DJ Burn One interview

By Jimmy Ness and originally published at Passionweiss

DJ Burn One’s country rap tunes emerge from a cloud of smoke vapors to warm the soul. His blues and funk-inspired sound adds an acoustic dimension to Southern rap, one reminiscent of classic UGK and Dungeon Family records.

At 26, the Atlanta beat-smith makes the rest of us look like severe underachievers. Burn One sold mixtapes at a CD store during his mid-teens, hung with T.I in twelfth grade and later dropped out of college to spend two years touring with Bubba Sparxxx. He’s since used live musicians and his ear for impeccable beats to help launch the careers of Yelawolf, Gucci Mane, Pill, Young Dro and Starlito.

Burn One spoke to me from Nebraska during the 32 date Revival tour with Rittz. We covered several topics including meeting T.I in high school, white rappers, Goodie Mob’s new album, teaching Gucci Mane about mixtapes, Gangsta Boo, working with A$AP Rocky and more.

You’re from Atlanta originally?

Yeah, I was born and raised in Atlanta. Actually a spot a like a little bit south called Hapeville. I was raised there till I was like 10 then I moved out to the suburbs, so I got a little taste of everything in my upbringing. 

Was your family musical?

My mom was really heavy into like all 80s music, pretty much everything you can think of. My dad was just heavy in country, that type of stuff. They put me in the choir when I was four. I was in the church choir for a couple of years but outside of that they weren’t really musical. There was always music playing, but nobody played any instruments or anything like that.

How did you come up with the name DJ Burn One, is it just a drug reference?

Man not even really. At the time I was putting mixtapes out around my school and I was looking to change my name, I had a really lame DJ name. Actually I worked in a retail store in Atlanta called Supersounds, a mom n’ pops shop, and we would get albums in early. Two or three weeks early, like real actual copies sealed from the distributor and this was before everybody got online and figured out how to download stuff early.

So when I’d be in school and selling these CDs I’d have them for like $20-25 dollars. I’d have like T.I’s Trap Muzik and stuff like that. I tried to sell them and say “hey I’ve got the new T.I album it’s $25 dollars” and everyone would say “oh man come on just burn me one, burn one, burn me one.” So literally as long as I would work at the CD store people would just tell me “burn one.” All day all I’d hear is “burn one.” No one wanted to pay full price or whatever. They just wanted me to burn some copies of it, so after a while I was like you know what? It’s kind of got a ring to it.

You met T.I in high school?

Yeah, he had a group, it was two girls called Xtaci. They were signed for a while to him and they were actually a couple grades above me and went to my high school. I was working at the CD store and one day they came back a couple of years after they graduated, it was the year I was about to graduate. They were like “we got signed to Grand Hustle” and I was like “it’s cool I’m doing tapes, ya’ll want to host a tape with him with me?” 

And you know, they got some drops and from then on I started hanging out with Grand Hustle. That was my first real experience in the music game, just kind of being around there and watching them record. I remember being in Grand Hustle and seeing Big Kuntry (King) show me a Pro Tools file like a beat tracked out for the first time and I was like “yo, what are those colours up there?” And he was like “that’s a high end, that’s a snare” and I’m like “what the fuck is that shit?” I was just a fan of music you know. It was really just the beginning of me cutting my teeth, being around Grand Hustle and trying soak up game.

Were you star struck? That’s pretty crazy considering you were still in school.

T.I was still getting bigger, but in Atlanta he was definitely pretty established at the time, even though the album didn’t do well. He had already put out “24s.” This was right around when Trap Muzik came out. It was kind of like the perfect time. So it was interesting, just watching how people even treated me in my own high school before I did the tape with him and then after. I was still in twelfth grade when I did the tape with him. The people that were just kind of like “whatever” about me, it was funny just watching the human nature of everything once they see you hanging around with someone famous. A lot of new friends. It was cool meeting him and then through there I met a lot of different people up at Grand Hustle. I met [Young] Dro, P$C and everybody, Paul Wall, a lot of people through that so it was real cool.

You studied history for a year in college? What’s your favorite ancient civilization?

Yeah, I was a history major. Man, I’m just like a history junkie. I love just watching the History Channel all day. It’s either ESPN or History Channel. I just love learning about different civilizations and stuff like that man. I think the Romans were probably the most interesting. Just the empire, everything that went along with that whole period. To be around in that whole time would have been really cool.

But yeah, I studied that for a year and I realized I would rather go and see the pyramids in Egypt than sit in a classroom and talk about it all day. It really wasn’t my thing. I have a really shitty imagination. It wasn’t doing it for me. I’ve got to be able to touch it for it to be interesting. I had like an A average my whole first year. Then the second week in the next semester in the new school year, I was sitting there in class and I just thinking this shit is not for me. I just got up literally right in the middle of class and walked out. Two weeks later Bubba Sparxxx called me to go on tour and I was like “hell yeah.”

You also wanted to be president?

Yeah definitely. I still do, but I think I smoke too much weed. I’d be a great president though man. I’m a political junkie too. I’m definitely just a news junkie period.

How do your parents feel about you pursuing music? Do they understand the mixtape hosting etc?

They don’t understand any of that stuff. They are a lot more accepting now that I’ve been on the cover of Spin magazine, New York Times, been on TV a couple of times. They thought I was selling drugs at first. I was on the road. They didn’t know what the hell that was, I’m out there picking up a lot of money and they were like “where the hell are you getting all this money at?” The only way they know is from the streets or whatever. They have finally come around. I think for a while they were slightly disappointed cause I had a chance to be the first from my family to graduate from college. I kind of walked away from it, but that wasn’t my path anyway. They’ve always been supportive and they’ll mess with me. My dad will call me like “I see your boy Gucci Mane’s in jail again!”

What influenced your sound? It’s very unique, a bit bluesy and funky not just the typical trap sound.

I think a little bit of everything. The 80s stuff my mom listened to. Like the synthesizers, that’s what always stuck out in my mind. The melodies and song writing were really dope, but really with the synthesizers they were always looking to try and find new sounds. And my dad he would always play country music like Montgomery Gentry, Conway Twitty and stuff like that. Even if I didn’t like the music, I could appreciate the song because you could feel it. It evoked emotion, you know? It made you feel a certain way and I think just blues music period has always stuck out to me.

When I found people that were making music like that – Organized Noise, Pimp C, 3-6 Mafia, Dre with G Funk, the Funkadelic stuff back in the day, it just all made sense. I feel like all the music I make is just stuff that I’d want to hear. When I make a beat, I just want to make some shit that sounds cool that I’d want to listen to.

It sounds pretty simple, but I really don’t try to think too much. I feel like every time people say “I’m going to do a girl record or make a club song or this or that,” it always just ends up just sounding contrived. I just want it to sound authentic and natural.

What do you think of the trap music sound? Is it a fad that will go away or something that will endure?

