In the “Mouthpiece” series, I’ll be choppin’ it up with emcees I’m interested in. So there. It’s late and I want to go to bed… anyway, I got a chance to chop it up with Boston emcee, HW. Real cool cat. His album, “A Years Worth of Worry” was recently released in December. Peep the interview below!

So where did the name “Hazardous Wastes” come from? What’s the meaning there?

I came up with the name when I was about 15 years old (I believe I was a sophomore in high school). I really didn’t think too much about it, I just wanted a name that I thought no one else would have or at least no one in rap music. The meaning behind it these days is I am a train wreck of emotion and thought. I tend to dwell in my deepest fears and tend to cause more pain to myself and the people I speak about in my songs then I can ever fix. I usually don’t refer to myself as “Hazardous Wastes” anymore, just H.W.

Word.. what has been your biggest influence in becoming an emcee? Music? Circumstance?

My biggest influence has to be Slug and Eyedea, I got heavy into the underground hip hop scene circa 2001 when Rhymesayers and Anticon were HUGE! It also doesn’t hurt that my father is a musician and had a homebuilt studio in our backyard that I tended to hang out in and tried my hand at writing small rap songs because thats what I was heavy into at the time.

Cliche question (if not answered in last question)… what emcees/artists/bands have been your biggest influences?

Slug, Eyedea, Sage Francis, Sole, and actually a shit ton of local emcees from the area. I tend to only listen to local music (be in local in Boston or Cali) my current inspirations are Unsung from Pittsburgh. His music makes me want to write better songs.

Explain the title of the album, “A Year’s Worth of Worry.”

I have to explain the back story if you want it so here goes:

In May 2008, I split up with a girl that I was with for 3 years and it was a huge adjustment for me. I had been terribly hurt within the relationship (as well as hurting her, nothing physical) and I felt I deserved better treatment and that I might be able to find that treatment somewhere else. Its just when your whole world falls apart and you have no better option then to pick up and leave that mess, it can hurt a whole lot. I was also still heavily doing shows during this time and trying to find a reason to keep myself happy. I ventured out for the next year in search of someone who would understand me and enjoy being with me. I found many new friends in that year and at the same time lost a lot of great people. I had many women come and go, in fact since that time I haven’t really been in a stable relationship. I have been with people or dated but nothing that lasted longer then a month or so. I wrote all of these songs within that year and I feel you can see the ups and downs of my daily life.

If I heard the track “UHF” before any of your other tracks, I woulda thought you were a spoken word artist. Is that your background? Or have you gone that route? Either way it’s dope as hell and a great way to end the album.

First off, thank you for that, a lot of people gave me shit for putting that track last or even on the album at all, and I love that spoken word piece so much. I have a fascination for spoken word, nothing really traditional but I enjoy going to the Providence poetry slams and Ive always envied the writing abilities of some of the poets I have seen around AS220. I decided to pen that I would try and make some spoken word pieces just to see if I could pull it off… I have a few that are floating around, I sometimes think my poems are better then my rap songs, some would disagree though.

Mac Lethal produced the first single, “Shithead,” how did ya’ll link up?

Too be honest, I bought that beat from Mac Lethal when I was on tour in the midwest. I don’t even think Mac has ever heard the song, I tried contacting him about it, but he seems busy or just disinterested in hearing the song. I wish the story was more epic but that is the truth to the matter.

Who did the production on the rest of the album? There’s some dope beats on the album.

Redlist, Phil and Numberman, Tugboat, Cook, Jotsone, DJ Crown, there is an Exile beat on there but it was a jacked beat that I loved and felt like I should try and do something with. Redlist is the homie and I actually have an entire group project coming out real soon with him under the group name “The Scribblenauts.” My dj, Emoh Betta, is also in the group.

The Boston hip hop scene is heavily slept on, I visited Boston like 4 years ago and remember pickin up a REKS album (before he was known over here), Akrobatik, and other joints. Who, besides yourself, should we be lookin out for right now on the Boston scene?

It really all depends on your style but my current local favorites are:

Early Adopted, Loud Neighbors, Redlist, Recaall, Virtue, Fameless Fam, Scroll, Big City Bumpus, Shane Blakemore, Madness2012, DEFCON, Left Over Wine, Outwrite, shit there are a ton more but these are the people I regularly listen to from the Boston scene.

You’re going on a week trip. You can only take one disc/mp3 album. Name it.

Alias – The Other Side Of The Looking Glass. That album is so amazing.

Are you a sports head? If so what’s your favorite sport to follow?

I personally love soccer/futbol/football. I am a huge New England Revolution fan and I regularly travel for the USMNT (thats the national soccer team). Other then that, I don’t watch much else (no disrespect). I am apart of two supporters groups (The American Outlaws and The Rebellion)… if you have never been to a soccer game, do yourself a favor and go watch one live. I have never had the experience I had at a soccer game anywhere else.

Are you born and raised in Massachusetts?

I am originally from Fall River, Massachusetts. I moved out to Boston about four years ago and haven’t looked back since.

Of all the places I’ve been in the states, I always said that if I had to get up and move, right now, it’d be to Portland and Boston. What would be an alternative place to call home other than Boston? Feelin’ any other states?

Yes, If I moved it would be to Minneapolis, I have been there on tour three times and I always love it… the hip hop scene is insane right now and Ive been well received whenever I have played out there, other then that, maybe San Francisco.

Tell the people something else they should know about Hazardous Wastes. Anything we miss?

I have a blog that I write on called Longlivehw.com and I share my real world thoughts there. I love penguins and panda bears cause they are always ready for a party. I enjoy making music.

Make sure you cop HW’s album, A Years Worth of Worry, and visit his website at www.longlivehw.com!