Relentless Was His Spider-Man

How he got the name

Ralph Perez: 'Cause I couldn't think of a rap name. I was like 13, 14 years old — I didn't really have a rap name yet. But I was going to high school in San Jose at the time, and my classmate showed me the ropes, how to learn how to freestyle and just come off the head. Because that's what everyone was doing in the Bay at the time. You had everyone doing Project Blowed. You had all the Hieroglyphics dudes freestyling. And so I was really determined to learn how to freestyle, to be able to come off the top. And just one day he was like, "Yo, you're just relentless with it, man. You just won't stop." And then they were like, "Yo, that should be your rap name — Relentless." And that was it. It was just Relentless.

Carlos Aguilar: Okay. But before that, you were putting your name Ralph in the raps when you would write it, yeah?

Ralph: Because I really liked EPMD, Eric and Parrish. They didn't really have a rap name — there was E Double, or the Microphone Doctor was Parrish, but they didn't really have a rap name. Rakim was just Rakim.

Carlos: And you thought about doing that? You thought about just rocking with Ralph?

Ralph: Yeah, just Ralph, or I was going to do some variation of "Ralph the something," you know, or whatever. I hadn't thought of it yet. But then it was Isaac — he went by Defiance. He was in a group called Chaotix Souls up there. And he came up with Relentless, and it just stuck. And I was like, cool, that's my rap name — Relentless. And so after that, I rode with it. I think, outside of what I go by now, it was probably my longest rap name, because I didn't change that until I was like 33, I think.

Never shortened

Carlos Aguilar: I'm just looking at my list of questions here. So the homeboys named you Relentless — how did you spell it?

Ralph Perez: Never shortened it, because I also wrote graffiti for a while. All of us did some sort of variation of fucking tagging, or our little graffiti wack hand styles and shit. There was no shortened variation of it that looked good, that I thought anyone could decipher if I removed all the vowels. Nothing made sense. So it was just like, it's Relentless.

What “relentless” meant

Carlos Aguilar: Let's talk about the meaning of Relentless. He was saying, you're relentless on the mic? Was that the idea?

Ralph Perez: Relentless in the sense that I wasn't giving up. I was super determined. I was not going to stop until I could really come off the dome well, and kind of hold my own in the cypher with people. Because, you know, there were older heads — seniors, and dudes who had dropped out or graduated — that would pull up to the high school and jump in the cyphers and just sort of son the young kids, the young heads and stuff. And so I wanted to be able to at least get a dap, like, "Alright, you did your thing."

People stopped calling him Ralph

Carlos Aguilar: Of response did you get to the name Relentless from other MCs or people?

Ralph Perez: Got a lot of positive response, because it wasn't a name that you heard, you know? And that was the other thing, too — I liked it because it wasn't a name that seemed familiar, or a variation or synonym of another name. You know, it just felt like, oh, this is different. No one else is running with this. And that just became what I was. Most people stopped calling me Ralph and just called me Relentless, or just knew me by Relentless.

His parents didn't care much

Carlos Aguilar: What did your family think of the name Relentless? When did they hear that you had some kind of nickname, and what was their response?

Ralph Perez: My parents really didn't fuck with hip-hop too much, so there wasn't a whole lot of caring in terms of what my rap name was. I'm sure they heard it at some point. My dad — he's an old New York Puerto Rican — there was no support of like, "Oh, you're going to be a rapper? Do it, let's hear it." It was just kind of like, whatever — "What are you really going to do with your life, though?" So it really wasn't playing into my life, them caring what my rap name was. They just knew they'd see it all over the place, because like most of us in high school, I was writing it everywhere, trying to figure out how to get my shit looking clean when I wrote it out, you know? So it was—

Writing it a thousand times

Carlos Aguilar: Place. Interesting. Oh yeah — so the qualities of a name would include how good it looks when you write it.

