 1. How did Terrorific Ent. start?
Terrorirific Entertainment began its life as three artists who didn't know a thing about producing & recording music and surely not about starting a record label. MastaMind, a former member-LyricaLL SpiLLah, and myself began rapping in late 1995. We had absolutely no equipment to speak of. We had a stereo, a tape deck, pencil, and paper. We used a single earpiece from a set of headphones for our mic that we plugged into the tape deck. That is about as low-budget as you can get. We mainly just freestyled or wrote some little 8 line verse just to see what it would sound like. I then bought a nice mic and as soon as I hooked it up and grabbed it, everything just felt right. So all three of us began making solo albums. During this time and over the first few years we had no beat production what so ever. We were relying on instrumentals from singles that hit store shelves. We didn't care what it was, as long as it was rap and had a beat. Out of the blue LyricaLL SpiLLah asked me if I wanted to form a group. I was down, so I hit up MastaMind, and he was cool too. So we put it together and we're from La Porte, so "LP" came naturally. And since there was three of us and we were such good friends that were always together, "Trinity" came along just as easy, so LP Trinity was born. Trinity in the sense of the root definition, "A unity of three." Not in the spiritual sense. We made one full album as a group and countless tracks just here and there over a two year period. We did shows at our school and surrounding areas. Got our music played in record stores, over the school PA system, all kinds of stuff. The greatest part was being in school and everyone asking us to flow. That last year, which was 1998, we began forming a formidable clique. We had 24 members at one point, most were just our boys from school. We would make freestyle tape after freestyle tape. The summer of 1998 is when we decided to start the label. Trinity 4 Infinity Records was the original title. We said that phrase in our songs a lot, so it just fit. We began selling tapes only, no CD’s. Then we finally got a keyboard in early 1999. Started producing our own beats and we continued to work up from there. The label is still co-owned by MastaMind and myself.
2. Why the change of name?
Two reasons: Number one, the original group, LP Trinity, split up. Some things went down and LyricaLL SpiLLah was released as a result. No hard feelings really. One major reason he left was a difference in style. He is very church oriented and that just didn’t blend well with all of the other styles throughout the cliques. Number two, everyone thought Trinity meant something spiritual, when it never did. So Terrorific Entertainment was born. The name just fits.
3. Who are the members of Terrorific Ent.? What is the history behind the roster and how did yall meet?
Currently we have four artists and two groups. The artists are, myself The Keepa, MastaMind, Fritenite, and Dosia Demon. The groups are Killa Korporation, which consists of MastaMind and me. The other group is new and we don’t have a name yet, but the group includes Fritenite, Dosia Demon, and myself. All together we are known as the Evil Empire. Fritenite is our sole member from Memphis, Tennessee. He’s been down with the clique since early 1998. Dosia Demon is our newest member. He signed on January of 2001. Dosia is comin’ out of St. Paul, Minnesota. I guarantee you’ll think he’s from Memphis though when y’all hear the boy. A lot of y’all might have already, he’s all over the net. We’ve had many other people in and out of the clique. Of course y’all know about LyricaLL SpiLLah by now. We also had Kon who was also from Memphis, Tennessee, he only appeared on one song though. C-Ray was another notable name, he checked in on several songs and put down solid efforts. Other than that, we didn’t really have any other artists that appeared on an album that we released. They were on albums that we did in the past that never made it into anyone else’s hands. As far as how we met everyone…I met MastaMind in 7th grade, we were decent friends, but we didn’t really hit it off. It was during our sophomore year of high school that we were real tight. I met LyricaLL SpiLLah my freshman year of high school on the basketball team. He and MastaMind met through me. I met Fritenite by way of G-Real, who’s now known by B-Low and runs Down-South.com. We ran into Dosia Demon through a demo submission. Everyone else we just met through school.
4. A lot of Texas acts are known for their laid back flow, themes, and beats, but you have taken on the style of horrorcore music. Can you explain horrorcore and tell why?
