Hip-Hop Artist Cee-Rock Interview

KD: You sure threw me for a curve! At first, I assumed that, because your management is based in Sweden, that you were European cat. Then your bio tells me you rep Jamaica, Queens?! How did this transatlantic connection come about?

Cee Rock: A lot of people from overseas thought I was from Sweden because I was making power moves over there and on my grind. My last name is ANDERSON so catz thought I was Swedish or something. 'Andersson' is a typical last name but mine is spelled with one "s", not with two like the Swedenians do. I'm 100% Queens, New York bred but I am signed to a management company and a record label in Scandinavia.

KD:Where did your nickname "The Fury" come from?

Cee Rock: FURY came from one of my favorite Bruce Lee flicks called Fist of Fury. I was a big Bruce Lee fan, in fact, I still am. A looooooooong time ago, I was scribblin' on a piece of paper and the final result was an image on the paper that looked like a fiery letter "F" in the form of a dragon. Bruce popped up in my head for some reason and then his flick Fist of Fury popped up shortly afterwards. From that point, I incorporated that name into my persona.

KD: There have been two prolific artists who come from your backyard: Run-DMC and 50 Cent. You, in all honesty, are nothing like either of them. Was this a conscious decision?

Cee Rock: We have a various emcees breeding out of Queens. I grew up listen to a respectable group of rap legends. I needed my own direction because everybody had a trademarked style. I did not want to mimic other people styles and incorporate it as my own. I wrote material based on my style of upbringing and personality. My goal was set for my personality to stand out in a class by itself. That is not so impossible to achieve if you do not deliberately intend to mimic the ones that you look up to and try to make a career from it. Even though that is a form of flattery, to flagrantly jack someone style is a 'no-no' in my book. Run-DMC, however, gets the ultimate props for puttin' Queens on the map and making Hip-Hop into 'big business' and not just music. Rest in peace to my man Jam Master Jay. He was murdered right across the street from where I live.