Ralph Perez: Yeah, yeah. Like if you were gonna throw it up, possibly, or if you had to sign something, you know what I mean? Because the idea of like, especially at 15, I'm gonna get signed, you know — that is the ultimate goal. And if I'm signed, I'm gonna have to be able to have a dope signature at some point, you know? I want it to look clean. And that was just part of hanging out with graffiti writers, too: how clean can that shit look when you put it up? So it was written all over the place. And I think it was also getting used to, like, yeah — Relentless. It was just trying to sort of— Absorb the idea of—

Carlos: The name. You know what I mean? Yeah, you write it a thousand fucking times. Like, I wrote my rap name a thousand fucking times. There's something going on there. Like, you're becoming—

Ralph: That thing. You know, it's like you're like, "Oh yeah, this is—" You're internalizing, like, yeah, this is who I am. You know what I mean? Like, this is—

Relentless was his Spider-Man

Carlos Aguilar: Okay, wait — so was Relentless different from Ralph in some ways? I think so, yeah. Okay. And like, how was that?

Ralph Perez: I think, yeah — in comic book terms, for sure. It's like, you know, everyone's alter ego: Peter Parker was Peter Parker. He was nerdy, he kind of got picked on a little bit, you know, he wasn't super smooth with getting the girl. But when he was Spider-Man, he was confident and he knew what he was doing. He was strong, he was agile and shit. And so, I think, I moved around a lot growing up, so I think the insecurity of like, how do I fit in? Now it was like, I know how the fuck I fit in — I'm a rapper, I'm an MC, I'm Relentless. And so that gave me a bit more, like— "No, yo, I rhyme. My name's Relentless." And so it was like, I didn't have to just be like, "Oh, I'm the new kid, Ralph," from this other — I went to this high school, then that high school, then this middle school. It was just like, no, I figured out who the fuck the rappers in school were. And I was like, "Yo, I rhyme, I'm Relentless." And that kind of carried a little bit more of, like, I'm not— Too worried. I'm just going to find the other rappers in school.

You call him by his rap name

Carlos Aguilar: Okay, so let me ask you this. 'Cause, like, Like calling my rap friends by their rap names. Almost like on some superhero shit, where it's like, yeah, Superman talks to Spider-Man — he calls him Spider-Man, he doesn't call him Peter Parker. Right, right, right. Because you're kind of both playing make-believe together, or something weird. Where, like, I'm not Carlos, you're not fucking Ralph. What's happening there? What's going on there with these names, bro? What's going on? I don't know — I think it's like a respect thing.

Ralph Perez: David was never David. He was Poseidon. He was always Poseidon.

Carlos: So you're saying it's like a sign of respect, to call somebody by their rap name.

Ralph: I think so, yeah. I'm sure you know Random. I don't think I ever — I'm positive — I never knew his real name. Like, maybe once or twice I heard his real name, but he was always Random, you know?

Carlos: Like, you prefer not to know his real name, almost.

Ralph: Yeah, I really didn't care, because he was Random. Like, that's who he is. And I don't know What his government name is. Like, he was Random, you know? Like, that's who he was. I mean, maybe, maybe we called each other by Our regular names, occasionally. But you were always Bookworm, you know what I mean? But also, I think what's interesting is, there are only a few rapper friends that we had, that were MCs, that you did call by their regular name — because maybe their rap name was like, like— TJ was Omni Poetic, like I'm— TJ Omni Poetic, you know what I mean?

Carlos: Like, very funny. No, that's true. If your rap name is too much in some ways — too much to say, too much to— I'm not calling you that, bro.

Ralph: Right, I'm not calling you, like, Gemini the Gifted, whatever, every single time I see you, you know what I mean?

Carlos: Was like that for certain people. Oh, shit. But that's because you knew TJ's name. But if you came across someone who had a complicated name and you didn't know their real name, I don't know — you just try not to say the motherfucker's name, because besides the complications, there's something weird, maybe. Right.

Too long to say

Carlos Aguilar: Like, giving in too much to this superhero idea, bro. Like, no, I'm not calling you fucking Boogie Man. Like, no, right? Or you'd shorten it. Like, what was, um—

Ralph Perez: The dudes that were in a group, Proverb — like the Drunken Kings, right — one of them used to just call me Relent, and they'd be like, "Yo, stop calling him Relent. My boy, that man's name is Relentless." Like, why are you shortening it?

