INTERVIEW WITH DON SIMMONS

Q1. So Knowa when did you start rapping?,

Ans.Back in the mid 80's, I used to grab the mic at house parties,school jams, anyplace that had a mic I would grab it. I had like two or three rhymes that i would rotate, then i had 1 or 2 dis rhymes in case anyone tried to step up I was nice with it,

and what made you wanna be a rapper.

Ans.I was incarcerated in 1994 and while sitting in the jail I was like there gotta be something that im good at doing that pays well and we keep my out of the streets and ultimately out of the penitentiary,so my entire stay in the system (3 years 6mo.) I studied the game and wrote songs. At first I was just rhyming then it evolved to the point that I would write complete songs and some i feel actually transcends time,I would read as much as I could to broaden my vocabulary I wanted my lyrics to paint a picture for the listeners

Q2. Tell me what makes your style different then the rest?

Ans.LYRICS,im a lyricist point blank I speak of growth and development,in every aspect mentally,physically,and spiritually,even when I speak of the street activities I elevate it,I have a knack to relate to the thuggish of thugs to the most studious of scholars, I'm like a penitentiary diplomat,I speak of the reality but I just don't stop there i elevate it to a potential reality,this is what it is but this is what it can become

Q3. What do you want people who listen to your music to get from it?

Ans.Understanding thats always the best part,I want individuals to understand that there is hope for the hopeless,so regardless of your current situation we control our own destiny and through hard word work and dedication we can change our situation to a more positive or shall i say productive one.I always hear a saying "it is what it is" I would hear this saying so much i found myself repeating it until i analyzed the saying "it is what it is" to me that sounds like im powerless over the situation and have to just accept it because hey "it is what it is" what if I want "IT" to be something else then i realized that" IT is what i make it"
and thats what I want to do stimulate some sort of thought

Q4. Do you think Hip Hop is dead?

Ans.Hip Hop is not dead its not mainstream anymore but certainly not dead I think what we tend to do is confuse hip hop with rap I hear a lot of rap music on the radio some college stations still play hip hop ,but you must understand that we SOLD hip hop to the corporate offices so from that point they decided who and what type of so-called hip hop they were going to finance and spread to the masses,now the hip hop that i love was when emcees had something that i could take with me to better understand what i was going through,but this type of hip hop would offend corporate because it often expose the social injustices, the media itself is owned by the same ones who are guilty of these social injustices so it would not be in there best interest to finance and distribute a project that sheds light on that which is not commonly known so what would be in their best interest a more party type non offending rap that is socially acceptable across the board, Hip Hop was how we found out about different things that mainstream media didn't want to shed light on for one reason or another,(think about it Jena 6 happened and no mainstream artist spoke of it) they don't want us to educate one another corporate wants us to continue beefing with one another while they made major money and leave us looking like savages in he pursuit of.....


Q5. Why do you call yourself Knowa?

Ans.because noah was not the most righteous man of his time but he was seen as righteous in comparison to his fellow man,there was a great flood to come and he was instructed to build and ark to save that which was worth saving the first great destruction was water the next shall be by fire,I consider my style as rapid fire bombarding mentals with intellect and this is done with words,water and fire are both symbolic to words my words are water because of it fluidity its formless but filled the void(ignorance)My words are symbolic to fire because fire is something thats used to refine which is the same as cleansing something but it burns up falsehood,and thats why i see myself as knowa (noah)

Q6. What state and click are you repping right now?

Ans.I'm in Hampton, Virginia originally from Brooklyn New York but i'm a universal being so i could not see myself repping a city /state I'm repping the struggle universally because we all go through it and i want everyone to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel I'm the voice for the disenfranchised the underdog,I'm hope for the hopeless

Q7. Where can people purchase your music?

Ans.My music is currently available at all the major online stores,I have a myspace page myspace.com/9thdynasty in which i utilize the distributor of my choice, just click on the buy my cd link and support independent music, music with a meaning

Q8. The ladies wanna know if your single

Ans.I love my beautiful sister out there but 'not looking for anyone my cipher is complete,but I do want to thank each and everyone of you that has been supporting me and for turning your peoples on to my music please continue to tell a friend to tell a friend about my music, not much travels faster than word of mouth that form of promotion is so valuable to a independent artist

Q9. Where do you see yourself in two years?

Ans.In 2 years I see the doors of my ark(my label 9th dynasty) opening to release a new form of emcees ,I also see me involved with a nationally syndicated television show and radio station still keeping it independent

Q10. If you could collaborate with any rapper in the game right who would it be and why?
Ans.Jay-Z ,the reasons are strictly political,I have been in the game for a long time and my name is known worldwide but only in underground circles with an artist like Jay-Z his presence alone would take everything to another level