It’s more than fad because to me, snap music was a fad. It had its summer like a year or year and a half and then it was gone. Trap beats, ever since Shawty Redd and DJ Toomp really started eight to 10 years ago that’s kinda been an Atlanta sound. It’s just now with these programs, which are so much easier to use like Fruityloops and stuff like that, everyone can recreate that sound a lot more. I feel like that sound is really stagnant right now because before you had people like Shawty Redd and Toomp that were pushing the envelope. It was trap, but they were inventing it as they were going. Every time they would do a record it would be a little bit different. Constant innovation.

Now it’s like a lot of people are just replicating what they’ve heard before, so it’s really stale. I feel like that’s where I come in, just to kinda give that breath of fresh air and to bring the live instrumentation. Everything’s not perfectly quantized. To me it’s more emotional. I want when you hear a record from me to walk away with a feeling. You can be happy, sad, mad whatever. You walk away and it evokes some type of emotion. You didn’t just hear it, turn it on, nod your head a couple of times.

How do you create your songs? Is there a live band playing?

I have a production crew. It’s me and three other guys. Walt Live, he was a producer and I used to manage him before. We met up through Da Backwudz Project. They were a group in Atlanta a couple of years ago. He did the Playaz Circle “Hold Up” record and “God In The Building” for Killer Mike. He plays keys, sings, raps, does a lot of the melodies and produces as well. Ricky Fontaine plays a lot of the electric guitar that you hear. He also played the main riff for “Party Like A Rockstar.” And those two guys together are called iNDEED. We put out an EP in January and people have been pretty well responding to it so we are working on a follow up. We all perform together, but as far as just an actual group, that’s their thing. They rap, do all the vocals and sing.

And also The Professor, he’s part of the production crew too. He plays bass, engineers and produces as well. So we all got together and spent like a full year getting it in, five to six times a week, 12 hours a day. Just getting it in and working on beats. The initial vibe was just me coming in and playing samples like this is the vibe I want, this is the feel of the music I love. I was playing 50s records, 70s records, whatever. I was playing a wide variety of stuff, but I just wanted to get all of us on the same page.

Tell us about working on Gucci Mane’s first mixtape Chicken Talk. How did that come about?

I don’t know if you remember, but Dem Franchize Boyz had the “White Tee” record out talking about snap music. There was a record label called Never Again that came out with a remix called “Black Tee.” It was like a response record. He was actually one of the guys rapping on the song. When I called to holla at him about who was on the song or whatever, he was the one that picked up the phone and met with me. He made the whole remix by himself with all these other rappers you know Bun B and all these people. Like took all the other guys off the song, which I thought was hilarious but he played me “Icey” that night and we just kinda got talking. I think he put out “Icey” and stuff was going good, then I think he ended up going to jail for beating up the promoter with a pool stick and all types of crazy shit. So he finally got out and just kinda fell out of love with the label he was with at the time. I was telling him about mixtapes, like “yo, you can book shows.”

So you told him about doing mixtapes?

Yeah, definitely. It was around the time 50 Cent and all of them were doing it. Drama was slowly building his name but he wasn’t like that around. Rappers knew about mixtapes but they just thought it was a song on a mixtape. They didn’t know they could do a whole original album and it put out themselves and get it to the fans. That right there was a new concept. 

To them they only knew going to a label or putting out a real actual album just conventionally. I told him about doing shows and that kind of peaked his interest and like I said, when his relationship with the label soured he was like “yo, I’m ready.” So it took us like a month. He had a bunch of songs together already and I helped put it together like the tracklist. I even took the picture for the front cover. As a joke I put “Burn One Photography” in the background. So that was like the beginning of all that.
That mixtape really was the one that kicked off both of our careers. “Icey” was a big record for him but that made both of us like a household name. I can go to any hood, I can go anywhere and people will be like “yo, you did Gucci.”

What is he like as a person? He seems like such an interesting character.

He’s crazy as fuck. He’s like a modern day Rick James. He just does what he feels. I feel him on that too. He’s really fucking dope though, like a lot of people sleep on how dope he actually is. He’s a real lyrical guy. I’ve been in the studio with him and he’s freestyled, like pulled up a beat and rapped the entire length of the beat for four or five minutes. Not mess up one time freestyling and pull up another one and do it like six or seven times. Dropping amazing rhymes like you hear now, killing it. Very intelligent man, but he just flies by the seat of his pants kinda like how he feels in the moment too. So I feel that gets him into hot water sometimes. I’m sure we’ll definitely be chopping it up soon. I’ve been getting a lot of people hitting me up about doing something with him and I’m sure he’s been getting the same.

Gangsta Boo is featured on your Joints tape. How did you link up?

I met her probably like a year and a half ago. I was working with Jackie [Chain]. I gave him beat for that “Don’t Violate.” I came up with the idea to put the hook on there too and he had laid his verse and was trying to figure out who to get on it. He was the one that actually thought of Gangsta Boo. I think he had known her before and he called her to the studio. We just chopped it up. She was real cool man, she smashed it. I know she was just on Yelawolf’s album on the record with Eminem. Now I know she’s doing some mixtapes and other stuff right now, but yeah she was a big influence on me growing up. I loved all of 3-6 Mafia’s stuff, but definitely her first solo album was super dope.

She’s great.

Yeah she’s really dope. To me she’s probably my favorite female rapper. I mean there’s other talented ones, but I can’t think of one I’d rather listen to.

You also worked with A$AP Rocky for Live Love A$AP, what do you think of him emulating the South?

I think it’s dope, because I think with him it’s more of paying tribute and something he’s inspired by. Just like how I was inspired by 80s music or whatever else. It’s just where he drew inspiration from and I think that’s kind of what makes his stuff unique. If he was just hardcore on the hip-hop boom-bap shit who knows what we would we be saying right now. It’s just he found his way to put a twist on it. Some people say it’s biting, I don’t think it’s biting. It’s paying homage. He got real Southern producers, me and Beautiful Lou on the project. He reached out you know. If he had just done a bunch of East Coast producers it would have been whatever but I think its dope man. I really enjoy it. It’s a real enjoyable experience listening to the album, going to their shows. He’s just a real cool guy.

Cee-Lo reached out to you to work on the new Goodie Mob album?

My partner Cavi from LA, he’s actually working on it. He had played them some records I did for him and they really loved the records so I’m supposed to be going there with them pretty soon. That should be dope. I’m looking forward to that.

The other week you Tweeted “Cee-Lo said white people think 808s are offensive.”

[Laughs] That was just something I heard that I probably shouldn’t have Tweeted. But yeah man, that’s how it is. Probably to a certain point it is but I don’t even think it’s that deep. I think when you start thinking about certain sounds or whatever you’re just over thinking it. To me “Yeah” is the biggest white people song ever and that’s 808ed out, the Usher record with Lil Jon. Maybe its cause what they are trying to do now is totally different, like the live band, and I can respect that.

You’ve collaborated with a lot of white rappers: Rittz, Yelawolf, Bubba Sparxxx etc. What do you think of the increasing prominence of white people in rap?

