Pusha-T made it no secret that, after a nearly flawless 2013, he planned on hitting the studio on January 2nd for a marathon recording session with longtime producer collaborators The Neptunes. He did, however, fail to mention that his older sibling and Clipse partner No Malice would be joining them. That’s right, folks: the Thornton brothers are back by popular demand.

Fans were uncertain as to whether these two would ever reunite, despite the urgings of both The Neptunes and Kanye West. In spite them releasing three critically-praised, uniquely raw albums between 2002 and 2009, The Clipse has been MIA ever since Malice turned to religion and changed his name to No Malice. Pusha, meanwhile, found another “god”: one by the name of Yeezus, who signed him to his G.O.O.D. Music label back in 2010 and has been instrumental in helping him go from being the younger half of one of rap’s greatest duos ever to becoming King Push, the guy who takes shots at Lil’ Wayne and prances across the stage at the VMAs in a salmon-colored suit.

Thankfully, Karen Civil has confirmed No Malice‘s presence in the studio so it appears that Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and the Thornton brothers are back at their magical ways. We would have been satisfied if Push had simply put together another solo project on par with My Name Is My Name, but the boys are going above and beyond for their fans. And if Kanye were to get involved like he’s said? Well, that would be kinda like a big deal.

Source:

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The cover of Kenna Zemedkun‘s first album, New Sacred Cow, is nearly blank. For his second album, the story goes, Pharrell urged him to reveal his mug, to give his audience a face to the name. He didn’t, of course, titling it Make Sure They See My Face in joking rebuke. And four EPs later, he’s still yet to heed his friend’s advice.

But far from a camera-shy Weeknd-type enigma, Kenna’s face has been seen in a variety of other mediums in the six years since his last full-length. There he was on the pages of Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, as a case study of the virtue of intuition, and on MTV, leading a pack of celebrities to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro in support of clean water. For the most part, though, he stepped out of the music world, fashioning himself into more of a philanthropist-entrepreneur than singer-songwriter.

Now, he’s back in the role of musician, with a slew of brief releases produced by the likes of RJD2 and Chad Hugo out on Dim Mak Records this year. We sat down with the Virginia Beach-bred Renaissance man to chat about his new sound and old image.

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 RESPECT: Your new music is out on Steve Aoki’s label, Dim Mak. How did that come about?

Kenna: Aoki and I have been friends for a few years, and Dim Mak is a hungry label. I wanted to license my records, I wanted to own my masters, and he afforded me that opportunity. At the same time, he’s a fan of my music and put his team on task to make sure that it gets heard. And that’s all I ever wanted from a relationship with a label. It’s a true partnership. The other thing is that—maybe I shouldn’t say it—it’s an indicator of where, sonically, I might shift a little bit in the near future. I’m not sure exactly how to explain it, but I definitely have always had an electronic twinge to my music anyways; there’s gonna be some interesting dynamic shifts from my album that don’t sound anything like the Imitation Is Suicide EP, doesn’t sound like any of the Land 2 Air EPs. It’s gonna change completely. And in the meantime, I’m just saying, “By the way, remember this? By the way, I can do this too. Don’t try to limit me, ‘cause my next record’s not gonna be anything you expect.”

You’ve been working with a range of other artists lately, from Vic Mensa to JoJo. How would you describe your approach to collaboration?

Here’s the thing: I don’t think that the world is flat anymore. People listen to everything. Diddy came out today and said he loves country music. Did you hear about that? We’re influenced by a lot of different music, and it only makes sense for me to find the best  breeds in all different genres and wanna work with them—at least the ones that I love. Working with Jo, she’s one of the illest vocalists on the planet—forget what genre she’s in. Working with Childish [Gambino] is like working with one of the best in the world. It’s not about what genres they’re in, it’s about whether or not we can make great music together.

What does the EP format allow you to do that can’t be done on a full-length? What kinds of ideas can you get across in three tracks?

I look at myself as a new artist. I stepped out of the focus on music for a minute to do some other business and philanthropic work. And to come back to it, I have to acknowledge to my fans that I’ve been doing other things, and I have to come out with music that matters and is relevant now. So for me, it was about being able to create little bite-sized packages for people to get into but not be overwhelmed by. Who wants to hear a whole album of anybody right now? So to me, it’s like, “Here’s three records. Love what you love, hate what you hate. Here’s three more. Oh, here’s three more.” And being consistent. The other thing that’s happened over my whole career is that, being stuck to some label systems, I haven’t been able to put out the records when I wanted to. And there have been a lot of delays. I hated that. It wasn’t my fault. But now that I control it, I want to make sure I’m consistent with putting out music that matters and being relevant in what I make. And respecting my audience and being sure that they know that I’m fucking working. The hustle’s on.

Are you still recording in Virginia?

No, I haven’t recorded in Virginia in a minute. Chad, we do some stuff satellite, so Chad’ll be working in Virginia. I’m mostly working in Los Angeles now.

What’s it like working with Chad in a post-Neptunes world?

Don’t sleep. It seems like they don’t work together as much, but it doesn’t mean they don’t work together as much, if that means anything. They still work together. It’s not official, on multiple levels, but Chad and Pharrell will always be allies. They’ll always work together on things here and there. You never know when Chad’s involved with something. It may not be titled “Neptunes” anymore, but he’s always close by. When it comes down to the big picture of evolution, we all have different things to say with our lives, and naturally, there’s a progression there. I’ve always been kind of tangential to the Neptunes’ mast, but at the exact same time, I’ll see Pharrell this week, and I talk to Chad—Chad’s in Charlotte on the way back to VA right now. We’re far from each other on multiple levels, but we’re just making other things.

I just put out another song, “Love Is Still Alive,” from Chapter II of the EP, and that was the first time—well, not the first time, but one of the first future soul type of records I’ve ever fully produced myself, and wrote, and produced, and played everything. It’s that kind of time right now, where we have to evolve and shape our futures. Pharrell’s always produced his own shit, and I commend him for that, because he’s always pushed himself to do that. My focuses are different. We all do come together, though. I’ll be there to talk to him about his mix on things, or a record that he’s writing, and assist, and give him—I guess, the word is a 30,000-foot view on something when he’s in the middle of it. Same with Chad—Chad will do the same thing for me. We’ll always work together, so it’s really dope to see the cycle. Great music comes back. You look at Pharrell, and the things that are happening this year, and what’s gonna happen next year with him, it’s great to know that music and great melodies will always return to the forefront no matter what.

It just occurred to me—the nexus, the meeting point of you, Pharrell, and Chad, might be Steve Aoki. Isn’t P on tour with him right now?

