All Episodes

February 16, 2021 15 mins

In 2009, we talked to emcee and producer Pismo from Stockton, California. Whether as an artist touring extensively through Asia & Europe or as a producer/engineer creating music for radio, television and film, he has truly lived up to the moniker of being a true musical multi-talent.

We chat about hip hop in the Bay, producing for films like "Kiss kiss bang bang", the scene in Japan, the impact of technology in music, and the art of sampling.

You can find Pismo here:
http://pismoshou.blogspot.com/
www.instagram.com/pismoshou/ 
www.facebook.com/pismoshou
https://twitter.com/pismoshou 
 

Support the show

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Unknown (00:00):
What's up? Live from Switzerland this your man Pismo.

Welcome to S (00:08):
throwback edition.
Between 2004 and 2015, Iinterviewed many hip hop artists
and recently discovered some ofthe recordings in my archive.
We want to share a selection ofour favorites, and bring you
these throwbacks in between ourregular episodes.
Enjoy.

(00:35):
In 2009, I had the chance tochat with Pismo, an incredibly
talented emcee and producer fromStockton, California, who was on
tour in Switzerland promotinghis album called "Within
transition". Fast forward, Pismowill be releasing a new album
with a producer by the name ofMarcus D, in March 2021.

(00:57):
Therefore, we thought it wasonly fitting to dig into crates
and bring you his interview inthis week's throwback edition.
How did you get into hip hop?
What was your first interactionwith hip hop?
I guest my first, firstinteraction was way back at my
grandmother's house in Stockton,California. It was some of my

(01:20):
cousin's, they would likebreakdance to like Run DMC and
the Beastie Boys. And you know,I heard like Sugar Hill gang and
all that stuff and rappersdelight on the radio. But
that's, I think Run DMC was likewhen I was like, Whoa, this is
hot. And it just, you know, grewfrom there more and more.

(01:40):
And what inspired you to startrapping or producing?
my man Jaryan. When I was inhigh school, he called me like
seven o'clock in the morning. Iwas calling him the night
before, you know, and I couldn'treach him. Then like seven in
the morning. He calls me likewhen we're going to school and
he's like, Yo, man, I justrecorded a tape. And I was like,

(02:00):
What? He was like, yeah, I'mrapping on the tape. And I heard
his rap tape at school. And Iwas like, Yeah, I have to do
this shit. Like, I got to dothis. So I went and did a tape
after that. And from there, man,it was like crack. I was
addicted. As soon as I heard myvoice on the, you know, playing
through the speakers and, andthen also, when people were

(02:23):
reacting to my raps, it was justlike, Whoa, this shit is cool.
So that was it.
The whole Bay hip hop scene wasalways very hype, especially in
the 90s. Were you able toconnect with a lot of other MCs
or hip hop artists in general?
Yeah, like I'm originally fromStockton, California, which is
like an hour outside of the BayArea. But I went to college in

(02:46):
Hayward, which is in the BayArea. From there I met a lot of
different people, man, I reallyconnected with a lot of
different MCs, DJs, graffitiartists, b-boys, all that stuff
from the Hieroglyphics to povojunction to a whole bunch of
different people, man, crowncity rockers and Shingo 2 and a

(03:08):
lot of different MCs and bas oneprobably heard of him, he's been
in Europe for a minute. And theyjust accepted me into the family
out there. And I was so gratefulfor it, because you know, the
bay area has this thing. And forthem to kind of like accept me,
as family it was, I was thankfulfor that. So yeah, it was great.
Great times, man in the Bay Areain the 90s. It was a lot of

(03:30):
money, a lot of talent. Youknow, hip hop was alive and
well.
So now you moved out to New YorkCity. Why did you move?
I actually went with boss one toNew York right after 9/11. He
had a show with Zulu Nation, andthey put me on the show for the

(03:50):
Zulu Nation anniversary. So Iwent there and perform rocked in
front of you know, Africanlembata. You know, TC Islam, all
them and they was in love withour performance. It was like,
yo, who's these kids fromCalifornia. So from there, it
led to some other stuff this andthat. And I met this guy out

(04:11):
there that love my style, too.
And he just so happened to beworking in the industry of
television commercials and doingmusic for film and stuff. And
they started using me as a vocaltalent for TV commercials,
different things. And it justkept going from there to
eventually use in my productionas well. So I started producing
and and they were flying me backand forth, back and forth. And

(04:32):
the beginning of 2003 it waslike yo Pismo you need to just
move to New York, man, becauseyou got it going on here right
now. So I was like, Alright,I've been in Cali I did my thing
out there. So I moved to NewYork. 2003 and I've been there
ever since.
So you did a track for "KissKiss Bang Bang". How do you get
My man you probably heard ofScott Hardkiss. He's a well

