Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the privilege to befriend a very noble and humorous individual who most people know as ROKnowledge “ROK”. I first met ROK at Pablo Sapien’s warehouse for a Dan Smack & Band rehearsal who was accompanying his sister Miss Monica. Later, as an acquaintance I saw ROK again at The Beat Studios where he hosts a local Phoenix, AZ Underground Hip Hop show named Rhyme & Reason Radio from 12a-2a every Saturday night. Through similar friends we’ve been able to work together with the Eighty Grand crew in organizing upcoming events and uplifting the Phoenix Hip Hop movement.
My friendship with ROK has grown over the weeks, going from a regular “hello” at the local venues, to giving consistent battery percentages on our phones with other fellow Eighty Grand crew members because we talk to each other so often on Ping (I WIN!!). Learning his dislikes, which include Nicki Minaj & Kanye West, as well as the first day of the week Monday. I’ve also been introduced to his likes, which have expanded my musical horizons, such as Portishead, Nas, Joe Budden, Wu-Tang, KRS & G Rap, but aside from music he also speaks about his beautiful family, his enormous friendship with his lovely sister Miss Monica & how much he loves his “kick back” Friday.
Recently I had the opportunity to question ROK about his life, poetry, music, friends & just random things that might interest another. When I received his responses, I became excited to share with you what a great person my friend is. His openness to these questions helped me better understand what he has been through and how compassionate he is, making him a great contribution to our lives. The best I can describe him, says it all in the name “ROKnowledge”.
Questionnaire by MayraE
Name? ROK/Roknowledge
Why do you call yourself ROKnowledge? My best friend one day just called me ROK, and it stuck. Simple answer, but it’s the truth. I also go by ROKnowledge and that came from the title of my joint on the self -titled album from The Society of Invisibles.
Born and Raised? I am a native of Phoenix, AZ. I grew up in Glendale, but spent a lot of time in Phoenix with my Nana and Tata.
Any Affiliations? I am one of the original members of The Society of Invisibles (TSOI) I also rep Cut Throat Logic, 80 Grand as well as Rhyme and Reason.
What has been your biggest influence to get involved with poetry/music? Music is something that has been a part of my family for a long time. My Tata was a huge music lover and I think that his love for music was passed on to me. Another big influence for me is hip-hop culture as a whole. I was instantly hooked upon first hearing old Run DMC and Beastie Boy records. From there my love of music continued to grow. I was pretty much that dude in high school oblivious to the world because I always had my Walkman on me.
As for writing/poetry, I didn’t take writing seriously until my senior year of high school. I can thank my English teacher for showing me that I had a way with words and from that point on I started to focus on bettering myself as a writer. Initially I did some reviews for some websites and that grew into me actually writing poems and progressing from there. On top of that I always enjoyed the ability to express myself and writing is a great outlet for me.
Any certain Generation Poets that you try to incorporate with? My biggest influences poetically come from Langston Hughes. I’ve been a fan for some time now. I also have an insane amount of respect for Saul Williams, Gil-Scott and Black Ice from Def Poetry Jam. For me hearing or reading these poets work inspires me to pick up the pen and do what I do.
Describe Soul Reflections. I hope you have some time. Soul Reflections was the title of my solo album that came out on 9/1/09. It was my baby so to speak and it took nearly 3 years to complete. I was fortunate enough to work with an incredibly talented group of producers from AZ called The Council Productions. The Council consists of LOST, Shogun, FLIP and Deuce Wilde. I initially approached LOST in late 05’ about working with them on an entire project and they were down. A little over 3 years later we released a body of work that I am extremely proud of and I believe it is unlike any other album that has been released in AZ. Soul Reflections is essentially a collection of pieces I wrote over the course of 3 years, however there are a couple joints in the record that are about 5 years old. In addition to my work on the record I was able to get some of my favorite artists in AZ to guest spot on the record. Guests include, DJ M2, DJ Grapla, Skunk One, Judgement of TSOI, Deonte of CTL, Blaze Rock, Hejus Trife, Mpress and LO. Content wise the album touches on a variety of subjects. I have joints where I’m telling a story, joints where I am for all intensive purposes flexing my pen game a little. There are also personal joints like “A Million Steps”. Over all I think there is something for everyone and I encourage folks to give the record a spin.