Carlos: Oh my God. That's hilarious.

Ralph: Yeah, it doesn't work. And so it was like, some people that had long names — yeah, I think we were just like—

Carlos: Yeah. Books — like, people call me Books. Yes. Too long, too much, bro. Like, that's interesting. There's that. And there's another part, too, which I think is because some of us, with our names, create a persona. Some personas are more exaggerated than others, I'm saying. And like, no — I'm not going all the way there with you, bro, with your name. I can't think of a good example right now, but I can fucking certainly imagine, like, I'm not calling you all this— Well, was it Jelani? Chapstick Had a long one. Chapstick the Abstract? Or was it longer than that? No, I think it was like Chapstick the Abstract. No one called

Ralph: Him Chapstick the Abstract. It was just Chapstick, you know what I mean? Like, that's all it was. Like,

Carlos: I think we all — we all had folks that— Well, that's interesting with him, because he was always — I gotta talk to him, too. He was really comfortable with multiple. Yeah, I always heard him be referred to Jelani almost as much as I heard Chapstick. I don't know what the story was with that, but — Jelani.

Ralph: Yeah, it was. He was one of the folks that didn't really need a rap name. You could have just—

Carlos: Because the name was cool— Or whatever. Right. Or like, you know, it was another good

Ralph: One. He didn't have a long one. I knew his first name — I don't remember it now — but Burger was just Burger, right. Yeah. But C4 — I never called Chris C4, for the most part. Like, when we hung out, it was always just Chris.

Carlos: To him today, too. I'm trying to remember — he had a name before C4. Yeah, I can't remember what it was before C4. I'm about to ask him, because he definitely changed it during the Foundation era — he wasn't C4 at every point. Relent, so — was there ever a point where you were uncomfortable, where you liked the name and then you just disliked the name?

Outgrowing the name

Ralph Perez: Well, I think as I started to exit the Christian hip-hop thing — because it had that connection and connotation — there's a little bit of wanting to get rid of the name, but I could never figure out another one, up until what I am now. There was not another name that I could think of that felt natural, you know what I mean? And I think sometimes — not all the time — sometimes with our MC names, they come to us because someone gives it to us, or someone's like, "Yo, you're this." They use a descriptor to describe you, and then it sticks. And so for me, it felt like I was trying to force finding a name for myself, you know, that meant something. And so I just sort of left it as— Like, because then there also was another Dude who, around 2010, Who was a Christian rapper, started using Relentless that I had no idea who he was, and he was garbage. Whoever he is. And I— Mixed up with that, you know what I mean? And so I specifically—

Blood Money

Ralph Perez: But like, all one word, sort of, but the MC capitalized. So I was like, maybe if I do that, it'll just distinguish myself from who I was before, and who that dude is. And then, one of my favorite authors was Philip K. Dick. You know, he writes a lot of dope science fiction; he's written some iconic books. And I had read a book called Dr. Bloodmoney. And I had referenced that a couple of times in some raps with some friends when I was out here in Pittsburgh the first time. And there was a dude I was rapping with who was like, yo— "You should go by Dr. Bloodmoney now, dude. That's a fucking dope name. That shit's hard. It just sounds good — you should do it." And I was like, yeah, it's kind of a dope name. But then I was like, I don't know about the doctor — like Dr. Dre — I don't know if I want the doctor part. So it was just— Blood Money for a while. But like, that was another Instance where it was like — I was not going to force it, but it just organically happened and became, like, that is what you should be, you know, what you should go by.

Still writing it

Carlos Aguilar: So I'm curious — all those years later, when you're taking on this new name, did you still write it a thousand times? Was there still that kind of— Oh, yeah.

Ralph Perez: I was like, I don't know, 33 at that time, you know, 32. Like, I'm still — I go for walks here in my neighborhood, and there's a train yard, and there's folks putting up bombs all over the place, like really— And just the elements of hip-hop, and having graffiti when I was younger, that shit's always still in the back of my mind. So it's always still like, if I were to put it up, how clean— Can I make it, you know, It a thousand times. I mean, now I don't, like, because it's just my artist name, you know? I don't really think about it like that anymore.

