What happens when award-winning Ugandan born, Harlem, New York, raised visionary, Emma Lee M.C., joins forces with revered German producer, Roccwell, and the answer is rather simple: musical mastery; in the form of their exceptional collaborative debut, Chocolate Bars [Ill Adrenaline Records].
Let’s hop right into this selection, ‘Cravings & Withdrawals,’ featuring Bahamadia— Tell me about this particular track; how did it actually come to fruition?
Emma Lee M.C.: When I got the “Cravings & Withdrawals” track from Roccwell, I thought it was very different; groovy, spacey, psychedelic in a way. Like a momentary travel to another planet where even the body feels lighter and different. This inspired me to think about such experiences as I further thought about the album theme around chocolate. The track made me want to say a lot of things and yet also relax and release, so there’s vulnerability and aloofness in the hooks playing near the very driven delivery of the verses. Eating or creating chocolate has the same aspects and brings up the same questions. We didn’t plan for it to sound like a near B-side of Bahamadia’s classic “True Honey Buns,” but it worked out in that ballpark beautifully. I felt us on the same track would be a huge move for the culture, connecting the generations forward, and further exposing true artistry especially from women who push the pen.
“Cravings & Withdrawals” follows on the heels of the Masta Ace assisted “Like It’s ‘93” — Talk to me a lil bit about this joint…
Emma Lee M.C.: This was the first song me and Rocc created together, and I thought it would be the only one, so I really went to town creatively. “Like It’s ‘93” originally sounded to me like a TV sitcom character having a flashback, and it prompted me to write almost immediately about the warmth and bitterness of memories. Rocc had “Like It’s ‘93” as the demo title, which prompted a few lines word-playing songs or albums in the ‘90’s. I soon discovered 1993 was actually a monstrous year in Hip Hop music. I felt compelled to honor as many of those artists as possible, a time where all creativity was welcome and had budgets, ha! However, I didn’t want it to stay in the past. I decided to make it a story in the present and question for the future. Masta Ace absolutely aced and laced it and the cuts from DJ LP2 took it notches above. It set the tone for our collaboration and prompted us to explore a whole project together.
From a lyrical standpoint, when you sit down to pen your rhymes where do you draw inspiration from?
Emma Lee M.C.: I got most of my Hip Hop chops from live settings; the cypher, battle rap, spoken word poetry, theater, creative public speaking. So my first intention is always to move myself and move the crowd. I was an early reader and writer and felt the connection when I heard Tupac Shakur say he had an affinity for deep, gripping writing across genres. I love great writing even in non-musical art. The pen is very powerful, even when it comes softly. I’ve come to appreciate longform writers like James Baldwin and Toni Morrison who carved their own lanes, mixing the creative with analytical and sociological. I also love various music styles and find the simplicity and intensity of some of the greatest songwriters of all time truly inspiring. When I sit to write I want to “tap in” to “that thing” and never be boring.
Reflecting, tell me your whole inception into music — When did you first become interested in it? And, how did it all begin for Emma Lee M.C. & Roccwell?
Emma Lee M.C.: Thankfully my parents played a lot of music and grew their music collections separately. This exposure was huge because it was so diverse. Us being first-generation immigrants in America, the carryover of African rhythms and indigenous instruments, them coming through the Disco era which was huge in our birth country of Uganda. My father having an affinity for Doo-Wop and Soul music, my mother loving R&B, then curveballs like Celine Dion and Gloria Estefan. Outside our doors and windows was Harlem, New York City blasting everything from Jazz, Gospel, Salsa, Merengue, Dancehall, and Reggae to Hip Hop. I was a lover of music being in a dance troupe by age seven and writing my first song by age nine. I would mimic various radio stations or just sit by a speaker for hours, just listening. I remember the day I told my father music was going to be a part of my life every day for the rest of my life, and the look on his face. Ha! I was fortunate to tap in as a member of several church choirs, then an emcee, engineer, and producer as time went on.
Roccwell: For me, I started my musical journey with Skate Punk, Hardcore and Metal. In 1993 – this is my personal reference to the title of our single – Wu-Tang released …36 Chambers, Snoop Dogg came out and from then on I was hooked and it was Hip Hop only. After a few years of emceeing in the late ‘90’s and early 2000’s I started producing in 2008 – and never quit. Nowadays, I enjoy listening to many different genres, but Hip Hop still gets most of my attention.
Now where do you all hail from? And growing up there, who all did / do you consider to be your strongest musical influences?
Emma Lee M.C.: I was born in Uganda and raised mostly in Harlem, New York City. My strongest musical influences are too many to name! However the likes of Stevie Wonder, George Clinton, James Brown, Nina Simone & Weldon Irvine, Prince, Teddy Riley, Rodney Jerkins, J Dilla, Fela Kuti, Yondo Sister, African drummers, a ton of women instrumentalists and artists from different countries. Those who set standards vocally like Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter, The Clark Sisters, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner. The likes of Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Betty Davis, early era songs like “Jam On It,” “Set It Off,” “It’s Just Begun” which have the playful energies I’m fascinated with. The street cyphers and DJs I heard and witnessed growing up in New York are themselves a huge influence. Queen, Korn, whenever Michael or Janet Jackson would have a Rock moment. I could go on!
