[Interview Snippet] DJ Muggs: "My Style Is Like Water"
"Muggs lets the funk flow."
Since the late 80's, DJ Muggs has been shaping and then re-shaping sounds, first and foremost his own, and secondly, Hip Hop as a whole. The veteran producer who rose to fame by producing Cypress Hill's classic self-titled debut and their follow-up Black Sunday, shows no signs of slowing down. He's still putting in 12-plus hours days, and is ready to release multiple projects in 2013. A couple weeks ago Muggs dropped SoundClash Business, a free EP merging drum and bass with trap heavy production. While Muggs may be best known for gritty and grimy Hip Hop, the more electronic sound has been a part of his arsenal since the the late 90's and early 2000's when he lived in London and worked with artists such as Tricky and producer Nellee Hooper.
"I do things like this just to challenge myself and try to learn new production techniques. When I go back to Hip Hop, it's fun again," Muggs told me during a phone interview that lasted nearly 40 minutes.
"When you do this for 25 years, shit gets boring. You got to invent ways to stimulate yourself, and stimulate the creativity. When I go over to the side, leave Hip Hop alone for a couple months and do another project, when I'm done, I can't wait to get back to Hip Hop. I got like 3 rap albums I'm working on right now. They're all half done," he continued, before describing his upcoming work and some of his inspiration.
"A couple of them are more drum machine based, trap style. Some of them are gritty, SP-12, samples from 1993 still. I can tap into all those styles, man. My style's like water. I'm a scientist of sound. I like to reach out and just do different shit. That's the fun of this shit for me. I'm not going to do the same shit over every fucking day. It's like going to the same job, eating the same shit, fucking the same bitch every night. I can't do that, dog. But you know sometimes people can't see it cause they can't see it in themselves. They just want the same thing. It's just conditioned. It's the mental conditioned way people are and the way the nervous system works. I look at a famous artist that I study like Salvador Daali or Picasso, Picasso changed his style every so-many years and went to a whole other style because he's inspired by different things. I got some of the dirtiest, grimest Hip Hop I've ever made coming out. I got a new project called the Cypress Experience. I found all these unmarked discs in my storage, about 300 discs, all samples that I thought I lost from '89-'92. When I found those, 'I'm like, I'm doing a project.' It's going to be the Cypress Experience. It's going to be basically the energy that we all love from the first three records, with a twist."
Check back next week for the full interview with DJ Muggs in which he speaks on his new projects, staying relevant for 25 plus years, and the hungry days of Cypress Hill.
[Interview] AEMMP Record Producer: Ikon
We have linked with Columbia College's student run record label AEMMP Hip Hop for a little subset of our Record Producers column. If you've haven't seen the column, it's an in-depth interview with Hip Hop's best producers, new and old. Focusing on the new, the AEMMP Hip Hop edition will highlight producers that the student run record label is currently working with for their forthcoming compilation, which will be a follow-up to last year's Class President. Much like rubyhornet, AEMMP Hip Hop's efforts are aimed at providing young musicians with a platform to expose their talents to a larger audience.
Today we kick off the feature with Ikon, a senior at Columbia from Forest Park, IL. Ikon's production on the yet to be titled AEMMP compilation will come via two tracks, both featuring this week's AEMMP Artist of The Week, Saba. Read on for the full-interview and a short clip introducing Ikon.
[Interview] Sean Price: Get Busy
Sean Price is a one of a kind emcee. One of the best lyricists in the game, Sean uses his bars and sense of humor to stay relevant in a time when releasing a project every other month is normal, and marketing a lifestyle over skill set is the standard way of doing things. Yesterday's album release, Mic Tyson, was Price's first solo release since 2009 with the former fighter inspired mixtape Kimbo Price. Yet, in that time off, P was not running around NYC, making music, and micro-managing his next project. While he did release an LP as a part of Random Axe with Black Milk & Guilty Simpson, "Seanwuar" was most notably enjoying the simple joys of an average family man.
"My oldest son is in high school and just got his first piece of p*ssy, he going nuts," Sean said. "My twelve year-old still thinks he's a wrestler and shit jumping all over the place. Then my daughter thinks she's the queen of the house," he continued. The Brownsville, Brooklyn emcee had his third child about two years ago and also got married to his longtime girlfriend both of which can trump any album and/or mixtape in battling for priorities.
