like I am right now (Lush
Laughs)
but the energy that I bring and
the things I’ve done as a host are
all facts.
As far as the whole “druggy”
thing goes, I don’t want my
excess
or what people perceive to be my
excess
Even looking at BOTB6, I had
no microphone on stage. I was
able to affect a room full of an
audience of about 800 to 1,000
people without the use of a mic.
Now this may sound weird to
you and I don’t know if you
even want to print it, but I bring
a magic to the game. I mean
my presence, vibe and my aura
affects people. I wish to push
people to improve and take
the overall essence and special
uniqueness that I add to the
culture to be inspired to achieve
dopeness. I honestly just aspire
to inspire. I just want people
to realize that on many levels
battle rap culture is about selfexpression.
to be one of my most defining
features. I think its just more
of an accent and result of my
carefree, liberal nature and
spirit. I just look at things
differently, so it makes me come
off as a certain way. There would
be no way in hell I could do all
of what I did being drug-addled.
But I am not going to lie, I’ve
had my tough times with drugs.
There was a moment in my
life where I was going through
a lot, on a personal level. At
that point I was taking a lot of
Molly. I was rolling a lot and at
a lot of events. I was organizing
events and making it happen,
meanwhile I was smacked out of
my gourd! Honestly I had been
that way for the past couple of
years at a lot of eventsn until
recently.
Like, I want people to
understand that they should
be themselves and express
themselves. I mean who the
hell wants to be like everybody
else? Take my style for instance;
yeah, some people may think
it’s crazy at times or whatever,
but I’m adding in an element
of punk rock sometimes and
I am pushing boundaries to
express myself. “Why?” some
people may ask... because I can.
It’s simple, just like that! You
know what I mean? Again my
individuality and self-expression
resonates both inside and
outside of battle rap.
I no longer wanted to use
drugs as a crutch anymore.
Even though, I was still able to
function as an organizer, I was
still not able to fully enjoy and
soak in those moments at those
events. Now that I have cut out
the wicked amount of drug use,
I am able to be present in those
moments, and truly experience
these events. Of course, I am by
no means completely sober, but I
am nowhere near at the excessive
level of usage as I was before.
I mean I am also in no way
advocating any type of heavy
drug use; there are a lot of
people who message me and tell
me that there rolling or popping
Molly’s to my music. I mean,
my excess was just a brief part
of my journey in life thus far.
I don’t want people to make
me out to be someone who just
gets completely f***ed up and
jumps up on stage and says some
slick s**t! My involvement in
this culture and in KOTD Fresh
Coast is way deeper than that.
Novie Blendz: Lush, your honesty
about your experimentation with
drugs and choosing to no longer
rely on them as a crutch was
inspirational. I most certainly
hope that your story can be of
help to someone. I’m optimistic
that people will understand that
who you are as a person, host,
artist and an organizer is not
defined by your past issues or
personal struggles. People need to
also understand that, just like you,
they have the ability to thrive and
overcome in spite of adversities.
LushOne: Yeah, exactly. I too
hope that those are the things
that people glean from my
experiences. It’s a positive change
that I am currently making. You
know what I mean? “Just say
no.” (Lush laughs)
Novie Blendz: (Novie Laughs)
Yup! Now on to the fun stuff.
Freshcoast has some upcoming
events. Can you share a bit about
what’s in the works?
Lush One: Yes. Well initially, we
were only supposed to be having
two Freshcoast events this year.