An Interview With Sime Gezus
Thank you for taking the time to chat with me! Please tell the readers about yourself and the work you do.
Sime Gezus: Peace Peace, Thank you for this opportunity to share with the readers out there. I am a beat-maker, emcee, radio host from upstate New York. I go by the name Sime Gezus aka Pete Pluto.
How long have you been making music? How did you get your start?
Sime Gezus: I have been making music since I was 12 or 13 years old. One Christmas, my sister Tasha bought me a little karaoke machine with 2 tape decks and a microphone. We had a Sony tape recorder at home. I would use the microphone for the Sony tape deck and make pause tapes with songs I recorded off the radio and our church tapes with Pastor Jack Wood.
I found a cheap program in high school called Hip Hop eJay. I started making beats with that program for a couple of years. My mom and sister got me Gemini turntables my senior year. I picked up a drum machine, and eventually a 4 track, and just made dusty loopy beats. My friends would freestyle, and I started rapping around that time.
Check Out Sime Gezus on Spotify
Lamb is an excellent album. Can you tell me more about the process of making this project?
Sime Gezus: Thank you, yeah Lamb came about like this, and I’ll try to make a long story short. So life got really really rough for me since 2016, especially on my mental health. I did a project with the producer Tee-Dee called Astronaut. It was never properly mixed or mastered, we lost some files and it kind of stayed dormant. I was just releasing loosies here and there and some beat tapes.
I have been doing a weekly radio show where I spin underground hip hop on Friday nights WSPN 91.1FM called the Grimey Simon Show. Most of the 518 Hip hop heads have come to the show multiple times each or at least once to promote their new project or a show, or just to come kick it.
Anyway, when Covid hit the radio show came to a screeching halt. During that time I had some idle time, I was recovering from an Achilles injury, Kobe had died, depression was hitting harder, my ex and I weren’t getting along, and I had nothing to show for it.
The time I would use for the radio show, I spent on myself writing new music, re-writing songs that were on the back burner, getting new beats from producers, and I felt good about making music again. I kept writing and booking studio time, writing, booking more studio time, writing booking more studio time, and from that turmoil of feeling lost and down brought out the birth of Lamb, and also my next album.
RELATED: Emcee Graffiti Talks Hip Hop And Beatbox
Making music takes a lot of time and energy. What do you do to stay productive?
Sime Gezus: Just being alive each day, working, and trying to make ends meet is an accomplishment. I enjoy making beats on my sp-606 just as much as writing songs and lyrics, and I bounce back and forth between the two on the daily. I’m not a great artist, as in painting and drawing, but I have been doing a bunch of portraits and abstract artwork to be creative and productive. I’ve become really scatter-brained where it’s easier for me to work on multiple projects at once.
How do you foster your own creativity? Do you work at it, wait for inspiration to strike, or something else entirely?
Sime Gezus: Ummm, great question…I definitely work at it, and while in the past people might send me a track or beat and I would just hop on it even if the beat was ehh’…now I wait for the right beat to hit me. If I’m inspired then it’s on go. Some artists just record and hop on everything, I respect it but I can’t really work like that. It took my years but now I know what I’m looking for, I found my comfort zone.
Burnout happens to the best of us. What strategies do you use to reduce stress and stay motivated?
Sime Gezus: I started seeing a therapist for the first time a few years ago, It was like talking to a bobblehead. The lady didn’t know where I was coming from, she couldn’t relate, she accused me of being high and said she would have to cancel the sessions on some police shit.
I was like what? I saw a different therapist, a guy…he was so bland and blah. I had to drink like 2 Red Bulls so I didn’t fall asleep. He didn’t know if I had depression or anxiety, and just prescribed meds that don’t even work. Most of the time they make you feel worse.
I stopped taking all these corny meds, and I became my own therapist. Sometimes I might roll a jay and watch NBA games to decompress and chill. I pray a lot, all the time which is 10x better than talking to a doctor who pretends to care about you. I’m automatically motivated, I just need to get my mind right at times.
RELATED: Ab The Audicrat Talks Hip Hop Production
Outside of making music, what do you do for fun?
Sime Gezus: I’m a nefarious sports addict, a big-time Lakers fan. I do sports betting from time to time, and I pay for studio time with the winnings. I like doing deep dives into history and religion.
I’m all for equality and treating people right. I support activists who want to end discrimination and police brutality. You know the term Karen, well a male Karen (my former landlord) called the police on me over some dumb shit. Those assholes raided the house, found nothing but a little bit of marijuana, and tried to ruin my life over it. They took my safe that I had money saved up to start my record label.
My lawyer was trash and was in bed with the judge. If I see him I’ll slap his smug face off. I touch on these experiences a little bit on the songs Knock Knock and Beat The Oddz, both off of the Lamb album.
My bad, what was the question? Ok for fun yeah I enjoy listening to music as much as making it, watching movies, sports, turning women into pretzels, and that’s about it.
What advice can you give to those who want to make their own hip hop music?
Sime Gezus: Don’t think too much and just make it. I’ve had friends with tons and tons of expensive equipment who can barely make a dope beat. Some guys set up and re-arrange their studio once a week like that’s gonna help make ya shit sound better. My advice is simple, find what works for you and get bizzy. It could be a pen, a notepad, and a drum machine.
Do you have any upcoming releases, events, or gigs you would like to promote?
Sime Gezus: I do want to promote the current Lamb album. Right now it is only available digitally on Bandcamp and all streaming services. The t-Shirts and headbands have sold out, but when the cassette tapes come in I might do a proper release show with some friends now that covid restrictions are being lifted.
Check out the new music video for Beat The Oddz too, shot by Cinematic Cartel. The feedback for Lamb has been dope, better than I expected for just floating a loosey tape out there. It inspires me to keep going, if people like Lamb they will def enjoy my full album coming soon.
Thank you for chatting with me this week. Where can the readers find you and your work?
Sime Gezus: I appreciate you taking the time to walk with me, a little glimpse from the tortured genius mind of Sime Gezus. My album Lamb can be found on Bandcamp and my latest music video Beat The Oddz is on YouTube. You can find me on Instagram @simegezus and Twitter @simegezus.
Check Out Sime Gezus
A huge thank you to Sime Gezus for hanging out this week. Make sure to check out his work, and his new album Lamb, at the following locations:
