First Look: Doomtree
When you think of Minneapolis Hip Hop, you may first think of Rhymesayers. When you think about 9 member Hip Hop crews, you may first think of the Wu-Tang Clan. Well, the Doomtree collective have simultaneously added their name to both lists with their self-titled LP, released earlier this year. While the crew consists of people from different races, ethnicities, genders, and musical upbringings, they share a mind set that makes everything work.
"We all care about good music first and foremost," Doomtree member P.O.S. tells about the common thread running through the crew. "We want to do music and put out albums the way we want them to go, not necessarily the way they’re supposed to go," he adds.
Putting together an album with 9 different solo artists can be a difficult task, and in this RH First Look, P.O.S. gives us a rundown of the process, a crash course on the Minneapolis DIY mindset, as well as the skinny on a couple choice album cuts. Get behind the microscope below...
RubyHornet: I want to start by talking about the things that link your collective together. I mean you guys are 9 individuals of different backgrounds, ethnicities, etc, what is that common mindset or vibe that you all share?
P.O.S.: We all grew up together. We all have a few solid principals running through all of us. A few of them being that we all care about good music first and foremost. When it comes to our stage show, you’ll never see us just standing around in our cool clothes. When it’s over, you’re going to see us covered in sweat, and ready to go to sleep. We’re not hanging out trying to be cool. Everybody wants to be cool, but that is not our main focus. That is one thing that definitely sets us a part in Hip Hop to start with, but also comes from our roots in different genres of music besides Hip Hop…Ultimately what links us is that we want to do music and put out albums the way we want them to go, not necessarily the way they’re supposed to go.
RubyHornet: You hail from Minneapolis, which in terms of Hip Hop music is best known for Rhymesayers and their approach to everything from creating to touring to marketing. I know that you all also have a relationship with them. My question is, when you were younger did you look to them as a model in anyway, and what’s it like to now work with them?
P.O.S.: My first year of high school, when I was in school with Mictlan freestyling or whatever, we all heard Rhymesayers. We all heard Atmosphere. We all thought it was cool, but I personally come from a DIY/punk rock background. Everybody in the group comes from DIY, we looked at the Rhymesayers collective before it was really cracking on a national level, and we didn’t know that. That was the first rap music that I ever heard that I was like, ‘this is from here? This is from Minnesota?’ I knew that it could happen, but I associated the whole Do It Yourself vibe with punk rock, so when I realized that there were people in Minnesota doing it with Hip Hop, that kind of blew my mind. It also blew the door open a lot.
RubyHornet: In terms of the DIY attitude, how is that reflective of Minneapolis as a city, and the people that inhabit it? Do you feel we can see it through your music?
P.O.S.: One of the biggest things is that we’re a major city to ourselves, but nobody moves to Minneapolis to be a star. Nobody does that. They move to L.A., they move to Chicago, they move to New York, Denver, Dallas, big cities. Our city is big enough, it does what it is supposed to do, but there’s no coast here. There’s no major record label, there’s just a longstanding history of music. So, the one thing we know out here is that right from jump there’s no record label. There’s no executives coming to the shows to watch you play. You know that from jump, you’re in Minnesota. It’s one of those things where if you expect to get anything done, if you expect to progress and advance as an artist, you got to expect to do that for yourself. Being located in the middle of America, our sound, not just Doomtree but Minnesota, the sound is made of various artist’s favorite sounds from every coast, every genre, every style. You take it to make it feel how you want, there are no rules. It’s one of those cities that has such a long musical history of people cracking out how they want, a lot of people who came out doing it how they wanted to do it and made a name. That’s one thing that keeps us going. When you’re a musician out here and you take it seriously, you think about the history of Minnesota music, you definitely don’t think, ‘what’s cracking right now? How can I make this? What’s popular? Should I chop and screw this cause everybody else is?’ We’re in the middle man, we’re in the middle top of America. We’re getting everything, mixing it up, and making it our own thing.
RubyHornet: What is going on there from a socioeconomic standpoint with the things effecting the country as a whole? How is that taking shape in Minneapolis, what are everyday people going through there?
P.O.S.: Man, same as everywhere else. Where are you at right now?
RubyHornet: I’m in Chicago.
P.O.S.: Yeah. You know what it’s like man…There’s the same amount of unrest in Minnesota as anywhere else. Maybe a little more so because we’re in the Heartland, everybody expects us to be one certain type of people and we’re not. Everywhere I go, and I’ve been on a lot of tours, everywhere I go, there’s struggle. It’s all America, it’s all American politics. And it’s all people that have a perception of you that you have to take their perception, deal with it, then show and prove. Whether it’s musically, whether it’s what you believe in, whatever it is, people don’t really take anything for face value these days. They assume everyone is on something.