Roccwell: I grew up in a small town near Munich / Germany – nowadays I live in the city. When I worked in a Hip Hop store in the early 2000’s I came in contact with a lot of dope records and mixtapes, mostly NY stuff. I am heavily influenced by DJ Premier and Pete Rock – production-wise. They created so many timeless classics.
How did you all even come together to form this group?
Emma Lee M.C.: We had in common AP Rock who worked extensively with Snowgoons and somehow the dots connected while Roccwell was looking for emcees to work with during the pandemic. I was releasing my first song ever and unceremoniously stunted in my start as a solo artist since everything was brought to a halt, yet I was loving connecting with so many people around the world especially in the artist community. We weren’t going to be a group and even now Roccwell is still his own producer with lots of great projects with other artists. But what we thought was going to be a one-time thing seemed to strike gold and we agreed to join powers for a body of work. Across several challenges and time zones, I’m so glad we did.
Roccwell: Word. I am so happy we created a timeless album – at least it fells timeless for me, but I hope that others will get my point when they listen to it.
In having said that, how do you all classify your overall sound and / or style?
Emma Lee M.C.: Roccwell may feel different because he’s very well known for his Boom-Bap production, and literally coined the phrase “Still Lovin’ Boom-Bap.” Yet listening to his unreleased catalog he has musical variation I greatly enjoy and as a producer I can also expand on. People associate me with lyrical prowess and that’s dope, yet what I love most about so many of the Hip Hop classics that still bang decades later is their musicality. Hip Hop can be more than one type of snare or cadence without losing all sense of its energetic essence and authentic emotion. One could say I’m Hip Hop Soul, but then how would we explain the Spanish guitar dominating the “Crooklyn” opening or that electric guitar riff on “Hatshepsut,” I don’t know. To me those are soulful sounds, too, so classification depends. It’s a “return of the Boom-Bap” in many ways, but not without twists and turns. Raw poetry and boundless Hip Hop Soul.
Roccwell: Well said, Emma. Even when I always state “It´s Boom-Bap only for me” the genre itself can offer so much variety. Melancholic, aggressive – you can create so many different feelings with different types of beats. I don´t want to limit myself too much. I just create what I feel in that specific moment.
Switching gears here, what exactly do you all want people to get from your music?
Emma Lee M.C.: I’d love for people to get heart, imagination, and a sense of center from this music especially amidst so much going on in the world and the movements away from human craft and genuine connection. I want people to feel themselves and the like-spirited energy that there’s more to existing or way less than the complications. We want it felt that Hip Hop still has a lot of freshness and quality to offer.
Roccwell: Nothing to add from my side J.
If you all could collaborate with any one artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Emma Lee M.C.: Now why would you ask such a thing, haha! Just one?! That’s not even right. I’d have a different answer probably every time you asked me, but today I’d say Prince. Not just because we’re going to have a great time creatively, but because I know he’s going to treat me very well, go about the business very well, respect me and my skillsets as an artist, encourage me to stretch and grow, and be invested in the total execution of this collaboration on the record, screens, and the live stage.
Roccwell: I would stick to the living but unreachable artists [laughs]. I would love to work with Nas. He´s just a true master of his craft, he creates classic pieces of art. His penmanship and performance is gold standard.
If you all could play any venue in the world, which one would you choose and why?
Emma Lee M.C.: Well, let’s speak into existence that we CAN play any venue in the world that we want! There are so many easy answers for a New Yorker…Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, some of the classic clubs still standing. Yet it’s a big world out there, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, Australia, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Jamaica. The likes of the O2 are surely pinnacles, however the best venues may also be defined by the people in and around them. Where the people are the most passionate for the music, culture and offering is where I want to be. There’s a Hip Hop community nearly everywhere including some of the places I have simple wanderlust for like Uzbekistan and Italy. Where there is a welcoming culture for me to share in and learn from is also where I want to be.
Roccwell: For me, I hope Emma can perform the album in as many places as possible – as the people need to see her crazy talent. And I´m sure, they will recognize it sooner or later. This album is just the beginning of her journey.
On a more serious note, are you all happy with the current state of Hip Hop?
Emma Lee M.C.: I’m a firm believer in what the-then Mos Def said on his Black on Both Sides album which I quoted in the last track of our album. “Hip Hop is the people.” The state of us is the state of it. We’ve all come a very long way, we’re living what our predecessors couldn’t have positively imagined, and yet there’s a lot of room for better.
Roccwell: As there´s always new dope music coming out, I think we are good. It´s normal that other generations have different interpretations of what Hip Hop is. As long as there´s something for everybody in it, I don´t think about it too much.
