The Third Degree Burn is where each week we subject a different artist to a barrage of random and ofttimes fairly meaningless questioning. This week we askEmcee Noesis of Philadelphia Slick to feel the third degree burn.
Name & Rank: Emcee Noesis (Ben Polinsky), Lead Vocals
Serial Number (Age): 25
Group: Philadelphia Slick
Now let's get started:
Where are you from (hometown) and where are you now: Emcee Noesis: The whole group is from Philly, I'm living in West Phil right now.
When did you start performing? Emcee Noesis: Philadelphia Slick began performing in March of 2005, so it's been nearly five years.
How do you describe your music to people? Emcee Noesis: I describe Slick differently to different people. If they're younger heads, I say, "It's live underground hip hop, dope lyrics, dope beats, live band..." If they're older heads: "Live hip hop, but/and we incorporate jazz, funk, soul, classical, and rock elements into our sound." The thing about hip hop is that, by definition, the genre incorporates other genres into it. So, you know, if you limit your sound to "rock hip hop" or "jam hip hop", you aren't doing hip hop justice.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? Emcee Noesis: Several people have told me, "No matter what, keep pushing what you love - because you're good at it." So yeah, if you're good at something, do it up!
Favorite new song from the past year: Emcee Noesis: I thought Mos Def's The Ecstatic had tons of classics on it. I love "The Embassy," specifically - it's got a great intro, great beat changes, and great lyrics. Also the new Wu Tang album was slept on - some gritty stuff on there.
Favorite new group from the past year: Emcee Noesis: We're big fans of Mechanical Minds, a new live hip hop group down here in Philly that we've performed with a couple times..
Your most favorite new group: Emcee Noesis: Well a group that was new to us this year was Strength in Numbers, a big funk group out of Burlington, VT.
Your favorite song of all time: Emcee Noesis: I try not to have favorites of all time, or rather, I switch up my all time favorite song every few months. Right now it's probably "Romantic Attitude" by John Fitch, it's one of those rare Soul cuts that are becoming so popular on compilations nowadays.
Group/Artist you’d like to work with most: Emcee Noesis: I'd love to work with someone like RJD2, a hip hop head who is constantly branching out and willing to try new things.
Last great concert you saw: Emcee Noesis: The last Brother Ali show here in Philly, I forget when he rolled through, but I've seen him several times in different cities, and the Brother always brings it.
Last great film you saw: Mike Polinsky (Philadelphia Slick's bass player chimes in): Fantastic Mr. Fox
An obscure group you think should be more popular: Emcee Noesis: The Last Emperor, the rapper out of West Philly. Many people know his Secret Wars track, but really, the man is one of the top lyricists/emcees of our time.
Your favorite musical instrument: Emcee Noesis: I love the saxophone - I used to play all the time. In fact, I just took mine in to get repaired.
Your favorite City to perform in: Emcee Noesis: We all love to perform in Burlington - just a great music scene and place to chill.
Your strangest fan moment: Emcee Noesis: Let's just say it involved rice krispy treats being thrown on stage and promptly consumed in the middle of rapping (as much as that's possible).
Your favorite venue: Emcee Noesis: Castaways in Ithaca NY is sick, we love World Cafe Live and The Northstar here in Philly, Nectar's in Burlington is great too.
If you had your own country what would you name it? Emcee Noesis: We'd rearrange the letters of the original name to make a description of the country.