RubyHornet: What was the project like in terms of constructing the album, and showcasing the individuals in Doomtree, and showcasing your strengths as a collective? Is it almost another skill of everyone in the group to work with each other and not let their egos get in the way?
P.O.S.: That’s the thing about us, we’ve all be really good friends for a lot of years. These are my oldest and closest friends hands down. So, when it came down to making the record, Lazerbeak, who is the primary producer on the record, and primary producer on a lot of Doomtree projects, he turned in somewhere between 40-50 beats. We all just sat down with the beats on repeat and wrote, and worked it out. Sometimes it was like, ‘everybody’s got verses, we’ll put the verses together, how do the verses work?’ Essentially it’s a lot of solo artists figuring out how to work together. We all know each other so well that it’s not an ego thing. We’re all 100% certain that if we’re not on this track, there’s another track being made tomorrow. It’s never been an issue of, ‘I want to get on that one. Let me on that one,’ or anything like that. It’s always been like, ‘You got a verse? Cool. Is the song long? It’s not too long, hop on? You got an idea, something we could add to this? Fix this chorus…’ All the ego stuff, and all the transitioning from solo artists to trying to work together, all that happened within the first 5-6 months of writing the record. Everybody was kind of holding back their best s**t, cause everybody wanted to save it for their solo record, and then, by the time the record started to get made, you see what everybody else is coming with and everybody just stepped it up. Nobody wanted to be outshined, or really outshine everybody else so it just melted and worked its way to where everyone feels like their shining in their moments. That’s why there’s not too many solo songs. We didn’t want it to be a label compilation, we wanted it to be a crew album. We didn’t want 3 P.O.S. songs, and 3 Sims songs, and 3 Dessa songs. We wanted it to be one solo song apiece and collabs on everything else. We knew that going into it, so there was no butting heads. It was actually way easier than it should have been with 9 people.
RubyHornet: I also want to ask you about your solo track, “Liver Let Die”. You say, ‘this is a little city, so twisted this village be, it’s a wonder nobody just ever told you leave it be.’ Are you talking about Minneapolis? Or is this a place that may exist in your mind?
P.O.S.: It is literally talking about Minneapolis being a small city, but when I wrote it, I was writing from a place of panic and the whole bar culture. I finished that song up and placed it in the wintertime in Minneapolis. The winter there is probably the same as the one in Chicago, your friends disappear. Your friends don’t disappear, but the people that are peripheral friends in your life, people that you know, but don’t know that well, the one’s you see and have almost exclusively bar conversations with, the people you’ve known 5 or 6 years but have never met sober…I’m not a big drinker, but I’m a musician, I’m in the bars, I’m out. There’s a lot of people that I know. That’s what I’m commenting on in that song. It’s like, this is a little city, but every city is a little city if you break down whatever scene and people you’re rolling with. It’s kind of hard to break out of that, no matter what city you’re in…Essentially what I’m saying is, ‘I don’t know what you guys are doing, but I’m working on something.’ That’s the general vibe. I’m talking about people in the bars, interpersonal relationships, and I’m just commenting on ‘I don’t know what you guys are doing, I’m not sure what you guys are feeling, but this is what I’m about. I’m about progress, I’m about moving forward.’ I’m just trying to say that in the most rapp-y way to make it fit in a rap song.
RubyHornet: You have a song with Sims, “Accident”. He says, ‘we went from primates to inmates of a mindstate.’ What mindstate do you think that is, and what do you see as your music’s role in perhaps freeing people from that?
P.O.S.: To be straight up, I don’t see myself, or Sims, as somebody who is freeing anybody from any kind of mindstate. All we’re trying to do in songs like “Accident” is point out where people are kind of just sitting and tell them to let go in the flyest way possible. When he says, ‘we went from primates to inmates of a mindstate,’ he’s talking about evolving communities, and then growing out of primates, monkeys, with inmates of the mindstate being the idea that ‘they’ are in power. This nameless thing that you can’t do anything about it so you might as well enjoy it…We spend a lot of time doing everything we can to not say ‘they’ and talk about imaginary rappers, imaginary situations. But we’re treated the way we allow ourselves to be treated, and every once in a while it’s important to call that out. The whole vibe of you watch TV or you listen to NPR and you hear what’s going on in the world and you hear it and you can recite it back to your friends of how f**ked up it is. But you don’t actually realize it’s happening to you…This is actually happening to us, all of us at the same time. It’s like, ‘oh man, everything is so f**ked up, dude.’ But there’s nothing to say or do after that. That’s kind of what we’re talking about. He’s got a lot of my favorite verses on the album talking about social politics and the way people are treated.
