06/02/2019
Coming up on Hip-Hops 12 June 21st with Talib Kweli... Here's an article & interview written by a staff writer from the now defunct Portland Phoenix nearly two years ago, about me, and Hip-Hops 4 ā®ļø
If you had to choose a face for Portlandās grassroots, brick by brick, underground hip hop scene, itād probably be difficult to find somebody more qualified than Ben Shorr. His last name is appropriate, because the guy has an energy like a Maine granite shore: cool, stoic, and simultaneously peaceful and wrathful. Like many people in Maine and especially urban Portland, Ben didnāt have the easiest life as a kid growing up, but he found a way to express himself through the way of the cipher.
Benās not one for the catchy pop style of hip hop, nor is he interested in anything close to āmumble rap.ā Heās more interested in intelligent, poetic expression in the tradition of OGās like Mos Def, Black Thought and Nas; and itās safe to say heās got bars: or as heād say in Eat Ya Wheaties on last yearās album Live and Direct, āenergy bars, the breakfast of champions.ā He describes himself as an MC that āattacks the mic,ā with a fire thatās sure to rock crowds.
In addition to being a born and bred Portland hip hop representative, Ben is also a successful promoter and event coordinator who has begun hosting a series of hip hop shows at Oxbow Blending & Bottling that have been extremely successful called āHip Hopsā. In our interview, Ben explains how by fate he was able to meet Bostonian underground hip hop legend and member of Thievery Corporation Mr. Lif, who has destroyed stages throughout the world as a solo artist, touring with Thievery Corporation, and in a group with Akrobatik called The Perceptionists. Lif was so impressed with one of Benās performances that he approached him to pay respect. This lead to a friendship, which in turn lead to Mr. Lif performing at Hip-Hops 2, an unexpected treat for Portlandās hip
hop fans. Another performer on Benās Hip-Hops roster is Meyhem Lauren, who will be performing at Hip Hops 4 -an event that is not to be missed- coming up on July 1st.
Meyhem Laurenās most recent album on Foolās Gold Records is titled Piatto DāOro, which translates to āA Plate of Gold,ā and is āexactly what [Meyhem] plans to deliverā to his audiences. Rolling Stone will vouch for him, as they included Piatto DāOro on their list of āBest Rap Albums of 2016.ā Meyhem is also good friends with the legendary New York rapper, foodie, and lover of fried chicken and all things hash related- Action Bronson. Meyhem is actually the co-star of Actionās most entertaining food T.V. show on the Viceland network, appropriately titled āF*CK Thatās Delicious!ā
Meyhem will be headlining Hip Hops 4, but he will be joined by a number of Maine flavors, including Ock Cousteau, consisting of two members of Sposeās P-Dank label, Mike Be and Jay Caron. Ben has rounded up an impressive crew of local artists, and in addition to organizing the entire event, Ben will also be performing personally.
Make no mistake, even though Ben is on a nearly constant grind to improve Portlandās up and coming underground hip hop scene, he is on an equally constant quest to promote himself and his own brand of hip hop, with a raw and unique perspective on life that is both edgy and deep. Heās working vigilantly on a new album but refuses to announce the title just yet. Largely produced by P-Dankās Mike Be, this album is due to release on Saturday, August 12th at Hip-Hops 5.
Our interview took place over a beer and a plate of delicious polenta fries at Nosh, where Ben is also a chef. We sat at the end of the bar where the wall is covered in graffiti, providing a suitable backdrop for Portlandās finest urban lyrical warrior. Our conversation was slow to start, but once I got him going, Ben had a lot of great things to say.
Whatās the earliest Hip Hop Show you remember attending?
āI mean... s**t. We got into a lot of trouble as kids so, we werenāt really spending that much
time actually attending shows. The earliest events I can remember attending were at local high
schools... but the first show that I remember going to in Portland was Brother Ali, Ill Bill, and Sean Price. That was at the asylum, I think I must have been 21.ā
Brother Ali is with Rhymesayers, right? Atmosphere has come to Portland a couple of times. How do you feel about their label?
āTheyāre a powerhouse man... for an indie label. Eyedea is one of the best MCās, one of the best battle rappers ever to live. And his content is so raw... I mean, he passed away, you know, but in his life he struggled a lot, and you can hear that struggle in his music. That inspires me.ā
So youāve been involved in the hip hop scene in this town for a while now. Has there always
been a strong presence of Hip Hop in Portland?
āOh itās definitely been going on a lot longer than Iāve been involved. I feel like the scene around here has
always been for the 18+ 21+ crowd, but rap night for instance is an event thatās been going on for a long time. A couple of my friends have been running it for like 8 years, but itās been going on for double that time- probably fifteen years.ā
Tell me about the first events you performed- like in high school.