I think the audience is just so much bigger now. There’s just so many kinds of audiences. I just think it gives more chances for more people to get their foot in the game and be accepted. In ’94 when gangsta rap was popular it probably wouldn’t have been as easy. There’s more exposure, hip-hop has become more mainstream, which just gives it a different audience. I think it’s really cool man, just gives the game more diversity.

What is Bubba Sparxxx doing right now? He kinda dropped off the map.

Bubba’s still out booking shows and he’s working on his new album now. I just talked to him probably about two months ago about doing some new stuff, so he’s probably going to lock in with me. That should be really dope. I think people really sleep on Bubba. I think it’s kind of a what have you done for me lately, kind of thing. He’s one of the dopest rappers ever to me.

Is there anyone in particular you are proud to have worked with or met?

Actually man, this is really a random thing. Have you ever heard of Dion? He was signed with Aftermath and he was on Game’s first album. He used to be signed with Hi-Tek. He was a singer. I’m going to say he’s from Detroit. He was on the “Ridin” song on 50 Cent’s first album, whatever the Hi-Tek record was on the second album. He’s done a bunch of other stuff. He was really one of the most gifted singers I’ve ever met. I truly think he has the chance to be the next Al Green, but I think he’s just floating around doing his thing right now. He’s amazing.

What is your Five Points brand?

I originally started it to be my production company just to do beats with and just to be our brand that we were pushing. But after the first year that we were doing beats together, Ricky and Walt would stay after our sessions and just do songs. One day they just played me like six or seven records and I was like wow this is really dope. You know, it’s different. I haven’t really heard it before. It’s definitely got its influences, but it’s an own thing by itself.
I ended up signing them as a group, as the first act on the Five Points music group. And then working with Scotty, I was kind of looking for a straight rapper cause iNDEED is definitely something different, they are instrumentalists. They sing, they rap as well but they do their own thing so I wanted just a pure rapper.

After I put out the Summer Dreams project with Scotty last August, just the vibe that we had, how people responded to the music, what the critics were saying, it was just a really good feel. It just kind of fit, like we were really a good match. I think he realized that too, so we decided to link up and have me come on as a producer and really take reins of his project too. So he’s in the family too. I’m not trying to be a big record label and sign everyone and their family, but I just really wanted to put out some stuff that I thought was dope and just kind of show the world my perspective of what I think is dope music.

What’s next after the tour?

I’m supposed to be going in with Big Boi as soon as I get off tour. Big Boi and Jeezy, those are like the main two I’m going in with. I’m sending more stuff to A$AP. They just reached out for his album. I’m working on Scotty and iNDEED, both of their new albums. Those are coming out crazy. We just dropped the SL Jones Paraphernalia project. I produced on that as well. After the Slumerican tour we about to start working on Rittz’s new album, which I am super excited about. Just stay tuned. We got a lot of new stuff coming. Oh, and I’m doing another instrumental album like The Ashtray!

Future ft DJ Infamous - Itchin'

  
 By Jimmy Ness and originally published at Passionweiss

Future’s best friends are his cash, calculator and accountant. The Dungeon Family affiliate joins Mike Will Made It for another hypnotic victory lap and their money multiplies. You know how it goes. As rap’s auto-tune flame keeper, Future favours charisma and song-writing over lyricism. Heavy bass and sharp keys support lyrics about his mom telling him to hit the streets, neighbors from hell and having guns/drugs as his two main hoes. The track’s not quite as hot as jams like “Magic” or “Parachute,” which have converted non-believers (myself included) into disciples, but it’s still catchy enough to be memorable.

The video is oddly cinematic and Future’s robotic vocals work well with the paranoid concept of hustling under surveillance. FBI agents follow him as he goes about his shady dealings, raps outside a dog cage and visits the Blue Flame strip club instead of remaining inconspicuous. Ludacris has a brief cameo in the video, but he needs to stay in the studio until he creates something which makes us forget about several shit albums in a row. A Birdman hand-rub would have been 100 times more powerful.

Despite only a minimal appearance, this is actually a song by Michigan’s DJ Infamous. He does whatever rap DJ’s usually do on tracks, which is pay for them and for that we should be thankful. There’s also an “Itchin’ Remix” floating around that features a motley crew consisting of Jeezy, Young Gotti and Fabolous. Their verses aren’t anything special and Jeezy probably feels weird about Gotti impersonating him on the same track. Plus they can’t swag rap better than Juicy J or Dos Chainz so stick to the original until one of them shouts some new similes.

Killer Mike Interview

By Jimmy Ness and originally published at HiphopCanada

Killer Mike destroys outdated clichés that Southern rappers are terrible lyricists who mistake swag for talent. The Atlanta MC covers strip-clubs, Reaganomics and police brutality without losing any of his ferocious delivery. Mike’s potent lyrics push the listener to improve themselves, and it’s tough to ignore his wealth of life experience.

After being taught the intricacies of selling drugs by his mother, Mike was making a living hustling until issues with the law forced him to turn his efforts toward music. His first break came from OutKast’s Big Boi and he’s since worked with numerous third coast legends including UGK, T.I, Three 6 Mafia and Dungeon Family.

At 37, Mike’s an outspoken individual with a passion for church, family and politics. But he’s no ageing hip-hop scholar reminiscing over dusty boom-bap records. His newest release R.A.P Music is a strong contender for album of the year and shares similarities with the Ice Cube classic AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted. Mike’s bellowing social commentary is backed by production from Brooklyn’s EL-P, who is a renowned underground rap figure himself. HipHopCanada spoke to Killer Mike before his Into The Wild Tour with EL-P, Mr Muthaphuckin eXquire and Despot,which touches down in Vancouver on Monday 2nd July. We chatted about meeting Notorious B.I.G, his new album and his friendship with Pimp C.

EL-P produced your latest album R.A.P Music, which is an interesting pairing considering he’s known for an underground East Coast sound and you’re from the South. How did you two link up?

I met EL-P through Jason Demarco, who works over at Williams Street Records and is a mutual friend of ours. He also had done some business with us, like putting me on a single, matching me up with Flying Lotus to do a song. He just asked if I would be willing to do a record over there. To do a record over there would give me the kind of freedom you don’t really get with other record companies. He asked if I wanted to do some cool experimental stuff and I said yeah.

The first producer he put me with was EL-P. I just quickly kinda fused with El and we started working on a whole record. Within that we became friends and made a classic record. We are probably going to continue to make music for most of our careers. 

Tell us about the creative process between you and EL-P making this record.

I had rented an apartment close to where he lived. I went to his house every day. We smoked our weed, he made beats and whatever came into my head I stood up and said on the microphone.

Your grandmother marched with Martin Luther King and your grandfather was a union member. Is politics something you’ve always been interested in?

I’d say from the level of social politics. Just doing what’s right for the community, so yeah in that aspect. My grandparents weren’t shmoozers in any aspect to any particular politicians, but they were very supportive of African American rights, worker’s rights. They made sure that we were politically aware and that my sisters and I were into voting, being part of the political process. It just made me more aware of the world around me.

One of my favourite quotes from R.A.P Music is “I believe that government should fear the people and not the other way around.” Tell us a bit more about this idea.