RubyHornet: Within the crew do you see everyone in the crew having their specialty as far as what they talk about?
P.O.S.: This is not our first record, but this is our first record. We’ve all been rapping for a longtime and have our own records, but now we’re all out as Doomtree. I got two solo records under my belt, and one coming out next year. All of us have releases that we’ve put out in Minnesota only. So everybody has the niche they like…We all have goals, we all want to be the best emcee that we can be, but it’s never been in our best interest to be the best emcee in the world. There’s too many emcees to try and do that. We want to be the best emcee that we can be. We don’t want to pose. We don’t want to posture for people, we just want to rap our asses off about s**t we care about. I can honestly say that about everybody in the crew.
First Look: XV
Kansas born XV is currently eclipsed in a Hip Hop version of the great flood. Sending cyberspace a wash in new material, XV has undertaken a 40 Days/40 Nights project in which he drops a new song every AM and every PM. Each day XV gives the world new tracks about his love for video games, girls, comics, and how he left earth for the distant Planet Squaria before settling in the Coolniverse. What?!?! If that last part threw you for a bit of a loop, XV's not surprised in the slightest.
"Esoteric should be my genre of music, because I don't expect everybody to get it," he told RubyHornet about his highly conceptual music, which tells the story of a young man finding himself through creative expression. "I still don't feel like I fit in," he continues, "because I'm socially outcasted by many of my peers, but I've found clarity in who I am." That clarity is on display and currently getting thumbs up from artists, writers, and fans alike. So much so that XV is plotting a nationwide tour, and currently working on the release of a proper LP, The Kid With The Green Backpack.
In this edition of RH First Look, we turn the microscope on XV. Here the emcee introduces himself, talks about his crazy journey through outerspace, clears up rumors about dissing Charles Hamilton, and talks Lupe Fiasco comparisions. Check it out.
RubyHornet: I know that XV stands for the age at which you started rhyming. What was happening in your life and music-wise that pushed you to start creating songs?
XV: ALOT! See, the main reason behind my super-simple name, "XV", is that I just turned 15 when I decided to get SERIOUS with pursuing a career in music. But, the inspiration behind that change was that I just lost a close friend of mine to suicide right before I entered high school. It changed me completely as a person, and I was kind of lost in who I was. One part of me was this kid that collects Jakks toy wrestlers, loves Batman The Animated Series, and video games. The other side was this kid that found himself trying to fit in with the older kids from the neighborhood, getting into fights and hanging out on the streets, sometimes not even coming home. Then, I finally just decided that I did't want to turn into "THAT" person, so I started getting really serious with music. I Saved up enough money to buy my own computer, and the whole summer that I turned 15 I taught myself how to produce, record, and release my own music. I dropped my first album independently a year later. It sucked though, so I ask nicely that nobody tries to dig that album up. Thank you. Hahaha!
RubyHornet: You're from Kansas. Really, Kansas? What's the climate like in your neck of the woods a month out from the election?
XV: Hahaha, yes...I am from Smallville, Kansas. I just landed here though, don't you DARE blame me! Haha. But even though I live in the biggest city in Kansas, it still has a very "small-town" feel to it. You know, sports are a very big thing here, which is one reasons why I was widely ignored by the general public. And not NFL, NBA, NCAA kind of sports, high school sports! Like Varsity Blues or something. It's not very "country" out here, but nonetheless, we're still a RED state. We still have our DIE-HARD Fox News republicans. For instance, I just flew to New York City last week, and one of my fellow Kansans on the plane told me and my producer, Seven, to stop cursing. And the last thing I wanted to do was cause a scene on a flight to New York City. So, I just opened my laptop and watched some Richard Pryor stand-up. Without headphones on. Haha!
RubyHornet: You are currently in the midst of 40 Days/40 Nights. For our readers that don't know, break down the rules real quick. What was your inspiration for this venture, is it a really big nod to Noah? What's been the hardest part in keeping up?
XV: Well, the REGULAR idea was to drop a new song every day for 40 days, 40 nights. THEN, I thought...wait...wait...what if I dropped a new song EVERY MORNING and EVERY NIGHT for 40 days, playing on the words, "40 DAYS and 40 NIGHTS". The inspiration behind it was that I just beat "Gears of War" on INSANE mode, Rockband 2 didn't come out for another month, and I had 2 months before I started recording my album. So, I didn't have anything better to do. Plus, my horoscope said I was going to embark on a "spiritual concept" that day. Everything just fell into place. And I had a lot of artists that I've wanted to work with, but I didn't want to make another mixtape following, The Square In The Circle, so I figured I would just start recording! The hardest part in keeping up is that I don't like the concept of sleep, but my body conforms to it. So, I'll stay up working in the studio until 4 or 5 in the morning, and I'll sleep until noon, and miss the morning drop. Me and Seven do everything ourselves, so traveling, working, doing interviews and blogging on TheCoolniverse.com (shameless plug) can sometimes run into posting a new track. But, all the music is already done.
