Reason Interview: MeekMonizzLLLLLLe14 aka Monizzle14
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5th Letter
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5th Letter- Where are you from?
Monizzle14- Born and Raised just outside of Hartford Connecticut
5th Letter- What's it like out there?
Monizzle14- The Hartford area is like the border line between New England and New York. You have influence and population that has ties to New York and the mid Atlantic and others that have family up in Massachusetts and Maine and Vermont that bring that part of the country down the CT. People think Hartford and all of CT is a bunch of rich people and that is a lie. There are small parts of towns tons of money but most of my Central Connecticut Area is either middle class (how i grew up), urban poverty, and or low class redneck/rural. It can be allot of feast or famine.
5th Letter- How did it influence your upbringing?
Monizzle14- Growing up i went to church in Hartford in the hood and grew up in an emerging suburb. So I had friends that were mostly white from my town i got to know but then on weekends i hung with black family and friends. So i was able to experience 2 different cultures at the same time. Also Boston and New York tend to segregate from each other. Living in CT i have been able to chill in both cities and understand their cultures and use their lingo/slang. I also like the Yankees and the Patriots. There are also a considerable amount of Giants and Red Sox fans which is unique about CT.
5th Letter- What made you get into hockey?
Monizzle14- I was obsessed with the NBA till i was 4. I also lived 15 minutes from the NBA HOF in Springfield Massachusetts. In 94 when i was 4 we moved to the suburbs and kids at daycare were playing street hockey. I started playing and was really good at it. Money was tight back then so i couldn't start playing on ice till I was 7. Every gift for birthday's and christmas was hockey gear from my parents and family. They made it work and sacrificed allot for it. It's not a cheap sport.
Most kids start skating at age 4 i didn't start skating till 7 so i trailed behind till about 8th grade. That's when i caught eyes was on the top travel teams. In high school i played on a team that made the final 4 my sophomore year and was #1 ranked in the state for a period during my Senior year. Given the tons of talent i was more of a role player my last 2 years. But we won allot.
5th Letter- Did your black friends tease you about it?
Monizzle14- Black friends not really. A few jokes here and there but they thought it was dope i played the sport. In middle school kids used to give the typical Oreo jokes cause i played hockey but that faded in high school. But those jokes were from white kids in my school. Little did they know half of them would be listening to wayne mixtapes years later trying to be "black" so bad haha.
5th Letter- How long did you play organized Hockey?
Monizzle14- From 98 to 2012 stopped playing after i graduated from college (played college club hockey). Since 2012 i started running and have ran 1 full marathon and about 4 half marathons.
5th Letter- What were your early memories of hip hop?
Monizzle14- I grew up in a household with both sides of the fam were Southern Baptist so hip hop was not something played but 2 moments stood out:
1. In 93 or 94 my dad played the single "Jump" by Kriss Kross and i knew the whole hook by 4. That was clean enough to be played in the household with other clean pop/r&b.
2. My uncle who was 13 years younger than my dad who somehow was able to buy rap albums. He was huge on the west coast i would discover the chronic and ? in his room in the mid 90's when he was in high school. Being the youngest my uncle was able to buy hip hop music as my grandparents chilled out by the time he was born. My dad would have never been able to buy hip hop in his high school days. But that's how parents get with time.
cool side note: My uncle loved all hip hop but growing in in Massachusetts as a black teen he hated the celtics due to the all white team. He loved the west coast rap since he was a Lakers fan. Hence the Chronic and ? being some of his favorites. Many black up in CT and Mass cheered for the Lakers due to them having many black players. My uncle would also play hip hop in his crib through the late 90s which is why i loved chilling with him. My parents didn't let me get hip hop albums.
5th Letter- Did you guys feel like the New England area was racist?
Monizzle14- Definitely. My dad was born in Portsmouth Virginia about 20 miles from where Gee 757 grew up. The south was still getting out of segregation and they moved to the Boston area when my dad was 7. He experienced more ignorance face to face up in the Boston Area than he did in VA for his first 7 years. The biggest difference is how racism was shown.
Up north it was more subtle at times and hidden by media and school systems. But it up in New England Blacks could advance after hard work and make more money. Down south it was straightforward via segregation and lynchings/killings. That is why both sides of my family moved north form the JIm Crow South. There was more growth and money for all races up north despite the ignorance and racism. And up here despite the racism there were still tons of whites who were cool with black people in my family. Also many Macklemore type whites who had white guilt and wanted to treat minorities well. Remember Massachusetts just had a Black Governor a few years ago (my Grandfather helped his campaign).
5th Letter- Back to the hip hop talk. Who are your favorite and least favorite rappers?