I honestly believe that unless the government is scared about the will of people, their moral compass is always off. I’m not saying that the people always have the right answers but I definitely think that the government is a representative of the people, for the people. If it’s only working on the behalf or for the interest of a small group, I don’t see the value in that government.

I believe the people should always be vigilant, making the government aware that at any given time a vote could happen. Revolution could happen. It doesn’t mean everybody picking up arms and wilding out, but it does mean we will vote for someone else. It won’t be the typical we will choose between the lesser of two evils. So I’m interested in seeing people grow that and just focus more on liberty instead of making a choice and joining political parties and their ideologies.

You also mention some unique subject matter like your father being a cop and loyalty to your wife, that’s not something the typical rapper would put in their music.

Well it should be. You know, I’ve never really learned how to be the personification of something I’ve created. I’m just me. I’m lucky enough to have people interested in me. And they like me. It interests people that my wife and I smoke weed, do business, take care of our children and still find time to go to the strip club and fuck around with girls and talk shit. You know, that’s some cool shit so people are interested in that. I don’t have to figure out a weird ass persona or other shit to give you. It’s just easier for me to give you me. I’m a man of complexities and contradictions and people are always looking to see how I balance it, because I believe everyone has certain inclinations that I have. I don’t hide. I just put me out there for people to see and it interests them, I’m fortunate in that.

What happened on the first night you recorded with Big Boi from OutKast? I heard you also met Gucci Mane.

We went to an old strip club. I had a homegirl that was dancing out there. She was helping me get the demo money and shit together. We all just went out there together on one of the first nights we hung out. They saw that I got treated like a man of respect. We got cool after that and I think I did “Snappin and Trappin” with Big that night and then later we did “Funkadelic.” Those were the first songs two we did together.

Gucci was there, he was rapping too. I mean everybody was in the streets but everybody was rapping too, trying to get out of the streets.

You decided to pursue music because your crew was facing major criminal charges?

I was a hustler, they were robbers. They robbed people. They got caught with someone in the trunk and they spent a year and half fighting the case. And they beat the case, it was like 40 years to life. I just used that time to get my mind sharp, start grinding. Forget about everything around me and get busy. It was at that point that I wanted to get out of the streets. I just knew that while they were gone, it wouldn’t be long before I ended up in someone’s trunk, you know.

OutKast, Bun B, Three 6 Mafia, Dungeon Family you have worked with some of the South’s most famous talent, was there anyone you were particularly impressed by?

I would just say you know being able to call 8 Ball, and being able to call Bun B and reach out to Pimp C and have MJG acknowledge my verse, it’s dope. It’s just an amazing feeling. It’s what I sat at high school and day dreamed about, rap. For me, getting that opportunity to be in the studio with Paul and Juicy and seeing the process of making a beat and putting cuts on records was just an honour for me.

I just feel like I’m a very fortunate fan and I’m a very capable MC. I brought a lot of honour to the South and I appreciate the slang, and I appreciate the respect I get because of that. Basically I’m just a rap fan and I get to compete, contest, to make music and to have fun with my heroes. That’s an amazing feeling every day.

You met Notorious B.I.G when you were younger?

Yeah like standing at the back of a warehouse when they were walking back. I was literally just like “oh shit, Biggie! What’s up? What’s up?” He gave me the blunt roach before he went into the club. I had to be like 17-19 maybe. It was at like the end of high school and beginning of college. It was before he had like all the way blown up, you know what I mean. It was when him and Nas were talked about in interviews, Puff was running around with Faith then. It was around the same time he was at one of the barbecues. He had popped and had a presence in Atlanta.

[Killer Mike is referring to a performance Notorious BIG did in Altanta in 1994 at OutKast’s Atlanta Barbecue music festival. Mike would have been 19 at the time.]

You also wrote to Pimp C while he was in prison and he visited you when he got out?

Yeah I wrote him while he was in prison and he wrote back and he visited me. He gave me a verse, but I don’t know if I’ll ever release it. I really felt love from him. He gave me some advice. I asked him “do you have any advice from me?” He just said “whatever you do man, it’s about how you rap. Rap like a drowning man fighting for air. You just gotta be on it. Be cool and all that. Nothing else matters, not your age, how long you been going or any of that. What you gotta do is just keep at it and keep going.” I appreciated him for it you know, I really do. He took time to talk to me. He helped me.

How do you feel about the growing popularity of the South? Earlier it was considered the downfall of rap music and acts like OutKast were famously getting booed in New York during the Source Awards.

I’m just glad that hip-hop is open to all possibilities. When that was going on in the South, it was like that hurt. It definitely hurt your feelings, but we knew what we were doing was dope. Same for the West Coast, same as I imagine for New York kids who started hip-hop when they were rallying up under disco. I’m just glad that some of the regional differences are gone. But with that said, I think it’s important that we maintain some of our regional differences so we don’t have this one homogenous style. We had to honour our greats and we did, and now we’ve reaped the rewards.

You haven’t been on a major label since your first album with Columbia in 2003, how was the transition into being independent? The internet wasn’t quite the music marketing success story it is now.

I’m happy. What I’ve been doing has been working for me so I’m fortunate. I don’t really put a lot of thought into what I was or how that experience was. I was what I was and I am what I am. What I am is respected and revered and in control of my own destiny. Rapping like a motherfucker. I like where I am, I appreciate it.

You decided to invest back into your community by opening a barber shop. What made you get into this business?

I think that the music is there and that our culture and society is there, so what better place. Rappers need to do something other than making new rap records and music, and start reinvesting in their community. And part of that reinvestment is owning things like barbershops, car washes and small stores. Paying back to where we are from. I’m very proud to be part of a group of people who has done that.

Tell us about the Into The Wild tour you’re bringing to Vancouver?

Yeah, the Into The Wild tour is Wild! Despot, Mr Muthaphuckin eXquire, Killer Mike and EL-P. We are just having a ball, we are all good friends and just going from city to city. I know that we just love the audiences out there and they get a chance to see, touch, taste and smell the music that they love.

What’s next after this tour?

Relax with the family and put out another album!

DJ Premier Live

Rap's greatest producer performed in Vancouver last night. I was pretty pumped to see the man who helped to craft Illmatic and it was a steal for only $15 bucks. Unfortunately, he started way too late and by the time he came through at 1am most of the audience excitement had morphed into mumbles of frustration. As the liquor flowed, people started either fighting or groping each other for entertainment. Premo blamed getting held up in customs, but that was 24 hours earlier so unless he was being waterboarded in a detention center there’s no excuse. His set wasn't overly creative or impressive either, only one Nas/B.I.G track and the usual influx of Gangstarr titles. Negativity aside, it's still a blessing to be in the presence of greatness and Premo’s holy appearance in the rap canon prevents me from further criticism.

Freddie Foxx performed as Bumpy Knuckles later in the night too, I'm not overly familiar with their collaboration project and I kind of assumed it would be dusty old-head boom bap but it was decent live.