RubyHornet: So, as I understand it, you left Earth for Planet Squaria before coming back and heading for the Coolniverse. What was it that made you take off from Earth, and why come back now?
XV: I took off from Earth because I just felt I didn't belong here. When I say, "I don't fit in", I don't say that rebelliously or trying to be different, or whatever. I really DO NOT fit in. Not only in the music industry, but anywhere. I go to clubs, and people are like, "what is that 12 year old kid doing in here?" because I look mad young! I go to see my old friends from my hood and everybody's smokin' and talking about "the spot" last night, and I'm like..."Did anybody catch that Heroes episode?" And Hip-Hop was just getting ridiculous. I needed a break from it all, so I left and headed for Planet Squaria, my home away from home that is actually in my home. I returned because the trip helped me find myself, and my vision, and what I want to bring back musically. I still don't feel like I fit in, because I'm socially outcasted by many of my peers, but I've found clarity in who I am.
RubyHornet: In terms of Planet Squaria, the Coolniverse etc...all of that is very conceptual and so is your music. Do you feel that by having so many concepts that you are painting yourself as esoteric in a way, and some people just won't give your music a chance based on all the other stuff?
XV: Definitely! I like the way you used that word. Esoteric should be my genre of music, because I don't expect everybody to get it. I only want to appeal to the people that want to get it, that want to expand their horizons, and travel to other parts of the universe, haha. I don't expect everybody to relate to my love for video games, comic books, toys, and concepts of space, but I appreciate those that appreciate the fact that I'm really being myself! I'll perform, and jump up and down on stage, do jump kicks, and everything and even though the person in the crowd wouldn't dare to act so ridiculous, I appreciate those that appreciate that I am comfortable enough to do that. But, some people just have their own ways of thinking and I can't knock that.
RubyHornet: RubyHornet is located in Chicago, and when I first played some of your tracks for my people out here, a lot of them compared you to Lupe Fiasco. Do you get that a lot, and if so, how is it weighing on you?
XV: I have definitely gotten that a lot. Especially with the hyper and higher toned voice that we both share, I have heard that from a few people. It doesn't bother me as much as it would if somebody said I sound like the next Shawty Lo, Hahaha. But, I'm comfortable enough creatively to know there are similarities and differences between me and Lupe. If you're familiar with the DC Comic universe, I guess I would be more like "Bizarro Lupe", hahaha, just not as clumsy. Haha!
RubyHornet: I've heard rumors that you're working on a mixtape with Charles Hamilton, and I've also heard rumors that you threw a little diss at him. For the record, set the rumors straight on RubyHornet.com.
XV: Both are true and false. I'm working on a mixtape featuring Charles Hamilton but not with Charles Hamilton. It will be like a mix of both of our records back to back, as if we're facing off like Sonic VS. Mario, since he represents Sonic and I'm a Nintendo head. But the whole mixtape and concept was going to be created by me and probably released before his mixtape, Sonic The Hamilton, since he has told me that SONIC WILL WIN. I doubt that. Hahaha. And yeah, I threw a little jab at him on my record, "Control", but it wasn't directed towards Charles Hamilton, the rapper, more like Charles Hamilton, the Sonic. I said, "Ni**az think they sonic, honestly I cannot tails." And, this was just to spark the beginning of Sonic VS. Mario. Even he took it out of context, even though I only talked about video games the entire song. That's that esoteric XV again though, so, can't blame him. It's all love at the end of the day though.
RubyHornet: In your mind, what does it mean to be "square"? On the flipside, what does it mean to be "cool"?
XV: If you were to ask Huey Lewis and The News that...well...you know how that goes. Haha. But a "square" is somebody who doesn't get what is "cool." Not in the form of non-conforming, but really doesn't understand what is cool. A lot of times my little brothers will show me something that people think is dope and I'll be like, "Really!? This is cool!?" And I just don't understand it. So, a square just goes on doing what they think is cool, but ends up being the exact opposite. A square will play Harry Potter on the XBOX the same day that GTA IV comes out. Hahaha. To be "cool" is like being something that everybody agrees is awesome. Like........Lil' Wayne! hahahahaha! That's the best answer for that. Haha.