Monizzle14- Favorite Rappers: The Roots, J Cole, Jay Z, Kanye, and Oddisee. Least Favorite Rappers: Kevin Gates, Ace Hood, Gudda Gudda.
5th Letter- What are your favorite albums?
Monizzle14- The Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest, College Dropout - Kanye, How I Got Over - The Roots
5th Letter- What are your favorite songs from those albums?
Monizzle14- Low End Theory - Buggin Out, College Dropout - Never Let Me Down. How I Got Over - Dear ? 2.0
5th Letter- What are your thoughts on today's hip hop?
Monizzle14- I really have less hate for modern hip hop in 2016 than i did 2 or 3 years ago. I think now being 25 i have learned to be ok with the turnt and mumble rap for parties and working out but still being able to grab a cole or odisee album to listen to for some real ? . Hip hop is self medicating itself at this point in the 2000's. You are starting to see gimmicks like Young Thug not sell well and flop only to be replaced by the Lil Yachtys who most likely will not sell well in a few years like Young Thug now. At the same time J Cole who raps about real life issues went platinum and sold out nearly every major city. I went to the Hartford Cole show last year and saw 30,000 people at our biggest venue in the city and my faith in real messages reaching kids 4 to 10 years younger than me was happening in hip hop.
I do think that rappers overall need to really stop flooding the market and choose quality of quantity. But again hip hop is self medicating itself those rappers like Yung Thug who flood the market flop while those who improve their craft (Big Sean Dark Sky Paradise) get elevated to another tier due to them actually slowing down and making a better product.
Monizzle14- Born and Raised just outside of Hartford Connecticut
5th Letter- What's it like out there?
Monizzle14- The Hartford area is like the border line between New England and New York. You have influence and population that has ties to New York and the mid Atlantic and others that have family up in Massachusetts and Maine and Vermont that bring that part of the country down the CT. People think Hartford and all of CT is a bunch of rich people and that is a lie. There are small parts of towns tons of money but most of my Central Connecticut Area is either middle class (how i grew up), urban poverty, and or low class redneck/rural. It can be allot of feast or famine.
5th Letter- How did it influence your upbringing?
Monizzle14- Growing up i went to church in Hartford in the hood and grew up in an emerging suburb. So I had friends that were mostly white from my town i got to know but then on weekends i hung with black family and friends. So i was able to experience 2 different cultures at the same time. Also Boston and New York tend to segregate from each other. Living in CT i have been able to chill in both cities and understand their cultures and use their lingo/slang. I also like the Yankees and the Patriots. There are also a considerable amount of Giants and Red Sox fans which is unique about CT.
5th Letter- What made you get into hockey?
Monizzle14- I was obsessed with the NBA till i was 4. I also lived 15 minutes from the NBA HOF in Springfield Massachusetts. In 94 when i was 4 we moved to the suburbs and kids at daycare were playing street hockey. I started playing and was really good at it. Money was tight back then so i couldn't start playing on ice till I was 7. Every gift for birthday's and christmas was hockey gear from my parents and family. They made it work and sacrificed allot for it. It's not a cheap sport.
Most kids start skating at age 4 i didn't start skating till 7 so i trailed behind till about 8th grade. That's when i caught eyes was on the top travel teams. In high school i played on a team that made the final 4 my sophomore year and was #1 ranked in the state for a period during my Senior year. Given the tons of talent i was more of a role player my last 2 years. But we won allot.
5th Letter- Did your black friends tease you about it?
Monizzle14- Black friends not really. A few jokes here and there but they thought it was dope i played the sport. In middle school kids used to give the typical Oreo jokes cause i played hockey but that faded in high school. But those jokes were from white kids in my school. Little did they know half of them would be listening to wayne mixtapes years later trying to be "black" so bad haha.
5th Letter- How long did you play organized Hockey?
Monizzle14- From 98 to 2012 stopped playing after i graduated from college (played college club hockey). Since 2012 i started running and have ran 1 full marathon and about 4 half marathons.
5th Letter- What were your early memories of hip hop?
Monizzle14- I grew up in a household with both sides of the fam were Southern Baptist so hip hop was not something played but 2 moments stood out:
1. In 93 or 94 my dad played the single "Jump" by Kriss Kross and i knew the whole hook by 4. That was clean enough to be played in the household with other clean pop/r&b.
