By Ahmad Awadallah

Planet Ill brings you Part Two of our interview with Mysonne. After breaking down his beef with T.I., life in prison, his relationships with 50 Cent, Game and Bang Bang Boogie, Mysonne kicks it into 5th Gear as he delves into his new documentary, the classic battle with E. Ness, French Montana, the Bronx and much more. Let’s get it.

Planet Ill: Can you explain Life Teaches & Reality Bites documentary and your goals for the video?

Mysonne: I just realized we’re in an individualistic era in Hip-Hop. People want to get in tune and feel the person. They want to that person to be accessible and real. So I made the documentary to show people parts of my life that they might not be aware or know. Like, people don’t know about my trial and my fall from grace. People have ideas and thoughts, but few people know the actual ordeal. So basically, it’s a documentary of my life from the beginning to now and the documentary is going to make my music easier to understand, because now you know my life and people can make a connection.

The documentary also serves as an intro to the people that might not know me. They might watch it and then listen to my music and be like, “Oh shit, the music coincides with the individual.” It’s like when I first watched Streets Is Watching, I became a fan of Jay-Z, because I seen him in a different light. People don’t buy the music anymore, it comes down to buying into the artist and their story.

Planet Ill: Do you still think you won that battle with E.Ness. Personally, I believe artistically I thought you were superior, but he was rawer, which I think won the crowd over.

Mysonne: Again, it’s another era in terms of everything, especially the battle shit. I’ve watched it over and over and I still think I was artistically better and now I know that crowd participation dictates a battle these days. Ness was the underdog in that battle and everyone was saying, I was going to slay and he was over before it even started. Even during the battle, I allowed the crowd to dictate my reactions.

I didn’t feel comfortable. I never been in a battle where parts of the crowd is booing me before I said something and that was confusing to me. After you hear boos then the anger starts to boil up and that just takes away from what you’re saying, because people just see you’re mad. The era we’re in now is all about the delivery and really don’t focus on your rhymes. There are times in the battle where I messed up, because I was mad and confused.

I’m not making excuses, because I take responsibility for that, but there is no way he beat me. It was no competition. My first round was better than every rhyme he said during that battle. The battle should have been over after that. To me, he wasn’t even battling, because I really didn’t take what he was saying as effective. It’s crazy, because after damn-near 4 years people still see me and say “Oh you won that battle” and others say “Oh you lost.” But that first round was classic and it was probably one of the best rounds and rap battles to ever take place. It set the bar for all the URL battles that are going on now and I am happy to be a part of it whether people say I won or lost.

Planet Ill: Do you see yourself doing another rap battle anytime soon?

Mysonne: Hell no man! I love the art and I am always around the battles. A lot the battle niggas are friends of mine, like Goodz, Aye-Verb, T-Rex and Math Hoffa and I always at the battles. I love the feeling of that type of competition. I peep all the battles and now that I’m more seasoned, I’ve prepared myself for whatever comes my way.

I don’t know if you ever experienced people booing you, but it really take a lot out of you. Even though you have home field advantage, when people boo it don’t feel like you’re at home and it feels like you up against the crowd as well, but now I know how to handle it.

Planet Ill: But you still won’t do a battle even with your new outlook?

Mysonne: Fuck no! It has to make sense to me if anything. Battle rapping has come to a point where if you are a battle rapper then you can’t make music. It’s like you’re type casted and now I’m more musically inclined. It’s fucked up, because some of our greatest rappers were battle rappers.

In the past, you had to be a battle rapper to get a deal and recognition. I was signed for my battle skills. I come from the era where DMX and Jay-Z went at it. Rap battles now are all about snapping on each other where in the past you never had to say anything about each other. It was about creativity and saying the hottest shit.

Planet Ill: Is your attitude still “Fuck XXL Freshman cover”?

Mysonne: Yeah I still feel that way, because to me, XXL killed the integrity on Hip-Hop. I was actually talking to The Source and I told them to do their own Freshmen cover to combat theirs. Most people aren’t aware of these new rappers and [XXL] being an authority in Hip-Hop puts Lil’ B on the cover. How do you promote that? It doesn’t make sense to me and it’s a mockery. No one even listens to the radio anymore. Its fucked up. Before you couldn’t wait to tune into such-and-such to hear new music and freestyles or whatever and nobody even cares any more.

Like now, the things that get the most attention are the things that are the most disturbing. Go to WorldStarHipHop right now and the funny videos and disturbing videos are getting the most hits. Someone punching a girl in the face or someone getting shot or something crazy is getting more attention than an artist post a music video. I realized people feed into that controversy.

Like right now, all the people are talking about Common versus Drake. People are going to buy Common’s album, because he’s talking about Drake. A guy like Common is getting a lot more recognition, because he’s beefing with Drake. It makes no sense to me.

Planet Ill: Why do you think the Bronx has struggled to unleash mainstream artists, whereas other boroughs have excelled?

Mysonne: Unity! That is the main problem. We had Fat Joe and Big Pun and then after Pun passed there is no one left and that was Bang Bang Boogie was stating Joe’s problem was. They wanted Joe to put out someone from the Bronx. Right now, we have Fred The Godson, French Montana, Cory Gunz, so why is it that we don’t have one song together.

There are people out here that are like, I fuck with Mysonne, I’m not fucking with French and vice-versa, but why can’t we all just hop on a track and make a Bronx anthem that’ll make the entire Bronx proud. Actually its funny, because I have a track I’m about to release that feature me, Cory [Gunz] Fred The Godson and French Montana. I’m just waiting of French’s verse. We took the “The Bridge Is Over” beat and we redid it and it’s called “We Taking Over.” The shit is crazy. Everyone in the X is going to bump that shit, because we never had an anthem in so long. We never had an anthem since “Uptown Baby” with Peter Gunz and Lord Tariq. That shit is still ill to this day. Anytime they put that in the clubs Bronx niggas go crazy and we don’t that no more. This track is going to restore some pride in the X.

Planet Ill: Speaking of French Montana, he is poised to be the next big thing from the Bronx since Big Pun. What do you think about him spearheading the Bronx’s resurgence?

Mysonne: All I can say is as a person, his grind is impeccable. I seen him grow from the ground up. I love his music and he’s a good friend. Now I love his music, but some of his music is not for me; it’s a different wave. Like “Chopper Down” is for me , but some records I can’t get into, but he figured a way to capture the young people and the streets and I have to salute that.

Every time I see the nigga, I tell him I’m proud of him and to keep up the good work, because I remember when he was running around struggling and now he’s hot.

Planet Ill: Do you have a title for your debut album and when will it to drop, because we need that?

Mysonne: I don’t even know yet, because my first album was supposed to be called My Documentary, but now I have to change that up. Just note that it’s going to be classic. In this day and age there is no such thing as a fucking set date (Laughs.) It’s up in the air. You just have to drop in good time and when appropriate.

Planet Ill: Anything else on the horizon we should look out for to hold us off until the album?

Mysonne: I have the documentary. I have a mixtape with DJ Scream called Definition Of A G Pt.2 about to drop in a couple weeks or so and me and Green Lantern are going to drop Autobot Vol.2 in a month, so expect big things from Mysonne this year.

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