Please introduce yourselves and where yall are from?

Mello: MC Mello Melanin here...originally from the ATL. Grady baby, 100%.
Meeks: MC Eddie Meeks, straight outta Memphis TN!
JonDoe: Jon Doe: the only one you really need to know! DJ and producer. I'm originally from Kentucky; a small town called Glasgow. We all currently live in the ATL.

How did y'all come together as Prophetix?

Mello: Meeks and I have been putting it down for years, since '89, matter of fact. Been through mad groups and finally settled with Prophetix in 1999. We stopped Jon Doe from going back to Nashville in the Fall of 2000 after his move down to the ATL. We brought him on and the rest is history.

For anyone who never heard of Prophetix, how would y'all describe your sound?

Mello: The sound you ain't heard yet...a UNIVERSAL sound.
Meeks: Serious, comedic and relevant.
JonDoe: Basically, the goal is always to make classics. Any time we set out to make a record, we make sure it is something that we, or anyone for that matter, will pick up 10 years from now, and be like, "Damn, this STILL my shit!" I would like to think our sound is of an epic proportion. When you hear a Prophetix joint, we're going to command your attention. I know that when I sit down to make a beat, I want to make something that is gonna blow your head off. Meeks and Mello are in the same mind frame lyric wise, so the chemistry is never a problem.

What have y'all released so far as Prophetix?

Meeks: We released "Da Unfold" EP in February of 2000. I did an EP with Thareeko titled "Larger than Life" in 1997. We had a single come out before then, "Larger Than Life" b/w "Gunclappin' and Pistolwhippin'."

The new single ("True Urban Grit (T.U.G)" b/w "Prophetionals") is hitting hard right now, how is the feedback been so far?

Meeks: The feedback has been great.
Mello: Phenomenal, we're still getting tons of feedback! The joint is getting play worldwide from Japan to Australia to LA and of course here in the ATL.
Meeks: The response overall is top notch. We're just trying to continuously work on the sales.
JonDoe: Yeah, actually, "Prophetionals", the b-side, was voted one of the best joints on MP3.com. It made one of their "Best Of" compilations and made their "Ford/MP3.com Edge Trax" compilation as well.

Lets talk about the upcoming album "High Risk!". Are y'all finishing that up now?

Mello: Yeah, we are wrapping up the actual recording soon. All the beats have been selected and most of the songs written.
JonDoe: I will be mixing down the LP very soon, and then we'll shoot it off to mastering. We're extremely excited.

Any guest MC's or producers for the album?

Meeks: Sure enough. Jon Doe of course is handling a big chunk of the production and overseeing the overall sound and production of the LP. We also brought some other cats like MF Doom, DJ Cheapshot, James Scienide III, Untamed, J-Nasty, and my man Aspirin.
JonDoe: We have really been blessed to have access to such heat. Even though each producer brings something different to the table as far as a style and sound, we were very careful to make sure the beats we picked to fit the overall sound of the album.
Meeks: On the MC tip, we have Lil' Sci and Stacey Epps from Scienz of Life, the Lost-N-Found Dept. (James Scienide and Untamed) and Stahhr da Femcee. We wanted to keep the guests to a minimum, and make sure the focus was not lost on Prophetix and what Mello and myself bring to the table.

When can we expect the album to be out?

Meeks: April 29 in the tentative release date, on Asylum Entertainment/Day by Day Entertainment. We are currently working out vinyl negotiations. We gotta have the wax, too!

So what are your goals for 2002 in music?

Meeks: We want to continue to push forward with the music, of course. The goal is to get everyone at home from the day job, so we can really buckle down and do this!
Mello: World Domination, what else? After the Prophetix LP is released, we are just going to continue recording, doing shows, etc...We're currently getting plans ironed out for shows over in Europe.
JonDoe: I am trying to get together an instrumental project to be released soon, and also start on my producer LP in the late spring. I've also been working with a cat by the name of Rubix, it's turning out really well.

Who are your hip hop influences?

Mello: Kool Herc, Afrika Bambatta, Grandmaster Flash, KRS-ONE...that list is really too long to name. I can't even really begin.
Meeks: Anyone who made a difference in this thing we call hip-hop.
JonDoe: Ditto.

What are y'all currently bumpin in hip hop?

Meeks: Nothing. No hip-hop at all when we are working. If I do bump any hip-hop at all it's something classic.
Mello: Ditto. No new shit, especially nothing commercial/mainstream.
JonDoe: I try to keep up with everything a little bit, simply because I'm a DJ, that's one of my jobs. So I still keep abreast on the latest of everything, from the indies/undergound to the commercial cats. Right now I am still bumping the new Masta Ace LP hard, and De La's "Bionix". Of course the Jay-Z, and the Nas was somewhat of a pleasant surprise. Lot of good indie stuff out there, too, just too much to even name. I really think the D-Tension/Encore single is one of the better indie 12"'s to drop in a while. I am really feeling D-Stroy. And I've always got Doom in the deck, no matter what, whether it's "Operation:Doomsday" or KMD. He never really leaves the changer.

Any dream collaborations?

JonDoe: MC wise: Doom, Ghostface, Masta Ace, Organized Konfusion, Genius...there's quite a few, but right now those would be some of my top picks.
Mello: Kool Herc, Bambaataa, without a doubt. Pete Rock, Premier. MC wise: Inspecta Deck.
Meeks: I'm with Mello: Pete, Primo, Sadat X...Doom...which is manifesting on this album in a producer role, but I would like do to an MC collabo with him.
Mello: And we all would love to do a heater with The Bishop Don Magic Juan.

Do y'all have a website for everyone to check out some of your music?

Mello : Sure do: prophetix.net. We also have an MP3.com site @ mp3.com/prophetix.
JonDoe: I also have a website, geocities.com/jondoebrp

Thanks for getting down with the interview. Any final comments or shout outs?

Mello: Support independent hip-hop. Buy the LP "HIGH RISK!" when it drops everywhere!
Meeks: Shout out to Day By Day Ent., Boiling Point Distro., Joey Slick at Joint One Record Pool, Truly ODd & Heavyweights Records Pool, Randall Moore & TasteMaker DJ's(ATL!), Bobby Davis from SURE Record Pool (BRONX, NY), DJ Jigida in Croatia, Travelin' Matt in Thailand, Fritz da Cat and VICE Magazine, Third Rail Ent. in Charlotte, N.C....
JonDoe: My people back in KY (Big Ken, Jomoms, my people in Lexington), Randall Moore and the TasteMaker DJ's, Egon, Koop and Dert from HDZ Softwearz, Count Bass D, MF Doom, Pocket, Rubix, and my man Zo up in Detroit. And of course my Teaspace brethren Austin and AppleJac, and Scott, who runs the joint! And fo' sho my man Mike D. who puts up with the incessant boom-bap that goes on at the crib 24-7!