From recording four songs in a short period of time, to taking months off at time from recording altogether, the mixture of family responsibilities and his job as a rapper has worked out well for Sean Price. Professionalism is something Price takes extremely serious, and for him that means bringing A-game lyrics to each and every bar he pens. When asked about his close relationship with his record label Duck Down, Sean stated, "I do realize it's a business and I'm not just signed cause we peoples, I give them quality shit to work with. I'm not signed because I'm their homeboy, I'm signed because I get busy."
That's one thing Sean wants listeners, fans, and haters alike to know. He get's busy.
[Interview] AEMMP Hip Hop Artist of The Week: Sin Cordell
We're back with the third installment of our AEMMP Hip Hop Artist of The Week spotlight. For those of you that are new to the series, we've partnered with Columbia College's student run record label, AEMMP Hip Hop, in an effort to shine light on Columbia College students that are balancing course work with studio sessions. This week we turn our attention to Sin Cordell of Chicago's WWNNN crew. The label selected Sin as the latest AEMMP Hip Hop Artist of The Week. Check out his interview and some of his music on the next page.
If you are a Columbia College student and interested in being featured, visit AEMMP Hip Hop to submit your work.
[Interview] Rza: The Passion
Two weeks ago, on a rainy and cold Saturday afternoon, I had the opportunity to sit down with the Rza and pick his brain about the Wu-Tang Clan and his upcoming film, "The Man With The Iron Fist". Over coffee in Wicker Park, Rza opened up about his abilities as a filmmaker, how being the leader of the Wu prepared him for his current endeavor, and his secret weapon: passion. Peep Rza insights below, and look for our video feature to debut next week along with the release of "The Man With The Iron Fist".
Passion as a secret weapon:
"I'm a capable person. I think I've proved that through my musical career and really starting from zero and being able to take not only myself, but a bunch of families with me. I proved my capability. When I'm passionate about something, I'm the first fan of it. I'm the first dedication and I think people know one thing, my passion definitely did help inspire them. It's been proven when I'm passionate about something, I bring it to life."
How Wu-Tang Clan prepared him for a film career:
"It was actually the best training I could ever have. I didn't know that. I wasn't conscious that all my trials and tribulations, good times and bad times with Wu-Tang would help me become this kind of psychiatrist of thinking towards other artists and talents. But also one of the biggest things that helped me is that I'm an artist. I understand the grind, the gripes. I understand right now we're getting out early in the rain to sit here and talk to you about a film instead of on the bus, curled up warm. I understand how it feels, so I appreciate what an artist does. As a director, I'm going to have compassion. There was a situation where we just had a problem, some of the producers were like, 'push through it, push through it, push through it.' I was like, 'no, no, no, no, no. You're not going to push through it. You're not going til he's ready."
Success was certain:
"I was sure that music was the savior of me, and my community, and my buddies... I don't need to be praised for nothing. There were days I would come to the neighborhood and be talking my mouth off about what we needed to do, what we were going to do, and how it's going to be. Sometimes they'd talk this way, talk that way, cause they weren't sure, but I was sure. I guess now that I think about it, I was passionate and my passion brought them along, and they agreed with me. It's a blessing. I knew musically it was going to succeed. I was very confident... The difference between me as a director and me as a Hip Hop artist is that I know that Wu-Tang and myself and this organization was the best! I knew I was the best. Now, in film I can't say that yet. I got a long way to go. But in a few years, if I really master this craft, I won't be shy to say, oh, I got the belt right now."
[Interview] Kids These Days Speak on New Album, Personal Growth and More
"Let's show motherfuckers what Kids These Days is about right now."
Vic Mensa and Nico Segal from Kids These Days joined me and JR Bang in studio last week for the latest edition of Closed Sessions Radio on WindyCityUnderground.com. Vic and Nico talked candidly about their new album, Traphouse Rock, balancing the talents of everyone in the band, the make or break moment surrounding their appearance on Conan O'Brian, as well as youth violence in Chicago and the mistake of making that shit seem cool. The interview is quite in-depth, sit down, listen and enjoy.
