Who is Latn Black

There are many reasons why anyone and everyone should listen to Latn Black. (The main one is that I'm telling you to). If you want to get to know the artist, the man, the being that is Latn Black, all you need to do is listen. You have to press "play".

Latn Black's music would probably fit in the genre of conscious rap, although if you listen to the tracks you'll find that they don't all sound the same. For now, we'll just refer to him as a hip hop rapper...to make things easier. But don't let that fool you. You won't know what to expect from one track to the next. Trust me...you want to press "PLAY".

He speaks from his own experience - you won't hear anything from him that isn't him. Latn Black doesn't create music for the purpose of climbing the charts. No, he creates music for the purpose of climbing into people's minds, into their consciousness, in the hope of making a difference.

I thought that I'd take a snippet from his MYSPACE page as the introduction. After reading this, how can you not press "PLAY"?

"I started making music, now I can't stop... My role here is simple: BE the person that I AM. This involves me making the Music that ONLY I can make. These songs are the songs that only I would have come up with, because they're a culmination of all my experiences and perceptions which, combined, are completely unique to me, just as yours are to you. So in my songs, you can understand a little about me. It's all in the music, it's all in the words - it's all in the songs. I laid down every beat and melody, wrote and spoke every word. It's not even my thoughts... I might say I'm speaking my Heart, but it's even deeper than that man, because I strive to speak my Soul. I put the reality of my experience in the Music, without trying to be anything other than who I am, or being embarrassed about my mental, emotional, or financial position. This is what is called, 'being real'...and I always aim to create Real Music."

Have you pressed PLAY yet?

Why did you start making music?
"I started making music to help out a friend, to inspire him to make use of his talents.. He was one of the sickest rappers I'd heard, aside from some of the well-knowns, but he wasn't doing anything with it. This guy was really good at rapping. I mean, he could freestyle for ages. But he would always say "ah I don't have beats", etc. I kept pushing and offered to learn how to make beats so that he'd have a producer. He came around to my way of thinking and it became what it was - I learned to make beats and he wrote on them.

The partnership didn't last long though, so I found myself making music, but with no one to put vocals to them. I eventually started writing on them myself, and I've never looked back."

When did you start making music?
"October '98 was the first time I put any kind of beat down. I don't remember it now, but I'm sure it was highly unimpressive. Gotta start somewhere though, right? That was over 10 years ago now."

What music do you listen to?
"The Mars Volta, Talib Kweli, Common, 2pac, The Commodores, Steely Dan, Jay-Z, Chaka Khan, Pearl Jam... I've all of these and more in my playlists. I'm pretty open to various styles of music - you'll find that most of your favourite artists and producers are."

What tools do you use?
"I use Cubase SX 2 for arrangement - Logic and Protools users are turning their noses up at that. It's sufficient for my purposes though. I used to have external sound modules, but I downsized in 2007 when I realized I was using them less and less. Now it's just a PC, midi keyboard, and a sh*tload of VSTis."

What inspires you?
"When I first started writing songs, and for a long time after, I thought maybe I could contribute to changing the world. If you can influence one person, then you can potentially influence everyone in that person's life. If the message was right, people would get it, people would change, or aspire to try a little harder to make things better.

I don't feel the same way anymore though, because I don't believe people ever truly choose to change. I think people only change when they are forced to, usually by life and particular circumstances.

Now, my only reason for making music is to add some Beauty to an ugly world, but it's for the audience to decide whether or not I'm achieving my objective."

Well audience, that's it. An insight into Latn Black. So, to be an audience, you have to press play.