RubyHornet: You have an interesting title for your next LP, clue our readers into it, what's the story behind that?
XV: The title is, The Kid With The Green Backpack, and it comes from a name that kids called me when I was in middle school. I was in this "smart kid" program in middle school, which was very low in numbers of black kids. I wasn't the coolest of the coolest, so I wore this green backpack, and I guess I walked around always clutching the straps of my backpack tightly. Since the kids that weren't in the program didn't know my name they just called me, The Kid With The Green Backpack. I found this out later in high school when one of those girls that didn't know my name handed me her phone number. Schwing!!!!
So the album is a concept album based around my life as a nobody in school, which actually parallels my life as a nobody in the music industry. And as the album progresses, I go through a bunch of events that change me and help me find myself to become a name in school, and become a face in the music industry. It's like the album John Hughes would make if he became a rapper. LOL.
RubyHornet: For some of our readers, this is their first introduction to you. What are three things that you want people to know about XV when listening to your music?
XV: One, I'm actually not as awesome as I try to make myself out to be. Second, I put my all into my lyrics and concepts, so please don't pass the opportunity to catch something that the average listener wouldn't catch. I always try to put something special in there. And third, my music is real! And I don't mean that in the sense of Plies's definition of "real". I mean, like, I say I love video games, add me on XBOX LIVE (Gamertag:XtotheV) and I'll get online and play. I say I'm an avid comic-reader, hit up my blog and let's talk comics. Everything I talk about is a part of me and my life, it's not a gimmick or a sales pitch. I figure that no matter how unique I try to think I am, there has to be some other squarians out there like me, so I just hope to bring some together. And then we can have a lock-in at the rec center! Cool!
Visit XV at the Coolniverse.
DJ RTC: "Swagger Like Chi" feat. Naledge, MarVo, Really Doe, Bump J, Mikkey Halsted, & GLC
"Swagger Like Us" hit the internet a few weeks ago and has become a monster smash. Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lil' Wanye, and T.I. all delivered on the biggest posse cut in years, and the infectious beat has been tackled by emcees nationwide. Shortly after the track's release, I was able to get my hands on an instrumental, which I emailed to Mikkey Halsted, jokingly asking him to shout me out if he decided to go in on the beat. A few days later Really Doe came through the RH office and told us about his experience with the beat, and a futile attempt to land it for his American 2 Fresh debut. We pitched him the idea of jumping on the track with Mikkey and he was down. More importantly, the wheels were in motion. We quickly hit up Naledge, who was in town gearing up for Kidz In The Hall's tour with Murs, he was in as well and "Swagger Like Chi" finally had some legs. We enlisted GLC for the final slot, called Michael Kolar at SoundScape Studios and booked a recording session...
First Look: 6th Sense
6th Sense is building a very strong underground buzz both on the mic and behind the boards. After peeping and posting a few 6th Sense joints, we linked up with the NYC emcee/producer for the latest edition of RH First Look. Get to know 6th Sense below as he speaks on his introduction to music, clears up how he got his name, and explains why he's the best emcee behind the boards...aside from maybe Q-Tip.
RubyHornet: What was your introduction into music like? Do you remember a moment that made you go, 'I want to produce/rap?'
6th Sense: I was introduced to music from the moment I was born. Both of my parents played music growing up. My mother played classical piano when she was young, most of it self-taught. My father was a keys player in a few bands in the 70s. He was a songwriter too, he wrote a song for the Stylistcs, but it didn't make the cut for the album. There's baby pictures of me maybe a few weeks fresh out the hospital with a walkman on. I grew up listening to everything under the sun. The Beatles, EWF, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder was one of my favorites. One of my first words was "Wondie" which was what I called him. Michael Jackson was the S**T to me. When I was 4 I performed a Michael medley with the band at my Aunt & Uncle's wedding, there's some footage of that somewhere lying around.
I can remember being 10 years old and hearing a verse from DMC that blew my mind away... "My name is DMC, the one you know / The all-time great gonna steal the show..." I spent all day transcribing the lyrics. I can remember being 15 down at the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe for the first time. That WORDS open-mic with Rocky f**ked my whole world up. I don't even think I got on the mic the first time I went. I had already been listening to hip-hop for quite some time and I had been writing as well, but I remember that night was the first time I said "yo, I LOVE hip-hop." The next month I tore it down.
RubyHornet: Your name is 6th Sense. I've read that it is a reference to the song by Common. Can you set the record straight here about your name and how you came up with it?
