From the moment I started listening to XXYYXX’s self-titled album I knew I was hearing something special. XXYYXX makes powerful, emotional music that’s dreamy and hazy in a way, but also very bass heavy and dancey. What also struck me about XXYYXX was how he describes himself on his bandcamp page. Here’s the first sentence of that description: “XXYYXX is the name of Orlando, FL’s 16 year old producer, Marcel Everett.”

I actually didn’t really read that description when I first listened to the album. But, when I went back I almost did a double-take when I saw his age. I thought, “He’s 16?!” It’s not that I’m surprised a 16 year old is as talented as Marcel is. What’s crazy to me is that his music sounds so emotionally deep and mature for the work of a teenager. Marcel Everett’s music suggests he has a real wisdom beyond his years. And, I think my chat with him shows that, too. I talked with Marcel via Facebook about warping R. Kelly’s voice, eating pizza, corporate personhood, and more…

***

Nick Vogt: This is the first question I ask everybody pretty much: How did you get started making music?

XXYYXX: I started making music when I was like 10 or 11. I played guitar and picked up piano when I was 12. I was into punkish kind of stuff and some rock but still a lot of hip hop. I started making electronic stuff when I turned 14 though. It wasn’t like the stuff I did today but yeah.

What was your early electronic stuff like that didn’t sound like what you’re making now?

XXYYXX: Oh man, it was like weird pop kind of stuff. I was inspired by Portugal. The Man and pretty much anything that was on UO [University Of Orlando] radio.

On the music you’re making now you sample some radio pop stuff. Like TLC. And I recognize the sample on “Set It Off” as a big radio song too.

XXYYXX: Yeah Jered [from XXYYXX's label Relief In Abstract] actually gave me the record for that sample. It was a song by Monica and Missy Elliot featuring Dirtbag. I just like doing it because people think it takes a really old record or something to make a beat authentic or real. So I just use whatever and try to make it sound cool.

Yeah I guess there is kind of an attitude about sampling where you have to really “dig through the crates” and find obscure stuff. How do you find the stuff you sample?

XXYYXX: Yeah I mean it’s just music man, whatever sounds good and feels good. I guess I’ll just listen to music and like what a hear a lot and decide to sample it or something. Sometimes I get songs where I think it’s impossible to make a good song out of so I end up challenging myself. That’s how the song “Alone” was made, it’s really a flipped acapella of R. Kelly’s song “Number 1.”

Oh wow yeah that sounds nothing like R. Kelly. Do you use samples on all the songs you make?

XXYYXX: Haha thanks man. I use samples a lot yeah, I’m not sure about all of it. A lot of my older stuff was sample free.

Oh okay. “Alone” is where you take a sample and make it totally unrecognizable, but with “Good Enough,” where you sample TLC, it’s very recognizable, but kind of an unexpected use of that song. Like when I first heard “Good Enough” I did not expect that to build up into “No Scrub” at all. Do you like challenging listeners like you challenge yourself with samples, too? Maybe “challenge” isn’t the best way to put that.

XXYYXX:  I know what you mean. I honestly can’t say this without coming off as rude but…I don’t really make music for the listener’s sake? Like I love the fact that someone can listen and enjoy and connect to my music, I really do. I just don’t make it to please anyone, it’s all about what I personally think sounds good. Then I release it, just in case others will dig it. So I guess I don’t really try to challenge listeners I just do probably.

I don’t think your music is like “off-putting” actually. It doesn’t sound like you purposely made stuff hard to listen to. There is music like that out there. Your stuff is actually really funky and almost dancey sometimes I think. Just in a unique way.

XXYYXX: Thanks a lot. I think that’s good, I don’t know what to believe everyone says that but also everyone says: “It’s not unique blah blah blah.”

What do people who say that you’re “not unique” compare you to? Do they say you’re ripping off other styles of music or something?

XXYYXX: Blogs compare me to James Blake and Clams Casino and people think I do. I’m not like them at all, plus they’re both at the top of their game. I’m just some dude who likes to make music. People also say I’m a ripoff of xxxy because of the name similarity. Even though I hadn’t know of him until a couple months ago. Haters, man.

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Necro is probably my favorite person to follow on twitter. It’s incredible. Just do it, add him right now. He tends to retweet the same shit over and over again like say his recent videos and this.I’d been sleeping on it until last night, when i finally just said “fuck it!” What is it? Well as Necro put it, it’s “The greatest CLASSIC NECRO interview ever done in the history of hiphop!!!!!” It’s pretty incredible and doesn’t dissapoint.

A little background. Necro was invited by Mista Montana to be interview for his Conspiracy Radio show in the UK. Mista Montana wants to have  a serious discussion with Necro about his craft and lyricism. But Necro’ basically just wants to be a goon and it’s wonderful. Stick with it, as it builds and builds into utter frustration, bravado and straight hilarity.

The red carpet of the millennial generation is not woven from cloth and yarn but instead with data and content, and the age of the internet celebrity is upon us. One of the first tumblr stars is the young Molly Soda, who’s internet presence is fastidiously followed by thousands of fans, and who’s aesthetic is an appropriate avatar for the culture of the virtual world writ large. Part artist, part curator, part provocateur, and always part tween, it’s easy to see why Molly has such a following.

Her boyfriend Nick Koenig, AKA Hot Sugar, embodies a similar novelty of artistic approach, but in the sphere of music. Using samples he records himself – using everything from a prostitute’s heartbeat, to a cracking human skull, to someone chanting on the sidewalk – Hot Sugar makes intricate songs both for his own releases and as a producer for artists like The Roots and Big Baby Gandhi. Both of them were nice enough to sit down with me for an interview.

***

Lets start with a hard one: how would you describe your current hair color?

MollySoda: Blueberry Creamsicle ;-)

Let’s talk Funyun. Let’s get an update on Funyun Soda-Koenig.

Nick Koenig: Like what he’s up to or what he is? Well, okay, I’m always off put by people who make Facebook profiles for their newborn children then update it as that child. I don’t know if you’re friends with any of them.

MS: I’m not. But I know they exist.

Did you just make this up?