What do you all feel has and will continue to be the key to your longevity?
Emma Lee M.C.: My mental health, telling myself the truth always, and associating with good-spirited people. I know doing that will give my creativity and acumen the room to sustain, grow, and pivot when it’s right to.
Roccwell: Plain and simple: the joy of creating music. As it´s the perfect complement to sitting in front of a PC with Excel charts.
Do you all have any other outside / additional (future) aspirations, maybe even completely away from music?
Emma Lee M.C.: To move the crowd as a bestselling author, be a debt financer, fund several nonprofits, host a sugar-free cooking show, see wild Orca whales, and wrestle a championship match at WrestleMania.
Roccwell: I have a family and work full-time in marketing. My goal in music is to improve further, realize dope collabs and also travel as much as possible.
To date, what has been your biggest career moment(s), at least thus far anyway?
Emma Lee M.C.: Hmm, thus far that’s a toss-up. Working with Roccwell and Ill Adrenaline Records for this debut album release, Masta Ace and Bahamadia on these singles, and Pharoahe Monch on my debut book, has been a monstrous year of productivity and manifest. However, as a performer living in moments that only happen once, it’s still between performing at the Academy Awards as a “Best Original Song” nominee with Impact Repertory Theatre and performing at the Green Haven Correctional Facility where I also made a room full of grown men cry.
Roccwell: My biggest moment was when DJ Premier played me TWICE in his radio show in 2020 – the track “Roadrunner” that I realized with my homie M-Dot for my debut album Still Lovin`Boombap. I am also really happy how the album In Good Company by my crew SoulRocca – with 12Finger Dan and B-Base from Soulbrotha – turned out. And I think that Emma´s and my album is my best work so far.
What’s an average day like for you all?
Emma Lee M.C.: My “normal” is ridiculous to me so it’s likely that to the “average” person I do a lot of demanding things and yet I also have to feed my soul and stay positive. Props to Roccwell who on top of being a creative artist is a loving husband and active father.
Roccwell: For me, it starts with bringing my son to school, driving 45 minutes (to) work, coming home from work at 7 pm – and then family duties. Sometimes it´s not easy to find time for music. But if I manage it, it´s really good for my soul.
Please discuss how you all interact with and respond to fans…
Emma Lee M.C.: Though I take measured breaks and doses from it, social media has been excellent, just even in the comments. I screenshot a lot and it’s been so much love from around the world. Even the critical comments are like, “wow, you made the time to tell us how much you hate this in detail, I truly appreciate that, ha!” I know as I get deeper in the game it’ll be important for me to be less invested in what people say, even just for mental health. However for now I still love to tap in and share a good word. Networking is natural for me despite loving solitude and introversion, I’ve been called a conversationalist. I love asking questions and connecting dots. There’s a lot of interesting people in the world, 8 billion ways to live and think. Sometimes a “fan” is also a legend or becomes a great supporter in different ways.
Roccwell: Mostly via Instagram DMs. But as a producer, you are rather in the background – which is totally fine for me.
What is your favorite part about this line of work? Your least favorite? And, why?
Emma Lee M.C.: Favorite parts are spiritual fulfillment of existing, creative satisfaction, prosperity from the mind, and love in connection. My least favorites are the physical limitations of the human body, the “hurry up and wait” game, discrimination, and street / industry politics.
Roccwell: Just creating – this is the most beautiful part. Bureaucracy and wrong promises are the worst thing.
What advice would you all have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Emma Lee M.C.: Don’t! Follow your own, create your own, think for yourself.
Roccwell: Don´t let anybody tell you what you can and what not. If you believe in yourself and just follow your path, you can realize almost whatever you want.
Looking ahead, say five or maybe even ten years from now, where do you all see yourselves?
Emma Lee M.C.: Happy that I’ve truly lived and / or am still alive, and that’s a blessing! I couldn’t always say that.
Roccwell: Hopefully alive and healthy, with my family – still making music
As for the immediate, what’s next for Emma Lee M.C. & Roccwell?
Emma Lee M.C.: Giving this album everything it needs to be all it can be, first and foremost our belief in it. And of course, it’s time for me and the live stage to have our long-awaited reunion, everywhere the people will have us.
Roccwell: I will realize more singles with different U.S. artists and also a full album with a well-known NYC legend together with my crew SoulRocca. Plus also several singles with German emcees. And, who knows, maybe more work with Emma.
Is there anything I left out or just plain forgot to mention?
Emma Lee M.C.: This was quite thorough, thank you very much. Many thanks to all those who help us be seen, heard, and felt. Thank you for the chance to be heard; or read in this case.
Lastly, any “parting” words for our readers?
Emma Lee M.C.: In the U.S. there is a death by suicide approximately every eleven minutes. Please take care of yourself inside and out. Mental health is health.
Roccwell: Stay safe out there – and stay in contact with your loved ones.
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