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Inside Look: Buff1
For Jamall "Buff1" Bufford, the world is his musical palette. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, his mother left the streets of Southwest Atlanta, for the streets of Ann Arbor, Michigan when he was three years old. A newcomer to most, Buff1 has endured the struggle of the music business for over a decade as a member of the Athletic Mic League.
He once put his college career on hold to pursue his musical dreams by moving to New Jersey with the rest of AML, to put the group on the map. "It's a certain style, a certain feeling that you get from being out there in New York and the type of music that they make - and it just wasn't really us. So we came home and regrouped…," recalls Buff1 as he candidly recalls his time on the East Coast. Being an artist from Ann Arbor, and breaking into the Detroit scene wasn't a cakewalk either, "At first it was tough… They would kinda see us as, 'Oh ok, whatever, keep it moving.' " Perseverance would guide Buff1 to his debut album, Pure. Now, with a critically acclaimed solo album deemed so by countless international magazines and websites, Buff1 seems poised to be the next one from Michigan to blow. DFP was able to catch up with Buff1, as he visited his family in Atlanta, to talk about everything from his first album, Pure, to being an emcee with a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Michigan. DFP: Since Pure came out, it was rated one of the most critically acclaimed albums for a newcomer, from a few magazines and websites, in a long time. How does that accolade feel? B1: Feels good, real good, especially because I've been doin' this for a long time. A lot of people view me as a newcomer but I've been rhyming since '93-'94. Me and my group, the Athletic Mic League, have been putting out material since '98 so I always felt like we made dope music. But, it definitely feels good to get recognized on a national and international level.
DFP: You've been recording for the better half of 10-15 years now, how do you think you've matured from then to now? B1: I've matured in a lot of ways. When I first started rhyming, it was all about the punch lines and metaphors and coming up with the most clever ways to say that you're the freshest. That's pretty much how we started, [just] basically rapping about being an emcee and being better than other emcees. Fictional emcees. As we got older, we realized that you can only do that so much. It's cool to hear, it makes people laugh, but you can't really affect lives like that. So, as we mature, we realize that we didn’t just wanna talk about fictional emcees. We wanted to talk about real life situations: our life, growing up in Ann Arbor, family, relationships, and having to work and go to school. Everything in our life we wanted to put in our music, so as we matured we got better at that. It definitely helped us. As a person, I'm still learning, growing, and maturing. I'd like to say I've matured a great deal since then, but I still make mistakes. I'm still human. That's my main goal, to be a better human being everyday that God wakes me up. That's the big mission in my life, so I'm still working on that. DFP: Describe your roots being an emcee from Ann Arbor, as opposed to being an emcee from Detroit. Do you think it's any different, or do you look at yourself any different? B1: It is different, and it's the same. I try to explain that to people [that] a lot of times, being from Ann Arbor, when you go other places and you say Ann Arbor and they say, "What? What's that?" They don't even know it's a city, so to be a lot more simple we just say Detroit. But, it's two sides of it. Yeah, I'm from Ann Arbor [and] I'm proud to be from the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area. It's different from Detroit because it's a lot smaller, it's a lot less people. It's a college town. It's a lot less black people, obviously. But, it's the same in that, we all come from the school of Motown. A lot of people, my people, came from the south and moved up here to find jobs and opportunity. It's obviously not a lot of the same situations people have to deal with growing up in Detroit, but I like to tell people all the time [that], "Just because Ann Arbor is a college town, doesn't mean that people don't struggle there." A lot of people like to assume, "Oh, you had it good growing up there. You must have a lot of money," and that's not the case at all. Granted I didn't come up around a lot of violence, unfortunately a couple of my people did get killed out here [and] a few of my friends [were] doing the little hustlin' thing out here. But, by no means is it the worst of situations [in Ann Arbor]. I try to tell people to don't get caught up in what you think you gotta do to survive out here, 'cause they're a lot of opportunities in Ann Arbor. More so, probably, than growing up any other place, so you gotta take advantage of it. I got family and friends that live in Detroit [and] that are from Detroit. I'm there almost every week. It's like home to me too, but it is different.
