BITE MY WIRE, your top-selling skateboard gossip monthly, was able to
negotiate this WORLD EXCLUSIVE print interview with the HOTTEST new rap
talent on the block - the enigma that is JEREME 'J. CASSANOVA' ROGERS! Jereme
spoke candidly to our man, revealing his innermost thoughts, from
personal philosophy to his sleazy secrets as a bed-hopping SEX ADDICT!
We get the scoop on Jereme's SENSATIONAL move
into music, how it is to OWN his own company and his remarkable REFUSAL
to retire from professional skateboarding after his SHOCKING split from
Girl!
How are you finding it being a musician, a pro skateboarder and a company owner?
I eat, though I am not an eater. I talk, though I am not a talker. I am not
what I do, nor confined to what I do. I am a human being. At the core, I
am formless... Skateboarding, music and good business are just some
of the few things I do as a human. My strength and identity is inside and comes from nothing external.
Hip-hop's coming back into skateboarding. It was all shitty
indie rock for a while, but now people are skating to hip-hop again.
Obviously there's Lil Wayne putting his rap career on hold to skate. How
do you think this change came about? You were kinda ahead of that.
First off, thank you... Secondly, change always comes about. I have
definitely noticed skateboarders more openly claiming to make music,
rapping, etc. I was definitely the first from skating to actually openly
pursue music so head on with the ambition I did... But if anything, what I
wish is that all things I do to inspire in man, is freedom from
fear.
What's the longest you've gone without stepping on a skateboard since you started?
One year. When I retired in June of 2009, I didn't skate once or even own a board until the following June, 2010.
What's the longest you've gone without fucking a girl?
It's been a while... I don't fuck anymore, I make love. That does not mean
that it's slow with candles lit every time, or that there must be
wedding vows or commitments, but that it is pure; an act of Love.
There's married men who've never made love to their wife. The only
difference in the act, is the internal experience, whether one is
viewing their partner in a derogatory fashion, or purely; with Love. One
leaves you feeling unfulfilled, the other; inspired.
Do you ever fuck the same girl twice?
I have, but naturally this question is slightly cancelled out by my last answer.
What was the first album you owned? Do you still like it?
It was a Memphis Bleek album that I won mixed in with some other stuff at a skate contest. And no. Hahaha!
Do you go to shows?
I've been to some, but definitely don't make it a point to go.
People look at stuff in the street and think about how good it'd be to
skate. Do you check out which rooftops would be good for getting naked
on?
It's the only way to do it right.
Who do you want to do a song with? Have you asked them? Anybody cool asked you to work with them?
Everybody good, no, and yes... But I'm gonna work with everybody I
want. I'm in control of my destiny as much as a man has ever been.
Would you be happy for some people to see you as a skateboarder, and for
some people to see you as an artist? Or should everybody appreciate
that you're both?
There's nothing that everybody should, only things that everybody
could, and I would be happiest if people saw me as I am. But vision
is clouded by fear, and opened by Love. People can only see me as they
see themselves. It takes doubt in self to doubt someone else; love of
self, to love anyone else; and hate in self, to hate anyone else. All
starts with self, and ends with everyone else.
Which gets you most girls?
Freedom... Freedom from fear attracts all humans, men and women alike.
You're smarter than a lot of people think. Does it
depress you to see some of the reactions to stuff you do? Or do you do
stuff to wind people up?
Nothing outside of me has power over what's inside of me. If you let
external circumstances affect the state of your internal life, you'll
have no power over your external life. Internal power is the leading
cause of external power. You must first feel you are, before you
are... If you let what's outside of you have any effect on what you feel
you are, you'll never be what you want. By saying "You made me upset" -
or made me anything, you're forfeiting your power over self, and
giving that power to someone else.
What's Pink Dolphin? Nobody in the UK knows what that is.
I don't either, it's just some brand that gave me free clothes and I wore them over dirty ones.
Who else do you think would be a good fit on Selfish?
I don't... I think little, plan less. I live in the moment; present. What
matters most is feeling, and my thoughts are aligned with my
feelings. When someone feels right, it will be because they are.
Why did Selfish go to France, and not the UK?
I've been to the UK, more than once I believe...I've filled three
passports. My travel exploits are quite a blur, all of which I'm
grateful for and have had a positive effect on my internal make up.
What set up do you use for making music?
Pro Tools... Industry standard shit
How long does it take you to make a track?
One sitting, whether it takes 30 minutes, or several hours, it's still
done in one sitting. I come back to tracks for mixing and tracking,
but never for vocals or writing, that's all done in one sitting or not
done at all. And I don't actually write, I let it come to me
naturally... It never sees the light of day on a pad or phone or any
other place outside of my own mind.
How much music are you sitting on? Is there going to be a J. Cassanova album?
Of course. I'm always steps ahead of whatever content I got out. That's
just how it goes for anyone who wishes to continue doing what they're
doing. You must remain ahead of what you're perceived as or they'll stop
caring to make any perceptions of you at all.
Did you ever prank call a shop and pretend you were your own soundboard?
No, but I did listen to some of the prank calls made with it, and all bias-ness aside, they were thoroughly entertaining.
Why did you say you weren't getting royalties from Girl?
I was getting my cheque, just not my actual royalties. I got a three
thousand dollar guarantee a month, which operated as a minimum; meaning I
get that no matter what, but if I sell over the minimum, I get the
extras - royalties kick in. Thing is, everyone on the brand got that
same minimum, I believe on Chocolate as well. But everybody wasn't
breaking that minimum, which means it costs them money... Which is wrote
off as marketing costs. Though some of us were breaking it, myself being
one of them. Zumiez (big U.S. skateboard chain-retailer) told me I was one of their top three sellers for
years. So what had happened was, they were letting my royalties fall
back into the company to cover their overhead, which helped keep a boat
afloat that had some leaks. For two years I apparently didn't break my
three thousand dollar minimum, yet Zumiez alone - who I was a top three
seller for those same two years - had over three hundred stores in the
U.S. If I sold ten boards a month to each of their three hundred
locations - which is not a lot of boards for one of their top three
sellers to move each month in a mall shop - then that would equate for
six thousand dollars a month at two dollars a board, just off Zumiez.
Don't forget, we're taking about Girl here who sells all around the
world. So clearing a three thousand dollar minimum was not an issue. I
was rookie of the year that year, 2006... I was also the highest rank
street skater. Yet somehow, I was still not clearing my, what was at the
time, measly minimum. So I inappropriately blurted out at Tampa 2007,
after getting second to Koston, who had a flawed run, against mine which
was flawless, that all I wanted was my royalties, when Rick Howard asked
what I wanted after doing so well. The following month I got a six
thousand dollar cheque... The first time I broke my three thousand dollar
minimum, "apparently", and on top of that, it was April; tax time.
Coincidence... Sure.
How much do you pay your team?
We give them double the industry standard... Which is two dollars a board. We give them four.
I heard you lurk on a certain skateboard forum... Would that be right?
I don't lurk. I don't kill time, I cherish it. But God bless you guys, I
hope the forum is awesome, and I will gladly read every comment
after this to see what you magnificent humans have to say.
Can people send you beats?
People can do whatever they want if they apply the right mind, principles, and passion to it.
Jon Horner made this into a brilliant comic. See the full-size version here.
Cheers for doing this Jereme. Massive thanks also to the brilliant Andy Smoke and Jon Horner for the illustration and the comic. Andy drew Jereme's last Selfish graphic, and loads more of his work can be found on his blog, here. Jon draws all sorts of amazing things, and his blog can be found here.