P.S Does anyone know what happened to Afu-Ra?

Hit the jump for a few more (low quality) pics. Also look out for my interview with Killer Mike in the next few days.

 

 

No Malice - June

By Jimmy Ness

Hearing half of the Thornton brothers do anything other than spit vicious coke raps just seems wrong. Like a convicted murderer claiming their religion to the parole board, listening to Malice after his conversion to Christianity leaves a foul aftertaste. As part of the duo Clipse with his brother Pusha T, he was making drug rhymes menacing enough to give Rick Ross nightmares. And yes I’m aware Malice’s new name is No Malice, but like an ashamed parent I refuse to acknowledge this glaring mistake. 

June is the first track from Virginia’s new holy man and it’s the opposite of heavenly. The annoying Eric David sung chorus drowns the song and ruins any replay value. Malice brags about his past life then rhymes about being a changed man and supposedly hitting rock bottom. There’s nothing wrong with evolution if you’re got something specific to say. But without any personal detail this track lacks something to dig into. Rather than invoke past troubles (being afraid of catching AIDS), the 35 year-old offers tame lines like “trying to put my thing where I ain’t got no business.” It might just be a promotional single, but for the first record under your new identity, a captivating mission statement would help.

Far be it from me to dictate terms to an artist, but we know what the fans want. The Hell Hath No Fury reunion. Malice’s sincerity deserves credit, but rap’s not exactly a stranger to religious hypocrisy. From Nas to 2pac, dozens of MCs have invoked religion without limiting their subject matter. Even Eminem says he believes in god despite comparing himself to the face-eater Hannibal Lecter and giving teenagers a lifetime supply of shit jokes. No one wants to be preached to in rap form (see late period: KRS). Understandably, a lifetime of over-consumption must get exhausting. But people are always going to want/expect the raw from Clipse.

 

Rappers turning into holy men doesn’t exactly have a successful history and is a proven way to alienate your fanbase. Shyne became a crazy Rabbi, DMX’s Gospel album vanished, and MC Hammer made that terrible video about Jay-Z being the devil. The only example of religion being cool in rap is the Five Percent Nation and that’s because it’s like a secret club only Wu Tang, Nas and Busta Rhymes know about. 

Will Malice’s new album flop and have him joining the likes of Master P and Ma$e in rescinding faith for a career comeback? I’m probably assuming too much based off one track, but I have a sinking feeling the answer is yes.

Juicy J ft Lil Wayne - Bands Make Her Dance (Remix)

By Jimmy Ness and originally published at Passionweiss

2 Chainz, Drake, Future, Juicy J. Mike Will’s stellar production has steadily been tricking me into liking rappers I think I shouldn’t. My inner rap snob dies a little each time Juicy J’s strip club anthem knocks my ears, but this song’s just too good to ignore. Will’s first single from Est in 1989 Pt. 2 flicks between atmospheric keys and hand claps making it both ominous and thrilling.  (The rest is probably a little NSFW)

The “Bands Make Her Dance” remix is unchanged from the original except for a throwaway Lil Wayne verse. Luckily almost anyone would sound good over this cinematic beat (not Kreyashawn though, never that). Weezy uses the hilariously stupid name “Steven Spielnigga,” switches his flow slightly and thankfully doesn’t sing … much. “I make it rain on ya like a windowpane,” is a very lame metaphor though, and mentioning that stupid “Cashin Out” song should be illegal. Post-jail Wayne only receives a 3/5 grade and participation award for this rhyme.

Jordan Houston is still the star of the show and his chant raps work extremely well. The rap elder continues his strange comeback streak with a reworked a line from Blue Dream & Lean : “You say no to ratchet pussy, Juicy J can’t!” It’s particularly magical when he says “these chicks clapping and they ain’t using hands,” just as Mike Will’s slapping beat kicks in. Juicy also states that it’s not a strip club if there are no vaginas on display, which is hard to disagree with. This track should earn Juicy J a second Academy Award and Mike Will a free lap dance from Gangsta Boo.

Onra - Deep In The Night review

By Jimmy Ness

Deep In The Night crystallizes the cheesy but affable Romanticism of the pre-Internet world. Onra’s new EP replicates the vibe of 80s and early 90s R&B, well before it stagnated into a series of David Guetta remixes. This five-track project conjures images of Jheri Curls, New Jack Swing and synchronized dance moves — the post-disco sound complete with snappy drum beats and retro synths. There’s even an expertly played keyboard solo.

For an artist deeply inspired by nostalgia, the French Vietnamese beat-maker always experiments with new sounds and states his sole mission is progression. Yet vintage vocal samples stop the album from sounding too lonely. Rarely wading into the mainstream pop landscape, he lambently glides over funk, electro, rap, Chinese pop and even Bollywood.

Onra has vastly evolved beyond his 2006 debut, a soul-inspired hip-hop album that led to forced J Dilla comparisons. But he quickly shrugged that off when he distilled 30 vintage Chinese and Vietnamese vinyl records into the two-part Chinoiseries. People also lump him in the same category as Daft Punk because they are both French and like Funk, but Onra claims that he’s barely listened to them.

The new EP doesn’t quite match the retro revelry of the future funk of Onra's previous album Long Distance, probably because of its brief runtime and my appreciation for Earth, Wind and Fire over “Cooleyhighharmony.” But there are still some jams on here. After Hours sounds like a soundtrack to playing under sprinkling fire hydrants and the synth-heavy title song is the perfect companion to  Mobbdeen’s gay clubbing adventures. R&B hasn’t completely lost its charm.

 

Shady Blaze interview

Shady Blaze spits syllables like a Gatling gun and his rapid fire flows have 90s rap fans reminiscing over smoking sessions to “Thuggish Ruggish Bone.” Despite his close friendship with fellow Oakland natives Main Attrakionz, Blaze doesn’t just make cloud-rap or whatever else avid Tumblr users want to call it. Instead the Green Ova soldier works with a variety of producers to keep his sound in constant evolution. 

His early work (and by early I mean like a year ago) stuck to traditional themes of narcotics, guns and women. But he’s recently touched on NWO conspiracies, family issues and even flirted with slow rapping like regular humans. Despite terrible phone reception and my recording software threatening to kill the interview, we talked about him wanting be a singer, his rap influences, learning the speed flow technique and meeting Main Attrakionz. He also complimented me on my questions which was the perfect confidence boost for a hung-over Sunday.

By Jimmy Ness
 
There isn’t a lot about you on the internet, tell us about yourself?

Man, I’m from East Oakland, California. I’m 24 year’s old and I’m part of Green Ova Chapter Five. I’ve been rapping since I was a little kid. Just got serious with it when I was about 19 because Main Attrakionz really pushed me to keep doing this and here I am.

Where does your rap name come from?

At first my name was Velocity, because of how fast I was. After that, Shady Blaze basically came from my friends and the streets. Shady came from the part of East Oakland I lived in. It was off of 89th Avenue and that was known as the Shady eighties. I moved from there and basically I was known as Little Shady. Blaze came from when I used to produce and make hot beats. So I just put Shady Blaze together when I first created my Twitter, but my rap name at the time was Velocity. Then everyone just started calling me Shady Blaze so I just went with that.

