Eternia talks At Last, International Reception

Toronto-Emcee, Eternia appeared on #BodegaRadio this past Friday on PNCRadio.fm and discussed her critically praised debut album, At Last and the creative process shared with Canadian producer, Moss.

“We actually totally agreed with the creative,” says Eternia.

“Anything in terms of creating the songs that you heard, we were really on the same page with. I think that once it got to the push come to shove of trying to get it out that we had a difference of opinion in. And I can say that because he’d say that too. But in the end we have ultimate respect and appreciation and love for each other. And we realized that our clashing came from us both caring so much equally about the project. It wasn’t like somebody was indifferent. Like, ‘Whatever, dude. Do what you want.’ We both cared so much. I think that passion, you can hear it on the project.”

Eternia has built a solid international following through independent projects Where I Been, It’s Called Life, Where I’m At -- The Setup and a raucous live show. And, although she’s toured and performed all over the globe, she’s still surprised by her world-wide recognition. “It’s like one of those things where I under estimate the reach until I go to certain countries,” she says. “We toured with Pete Rock and CL [Smooth] in November and December out in Europe and it’s like you don’t really know how many people know you until you show up and you’re like, ‘Yo, they’re spitting the lyrics. How do they know this?’ That always surprises me. Always. It will never stop surprising me probably.”

At Last was released in June 2010 on Fat Beats Records and features several guest appearances including Joell Ortiz, Rah Digga and Maestro Fresh Wes. When asked about her next project, Eternia stated that she’s “taking a lot of time to wait on God.”

“Most people in the business find that crazy because it’s one of those things where you’re just trying to stay relevant,” she says. “You’re trying to align yourself with people that people are checking for. You’re trying to stay busy and promote and do all these things. I call it “default artist mode.” Record. Release. Tour. Promote. Record. Release. Tour. Promote. It can become like a robot and I’m trying to step out of The Matrix, step out of robot mode and really be intentional about when I’m on stage, when I’m in the studio and what I’m releasing.”

Eternia also revealed that she and Moss have a collaboration coming soon on Apathy’s next project. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to say what it’s called but let’s just say that we’re all really excited about it,” she says.

Eternia's #BodegaRadio interview


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Good As Golden: Eternia Interview

There was something different about Eternia on stage last Thursday night, rocking in front of a packed house in Brooklyn’s Southpaw performance venue.

The Canadian Emcee has forged her own corner of the Rap-o-sphere, kicking a combination of raucous lyrical exercise and respected vulnerability at every juncture during her artistic journey, always harnessing her femininity, never pimping her sexuality. Her 2010 album, At Last -- with Toronto producer Moss -- embodied quintessential boom-bap balanced by ET’s visceral depictions of life’s realities. And arguably most notably, her live show always rocks righteously.

But on this night, showcasing fresh new musical elements, a fresh new hair do, conducting the crowd with a fresh new demeanor -- Eternia shined like a shrine in Peru. She was polished and powerful and held the audience in the palm of her hand. It was a testament to the thousands of hours of practice and experimentation that she’s logged thus far. It was a testament to her perpetual artistic evolution.

BrooklynBodega.com spoke with Eternia following her “Ladies First” performance, discussing her Brooklyn home, her Emcee-response on “It’s Funny” and how she’s “good as golden at a rap show.”

BB: At this point now, Southpaw is your home, right?

ET: Yeah, it’s family. So, I guess I have an advantage. I have an at home advantage.

BB: But you’re not from [New York] with that advantage. You have a home-and-home advantage [with your hometown, Toronto, Canada].

ET: There was one time when Jah C introduced me -- I don’t know who I was opening for -- and he was like, “She represents Canada. She calls New York home.” And I felt like he hit the nail on the head. I’ve never said that but I was like, “Yeah, that’s true.” So a lot of people are like, “Yo, how long are you in town for?” And I’m like, “I’ve been in town for five years. Don’t tell nobody. Don’t tell nobody.” [Laughs]

BB: You’re all over the world. I feel like I’m constantly hearing about you performing somewhere in another country somewhere. But, you rock this crowd on a regular basis now and you’re performance is changing. You’re rocking [with the mic on the stand] more now, swaying almost as if you’re conducting the crowd, like they’re your orchestra.

ET: Thank you. I’ll have to watch the video back. I didn’t know that.



BB: You felt it. You were feeling your flow on stage.