Names are tokens

Carlos Aguilar: Them refer to you by your rap name, and how many refer to you—

Ralph Perez: By your government name?

Carlos: I'm curious — most people know you by your rap name? Or is your rap name more private as you age? I don't know.

Ralph: I mean, it's because I — well, now, you know, I think — specifically, like, where we came from, like underground— Has sort of exploded. It's not insular. We don't, like — I'm not in a community where it is open mics every week, these little pockets, and it's just the folks you can— The internet changed all of that, for better or for worse. So it's not private. Like, there are a ton of people who just know me as Blood Money Perez. They don't know what my government name is. I've recorded songs with them, or, you know, got paid to do a feature. And they just know, like, "Thanks, Blood Money." You know, or some people will just call me Perez, You know, everyone I work with knows that I make music, but no one — I'm not like, "Call me Blood," like, no—

Carlos: One knows what my rap name is.

Ralph: I'm just Ralph at work, you know? So it's different. Like, I have some people that I build with pretty regularly that will go back and forth, like, you know, Blood Money — they'll hit me up. But more often than not, now it's kind of like, just Ralph. And I'll tell people, too — if we end up working together a little bit more, or having more of a conversation — "Yo, Blood Money — yeah, you just call me Ralph, man."

Carlos: Interesting. That's cool — "You don't gotta call me Blood Money." 'Cause the name and the identity functions as a — not a filter, but something. You're giving people more access to you when you give them your real name.

Ralph: Yeah. When I tell them, when I give them the permission to— Just like, you know, you just call me Ralph. Oh,

Carlos: Does it work the other way, though? Like, do you feel like at work, when you give people— Permission to know your rap name? And then rappers, like, "Hey, there's something you can know about me."

Ralph: Yeah, yeah. It's because there are probably, like, I don't know, maybe three people at work that know that I go by Blood Money Perez, and have listened, found me on Spotify, and been like, "Oh shit, you make good music." Of that, that's the exact thing. People that I don't really know, that are music heads, that wanted to build on something or whatever — if we're only transactional, and it's like you want to buy a beat or a verse, whatever the case might be, then it's just like, yeah, Blood Money, that's fine, no big deal. But then it's like, "Yo, you seem cool. We might want to build more on shit." You can just call me Ralph.

Carlos: Right, right, right. Yeah, no, it's funny — the names function. It's really interesting that they're tokens. "Here, you can have my name." I'm going to tell you something about myself: I call myself this fucking thing.

Ralph: A 47-year-old grown man. I have an alter—

Carlos: Ego. I have an alter ego. That's what it is. It's fascinating. I didn't expect that component. That's really cool.

What makes a good rap name

Carlos Aguilar: What do you think makes a good rap name?

Ralph Perez: I mean, that's a good question. I feel like — I say this with an acknowledgement that my rap name is long as fuck now — I think if it feels concise, you know what I mean? It's like, oh, that's — like, Bookworm was always dope. Like, yeah, it's Bookworm. That's it. You know what I mean? Like Proverbs, even like double names, If Pigeon John was like

Carlos: Dope, stood out. Pigeon John had a little fucking snap to it. That was a good one. Yeah. Yeah. Like, I feel—

Ralph: Like there's just like a ring. Like if it just— Shit, like there's a ring To it. Like, it feels like I would wear it. It's almost like an advertisement. Like, "This is my product." And you're like, "Ooh, I want to know what that is."

Carlos: You know what I mean? Would you be attracted to an artist — an MC, hip-hop — by virtue of the name alone? Like, "Oh, this is a dope name, let me investigate further. This is a wack name." For sure.

