The most mysterious of the members of super crew DeepSpace5, and half of the now defunct Phat K.A.T.S, Sivion’s latest solo release Mood Enhancement releasing on Illect records will be the first to justly showcase Sivion’s talent. Sivion brings razor sharp lyrical content blended with a flavor of Jazz influence and hard hitting beats Sivion is no doubt a very talented emcee and he has great things on the horizon.

What does the name Sivion mean? 

Back in the day, I used to go by the name of Vision, because kats used to always tell me that I could see through any situation and get to the root of what’s “really” going on.  But after bumping into several random heads named Vision, Vizion, etc, I just decided to switch it up.  So I switched the S and the V and came up with Sivion.  Upon further research I found that Sivion is another name for a Dreidle.    Hum…. interesting…

How did you begin rapping and who was your inspiration? 

My twin brother and I started rappin back in the 6^th grade… many, many moons ago.  That’s back in the early 80’s … back when we needed parental guidance to see Beat Street at the movie theater.  Didn’t really start taking rap seriously until my freshman year of college back in 1990.  My biggest inspiration then was just about all of Native Tongues.

What is the origin of Phat K.A.T.S.? 

Phat K.A.T.S. is composed of me and my twin brother (Wushu).  Both of us liked to rap and you can’t beat the chemistry of two individuals that genetically started out as one.   Wushu was into Break Dancing and Marshal Arts, while I was very heavy into Jazz and Jazz culture.  So we came up with Phat K.A.T.S. as a way to bring Hip Hop and Jazz together with slang from both sides.

What does the K.A.T.S. in Phat K.A.T.S. stand for? 

We wanted to make a cool acronym because that’s what was cool at the time, so we came up with Knowledge And True Skills.  Those that we called “kats”, were people that we thought possessed those qualities.  Although the name originally started out having to do with Jazz and Hip Hop, as Gangsta Rap began to flourish, we found ourselves developing our own “Kat vs. Dog” mentality and language, along with our crew “The Lost Step”.  That was a lot of fun back in the days when The Lost Step ( us and TeKnowledge) ran the things in Dallas… well not really, but we wrecked a bunch of spots!

How did you hook up with Deepspace5?

I’ve been close to Phonetic Composition since 1999, since we all live in the Dallas area.  Although my music has always been conscious of God’s effect on my world and surroundings, I never really knew that there was such a genre as “Christian Rap”, until I met them.  Not that I want to be stuck in THAT crazy industry, but it is nice to know that there are others in this Hip Hop Culture who have a deep desire to deny themselves and push to be come closer with Christ.  But anyway, I just happen to be visiting Playdough one day during the recording of “The Night We Called…” and just clicked with all of DS5 quickly.  Although I was not on that album, I feel as if I was a part of it, in some small way.  After getting to know many of them, about a year later, they asked me to be down.

Your upcoming solo release is entitled Mood Enhancement, what will listeners hear on this release?

On Mood Enhancement, you will be taken on a twisting turning, hand-held journey through the depths of my heart.  More so than every before, you will be able to really hear my jazz background and my love for music.  It will not be your typical Boom Bap, your typical Poetic, your typical Christian, etc.  You will hear some production from a few different sources, including Harry Krum and Freddie Bruno.  The album has a vibe that invites you in to learn more about Sivion and God’s affect in his life.  Guaranteed to be pleasing to the ear!

What do you feel is your favorite track off the album? 

My favorite track is called “Out of the Blue”.  It features a very interesting bouncy track with a bunch of attitude to it.  Plus some great background vocals from Heather Randall (female vocalist) and my son Andreon (he was 5 at the time he recorded them).  Great song and it sets the album off lovely, right after the intro.

Where do you get the inspiration for your songs?

God’s unchanging love and his free gift of grace inspire most of my music.  No matter what the scenario, “LOVE that is greater than any Human Love”, seems to be the main focus.  Fred and Playdough say that I should just plant some dandelions and dance through the daisies on a hilltop, instead of rapping.

Are there any guest appearances from you on any upcoming albums?

I am on the song “Cover Charge” on the current ILL Harmonics “Monkey Business” Album.  Also featured on the title track of the Bone Circus “The Locals…an EP”.  I will be featured on Beat Rabbi’s “DS Soul” album, as well as Freddie Bruno’s “Hold Music” soon to be released… hopefully!  Also Braille and Lightheaded are working on a project with a conglomerate of dope emcees, where I will finally do a long anticipated song with Othello!

What’s in store in the near future from Sivion, Phat K.A.T.S., and Deepspace5?

There probably is nothing in store for the Phat K.A.T.S. as life has taken us in separate directions.  However, Wushu will be featured on “Mood Enhancement” so that all of his fans can hear him.  Hopefully Deepspace 5 will be recording another album soon after the completion of Beat Rabbi’s project.  The road ahead looks like a challenging pile of funny business!  I can’t wait!

Any last words?  

Christ is!!!  Period!  God’s Love and Grace to you all!  Word!