[Laughs] Steve Aoki is the nexus! It’s interesting. Things are just not written. When you circle each other in a creative space, you’re bound to bump into each other. Steve Aoki circles that space, so does Pharrell, so does Childish Gambino, so does Santigold. The nexus in LA is the Record Plant studio where we all run into each other and run into each other’s sessions and cut vocals. You wonder why those collaborations ever happen—it’s because they were all in the same studio on the same day by accident. And they all love each other’s shit.

Talk to me about your extracurriculars. You and Pharrell took a couple years to step into entrepreneurial mode, making waves in the world of online media. What exactly do you do for MySpace?

Justin [Timberlake] is a co-owner of Myspace. I’m his partner at MySpace. As the Chief Vision Officer, which is in tandem as one of the chief creatives here, my gig is pretty overarching—basically, where MySpace is gonna go, what it’s gonna do. For example, why it looks the way it does right now is a part of my work.

The side scroll, right? Was that you?

Yeah, the new design, the side scroll, the UX, the UI, how we build the team around it. I brought Joseph Patel, who was at Vice before. Now he runs editorial and content at MySpace. I’m pretty much a change agent. Let’s just call it that.

Ten years ago, if I told you that you and Justin Timberlake were gonna own MySpace and Pharrell’s gonna be on tour with Daft Punk, what would you have said?

You know what’s funny? There was a moment ten years ago when I sat down with this kid in college, and I was like, “Yo, I need you to make a MySpace page with me,” and he was like, “Yeah, but I don’t have a computer.” I said, “Cool, let me get you one,” and I bought him a computer. I said, “Because I’m giving you this computer, I want you to run my MySpace page from now on. You just keep it up.” And he did that, and he’s gone on to do a lot of things. He directed music videos, he’s over at Karmaloop now—

Shomi?

Yeah, Shomi. He’ll tell you this story. He said, “I’ll do that for you,” and I said, “Look, one day when I run MySpace, we’ll do a lot of shit together.” That was ten years ago. Then, literally ten months ago, I went to have a meeting with MySpace and Karmaloop, and he walked in and told that story to the whole room, and it was like, “Oh shit—we’re here to actually do shit together.”

I think it’s manifest destiny, man. You build what you believe is your future in every word you speak, in every action you take. I’m here for a greater purpose. I’m here to help people get clean water. That’s my legacy. I’ll climb mountains for that. I’ll write records for that. I’ll run social networks for that. So everything I do is to build towards that goal. That first Kilimanjaro climb I did ended up being a part of pushing $400 million into clean water. At the end of the day, I went and dug a well 50 yards from where my grandfather tried to build a well in Ethiopia so that he could get water 50 years ago with my father. These are the things that matter in this life, and my music is a conduit for that kind of change. So every time you guys post stuff, every time I get put on here and there, the opportunities rise for me to be able to do more of that. I appreciate this conversation. And at the end of the day, I know Pharrell, and Chad, and everybody else that I work with, they know what my purpose is. Pharrell always says, “Make something greater than yourself.” And that’s what I try to do with every single melody that comes out of my mouth and every sound that comes out of my teeth. That’s my goal, so that I can actually do what I’m here to do: make change.

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Now that they’re done touring with Mac Miller, Odd Future duo The Internet is back and ready to share new music. The hazy “Partners in Crime Part Two” is the first single off of their upcoming album, Feel Good, which is due out September 24 and features collaborations with Chad Hugo, Mac Miller and Yuna. “Partners in Crime Part Two” sees The Internet traversing new paths, with an increased emphasis on live instrumentation and stronger vocals from Syd tha Kyd, who has acquired more control of her melodic, yet timid voice. This song is also a bit more funkier than their usual outing. Listen below and see how long you can go before doing the old-man two-step.

The post New Music: The Internet – “Partners in Crime Part Two” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Twin brothers Taiwo “Christian” Hassan and Kehinde “Rich” Hassan have been working within and without the music industry for over a decade, working with household names like The Neptunes and unknown names like Edison Chen. Talented, well-informed and confidently-opinionated, the producer duo sat down with us for a candid interview about their production process, working with Earl Sweatshirt and J. Cole, and the significance of letting your music speak louder than your DJ tag, among other things. The interview transcript is over 4,000 words long, but it’s full of wisdom and insider knowledge, and most importantly, it comes from a trustworthy source: two guys who just want to make good music. Read below.

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RESPECT. My first question is about your process. How do you two divide the production work?

Taiwo: We work on it separately most of the time and then I let him hear something and he’ll add stuff or take stuff away. And vice versa. But that’s how it normally works; we do stuff separately. If we do something together it’s like I’ll be watching tv and he’s working on something and will say, “Come listen to this,” and we’ll go work on it.

Has it always been that way?

Taiwo: When we were in college we used to do it together because we didn’t use computers. We used the NPCs and the ASR x pro, so we just had one controller to do beats on, so yeah we did it together back then, about 10 years ago.

What about when you do vocals?

Kehinde: You mean for other people, when other artists are there?

I mean  like when you do your own songs, like, “Famous Girl.”

Both: Oh we don’t do that anymore.

Taiwo: But vocally, I handled a lot the vocals most of the time.

Why’d you guys stop doing your own thing?

Taiwo: I just didn’t want to be a singer, *laughs*.

Kehinde: Yeah, we actually could have took that to the next level and done some crazy stuff with it, but for us, we always started as producers. A lot of people didn’t know that we had platinum and gold plaques like years ago before we even got known to the New York scene, so we always were focused on producing. And so when we started doing the artist stuff, it was really just a way to get people to buy more beats. And it actually worked. Now we’re selling beats, thank god. Maybe we’ll revisit it, but for now, it was always experimental to us, so who knows, maybe.

Back in 2010 there was an interview where you guys were asked to describe your sound and you guys answered, “Pop.” Would you say that now?

Taiwo: Hmmm. Did we say that?

Kehinde: You know what, no. It’s hilarious because back then, black guys being pop – and back then was just 4 years ago – black guys being pop wasn’t popular. If you were a black producer and you were pop then people would be like, “Oh you’re about to come do what The Neptunes did?”Because The Neptunes were pop but they were still obviously urban or hip-hop. So now it’s different because we listen to the same music as we did back then, but we’re not so concerned with the pop elements of it. Anything is considered pop if it becomes popular, so Earl Sweatshirt’s song “Chum” that we did, that could be considered pop because it’s a product of different people in popular culture. But I definitely wouldn’t say our sound is pop. Our sound is very organic, indie-based. Meaning we’re going back to the indie elements we liked from the ‘80s and the ‘70s, you know: The Meters, Herbie Hancock, David Axelrod. All these people that were kind of like indie back then, those are the sounds we’re borrowing now. Even though we did that back then, we’re definitely not pop. We’re just musicians.

