LOCAL LOVE CORNER
This Week: Omaha, Nebraska
The Evolution of Buck Bowen
By Kyle Eustice
For five years, Buck Bowen was a constant fixture on Omaha’s hip-hop “scene,” but all of a sudden, he bowed out of all his responsibilities and took off. He sold his car and his possessions then simply vanished. Turns out, Bowen was on a sort of self-imposed exile from America and globetrotting around Mexico, El Salvador and Costa Rica. At this point, he had already become disenchanted with hip-hop and essentially, anything having to do with it. After a year south of the border, Bowen settled in Long Beach, California. It was here that he finally felt he was able to come out from behind the mask he’d been wearing in Omaha for so long. He was free to be himself.
I remember an arrogant and rather rude individual who I didn’t really care for at the time. For this, he apologizes and reiterates, that it wasn’t him. He had been carrying on with this “rap persona” for so long that it became who he was and definitely affected his reputation. As someone who has lived in New Mexico for many years, the feeling you get when you’re able to shed the reputation people have given you in your hometown is invaluable. During the course of the interview, Bowen admits it’s strange to be back, but is grateful he’s only here for another week to celebrate his CD release. Titled Neuterection EP, the album is a testament to Bowen’s growth as not only a musician, but as a human being.
You stated you "hate hip-hop." Considering you're perceived as an emcee, how do people respond when they hear you say that?
I don’t hate hip-hop, but I think I have very little tolerance for it. The thing that sucks, my beats are hip-hop, but it’s just a vessel to float my message. I’m so different from how I used to be. I was all about the four elements and all of that. I don’t care about any of that anymore. In fact, I kind of cringe at the culture of it. I don't consider myself an "emcee." There's not much of a response because "hip-hop" is nothing more than a genre to most people.
Do you mean current culture or the past?
Overall. I never felt like I really belonged. One, I’m white. Two, I’m from Omaha or Blomaha, as I like to call it. I was trying so hard. I was a DJ, I was MC-ing, I was spray painting, I was doing it all. I so wanted to be a part of it, but the more I tried, the further away I felt. Eventually, I kind of imploded on myself because I was so dogmatic about everything and there were so many internal contradictions. I used to worry about Diamond D hearing that I sampled a remastered version of his record and I would worry about what they would think. First of all, they don’t care about me and secondly, they don’t care about me [laughs]. For me there were only so many contradictions that I can deal with before I fell apart.
I will always be appreciative of classic rap and the KRS Ones of the world. Why do you not really have much admiration for them and what exactly about hip-hop culture makes you sick?
"Classic rap" and KRS-One still move me, sometimes. I just no longer worship them. If you want to know what bothers me about the "culture", ask 20 different people if they think the "beastie boys" are hip-hop and contrast their responses.
You mentioned you felt like you weren't being true to yourself when you first started playing live in Omaha. What were some of the reasons you didn't feel like yourself at that time?
I probably didn't feel like myself because I was measuring who I saw myself as with who I felt I had to be (in order to ‘be’ hip-hop). But that's not ‘hip-hop's’ fault. I allowed my strings to be pulled and to be defined by the arbitrary standards of ‘others.’
On the first track of your new album, you talk about religion a lot and the next track mentions a bible verse. Do you have problems with organized religion?
The narration provides bible verses that support the claims made in the song. Organized or unorganized makes no difference. Any system of thought or worship that supports slavery, infanticide, genocide and human sacrifice is morally bankrupt.
You talked about the message you want to get across to your listeners. Can you kind of expand on that?
Sure. Message 1: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. It's ok to say, ‘I don't know.’ Message 2: If you want more, demand more. If you want to accomplish something, you must first expect it of yourself.
How is your new material different from the old Buck Bowen stuff?
Before it was punch lines, banter, and self-deprecating humor. Now it's more about relating ideas, inspiring action and posing questions that cause one to think.
What do you love about producing?
Honestly, I wish that I loved it. I often find myself agonizing or complaining about my ‘inabilities’ or sound quality. I should probably lower my expectations.
What do you hope to do with your music career?
My goal is to help others lose their faith, as well as overcome their fears and superstitions. To think more critically about the claims others make and even their own. Another is to urge people to start taking charge of their life. Time isn't your friend. Every solution has a problem. And as the saying goes, ‘if you want more success, double your failure rate.’ I define faith as, ‘pretending to know something you do not know.’ This is not to be obfuscated with ‘hope.’
How has moving to Long Beach changed your life for the better?
You must first let go of who you were to become who you will be. When I moved, I felt a weight had been lifted. I could breathe and the fresh air never smelled so sweet. I was free to become whomever I wanted. I could try on different personalities and behaviors until I found one that truly ‘fit’ me. Most of us don't have that liberty in our hometown because our family and friends expect us to act and behave a certain way. If we try, we're generally met with fierce opposition or called ‘fake.’ It's unfortunate, but to a degree understandable.
What’s it like to visit Omaha again?
You fall right back into that mold that everybody keeps you stuck in. That was the beauty of being somewhere else. I wasn’t bound to any one persona or genre. I started going to the beach and working out at the gym, something I never would have done in the past [laughs]. I needed to start over.