(04:52):
to that?
nown DJ and they were callethe Hardkiss brothers, him a
d his Brother, they work withike, Cool Keith and stuff like
hat huge DJ in San Francsco in the 90s. He called me up
and basically was like, Yo, Im doing this thing for this
ovie, and I want you to comever and rap on it. And I was l
ke, yeah, you know, cool. So Iame over, we wrote some stuff
knocked it out. Next thingyou know, they wanted it for t

(05:16):
e movie, Kiss Kiss Bang, bang,where Robert Downey Jr, man.
nd I was like, yo, that's cool.
I got on the movie, I went to thmovie theaters by myself with
ome popcorn, snuck a beer in thre. And I was, you know, that
as amazing to hear, you know,hear my voice in the movie
That was a really good movie. Sonow you said, you're aiming to

(05:40):
come to Europe more to focusmore on your own solo project.
Yeah, like, I've been travelinga lot throughout Asia for the
last 10 years. I was in Japan alot. And that's, I think that's
my main market where a lot of mymusic sells. But I also had a
lot of music selling like inFrance and Germany. And I've
been wanting to get to Paris,and you know, Switzerland and

(06:03):
all these places over here inEurope. But it was just, you
know, at that time, I was on theleft coast, the West Coast. So
it was a lot harder to get thereat that time. But now I'm in New
York. So I plan on getting overhere a lot more and touching
people over here a little bitbetter.
So do you have any new projectsthat you're working on a new
album, or, in general?

(06:23):
I'm working on a coupledifferent things. Right now I
have a rare tracks remix albumthat's gonna be coming out real
soon. A lot of these deals arestill based out of Japan,
because that's where a lot of mydeals have been coming from
lately. But they will circulateworldwide. And also, I'm working
on a new album right now to I'mactually working on two new
albums. One that is singing andone that is rapping because I

(06:45):
sing as well. So Rarity albumwith remixes, a singing album
and a rap album.
For all our listeners, where canyou cop that?
It will be on iTunes for sure.
And the physical CDs, andhopefully vinyl, because keep
that shit alive, will becirculating somehow through the
Japanese market to Europe,because I know a lot of stuff

(07:07):
gets to Europe through Japan aswell.
I think Japan is a big marketfor a lot of underground hip hop
artists, like, for exampleSpeech from Arrested
Development. He also has a crazydemand in Japan. What do you
think what the reason is thatJapan has such a large demand
for underground hip hop?
I think the Japanese in generalreally have a lot of respect,

(07:32):
and knowledge about black musicin general. Like, in my travels
there, they just really know itand love it. You know, and they
just like the core of it, youknow what I mean? They love the
commercial side of it too. Butit's just a pure form of it that
they like, you know, when youhave people like that, and you
know, these other undergroundartists that go over there and

(07:53):
perform for these kids that youknow, they're just amazed. So
they love it. That's that's Iguess that's what it is. They
love my shit.
And what about the US market? Doyou think a lot of cats have
lost their perspective on like,the essence of hip hop?

(08:13):
The US has changed a lot becausemusic in general, it's changed a
lot everywhere. But the US it'sgotten a lot more commercialized
glamorized. Unfortunately, theunderground scene isn't as
vibrant as it used to be,especially with people of color
and stuff like that. The youknow, the suburban white kids

(08:34):
and stuff like that they'vereally into it right now in the
US, which I love. And you know,it's like, they're, they're the
ones honestly keeping it alive.
So that's great. But at the sametime, change is good like that.
Because, you know, it justbrings something new. So, yeah,
it's not what it used to be. Butsomething new is definitely
around the corner. And I want tobe in that shit. Like, for real?

(08:54):
Because I could I could smellit. It's coming.
So you think it's kind of like acircle that will come back?
Yes, music definitely goes incircles. It's just like the jazz
you know, the jazz shit. Youknow, it was poppin in the 30s
40s 50s a guy real slow for alot of jazz artists. You know,
10 years of that shit and and60s came around people started

(09:15):
fucking with acid and you know,whatever other shit they was
doing and miles and them wilingout and it came to this new
shit, you know? And a lot ofthose old school jazz people
were like, that's not real jazz.
But today, now we hold that shithigh, you know? So it's the same
thing with hip hop. It's like,you know, you got a lot of
people in the States. It's like,that's not hip hop. This is hip
hop, and it's new. That's all Iknow, new and fresh man. And,

(09:38):
you know, from this electro popshit to everything that's going
on. I love all that shit. Soit's just just changing. You
know, it's evolving.
Where do you see it evolve to,like, let's say in 5 or 10
years?
hip hop. It's getting moremusical. And that's something

(09:59):
I've always been pushed, which,you know, 10 years ago, he was
the sing on a rap song that wasconsidered wack. You know what I
mean? So now, you know, and I'vebeen singing out, you know, I
used to get some ridicule forthat sometimes. But now, if you
don't hear singing on a rap songis considered kind of weird, you
know, in the commercial world,and even the underground. So
it's getting more musical, like,you have to know how to play an

