid 2000’s.
However,once that smoke cleared, there was an abundance of great music getting made by people who simply did it cause they love it. That was around 2009/10. So, i feel as though, no matter what happens to money and rap, there will still always be people making the music. To many artists, it’s like a itch. You can’t leave it alone cause it’s not bringing home a profit. Think of all the people out there who are in their mid-30’s, still doing local shows, opening for mid-level acts. They do it cause they love it. Sure , some may be delusional but, deep down, they know they aren’t gonna “Make it”. They keep pushing forward cause it’s what they enjoy doing.

Can you see yourself ever dating a woman who is REALLY in to any of this nerdy stuff? Like maybe not all at once, but she REALLY likes a few things from the list? What are your general thoughts on these hobbies for an adult, be it a man or woman?

Video Games
Science Fiction or Fantasy movies
Comic Books
Collecting toys
Card Games (Magic the Gathering, Yugioh)
Board Games (The new complicated ones that no one has ever heard of.)
Renaissance Fairs
LARPing (Live action role-play)
Cosplay (Dressing up like characters from movies, comics.)
Collecting crystals

I mean, if she doesn’t expect me to take part or care about those things then it would be fine with me. It would only be an issue if those things interfered with our relationship. Thinking realistically, it may be hard to keep some of those things separate from a relationship but I’d be willing to at least try if every other thing about this hypothetical girl was awesome.
The first 6 things on the list all seems workable. As we get into things where dressing up and pretending come into play, i might be a little wary. If not just totally embarrassed. Like, more power to people who do that but I don’t ever wanna be forced to have to go to one of those things for a millisecond.
Also, collecting crystals is fine and probably the least offensive thing towards the back of the list but if that girl wanted to talk to me about crystals at any point, I could not date her. In general, I feel people who collect crystals and I have a different life view. Doesn’t mean we can’t be friends…I just can’t see a crystal person and me ever truly connecting with any depth cause, well, I just don’t buy into that shit and they do. Similar to religion. Like, if you’re someone who feels strongly about your faith, i support that but it will eventually become an issue if we were to be together cause it’s a basic difference in beliefs that you’re eventually going to have to face.

Artificial Intelligence seems to be gaining popularity as the next thing the Technology sector is bent on figuring out. I feel like AI is making that same evolution into our general acceptance as Facebook and Google did, but it’s is way more deserving of our scrutiny. What are thoughts and predictions about the involvement of AI in the future of our world?

It would seem that the internet is well on its way to becoming a sentient being. Like you say, the tech people are obsessively working on all things AI related. From robots to figuring out ways to make advertisements seem more interesting.
I can’t say i lose sleep over this kinda thing but it is certainly the type of idea that, if you stop and think about it for any amount of time, you could spiral into a pit of fear and despair towards what the future may hold. Robocop could be a reality. Cars that drive themselves. Robots that learn and evolve like people do. it’s all possible and will very likely happen in our lifetime. Personally, I miss rotary phones.

I am trying to get back into reading but it is a bit challenging and I’m not sure what to get into. When is the last time you read a book and what was it? If you don’t read very much, pretend you do - what kinds of books would you go for?

You could not ask a worse person this question. I loath reading. It bores me to death and I honestly haven’t read a book in years. The only time I’ve read books for “pleasure” is when I was traveling a lot and knew I’d have tons of downtime with nothing to do. I can’t even recall the last book I read. Probably someones autobiography. It’s been that long. Maybe Tina Fey’s book? Pretty sure I bought it in an airport bookstore last second.
So, yeah, i can’t even pretend to tell you what to read. I don’t have a favorite author. I don’t curl up with a good book ever. It’s just not for me. Never has been, most likely never will be.