b.ware presents... The Red Tape Chronicles

If you haven't heard of Atlanta based hip-hop artist b.ware; you will soon. Who is b.ware you might ask.? b.ware is an artist with an unique style and the rare ability to infuse a positive message into his music without sounding "preachy". b.ware started rapping about 5 years ago and achieved success while in college releasing two promotional CD's; The Quad and Reality and Rhyme.

While in college, he decided that music was his calling and left school to pursue music full time. b.ware presents...The Red Tape Chronicles is b.ware's first release since he made his life altering decision. Though he has released some of his music, b.ware considers this to be the start of his career. I recently had the chance to ask b.ware about his new mixtape and his future plans. After reading the interview click here to download your copy of b.ware presents... The Red Tape Chronicles.

Henry Duncan: When did you decide to become a hip-hop artist and why?

b.ware: i started rapping in late 2005 after a then associate, another rapper by the name of NoTiQ, pretty much forced me to hop on a lil song with him. i just recorded here and there while toying with the idea until i landed a Black Greek step show headliner. it was February 23, 2008. my decision to get serious came out of several factors. the process of putting together a 30 minute or so show with full stage lighting, the content of my music and it's great reception by the audience, the feeling of performing live, and the fact that i was able to plug Malcolm X's assassination anniversary, which was 2 days prior, relate him to what became hip hop, and also plug W.E.B. Dubois's birthday, which is February 23rd. oh, and i got paid pretty handsomely for my first headlining show. in my mind, here was proof that i could artistically pull off something Black music had never seen, feed my people information vital to our thriving, and make a living making substantive hip hop. rap music is the vocal chord of our youth, and an important part of the Black experience in America if you can gain respectability and popularity as a rapper, you can win the undivided attention of millions of young Black people. that did it for me... and I've always been a lover of the music, too, of course.

"you can expect to get to know b.ware, first and foremost. everything i say comes directly from my heart." - b.ware

Henry Duncan: As a young artist what advice can you offer those that want to become a hip-hop artist like yourself?

b.ware: that old cliche: be yourself. but i'll take it a step further. you have to find out who you are before you can truly have a unique brand. some of the most successful rap acts in the past 20 years, Snoop Dogg, Biggie, Outkast, Jay-Z, 2Pac, DMX, Eminem, 50 Cent, Kanye West, Nas, Common, T.I., Jeezy, Lupe Fiasco, Lil' Wayne. all these guys have 1 thing in common: none of them sound remotely similar to one another. all the copy cats that bite styles from these guys have short careers. lyricist or not, the strength and one-of-a-kind quality of your brand determines a lot. artistic growth, too... it's the key to longevity. find your own voice, your truth, and speak it with unyielding conviction.

Henry Duncan: What can one expect when they listen to b.ware presents...The Red Tape Chronicles?

b.ware: you can expect to get to know b.ware, first and foremost. everything i say comes directly from my heart. expect a spirit of rebellion and aggression that isn't too prevalent in hip hop these days. i ain't really a jokey-joke type nigga... i feel i have something urgent and potent to say. i'd also advise to expect the unexpected, because this joint probably isn't what you think it is.

Henry Duncan: In a few of your songs you mention problems that plague the Black community, however many people believe we have entered a "post racial" era here in America. Listening to your music, it seems you disagree, why?

b.ware: firstly, the people who i'm talking to, from the grimiest gutter to the college classroom, these Black people know better than that. some in the upper echelon especially, may be hesitant to speak out, but we all know what it is out here. that "post-racial" garbage comes particularly from those who tried to dupe us when Obama was running, and when he was elected president. but as long as we live in a police state in our communities, as long as our public schools fail our children, as long as unemployment rates are low and there are drugs and guns destroying the masses of us... while we live under a government that's supposed to grant us full citizenship, you can't say post-racial to me. the result of the unwillingness of the local, state, and federal government to do what was/is necessary to solve problems they created in our communities has forced us to have to do what should have been done for us, as so-called american citizens, for ourselves. it's time to stop "demanding" and get to banding together and doing for ourselves. whatever we do get, making our so-called demands to the government, will never be what we truly need. our energies and talents can be better spent elsewhere. i do expect those who know among us to put away their cowardice, turn off that “Love they have for this country”, and turn their Love to their people. we need our own shit, in a nut shell, and we have to get it. that's what's best for us. that's freedom. contentment, peace, all that.

Henry Duncan: What do you believe are the top 3 problems that Black people need to overcome?

b.ware: fear of trying, fear of what white people will do when we stand up and speak and act out, and ignorance. most of us don't believe we can have a nation of our own, for instance. If you believe that, you're spiritually dead. many of us believe if we make real strides towards independence, white america and it's government will crush us. this type of thinking is a result of ignorance. lack of knowledge. there is a knowledge out here that can heal every disease in our communities. it takes a level of sacrifice to acquire it many of us aren't willing to make. once again, that too is a result of our lack of knowledge... our ignorance, that depresses the amount of Love and compassion we have for our people. it even depresses our ability to think of ourselves as a people, rather than individuals unrelated to one another.

"...i just want to work amongst my people with their trust and belief that i'd choose death over selling them out." - b.ware

Henry Duncan: At the start of your song "If You Believe" you quote from the book The Alchemist. What is your Personal Legend and where are you in your journey to accomplishing your Personal Legend?

b.ware: i don't know what it is, i'm just living life in preparation for death. meaning i'm living so full, so free, that when the reaper comes i'll be ready to go, i wont be afraid. i believe this is the best way to live to discover your Personal Legend. it's not a thing you can locate, it's the overall journey. i'm 24 years in in accomplishing it. God-willing, when it's all said and done and my physical is gone, my spirit and my ideas will have their place in the consciousness of the world forever.

Henry Duncan: In the description of your mixtape you state "b.ware presents... The Red Tape Chronicles is the start button to your career...this is phase 1". What are you trying to accomplish with your music and what's the ultimate goal?

b.ware: with the music, i want to talk to my people. sitting at home working a 9 to 5, i can't get to my people like i personally want to. i want to have a real conversation, over and over, about everything we go through, with as many Black people and youth in particular that i can. we have much to discuss and learn and do, together... and really just have some real shit dialog, uncut, uncensored, informal, and void of red tape. when it's time to stop making records and pass the torch to the next generation, i just want to work amongst my people with their trust and belief that i'd choose death over selling them out. my life plan is to develop us, spiritually and mentally. if we increase that, we'll have all the tools we need to develop our own political and economic program so we all can thrive. who knows what america's fate will be in the near to distant future? all i know is, we must survive, should this country fall. we can't go down with it. think about that. i feel like i'm just carrying on tradition.