Jay Pharaoh: From Conquering Comedy To Hip-Hop

INTERVIEW: JAY PHARAOH’S GOT BARS OVER BARS, BOY!

By Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur (@chuckcreekmur)

Jay Pharaoh is one of the funniest men on the planet, but a cushy gig on Saturday Night Live simply isn’t enough for the Virginia native. Jay decides he wants to bust a rhyme and put out an EP to prove he can rap with the big boys. Guess what? he can. Now in his mid-20’s, Jay has been rapping since he was 13, when he started sharpening his blade in the battle rap circuit. Last month, Jay released The Resurrection EP to critical acclaim with a splash of hate from those unaccustomed to a funny man spitting serious bars. Chuck Creekmur, AllHipHop’s CEO, chatted with Jay Pharoh and got his take on all of it, including what Nicki Minaj really should have done with “Anaconda.”

AllHipHop: How would you describe your current form of Hip-Hop?

Jay Pharaoh: I definitely would say I’m absorbing a lot of Ludacris, J. Cole, Kendrick…I would say that I’m like all of those into one…a little Kanye too. Its like everything together in a different style. Sometimes its kamikaze. I can spit fast. Sometimes, I slow it down. I can relax on the track. Sometimes I can be aggressive. Its like a pot of gumbo that I don’t think Hip-Hop has seen in a minute.

We heard the music and I was impressed. I was actually a little surprised.

You hear that? Chuck said he’s impressed.

[Rubbing chin] It was like one of those moments where you’re like, “Hmmm…ok…hmmm.”

[Jay Laughs]

You thought it was going to be all jokes. I got bars, man.

You have bars but you also have a lot of variety too. The ones I really like are like, “Yo…he’s spitting.” And then there are the ones for the ladies we’ll be hearing 8 times an hour.

Its all about women. F**k the guys. We want what the women want. They like Drake and you don’t like Drake? Guess what? Yo’ a** is going to the concert. Its a woman’s world. I know James Brown said its a man’s world, but…

Well they drive the sales…

Well they do! look at that Nicki Minaj “Anaconda” video! It was like “Oh my God…look at her butt.” We couldn’t help but look at her butt. That’s all that the video had in it. It was full of butts!

Buttfest!

Buttfest. They should’ve called it “My A**.” That would have been perfect.

Check out Jay Pharaoh talk about how the chiefs at Saturday Night Live feel about his rap project, how he recorded it and worked at the same time. Oh…he busts a freestyle off the time of the dome too. Check it!