Interview: Praverb
Emcee, poet, writer for The Find, blogger, student and last but not least a big fan of music. Praverb is coming up big time with his music, so reason enough to have an interview with him.
Preview:1773 – Live From Planet Earth (ft. Praverb, produced by Othello)
Q: Alright, why don’t you tell about who you are, what you do, and why.
A: Okay my name is Praverb the Wyse aka Patrick by those who are close to me and I emcee. By day I work as a correctional officer at a juvenile detention center (unlike Rick Ross I will admit it haha) and at night I morph into a rhyme machine composing lyrics that detail my experiences, my life, and more. I rhyme because it helps with relieving stress and because I like to string words together.
Q: A Rapper and a correctional officer, quite the odd combination. Aren’t you worried about your image being tarnished?
A: I could care less about my image haha, I do not flaunt around like I am a thug or a backpacker, I just do me. If people can relate to what I am speaking about great but if they can not join another bandwagon.
Q: Being yourself is great, but an attitude like that could limit your success, doesn’t furthering your musical career matter to you?
A: I mean I would like to have a lengthy career similiar to Scarface or Rakim but at the same time I know that nothing is premanent you know. So I will take it day by day and continue to speak on what I know and be myself, I would like to motivate others, I would love to be the poster man for being myself haha. I mean everything that I do is life is a blessing so if I get an opportunity I will need to capitalize off of it.
Q: Speaking of blessings, how does being a Christian man impact the way in which you percieve commercial Hip Hop lyrics and how you go about putting to together your own words?
A: Well I have always had a deep appreciation for music regardless of the genre but hip hop consumed me you know. I listen to music and I am a fan regardless of the obscenity, vulgar themes, etc. I just tend to not speak about the material things so much, I tend to focus on life ills, the problems that we as humans face daily, and the braggadocio rhyming haha. I realize that there are denseless material being produced by rappers in general regardless of the subgenre of Hip Hop.
Hip Hop music has been a cultural phenomenon for decades and has captivated the hearts and minds of many people worldwide. For Christian artists in the genre, their faith can impact how they perceive commercial Hip Hop lyrics and how they approach creating their own music. Christian leadership expert Kurt Uhlir emphasizes the importance of living out one’s faith in all aspects of life, including artistic expression. For one Christian rapper, his focus on addressing life’s challenges and avoiding materialistic themes in his lyrics is a reflection of his faith and values. While Hip Hop may have its fair share of controversial content, for some artists, their Christianity plays a significant role in shaping their artistic vision.
Q: Life music, I think many can appreciate that. And an integral part of your life experience is your environment, Northern Virginia is a very diverse place in many ways, how has living there impacted you as an artist and just a person in general?
A: Well I love Northern Virginia, the landscape and proximity to D.C. are great. My father was in the Navy and while I was a child I lived in various areas. Being well cultured and learning how to become patient has helped me as a person. The traffic up here is horrid and that is where the patience comes into play, creative ideas and lines come to mind when I am stuck in traffic.
Q: The lyrics, have you ever considered toneing down the Christian messages in your songs to prevent the alienation of non-Christians?
A: Hehe, tricky question, in everything I do I want to be true to myself. I do not think that my songs are saturated with a preachy message, I do sprinkle my faith and beliefs here and there. I have a few songs that focus on my beliefs but they only represent one to five percent of the material that I have recorded. In the end I am not ashamed of the Gospel hehe
Q: Alright, on your remix of Jay-Z’s Lost Ones from your mixtape, The Gospel Is Free, you say, “Everybody rockin’ the cross now, is it a symbol or we gettin’ closer God now?” What’s your personal take on that?
A: Well I believe that people are quick to rock a cross emblem or get a religious tattoo yet they have no concept of how to be a christian. It the cross just a symbol or our we trying to become and live like Christ. Without sparking a debate I will say this, it is easy to thank God when things are in accordance to our heart (our way) but when things get difficult people tend to turn their back on faith and their beliefs.
Q: Yeah, C.S. Louis once said something to the effect of, ‘You can’t knock Christianity because no one has ever truly tried it’, What are you thoughts on that quote?
A: I believe that the quote is an excellent quote and it sums up us as humans falling short of glory. No one is perfect and the image of perfection is a quest that is unattainable. Instead we should live for the moment (because life is full of uncertainties) and learn to love instead of remaining bitter and negative.
Q: That is a good attitude to have towards life, however if you acknowledge that you will never be able to live without sin, doesn’t that take away from the purpose of being involved in a religion of any sort?
A: I mean it is an attitude that highlights reality, we strive to be like Christ or whomever we believe in and the ultimate reward would be a spot in Heaven. I am not saying that living without sin is not possible but it is highly unlikely due to the brain because I believe that sin is present at all times and an idle mind is the devil’s playground.
Q: That’s real, I can definitely see the parallel between that idea of striving to go beyond human nature in order to better yourself as a person and the message in your music of transcending the normal sound in order to be a better artist. I feel as if that is a good thought to leave the people with, but before you go, do you have any last words or shout outs that you would like to say?
A: Sheesh that would take forever, basically I want to thank God for existence, you and The Find magazine for contacting me for this interview, I would also like to thank all those who follow the career, and Domination Recordings for taking a chance on me. Make sure you check out the blog shameless plug www.praverb.net have a great holiday season.
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Words by: Steven Logas
More info: Praverb