DFP: Being from Ann Arbor, as opposed to being from Detroit, do you think that influenced your style any differently. B1: I think [being from Ann Arbor] has a lot to do with my style. Being from Ann Arbor, it's real laid back. I think that definitely influenced my style. And, maybe it's just my upbringing and family, but education was stressed. I always knew that I would graduate [high school] and go to college. My older brother was the first one in our family to go to college, but my mom instilled that in him and I seen that as kind of setting a precedence for me. I already knew I would go to college, I didn't really want to but, I already knew that was something that I had to do. I grew up around real cool people, it wasn't really no stressful environment. I mean, there were fights here and there but we really didn't have to deal with no gun violence or nothing like that. I think that's a blessing, and you can hear that in my music. I think [that] a lot of people in Detroit, they grow up around that, so you hear that in their music. I didn't grow up around that, so I don't put that in my music. But, unfortunately just being young and black in America no matter where you're from, you're around it. I touch on it, and people realize that I definitely didn't grow up sheltered. I didn't grow up closed minded, or didn't have to deal with any of that stuff, [but] it just wasn't to the level of any other inner city [area] around the country. So, I don't put that in my music. At the end of the day, that's not me and people would see through that. I talk about real life situations: people I know that got killed, people I know that hustle. What I try to do is give people the consequences of that and tell them there are other options. I don't even stress college, and I graduated. It's really just about self-betterment, self-empowerment. You can do anything you put your mind to. That's definitely what I try to put in my music. One of our theme songs growing up was '93 to Infinity, from Souls of Mischief. That whole vibe of that song is just so mellow and laid back. That feeling is what inspired a lot of the music that we make to just feel good, that soulful hip hop.
DFP: To touch back on the college graduate topic, unfortunately that's something that's never synonymous with a rapper. How big of a role does your degree from the University of Michigan play in your career? B1: Definitely plays a role, but it's a minor role. I got a degree for a couple of reasons: One, I got a degree because my momma wanted me to get a degree, two, I started it and as many times as I wanted to quit, and [actually did] quit, I wanted to finish it. I didn't want to get defeated by college. It was like this battle that took me almost seven years to graduate, but I did it. I took time off, [and] I moved to New Jersey for a year and I came back. I went to Washtenaw Community College for a little bit, and I got back into Michigan. I took my time. I was a part time student for the next four years [after that] but I got it done. I wanted to be a sociology major but I got lazy and didn't want to take a lot of the requirements, so I got a General Studies degree but I took a lot of sociology classes. Those were my favorite classes. You can hear a lot of that in my emceeing, but, at the same time, I don't like to draw a lot on what I read in books. I really like to put my own thoughts and experiences in my music. I would say it's about 75 percent me, and about 25 percent of things that I've learned and picked up from classes and what not. DFP: Over the years, you've opened up for artists such as Talib Kweli and Jurassic 5. Who are some of the other artists you've opened up for, and how does it feel to be the headliner now? B1: I've opened up for: Redman, Ghostface [Killah], Talib [Kweli], Mos [Def], Little Brother, Slum [Village] of course. You gotta pay your dues. I've been doing this a long time, and I've been fortunate enough to rock the stage with some of the artists that I really, really look up to. Ghostface & Redman, those are like two of my favorites of all times so that was dope. But, it feels good to headline. Obviously, I'm not on their level by no means but it feels good to know that people pay their money to come out and see you. That's what you work for. That's why you put in the hours of writing [and] the shows with nobody there. That's why you do it. You do it because you want the experience, you want to hone your craft and get better. I was the headliner on my first tour this past year, in the U.S., and it's just a good feeling.
