Enthusiasm. It is something that is lost early-on in a lot of rappers careers. The process of recording, touring, and meeting new people becomes passé to a lot of rappers, especially when coupled with the business side of the music industry that can be harsh and unforgiving. Even rappers who are relatively new to the game often lose the passion that once filled them. That's what was so surprising and refreshing about meeting De La Soul's current protégé Butta Verses; he was filled with so much fervor upon our first meeting. Almost two years after our first encounter Butta still seems to have the same sense of wonderment and humility that he displayed when I first met him. After a frantic week of e-mail's & playing phone tag, I finally got a chance to talk to Butta V about his upcoming album Brand Spankin', his current group project (The Fresh Air Fund) with fellow Floridian Filth, and living up to De La Soul's expectations.

Spitkicker: Wassup Man?

Butta Verses: Just chillin' man. Just got back from New York.

SK: So you're back in Florida now?

BV: Yeah. I just got home today.

SK: Didn't you use to live in NY?

BV: Yeah I grew up in the Bronx. I moved to Florida in like '93.

SK: When you first moved what was the transition from moving from a big Hip-Hop scene in New York to Florida ?

BV: The scene in Florida wasn't big at all. There was a scene but it wasn't big. There were a select few people. It was still a good era for all of Hip-Hop, it was like '93 so the music was still pure and everything like that at that time.

SK: So how is the Hip-Hop scene in Florida now cuz I see Asamov, you, the Fresh Air Fund, and UJ Empire, all doin you're thing but y'all seem to be from different parts of Florida. So is it unified down there? What's it like?

BV: It's coming together. Being that everybody is an artist....I know me speaking from personal experience. That rapper ego makes it hard to come together with cats because basically rapping or being an emcee is hard anyway you know? But once you get past that like minded people are hooking up; people who feel their skills are compatible - they'll hook up. So it is coming together. But really just coming back from New York, there really isn't much difference in the scene down here. New York is really on some bulls#!t right now too, y'know.

SK: Uh-huh

BV: Like New York loves Young Joc I don't know what's going on y'know?

SK: (laughs) It's the same thing here in Philly. All that gets played is It's Goin' Down and Ying Yang Twins. I'm like this ain't a strip club.

BV: Yeah. For real. And the funny thing is the East Coast is really on the dick of Southern Hip-Hop and Southern Hip-Hop couldn't give a f^©k about East Coast Hip-Hop

SK: Yeah. I know it's crazy

BV: So I just think cats need more unification to make [the East Coast] pop again.

SK: Yeah. I definitely agree that. So how did you hook up with De La?

BV: A friend of mine gave a CD to Maseo. Mase was moving down here and somebody I knew or someone who had knew of [Glee Club Detention] lived near Mase and gave him a CD and he was so impressed he just came looking for us.

SK: What was the experience of touring with De La Soul like?

BV: Incredible! Those dudes are the greatest all around influence of my music just with the type of music they made and continue to make, the message they push. Personally they were the people that I wanted to hear my music and be proud and this even before I met them. It's like if De La were to approve of [your music] then you know you're straight. So to actually go on the road and be on tour with them. for like the first two weeks I was shook. I was really afraid to speak to Pos, I was afraid to speak to Dave, me and Mase had already formed a bond, so I was real cool and comfortable with Mase, but being around the vocal points I was really star struck. But y'know they're some of the coolest people I ever met.

SK: Do you feel being one of their protégés that there is added pressure on you? I mean if you look at the other people they mentored and rolled with, they've went onto be great emcees. Do you feel that pressure to be great?

BV: Yeah there is definite pressure. The last thing I wanna do is embarrass De La. Just by them co-signing me, it's not just like I have to make my crew proud, now I have to do right by [De La] who gave me this opportunity to be heard. So it's definitely a lot of pressure. And for me the biggest part is that I'm not worried about my message, even if they don't agree with what I say, as long as I say it in a form or fashion to where they're like Yo, what you're talking about might be dumb as hell but it was hot how you said it. Then at least I'm still following their lead.

SK: You mentioned Glee Club Detention earlierhow did that come about and who is a part of it?

BV: Glee Club Detention started like in '99, 2000. A dude I knew down here named DJ Shortee, he was producing and I had known him for a while but I'd never done tracks with him. Eventually he was like Yo, I wanna work with you so we did a couple joints. Then he introduced me to one of his friends, Doc Sus, who brought some beats in and they were fire. So I was like we should really connect and constantly work together as a clique. So it started with me, DJ Shortee, & Doc Sus, then we added a vocalist named Lucian, his s##t is nasty, sounds like Bilal a little bit. Now we got two new members in the UK , Speech and Super Nice. So the word is getting out there. We got people from other countries reaching out to us like What do we gotta do to get down with GCD. So hopefully the ball will just keep rolling that way.

SK: I really like the jawn Sickness you did with C-Boogie. Will you be guest appearing on anybody else's project near future?

BV: Not that I can think of off hand right now but I got a joint I did with Kurious, Joell Ortiz, I got a joints I did produced by Lord Finesse, Marco Polo and V.I.C..

SK: How did you hook up with Kurious cuz I haven't heard nothing from him in a minute?!?

BV: That was through my friend. He keeps me running back & forth to New York and he had a little something going with Kurious and we connected through those meetings. And that's another dude that, when I was a little younger, I was looking up to cuz he was where I wanted to be. I was honored to just meet him cuz I used to listen to his music all the time. Then when he was like Let's do a song together, of course I'm gonna take that opportunity.

SK: So is that song with Kurious gonna be on your album?

