[Brian’s note: I met J Trek- from Oklahoma City- via the web a few months back. He got in touch with me concerning an online Hip Hop magazine he planned to start, featuring interviews with rap music artists who were largely unknown but who represented far more what Hip Hop “is” than what it appears to be. I sent him a few of my unreleased songs, we did some email exchange back and forth and about a month and a half ago he called me- while I was drinking- to conduct an interview. The following is more or less what you’ll see on his upcoming website]

The Pelican Brief: An Interview With New Orleans’ Brian Pelican

By J Trek

JT: Alright, so first thing is first; when I first contacted you about an interview, you were calling yourself Don Libido. What’s with the name change?

BP: Don Libido is dead, long live Don Libido. I’ll tell you, man, there was hella time that passed that I thought I’d never drop the Libido name. But the name reflects a phase in my life, all as an artist, asshole, cat too over concerned about shit that kept me away from recording and performing. That is, dude, I can’t even lie: the past couple of years for me have been a cycle of drugs, alcohol and emotionally unstable, wait, scratch that, just plain fucked up women. I have stories. STD and pregnancy scares, stalkers, chicks still stuck on their ex’s so they betray you, eh, you know, right? I’m cleaning up my act and actions, now. Not that I’m pretending to be something that I’m not. I’m just trying to bring the right kind of energy out and reach people who I can build with, though it may not seem like it on the surface. I’ve been wearing my heart on the sleeve lately with songs and sometimes that shit is ugly. Hopefully some people out there will get the beauty in that. And as it goes, I still have one project left to record under that alias of Don Libido. That’s with my brother, Caligula. The group is called Libigula, the name being a combination of both of our emcee names. That’s going to be my swan song as Libido.

JT: I respect that. But does that mean there will be no more songs that reflect a life that’s kind of low life? No more songs about sex with fucked up women and so drunk you don’t know where you were the night before?

BP: Songs like that may be inevitable. I mean, just being human, fuck ups are likely. And you know, I’m not even so sure that presenting myself as something “ideal” is the ideal way to present myself musically. Especially in Hip Hop. There’s so much still riding on “keeping it real,” a decade plus after that shit became popular. Fuck, I hate that phrase. How am I able to do anything but keep it real? Even if I do a song that’s entirely fiction, I still have the mundane shit and general madness to deal with once I leave the studio. How’s about I record complete bullshit about my life? Let’s keep it bullshit, brah. I’m gonna record an album just about fucking triple titty, quadruple pussy, AIDS infected baboons from the planet Pluto and do it all straight-faced.

JT: Pluto’s not a planet anymore, man. Read your science books. You’re not keeping it real.

BP: [laughs] Exactly. I’m just ranting, man. Cool?

JT: Cool. Go ahead.

BP: You meet me at a bar, at some bullshit club, whatever, I’m still Brian. You can be some douchebag and have issues with your own perceptions of me, gassed off your insecurities, try to start a fight or whatever. Or just hang out, have a beer and shoot the shit with me. I have my own day to day hustle to deal with, you know? Let’s avoid the stress. Hi, I’m Brian, pleased to make your acquaintance.

JT: That’s real, man. So there are people locally who have issues with you?

BP: Eh, not so much at the moment. Maybe one or two guys. I don’t know, man. I keep my life pretty basic right now. Not trying to start or welcome shit from anybody. I have my regular hangout spots like Handsome Willys. Plug, plug. I drink a few beers, spend time with friends, watch the Hornets ball, deal with what I must to survive and so on. My life is so just like the average cat. Never really on some better than you shit. I just like to create, be it music or writing.

JT: Yeah, but who wants to hear songs about being Joe Average?

BP: Sometimes people want to listen to something they can relate to, sometimes they’re just looking to be entertained. I think I’m pretty adept at both, even giving a creative interpretation of my reality in song. You remember how NWA was able to get away with recording songs about a life they did not live? Their whole angle was that they were just essentially reporting what they witnessed from the streets? So I understand. Well, let’s say I maybe, MAYBE lived a life that far more reflects my reality than what NWA was recording about their respective lives, and then decide to record songs about my life. Maybe that’s what the Brian Pelican songs are now. Maybe.

