Jensen-Gerard Karp, is an American art dealer, producer, podcaster and former rapper raised in Calabasas, California Karp was previously known by his stage name Hot Karl.
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» All Producer InterviewsALRIGHT, I'm done. Thanks to everyone who participated. If you want to ask me anything else, you can tweet at me - @JensenClan88 or keep up to date through my website, JensenKarp.com
And pick up my book, "Kanye West Owes Me $300," here - you can buy it here - http://www.amazon.com/Kanye-West-Owes-Me-300/dp/0553448153?ie=UTF8&keywords=kanye%20west%20owes%20me%20300&qid=1465490975&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1
I'm a writer/comedian now, but in 2000, I was one of LA's biggest battle rappers and ended up with a million dollar recording contract at Interscope. I recorded tracks w/ Redman, Fabolous, DJ Quik, Mya, DJ Clue, will.i.am and a young Kanye West. And he owes me money. I just released a book about the experience (spoiler: I didn't blow up).
My Proof: https://twitter.com/JensenClan88/status/739929560305672192
Is 'The Real Slim Shady' about you?
the fish in the sea line always felt personal, but I think it's a line in general about Interscope signing a few of us, especially Bubba who had a hit with Ugly right before that.
What do you plan to do with the money when you collect? Have you thought of pressuring Mark Zuckerberg to give Kanye that money?
I'm going to buy one of his weird burlap ponchos.
You should cut out a penis hole so you never have to take it off
cuts out a penis hole immediately
Have you ever been approached to do "Drunk History"? Because a drunk hip-hop history would be amazing.
I actually think I'd suck on the show. I'd get drunk and then barf then sleep.
What am I supposed to do with this Nike Fuelband?
jerk off and brag on social media with the stats
Hello Reddit. I am ready to answer whatever questions you have or just willing to tell you "Fuck your dreams." Either way, happy to be here.
Did you ever vomit spaghetti on your sweater during a rap battle?
naw, but my knees were always weak.
Hey Jensen. I wonder - Is Will Smith a good rapper? Also, What about his music?
Thanks.
For those who don't know Jensen and never heard him speak - he is EASILY one of the greatest story-tellers i have ever heard. It should translate well into book form.
Will Smith WAS a good rapper, yes. His first album Rock The House is kinda the jam. And obviously Parents Just Don't Understand and Summertime. But listen, he isn't Rakim. But yes, he can rap, which is how I judge all rappers, even beyond songs. He has flow. He makes fun music and anyone judging if they think he sould've fit into the Rawkus roster is just kind of a jerk. Thank you for the kind words as well.
Will you charge him interest on the $300 he owes you?
few yeezys we will call it even
Will the sock report ever come back? The podcast is incomplete without it. Also, how's Greg Escalante doing? I haven't heard much about him in a while and I thought you might know him.
Well, I have no idea who Greg is, but I do hope soon to stop by and just check in on the socks and those girls now that they have Seeso money. I assume the sock game would have to see some upgrade? Look for a cameo down the road, M'boogie.
What's your take on the whole Roman Reigns situation?
the people you "hate" make you tune in as much as the people you love. It's all business baby.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Leon the Professional Portman.
TOO YOUNG!
Hot Karl, can you describe the ideal Queen Bey to your Jewish Hova?
vintage Natalie Portman
I have been texted to remind people I mean Mars Attacks Portman, not child Portman. Thank you.
I just ran .2 miles with my Fuelband!
shake it around and lie
He had just got done reading "The Secret" huh?
would make more sense than what actually happened I bet
What was it like working with Kanye? Was his ego as big then?
Honestly, he was mostly pretty chill. I never saw a crazy "ego" per se, but he was also the kind of guy that would force a waitress to listen to him rap, even if she clearly wasn't all that into hearing him. Back then it was more of a determination than an ego. He believed he would be the biggest rapper and literally no one else did.
If it had come down to it, do you think you could have taken him in a battle?
he woulda had me, but I woulda got close
I've always defended will smith as being one of the best clean rappers ever, think about it, his flow and content was on point without swearing, dropping that n bomb or any other cheesy shit. I don't know if he ever did have someone write for him but still. I put him on a level with ll cool j.
LL in his prime would eat him alive, but I mostly agree
Hey Jensen, thanks for doing this. I'm about 1/3 thru the book already and it's got me lolling on the subway every morning/afternoon. I've been purchasing art from Gallery 1988 for years, so I'd like to know how did you get into the art curating game?
thank you so much for reading the book.
When I left my rap career, I had this dough that kinda felt like blood money. I didn't want to just throw it out and buy more comic books. So, a friend I had met at USC, Katie, she worked at a stuffy art gallery in LA and the owner treated me like a piece of shit. Katie and I got to talking and realized if a gallery actually catered to our generation, people who were spending $300 on sneakers and $500 on handbags, then they'd want to hang unique cool stuff on their walls too. That's where the idea started. It's now 13 years later and that type of approach, especially focusing on pop culture, has never been done before, and now it's everywhere. We're happy about it. Thanks again.
