Last year my friend Spencer told me about an album he loved called Digital Lows by a rapper from Memphis named Cities Aviv. And I remember thinking “Cities Aviv is a rapper?” The name “Cities Aviv” was in my mind because I had seen his album on Pitchfork. The cover art and the name “Cities Aviv” made me think it was pretty far from rap. I just completely judged its genre by the cover.

Luckily, I took Spencer’s advice and gave Digital Lows a listen it really amazed me. Cities a.k.a Gavin Mays has a unique voice and sound and the album addresses all kinds of ideas from the very positive stuff to the very negative with a lot of skill and creativity. I talked with Cities Aviv via phone about his upcoming album, The Illuminati, Kickin People through walls, “Surfing,” and more…

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Nick Vogt: You were doing punk and hardcore before you started rapping, right? How did you make that transition from doing different music into rapping and into the “hip hop world?”

Cities Aviv: I feel like it was a pretty easy transition just because with punk and harcore you can be just as like “seemingly talentless” as you can be in rap [laughs] so, as opposed to yelling over crunchy guitars I’m now yelling over crunchy beats.

Is any of your pre-rap music online? No one ever links to it when they write about you. They just say you used to be in punk bands. So, I’m curious…Maybe it’s “secret?”

CA: It’s ultra secret. Ultra rare…no, I feel like it’s not talked about on purpose because it sucks [laughs]. Everyone fucks around with music in their younger years and shit. I just feel like it’s one of those things that hasn’t really influenced what I’ve done much except gear me to play. It hasn’t influenced my music much except for the performance aspect.

Yeah that makes sense. When you were in bands did you play instruments and do vocals? Or was it just vocals?

CA: No, I just did vocals. I tried to stay away from any instruments. I’m really bad at them.

But, you make beats, right? I mean computer music is pretty different than playing instruments, but it’s not so different…

CA: I make beats here and there. I try not to consider myself a producer much. I think I’m very novice at it. I just pick random sounds and try to mash them to how I’d wanna hear it sound. It is very computer based. I have some gear, but not much. I try to keep it very minimal.

How much production did you do for Digital Lows?

CA: I didn’t produce much. I didn’t even do it under my name. I put them on there under a different name. That way if people thought it sucked they wouldn’t think I suck. They’d just think “this producer I don’t even know really sucks!” [Laughs] But, yeah I did a few beats on Digital Lows. I think I’m gonna produce more for my new stuff, though. A lot of people have been sending me beats, but I feel like that’s just their interpretation of what Cities Aviv is. Which, nine times out of ten, is wrong [Laughs].

You’ve had like two singles since Digital Lows, right? “Flex Yr Gold” and “Normal Immortal.” Are those both your beats?

CA: Yeah I did the beats for those two. For those tracks I already had the idea for how I wanted them to sound… It’s so fucking hard to describe a “produced beat” [laughs] but, yeah I’m glad I put “Normal Immortal” out. I initially wasn’t gonna put it out, but then I threw it on the internet. I laughed when I saw people saying “This is like Death Grips noise rap” which is just hilarious to me.

I think the Pitchfork write-up for “Normal Immortal” described your vocals as “Blown Out” which is a pretty good description. It’s hard to make out anything you say on that and on “Flex Yr Gold,” too. What was your intention behind doing such “Blown Out” vocals?

CA: When we recorded “Flex Yr Gold” I recorded with a KOAS pad into a Karaoke machine that we put a mic up to. I wanted to do it that way because it’s not just about me rapping over a beat. It’s about the whole body of work. A lot of times I like to throw the vocals in there amongst the other shit that’s going on. You have to listen harder to hear them. A lot of people are saying “I don’t like the vocals. I think that sounds bad.” Those are the people don’t want listening to my music. It just kinda weeds out what I like are “lazy listeners,” people who I feel are just tryna jump onto “wave rap” or whatever’s popular now. It’s kinda the “art of diversion” [laughs]

I think that Digital Lows does have some similarities to “wave rap,” and what a lot of people are doing now, but it’s unique for sure. That’s why I like it. I think the album kind of has an old soul, dude. I feel like it’s very connected to what I might call “Traditional Hip Hop.”

CA: Yeah, everything about that album was gearing around nostalgia, but also moving forward. But, when I was writing it I didn’t intend for anyone to hear it how it was heard. I didn’t think it would leave Memphis or leave a very small circle of people on the Internet. A lot of people have latched onto it. But, I’m over Digital Lows. I can’t bear to even listen to it. But, I think that “nostalgic feel” is why people have liked it and can connect to it.

Something else I really like about Digital Lows is your lyrics. I think your lyrics also really set you apart from other rappers in this generation I think. Your lyrics are very insightful and thoughtful at a time when a lot of rappers aren’t going for that. I don’t wanna use the word “Lyrical” to describe your stuff, but—

CA: Yeah, I hate the word “lyrical.” I feel like people think “Oh, that’s a good word! That’s five syllables!” [Laughs] I feel like the lyrics on Digital Lows are pretty amateur. I think I’ve grown as a writer. But, at the same time, when I made the album I wanted it to have it’s own sound. I wanted it to be “sloppy” in a way. There’s this new wave where everyone’s going toward the “Trap” direction. Everyone wants to be a “Southern Rapper” even though their from different parts of the world. I don’t wanna be one of these rappers vomiting out a mixtape every week that sounds the same as everything else. I wanted to be different than those guys [laughs]

And that’s funny because you’re actually from The South. Not only that, but you’re from Memphis. I love Spaceghost, so I don’t mean to knock him by saying this, but most of his sound is bringing back the classic Memphis rap…Three Six to be specific. Memphis as a “hip hop city” is almost bigger now that it ever was.

CA: It’s everywhere now. I like to call it “Memphis Fetish Rap.” A lot of people are all about Memphis, but they’ve never been here in their lives. I wonder how long it’s gonna go before people are over it? To be honest the old Memphis rap shit is amazing. And it’s very influential. There isn’t other music that sounds like that. Memphis is a very dark place. It’s like this weird, alternate dimension that people kind of forgot about. But, now, everyone’s remembered Memphis exists for some reason.

That being said, you have a lot of things that…well, that almost fabricate the Memphis sound. A lot of the time it’s contrived when people throw out “Yeah I’m so into the occult shit! I’m so into the Memphis shit!” I’m like “Get the fuck outta here.” I’m not even gonna front like I’m carrying a torch for Memphis or anything. I personally don’t care. But, at the same time, it’s cool people appreciate Memphis. I just want people to appreciate it for the right reasons. It’s not cool when people say “oh, this is a new wave thing I’m gonna jump on it.” And they have no idea about Memphis rap at all.

Hit the jump for the rest!

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If you have been living in a cave/off the grid/under a rock since 2002 and have never heard of DJ Hell or International Deejay Gigolo Records, then you may have missed out on some of the most exciting music of the last ten years. Of all the music that came out on Gigolo (Zombie Nation, Detroit techno legend Jeff Mills, Fischerspooner, Miss Kittin & The Hacker), CROSSOVER stand out for their intense darkness. This influential electronic darkness has sent aftershocks so forceful they ripple into the current grave wave and witch house scenes.