Do you think it’s easier for you two to produce because you’re twins?

Kehinde: I think it’s harder…because we argue all the time, *laughs*.

Taiwo: I don’t know if it’s an easy or hard thing. It’s just you have somebody that has the same musical taste as you so, I don’t think it has anything to do with being twins. Just more that we have the same musical tastes. Like 99% of music we like is very similar.

One of the tracks you produced with Earl – well, you guys have a lot of tracks on Doris…my question is of the tracks that made it, how many were made?

Taiwo: We made 5 and 4 made it. The other one is going on Domo Genesis’ album. He used every track.

Wow. What was the mood of those sessions?

Both: Fun.

Taiwo: We were just having fun. We’d be clowning half the time; in a 12 hour session, we’d be talking shit for like 6-7 hours. And then the last 3 hours, we’d do a song. We were just chilling.

Kehinde: But with “Chum” we actually made that together. Us, Chad Hugo and Earl Sweatshirt. We all sat there and made it and it got serious. Everyone was in their zone. You’ll see the pictures, I think it’s on the album insert.

Taiwo: Literally we had like 5 keyboards out, 3 computers, all these machines, and we were just zoning out, going through each idea. And then after that it became laughter again. But when we’re working, when he’s writing, it’s serious. It’s not a game. Because you’re competing. It’s all these producers in the room with all these ideas so it was a little bit of both. But definitely both. Great environment. He had some pretty cool friends.

There’s an interview in which you two said you two do a lot of research before making music. Were you familiar with Earl’s work before?

Kehinde: Oh yeah.

Taiwo: The first day we saw it we were in LA, visiting, 2009 or 2010.

Kehinde: We knew about Earl before the world knew about Earl, even before indie knew about Earl.

Taiwo: Someone showed us the video and we were like, “Oh shit this kid can really rap.” And then the next week were in New York with Pharell and Shay and everyone at the Jimmy Fallon show and we all had a whole conversation about Odd Future, so we definitely were up on him way before we worked with him.

Did you have any expectations going into the sessions?

Taiwo: Yeah. I expected him to be great and he was excellent. He’s the best rapper of his generation. No question.

Kehinde: No question.

Taiwo: Every song was one take.

One take?!

Kehinde: “Chum” was one take.

Taiwo: One thought, it was no question for him. Because it’s effortless for him; he’s a very smart kid. His vocabulary –
Kehinde: – is very extensive. He has a very extensive mental capacity for holding information.

Do you think that you and Earl might have vibed more because you’re both influenced by The Neptunes? Are you guys still managed by Shay?

Both: No.

Taiwo: But he’s one of our best friends. Actually, Earl didn’t even know we knew them. He just liked what we did. It’s really Tyler who’s into that whole ice cream, BBC, Pharell. Earl loves them, but he likes everything. He’s more of a MF DOOM, Flying Lotus, J Dilla kind of guy. More MF DOOM. So when we were doing the initial sessions, which started out as 3 days, we told him we invited Chad Hugo, he’s just going to come and he was like, “Oh shit! I didn’t even know y’all knew him!”

And actually, what a lot of people don’t know is that we actually made the call to get Pharell on the album and to get Pharell and Chad together. So technically, they really didn’t have any intentions to call Pharell because it just seemed impossible. They didn’t know even know we knew him. It was really more just him [Earl] respecting what we could bring to the table and us knowing what he could bring to the table and us just meeting there. And it worked!

Just like you said, that’s organic.

Kehinde: Definitely.

You guys seem to favor live instrumentation.

Both: Yes.

When working with rappers, does that make the recording process more difficult?

Taiwo: No, no. That’s our post-production stuff. We’ll already have the beat done already with all the elements on it. It’s seamless. You can’t bring that element into the studio cause then it’s like kind of unattractive to be like *points finger* the guitar is gonna be there…if it’s gonna be there you do it before so it doesn’t –

Kehinde: – for J. Cole’s record, that record, including the hook, which has our homegirl Stacy on the original hook – you’ll see it when we put it online soon – that whole song was just done; all he had to do was insert vocals. Guitar, drums, piano, it was done. We try to make it easy because rappers are different from when we’re sitting down with groups like Lykke Li. They’ll go over and start playing piano and giving you ideas. What rapper do you know that’s going to start playing piano? They don’t understand that or care to.

Taiwo: They just want you to be a producer, do your job and let them take care of the rap. So that relationship is easy. You don’t want to make it harder than that.

That’s why I asked. I imagine that most rappers, they just want the beat.

Both: *laugh*

Taiwo: Somebody like J. Cole produces himself so he’ll actually try to –

Kehinde: He’ll add some stuff.

Taiwo: Earl, we showed him how to make beats better, but he also knows how to play keys and stuff.

Kehinde: Yeah, he plays keys pretty well.

I was actually going to ask about that. Since Earl and J. Cole are both rappers and producers, how does that affect the recording process?

Taiwo: Well the respect us and know that we’re really good at producing, especially when you’re in the room; you get to see how good we are at producing. So they respect it. I don’t think they’re intimidated by us. They just respect what we’re doing and that we’re enhancing what they do. Because we focus on production way more than the average artist/producer does. You can tell through our production that we take our time.

Kehinde: It’s like meeting a carpenter who’s really good at making wood pieces and then he’s like, “Well, I design houses too…” I’d rather have somebody that just designs houses because his concentration and expertise is gonna be at the highest level because that’s all he does. Then you bring the carpenter in to do what he does. If you get somebody that does it all, they’re gonna half-ass things. It’s going to be a little off. It won’t be exactly that one hundred percent it should be: it’s gonna be like eighty-five, ninety percent. So you need both elements. And people respect that about us. We just focus strictly on the ins and outs of production, from mixing, to drum selection to keyboards to everything. Because that’s all we do, just do research.

Do you guys do the engineering too?

Taiwo: Pre-recording stuff, but usually no –
Kehinde: – we have engineers there, but as far as mixing records, we’ll be there with the engineers.

Taiwo: But it’s good to get a good engineer because that’s all they focus on. Those are the type of things that make a good record become a hit record: a good producer that knows how to produce, an artist or writer that knows how to really write, an engineer who really knows how to mix, and a mastering guy. People don’t know these things matter. That’s how you end up wth a shitty song with a shitty mix that sounds like shit. You always have to do a remaster because the original was shitty because the producer wanted to mix other elements. It’s always good to have experts at things do what they do because they’re always going to enhance the whole project no matter what you’re doing. You always want the best carpenter and the best electrician working on your shit. That works for all walks of life.

I read that you guys used to perform with a string quartet and a six-piece band?

Taiwo: Yeah, we did. We did that Santos Party House, Webster Hall.

