Vice Verse aka Vice, who recently released Life Lines, is a seasoned emcee and songwriter hailing from Chicago’s vibrant South Side. Vice’s journey in hip-hop began at Jackson State University, where he joined The Stewpot Stowaways, earning them the nickname “Jackson Wu-Tang” for their electrifying live shows. Since then, Vice has shared stages with legends like Rakim and Method Man, collaborated with Slum Village, and dropped several albums. Rolling out spoke to Vice about his musical journey and his latest release Life Lines.
Talk about the inspiration behind the album’s title.
I titled the album Life Lines because, as an artist and creator, I write lines for a living. The words I write are filled with information to help you navigate through the trials of life.
Could you share some of the themes and messages you intended to convey through this album?
The theme is beats, rhymes, and life, ill beats and dope rhymes. Lyricism is almost a lost art in hip-hop. My goal is to bring lyricism back.
How does the album artwork tie into album’s overall concept?
The artwork is a representation of a younger version of me. My imagination and talent lifting me above all the things below me. The cape with the Life Lines on the back of it symbolizes that I’m a superhuman when it comes to my pen game and putting words together.
Discuss some of the artists you worked with on Life Lines and how they contributed to the project.
My plan was to put together a classic. There were certain artists I wanted to work with, like Philmore Green, MC JUICE [and] Rashid Hadee. Even though I have known them forever, it seems we never had a song together. I have worked with Coke Bumaye — who is one of my favorite MCs out of Jackson, Mississippi — Lid Law, Bob Chin and Antwone Muhammed. I knew they would add a perfect piece to my artwork.
How does being from Chicago inform your approach to the songwriting process, and how has it evolved on this album?
This will always be my home, and I wanted to create this album in Chicago. I wanted it to feel like Chicago. I used the energy of Chicago — the harsh winters, the perfect spring days, the beautiful summer and that first day of fall — as inspiration to help me create what I wanted to get across.
Talk about the producers you worked with.
I reached out to Tony Baines, SC, Tye Hill, Trayzbeatz, Beats By JT, Awdazcate and T3 from Slum Village. They all sent me some tracks, and I chose what touched me. I can’t forget my A&R, Scrap Dirty, for helping me choose the best beats from the batch.
What do you hope listeners take away from Life Lines?
I hope people can appreciate Life Lines for what I planned for it to be: a classic hip-hop album. Artists have forgotten the art of making an album. I wanted to return to that art form. And also to show and prove that Chicago has some of the best emcees in the world.
