The Soullective

Guante is probably the busiest artist I’ve been able to feature, thus far.  He’s a dope emcee, a two time National Slam Poetry champion and a social activist.  Listen to his music, listen to his poetry, and check out his activist site.  Enjoy!

Download Conscious is Not Enough

Interview by Greg Leveille

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Guante means glove in Spanish, right? How exactly did the name come about?  What does it mean to you?

I’m lucky in that I never had to choose a stage name; mine was given to me in high school by my best friends, and just stuck.  Its origin involves Gary Payton, trash-talking in Spanish and, well, you can probably do the math. 

In addition to being a musician and a poet, you’re also a social activist, and the founder of the MN Activist Project. How exactly did the project come about and what do you hope to ultimately accomplish?

The MN Activist Project is a database of progressive organizations who are active in the Twin Cities and beyond.  The idea behind it is that I don’t think people are necessarily apathetic— we just don’t always know HOW to plug in and get involved.  So the site is about making it as easy as possible to see who is doing what in the community and then getting down with them.  Beyond that, I really want to leverage the power in the hip hop community and broader arts community— the site is one concrete, realistic way we can do something positive with our fanbases and followers. 

One of the lines you use is “I think voting is important, but, what’s more important is what we do after Election Day.”  In your opinion, what needs to be done after Election Day?

Organizing.  It doesn’t matter which party controls the government if we, the people, have an organized, smart, effective grassroots movement on the ground.  I think we’re taught too much that voting is the only way to create change; in reality, whenever real change has happened in this country (the Civil Rights movement, the labor movement, the women’s suffrage movement, etc.), it’s been because of the movements on the ground, because of people organizing together.

Your latest musical project is titled Conscious is Not Enough.  Can you briefly explain the meaning behind that, and how has the response to the album been?

I actually released CiNE back in 2008, right before the Obama election.  This re-release is updated, with higher-quality tracks, some new songs and some lyrical edits.  Both times, though, the mixtape has been about the importance of organizing, community and action.  The response has been great, though this project hasn’t gotten the media attention that my past projects have, which relates to the next question. 

Why do you think that so many artists stay away from political/social issues? Is it just because they aren’t popular topics, or do you think that there is a significant amount of ignorance on the part of artists and their target audience?

It doesn’t take a long time to figure out what “works” as an artist.  For every politically-minded artist or forward-thinking artist who is successful, there are a dozen acts rapping about partying or rapping about rapping.  There’s nothing wrong with any of that, but it’s pretty easy to see why it’s successful— it asks nothing of the listener, it provides the soundtrack or background music to whatever they’re more interested in, whether that be just hanging out with friends, or drinking or trying to get laid or whatever.  Again, there’s nothing wrong with that.  But at some point, I think that we as artists need to recognize the POWER that we have, simply because we have a platform.  One metaphor might be that just because I can make a lot of money by, say, selling drugs, that doesn’t mean that that’s the best path forward for me.  Artists are free to talk about whatever they want to talk about, but for me, personally, I can’t imagine pouring all this time and energy into work that doesn’t mean anything, that doesn’t resonate beyond the venue or MP3 player.

Which came first for you, hip hop or poetry?  How have you been able to balance and combine the two?

I started doing both at the same time, actually.  And as I’ve grown up, the two have both evolved in different ways.  My poetry doesn’t rhyme, at all.  It’s much more like storytelling.  It’s actually been a huge advantage for me in terms of my career, because I can play different kinds of shows in different venues, sometimes as a poet, sometimes as a rapper, sometimes both.  And it’s also nice to have two very different avenues for expression; some ideas just don’t translate well to one form. 

If you had to choose between reciting stanzas and spitting 16’s for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

Probably poetry.  I love the visceral rush that comes with rapping on stage, and I love the magic of rhyme, how two bars feel like they were just meant to be together.  But there’s nothing like performing poetry in front of 300 people who are actually sitting down, looking forward, doing NOTHING but listening to what you have to say.  There are no distractions— spoken-word is an extremely raw, naked art form, and I think that’s why it’s so powerful when it’s done well. 

What advice would you give to an emerging artist, of any musical genre or field, who is intent on establishing their presence?

It’s not about being good; it’s about being memorable.  Any idiot can rap or write poetry.  Creative writing programs churn out thousands of writers every year, and every city is full of would-be rappers.  The challenge, then, is to stand out, to be original and creative and memorable.  Being good will help, but it shouldn’t be the end goal.  The world doesn’t need one more 15-track album with songs about rapping, going on tour, girl problems and repping your city.  The world doesn’t need another poetry manuscript about trees and clouds.  Do something new.  Do something that can’t be ignored.  Do something that will make you immortal.  I’d much rather be wack and ambitious than talented and boring.

Of your many accomplishments, which would you say you are most proud of?

While there aren’t a lot of two-time National Poetry Slam champions in the world, I think I’m more proud of the work itself than the awards.  My team (Saint Paul) won two years in a row with poetry that was well-written, meaningful and original.  If you know anything about spoken-word, you probably know that it’s really easy to be cliche, to pander to the audience and just kind of use the successful formulas.  But I like to think that my work breaks from that, in some ways. 

What does Guante have in store for the world in the near future, musically or otherwise?

I have an EP of acoustic hip hop/folk stuff coming out at the end of the summer or early Fall.  It’s me and a singer/guitarist named Claire Taubenhaus.  After that, I’ll be finishing up my one-man spoken-word theater show, a book of essays on hip hop and activism, a new Guante & Big Cats! album and a million other things.  I’ll also be touring some in the Fall and beyond. 

Guante, thank you so much.  I really appreciate your time.  I’ll leave you with the final word..

I know a website plug isn’t very original, but my site (www.guante.info) has a lot of stuff on it, including essays, videos, free mixtapes, resources and a bunch of stuff beyond the standard “bio/news/blahblahblah” stuff.  I’d encourage people to check it out and stay in touch.  Thanks