8 Questions With @PsalmOne
The Legendary Chicago Artist, Author & Writer talks her first book, touring & more.
How’s it going everyone, my name is Michael Stover. Most of you know me as the “get a website” guy or the one who’s dropping all the keys. This whole time though and for the last 15 years, I’ve been a journalist, who writes reviews, feature pieces & more. One of my favorite parts of doing this is talking to people from all over the world and hearing their perspectives. Originally started by Noah the Producer, my interview series ‘7 Questions’ is simply a series where I ask my guest Questions. This time around I’m sitting with Psalm One. The legendary Chicago artist has credits and creative endeavors spanning well over a decade with more to come. In 2022, Psalm One released ‘Bigg Perrm’ another album to add to her blistering discography that already holds well over 30 projects to her name. Psalm One added ‘best-selling author’ to her name as well with ‘Her Word Is Bond’ causing waves worldwide with the artist putting her personal story at the forefront with honesty we all need right now. On top of this 2023 will see Psalm One as a host on Audiotree Live set to debut later this year. In this interview Psalm One speaks on how ‘Bigg Perrm’ came together, the creation of ‘Her Name Is Bond’, and even drops some tips for independent artists looking to take the next step in their careers too.
Sto: For those who somehow still don't know, who is Psalm One?
Psalm One: I’m a multi-hyphenate; a native Chicagoan, former chemist, and veteran emcee by many standards. I’ve been rapping and educating for over 20 years. Most recently I became an author.
Sto: Let's just jump right into it, you're on tour right now, not just with an album, but a book in hand too, how has it been going?
Psalm One: It’s different than any rap tour I’ve ever been on. There are key differences, like performance style and audience size, and the pay has a different structure — book tours are more labors of love than anything. And I love it, honestly. I’ve cherished every minute of talking about this memoir with people. I’ve gone coast to coast with book (and merch) in hand and while some events have been super small, they’ve all been full of necessary dialogue and worthwhile exchange. And of course, I’m a hustler, so I always have opportunities within opportunities. It’s been really good overall.
Sto: What I love most about 'Her Word Is Bond' is the brutal honesty, you pull back the curtain in a book that I believe everyone in our industry NEEDS to read. What motivated its creation and what do you want people to walk away with after reading?
Psalm One: Thank you. That means a lot! I had to be brutally honest with myself as a person while writing this book. I’ve been through a ton of therapy and I’ve accepted the ways in which I failed myself during my short 42 years on the planet. I’ve always wanted to write a book, even before I wanted to become a rapper, so I believe this was always in the cards for me. However, what I wanted to convey in the book at the beginning of its creation vs. what I wanted to convey toward the end was very different. As I began peeling back the layers of the nastier bits of my journey, I wanted to be perfectly honest about living a dangerous lifestyle. I wanted it to be almost like a cautionary tale for any younger people reading, and I wanted it to be honest AF for the older heads reading it. Too many rappers lie about their lives. Thankfully, I was never like most rappers.
Sto: Now you also just put out a brand new album in 'Bigg Perrm' teaming up with Flithe Records. What inspired you to team with Flithe for the release and Custom Made on the production?
Psalm One: It happened in chunks, right? I was at the gym one day in late 2021 and was like, damn, I really wanna make a rap tape. No frills. But it has to be better than Flight of the Wig. I had already done a lot of work with Custom Made on the Big $ilky tapes, so we had a rapport. Truthfully, he’s one of the easiest producers I’ve worked with remotely. He was in Chicago and I was still in Minneapolis. He sent me a pack of about 30 beats, and I just got to work on picking what I liked. I spent the next few months writing and editing and really making sure this was an album I’d never made before. He sent the stems, I got it recorded and mixed, and sent it back to him, features and all in December 2021. Custom then let Filthē owner Daryl Stewart (Emcee Decay) hear it. I actually didn’t like that he sent ANYONE the music, but he was super excited about it. He also had a great working relationship with Daryl — they helped shaped Filthē along with a handful of great artists and behind-the-scenes Chicagoans. Custom then told me Daryl wanted to have a meeting. I respect Daryl a lot and we’d already worked together on one of his earlier projects. I also knew him from his Molemen Records days. He’s always been a dope and super professional emcee. Really easy to work with. So, I took the meeting…and the rest is history. They convinced me to change my traditional Bandcamp rollout strategy, be patient and collaborate on assets. Daryl really wanted to get great press for me and we achieved that. We achieved a lot with Bigg Perrm. I’m extremely proud of what we’ve done so far.
Sto: How was this release rollout different from previous releases you've done in the past especially independently?
Some people may not know this, but I’ve built a super strong following on Bandcamp for the last decade. That’s been a pretty solid strategy for me for the last 4 years or so: drop a video, then a single, then an album on Bandcamp, let it bubble for about a month, then take it to other major streamers. That strategy has been lucrative for me, but with Bigg Perrm, we had a rollout that lasted months, with 4 music videos, vinyl, tons of time to get press (that was one of the biggest differences) and the luxury of having multiple label mates supporting the project. We were all hands on deck and waited several months between the completion of the album to release. They wanted me to be more patient with it, and it paid off! We still have more Bigg Perrm stuff to rollout in 2023, too!
Sto: Slightly off base but I was wondering if you could give us artists looking to be where you're at 2 or 3 tips on advancing in their artistic careers?
Psalm One: Oh man, things are so different now but some of the basics remain the same. A big one is: keep working. I finished my book 9 months before it came out. I finished my album 10 months before it came out. And I was writing new stuff in the meantime. If you’re a vocalist, learn other aspects of the game. If you’re a writer, WRITE! Like, all the time. You have to really put in the sweat and time at your art; I’ve got songs I put out a decade ago getting discovered, licensed and put on playlists. It’s a trip. Get a job if you have to. Make sure you take care of your health, mental and physical. Save your bread. Reinvest your bread. Just be intentional with the shit and don’t stop working. Oh, and take breaks too :)
Sto: Going on tour I feel like is one of the more romanticized parts of the work we do and rightfully so, traveling the world and performing is a blast. But it is not easy: planning a tour, contacting venues, traveling tons of hours, and everything in between. Can you talk to me about your experience going back on tour and maybe dispelling a myth or two about the tour life?
Psalm One: Tour is tiring as hell, and as you get older, it gets harder on the body. There’s little to no sleep, everything is super expensive now with inflation (my gas costs were about a third higher than in previous years) and playing to a packed house is not always a guarantee if you don’t have a great promoter behind you. I do everything on my tours — from the planning to most of the driving — so it can get really stressful. Don’t get me wrong: I absolutely love traveling and having experiences with my supporters. It’s one of my favorite things to do. There are alot of sucky things about it, though.
Sto: What's next for Psalm One to close out 2022, as we head into the New Year? And maybe we can get a sneak into 2023???
Psalm One: I’m actually working on about 3 more music projects, not to mention helping with my partner Angelenah’s career. I also started writing music reviews and concert previews for the Chicago Reader, a trusted media voice in the city. I just wanna keep expanding what my pen can do. I added author and journalist to the resume in 2022. I wanna keep leaning into that while making some of the best music I’ve ever made. More Bigg Perrm stuff like I mentioned before, and you know I always have a surprise or two up my sleeve. Y’all just gotta stay tapped in with me!
You can follow Psalm One on Twitter, Instagram, Bandcamp & Her Website.
AND you can grab a copy of her book ‘Her Word Is Bond’ HERE.