Jay-Z vs. Nas. Tupac Shakur vs. Biggie Smalls. Ice Cube vs. N.W.A. The hip-hop scene is notorious for its history of feuds between individual artists. But after several years of growth, Muncie’s hip-hop scene relies on a sense of community rather than rivalry to expand their talent beyond the Midwest.
Donta Rollins, or Goldeneye, was born and bred in Muncie’s hip-hop scene. A graduate of Muncie South High School, Rollins’ hip-hop journey began as the genre blossomed.
Goldeneye, formerly known as Small Wonders, is one of Muncie’s more seasoned local hip-hop artists. Since his baptism into the local scene in the ’90s , Goldeneye has been forced to evolve in his musical ability, he said.
“I pride myself in being an MC, but I have high respect for production craft, and I started making beats in like ’94 or ’95,” Rollins said. “Me and Merc [Versus] started doing everything at like the same exact time. I started off with the keyboards, samplers and stuff, back in ’94 or ’95 and then graduated to the digital age.”
Merc Versus, who is now known as Raafiq Alim, aka Jonathon Bennett, comes from the same ’90s foundation as Goldeneye, with both gradually evolving as the digitalization of music changed the hip-hop world.
With studios sprouting up everywhere nowadays, Alim said he now is witnessing the continued evolution of hip-hop. Despite the changes, he said he will always stick to his roots in rhyme.
“None of us were trained musicians,” he said. “The thing that we shared in common was that we were ambitious and creative in our poetry.”
Through working with local artists and “breaking ground” at various local venues, Goldeneye and Raafiq Alim have been able to steadily become more and more involved in Muncie’s hip-hop scene, all the while seeing it grow and develop, they said.
Alim said the Muncie hip-hip community has grown extensively, consisting of “about 200 rappers” today.
“I’d say the most exciting thing about being in Muncie right now is we have more artists than ever before,” he said.
Now with his veteran stature in the Muncie hip-hop scene, Alim said he anxiously anticipates the scene’s future development and expansion.
“Hopefully a lot of artists that are involved in this scene now will keep the fire burning and not give up and try to do big things, because I think a lot of them are really talented, especially some of the newer guys as far as the numbers they pull in and how energetic they are with their live performances,” he said.
Gerald Bailey, also known as G-Scott, said he is reaching toward these “big things.”
Hailing from Gary, Ind., G-Scott stayed persistent in his pursuit of a career in the hip-hop world, eventually gaining the attention of Str8 Slammin’, an independent record label run by Freddie Gibbs.
In addition, G-Scott has been able to book several shows in the Midwest and beyond, including a recent appearance at Atlanta’s A3C Hip Hop Festival, which featured the likes of Big Boi of Outkast and Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan.
G-Scott said that reaching this status would not have been possible if he would have continued playing shows in Muncie. Instead, he attributes his success to reaching out to other larger music scenes.
“Muncie’s scene is cool, but it’s too small to make any real noise musically,” he said. “It wasn’t until I went back home to Gary and ventured out into Chicago that I started networking and meeting new people to expand my music.”
Having been involved in Muncie’s scene for years now, Goldeneye said he understands the frustration that comes with building a fan base.
“The hardest part is being able to establish yourself as legitimate in the eyes of the people to where they want to take their time to get into you [and] convincing the local listeners,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said the rewards of plugging into a scene are worthwhile.
“I think the biggest thing I like about it is the camaraderie of it and the events,” he said. “They’re all special.”
While organizing events for himself boosts his stature in the local scene, Alim said booking events with others gives him a unique opportunity to acknowledge other hip-hop artists who he believes deserve recognition.
“To me, it’s like paying dues to the local community — people that I know that are out there working hard,” he said. “I like to do for others as they do for themselves.”
Alim said he believes the success of Muncie’s hip-hop scene relies upon the teamwork of its players.
“If people can get into the mindset that there is a hip-hop community, instead of looking at it as a competition, then I think the sky is the limit,” he said.