NK: No, no, no! There’s a certain age range-

MS: 18 year old girls who just had babies.

NK: I’m from Jersey, I know a couple high school fellows that have kids and – I mean – people make Facebook profiles for their pets, so it’s not that surprising that they’re managing their own babies’ too. So I got friended by a baby. It was clearly updated by-

MS: By the parents? As opposed to what?

NK: Well then I started to friend other babies. Which is even creepier really. I haven’t been accepted by a single baby yet.

MS: Makes sense.

NK: Long story short: I felt left out. Well I thought it was super awful in general. To start an internet profile or buy into something that the kid doesn’t necessarily want to be a part of. So that’s how Funyun, me and Molly’s internet child, came about. But like most things that started as something I despise, it then slowly turned into an ironic love and then, of course, now it’s a true love.

MS: Is that what Funyun is?

NK: Funyun is true love. But on day one, at the 30 minute mark, he hated his parents.

MS: Yeah.

NK: He hates that we monitor his internet presence. So when he posts his ICP videos or whatever – he’s also really into Brokencyde-

MS: Funyun loves Brokencyde!

NK: Funyun is the biggest Bronkencyde fan there is. Because they get him. I also like when families have very awkward personal family interaction on public forums like Facebook or Twitter.

Speaking of which, Molly is it weird for you when people come at you with an already established intimacy when they don’t actually know you?

MS: It can definitely be weird. I’ve even had people call me. Like they get my number and they’ll call me. This happened to me a lot last year. Girls would call me like “Is this Molly Soda?” and I’d be half drunk and say yeah and then they’d just unleash all of these problems they have on me. And it’s so weird that they would just find my number and call me out of the blue for advice.

NK: Did you give her advice?

MS: I try to.

NK: Is it boy problems?

MS: Usually it’s boy problems. But they should know that I always say the same thing “You’re too good for him, snap your fingers and walk away.” But that’s the best advice, it really is. If someone is making you fucking miserable then what are you doing. Obviously they’re not what you want. But I get really flattered when 16 year old girls ask me for advice. I didn’t really have anyone to ask advice to when I was that age except for like my other 16 year old friends who knew as little as I did.

It is interesting, with the internet, that people have contactable role models.

MS: It’s weird. It’s good though. I used to do LiveJournal in high school and that was the best way for me to deal with anything that was a problem. If I was feeling particularly angsty I could blog about it and then you’d have all these comments like reassuring you. I feel like the internet is all about reassurance. Like “You’re okay!” It’s all about validating the things that happen to you.

I mean kids used to talk to posters on their wall of people they liked. But now you can actually talk to them, at least through their twitters.

MS: It’s the craziest thing.

NK: Bieber, followback!

MS: You have so much- I mean Kim Kardashian isn’t necessarily gonna respond to you, but the fact that she might read it is really strange and powerful.

NK: I like the online militias that defend the honor of internet celebrities. Like if you write something about Beyonce you’ll have team Beyonce on your back for three days tearing you up.

MS: That’s how you know you’ve made it though. I need a Team Molly Soda. I look at my mentions, I try not to search my name though. No one is going to @ you if they’re trying to diss you, and I don’t need to see that.

You don’t wanna respond to the haters?

MS: No, because that’s what they want.

NK: Team MollySoda does that!

When you started your tumblr did you ever think it would be as big a part of your life as it is?

MS: Not at all. I only started it because one of my good friends, Eric, was really into it when it first got big back in like 2009. He was like “Yo you should get a tumblr” but I sort of had a blogspot that I wasn’t really using. It was a transitional period from LiveJournal, and there were two years of my college life that I didn’t have documented on the internet in any way. So I started the tumblr. And somehow it picked up and I’m not really sure how.

I wonder when people will stop fucking with the internet. In terms of like being bloggers. I wonder when tumblr will become kind of irrelevant and all the people that were into tumblr just don’t move onto whatever the next cool thing is.

When you post do you think about how many people are reading?

MS: No. I definitely don’t think like “all these people are seeing this right now.” You can’t.

Do you have a name for the aesthetic you try to foster on your tumblr?

MS: I feel like I get this question a lot. I don’t think I can or want to describe it. Other people do a good job at labeling my aesthetic. I don’t necessarily agree with it but I don’t want to pigeonhole my tumblr/my work/what I’m going for since I think what I like/what inspires me is constantly evolving.

Do you think that the nature of reblogging on tumblr fosters a collective/communal environment, or does the ability to choose from seemingly endless content create many super-individualized environments?

MS: I think tumblr is such a collective environment. More so than other blogging platforms because it is less text based and is more about sharing photos/videos/ideas.

Hit the jump for the rest!

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The first time I heard Chippy Nonstop was on our very epic Hyperbolic Chamber Music. If you’ve heard that track you know she’s pretty unforgettable on there since she kinda has the last laugh. After “Hyperbolic” I checked out some of Chippy’s other stuff. Her awesome work with Friendzone and Metro Zu and her song “Wut U Want” are some of the stuff that really stood out for me. Her awesome new mixtape, #Global School of Twerk just dropped.

When I asked about setting up an interview, I was amazed at how quickly Chippy got back to me, replying to my astonishment at her speed with “Of course! I am the internet!” Although she’s super busy, but we managed to squeeze in an interview the other day between when she got out of school and when she was heading to the studio to record. Via phone we talked about The Pack, Reggaeton, traveling, rapping in different languages and more…

***

Nick Vogt: How long have you been rapping and how did you get started?

Chippy Nonstop: It’s kinda funny. I was living in The Bay for three years and then I moved to L.A for a year. Probably like two years ago I would always be drunk rapping everywhere pretty much. I was hype dancing for this DJ and this producer for Mad Decent saw me rapping at a party just wylin out. And he said: “you should try to actually make songs.” I was like “sure!” we went to the studio and laid down the song. It was probably a year and a half ago. After that Stunnaman from The Pack asked me on Twitter “oh, you look really interesting? Do you wanna be on a song? Can you speak any other languages?” That was the first track I ever put out “You’s A Chote.”

And you’re speaking another language on that?