I know nothing about you excluding the blurb paragraph above. What would be the one thing that you would want a complete stranger to know about you?
I'm nice to animals.
Haha! You have good friends!
Absolutely.
Do you think that, as many folks have suggested, Rakim wrote "Summertime"?
naw. they've been pretty honest about that stuff with Nas, so I assume he probably got help at times, but it always seems like he could write
You are officially my favorite person now, u/jensenkarp
hearts
oldest trick in the book.
buy up the new talent that can eat into the market share of your companies existing artist(s), then force the new talent to be shelved, removing the threat to your existing artists sales and popularity.
happened to a friend of mine at Atlantic
I wouldn't be the first
If you could change one element of the Spielberg film "Hook" what would it be?
theres a shit cameo in it. That's what I would change.
Hey Jensen, fuck your dreams. As a long time listener of your podcast, I feel like I kind of developed a theory and I wanted to ask you about it.
It feels like you've really sort of blown up in the last few years and have been super involved in a lot of projects I personally think are amazing (documentaries, tons of writing gigs, obviously this book). My question is, did you start to really grind harder and take on more stuff after you found out about your brain tumors? Or is that just a dumb and not true theory.
thank you for listening.
I absolutely did start to try and get out there more after the tumors. I had a career based on being behind the scenes (the gallery, LOST, producing comedy) and after the tumors, I knew there were things I wanted to do and that I wouldn't hide from them anymore. The book being a big example, which is why my diagnosis is the intro. When you face your mortality, a lot of motivation suddenly appeared. Thank you again
I heard that Kanye likes fishsticks....
heard same thing
Which other 80s/90s groups would you like to see a "Straight Outta Compton" type biopic written about? (Wu-tang, UGK, 2 Live Crew, Outkast, etc)
I wrote about this! http://thehundreds.com/blog/next-big-hip-hop-biopic/
Do you solely hate Phil Collins for his acting career, or do you hate his music as well?
listen, I hate what he did to Hook. Not even his "acting career." Just what he did to that lovable kids movie in such a short amount of time on screen. It's also affected my feelings towards his music, but I don't know what came first. A real chicken vs the egg situation.
Thank you for G1988, you guys put out a ton of great stuff (the LOST series introduced me to the whole world of screen printed posters). Between you guys and Mondo my walls are almost completely full.
Are you planning on doing another show with Mark Englert anytime soon? His 12x36 landscapes fit perfectly above my doorways (one of the few places I have left).
Katie is awesome as well, quick random story about her: A while back I had been going to a bunch of your openings when I worked up the street and bought a fair number of things, but never really hung out and got to know you guys. Anyway, I came in after several months of not dropping in and Katie said hi to my by name. Never really had a conversation, but she had checked me out a couple of times. Somehow she both recognized me from a while back and made the connection with my name. It really made me feel like I was a valued customer. I should try and make it back over for an opening again soon.
Thanks and Fight On! (fellow Trojan).
Mark lives in Poland now and keeps himself pretty busy. Not sure he's looking to take up a lot of his time for a solo, but he has an open door policy at G1988 and he knows that.
Katie is the best and has been one of my best friends for almost 15 years now.
FIGHT ON.
Do you have beef with the Rosenthals? Why haven't you been on their podcast yet?
Beef season with Eric and Jeff?
no beef at all. We all are just literally doing our own shit. I've been to NY probably 6 times in the years we haven't done the show and I believe we recorded 3 of those times. Skyping that show, and ANY podcast, makes me hate the art form, but nothing but love for those guys.
Did kanye ever invite you to enjoy banana pudding with him?
Edit: for those who haven't seen, there's a video on YouTube of the dude from die antword talking about making music with kanye, only kanye was more focused on watching porn and eating banana pudding Kim made.
never banana pudding. But we did once go to a 50s diner together, which seems like a fact I shouldn't ignore.
Your last name share's its self with that of a fish. Thoughts?
fish is Carp. I am Karp. My eventual wife will make sure that distinction is understood
You seen what Bubba looks like now? Google it.
he's the man
Has kanye reached at any point during the writing or promotion process of this book?
he has not. I heard one thing second hand, but can't confirm
(I assume this is the right scene)
UGH
Big fan Jensen, how are you dealing with having so many projects while balancing your Obsessive Thoughts Disorder? Also could you talk a little bit about how Ali influenced your life?
I deal with OTD and my work load by compartmentalizing each task. I break them out time wise. I know I have 4 things to do today, so they go onto the schedule. It shows me when I'll have free time too. And then keeping track of what I am pushing off also not just letting it float around my head because that causes stress and obsession. But above all else, I treat obsession with running. It saved my life
Ali was the symbol of determination and having a voice for me. My father taught me about him at a young age and I admired what he stood for. I wanted to feel the same way about myself.
