Get Familiar: Learic
Learic is an emcee with decades of successful experience and serious natural talent. Yet none of that adequately explains why he's such a fundamentally good dude. That comes from somewhere else, likely an awesome family and wholesome childhood.
It also doesn't explain why he's such a devoted and perceptive student of the craft, to this day. Many artists say they're always learning, sure, but I know a hell of a lot of rappers and very few of them are as relentlessly voracious as Learic. I get paid money to write about music and he still listens to more albums in any given year than I do. Way more.
What follows is, I believe, one of the best interviews I've done so far. I took full advantage of his generosity here, and we cover a lot of ground, including some crucial Burlington rap history, the long arc and impact of the Aztext, and especially, the beauty and joy of rapping your ass off. Dig it.
VTHH: You're a legend with the freestyles, and for good reason. Do you think the extent of your extracurricular activities, like writing, acting, studying cinema, doing improv, all help to inform that? Or is it really just like the muscle you need to exercise constantly to stay in shape?
Learic: I would say it’s a combination of both. One of the biggest contributors is the amount of reading I do — by consistently absorbing language, and different uses of it, I have words on my mind all the time. I’m also constantly thinking about which words or compound syllable phrases rhyme with each other. Sometimes these discoveries never make it into a verse, but because I’ve thought of them they’ll organically appear in a freestyle.
The study of cinema definitely helps, giving me options for analogies or references. I’ve always thought of freestyling’s relationship being similar to improv’s connection to acting. By developing the skill of spontaneous creation, and becoming comfortable with it, you can use it to further stimulate that creative spark in your craft, and really focus on being in the moment, which can help in multiple avenues, especially live performances. The only way I was able to get better at it was by pushing myself to get past that initial barrier of indecision or hesitation, and just embrace it — taking my hands off the wheel so to speak, and letting words arrive without forcing them.
By practicing it repeatedly, I was eventually able to get to the point where I could anticipate the next line’s rhyme scheme while I was still rapping the current line — and not just that, but think about how I could justify that choice by giving it substance, adding to the line so it’s not just there for the sake of rhyming.
VTHH: Something I get asked about, something that's come up in conversations with other Vermont rap heads and been the subject of many stoned debates over the years: Learic. Winning. Battles. Do you go in with bars prepared or do you just freestyle your performance?
Learic: As far as battling, the only prep I would do is right before the battle, after I signed up, I would look at the other MC’s that were there, and I would just think of things on the spot that I could say about them, come up with a connecting rhyme, and then I would just store it in my head for later if I happened to face them.
Everything else was all freestyling, but even with those prepped lines, I didn’t know where in the rounds I would use it, or how I would connect it to the rest of what I was saying, so it still was all very spontaneous. I have a love for being in the moment, the thrill of giving yourself the challenge of controlling it, and when I was feeling it like that, I was either gonna win or get to the final round and lose in a close battle. It was a hunger combined with the desire to win, and it used to give me such a rush.
When I started doing written acappela battles, it was a much different process. There’s multiple stages of writing, editing, memorization, and practice that requires a tremendous amount of dedication to pull off. It also just has a much different feel when you’re doing it. I think I still prefer the rawness of freestyling over a beat.
VTHH: Something else I've always wondered: was the DC / DMV rap scene ever an influence on you early on, or did you discover beats and rhymes in the 802?
Learic: I wasn’t aware of the hip-hop scene in DC/MD/VA when I lived there, however I first developed my love for the music as a kid there. The primary vessels for that were the radio station WPGC, which played all the classic hip-hop that was released at the time (1988-91), and Video Music Box. I would watch videos on The Box and when I saw Can’t Truss It, O.P.P., Mama Said Knock You Out, and Pop Goes the Weasel, I was hooked. I remember being fascinated by Treach’s flow and delivery, and Kay Gee’s beats, and I clearly remember taking my allowance, walking to Sam Goody, and buying Naughty By Nature’s first album as the first tape I ever owned.
VTHH: When The Aztext were percolating at their peak, it always seemed to me that you guys were working overtime to find new venues, reach new audiences, blaze a new trail. It's wild how many heads in the 802 scene today have stories of seeing you guys at, like, youth centers, church basements. Was that driven just by the need to find outlets, or was that also a conscious choice to bring it to audiences who might be hearing hip hop for the first time?
