I’ve always heard “Where there’s ‘Smoke' you are bound to find fire”, and this artist has proven that to be true. Smoke, originally from Oklahoma, is one of hip hop’s rising artists. Years of rap under his belt, Smoke’s musical talents range from drums to the piano, which he picked up from his mother who was musician. He said he use to sit and listen to her and her friends play, thus adopting the love of music. Smoke’s ingenious lyrics and amazing freestyle will take you on his hip hop voyage and have you falling back in love with an art form that many thought was dead.

YM: How and when did you become “smitten” by hip hop and what has music in general been to your life?

Smoke: I suppose I fell in love with hip hop when I first heard Lakeside’s “Fantastic Voyage” “…Hey come on. Come on take a ride. It’s a party in the air and it aint no lie…or jive”…or something like that. I’ve slept since then. But when I first heard them all start rhyming I thought I was going to lose my mind. From that point anything hip hop took precedent over any other genre. My mother played keyboard in a jazz band called Touch. She also played organ for her church…a catholic church. So for me it was the best of both worlds. I got to witness the intricacies and exploration of the fundamentals, as displayed by Handl’s “Messiah”, as well as the liquidity of The Solo adlib. So I guess other than being captivating, and my life’s blood, music hasn’t really been that influential in my life.

YM: When is your latest cd "Zodiac" schedule to be released?

Smoke: The cd is scheduled to be out by the end of August.

YM: Is this your first cd as a solo artist? Also, what artists and producers did you work with on the upcoming album?

Smoke: No, I have had other projects. My first project was produced by Bruce (DJ Bad) Dungee for Bad Idea productions. Then there was the album called “Get Back” featuring Sleep, and my first solo project was “40 Hours". Sleep, Slo, Koont are the 3 producers. I got collaboration (Juke Joint) with Just One and Revis Mitchell did all the mixing.

YM: I listened to the cd and I really like the music and the sound. New school with an old school sound. My favorite is “Mo Betta”. What is your favorite song on your cd? Or do you have a favorite?

Smoke: Actually I don’t have just one, I have 2. Juke Joint, which has a bluesy 1920’s sound and Saturday Night Krush.

YM: What do you expect for audiences to get from your message?

Smoke: My message to my listeners is simple…listen and enjoy. I’m not consciously trying sending a message. This project has bloomed into one where the music is made for its own sake, not for any other reason…not to see how much money it might generate or to let people know what a bad ass I am. It’s just meant to sound good, so you can feel good…what up “J”.

YM: What is your take on choosing to be an Indie artist versus being on a major label?

Smoke: I can’t really speak on being an industry artist because I’ve never been one. However there is a certain luster about being an “Indie” artist. The largest perk being creative freedom. When nobody’s heard of you, you can “be” whoever you want, (within reason). There is no standard…so there is no box. So I can think how I want and create what I want, without having to be subordinate to anyone. You got to love that.

YM: Is there any artist out there that you would like to collaborate with or work with in the future?

Smoke: Casme`, Losiel, Ludacris, Jay-Z, Scarface, The Brat, John Legend. You never can tell. Just depends on my mood. No jerks or young boys though.

YM: What is your recipe for success?

Smoke: 1 part devilishly good looks, 3 parts personality and charisma, 10,000 parts dope M.C.

YM: What type of impact and efforts would you like to make to support your community?

Smoke: Literacy is my thing. If I could set up, participate in, or finance anything that has to do with people getting their “read” on, from early learning to the functioning illiterate, then I’m game. Holla at your boy!

YM: Where do you see yourself in 5- 10 years?

Smoke: I want to be successful and extremely comfortable. I want my family to be well taken care of. I want my wife not have to worry or have financial concerns and I want my children to have the best. In 5 years I would like to have my 3rd album under my belt.

YM: Who are your role models, people you look up to?

Smoke: Barak Obama. If he can take care of the country, his two girls and his wife, then my black ass ain’t really got an excuse to bitch about anything. I am also a huge fan of Samuel Jackson. I like the fact that he has made a name for him self in Hollywood and still keep it 100. He has conquered his past; he is a hell of an actor and stayed true to self. Also pianist Ahmad Jamal. Wicked. He loves what he does, and has mastered it. The fact that he is so talented and he is so good, that when he plays, he just plays and waits for the rest of the band to catch up. When he plays it seems so effortless.

YM: Any inspirational words for the YUR Magazine readers?

Smoke: Don’t stop what you do. You can do anything you put your mind to and always have a back up plan. Plan B.