Take a walk down Broadway or swing past New York City’s Fat Beats Record Store on any given day, and you’re likely to see Creature outside selling CDs and passing out fliers. Later that night, go to any hip-hop show in the city, big or small, and you’ll probably run into him again.

Creature is the epitome of a DIY (Do It Yourself) hip-hop artist. After selling more than 12,000 copies of his debut album, “Never Say Die,” directly to fans in less than a year, Creature wrote a book about his experience in order to teach the art of independent entrepreneurship in hip-hop.  

And now he is preparing to do it all over again with the release of his new album “Hustle To Be Free.” I walked up to Fat Beats on my lunch break this afternoon to ask Creature how he does it, and here’s what he had to say:

What is your personal definition of hip-hop?

My personal definition of hip-hop? That’s a pretty good question man. Honest expression. Creativity at the ultimate level. That’s what I feel right now what hip-hop is for me.

You think that’s maybe why it has such a broad appeal?

Yeah. I mean hip-hop is an international phenomenon. Something that started off in one little area is now spread all over the world. And people are actually doing it – artists are doing it in their own native languages. They don’t even speak English, but they’re doing whether it’s in Brazil; in Portuguese; they’re doing it in Japanese; they’re doing it in Russian. That’s beautiful man. And it’s like you can’t tell a kid in Russia that he’s not doing hip-hop. Because he rhymes in Russian. That’s like ‘C’mon man, get the fuck outta here.’

But that’s my definition. Honest expression and being creative. And that funk – that soul man!

If you had to pick your top 5 MCs of all time, who would they be? Why? And how have they influenced the direction you’ve taken with your music?

Wow. I go through eras, but I’m not gonna put a number on the top five. But the top five coming up that helped shape me into the MC I am – G Rap, Ice Cube, Chuck, KRS-One and Kane. But then I got another five – like I said, I’m an era guy. I love Biggie. I love Jay. I love Nas. I love D.O.C. There’s a lot of rappers I think are dope.

But overall, G Rap and Kane. And I gotta put Rakim into it as well. From Rakim I learned the science of rhyming. Everything has an art and science to it. NWA and Public Enemy made me want to rhyme. They made me want to pick up a pen and never put it down. Cube’s shit was just straight up to me – they way he rhymed, the way he flowed. Like if you even listen to the way I rhyme, you can hear it coming from Ice Cube and Chuck D. And that shit was powerful.

Being a kid and hearing Chuck’s voice – as far as content, I was drawn to that. And personally, as an MC I always wanted to be confident and cocky. And Kane was the epitome of that. So I learned the technician aspect from Kane and Kool G Rap. I mean G Rap is a monster! Plus he’s from around the way. His compact rhyme structures were brutal. Like 48 bars of brutal lyricism. I used to listen to G Rap, then Kane, then Rakim – and then try to write. Just so I could be in the right mindstate.

But then I say KRS-One because as much as I like KRS-One on record, KRS-One live is the man. KRS-One is still that rapper doing it. KRS-One would have content and rock a party. You know what I’m saying? Actually talking about something and having it to beats. Those are the cats that coming up I really looked up to.

You sold 10,000 copies of your debut album, “Never Say Die” hand-to-hand to fans in less than a year. How did you find all these people? What do you do to encourage them to buy your album?

It was actually 12,000 copies. The fortunate thing was that a lot of people who actually listen to underground hip-hop knew about me from the MF Doom album. And then the first album had Slug of Atmosphere on it, and he has a huge following. Then it had Bus Driver, Rob Sonic on it. And that made it a little easier. Then I went on tour with Rob Sonic and people knew who I was from that.

And another thing was just being out six, seven days a week – Fat Beats, Broadway, all over downtown. Plus going to everybody’s shows. From Def Jux to Atmosphere shows to Rock Steady to Scribble Jam to whatever. If Joe Schmo just started rhyming and has fifty people at his show, I’m there selling CDs. So doing that album I was actually everywhere – everybody knew me from the Nuyorican to Mercury Café to the Bowery Poetry Club to BB King’s to Irving Plaza to SOBs to out of state – to anywhere, you know? I was there selling my product.

There are a lot of cats selling albums on the streets these days. What sets you apart from the rest? Why are you able to sell so many CDs when most independent artists work jobs?

I think it’s definitely the dedication. The work ethic. And it doesn’t hurt that I’ve worked with people that hip-hop fans are familiar with. And I’m personable. You put someone that’s personable; someone that wants to be out here; and someone with a work ethic; and that does shows – that’s like a decent recipe for success.

What advise would you give someone who wanted to make a living selling records independently?

It’s a job. You know how many people call me? – people that do hip-hop. They call me and ask me, “Yo Creature, what show’s going on tonight?” I know where every show’s at. If I don’t know, I’ll find out. Not because I’m Superman. Because they have it in the newspaper. Because I go to the record stores and pick up fliers. Because I talk to people.

So I feel like it’s an artist’s job to know where people are – no matter what genre of music you’re doing. Go to the shows and hit the line – now I’m not going to tell you how to hit the line. Just find a way to hit them lines because there’s money in those lines.

What is an “artistpreneur”?

Artistpreneur is a term I picked up in Chicago. And artistpreneur is someone that’s more than an artist. Luke was an artistpreneur. Eazy-E was an artistpreneur. E-40, Too Short, Percee P’s an artistpreneur. People who do more than what an artist should do. People that put their balls on the line. You know, putting up over thirteen, fourteen thousand pressing CDs. It’s not the biggest thing in the world but it shows your dedication.