Learic: I don’t know if it was a conscious choice as much as it was a willingness to perform at any venue that wanted us. We went to school with a lot of the people who were running the Essex Teen Center, so when they asked us to perform in the town we grew up in, near the high school we went to, we were more than happy to do so. I remember those shows being some of my best performance memories — those kids listened to every word we said and were so psyched to have us doing a show there. You could feel the energy in the room, and it brought me back to when I was just a 16 year old trying to make music and go to shows myself.
VTHH: Who were your mentors and influences in terms of how to approach a studio session and get work done in the booth?
Learic: I learned a lot from working with a producer Jason Kush (Wrek), who Framework and I made an EP with, under the name Subliminal Messages. He had an awesome work ethic, and a vast knowledge of music, and was also just a really cool person. He was older than we were, and had more musical experience, and he was willing to share that with us, so he was my first real mentor in music.
Of course Pro’s influence was immense. His love for music, and being in the studio working on it, was infectious. We work well together, searching for the best idea, independent of ego, and it always felt like a collaborative experience.
Another person I learned a lot from was One Be Lo. The time we spent with him in our studio recording “Lettin’ You Know” for our second album was an educational experience. Just seeing his process, and how he would say each line of his verse like 20 or 30 times until he was fully used to all of it. His professionalism and attention to detail, and his commitment to quality, were eye-openers for me, and lasting contributions to my own recording approach to this day.
I’ve also learned different things from being in the studio with Dante DaVinci, Es-K, SkySplitter, and Jer and Eric during our Precepts sessions. Each of them had a different approach and influence that I was able to learn from that added to the experience of creating music with them.
The Aztext live a Club Metronome via Brian Jenkins Photography
VTHH: You've got a serious catalog and it's full of ambitious projects. At this point, do you feel jaded at all? Is it harder to grab your ear and your interest, or are you still ready to go on any dope beat you can get?
Learic: I wouldn’t say I’m jaded at all. I’m always down to collaborate with people. A lot of the projects in the later part of my career came from developing friendships with people, and being in the studio together just to work on a song or two, and once the chemistry grew, all of a sudden we were working on entire albums.
VTHH: Have there ever been points where writing or performing started to feel like a chore for you? Your catalog makes it look like you've never wrestled with burnout much, but is that actually the case?
Learic: It’s never felt like a chore, but unless there’s some sudden surge of inspiration, every time I sit down to write a verse I wonder if I’m gonna be able to think of anything new to say. It’s a constant battle I have with myself, and I’m always pleasantly surprised that there are more word combinations possible, and new ways to use the same words to say new things. Language and communication are a vaster ocean than we realize, and it’s all about just getting back in the ring and letting it happen again each time.
I love the writing process because I learn new things about phrasing and spacing during the editing phase, and just about making it the tightest it can be. It didn’t start out like that for me, but as I got older I realized it’s up to the artist to get the work to where it needs to be, and sounding the best that it can. These last two albums with SkySplitter and Es-K helped me with that immensely, really letting the music guide me in my writing.
VTHH: How important was it to have The Loyalists on the scene when The Aztext were getting started? Did that ever feel like a rivalry, or just a pure musical friendship built around love of the genre?
Learic: It was vital to have The Loyalists there for the origin of our group. We went to high school with all three of them, and the first group I was ever in was with Framework. We got to open for Black Moon and Ugly Duckling at Higher Ground when we were 17, and it was such an incredible opportunity for us as fans of those groups. Our shared love of hip-hop made us immediate friends, and eventually it seemed a logical move to make music together.
The Loyalists were also the impetus for Pro and I joining forces. We got to be on their first two albums, and when we got asked to open up for them at the release party for Get What You Give, we were on stage for each other’s solo sets, acting as hype man for each other, and when we were told by The Loyalists that if we moved to VT (I was living in NYC and Pro was in Rhode Island at the time) they would produce an album for us, we talked that night and decided to go for it. I’m grateful for their supportive energy and generosity because it’s really what set our path in motion.
