The Govament Assassin

Pittsburgh has a legendary track record in sports. Its foundation was cultivated on the backs of legends like Mario Lemieux, Terry Bradshaw and “Mean” Joe Greene and gave the “City of Bridges” its hard nosed appeal. But in a place that never forgets its heroes, new warriors were able to step up to make a grasp at their own immortality. How does that obvious sports/Hip-Hop reference tie in together? Well, Boaz hopes to be one of Steel City’s most prominent new heroes. After the then-19-year-old dominated Pittsburgh’s 106.7 WAMO’s" Battle of the Beats" local music contest, the 8-week veteran began to dumb out on the hottest mixtapes.

Backed by his crew, The Govament, arguably this 22-year-old has attempted to bully the spotlight for himself in a game that is consistently losing out on its consistency. With each vocal laid down, the chain of command begun to take notice. From New York with DJ Kay Slay and Sean Price assisted song "Good Fellaz," to his local rap alum, Wiz Khalifa; Boaz earned a steady respect in the streets. Now, the poetic street griot sits down with AllHipHop.com as he discusses the Pittsburgh rap game, the trappings of industry rule #4080 and how eight weeks almost changed his whole life..

AllHipHop.com: You have quite a few co-signs in the industry, right now. Do you think it’s the result of hard work or pure skill that gets the attention of the game?

Boaz: I would say that it was result of both because I have definitely been working hard for a long time. The people have a soul relation with me and my music. My struggles are visual. The city, where I’m from, is real relevant with what I do in this game. Starting off, it was hard to have to beat up and down my block. But in the end, it wasn’t hard to get acceptance from the critics, which has been a plus for me.

AllHipHop.com: Mixtapes, street teams and the conventional ways of building a buzz are kind of old ways to make a name nowadays. How do you incorporate that with the new school ways?

Boaz: I am more of a traditional hustler. That’s the art of Hip-Hop for me. It’s not just getting on a computer and checking out how many hits you have on your MySpace. It’s a constant hustle. The game is more than just what you see online. It’s what you do while being on the road, doing shows… your work ethic. While I’m grinding on the streets, my publicist plays his part, handling the MySpace and Facebook pages. When I get the time available, I converse with my fans on there.
 
AllHipHop.com: You were only 19 when “It’s Alright” was played on Pittsburgh’s 106.7 “Battle of the Beats.” As each week went by with your song still winning, what changes happened during that time?

Boaz: It [the song] was really more of an introduction. Back then I was a lot more chic and shy. I wasn’t trying to expose myself and my talent, but the people thought that the song was hot. It got a lot more spins than what I thought I could get. It was then that I thought that it could work. What ended up happening was that I had a girl actually take me to court to say that I was her baby’s father! I didn’t even know that that shit happened! A letter came out to the crib and my mom’s pops in and see this letter asking me to appear in court. I knew the child wasn’t mines, but I went in, you know? [Laughs] I get to the court and the girl brought her dad in with her! I don’t even remember the girl, fam! But the judge, she was a lady, asked me how could this possibly happen – since I was saying the child wasn’t mines. I told her that I had a song on the radio and I thought that that was why she was trying to get me [laughs]. We ended up taking a blood test and it came out that I wasn’t the child’s father.

AllHipHop.com: So, that’s what goes on in Pittsburgh, huh? It isn’t really a place on the map people look to go to for Hip-Hop, man…

Boaz: Nah, the scene is so confused. They don’t know if they want to do music this way or that way. It follows the façade of the music instead of wanting to create their own thing. As far as I’ve known it’s an underground scene in Pittsburgh. No one has really set an original tone to the music, but now we have a few people who are out making their own noise – like myself, Smallz and Wiz [Khalifa] who are trying to get some national light. We’ve been working together for a long time. We’ve grown together for awhile.

AllHipHop.com: Is there a strong support system in place there?