2. My uncle who was 13 years younger than my dad who somehow was able to buy rap albums. He was huge on the west coast i would discover the chronic and ? in his room in the mid 90's when he was in high school. Being the youngest my uncle was able to buy hip hop music as my grandparents chilled out by the time he was born. My dad would have never been able to buy hip hop in his high school days. But that's how parents get with time.
cool side note: My uncle loved all hip hop but growing in in Massachusetts as a black teen he hated the celtics due to the all white team. He loved the west coast rap since he was a Lakers fan. Hence the Chronic and ? being some of his favorites. Many black up in CT and Mass cheered for the Lakers due to them having many black players. My uncle would also play hip hop in his crib through the late 90s which is why i loved chilling with him. My parents didn't let me get hip hop albums.
5th Letter- Did you guys feel like the New England area was racist?
Monizzle14- Definitely. My dad was born in Portsmouth Virginia about 20 miles from where Gee 757 grew up. The south was still getting out of segregation and they moved to the Boston area when my dad was 7. He experienced more ignorance face to face up in the Boston Area than he did in VA for his first 7 years. The biggest difference is how racism was shown.
Up north it was more subtle at times and hidden by media and school systems. But it up in New England Blacks could advance after hard work and make more money. Down south it was straightforward via segregation and lynchings/killings. That is why both sides of my family moved north form the JIm Crow South. There was more growth and money for all races up north despite the ignorance and racism. And up here despite the racism there were still tons of whites who were cool with black people in my family. Also many Macklemore type whites who had white guilt and wanted to treat minorities well. Remember Massachusetts just had a Black Governor a few years ago (my Grandfather helped his campaign).
5th Letter- Back to the hip hop talk. Who are your favorite and least favorite rappers?
Monizzle14- Favorite Rappers: The Roots, J Cole, Jay Z, Kanye, and Oddisee. Least Favorite Rappers: Kevin Gates, Ace Hood, Gudda Gudda.
5th Letter- What are your favorite albums?
Monizzle14- The Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest, College Dropout - Kanye, How I Got Over - The Roots
5th Letter- What are your favorite songs from those albums?
Monizzle14- Low End Theory - Buggin Out, College Dropout - Never Let Me Down. How I Got Over - Dear ? 2.0
5th Letter- What are your thoughts on today's hip hop?
Monizzle14- I really have less hate for modern hip hop in 2016 than i did 2 or 3 years ago. I think now being 25 i have learned to be ok with the turnt and mumble rap for parties and working out but still being able to grab a cole or odisee album to listen to for some real ? . Hip hop is self medicating itself at this point in the 2000's. You are starting to see gimmicks like Young Thug not sell well and flop only to be replaced by the Lil Yachtys who most likely will not sell well in a few years like Young Thug now. At the same time J Cole who raps about real life issues went platinum and sold out nearly every major city. I went to the Hartford Cole show last year and saw 30,000 people at our biggest venue in the city and my faith in real messages reaching kids 4 to 10 years younger than me was happening in hip hop.
I do think that rappers overall need to really stop flooding the market and choose quality of quantity. But again hip hop is self medicating itself those rappers like Yung Thug who flood the market flop while those who improve their craft (Big Sean Dark Sky Paradise) get elevated to another tier due to them actually slowing down and making a better product.
Comments
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5th Letter- How did you discover the IC?
Monizzle14- I remember in the mid 2000's searching for different hip hop sites to get stories like realtalkny and a few others. One time all hip hop came on a search. I was first into the illseed articles and i think i even sent one of the rumors to illseed that he shouted me out for. After being on the main page in the rumours i decided to join the IC.
5th Letter- What was your first memories of the IC?
Monizzle14- Really H-Rap and Gee always debating other posters nonstop. Gee being the dumb cop and H-Rap being the intelligent cop. Some of the Malice and Bcotton stannery as well. And you can't forget the constant New York vs South threads as well.
5th Letter- How long have you been on the IC?
Monizzle14- Since January of 2010. First as just Monizzle then something happened where that account was tied to an old email address i could never get back in. Then i made the current account Monizzle14 aka MeekMonizzle14 in 2011.
5th Letter- How did your beef start with Malice/B Cotton?
Monizzle14- At some point after joining i was calling them out for their blind stannery of Wayne. Mind you i have been a fan of Lil wayne/Cash Money since around that bling bling 1999.
But these cats sounded like your friend who is in one of those pyramid schemes selling things. Just a fake excitement over anything and everything. Mike Malice got mad and started trying to call me out on the hockey jokes. Bcotton did the broken record "you a ? " or "didn't read" stance. It only got worse when these blind stands made up a fake posse on the internet called Vegas Lights.
At the end of the day it is all in good fun. I don't have actual hate for them personally. I really hope they are just troll accounts. I can't imagine a broke Detroit Wayne stan who cried when he fake retired being bcotton. Nor can i imagine someone with a wife and kids who is a groupie for Wayne and cousin loving Kevin Gates in Mike Malice.