Chippy: Yeah. I’m speaking Hindi. “Yous A Chote” means like “Yous a bitch.” I go “Turn on my Ishare” which is kinda like “Turn On My Swag.” And I say “Paisa In My Ghare” which is kinda like “Money In My Car.” And I say “Ek Glassi Bardhu Ka” which is like “One Bottle Of Alcohol.” Stunnaman wanted it to be champagne, but people in India don’t really drink champagne. That’s not really a thing.

I was just thinking about Stunnaman last night actually because that Star Slinger song with him and Lil B just came out. That “Bad Bitches” song.

Chippy: Oh, did you listen to that?

Yeah. I like it a lot. I’ve always liked Star Slinger, but I think this new stuff he’s been doing where he’s been working with guest rappers is his best yet.

Chippy: I know. It’s hella funny. On Star Slinger’s page everyone’s hella hating on me like “why did you get this girl on a song!” His demographic is so random. He’ll ask a bunch of Bay Area rappers like Stunna or me or Lil B. We all live in The Bay. It’s pretty funny.

Do you see like a real scene in The Bay you’re a part of?

Chippy: Yeah definitely. In Oakland there’s the whole Sick Sad World and Trill Team. They throw a lot of parties out here. After the Hyphy movement The Bay kinda stopped for a bit. Now they’re kinda getting back on their shit. It’s dope to see the transition. Even to see the energy on the streets. When I moved back here I was like: “It’s kinda dead. No one’s doing hella shit.” Then, all of the sudden, it started picking up really intensely and people started doing shit. Probably in the last two or three months I’ve seen a huge difference. I moved back in the beginning of this year. And now I’m seeing people motivated to do shit again. After the Hyphy movement there was hella momentum. But, then it just fell.

Yeah. If I look at a group like The Pack, they were huge and then they kinda fell off for sure. Lil B was able to rise out of that. But, Maybe Hyphy is coming back? There was a time when Hyphy felt like it was gonna blow up like nation-wide, but then…it didn’t.

Chippy: I feel like The Pack made a huge impact on music everywhere. I know Metro Zu are really inspired by The Pack. They kinda made it acceptable to be a rapper in tight jeans and shit. Hyphy influenced so many different scenes. Obviously with like Drake and “The Motto.”

Yeah I can see that influence on Metro Zu for sure. I know Lofty really looks up to Lil B. Some of his raps are very “Hyphy,” too. Like his verse on “Hyperbolic Chamber Music” sounds very much like his version of a Lil B Pack verse to me. You’re on that song, too. How did you end up on “Hyperbolic?”

Chippy: Well, I know Zachg because pretty much everyone that’s in that scene in The Bay knows each other. He just hit me up on Twitter and we kicked it. I’m friends with Squadda and Mondre and all them. We had mutual friends on the Internet. Zach hit me up like “Main Attrakionz just recorded this thing for Мишка. Do you wanna be on it?” There’s a lot of good people on that song. I just made a song with Big Baby Gandhi. Key Nyata’s on that. He’s hella dope, too. I think Trpl Blk is on “Hyperbolic,” too…

Yeah, he is.

Chippy: I’m thinking of doing a song with him. But, that hasn’t been laid out yet.

That would be pretty crazy. Your voices are like opposites. He has such a deep voice.

Chippy: Oh yeah and I’ve got this high ass voice.

You have kind of a special part on “Hyperbolic” since you’re the only girl and you’re at the end. And…Maybe the best way to describe your “Hyperbolic” verse is to quote Left Leberra: “Chippy came on there and dissed everyone on the song!” Obviously, he was joking when he told me that, but…

Chippy: I know a few girls were asked to be on it and it didn’t work out. So, I ended up being the only girl. I was like “Shit! I gotta rep for the girls out here! These niggas ain’t shit!”

You’ve mentioned a couple collabs you’ve got in the works. You’re mostly working with people through the internet, right? Like your stuff with Metro Zu and—

Chippy: It’s hella funny because Mike Dece is REALLY into The Pack. Like freakishly into The Pack. He knew about “Yous A Chote” before it even came out. The guy who produced it told Mike about it I guess. And, me and Metro Zu kind of like the same shit. And we’re both guerilla like we just put out tons of shit and don’t give a fuck.

Have you put out an actual collection of songs, like a mixtape or album or something? Or has it just been singles?

Chippy: I haven’t. I’m actually putting something out soon. I’m doing a tape with NanosauR.

Oh, Awesome. He’s really cool.

Chippy: Yeah.

I read a GOOD Magazine article about you the other day…well, it wasn’t like “About Chippy” specifically, but it was about Bay rappers. I don’t even read that site  regularly, but I think I saw they used a picture Antwon had sent me to use when I posted my interview with him. The picture with him sitting on the steps with a whole bunch of people like Main Attrakionz and such. The screenshot from the “Helicopter” video. So, that picture is what drew me to that article. Anyway, in that article the writer said that you’re a journalist? I’m just curious about that.

Chippy: I moved to The Bay when I was like 16. I finished High School hella early. I’m still in school for journalism actually. Well, it’s kinda like journalism. It’s like “Media Communications.” I was writing about fashion, but I kinda lost interest in that and then I started writing about music. I was doing a lot of freelance writing. I was making a lot of connections by writing about music, going to a lot of shows in The Bay and stuff. Me and my homies were running a website where we would all write stuff and collaborate on the graphics.

It’s funny because M.I.A’s brother actually hit us up to work for M.I.A. So, we all left our shit in The Bay and moved to L.A to do that. It’s really weird being in L.A because you get weird attention if you’re the craziest person there. In The Bay everyone gets nuts and Hyphy as shit. In L.A people are more chill and are like observers. If you’re like the ratchet person getting down they’ll notice you. That’s actually how I started rapping. Because I was always the person dancing at the parties.

It seems like a lot of people start rapping kinda non-seriously. Like as a joke or at parties. When I talked with Dark Sister they told me they started by writing a rap kinda joking around when they were coming back from a club. But, now they’re really serious about it.

Chippy: Yeah.

Hit the jump for the rest!

