[ORIGINALLY BROADCAST ON 04/05/13]

Guy Evans is joined for Episode 56 of the Smells Like Human Spirit Podcast by Tajai of the legendary Souls of Mischief hip-hop group and the collective known as the Hieroglyphics. Tajai has been active as a performer for over twenty years and is a driving force behind the operation of the independent label Hieroglyphics Imperium, which since 1995 has attracted a huge underground following with fans in every corner of the globe. He’s also a graduate of Stanford University and is currently studying at the postgraduate level at Berkeley. In this episode we discuss:

*Creativity in modern music and popular culture;

*The relationship between limitation and creativity;

*His creative process and optimal environment to make music;

*How he developed his lyrical style of rapid-fire multi-syllabic rhyming patterns;

*Why the song and the album 93 ’til Infinity have had such a continued impact;

*The trend in mainstream hip-hop of phasing out the emphasis on lyricism almost completely;

*The influence and pressure of a major label when creating and producing music;

*How his Educational experiences have assisted in operating an independent level;

*Thoughts on Barack Obama and the current U.S. Administration;

*The contentious drone issue and the resulting affect on America’s global perception;

*Potential action the public can take to combat the system.

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