Originally hailing from New York City, VEE & DEZ have worked in Berlin and are presently based in Los Angeles. Some fruits of their labor include extensive European tours, performing with NY’s legendary Suicide and an ongoing collaborative affair with Mater Suspiria Vision. CROSSOVER (now joined by 3rd member TLG) spent 2010 -2011 writing and recording the songs for the new album GLOOM and are thrilled to see it’s dawning in 2012. Me and Australian Witch House radio host Theway Peoplestare caught up with Crossover for a mind-blowing interview. Most importantly, CROSSOVER talks about their coveted fourth full-length album GLOOM (available now for pre-order from Desire Records France).

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TXTBK/Theway Peoplestare: Crossover. How did the name come about? Where did it come from and what does it mean?

Crossover: Hailz n thnx for the interest n svpport ov the CROSS. Also for this opportvnity for vs to spread the verb. We r from the other side ov the trax. We have alwayz been on the wrong side ov what ever side there waz. We r torch bearers for the ovtsider n the vnderdog. We have a morbid infatvation with death, the svper natvral, n the paranormal. CROSSOVER to the other side, to the unknown, the beyond realm, see what’s vnder the veil, look behind the cvrtain, jvst after the gate, and thrv the door. CROSSOVER is a synthesis ov esoteric existential absurdism. TVRN IT VPSIDE DOWN!

You have defined your sound as Gloom for years, now it has manifested as the new album title. What’s the significance there?

CROSS: GLOOM has finally become us. It had taken over and can now be defined. Cold, n grey – clovds n rain. Ovr wingz r big – we svrrovnd u. We have evolved from COZMIK to GLOOM to DARKBEAT!!!

GLOOM is coming out on Desire Records, alongside bands such as //TENSE//, Mass and Newclear Waves. How much does a label’s catalogue influence your decision to release with them? Why did you choose Desire? What goes into developing & maintaining a relationship with a record label? What do you look for in a record label?

CROSS: The aforementioned bandz rvle! We wanted to release ovr muzik with a handz on label that vnderstandz what we do. Desire have been nvthing bvt svpportive and that is what matters. Desire also has a very diverse roster which we think is important for it’s growth. One thing that we have fovnd thvs far is, vnlike other labels that r looking for the “next thing”, we get the sense that the label wants to have loyalty to their artists and develop long standing artistic n pro relationships with them. This is rare these dayz. We were intrigved with their approach with us and interested in the fact that they are a new an vp and cvming label.

You have been leaking tracks from a remix album in the works. What does collaborating bring to the GLOOM release and how do you know when a submitted remix has hit the aesthetic mark soundwise?

CROSS: Over the yearz we had no interest in collaborating. We wanted to make a clear statement with ovr sovnd, style, and ideology. Now after having been at for so long we felt that it waz time. We selected each artist for the RMX’s and in doing so we knew there wovld be no mistake. Not one one has been amiss. We have been so provd n honored with all their werk. A CROSSVER RMX needz to be trve to the artists own style, needz to be pvre in attack when considering the CROSSOVER sovnd, & mvst be dark, sad, n haunting. No one is a stranger to the melancholy. We think it is so beautifvl.

Other than the remix album, are there any collaborations in the pipeline?

CROSS: Ovr ongoing collaboration with Mater Suspiria Vision will bear more frvit in the cvming months.

GLOOM seems to exist in a surreal dream-world, almost like a trite black comedy. How do you transform parody into composition that resonates true sentiment of the human condition?

CROSS: With CROSSOVER there r 2 wvrldz, ovrz and the one everybody else exists in. We speak from both. We live and breathe this and in no way r ovr songz mere artistic abstractions. They may be in code and and gvised at times bvt, these r stories from ovr experience. Each wvrd, phrase, n verse reflects svmthing that has happened to us.

Tell us about the geometric symbol accompanying the GLOOM release?

CROSS: This is the CROSSOVER Symbol, we developed it over the past 2 yearz while writing and recording the songz for GLOOM. It’s real name and meaning r soon to be revealed. We r in the process ov finishing a book which will go into detail abovt it’s properties and potential. It is a magical 7 pointed diagram that from now vntil the end ov time will be associated with CROSSOVER and ovr werk: sovnd, style, n ideology – The M/T.A. The W.L.F., & The OxOxTxBxHxMx! At first glance it’s a dovble pentagram ~ twice the eevil! It’s the badge ov Gloom that wear close to ovr hearts. LOVE / 616 / EVOL / F / GOD / 73 / DOGS / STARS / I / RATS / SENEX / SEX / MAGIC / 6 / SLUT / LUST / 77 / 333 / I 6 9 F / 11:34

I still run into people who are obsessed with the International Deejay Gigolos releases (“OMG, I LOVE Phostographt!!”). How was it to be on Gigolo during the electro heyday and how did you hook up with DJ Hell?

CROSS: It waz a fvckin’ blast and a lot ov werk! Ovr albvm Fantasmo waz already ovt a year before it’s release in 2002 and waz making it’s way in the NYC UG. The Limelight saw it’s re-opening n Hell waz playin’ records. V & I went to check it ovt. We approached him in the DJ booth and handed him a copy. A week later he called and it waz done. 3 Months later, debvt dovble LP & CD n we were off on tovr all over the EU. V & I had never been ina band before and we sold 20,000 copies on paper. Not bad for a covple ov kidz. Hell introdvced ovr muzik to Europe by playing Lady Dragon Slayer in his sets which for the electro/techno scene waza head fvk.

Tell us about your memories of the first ever live Crossover show.

CROSS: Ovr first show waz in at the WMF Clvb in Berlin dvring the Love Parade weekend.We had cvm from Jvpiter, Florida where we decided to hide ovt, rehearse and get prepared for tovr.

Once on the EU shores it waz a whirlwind. We played with Hell and opened for Fischerspooner. On the eve ov ovr show we were at a gallery opening party that label had pvt on and V and I were qvite nervous. We held vp ina corner and were anxious to get to sovnd check. Hell and the label manager came over to say hi and  see how we were doin’. We told them we had never performed before so we were a lil on edge.

Hell smiled and said, “no, bvt really, u gvyz have done gigz arovnd NYC right?”  We said “uh, no, really we haven’t” with a lil giggle. He lavghed, while the label managers jaw dropped and looked like he had seen a ghost. We were then whisked off to sovndcheck ina black BMW. We went on at 2:00 AM to a packed haus and it went withovt a hitch. I will never forget how it felt to step onto the stage for that first time. We covldn’t see a thing cvz ov the fog machine bvt as soon as the avdience cavght a glimpse ov us they went nutz. Everyone waz so welcoming and xcited.

I know a lot of people want to see you guys perform live. Are there touring plans in the future?

CROSS: Yes, all we wanna do is tovr! We r gathering eqviptment and rehearsing.  It has been qviet svmtime so, it will be a retvrn to the stage ina way. We r werkin’ with light n visvalz and will bring all the CROSSOVER Regaila with us. We will perform songz from all 4 albvmz and also new stvff!

How do you look back on the early releases compared to GLOOM? Give us some insight into the evolution of Crossover?