Boaz: Not really. I wouldn’t say that. I’d say that this is a town where you really got to earn your respect. People aren’t going to just buy your CD because you’re a rapper; you really have to do something. You have to push yourself. I really didn’t expect to sell my CDs when I first started. I just wanted to build a base. This was something I really wanted to do. I just went from mixtape to the next mixtape to shape everything up. I just stay productive.

AllHipHop.com: A song like "Sometime Today," is reminiscent of that old street hop that people used to bump back in the day. Will we ever get over the days of yesteryear?

Boaz: I wouldn’t say that we will. They say that there’s nothing new under the sun, so I try to keep it timeless and classical. I want that music that you can listen to and feel whenever.

AllHipHop.com: Steel City isn’t a place for the weak willed – how was it growing up?

Boaz: It was… It had its ups and downs, man. I had good parents. The public school’s are about as regular as anywhere else, but when I was young, the gangs were just beginning to start up. You were stuck in your community and you had to do things that you didn’t really want to do, just so you wouldn’t get humiliated. It took a lot of discipline to just graduate from high school. There was a point where I was like “f*ck school,” because I just wanted to do what I wanted to do to survive. I’ve been incarcerated, sold drugs, but now I’m just trying to do some better things.

AllHipHop.com: You’re only 23, right? Most cats that have a voice in the game are older than you. How is your message any different than a Kool G. Rap or a Scarface?

Boaz: It isn’t. It may not be as mature or as enlightened as theirs, but most of us who come from the same perspective, who want to tell about experiences in the hood, want to paint a better picture for ourselves in the real life. So, I believe that we share those same struggles, those same intangibles that keep us alike; able to share my experiences to do the same for someone else, as they did for me.

AllHipHop.com: You have a song called “Fight For Freedom,” so I wanted to know what freedom is for you?

Boaz: Freedom for me, personally, is having my nationality and being conscious of who I am… Moorish-American. That’s my only bit of freedom.

AllHipHop.com: Moorish-American?

Boaz: They’re the descendants of Moroccans who are born in America and this is the not proclaimed nationality of the so-called Black people.

AllHipHop.com: Do you think that we’ll finally get some after this presidential election is over?

Boaz: No. I don’t think anything is going to change except for the face of the leadership. All that other shit still stands as appointed. The dictatorship doesn’t have anything to do with the outcome of this country. This shit here is bugged out. It’s not the republic; it’s a hidden secret society. They got a lot of explaining to do. It’s all a system here. It takes finances to uplift a nation and a lot of that shit is what keeps our economy going. Those same companies are the same ones who are keeping this shit moving. If that shit stops and health is free, a lot of those people who are rich aren’t going to be rich ten years from now. This place is ruled by a certain amount of people.

AllHipHop.com: You got to work with one of my favorite rappers, Sean Price on "Good Fellaz," which was dope. But this business is a shady one, how do you determine who’s a good guy and who’s not?

Boaz: You don’t. You just got to be faithful and trust that you’re doing the right thing and pick up on their vibe. As far as the entertainment business, it’s business. It’s just like how the government is being ran. You got to do what you do to push. You have to pick and choose who to work with. You both have to experience whoever. Sean is a solid cat and that’s just how it is. You got to make sure you’re dealing with solid people and make your circle official. You can always do the right thing and stay on top of the game. It’s ill because you have to sell yourself and bad shit occurs, but it’s better to learn from a wise man, but sometimes you have to learn for yourself.

AllHipHop.com: By doing this interview for The Breeding Ground, they’re giving you a pretty dope co-sign, but there have been those who’ve fallen through the cracks afterwards. What is next for you to make sure that a few months from now, we’re still talking about Boaz?

Boaz: Everything is premeditated, man. It’s not to say that these things are expected, but when you work hard you have certain expectations. I try to shape my mind to think that things will occur, but I always try to stay a step ahead just to make sure that I know what’s going on. After doing my album, I have a mixtape ready just for the press. I’m not going to stop working because I have a failure, I don’t believe in failure. I am faithful, man. I just can’t stop. I believe that if you have that recipe that the people find flavorful, then you’ll be ale to serve good food to the people.

Boaz Gov Myspace page is www.myspace.com/boazgov