Seattle's hip hop--the hip hop that I'm referring to isn't DMX or the stripped-down fluff in the vein of Puff Daddy that the media tends to focus on--it's subculture with creative integrity. Y'know, where there's a genuine love for the music, beats and vinyl with a message--be it serious or fun. It's the joy of finding the "rare" or "out-of-print" and seeking out the influences of your favorite artists and then finding your own and not just picking up that Billboard Top 10 CD for $17.99 from Sam Goody.

It's just the nature of things commercial; the stuff that's mainstream tends to be less intriguing and original than the stuff that's underground. That subculture yields the real gems. The Emerald City's own Conception Records is another diamond in the rough. This label caters to those who love hip hop and music in general and not to those who are fronting.

This interview wasn't simple to come into fruition. I've been playing phone and e-mail tag with this Renaissance man, the co-founder/owner of Conception Records, since August. Besides running an independent label, Mr. Supreme is infamous for his producing, deejaying and beat making skills. For the last several years, you can hear him doing it to the man with Kutfather Sunday nights on KCMU's Street Sounds. On top of that, he spins Wednesday nights at The Baltic Room, Friday nights at Rupert's and Saturday nights at The Art Bar. But thank the Lord above, I had the chance to catch up with Mr. Supreme on this cold rainy November evening.

Mr. Supreme: Well, we have our ups and downs, y,know...just like anything else I guess.

So what's up with this triple-X video?

Supreme: What's up with that? It's something I'm doing. It's something that I have coming out. [laughs]

When's that coming out?

Supreme: 2000. [pauses] I know a lot of girls that are into that business. So, they're talking me into it.

Ah, I see...that's funny.

Supreme: Yeah, it's gonna be funny...

How long have you been associated with the music biz here in Seattle?

Supreme: About 15 years.

How did it all start out? Were you just a kid being into music?

Supreme: Exactly. Just like kids nowadays...I mean I was just buying records and I picked up some turntables...probably this was about 1984...I bought my first Technics 1200. Saved up my money; I was in high school. And umm...I mean, I never meant to start a record company and be a DJ like I am. I was just doing it, y'know. And this is what it has turned into.

Do you remember the first record you bought?

Supreme: Yeah, it was Kiss! Yeah, the original [members]; I bought that. I was probably seven years old. I remember I wanted it really bad and I saved up my allowance. I did all this housework and it cost five dollars. I mean, it was like $5.99. Yeah, that was the first record I ever bought...

Supreme: Actually just seeing the documentary Wild Style when they first made it. And it came out here and they were playing at the Neptune. And seeing the movie Flashdance, because everybody was into break dancing and what not. And along with that, came the music, y'know. So it turned me on to checking out different music. I was listening to rap, y'know since the Sugar Hill Gang. But then I started listening to original soul records and things like that, funk records.

Like who?

Supreme: Jimmy Castor... Baby Huey, The Incredible Bongo Band.

You find the obscure stuff?

Supreme: Somewhat. If you heard it, y'know it's hip hop classics. Y'know, to the average person that you know, they know like Earth, Wind and Fire or something like that.

It's always cool to go back and find these artists that no one really hears about.

Supreme: Exactly. Y'know, every artist you hear about, there's a hundred you don't hear about.

What is your take on the hip hop scene in Seattle?

Supreme: I don't know. It seems like it was more apparent a few years back. It feels like it went back underground. It seems kinda hidden to me right now.

Does this bug you?

Supreme: Sometimes...but not really. I just concentrate on what I'm doing and try not to think about a scene here or anything. Just do what I do and make the best of it.

There's a cool community here though.

Supreme: Oh, definitely.

Even though it's underground but there's a lot of support with each other.

Supreme: For sure.

Supreme: Well, for one, we're a small town. And we're a conservative town, too. So it's hard. And the word hip hop scares a lot of people...they automatically think gangsta rap and violence.

Like Mark Sidran (Seattle's City Attorney)?

Supreme: Yeah [laughs]. Exactly. Y'know what I mean? And I always say, we're like mutts here because we listen to everything. We listen to East Coast hip hop and West Coast...we listen to everything...we get all of it. And that's what I grew up on; hearing hip hop from everywhere. It's like if you grew up on the East Coast, you pretty much just heard that. The same thing with West Coast. So being in Seattle, you get to hear it all.

Is that why you formed the label here in Seattle since it's from such a good angle, so you can incorporate all those styles of hip hop?

Supreme: [laughs] I started it here because this is my home! I live here and I just started...y'know like I said, I didn't go to college; I've always been doing this...since I was fifteen years old. I never meant to do it the way I'm doing it...but as you get older, you essentially have responsibilities, y'know bills to pay and rent to pay and all that. I mean, it's like, "What do you do?" I was deejaying and making music into hip hop and that turned into a business for myself.

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