CROSS: We have a master plan and have taken steps with each albvm to progress towardz ovr vltimate goal. We constantly take in new places, thingz, muzik, movies, art, boox, natvre, cities then pvt all ovr experience into ovr muzik n artwerk. For vs it so xciting to kno there is always svmthing that we have yet to discover that we can obsess over and draw inspiration from.

Jvst when one thinx they have seen and heard it all, svmthing amazing new or old sparx ovr interest and we sap it. So in this way we r alwayz evolving and becoming. We think ovr sovnd get’s heavier, dirtier, and more raw eventho ovr prodvction skillz greaten.

Hit the jump for the rest!

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A few months back a friend of mine sent me a link to Lushlife’s “She’s A Buddhist, I’m A Cubist.” And I loved it right away. It reminded me of an older time in Hip Hop, but it also sounded like no other Hip Hop I’ve heard. I checked Lushlife’s excellent “No More Golden Days” mixtape after that and I knew Lushlife was something special.

Recently I went to a Shabazz Palaces show and was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the opener was Lushlife. His live show is even more impressive than his recorded music (more on that later). Right after the show I wrote to him and asked if he’d want to do an interview. We talked over the phone a day before the release of his new album Plateau Vision about the power of titles, music as a language, “Whole Foods Spirituality” and more…

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Nick Vogt: How did you get started making music?

Lushlife: Before I was producing records and rapping I was DJing. My parents got me turntables when I was 11 or so. I was collecting Hip Hop records. And I was playing in the school jazz band. I was listening to the Hip Hop shit that sampled jazz at the time like Tribe Called Quest. Slowly, through the DJing, I got into producing records. I started rapping later on when I was like 20 years old.

Your sound on a lot of your songs is closer to that era of Hip Hop, the Tribe era, than a lot of other current stuff. And when I saw you live you even covered “Dead Presidents.” Do you think you have a more classic Hip Hop style?

Lushlife: I have like two conflicting sources inside me. Part of it is that I grew up with that classic 90s stuff. But, at the same time, I don’t wanna just be another dude making throwback Hip Hop in 2012. I definitely try to bring that ‘90s spirit into what I do. But, I also like to think that with everything I also take a step in another direction as well.

Yeah I guess you do kind of have a balance between more “modern” sounding songs and more “classic” stuff. A track like “Still I Hear The Word Progress” has a pretty “modern” beat and the way you rap on it is like that, too actually. 

Lushlife: Totally. With that track I was probably more influenced by Timbaland and Crystal Castles than anything.

Right yeah it’s got that 8bit stuff on it. And Styles P is featured on “Still I Hear The Word Progress.” That’s kind of an unlikely collab. He’s a legend. I think it’s cool he was willing to work with someone like you who’s more in the underground and on the come-up.

Lushlife: In terms of that track I really wanted to get someone from that really hard rock, ‘90s era Hip Hop. When we first approached him he actually wasn’t totally committed. But, I played him the track and then he was on board. We’re talking about doing other stuff.

Oh cool.

Lushlife: With all of the features I’m not just putting someone on a song for name recognition. It’s because I think they can bring something to the track that I can’t. Clearly I’m not “Yonkers Hard Rock Supergangster” so, Styles P really brought something different to the song.

Yeah I think it works really well. He’s interesting because I feel like he’s always done stuff that’s kind of unexpected. I remember hearing him on a Roots song once doing this really conscious verse that totally surprised me. But, he’s great on it. It’s crazy to me how he can do a conscious song with The Roots and then he can also do songs about selling drugs with Rick Ross. He seems like a cool guy.

Lushlife: Totally. I appreciate that he goes out of his comfort zone a lot. And you can’t say that about a lot of other guys in his sphere.

Right. You’ve got some other pretty big guests on the album, too. Dice Raw (speaking of The Roots), Heems from Das Racist, Cities Aviv…

Lushlife: Yeah with each relationship it’s kind of a little different. Sometimes I’d have to go through an artist’s management and not even talk to them before we did the track. With some other artists it was via direct message on Twitter. With Cities I just kinda hit him up. We had been talking for a long time. After a few months we decided to do that song together.

Have you thought about doing production for other artists? Or do you mostly just make beats for your own songs?

Lushlife: My management is always pushing me to produce for other people. I’m starting to do some. The thing is that I’ve always made beats for myself. I know a lot of other Hip Hop producers who just make beats all day. If you ask them “hey, can I get some beats?” they’ll play you like 20 or 30 tracks. I kind of approach it more like a songwriter. I’m usually just making a particular beat for a particular song. I never have a CD with like 40 beats that people can listen to and pick one out. People are coming to me to ask for production stuff. I like producing for people specifically because it makes more sense. I can be like “This is for person X, I know their flow…” and I can custom-make the beat.

Right. So, you don’t have like “beats on deck.”

Lushlife: Yeah that’s not how I operate. I’d rather make specific beats for a specific rapper or a specific singer. I can’t just sit around and loop up samples and make beats all day. That’s just not me.

Speaking of singing, I didn’t know that was you singing on some of your songs. I thought it was all samples. But, when I saw your perform I realized you’re actually singing. Which is cool.

Lushlife: I sing where it fits. I’m not trying to transition into R&B. I don’t plan on making any Lushlife tracks with no rapping and just singing. A lot of it happens just from circumstance. I want singing on something, but I don’t wanna have to work with somebody else’s schedule. So, if I can hack it I’ll just do the singing.

Yeah a lot of rappers have told me they’ve sung hooks or whatever out of necessity like that. Changing the subject a bit: do you see your self as a part of a real “scene” in Philly? There’s a lot of Hip Hop there.

Lushlife: I’m a part of it to some degree. The music scene in Philly is pretty tight-knit. I’ve met people just from being out and about playing shows. To be honest with you I’m kinda just a stay-at-home, “do my own thing” kinda dude. I don’t go out to tons of Hip Hop events. I like to be in the studio and make my records.

Hit the jump for the rest!

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What first got me interested in Sky Lexington was that I saw he was a member of Raider Klan. Now, I don’t follow just anyone with “KLVN” in front of their handle on Twitter. But, Sky’s cool name coupled with his Raider afilliation got me to click the “follow” button for sure.

A few days later I heard his song “Seal Of Skyland” and was really impressed by how groovy it is. And the video is an amazing use of old Sailor Moon footage and psychedelic graphics. “Skyland” is produced by Freebase from Metro Zu, but Sky Lexington produces his own beats, too. I first heard Sky’s wavy, unique  beats on a few tracks on Eddy Baker’s Saul Silver EP and that’s when I knew Sky Lexington was somebody special. I talked with Mr. Lexington via phone about comic books, magnetic fields, being a misfit, how he responds to negative feedback on his music and more…

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Nick Vogt: What’s the Sky Lexington origin story?

Sky Lexington: I started making music when I was around 10 or 11. Just bored in my room. I didn’t do sports and stuff. I kinda stayed to myself. So, music was just my outlet. I’d listen to all of the rappers my sister did. I had an older sister. I did a lot of research. I went back and listened to the music of the 90s era. It felt really natural to have Snoop and Dr. Dre around. But, I got really heavy into rap when I heard Master P. When I’d listen to Snoop I was like “I can’t rap like him!” But, Master P made it sound so easy, so natural. And Master P was putting out albums EVERY WEEK! I thought: “I can do this, too!” My mom bought me a karaoke set. I didn’t even know how to record. Like I didn’t know how to record on tapes. I’d take old tapes, break the little seal on them and put in a piece of tissue so I could record on them.