When I first began forming my opinion towards music and decided to choose rap as my selection, I was in fifth grade. Up until seventh grade I just listened to whatever was on the radio, I didn’t really have a clue. This was back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. But around 1993-1994 up until about 1997, I began listening almost exclusively to underground music from Houston. Of course, the Geto Boys were pretty large and I definitely listened to them, as well as Scarface. But I mainly listened to Street Military, Bam, pretty much the whole Killa Klan. Also one of my all-time favorite albums is “Secrets Of The Hidden Temple” by the Blac Monks. I also liked other groups like Gang Society and others. Plus one of my top two favorite groups ever, Half Dead Organization. These artists and groups were all about hardcore, gangsta, and horrorcore. This is when my sense of music was formed. I couldn’t get enough of the rough beats laced with hardcore lyrics. Needless to say, things have changed a lot here in Houston. We’re one of the few groups remaining that still comes hardcore and often times horrocore. Personally I’m not really into all the money songs and I’m definitely not into the smoking songs. MastaMind and I are completely clean. We’ve even mentioned it in our songs. So, obviously we won’t make any of those laid back-smoking songs and we aren’t rich yet, so we won’t be talking about that either. But what we do know how to do is make up stories for entertainment, or talk about something we’ve seen, or just get buck on someone we don’t like. Those three things, plus getting’ crunk in a club, or reppin’ where we are comin’ from are what we like to talk about. I wouldn’t really say we were straight horrocore and I wouldn’t say we had a Texas style. We have what I think is a good mix of everything. You can see elements of lyricism, Texas flows, Memphis flows, Mid-west flows, horrorcore, get crunk music, and a whole load of other type of styles and genres when you listen to my music or MastaMind’s music. You never know what you’re going to get. That’s the way we like it.
5. Are yall looking for artist and how do yall scout artist?
We aren’t really looking for artists right now. Hopefully in the very near future we can start really looking for folks. We do always keep our ears open though. We actually weren’t scouting for anyone in late 2000 either, but Dosia Demon came along and we had to snatch him up. We really have never scouted for people though. I know me, personally, I like to keep it in the family, so-to-speak. I like to know who I am getting involved with on a personal level, so friends and people I grew up with in school are who I really look at. We get tons of demos too, so we check that out.
6. Who do you think is the hottest act in the camp?
Awe, you’re going to put me on the spot huh? We’re all so unique. I obviously can’t say myself cause then I’ll look bad, haha. I really think MastaMind has the wow factor when it comes to lyrics. He drops many mesmerizing lines. He always amazes me. Fritenite has a flow and a forcefulness that is unmatched in my opinion. Dosia Demon has that horror style music down cold. I have longevity, diversity, and sometimes over-the-top styles going for me. Again, it’s pretty much up-in-the-air as to what you will hear from us. We have so many different things we can throw at you, you always have to stay on guard.
7. So how has Terrorific changed your personal life or is it the same? Dont forget about the females.
Well, Terrorific has made me work a lot harder and I don’t get to hang out as much or play b-ball as much as I would like too. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love making music, whether anyone else likes it or not, I will always make music. The females haven’t changed at all, because I won’t let them interfere. I always seem to pick the worst ones, so I just stopped picking. I’m not like all these rappers out here that have a new woman every night. That just ain’t me. That’s another thing you won’t hear me rap about. I don’t need all these women. I want a real woman whose down for me and only me. And right now I just can’t get that. As I said, I always pick the bad ones and the groupies just won’t cut it. I’m now just focused on music, trying to make my paper, and of course going to school too. I’m actually trying to get myself educated. It’s rough though, trying to hold all this down. But that’s the challenge.
8. What is the best and worst event you went through in the music biz?
I would have to say the worst event was the split-up between LP Trinity. When Lyricall SpiLLah left, we ended on fairly bad terms. He’s the only one that has been in the clique that we never speak to any longer. The best thing to happen to us is tough. Really the small things are what I like best. Just creating music any time I want is my true joy. I also loved doing shows back
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in the day and having everyone ask MastaMind and I to flow for them in school. We don't do shows anymore because it's too hard to get together at the same time and of course Fritenite and Dosia Demon live too far away.
9. Who out there would you like to work with?
I would love to work with the old Three 6 Mafia, Half Dead Organization, and Scarface. They've all since changed their styles, some drastically and some just a little in the recent past. I'd also like to work with Street Military and some other Killa Klan members. Tommy Wright III, Project Pimp, C-9, K-Rock, and UGK would be some others on my list.
10. Who is hot and who is not?
Well, I really shouldn't answer this question, I don't want to offend anyone. But I really think rap is in a lull right now. I'm not impressed with much coming out, especially songs on the radio. So virtually no one is hot and everyone is not. There are songs I like, but I haven't heard a single album that was solid all the way through in several years. But that is just my opinion.
