Since the summer of 2008, a collective force of Lansing hip-hop heads have been pooling their resources in hopes of revitalizing the rap scene in Mid-Michigan. That rhythmical force is The Blat! Pack, a multi-faceted crew of 10 people, a mish mash of emcees, vocalists, producers, DJs, artists, radio personalities and writers.

Area emcee JYoung the General (aka Jahshua Smith) was among the BLAT Pack's busiest artists last year. He played a high-energy show at SXSW, received mentions from XXL and MTV and dropped the Black History Year Installment 2 EP, a free download at blatpack.com.

REVUE spoke with JYoung — here's what he had to say.

Tell us about Black History Year Installment, what were you going for on the EP?
What we did with volume two is similar to its predecessor, we gave a scholastic feel to the music, where you can teach people, regardless of their background or race, something they usually wouldn't learn about black history in text books.

What are some of the topics covered on the EP?
We touch on slavery as a concept of house workers, versus ones who worked out in the field. We also touch on the gentrification of urban areas like Detroit and Chicago. We talk about the colors of the Pan-African flag: red, black and green ... It's about bringing concepts to life. If you're in school and read it on paper, that's cool. But for a lot of people, giving it a beat and lyricism to it brings those lessons to life for a people who normally wouldn't care.

What emcees have been an influence on you?
A lot of older stuff — like NAS, Jay Z, AZ, and Raekwon. But lately I also like the tonality of Drake's music. With Black History Month it's a lyrical approach. I take nods from Elzhi from Slum Village, Royce Da 5'9", and AZ. Nas' influence never strays far, his multiple-syllable rhyme style.

What do you think about current radio hip hop?
It's good and bad. You have to take all that with a grain of salt. For me, I can say that I identify with about 20 percent of what's on the radio. There are some things I like, but I try not to universally take a dump on any style of music. I'm not all underground and rebellious, but I'm not poppy and mainstream. There's a balance.

How would you describe your stage show?
I like to use every part of the stage. I've been on top of the speakers, there's been times I've hopped on the bar and walked across it, I've crowd surfed. But I have to admit, the first time I tried stage diving I fell right on my back! It's all about theatrics, you have to make them remember you, but it has to be something genuine.

How do you pick and choose your beats?
It just has to hit me. My favorite producer of all time would be Timbaland because of the drums, but number two would be Premier, J Dilla and Pete Rock are on the list. All of those guys have something that's catchy about them. When I work with a lot of underground producers, I have to imagine a concept when I hear the beat. I always have beats, but realistically very few get to the point where I decide, ‘This is a record I want to make.'