Exclusive: Pharoahe Monch Talks Depression That Birthed New Album

Gemini’s are renowned for their two-sided personas but Pharoahe Monch, a Scorpio, possesses the undisputed duality of being one of Hip-Hop’s best raw talents as well as one its biggest enigmas.

His presence on records always commands attention with brash vocals and insightful lyricism yet at track’s end or close of a set, the allure grows bigger as there is a rarely a side story that beefs up the scandal factor for bigger headlines.

It’s an organic career path that has worked for Monch, born Troy Jamerson roughly 41-years ago. As a killer rhyme slayer from Queens, NY, the former Organized Konfusion frontman successfully has managed in keeping up a solo career afloat with just three albums in the past 15 years. Actually make that four as Monch gives Hip-Hop Wired the rundown on his forthcoming LP, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

PTSD flirts with the possibility of a utopian society where free-thinking is outlawed kind of like conceptive records on the radio. “I had personal experiences with depression and its side effects and I thought it would be a difficult topic to tackle but still give an introspective view to write from,” Monch tells Hip-Hop Wired. “When I recorded it, I looked at the violence in Chicago, L.A. and New York when the ‘war’ was going on from a social basis in the Black communities. It also made me look at the circumstances surrounding health care for independent artists and the struggle to pay for videos, promotion and marketing.”

It is a direct connector to 2009’s W.A.R. (We Are Renegades); the album that followed the rebellious Desire (2007) and Internal Affairs which holds a distinction as one of the most seasoned debuts of all-time. On a yearly timeline, the albums appear to be a bit on the inconsistent side but as Pharoahe explains, “The albums all did extremely well for an independent. A lot of what I’m pulling from is life experience. And that’s what longevity is all about.”

The gap in between albums is a question Pharoahe is frequently faced with, but as he tells it, he’s sculpting his legacy within his means so he can keep a stronghold on his artistic freedom. “The layover in between records is I don’t have the financial cushion to book out a studio for six months straight,” he elaborates. “And sometimes it’s contingent on the artists as well. I have Black Thought on the record and he’s obviously a very busy individual right now. Same with Talib [Kweli]. And when people holler at me, it’s not like I’m just sitting twiddling my thumbs waiting to shoot someone a 16 bar verse.”

—
Photo: W.A.R. Media

The new project is scored by adept musicians in Marco Polo, Lee Stone, and even Pharaohe himself, which plants sturdy backdrops built exclusively for the analytic streams of consciousness found aplenty in the lyrics. A heavy flirtation with an electric guitar makes “The Jungle” a crass course into the animalistic forays of man while the Black Thought-featured “Rapid Eye Movement” is every bit the rhyme joust one would expect from just seeing the two pioneers of accessible underground music.

Serving as the year’s lead-off single, “Bad MF” unintentionally proves all older artists don’t have to lose the flair which initially gained them notoriety. Fittingly, the track is replete multisyllabic madness which Monch has made his forte. The chance that his traditional brand of music could alienate potential youth listeners (and buyers) doesn’t rattle the W.A.R. vet.

“This type of nuanced rap, to me it says what it is,” Pharoahe explains. “It speaks to a percentage of kids who were into Star Wars and rap music at the same time. I think to back when I was in high school. I was listening to Hendrix and Led Zeppelin and that was 20 years past my time. There are kids out there that are going back to throwback classics like Organized Konfusion and Roots’ albums. There’s something kinetically embedded in the culture. I think there is millions of kids out there that would say it’s not that deep and actually ‘get it.'”

Working under extreme pressure can see some of the most fruitful ideas blossom into real gems. How else are diamonds created? When something as grave as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be flipped into a sonic pleasure, you may just be watching a master at work. Or a Scorpio masquerading as a Gemini.

Pharoahe Monch’s PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) releases in stores and online April 15, 2014 courtesy of W.A.R. Media/Duck Down Records. For more information visit www.pharoahe.com.