JT: So you have issues with NWA and groups like that, that had and have the whole “street reporter” angle and aren’t reporting from personal experience?

BP: Not at all. I have a ton of respect for all those NWA cats, specifically. What they did was art. The subsequent wannabe NWAs that spawned from their creation of “gangsta rap,” eh, most of them blew. There was nothing added to the mix, just the same tired shit rehashed. That’s the garbage I have a problem with nowadays. Some artists, such as DJ Quik, AMG, MC Eiht, Hi-C and Snoop Dogg of course and a few others who are slipping my memory right now did something a little different, something creative, able to add a little something to the genre of gangsta rap and make their own distinct voice. That’s hella cool. My point is, even if you’re keeping it not-so-real but still have something creative, dynamic, mutant to bring out musically, then that’s fucking awesome. That’s magic. That said, most rap music is utter fucking garbage, not just gangsta shit, but shit in general. And it’s been like that for years. But that ain’t Hip Hop. I feel like an old man some days, dude, always wanting to complain about how shit was better way back when. But I promise you I’m not going to do one of those kind of songs.

JT: Yeah man, I’m fucking tired of hearing the slew of “back in the day” songs. I’m going to bitch slap the next emcee who does some nostalgic bullshit.

BP: [laughs] Uh, yeah, I understand. I have a few friends/acquaintances who have recorded songs like that, but I’m not about to get on their case about doing those kind of songs. We use music to get our issues out. If what they did helps them as artists, cool.

JT: Do you feel like what you do is original?

BP: I’m not so sure there is an original idea out there, but I think any and every concept can be mutated and made new. I won’t say there’s nobody who sounds like me, but if that emcee exists, I haven’t met him. I feel pretty fucking original.

JT: I listened to the songs you have online and the few you sent me privately, and yeah man, I’ll give you that. You don’t sound like anybody else I can think of, well, except Paul Barman and Del.

BP: [pause, then laughs] Fuck. Ah, whatever! Being compared to so and so is inevitable when being reviewed by critics. Fuck it. Either you dig what I’m doing or don’t support it. Simple, really.

JT: Okay, so I did a bit of research on you before this interview, including thoroughly researching your MySpace music profile and reading your only interview you have posted there in the blog. So I have some questions, dude.

BP: Alright, shoot, killer.

JT: What’s up with you and women? No offense, man, but you kind of come across as more of a bitch than Atmosphere. Again, no offense, but that’s my initial reaction to you.

BP: No offense taken. I can kind of get where you’re coming from. It’s funny you mention Atmosphere, too, but I don’t feel like going into it, here. My weakness, I guess. Shit, I don’t know, man. I think writing about women I’ve cared for and who may or may not have fucked me over makes for a more interesting song than if I’m talking about, eh, some guy I got into a fight with or whatever. Just doesn’t interest me.

JT: So do you have a significant other at the moment?

BP: Nah, I haven’t been with anyone for the past couple of years now who I’d consider a partner. A couple close calls, women I would have sacrificed my single status for and who managed to fuck with my head far too seriously to the point I’m doing really stupid shit, but eh, whatever. I’m not bitter. Not really. The world has moved on. And that’s all material for more songs.

JT: So what do you look for physically and mentally in a woman?

BP: Where you going with this?

JT: Why the defense? You’re an open book, right?

BP: Yeah. [sighs] I keep on thinking I’m going to meet this chick between 5’3” to 5’6” and has hazel or brownish or, eh, fuck it, I love blue and green eyes too, wears glasses, vegan or vegetarian but is cool with me loving that pork and cattle, heath conscious but drinks beer as a religion, appreciates Hip Hop, overall liberal but gets why I’m technically a Republican, bisexual so she can understand my misogynistic moments because of her own history with women, eh, someone game for a weekend road trip through the South to embrace this part of America or whatever, just spontaneous travel, but also could just do an evening of hanging out at my place with no plans, drinking boxed wine and watching Terry Gilliam movies. Or maybe David Lynch shit, just to be pissed off at the nonsense that asshole makes.

JT: That’s still a bit specific.