What sorts of tapes would you use?

SL: Oh, just old tapes. Stuff my mom had laying around the house. R. Kelly and stuff like that. Something they’d play on the radio. I’d record over it and take it to school. I was one of the first rappers in my age group bringing my music to school. I was in like the 5^th grade when I was doing this. I was just a kid! And then like in 2003 I was introduced to studios and stuff. From then on I was in a studio. And it got to the point where I was looking for a lot of instrumentals. And I was like “I’m tired of rapping on other peoples beats!” So, I got Fruity Loops to make my own beats.

Do you still use Fruity Loops?

SL: Yeah. I feel like I’ve mastered it. I started out on Fruity Loops 4 and Fruity Loops is on 10 now.

Wow. You’ve been making beats for a long time then. You have a really unique style of production. Was it always that way? Or do you think your production style has changed and evolved over time into what it is now?

SL: Back when I first started I was listening to a lot of Dipset. I used to try to make beats exactly like Dipset or Kanye West. Because at the time Rocafella was in. But, I got to the point where I could make my own sound. And I would try to think outside the box and make my own thing. But, I used to get so much negative feedback on my beats I decided to do as much weirded out kinda music to get more negative feedback. I wanted people to talk about me. I got a formula: the more negativity people give you, the more you gotta get them to talk about you.

Even if people say you’re bad they’re talking about you. And people talking about you isn’t a bad thing. I was kinda used to negativity I was always the kid who “didn’t fit in.” I never really got bullied, but people would say “Oh, you weird.” Or, “You kinda lame.” Or “I don’t like your shoes.” You know? High School kinda changed it for me though. A lot of people started realizing like “damn, this kid’s serious!” I didn’t play football or basketball. But, people were listening to my music. Music is kinda what got people to know me in my city. I feel like it’s kinda my destiny to make music.

I think it’s interesting you said your beats got weirder the more negative feedback you got.

SL: Right. I didn’t wanna make beats that sounded like what other rappers were using in my city because those kids didn’t really mess with me. I realized my uniqueness and my weirdness was my strongest ability.

How did you get involved with Raider Klan?

SL: It’s kinda weird how that happened. Eddy Baker is one of my best friends. He and Spaceghost and Matt Stoops and Smurfo are really good friends. Eddy knew Matt and Smurfo. He linked Spaceghost and Smurfo together in Atalanda and they’ve been cool ever since. That’s when Raider Klan really took off. That’s when people started to know what it was. For me, what Spaceghost represents, what Raider Klan represents is what I’ve been doing my whole life. I’ve always been that kid who never tried to fit in and do what I wanted to do anyway. I read a lot of books and stuff, you know? And Eddy Baker told me “Damn, you remind me of Spaceghost the way you be droppin knowledge and stuff!” But, anyway, it wasn’t like “right away” that I joined Raider Klan. I had to be accepted. It’s kinda like a fraternity.

Really?

SL: Oh yeah. It’s a real brotherhood. It’s no joke. A lot of people look at Raider Klan like this huge thing and nobody can figure out who’s who. But, the real members know’s really in Raider Klan. It’s a chain of friends. We’re friends across the United States.

Yeah definitely. Eddy Baker is in L.A and Spaceghost is in Miami, Matt is in NYC and Smurfo is in Atlanta…And there are other Raiders all over the country…How did you meet Eddy Baker originally since he lives pretty far from Michigan?

SL: I started getting into the LA scene in like 2009. And I met Brandun DeShay over the internet. He’s like an ex-member of Odd Future. He’s from Chicago. I was always on Myspace and I always knew about up-and-coming stuff. Like I knew about Tyga before he was big. I knew about Wiz before he was on. I knew about these people before there were big stars. And then Mysapce crashed. Everybody moved to Twitter. But, at first I had no idea how to use Twitter. But, I eventually started talking with Brandun DeShay on there. And he was involved with the LA scene especially with Odd Future and all that. I’m the type that if I like your music I’ll ask you to collab. I’ll ask like “do you want a beat?”

I just saw Brandun’s pure talent like “Oh, this guy is good.” I sent him some beats and he sent me some stuff. We started working back and forth like that. I was like “Damn, we’re kinda doing the same thing.” I knew about Odd Future and all of them, but I wasn’t real cool with them. I was on a lower level on the food chain. They were on the comeup more. Me and Brandun had a kinda similar sound to Odd Future, but we were in a very different mode. Because of Brandun I went out to LA and I was out there just doing shows and trying to meet people. That’s one thing about me: I’m not afraid to introduce myself to people.

Yeah that’s important. And you met Eddy Baker in LA?

SL: Yeah. The real person that kinda linked me and Eddy was Speakz. Speakz kinda bridged the gap. He knew Spaceghost and all that. He was telling us “you guys are gonna be someone special one day.” In LA we just kinda hung around him. We’d go to the parties and stuff.

Speakz is really cool. He seems like he walks in two worlds sorta. He works with people above ground and people underground, too. It’s cool he helped you out.

SL: He’s kinda like the godfather of the whole scene. He’s kinda like a mentor to a lot of the kids. I can say how I met Eddy and I can say how I met Speakz. But, this stuff is beyond physical. This is kinda just how the universe is working I think. It’s weird how stuff works out. But, it’s all working out for a reason. And this is what I always tell Eddy: “All this stuff was meant to be!” I didn’t know I was gonna meet Spaceghost. I didn’t even know Speakz and Odd Future had the connection they have.

Do you think people in hip hop are more connected now than ever before?

SL: Yeah. It reminds me of the ‘90s a little bit. Like when I’d look at the Source Awards and stuff. Even though there was an East Coast and West Coast beef all of these artists would somehow mess with each other. You’d hear Tupac and Method Man on a song even though Method Man was from New York.

Oh yeah and something like that Outkast and Raekwon collab was kind of unexpected, too.

SL: Right. Different cultures. That’s what Raider Klan is. We’ve got people from ever coast. We wanna bring ever flavor. Spaceghost, Denzel Curry, Simmie and everyone from Miami is bring that real trill sound. That Lord Infamous, Project Pat sound. That real underground southern sound. Then you’ve got Eddy Baker who’s bringing that chill, G-funk sound from the West Coast. He’s got that stoner image a little bit. Then you’ve got me. I’m up North. I make a lot of beats. I rap, too. I try to bring that real Hip Hop feel. That J Dilla, Slum Village. That real Michigan feel. I’m basically just playing my part. I’m not trying to compete with any of my Klan brothers.

It seems like that’s how the Klan’s working. Everyone’s coming up together. At the same time. Spaceghost obviously has the most fame. But, he still works hard to make sure he’s promoting the other Raiders.

SL: To be honest Spaceghost does way more than he has to. It’s crazy that I’m getting love from somebody that’s 1,000 or something miles from me. And, in my hometown I wouldn’t even get that love. Everyone in Raider Klan is kinda like the same person. When I met Amber London at SXSW we clicked like we knew each other since elementary school. I always say it’s the universe working using its magnetic fields to pull us all together.

Hit the jump for the rest!

