It isn’t easy to capture the ears of the underground rap scene, especially when there is a plethora of rappers vying against you to do the same. However, Scott Knoxx welcomes the competition and has already built a respect level on the streets through his savvy rhymes and lyrical wit that’s not going to be easily taken away. Knoxx began making a name for himself early on as a teenager. His first album, Knoxxism, dropped in 1999 and instantly authenticated his talent and presence on Milwaukee’s hip-hop scene. Followed were appearances on several albums nationwide and his creation of mixtapes that featured other elite rappers throughout Milwaukee and coast to coast created a buzz. With over a decade of experience on his side and gaining the ears of multiple listeners, Knoxx is ready to take his skills to another level. His latest album, Live from the Animal House, proves his compassion to make a deeper impact through collaborations with NuStyles, Rico Love, Juelz Santana, JR da Supastar and Mike Payne. When asked to describe his musical style, Knoxx explains, “My style is hard in like a tough-street aspect, but sensible at the same time. I feel like I’m picky about what words I use and it’s not what you say, but it’s how you say it.” Knoxx declares that his music is a lot of him which encompasses his humor, business acumen and passion for this industry. Looking toward the future, Knoxx hopes to morph Milwaukee into a powerful rap capital and make it more conducive to hip-hop music and culture. Developing mixtapes monthly and working on his new solo album anticipated to drop in November ’06, is just the beginning to his strategy. “I’m focused on flooding the streets of Milwaukee and the market to see what will work, what will not, and coming up with different sounds to see the response,” says a determined Knoxx. “Overall, I think my swagger and attitude is different from other rappers and that will ultimately win people over. Everybody wants to be a tough guy and that doesn’t matter to me. My life is about handling business, figuring out more ways to flood the market and feeling my music.” Taking that approach, the maverick purports that he wants to bring back the days that you could put in an album and listen it to it all the way through without skipping a beat—creating classics. It’s that thinking, coupled with his talent, wisdom and musical ingenuity that should deliver Knoxx nothing but impressive music. He says however, to reach that point, everyone must first support local artists. “If it’s good music and it’s local, support it in everyway you can,” says Knoxx. “Call the radio stations, buy the album…ride with the artist all the way until the end.” Until the end…let’s go!