Jesse Dangerously Interview: SXSW 2010

Rapper Jesse Dangerously, who originally hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia, will be making his second appearance at SXSW in March. The latest of his five solo releases is 'Verba Volant,' Latin for "words fly." Currently unsigned, Jesse Dangerously has toured the US and Canada and was previously voted Best MC in The Coast's "Best of Music" reader polls. Spinner caught up with the Ottawa-based rapper on his prep for the journey down south with his crew.

Describe your sound.

It's indie rap, it's hip hop. It's very informed by traditional and avant garde hip hop elements. So, I guess it sounds really nerdy.

What exactly is this "nerdcore" genre people associate your music with?

I think the whole "nerdcore" connection began when I was a guest on the song, 'Nerdcore Rising,' on MC Frontalot's album. That's when people started calling it a movement or genre or whatever it was. And I guess I'm a person with nerdy traits – like playing video games, reading comics and being into computers. It's nerdy in contrast to what people think as typical macho hip hop. So, I'm associated with it, but it's not where I get my ideas from.

How did you get your start as an artist?

I just always loved hip hop. I started in 1996 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Contrary to what people might think, it actually has an amazing hip hop scene, especially in the '90s. I'd been listening to [the genre] for about seven years at that point and started finding out how to make beats. I got a 4-track and began recording tapes in my parents' garage. It wasn't until the late '90s that I started playing shows, because by then I was old enough to get into clubs. Since then, I slowly tried to build it up brick-by-brick. I don't think I was driven until about 2002, when I began to feel like what I was doing was as good as it sounded in my head.

What are your musical influences?

I'm a really voracious listener. It's really broad, but if I had to narrow it down, I'd say Master Ace, Buck 65, Radiohead, Fu-Schnickens, DAS EFX, and Organized Konfusion.

How did you come up with your name?

There was this 1984 comedy/gangster movie, starring Michael Keaton, called 'Johnny Dangerously,' and I thought it was pretty funny when I was a kid. I knew I wanted to have my real name in my stage persona, so I thought, "Hey, let's throw an adverb in there and it might be as funny as the movie." I switch it up sometimes. Lately, it's Rap Legend Jesse Dangerously.

Rap Legend Jesse Dangerously? Don't you think that's a little much?

I figure if I start calling myself a legend now, people will just believe it later. The arrogance of hip hop is always fun for me to play with, making outlandish claims of prowess. Kanye West, for example – people hate on him for his antics, and I just can't. It's rap tradition to aggrandize yourself as much as possible, and he's just working within that idiom. It's mostly really funny, though yeah, he was a little mean to Taylor Swift.

What's your biggest vice?

I don't ever drink or do drugs or get intoxicated, so it's between spending money I don't have on vinyls and eating like a teenager.

What's in your festival survival kit?

My festival survival kit are my homies I'm bringing with me from Canada, homies who already live in or near Austin, and a list of barbecue joints as long as my arm. Supplemental sustenance from roadside cupcake vendors. Anything else I can build from my Boy Scouts MacGuyver badge or do without.

Who was your first celeb crush?

Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

I don't believe in that. If you like it, just like it. The only thing that really makes me feel guilty in music are songs that actually have content that offends my politics, like really sexist or homophobic lyrics by the artists I love.

Beatles or Stones?

The Beatles, by far! I mean, come on, don't even do that. The Stones are good artists and very successful, but they're so much more derivative. It's a huge topic in my house. My mom loves the Stones, and we've had it out. Her loyalty to them is saddening.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

I was in Guelph, Ontario, and it was my first time on tour with my Backburner crew. After a house show, we went to get some food, and it was about the time where the streets were awash with drunk college-aged males. So while we were waiting for our pizza, this guy shambles up to us and asks, "You guys got some weed?" We told him no, we're from out of town, and he asks us where. We say Halifax, Nova Scotia, and he says, "Nova Scotia?!" He turns around to his friends in a giant black SUV and says, "Hit the music!" And they start blasting this traditional Nova Scotian song -- only we realized this meant he wanted to fight us. We decided to diffuse the situation by doing a jig, and that just confused him. But it was the weirdest night.