I don't know. It's just something that, when I was younger, I gravitated towards. I wanted to play drums or keys or guitar or anything. I just wanted to play something, but then I never really got into that. At a young age, I got sucked into hip-hop and I was more about listening and hearing the beats which I was more up on, but I loved emceeing as well. I loved the cleverness of peoples' rhymes.  

Outside of that, I think it's just a good form of expression, you know? Just by making music you can portray any mood, just with a sound or music in a film during the thematic parts. That type of sound evokes emotion and can change the atmosphere dramatically or melancholic in a way. No matter what, you can express a certain feeling through music. That and it just sounds good. It can make you move. Minus the words, it makes you dance. With the words, it makes you think.  

That's definitely an interesting property that music has. Now, how has the transition been, going from primarily behind the scenes making beats and tracks to center stage as a primary emcee? Obviously, this is your second solo release, so it's a bit easier this time around I imagine. . .  

One thing I can say is that it's not difficult for me to work in the process. I usually like producing more and then vocally, when I'm rapping, I'm usually trying to find something to say. So if there's any topical things happening around in my life whether it's personally or just in the world, I could be drawn to writing something about it and it just naturally comes out. 

Overall, more of the problem comes in when I just want to work on the music or on some designs - I'm also a graphic designer - and I don't really want to rap, but I might get a request to be a feature on a song. It just might be the wrong time. It's not that I don't want to be featured on the song - it's always a good opportunity, especially with some of the groups that I've worked with recently and in the past - but there's times when it'll hit and I'm trying to focus on something else and it's like, "Ah man, I gotta write a rap now."  

(laughs)  

So, I might just want to chill out or I might have some other projects going on that I'm trying to focus on. I never really have an issue [producing and writing] for myself, it's just that when timelines run thin and I have to do both, then it can get a little bit frustrating. Finishing this record, it kind of got like that, but I remember I got something like five songs done in a week's time. I had a lot of them just sitting in my head and I knew I wanted to get them out. I just took the time each day to sit down and in one sitting, I wrote two verses for a song that only needed two verses and then one whole song and then a verse for another song. All in one sitting, like three hours. 

Nice.