[Interview] AEMMP Hip Hop Artist of The Week: Terra 5
[Interview] Julian Malone: Embrace The Different
Somebody asked me at the studio yesterday, 'what sets Julian Malone and the 2008ighties apart from other artists and crews in the city?" After a long day of meetings and decisions my brain hurt and I think I said something about Malone's sound, the way he's able to merge the past and the present, as well as the crew's approach to being themselves. With a little bit more time to think, and the peace and quiet of my apartment, I realized the that what really sets Julian Malone apart is found in the opening lines of "Goodbye To Dreaming". The dark and bare record is the first track found on Malone's 2012 release, Enemy: The Time & Loves of Malone. "I put my heart and my soul, and everything in between into this shit," Malone says, welcoming listeners into his album and his world.
While many artists, and any artist worth their salt, share Malone's amount of effort, they don't all show it in the same way. Malone lets you know how hard he works, and how bad he wants it on every track. Opening up on records has always been part of Malone's style, since he began making music as a way to cope with life happening around him. "My music was the diary to my life," he says, reflecting on Enemy's most personal records. A little older and a little more stable, Malone has a slightly different take on wearing his heart so heavy on his sleeve.
"Now I'm kind of calming down on it because my life isn't really that bad anymore," he told me shortly before announcing a deal with Stones Throw Records. "Things changed a lot. And then also, just getting a little older, I know there's some stuff better left unsaid or just said privately. I'm still keeping the realness. When there's something I want to say, I'm still going to say it."
While we've known about Julian since 2011, it's now that many others are starting to catch on. Aside from the Stones Throw affiliation, Malone was also recognized by the Chicago Tribune as one of 13 artists to watch in 2013. On February 23rd, Malone will perform at Digital Freshness, opening up for Roc Marciano. In lieu of his performance, we talked to Malone about his new project Diff.Rnt, his personal growth, and much more. Read the full interview on the next page.
[Interview] AEMMP Record Producer: Von Vuai
Von Vuai is a producer and drummer from the Westside of Chicago, and from the sounds of his production, his time is near. A member of the Chvrch crew, with fellow rising artist St. Millie, Von produced ½ of Millie’s debut effort No Religion But Up, an underground success that catapulted Millie into the lens of the Chicago music scene. With a beat tape titled Stank on the way, Von's airy, futuristic and melodic production will likely have the chance to make its way into the right person's ears.
A full-time student at Columbia College, Von is balancing homework and class schedules with all night sessions and finding the right creative space. He has had good teachers both in and out of the classroom, another up and comer under the guidance of The Gift. "Gift is my homie he has been a lot like a big brother and mentor to me. I’ve been able to learn a lot while working with him, more than he even knows." Von remarks about The Gift, who is an in-house producer for Rockie Fresh, and frequent collaborator with many in the Chicago Hip Hop scene.
From his background behind the drums, to his aspirations of diving into the fashion world, Von's creative peak as yet to be reached. It will be only up from here as Von continues to grow as an artist of many trades. We take a look at the ascent in the latest AEMMP Hip Hop producer spotlight.
[Interview] ProbCause: Turning Points
"Some artists can just pick up the mic and make amazing, confident songs and blow up quickly! I needed more time to develop and improve, but I think that will just make me even better in the end. Everyone can't be like Derrick Rose and have an immediate impact on the game - Some of us have to be more scrappy like Joakim Noah and show steady improvement over the course of our careers."
[Interview] RH First Look: The GTW
words by Jake Krzeczowski
It's hard to miss James King when he enters a room. When I first met him he was wearing green fatigue pants tightly tucked into black combat boots and topped off by a patchwork bomber jacket. King, better known as The GTW (Greater Than Wealth), explains that his dress reflects his art, taking from many different scenes and cultures around Chicago and abroad to create a sound and attitude that is wholly his own. The sound he dubs "Chigerian" is a nod to the Nigerian heritage his immigrant parents bestowed on him since he was an infant.
The rapper/singer/producer embodies the collage of influences in everything he does, calling it a "random" mix of everything from art to music and life. His music is a sort of new-age 90's R&B with tribal twinges and a mix of down-tempo house with carefully crafted electronic undertones. His most recent project, 4814 with producer Beng Feng showed a flexibility to adapt and assimilate his tone and sound to a different production, something the 22-year old artist prides himself on. The GTW is a big Manchester United fan and has a keen eye on the european electronic scene and 4814 garnered him a write-up in the UK newspaperThe Guardian before he had much of any press here at home. With a video for his song "Cravings" on the way and upcoming projects with Beng Feng and others in the works, expect to see plenty more headlines on The GTW in 2013. I was able to catch up with the multi-talented artist just before his show January 25 at The Temple Head Gallery in Humboldt Park.
