In this new world of Hip-Hop, where infectious hooks rule, and pulsating beats make your body move, only one question remains: Does lyrical content still matter? If your name is Butta Verses, then the answer is an emphatic yes. This Bronx born MC, who now resides in Fort Lauderdale FL. is living proof of that. After getting his big break, by linking up with the legendary Hip-Hop group De La Soul; he sets forth to make a name for himself and to let his voice be heard. From the display shown on “Jones In Ya Bones,” to the soul-funk influence of “You Got It,” to the politically charged “Federal W Bush”; Butta-V’s lyrical prowess is always at center stage. Not only is he an “MC’s-MC”, but also an entrepreneur as well. With songs licensed to be used by shows like Saturday Night Live and A&E’s Dog: The Bounty Hunter series, he truly knows the meaning of maximizing his potential.The maturity he shows, is probably because he has over 200 stage shows to his credit. Touring with the likes of The Wu-Tang Clan, Boot Camp Clik, and KRS-ONE will do that to an artist. This student of the game now plans to release his new album “Six Minutes To Ten,” and from there he shows no signs of slowing down. AllHipHop.com: How did you get the opportunity to meet De La Soul? Butta Verses: It was actually through DJ Maseo, I had a CD and he just moved into the same apartment complex. I ended up giving him the CD, and that was that.AllHipHop.com: So what would you say is one of the most important things you learned while touring with them? Butta Verses: Basically, like dealing with the fans and interacting with the people. Especially speaking with people, and showing general interest in what the fans want to talk about. That was probably the main thing that I needed to change, because before I’d be like, “man, I don’t want to talk to any fans” [laughing] you know. But being around that made me change the attitude toward the people I make the music for; and just watching Posdonus control the crowd. Like when he tells you to put your hands up; you put your hands up. So I did learn crowd control too. AllHipHop.com: Was there any particular reason why you left the Bronx for Florida? Is there a more diverse music scene out there? Butta Verses: For me, I moved in 1993 right after I graduated from high school. I made the decision saying “this is where I want to live.” As soon as I seen the beach, and how blue the sky was, and how green the grass was. It just seemed like better living to me.AllHipHop.com: Is there any truth to Dade County and Fort Lauderdale not getting along? Butta Verses: It’s more of a rumor than a rivalry, but I wouldn’t say its violent. It’s like if you’re from Broward County, you might like someone from Dade County. They’re definitely always trying to get one up on each other. Right now, Miami is definitely laying it down as far as publicity and just entertainment. AllHipHop.com: So it’s more of a musical/entertainment rivalry more than anything else? Butta Verses: Well there are other things involved too, as far as street hustling and things like that. It’s kind of like a Bronx/Queens thing a little bit, you know. AllHipHop.com: You also had some of your songs licensed for television. How did that come about? Butta Verses: Well I work with Brian Hamilton, who works a company called Dewolf Music. We formed this thing with Beats & Rhymes where they take Hip-Hop music, and they license it out to games, movies, and television. So just by working with him, he was able to get my stuff to all those people. So I was pretty happy about about that [laughter].AllHipHop.com: Do you think “the live show” is a lost art form? Butta Verses: Umm.. I think its still out there, I mean even the cats that I think are whack are still doing live shows. But as far as putting more effort into it, rather than just standing on stage; I think that’s kind of slacked off a little bit. It’s on two different extremes, either you got a cat up there that’s standing around doing nothing, or you got somebody wildin’ out with props and pyrotechnics. There is no happy medium, you know. AllHipHop.com: Can you explain a little bit about how your song “Federal W Bush” came to light?Butta Verses: Me and my man from the Fresh Air Fund are avid Bush haters, its like we always despised everything about that dude. Even like the simplest things, like running his fingers through his hair, it seems shady. So with that, we was like “lets put our feelings about this to music”, you know. So we spit our views on this, and right now is the perfect time for it, you know.AllHipHop.com: Yeah, it is the perfect time because he’s about to be right up outta there!Butta Verses: Yeah his approval rating is at lowest ever, so now hopefully we can get some Democrats running around singing that song [laughing]. AllHipHop.com: Speaking of the Fresh Air Fund, is there any meaning to that name? Also how did the group come about? Butta Verses: We came up with the name because people would always say stuff like “you guys sound like a breath of fresh air”, whenever we rapped. So we took that and was like “okay that’s what we are going to provide.” From there, we just continued to make music. AllHipHop.com: So what projects do you currently have in the works? Butta Verses: Right now we’re working on a project called “The Fixtape”, its like a play off the “mixtape.” Then we have the album, “Six Minutes To Ten.” Both projects are going to piggy back each other, I don’t know which one is going to drop first. But either way, they’ll be relatively close to each other.AllHipHop.com: Are there any appearances? Butta Verses: We have A-Butta on there, and we also got C.L. Smooth on there too. Far as beats, we got Marco Polo and a lot of other talented people. AllHipHop.com: So how did you hook up with C.L. Smooth? Butta Verses: I met him through my manager, Brian Hamilton. But actually he did a couple of the shows with us over seas with De La Soul; he was on the bill too. I met him, but we didn’t get to chop it up or anything. But he remembered me, and once it was mentioned, he was like “yeah.” AllHipHop.com: Do you think it’s possible to over saturate yourself by releasing a lot of mixtapes at once? Butta Verses: Only if the songs are getting worse and worse, and there’s no change to it. Like if its the same old thing over and over, then people are going to get tired of hearing it. But if you’re always coming with something new, fresh and entertaining, I don’t think they’ll be any complaints. AllHipHop.com: So how did you get your stage name? Was it given to you, or you thought it up on your own? Butta Verses: This one time when I was about to start rapping, I was around 18 and someone was like “awe here comes some butta verses.” Then I was like “word, that’s what I’m going to use” [laughter].AllHipHop.com: How would you say the Hip-Hop fans are over seas, versus the Hip-Hop fans here in the states? Butta Verses: Um.. It’s difficult to gage on it, because I’ve done shows in other states, and it was just as crazy as over seas. They were just as appreciative, so you still get a lot of love in the states too. But over seas, they have more of an “awe-factor”, they’re like “he’s actually from there.”AllHipHop.com Plus you also have a clothing deal?Yeah its with Bean Dip clothing and that’s through Culture Kings Music they have a little boutique store out here and they sell sneakers and shirts. They liked the music and was like “yo lets partner up” Butta Verses website is www.buttaverses-online.comButta VersesMySpace page is www.myspace.com/buttaverses