"Well, some of the earliest performances I remember are just freestyling for my friends, you know? But the first performance I ever did like, for the public was at an event a buddy of mine in high school threw called Freestyle Fridays, and somebody signed me up for it. That was at deering high school. So that wasnāt like a show, but a couple hundred people in the auditorium was a pretty good crowd for my first live performance. I remember I did a lot of small performances when I was attending USM... open mics, contests, competitions. I did alright. That was a confidence booster I guess- but that was when I was like 19 or 20.ā
So do you find that thereās a good community of support for young, up and coming rappers in
this town?
āI mean itās definitely grown... but I remember there was at least one event. There was rap night at the Big Easy, which is no longer there. Rap night has been the backbone of Portlandās hip hop community. But to be honest, back then, I was just getting into trouble a lot. I was involved in the wrong s**t. And the s**t I was involved in was not going to encourage me to perform on stage or in public at all.ā
So do you think itāll be easier for young people today to find a way to express themselves and
find a community through rap?
āThereās definitely more going on... I hope events like Hip Hops will help motivated people to keep working hard to create even more opportunities.ā
Tell me about your turning point- when did you know that rapping was your future?
āHow I do it is not necessarily how everybody else does it... it all comes from my experiences and whatās really inside. Iāve always thought, why would I rap if I didnāt have anything valuable to say? I would freestyle when I was younger but... as I began to get older I wanted to really write songs that had meaning. And if I had no inspiration, or no way to have it be at the level I
wanted it to be, I just wasnāt going to perform. That held me back. What I learned later, in my mid twenties, it came to a boiling point. It was like, āokay, if this dream of mine, and this thing that I know Iām skilled at, if this is ever going to happen, I need to do it, and if I donāt do it Iām going to regret it for the rest of my life.ā So I started going out. I didnāt really have any ground to
stand on in terms of the fact that I didnāt really know anybody. Believe it or not, there werenāt actually a lot of native Portlanders on the scene. It was so unfamiliar in a way. But I just made up my mind and did it. It was also helpful to get sober and out of trouble.ā
So do you view yourself as a sort of pioneer? Do you think youāre paving the way for people to follow suit and find a home in Portlandās Hip Hop Scene?
āI donāt see myself as a savior of any sort. Iām just doing what I love.ā
So youāre humble.
*laughs* āYeah I guess so.ā
So letās talk about your connection to Portland. Youāve been here your whole life. Anything you say or do or rap about is going to reflect this place. How has Portland affected your style? How do you think your style has affected Portland?
āOn the surface, thereās one opinion of Portland, you know? From my perspective, itās much deeper than that. Granted, all my experiences in this city, the traumatic ones, the good ones, most of them have been here- but I see it as kind of a gritty place, where thereās not a whole lot of roads out, especially as a musician- and especially as a hip hop artist. So... um... I go hard. And thatās what people know me for, whether they like it or not. I go at a mic. And thereās a lot to be
said for people who go at it differently than I do. But I feel like I go at it with a certain type of desperation that I canāt necessarily control... like itās my last chance with a mic every time I have one.ā
So these events youāre planning, do you think theyāll show the people of Portland an example of success in a difficult time and place for the hip hop community?
āYeah well I think it really fits in the dynamic of whatās been created so far. I think that having rap night be around and be a backbone for such a long time is great. Thatās a place where thereās an open mic- you may have never touched a mic before, but here, you can come get on stage. But, there seemed to be a need for another event. And Monday of the Minds was born. Itās usually at flask, although theyāve done some crossover events at Empire. Just another example of
some kids that were hungry and made something happen. They were like āletās try to do something, but do it in a way that doesnāt compete with rap night, but rather complements rap night.ā So thatās kinda how I feel with my events- I wouldnāt want to step on the toes of the people whoāve succeeded so far and helped me, so what Iām trying to do is put up some bigger names, and bring dope artists from far away to come rock the stage, and since Iām on the ground level, unlike, you know, the bigger venues, i know who deserves to open, Iām right there next to them. It gives everyone a chance to appreciate what we have home grown right here, or next door. Weāve been really persistent in showcasing a lot of artists. At one event we had ten artists, the other two we had eight and nine. Iāve been trying to get people in there who are working hard.ā
I follow you on facebook and I saw you had mentioned something about other promoters scheduling events at the same time as your events, even though youād communicated with them about yours. How do you feel about competition in Portlandās hip hop scene?
