How do you make timeless music in a time when trends come and go faster than artists can keep up? It’s a question sparked on the title track of Stones Throw artist M.E.D.’s latest album. To find the answer, just check the line from his opening track, “Int’l”: “I write rhymes like I might not live to see the next line.” Fitting words for an album that definitely lives up to its name: Classic.
During our conversation, I asked the Oxnard, California MC about some of his favorite LPs that carry the same everlasting quality found in his album. He mentions some of the greats: Boogie Down Production’s By Any Means Necessary, N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton, Lootpack’s Soundpieces, and Gang Starr’s Moment of Truth. Talking about the latter, he candidly recalls getting shot as a teenager, and how it was Gang Starr’s album that helped him cool down and put his life into perspective. What follows are M.ED.’s words on how hip-hop helped turn his life around, and what led him to create his long overdue sophomore album—his first in over six years.
