Prof talks music videos, performing stunts and playing Fargo

By Jamie Hutchinson

Following the release of his album “Liability,” his first for record label Rhymesayers, Minneapolis rapper Prof is about to headline a tour of the U.S. with Fargo serving as the second date of the tour.

HPR: “Liability” has some featured guests on it, such as Tech N9ne and Waka Flocka Flame. How did you hook up with such prolific rappers?

Prof: I don’t know, man, kind of reached out. Some started hearing me, here and there. I guess, growing up, getting a bigger name. Prof’s how people have heard of me before and so I’ll be able to get bigger acts to be on the record. Maybe, s**t, I’ll be able to blow up a little bit and be able to get Jay Z or f***ing Kanye on my next one. Who knows? Who knows? I was trying at least for the people who you think would be best on the tracks first. On this record I reached out to T.I. You know what I’m saying? F**k it, let’s see if he responds. He didn’t, but it’s worth a shot, man.

HPR: The music video for “Bar Breaker” begins with you waking up in a fresh grave, hitching a ride in a van where porn’s being shot, getting pushed out of the van and then jumping off a bridge. Like the rest of the scenes in this video, this one is all a continuous shot with the camera facing you. It’s really chaotic and suits your delivery of the verses well. How did the idea for the video come about?

P: At that time we just finished shooting a super expensive video that’s not out yet. It’ll come out in a while. That’s still being worked on. And we were like, ‘All right, let’s shoot another video that’s super cheap now.’ You know what I mean? And so I was like, ‘Well, what would be a really good idea?’ We just got a bunch of f***ing GoPros for free and I was like, ‘Let’s just use those ... Like with super low budget and just do it ourselves.’ And so, that ended up being one of the best videos on the entire record; a video we did for just dirt cheap. It’s super entertaining. It’s super fast-paced. I had to do a lot of stunts. I mean, it had to be immaculate to have it be pulled off and end in the right timing so the next verse would start right at that time.

HPR: Speaking of stunts, I read that you performed all of them for the video, including jumping off the bridge. Was that nerve racking at all or was it just another day in the life of Prof?

P: The camera rig around my waist was pretty big. It would restrict my hips from moving and s**t. So I was thinking, ‘How dumb would it be if I really jumped off that bridge? I’d land in the water and I would shoot the f**k down in the water and then realize, f**k, I can’t swim with this thing and then there it is. Oops. Rapper dies in a stupid stunt that wasn’t really thought out. And then it’s like, the footage of that would be pretty sad. I did all the stunts but I thought about that one and I swam out the day before in that exact spot. We dove down deep to see if I would hit the ground or anything and then I tried swimming with that thing on and I could swim for like 30 seconds. So we had someone in a floaty there to catch me right when I landed. It’s visible there in one frame.

HPR: You’ll be kicking off your first headlining tour at the end of the month, beginning with several dates in the Midwest. What can fans expect from your live shows now that you’re not an opening act but the headlining act?

P: I’ve headlined Fargo a bunch of times — a group of times — for probably the past six, seven years. I’ve opened up there too. I’ve performed the Aquarium. I’ve headlined there. Small room. I’ve sold it out for the past I don’t know how many years. We were looking to get a bigger room but the city is going through different things and ordinances and different clubs and they were like, ‘You want to go back to this small room?’ and I’m like, ‘F**k it. Let’s go back to Fargo. Let’s do it.’ The Aquarium: Super small, crazy sweaty, always one of the craziest places to go and perform. You all really know how to party, so that’s definitely highlighted on the tour schedule.

HPR: You recently talked about touring different cities of the U.S. and said that you like the Midwest a lot because the people are a bit crazier. In what ways are the crowds crazier in the Midwest?

P: The people are just excited for an excuse to just go out and just let loose and just rage. I can see a lot of that in Fargo. They’re just happy that the party’s going on. People are eager to go out and have a good time with their friends and just have a little bit more fun than usual.

HPR: What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen at a show you’ve performed in the Midwest?

P: There’s been a lot of nudity. The crowd surfing ... I think we crowd surfed a person on a wheelchair once. I’ve jumped into the crowd and broken up some fights. Sometimes people push around and it goes overboard, but I never want people fighting so I always jump in there and try to break it up. And then after the show too, I’m down to go to a couple after parties and after bars and see what’s going on and the stories are crazy over there too, man.

IF YOU GO:

WHO: Prof, with Nacho Picasso, DJ Fundo, Sean Anonymous and DJ Name

WHEN: Fri, Oct. 30, 9 p.m.

WHERE: The Aquarium (above Dempsey’s), 226 Broadway, Fargo

Tickets at Orange Records and ticketweb.com