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I had the pleasure of linking up with Maine The Medicine to chop it up about his forthcoming solo album titled “B.U.T.C.H” (Built Under The Culture’s Hands). Fans can expect the LP to drop August 6^th on all major platforms.

MJ: Your new album B.U.T.C.H. (Built Under The Culture’s Hands) debuts everywhere August 6th. After listening to the album, I think it’s fair to state this is by far the most superior of album releases. Can you go into detail about the correlation between the title of the album and MAINE as an artist?

Maine: The title B.U.T.C.H is in honor of my father who for the last two years has been through so much, from dialysis to both legs being amputated, and not knowing what his day to day would look like. I know there were times he wanted to give up, but he hung in there and kept fighting. Witnessing that I wanted to show my father the ultimate respect and name the album after him, plus he was the first one to introduce me to Hip-Hop. My first two records he bought for me were Kurtis Blow and New Edition. Between my father and cousins Sudan and Barkin from Queensbridge, and my uncle Stevie, a Latin percussionist who played with Luther Vandross for 20 years… I was raised under music. That’s where ‘built under the culture’s hand’ derives from. To a fault Hip-Hop consumes my entire life from the way I think, dress, and talk. All I ever wanted to do was rap. Even now at the age of 42 all I want to do is rap and let the world hear my music.

MJ: This 22-track LP epitomizes the essence of Hip-Hop and upon release will potentially push the culture to the forefront. Talk about everything that went into creating this album. It’s evident this was a skilled mastery in the making.

Maine: I went into this album with the mindset of curating something personal and special. I wanted to give the fans that gritty Maine with the punches, but also give them a candid look into my life and some of the things I have been going through. Music is truly the best therapy whether your writing or listening to it. I want my album to show great lyricism and storytelling, and to give the younger generation a reason to appreciate our culture; learn from it instead of rebelling against it. I carefully handpicked people who I knew were Hip-Hop fans to express their love for the culture and who or what made them fall in love with it… Although I hate to sound cliché, this album takes you on a journey.

MJ: The production embodies the perfect blend of soulful undertones, gritty mixes, and of course that classic boom bap heavy bass. That arrangement intensifies your clever wordplay and rhyme schemes. Tell us about that emcee and production chemistry.

Maine: Going into the album I knew I wanted a certain feel and vibe to the album. That boom bap and soulful feel has always been my sound. I knew with this being my solo project I had to go back to that sound. I must give a huge shout to my big homie U.G for pushing to do another solo project, “Maine when you gonna work on that project, I’m waiting for you lil bro, I got you.” He started crafting some heat for me and flawlessly fell in line with the sound I wanted. Then he jumped on the “M.A.I.N.E” track and the ball started rolling. Native Seals was also a major influence to push this solo project. My second single “Let Me Love” featuring Ty Soul is one of the many gems I got from Native. Of course, I needed to include production from my 20-year crew I.M.F Catacombs with Willy Sully and Da Leadgeon. They know my style and right off the bat they went in without me having to say anything and created 5 joints on the album. I also was blessed to have production from Father Focus Confusous, Jlstudios, Big City, and Know- it.

MJ: It was difficult to pinpoint album favorites, as each track flawlessly transcends into the next track. However, “MAINE” did stand out for a couple of reasons. In the industry there’s a craze that after a certain age rhyming should be left for resumes so the younger generation can shine. The issue with that is there’s a fair number of young artists who are not ‘built under the culture’s hand’, not willing to learn the history of Hip-Hop, and are not creating music for the purpose of longevity. “MAINE” nails that from beginning to end with in your face, stay in your lane lyrics. Share your insight on that track.

Maine: That track was produced by U.G and features U.G of the legendary Cella Dwellas. He was so invested in that track. I did a hook for it, but he wanted to take it up a notch. So now that track is on steroids especially once he jumped on it. Honestly, I was becoming frustrated with the lack of effort in the verses I here now a days, rapping over the vocals, and following the hottest trend. Once I heard the beat, I just unleashed that frustration. The hook defines me and what I’m about, which is a product of my era who was ‘built under the culture’s hand’… Some of my personal favorite tracks are “Never Fails”, “Dedication”, “I’m Trying”, and “let me love you” just to name a few.

MJ: Take this time to share with fans and listeners anything else they can expect from “B.U.T.C.H”

Maine: Aw man I want the fans to know I put so much thought, effort, and heart into this project. I want them to see how much I have grown as an artist, and that I will continue to push myself to be creative and not become stagnant. I’m also coming out with a solo EP produced by my catacombs team, an I.M.F EP is also in the works, a Mercy Gang album, Maine and Ty Soul EP, CBC 2, and a couple of other projects are in the works… I’m 42 I need to keep making music while I can because tomorrow is not promised. I want to give a special s/o and respect to the artists featured on the album including U.G, Suspect, Elz Sinatra, Ren Thomas, my B.O.B brothers Holla Da Scholar and Mercy, Will Sully, Paulie, Da Leadgeon, Lambo Lo, Ty soul, Amanda Rogan, Jay Preston, Dan Schultz, James Ebron, Vision, Bomber The Monsta, and DJ TMB. It was truly an honor to work with all these amazing artists.

