Gettin' schooled: Hanging with Rhyme University's Charles Iyoho

By Joe Dwyer     5/14/09 7:00pm

A little under a month ago, the Thresher sat down with Charles Iyoho, aka "Black Caesar," one half of the hip-hop duo Rhyme University. He was in town performing at an AIDS Foundation Houston benefit in Rice's own Grand Hall that night. What makes these brothers different from all the other blinged-out rappers dominating the airwaves today? Firstly, Charles has a master's degree from the University of Houston and his brother Tony, aka "Grayhound Bustrip," has a Ph.D. (Try that on for size, Fitty.) Caesar and Bustrip's parents also hail from Nigeria and the duo has lived around the globe in places as diverse as Muscat, Oman and Paris, adding a unique flavor and outlook to their rhymes.

Their latest album The Mo(u)rning Call was released around this time last year and has been enjoying some respectable airtime in and around the Shreveport, La., area. Peep their MySpace page at www.myspace.com/rhymeu to listen to some of their past and upcoming tunes.

Rice Thresher: What brings you to Rice?

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Charles Iyoho: Well, they're having a Houston AIDS Foundation benefit here. I was asked to come out here and perform, so I came out and just wanted to show people my muªsic. It should be a pretty nice event; they've got some other people coming down [and] a fashion show, too. They've got a lot of big things going on here [tonight].

RT: So you said you've lived all over the world. How do you find a way to put all those experiences into your music?

CI: A lot of our music is conscious music. You know, we want people to take something away from it. We want to say something significant, so a lot of the stuff that we say comes from the globalism we've acquired. . I've been able to take those experiences that I've learned, globally, and I've been able to apply that in my music. We have a different perspective to bring because of that experience and because of the fact that we've lived overseas.

RT: What's your master's degree in?

CI: Mass communications. I went to the University of Missouri-Columbia for my bachelor's and I went to Houston for my masters, so pretty much down the road ... not too far from here.

RT: Is there a particular method you have for writing songs?

CI: Not really. I don't really try to go into it trying to force a concept. I really just listen to the beat and see what type of feeling it's conveying. You know, is it solemn; is it uplifting; is it upbeat? So, it really depends on the type of beat that I hear, the type of rhythm.

RT: You don't have a formula where you sit down and say "Okay, so, I'm gonna have three verses ."

CI: No.

RT: So, it's pretty free-form?

CI: Right, exactly. I feel like if you force it, it's not gonna come out correctly. Just let the music take you. I know that's such a cliche, but . .

RT: Are there any artists that you admire or that have influenced you and that you pattern your music after?

CI: Yeah I've had a lot of influences. I'd say maybe Nas, Lauryn Hill, Jay-Z and even rock. Me and my brother used to listen to a lot of Nirvana growing up. Just all types of genres, but I'd say those are pretty much the main influences

RT: Do you make your own beats?

CI: Yeah, me and my brother make beats using MPC, a beat-making machine. We have our own little studio there too, so we record from there. We have a nice little setup. It works - it's convenient.

RT: Do you have any records out right now?

CI: Yeah we have an album out right now called The Mo(u)rning Call. It's doing pretty well right now; it's been getting some play on radio stations. I've also delved into another project with my friend in Shreveport and we're coming up with an acoustic hip-hop album in addition to another album from my Rhyme University project too.

RT: How does that work? Does one guy strum and the other's rapping?

CI: Yeah, and I put the vocals over it. He sings too, so it's pretty cool. It's actually getting play on NPR right now in Shreveport, so I'm trying to get people to request it so more people can hear it.

RT: We ask this in all our A&E interviews: What's your spirit animal?

CI: Spirit animal? A lion?

RT: Any particular reason?

CI: I don't know, a lion is kind of . actually, I don't know. I'm going to have to think about that. I guess maybe because when I battle rap, you want to be a lion. You want to be aggressive and devour the competition. Maybe that's why. Or maybe a fly, because I'm observant, flying over the world observing certain things.

RT: Earlier you said you make "conscious music." Is there a particular message you try to send?

CI: The main message is I want people to draw something from it that is inspirational. Something that they can really relate to that they can apply to their daily lives. I'm not trying to save the world or anything, but at the same time, I'm able to record material so I want to say something significant. I want people to draw some type of motivation from the song, some type of inspiration, and maybe even do something in their community. It's definitely self-empowerment. It's also talking about society a little bit - being critical of it - but for the most part it's inspirational and motivational.

RT: So it's not all "Rage Against the Machine"?

CI: No, no, and actually our upcoming album is really lighter than we usually do ... a little more mainªstream than we usually do. So, it'll be a little more motivational, I guess.

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