6th Sense: If you read that it's a reference to Common, all I can say is that you googled 6th Sense. I'm kidding. All I can say is I had the name before he had that song, and I even had the name before the movie. You have to remember I was a young guy at the time. I might have been 14 or 15 when I came up with the name. My reasoning behind it was that music is my sixth sense. I think it's cool that I've really grown into the name as I've gotten older. I can be completely sober and feel a genuine attachment to the name. I mean, s**t, how else could someone like myself be able to do what it is I do? Gotta be a 6th Sense right?
RubyHornet: On "I Wanna Tell Ya" Remix you say, 'the best emcee behind the boards, besides maybe Q-Tip.' That's a bold statement, let us know what gives you that feeling?
6th Sense: The whole best MC behind the boards is something you don't hear in hip-hop discussions. We've heard best producer on the mic all the time. And there's a ton of great producers behind the mic. You could say that the best MC behind the boards is like the reversal of that, the flipside.
In hip-hop you kind of have to be over the top and give yourself some real inflating titles. Cats do it all the time. It's something I've never really done. It's not my style. The truth is, there isn't much of the MC's behind the boards kinda thing. So I'm just kinda rolling with that. F**k it. Naledge was talkin’ a lotta pimpery smack at the end of the remix so I threw that on there. But I had to keep it on the humble and big up Q-Tip.
If you try to overanalyze it, what does best MC behind the boards really mean? You're a dope MC but make wack beats? You're a rapper that happens to make hot beats? Chicken or egg? Who's on first? It's silly. But word. I get very busy on both ends.
RubyHornet: On "I Won't Let You Fall" you say, 'stop, go, what is the attraction?' are you referring to your attraction to being an artist there? If so, have you figured it out?
6th Sense: A lot of times, with a lot of lines I'm talking about a lot of things. But more than anything, I write for listeners to have their own unique attachment to it. As relating to the actual song, it's kind of a weird song. Like, I sampled Chris Brown for crying out loud, and I knew there was something dope about it, I just didn't know what it was. Just before that line, I let the beat drop so there was a "stop." And after that line I say "I'm just trying to do my part like a fraction." It's train of thought meets what's going on in the beat meets life philosophy.
It's all simple s**t, but at the same time there's some depth to it. It can mean whatever the listener wants.
RubyHornet: That track features you rocking over Chris Brown, is there a certain type of beat that especially drives you as an emcee? On the flipside, do you feel there is a certain type of beat that you are becoming known for as a producer?
6th Sense: I can't really say there's a certain type of beat that especially drives me as an MC, because I like to experiment and rock over a wide variety of music. If and when I get the chance to put together a solo album on a grand scale using other producers, you're going to hear cats that make music with their productions.
A few examples, I'm talking about Organized Noize, DJ Quik, Ryan Leslie. There's so many times where I'll put on the YouTube of Ryan Leslie making "Addiction" just for inspiration. We kind of make tracks the same exact way except he's got an arena and I'm playing ball with no shoes on. I'd even holler at Krewcial Keys & Alicia. I know if I went in the studio and they played me "Superwoman" just without Alicia singing, I'da taken that in a heartbeat. And of course, I'd have ?uestlove producing stuff, or The Randy Watson Experience, or the Yessirs, WHATEVER he wants to call it.
On the flipside, I don't know if there's necessarily a particular type of beat I'm getting known for. I can say that more than 3/4s of my stuff is sample free. People are noticing a lot of my synth work and synth lines. I don't know why, but people love it. I added keys to Snoop's "Think About It" on the platinum album Blue Carpet Treament. Ha. I think that because I come from such a long history of doing music with samples and loving that whole style, that I'm able to do keys and synths in a way that sample heads can still appreciate.
RubyHornet: Talk about Notherground. Is there a common philosophy or mindset that everyone involved shares? If so, what would it be?
6th Sense: You got to be willing to artistically not give a f**k, and take chances. You have to be able to GO. You have to allow yourself to exist outside the box and mind frame of the music industry. You have to be different.
Notice I didn't get into the musical aspects, because Notherground is bigger than just musicians.
RubyHornet: You were one of the first artists to come out with a pro-Obama song. A couple weeks ago various outlets asked if Hip Hop could potentially harm Obama's campaign because of such strong endorsements. Do you think there is any danger there, or that Hip Hop being behind Obama may put off some potential swing voters?
6th Sense: I made a pro-people song. This election ain't about Obama, it's about the people. The people ignite the people like Obama. I wish I could ignite the people like Obama.
The media and people need to be careful when exploring the affect of hip-hop's endorsement of Obama on voters. I feel there's more undertones of racism than what someone's taste of music is. If the media's going to pose the question then they have to think about the answer. If you think that hip-hop's changing a swing voters mind, that's ridiculous. Those are the folks that are probably not voting for Obama because he's black. I don't want to go deeper regarding all of that.
