Busy and hungry. Chicago emcee Serengeti finds himself in both categories these days - busy as hell with a recent re-release of Dennehy, another album with Hi-Fidel called Friday Night (June) and then another immediately following called The Story of the Golden Floyd (July). And that doesn't include his collaborative group Yoome which releases The Boredom of Me in August.

Of course, he's also hungry to get beyond where he's been able to thus far. Even with projects heralded by several media outlets and a Top 20 Hip-Hop album (PopMatters), Serengeti still finds himself "under the underground." It's a situation that has him looking to take his work into his own hands - maintaining control of it all from the artwork to the production.

We recently sat down with Serengeti to discuss his situation and how he plans to climb up to the top.

SSv: You're getting ready to re-release Dennehy. Can you tell us what was wrong with the first one?

Serengeti: Well, the relationships with the label sort of fell out a little bit. I stopped talking to them. Then everything came out backwards. The last song was supposed to be the first song and the so on and so forth, so I couldn't really listen to that record, so I wanted to re-release it so I could have a little better taste in my mouth of what I was trying to go for.

SSv: How does that happen - having stuff in the wrong order or wrong tracks?

Serengeti: I don't know. I guess it's working with the wrong people or just shoddy stuff. It's just not together. The label situation's not together. It's not really that serious, so shit gets fucked up. And it's happened on almost all of my releases, so it's about stepping it up and releasing better stuff so it's not so shoddy.

SSv: So what constitutes shoddy and how does that differ from what you're doing now?

Serengeti: I'm trying to step it up in all areas. In the past, I might have released some one take stuff because it's fun. But I'm past all that stuff that's just fun. I actually want to produce some good stuff as far as the artwork and the way the CDs are put together. We're just really trying to step it up.

SSv: Is that a matter of surrounding yourself with those who have the same creative vision?

Serengeti: Yeah, it's surrounding myself with people who aren't just weekend warriors or those who just want to do it, but people who actually have the same drive and the same goals instead of being the most hungry person and trying to list everybody. I want to surround myself with like-minded people who are going for the same thing and have a passion for this stuff - not just to do it because it's cool to say you did it or it's cool to work on something. I want people who want to make this happen.

SSv: Do you have those people now?

Serengeti: I'm starting to weed out everything and just get some like-minded people there. In the past, I would do anything with anybody. I got a couple of people who are on the same page...

SSv: But it still sounds like you're not quite in the position you want to be.

Serengeti: No, it's frustrating - the whole underground movement. I'm under the underground. It's frustrating, but what do you do? Everybody can't do what they want to do in life, so I guess it just is what it is.

SSv: What are some very tangible things to move to that next level?

Serengeti: I need to go on a real tour - opening up for somebody fresh. It's not just showing up in towns sort of tour and people don't know who the hell you are. I need a real tour. It's also about releasing solid shit.

SSv: How does being based in Chicago help or hinder your ability to do just that?

Serengeti: Chicago's a strange place. You have all these acts that have been doing this for years and years and everybody's still under the underground. Nobody on the whole indie scene has really stepped out and done something. It's still scavenging around. Chicago as a city doesn't support local artists for some reason. Maybe it's because they're not good enough. I don't know what it is, but you go to other cities and the common people seem to support local arts. That doesn't happen in Chicago.

SSv: Is it really because nobody deserves it or that something is wrong with the system?

Serengeti: Maybe it's both. Maybe people just don't like it or nobody is really good. And I'm not talking about everybody else. I'm talking about me, too. Maybe we're not good. Or maybe it's a local mentality. I can't call it.

SSv: What did you do specifically on the new Dennehy?

Serengeti: We remastered the songs and took off a lot of songs. I think I added five new tracks. I also added all these interludes to make it into a story between this lead character, Kenny, and this kid who's trying to find himself in Chicago. So hopefully it will present itself like a story.

SSv: Was there a point where you were ready to just scrap it and move on to something totally fresh?

Serengeti: That's what I was gonna do, but I thought that Dennehy song was a good song that still had life to it. So I wanted to put it out there one more to see if I can make something happen with that. I thought of that song when I made it that it was really fresh and then it came out to nothing. So I thought I would try one more time. I have problems with all my releases, but with this one I wanted to give it one more shot.

SSv: Now this is based on a film, is that right?

Serengeti: It's based on a film I was trying to write with this guy and then that shit fell through. It's based loosely off of what me and this guy was trying to do. The screenplay is written but there's nothing going on with it.

SSv: What sets you apart from others in the Chicago scene?

Serengeti: I notice a lot of other cats just rap about rap or about styles and I like to think that I just write songs in rap form and all my styles - I just do them. I don't need to talk about them. That shit gets really old, to hear somebody just rapping about rap. You know, it's the whole, 'Yo, b-boy, streets, that's how I flow...' That shit was cool when I was younger, but now it's boring to me. Or maybe that's what people want to hear in Chicago and why they don't want to hear me.

It's frustrating, but that's how it is in the mainstream, too. So I guess the indie/local scene is really just a reflection of that. It's all stale, but when it's all said and done, I know what I'm trying to do is trying to be creative in music. That's a good thing. So no matter if it doesn't work out, at least I was honestly trying to add on and build instead of going through the motions of just fitting in the status quo. At least I'm trying. If it didn't work, at least I was aiming for change. Isn't that what art is supposed to be about? Change? Everything's all fucked up and we're supposed to change that via music, or at least try to change it.

SSv: How do you stay fresh and not just become stale or seek out a hit to just have one?

Serengeti: Being creative is not the problem at all. If people have a problem being creative, then that's why the scene is so bogged down because everybody's doing it and not everybody is creative. So that's not the problem, at least I don't think so. I think the industry being bogged down is the problem. There's so many people doing this shit, because it's so easy to do nowadays. Anybody can rap. And anybody can make beats. It's all about the angle and the style of it - it's so bogged down that it turns people away.

SSv: So what did you think of the album with Polyphonic being so heralded?

Serengeti: I liked it. I read the reviews, but I tend to be a negative personality, so in the end I'm thinking, 'Well, that's only two people. How come others don't like it?' I tend to beat everything down. I end up thinking, 'So what? That's only one person's opinion. That doesn't mean shit. I'm still working this damn day job.'

SSv: Do you feel you're your own worst enemy sometimes?

Serengeti: Oh, man. Definitely. Somebody will tell me that I need to call this guy to network and I'll end up just saying, 'Nah, I'm going home.' [Laughs] I'm not good at the networking thing.

• www.myspace.com/goldenfloyd

Matt Conner is the editor-in-chief of Stereo Subversion.