24: Introduce yourself to everyone that doesn’t already know who you are.

Tam: I think that most of the people who know me are soccer fans I have fans from Canada and out in Europe, as I’ve been a pro soccer player in Europe for over a decade now. I’m just Tam though. Hip-Hop head my whole life, certified rapper for only a little bit, but I’m nice. I promise you that!

24: Before we get into your music, can you describe your history about how you got into and what inspired you?

Tam: Playing pro soccer is really been all I’d done up until a couple of years ago when things went south. Long story short, I got convinced at that time to start writing lyrics. Then I made a couple songs and fell in love with it. Took the time to work on the craft and sent some songs to Green Lantern’s manager; he and Green were feeling the music and agreed to host and cosign this mixtape, #BeatsandBurgers. Its gone fast since then so I’m just tryna get my Neon Deon on these days. As far as inspirations are concerned, I’m a 90’s hip-hop junkie who still appreciates what today’s more intricate rappers are offering. This mixtape is all about that 90’s era though. Any true ATCQ and Jay Dee fans will be feeling the background music, and all 90’s heads will appreciate the mouthful of underground classic beats. I just wanted to make a tape that sounded like the mixtapes I had growing up recorded from the hip-hop radio shows.

24: What was the Hip-Hop scene like for you growing up where you’re from?

Tam: It was mad underground. I grew up in Canada then moved to Germany when I was 16 so it was literally me and Hip-Hop growing up. My brother introduced me to ATCQ and I was hooked. Then I ran into Mobb Deep, and some of the earliest memories I have are listening to Ready To Die and Nas’ Illmatic being forced to do homework in mom’s room. Back then finding a new DJ Premier track was like gold to me. Other than that, we only had one college radio station that played underground joints once a week, and that’s where I got word of any new joints. I remember hearing Jay Z’s Can’t Knock The Hustle like…”Who the f*** is that?” Finding his CD was like shipping in the best product back in those days. That and one rap show on the country’s only Music station MuchMusic back in the day. Canada didn’t really endorse the Gangsta era on TV so we were fed the Roots, The Wu-Tangs and so on…basically East Coast! Then I moved to Germany, and everything was there. Germany’s one of the largest hip-hop communities besides the States and Japan so I had a lot of time to myself just eating up all the music that was coming up. I remember I used to spend hours on the computer downloading song after song from Napster on that 56k connection. Man, I was dedicated.

24: What makes you Unique as a artist and different from other rappers out now?

Tam: I don’t have any boundaries and I’ve literally been around the world and back and have the experience gained from that. I think Hip-Hop is finally moving in a direction where anyone who is willing to expose their faults as much as their desires and aspirations is becoming more acceptable than just the bravado. “I’ll kick game and spit game” with the best, but I prefer making music that relates to me cause I’ve realized artists that did that were the ones I had a closer connection to when I listened to their music. So the fact that my experiences are unique for any other rapper out there alone puts me in my own lane as far as I’m concerned.

24: Tell us about what you are working on.

Tam: I have a lot of things I’m working on. When I first started making music, I was making them in bundles that just happened to fit into albums. I’ve made about 2-3 already and right now I’m just making music to gain a larger fan base. #BeatsAndBurgers was really just a test run for me so that fact that the feedback’s been so good makes the future projects even more exciting. “YEG To The World” is most likely the next project. That’s gonna be more of a doorway into where I’m from, Edmonton Canada. I want people to get a taste of that, and give people from my city something to be proud of at the same time. “Sushi And Red Wine” is another project I have that focuses more on the trials I’ve been going through over the last couple of year with soccer and personally. Basically, I have projects to look forward to in the near future.