[Interview] Vic Mensa Is The Internet
Any way you look at it, Vic Mensa is a staple in Chicago's innovative musical landscape. The college-aged musician has been swerving through all the correct lanes since 2009 and has countless solo material under his belt, along with his role as a lead member of one of the nation's most exciting young bands in Kids These Days. What's next you may ask? I spoke to Mensa last night at SoundScape where he was working on his a new solo project, which is tentatively titled The Internet.
"I had this beat machine for a little while and just bullshitted with it for mad long," Vic says about the early stages of the project, one that will feature mostly his own production. "When I was on tour I was just sitting around, fucking with the beat machine because I was on the bus for so long. When I got off tour, I got into a groove of making simple ideas enough to write a song to."
With Traphouse Rock released, and some time off before their next tour, Vic has time to focus on his own solo project, one that was born out of a mushroom trip in which he convinced himself he was the Internet. He stuck with the concept after the shrooms wore off and saw real world parallels to his crazy trip. "The climate of the world we live in, the fabric of the society we live in, is so amorphous right now, something that’s constantly changing," he said during a break in recording. "I think the Internet is a representation of continuous change on its own, and I am that mothafucka."
Vic is in the earliest stages of the project and has no expectations or reasons to rush out the music, but we could see something this spring or summer. Before then, he is still playing shows with Kids These Days and continuing to build with is SAVEMONEY camp. We'll keep you posted on the new project as time goes on. For now, keep bumping that Traphouse Rock.
[Interview] RiFF RaFF: Just Go With It
"If you see somebody hating, point'em out, point'em out."
It's 9PM on Friday night, and I'm drunk. I've been at Reggie's for almost two hours, drinking free PBR's, followed by more age appropriate imports, waiting for the same thing that everyone is waiting for, RiFF RaFF. The thought of me ever waiting to see an artist like RiFF RaFF is surprising to me, and to many of my friends who were also at Reggie's that night, also waiting to see RiFF RaFF.
It's been that way for me, and many others, increasingly over the last few years. As me and my peers grow up and out of our Hip Hop snob stages, music fans and critics throughout the country are holding artists to fewer and fewer standards, and being less rigid as to who can do what, and how it should be done. I don't think it's as much that the old rules don't apply, it's more so that their application has changed. It's like we've collectively decided to "stop hating," and let artists live. They don't need to be placed in the same category as Nas, but they have a category, and it's cool.
"There's more and more people who are different and they're accepted," RiFF RaFF tells me backstage about his own growing acceptance, shortly before his performance. "So it's like, 'damn, OK. Riff Raff's been doing this for a minute, why haven't we accepted him?'" While it's not a complex explanation, it's almost spot on, as RiFF RaFF has been able to go from being considered a joke in many circles, to kind of a joke, to kind of serious.
A big part of this transformation was RiFF RaFF's recent signing to Diplo and Mad Decent, as well as records with Action Bronson and Alchemist, two artists beloved by Hip Hop Heads. Even the ones that are still "hating." This change is interesting, especially given that RiFF RaFF hasn't really changed anything at all. He's hasn't conformed to any Hip Hop standards, in fact he only goes further into his own direction.
"I'm not going to do what someone else wants me to do to make them like me. I couldn't care less," RiFF RaFF says. "I've started fully at the bottom, I've had people hate me since day one. It's nothing going to change now, if anything, I'm going to keep continuing to do what I do and hopefully I'll gain fans and succeed at everything. I can't change based on somebody so-called liking me or not."
In this new interview, I talk to RiFF RaFF about why he embraced Chief Keef early on, signing to Mad Decent, why people like him, and more. Hit the next page to read the full interview with RiFF RaFF.
[Video] Frank The Butcher Interviews Mega of Black Scale
Frank the Butcher kicks off season 2 of his "Butcher's Block TV" series with an interview with Mega of Black Scale. The two discuss Black Scale's journey, take on branding, working with artists like A$AP Rocky, and more. Watch the video below, and more of The Butcher's Block via ButchersBlockTV.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPD54odaVHo&feature=player_embedded