[Interview] Chance The Rapper: Off Suspension
Someone recently asked me to describe Chance The Rapper. After thinking for a while, I told them that Chance is really best described by the music. Not just in the sense of the music he makes, the words he raps or sings, but the music. Lil' Wayne created the I Am Music Tour, Chance The Rapper should be opening the next leg. At only 19 years old, Chance is musically mature beyond his age. Every time that I listen to his recent mixtape, #10Day, I continue to be amazed by some of the layouts and song structures, as well as the cohesiveness of the project.
Way before he dropped #10Day, he asked me to meet him at Panera Bread near Columbia College and the high school where he fatefully got suspended. He ran down a plan of finishing the mixtape, creating storytelling music videos, and a path that would see him skip college and pursue the music full-time. It's a meeting that I'd had, and a story that I had heard many times over, but it was different coming from Chance The Rapper. It seemed believable. It's been less than a year since that sit down, and Chance has gone from pretty much unknown to one of the most sought after artists in Chicago's Hip Hop scene. He is regularly mentioned by national press, and most recently has been added to spot dates opening for Childish Gambino.
I met up with Chance again on the day after the release of his #10Day mixtape. This time we didn't talk what about he plans to do. There were no more timelines and sketches of future plans. We talked about what he has done, and how wild some of it really is. We also spoke about his connection to his fans, the evolution of his music, and what exactly he was doing before he got handed a ten-day suspension from Jones College prep that would forever change his life. Check out the full in-depth interview below.
[Interview] RH First Look: Supreme Regime
In Chicago's burgeoning Hip Hop scene, standing out is a challenge. The numerous cliques and crews offer a way to sort through the mass of artists, helping to draw distinctions between the styles and motivations that drive the music. This phenomenon is not a new one, however the idea of a crew had certainly faltered in past years. Artists seemed to see bigger benefits flying solo than they did by bolstering themselves with a solid cast of supporting artists. This is no longer the case. Chicago's Savemoney and 2008ighties are local evidence, while A$AP Mob and Odd Future are proving it on a national and international scale. It is indeed possible for artists to share the limelight, make great music and be rewarded for the collaboration.
Supreme Regime is a group with plans to pursue this philosophy whole heartedly. When asked what their role in the group was, each of the five members responded in one shape or form that it was "to make the group better." Hailing from the Northside of Chicago, the group members embody the cultural diversity of the city as a whole, which their debut project Sloane Peterson will reflect. With some big plans for the next month or so, the crew is focusing on the short term. Read on below to get a better idea of the crew, individually and as a whole, and look out for Sloane Peterson arriving May 15th.
RubyHornet: How'd you guys get together in the first place?
Supreme Regime (Paul O.): Jesse and I met in high school. We actually had class together. Jesse was the goofy kid always getting in trouble and they sat him next to me and we just hit it off. We started hanging out and after a while, because we both had this love for Hip Hop, Jesse was like, 'we should start rapping.' Smoko Ono was also in school with us and around the same time he got into making beats, bought an Akai and it was just like that, grind mode. As for Loudmouth, I went to middle school with him for sixth to eighth grade, but we were never really that cool until after we graduated from high school. Jesse met him, and told him that he rapped, and he just brought him around and we started writing songs together, rapping, drinking, doing normal shit and we got really close. After a while it was like 'why don't we bring him into this' and see where it goes. And around the same time we met Mulatto Beats. People filtered in over time.
RubyHornet: When did it come down to picking Supreme Regime as the name? How does that relate to yours guys attitude towards music?
Supreme Regime (Paul O.): It was the name before Loudmouth and Mulatto Beats joined. We were just sitting around one night at Jesse's house and someone came up with the name and when we heard it we were like 'Oh, shiiittt" that's it, I forgot who said it but we knew that had to be the name. It's pretty fitting, I don't want to say that we're the best, but we're good at what we do and we do a lot of different shit. We make beats, the videos are produced in house, the rapping. To a certain point we are sort of a regime. We're just trying to take what is ours, prove to people that we have talent and get the recognition that we feel we deserve.