My first sight of the rising star, Eddie “Prohaize” Minta, came in the spring of my freshman year at Georgia State University. I had floor seats to our Spring Concert, Ludacris was performing. The last in a myriad of opening acts, the then unknown Prohaize took the stage, and roused the crowd as if it was him they had paid to see. He conquered the arena, immediately owning the crowd. I was the only person who remained seated, waiting impatiently for the main act. Looking back, my skepticism was the beginning of a wonderful series of events.

When I first emailed my editor about this interview, all she asked was “Who is Prohaize?” At first, I laughed and told her to get on twitter, but then, I felt a sense of purpose. To quote a popular film franchise “With great power, comes great responsibility” and I had been charged with the task of showing the world who Edward “Prohaize” Minta, really is. I had an advantage over any other reporter that may approach him: I’m not just a journalist; I’m a friend and a fellow artist.

So, I’ve known you for quite a while, and I’ve been wondering for a long time. Where did you come up with the name Prohaize? Can you explain it to me?

The name Prohaize came to me one day as I was walking home from school (Not a glorious way to come up with a name right?) Before going with “Prohaize,” I ran by the moniker of DJ Haze because I used to play songs at family gatherings and thought why not have a name if I am going to be spinning bangers for these folks. Truthfully, Prohaize held no meaning when I came up with it but it sounded cool & so I ran with it. To make a long story short, the name “Prohaize” means I know how to advantageously transgress over everything labeled as an obstacle or as I refers to it, “A Pro at getting high successfully.”

How did your company Creations of Boredom come about?

Creations of Boredom came to me in the same fashion as the name “Prohaize” came to me. I thought about, I liked it and decided to find out why I like it later. When Boredom is used, it refers to the standards and social norms of society. Growing up, going to school, getting a 9 to 5, settling down with a family of three or more children and etc. Not to say that’s boring but… THAT’S BORING! I’m down for most of these aspects of society but one can still pursue dreams that they have. My mother’s dream was to be an anchor for the news one day but because of us, that dream didn’t come true. I feel like people should chase their dreams no matter what and through me chasing mine, I plan to help others to achieve theirs (starting with my mom) and also to aspire others to go for what they believe in!

It’s a little funny that we’re doing this interview during your DJ set, rather than before or after a show. I didn’t even know you were a DJ. Were you a DJ before you were a rapper?

In a sense but a brother wasn’t on no high level, killing the crowd with hits, scratching vinyl behind his back, dropping name tags, hyping the masses type of DJ’ing. I was simply playing songs at family gatherings.

The first time I saw you on stage, you were opening for Ludacris last year. You’ve been doing it big for a while now. You did the birthday bash; you’re the biggest star on Georgia State campus. How did all that success come about?

Glory be to God! Lift A Finger EP opened a lot of doors because it was my first project and numerous moves were lined up in accordance to it. #ProhaizeABAR will outdo what Lift A Finger EP did. That’s a guarantee.

That EP is awesome. What does the title, “Lift a Finger” mean? I’ve actually wanted to ask you that for a while.

In the midst of a lazy generation, who feels like “lifting a finger” and showing EFFORT in anything they do? It was my first project and the songs on there were just that; Prohaize giving his effort in reference to making music as a hip hop musician.

 A lot of people ask questions like: “When did you start rapping?” but you and I know that doesn’t really answer that question. When did you decide you wanted to do it professionally? Can you describe that moment to me?

I wanted to professionally rap around the time of opening up for Ludacris. Not only because it was an exciting experience but I compared myself to Ludacris & how far he’d come & how he was capitalizing off of doing what he loved. I mean think about it, dude attended Georgia State too! I was in his same shoes that he was in years ago. Now I’m not saying that I want to be successfully identical to the man but hey, that concert had a brother thinking hard about why he wanted to rap!

So you managed to make it all the way to opening for Ludacris before you were set on rapping? That’s real love for your art. When did you fall in love with hip hop?

When I heard old school music, Tupac Shakur to be more specific, I fell in love with Hip Hop because it was used to channel the voice of a struggle or a lifestyle.

What is hip hop to you?

A representation of life constructed to entertain, educate, inform, and share experiences with all who come in contact with it.

 The funny thing is, I met one of your producers when working on my own EP. I was actually shocked when I saw all the work Liby had done on Lift A Finger. How did you meet Liby and that dude you’re always working with?

I met Liby by virtue of going to Georgia State and networking with him. We met each other at least 5 times before finally setting out to work with each other. We sat down one day in the Courtyard Stage in the Student Center and he had a song he wanted to sample by Bonnie Raitt called “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” He showed me how to use his Maschine Drum Sampler while we were there. After he chopped up the sample, I went to work and made what was to be used as the verse for the song “Déjà vu” off of Lift A Finger EP (Video coming very soon by the way). Liby brought the song together by adding his creative touches on the choice of drums and his style of instrumentation on the chorus and the last verse. Currently, I am exclusively collaborating with Liby on #ProhaizeABAR (African Born, American Raised), my next upcoming, full-fledged project.

A lot of rappers talk about taking over the game, and as far as I’ve seen, locally, you’ve done that. Aside from the new EP, what’s next?

HELL NO! I’ve done 0.00009999% of what I need to be doing homie. What’s next is for me to stay on my P’s & Q’s, stay in my lane as far as creativity, ignore the pressure & maximize my efforts in showing the world why people support me in the midst of the backlash that Hip Hop gets.

I know you, so I know how hard you work. I know how the grind goes. Phone calls at 8 am, cramped recording studios, bartering favors, sometimes we lose friends working the way we do. How do you keep going?

Staying humble & reminding myself that the Lord has blessed me with a gift to share with the world and I must do just that. Humility has been a huge engine behind my ability to keep going and to keep working with other people

I would’ve loved to pry further, but then business calls on both of us. The head of the night’s event asks me to work the night, and Prohaize has to get back to the booth. Thing is, as hard working as I am, Prohaize works ten times harder. I know it because I know him. Most of the time I’m at the university lab working, he is too. People who work as hard as him, they’re the people that not only make it, but own it.

Article and Photography by Maddax