RESPECT. Interview: Dubai-Based Trio The Recipe Discuss Working With Talib Kweli, Car Accidents & More

Beginning as a project in hopes to bring Hip Hop artists together in the United Arab Emirates, The Recipe has evolved and transitioned into something even greater. The Dubai based rap trio (which consists of Kaz Money, Swerte and Perfect Storm) has without a doubt made a name for themselves by working with Hip Hop greats such as the legendary DJ Hurricane and most recently Talib Kweli. RESPECT. Mag caught up with The Recipe to talk about their new single “Place to Rest” and a few other things.

RESPECT.: How did you guys come up with the name “The Recipe”?

Swerte: The Recipe stands for everything we believe in…and everything we believe in is a combination of smaller things (ingredients) that ultimately form the big picture. The Recipe to success, The Recipe to failure, The Recipe to dreaming, believing, passion, courage, uniqueness and so on.

RESPECT.: How has being a Dubai based collective affected your musical influences?

Kaz Money: Dubai is a transitional place where most of us come from somewhere else in the world so we draw on a wide range of musical influences as a result.

RESPECT.: What is one characteristic that each of you bring forward to the music?

Kaz: Energy

P.Storm: Bars

Swerte: Intelligence

RESPECT.: Your last mixtape “Throwback to The Future” was hosted by the legendary DJ Hurricane, how did it feel to have such a household name in hip hop support your project?

Kaz Money: It was an honor and privilege to work with a legend like DJ Hurricane and it’s a project we take a lot of pride in as it shows our respect for those that have paved the way for us to do this hip hop sh*t.

Swerte: For me it was the feeling that ‘dreams you didn’t think possible could happen’

P.Storm: It’s always an honour and there’s a lot of respect for those that came before us, but at the same time it let me know that we were on the right path and we could really achieve anything we put our minds to… And we got some motherf**kin bars! lol…

RESPECT.: What is the recording process like for you guys? Is it very structured or more of a “going with the flow” type of situation?

Kaz Money: The recording process has evolved over time and differs depending on the track, but generally we decide on a concept and a direction for a track before the writing process begins. Sometimes we start with the hook but sometimes one of us would take the lead and initiate the process solo.

Swerte: Other times something in our lives could inspire one of us to just start writing and then share it with the others.

RESPECT.: Are you very particular when it comes to choosing beats?

Swerte: Selecting beats is always an interesting process because we each have different taste in music, however we have learned to select beats that play to each of our strengths.

Kaz Money: Ideally, we are always looking for new sounds that challenge us as artists while trying to find that balance between classic and new hip hop.

Perfect Storm: I’m pretty particular about choosing beats, we’ve had some tough sessions where we’ve disagreed on beats but we always come to some form of compromise. End of the day though a rapper should really be able to rap over anything and as team players sometimes we just gotta let ego go and say ok I’ll rock to this.

RESPECT.: Your latest single “Place to Rest” featuring Talib Kweli and Spark Master Tape has done extremely well. What exactly is the message behind this song?

P. Storm: The track and video is about finding a place to rest, fighting to be accepted and the sacrifices we made in order to do so – as people (as 3rd culture kids who are all mixed race and live out of their countries, a home, a place to be buried) and in music ( as rappers that grew up in the golden era of hiphop but live in today’s world of hiphop).

Swerte: The track means alot to us, not just because it features a legend we grew up listening to and an inspiring up and coming rapper, but also because it represents why this art means so much to us. Bringing people of different cultures, from different parts of the world together because of their passion for music. It’s a celebration of our individuality and our connection as humans.

RESPECT.: How does it feel to have the legendary Talib Kweli featured on such a popular single?

Kaz Money: Another huge milestone for us as a group and an honor to work with one of our idols. It’s almost still hasn’t sunk in that we have a track and video with a guy like Talib.

Swerte: Growing up and listening to his music from different corners of the world, some of us thought we wouldn’t even get a chance to see him perform live. Recording the video was technically our first time seeing him “perform” and it was our song we did together. How dope is that?!

P. Storm: It’s definitely amazing. It’s what dreams are made of. The first time my homie copped the Kweli – Quality album, we put the CD on in the whip and had the craziest car crash where we flipped a few times and etc. We were lucky to get out alive but all I remember hearing after as we scrambled out was the CD skipping. Who would have thought like 14 years ago I almost died listening to this guy and now I’m on a track with him.

RESPECT.: Do you guys plan on releasing a full length album in the near future?

Kaz Money: The album ‘Funerals & Purgatory’ is ready and should hopefully be out sometime later this year.

Swerte: We have another single and video called ‘Bandana’ coming real soon before that drops.

RESPECT.: What’s next for “The Recipe”? (Any shows, upcoming singles?) 

Swerte: Before the album drops we have another single called ‘Bandana’ that should be dropping soon with a video.

P. Storm: We got a few things lined up in the next coming months with album promos and shows etc.

Check out The Recipe’s “Place to Rest” video featuring Talib Kweli & Spark Master Tape below

 

 

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