Will you ever re-release the calligraphy Fuck Your Dreams shirts?
hm. not sure. get that beef season jawn though
How in the world did you come up with "Space Invaders"? (Arguable my fav HK track.)
ha. was just a dumb story I wanted to write and I thought being raped by the alien was so NOT hip-hop that it was sort of progressive. It was also INSANE. But yeah. just the normal Fire In The Sky story, with more rape.
What happened to your contract?
I was told that Interscope could not really any of my music, after a year of recording, because of "scheduling conflicts," at that time I asked for my release. They granted it. The rumors and details are in the book and too long for this.
Were there any emcees you had the opportunity to work with, but for some reason, the collab just did not happen?
I almost worked with Beanie Sigel and NORE. Those would've been awesome. Neither worked out. Also, I did end up on a remix with Mr. Eon, but back then I always wanted a song with The High & Mighty. Oh, also Mike Shinoda passed on working with me in 2000, which is so funny cause now we have a song we released last week - https://soundcloud.com/jensenkarp/like-riding-a-bike-feat-mike-shinoda-hot-karl-intuition-abnormal
what happened with your ex-girl, meghan? sounds like she wronged you hardcore.
I address this below a bit, but not my story to tell. I wish everyone the best, and telling other peoples stories never help anyone
Thanks for the reply! I think this will be a very interesting AMA. I'm interested in hearing about your book as well. Are stories about kanye going to be the main focus? What made you decide to go with that title?
its out now! Just one chapter about Kanye, the rest are chronological stories about my time in the business trying to record an album. Kanye was just one stop. The title makes me laugh and let's the audience know weird industry stories are inside.
Hey, I heard you on J.J. Redick's podcast. You guys mostly spoke about rap (which was cool) but I feel deprived of serious basketball conversation.
Can you make up for it by discussing your prediction of the Finals and if that has changed over the course of the series? Should Lebron be posting up more?
Warriors in 6, Cavs HAD to win one at home and honestly, the entire playoff run is lopsided cause I feel like dudes have stopped playing when they're down 20. its weird, right?
Lebron should be more aggressive, which felt right in game 3. I also continue to believe that Love should've left. He's a weird fit on the team outside of his football passes which are perfect for Lebron, but spacing wise - ehhhh.
But maybe this is my fault? http://uproxx.com/dimemag/kevin-love-lebron-james-secret-meeting/
Hey!
Heard you on Hollywood Babble-On. Fun stuff!
My question: being the battle-rap dude of the 2000's, what are your opinion on the battle scene as of today?
Btw, any book distrubutors in sweden or do I have to rely on internet bookshops?
I love what's happening now in battles. I mean, it's different, sure. We had to freestyle, they have weeks to write stuff. No beat also helps for punchlines. But they're all incredible writers and good showmen. It's also been WWE - esque, now they've just stepped it up to resemble. I think it's cool.
I don't know about distribution, but I was told it was going to be everywhere!
Will you admit on record that Bubba Sparxxx's first 2 albums were legit classics???
first album - good
second album - GREAT
Hey /u/jensenkarp
I only know you through your twitter. I actually had no idea you were/are(?) a rapper, or had anything to do with Gallery 1988, or wrote for the WWE(!), or had brain tumors (sorry man). What a great/crazy life!
I'll be buying the book either way tonight through Apple Books (or iBooks, whatever it's called), do you get less money that way as opposed to Amazon/book stores?
this book is actually just about my rap career. Same mind frame as everything else, but just that specific time. I don't know the difference in what I get, but I appreciate that. You get it however you want. ENJOY!
How was writing for WWE?
It was not for me. I spent 6 months there in 2005 and quit, mostly because of the travel. It also wasn't the healthiest writer's room, but it was a dream come true in many ways
Thanks for taking the time to do this! How did the book deal come about? What was it like going through the process of publishing it?
I was given the suggestion by my manager years ago and shrugged it off, then a few things - which I mention in the book - let me start to talk about Hot Karl more, and then I finally said - OK, a book sounds fine. I wrote a proposal, an intro, 3 chapters and a plan on how to market it - and my management company sold it weeks later cause they're like business animals. Writing it was tedious, but I had a greta editor and friends to soundboard off, so it all worked out. But yeah, GRINDING.
First thing I thought too.
no but a big fan of Freeway
Do you ever plan on dropping the details on that crazy New Clothes situation from 2013ish where you said lawyers were getting involved? I think you said you would once the hullabaloo died down a bit but then just never got around to talking about it. Can we expect a Very Special Episode any time soon with deets?
Naw, there's no need to bring others down, even with my truths. I cope in my way about it and that seems healthiest.