What’s in a name? I decided to ask 22-Year-Old Columbus Hip Hop artist P. Blackk aka Pro Blackk what it means to be Pro Black in 2013. His response? “The actual definition of being Pro-Blackk in 2013 or 2014 is being for your people. Having knowledge of your past. Being aware of who your oppressor or oppressors are. Honestly, my definition of being Pro-Blackk has always been me. I’m P. Blackk. Striving to get my ideas out there without being too influenced by the world around me.” P.Blackk’s aka Pro Blackk’s October 2013 has been pretty productive in terms of getting his ideas out there. Blackk released a self-produced EP “Two” on Sunday via http://pblackk.bandcamp.com. Earlier this month, RJD2 featured the recent CCAD grad on the song “Bathwater” off RJ’s newest album “More Is Than Isn’t.” P received accolades from Pitchfork and a mention on Rolling Stone.com for his efforts on “Bathwater,” two weeks ago, P’s group of friends “the All-Terrain Gang” (DJ Bruni, Videographer Luke Sir, Skateboarder Taylor Nawrocki) released a T-Shirt via their website, www.allterraingang.com. All this adds to a body of work that includes acclaimed albums with J. Rawls (Contemporary Nostalgia) and Fly Union’s Iyeball (Blackk Friday) as well a previous EP entitled “One,” several mix tapes and guest spots on Rashad produced Columbus classic Lxe For the Uncool (King Vada) song “George Washington” off “the Measure” with Fabrashay A. “Things just come organically. I like to work with people I am a fan of,” he said Blackk explains his working with Columbus production greats like J. Rawls, RJD2, Rashad and Iyeball. “The first time I met Rawls I was 17, I had a show and I forgot my rhymes. I heard maybe two boos and felt so whack.” “ He emailed me afterward like ‘hey man don’t let em see you sweat. You will be alright,’ this and that. Since then we have had a good rapport. I’m a fan of Rawls. I’m a fan of Iyeball. I was skipping school back when I was in High School to listen to RJD2 tracks.” Blackk said of the trans-state process of making a song with RJ, who lives in Philly, didn’t require hooky just picking from a folder of bangers, “RJ sent me so many beat samples just like 45 second to 1 minute snippets. I was just like ‘this is dope. this is dope.’ The 'Bathwater' song which we did was taken. I’m really glad whomever was choosing to use it, choose not to use it. I like that beat a lot.” P. Blackk has worked with quite a few Columbus greats, and currently works at the Kingrowe Gallery, a short north boutique which is an epicenter of the now in Columbus Hip Hop. I figured it would be interesting to see one of the brightest stars of Columbus’ Next School take on the often discussed generation divide in Hip Hop. Blackk believes that giving props and seeing people from different eras is something that has always happened in Hip Hop. “I don’t really see it being any different than it was now. Maybe some of us don’t have an appreciation of the past. I personally do. But I am sure the generation before me, there was 1 or 2 or 3 people that didn’t have respect for the past. It hasn’t changed much.” Locally, Blackk says there are plenty of Columbus rappers that inspire him new and old. “There are people that rap that are amazing. I listen to Copywrite and Blueprint and numerous other people that came before me. Like Beau (The Catalyst) that I think are crazy lyrically. There are people now I think are crazy lyrically.” “Two” has Blackk adding to Columbus’ Hip Hop Legacy both on the production and rap side. Although Blackk has been working on beats going back to the self-produced track ”Welcome to the Doldrums” off his 2010 mix tape “Chicken ‘n Waffles” one might ask, with so many talented friends, why would he be so eager to make his own beats? Blackk broke down from where his desire to produce stems, “Watching Iyeball work. The freedom. Just being in control of it all. I have a little studio. I just record everything myself, I want to do it without being on somebody’s time.” When one listens to “Intro (1999),” “Richard,” “Peace” off King Vada & Fabrashay A and “Git It How You Live” on “Two” you can hear a mixture of synth and break beat sounds that are original but show some techniques of the various Columbus producers Blackk has worked with. Lyrically, Blackk provides the fresh, conscious, sharp, cynical and introspective raps people have come to expect.