by Daniel V. Garcia
Daily Lobo
Psyche Origami sounds deep, but it isn't.
"The name Psyche Origami just kind of jumped out at me," said Mr. Wyzard, the MC of hip-hop trio Psyche Origami. "The words kind of spoke for themselves, and it was basically our job to bring definition to it, because they roll off the tongue pretty good."
The group's CD, The Standard, explores a particular subject throughout its tracks. The CD jacket features a gas station theme that corresponds completely to the lyrical content of the album. The visual effect these abstractions have is different than the typical bling-infused braggadocio of mainstream rap cover art.
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"People make the mistake of thinking it's a gas station record. No, it's really not. The gas station is more of a canvas to paint ideas on. Within the scope of the gas station, there's so many ideas to touch on, and to relate those to present-day life and present-day society was really more or less the aim," Mr. Wyzard said.
Concept albums are often experimental, but they aren't foreign to the realm of hip-hop.
"It was really more like a formula that we chose to undertake on this record, you know, the idea of doing a concept record versus doing the same old style of hip-hop record," Mr. Wyzard said.
He said a couple of records come to mind in terms of concept pieces, albums such as De La Soul Is Dead, Deltron 3030, and Prince Paul's A Prince Among Thieves.
"The fact that we gravitated to those records when they came out is definitely a good thing for us as far as creating this piece," he said.
Mr. Wyzard commented on the value of experimentation.
"I definitely enjoy the freedom of experimentation," he said. "Give yourself room to grow and change and evolve, because really, your music changes as you do. It's kind of hard to stay within a certain style for too long."
He said it is hard for people to keep doing the same thing year after year.
"What are you going to do when you're 50?" he said. "How are you going to come off when you're an old person on a cane? It doesn't make any sense. So, the idea to experiment as you grow and change and progress with yourself is pretty key."
The Atlanta-based group includes two DJs, Dainja and Synthesis. This gives the live show a different flavor.
"You see two DJs, you're like, 'OK, something different is about to happen,'" Mr. Wyzard said. "Four hands are definitely better than two in our format, because our format is all vinyl. There's no CDs. There's no laptops. There's no DAT machines. Everything is completely authentic."