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While in Austin for SXSW, I had the pleasure of meeting Sebastian Weikart (on the left) of London’s Robot Elephant Records which he runs along with Anthony Chalmers (on the right). We had a great talk about music while hanging out with Funerals, AAIMON, and Skeletonkids.

Robot Elephant is known for it’s distinctive vision and DIY ethic. They have done releases for Acid Mothers Temple, the well received ISVOLT compilation with Disaro records, the Ritualz vs Fostercare EP, and the split compilation with San Francisco based Tundra Dubs. We decided to do an impromptu interview for the Мишка Bloglin while hanging out. Here it is.

*****

Mike Textbeak: First off can you give us a little history of the label and why London for the headquarters?

Robot Elephant Records: The label was started by me and Anthony Chalmers – a London promoter under the name God Don’t Like It. Well we live in London so obviously it’s our headquarters :) Also, I think London is one of the centers in the music world, with a similar importance to New York… lots of popular styles in music are rooted here, lots of very influential artists come from here, and if you’ve ever been in London, you would understand it better – it’s a constant buzz, the live music scene is very healthy on all levels.

We started the label to put out records by the local bands we loved- however we quickly realized that it’s very hard to sign any London-based band as nothing from the really good new stuff remains in the underground for the better part of 5 minutes really, there is a lot of competition, therefore we now work with artists from all over the world.

The name Robot Elephant Records is very interesting, what is the significance of the name and how did it come about?

RER: It was just some brain storming between me and Anthony, and we wanted to have a name that we can associate to a great logo. So we asked out friend Mark Gamble to design a logo based on names we came up with – and the B/W Robot Elephant design stuck, it’s just brilliant and you can put it on a lot of things (we really need to get some T-Shirts designed with that).

What is the RER philosophy? What makes RER tick?

RER: The philosophy is simply to release music that me and Anthony like – we are technically not bound to any genre, and I think the label catalog shows that. However we are totally into electronic music at the moment, especially in DIY/bedroom produced highly innovative music, so this is reflected in the label output.

You have a certain unique vision for the artwork and sound of the label, how would you define the RER aesthetic and how much control does the label versus the artist have over the art and sound of each release to maintain that aesthetic?

RER: Well… obviously we choose the artists we work with, therefore we know what we sign up for sound-wise with an artist, but we give full control over the final result and visual appearance – all the record artworks are provided by the artist, and I put together the packaging design in the end. It all goes together really well just by itself, nothing is forced, and looking at our back catalog and future releases, every release makes total sense in it’s sound and visual appearance, it’s like an epic story told in chapters.

What is your view on the DIY scene and why do you feel it is important? Did you always want to go the DIY route?

RER: I think DIY is the most important movement in music because means empowerment and democratization – everyone is enabled to express themselves. I don’t really know what it means to not work after DIY principles, really…

The RER vs Tundra comp is stellar. What did you think of working on a comp with Ben Tundra and how did this come about?

RER: I came across Tundra Dubs ca. 18 months ago and loved their output. At that time we just completed the ISVOLT compilation – a collab with Disaro. So I thought we can kind of follow up on that concept working with the Tundra Dubs label. Ben and all the people involved were totally behind it and I am happy how everything went together. All the songs are exclusive or previously unreleased – and I think all the artists on there are on a good way to carve their own niche and become famous eventually, so I think this compilation is something to look back to in 1 or 2 years as something that showed the future of music ;)

Fostercare is an amazing and almost alien artist, is it ever difficult to work with an artist like that? I bet you are very excited about his new release, how would you describe his new material and what do you think of his artistic vision, progression, and evolution as an artist?

RER: Yes Fostercare is an outstanding artist in any respect. He prefers to work completely on his own terms in isolation and maintains complete control about every aspect, also he is an impossibly prolific producer, meaning he already has a whole slew of new songs behind in the hand when you didn’t even release the last record yet – which makes him sometimes not the easiest person to work with, but  the quality of his output proves him right. He wanted to steer more towards club-compatible dance music, but not giving up his special quirks and unique ideas in sound design and song writing, so that is pretty much what Altered Creature – the upcoming album – is representing.

I recently met up with Os Ovni when we played together in Cleveland. They were super nice people and very talented and unique artists. Can you tell us about the upcoming Os Ovni release for RER?

RER: This release has been in the making for 12 months now – I stayed with Logan and Omebi in Austin at SxSW 2011 and they are indeed incredible lovely people. It will be a split EP with London-based Blue on Blue, I see the 2 bands having similar influences in their music such as Broadcast and Bruce Haack, and the transatlantic split EP concept was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. So it all came together now, we are just waiting for the ideal moment to announce it. We also have extensive video material from the OO people and also for Blue on Blue, looking forward to release all this to the public soon!

What is your current view of the underground music scene? It seems to be going in so many directions, any personal view or insight?

RER: I love the fact that there is no clear direction – we are living in true post-modern cacophonic times – more than ever. I love it that way! Complete freedom of expression for everyone, the rise of DIY culture, the dissolving of genre boundaries and tribes is for me pretty much the ideal state of culture.

What does the future hold for RER? Where do you see the label sound going? Do you have any big plans?

RER: More obscure music from all over the world such as albums with Ourobonic Plague, Woodpecker Wooliams, and Hipdiebattery, plus releases with some more established acts are in the making. We are organizing a little UK tour, some activities in Germany, and already working towards plans for SxSW next year…

On a final note, do you have any trade secrets for label owners trying to realize their dreams?

RER: I don’t think there is any secret behind what we are doing. Just trusting our gut feeling and having an undefeatable belief in music.

The first time I heard of RIMAR was from Cities Aviv who told me basically: “Oh, man you haven’t heard of RIMAR? Higher Ground is one of the best albums of last year! You need to check him out!” That’s obviously not a direct quote. But, you get the idea. With a description like that how could I not check out RIMAR When I did give his stuff a listen it was mid February, only about a week after he released Closer, his second EP. I listened to both his EP’s (Closer first since it’s newer and comes first on his Bandcamp page) and from the moment I pressed play his music blew me away.