BV: Nah that won't be on the album. That's actually on a project called Beats & Rhymes Vol. 1.

SK: When can people expect that CD?

BV: The Beats & Rhymes project should be out late this year or very early next year. And there's a lot of people on that, you got me, Critical Madness, they got stuff from Tzar, Sean Price, CL Smooth, Lord Finesse, Marco Polo, V.I.C., A-Butta from Natural Elements, C Rayz Walz, just a buncha cats that are real strong in the underground. I'm probably the least known person on there.

SK: You think? I mean you had a real buzz going after appearing alongside De La on No.

BV: I don't think a lot of people know me. They know the voice and they know the name but they don't know me.

SK: On the Big Dreams song off of The Fresh Air Fund mixtape you talk about all the problems of being an independent artist. So what keeps you motivated to make music?

BV: The thing that motivates me most is just music itself. I just love music. I love the creating of it and the playback of it. Just to be involved in music anyway, anyhow is a big motivation tool. The little strides that take place like meeting De La, being on their record, going around the world with them, that's another thing that helps to keep me motivated. My friends, my family, the wack s#!t that's out. Plus the probability you could earn a decent living doing something you love and not really busting your ass everyday. Cash is definitely a motivational tool. I definitely want to get paid. I would love to be a platinum artist.

SK: When I met you for the first time back in 2004, one of the things that impressed me the most about you is that you really seemed to appreciate your position, the fans, and everything that was going on for you. I know people get jaded after a while and certain things become old hat. Do you still have that same appreciation and love for everything?

BV: I will talk to a fan the entire night, to anybody. If somebody is interested or expresses interest I will totally enjoy that conversation. Even if it ain't on music, if I was just on the subway, and someone started talking to me I would enjoy that. I'm a nice dude. I don't see any reason to treat anybody in a bad way. I guess that's from my upbringing.

SK: You've rocked with De La, Kurious, you've opened for KRS Whom have you met that you were just in awe of when you met em?

BV: Dilla! Pos introduced me to Dilla when we were out in L.A. I was in my hotel room and Pos called me like Yo, I'm gonna go hang out with Dilla. Do you want to meet him? And at the time I was just getting comfortable being around Pos and now they're going to introduce me to Dilla. I was shook again. Automatically I started thinking of excuses like maybe I shouldn't go. But then I was like Nah. F##k that. That's Dilla. Imma go. I was a big fan of Slum Village 's Fantastic Vol. 2. And when I met Dilla he was just mad nice and cool.

SK: It's cool you gotta chance to meet him before he passed.

BV: Yeah meeting him I was star struck.

SK: I noticed on the Fresh Air Fund myspace page y'all have a new song called Federal, I know that's something different from what people have heard from you and the Fresh Air Fund in general. What prompted that song?

BV: Just how this country is being handled and how certain situations are being overlooked. It's like a conspiracy theorist type of joint because we feel people should be aware that even though things might not affect you or be in right in front of your face that it will wind up affecting you somehow. So we just wanted show our opinion on things and our lack of support for Bush in a song.

SK: So what's up your album Brand Spankin'? I've been waiting on it for a minute.

BV: Me too man. Me too.

SK: (laughs) Is the album done?

BV: Yeah the album is finished. I'm just waiting on it to drop and that's all on Maseo. As soon as everything ready to roll with the label, hopefully shortly after that he will get that ball rolling but for now it's available on iTunes.

SK: Who did you work with on the album?

BV: Vitamin D, Bean One, Glee Cub Detention, this dude Tony Dawgs, I got Chokolate on their doing some back-up vocals. I got my man Lucian on there on some back-up vocals. And that's it. No guest appearances or nothing like that.

SK: Wow! That's different cuz nowadays everybody has twenty guest appearances on an album and before it wasn't like that.

BV: People are putting out compilations, they ain't putting out albums.

SK: (laughs) Have you picked what you want to be your first single?

BV: Yeah the first single should be It Goes (Round & Round) The song is produced by Bean One and features Chokolate on the hook.

SK: What're your goals for the upcoming year?

BV: To keep some shows going, whether local, different states, or different countries. Just try to get the name out there and keep motivated and working towards the goal of music. Any opportunity that comes involving music I'm gonna take it. If somebody called me and was like Yo, Kid from Kid-N-Play is doing a track and I was telling him about you and he said you could get on the track. You know damn well I'm gonna get on the track.

SK: (laughs) That's dope. Are you planning on releasing another solo mixtape any time soon?

BV: Yeah. Actually I'm working on that right now. I'm about 11 joints into it. We put out my solo joint the Taste Odyssey 1, then we had the Fresh Air Fund joint and that's relatively new. But I'm gonna put the finishing touches on this next CD and put that out too. You know just to try to stay current and in people's faces.

SK: Do you know when you expect the mixtape to drop?

BV: I'm hoping that within two months I can have it out.

SK: My man Cenzi wanted me to ask is there anybody that you think is a genius?

BV: Who do I think is a genius? Uhm I think Dave from De La is a genius. I think Dilla was a genius in all forms, lyrically and production wise. I think DOOM is genius but more like a mad scientist, evil genius (laughs). Ghostface. T3. Anyone who is not just rhyming; they have a personality in everything that they say. That's not easy to do. It takes a lot of guts to expose yourself; like if you're hard to expose your fun side or your cornier side, or if you're conscious to expose your angry side. If they can do that that's what makes someone a genius to me.

SK: I think that pretty much raps up the interview. Any last words?

BV: Just to keep an eye out. The Fresh Air Fund is popping and that Glee Club Detention is going worldwide

>> go to Butta Verses page