5th Letter- You've also had issues with KillaCham how did that start?
Monizzle14- The beef started because i have called out nikki over the years for her soul selling to popular music and specifically trying to whitewash herself in the public eye. As far as the memorable situation last year that started when i actually was defending Nikki in the Safaree vs Nikki Thread. I was saying that it was Safaree's own fault for not notating or demanding payment/writing credit at the time of songs being dropped. He randomly came at me with a comment and i responded and said something in the way of "bring it".
He then pulled up on my facebook and linked in and found photos of me then came thru to CT for work and wanted to fight me 1 on 1. I decided not to pull up and meet him mainly cause i didn't wanna get worldstar hip hop or set up. Also knowing what crazy white people do out here in CT i didn't wanna be in a ditch somewhere meeting some random dude from the IC asking for pictures for me. I took the L and moved on it is what it is. To his credit he modified my linked in account and made it appear like i worked at subway and made up a fake hometown just so bcotton ain't come with me with young thug like goons from Detroit. It was an L i can't out run that. At the end of the day i still think it was the smarter of the 2 moves.
5th Letter- Y'all cordial now?
Monizzle14- I wouldn't say cordial but i ain't calling his suspect ass out anymore knowing at how crazy he is. In some ways i still think it is hypocritical for him to not want to reveal his personal employment (even on his interview) but then want to send photos of me personally and call me out. I still respect the fact he did modify some of the stuff so other things about me didn't get out there.
I am still weirded out but his suspect behavior. He literally was spending his free time looking for a black suburban hockey player for hours around town. This was not a typical pull up on you and fight you type ? . He got way too into the who situation.
5th Letter- So I'm guessing you don't really work at Subway?
Monizzle14- No i am not going to pull a Killa Cham and disclose the company i work for. However I do work in the sports and concert industry. I do allot of research on people that buy concert/sports tickets as well as how people sell them. It's an industry i have been intrigued by for years and enjoy working in. Many times over the years as well you may have seen me point out some of this info as far as the type of tours people have gone on. I have a pretty expansive memory of both sports and concert venues and their layouts as well.
5th Letter- What made you get into that field.
Monizzle14- I was a communications major with a business minor. The Newspaper/Media Industry was taking more L's than tyga coming out of college. So i ended up having a few jobs and ran into this gig a few years ago. Also despite the economic shifts there will always be a need for sports and entertainment as well as research on it. If anything it can only grow. So it's nice to have the job security as well.
5th Letter- What are some of the craziest things you've seen since you've been on the IC?
Monizzle14- the day day detroitboi situation definitely comes tom mind where he had the fake alias. Certainly the fact there is a french Montana stan (international). Plenty of Gee vs everybody battles pre and post h-rap eras.
5th Letter- What are some things you'd like to change about the IC?
Monizzle14- All my issues have to deal with the topics on the board, Certainly more restrictions on how many topics you can create/a certain amount of posts before you can make a topic (not sure if that exists), I also think people like 5 grand should be banned from half the topics they made. Some of the better rapper or best album from ny poll ideas at times gets out of hand. I wish people would spread out the content over a longer period of time instead of creating all 6 topics within a 48 hour period.
5th Letter- There is a thread limit for new posters. Why do you think 5 grand should be banned?
Monizzle14- Most of the threads he makes can be solved in a few comments are are just so out in left field that everyone is confused. 5grandpa has a wealth of hip hop knowledge and history i respect that. But as far as thread making dude just doesn't have it.
5th Letter- Who are some of your favorite and least favorite posters?
Monizzle14- Favorites: The Recepie, Dalyricalbandit aka the hov of the IC/AHH, Cashmoneydux, Lab Baby, Aggy AF. Least Favorites: International, XXcivic whateverthefuck it is, Gee757, Bcotton5
5th Letter- Word association 2 words or less
5th Letter- Lil Wayne
Monizzle14- raps Tyson
5th Letter- Birdman
Monizzle14- crooked thief
5th Letter- Bcotton
Monizzle14- male groupie
5th Letter- Siqnih Da Trapper
Monizzle14- respekt
5th Letter- Why you say Wayne is raps Tyson?
Monizzle14- He rose to such high heights in the rap game back in the mid 2000's only to crash and burn and be resorted to club shows and commercials. They both also had high entertainment value in their prime and struggled with demons of drugs and going to jail. They also lost property as far as wayne in miami and tyson in connecticut.
5th Letter- Any last words before we wrap up?
