[King Ra.]

Writer's Block: Certain & Vulgar

VULGAR: Hiya Certain. I figured I'd start off the Writer's Block this week by asking you to expand on what makes your style yours. You strike me as a "formula works" type of a guy, someone who's carved out of the English language a comfortable table to reside over and mix literary chemicals together. I find your style evocative, though sometimes it can be dry. How different was Tha Talent's writing back then compared to how it is now?


CERTAIN: I don't think I have a formula. If you look at my four verses from the last Art of Writing League playoffs, I had a traditional narrative story heavy on dialogue against PancakeBrah, followed by a sequential character sketch portrait of a family written in paragraphs against oats, then an abstract take on mourning against King Ra. before my art criticism against YDK. Then I opened this season with a fleshed-out dystopian future parable against Frank and now just posted an action-filled verse against dead man.

My goal any time I compete is to come up with an approach that will fully encapsulate the topic. There are elements of my style that don't change much. I prefer to at least come close to the grammatical standards of prose and don't use a whole lot of slang, outside of dialogue. But what's set me apart even since I was Tha Talent was my versatility. I've never felt like I can beat the best of the best on their best days, but I'm consistent and malleable.

Obvious, being younger then, I was a bit more loose about a lot of things as Tha Talent. But I always did mold my writing style around my content. I had a verse, here, that was sort of an inspirational piece about effort and tried to mold the flow and rhyme scheme to be sort of stop-start. Then I had another about a young ballerina, here, that I took pride in because of the way it built to crescendo. Then there's one about domestic violence, here, where I backed off and told the story a bit removed. My writing's improved since then, as I think we all have. The spelling and grammar was terrible in those verses, and I'm better at blending rhymes without forcing now. But the roots of my current writing were clear then, too.

Turning the tables, I'm just now getting a look at what you wrote in Week 1. I don't think you've necessarily had some big shift because you've always been willing to step outside your hallmark index of obscure references and historical breadth. But there's definitely a greater desire to appeal to the masses in some of your more recent writing. What led you to that change? You certainly were successful with the style you're known for.


VULGAR: Reflecting on what you said about your style, you should be respected for your durability, and I do think you can beat the best writers on their best days - as long as you have your best day as well. If "mastery" of this art is an achievable goal, your head in the game might contribute to the acquiring of it. No reason to live in a necropolis hospital where you're constantly recovering from dead inspiration drives. Alas, you champed the last season, I'm just being hard on you because you're an editor for a living.

About my style being more accessible so far this season, I'm really trying to gain access into the minds of anyone who reads my work - from the every man to a billionaire. It doesn't matter who the person is, I want them to "get" something from the information I put out there. Lately, recently, or forever, the style I write with is pure thought babble but I write with conviction due to my own mental capacity for bizarre, imagery-laden output. I'm jamming a transformer into the power jack and forming a more reader friendly Vulgar style, because at the end of the day, we're all trying to build empires, not erect obscure outposts. Reaching the populace is the definition of an effective communication device. If I want to reach exclusively artists or other lyricists, I'll astral project with Chyeah into the fifth dimension while taking LSD in Tel Aviv.

Why do you think rhyming gets such a bad rap in elite prose/literary circles? Don't they realize it sounds too slick to be ignored and it drapes over our writing like fine silk?


CERTAIN: The slickness is part of it. The predictability is another. The rhymed poetry that does get praised (though very rare in modernism) is often off-kilter, with a lot of enjambment. There's also the emotional, sporadic rhyming of slam poetry, which brings mixed reviews in highfalutin poetry circles. I think that's because a lot of rich white people never know what to say about black culture.

But mostly I think people view rhyming as a distraction from the content and the words. And that is pretty hard to deny. That's why I take pride when someone says something I wrote doesn't read like rap. I know I put the work into the rhymes and schemes, so I view that as a suggestion that the verse reads cleanly, the way it would if it didn't rhyme.

But I enjoy this rhyming challenge, and I enjoy reading it. We're very removed from the roots of hip-hop in this culture, which is not to say that there aren't many rappers whose lyrics translate well to the page. But the roots of hip-hop were a party music built on braggadocio. Yet that rhyming aspect persists and perhaps connects me more to this unique genre that we do inhabit. How close do you feel in hip-hop?


VULGAR: I wish I wrote more non-rhyming stuff. It was a goal of mine to start getting short stories published but I never got around to creating a routine and sticking with it. I'm naturally drawn to rhythm since it's almost habitual after all of these years. I'm going to try to redirect my focus soon. I think this medium is a blessing and a curse, because like you pointed it out, it does carry an element of alienation and it's a limiting craft. If more people figured out it's not easy to do, I think it'd hold more weight in the literary community.

Hip hop is a part of my life and I do feel close to it. The rappers that I listen to help me relate to life and get through hard times. Right now, my favorite rappers are Cryptic One and Illogic who are both undeniably ill and have an extensive collection of very impressive tracks. For those who haven't heard them before, check out "Half Life" by Cryptic One and "Hate in A Puddle" by Illogic. I know they're not the most cheerful of songs on the first listen but they're meaningful... and they have looser, more fun tracks anyways. Cannibal Ox reigns supreme as well. The Cold Vein is so epic that I can't call it the soundtrack of my life...yet. But we can strive, can't we?

What do you strive for in your daily affairs?


