Although record sales in the music industry continue to dwindle, the emergence of upcoming talent continues to increase as they all try to make a name for themselves in this thing we call Hip Hop. One such emcee goes by the name of Epiphany, or Piph for short, coming from out of Arkansas. Since dropping the first part of his RESPECT mixtape series, presented by both DJBooth & WeAllScheme, he has garnered some buzzing interest with his realistic and relate-able lyrical content, as well as the enriching messages in his songs. Recently in the midst of preparing to drop the 2nd part of the series, he sat down with YK2 & gave us more insight into Piph as the artist as we nitpicked his brain from why he entered Hip Hop, why he deserves to be a mainstay in the hip hop community, his mixtape series, & more.

YK2: Hey, what’s up? How are you?
Piph: I’m doing pretty cool-like. Preciate. You?

YK2: I’m good as well.. So for starters, as an introduction to our readers that for some reason may have been in the dark about you .. Let us know who you are, your age & where you’re from.
Piph: The names Epiphany, but most folks just call me Piph with the occasional Hollywood Cole or Big Piph from round the way. I actually just tipped the 3-0 and I’m wearing the junk quite well I might add. As far as reppin, I’ma go with Arkansas/Pine Bluff/Little Rock/and the nooks and crannies where good music still is created.

YK2: Now I’m curious.. how did the name Epiphany come about?
Piph: Honestly, it hit me that I’d rather wake up doing what I feel I should be doing rather than what other folks expect me to do. That was my epiphany. I was branded from there.

YK2: Definitely can appreciate that. So when did you fall in love with Hip Hop & why did you get into Hip Hop?
Piph: Honestly, it was from “Lay It Down” by 8Ball & MJG. Since I can’t say I directly related with the subject matter, although I had pimp dreams back in them days (just with no product), I think it was just how the flows gelled with the beat. It had me sold. Then I just started absorbing the entire culture. Being from the South, but having distinct east coast ties and eventually moving out west, I was allowed to peep the 360 of the game. It was the “voice” for my growth.

YK2: So as a upcomer in the Hip Hop industry, what do you feel is a necessity in your music?
Piph: Realistic entertainment. Meaning I wanna inject me into every song, but if that track doesn’t hit the speakers right, then I want nothing to do with it. I’m in this to make good music. Besides that, I just don’t wanna pigeon-hole myself. Stay open to being challenged and stepping outside of my comfort zone.

YK2: I definitely agree with that.. What would you say are your intentions & goals? What do you want people to take away from your music? How do you plan on going about achieving them?
Piph: Of course I wanna make a prosperous career from this game, but on another tip, I just don’t wanna look back at something I did and have the “was that me” face. I want my music to be an honest reflection of where I was at the time. Now far as getting there, that’s when fa real biz plan comes into play. I love the music, but Iim in the music business. So I take both parts seriously.

YK2: Very true, especially since both sides can get complicated. From your perspective, what do you think sets you apart from the rest of the rappers/hip hop artists out there or those that are trying to make it?
Piph: In acknowledgment that I may sound cliche, I’m going to say my unique “voice”. Meaning, I when I put my stamp on a verse that there’s no one else who it coulda came from except the mind of Epiphany. Aint nothing new under the sun, but still I can add my unique light to it.

YK2: Lately, you’ve been working on the mixtape series Respect (you’ve already dropped one & you’re gearing to drop the next one).. How did the project title come about & what direction were you heading towards with the project?
Piph: I feel that’s what I deserve on a larger basis. On some real talk, you aint gotta like it, but you gotta respect what’s being done. And on some realer talk, more times than not, you gonna feel the junk too. If not, just keep it moving. So the whole plan with the project is move it through the right channels to get that respect from a larger basis. We’re about growing now.

YK2: I wholeheartedly agree with that.. Now for the first part of the mixtape series (Epiphany), your lyrics seem to represent a more realisitc approach about you as a person, as far as you delving into your financial struggles & you can actually hear the hunger in your tracks. In your opinion, why do you think more artists don’t take this approach of a more positive message & instead fall into the mainstream gimmicks & whatnot? What helps you maintain this focus?
Piph: Honestly the goal was to put out not so much as a positive product, but realistic one. I look at the artists who I respect the most from any genre and its the ones who gave a realistic depiction of where they were, are, and will be going. I’m just trynna do the same. As far as the hunger, that just is what it be. I’ve been putting in work with the Conduit fam for awhile now and now it’s time for us to have a bigger portion of this pie. Time to get up out.

YK2: I’ve also noticed that with each of the 4 parts of the series, they have their own individual “names” (Respect of Epiphany/Women/Life/Natch). Why did you decide to separate the projects into these 4 categories & can you tell us a little more about each category specifically?
Piph: I wanted to do more than one mix-tape, but I didn’t wanna just do a regular mix-tape for each one. This seemed to best fit was I was looking for. I slapped a cool-like concept on each one and called it a day, so it’s just up to me to explore each of the general ideas from my angle, but relate it to the larger masses.

YK2: Very interesting concept approach.. What else can we expect from you in the near future?
Piph: RESPECT Pt 2 will drop on January 27th with DJBooth.net hosting. Props. Good things coming.

YK2: Where can fans stay connected with you or get more information about your upcoming projects or show dates?
Piph: The website’s acoming, but I’ma roll w/ the Facebook page for the moment. Peep it at www.facebook.com/bigpiph.

YK2: Any last shoutouts or messages you have for your fans/supporters out there?
Piph: Conduit, We All Scheme, IATL, the fam who supports. We’re just doing our job. Hope you can appreciate.

YK2: Thanks for sitting down with YK2Daily.net and giving us this interview :)
Piph: Sincerely preciate YK2 for the opportunity.