Kehinde: Hotel Rivington. Yeah, it was cool. That was our show. Actually we didn’t have a quartet. It was a quintet: two violinists, cello, bass –
Taiwo:  – No, it was two cellos, two violinists and a bass.

Kehinde: Yeah, that was when we were experimenting with different ideas, how big we could make it on our own.

So you have a French House EP coming out? I read that it was inspired by Philip K. Dick. Was it inspired by a specific work or…?

Taiwo: His whole body of work. Just his whole philosophy, like Valis –
Kehinde: Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep –
Taiwo: – We Got it For Wholesale [sic]. That’s what Total Recall was based on. We found about him not even too long ago, like a year or two ago. We knew his work, but didn’t know it was based off the books. My homeboy Nino was just like, “Yo, I think you should out this guy, I think you’d like him.”And ever since then we’ve been obsessed with reading the books and watching all the different movies. And we just sat down and said hey we should make this whole concept, so everyone song is named after either a book or short story. So that’s the whole concept. And because when you hear it, it sounds like a soundtrack to one of his books. That;s what it feels like, very moody. There’s this one record called “Oddities” that is very happy, but it feels like Philip K Dick.

Have you guys read Time out of Joint?

Taiwo: I know that title but haven’t had a chance to read it yet. What’s that one about?

It’s kind of like The Truman Show, but I think it’s a little more serious though.

Taiwo: I think what he would say interviews and in his books was pretty serious. so that makes sense

Yeah, he seemed to be worried about the effect of technology on people…

So you guys said that you made 5 songs for Doris and 4 are on the album and one is going to Domo’s album. How many did you make for Born Sinner? 

Taiwo: Technically we worked on like 3 or 4 –

Kehinde: A lot. Well, not a lot, but a good amount.

Taiwo: We’d be talking on the phone and he’d say send some beats.

Kehinde: Or we’d go by the studio and he’d say, “Oh, I want this beat.”

Taiwo: There was one song, I forget the name, that had a hook on it already. Miguel was supposed to be on that but I guess since he had already done “Power Trip,” he took him on that. But that song was dope. I never heard his verses on it, but he was really ecstatic about that beat, a few beats. But the best song out of all of them was “Sparks Will Fly.

Kehinde: That’s the bigger record. That’s like his Eminem and Rihanna, “Love the Way You Lie.”

Taiwo: Yeah, he’s also had that record for like 2 years. It was supposed to go on his first album. Jay-Z heard it and was like, “You need to put this on your first album.”

Kehinde: Yeah, the record was done two years ago. We actually made it in Brooklyn –
Taiwo: – in 2010. Yeah, it was actually 3 years ago, shit.

Kehinde: And then he recorded it in 2011. We were just waiting and waiting and wondering, “When is this gonna come out.” But now it’s out and now it’s gold. So we’re happy about that.

When songs get put in the archive like that, are they beyond your control for the most part?

Taiwo:What do you mean?

Like if a song is recorded and made and given to the artist, even if they put a verse on it, is it in their hands once they get it?

Taiwo: Yeah, once they purchase it…well it depends. If you’re passionate about it and someone else really wants it you’re going to call the artist up and be like, “Someone really wants this track. Do you want this track or not?” And they’ll either say, “Nah, I’m good,” or they’ll fight for it and say, “Nah, I still want it,” and you figure out from there.

Do you…

Taiwo: Refund them? Yeah! Well you don’t have to…

Kehinde: You can be shady and not, but in good taste you should. Just like in any other business, you buy a tv, you don’t want, you take it back to the store and they refund you. You can’t just hold on to the purchase. But that rarely happens.

Taiwo: I remember I heard an old story that Alchemist did a beat for Ras Kass and they only paid him the first half and it took too long. So he took the beat and gave it to Jadakiss and that’s that song, “We Gon Make It.” So there’s a version I heard with Ras Kass and there’s a version that Jadakiss had. And that came from that kind of situation: he was waiting on them, they weren’t moving with his schedule and he was like, “Look, I’m giving it to this guy.” Now I don’t know how the logistics went but I remember hearing that story like 10 years ago.

Kehinde: That’s rare, but when it happens, you have to be very delicate because it’s touchy. People get real sensitive about tracks, sometimes selfish. You just have to be a good businessman and be able to see the future and make the right decisions.

Taiwo: When you do that, bridges will get burned. You just have to accept that fact and think about how important it is for you to have that track for someone else.

So you guys are from Chicago. What do you think about the music scene that’s developing there, specifically with Chance the Rapper and the Save Money Crew?

Kehinde: We love Chance. We’re actually working with Vic Mensa now. We gave him 2 tracks for the INNANETAPE and we helped him kind of with arrangement for the song selection. Because that kid got like – Jesus Christ – 30 songs? Fully done. And they’re all dope. It’s hard to go through the list.

But I like what all those kids are doing. I like what Sosa is doing. I like what Reese is doing, definitely King Louie, definitely King Louie. Chance is…wow. Chance is gonna be that dude. What Drake is doing now, Chance is gonna do in his own way. He’s gonna be that kid at 20 with 30 million, with fans all over the world. And Vic too. Vic is gonna be right there with him. Because they aren’t afraid to try a new path of music. They’re not going with the same tone. And they’re from really bad neighborhoods in Chicago. So to know where they’re from and what they’re making is just wow. I’m very impressed. Chicago is doing good right now, on the music front.

What years were you guys in Atlanta?

Both: 06-07. We were working with Bangladesh down there.

Kehinde: Yeah, we used to work with Bangladesh. The only song we ended up doing together was a song for this dude Willie Northpole. That’s the only song we ended up doing together that was placed.

Taiwo: We were cool with him, but that’s the only person who we really worked with down there.

Kehinde: It’s funny because the streetwear scene…streetwear like Supreme and 10DEEP have been around since the 90’s almost.

Since the 90’s?

Kehinde: Oh yeah. Supreme has been around since the 90’s. Around then in ‘06 that’s when all these other kids started getting inspired. So Rocksmith and all these other guys were starting to blow up and the scene in Atlanta was where we actually started seeing it. So we were in the indie scene and I’d see all these things happening down there and it was pretty dope in Atlanta. And they had their own culture and they had this store called Wish that had all the illest gear, and the artists would come through so it’s been pretty interesting to see that development. By the time we came back to New York, there were hipsters everywhere wearing it.

I asked because I want to know what you guys think about the New Atlanta Movement.

Kehinde: I don’t know a thing about it.

Taiwo: I just know Migos. I thought Migos was one dude until the Breakfast Club interview.

Kehinde: Migos has some pretty cool records from what I’ve heard.

Taiwo: Atlanta is always like that, since the ‘90s. They just have a wave. It’s always like every 6 months, they have a new style with new people. In early 2000’s it was Trillville, Lil’ Scrappy and them.

