Monch on "Rape"

noz

AllHipHop.com: Let's talk about "Rape." Hands down, that's just a lyrical masterpiece son![/b] But when you name a record "Rape" you???re definitely trying to do more than just rap.Pharaohe Monch: When I wrote and I titled it, mind you I'm on Rawkus Records at the time, I deliver the record and they're like, 'You cannot call this song ???Rape???, You have to change the title." I'm like, ???Isn't this Rawkus Records???? I don't understand why if I was shooting a film, why I couldn't call the film Rape. Children are raped and men are raped in prison, it's not an attack on women. Why can't I use my words the way I want to use them? [A female employee at Rawkus] was like, "You will lose so many female fans if you put this song out. I'm just telling you in advance."AllHipHop.com: Did you?Pharoahe Monch: Yup. I think people listen to music differently, bit I had to take that chance because that's what all of this is about. If I had it to do over I probably would do the same thing, but the thing about "Rape" [and] why I like the song so much is because-secretly, I want to be a filmmaker, so I'm like, 'Embody this character. Don't just write the lines, you have to sound a little deranged on this song. Really embrace the character. Go into your room and say that s**t again and mean what you're saying. Nah I need to say it again. I'm not meaning what I'm saying.??? I think people felt it that way, who are able to listen to music that way. [To] some people, it's just a passing song and they're like, "Yo the "Rape" s**t is hot, man.??? Some people be like, "You're on some other s**t." My manager was telling me one time, when she was in college she was in a poetry class and there was this guy who was nice looking dude who all the chick kind of dug, and he got up and he read a piece and he had two chairs on the stage and he was like, "I'm sitting here with my lovely girlfriend. I love you so much. I love you so much." Then he just turns on the "girl," there's no girl there, and he starts choking her in the piece. And everybody's like . And [she said] after that point she was like, everybody looked at him completely different. So ya know, sometimes you gotta keep your inner-crazy to yourself. That's sometimes how I look at that song.AllHipHop.com: Do you regret making that decision? Do you think on that record you may have let the crazy out a little too much?Pharoahe Monch: [shakes his head no] I still think it???s one of those songs that keeps MCs like, "Hmmm. I don't know if we should diss Pharoahe."

erewhon

Damn. That's amazing. Very informative for all of us that were wondering what the hell Pharoahe was thinking (i.e. the whole f'n world).

I love how he's like "nah, it's just like if I had made a movie about rape?" Yeah, and? People aren't exactly into rape in movies either.

deej

So ya know, sometimes you gotta keep your inner-crazy to yourself. That's sometimes how I look at that song.

this is how i've come to look at message boarding

but seriously,

Swayze

Pharoahe Monch: [shakes his head no] I still think it???s one of those songs that keeps MCs like, "Hmmm. I don't know if we should diss Pharoahe."

This is line of thinking is weird, funny and crazy at the same time.