The Traveler

Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: Lifestyles

Media Credit: Courtesy Photo

Poe Picasso is excited. The Brooklyn-bread rapper, whose name betrays his self-proclaimed status as poet and artist, has enjoyed a warm reception by bloggers in recent weeks.

"It's kind of a catch-22," he said. "New York has such a high standard. I would be the staple hip-hop artist if I were from any other state."

But Picasso isn't taking all the credit. He said that rap's prominence in the mainstream media was "a wonderful thing," and vital to his own success.

"If the platform for hip-hop is bigger, then it can reach more people in a positive manner; the more people who are aware of that, the better," he said in a phone interview.

But Picasso also understands the negative effects of a musically saturated world.

"These days music is too accessible," he said. "Stuff comes out so fast, so there's no chance to soak anything in. There's no time. Everybody wants it now, now, now."

Picasso operates in the music world of old, before the Internet and file sharing, when music was released much less frequently. Music was not available to the public hours after its recording. There were longer times between releases, which Picasso said increased their value.

"It's just like economics," he said. "There's too much of it right now, so the demand is low." Though Picasso has released only one "project," called Exhibit A: The Real Hip-Hop Project, he has been writing songs for years.

"I waited two years to put out that project," Picasso said. "I had it for a long time, but I was just tweaking it, making sure it was ready."

Exhibit A is the first in what Picasso said is a trilogy. Despite the artist's reservations about the Internet, a system of communication he said "limits the interaction between artist and listener," it is available now as a free download on his Web site.

"Exhibit A was a project where I put lyrics over really good hip-hop beats," he said. "It was me taking more of a humble approach," he said. Picasso said Exhibit B (tentatively titled Manifest Destiny) was "a whole different thing" from its predecessor.

"Manifest Destiny is not a project," he said. "It's more assertive than A. It's me being me." The artist said that he had already begun work on Exhibit C. He said that Manifest Destiny would "hopefully" be released in mid-June. "It depends on how well Exhibit A goes over. I'm just biding my time," he said.

Listeners can expect more thoughtful rhymes (Picasso lists poets Langston Hughes and Fela Kuti as influences) and old school beats (he grew up near 1990s hip-hop gods De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest) in the final two Exhibits.

Still, Picasso looks even further into the future.

"Like film, music is a staple of its time," he said. "When you see a movie from 1930s, you think of that time. But it's still timeless and I love that. My music will always be here."

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