Nardwuar: Top of the Interview Game

The art of the interview is extraordinarily difficult to master, which is partly why at RESPECT. we take such pride in the big features in every issue. The boss’ interview with Tyler, the Creator shows you how a serious interviewer can really get into the head of their subject, but what happens when the interviewer couldn’t be any less serious? What happens is Nardwuar, who you might remember from yesterday’s Mac Miller interview, and XXL‘s Ben Westhoff had the brilliant idea of profiling the man behind some of hip-hop’s most memorable interviews.

A 42-year-old radio journalist for Vancouver, Canada’s CiTR 101.9, he wears mismatched clothes and a plaid cap with a poof ball on top. He specializes in making his subjects uncomfortable, starting interviews with even the most famous celebrities by asking, “Who are you?” and sticking the microphone way too close to their faces. Then, for the purpose of checking sound levels and marking tape for the editing process, he ends every interview by singing, “Doot doola doot doo” (to the tune of “Shave and a haircut, two bits”), and he won’t leave until the subject says, “doot doo.”….

But in recent years, Nardwuar has become increasingly known for his rap interviews, and many consider him the Web’s top reporter in the game. “This is the best interview, by the way, that I’ve ever done in my entire life,” Drake said when they spoke last year. Said Snoop Dogg: “You’re courageous, and you’ve got a lot of personality, so it brings the best out of me and you, at the same time.” Nardwuar has a knack for landing interviews with the biggest of the big names, and he regularly astounds his subjects by doing tons of research and giving them personalized gifts: He bought Yelawolf an Eminem doll and gave Tyler, the Creator a bar of bacon soap.

The thing that makes Nardwuar so brilliant is that he understands that musicians are always music fans first. He does a huge amount of research (as Tyler asks, “how do you know this shit?!?”) so that his interview prompts, mostly gifts or just a name or an address, have a tremendous amount of personal resonance. The usually-euphoric response from the interviewee is often more telling than a well-tailored question might be. There’s also something to be said for the fact that in a hip-hop industry that’s often reluctant to allow any access to outsiders (see Q-Tip‘s remarks about “controlling your work”), Nardwuar has, as a consummate outsider, become extraordinarily close to his subjects. Check it out.

Via XXL