That's why I feel "Ignite The People" is special. There's no cursing in it. It's for all people, it's not just for the hip-hop audience. When Ludacris does a freestyle on a mixtape, that's obvious it's for the hip-hop audience. I appreciate that you called it a pro-Obama song as opposed to a hip-hop Obama track. We went all around the city, from the Apollo, to Central Park, Union Square, Times Square, Grand Central Station, the NYC subway and it was the entire human spectrum that we connected with.
"You ever think you'd see a white rapper endorse a black president?" That's the line right there.
RubyHornet: In your mind is there a difference between rapping and being an emcee, between making beats and being a producer? If so, where does that line lie and at what point would you say you crossed it?
6th Sense: The line between rapping and MCing is fuzzy so I don't really know. There's a definite line between beatmaking and producing and I crossed that line the second I started getting behind the boards.
RubyHornet: What does the rest of '08 and top of '09 hold for Mr. 6th Sense?
6th Sense: A lot. I'll be dropping a mixtape in a few weeks called It Is What It Is, which will be a collection of tracks that have already come out as leaks, a couple remixes, guest appearances, and some other stuff. The incomparable DJ Dub Floyd is doing a whole blend CD of Notherground. I hit him with a ton of acapellas, I cannot WAIT for that to drop. You're going to see me producing a lot of stuff real soon, so just look out for that.
Me and Wildabeast as a duo go by "Both Nice" and we're dropping an album before the end of this year. It's extremely experimental but at the same time it's very hip-hop. A lot of times when you see cats making experimental hip-hop they lose that true hip-hop essence. I'll put it this way, the album is 15 tracks, less than 40 minutes long, and I think there might be all of 3 hooks on the album. We'll be dropping a video promo and the intro to the album shortly and that will give everyone a good idea behind the idea of the album.
You can expect more music from Wildabeast and Jelani as well. I'm also going to be teaching a creative writing class this fall and I'm working on putting together a pen drive to send pens to Africa.
RubyHornet: Lastly, for some this may be their first introduction to you. What are three things you'd like someone to know about 6th Sense before listening to your music?
6th Sense: It's progressively classic. I work hard. It sounds good in the whip.
Thanks to Ruby Hornet and big shout to the whole Chi. I was there once and it was windy as f**k. I can't wait to come back.
First Look: DJ MetroGnome
Hip Hop's not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Indianapolis, Indiana. After Peyton Manning, Bobby Knight, and Reggie Miller, but somewhere before Purdue and Glenn Robinson (sorry, it's science) is the public's consciousness of Nap Town's Hip Hop scene. While the country at large may be sleeping on this Midwestern city's beats and rhymes, there are plenty in the Circle City that are doing their thing. The city is a hotbed for some of the most skilled DJ's in the Midwest, most notably DJ Topspeed. Speed's dexterity on the decks, and music knowledge is perhaps only outshined by his willingness to mentor other upcoming DJ's to ensure they grasp the past while moving into the future. One such DJ that has come under Topspeed's guidance is DJ MetroGnome, a turntable technician in his own right, who got his name from a vertically gifted friend.
"I was sitting at my computer while recording and saw "metronome" in the bottom corner of Cool Edit Pro. Well, a good friend of mine is 6'7" and gives me short jokes all time the time, so I put a 'G' in the word and made it my own: MetroGnome."
MetroGnome has also been able to craft his own style, one that regularly includes mixing classic soul and funk with the Hip Hop beats that they have spawned. His unique live show has made him a favorite on Indy's Hip Hop scene and MetroGnome can be found spinning somewhere almost every night of the week. MetroGnome recently hit us with a live mix and after bumping it around the office, we felt it was time to take an RH First Look at one of the Midwest's best kept secrets on the 1's and 2's...
RubyHornet: When did you get turntables?
MetroGnome: I bought my first turntable/mixer set-up in September of 2002.
RubyHornet: When do you feel you officially became a DJ?
MetroGnome: I guess I really felt like a validated DJ when I had my first gig (and name on the flyer) for this event in June of 2003. I still had a ton to learn about the art and craft, but it was a step in the right direction.
RubyHornet: Where did the name Metrognome come from?
MetroGnome: The name "MetroGnome" came when I was working on a mix really late into the morning sometime in the winter of 2002. I was sitting at my computer while recording and saw "metronome" in the bottom corner of Cool Edit Pro. Well, a good friend of mine is 6'7" and gives me short jokes all time the time, so I put a 'G' in the word and made it my own: MetroGnome.
