Interview by NERDY
Photographs by the Dark Prince

Most people describe your style as being dark, aggressive and, at times, even menacing, which breaks away from the the traditional, light-hearted style of old school Nerdcore hip-hop. Do you feel this is an accurate portrayal of your persona and musical imagery?

Yes, I think that would be an accurate description of my style. Lyrically, I like to come hard and aggressive. I have so much emotion charged up behind what I have to say and I want you to be able to feel it like I was right there screaming at you. Then with the nerdy ref’s I can throw in there it’s like bringing you into my world whenever you listen to one of my songs. That’s what I really like to aim for. I like to be able to tell a story vividly enough in your mind to where you can see it but it leaves room for your own imagination to fill in the blanks.

Where do you think you and your unique style fit within the small confines of the Nerdcore genre?

I like how my nerdy references are appreciated by Nerdcore fans and artists alike. In real life, I look like a big, bad, scary guy but I’m also the same guy describing my favorite ending in Chrono Trigger to you with a big, dumb grin. As far as where my style fits in, I think I can fit into just about anywhere because I flow about anything and everything. I certainly have my favorite aspects, such as zombies, video games and boss fights, but I also love telling a story like in Battle Stance. The one constant would be that I flourish in a dark, aggressive, and as you said, menacing environment so if there is one of those in the Nerdcore genre then that’s where you’d most likely find me.

How do you connect to your fans and your fellow artists?

I am a really big fan who also happens be an artist. These people make music about something they love in a lifestyle they truly live by. I am a nerd and I am excited to have found my place among Nerdcore. I was making music and songs to video game beats back in 2001 and I thought I was the only one out there referencing Mega Man and MVC in my songs. I’m glad that wasn’t the case!

Where do you want to take your musical career in the future?

Anywhere I possibly can. There have been discussions about the delineation of Nerdcore and Hip Hop and I agree that they are not one and the same. Nerdcore is a lifestyle and Hip Hop is a musical art form. I hope that in the future I can utilize Hip Hop to inform the world about Nerdcore, hence, making Nerdcore Hip Hop. I will make it or have a hand in making it until my time on this world is up.

Your first stage performance occurred during this past January in Las Vegas at the CES convention, but your first performance as an opening act on a major tour was just a week ago. Tell us what that was like and how it different from your Vegas experience.

It was a very fun and enlightening experience at the Whisky. I learned a lot from the performance but nothing compared to CES. Vegas was awesome but very humbling for me. I trained really hard to memorize all the songs I was to perform but when you are up in front of people and the lights are right in your face and its go time…its a whoooole different world. Every song I performed I tripped up on and I was crushed. I seriously hid in my room for a couple of days afterwards beating myself up mentally and trying to figure out where I went wrong in my training. I learned that its kind of hard to train for being in front of a crowd unless you perform in front of a crowd on a somewhat regular basis. When the show at the Whisky came around I didn’t get to train as much as I wanted to and I was nervous. I was in the audience praying the whole time that I would memorize my words and thank God I did. I put a lot of pressure on myself because I want to be as close to perfect as I can be when I am up on stage. A lot of people came to see what Nerdcore was about that night and I wanted to represent as best as I possibly could.

Collaboc1de was supposed to drop at 12:00 AM midnight Pacific Standard time on March 8, but it missed its target by a few hours. What happened that night?

What DIDN’T happen that night? I had to work until 10:30 PM and I was going over the final list and trying to tie up loose ends and tighten things up. There was a track that just wasn’t fitting in like I wanted it to so two minutes before I left work I decided to pull the track off the list. I figured it would be an interesting challenge to pull off a song last minute and throw it on Collaboc1de if I thought it was better than what I had. I got home, found a beat, wrote lyrics to it, recorded the lyrics, cleaned it up, added it to the line up and named the track ‘Happy’. I then burned the final copy, drove all the way to The Dark Prince’s work and we uploaded it. Silent D. was helping me clean up the tracks as I was fixing up the line up and he timed me as I made ‘Happy’. It took me 37 minutes and 57 seconds from start to finish. I thought that was pretty cool but alas, we were still late on our midnight deadline because of me. THEN, as I was driving home at 4 AM I noticed there was a subtle mistake on one of the tracks so I raced back home and sent the file to DP to switch out. I have learned to finish the next album THEN make a release date.

Was it difficult to get other artists to work with you on a single disc that would go under the ZeaLouS1 name?

Not at all. Everyone I asked was more than happy to help out. I feel very priveleged to have shared songs with so many people. I am very honored to have been on such a huge collaboration and I am very thankful that so many people were able to work so quickly.

As a concept album, how did Collaboc1de perform for, not only you, but also the other artists that contributed to the project? Was everyone completely happy and satisfied by the way it turned out?

I wanted to make sure that every person I made a song with was happy with how they sounded. That was a priority of mine. I was very flattered because most of the artists just trusted me with whatever I did with their vocals. I made sure to show them the finished product and asked them to let me know if they would like anything changed.

Every track on Collaboc1de features a different artist, and yet the album as a whole seems to be incredibly tight and continuous. Was this cohesive sound crafted by your own hand, dictated by direction or just a mix of luck and unconscious effort?

When I set out with the idea for Collaboc1de I saw it as making a book. I then went to all the different artists and worked with each one in their specific areas of strength. The trickiest part for me was the order in which Collaboc1de was put in because I also wanted for people to be able to listen to it from start to finish like a book and make them feel like they went through a journey. While going through each story one by one you begin to realize that they are all intertwined and emerge from the same source which is Nerdcore. The journey people go through while listening to Collaboc1de is the same one I went on while creating it.

You’ve made mention that Collaboc1de was originally planned to be released as a monstrous 30 track double disc album, but that many of those tracks were cut for various reasons. What were those reasons, and will those lost tracks ever be released?

I definitely plan on releasing the tracks taken off of the original Collaboc1de line up later maybe on a B-Side Mix or maybe even for Collaboc1de: Round Two. I took some tracks off because other people wanted to use them for other projects, I took some tracks off because I didn’t feel as if though they were putting forth the specific vibe I was looking for and some I didn’t put out there because I wanted to save them for different projects in the future. I like releasing my tracks out of nowhere so thats all the info I can give about them at this time.

Is it true that there really is a key to a secret track hidden somewhere in Collobc1de? Why doesn’t anyone seem to be able to find it?

Actually there have been a few people who found it but only told me because they thought I wanted to keep it a secret. A certain person told me recently that they have played every single track on Collaboc1de forward and in reverse and found nothing. I laughed because if they truly did play everything in forward and reverse they would have found it by now.

Who or what influenced you during your writing and mixing for Collaboc1de?

I was influenced by the fact that I was taken in with open arms by fans and artists alike in Nerdcore. For as long as I have been making music I just felt like I was all alone in a world where no one would hear me except for those close to me. Nerdcore gave me a brand new fire in my heart. It also gave me a platform in which I could earn my way for my music to be heard. I am so greatful and appreciative for these opportunities that I want to reciprocate the hospitality. I will forever be in debt to Nerdcore for what it has allowed me to do. Collaboc1de is my way of saying ‘Thank You’ to everyone and everything Nerdcore.

Now that Collobc1de has finally been completed, what’s next for ZeaLouS1?

There are a few different projects on the rise but you know me, I am going to keep quiet about them until the last minute. One thing is for certain though; It’s impossible for me to stay out of the lab. I can’t stop making music and no matter what happens, I will never stop.

Discover more about ZeaLouS1 at zealous1.com.