Joe Cutter: Battle rap weirdo
One of the hairiest, oddest faces to emerge from the West Coast in recent years, Joe Cutter has elbowed his way into the battle rap community’s awareness with a wonderfully weird battle against Tiger Ty and a killer Ground Zero clash against Reverse Live. Adam “Mos Prob” Felman caught up with him - not to find out anything about him, but just to see what he would answer.
Mos Prob: What’s your favourite fabric?
Cutter: Vinyl, because that’s super hip hop of me. And whatever Shuffle T’s coat is made out of.
MP: Which five battlers would you say could plausibly have hatched from an egg?
Cutter: Dirtbag Dan vs Rone, Diz vs Caustic, Pariah vs Fredo because Pariah has a massive egg for a head, Jack Shitt vs Dirt and Jae 90 vs Villun.
MP: I think that’s ten, and I don’t really understand the meanings behind my question or your answer, but we’ll run with it. Have you ever worn a cape in an inappropriate place? Where and why?
Cutter: One of the times I opened up for Kool Keith, I wore a cape to commemorate his Sex Style album cover.
MP: What do you feel is the weirdest thing you ever said in a battle?
Cutter: In my battle with Denter I said: “You probably never get puss judged by the way that you’re talking, you’d probably drag your dick through a thousand miles of glass and tar just to hear a fat bitch fart through a Walkie-Talkie.”
MP: Which obscure country would you like to start a battle league in and why?
Cutter: South Africa because I love Yolandi from Die Antwoord and I have a soft spot for amputees.
MP: What was it like being socially outcast at age three for being the only kindergarten kid with arm hair?
Cutter: Having hairy arms from kindergarten was actually beneficial cuz it created a good segue for me to lose my virginity at the age of seven.
MP: Have you ever had a prostate check with a lightsaber, as you mention in one of your songs? What was it like?
Cutter: No, I have never had a prostate check with a lightsaber. But being the self-proclaimed most unhealthy battle rapper in the game I probably should, seeing as I’m not exactly a spring chicken anymore.
MP: How many people do you think you’re cooler than? Roughly?
Cutter: I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if I’m not at least cooler than 63 per cent of the battle scene.
MP: Do you support the San Jose Sharks and why?
Cutter: In my entire existence I’ve attended one Sharks game. That’s probably all they’re going to get from me. They can feel free to get mental support on a infinite level cuz Joe Thornton puts hands on ‘em.
MP: Describe San Jose in five and a half words.
Cutter: This city is really fucking cray.
MP: Where does the name “Four-oh-hate’ come from? You say it a lot.
Cutter: 408 is San Jose’s area code, and hate is something we get a lot of as a result of being awesome.
MP: You love representing 408. Have you ever noticed that 4, 0 and 8 add up to twelve? Would it not be easier just to represent twelve?
Cutter: My head just exploded from the irony of this being the twelfth question. I will strongly consider repping 12 as of now.
MP: What do you think of the number twelve?
Cutter: I think it should come after the number 13 instead of before.
MP: How about the number twelve?
Cutter: Now that I think about it it’s kind of a scary number because of the gang MS 13. Shouts to my El Salvadorians.
MP: Would you rather eat chocolate-flavoured poo or poo-flavoured chocolate?
Cutter: Poo-flavoured chocolate of course. The name implies that it’s not real poo.
MP: But it tastes like … you know what, never mind. What’s your favourite jelly bean?
Cutter: It’s a toss-up between enchilada and popcorn.
MP: You call yourself Cutter S. Thompson a lot. What’s your favourite Hunter S. Thompson book?
Cutter: Hell’s Angels.
MP: Give me three rhymes you’d say to yourself in a mirror match.
Cutter: I’d say:
“I’m surprised you don’t have more massive flaring pecs,
Cause you beat yourself violently in the chest during sex,
oh what you wanna fight asshole?! after I do this, whiplash.
Ima headbutt the both of us through two inches of glass.”
MP: Should we tell everyone about the collab EP we’re going to drop this year?
Cutter: Most definitely. And also make it a point to convey the fact that it’s going to be tighter than everything spewed from our subculture.
MP: Yeah, so that’s happening. Thanks Uncle Joe.
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Follow Joe Cutter on Twitter. And listen to his music. It’s really good.
Check out Joe Cutter vs Reverse Live in February’s Battles to Watch
Read more of Mos Prob’s articles here.
Or, for something completely different, look at some battle rap statistics.