This month’s feature is an artist that is another indie stalwart and co founder of the Justus League…….let’s check out Cesar Comanche.

 

 

CC- My emcee name took years to come to fruition. Back in 1990 / 91, I started writing poetry and RnB songs. I wanted to have a pen name but had no idea what It would be. In 93 I was in my second year of Spanish Class and we used Spanish names, I chose Cesar.  When the teacher would say my name I would always think of scissors because of the repeating "S" sounds. Sometime around 1996, I was thinking about life and how it comes down to being cut between two paths. The first being what you WANT to do, the second being what you NEED to do.  Lots of times they are two different things. I started also to think we need to find a common power or peace between those two paths to move forward. In Easter Philosophies power and peace can be called CHI.  So we need to find a COMMON CHI between those two paths.  Being CUT into those paths is the Cesar part.  Remember Cesar reminds me of SCISSORS. Finding a common chi to bring it back together and make it work is the common chi or Comanche part.  Cesar (coming to the fork in the road) Comanche (focusing and choosing the right path). So that’s what my name means, it’s a play on words.

 

CC- Geographically I represent Jacksonville, NC (where I'm from), Raleigh, NC (where I live), and all of North Carolina. In addition to that, I rep everywhere Cesar Comanche fans are.  We are a big extended family.

 

CC- My influences are vast and they don't belong to anyone genre or even are limited to musicians or music.  There is Music, Movies, Dance, TV shows, weather patterns, seasons... I can look at almost anything and relate it to music.  Inspiration is a funny thing for me. I can tell the difference between when I create something because I have to and when creation just happens.  The root of what inspires me is passion. People contribute to society, by creating, or learning because something inside is compelling them. I love to see the fruits of people’s labor come to fruition, no matter how big or small. I feel those who actively participate in their passions honor each other and honor the world.

 

CC- My professional history started at NC State University, I never went to NCCU. Edgar Allen Floe, Yorel, Eccentric, Median, 9th Wonder, and other musicians not in my collective also went there.  It was a very fertile ground and very key in me seriously pursuing being an emcee as a career.  In Jacksonville, which is a small town,  I only saw Emcees on TV or heard them on the radio.  That’s as close as I could get back then.  It made it something intangible for me as far as I thought. Actually meeting people who grew up in very different types of places and had different experiences than me was key.  The most key thing was actually seeing people put on rap shows for the first time. They even had songs, it was amazing to me. These were people that I could talk to and even went to school with some of them. It made being an emcee more of a reality to me. A group called THE LOWER 3RD'S was where I got the biggest source of this inspiration, they also went to NC State. 

 

CC- I've never been a member of HOJ only a member and co-founder of the Justus League. It helped me both as an artist, and as another marketing point.  The Justus League had its ups and downs just like anything else, but that crew was a music conservatory, a Hip-hop Juilliard if you will.   Everyone had different strong points and everyone was very picky and so much was expected from every JL artist. That was not just an expectation from within we became the darlings of no major market rap, so the listening public demanded excellence too.  We set standard mistakes and slip-ups were not going to be tolerated.  9th and Little Brother were the first to really gain momentum with their names outside of the JL Brand. My nature would not allow me to just sit back and bask in someone else's glory.  I would not be able to look at myself in the mirror, so I ventured out.  I made my name give power to the JL Brand just as the JL Brand gave power to my name. They each pushed back and forth creating a positive upward movement in my career.

 

CC- I don't have the best song as far as I'm concerned. Each song I have created is special in its own way.  I can tell you what my most commercially successful songs are. They are Up & Down, Die In Your Lap, and Hands High.  I'm just glad people gravitate more to my songs as my career matures and I did not peak at the beginning as so many artists do. 

 

CC-  There are many artists I would think it would be cool to tour with, but I would choose Supastition, Ghettosocks, Edgar Allen Floe, Median, or DJ Chawl.  Those are the people I have the most road experience with and have grown with most in a tour situation.  They are more than fellow artists they are family.

 

CC- It just depends on the situation. In either situation, I feel that song ownership and publishing ownership are the most important things to have. A very difficult aspect of being independent is in many times the artist does every job required to nurture a career themselves. It’s hard to get every aspect of a campaign to happen when it needs to so we find ourselves having to forge a sword out of cold steel.

 

CC- I agree, and to add we should be proud of anyone who makes positive moves in this industry.  Not everyone is like this but we will congratulate someone who makes moves that is in a distant land but feel animosity toward someone that makes moves in your own back yard.  It would seem to me that they feel threatened somehow.  "The successful sibling syndrome", is what I call it.  Logistically it’s hard to SUPPORT everyone, most of us don't have the time and resources to do such a thing.  You can bring attention to movements you feel are positive if you are part or are not part of them.  WORD OF MOUTH and in modern times POSTS ON YOUR PAGES can show love to others without costing you a penny.  Nobody elevates themselves completely alone. It also takes a village to raise an artist.

 

CC- I feel the new artists are going to do their best impersonation of the 80s which they did not grow up in or are old enough to remember. That will go on for a bit until some new trend. I don't really see myself fitting into that.  The Cesar Comanche sound is the result of my experience, mostly from the years of my childhood.  I've seen many trends come and go, and I never followed them.  My sound grows despite what may be happening at the moment.  

 

CC- The next project that needs to be done is the ITCH REMEDY EP.  It’s going to be DJ Flash and I coming together to make a fun project for our fans.  We have been having bad luck with our schedules. That is why it was not done months and months ago.  I also have a southeast Tour coming in July.  It will be in NC, SC, and GA. SympL from Projekt Lotus will be performing at each show also. 

 

CC- Don't forget to enjoy the simple things, any chance you get. 

 

CC- You can get my music at  http://www.cesarcomanche.net, http://www.itunes.com/cesarcomanche, http://www.amazon.com, http://www.emusic.com, http://www.spotify.com, http://www.napster.com, and other legal online stores. You can follow me at http://www.facebook.com/cesarcomanchefan, http://reverbnation.com/cesarcomanche, and http://www.twitter.com/cesarcomanche.

NEXT MONTHS INTERVIEW HAR Q!!!!

 

Mistajay is doing a monthly interview feature on the underground experience on the blog www.empiremusiq.com/blog and would like to interview you for this new post please contact nccceo2@yahoo.com to publicize any new projects that you have coming up thanks for your time. Donate or pay a $50 dollar interview fee below!!

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