GENRE: THE HYPE. ROCK! An Interview with Damon “Rocky” Montgomery

Full disclosure—I’ve known Damon personally for a few years now. We met working double—sometimes triple—shifts at a chocolate factory in Las Vegas, Nevada. No joke. Damon was always just on time enough to hear the meeting’s objectives and assignments for the day. His afro was blown up to the ceiling and his face carried a big ol’ grin upon it. Odds are, in the past five or six years, if you had a jumbo-sized Snickers bar, one of us may have had a hand in cooking it up. Damon was a hard worker, like the best of us working there, and he was the only one I knew with an alias stamped onto his helmet. Where mine said Tristan, his said “Rocky.”

One random year or two after this, Iwas laid off from the factory yet again (they would hire us and then let us goaround Christmas, bragging to their workers that we could collect unemploymentduring the wait to be called in again), and was dabbling in photography andvideo work. Damon posted on Facebook that he was interested in instructingpeople within the confines of martial arts training and if anyone was willingto learn, they should hit him up.

Well, I messaged him. Not because Iwanted training, but because I wanted to help get his pursuits out there andselfishly, I wanted to gain some experience behind the camera. I offered tofilm an advertisement for him. This seemed simple enough. Long story short, Iwas given the link to his SoundCloud (you can listen to Damon “Rocky”Montgomery’s music here: https://soundcloud.com/drockbbgzone2) and immediately after listening, I knew this was something special. That this“D-Rock” was something else that I hadn’t heard since the first time in the midto late 90s someone gave me a box of rap CDs to listen to. And that was awelcoming entryway into someone’s soul, into their very life at that time.

I went on to direct and shoot Damon in multiple music videos posted onYouTube—hell, we even did a few of those martial arts videos—before I movedfrom Nevada all the way back to Texas to be with my wife, who was my fiancé atthe time. These recordings may have been raw and all over the place (and editedfrom my phone of all things), but they had an edge and bombastic flavor thatwas more than facilitated by the irrefutable character Damon brings to thescreen and to his voice. He is a true urban artist.

It is with great pleasure that I have Damon Montgomery as the firstinterview subject for my Genre: Urban Arts interview series, titled, “GENRE:THE HYPE.”

TristanDrue Rogers: Let me get this out of the way first: Who's in your Top 5?

Thereason I ask this is because you are an insanely talented rapper—who I've hadthe pleasure of directing in a few music videos—and I'm sure your fans or thosejust discovering you want to know your influences since your sound is sodistinct from the current era of hip-hop. 

Rocky Montgomery: My top 5 is prettyinteresting. It consists of Tupac as my number one. His influence on theworld at just the age of 23 was insane. He changed the landscape of music. Heshowed that artists can have many faces. They can be tough, ambitious, writesongs for the ladies, and dedicate ballads to their mothers. And his revolutionarywords impacted the youth then, and his words are still impacting today’sgenerations 23 years after his death. So Tupac is easily number one

From his first album “Illmatic” to hisrecent work in 2019 “The Lost Tapes 2” every single Nas album had meantsomething to me. From riding trains in New Jersey to New York playing “NY Stateof Mind” I envisioned every word Nas rapped. Even his “God Son” album with thesong “Book of Rhymes” when I first heard that song it inspired me to getorganized with my rhymes and finally write them down. There are so many songsand albums from Nas that could be the soundtrack to chapters of my life. Hisdescriptive words inspired me to close my eyes and picture the words that I’mrapping. Just like I did when the first time I heard “The World Is Yours”.

Method Man has to be in my top 5because his word play is just ridiculous—smooth, but aggressive. Hearingstories of him and the Wu-Tang in their early stages, when they first started,was super inspiring. All of those artists in Wu-Tang could be an honorablemention in anyone’s top 5 and 10 because they were all dope, but the one thathas the bars along with the charismatic attitude that influenced me was MethodMan. He once told a story about how all of the artists in Wu-Tang would spittheir verse for each other and consider it a competition. With that typeof competition, that’s a prime of example of steel sharpens steel. And in myopinion, Method Man was the shining star on a lot of those songs. With Raekwonright on his heels. To all you readers out there: go back and listen to thewhole Enter the Wu-Tang: The 36 Chambersalbum. Then go listen to the song “Meth vs Chef.” Then you will totallyunderstand why Method Man is in my Top 5.

Ice Cube in my opinion is one of thefounding fathers of West Coast Gangster Rap. As a solo artist and as a part ofthe machine known as NWA. Without Cube writing lines for Eazy E, we wouldn’thave gotten a lot of classic songs from Eazy E like “Boyz N The Hood” and awhole bunch of others. I can remember the first time I heard Amerikkkas Most Wanted at 14 when I wasin New Jersey and that changed the landscape of how I see music forever. Ibegan to understand all types of music from all over the country. I wassurrounded by amazing artists on the East Coast but never had the fullopportunity to listen to West Coast rap until I got older and that was thefirst album I listened to, along with the first song being “The Nigga You Loveto Hate”. I tore my dad’s cassette tape up from rewinding that song over andover and over again! But to me Ice Cube’s best album had to be Death Certificate. Now that’s thedefinition of an un-skippable album. From start to finish, with the last songbeing probably the greatest diss song ever made, “No Vaseline.” I rest mycase. 

