The First 5 with Nasa a.k.a. Adam Warlock

Published by Justin Elgie on May 28, 2010 at 4:35 pm

Photo by: Donovan Kasp

The Presence – 2010

The “man that wears many hats”, Nasa a.k.a. Adam Warlock, is not only an emcee and producer based out of NY, but the founder and operator of the independent progressive hip-hop label Uncommon Records. While he works as both a solo artist and producer on the label, he’s also one half of the duo The Presence composed of himself and Cirrus Minor. The Presence is currently hard at work on their upcoming full-length album titled We Want The Winter which will be produced in it’s entirety by Nasa and is due out later this year (check out the promo single above titled “2010″ produced by Subtitle – download here).

Also, due out in June is Lobotomy Music, an album by Uncommon artist Short Fuze along with Nasa (their first single can be heard here). Nasa’s alter-ego, Adam Warlock, is also working on two solo projects, Dark Weapons (From Mars) and The Land Of The Way It Is.

Luckily for us he found some time to answer our First 5. Check out his answers below!

1. Tell us something no one knows about you.

I grew up with mental illness in my home as I was raised. I don’t want to go too far into it, but it was a very different experience to grow up with a Paranoid Schizophrenic in your home. We were very lucky in the fact that eventually everything turned out ok and a medicine regiment was eventually taken. But by that point I was already 16. Thank God everything is ok and I can enjoy both my parents in ways that I couldn’t as a kid now as an adult. I’m very thankful for that; a lot of people don’t get that opportunity. Hopefully the experience is what made me just weird enough to become an artist haha.

2. What do you want people to take away from your music?

Whenever a question like this comes up I remember when I saw an interview of The Doors. They were asked “What’s the one feeling to describe how you want listeners to react to your music?” (or something to that effect). They chuckled and one of them said “Confused”. I’m always tempted to say that. I think confusion leads to being surprised and being caught off guard and surprise is the essential element of music. Keep ‘em guessing at all times. Once that’s established, I hope that I can take people away from their every day bs with my music. Sometimes it’s by writing about abstract things, sometimes (and more often) it’s about writing about every day things in an abstract way. Either way, music should always be a form of escape.

3. What is one of your biggest regrets?

I hate to use terms like regrets or mistakes. I like to refer to them as lessons learned. I can point to two big lessons I’ve learned as examples. One was that you can’t fight technology. This is why I embrace technology so hard nowadays. I resisted the internet, MySpace (at the time), digital retailing for a good number of years. Then one day, I figured out that I was losing opportunities from being hard headed and I did a complete 180. Now I’m on top of technology before anyone else. I consider that part of my job running a record label. Another lesson was hiring a PR company to promote one of our releases. All it got us was a charting position on CMJ’s Rap Chart for a few weeks. It didn’t turn into one more sale for us.

4. What’s one of your greatest hip-hop memories?

Wow, you’re talking to someone that’s life is filled with them. I’ll just say this… From opening up a cassette of “Tougher Than Leather” as an 8 year old, to running home everyday after high school to watch “Video Music Box”, to going to IAR in Manhattan and getting involved in the indie scene as a fan going to shows in the 90′s, to ending up working with almost all the NYC indie artists as a Recording Engineer, to starting Uncommon Records with Cirrus Minor and releasing our music and the music of so many talented people, to doing stuff like the Yule Prog shows and seeing how gassed people get about them. My whole life is a hip-hop memory. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I see myself running several small businesses in addition to Uncommon Records, being my own boss and gathering a core of strong people around me to make this happen. I see Uncommon Records being one of the top indie hip-hop labels in the country. I see myself doing a lot more engineering on the side again through Nasa Labs. I see myself touring more and getting more recognition for my skills on the mic as well as on beats. I see in the short term, people buying my immediate projects which include Short Fuze’s solo LP “Lobotomy Music” and seeing the pictures he paints over my production on a full album. I see people getting the free EP “Dark Weapons” from Adam Warlock and then buying his full length, “The Land of The Way It Is” a few months later. I also see people getting amped up for The Presence’s long awaited return with “We Want the Winter”. I see myself living more and more of my hours awake as the artist that I am on a daily basis. I see a lot.

5 Responses

Tweets that mention The First 5 with Nasa a.k.a. Adam Warlock | aboveGround Magazine -- Topsy.com Says:
May 28th, 2010 at 4:57 pm

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Nasa/Adam Warlock and Nasa/Adam Warlock, aboveGround Magazine. aboveGround Magazine said: Column: The First 5 with Nasa a.k.a. Adam Warlock: Photo by: Donovan Kasp The Presence – 2010 The “man that wears… http://bit.ly/bGO7BA [...]
DJ Jazzpants Says:
May 29th, 2010 at 12:36 am

great interview
Begz No Friends Says:
May 29th, 2010 at 11:28 am

ADAM WARLOCK for President!
The First 5 with Short Fuze | aboveGround Magazine Says:
June 18th, 2010 at 10:03 am

[...] his debut full-length project created with label mate Nasa on production (check out his First 5 here). The album is titled Lobotomy Music and is described as “one man’s story navigating [...]
Waat Says:
November 5th, 2010 at 12:49 pm

ADAM WARLOCK for king!