BP: Yeah. I know. I don’t think “she” exists, really. Honestly, I’m happy with someone who gets me, period. I have my issues and quirks after 30 plus years of programming from the world around me.

JT: Hmmm [extended pause]

BP: Hey, you asked, man. Wait , this is supposed to be some Hip Hop interview, right?

JT: Yeah, so ummm, which artists are you working with right now in New Orleans?

BP: Primarily it’s me and Tony Skratchere for our group, The Slick Bastards. The projects we have up and coming are going to blow the ass out your panties. I’ve been talking with The Able Chris for a while now about doing a few songs. Far as I’m concerned that shit is guaranteed. Same thing with ATM and C.O. I think we’re just so caught up in our own lives that setting aside that time to record is always an issue. I really want to hit Texas in the near future and turn out a few songs with Blaknificent, who- no disrespect to other producers I know- is the tightest most gets the essence of boom bap cat I know. Blaknif is Hip Hop. Of course there’s the Libigula album with Caligula, which I mentioned already. I’m also just working to put out my solo album as Brian Pelican, called “Non Valide Pour Voyager.”

JT: Non valide pour voyager. Am I pronouncing that right?

BP: Fuck if I know. I butcher French.

JT: What’s with that name for your album?

BP: It sums up my life. It’s French for “not valid for travel.” Those were the words printed on my rejection papers from Canadian Immigration. Back in December, 2007, I planned on visiting a friend in Canada, but due to my criminal record for some bullshit I did in New Orleans- per the Canadian Criminal Code- I am considered a felon. I thought it was just a misdemeanor and didn’t think anything about my arrest in NOLA last year when I travelled up there. So, yeah, I broke the law in the United States, but I paid my dues. I went to OPP [editor’s note: OPP means ‘Orleans Parish Prison’ and has nothing to do with the Naughty By Nature song], paid my fucking fine. But it didn’t matter. They wouldn’t let me in that fucking country. Even the U.S. Border Patrol dude thought my rejection was bullshit given my crime. But as it goes, man, I’m not allowed to step a foot within Canada or I will be arrested and some moose will make me his bitch. I can’t even visit for five years and don’t have the option to become a citizen of Canada until I’m 42 or something.

JT: Were you looking to expatriate to Canada?

BP: Yeah, that was my plan. I love New Orleans. I mean, I’m obsessed with the city but shit has been different since… you know, in a way that I didn’t feel was a supplement to my sanity. So, yeah, I felt the need to head out for a while. Take a breather and be Canadian. Even had it in me to start up a New Orleans Hip Hop scene in Canada, get a few of the cats I know here to move to Vancouver or Toronto and make music.

JT: That would have been cool, man. I like the whole idea of transplanting an entirely foreign Hip Hop scene. And just see what happens…

BP: Yeah, that was the concept. But I can’t go there. But you know, being regulated to New Orleans has given me a new perspective, really. You know where you’re truly welcome and adapt to that. New Orleans will always love me, even when she’s having one of her episodes.

JT: So are there any non-New Orleanian Hip Hop artists that you’re checking for and if given the opportunity would work with?

BP: Well, first I must mention MC Hype of the Jersey Bound Trunk Crew. You gotta check out his music, seriously. He’s one of the couple people I’ve met online who I’d really like to work with. I definitely want to see a collab on my album. There aren’t too many new or relatively new Hip Hop artists I’m checking for. For the most part, eh, most of the cats who have come out over the past ten to fifteen years don’t pique my interest. I mean, dude, seriously, I still listen to Kool Moe Dee and Jungle Brothers like that’s the new shit. That said, I’ve really been into Tech N9ne, Z-Man, Hangar 18, really dig Camu Tao, El-P, Little Brother, MF Grimm, Slaine and La Coka Nostra, umm, damn, I’m trying to think of the recent Hip Hop I’ve been listening to and am getting a major blank space. I think I listen to more Blues these days.

JT: Any last words, shout outs, advice?

BP: Uh, the Hornets will be the 2008 NBA Champions. Eat your veggies, wear a condom when making sweet love and spit on Ray Nagin, often. Oh, and despite the high murder rate and crime in general, New Orleans is still the greatest city in the United States, and if you don’t agree I’ll fucking kill you. I need another beer.