Much like Van Gogh, a 19th century artist who never attained any real commercial success until after his death, Priority Records recording artist Ras Kass is struggling with similar obstacles to those of the famed painter. The fact that Ras Kass' never-released third album was entitled Van Gogh, speaks volumes about the frustration felt by arguably the greatest lyricist to ever emerge from the left coast.

After enduring a four-and-a-half year period without releasing any new material, although having recorded two new albums (Van Gogh and Goldyn Chyld), Ras Kass has had enough of the same "bitter disappointments" that plagued the real Van Gogh. However, unlike Van Gogh, who would eventually commit suicide, overwhelmed by the obstacles in his life; Ras Kass has become determined to not let anyone or anything stand in his way of achieving success with his art.

Ras Kass believes that his only hope to salvage his art, his career, and his freedom is to demand that he be released from his recording contract with Priority Records. Unfortunately for Ras Kass his determination is being once again met by adversity. Ras Kass was recently convicted of a third DUI and was supposed to begin serving a nine-month prison sentence. So now to ensure his release from Priority Records, Ras must remain a free man and a fugitive.

AllHipHop.com: Let's just get right to it. What's the deal, you're on the lamb; what's goin' on?

Rass Kass: Really the whole thing is that I been wasting my time with Priority Records. You gotta keep this in mind, I'm a rapper, I can't go work at Sears. So what am I doin', I'm out here hustlin' to make sure I can bring home the ends meet for my children. And I signed a contract with people who are supposed to allow me to use my craft to make everybody in turn money. When they decided, basically because they couldn't use the Dr. Dre song I got to be the single. Then, they knew actually I had to go to jail five months beforehand. Everything's all good, we had a set plan of what we were gonna do. Soon as they decided that they weren't gonna put out my record, and it's already been a four-year fight (with) me tryin' to convince some fuckin' stupid ass corporate people that my music is worth puttin' out; if I didn't have Eminem on it, or I didn't have Jay-Z, then it's not as good of a song. So when they decided that, basically implying that I go another year or more; I took my album, I went up there, I took my fuckin' hard drive and I left. I'm not turnin' myself in when I'm out here, I gotta eat, I been havin' to eat and they ain't fulfilled their side of the bargain. So the jail shit, that's gettin' sensationalized. I think Priority got mad. If they want the album back, I'm willing to give 'em the album back, if they give me a release, and that's all this is about. And I'll turn myself in. I'm not goin' to jail and my children been havin' to suffer all this time while I been workin' hard, really fuckin' workin' hard. And then I'm gonna get slapped in the fuckin' face, like the month before I'm about to turn myself in, they decide because Dre doesn't want his song to be the first single. He didn't have any objections with it being a single. I had a song that was supposed to be the single, they didn't even work that record. The title song that (DJ) Premier did for me, "

AllHipHop.com