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Teenage Floridian rapper Kitty Pryde has been building a steady stream of internet buzz with nothing more than her Macbook mic and honest, confessional flows. And swagger. Lots of swagger. Check out her Beautiful Lou produced track “Ok Cupid” to see just what people are so hyped up about (look no further than our own Nattymari’s article on the subject). Her writing is definitely #veryrare for someone her age. Her rhymes are a heady mix of LiveJournal and based freestyle.

But, on the other hand, Kitty Pryde is a typical teenage girl. What I think is cool about her is that she is somewhere between a very serious “artist” and a kid just messing around rapping for fun. She doesn’t have much music out now, but the songs that are out —you can check out a handful of her stuff on her bandcamp — are great. As more of her work comes out, I’m sure she’ll only get bigger and bigger. I talking to Ms. Pryde via phone about Justin Bieber, Yardsales, what it means to be a “music nerd,” how to make a macbook’s built-in mic sound professional, and more…

***

Nick Vogt: What’s the Kitty Pryde origin story? How did you get started rapping and how long have you been doing it?

Kitty Pryde: I got started because I got a Macbook for Christmas. I was fucking around on Garageband and was like “oooh I can make my voice sound like Tyler, The Creator!” And, my boyfriend broke up with me. I was super upset one night. My friends and I got really drunk and made a song about him. It ended up being funny so we just kept doing it. I’ve been doing it ever since. That was last January.

Cool. I wanted to ask about influences on your music. You mentioned Tyler, The Creator. And you mention Odd Future in one of your songs I’ve heard. And maybe Lil B and Soulja Boy? I know you’ve rapped on their beats anyway. But, that’s just me speculating. Who would you say your influences are?

Kitty: It sounds really lame, but I’d say Earl Sweatshirt. I haven’t liked Odd Future’s music in a while, but I just think Earl’s flow is really cool. And, the band Why?, too. They have a lot of sounds. They’re pretty eclectic. But, whenever they do rap stuff I’ve always liked it.

Why? is pretty obscure stuff actually. Well, sort of. Not many people listen to both Odd Future and Why? unless they’re like huge music nerds. Which is, I guess, like me. And maybe you, too…

Kitty: I used to be very into the whole “hipster” thing. I wanted to listen to music that nobody else heard. It was super lame. Why? is one of the bands that really “stuck” and I still listen to them a lot.

That’s cool. My friend Zachg actually compared you to Why? a couple weeks back when he was telling me about your music. And he wrote that on The Bloglin, too. That’s one of the reasons I checked out your stuff initially. I went and listened to “Ok Cupid.” And, I heard that Why? similarity, too. At the time I thought that was just a coincidence, but it’s cool to hear Why? is actually an influence on your sound.

Anyway, that’s kinda the story of how your rapping has progressed. What about beats? I know you’ve rapped on some other peoples’ beats. Is your work with Beautiful Lou first time you’ve had an “original” beat? Or have you worked with producers or made your own beats before that?

Kitty: Yeah I would hear like a random Madlib instrumental on my ipod or something and I’d think of words to go along with that when I was driving my car. I’ve used a lot of famous beats that everyone knows. Like that Soulja Boy beat. But, now, there are all these people I don’t know sending me beats like “just use this! You should get on this!” And I usually don’t. But, the Beautiful Lou stuff has been going really well. I think we’re gonna do some more stuff.

He’s a great producer. How did you end up working with Lou?

Kitty: We’re both in a Facebook group together. It’s just kind of a hip hop Facebook group. They just talk about rap music. I don’t even know why I’m in it because I have like no opinions to add to it. But, whatever. I wanted to do like a shitty “Based Freestyle” over “Versace Bently,” the Riff Raff song. I asked on Facebook “Do any of you guys have the ‘Versace Bently’ instrumental?”

And Lou sent me back a message like “Yeah, I think I have that. And, by the way, I love your music!” And I freaked out! I was like “Oh my god! Beautiful Lou!” He was like “I’d really like to send you some beats because I think you have potential.” I was like “Wow! I don’t know why this is happening, but sure!” He sent me some stuff and then started tweeting about me, telling all his followers like “Listen to this girl’s music!” And now it’s like “whoooo!!!”

Yeah, you’ve definitely gotten pretty big online in a very short amount of time. Which is cool. What I like about “Ok Cupid” is that it’s really honest. I say this all the time, but my favorite raps set scenes and tell stories. And, you do that like effortlessly on “Ok Cupid.” I love when you talk about writing the dude’s name on your binder, and when you mention his “cigarette breath.”

And even the line in the hook where you say “I planned our wedding…” feels very sincere. And different, too. I think a lot of people can like it even if they can’t relate to it. I’m not a teenage girl, but I still can appreciate the song. Do you think your sincerity in your lyrics and your attention to detail has helped get that song as popular as it is?

Kitty: I think so. Everyone always raps about the same stuff. Especially girls. All girls rap about it being really hot and going out and getting drunk. I’m not hot. I don’t go out. I’m super dorky. I do stupid stuff all the time. That song is about my boyfriend now. But, when I wrote it he wasn’t my boyfriend. I really did write his name all over my binder. And, everybody in my class really did laugh at me. People might be like “yeah, I would do that.” Not everybody is hot. Not everybody is hot. Not everybody can go fuck a bunch of hoes or whatever.

In fact, most people can’t…You said the guy you wrote “Ok Cupid” about wasn’t your boyfriend, but he is now? You kinda willed that into existence then. You won.

Kitty: Yeah, dude! I did another interview with another blog earlier today and they asked about that. They were like “Does he know he’s the object of this song?” And I was like “Well, He’s my boyfriend now.” But, he’s not allowed to hear it.

He hasn’t heard “Ok Cupid?”

Kitty: Well, maybe he has.

Yeah, maybe in secret he’s listened to it. Oh, and I also like that you reference R&B in that song, too. It’s obviously a love song, so quoting The-Dream and singing Frank Ocean is pretty appropriate. I like R&B that a lot of people consider corny, so I like that. I also like when people sing who aren’t really singers. There’s something cool about that. Maybe because I’ve never been able to sing, but always did anyway, so I can relate.

Kitty: I’m really super bad at singing! The reason there’s so much laughing on that sing is that my brother was sitting in my room and wouldn’t leave. He was making faces at me when I was singing so I kept giggling.

I think the laughing is good. It totally works on that song. It keeps it kinda “real” or something…Do you still record on your macbook?

Kitty: Yeah. I don’t even have like a mic that plugs in. I just use the built-in mic and do it in my closet so it doesn’t echo.

That is crazy. Every time I’ve tried to record with a macbook mic (I’m recording our interview that way right now actually…) it sounds awful. Like godawful. But, “Ok Cupid” sounds “professional.” The vocals are really high quality on there. So, obviously you’ve figured out how to make the most out of a crappy mic.

Kitty: Well, I also have a friend who mixes and masters my stuff. He’s in school for that. He was like “let me practice on your stuff!” So, I was like “Okay!” And, if you heard the stuff I did before I met that guy it sounds like shit.

Yeah…I’ve heard some pretty “lo fi” stuff you did actually.