I honestly expected RIMAR to be a rapper. I guess I just figured that since he was playing a show with Cities Aviv he would be the same genre. Cities Aviv also gave me no description of what kind of music RIMAR makes. When I started listening to RIMAR I realized why. His music is very hard to pin down to one genre. I was kind of right to think of him as a rapper because rap is no small influence on RIMAR’s sound (and rap came up a lot in our interview). RIMAR’s music is a blend of many genres so the best way to talk about it probably isn’t to classify it, but to describe it.

He makes deep, atmospheric, touching stuff. And, while that might make it seem like his music is kind of ambient, it’s not. There’s a clear, usually danceable beat to most of his songs. I had been listening to RIMAR’s two EPs quite I bit since I first discovered them when, one night, it occurred to me I should reach out to him to do an interview. He seemed somewhat mysterious to me and I wanted to put a face and a person to his music. Also, I have been “apartment sitting” for my Dad in Connecticut, just a short Metro North ride into NYC making it relatively easy to get myself to Brooklyn to meet with RIMAR. The day I emailed him about setting up an interview happened to be a day he was playing a small show in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

So, I guess I picked a perfect time to send that email. I got to both interview RIMAR and see his really cool live show. Before his show we talked on the steps of a building just around the corner from the venue. This is my first interview I’ve done outside. There something that seems right about talking with RIMAR out in nature. Samples of all kinds of different sounds move in and out of RIMAR’s music and, on those steps I was recording not just my conversation with RIMAR, but all kinds of other sounds: wind, birds, peoples’ conversations, cars…Well, it wasn’t “nature” exactly.” But maybe the “nature” of a Brooklyn street is even more appropriate?

***

Nick Vogt: How did you get started making music? You said you were trying to rap or write raps?

RIMAR: Yeah. I guess growing up I was into a lot of top 40 Billboard music. That’s my first introduction to music. At first I was writing really dumb lyrics. I tried starting Boybands and shit in elementary school. That was like my first venture into music. I got more serious in High School, which is when I started to DJ. I’d make my own remixes of like Usher songs and J-Kwon songs and stuff. And then I got into making my own instrumentals and I started rapping to them. I was fascinated by the whole hip hop and rap thing. I was shipping my beats out to friends in high school and college and they would sing or rap on them. A friend of mine said I should just start putting out my own music under my own name. And that’s where the whole project of “RIMAR” started.

And then from there you started making the music you’re doing now?

RIMAR: Yeah, my first thing was this beat tape called “A” it was four or five tracks of just instrumentals I made in High School. It got picked up by a couple blogs. Pasta Primavera was one. Or maybe Cactus-Mouth. One of those blogs.

I’ve honestly never heard of either of those.

RIMAR: Those blogs are really up on their shit in terms of smaller artists. But, once I got on those blogs I made Higher Ground and then Closer.

Did you want people to rap on the “A” beat tape? Where those hip hop instrumentals?

RIMAR: Not really. It was more of a Dilla or Flying Lotus type of project. Instrumentals that were meant to stand by themselves.

A lot of people compare Higher Ground to Dilla.

RIMAR: Yeah. I think it’s interesting. As much as I do take from Dilla I didn’t really listen to most of his stuff. Donuts mostly. But I’ve only listened to that a handful of times. So, it’s interesting people compare me to Dilla. I’m kinda flattered they do hear that. Higher Ground was influenced by a lot of things not just Dilla.

What were some of those influences?

RIMAR: Mostly Higher Ground was influenced by pop music. Most of my music is influenced by feelings, memories. Situations that I’m in at the moment. I had just met this girl and so Higher Ground was about feelings of being elated and not really worrying about anything. Everything being okay.

Yeah I can see that. Higher Ground definitely feels triumphant to me. It’s pretty different than Closer I think. Closer is a lot more…Meditative? Is that a good word?

RIMAR: Yeah. I really enjoyed Higher Ground. But, after making Higher Ground I wanted to make something more serious. At the time I was reading a lot on ideas on meditation and reincarnation. A lot of people have been saying it’s an album about love. I agree with that. But, it’s also an album about the cycle of life and death. I made up this whole story in my head of what Closer is about. It’s supposed to be romantic in a sense. But, it’s also supposed to be about life in general.

Huh. Yeah I read one review or saw someone’s description of Closer and they called it “beautiful music about fucking” basically. Which I thought was really funny. “Music about fucking” makes me think of R&B, and there’s definitely an R&B aspect to your stuff…

RIMAR: Closer is really about all those humanistic emotions. It’s about love and…yeah, fucking. That’s definitely an element in Closer.

What is your process when you go to make a beat? Like how do you go about it?

RIMAR: It varies. It’s starts with me not even touching a computer. Just getting influences from things I see, things I read or watch. Then I usually download a sample or do some vocalization and try to build a beat around it. There isn’t really a set process. I would say I make like two or three scrap beats a day that don’t turn into anything usually. But, the ones I think do have potential I keep. It’s kind of a weird process.

Yeah you said you try to bring all your influences together which is something I can definitely hear in your music. There’s a lot of different things happening at once in many of your songs. There’s one of Closer with this screwed G-Side vocal sample and then all these other layers of sound around that which is really cool. It’s almost like a bunch of different genres are all blending together on one song.

RIMAR: Yeah that’s how I try to keep it. My biggest influence music-wise is probably Kanye West. He’s been able to bring a lot of different kinds of music into rap. Growing up listening to him made me more open to different stuff. But, I think that’s how everybody is nowadays. With the internet it’s easy to sample anything and bring it all together. It’s all about picking up on different stuff you hear on blogs or movie soundtracks or whatever. It’s about making use of the resources that are out there. There’s really no limit to what you can make with samples.

It’s interesting you mention Kanye West. I think he has a  bad reputation with a lot of people. But, he is really talented. The College Dropout is one of the first hip hop albums I ever liked. So, I kind of never understood why people think Kanye is wack.

RIMAR: Well, I think Kanye West really bridged the gap for a lot of people. For “rap heads” he got them listening to different, non-rap stuff. He also was able to bring the whole “indie” crowd in and get them listening to rap. I would consider his music more “pop” than anything. The stylings are definitely rap. But, all his music has this sensible appeal that makes it really easy to gravitate to.

