By Noe Gutierrez
Since the release of his most recent solo album, One Life, and the highly successful collaboration with WILLDABEAST, PROVOKED has prospered through his exceptional persuasion of Hip-Hop that has engineered a path towards poetic prominence.
He is preparing to release a new album entitled, PROVOKED POETRY, that will undoubtedly guarantee his imprint in the archives of Hip-Hop history. After speaking with PROVOKED, it’s apparent that THIS is where he takes off from.
Coachella Valley Weekly communicated with the self-made lyricist who has journeyed through the eyes of many a storm only to flourish and be blessed beyond his aspirations. Case in point, this past year on his birthday he married his beautiful wife Wendy and then performed on one of the biggest stages in the world, Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival, with his comrades Ocho Ojos, Savier1, J Patron and Verzo Loko.
Below is our conversation.
CVW: Tell us about PROVOKED POETRY the album.
PROVOKED: “On the new album, I literally wrote every single song on the way to work, from work or in the shower. Honestly, that’s usually what I’ve done in the past. I just dropped a YouTube video that is the intro to the album, so the listener knows where it’s headed. The song is going to be called “Breakaway.” I’m stoked for PROVOKED POETRY. I’m not doing any features on this one, it’s gonna be all me! It’s twelve tracks and they are all locally produced and engineered. I go to all my standard shit, cadences and delivery along with my messages and what I really aim to say and what I feel is PROVOKED POETRY. It goes deep. In essence, I feel that Hip-Hop IS PROVOKED POETRY. Rap is a form of poetry and lyrical expression.”
CVW: You have consistently put yourself out there and your albums are really just an extension of yourself.
PROVOKED: “I feel a lot of the time Hip-Hop is coming from a place of what’s going on in that person’s life and what provokes them to write that shit. With me, it’s about the current state of the world, what’s going on in my daily life and the experiences that I’ve had. It’s also about all the nonsense I see, all the lies and all the horrible stuff that really provokes me to cut the things that I do and the messages I present. I want to encourage and motivate people. I feel that this is it. It will set the bar higher for me and then past it I’ll start trying new things. I feel like I had to get this out of the way; to say, ‘here it is!’”
CVW: What do you want to come to pass from the release of PROVOKED POETRY?
PROVOKED: “My main thing is, I want to be having fun with the music and make good content to try and keep this domino effect going. I’m going to go hard and be assertive. I feel I need to come out with the best content.”
CVW: The album you recorded with WILLDABEAST has had a very positive reaction, not only from the Coachella Valley but Hip-Hop enthusiasts around the world. That billboard promoting the album sets a higher standard too.
PROVOKED: “I’m stoked about the success. I’m proud of Will. It’s all been a blessing. All the positivity that came from that and the response was huge. That whole billboard thing was a trip too. We did a lowkey Kickstarter for that and we sent it to every single person that we knew privately. I told myself that one day I would get one, but I didn’t want it to be fancy and there it is on Indio Boulevard.”
CVW: You and Wendy are still newlyweds. How does it feel to be married to your best friend?
PROVOKED: “I’m ready to get this show on the road and own a home and just live life and continue to love her throughout all my years. Everything has been going great and we’re having hella fun!”
Upcoming Shows w/ WILLDABEAST
11/1 – STREET – Palm Desert, CA
11/9 – Synergy Music and Arts Festival – Coachella, CA
