Spose has been called "The next great white rapper" by Vibe magazine. I was nervous speaking to him because I had never really spoken to a rapper before. But the guy I got on the phone with, real name Ryan Peters, was very kind and very candid about his career.
How are you doing? Thank you for taking the time to talk.
I'm doing good. I appreciate my PR girl sending me an email 10 minutes ago reminding me to talk to you. I was about to walk into this Mexican restaurant.
How long have you been working on this mixtape coming out on June 10?I actually started working on this mixtape about two years ago. I was recording my previous album, The Audacity!, and for that album, I played all the instruments. I had these 64 track sessions, and sometimes I got fed up with making these elaborate songs. I just wanted to rap. So I would pull up a beat from one of my buddies and rhyme over that and that was the beginning of the The Peter Sparker Mixtape. It was me rapping for fun again instead of trying to make this epic Rock Opera that was my last album.
How did you choose that title?
My last name is Peters. I considered myself a pothead super hero, so since 2003 I've had that name. I've always done albums and I thought if I ever did a mixtape, I would called it Peter Sparker Mixtape because that was my more rappy alias.
Marvel hasn't sent you a cease and desist letter yet?
Not yet. I think the "S" on Sparker keeps them away. But I'm not that famous. I'm sure if it becomes popular they'll come looking for their money. I find people don't come to look for you until you're making a shitload of money.
You emphasized that Peter Sparker won't have many pop songs. What was your reasoning behind that?
Coming out of my Universal stint where they had a metaphorical gun to my head to make pop records, I was so turned off by that process. So with this record, I wanted to spit in the face of that and make rap songs.
For those that don't know, what's the difference between making a pop song versus the rap songs that will be on this mixtape?
When you're writing a pop record, you're writing the chorus first. When you're writing a rap song, you're writing the verses first.
What lyrical themes will you explore?
My last album was a bummer theme-wise because it was about things like domestic abuse, bullying, and suicide. So I wanted to take a step back and do lighter material. My favorite song on this new mixtape is about my car, a 2003 Nissan Altima.
