STAT QUO
BILLY DREASE WILLIAMS
LIZA IRIZARRY
ASHLEY
JONATHAN DALYNN
Spotlight: Draft
CHAMP Magazine
The Boy Hollywood
CHAMP: What's Goodie Draft? What are you up to at the current moment?
Draft: At the current moment just finished the single called Kiss My Black Amex besides that just staying in the gym and staying productive. Working on the album and keeping it moving.
CHAMP: Now of course you mentioned the joint Kiss My Black Amex, which is a real catchy track and can appeal to the commercial audience as well. Was that your intention when you made the track or was that something that just happened by accident?
Draft: Well my intentions for the record actually came from a man by the name of Ben Kwitek and Ben came up with this idea and this whole concept with him and his buddies called the Kiss My Black Amex card and FREAK who produced it who also produced Amusement Park from 50 Cent and he co-produced Say Hello with DJ Toomp for Jay-Z. He was like I think you good and you can write a song about this. Like Kiss My Black Amex is a lifestyle and we wanna make it the new thing and its supposed to be for the black American Express card campaign and after they heard they wanted to promote it as a single so I was like whatever’s clever.
CHAMP: Now of course you hail from the City of Wind which is the home of Kanye,Kells, Lupe and many more. How much of an influence have those artists had on Drafts music and drive?
Draft: They've been around forever.Kanye West has been doing his thing for a long time and Lupe is someone who I personally like as an artist. To be honest alot of my influence came from jazz and old school r&b people like Donny Hathaway, Sam Cooke, and cats like that. I don’t consider myself a rapper I consider myself a musician or artist, I write hooks, R&B, I compose music, and I don't make beats… I produce!! There's a difference between producing and making beats. I produce and I compose. On the rap side Jay-Z, Big L, Jadakiss, I like Joe Buddens and T.I as well.
CHAMP: Now you use to go by the name of Scorpio and you changed your name to Draft?
Draft: Scorpio wasn't really my name per say. It came from something so random while hanging round my cousin and it kind of stuck till high school. Draft came from me being from Maywood/ Chicago. There's a bunch of hoopers out here and you had to be able to hoop to even have a successful social life and I use to think I was going to the league and when I realized I wasn’t making the league I said since I ain't making the draft pick in the league in basketball, I figured I'll make the draft pick in the rap game.
CHAMP: Now you had a family member in the game already and the business as well. What did you take away from him? Did he school you about the game that you can share with the people?
Draft: You talking bout my uncle. My uncle D definitely schooled me about the game and what to watch out for. I remember being 11 years old and him teaching me real business stuff like real business shit and industry stuff about royalties, publishing and all those things at an early age. From him having his own label, studio, I was kind of like a pest. When there was music around I was always watching from the sidelines awaiting my turn. I would ask a bunch of questions about the studio,engineering,mixing and etc. I was that dude and I kinda soaked it in.
CHAMP: On a personal note you later on would find out your family members were not related by blood and you had put the pen down in search for your biological father. How crazy was that and why didn’t you pen down your emotions during that period in your life?
Draft: That’s a real touchy subject for me even now. It happened when I was 14 and I’m 23 now. Even to today it’s still kind of a touchy subject for me but I learned that just because it’s not your family by blood doesn’t mean it’s not your family because that side of the family is the only family to this day that I got. My mothers side of the family is kind of non existent. My mother passed away two years ago. I wrote about it like two or three different times but I could never bring myself to want to put it out to the public. On my first debut album, it will definitely be a song on there about the whole situation and how it went down.
CHAMP: You eventually got back in the game and wanted to put in something that was missing from the game. What exactly was that?
Draft: Right now it’s missing the creative side and substance. I just wanna bring that whole era back to where I remember coming up in high school and if you wasn’t dope, you couldn’t rap. Now you could be mediocre. All you need is a nice hook and a nice beat and you good. My first album will be called The Concept, ‘cause every song is gonna be a concept. Papoose did the Alphabetical Slaughter and I got some things around that lane…. maybe not to that nature, but I got real stories, and I’m being real personal and clever.
CHAMP: One thing I noticed is that you got a thing where like every bar is a metaphor. Do you think you’re gonna run out like the past metaphor-known-rappers in the game?
Draft: I wouldn’t call myself a metaphor rapper. I like to be a clever rapper and witty, and try to say something that’s gon’ grab em. If I don’t do that then they’re not gonna pay attention and I’ma be like everybody else who I’m talking about.
CHAMP: If you can let the people know some of the projects you’ve come out with to date.
Draft: My first mixtape was Rookie of the Year Vol. 1 Hosted by Dj Lee Farmer, 2nd was Sophomore Season hosted by Dj BAMN of the Dirty DJs and both mixtapes did pretty well. I got my B-Side single out right now called “575” which the straight to youtube video for that should be coming real soon. It’s the B-Side to “Kiss My Black Amex”. It would’ve actually been the first single but we decided to make that the B-Side hood single instead.
CHAMP: What projects are you working on now?
Draft: Working on the album. Production from The Gift, Dangerous LLC, URK, SI and Styles. They also did “Hands Up” for Lloyd Banks and a whole gang of stuff. Production from Wild Beats. He did the 575 joint. I got majority production from Freak who did “Amusement Park” (50 Cent) and “Say Hello” (Jay-Z). I’m working with The Presidents in New Jersey. They sending some stuff out. I got like the first six or seven joints that will definitely be on the album and then I got like a few other. I’m working on my next mixtape I think I’ma call “The Idea”. I’m trying to also get some people you might know, like a Shawnna, Donny Goines, Fred Da Godson, Jada, Pleasure P, Glasses Malone and etc …
CHAMP: What else can we expect from Draft in 09?
Draft: I’m being played in Footlockers across the world right now. I'm being played twice every hour so that's like 22 times in one day and this is for my video Kiss My Black Amex. Also you know I got the twitter and I got my own website twitter.com/itsdraft and itsdraft.com and myspace.com/itsdraft and on facebook Im Young Draft!!
KISS MY BLACK AMEX - DRAFT
CHAMP MAGAZINE IS A CANADIAN HIP HOP PUBLICATION FOCUSING ON URBAN CULTURE, HIP HOP,ARTS, MUSIC, AND PRODUCTION