Kehinde: Actually there was just a new wave with 2 Chainz. We used to play basketball at Bangladesh’s house every Sunday.

He’s good, isn’t he?

Taiwo: Yeah, he can hoop.

Kehinde: Yeah, he’s a real good basketball player. He’s pretty tall.  He’s a pretty intense dude, but he’s really fun on the basketball court. He came through with Ludacris’ crew as Tity Boi with I-20 and them back then. And then he had Playaz Circle, which had the big song with Lil’ Wayne. And then he did that and it kind of died down. And I remember just hearing about this guy 2 Chainz and then turning on the radio or something, and I wondered who that was and why everyone kept sweating this guy. And I saw a picture and was like, “That look like Tity Boi.” And then I read the article and I was right. It’s crazy to see that movement. Atlanta always got something, so I’m sure whatever it is, it’s dope. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure it’s dope.

It seems like DJs are back in demand as people are turning away from the radio. I read that you guys do DJ sets. What would say the appeal is of your DJ sets?

 Taiwo: We like doing house music, like old Chicago house music. For example, we did this Electric Forest Festival like 3 weeks ago in Rothbury, Michigan and we were playing old house stuff and then we switched it to TNGHT and played a bunch of trap shit – trap in the sense of house music trap. Actually, we played regular trap too, like Rocko and Rick Ross. The appeal to come to our show is that you’re going to hear stuff that feels good. Even if you don’t like house music, you’re going to like it.

Kehinde: We just take the best of each genre. No Top 40.

Taiwo: No Top 40. If a record is Top 40 and we like it, we’ll play it, but that’s rare. But the appeal is that you’re going to be seeing these two black dudes up there playing some dope fucking music. And we ain’t wearing no costumes.

 Kehinde: As a producer, if you’re smart, you’ll come to our DJ sets and learn all the music we listen to and actually learn why we are what we are and how we know what we know. You’re just going to hear all our influences, so put it like this. In January we had a residency at this club called Block and we were playing what we play now – we have our own Wednesday slot at another place – we played our house and our trap and whatever and the club promoters didn’t get it and they took us off. And a month later, all their DJs copied our sets and now that’s the standard in LA. If you go to Hyde, you go to Emerson, you go to Greystone, all the DJs are playing a Christian Rich set. In hindsight, if you want to know what our appeal is, it’s introducing people to new shit for them to take. But when we do festivals, they get it and they love it. Because it’s two black guys music that really black people started, so that’s the appeal: just good music. No gimmicks, no costumes or girls dancing on stage. Hell no. You’re either into the songs or you’re not.

So you guys don’t play an explosion or anything?

Kehinde: *laughs* Maybe to be comical, but…nah.

Taiwo: I don’t even play the Christian Rich tag anymore. We don’t need that shit. It’s just about the music. It’s corny when you do stuff like that because there’s so many other ways to brand yourself within the music. When people are listening to the music, just let them enjoy the music. If you want to brand yourself, take that music you’re playing and work with a brand outside of you that will bring their audience with them, but when you’re doing a show –

Kehinde: Can you imagine going to a show, like a Florence in the Machine show and in the background she has bombs and something going *speaks softly:* “Florence and the Machine!” You wouldn’t want to watch it! You’d be like fuck that shit, this is bullshit. We take our sets seriously. It should just be where the average person can come and say, “I don’t know you and I don’t know those songs, but I’m a fan.” That’s what it’s about.

This my last question. What’s your favorite album or EP or mixtape of the year?

Both: Doris.

Kehinde: Doris is crazy.

Taiwo: I’ve been listening to it for almost a year now. Doris is equivalent to good kid. m.A.A.d. city in terms of story. It’s not a cohesive story, but it does tell a story in general about a kid who’s lost between being the best and knowing he’s the best and then restraining because he doesn’t want to outshine anybody around him or he doesn’t want to admit to himself he is the best. It’s an 18 year old kid going through the mind state of – “Do you realize you are Illmatic Nas? Do you realize you are Reasonable Doubt Jay-Z?” That’s what the album’s about: him fighting off demons saying, “That’s you!” and him saying, “No, it’s not!” It’s pretty tough. Sick album. We’ve been listening to Quadron too.

Avalanche?

Taiwo: Yeah, that’s a crazy album too.

Kehinde: “LFT” and “It’s Gonna Get You” are just..

Taiwo: We played that shit for Shay of N.E.R.D. and he called us and texted us for about a week trying to find out what’s the album.

Kehinde: Their first album, before they signed to Epic, was good too. The string arrangements on that album, damn. I can’t wait until they blow up. They deserve it. Coco is really good and Robin’s a great producer. Those are our  two albums.

The post Interview: Producer Duo Christian Rich Talks Doris, House Music, Philip K. Dick and Letting Your Music Speak Louder Than Your DJ Tag appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

“Any time you come out with some fresh shit, artists have a chance to reinvent themselves. We just try to reinvent ourselves every time out and keep rocking.” — Mibbs

It’s been a long road to this point for BeYoung, Like and Mibbs (left to right), but for them the grind is just starting to heat up. With the first anniversary of their debut album, The Div, quickly approaching, it’s on to bigger things for the Cali-based collective. Drawing influences from both the east and west coasts, (Pete Rock, NWA, J Dilla and Wu Tang to name a few) Pac Div has created a sound that is simultaneously reminiscent of hip-hop’s past and indicative of hip-hop’s future. Pac Div’s trio pens heartfelt bars over soulful beats, and the end product is sure to get people out of their seats. Truth be told, the hip-hop world can’t be mad when people keep it real, but more to the point why do it any other way?

I see you guys are scheduled to play Oct. 14^th in Davis, Calif., at Mfalme Fest 2012 with Curren$y, Ryan Leslie, Wale and many others. What’s the vibe like when there are so many artists performing at one venue, on one stage?

Mibbs: It’s dope to have that many notable artists together to rock a crowd. I’m surprised there aren’t more tours like that because it brings out different crowds and different vibes. Also, people who are fans of Stalley or Curren$y get an opportunity to see Pac Div. The energy of everybody on the stage is definitely something you have to match though.

Keeping with the concert scene, the Club Nokia gig with Black Star, Del the Funky Homosapien and Freestyle Fellowship is also coming up soon. What are you looking forward to from that gig?

Like: We’ve never shared a stage with a Freestyle Fellowship, but they’re at the center of west coast hip-hop. They rock and we’re just going to add to it. With the older artists and similar styles, it should just be awesome performing in front of their fans. The west coast is a very unique thing. LA and NY have their own sound, but LA and Oakland have their distinct sounds too. All said and done, it’s still west coast. We love to pay homage to those guys though.