What gave you the inspiration to write Soul Reflections? What it a place or person? Why? There are various points of inspiration behind “Soul Reflections”. One of, if not my favorite joint on the record is a song called “ A Million Steps”. It is a something that I wrote about my nana that passed away when I was a freshman in high school. She was and continues to be a source of inspiration in all that I do. My mother is also a source of inspiration for me, her strength is something that I admire and she is beyond important. Also the desire to be heard really inspired me with this album. I wanted to give the people something different and I really dug deep to find the best pieces that represented me as a person.
Describe Hip-Hop’s motivation to you as a poet. For those that know me well, they know that Hip-Hop is one of the loves of my life. I have been hooked since I was a kid and my love has never faded. I have such a respect for the art of emceeing that I’m very conscious of what I say and very conscious of how I say it. There is a long-standing running joke that I am not a poet but a rapper pretending to be a poet. I don’t totally agree but I know that my style of writing and my delivery can lead people to believe I am a rapper and I’m cool with that. I’m just doing me and making the kind of music that I feel best describes me.
What encouraged you to be a part of the Underground Hip-Hop Community? Initially I rolled with a group of friends who all spit or made beats, that group was at the time called Pantheon, they later grew into TSOI. Being around them early on and going to shows or going to the lab with them really got me more involved in the scene out here.
Your thoughts on local artists? Anyone interesting to you? This is the kind of question that will get me in trouble, lol. Where can I begin? First off there are plenty of talented artists out here. On the flip side there are also plenty of artists out here who aren’t talented and have no business picking up a mic or an MPC. Not everyone can be a rapper; in fact if those are your dreams and aspirations you are in for a long bumpy road. I’ve been a part of the Hip-Hop scene out here for over 10 years and I have seen plenty of folks come and go. Very rarely does someone come along that has the staying power and it’s even rare to find someone who can actually break out on a national level. Stay in school kids!!!!
To answer the second part of your question, there are artists I am definitely a fan of. Those being Ocean, TSOI, CTL, 80 Grand, Pennywise, Mr. Miranda, N.O.S.E., VKG, LO, the list goes on and I can’t possibly list everyone.
Is there a certain cause that you support as an artist? The biggest cause that I support is the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation. The reason being my mother has CML. Back when I released “Soul Reflections” we did a huge release party at The Blunt Club and we donated the proceeds to the Foundation. It was very rewarding and something I look forward to being able to do again in the future.
How do you feel about music’s difference from the 1980’s till today? Time changes everything and when it comes to music that phrase really sums everything up. I look back on hip-hop from the 80’s and a lot of it had a feel good vibe to it. A lot of party records were made. If you look to the early and mid 90’s things became a little bit grittier. The “underground” started bubbling a little more and you had artists like the Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, B.I.G., NAS, etc all coming with something entirely different. The records became more of a narrative with artists telling stories about their block or the things they have seen. I look back on those times and realize how much has changed over the last 10-15 years or so. It’s crazy, but it’s also progression. I don’t hide the fact that I am an extremely jaded listener and I am def stuck in the mid to late 90’s when it comes to Hip-Hop. But honestly I’m ok with that, that time period defined everything that I love about hip-hop today.
First thing that comes to mind:
Wisdom? Knowledge.
Influence? Life. Is there any greater influence than that?
Guilt? Regrets!
Life? A journey that has no set path, what’s supposed to happen, will.
Future Projects/Releases? Currently I am in the early stages of working on my second album titled “ The Writers Guild”. This album will be entirely produced by LOST from The Council and will feature a few handpicked artists. In addition to that I plan to release a series of EP’s leading up to the release of the album. With those EP’s I plan to work with various producers and experiment with different sounds. Lastly I have plans to work on a poetry book that collects my writings from the past 10 + years.
Shows/Events? Well you can catch me every Saturday Night on The Beat 92.7/99.3 co-hosting Rhyme and Reason with my brothers Mattlocks, DJ Madd Rich and DJ Element. I also perform every now and then; anything I have coming up will be posted on my twitter page as well as my Facebook page.
Outreach? I am always more than willing to help out my community. In the past I have mentored a young man who was going through some tough times. I’m also always down to be involved in any charity event. Given back is something that I take a lot of pride in.
Any Last Motivation/Words for Your Readers? First off thank you for taking the time to read this and having interest in me. If you are interested in keeping up to date with everything that I am involved in follow me on Twitter @Roknowledge. You can also check out my blog site: http://www.roknowledge.wordpress.com. On that blog there is a link for you to download “Soul Reflections”. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. Peace.
