Who is TheRealExplicit?
Name: Seth Morales
Age: 29
Location: Tempe, AZ
How did you get into music and what made you choose rap over other genres?
I come from a family that has a certain love for music that I always thought was normal, like everybody felt that way. As I got a little older I realized that I was very fortunate to have grown up in that type of environment because I was exposed to all the greatest musicians ALL THE TIME from as far back as I can remember. My dad had a CD collection that could fill an entire room. Every since I was little I would jam out to his CD’s (a lot of 80’s stuff, early 90’s alternative music, and even country…Thats Right…I fucks with George Strait!) but he didn't listen to any rap so I never got into it until my older brother became a teen & he was able to buy and listen to whatever he wanted. I would borrow one of his CD’s and just listen to it over and over and memorize every word, even to Bone Thugz N Harmony records, and when people saw that I could do that they always used to tell me that it was a gift. Not just the memorization of the lyrics, but how I was able to deliver them with a clear annunciation & control my breath, So I stuck with it.
What kind of music were you exposed to as a child and do you think it has had an effect on your current music tastes?
EVERYTHING and ABSOLUTELY! I don't wanna name specifics, there would be waaaay too many to name, when I say I listened to everything I mean it. Like I said in response to your previous question, I like all kinds of music, it never was just hip-hop all day everyday for me, I will say that I LOVE Hip-Hop though, loving and liking are two different things.
How did you choose Explicit as your rap name and what were some of the runners up?
I remember exactly when & where I was when I chose my stage name. I was sitting in my english class in High School. My teacher & I used to go back and forth talking shit to each other jokingly all the time. One time I took it to far (As I often do, just ask anybody who knows me) and she got so pissed at me she had to leave and step out of the classroom & get a breather for a couple moments, probably to refrain from whipping my little scrawny ass. While she was out there the girl sitting next to me says “Your to Explicit, you should work on that” and I said “Explicit? What the hell is that”, thats when she pointed down to the sheet of paper on her desk, it was the Vocab words we needed to study and learn for the week, and “Explicit” was one of them. For whatever reason that stuck with me all the way till getting home and when I finally looked up the exact definition in Webster's dictionary it was “Saying what is meant, without holding anything back”. I thought “Well, I have been called worse things” and the rest is history. There were no runners up, Explicit has been my stage name since I wrote my 1st rap, when I was 15/16 years old and since it is now Tattoo’d on me spanning from my elbow to my wrist, I think I’ll stick with it.
You say you took a three year hiatus from music, why take the time off and how do you think you’re style has changed since before the break?
Yeah a little longer than 3 years actually, and I used that time to get my shit together. I have been doing this rap on a serious tip for a long time. I would say I started taking it seriously when I was 17 or so and eventually people started to take notice as to exactly how serious I was. My music was starting to create a lil buzz around my area, I was on the radio a couple times, doin shows on the regular and was either headlining at my own shows my crew & I would arrange or opening for whatever major artist that would come to town, and I even got a deal with a company called “Pure Artistry” for a while and started working on an album. Everything seemed to be going great, and then it happened.
I was in a traffic accident around that time and I messed my back up really bad. Every doctor I've ever shown my MRIs to has told me the same thing; “Sorry sir, but there isn't a procedure that exists today that can fix where your back has been broken” the MRI also must tell them how much pain I must be in because directly after they give me the “Sorry your screwed” speech they offer me the strongest pain killers that a person can be prescribed. I took those for a while and life went on, it didn't effect my music or relationships with anybody at the beginning.
A couple years after the accident I went on the road to do some shows in California and in Nevada and I couldn't get a refill on my prescription for whatever reason (When your filling the pain meds I was on and look, act, and dress the way I do…It raises some eyebrows) and I was going through terrible withdrawals, some guy who was doin' the tour with us offered me some heroine so I would be able to finish the shows we had left and get home, I accepted, and everything went to shit after that. I lost touch with everybody who loved me, Pure Artistry dropped me, I became deeply depressed and I carried a .40 “Baby”Desert Eagle around with me at the time, every night I had it up to my head and I would try and try to work up the courage to just do it… Luckily, when it comes to guns being pointed at me, I am a huge pussy and never had the balls to do it cause I ended up getting help. I went to rehab and did some sober living for a while (Shout out to Adam, Jericho you guys saved my life!) completely changed my life around, humbled myself and got a full time job working at a bar and am 100% focused on my music career at this current moment in life. The differences between my music style from before rehab to now are tremendous. I write about my real life and I NEVER WRITE FICTION RAPS, so if you hear me say it, believe I've done it, I was really depressed when I was an addict and my music reflected that. These days I am happy but hungry and I think that shows as well.
You landed a spot on King Los’ tour, how did you swing that? And what are you most excited about regarding that opportunity?
Yes, I will be doin' that gig on Friday, November 20th at Club Red in Mesa AZ (Hit me up for tickets!). I got a random message on Facebook about it, didn't think anything of it cause you get used to people bullshitting you in this business, then that same guy asked for my number and next thing I know Los’ people are calling me & I gotta slot. My boy Mike Parker used to work for them back in the days and had Los come though my crib. Los & I had freestyled in my living room for a half hour just goin' back and forth while every1 in the room had there phones out recording and were jus dead silent watching this go down like “is Seth (Explicit) really just flowin' with Los’ at his crib like its just another Tuesday night” haahaaa, and once Mikey told them about that and how that was me there was a level of “Ok we can count on this dude” I think that came from it. Im looking forward to the show but I would have to say I am most excited about being on that Cypher Video, cause I know a ton of people watch his Cyphers on youtube and I think if I come hard enough it will be some good exposure.
After that event, what is the future for Explicit?
We got plenty more shows in the works right now, a new website that will be up by the end of next week www.explicitrap.com, an album on the way, and will probably be coming to a town near you here soon so keep your eyes peeled!
Lastly, if you could collab with anyone, who would it be and why?
Eminem. Two Words…Rap God.
