Benjamin Boliver
Interviewed in February 2018
GenBlaze, General Blaze is my racing name.
That’s the name you have for your voicemail too.
That’s my rap artist name because I’ve been a hip hop artist since I was 16 years old.
You have? Where do you perform?
I haven’t really done much of any performance stuff. I mean, I performed a lyric when I was at the Hampshire County House of Corrections over the radio against the guy from south side of the mods. So I got thrown..I got thrown in…I got in trouble for it too. I didn’t say anything bad. My lyric went like this:
GENERAL BLAZE SAYS YOU’VE REACHED THE END OF YOUR ROPE
HEAD INFLATED BY HOPE, STARTIN TO CHOKE
BRAIN CELLS KILLED BY TOO MUCH CRACK,
PERSONALLY, I STICK TO WEED SACKS,
SOUTH SIDE CAN’T COME UP IN MY HOUSE
NORTH SIDE STAYIN’ LIVE CUZ I’VE GOT FIRE
WISHING THERE WAS A BLUNT BETWEEN MY LIPS YOU ABOUT A SNOOZE
FROM NO DOZE THAT’S USED.
GIZ IS ANOTHER SLAVE TO THE PAGE
OF THE GENERAL’S BOOK
ANGEL, YOU WACKED
FOR YOU I AIN’T GONNA SAY MUCH, JUST ONE BAR.
TRUST ME LITTLE MAN.
YOU AIN’T HARD.
COMING OUT DA CLOSET LIKE BUCK
GOT STUCK IN ROOM 4
WITH A SHEET UP
NOW YOU SWEAT DUDES HEARD YOU DID IT FOR THE SWEAT SUIT,
Y’ALL DUDES REALLY GOT ME MAD
I AIN’T EVEN GONNA SAY NO MORE I’M DA GENERAL: Y’ALL THE SOLDIERS.
I END THE WAR CALMARSE O CALMARSE
They let you say that over the PA there?
No, it was over the radio. We called out on the phone to the radio station. And so we called from north side first. And then the DJ at the radio here, he put me on so I performed that live over the radio. Then the other guy, Gizmo, he went against me. He was saying stuff about jail correctional officers and all kinds of stuff like that. So that was the problem. And then it was recorded on the phone because the jail phones are recorded as far as what you’re saying. So then I got thrown in a segregation.
Did they understand what you said?
They listened to it. They listened to the recording. The guy at the radio station later said something thanking me. General Blaze, a verbal assault technician, was what he called me.