Tell us who you are and what you do?
I'm Evan Souza, I rhyme and make beats under the aliases DarkoTheSuper and Doc Heller. Darko for the Rhymes, Doc Heller for production.

How did you come up with your name?
I got Darko from my favorite movie Donnie Darko, the first time I saw that film it really changed my life, and I could relate to Donnie so much, so I changed my rap name to Evan Darko, then just Darko for short. The Super part comes from my favorite emcee and hero MF DOOM. One of my favorite songs of all time is Dead Bent by him, and thats also where I got the title for my first two albums from, he says at the end "Stay tuned for more Spine Tingling Adventures of..." and then thats when the sample comes in saying "The Super" from BDP's Super Hoe. So I took The Super from that like, "You can do it your The Super like 1A" and made it into to a positivity thing, cos choosing love over fear is what Darko is all about to me. And I got my producer alias Doc Heller from another one of my favorite movies Mystery Men. Doctor Heller is the name of the Mad Scientist in the movie, he makes all the non lethal weaponry, he was a genius, so I took it from that like I wanna make beats that are like the canned tornado.

Tell us about your studio set-up/space
I have my studio set up in my computer room. I use Mixcraft5, SonarLE and sometimes Garageband on my Mac. I use an audio-technica microphone for all my recordings, and studio headphones and Bose speakers for mixing and mastering.

How did you become a music producer?
It's something I always wanted to do, I started writing rhymes in tenth grade. My parents got me recording equipment and a mic for my 16th birthday, then I got software for my computer and started making beats with a trial of Mixcraft, then I started learning how to sample using my parents albums, and looking up tips on the internet, and been making music ever since.

Who are your biggest influences?
MF DOOM, J Dilla, Madlib, Eyedea & Abilities, Beck, Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, Frank Zappa, Bill Hicks, Donnie Darko, Blu, Exile, Jay Electronica, Wu Tang, GZA, RZA, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface, Das Racist, Beastie Boys, Charles Hamilton, The BasedGod, Big Pun, Daedelus, Del The Funky Homosapien, Earl Sweatshirt, The Dust Brothers, Homeboy Sandman, Gorillaz, Mos Def, Michael Andrews, Murdoc, MyGrane McNastee, Quasimoto, 2pac, Rage Against The Machine, Andy Kaufman, Jack White and more

What encourages you to carry on with music?
The love for it, wanting to make a difference in this world somehow, wanting to be someones musical hero the way MF DOOM is mine, plus all the props I get and recognition from artist I feel the same respect for, and beat makers I really like wanting to send me their work, its a great feeling.

What do you think about the music industry and independent hip hop at the moment? Where do you think things are going in the next few years?
I think the music industry is dead, I love indie Hip Hop though. My favorite label's Stones Throw, thats my dream to be signed to them someday. I don't know where things will be in the next few years, probably even worse though, it sucks.

What have you been listening to recently?
A lot of Blu, I love his Jesus album thats one of my favorites, same with Her Favorite Colo(U)r and his illegal classic with madlib ucla, Give me my flowers while I can still smell them, is really great too. Besides that I've been listening to all the new JJ DOOM thats been coming out and a lot of other MF DOOM stuff as well. And of course Dilla beats, and on occasion some Lil B.

Biggest personal music achievement?
Working with all the great producers I've met through Soundcloud, Including doing an ep with Howling Mad, working with Spaceman, C H U C H I, Marvin Cruz, Cybernetic Calisthenics, Khryo, CANS, Wino WIlly, and You Haven't Heard of Him. Getting a great review by Hip Hop Life of Times of my album "The Ledge Beyond The Edge" was a big achievement for me too. Getting my music featured on blogs, including doing this interview is always a big accomplishment for me.

What is your next big project, any big plans coming up?
I'm working on a few different albums right now, The next project I'll be releasing is probably going to be an album with french producer Khryo. Then my album "Thank You Jim Cunningham" featuring a lot of great producers, its a continuation of my last album "Some Sort of Superhero or Something." Then an album with producer Cybernetic Calisthenics, which we've been working on for a couple months. I'm also working on an alt. rock album called "In The Someday" based off the Nirvana song "I Hate Myself and Want To DIe." Its just me singing over my friend Spencer's guitar tracks, I want it to be real lo fi, like Beck's early demos. And I'm working on a Glitch Hop EP with You Haven't Heard of Him

Any last words?
I'd like to thank all the beat makers I've been working with, all the people that show me love and support, and of course the love of my life. Peace


http://bigsouz.bandcamp.com/

http://soundcloud.com/darkothesuper

http://soundcloud.com/doc-heller

https://www.facebook.com/DarkoTheSuper

https://www.facebook.com/evansouza0

http://darkothesuper.tumblr.com/

https://twitter.com/BigSouz

http://www.youtube.com/BigSouzPx3