BeYoung: You see a lot of cats collaborating out here, similar to how some people perceive the South. A lot more people just realize you have to deal in other people’s fan bases.

Tell me a bit about your relationship with Pharrell Williams. You guys opened for N.E.R.D. on a tour last year, so what did you notice about his creative tendencies when it comes to making a record?

M: We worked with Pharell and he’s a real cool dude. It was a great experience to see how he works and how he rocks the house. We dug that. We noticed the way he works really fast, he’s just doing everything at once. Chad definitely does his job too though, coming in behind and making things nice and clean. With Pharell, though, you get a complete record with complete sound.

How important is creative control of the music for you guys? I understand sometimes things can get hung up in “politics,” but what’s the situation with RBC like?

M: They let us do with whatever we want, but obviously we can’t sell a song unless we clear a sample. We always bring the ruckus, so it’s good though.

Let’s talk about the upcoming GMB (Gabe, Michael, Bryan) project. “Gimme What You Got” has an old school vibe for sure, but are there any features and/or guest production to look out for?

M:  First off, “Gimme What You Got” isn’t our beat. I wish it was, but it comes from a Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth joint called “Take You There.” As for production on GMB: Like is on there, DJ Dotty, Chuck Inglish, Theolonius Martin and Swiff D of course. Feature-wise Mac Miller is on a track, Blu, Kendrick Lamar and some other people but that’s all I’m going to say.

How have Pacdivdaily.com and social media helped the brand?

L: Social media helps keep everything afloat as far as creating a community and keeping people up to date with what we’ve got. It’s ever changing though. You see a lot more artists taking the independent route and combining everything in one, that’s becoming a new thing too. Word travels around fast, so if you drop something it’s like a wildfire. People can do all these things now and our phones are practically computers too. Get with it or get lost. Itunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, Wikipedia, the food, the groceries, just everything. People don’t need to be slaves to it, but it’s just a new generation. Instagram and Twitter too, both of those are dope.

Who are y’all listening to nowadays?

M: Ab Soul, Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q and Frank Ocean to name a few. You can even play Frank’s music for your parents, and his visuals are pretty dope. I know he’s not a rapper, but he has a rapper’s skill set. There are a lot of people nowadays. We like what Odd Future has done in the past, A$AP doing his thing too. The internet has so much influence on what people are listening to nowadays, but there’s plenty of good stuff out there that nobody has to force you to listen to you.

How was it teaming up with the guys from the NBA for the Phiten “Still Flexin’” video?

L: Those guys were cool as hell. We come from a basketball background as well, but it made us realize how fun and silly atheletes are. We were cracking jokes with them, just having a good time. Melo actually knew about us because he was a fan of ours. He told Mibbs that and it was definitely ill to hear.

M: Carmelo was the one who called us to come up there. He was like, ‘I got your Church League tape,’ so I guess hoopers keep up with their music as well. LeBron also said he had heard a couple joints of ours too, so that was definitely dope.

The post “Get With It Or Get Lost” — Exclusive Interview With Pac Div appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

“Hmmyessirr…” As Pharrell launches i am OTHER today, let’s all take a moment to reflect on the Star Trak era. Sure, you might be most familiar with “Milkshake” and “Grindin’,” but as any Trakkie will tell you — and Neptunes stans really are as devoted to Star Trak as Trekkies are to Star Trek — Pharrell and Chad’s old label was home to some of the brightest talent that never shone. Countless artists got stuck in the Corrupt Music Machine’s cogs (*ahem*) under the Neptunes’ watch, but none was as promising as Fam-Lay. Today, Fam is free from contracts and bullshit, back on his grind with new music in the works. RESPECT. sat down with Fam to talk about that new-new, but also to rehash the past decade of his turbulent career. Below, he speaks on how industry politics held him back, why Tyler, the Creator Tweets him on the reg, and why Star Trak still ain’t dead.

You’re definitely an artist that a lot of people know, but they don’t really know that they know. Is that a fair thing to say?

Makes sense, man.

Do people recognize your face? ‘Cause I know they recognize your songs.

Not too much, man. I don’t get a lot of people recognizing my face.

But still, you’ve got fans. I see you on Twitter.

My Twitter’s doing okay. [Laughs.]

I know you’ve had a crazy, epic saga of deals, but I was wondering if we could go through that a little bit, let the people know how you first linked up with Star Trak and how you came to where you are today.

It’s been a rollercoaster, but I wouldn’t change one thing. Pharrell, he real, fam. We grew up in the same neighborhood. We were like childhood friends. He was talking about music back then, and you gotta know, from Virginia, you got a better chance of hitting the lottery [than making it in the industry]. We didn’t take it seriously. He was like one of the only dudes that really took music seriously to the point where he felt like he could break through.

He was doing shit for Teddy Riley back then and he would come down to my neighborhood just to visit. At that time, I used to rhyme just jokingly. We used to do like snapping on each other, joking, rhyming and shit. I started getting okay; a few people started telling me I was getting alright with it. I just took my chance one day and just made a record. I still remember the shit, it was a funny record.

I ran into [Pharrell] at a club on my birthday one night and he was like “Yo, I heard you rapping, man.” Shit caught me off-guard; he said, “Yo, let me hear something right now.” Like I said, it was my birthday, I’m drunk, and he want me to rhyme for him right now on the spot. He was like “Yo, just come to the studio and see how that shit works. I really want you to hang around.” I started hanging around and started getting closer and closer.

From then on, I just started coming around and just making records, and as this is happening, the Neptunes are blowing up. It kept getting bigger and bigger, so it came to the point where instead of shopping it to people, don’t it make sense for me to go with them, ride with the team? I ended up signing with Star Trak, which was something I wanted to do anyway.

What year was that, that you signed with Star Trak?

This was around ’03, ‘04.

They basically booked you up and signed you for an album, right?

Pretty much. The Clipse had a deal with Elektra. The Neptunes didn’t have a label at this time. I don’t even think their intentions were to get a label. They were just trying to put out artists and produce more people. Shit happened so fast, man, it grew so fast. The same thing I just told you about me, they did the Clipse the same way. They just snatched them up and was like “Yo, you can come to our label.”

So who else? It was you, the Clipse, Rosco [P. Coldchain]…

His name was Justin. I can’t remember his last name. Like Timberlake, but I can’t remember his last name. He was the guy in “Lapdance,” if you remember. White kid.

Lee Harvey?

Lee Harvey. [Ed. Note: I’m pretty sure he’s referring to Justin Vince, not Lee Harvey.] So we been grinding, man. Back then, like I said, before they grew to the point where they had enough power to go out for themselves, they were shopping us all at different places. Up in Atlantic, everywhere – Universal, trying to get shit going, DreamWorks, Interscope. It made sense to ride with them. So, as all this goes on, Clipse do they thing, pretty much smacked it out the park. Again, I’m fuckin’ coming from this little town, and I’m like the first guy from this area that shot to go nationally, or make a real mark.

