Bonus – an Xperience Interview

Bonus – an Xperience Interview – by Rob Smittix.

RRX: I don’t know if you know this, but I rap myself, that’s actually how I got involved in music.

Bonus: I did not know that.

RRX: Yeah, I grew up in Arbor Hill and the South End. I was the kid in the neighborhood with turntables, and then you know? Just kinda got into all kinds of music.

Bonus: Kinda came natural. That’s how things happened with me too. Growing up in Schenectady, and everybody in between classes were free-flowing and battle-rapping. You had to come up with the best verse or the best diss on somebody.

RRX: So, Schenectady? I was curious as to where you grew up, and not that people can’t rap from rural areas as well, but when you really get that urban aspect, that’s where hip-hop came from.

Bonus: Yeah, I came to Schenectady probably at like 14 or 15. Before that I was in Worcester, New York, which is out by Oneonta, the Cooperstown area.

RRX: Oh, so it might have been a little bit of a culture shock.

Bonus: Oh yeah, totally.

RRX: Especially being a teenager coming to a new school in the inner city.

Bonus: I didn’t even go to Schenectady High. I went to Washington Irving. It was like a relocation actually for me, because I was kind of a bad kid at the school where I was at. They were like, okay, we’re gonna send you to this behavioral school. I lived with people that weren’t my family or friends.

RRX: I’m sure it was probably all for the best, but I mean, that’s a lot to go through as a kid. I mean, that’s the upbringing of a rapper. And being a white rapper, I don’t know if you follow this, but I kind of made up my own rule. And I know a lot of white rappers don’t abide by this, but I always do. Never, ever rap about being white.

Bonus: Yeah, I don’t rap about being white, or about money, drugs, or b*****s. There’s the three things that I stay away from.

RRX: Well, I salute that because there’s way too much of that.

Bonus: I try and tell stories and that’s about it.

RRX: No, that’s good, man. I don’t know how old you are …

Bonus: I’m 41.

RRX: Yeah. So we’re in the same ballpark. We grew up in an era when hip-hop was at its peak.

Bonus: Probably the best it was gonna be ever! I grew up listening to so much different stuff, man. I was born in Texas. We moved from Texas when I was five up to New York. My dad was big … I don’t wanna say he’s a hillbilly, but he was definitely raised on country music and classic rock and that kind of stuff.  My mom was into the Beatles, that era. So, I got all that pumped into me and a lot of country music, and then when I was in the 6th or 7th grade, it was R&B, hip-hop, a lot of ‘80s metal, too, and hardcore; I was into everything. Metallica and Anthrax and stuff like that, I started playing drums as well.

RRX: Oh, no kidding.

Bonus: Yup, drums has always been my go-to. I was in a band up here actually for a couple of years recently before COVID hit called Born Dying. A bunch of local members that I met up with, just mutual friends, and they were looking for a drummer, and I was like … hell yeah, I can do this. I went back to my roots and played drums for a while.

Once they started shutting down all the venues because of the pandemic, we lost all our upcoming shows that were booked. So all that got put on the back burner, and I started doing sound engineering courses. In one of the classes, the assignment was to build a beat. I know how to do this. I can go back to my other roots and start rapping again.

RRX: Yeah. So, that’s cool.

Bonus: Came back out of the woodwork, up from the grave. I should say, he was risen again and resurrected. He’s back! That persona, and doing the Bonus thing, and I haven’t played in a band since.

RRX: Sweet!

Bonus: I have my drum set and still rocking out in my leisure time.

RRX: I remember, last year, I think it was The Listen Up Awards, that you ended up being one of the nominees for that. Right?

Bonus: Yeah, last year and the year before that.

RRX: Nice! I was really surprised, some of the names that I thought should have been nominated in hip-hop weren’t there. But it’s a people’s choice thing man. You gotta work it.

Bonus: What sucks is that a lot of people don’t really give themselves the credit they deserve and don’t go out there to get the exposure that they need to get that credit. You could put out some of the dopest tracks ever, but nobody’s gonna hear them unless you let them know about it, and you can’t put it on Soundcloud or on streaming platforms and expect people to hear it without self-promoting. Unless you got a team behind you, management or a promotional team that’s doing that, it’s not gonna go anywhere. You don’t go on tour, you’re not doing local shows, you’re not handing out flyers, you’re not going to meet the people and shake their hands. A lot of people don’t put that work in.

RRX: No, you really gotta put that work in. I’m hoping this year the hip-hop community really does show up but I can’t twist anybody’s arm.

Bonus: I also do a bunch of booking, too, and I have a small basement/private venue that I have and own. We do a bunch of private shows, and I try not to list the address for that because it’s zoned as residential. And Rotterdam police have come here a couple of times and told me that I have to get permits if we’re charging at the door. Mike Valente has also taught me how to manage myself; I appreciate everything he does for me.

RRX: He’s a good guy to have on your side.

Bonus: I have my own record label. I’m not looking for anybody to sign me right now. Although I just got a sync deal with iHeart Media for distribution of one of my latest singles. So everything’s going good. I’m just trying to figure out my level, too, like where I wanna be as far as status and do I wanna be mainstream. Or am I gonna stick with underground?

RRX: Yeah, that’s a tough line to figure out. I mean, sometimes it comes down to … do I wanna make money? Or do I wanna do what’s really in my heart?

Bonus: I’ve organized, booked, and performed on four different cross-country tours in the US. All of them have gone off pretty well, and we got to the point where we were making money, but it’s really just enough for us to get to the next city, book our next hotel, pay for gas and food, and we’re relying on merch sales to have extra money after that. We’re breaking even; you know what I mean?

RRX: But that’s a win.

Bonus: It’s a win. I’m getting my name out there and I’m now networked with people in just about every state in the country. I could go anywhere and have a show somewhere. It’s pretty amazing, that’s happened over the last four years.

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