(10:22):
instrument now, or you got toreally understand music and you
know, the breakdown of a songand how structured and
everything else now, instead ofjust having a loop repeating
over and over and over again,and I just see it going more and
more in that direction. Peopleare gonna push, push the limit a
lot more musically.
Do you think that newtechnologies have helped that

(10:43):
movement?
It's helped it and it's hurt itbecause yeah, with the
technology, like you don't evenhave to know music, no more to
you know, to do somethingmusical, you could just slap a
loop in and you know, this andthat, which is cool, too.
Because it takes a lot know howto know what goes with what and
what doesn't go with what, but Isay to awesome kids out there

(11:04):
that never touched the MPC oryou know, a piano and they just
use Fruity Loops or whatever, goread a book and try and learn
learn a couple chords orsomething, you know, understand,
like chord progressions anddifferent kind of scales and all
that kind of stuff. Because itjust helps you know, it just
betters you, man. I'm makingtracks.
So what technology do you usewhen you produce?

(11:25):
I usually use logic. For themost part. I use everything
though. I got tons of analogequipment, tons of plugins. I
can't give you guys all mysecrets, but and I got a crazy
crazy personal, you know, samplelibrary. But logic is the center

(11:46):
of my stuff. Man Pro Tools iscool. I don't really use it that
much. My engineers and them theyuse it. But production wise
logic is it and I kind of runeverything through there.
So do you prefer to use samplesor to create your own melodies?
I'm getting more back intosamples. I was really just

(12:06):
playing a lot. You know, my lastalbum within transition. I use
some samples as well, too. Butit was incorporated with a lot
of plan. But now I'm gettingback into sampling a lot more.
Just to kind of keep it raw, youknow,
When you sample do you look morefor breaks or samples in funk

(12:27):
music or movie soundtracks? Orwhat direction do you look for
when you go digging for samples?
I don't really look, I justlisten. You know what I mean?
Like I'll just put a record on.
And I like it to naturally justkind of come. You know, like,
I'll hear very weird areas inthe album sometime. And I'll

(12:51):
piece the two or three partstogether. You know, I'll just
hear weird shit. Like, one timeI just like play the record
backwards forever. And I heardthis word, which I came up with
one of my songs on withintransition, and I don't really I
just listen. And if it hits me,man, if it hits me, right,
whether it's a brake, keyboard,Fender rose, whatever it is, I

(13:11):
got a lot of jazz albums andfunk and all that stuff. So it
doesn't really matter. Rock, allthat shit.
As you look at the differentelements of hip hop, do you
think they've separate lot likeB boys are doing their thing?
And they don't really have muchin common anymore with the MCs
or DJs? How do you see theelements connect or move apart?

(13:34):
Yes, it's not divorced, but it'sdefinitely separated as you
know, from what it used to bebecause money came into picture.
I remember it was very common,you know, growing up to see all
the elements together, you know,at any hip hop show, like it was
just if you didn't see it, itwas something wrong. Now you do
see, you know, in New York, Idon't know what happens here.

(13:54):
But in New York, they do have alot of hip hop shows that
incorporate like artist live artand in Japan they do that as
well. What's his name from Obey,Shepard Farley or whatever his
name is? So anyway, yeah, we wason tour with him and he was
doing that stuff. You know, theyincorporate that. But the
b-boys, you know, cuz people arelike dancing, so the b-boys are
in the way but with the youngerkids is still there a little

(14:16):
bit. The stuff I go to, it isstill there.
Do you have any promotions orshout outs you want to get out?
I just want to thank everybodyin Switzerland. It was great,
man. I had a show last night.
And that was it. Marker. Marker.
Okay. That was great. It wasreally nice. Everybody was very
receptive and cool. We have fun.
We party. We drank we smoke. Wedid all that shit. I want to

(14:39):
give a shout out to Sabrina, forhelping me out on all the stuff
she helped me out with. Thankyou for the interview. And, you
know, I'm coming back for sure.
Definitely with the new album. Iain't given that name out yet.
But also, if you want to keepupdates on me, check out

(14:59):
www.myspace.com/pismo . And youcan check my blog at
pismoshou.blogspot.com. And youwill get all types of updates
from me there.

(15:19):
Our theme music was beatbox byDenis the Menace and produced by
Zede. A big shout out to thebrothers from Switzerland.
The background music wasproduced by Taki Brano. A big
thank you to our broski fromProvidence. Our podcast
basically runs on coffee. Tokeep our show running. You can
support by buying a copy throughthe link in our show notes.

(15:41):
I am Candy. I'm DJ Razor Cut andthis is Souls of Hip Hop.
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
24/7 News: The Latest

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.