24: What producers have you worked with and who would you like to work with in the future?
Tam: In #BeatsAndBurgers I just picked up on old school beats to create that 90’s feel and ride with it. Now I’ve started producing with close help from a great producer from Toronto/Edmonton by the name of BMoney Grenier. He produced the first single from the new project called Brand New that features Choclair, a legend in the Toronto and Canada Hip-Hop scene. In the future I’d love to get on tracks from Canada’s elite right now. The Boi1da, T-Minus, Rich Kidd, and Snaz’s of the game. They’ve brought the status of Hip-Hop for Toronto and Canada to an all time high and that’s all I wanna do for my city with my movement.

24: Are you happy with the feedback you have been getting from people on material you have released?

Tam: Yeah man. The Datpiff download numbers have been beyond expectations. I would have been happy with 5k max, but we’re already at 12k and counting. Add that to whats now 13k from the Original release of Beats And Burgers and that’s over 25,000 people that have a version of the mixtape playing somewhere. The videos are picking up as well and of course that Green Lantern cosign was heavy for me. Soon as that happened I knew I wasn’t gonna turn back on this rapping thing. I’m in it for life now. And that’s all G.

24: In today’s free download age, what do you need to do to make yourself a household name?

Tam: I think you just gotta keep searching for ways to distinguish yourself from the rest. Connecting to artists that already have a fan base always helps, and you got some people that act extra to get attention. I just try and be smart about it. The game’s just that… a game. If you learn how to play by the rules and even how to bend them the right way, you can get results. So I’m learning fast and trying to make the right moves to get where I want to be in the game. To be here after just over a year tells me my learning curve is good. It’ll get even better though. I promise that!

24: How do you feel about the current state of the Hip-Hop scene?

Tam: I think there’s so much hip-hop out there that in the end it’s only gonna be as good as what you’re willing to accept or find. You’ll always have what mainstream media force-feeds you, and if that’s good enough for you, then its all G. If its not, it’s not a good enough excuse to me to say hip-hop is dead for example. It’s alive and kicking. If it’s dying, it’s only cause you ain’t supporting it. If you search around and aren’t afraid to try new artists then hip-hop will always stay alive as long as it stays in your cd and mp3 players. Period. Even still, a lot of the new artists are innovative and taking the game to a new direction… If Jay Z can ride that wave for almost 20 years then you can’t tell me hip-hop died. People just gotta get with the times sometimes. Having said that though… some shit out there really is just garbage.

24: Outside of the music, what else are you currently working on?

Tam: For real, I’m just trying to get my soccer career back on track. It’s my first love and I’ll be a soccer player for life so I’ll never give that up. Other than that, as I said before, I have this YEG To The World movement I’m working up back in Edmonton. All that and a couple other businesses I have with my partners keep me busy. Anything that has a potential to make money or entertain things I like or believe in, and Ill get into it. I’m down for whatever these days.

24: Where do you see yourself going in 2012 and how do you plan to separate yourself from the other artist out today to get the recognition you feel you deserve?

Tam: I just wanna keep it all 100% me. Meaning, I truly believe my background into hip-hop is unique enough that as long as the product is of high enough quality that it should be able to attract the attention of anyone who runs across my music. I got subject matter that I think gets overlooked in hip-hop and experiences that a lot of people can relate to even if they haven’t had the same experiences. Everyone’s got a story to tell. Tell yours and we’ll see who does it better. That’s how I see it.

24: How can fans go about contacting you?

Tam: My website provides all the different ways to contact me, but I’m everywhere:

Website: www.tamnsaliwa.com

Facebook: TamTnaMusic

Twitter: @tamnsaliwa

YouTube: TamNTv, TamNTv2

Datpiff: #BeatsAndBurgers

Bookings, Serious inquiries: TnaDnaMusic@gmail.com

24: Thank you for providing 24HourHipHop.com with this exclusive interview, do you have any last words for your present and future fans?

Tam: Just get with me for the long run! I have some serious music coming up for everyone in the near future. And if you haven’t heard me yet, just trust me: long as you graduated Jr High and don’t have ADD, you’ll appreciate the lyrics. Haha Peace!