The Local Love Corner: BUCK BOWEN
LOCAL LOVE CORNER
This Week: Omaha, Nebraska
The Evolution of Buck Bowen
By Kyle Eustice
For five years, Buck Bowen was a constant fixture on Omaha’s hip-hop “scene,” but all of a sudden, he bowed out of all his responsibilities and took off. He sold his car and his possessions then simply vanished. Turns out, Bowen was on a sort of self-imposed exile from America and globetrotting around Mexico, El Salvador and Costa Rica. At this point, he had already become disenchanted with hip-hop and essentially, anything having to do with it. After a year south of the border, Bowen settled in Long Beach, California. It was here that he finally felt he was able to come out from behind the mask he’d been wearing in Omaha for so long. He was free to be himself.
I remember an arrogant and rather rude individual who I didn’t really care for at the time. For this, he apologizes and reiterates, that it wasn’t him. He had been carrying on with this “rap persona” for so long that it became who he was and definitely affected his reputation. As someone who has lived in New Mexico for many years, the feeling you get when you’re able to shed the reputation people have given you in your hometown is invaluable. During the course of the interview, Bowen admits it’s strange to be back, but is grateful he’s only here for another week to celebrate his CD release. Titled Neuterection EP, the album is a testament to Bowen’s growth as not only a musician, but as a human being.
You stated you "hate hip-hop." Considering you're perceived as an emcee, how do people respond when they hear you say that?
I don’t hate hip-hop, but I think I have very little tolerance for it. The thing that sucks, my beats are hip-hop, but it’s just a vessel to float my message. I’m so different from how I used to be. I was all about the four elements and all of that. I don’t care about any of that anymore. In fact, I kind of cringe at the culture of it. I don't consider myself an "emcee." There's not much of a response because "hip-hop" is nothing more than a genre to most people.
Do you mean current culture or the past?
Overall. I never felt like I really belonged. One, I’m white. Two, I’m from Omaha or Blomaha, as I like to call it. I was trying so hard. I was a DJ, I was MC-ing, I was spray painting, I was doing it all. I so wanted to be a part of it, but the more I tried, the further away I felt. Eventually, I kind of imploded on myself because I was so dogmatic about everything and there were so many internal contradictions. I used to worry about Diamond D hearing that I sampled a remastered version of his record and I would worry about what they would think. First of all, they don’t care about me and secondly, they don’t care about me [laughs]. For me there were only so many contradictions that I can deal with before I fell apart.
I will always be appreciative of classic rap and the KRS Ones of the world. Why do you not really have much admiration for them and what exactly about hip-hop culture makes you sick?
"Classic rap" and KRS-One still move me, sometimes. I just no longer worship them. If you want to know what bothers me about the "culture", ask 20 different people if they think the "beastie boys" are hip-hop and contrast their responses.
You mentioned you felt like you weren't being true to yourself when you first started playing live in Omaha. What were some of the reasons you didn't feel like yourself at that time?
I probably didn't feel like myself because I was measuring who I saw myself as with who I felt I had to be (in order to ‘be’ hip-hop). But that's not ‘hip-hop's’ fault. I allowed my strings to be pulled and to be defined by the arbitrary standards of ‘others.’
On the first track of your new album, you talk about religion a lot and the next track mentions a bible verse. Do you have problems with organized religion?
The narration provides bible verses that support the claims made in the song. Organized or unorganized makes no difference. Any system of thought or worship that supports slavery, infanticide, genocide and human sacrifice is morally bankrupt.
You talked about the message you want to get across to your listeners. Can you kind of expand on that?
Sure. Message 1: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. It's ok to say, ‘I don't know.’ Message 2: If you want more, demand more. If you want to accomplish something, you must first expect it of yourself.
How is your new material different from the old Buck Bowen stuff?
Before it was punch lines, banter, and self-deprecating humor. Now it's more about relating ideas, inspiring action and posing questions that cause one to think.
What do you love about producing?
Honestly, I wish that I loved it. I often find myself agonizing or complaining about my ‘inabilities’ or sound quality. I should probably lower my expectations.
What do you hope to do with your music career?
My goal is to help others lose their faith, as well as overcome their fears and superstitions. To think more critically about the claims others make and even their own. Another is to urge people to start taking charge of their life. Time isn't your friend. Every solution has a problem. And as the saying goes, ‘if you want more success, double your failure rate.’ I define faith as, ‘pretending to know something you do not know.’ This is not to be obfuscated with ‘hope.’
How has moving to Long Beach changed your life for the better?
You must first let go of who you were to become who you will be. When I moved, I felt a weight had been lifted. I could breathe and the fresh air never smelled so sweet. I was free to become whomever I wanted. I could try on different personalities and behaviors until I found one that truly ‘fit’ me. Most of us don't have that liberty in our hometown because our family and friends expect us to act and behave a certain way. If we try, we're generally met with fierce opposition or called ‘fake.’ It's unfortunate, but to a degree understandable.
What’s it like to visit Omaha again?
You fall right back into that mold that everybody keeps you stuck in. That was the beauty of being somewhere else. I wasn’t bound to any one persona or genre. I started going to the beach and working out at the gym, something I never would have done in the past [laughs]. I needed to start over.
