INTERVIEW : Pop Off Central Interviews Sosick - ''Sicker Than Average''

On a cool Sunday morning, Pop Off Central interviewed the maverick producer Sossick who has crafted hits for the likes of Shank (Julie), Eva (I Done Did It) and made artistes such as Gino and Da Grin into household names. The humble beat crafter while beating the crap out of a lot of folks on Mortal Kombat in his crib told us all about what he is working on right now, what his brother Gino has been up to, Eva and why he hasn't watched the Da Grin movie. Relax and read folks. Amateurs learn from a pro.  

Pop Off Central- So boss what’s next? We heard two singles last year so what’s next in your game plan? 

Sossick- Right now I am working on the album, putting in mad work plus the videos. I am just basically trying to create the hype, separate the artiste from the producer right now. I just want people to know that there is something different, something fresh that is coming out. Sossick is in charge right now, that’s what it is.

Pop Off Central- You have been producing for a while now but it seems people are beginning to recognize how dope you are. You won the Best Producer award at the Sound City Awards in 2010 and quickly followed that with another win at the Future Awards early this year. Why do you think the recognition is coming now? 

Sossick- In the beginning it was like I was ahead of my time sound wise. I was always experimenting and I just won’t settle for less. A lot of people were very comfortable doing what they were doing, I wasn’t comfortable. When you are different people might not accept you immediately but eventually when they see where you are coming from, when they tap into that your own stream, into that your own well…I will rather be different than be dope. You feel me? ‘Cos when you are different you stand out.  It took a while but soon as it clicked I only became the only person with the style. 

Pop Off Central- Would you say your turning point was when Da Grin’s CEO album came out? 

Sossick- I will say that, yeah. However there was a turning point before the turning point. It was something that led him (Da Grin) to me and it was the fact that he listened to Gino’s album. He bought like 5 copies of that album and bumped all the tracks. Gino’s album was the starting point for me, Da Grin just took it to the next level and he had that street cred. So it was him and Gino not even Julie that I produced for Sh

ank.  

Pop Off Central- Speaking of Gino what is he up to now? 

Sossick- Gino is putting his album together. Of course I am involved. He is shooting his video for his single I’m So Fly. It’s going to be a dope video so he is basically working to push that out while we finish work on the album and also prepare for other videos as well. It’s like the year of the MOBB. We are putting stuff out. Gino is planning that comeback like… the plan is just major. 

Pop Off Central- Which other artistes are you working with right now? 

Sossick- If not that the major focus right now is Gino’s project, everyone is rallying round to support but still we have people on the side. We have Eva, we have Maheeda. You know, I am carrying everyone along. We have Young Sauce. Those are people that are on the team for now. Everybody has something to offer; somehow everyone has a story to tell. When I look at an artiste, I don’t look at how dope you are or might be. No, I look at you from a very real sense of view, how real you are how what you do connects and relates to your music, you are not faking it. It helps me when I want to make a beat because this person has a story or a personality. That’s what I like to translate into the music. I don’t want to know how dope you are, I don’t want to know how many punchlines you have, it won’t still make it the best music but when you can make music that tells your story and what you are about and you are consistent with, that’s what I look at. I don’t do fake music. 

Pop Off Central- Eva is really buzzing right now. How did you hook up with her? 

Sossick- The first time I met her was on the set of Owo ati Swagger remix. We just talked for a bit and talked on working together. That was like two years ago. Then later we met somewhere else at an event then we exchanged contacts finally. She came by the studio one day and we were vibing and there was that chemistry. Her verse on that song…I used to brag, I used to piss some other people off just talking about her verse. They would be like “fuck you and your Eva men” and I would be like just watch out this girl is crazy. We agreed to do her album. We have a couple of singles recorded already but I Done Did It was the first song. She was skeptical about that record first. Yo me I’m about that music, as I said you might some other songs where you had more bars, heavy bars and punch lines. The Eva that I know, that I can see…I Done Did It just worked. We put that out and the response has been mad and we are working on a very dope video for it. 

Pop Off Central- Now are we going to see more of Sossick the artiste or will you go 50/50? 

Sossick- It can’t really be fifty-fifty anymore because I have given a whole lot to Sossick the producer. I have given a lot of time to that and it has been good. A lot of people know me as Sossick the producer not many people know that I sang on Ghetto Dreams or Make Dough which means that they don’t know me as an artiste. If I am going to introduce them to that part of me I can't do fifty-fifty. It would probably be 70-30. 

Pop Off Central- Just like Kanye West? 

Sossick- Yeah Kanye West, I am following his blueprint. Basically his format is what I am using. I am going to be doing collabos, jumping on people’s songs so that people can know I am bringing something to the table. Everybody knows when Kanye West came on board he brought something to the table, that’s what I am looking at. If anybody can pay me enough during that time of course yeah I will produce but the focus right now is me as an artiste. I have something to say always had. 

Pop off Central- Since Da Grin died a lot of Yoruba rappers are coming out. Which ones are you feeling right now? 

Sossick- I have some underground ones. It’s unfortunate sometimes in the industry that you find some people that are really good but they are underground with no one to support them. Then you find some acts and they are the ones with all the support. I’ve heard a couple of underground guys. I have heard Venom who is on that sick, sick tip, I really don’t have a problem with Olamide, and he is cool. As a matter of fact he was like the first Yoruba rapper that I listened to after Da Grin that I said yeah, he can actually flow. That was when I heard that his single E ni Duro back in the day way before they shot the video. I felt he could rap. A couple of them like that, Seriki is trying as well. Nobody can deny where the inspiration came from, the source, and the guy that gingered them. They might have been rapping like that before but Da Grin was the guy that gave them hope. Guys are doing bad sha. There’s this other guy Buster, the dude is tight too. Since Da Grin passed a million guys that rap in Yoruba have come my way whether it’s on Facebook or Twitter. They keep telling me that I rap just like Da Grin. It’s unbelievable, there is this dude Dasor. I am somebody who has worked with Da Grin like a lot but when I listened to Dasor I didn’t know it was him. I had no idea it wasn’t him. That situation kinda shook me like that is this possible, is this for real, is this someone else? It was just unbelievable; I have never heard anybody sound that Da Grin-ish. His own was just too mad. I wish all of them luck