DFP: The new album in entitled There's Only One, coming out on August 5th. What can we expect from this album? B1: Classic Hip-Hop, with a new, unique, and electrifying experience. A lot of times people shy away from the term Hip-Hop. A lot of people think Hip-Hop is dead, and it seems like a lot of people are tired of Hip-Hop and trying to stray away from Hip-Hop. But, I make Hip-Hop music. That's what I do. You'll hear the influences that I have in my music. There are all kinds of influences in my music, but it's still Hip-Hop. I'm not trying to change the game, or redefine what Hip-Hop is, but at the same time I like to be unique. I like to stand alone, so you'll definitely get that with this album. In comparison to Pure, I'd definitely say that this album is definitely more aggressive and straight-forward. It's a little more arrogant. I don't really know what caused that, or what was going on in my life when I was writing it at that time but it's a little more arrogant. I don't know if it was the results of good feedback from Pure, or if it was just I feel like I'm getting better but it's probably a little bit of both. It's a little arrogant, but that’s what Hip-Hop is. I don't really do a lot of bragging but if it's one thing I do really well, that's make good Hip-Hop music. So, I like to talk about how good I am at making good Hip-Hop music [laughs]. DFP: So what do you have on tap for the album release? B1: I'm having two album release parties, one in L.A. on the first weekend in August. The second weekend in August, [I] will be in Ann Arbor at the Blind Pig. Toward the end of the summer/early fall, I'm getting back on the road. We're working on tour dates right now for here, and in Europe. Nothing's set in stone yet but it should be coming together real soon. People can see my schedule up on Myspace. I'm definitely coming to a city near you.
DFP: Now I've heard the response for you out in L.A. is amazing. How does that feel to have such a huge market riding for Buff1 on the other side of the country? B1: It's crazy, man. I'm from Ann Arbor, Michigan and it's a city, but it's small, so to go from that to L.A. is like a culture shock. But, when you go there, it feels like you're home because it's cool. Everyone has their own pre-conceived notion about L.A. and the whole Hollywood scene, but it's a lot of real people out there. I've been fortunate enough to meet some real good people out there who support real music, and they support me. It's a blessing to experience that out there, to rock a crowd all the way across the country and have them bring it to you like they would anyone else. DFP: Outside of the usual suspects, like the Athletic Mic League, who can we expect to be on the album? B1: At first I was trying to get some cats on there that I really wanted to work with, and I got confirmation from everybody that I wanted, but it was taking a lot longer than I would've liked for us to meet the deadline. They couldn't get it done in the amount of time [that I needed]. They were like, "We'll get it done," but I was thinking about it and the name of the album is titled There's Only One and the album is little more arrogant, so it kinda worked out. AML is on there of course. I got a group track with them. I got my man Vaughn Tof AML on a song with me, and my man Tre Styles of AML on a song with me. I got my crew Now On, fellow A-Side Worldwide artists, on a song with me. But, other than that, I just got my man Black Milk on a joint. And he produced that joint. I don't really consider AML and Now On as guests because that's family. So, really, I only got one guests on there and that's my homie Black Milk. DFP: So you've released the video for the first single off of the new album called, Beat The Speakers Up, and it's debuted on sites like Allhiphop.com to nothing but good feedback. Your video release is sandwiched between big releases like Busta Rhymes, on Allhiphop.com. How does that make you feel? B1: Man, it feels great. Not all feedback was good. I peeped a couple people hatin', I'ma keep it real with you [laughs]. But, for the most part, it was about 95% good and I'll take that.
DFP: Well, like Katt Williams said, if you got 8 haters by morning then you need to get to 12 by the time you go to sleep [laughs]. That's how you know you're doing something right. B1: [Laughs]. Exactly. I'm trying to get my hater game up. At the same time, when it debuted at MichiganHipHop.com, I was also featured on Myspace Videos. I was up there with all these debut videos from established, well known artist for Hip-Hop and Rock. I was up there with The Roots and their debut video. It was crazy to see my name up there with these people that I look up to, and people that I respect that have put in their work over the years and have made classic material. I'm trying to get to that point. That's what I want to do. It was an honor. DFP: Before we wrap this up, is there anything else you'd like to say to the present and future Buff1 fans? B1: First, I want to say thank you for the interview. Detroit Fashion Pages, thank you. A-Side Worldwide, that's the team! You're about to see a major, major push. We did a great job with Pure, but it's about to be even better this time around. I'm independent. I'm doing this for: Ann Arbor, Ypsi, Detroit, and the whole state of Michigan. When you see my name, check it out. If you like it, support it and tell a friend [and] keep the movement going. Check out the new Beat the Speakers Up video at: http://www.detroitfashionpages.com/video_page.asp
You can reach out to Buff1 and the Athletic Mic League, and check his calendar of events out at: http://www.myspace.com/buff1der -Marcel Friday
COMMENTS Submitted by Q. Lewis on 6/11/2008 1:53:26 PM Good interview Marcel! Love the video spot--good combination!
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