Monizzle14- Shout out to the IC. Even the dudes i debate and argue with like geto boy and texasdaking and a few others. -
Dope interview once again.
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5th Letter wrote: »
5th Letter- What made you get into hockey?
Monizzle14- I was obsessed with the NBA till i was 4. I also lived 15 minutes from the NBA HOF in Springfield Massachusetts. In 94 when i was 4 we moved to the suburbs and kids at daycare were playing street hockey. I started playing and was really good at it. Money was tight back then so i couldn't start playing on ice till I was 7. Every gift for birthday's and christmas was hockey gear from my parents and family. They made it work and sacrificed allot for it. It's not a cheap sport.
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This a good interview.
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5th Letter wrote: »
5th Letter- What are some things you'd like to change about the IC?
Monizzle14- All my issues have to deal with the topics on the board, Certainly more restrictions on how many topics you can create/a certain amount of posts before you can make a topic (not sure if that exists), I also think people like 5 grand should be banned from half the topics they made. Some of the better rapper or best album from ny poll ideas at times gets out of hand. I wish people would spread out the content over a longer period of time instead of creating all 6 topics within a 48 hour period.
5th Letter- There is a thread limit for new posters. Why do you think 5 grand should be banned?
Monizzle14- Most of the threads he makes can be solved in a few comments are are just so out in left field that everyone is confused. 5grandpa has a wealth of hip hop knowledge and history i respect that. But as far as thread making dude just doesn't have it.
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5th Letter wrote: »
5th Letter- What made you get into hockey?
Monizzle14- I was obsessed with the NBA till i was 4. I also lived 15 minutes from the NBA HOF in Springfield Massachusetts. In 94 when i was 4 we moved to the suburbs and kids at daycare were playing street hockey. I started playing and was really good at it. Money was tight back then so i couldn't start playing on ice till I was 7. Every gift for birthday's and christmas was hockey gear from my parents and family. They made it work and sacrificed allot for it. It's not a cheap sport.
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Lmao yeah this ? got me too -
Subway, nuff said.
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Didn't read
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In before...................
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Didn't read
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5th Letter wrote: »
5th Letter- What are some things you'd like to change about the IC?
Monizzle14- All my issues have to deal with the topics on the board, Certainly more restrictions on how many topics you can create/a certain amount of posts before you can make a topic (not sure if that exists), I also think people like 5 grand should be banned from half the topics they made. Some of the better rapper or best album from ny poll ideas at times gets out of hand. I wish people would spread out the content over a longer period of time instead of creating all 6 topics within a 48 hour period.
5th Letter- There is a thread limit for new posters. Why do you think 5 grand should be banned?
Monizzle14- Most of the threads he makes can be solved in a few comments are are just so out in left field that everyone is confused. 5grandpa has a wealth of hip hop knowledge and history i respect that. But as far as thread making dude just doesn't have it.
Bruh you've got to be the lamest Ol head ever -
Good interview.....Ct in here....
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Oh ? I remember them Vegas lights ? lmaoooooooo
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Put some respeck on them #vegaslights tho, let us shine
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Peezy_Jenkins wrote: »Put some respeck on them #vegaslights tho, let us shine
What happened to @signh da trapper? -
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CashmoneyDux wrote: »Peezy_Jenkins wrote: »Put some respeck on them #vegaslights tho, let us shine
What happened to @signh da trapper?
That's the bro, he just don't b on here as much -
#VegasLights we still shinnin'
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vegasdykes was the most cringe worthy moment i've seen on the IC, it was like watching a bunch of autistic grown men playing star wars with brooms while making mongoloid sound effects that are been filmed for some sadistic reason.
Good interview tho. -
Vegas lights one more time for the fans!!!
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just.might.b.ok wrote: »vegasdykes was the most cringe worthy moment i've seen on the IC, it was like watching a bunch of autistic grown men playing star wars with brooms while making mongoloid sound effects that are been filmed for some sadistic reason.
Good interview tho.
? get ? , something u have never seen in person because u look like Jared from subway b4 he lost weight, so I'm gonna file this in the backhanded compliment department, thanks fam -
GOAT interview simply cuz I got a shout out.5th Letter wrote: »
5th Letter- What made you get into that field.
Monizzle14- I was a communications major with a business minor. The Newspaper/Media Industry was taking more L's than tyga coming out of college.
Quintuple entendre. You have officially broken literature.
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How dare you do a whole interview with him and not ask him bout his obsession with tidal??? You missed out on gold lol
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Wow... So Monzille actually is black. I thought KillaCham was the one who was black.? so KillaCham is a racist..
Great Interview -
Nice Interview