How did you start rapping?

I’m not going to lie to you, at first I wanted to be a singer. When I was a little kid I wanted to sing. At the age of 11, I realized I wasn’t good enough to be a singer. I couldn’t sing for shit. Then when I moved to 89th Avenue in Oakland, I met a lot of friends there who were really into hip-hop and they kind of introduced me to it. I started copying them and writing raps and rapping on the street. We were making little songs on little cassette tapes. We would play an instrumental on another radio and record to it. We just played it to everyone and from there I’ve just been rapping ever since.

Did you come from a musical family?

My dad is a singer. He’s got his own studio. I didn’t really know him when I was little. I didn’t know anything about him. My mom happened to run into him again and I met him when I was 14 and he had a studio up and he was making his own music, he was doing shows and all of that. [The father of Shady Blaze is a traditional R&B singer named Supa Jay]

Who influenced your rapid-fire style?

It’s got to be Bone Thugs N Harmony. But when I first got hooked on rap, I was listening to a lot of Ca$h Money. Juvenile, BG, Lil Wayne, Young Turk, Big Tymers. That’s all I listened to.

Then I found a CD in my stepdad’s car and it was Bizzy Bone’s Heaven’z Movie. I was just going through it and listening like hmm let me just see what’s on here. And I listened to “When Thug’s Cry” and I didn’t know the song, but I recognized it so I listened again. I was like 14 year’s old at the time. The fast rap just caught me. I was like man this is incredible so I started listening to his other stuff. I took it to school one day and I’m like “ya’ll know this guy right here?” and they were like “yeah it’s Bizzy Bone, he’s from Bone Thugs N Harmony.”

My friends were telling me Bone Thugs N Harmony just dropped a new album called BTNHResurrection. So I went to the store fast and picked that up and became a big BTNH fan. I started buying all their old stuff Art Of War, East 1999, all of it, Faces Of Death. I’ve got everything. I just started listening to them and it just spoke to me. But then their fast rap kind put me on to Tech N9ne and Twista and D-Loc and Dalima and all those fast rappers. It just started catching me and then I started doing it.

Did people think you were copying or biting their style when you started rhyming fast?

I experienced a lot of it. At first it got to me. At first you want to click everybody that says something and start typing back to them fast and hit them back up. But at the same time, the deeper you get in the game the more people are gunna come at you. So you just have to start learning how to accept it, how to take it. I would just stick to myself.

People can stay he’s biting their style, he’s biting this style. But the game got to evolve man. They did their thing. They influenced me to do it, and want to be not like them, but to do music the way they did it. It’s cool to me. I love doing it. I love their style. I love the way they make their music. It makes me feel good when I’m making my own, you know what I mean?

How did you learn the fast rapping technique?

That’s crazy you asked that because I’m going to be real. When I first listened to Bone Thugs N Harmony, I was like they rap so fast! So I never understood what they were saying at first. But I just loved the way they did their thing and I started with Bizzy Bone. I had a cassette tape player, so I would record his CD to a tape. You could play it back and rewind it and slow it down, you could make it go slower. So I would write down each lyric he would say and as I would play it back at regular speed I would start rapping with him trying to see if I could keep up. At first it was hard, but as I started memorizing those words I started getting it down and I started writing my own fast raps after that.

You also slow down and rhyme normally on some of your tracks as well?

To be honest with you, it started in 2011 – when I actually started to rap fast. Before that I was rapping slow. That’s what is crazy. It all started because of my homie Squadda B from Main Attrakionz. He hit me up and was like “there’s a group out there called Children of the Corn and they remind me of your style.” I guess they were on some fast rap type of stuff. Then the next day he sent me a beat and I just started rapping fast. When we made the song it was called “Dirt On My Name.” After that, he just started sending me a bunch of beats and we made Shady Bambino.

It dropped February 2011 on greenovamusic.bandcamp.com and it was just fast raps on that. That’s what really put me out there. That’s what really got me noticed, Squadda B’s beats and the fast raps. So I stuck with it. I didn’t really go back to doing slow raps. But now and then, yeah I do slow raps. It depends on the beat and how I feel.

Do you make music full time or work on the side?

Nah, I do music full time. Actually I’m not even really making that much money to be honest. I’m not doing that many shows, but when you do a show you get paid this and that. Basically I’m living with my girl to be honest and she’s paying, she’s paying for the rent, she paying all that. I’m just going from studio to studio you know what I mean? I’m not working. I’m not doing anything. I’m just recording.

What do you think of the music scene in the Bay Area?

Right now, there are a lot of different styles in the Bay Area. It’s just our radio people are getting paid to play just one type of music. There are so many different styles and so many talented rappers that are not getting known and not getting looked at because they are coming up from nothing. Like Biggie and Pac and shit, we are coming from nothing right now but that’s not what the radio wants to see. They want to see people who have got the money already. People who have got the money to pay the radio stations to play their music over and over again. And people who are tying to come up don’t get noticed because of that. It kinda sucks out here, but that Hyphy shit was cool. That was a movement. The DJs were playing it all over.

How did you link up with Main Attrakionz?

I had just turned 15 year’s old. They were 12 when I met them. I met them through a friend. I produced at first, I didn’t rap. I had a keyboard and everything at my mom’s house in this little garage. One of my friends hit me up and was like “there are these two kids and they are dope at rapping, we are going to bring them over.” We went over there to pick them up and it was Squadda and Mondre. We came up with the name Main Attrakionz. We were all Main Attrakionz as a group. I didn’t see them again for about four years and when I met back up with them they were Main Attrakionz. They kept the name.

You guys mention Green Ova a lot and also release albums under the Green Ova name, what is it?

Green Ova is a family. You know what I mean? A bunch of guys, we grew up together and we trying to survive out here. No matter what we go through, we have to get money and make sure we are good. So that’s basically it. When you hear Green Ova that’s all you really need to know, get money and survive. Aint doing stupid stuff, getting locked up, getting into a beef situation or any of that. We are just doing us. The members of it are just Squadda B, Mondre, Dope G, LOLO and then me. That’s the Green Ova chapters, one to five.

As far as a record label, Main Attrakionz basically started this whole thing. If it wasn’t for them I basically wouldn’t be rapping right now, I’m going to be honest with you. I would not be rapping.

Producer Ryan Hemsworth said in an interview that you and Main Attrakionz were fastest working artists he knew. You went through a period of constantly dropping new albums but you’ve slowed down recently, why is that?

[Laughs] Oh man, you ask some good questions. The time when I was recording and dropping back to back mixtapes, I didn’t care about the mixing process. I didn’t care about any of that. I just wanted to get the songs out, you know what I mean? All of that backfired on me you know cause Shady Bambino was cool, it sounded good but Shady Business that was just awful. That was a half-ass album.