Kitty: Sure, we’ll call it “lo fi…”

Yeah “Lo Fi” is kind of a buzzword right now for sure…Is the guy who mixes your music that Toy Trains dude by any chance? He’s been following me on Twitter for a while, and actually sent me “Ok Cupid” on there back when it came out. He was like “hey, check this out!” So, I was wondering what his deal was and what his relation is to your music.

Kitty: Yeah! He’s like my right hand man! He’s from Orlando. He’s in his own rap group. He’s super into my music for some reason. I don’t know. He rides for me. I don’t take my music very seriously or try too hard. But, he pushes me to. He’ll be like “Kitty, you should do this show!” And I will. I wanted him to be my manager, but he can’t really do that. So, he’s my right hand guy.

How many shows have you played?

Kitty: Like six. They all sucked. I haven’t practiced very much. I get really nervous.

Well, the more you do it the better you’ll get, I’m sure. And I bet they weren’t as bad as you think…Oh, I wanted to ask about your “Justin Bieber” song. I was talking to Walkmaster Flex about that and he told me somebody took your song too seriously and wrote this huge think piece about it? Or something? Sounds like there’s an interesting story there…

Kitty: Yeah. I just wrote that song because I love Justin Bieber. I had a Justin Bieber Christmas tree ornament and I was looking at it, sitting there signing about Justin Bieber. And that’s kinda where the song comes from. This guy who goes to film school in Texas did like a video about it. And he did this write-up that was all about how I was doing some sort of ironic pop culture statement. But, I was like “No, dude. I just love Justin Bieber. I don’t give a fuck about pop culture.”

That’s awesome.

Kitty: Yeah I thought it was funny. I showed my mom and she was like “Wow. That guy does not know you at all.”

Hit the jump for the rest!

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I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing on this planet sometimes. But in spite of that, I manage to wind up doing pretty cool stuff sometimes. Rad Reef just started doing a new webseries called Rare Burn. I get to host it, and we shot the pilot episode with Kool AD when he was out here last month.

We talked about 51 (which you can download now for free), food, cooking, Jewish rappers, and whatever else came up. We filmed this first episode at Hops and Hominy, which is a Southern restaurant in San Francisco started by who else, but some Florida dudes. Hell yes.

Last month you may have caught my interview with Georgia rap legend and courageous American Citizen Killer Mike. He and El-P are dropping one of the years’ most anticipated records in just a few weeks. But, that’s not all El-P has been up to. He’s also about to release his first solo album in 5 years, Cancer For Cure, which for many hip hop fans’ is also one of this year’s most anticipated releases.

El-P holds a unique position as a forerunner of the American hip hop avant-garde who is not only still active, but still incredibly relevant, respected, and influential. His affiliation with the emerging hip hop scene (Das Racist, eXquire, et al.) has lent them a kind of credibility that only he could. He has been a prominent part of hip hop through some very different times. Lucky for me, you, and everyone else he was kind enough to take some time and talk to me about being a rapper, running a label, and what it really means to have patience with creating art.

*****

Zachg: So I don’t know if you saw, but I had spoke to Killer Mike probably about a month ago about R.A.P. Music.

El-P: Oh yeah yeah, I did see that.

Basically from my perspective, it’s a pretty interesting thing to see you guys collaborating and just thinking back to 95, 96, 97, I couldn’t imagine something like that happening, those were two very different worlds for all intents and purposes- 

El-P: Which worlds are those?

Just the world of hip-hop, it was divided. It was like you were up in NY more part of the underground scene, Mike is down in Atlanta maybe he’s part of a kind of underground scene at that point but y’know like this mainstream-

El-P: In my recollection I usually think of the sort of division, that perceived division, it occurred a little bit later than that. Because when I think of 95/96, not to get technical on you, but then it wasn’t crazy to see dudes from Company Flow and Mobb Deep on the same night freestyleing. There was maybe a little less of what ended up growing into what people called different genres or subcultures, but of course I know what you mean.

You’re someone who’s been able to see the scene from so many different perspectives, what do you think are the biggest differences between right now and 1998?

El-P: Well I think the division, to be quite fair started more in the 2000s, early 2000s. But I think that everything kind of had to go super far left and right and… I think it’s just a really cool time right now. I think that somehow we’ve all found ourselves in a place where some of those lines are sort of dissipating. Maybe it’s due to the fact that the label structure has changed and maybe it’s due to the fact that the internet has entered into it and connected people more, maybe everybody’s not really looking at records anymore or at radio. For whatever reason, it just feels like a really exciting time right now. I think that people are kind of just doing what the fuck they want.

Yeah.

El-P: And I don’t really know what the science behind that is, but I just feel pretty good about being around and seeing it happen, because that’s kind of how it always should have been, and despite those perceived divisions, the artists really never felt that way. We all grew up listening to the same music and so it’s cool that some of the… some of that baggage is kind of shedding a bit. And that’s part of what doing the record with Mike was about. We knew that we have a chance even doing this record that people would look at it like that and we also knew that if we did something great that it might help with that.

It might even kind of break that door down even a little bit more. But for us it wasn’t really about that, for us it was about making a great record, but in our heads we knew that there was all this baggage. When in reality we should just be looking for dope music, but somehow we’re at a point in the timeline and in our heads where the question that you’re asking is completely valid and normal and you’re amazed that this is happening. That’s sort of sad to me, because it never really should have been like that, but it is what it is. I just think that there’s some really cool shit… it’s exciting.

I’ve followed your music for a while and it seemed like in more recent years you’ve been kind of laying low but recently with the rise of Das Racist and Mr. eXquire it just feels like there’s kind of like more of a scene starting to bubble up – and Action Bronson too – there’s so many people and you’ve kind of now, not been revitalized, but I’m just seeing your name and you’re involved with these guys. So from the outside it’s just great to see it happening that there’s not just records coming out, but we’re seeing relationships forming between artists who are residing in the same place and building a community. 

El-P: Yeah, yeah. I think that that’s true. It is kind of cool that there is that sort of loose community, but at the same time it’s also different than I think it’s ever been. Because it’s not so defined that it’s any one thing. There’s a lot of different shit going on and you can’t really put a name to it. I’ve been a part of a couple of different eras. When people referred to shit they refer to, like, the Rawkus era or the Def Jux era, which in my head is insane. The cool thing about those waves when everything is perceived that way is that there’s momentum and people are paying attention.

The downside – and I’ve spoken about this before – when anything is perceived to be one thing, when a group of people are perceived to be doing one thing, it’s also easy for people to just say “I’m over that, because that’s not the thing I’m into.” And the thing that’s cool right now that’s happening, to me, is that there are those connections and a lot of things are happening right now, but I don’t think that there’s any one connection except that everyone’s just doing the fuck what they want and everyone’s being cool to each other.

There’s not this kind of – well, theres’ always artifice to everything – but there’s not this massive artifice that becomes the elephant in the room. This is not to disparage Rick Ross or anything, but that is an act in a much more kind of exaggerated fashion. Whereas something like what you or eXquire is doing is saying “here I am, I’m a person alive in the US in 2012, these are my concerns, these are my fears, this is what makes me happy, and I’m an artist and I’m going to share that with you.”

