Eon MC Etc. is more than just a modern hip-hop artist with a conscience. He’s a poet whose lyrics are thought provoking, honest representations of what he believes; he wastes no time on filler and nonsense. This rapper is a breath of fresh air amidst a genre that often gets overshadowed by the lifestyle we’re led to believe it accompanies: bling, fast cars, and MTV Cribs. Eon makes it clear that what matters to him is truth and integrity, rejecting the notion that his skin color or music make him an ambassador of popular hip-hop culture.

Eon MC Etc.

“Give me my identity back… I don’t know s**t about Cadillacs, rims, or platinum teeth. Get outta my face with that.”
~Angry Black Man lyrics

OurStage recently interviewed Eon MC Etc. and, as expected, he gave us some great answers. For starters we wanted to know where he got his unique name. The story goes all the way back to his first rap group that he started with his cousin at age 5:

Eon: [My cousin] went through probably 10 name changes while I struggled to come up with even one name that I liked. One day I was listening to a song and I heard a lyric that said, “we’re eons ahead of our time” and I was like, “Yeah, Eon, that’s my name.” Later on in my teenage years I thought that was kind of silly so I had to switch it up. I was trying to be cool, you know, making “gansta rap.” Women and violence, the whole 9 [yards]. It wasn’t until I was 20 and considering quitting rap altogether that I had to remind myself why I started doing it in the first place. It was then that I decided to re-adopt my original rap name. This time I slightly modified it though, being that I’m all grown up now. I added MC Etc. I’m an emcee (MC) as well as other things (etc. meaning “and so on”). The deeper or real meaning is this: Eon is an undefined long period of time (thousands of years), MC to me stands for man of Christ,and etc. means literally “and so on.” So my name means “Timeless man of Christ and so on.”

OS: The song “Angry Black Man” talks about stereotypes and identity, being pigeonholed into a category because of one’s skin color. This is something a lot of people can relate to. You managed to say a whole lot about the topic in 5 minutes- What would you most want a listener to take away from that song after hearing it once?

Eon: Ironically, it depends on what “race” they are. I would like for the black people to see the racism inherent in black American culture and the hypocrisy of the black nationalist mentality which promotes black hate while condemning white hate and is actually rooted in self hatred and shame. I would like the white people to see past the stereotypes and see a man not so different from them. I also want them to feel some vindication from years of being the designated racist… people of any race can enjoy the appreciate the honesty, I believe.

OS: As you yourself have pointed out, there are a lot of political references in your music and in your blog. It’s hard to miss your passion for speaking your mind. You’ve mentioned an affiliation with the Hip Hop Republicans- for those of us less familiar, could you explain who they are?

Eon: The Hip Hop Republicans are a collection of people from the “hip hop era” who at least somewhat agree with the ideals of the Republican Party. They believe, as I do, that the welfare state and expensive government programs have actually created a class of people that are completely dependent on the federal government and have done more harm to low-income and urban families than good. The idea is educating people to understand this and explaining what better options they have. They are actually very active politically and starting to gain a lot of recognition. I kind of stumbled across their website and was very intrigued by the discussions they had going on. They were gracious enough to let me post a couple of rants on their site. But as for me, I no longer wish to have any affiliation with the Republican Party because I do not like the direction they are going in.

“Why all the politics? Life is political. My music is laced with my religious and political views because, unlike many people, I believe that what you believe is who you are and cannot be separated from any aspect of your life. If you separate your beliefs from your art then your art will lack substance and is therefore useless.”
~From Eon’s MySpace blog

Keep your eyes and ears open for more of what Eon MC Etc. has to say. His latest album, A Reckonin’, is available through iTunes and CD Baby.

Check out Eon MC Etc. on OurStage, too!