“I take 7 MC's put ‘em in a line

And add 7 more brothas who think theycan rhyme

Well, it'll take 7 more before I go formine

And that's 21 MC's ate up at the sametime

Easy does it, do it easy, that's whatI'm doin’

No fessin’, no messin’ around, nochewin’

No robbin’, no buyin’, bitin’, whybother

This slob'll stop tryin’ fightin’ tofollow

My unusual style will confuse you awhile

If I was water, I flow in the Nile

So many rhymes you won't have time togo for yours

Just because of a cause I have to pause

Right after tonight is when I prepare

To catch another sucka duck MC outthere

'cause my strategy has to be tragedy,catastrophe

And after this you'll call me yourmajesty

My melody...”

That song was played over and over by mydad as kid. The Rakim and Eric B album PaidIn Full was my first introduction into hip-hop. That is why I owe my lovefor music and hip-hop to my father, John Montgomery. Without him introducing meto Rakim at such a early age, I wouldn’t have the ear for what it takes towrite a rhyme, hearing the correct cadence to flow and understanding at the ageof 5 RAP stands for “Rhythm Artistry Poetry.”

TDR:How do you feel Tupac would view this current crop of hip-hop? Both undergroundand mainstream?

RM: I think Tupac would be sodisappointed. Coming from his era where artists had something to say with powerfulmessages—whether it was talking about the government, race relations, topoverty in America, to drugs, to the overall landscape in the world. Now theentire world is influenced by the beat. Everybody wants to hear Trap instrumentals.Nobody is paying attention to the words being said on the beats.

There are a few artists Tupac would beproud of, but the “drug user in music” epidemic he would be so disappointed in.I encourage everyone to go and watch Tupac’s interview when he was locked upat Clinton Correctional Facility. He spoke on what’s happening now inmusic back in 1994.

TDR:What else informs your work outside of hip-hop itself?

RM: Definitely Kung Fu movies and oldR&B music. In order to get me prepared and inspired to write music, I haveto have a Kung Fu movie playing and music playing at the same time. It’s likesensory stimulation. Watching Kung Fu movies and the choreographed rhythmicdance between the two martial artists inspires me to catch the cadence andflow. It gets my mind working and I imagine myself in those types of situationsthat would happen on screen. It inspires me to think quickly. Especially whenwriting rhymes. Depending on the setting and situation you have to think quicklyand write what you feel. Write what you see, and write what you hear. No wastedtime when it comes to writing rhymes. Because if you do this, you can freestylesome of the dopest lines that come to your mind, but if you don’t write themdown, they’re gone forever.

And one artist that always will have a major impact on my life would have to be the late great Ms. Nina Simone. Her artistic passion sparks flames in my soul when I hear her music come on. I would play her music a lot when I was depressed, looking for the answers and keys to life. It helps me get out of the funks I get in and helped me understand passion comes from the heart and soul, not just the mind.

TDR:You mention your mother and your father a lot in your songs and in person. Canyou state how important, or in what way your parents informed your evolution asan artist and a man? 

RM: My mother and my father played avery important part in life as a child. With my father, I learned how to havestand up for myself and those around me. Understanding certain situations andto be a critical thinker and to attack hard with a fierce mind. Don’t takemess from anyone. And never bow out or lay down, you fight until the end in anysituation. While my mother taught me what it was like to understand life. It’sok to be sensitive and be a listener. It’s ok to care about other people’sfeelings and to consider people before you consider yourself. I seen her doexactly that for the 20 years I had her in my life.

TDR:Do you make a move without first thinking what they'd want or prefer you to do?

RM: I like to say I’m the perfectbalance of my mother and my father. Mentality wise and physical build. I gohard when it’s necessary and don’t take bullshit from anyone, but I also havethe compassion to understand people and situations. My mother passed August20th, 2011 and it made me believe in spirituality more than ever. The wholeenergy concept—how it exists in you and around you. I feel her with every stepthat I make. And while I still have my father here I call him every day to justlisten to him talk. The wisdom, the understanding, and his level of patiencenow. Before my dad wasn’t patient about nothing but to hear him tell me to bepatient is something special

TDR:How often do you feel pride in the way you participate in that?

RM: Unfortunately the way life is, Iwill be on this plain one day without my mom and my father. The only thing thatresonates with me is, remember where you come from, who you are, and where youhave to go. He’s with you now, but their DNA lives in you always

TDR:Whose idea was it to move to Las Vegas of all places? 

