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VICE: So I've looked online and I can't really find too much information on you, except that your name is Derek and you used to manage rappers in Atlanta. Is that true?Derek Schklar, a.k.a. the Devil: At birth I was born into a flaming pit of scum, forgotten by your so-called god. I come from violence. My city has it, and your city has it. It’s just our fate. Who is innocent? Are you innocent?Um… I don't think so?It's just murder man. All God's creatures do it in some form or another. You look in the forest, you can see some species killing other species. Our species killing all species, including the forest, and it's called industry, not murder. I do know a few people who deserve to die. A lot of people out there are already dead, they are just waiting to be put out of their misery.Who?Everybody's got the demon in here. The demon lives in here. It feeds on your hate—cuts, kills, rapes, and uses your weaknesses, your fears. Only the vicious survive here. After a while, you kind of become bad. Death kind of becomes what you are after hope turns black. Can you get rid of your shadow?No, I don't think I can. It's sort of stuck to me forever I think. Unless it's an overcast day.Have you ever seen a junkie burned with cigarettes for entertainment, by children raised by wolves?No.There is an inextricable link between depression and creativity. Did you know that?
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You feel like you're under attack?Fuck all authority. Rattle every single jail cell. I want to see the sky set on fire. Send your hatred and send your drones. Law and religion are tools that they use to control and abuse. To manipulate the sheep at their fearful and their weakest. They go to the ghettos and they farm for slaves. Something is burning inside my chest.What's wrong?I’m tormented because I’m extremely sensitive and I’ve lost hope. Still - in the shadow of hope's futility, I believe in art and I believe in love. Nothing else. The world has taught me these lessons. I have lost my wings. There is no one left to hear me scream. There is no one left to hear me scream. There is no one left to hear me scream.Are you a Satanist?No. The name has nothing to do with the metaphysical. I’m not a religious person at all. Outside of my distaste for religion altogether, there are a lot more layers and depths as to why I chose to use that name. It's actually a name I was given, and there are reasons as to why I use that. I related to the story of the Devil, who started out as an angel until the world showed him otherwise. I have my own value system that is seemingly in direct contradiction to mainstream society. When I see a fourteen-year-old running around my city with tattoos on their face, on Xanax, shooting up everything they see, I see some one who needs help. And somebody else may see that person and believe he deserves to die or go to jail. How many homeless people have you stepped over in your fucking Jordans? How many murders have you ignored wearing your Givenchy? How desensitized are you to tragedy? Or is it that you make a cognizant effort to ignore it because it disturbs your fucking dreams?
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How does your film work relate to the project?There is creative synergy because, thus far, they are part of the same thoughts and feelings. You can watch "Hollywood" to see how I feel about the industry of it all. Just because I make film or music doesn’t mean that I am a part of it - yet. And simultaneously, just because I’m sensitive to all this hypocrisy and all of this death and all this tragedy doesn’t mean that I am virtuous. And by no means do I consider myself virtuous. I am a capitalist piece of shit. I want money. I need money. But am I ever willing to do what the fucking scum on this earth are willing to do for it… no. Do I recognize my own hypocrisy? Absolutely. Like I said before, when I look inside myself I see all. I see everything - all my contradictions, all my folly. Everyone’s got someone or something to blame because they don’t want to look inside themselves.What drew you to rap music to express this stuff?Like I said, fuck all authority. Rattle every jail cell. Riot. Set the sky on fire. That’s how I feel. These days they are worried about their fucking Reebok endorsement. They are on their knees swallowing the corporate cum. That's where I come in. I'm not a rapper, or a hip hop guy. You can tell from my project, this is not just rap and hip hop. Although there is mostly rap music on there, you can see that there are other influences. Creativity is my only direction. But when it comes to rap and hip hop for me… I wasn’t born with enough middle fingers. I’m sitting here sweating because there is something burning inside my chest bruh. And I cannot let it just sit anymore. The only thing I believe in is art and because of that, that is how I’m going to manifest these feelings. You know what kills the demon? Love. Only love kills the demon.@b_shap