I’m just gonna tell you a quick story about “Rock N’ Roll” that you might like. Clipse came out, [and Pharrell said to me,] “You ready to produce your shit? Like, what you wanna do? Let’s go.” So you know me, like I said, I’m coming from a small town, and Virginia shit is kind of crazy; it’s weird. We in the middle; some people fuck with the South, some people fuck with the North. And Hampton Roads, where I’m at, it’s like a military town, so there’s people from everywhere. It’s like a melting pot, for real. I felt like the people didn’t know how I really got down. So when it was my time, I didn’t want to be another regular dude. I wanted to show mothafuckas that I could really rhyme.

You know, if you ever met Pharrell, the nigga’s a fuckin’ X-Man. Him and Chad, they’re musical X-Men. One of them’s a genius; the other’s a sorcerer. You pick which one is which. When it comes to music, these mothafuckas are incredible, and always [have] been.

So Pharrell makes “Rock N’ Roll.” He makes the beat in like ten minutes, the shit took no time. He says, “Yo, I got a flow for you. I think you should rhyme like Too Short on this beat.” So I’m looking at the mothafucka like he crazy. I’m like, “Yo man, nah.” I thought he tryna fuck me up. I’m a Short fan, but I’m just like, “This is my first shit coming out. I’m with The Neptunes. Why I gotta rhyme like I’m somebody else?” He’s like, “Nah man, I’m telling you. Just trust me. We gon’ get ‘em on the other shit, but for this record, just go with the Short flow.” So, I was kind of leery, but again, like I told you, I respect his opinion ‘cause [the Neptunes] were the shit. So I said, “Aight, cool. I’ll give it a shot.” He said, “Aight, I’ll tell you what. I’ll bet your ten dollars to my hundred dollars that if you do this rap like I’m telling you to do it, the first time you perform this shit, you’ll say like three words [and the crowd will rap the rest.]” So that was the bet. I’m like “Aight, cool.” I mean, who’s taking the bet serious? Honestly, I’m ready to just go ahead and record this one record his way so I could do the rest of this shit my way. That was my intention.

He played the beat, I vibed to it. I’m like “Okay, this shit’s actually cool.” So I tried to give him my lil’ Too Short [flow] ‘cause, like I said, I was a Short fan anyway. I always fucked with Too Short. So I was just like, Rock and roll, man, roll and rock / I got tens, got twenties, got fifty blocks. I just stayed in that world, stayed in that lane. Then the shit actually started sounding cool to me, so I just rhymed like that the whole record. And there was a few people in the studio, and they was all like, “Damn, this shit is kinda sick, like, you on something.” But honestly, I didn’t feel like I was onto something. I was excited that it came out dope to me, and like I said, I was ready to go on to the next song. Like, okay, now let me rhyme in this mothafucka. Let me prove I can rhyme. So anyway, we do that, we done, whatever.

We go for the Sprite Liquid Mix Tour, it was like Pharrell – ‘cause Clones was out then, it was the Roots, who are the most incredible band ever, and the Black Eyed Peas. Wow. I just thought of that. Black Eyed Peas, man. Yo, let me tell you how shit was so crazy, Peas was actually opening up for us, I think. No bullshit. I’m just remembering that. I’m remembering meeting will.i.am. back then. That shit crazy. Now these mothafuckas getting, what, a million dollars a show?

They were opening up for y’all. Damn, man.

Yeah, no bullshit. Black Eyed Peas were opening up for us. That’s crazy. I just realized that. So that’s dope. But anyway, we do the show and in the middle of the show, Pharrell brought me out with him and the plan was for me to do “Rock N’ Roll.” This was really one of my first shows ever. I did shit around the town, but this was my first real show. So I come out, you know, I’m backstage drinking my little Grey Goose, so I’m fucked up, but I come out and say, Rock and roll, man, roll and rock, and the audience was like, I got tens, got twenties, got fifty blocks. It was fucking insane. It was the craziest feeling. To the point where I had the mike, and I forgot I was supposed to be performing. It was so crazy, they sung the shit. And at this point, the track wasn’t even out for like a week. It was like the record was out for days. I’m like, “How the fuck do they know this?” And it’s just like, yo, P was right. I don’t know if you’ve ever met Pharrell, but he’s got this look where he’s like, “Nigga I told you.” That’s how that shit came about. The look he gave me was like, “Yeah, nigga, give me my ten dollars.”

Working with them dudes was a good experience man, but the major label shit just… At that time, I never had to taste the politics of it, and like I said, I was from this small town and always thought that all I had to do I was make the music.

Aight, but hold up Fam, you’re being modest right now. You had a fuckin’ release date, didn’t you?

Yeah, but that’s what I’m trying to say. It was so fuckin’ crazy. If you got time I could take you through the stories. Like, there were situations, what I’ve seen, and it kinda tells you…

I would love to hear the stories, shit. I’ve been a fan since back then. I’ve been a fan since “Rock N’ Roll.”

Wow, man, I appreciate it. I had a release date. We did “Rock ‘N Roll”. Great response. But then it just started getting crazy. The business side came up, and at the time, I didn’t know much about BDS and all that dumb shit. [Def Jam] wanted a certain amount of spins a week and all that. I was the new dude; I was young. It was hot, the people said it’s hot, so I was like, “What’s the problem? What’s going on?” So we dropped the video. You had to have this certain amount of shit to get it on BET, or they need a like a whole bunch of spins. So at this time, I’m like, “What the fuck is going on?” It was a whole bunch of bullshit. That shit makes no sense at all. When I’m walking up the street and everybody is singing the song everywhere I go, I’m like, “Mothafuckas is on it!”

It’s the difference between a street record and a radio record.

Exactly.

How old were you at the time?

I was 23, man.

So you were young as hell!

But this what I gotta emphasize, that this town, man, it was so epic for this area at this time. It was like a fuckin’ tsunami. Even the Clipse is from the beach. That shit is like fifteen minutes from where I grew up, but it’s like day and night. They kind of look at me as one of their own.

They’re from the suburbs right?

The part where they’re from is definitely not like where I’m from.

Where’d you guys shoot the “Rock N’ Roll” video? That was shot in Norfolk, no?

Yeah, that was shot in my hood. That’s where I grew up at That’s what I’m saying, like, that was a major deal. It was a real production. We took lunch and all that shit. [Laughs.] It was a big deal.