And then from all the blogs and the critics and everything, I learned that it was quality over quantity. You got to make sure your songs sound good before you put them out. I used to just put my songs out just because I did it, instead of putting time into it. That’s why we have to slow the writing process and make sure everything actually sounds good before we put it out for the public.

You touch on some political themes and personal stuff in your music?

It’s just me being real man. A lot of the times when I’m in the studio, I’m in there alone. It’s just me. I just sit in there listening to the beat for so long and I just start thinking there’s so much going on in the world today that shouldn’t be happening. Everything feels funny to me. Everything in the world when it comes to the radio, the videos, everything just looks so funny to me. If it’s funny, I just have to express myself and how I feel about it.

And my family, they go through problems as well. I don’t want to say that when you go through so many problems you write better music but it happens ya know?

You work with a lot of different producers?

I work with so many producers because I put my email on Twitter and everybody hits me up with beats. And there are so many feels and styles and so many different types of rap I can do. They are not out yet but they will be out. I don’t like sounding the same on a track, if you get a rapper that sounds the same on every track you get bored after a while. I love coming different and I love trying different things because if it’s boring for the public, it’s boring for me. So the only answer is to try something new.

You’re making a new mixtape with Deniro Farrar?

Yeah at first it was an EP, but with all the songs we got now it will be like a project.

Deniro said you haven’t actually met in person?

Yeah, we never met. Basically I was on the internet and his manager contacted me. He said he had a song with Deniro Farrar on it and it was the “NWO” track with [producer] Nem270. I listened to the verse and I was like this is deep, I should get with it. So I wrote my verse for it and after listening to the whole song I realized me and him had the same look on what was happening in the world, government and all of that. So we did a second song and I was like damn this chemistry is like really building up. So it’s crazy because he sees the same shit I see and he’s not even around me, he’s from the East Coast and I’m from over here, the West Coast. To see other people feel the same way I do, that’s deep. I feel like I’m not the only one. I don’t feel like I’m insane, like damn this shit is real. So we both make music and we might as well start this revolution. Get people to rock with us. Let’s do it.

What are the world views that you and Deniro share?

Fucked up government man. Shit isn’t fair for people. Some people starve, some people are hungry and poor as hell and then you got the rich people who don’t even pay for shit. Everything’s backwards in the world today man. I’m not saying I’m going to be on the one to put shit back together, but I’m not going to stand here and just watch it happen. I’m going speak my mind about it. I’m not trying to be a superhero or nothing, save the world and shit, I know I can’t do that. But at the same time, shit going on in the world is looking stupid man.

What do you want to achieve with your career?

I want to do this long term because I love doing it. I love being able to express myself in music and get paid for it, you feel me? At the end of the day it’s all fun, you can have the shows, you can have the videos. I’m going to be doing this for a long time for sure. I definitely don’t want to go to working in a warehouse or no McDonald’s making hotdogs or hamburgers and shit. This is definitely the real deal. Anyone that says they rap and they don’t want to make money off it, they lying. I for sure want to make this a career, this is cool.

Onra - L.O.V.E

Originally published at passionweiss
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By Jimmy Ness
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Onra’s latest strand of funk makes you feel like a baby-faced Prince still elegantly rocking crotch-hugging leather pants and frilly silk shirts. “L.O.V.E” has an obvious post-disco 80s influence with cloudy funk vocals, nostalgic synth-work, and beep-bop you’d imagine little green men grooving to. It’s the perfect soundtrack to hot weather, pool parties and driving a ragged convertible around Florida. Yes, I just described Miami Vice.
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The first leak from Onra’s forthcoming Fools Gold debut displays his evolution beyond the vintage boogie-funk of 2010 album Long Distance with half-spoken vocal samples and summer vibes. But the Vietnamese-Parisian producer doesn’t just make music for dance floor disciples. His Eastern inspired beat tapes Chinoiseries I & II contained unique Chinese vocal samples from the 50s and banged harder than a ninja assassin smoke grenade. The 30 year old has also drawn more than a few J Dilla comparisons by writers desperate to categorize his protean production.

If you’re a crappy Youtube artist thinking of adding vocals to “L.O.V.E” or any of Onra’s beats, please don’t. I’m wearing a tight pink suit and growing a puffy blonde mullet. I don’t want anyone to kill my excited preparation for Onra’s new opus.
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Waka Flocka Flame - Rooster in my 'Rari

Waka Flocka Flame - Rooster in my 'Rari

By Jimmy Ness

Originally published at

Passionweiss

This bangs so hard even the snarky elitists want to rip their cardigans off and smash stuff. Flocka shout raps to the roosters/chickenheads who sit in his Ferrari and try to sample the Flockaveli fortune. His opening acapella line sets things off nicely- “Pay for what girl? You better pay for this dick!”

Fozzie Bear is too busy for gold diggers when there’s stacks to throw, other groupies to sample and Xannies to chew. 

You already know what this sounds like: booming trap beats and basic yell-along lyrics. But that’s not a bad thing. No one wants to hear political Flocka raps unless they’re about getting crunk with Obama and breaking windows in the White House.

“Rooster in my ‘Rari” doesn’t push any musical boundaries, but it’s a nice fiesta from technical wordplay and aggressive social commentary. Especially if you’ve been bumping Killer Mike and EL-P’s albums this month like the rest of us. Flocka’s music is stupidly fun and if you ignore any Trey Songz collaborations,

Triple F Life

might be the soundtrack for summer rioting and two day hangovers. Waka still does gutter shit better than any of those Chicago high-schoolers.

Ab Soul - Empathy ft JaVonte and Alori Joh

Ab Soul takes a break from rapping about pills and dirty Sprite to channel the spirit of OG Nate Dogg. The Black Hippy grooves while ringing a booty call, tries his best to look like Wish Bone and wears sunglasses in the dark. With help from TDE affiliate JaVonte, Soulo sings a mellow tune and proves he’s more than a drug rap visionary.
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He briefly adds a few double-time bars to “Empathy” but mostly sticks to surprising you with smooth vocals. This isn’t an R&B croon-fest though. Brief psychedelic visuals and hypnotic repetition of the track title makes the song a little more unsettling than Chris Brown without handcuffs. This slow jam also comes with an important message: let Ab Soul hit it and he might spend that $700 a show money on you.
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Empathy also features Ab-Soul’s close friend Alori Joh, who passed away a few months ago. She was 25, attractive and appeared on several TDE releases. RIP Alori. If you’re chilling with Nate Dogg, can you tell him to swap places with French Montana?

Deniro Farrar - Play No Games

By Jimmy Ness

Smashed buildings, muddy water and sledgehammers. “Play No Games” is rugged imagery on a gritty and grey specrum. Deniro Farrar locks eyes with the viewer and rhymes about poverty. It’s an overused subject, but he speaks without a trace of pretentious bravado or corny consciousness.

No witty punchlines, no preachiness, no swag. Just compelling rhymes. Farrar wears a weathered sports cap and dirty boots as he raps about alcohol addiction and death. “Sick and tired of funerals and going to these wakes. Killing off each other, while they laugh in our face.” His raps are straightforward and his intentions are clear: he simply wants to tell his story.