Here’s a sneak peek into what’s to come. Watch the official video for “Live From The Catacomb” off the forthcoming “B.U.T.C.H” album, above.

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Seasoned artist hailing from Pennsylvania, Maine The Medicine recently linked up with Canadian emcee, Suspect for the highly anticipated album, “The Last.” The lyrical assassins deliver an epic dose of ear milk and lyricism authentic to traditional Hip-Hop flawlessly blended with unique rhyme schemes. I had the opportunity to meet with Maine to discuss the album.

MJ: I’m eager to dive right into the album to give fans and listeners a personal inside look. First tell us how you linked up with Suspect? In creation mode did you already have him in mind for the album.

Maine: We met at a show in Scranton PA, when Suspect and Marmel were performing on the Adlib Tour. The respect was mutual once we both hit the stage. We stayed in contact, knocked out some collaborations and tossed around the idea of putting together a project, which makes sense because we both share the same taste in Hip-Hop. We decided it would be dope to put out a Mercy Gang and Marmel Mixape “Cross Border Connection” which would turn out to be Hefty’s (rip) last project with all of us. In honor of Hefty we agreed to release the mixtape and dedicate the Canadian Tour to the memory of Hefty.

Suspect: Maine is one of the most lyrical artists I know. So that there was enough of a challenge for me to create the best of bars. Since the whole concept of the album “The Last” is about real Hip-Hop becoming extinct, it only made sense for us to deliver it out. Working with Maine before I knew our chemistry was bananas and we also share the same music influences and styles.

Maine: We named the album “The Last” because we truly believe we are a last of a dying breed. Last also stands for Lyrical Assassins Stay True.

MJ: Share the story line behind the cover art and album title.

Maine: The cover was a way to display the unique bond between the US and Canada in the Hip-Hop world. We also wanted to show the history of our projects with our respective groups.

MJ: Artists strive to top previous released albums to display growth and versatility. What was your expectation with this album? Through your eyes and mind what were you aiming to convey to listeners? Do you feel that’s been achieved?

Maine: We wanted to bring back that gritty boom bap, Hip-Hop. I feel like we really pushed each other’s pen which brought the best out of both of us. We wanted the listeners to indulge into some great beats and dope ass lyricism along with raw energy we bring to the tracks.

MJ: Let’s talk about some of the tracks. Do you have a personal favorite, or one record that speaks to your heart a bit more than the others? You know MJ well enough that I’m sure you can pinpoint one of my favorites. Although I must say it was difficult to choose just one as this album carries timeless tracks with no skipping. But l do want to talk about “Hip-Hop” and how you define that record.

Suspect: My personal favorite is “Behind Every Smile.” My verse specifically is very important. I wrote it as it was a letter to my son who I have been going through custody battles with for the past 4 years. “Hip Hop” is basically everything we feel about the culture of Hip-Hop, the likes and dislikes, that we have seen throughout the years.

Maine: I love the raw in your face tracks like “Rough Shit” and “Blah Blah” with U.G. The tracks close to my heart are “Close To You” and “Behind Every Smile.” “Behind Every Smile” is a special track for both of us. I talk about my health and as he mentioned, he talks about his son. The track was produced by Nate Williams and the beat just brought out raw emotions from both of us. “Hip Hop” was produced by Will Sully. I felt some real nostalgia with that beat, it made think of some real Hip-Hop moments in my life. We are very proud of “The Last” and both the producers and artists who contributed to the project, from Real Wolf, Snowgoons, Native Seals, Know It, legendary U.G. of Cella Dwellas, to features with Adlib, Marmel, Holla Da scholar, Khali Hustle, Lucas Hex, and more.

Maine x Suspect “The Last” LP

MJ: On a more personal note, can you share a little bit on the adjustment of creating music without Hefty (rip)? I’m sure there must be an overwhelming sense of different emotions.

Suspect: Speaking for myself knowing Hefty and creating music with him was a blessing, he had such a strong love and drive for it, and to have him part of our first project “Cross Border Connections” was amazing and you can see the strong bond with his fans and Mercy Gang brothers still to this day .

Maine: For me, it’s still hard making music without him here. I’ve learned a lot of things from him that I still use now. I think he would love the music were making now. Hefty will always live on in our music.

MJ: Is there anything else you would like the world to know about “The Last”?

Suspect: This will not be the only or the last time u will hear “The Last”!!!!
Maine has grown to be more than an artist I work and tour with he is family. I am super proud of this project and think it’s some of my best work I have released to date!! Look out for much more to come from “The Last.”

Maine: I want to mention we will be joining The Last Tour in Canada with Steve Sxaks and Kohn of M.A.D.E and we are excited to perform hits off the album.