RM: It was my mom’s idea. I’ve alwaysthought of this, even years after she passed from developing Multiple Sclerosisin New Jersey. She always complained that she hated the cold weather. My momwas born in Chicago so she knew cold weather all of her life and loved it. Sofor her to complain about the weather then should have been a red flag. But weall paid no attention to it. And we just moved farther and farther away fromcold weather. We jumped from New Jersey to Mississippi to Las Vegas where it’slike living in an oven and she loved it! I just remember them looking at a mapone December night in Mississippi and they called me in the dining room andthey told me that we were moving, I just screaming out, “What!? We’re movingagain!?” I was tired of moving at this point. And when they told me, we weremoving again, and moving to Vegas. I completely shut down like a little kid.But I don’t regret it, and I can’t even get mad at it, I met some super dopeand amazing talented people out here.

TDR:How is it trying to come up in Las Vegas? I've heard it isn't exactly likeother burgeoning music scenes out there.

RM: The Las Vegas music scene is aninteresting place. I’ve seen people doing music for the love and seen peoplemonopolizing the game to get paid off of other people’s talents only to leave ‘emhigh and dry in the end. Especially if you’re trying to push your movementalone, you will get seriously mistreated. That’s why I’m getting ready todevise a plan to take this city by storm. The Win City Crew coming soon

TDR:Are you aware of any hurdles you will have to overcome?

RM: The main hurdle is being heard. I’mgoing to have to get out here, get in front of the people of this city and justpush. Push my music from all different angles. I have an idea of just passingout CDs and USBs full of music—free of charge. Just to be heard. I guaranteeonce they plug it up put the CD in their player, they will give me a shot. Andon top of that, I plan on creating flyers to go along with the CDs and USBswith my social media information.

TDR:What will your group do to change the game for those coming up in your city?

RM: Whatever artist that’s part of theWin City Crew will do the same when they have projects out. It’s about unityand coming together for one main goal: to have our music heard and talentsdiscovered by the people of this city fromthe people of this city.

TDR:Tell us more about this Win City Crew. 

RM: The Win City Crew will be a collective of artists from all backgrounds coming together to change the way the music landscape looks. People from photography, artists—like, painters, musicians of all genres, and dancers coming together for one main objective reason: to push the culture further out here. When people think Las Vegas they don’t think music or culture, they think gambling at the casino and on the strip. There are too many hidden gems in this city on the artistic side. They all need to have a light shined on them. 

TDR:What's next for you as a solo artist, are you out there recording the new albumyet?

RM: I am working on a new project. It’san EP. It will be 8-14 songs depending on what tracks make the cut. It will beall industry beats which will be named the DAMONTAPE (Dreams Are Made On Nightmares) andthe 2nd installment in the Duplicity Series will be dropping on my birthday ofthis year November 27, 2019. I will be naming it DUALITY. DUPLICITY was adarker tape, but DUALITY will be thattransition from despair to hope. I will be releasing the DAMON TAPE on Halloween on SoundCloud, Bandcamp, and YouTube. I’mpretty excited about these upcoming projects

TDR:To have two projects released in one year is monumental. How are you going tobuild off of what you've done with your last album?

RM: Every time I go in the studio I tryto at least record four tracks a session. The work ethic to me is somethingserious when it comes to music. It’s like I have to grind and grind and grindand get whatever I have to say out before it’s too late. You can’t get timeback. That’s one unfortunate lesson I had to learn when my mom passed. I trulyappreciate the concept of time. And this will just display my lyrical growth asan artist. 

TDR:Why do you think it's the time to release these two so close together? How willthey contrast with each other?

RM: When I made DUPLICITY, I was literally homeless sleeping on my homeboy couch. Ihad so much anger in me when I recorded that album. As people can tell whenthey go back and listen. The Damon Tapewill just be all instrumentals I wanted to get on for the last five years. Ijust feel like it’s time to make something new and old at the same time

The DAMONTAPE Halloween 2019 and DUALITY November27, 2019—Ain’t no pressure!

TristanDrue Rogers: Thanks for taking time out of your day to do this interview withme. I want you to know that one of my big regrets is losing the chance tocontinue working with you. You're a wise young man with great ambition andmaking those videos with you was one of the most prosperous times in my life.You were a true partner that left your ego at the door, eagerly awaiting anychallenge to get the best image and story to emphasize your music andphilosophy. It was a great honor working with you then and to have you as myfirst interview subject in this series is absolutely incredible. 

Rocky Montgomery: I’m built for this and world we’ll see! Stay tuned! Tristan, man, I appreciate you taking the time out and giving me this interview. You’re definitely one of the greatest minds of this generation and a real solid and caring dude. You have always kept it real and supported me since day one and I truly appreciate that. Until we link up again, my brother! I’m out! ROCK!

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