Yeah. On College Dropout he had serious underground rappers that “rap heads” respected as guests. Guys like Talib Kweli and Mos Def. But, he also used samples that were pretty different for mainstream hip hop.

RIMAR: It’s pretty interesting what he’s done. Hopefully he can continue to do that.

See the rest after the jump!

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Like a lot of the Internet I had no idea who Amber London was until I listened to Spaceghostpurrp’s God Of Black EP. I remember booting it up on my iPod on the bus and the first track surprised me because I didn’t hear Spaceghost’s voice on it at all. Instead I heard Amber London’s song “Low MF Key.”

This was a very pleasant surprise, though. My first thought was “whoa! This beat’s crazy!” and then “Whoa! There’s a girl in Raider Klan!” and then “Whoa! She’s really good!” I took my iPod from my pocket and checked the song info which told me it was by a woman named “Amber London.” When I got home I immediately looked her up.

Amber recently put out her excellent EP 1994, and I talked with her via phone a few days after its release. I’ve interviewed a fair amount of people now and everyone has been very real, honest and respectful. Amber London is one of the most genuine, polite, down-to-earth people I’ve interviewed yet. Even when she said, “Raider Klan’s goal is to take over the world” she was humble about it.

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Nick: How did you get started rapping?

Amber London: I always was rapping growing up just because I think it’s a part of Houston culture just to freestyle and have fun with it. But, I didn’t start taking it seriously until middle school. I was writing and making music on a tape recorder with my friends. It became a hobby and then after that I continued on with it because I was kinda good at it. then I started thinking “Oh, I’m good at this a little bit…”

How did you end up linking with Raider Klan?

Amber London: My friends told me about Spaceghost and I looked him up. I became like an instant fan because he was doing what I always wanted to do: bring the ‘90s sound back. And he was doing it to perfection. I followed him on Twitter and we chopped it up. I sent him my music and he just loved it. He wanted me to be a part of Raider Klan and I was honored.

Did your music have that real ‘90s feel to it before you started working with Raider Klan or is the 1994 EP the first time you’ve done it?

Amber London: I feel like me and Spaceghost were trying to do the same thing, but we just didn’t know each other existed. All the songs on 94 except “Trilla Nation” and “Low Key” were done before I knew Spaceghost. It just seems like it was fate. I really fit in with Raider Klan. That’s the sound I was going for.

Yeah there’s a real movement to recreate and bring back that ‘90s sound now. What are your thoughts on that? What about ‘90s hip hop is interesting to you?

Amber London: It’s not even just with the music. It’s with TV, too. People were craving the ‘90s. Nickelodeon brought back the old shows even. The ‘90s babies are older now. We’re in our 20s. We’re just bringing back what we grew up on almost just like everybody else does. I caught onto that a long time ago and I kinda knew it was gonna be an epidemic like it is. And it’s gonna continue to grow.

And 1994 was before the Internet really took off and before Social Networking and before some other computer stuff that is very important to music right now. So, bringing that pre-internet sound into the “internet age”…that’s interesting to me for sure.

Amber London: Yeah. Right now music is kinda up in the air. Like the stuff on the radio…people are kinda fed up with that. We don’t wanna hear it anymore. Artists are making music like purposefully for the radio when before people would just make music to make music and if it got on the radio that would be a shock like “Oh my god, I got on the radio!”

Right. And the stuff you’re doing is definitely not like “engineered” for the radio. No one who works in big radio is gonna want to play retro-sounding ‘90s rap. People wanna hear club music that sounds “new” when really what you’re doing is actually something truly new. Hopefully radio will pick up on what’s going on in hip hop right now because there is so much good, non-radio music out there.

Amber London: The radio’s gonna have to. It’s slow, but what it gets big it’s gonna be big. Hip Hop needs to go back to its roots. It can’t be this “poppy” “cornball” thing anymore.

Nick: You named your EP 1994. Is that a special year for you?

Amber London: Well, people usually say it’s because I was born in 1994. But, it’s not because of that. Of course I was born in the ‘90s so I can’t say I listened to Super Duper Fly when I was 6. But, I went back and I studied the music. That year was just extra cool as far as TLC and Da Brat…going back and studying the ‘90s, that’s my favorite year. It was just dope. The way they dressed, the way they carried themselves…it’s just all around dope. When you listen to my EP I want to give you that feeling.

Yeah I can see how Da Brat and TLC are influences on you. Do you have other major influences, too?

Amber London: Man, I have so many influences to tell you the truth. I never really tried to rap like anyone specific. I always listened to a lot of people like Remy Ma and a lot of female rappers. It was never forced like “I’m gonna listen to this artist and copy them.” I just naturally had that god-given “oldschool” sound. I never rapped like a “typical female artist.” Just listening to the old ‘90s artists I realized I resembled them. And as I studied their music it just came out more into my voice because that’s what I listen to. All the ‘90s artists—I can’t exclude one—are major influences. Da Brat, Tupac…Not even just typical ones. Underground artists just Mia X and Gangsta Boo, too.

Yeah I feel like the ‘90s were more accepting to female rappers, too. Now that we’re a decade into the 2000s I see female artists getting recognition again, but there was a period where I saw almost no female rappers. I’m sure they were out there, but the hip hop scene didn’t seem to want them or something. Do you feel that way too? Do you see yourself as part of a new movement of girls who are getting respect again?

Amber London: Well, I never imagined myself as being really “mainstream,” you know? Unless the industry is ready for that. I’m not gonna change. I remember back in the ‘90s there were different female rappers with extremely different styles. Why can’t it be like that again? Why do we all have to sound a certain way? If the industry is ready for my sound I’m ready. If not I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing for the underground.

Right. And it’s really important to stay true to who you are. Obviously. One of the ‘90s rappers you remind me most of is Lauren Hill actually. And I think that because when I listen to her stuff she doesn’t have a need to say “I’m a girl” constantly. It’s clear she’s a woman, but she didn’t have to act extra feminine or rap about ultra-sexual stuff. Rap is obviously this super masculine place where getting respected as a female is tough. But, Lauren Hill was able to be herself and not have to like play the role of a “girl rapper.” And I see that in you, too.