RubyHornet: Vinyl or Serato? If Serato, do you still dig for records?
MetroGnome: I use Serato when I play out now, primarily because I can have my whole library on hand and won't have to guess at who might show up and what they might be into. I still dig for records fairly regularly, but not as much as I could/should. I usually dig at odd places now... odds and ends shops, places others might not look. Plus, I have some heavy hitters to compete with in the city (TopSpeed, 2 Deep, Jerb, Scott Matelic, Hellhammer, etc... some cats that have REALLY dope collections and will find what you're looking for if you aren't on top of your game!)
RubyHornet: Who would you say has had the biggest impact on your growth or development as a DJ?
MetroGnome: Hmmm, interesting question... there's a number of cats that I've learned from watching and playing with. DJ TopSpeed has world famous skills and knowledge... he has to be at the top of the list. Definitely learned a lot from DJ Wu Shu, who put me on with my first residency... DJ Sleeper, Scott Matelic, DJ Limelight, Action Jackson, Hellhammer, Roosevelt Treasurechest and many others taught me a lot in different ways... Indianapolis and central Indiana is filled with dope, well-rounded DJ's... definitely a sleeper cell for ill cats on the decks.
RubyHornet: What's a song you've added to your crate in the last week or so?
MetroGnome: Lots really... "Get Down" by Curtis Mayfield, "Me and My Sneakers" by A-Trak featuring Lupe Fiasco, and some ill remixes from a homie, Chicago's own, DJ Intel.
RubyHornet: What is a record you're happy to be done playing?
MetroGnome: Haha, without a doubt, most of Fergie's catalogue. Luckily, I wasn't playing too many gigs where I had to play her stuff all the time.
RubyHornet: What's the Hip Hop scene like in Indianapolis, IN?
MetroGnome: The Hip Hop scene here is really growing and coming together. There's some top-notch talent, such as my partner alpha. He's a very dope emcee who the world will be hearing more of. He was featured on some Rhymefest projects, etc. There's a handful of cats that have taken the lead and are booking better shows with out-of-town acts, as well as some noteworthy heads making dope music: Twilight Sentinels, Yeti and Lorax, Grey Granite, Dovinci, and many others.
RubyHornet: Most prized record? Why?
MetroGnome: Wow... I don't know that I can pin it down to one, but here are a couple picture covers I cherish: David Porter's "Victim of the Joke? An Opera" album with some famous samples on it (esp. "Masquerade..."), Common Sense's "Take It EZ/ Soul By The Pound"... also a gang of funk/soul 45's by groups like Ripple, Little Royal, etc. Really hoping to come up on some classic Indianapolis funk 45's soon by goups like The Highlighters, Ebony Rhythm Band, Billy Wooten, Billy Ball and the Upsetters, Amnesty, etc.
** People can check me out on Myspace..Send me a friend request! Also, I keep my schedule updated as well so that's where you can find me spinning. I'm usually in Indy, but you can find me playing in Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Atlanta, etc sometimes too. To book me to DJ in your area, hit me at: ticktockmedia@gmail.com
Chuck D: A Hero To Most
What more can you say about Chuck D, the front man for Public Enemy? Really, what can you say? So much ink, video reels, and audio tapes have been devoted to Chuck D and his musical brilliance that this intro is probably one of the most difficult that I have had to write in all my time of writing interview intros. I could write about Chuck D's rise to prominence with the groundbreaking force that was Public Enemy, the group that brought the noise, and said Elvis didn't mean s**t to them. I could also write about his days at Adelphi University where he rocked parties with the Bomb Squad and first met the Media Assassin Harry Allen. I could write about his early embrace of the internet and digital music, which is now manifested through his digital record label, SlamJamz. I could tell you that it was Chuck D who first identified Hip Hop as a form of CNN, and it has been Chuck D who has remained one of its top reporters and authorities. His commanding voice and equally charged lyrics have made Chuck D one of Hip Hop's greatest emcees, and his love of music and the art form have served as inspiration for countless individuals, myself included...
I had the chance to chop it up with Chuck D last week when he came to the Windy City for the Pitchfork Music Festival, where his Public Enemy performed their classic LP, It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back. Prior to the performance, Chuck participated in a panel discussion with his fellow Bomb Squad members, dissecting the album, it's use of sampling, and the creation of Public Enemy. After the panel, Chuck and I spoke about the Def Jam days, Hip Hop's relationship with technology, the responsibilities of its curators, and the divide that needlessly exists between artists such as Soulja Boy and Dilated Peoples. Check it out to see "What Goes On!"