ET: I’ll tell you how I felt. Today I felt really relaxed on stage to the point where I almost thought, “Am I too boring right now?” because I was so relaxed. It was so much like home that I was like, maybe I need to step up my game a bit and not seem so relaxed. You know how sometimes when people have been performing for a very long time and they are no longer amateurs and they’re professionals, they lose a little bit of that fire? So halfway through my set I’m like, “Man, I’m really relaxed right now. I’ve got to bring some fire!” So it felt really relaxed.

BB: It’s more polished now. It looks like you’re moving up to the next level, you’re going to a new place. I saw you at Sputnik Bar maybe a year and a half ago.

ET: Was that the “We Got A Record Deal Party” or MC Lyte?

BB: MC Lyte.

ET: Oh yeah, yeah. That was a good show.

BB: It was a great show. It was different vibe of what you’re doing. Then I saw you at Southpaw [months later] and you were doing the same thing. And now [tonight’s show] is very new. And it’s working.

ET: Aw man, thank you. That’s what I wanted it to be like. A lot of my friends came tonight and I kept on saying to them, “You do not want to miss this set. This set specifically.” There was a lot of new elements that we threw in, especially the saxophone player, Sean Nowell. I did new songs that I’ve never [performed] before. And you know what, it’s always scary doing the slow joints -- like the slow serious songs because you’re like -- “They’re not crowd rocking joints.” So you think to yourself, “Should I even do these.” And then, they get the crowd the most dope and you’re like, “Why did I ever doubt the fact that they would be ready for that” and that’s what we did today. We did a lot stuff that most people would be like, “Yo, this ain’t a crowd rocking joint.”

BB: Following Joell Ortiz’s verse on “It’s Funny” [off of your album At Last with Moss], I really thought that you [responded like an Emcee] with your verse. I don’t know if a lot of Emcees think like Emcees anymore. Was that a conscious [response]?


READ FULL INTERVIEW @BROOKLYNBODEGA.COM

Eternia, AT LAST Album Review

The temperature gets cold in T.Dot, just like the beats and rhymes.

From Marco Polo to MoSS, Kardinal Offishall to k-os to Eternia to everyone in between -- Toronto continues to cultivate artists, producers and aficionados who put a premium on the sound of quintessential, golden era Hip Hop.

Emcee/Producer duo Eternia and MoSS’s Fat Beats Records release, At Last, fits right in with the city’s rich tradition. E flexes her extensive mic skills straight out the gate, opening with four rugged cypher cuts in a row. Her vocals spill confidence, ripping through “Any Man” and “32 Bars” as if she’s on a mission to extinguish any stereotype ever placed upon white and/or female rappers, kicking lines like “I bet you / Only see one thing when you see me / I love it / Y'all stupid for that / You make it easy” and “Tell me that I’m too late / Too wordy / Too white / Tell me what you want / The world tells me that I’m too nice” (respectively) over MoSS’s basement ready boom-bap soundscape. Lead single “BBQ” feels refreshingly nostalgic, as golden era lyrical titans Rah Digga and The Lady of Rage join Eternia in decimating the high-powered, eighty-miles-an-hour backdrop. Digga’s nimble flow and scathing summation of the dwindling presence of women Emcees -- “Chicks are a hot mess / Fergie all we got left / Sad story / Even the awards done dropped the category / These rap bitches corny” -- shines brightest of the three.

Proof positive of Eternia’s Emcee skills occurs on the Joell Ortiz-assisted “It’s Funny” . After Joell bodies MoSS’s scratch-heavy beat with “And the broads y’all stress / I done had mami nude / And I was butt-ass myself so we meshed like Dr. Goo / And the rest is a given / Nah, fuck that, I’ma tell you, man / Her neck was in rhythm then we sexed in the kitchen / Tryna tell you that’s what you get when you’re fresh with you’re spittin / So in New York or not, I’m still next to a pigeon,” E shuts it down with:

“Your bitch ain’t as nice as me / That’s 'cause I ain’t a bitch / I’m the grown woman that bitches aspire to be / That cats try to see on the low / They tell their chicks that they’re going to check a show but it’s me that they’re checking for / And they tell me that they don’t want the wife / They want a life with a rapper chick / Grass in greener shit / That’s why I’m celibate...I roll with one army / That’s me, you can’t harm me / Or what I live for / God, music and family / All three out of reach bitch please understand me / I’m untouchable so don’t be Sean Connery / Pops was a gangster / Mother was God’s property / That makes me sort of something special like an Odyssey...”

Not only does Eternia immediately separate herself from the stereotypical idea that women in Hip Hop or otherwise are worth little more than getting “sexed in the kitchen,” but she highlights the omnipresent undertones of At Last as a whole: God, music, and family.

CONTINUE READING @ HIPHOPDX.COM