Scholarly Pursuits

When you think of cities that have contributed to this thing we call hip hop, Madison, Wisconsin is definitely not the first place that comes to mind. Take the time to delve into it\’s hip hop scene and you\’ll find a place that\’s churning out emcees concerned more with lyrical skills than the flossing, drugs & hoes so prevalent in mainstream hip hop. It\’s this very climate that have birthed the Scholarly Pursuits.

1. Who are Scholarly Pursuits and how did you find your way into this thing called hip-hop?

Jeremy Campbell: First of all, thank you for taking the time to interview us. Much appreciated. Scholarly Pursuits, in my opinion, are two fans that were witnessing the state of something in which they admired, fall into a situation of meaningless marketability on top of ignorance. All that means is a lot of what was/is being put out, in no way shape or form, did anything to accentuate the actual art form of hip hop. \”If it dont make dollars/ it dont make cents”. I feel as though we\’re here to bring back a time when lyricism conquered all. Two turntables and a microphone. \”Take it back to the essence/ back to the best// When the music was inside of you/ I feel it in my chest…”

Ben Ludwigson: I’ve always loved music. No matter what form it takes. We both grew up in La Crosse, Wisconsin and I guess it really started there although neither of us knew it. I would cruise around the bluffs with friends and we would freestyle in the car to whatever we were listening to at the time. I had been doing that since 15. Then I moved to Madison after graduation and met Jeremy. We realized we both loved hip hop, but didn’t necessarily like what was coming out and what the genre was turning into. We found GarageBand last year and then moved on to Logic Studio. We started off just messing around making beats for fun, but realized we actually had the talent to make music. We both come from the lyrical side of hip-hop, not the club bangers or the flashy “I make money, buy cars, ice, and pimp hoes” nonsense. We always appreciated lyricism, poetry, clever references and double entendres, so that translated into what we’re doing now. We make music for us, because we love it. We don’t make music for money. I think that sets us apart from almost everyone else out there. Hip-hop became simply another means to make money for a lot of people. To a lot of people it’s just another job, a way to feed their family. That’s where we differ. We wanted to bring back the raw unpolished feeling and emotion of the music. In essence we had researched the entire hip-hop genre our whole lives, and now we’re pursuing the positive aspects. Scholarly Pursuits exemplifies that quest. The rest is history…

2. What is the Hip Hop scene like where you\’re from?

JC: Very independent. Everyone has their own agenda as far as where they want to go with their music. Different styles from all over. It’s a beautiful thing.

BL: Yeah it’s independent and everyone has their own agenda, but I don’t necessarily think it’s beautiful. Everyone seems to be concerned with themselves, not the genre as a collective. I want to make good music, and work with anyone else who wants to do the same. A lot of people don’t want to work with anyone if it doesn’t put money in their pocket. That’s understandable, but people should put a disclaimer on their music or something. Maybe something like: “I’m only making this so that I receive money in exchange”. I can’t be mad that people want to make money off of their music, but I think it’s important for the listeners to make the distinction between those who do this solely for financial gain, and those who do this to be creative and contribute to music as a whole.

3. Tell me a little about the album you just released.

BL: The Schmagilla Incident is our first album. We released it in August. It represents the beginning of something great. Hopefully it’ll let people know there are still people out there who care about hip-hop and where it’s going. We designed it to be in a true album format. Not just a bunch of songs slapped on there wherever with a couple singles in between. If you listen to the album in its entirety it flows from beginning to end. The tracks fit into one another like puzzle pieces. I think it’s much better as a complete album than it is as individual songs. We put a lot of effort into making it a cohesive project. We’re also giving it away for free on our MySpace page. That’s probably the coolest thing about it. I know people give out mixtapes and tracks and everything, but we’re giving away our first born here. We worked hard on this album, we just want people to hear it.

JC: Raw… I honestly just wanted something new on my iPod. It Just so happened that we both free styled, and found a beat making program, call it destiny I guess.. The album is hot though. 15 bangers. No fillers. You can actually listen to it front to back, and it flows so nice. Free download at www.Universalindie.com and www.myspace.com/ScholarlyPursuits

4. The music you guys make doesn\’t necessarily fit into the mold of the stuff that\’s currently getting radio and video play. How do you feel about that?

JC: Thats tight! Mission accomplished. We couldn\’t afford any Lil’ John beats or Neyo features haha. Just real hip-hop for real hip-hop heads

BL: I’m with Jeremy on this one. I think it’s great. A lot of artists and their record companies pay radio stations to get their songs into rotation anyway, how lame is that? Everyone’s trying to get on the radio with the same type of music, so why hop on the bandwagon? We need a music democracy, not a music dictatorship. We’ll take the high road and make something original and creative for you to listen to.

5. What projects are you currently working on?

JC: Trying to build our \”The Historical Society\” brand. We have a few concept EP\’s in the works. One of which includes production from Cartel (Shout out!). Our main focus however is our second album, which will be a double disc release entitled \”The After Effect: Monona and Mendota\” set to release in 2009.

BL: The second album is going to take up a lot of our time and energy just like the first one did. We have so many other projects in the works that it’s hard to keep them straight. We have a handful of EP’s that we’re working on with various producers, and we also formed a group called Fourplay with MBalla from OWI and RC, who was featured on a couple tracks on The Schmagilla Incident. That’ll be some fun side project ish. We just want to keep ourselves busy so we don’t get bored with the music. That’s when people start putting out sub-par material. We’re just trying to have fun with this and have as many people as possible listen to our music.

6. Anything that you would like to add that we didn\’t cover?

JC: Thank You to everyone who has downloaded the album! If you haven\’t yet, cop that ish! FREE HIP-HOP. www.myspace.com/scholarlypursuits and www.universalindie.com Also check out \”The Throwback\” from Cartel available for free download on the Universal Indie site. We’re featured on that album as well.

BL: Yes. I would like to add one more thing. If this is the only thing people read in this interview I want them to read it and think seriously about it. A lot of people listen to whatever the radio DJ, club DJ, television, or their friends tell them to. Marketing in music is there for a reason. It exists to get you to listen to catchy songs and buy whatever the artist or their company is selling (music, ringtones, clothing, etc.)

So the next time you’re listening to music, ask yourself truthfully: “Am I listening to this because I genuinely appreciate it, or because this is what I was effectively told to listen to?”