Ralph: For sure. Like, I remember back in the day, we used to frisbee shit out the window if it was wack. But I remember, like, you'd buy something from someone that was at a show — like, "Oh, the Profits of Anarchy," whatever the fuck the name was, you know what I mean? You're like, that's kind of a hard name. Like, yeah, I'll check your shit out. You know? Like, if someone handed you something that you didn't know, and you put it in the car, you're like, all right, these guys are—

Carlos: Trash. You're like, yo,

Ralph: Sticks out now. Like, these guys are dope. 2000 Pros — great example. Like, I had never heard their music, but I knew who they were from just the open mic scene out in, like, the IE and LA. And then it's like, you heard 2000 Pros, and you're like, yeah, that's a hard name. That name always stuck. I couldn't tell you a 2000 Pro song at this point in my life, but like— You know what I mean? Same with, like, Global Floatations. It's just the thing that — it has a ring to it, you know?

Wack names

Carlos Aguilar: Interesting. Now, you've spoken about, like, there's the look of the name — how does it look? And then how does it ring? What else? What other components are there to it? And then, have you ever been embarrassed? Let me think about this. Have you ever been embarrassed by, like — are there wack names? Would you say there are— Wack names? Oh, for sure.

Ralph Perez: Yeah, yeah. There are definitely some garbage rap names.

Carlos: See, I'm not going to front on my name — like, the Bookworm name, it's not a great name. So, like, but have you ever — wack names? What makes a wack name a wack name?

Ralph: If it sounds elementary, I think. Like, if it sounds— Like, oh, you thought of this when you were 12, You know, it's like — like, I remember when I was trying to think of changing my name, the one I came up with that I was like, "Oh, that's fucking terrible, that's like some—" Exact the Gifted One. And I'm like — and then, short, the shortening of it would have been the Ego.

Carlos: And I'm like, that is terrible. Like, I'm not going to do—

Ralph: That. You know, like, there were names like that, of people we saw, you know, that we ran through, that were like, that's not a good name. Like, that dude's got it. I still, you know, they were super Nice dudes, but Apple the App is a terrible fucking—

Carlos: Name. Right, right. Yeah, exactly. Some people succeed in spite of their name, I guess. Right. Yeah, for sure.

Ralph: Like, there are definitely plenty of people out there with, like— Good careers with not great rap names. You know what I mean?

Pick a name you can stand by

Carlos Aguilar: Interesting. Any advice if someone's choosing, or someone's going to choose, a rap name? You've kind of already suggested some, but like — it has a ring, it has a look. I guess, like, I'm meaning, like—

Ralph Perez: What does it mean to you? You know what I mean? Like Pick something where you feel like, "I stand by what this means for me," you know? Like, even if you're coming up with it yourself, and no one's gifting you the name, pick something that you feel like embodies who the fuck you are. I mean, it worked out that Relentless felt like who I was, you know? It was like, someone told me my name — the name was there already in the ether, because of how I carried myself — but it's like someone put the finger on it, you know, to be like, "This is who you are." It was like, you know, the universe was— Like, fuck — that's right. That is who you are.

Named by the tribe, or name yourself

Carlos Aguilar: And others had a similar experience, in that way — named by people around you, based on something they recognized in you. And then he was saying — he named himself. I named myself. What do you think about these two traditions of naming and self-naming? You're kind of talking about how dope it is when someone names you, because it puts a finger on something they see. What do you think about self-naming?

Ralph Perez: I think it's a gift. I think a lot of people can self-name, and can see that thing in themselves. You know what I mean? Where it's like, they pick a name and they're like, "Fuck, that's dead on. Yeah, that's a dope name. Like, that really fits who you are, that rings well—" With you, and like who They are as a person — like, as an artist, personally — that shit fits, you know? Like, that really goes well. And I think that's a very interesting self-reflective skill, to be able to name yourself a thing that you feel good about and confident in, to stand with. Versus, I think— I feel, sort of tribal in a way. You know, I think it's like elders, or peers, or your tribe, recognizing something in you, that maybe you knew — the elements of that are in you — but you couldn't quite put— Think it's just timing. I think it's universal. People that can name themselves, and do it well — I think it's just the universe at that time being like, "Yo, let me tell you who you are." You get that enlightenment, versus a tribe being like, "This is who you are."