Amber London: Yeah, I know what you’re saying. Lauren Hill is a genius. And I think when it comes to making music as a woman people don’t realize that we don’t use our genitals to rap. I don’t use my vagina to rap. It has noting to do with it. It’s all about your brain. There’s as many good female artists as there are male artists. I hear a lot of male artists who suck and a lot of female artists who suck. I’d rather have both sexes identify with my music than just trying to be “a girl” with it. I just think If you have it you have it and if you don’t you don’t. Lauren Hill was indescribable. To be compared to her in any way is really flattering. She was incredible with her wordplay. Everything about her is poetic and genius to me.

Speaking of wordplay, my favorite can rappers tell stories with a lot of detail. That’s a big deal to me. And you do that really well. Especially on your song “420.” You mention so many little things on that and you really set the scene. When you mention the Febreeze smell or going to eat an omelet…

Amber London: You know what’s funny about that is people keep on thinking I’m saying “I lace my weed with Febreeze” but that’s not what I’m saying! I’m saying “weed SMELL mixed with Febreeze” like after we smoke in the car we spray Febreeze! But, the real inspiration for that song was from Curren$y actually. When I picked the beat I didn’t know Curren$y had rapped on it originally, but when I found out I used him as an influence. I liked the way he was flowing on there. And people really liked it! It took me like ten minutes to write that song, too. I didn’t really think hard about it at all. I think that’s why it came out so good.

Oh yeah sometimes it’s best to not think too hard and just go for something. It definitely works on “420.” Curren$y is a really talented storyteller in that way I mentioned. He’s very detail-focused.

Amber London: Yeah and his flow is very difficult. The way he does it is complex, you know? I kinda tried to do the same thing: make it complex. I wanted it to be like you wouldn’t know what word was coming next, you wouldn’t know how I was gonna rap the next line. My friend actually had to convince me to put that song out or even do a video for it. I didn’t even want to. I was like “uhh…it’s alright…” It’s funny that people really liked it.

Hit the jump for the rest!

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Much to our surprise (NOT!) the rest of the world is finally catching up to the awesomeness that is Action Bronson, especially after the widely heralded release of his newest mixtape, the Party Supplies produced Blue Chips. Now everyone and their mother is – as Bronson would say – on his pee pee. Me Generation tastemakers Pitchfork recently sat down with these two Queens residents to get the skinny on the making of Blue Chips. Turns out it was not a very skinny experience.

Behind the scenes of the album, these two were lighting up and then munching down on whatever they could get their hands on. Fuck, when I used to get blazed and eat chips I never made anything one hundredth as good as Blue Chips. I just watched Planet Earth. Lucky bastards. Check out a video above of them performing a track for Reebok (?), and then read the rest of the interview here.

KID A/BB Bleu is the pseudonym of Virginian singer and producer Anni T. Her sound combines experimental minimalism, and electro beats with aerial melodies. It is the sweet presence of nativity and speaks to the brokenhearted and weary. She has worked with such artist as Dan Le Sac and Daedelus, just to name a few.

One of her more recent self produced albums, PPPONEY, has made quite a stir in since its debut last summer. A soundtrack to an imaginary film, it is a fragile look at life’s letdowns and social disconnection sung affectionally in Japanese to add to the projects cool. I recently caught up with KID A to talk about her upcoming album BLCKRSECHLL (Black Rose Chill) and her favorite storytellers and our agreed up love of Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Jónó Mí Ló: I guess I should say like it starts now or something.

KID A: Ok, cool. “welcome.”

Yes “welcome” (lol). I wanted to talk you about PPPONEY.

KID A: Ok, shoot.

It’s a older album. It’s a soundtrack? What’s the concept behind it?

KID A: Yes, I produced it during July of last year. It’s this weird and wonderful imaginary soundtrack I conjured up out of boredom.

Boredom; the mother of modern invention.

KID A: True, true ahaha. Thank you, boredom! I was listening to a lot of YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra) and felt really inspired to create my own Japanese audio experience.

Oh man I love YMO good call. Why do you think people are checking it out now or this more of a resurgence in interest? i.e. The Fader write up and some other postings I’ve seen recently. If you could cast PPPONEY who would be in it and who would direct it? Would you get any of the members of YMO to work with you?

KID A: I absolutely love Haruomi, Yukihiro, and Ryuichi! It’s wonderful how they all left their solo projects to join forces as YMO. They each bring such a crucial musical element to the group. They individual styles combine so well. Without knowing it, the first time I ever heard a Haroumi Hosono song was in Lost in Translation as “Kaze Wo Hatsumete” played… he was a member of Happy End during the 1970s… I was destined to discover their music.

I think people are finding a new interest in PPPONEY mostly due to the Fader coverage, but also because it’s a project that takes you some place distant and far away mentally. It’s a good escape. Something you don’t have to really think about… If I could cast anyone to be in PPPONEY it would be Rinko Kikuchi, Tadanobu Asano, Yassin Bey, Léa Seydoux, and Vincent Cassel… and I wish Rainer Werner Fassbinder was still with us to direct it.

Intense lineup.

KID A: They’re all brilliant storytellers.

What’s coming up next for you ? New jams or collaborations on the horizon ?

KID A: Next on the agenda? Well… I am preparing to release my full length debut album BLCKRSECHLL sometime this year… I’m working on the album artwork with my friend graphic designer/artist, Pierre Vanni, and hoping to sign it soon. The beauty of it is that it’s already been recorded, it’s just looking for the proper home and I think it’s been found. I’m totally excited, it’s going to be worth the wait after all these years. I truly appreciate everyone’s support, love, and patience.

Be sure to check out Ann’s killer cover of Marianne Faithful’s “As Tears Go By“, along with a personal favorite “Planète Manga!” here teamed with Pierre Vanni’s awesome animations.

Lil Ugly Mane is an interesting character, and not one who you can familiarize yourself with at will. His identity is diffuse in a way that prevents easy apprehension. You’re gonna have to work to find the limits of this enigmatic rap figure. Supa first played me some of his music a few months ago, and I enjoyed the tunes. But, in the months that followed I’ve come to find that Lil Ugly Mane’s art is far more complicated than a song about pants saggin might suggest. He does the beats, the raps, and the art. And from his viewpoint rap isn’t a two dimensional field of possible identities.