11. What's in your cd player?
DJ Paul's (of Three 6 Mafia) new album entitled "Volume 16 For Da Summa," which is a greatest hits album. Now this I can listen to all the way through. Although only two tracks are from the original album, but this still has some serious classics on it.
12. Every rapper got them so who are the haters and make a shout out to them?
Well, we don't have too many. Especially right now. We have this group Dark Army that hates on us. Mainly one of their artists in particular, P-Manne. They have been dissing for about two years now. Nothing but Internet nonsense, it's childish. They gripe and complain about how we suck and they are the greatest. They e-mail often explaining how they are working on this and they are doing that, but two years now and I haven't heard a single song from them. It's ridiculous, if they are going to say they are better, they should prove it. If they showed me a song right now and I thought it was good, I would straight up tell them. I'm so confused over the whole matter. If you don't like something, why go to our web site all the time? Why waste your time checking us out? It doesn't make any sense to me. It's just like if you don't like a certain type of food, you don't go eating it all the time, you stay away from it, right? These cats just don't have a clue. I'm really not mad at them though, I enjoy their antics. Inflammatory statements just motivate me to write. If they think we shouldn't be rapping, then they would do better by ignoring us.
13. Who are your influences?
Three 6 Mafia and Half Dead Organization. Both of them have influenced me to make music and also have influenced my style a little. Although I have a combination of styles from a lot of artists as well as my own flavor mixed in.
14. Who do you think has had your back from Day 1?
I know MastaMind, Fritenite, and Dosia Demon are right there for me. My whole family is right there with me too. I even have a lot of support from several of my old teachers, mainly Mrs. Davis. She did a lot of things for us when we were first starting out. Pretty much everyone that I can think of that I'm cool with has my back as well as the clique's back. I'm pretty blessed all the way around.
15. How did you get the name KEEPA?
Haha, this is funny and kind of stupid. I couldn't think of a name back in the day, I was rackin' my brain. One day, MastaMind and I were playing a soccer game on the Nintendo and the computer said the phrase, "The Keeper saves!" and I thought it sounded tight, so I'm The Keepa. Pretty strange way to come up with a name, but it has stuck for six years.
16. If any of your past label mates wanted to come back is the door open? Why?
The door is always open. We have no animosity towards any of our old members. We actually may have a surprise on the next Killa Korporation album, but more on that at a later date.
17. What's the hardest part being producer, rapper, or CEO? Which do you enjoy the most?
There really isn't anything hard in that list, maybe just the fact of trying to juggle those three. I do a lot more than that though. I handle all of the finances, receive orders, package orders, ship orders, handle all fan mail, design and maintain our web site, try keeping us all organized, plus, as you mentioned, producer, rapper, and CEO. There really isn't anything I don't like. I probably enjoy making beats the most, I've always been making beats my whole life. I started out making drum beats by beating my fists and fingers on tables or anything I could. When I got to junior high I joined the band and played percussion. You were a big pimp if you were in band back in J high, at least in the early 90's you were. I've just always had music flowing through me. So definitely producing, but writing is a close second.
18. What do you think is holding you back from mainstream-stardom?
The fact that we don't have any watered down, bubble gum songs. We don't have Jennifer Lopez singing on our tracks or nothing. We just keep it strictly underground and strictly for us. We don't make songs for our fans, we don't make music for our family, and we don't make music for the radio. We make all of our music for us. If that holds us back from making tons of money and getting airplay, then so be it. The people who make the music, has to like the music in my opinion. When you start 'making music for the fans' like a lot of these artists say, then that ain't keepin' it real. To me these artists are hypocrites. We tell our fans straight up what we're doing and we make music how we want it to sound. If it ain't comin' straight from our heart, then it ain't real.
19. What's next for the Keepa in music and in life?
Musically nothing is changing. We're all going to keep doin' what we're doin'. We have Fritenite's solo, Dosia Demon's solo, and a brand new Killa Korporation album all in production right now. And you know I'll hit ya with my fourteenth solo album in no time. As far as my life goes, I'm just going to keep runnin' the business, get my education, and live life up. Too much good stuff to do out there.
20. Last Words
My final words are for everyone to be on the lookout and keep supportin'. We ain't goin' nowhere. We stayin' put and we gon' keep hittin' y'all relentlessly.
21. Shout outs
I wanna throw out a shout to that Dyme City for doin' this interview and for givin' us all the support. We appreciate everything y'all boys are doin' for us and everyone. And you know I gotta shout out to my clique the Evil Empire and say what's up to my affiliate DJ Shy 1.
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