El-P: Yeah, it’s cool, and it’s kind of what I believe in. That’s the type of shit that I relate to. I relate to complicated, flawed characters. And also regular characters, motherfuckers who’s lives I recognize, but at the same time have something to say. In a lot of ways thats what attracted me to working with Mike.

He’s such an everyman. An eveyrman in the sense that he can connect with people, and he doesn’t present himself as being above anybody, but at the same time he is really saying some shit. He’s saying it in the way that is relatable because it’s wrapped up in all of the other aspects of his personality. It’s wrapped up in the flaws, it’s wrapped up in the humor, and it’s wrapped up in the anger. And those are the types of artists I’m always drawn towards, that I always was drawn towards.

As just a fan of hip hop for so long it’s great to see you guys making this record and the stuff that’s come out thus far has satisfied something that’s been lingering for so long. Something that I’ve looked to have fulfilled by music, where it’s like a part of me as a person just being able to connect to this stuff like “wow, here’s other people experiencing the same things as me.”

El-P: I’ll be honest with you, that’s exactly why we made the record, but not for anyone but ourselves. We just made the record that we wanted to make that was for us. And that was our prime directive going into it. And we wanted that feeling, we wanted to walk away with a record on our hands that felt like “this is that shit that we’ve been missing.” Let’s make the record that our soul wants. It’s not about making a preachy record, it’s not about making any one type of record but it’s about just going in and really falling in love with music and being yourself and saying things that you want to say even if they’re fucked up, but doing it all for the right reasons.

Everything Mike says on the record, and everything I try to say on my record, the intent is I think pretty fucking pure. But I’m not pure. Mike is not pure. But the intention of expressing yourself is there and I think that’s what people are doing right now. People are making music, you’ve got dudes like eX, he doesn’t give a fuck, he’s gonna say whatever the fuck he wants to say, and that’s beautiful to me, that’s important to me. He doesn’t make the type of record I make, but somehow there’s this connection.

Hit the jump for the rest!

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If you know anything about Twitter and the new mindset which evolved from it birthing such micro-genres as #seapunk and #slimepunk, along with being the home to countless of other diatribes of countless internet based artist and new media gurus alike. You have heard the seen the name @LILBABYPOSITIV at least a few dozen times in your feed. @LILBBPOSITIV is the moniker of Dylan Mulshine, New York native and stream of consciousness shamanistic master mind behind NU DEPTH, a collection of far off center electro and dance tunes not for the faint of hearing.

Jónó Mí Ló: Tell me a little bit about lilbabypositiv how did u come up with the name and how would u describe your sound?

@LILBABYPOSITIV: Whoa getting deep, well. The user name lilbabypositiv was picked kinda on the spot, I don’t think the name is too important because it’ll form meaning based on what I do it started through the moniker of “positive.” I changed my name on Facebook and started to cloud my identity. This was before I was really aware of an internet culture, but it grew from there.

Yeah this culture is sort of a breeding ground for anonymity.

@LBP: My friend Chino Amobi I met through playing shows in Virginia was on the same wavelength, definitely someone I took some cues from. I was doing so many projects and name changes in real life that I needed an outlet to create that didn’t have any previous stigma attached to it. I’ve always been working with people older than me in the art scene, seen as a ‘wunderkind’ no escape from that shit! I decided to just live up to it and add the LILBABY to my name. I try to maintain my sound as being a mirror of everything around me sometimes its a broken mirror, part of me never wants to have a sound though.

Everything I’ve ever done has been improvised, create and then look back at it and try to make sense of what i’m doing. Honestly, it’s all over the place! Shit started under an exclusively live context though there was a point where what I was doing become a place for me to interact and perform and less focus was on the music, but IT’S ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT EXPLORATION. Music for me is a very elaborate and involved way to express myself and make sense of the world. NU DEPTH is all about broadening that perspective.

That’s a beautiful way to put it.

Be sure to grab LilBABY’S mixtape “SL4V3 2 †H3 R4V3” an hour long mind bending mixtape and one I personally suggest for late nights surfing and desktop dazing. Along with his newest collaboration with ISSUE, it is worth the ride.

Coyote Clean Up is the alternate moniker of the mysterious Detroit based producer “Ice Cold Chrissy.” His output under this name rivals that of any bedroom dance producer and is constantly surprising, with his mellow, avant-garde look into house music. From the first time I heard “Can’t Shake The Full Moon” off of his first album Double Trouble back in 2009, I knew that his style of mesmerizingly soft vocals and catchy rhythms would make him into a name to watch out for in the years to come.

Little did I know that “Downhill Express” was next on the horizon and he continues his rise to sought after producer, with his first cassette release for 100% Silk entitled Frozen Solid. I recently caught up with the CCU and we got to talk about, remixing LA Vampires, late nights in Detroit and his over abundance of unreleased material.

Jónó Mí Ló: First off, congrats on the Silk Tape. How did that all come together?

Coyote Clean Up: Oh thanks. I got real into that LA Vampires track “Make Me Over.” I got out of Detroit for the first (and hopefully not last) time in a long while last summer, and went surfing down in Cape Hatteras, NC. I would listen to that song at night, and it struck an odd chord with me. I started remixing the track “STREETWISE” on the trip.. I came home with my family (we actually drove down to Cape Hatteras) and I was all car-lagged and whacked out.

Couldn’t really sleep and so I finished up the remix. Listened to it the next day and was like… this is kinda rad. So I sent it to Amanda Brown and Brit. They were super stoked on it… Amanda told me 100% SILK was going on tour and coming through Detroit and that I should play with them. So I did, that was last Fall. It was a blast. The rest is history, or so they say!

History indeed. What was the inspiration for frozen solid? More late nights?

CCU: Lots of late nights, that’s for sure. My personal life took a real unexpected dark turn for the worst last fall. I mixed the album at Count Macey’s, always after midnight. Lots of East Side ghetto cruising. Getting scared on life but trying to truck through it on a bouncy 4/4 beat. I think…

Life in detroit can be very scary. It can also be very inspiring,which is totally evident here.

CCU: Yes I agree

What’s next for ccu are there any new collaborations/remixes or albums we should watch out for ?

CCU: Yes, tons. Haha. I walk the line of putting out too much, but a large amount of my favorite artists put out tons of music too.

Yeah you’re pretty prolific in that regard. I constantly see new work from you.

CCU: I actually don’t even get to put out as much as I would like to. I’ve got lost albums already. It’s frustrating and sad. I make music almost everyday. I’m going to start my own record label once I can financially back it. That will help a lot. As Lukid once said, “I’ve got so much unreleased shit I may as well be constipated.”

Be sure to check out Coyote Clean Up’s newest release Frozen Solid out now on 100% Silk. Here is a music video for the newest single “Bedtime Blizzard”.

Even though Houtson rap duo Dirty & Nasty’s Fools Gold EP came out in February, I didn’t discover it until April. But, this was definitely a case of “better late than never.” The EP has some really excellent beats and Dirty & Nasty (Dirty Dog D and Nasty Nique) are super talented MCs. They not only have an impressive presence on songs, but they also have A LOT to say.

I talked with Dirty Dog D via phone about Neil Young, Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Visual Learning Styles…oh, and rap music, too.

***

Nick Vogt: How did you and Nasty meet and start rapping together?