CERTAIN: I'm reminded of my favorite middle-period Atmosphere track, "Trying to Find a Balance." That goes for all facets, and I'm guessing it goes for all of us. I sometimes bring my personal and work lives into my writing, though I mostly keep the two divorced because I prefer to think of this hobby as a separation act. I've said this before, but part of my reason for returning to this community and writing style was because I felt like work was becoming all I really had and needed a hobby.

To that end, I'm always interested in how much of ourselves we put into our work, particularly while telling stories that aren't about us. How much do you let the personal become the written word?


VULGAR: Residual elements from real life show up in my writing, but I use the ink on the page to escape, as cliché as that sounds. I had a few pieces where I spoke about things happening in my life. It's been a bit bland as of late so I've been more inclined to go for fantastical (as if I always haven't done that, right?). I take lessons that I learn on a daily basis and try to integrate them into the "moral" of whatever story I'm writing.

Do you see yourself collecting all of your work on an archive? Are you the type who has several fat binders filled with printed up topicals and battle verses, or do they stay on the forum at all times, unbeknownst to anyone of the Certain household?


CERTAIN: I've kept my Hall of Names thread very well-organized and have a back up of those verses as well as my old verses. But I don't have any plans to use any of this work in any other format, and I don't really tell people about this hobby aside from saying I write sometimes.

I guess I view this as an escape as well, again going back to that talk about why I returned in the first place. But I actually do think that these verses could have some broader appeal if anyone were to give them a chance. I know people are always talking about doing things with their work, and I like the concept.

Part of it is me being a bit spoiled as I get published daily for my job. I'm wondering what your plans are for your own work. Do you see yourself going into a writing-heavy profession when you're finished with college? Do you have any plans to pursue furthering Vulgar verses for publication? I know you've entered some poetry competitions.


VULGAR: Yes, I'll be a professional writer eventually. Right now I'm living life and getting my skills up. I've had a couple of verses published because they tickle some editor's pickle, but really, I want the heads of mass populations. All in due time, I guess. I think you should show people your verses. If you put effort into something, why not show it to others?


CERTAIN: I guess I'm just antisocial. To paraphrase Royce da 5'9", I do this text for me. Perhaps the lack of widespread acceptance of the genre (lyric-writing in general, really) is part of that. I'd like to do something with my poetry or stories at some point, but I doubt it'll be text rap.

Anyway, with that I think we need to close this out before King Ra. kicks us out of the magazine. Thanks for taking this time to talk with me. It's been insightful. Any closing thoughts?


VULGAR: Where's Zygote?

OPEN MIC FEATURE #2

"Deconstructing Yahweh"
written by Adonis

And the first thing he said was.... “Let There Be Light”


Creatures with no home, still they pillage and roam.
Lived on there own with no ruler or throne,
No guidelines to break or disappoints to make.
No anointed charade crucified to hide the evil they crave.
Free from being pets; choke chains round the neck,
On a short leash being monitored and kempt.
This beautiful evil was a glorious thing.
No halos or wings flinging dust with each thrust.
Just darkness that's loved yet, vastly abrupt.

Just Imagine ...

You're you, minus constraints that defuse...
Every natural instinct you developed and used.
That right to think even when you are confused,
That right to eat until the land is consumed.
Yeah right; repel light and accept your own view.
But suddenly, he's telling you not to.

Laws that dilute our vital aspects,
Darkness is abstract.
Evil IS Live yet harnessed til absent.
Ponder this cancer.

We can scale Valhalla reaching new heights.
While Darwin taught us the strongest survive.
God proved his weakness was creating of lives.
Destroying them all, pouring tears from the skies.
Crackling thunder masking screams from each life.
Crashing waves, drowning out pain from inside.
See the mangled and warped souls set adrift?
The endless knocking; each skull tapping the skiff.
The faces of kids, peacefully, swimming about.
Drifting in crowds as they sink I'm so proud.
Return home to that darkness you've shelved.
I waited anxiously, never once had a doubt.
Sat, patiently, holding this apple I found.
You sampled my crown, now it's yours to keep.
The stairway to heaven is forgiving but steep.
Meanwhile my escalator creeps down without fault.
You've done no wrong ever, you only existed.
Your natural beauty is blackened and mystic.
His light is a glorious puzzle encrypted.
I can solve it for you; You are perfect as misfits.
Live happily.
Fuck being a casualty.
If you die and we meet, fuck charity

Because you lived how you were made...carelessly.






AOWL PRE-POWER RANKINGS


1. Certain (2-0)- The last AOWL champion deserves this spot.


2. NYCSPITZ (2-0)- Can the Alias Topical Tourney champion finally make noise in the AOWL on a consistent basis?


3. CopyPat (2-0)- Who'd thought that this OM mainstay would start off with such a bang?


4. Vulgar (2-0)- This veteran is looking to plant his feet in AOWL's history books as a champion. Is this the season?


5. Dove Dozer (2-0)- Dozer has come back & starts the season with a statement. Can he continue his hot streak?


6. Defiant (2-0)- This battler is off to a good start. This week will be a good test, though.


7. Soulstice (1-0)- The Short Verse Tourney champ will definitely be a force.


8. Witty (1-0)- Will Witty be a consistent participant? If so, watch out.


9. Unborn Buddha (1-0)- Unborn is one of the more intriguing under the radar writers in this league.


10. Listen (1-0)- Not much is known about this writer, but as the season progresses, we will have a good idea.