Halifax producer Ryan Hemsworth’s thumping minimal beat is something you’d expect The Weekend to wail hipster drug tales over. Yet it somehow works for Farrar’s precise delivery. A haunting How To Dress Well sample repeats itself and the song reeks of hopelessness. As “Play No Games” ends, Deniro throws his hands in the air and walks away, having experienced the track’s despair personally in Charlotte’s housing projects. It’s struggle rap at its finest.

DJ Carnage Interview

Originally published at

Passionweiss

DJ Carnage is a young producer who doesn’t care about old school rap values. He’ll make authentic gutter music for grill wearers and annoy them next week with poppy dubstep. Sneaking on the internet radar after producing Kreyashawn’s collaboration with Theophilus London “Shrimp Pt.2”, his uniquely rhythmic bass obviously stood out and he’s continued to carve a creative sound, whether working with the A$AP crew or remixing Beyonce.The DC native is also a charismatic rapper who smiles in all of his music videos and swears too much during interviews. We talked on a fuzzy phone line about working with the A$AP Rocky, smelling manure in Maryland and his varied production style.

By Jimmy Ness

What have you been doing at Coachella?

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Man, I’ve been out here on the Borgore tour. You know, I’ve been on the bus with Document One and Borgore and we have been doing shows and shows and shows. One of the stops on Borgore’s tour is Coachella. We’ve been watching other shows too, it’s pretty cool. I watched Rehab yesterday. I also watched Feed me, Madeon, Afrojack and we watched Swedish House, oh and The Black Keys.

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I read on Twitter, you said Kendrick Lamar sounded a bit like DMX?

Kendrick ….uh yeah when he was rapping he was very grungy, I don’t know. I can’t do real hiphop music, like I can’t listen to it. It has to be fast or obnoxiously stupid or something. I don’t know, I just can’t sit there and listen to someone try to be lyrical. You know, I just can’t do it.

Tell us a little about yourself?

I’m from Maryland, DC. Umm I’m 21 and ah you know, fuckin’ living in LA now because there’s more shit to do than in Maryland. I was out in the country. There were too many fuckin’ cows, waking up every day with the smell of manure and shit. So that’s just how it is, I’m living in LA now. Fucking young ass just turned 21 in January.

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How did you start making music?

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My mom and my step-dad bought me a Studio Bible and it was when I was living in the country. I had nothing to do so I just fucked around on my computer and tried to do something with my life. I just started making beats and long after that I got good, and I moved to LA. Your production style is very diverse.

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How would you describe your sound?

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Honestly, I don’t know. My influences are weird. One day I want to make some trap ass gutter shit and listen to Gucci. Then the next day I want to make some Progressive House like Swedish House Mafia, or some random day I just want to make some motherfucking grungy ass dubstep or

something. My managers hate it too because I have to make some hiphop shit and I’m just not in the mood , I just wanna make some dance shit. Or one day I have to make some dance shit and I just want to make some weird-ass bass shit. I don’t know. It’s whatever the fuck I feel like, I need to change my work ethic but that’s how it is.

What is Trap-Step?

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Trap-step is a mixture of trap music, you know the snares and 808s. You know the entrance of a trap song then right before the verse is about to come on you drop some nasty sick ass tune. It’s like the best of both worlds. You get to hear some grungy ass shit that makes you want to grit your face and as soon as the drop comes on, you want to slap the shit out of the person next to you.

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A few years ago you flew to Hawaii and watched Kanye make a beat for My Dark Twisted Fantasy?

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Yeah it was my boy Lino who told me to go out there. I went out with him and he was like ‘yo lets chill with them.’ We went out there kicking it in Hawaii. Lino, this guy I’ve been working with for hella long, he’s a great rapper. We went there and watched them make beats for like an hour. It was weird, quick and fast but they made a lot. [Kanye] He was really nice. He was really passionate about everything.

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How do you and Kreyashawn know each other?

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I’ve known her because she used to fuck with the crew. Everybody from the Bay I used to fuck with. So we were just friends and shit cause we would Tweet, and Skype each other and talk on UStream. She fucked with Lil B and I fucked with Lil B. One day we were like yo let’s make a freestyle and shit, and from there we did “Shrimp”.

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What do you think about the hate she receives?

She’s a really cool and talented girl. I think people say the hype is leaving because she hasn’t dropped new music. But I’m quite excited to hear her album though.

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You also linked up with Theophilus London through Twitter and made the beat for “Big Spender” with A$AP Rocky?

Yeah we did, because of Kreyashawn.

I sent Theo the “Big Spender” beat around August or something, a long time ago. He went crazy over it. We finished it in Australia and I was like “when are we going to release it?” Then around January, this year, A$AP Rocky jumped on it. They didn’t finish it though so that’s why it took so long. Then we had to wait a couple of months to get the sample cleared, so that’s how it happened.

I met A$AP at South by Southwest but I think I’m going to meet A$AP today again at his show, him

and A$AP Ant.

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One of my favorite tracks you’ve produced is “Tell ya” with A$AP Ant and Bodega Bams. How did that come about?

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It’s really grimy. I usually don’t make music like that and it was one of those things where I randomly felt like making music like that. It was weird. I just felt like making some grimy ass shit. My boy Bodega I’ve known him for years and years, he’s my big brother, and he’s an incredible rapper. Whenever I make some grungy hiphop shit I always sent it to him cause you know, he does that New York type shit. He did it and then gave it to A$AP Ant. I didn’t know that then. He hopped on it and I heard it and it was sick as shit. Then they shot the video, everyone from A$AP heard it and they fucking pushed that shit. So that’s how Told Ya came about. I love the tune.

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Are you doing anything with the A$AP crew in the near future?

Yams hit me up and said that they wanted some tracks for the A$AP Mobb album so we talked about it and shit. You’re going to hear some new Carnage and A$AP soon. Some massive tunes.

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You also rap, is that something you do just for fun?

When I rap, yeah it’s for the fun. It’s really like I have nothing to do that day and I’m not inspired to make any beats. So I rap on some shit and people like it, so why not make more you know. A lot of people tell me they like the videos and all that because it’s really fun, like a really fun energy. And that’s how I want it to be, I want it to be like, it’s like whatever you know. But not in the whatever sense that people don’t take me seriously. I’ll tell you a secret. It’s kind of cool that I don’t take my rapping seriously because at the end of it, I know that my beats and my production is something serious. I like to fuck with people’s heads. So they hear my rapping and THEN hear my beats….. and they are like “fuck is he actually a genius?”

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What do you want to achieve from your career?

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I want to be known as a legend. I want people to see me and be like “this guy is like remarkable.” I want to be on the Daft Punk, Timberland or Dr Dre level. I want to be known, you know. That’s my goal in life, to be one of those people that when I walk in front of other people there is a whole mob everywhere, like wow! Like they are in awe. That’s what drives me. Every single time I go to a show I’m pissed off because I haven’t reached that level yet, so it makes me work harder.