āSomehow, on each of the Hip Hops events, there has been another show that was scheduled like... well after my show. So what Iāve done is Iāve made a point to reach out to the community and different promoters to say, āhey, what are you doing on this date?ā Before Iāve even scheduled an event. Just to make sure that it doesnāt overlap. However, our shows havenāt taken
a hit in attendance due to competition.ā
I was at your show with Mr. Lif. That was an amazing show.
āYeah, honestly I didnāt expect this to just fall in my lap. Honestly, I was performing at another festival called NoshBow here in Portland, and afterwards the owner of Oxbow and I were talking and he was just like, āhey Iām a huge hip hop fan so, if you ever want to do a show at our venue please just let me know.ā And then a couple months later it just came about that I wanted to, and there was interest in it. They just really helped, you know? They said āletās see what you got.ā And it had a great turnout.ā
Howād you get Mr Lif?
āI met mr Lif in Boston, at a show... I was just doing one song. I was accompanying some friends who were doing a bigger show, and I went to an open mic competition, where if you sign up you do one song. I didnāt know Mr Lif was going to be there- he was just supporting the community. I did this one song and it was so cool- I walked off stage and...I grew up listening to this guy... and he comes up to me and says, āhey man, Iām Lif.ā And I was like oh man. And he
was like, āDude I was really feeling that song. It was dope. Let me get your contact information so I can check out more of your stuff.ā Huge confidence booster for me cause, I was just grindinā trying to get this album done. Then we crossed paths a couple more times, and I had given him a copy of my album when it came out, and we just wound up hitting it off. I mean some of these guys.. to me theyāre like... superstars, but a lot of them are super down to earth. And him and I, we just finished a song together actually. Thatās gonna be coming out on my new album in August.ā
A song with Mr. Lif? Impressive. Tell me about your new album!
"So iāve been working and recording at this studio called Halo studio, itās state of the art. Itās like heaven. Itās just outside of Portland. They record a lot of big artists there, like Rustic Overtones, artists from the Rock Genre- thatās their haven. Jeremiah Freed was out there once when I was doing a session... I think Spose does some work out there. OHX. Thereās a lotta action there. I got lucky enough to get hooked up with them and so weāre recording over there since October. I was looking for a place to record this new album... and I got luckyā¦ these dudes have offered a great experience. Weāre pouring everything weāve got into it, and weāre pretty much nearing the end of the road. Itās roughly ten or twelve tracks... itās gonna be... well itās an emotional voyage for me. Thereās a side of me that just really likes to terrorize the mic... but thereās also a part of me that really needs to have value in my words. So thereās a mix of that.ā
You mentioned youāll be recording at the same studio as Spose, and youāre both rappers representing Maine. How does your perspective on hip hop compare to his?
āUnfortunately I havenāt listened to his catalog or anything like that, just songs here and there. I think his is more... I donāt know, I donāt want to generalize but I would say that his style is maybe a little more laid back, a little more humorous, maybe easier to listen to. Mineās a little more jagged, a little more rough on the edges. I think where we come from really are very
different worlds. Weāre both from Maine but with him, youāre gonna get his world. With me, youāre gonna get mine, which might be a little more raw. But no matter where youāre from, if youāre a true artist, youāre going to be representing where youāre from. Iāve been homeless
before... so I have that perspective. Iāve been on the right side of the law and the wrong side of the law... so when I write a song, Iām not thinking about how Iām going to fit a certain perspective. Iām just going to write from where Iām at, whether Iām on the street or in a Lexus.ā
In summary, what is your vision for the future of Portlandās Hip Hop community? Where do you see it a year from now?
āWhat Iām doing right now is personally funding these shows myself, and they need a lot of support from the community. But theyāre getting it. I think one thing that Iām doing with Oxbow, and one thing Iām trying to do more of- and youāll see more of this in my shows- weāre trying to have it be more involved with the community. Weāre trying to have local businesses help us promote, which will in turn promote for them.ā
If you want to catch a glimpse of one of Portlandās most genuine rappers and hip hop promoters, you can catch him on Saturday July 1st, which is when Ben will be performing alongside Meyhem Lauren at the always-epic Hip Hops at Oxbow Blending & Bottling. Enjoy an ice cold brew and some sizzling tunes perhaps a chilled cider with some hot ciphers? You wonāt be disappointed- and youāll get a taste of whatās in store on Benās upcoming album set to release August 12th at Oxbow. Hip hop has been going strong in Portland for over a decade, and itās only getting stronger.
Hip-Hops is a recurring concert series featuring dope hip-hop music, craft beer, visual art, break dancing, and support from local business. Come to party!