I got shirts, I got books, I got all kinds of shit. That’s money that comes out of my pocket. I could roll up with a thousand dollar chain and Jordans. But a chain could be more albums. It’s basically reinvesting to create an environment where you don’t have to complain. You can be heard. If no one’s giving you shows – make your own shows.

So an artistpreneur is a DIY – do it yourself. A go-getter. Some one who doesn’t sit around waiting for someone to do it, but that’s getting up and doing it.

Your new album is titled “Hustle To Be Free.” How would you describe this album to the listener?

Well, to do that first I gotta tell them about the first album – “Never Say Die.” Coming out, that was like not giving up. You gotta keep going even in the face of disparity – you gotta keep doing it. So being out here on a consistent basis between the first and second albums was like two years. We sold thousands of CDs and did a bunch of shows. But what are we all trying to do? What’s the ultimate goal?

I’m trying to be free from bullshit. Free from the 9 to 5 that I hate. So I made myself free. And everybody’s trying to be free. So it was a definitive moment. And the music just sounded like “Hustle to Be Free.” That was the theme of what we were doing – that was the motivation. Getting out of situations. Expressing the frustrations of working a job. Putting yourself in a position that you are more self-sufficient and self-reliant. And you don’t wobble in these doubts, this “Aww, my career sucks man.”

You know, you work all week – and all you wait for is the weekend to get fucked up and complain about where your career is not going. If that’s the case, a lot of it is your fault. So “Hustle To Be Free” is about that – being free from that, becoming self-sufficient.

Do you plan on selling 10,000 copies of the new album? Are you going to use the same techniques, or have you have you developed new ones?

I really don’t know. Maybe. I’m using the same techniques, but the difference is now I’m looking to get in a distribution situation. Because I honestly feel like I should sell more records than this. I feel like what I do is a lot better than cats – not to disrespect anyone, but I just feel like more people need to hear me. So I’m looking to secure some kind of distribution deal right now – trying to see what’s most advantageous to myself.

I can’t go back to being an artist and waiting for somebody to pay me. I’m looking for someone who understand the vision but at the same time adds to the availability so that you don’t have to see Creature on the street to buy my album. That would allow me to concentrate more on being on stage and new albums. So I don’t plan to be on the street for two years selling this album.

In the past you utilized the European audience to sell a lot of CDs. Where have you been? What are your favorite international hip-hop scenes? Why is it important to appeal to an international audience?

I been to England, Scotland, Switzerland, Germany, France, Ireland, Belgium, Wales, and probably a couple more I’m forgetting right now. But my favorite place is Scotland.

I love Scotland. I like the fact that there’s no pretense. We opened up for Blackalicious in ’03 and the show was packed. We gave them the energy and they just brought it back. Other places people will like you but they don’t give much back.

Hip-Hop’s international now – point blank, hip-hop is international. I got a passport with stamps on it and I want to go more places. And then hip-hop is so universal – hip-hop is the only genre of music that you have multi-ethnic people into the same music. People that listen to the same songs. And they don’t even know each other – they’re from different ends of the world. There’s a lot of money to be made and a lot of things to do, and I’m just trying to do it.

You’ve worked with a lot of big names in hip-hop – Percee P, Slug, MF Doom, The Beatnuts. Who were your favorite artists to work with? What artists do you hope to work with in the future?

Honestly, I enjoy working with everybody. Working with Doom is probably what helped me the most. Doing the song with Slug has also helped a lot. And I constantly get compared to Percee because we got similar paths. So above all, the endorsements help.

I wanna work with Andre 3000 – he’s one of my favorite MCs. If I could get Cube, damn right. Brother Ali. Shaun Price is one of my favorite MCs. There are many more people than that, but those are the ones I’d love to work with.

Are you working on anything new? Where do you see your music headed next?

Well, this album is hip-hop, but it’s got a lot of hardcore punk. I grew up doing a lot of hardcore punk and rock. I don’t really perform like a lot of traditional hip-hop acts. A lot of people like the new album better than my old stuff because they’re like, “Yo, this shit is more you.” Because as much as I have a knowledge for hip-hop, I also have a thing for rock music. A thorough knowledge – not just talking about a couple bands. I went to hundreds of rock shows growing up.

So hopefully I’ll just keep making good music. I’m working on my third album now. I’m writing another book too. I got a DVD I’m working on. That’s one thing I’ve learned from the Atmospheres and the Murs type rappers out there. You got to get out there and just keep the cycle going. Keep putting out better music and just keep pushing it. So hopefully, eventually I’ll be headlining my own shows.

I’m already a songwriter. I just want to get better. I want to contribute to music what music did for me. What Sly and the Family Stone did for me. What Bad Brains did for me. What Public Enemy did for me. What Run DMC did for me. So that’s my goal.

Aside from being an MC, what are your interests? Do you have a family? Hobbies? Other job?

I used to play sports and draw before I was actually an MC. But honestly, my hobbies are music, money and women. I do what I love doing. I love making music. So it’s really art – the art of everything. The science of everything. The art of making money. The art of doing quality music. Of not letting people dictate your life. That’s it. Really living and contributing. That’s my hobby. My hobby is trying to be a better person. Not just a better artist, but a better person.

If hip-hop was a person, and you could ask him or her one question, what would it be?

How does it feel to know that you have created something that has given millions of people throughout the world satisfaction and created opportunities beyond their wildest imaginations?

Oh, and when you going to leave the crack house and the whores alone?