Sitting down with HipHopSince1987 in an interview at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas, Loaded Lux detailed his thoughts on his upcoming rematch with fellow battler Murda Mook.
“We’re rekindling this old flame,” Loaded Lux says. “This is my first rematch ever, man, [and] it’s gonna be against Murda Mook. I believe in my heart of hearts, one of my most formidable opponents that I’ve ever faced in the ring. [He’s] also one of the predecessors, if you ask me, to the new age of doing things. So this is gonna be one for the ages, one for the books. Just for me, in terms of just getting to another level with myself, I gotta keep challenging myself.”
Speaking on the platform for the battle, Lux talked more generally about a scheduled Battle Rap reality series that it will feature on. “I believe it’s gon’ be in July. If I’m not mistaken, I believe the battle is July 12 and it’s gonna be done with Shady [Records],” he said. “The name of the show is gonna be Total Slaughter. They fused it with a reality show setting, give people a more in-depth look at the characters that’s in battle rap and what we’re representing. Not only that, but what we go through with to make this thing a show. I think it’s a good look, shout out to Shady. Shedding more light on the culture.”
Earlier this year, HipHopDX reported on Slaughterhouse’s involvement in the show. “Battle Rap is the talk in every street and every barber shop,” Joe Budden said in an interview with MTV. “People are really engulfed and seem to be in tune with what these young brothers have to say in the lyrics they’re putting out there.”
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The Road To Total Slaughter will feature eight rappers in a bracketed tournament that leads up to Loaded Lux and Murda Mook’s headline matchup at the Total Slaughter event.
Describing the key to his longevity in the industry, Loaded Lux cited his own passion for the culture. “I love what I do. I’m in love with what I do,” says Loaded Lux who is working on his Beloved 2 EP. “I’m real passionate about the craft, the art. I think we all have that thing where it’s almost therapy for us. When we’re doing it we’re just the most peaceful in are mental states. That has to do with you having a sense of purpose in terms of why you’re here. We’re all here to fill a void, some way or another, to make the world go ‘round. I just love what I do. Really truly.”
On the possibility of an expanded role in the Battle Rap community, Lux left open the possibility that he’ll branch out as more than an emcee and talked about the continued growth of the industry at large.
“All of that is possible,” he said. “I think as long as the artists stay true to the art and the culture, the interest will be true and it will keep blossoming. Only because people are very receptive to the things that make sense. When you doing what’s true, automatically that’s gonna resonate with someone else ‘cause it’s coming from a true place. As long as the artists hone in on the craft and do what we supposed to do, the interest will continue to grow, people will keep being inspired and influenced by Battle Rap. Sky’s the limit truly with this thing.”
Loaded Lux Talks About Hollow Da Don Match & Respect For Other Battlers
Recalling his UW Battle hosted matchup against Hollow Da Don, Lux talked about his own satisfaction with the battle, saying “I’m at peace with it.”
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“Honestly, it’s in tune with you going in on a subjective, what you like, opinionated issues is always the case in battle rap and I think music in general,” he says. “You can’t take from it what you will but I think all of it is thought provoking in terms of the contrast between [me] and Hollow Da Don. What his content represented and what I came to propagate in terms of the whole matchup. I still stand on what I stand on. He came in from the angle of, I guess we was keying in on with the first battle with Calicoe, at the whole ‘lost nigga’ bit and everything like that. That was the whole idea [that] we went with with the theme, with the Panthers and everything.
“[I] figure Hollow, in his doctrine, speaking on what he spoke on, he still like me though, coming from where we come from, being in the artform, but at the same time, he went rogue on us with doing what he’s doing,” Loaded Lux continues. “I’m just here to build and enlighten, but at the same time, you need that contrast. Without joy there would be no pain and vice versa. Day, night, we need it all. So it was good for us to come through with this demographic gap and just for people who look at it. Whoever you like and whoever you went with, let the conversation be thought-provoking, and that’s cool. As far as where I come from, we’re both winners. I definitely feel I won in sticking to the script and everything I’m here to do. Take what you will from it, but as long as it’s keeping you in the think-tank, I’m at peace with it…As far as what was vital in terms of that feat, I think we did what we supposed to do.”
At the end of the interview, Lux described a feeling of mutual respect for any and all battlers on the scene. “I commend everybody—feel me on this—I commend everyone that stands on that stage, on that platform with their name,” he said. “I know what it is to write. I know what it is to conjure these thoughts and these ideas and to put ’em in this design where it’s so poetic. It does something for you. So, there’s not one artist that stands up there to do what they do that I don’t respect and don’t commend. I tip my hat to all of ’em…at times even with those I respect I see where we can always be better in certain endeavors in maybe a battle or two that we could’ve came harder in. I see that for myself. That’s for everybody.”
RELATED: Hollow Da Don Addresses Loaded Lux’s Black Panther Theme
