Fans of underground hip-hop have held Connecticut-based emcee Apathy in high regard for over a decade. He’s toured the world numerous times, and moved crowds of over 50,000 at festivals. If you request his music at your favorite mainstream hip-hop radio station, however, you might receive some puzzled replies. Apathy address this on his latest album, Handshakes with Snakes, on the introspective song “Charlie Brown.”

“I go into a lot of the dynamic of being known, and having some success, but not being like a major label, huge household name,” he says of the song. “It’s a funny dynamic. It’s a funny position to be in.”

Here are 10 other things you should know about this highly skilled emcee.

He Wants to Bring Hip-Hop Back to Its Essence

“A lot of this album is about how incredibly different things are in these times and days,” he explains, “as opposed to how they were coming up as a hip-hop artist, and a hip-hop fan.”

He’s Shaken the Hand of a Snake, or Two

Industry rule #4080, record company people are shady! “You always hear the cliches, you always hear it in music, you always hear people talk about it, but it’s so true,” Apathy laments. “There are so many people who act like they’re cool, and it’s all a facade.”

Handshakes with Snakes Features a Previously Lost Verse From Pumpkinhead

Pumpkinhead tragically passed away in June of 2015. A verse of his appears on the Handshakes with Snakes song “Amon RAW,” and according to Apathy, the verse was essentially Heaven sent.

“This was a verse that I had for a while that I didn’t even realize I had ... Pumpkinhead’s been my friend for 20 years, and finding this missing verse from him was just incredible. It was like, man, what a way to pay honor to him, to pay respect, and show love.”

Apathy adds that while he was happy he was able to pay tribute to his friend, another emotion came over him, as well. “I really kicked myself, too, when I found it, cuz I was like, man, this shouldn’t be like this ... PH has been down with me forever, and it was one of those things where we should have worked more together, we should have done more together, but we thought we had all the time in the world.”

He’s Working on a Cold War Themed Album with OC

The album is titled Perestroika, which is the Russian word for restructuring, and Apathy says, “It’s a great metaphor for the music, and what needs to be done as far as hip-hop. It needs rebuilding. It needs restructuring.”

He adds that much like Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang featured kung fu themes, and motifs, Perestroika will have Soviet, Cold War, themes, and motifs.

He Battled Agoraphobia

“The agoraphobia (a condition where people avoid ordinary places and activities for fear of a panic attack) came out of nowhere,” he remembers.

At its brutal worst, he says, “There was one point where I didn’t like leaving my bedroom. There were times I was so disappointed I woke up and I had to deal with another day of that shit. I felt like it was never gonna stop.”

Apathy credits his wife, and The Institute of Living, in Hartford, CT, for helping him battle the illness. While he feels anxiety will always be something he has to deal with, he says, “It definitely got better. I do mad shit now. I enjoy life.”

He’d Like to See Mental Health Issues be Taken More Seriously

“There’s not enough mental health help in this country,” Apathy states, “that’s why a lot of people melt down, and that’s why a lot of people have problems, and that’s why a lot of people lose it, and it’s not good.”

He adds, “When I was losing it, it was damned near impossible to even know what was going on with me. It took so much research to figure it out ... Every day was a struggle for me, and then I’d call a place, and be like, ‘Please, can I have help,’ and they’d say, ‘We’re not opening anyone up to our program until six months from now.’ I’m like, I’m gonna die at that point.”

He’s a Freemason

“The coolness of Freemasonry is all about tradition,” Apathy explains. “There's something to be said for tradition that keeps slipping away with every generation ... People are just like, ‘We’re evolving, we’re evolving,’ and you know what, we’re evolving into a shittier society every single day ... There are certain things that are improving, as far as tolerance, but for the most part, the further we get away from the simplicity, the further we get away from respect.”

He’ll Be on Tour Later This Year

Apathy will be hitting the West Coast in August and September, and Canada in October.

His Crowd Features the Occasional Mosh Pit

“It’s never anything too crazy,” he says of the wildness at his shows, “and I’m just really thankful that I’m in the realm of hip-hop that I do, and I’m not in the realm of the kind of hip-hop where people are getting shot, and there’s super crazy wild violence like that.”

He Looked Up to the Demigodz Before Becoming a Member of the Crew

“Demigodz means so much more to me than I think anybody,” he explains. “My brother, Open Mic, started it and those were the cool guys to me. They were like four years older than me, so they were like the super cool guys who I aspired to be ... The fact that I got with them, and then preserved the name, and brought it to what it is, and kind of gave a different life to this whole movement, Demigodz means everything to me. I’m gonna rep it forever.”