I was incredibly inspired by what they were doing — the classic production and scratches, Framework’s style, breath control, and unique approach to rhyming (and his skills on the tables as well). They just had such a strong work ethic, and it had a huge influence on us. I would never say there was a rivalry at all. There was a mutual respect, and we’d all known each other for so long that it didn’t feel like competing, it was more of a camaraderie.
VTHH: How did you wind up working with the Loyalists on those early LPs?
Learic: The Loyalists reached out to me about being on the first album because we all went to high school together and were familiar with each other musically. Framework and I were in the same grade and became good friends our junior year. Our senior year is when we started doing shows together and released an EP as Subliminal Messages. E-Train was a grade ahead of me, and I looked up to him for his DJ skills and music knowledge. TouchPhonics I knew pretty well because we both worked together at the Inn at Essex and would always talk hip-hop.
When they reached out about being on the second album, I remember thinking how cool it was that Pro was gonna be on it, because he and I had been talking a lot on the phone about where we wanted to take our music when I was in NYC and he was in Rhode Island. So when that album release party brought us both to Vermont, it seemed like the right thing to do to join forces.
VTHH: Where was the BTV scene getting connected and doing cyphers in those days?
Learic: There were a couple different options for MC’s to find cyphers in those days: the most organized one was at Liquid Energy — this was an awesome weekly event where an in-house DJ would play beats and people would come out and freestyle or spit verses all night. The other option was at house parties. I remember being at one where I was going back and forth with members of Trauma Unit, and then also Terrell had a band and they would play at parties — he would reach out and let me know, and then I’d be able to show up and get on the mic.
VTHH: What happened between The Sacred Document and the Who Cares If We're Dope series? There is a very tangible difference in the tone you guys take between those two, you're both much more self-effacing, kinda world-weary, and there's also a certain bitterness about the industry aspects, too. I know that underground hip hop went through huge changes between 2007 and 2011, but I've always wondered what that was like for you personally.
Learic: After The Sacred Document, there were a lot of life changes. Pro and I were roommates for those first two albums and had the studio in-house to write and record any time we wanted. We moved out, got our own places, and with work and life in general it just became a little bit more difficult for us to find time. We were still meeting up, but it wasn’t that same level of all-consuming gung-ho energy.
After enough time went by, we knew we wanted to make another record, and also that we wanted it to be something different. I think there was that world-weariness as well that you mentioned, just from getting so close so many times to feeling like we were getting to that next level. With Who Cares if We’re Dope, I think that was the start of us realizing we wanted to make music because we love to do it, and to stop chasing and start creating it for the sheer sake of doing so. The process became a lot purer after that.
VTHH: When you look back at the span of 802 hip hop history that you've lived through, what are the turning points that stand out to you now?
Learic: There were definitely different phases, but I would say VT Union took the scene to a different level, just with their vision and focus, and the artists they were building with and doing shows with, and also Burnt MD did a lot for the scene as well, with his tireless hustle and grind in securing venues and big-name artists to help the scene grow. From a lyricism standpoint, I know you’re the one asking me these questions, but you are arguably the greatest lyricist this state has ever seen, so it’s safe to say that MC’s have looked up to your pen for quite some time.
From a live show perspective, you have to mention the Lynguistic Civilians — their energy was infectious and could keep a crowd going for hours. Subsequently, Mister Burns as a solo artist has contributed so much time and knowledge to the scene, helping it grow even more with his attention to detail and business-mindedness.
The Loyalists had one of the best live shows in the history of the state as well, and also demonstrated the kind of quality album an artist or group could release. There was no local group like them, where the MC and the two producers were also incredible DJ’s.
And, of course, 99 Neighbors and Jarv are taking the scene to the rest of the world in a very real way, which is awesome to see. So much talent, hard work, and commitment, and those are the ingredients for success, so it’s not surprising that it’s happening for them.
The level of musical excellence and precision that A-Dog represented and that his legacy continues to stand for, and the tireless work ethic and prolific production of consistently amazing material that Es-K brings to the table are a continuing source of inspiration for the scene and set a benchmark that artists aspire to.
The history of this whole scene has produced so many unique artists who have all contributed to its development so I wanna pay respect to everyone who has been a part of it, and continues to be a part of it.