Interview with Plastic Little's Jayson Scott Musson: Too Black for B.E.T.
Philly artist Jayson Scott Musson has got to be happy (in addition to persuasive). Why, you ask?
1. Musson just had a solo show in the UK for his controversial poster series "Too Black for B.E.T."
2. His rap group, Plastic Little, just released a new single.
Art in the Age's Ben Woodward talked with Jayson about everything from The Black Panthers to Harry Potter. And you get to read it all here...
Ben Woodward: Who are you and where have you come from?
My name is Jayson Scott Musson, and I'm originally from Spring Valley, New York, about two hours away from Philly. Mapquest it. I've been living in Philadelphia since about 1996.
BW: What is a typical day like for you?
JSM: It starts sometime in the afternoon and ends sometime around 5 am. I write, look at porn, read, write some more, get discouraged, get psyched again, write some more, eat some food, look at porn, check my MySpace account, then fall asleep. Sometimes I make 'art'.
BW: What was life like as a young boy for you?
JSM: I was very fat and socially withdrawn. I spent a lot of time reading and making comic books, and living in fear of getting beat up by my older brother, David, who was an athlete and a hit with the ladies.
Pictured: Members of Plastic Little, assorted revelry
BW: How did you meet Kurt (Plastic Little member)?
JSM: I met Kurt Hunte (aka No Body's Child and Mr. Bombadillo of Plastic Little) when we were about ten. Kurt's family had just moved to Spring Valley from the Bronx, and he and his sister were riding BMX bikes around the block. Me and my crew of Phillipino and Haitian friends were like, "Who the hell is that kid?"
On Kurt's fifth go around the block, I yelled,
"HEY YOU! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"
He replied, "I'm Kurt!"
A lifelong friendship was born.
BW: Why did you move to Philadelphia?
JSM: I came to Philly to go to Temple University. In high school I was enamored with The Black Panther Party. In 1996 Bobby Seale taught in Temple's Criminal Justice Department, and I wanted to meet and learn at the foot of this great man. When I got to school I realized that I wasn't a big fan of other people, that justice really didn't exist, and that Temple was more concerned with being a business than giving a unique experience to its undergrads.
BW: How did Plastic Little start?
JSM: Plastic Little has its roots in an older rap group called Pro-Tolous. It was this underground outfit which was comprised of four emcees. It was fun, but 'We're Gonna Change the World' type rap.
Once in awhile Kurt would come on stage as 'Jamaican Kurt' and do dancehall shit during this song called 'Thang, Thang', in which we were mocking the current state of Hip-Hop at the time. Little did we know how much that song would influence the creation of Plastic Little. It was the first time we were just having fun doing a song, versus doing a song to make a grand point.
Eventually Shuji moved back to Japan, and we all just went about our lives at The University of the Arts.
But it's hard to not create, y'know? In the summer of 2001, I was invited to do some spoken word at the Aqua Lounge. In a matter of three days, me and Kurt wrote the first three songs that would be Plastic Little, one of which is 'Miller Time' from Thug Paradise 2.1. We didnt have our own production, so we wrote it over Stereolab's "Metronomic Underground", and performed to a crowd of four people (Kurt's girlfriend and her roommates). Jon and Squid joined afterward to make Plastic Little what it is today.
BW: Is the name from the anime cartoon?
JSM: Yeah. I was always a big anime fan, and always saw this movie called 'Plastic Little' on the stands but never rented it. I'd joke with Kurt that we'd do this project called Plastic Little. Sometimes being in a band/music group sucks, and in order to maintain your love of music, you need something on the side you can be playful with. During the Pro-Tolous time, the notion of doing a 'Plastic Little thing' kept me enjoying making rap.
BW: Are you scared to go on tour with Dizzy Rascal? Do you have a stab-proof vest?
JSM: Nah, I'm not afraid. Dizzy is a civilized sorta dude. All in all, I can't feel threatened by people with British accents. Still though, I wouldn't mind a stab-proof vest. I'd go around talking all types of shit if I had one.
BW: Do you like Grime Rappin'?
JSM: I can't really say I'm a big connoisseur of Grime. People out in England seem to separate 'Grime' from 'Hip-Hop' which makes no sense to me. I guess to be a 'Hip-Hop' artist you have to be boring and dress like it's 1982, and 'Grime' rappers have to be violent. Grime, though, has an energy that is pretty refreshing.
Two posters/spreads from
BW: Where did the Too Black for B.E.T. stuff come from?
JSM: The Too Black work comes out of these stickers that Kurt and I used to put up around UArts. We made up this fake gang called The Knives, and we wrote really insulting slogans on postal stickers. Them was the golden days.
BW: What was the best town to play in?
JSM: I always love Baltimore. Hands down. They know how to fucking party.
BW: In the last few years, you have changed up your styles in music and art. The American Sneakers side project is a lot different than Plastic Little. Your newer artwork is much more illustrative and simple, with super clean line work. What was the change? Why go back to drawing and acoustic?
JSM: I don't know if the change-up is due to getting on in years or just something that has always been there. Music-wise, I've always liked to sing, but I'm not too great of a singer, but I'd still write songs and just store them away. Also, I didn't feel comfortable enough to sing in front of anyone until I met Steven James. I didn't care (in a good way) if he thought my singing sucked or not.
Illustration-wise, I really wanted to overcome my fear of using a brush, and was just like "Fuck it. I'm just going to have to make drawings that don't have much control to them if I want to learn how to use this retarded-ass brush thing." Prior to that, I just drew with Micron pens and made them look like brushwork. Once I got the hang of it, I was able to make stuff much faster, and was pleased with the outcome.
BW: Where is the your subject matter coming from?
JSM: When I draw now, I'm taking notes on my memories and experiences - to pay tribute to the world by capturing aspects of it that would otherwise be forgotten by me.
When I do posters, it's pure fantasy based on a perfect dystopia that exists inside my head. If I can get my shit together, the next episode of Too Black for BET will echo this place and attitude perfectly.
BW: Favorite MC?
JSM: Brad Neely's 'Baby Cakes'
Skywalker v. Potter
BW: Which is riper for lyrics: Starwars or Harry Potter?
JSM: This is a tough one, man...I think Star Wars because the movies are more memorable than Harry Potter. In our society, people identify with things that are visual way more than literature. But trust me, I love the Harry Potter books, and cried my ass off reading The Deathly Hallows. "Here Lies Dobby, A Free Elf." Dude...you don't even know...
BW: WU or Dipset?
JSM: WU. I feel like I should pay Ghost for the amount of inspiration he's lent me.
Want more Musson? Check out Dazed Digital's video interview to see more talk/work from Jayson.
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