Dirty Dog D: We met in college. He and I went to the same school. We just kinda met on some random terms. We both knew some of those same people and those people did music. We kinda just showed up at shows randomly and be like “Oh, hey! What’s good, man? I didn’t know you did music!” Or “I didn’t know you rapped! I didn’t know you sing!” And, at the time I was just focusing on a lot of acoustic music and singing and Nasty was just doing rap. But, as time progressed and it got to be 2007 I was getting back into the rap thing. Nasty didn’t know that I used to rap prior to then like in ’96 ’97. That’s pretty much how it started and it’s been going since 2007.

Do you still make acoustic music?

Dirty: Lately I’ve been focusing more on the rap. And it’s really ironic because now once of my nieces wants to learn how to play guitar. And I’m teaching her. So it’s kinda like I’m passing the torch to her.

Were you ever in any bands or did you ever record any of your acoustic music?

Dirty: Yeah, actually. When I first got to college I linked up with this dude who was doing audio engineering. His project was to get a guitar player and mix their music. Unfortunately none of those projects saw the light of day.

When you started rapping in ’97 what was it that inspired you to want to rap?

Dirty: In all honesty in ’96 it was like the “in thing” to do. A lot of kids that I went to school with were rapping. DJ Screw was getting more and more popular. Houston was on the rise. There was Big Moe and Fat Pat and Lil Keke and all your “Bigs” and your “Lils.” They were starting to come to the forefront. Even though I was from the North Side we still did listen to and pay respect to the South Side. Screwed Up Click was the South Side, but on the North Side we had our own thing with Swisha House. I used to make tapes from the radio from our rap station 97.9. I’d make mixtapes and write my rhymes to those songs. But, I have to say, My biggest influence is definitely 2Pac. ’97 was when All Eyes On Me came out.

I can hear that influence on you guys because 2pac wasn’t just “gangster rap.” It was a mix of conscious stuff and gangster stuff. Your music isn’t all conscious either, but you definitely can get very lyrical. I wouldn’t say you’re less conscious music is “gangster” like how 2Pac was, it’s more like party music. But the Dirty And Nasty stuff definitely mixes both. Like Pac did.

Dirty: You have to be able to have that balance. All Eyes On Me had a mix of everything. It has your party jams, and it also has your conscious jams. I think 2Pac was very aware that in order to keep all audiences on his side you have to do a little bit of everything. To me he was the quintessential artist because he was able to do that. And it takes away nothing from those who do completely conscious music and it takes away nothing from those who do only party music. But, you lose an audience by only being on one side of things.

Right. And like half of your Fools Gold EP is conscious and the other half is party stuff. So, the EP is a good mix.

Dirty: And that’s what we were going for. We’ve got a lot more stuff coming out. A project called Black Gold that’s gonna more party music and also more conscious music, too.

To be honest, Fools Gold is all I’ve heard. Did you guys release anything else before that?

Dirty: Yeah, man. Like I said we got together in ’07. We recorded an album in ’07, but we dropped it in ’09. Mostly because we didn’t have the money to do it in ’07. And we also didn’t know how to do it. It costs money to be able to burn CDs. It costs money to be able to distribute ourselves. Dirty & Nasty started as just a side project. He was in a group called the Legendary Voltron Crew and I was doing solo music. And we came together like “let’s just see what it sounds like.” And, people loved it. We did a couple shows. People were like “We need more of this.” We did the first album Dirty & Nasty: The Dog Em Tracks which is a concept album about the good and bad in relationships. Two mixtapes back to back in 2008. All of this stuff is actually on our Bandcamp. But, a lot of times you get caught up in promoting the next thing and you don’t really get a chance to reach back and tell people “hey, we got a full catalogue from five years ago!” We just hope that people will like the new stuff and look back and check out the older stuff.

Right. I think that with the Internet everything moves really fast, so people are always focused on “promoting the new thing.” And it might be the speed of music online that’s causing that. You mentioned having to burn CDs, and that really sounds like a thing of the past because now with Bandcamp and Soundcloud and sites like that, you can get your music out there for free essentially.

Dirty: Yeah. Bandcamp didn’t exist when we started. Facebook existed but, not in the realm of for bands and musicians. It was only for college kids. You had to have a college ID to use it. But, now it’s sort of evolved into more of a universal social aspect. It gives you more legroom. And then Bandcamp came out and then Twitter and Tumblr. And you had monolithic things like Myspace fall by the wayside.

I remember when Facebook was just for college kids. I was in High School so I couldn’t get on it. And I took a year off before college after High School, so I still couldn’t get on there.  And I remember when I first discovered Bandcamp. I read some post on Okayplayer about a rapper and saw he had his music on there via Bandcamp. I was like “what is this?” And when I checked it out I like instantly knew Bandcamp was a cool thing. I kind of thought it would blow up like it did. And Bandcamp and Soundcloud have changed music I think.

Dirty: I think Soundcloud’s good because it’s very visual. I think for visual learners it’s great because you can see the beat. It used to be like “Let me hear some of your stuff?” and you’d be like “Ok, go to this site and check it out.” And then most people are kind like “Well, I don’t really wanna do that…” But, if someone goes to your Soundcloud they can see the waveform and see the beat.

They can be like “Oh, this has got some crazy stuff going on!” just from seeing how the waveform looks and wanna check it out. Soundcloud and Twitter and Facebook and Reverb Nation are all helping. But, like I always say: “There’s nothing like good old legwork.” If you’ve got CDs in hand and someone says “Let me hear some of your music…” You can just hand them a CD like “Bam!” If you say, “Go check out my site…” there’s more of a chance that people will get lost in that whole thing.

Right. If you’re actually in person with someone then having CDs on hand is great.

Dirty: Exactly. The only way someone would remember to go to your site if you tell them “check out my site” in person is if you’re famous. Like if Kanye tells someone (and I’m just gonna make up a name here…) “Go to KanyeToTheWest.com” or something they’ll do it. Or if Madonna says on TV go to my website you’re gonna do that. But, for someone like me or for Dirty & Nasty you might not do it because you don’t have that much vested interest.

Speaking of the Internet, have the producers you’ve been working with mostly been people you’ve met and collaborated with through the web? Or are they mostly people who are local and are friends of yours?

Dirty: Two or three of them are friends. Shout out to Julian Spade. If Dirty & Nasty blew up today or tomorrow he’d be one of the people we’d take along for the ride. In essence he’s captured the sound of Dirty & Nasty. Not to say that other producers haven’t. But, we go way back. He knows us as friends. He’s kinda grown with us and he sees where we’re going. He produced “24K” on Fools Gold. He’s got some other stuff that’ll be on the album. He wanted to produce the entire album himself, but we had a few other people that voiced an interest.

How did you end up meeting him originally?

Dirty: I was at the University of Houston central campus for a function downtown. He was actually with a friend of mine who I went to college with. My friend introduced us and we ended up having like a Three and a half hour conversation about a number of things: music, fashion, life in general…I called up Nasty like “We gotta get this guy in the studio or something.” We got his email and he sent us beats. He sent us the first beat just to see how quickly we worked. We got back to him like 24 hours later like “yo, I got a song written.” We saw his work ethic, he saw our work ethic and we worked together from then on. That was like in ’09.

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