For Lil Ugly Mane, rap is a way to align his life, and present art that reveals his unique take on existing in America in 2012. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, he grew up on an interesting fringe of the South. And while his music sounds overtly Southern, it has an odd sensibility to it that extends well beyond the the South’s dominant ideas of rap music. I have a feeling that the longer I keep up with Lil Ugly Mane the more I’m going to find out about someone with a compelling take on life, and a keen ability to translate that to art. We’re in wild times, and whether folks see it or not there is certainly a very Wild West element to what American hip hop artists are doing. We’re utilizing the internet, and readily available technologies to create communities in places yet to be defined.

There is an idea of the internet as a space, but what I’m talking about is moreso the “real world” as affected by the internet. The new “real world” that is emerging where online and offline life are inseparable. A new world that can be defined by neither side of the former dichotomy. Lil Ugly Mane is like some kind of Billy the Kid creating art that influences the world to align with his outlook. He’s using his talents, and available technologies to strip away his born identity, and instead he embodies the myth that he feels best describes our current era. And he’s really, really, good at it.

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Zachg: Yo

Lil Ugly Mane: Yoooo what’s good?

Whas goodie mane? Just smoked hella hash put some tater tots in the oven.

LUM: Haha right.

Worked lunch at the restaurant I work at. How bout you?

LUM: I’m just working on beats, smokin’ too many cigarettes.

Thats whasup. You do all your beats as Shawn Kemp?

LUM: It all depends. Some shit isn’t a Shawn Kemp beat.

True I feel you. Can you say what would make it a Shawn Kemp beat? Or is it a feeling? Or something else?

LUM: I’m not really sure, honestly, cuz when I started doing the Shawn Kemp shit, it was on a whole different tip, I was surrounded by cats like Ahnnu and Ohbliv down here, and it was more focused on the beat itself being able to flow independently with the absence of an MC, so when I make a beat now, I take that whole outlook with me, I still try to make shit that I don’t even got to rhyme on for it to sound right.

Ok true. What are the different aliases that people know you for? Which ones do you think are the most recognized? I mean to be honest I know you do beats and raps as Ugly Mane, and you do Shawn Kemp beats, and you do artwork as Ugly Mane. But I also heard that you used to make noise music too from a Fader article or something.

LUM: A few years back I had a project called Across that toured around a bit a put out a few tapes, that was just harsh electronics, but I mean honestly I’m always making shit. I feel like it’s all connected. It all makes sense.

That’s dope me too. I started in 2000 and done all kinds of stuff. I just played tabla for a long time and worked with field recordings. But most folks can’t understand how that shit would influence me now.

LUM: Exactly. I’m saying people are too willing to corral themselves into corners and try to define themselves. That shit’s boring to me.

Exactly. It’s dead. No life in it. Like music is so free, just follow the sounds, like really follow and see where they take you.

LUM: Totally. It’s end times. People need to open up to everything. The world’s a fucking swamp. Everything’s mutating together anyway. I mean people want to cling on to these banners of what they think makes something what it is and to me thats preschool shit, like I’m glad you can tell that a circle is different from a rectangle. Good job.

That’s word on the swamp analogy man that’s a good one. So how long altogether you been doin tunes?

LUM: I’ve been making music since forever man. It’s all I really ever gave a fuck about.

Where are you from?

LUM: im from Virginia, Richmond mostly. Moved around a bunch tho, I was in Philly for a while, I was stayin up in West Baltimore and Mount Vernon when I recorded Mista Thug Isolation. But I’m back in Richmond now. I just get to feelin’ like I gotta bounce sometimes and so I do, but so far, I always come home.

Would you say the place you grew up was southern?

LUM: Not really really southern, but I mean you gotta think we’re barely below the Mason Dixon, it’s still the south. Richmond was the capitol of the Confederacy you know what I’m sayin’? But it’s like VA is right smack in the middle of the east coast, we were getting everything growing up, I bought 6 Feet Deep the same day I bought Charge It 2 Da Game. As far as hip hop is concerned shit like DITC, and Mobb Deep was just as crucial to me growing up as all the Rap-A-Lot and No Limit shit comin’ out of the south.

Word that’s what’s up. Did you always do graphic design too?

LUM: Yo, making the cover is the best part of making music. Making flyers, t-shirts. All that shit is fun. I feel like I’ve started projects in the past just cuz I had made a cover and wanted to use it for something.

Hahah damn feel you on that too mane. Fosho I was always makin the fliers and comin up with crazy ways to package shit.

LUM: CD-R in a diaper. That shit’s the future.

Aye bruh keep it on the low! 

LUM: Haha.

How many records you think you done?

LUM: Like record covers or like me personally?

You personally.

LUM: Too many. I had a website that’s not around anymore when I was up in Philly, that I recorded an album a day and posted it. Probably did like 40 something, but most of it was stupid shit. Prank calling Roses department stores through a delay pedal and shit.

That’s dope though. Classic shit. How did you start doin all the Raider art?

LUM: Back when Purpp was about to drop the BLVCKLVND 66.6 tape, he hit me up to do the letters, and I ended up collabing with my homie Chino Amobi on that. But more recently it started when Curry hit me up to do the shit for his tape and I just started doing ‘em for everybody. Shit’s fun.

Hell yeah. I feel your style too like from a graphic standpoint. I can appreciate the work that goes into that.

LUM: Thanks fam. I just always loved that style, like you cant look at the cover of Ghetto D for instance and not think that shit is dope.

Bro pen n pixel has defined a huge part of young people taste. It’s just such a sign of the times.

LUM: I completely agree.

The combination of computers letting folks make these graphics that cater to this kind of impossible idea of diamonds and money and shit. But then it kinda came true I guess. Like now it really is diamond coated teeth and shit. Real life lookin like a pen n pixel cover.

LUM: That’s the goal.

It’s dope.

LUM: But it really is a sign of the times.

Hit the jump for the rest!

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