Side Stage Magazine Talks To Blaze Ya Dead Homie To Discuss His New Album “The Casket Factory” And His New Single “Ghost” On Majik Ninja Entertainment.

By Robbie Rodriguez

My phone rings at exactly 5:00 pm on Friday afternoon, I hear “What’s up man its Blaze”. Our conversation jumps off with some small talk and banter. I’m snowed in on a Friday night in Fredericksburg, Virginia and Blaze is speaking to me from a parked car in Michigan. He stated that he normally will sit in his car to concentrate and hear a bit better. Sometimes the signal is not the best so he can just hang in the car. We both laughed a bit.

I mentioned that I had reached out to my son who was tripping out on the fact that I would cover him for Side Stage Magazine. My son is the next generation of fans, Blaze was flattered and acknowledged the power behind what he does as an artist. I mentioned I had rocked his tracks back when he was with ICP (Insane Clown Posse). His response; “That’s what’s up”- He is a very animated character on stage and in his videos. In speaking with him for about an hour I quickly felt that Blaze was a very laid back personality. Not a poser, he is 100% real! The type of guy you could hang with and want to be around. I asked him how he’d define his new album The Casket Factory which was released under Majik Ninja Entertainment. Blaze provided me with several adjectives to illustrate and define his newly released album. “A Rebirth” – He was proud of the work behind this album. He prefaced it by acknowledging the albums presentation, its changes in looks and considering it as an underground and wicked album! He further described this album as a Horror movie of sorts. You can sense the hard work and pride this artist has in the final product.

We spoke about the initial release “Ghost” which recently dropped on January 18^th, 2016. I asked him what was his inspiration on this track. Without hesitation he answers, “the beat spoke to me; I had to write to it, just kept listening to it. It’s one of those songs like the Juggalo Anthem that track is the shit!” He was asked about his writing process. He stated that everyone comes to the writing process in a different way. His process varies from writing in the studio – to – dropping those lyrics onto the note section on his phone. Blaze says he has seen artists bringing in brief cases of music into the studio. Blaze told me he writes and re-writes. This is a long learning process, he is always learning, watching and growing. Many can write a song or a lyric, or can record tracks at home. But he believes the delivery is the most important part in making you stand out as an artist.

I asked him how he attacked the production on this particular album. Blaze said he was lucky to get Dead Beats, Fritz and Lucky Seven working on the album. Getting music mixed currently is very important. You need to have your tracks sound really good, trying to achieve the next level shit and not sounding like you did it at home. We recorded the album at Twiztid’s shop – The Dojo studio. We would send verses and music back and forth overtime. Everyone working with me would write their own thing in order to come up with ideas. I asked him if lyrics came easy to him? Blaze says he gets inspiration from movies, video games and personal experiences. He tries to stay on top of that shit. “I’m my own worse critic.” – “Like the track Lotus, the topics were there. We added a dope chorus or would go off a chorus – It was always cool. We had an idea for The Casket Factory and went around that!”

I asked him what was the major difference in how labels work with their artists compared to when you first entered the game? Blaze stated that social media has changed everything. Labels don’t have to do so much now, it’s a whole new game. Social Media has changed it so everyone can have their 15 minutes of fame. We followed up with another question concerning how would it be if we had a Hip Hop Style American Idol? Blaze didn’t miss a beat with his response. “Everyone gets in their own way, there is a lot of things that goes with it not just singing someone else’s song. I could sing Jodeci, I would sing Michael Jackson before I smoked cigarettes or weed – I’d bust that shit out!” He went on to provide me additional information: “It’s also branding and packaging, just like Lady Gaga – I’m an actress bitch, I’m a singer bitch!” I could see in speaking with him that to be successful in the industry you have to take your work and presentation seriously; you have to work on your vocal delivery, getting with a team to properly get your right in order to push it out. It’s not as simple as its showed on American Idol.

I was curious to ask Blaze about touring all these years; do you still enjoy touring? “Oh Hell yes, It’s great. I’m chill…I enjoy myself on stage during the performance and afterwards! I like to talk to the fans! I do this for them, and I truly appreciate their support. I asked him how he normally prepares for touring? He states, in the past he would rehearse a lot, now it’s more of a mindset, taking care of myself and taking a couple of cats on the road with me. I take my man Lex, Trilogy and my Hype Man. Your fans want to know about the production on tour; who is responsible for the look and feel of the tour? Blaze states, most of the time it’s all me or my team which will bring stuff to me. I always welcome things when it comes to music or ideas. My team is on it!

I asked him to pass on his best advice on being an artist in today’s music industry. He states that you need to “keep working for real, get your shit out there, and lastly you need to know that progress is not always going to be a fast process.” Our last question for Blaze, where can we find your music? You can find me on all digital outlets and music store outlet’s, I’m also found on twitter and facebook and Instagram.

Thank you so much to taking the time to speak with us, we appreciate it. Good luck with your new album and your future endeavors.

Background:

Birth Name: Chris Rouleau

Origin: Mt. Clemens, Michigan

Genres: Hip Hop, Horrocore

Occupation: Emcee

Associated Acts: Dark Lotus, Insane Clown Posse, Twiztid, Anybody Kills, Drive-By, R.O.C to name a few.

Discography:

Blaze Ya Dead Homie (2000) – Phantom Zone / Psychopathic Records

1 Less G n da Hood (2001) – Psychopathic Records

Colton Grundy: The Undying (2004) – Psychopathic Records

Clockwork Gray (2007) – Psychopathic Records