But this is the story. This is when shit start getting fucked up. You should insert the mothafuckin’ dun dun dun. This is where you should insert that in. So dun dun dun, this is what happened: I’m still going through all that shit with the labels back before, when I didn’t know what was happening. But we’re smashing shit out, we’re still recording. Def Jam was giving out these SkyPagers back in the day, so everybody had them. I get a call and somebody says that Lyor Cohen is leaving. Mind you, this is the dude that signed me. I’m giving you exclusive shit yo, I always wanted this story out. So anyway, I get wind of it from the Internet. I don’t know for sure. Mind you, I’m a country-ass nigga that don’t know ‘bout none of this shit. All I know how to do is rap.

Like a week later, I get a call to my pager, and it’s Kevin Liles. He says, “Yo, we’re not leaving. It’s gonna be some switches. Me and Julie still gonna be here. We rockin’ and rollin’.” A week goes by. My pager goes off again. Kevin Liles is leaving. He’s leaving the fuckin’ company – there you go.

So it wasn’t even in your hands at all?

Nah, nah, definitely. I’m giving you the real exclusive.

On some top-down, business-level politics. Somebody leaves, and you get fucked.

Totally. Listen man, I don’t know if it’s some shit that I did in my past life and I’m paying for it. I don’t know. He was cool, he was a great dude. It was out of his hands.

This is how it works? Whoever signs you – your success is contingent not on the label but the person?

Pretty much man, pretty much. Mind you, at this time, this song was so hot. So I get this call, and the dude who just told me a week ago that he won’t leave is leaving. I got an album recorded, but it’s just stuck.

But [Star Trak is] not like an exclusive deal is it?

The rest of Star Trak is signed to Arista at this point, and I’m at Def Jam. The Star Trak offices were in Arista’s building so I’d go up there all the time. So I’m up in [their] office. I’d be the cubicles, and they got earphones in and shit, but it’s quiet as shit. It’s like an office. Then you go over to the Def Jam building, and mothafuckas was throwing footballs. They rollerblading and shit. It was wild. They got the music turned up. I felt more home over there.

I got to tell you this story too because it all adds up. So when I first go to Def Jam, before they left and all that, it’s just wild. When I first I go to meet Lyor, I go into his office, and he’s like, “Yo, you want something to drink?” And I automatically assume, like, “Yeah, let me get a Sprite or something.” And he was like, “What the fuck man, nah, I’m offering you a drink.” I’m like, “Oh, shit. Give me a bottle of tequila.” That’s what I drank then. Remember this bottle of tequila, because it plays an important part in my career. So he gives me the bottle of tequila, I’m drinking it. I’m laidback and kicking it, I’m relaxed now. We had a good meeting. So I go back to the Arista building. Shit was just quiet and all that. It’s L.A. Reid’s last day.

So I get the call that Kevin Liles is leaving. So I’m thinking I’m stuck. I don’t know what’s going on. Then I get another page, a week later. It’s a rumor that L.A. Reid is coming over to Def Jam. At the time, I didn’t know much about L.A. Reid. I knew he was an R&B dude. I feel like he didn’t know what I was trying to do. I’m just thinking, “This is why I’m over here and not Arista.” Like a week later he comes over to Def Jam. So I call Pharrell, like, “They got L.A. Reid coming over here, and Kevin Liles is leaving.” Pharrell, he’s a fuckin’ optimistic guy, always. He’s like, “Man, it’s gonna be good. We got a meeting.” And anybody that’s ever been on a major label, you know it’s always a meeting for every fuckin’ thing. So anyway, I fly out to meet with L.A. Reid. I had records. I had Lil Jon. I had “Rock N’ Roll.” I had a nice solid album. I wasn’t worried [about the music]. I was just concerned because I didn’t know how he was gonna carry it. So I go up there, we go in his office. He’s in the same [Def Jam] office I’ve been at.

Here goes the part where I might have played a part, and I think I fucked up, but I’mma see what you think. So here go the Law & Order shit again – dun dun dun. [Laughs.] I go into the office and right before that I see Pharrell and Pharrell’s manager, the CEO of Star Trak, Rob Walker. We all in the office. The intern or a guy who works there asks, “Yo, you want something to drink, you good?” I’m like, “Yeah, come through man. Give me some tequila.” So he leaves, and the now meeting is going on, and we’re all sitting across from one another. This mothafucka comes right in the meeting, and he sits the tequila right between me and L.A. Reid, and I’m like, “Dumb fuck!” I can’t even explain it. It was just an awkward moment. So everybody’s just looking around – the meeting was like 10:30 in the morning. [Laughs.] If I ever see this guy I have to say something to him. So L.A. Reid gets the record. He picks the singles. He likes “Fresh-N-Drivin’.”

And you had “Git Busy” too, right?

Yeah, “Git Busy” was something that we wanted to push. He had picked “Fresh-n-Drivin’,” and at this point I was ready to go. I just wanted to see some wheels turning. I fly back to Virginia with the plan. They said, “Give us a few weeks. We’re gonna do this and that, and then we’re gonna push it around Labor Day or Memorial Day.” One of the holidays. So I get a call from Pharrell, and he’s like, “Yo, I think I’m getting you off Def Jam. I think we going to Interscope.” I’m like, “What are you talking about, my nigga? We just fuckin’ met L.A. Reid. Everything was good. What do you mean?”

So what, do you blame it on the tequila? [Laughs.]

Man, to this day I still think it’s the tequila. But I don’t know. I don’t think they’d fuck up all that money just for me to get a shot of tequila at 9 o’clock in the morning. So I’m like, “Aight, cool.” I don’t know what this dude [Pharrell] talking bout. He’s the sorcerer. Fuck it, I’ll think about it later; it’s beautiful outside, I’m ‘bout to ride to the beach. My homegirl comes to get me, and somebody calls her while we riding to the beach. It’s a beautiful day, man – top down, music blazing, and we’re heading to the beach. So somebody calls her, and they read an article that Def Jam dropped a lot of artists and my name was on there. So now I’m thinking, “Oh shit, Pharrell was probably trying to cushion my fall.” So I ended up calling P back, and he’s like, “Yeah man, they trippin’ but we’re going to Interscope. We’re gonna fuck with Jimmy [Iovine].” So this shit was good – Interscope has Eminem and G Unit, they got Dre, man. These are monsters, for real. I’m cool. But the think about that is, [Pharrell] talking about the shit like it’s gonna happen tomorrow. His thirty days is not like my thirty days, put it that way; my shit is an actual thirty days. But anyway, that ended up going down. I get to Interscope and it’s the same shit pretty much, man. It’s the same shit.

Did you pop bottles with Jimmy?

Popped bottles with Jimmy. Everything’s good, man. We was in the fucking Mandarin, doing all types of shit. We making records, and we just living. We made like three more records. They picked the single. I go to the office and they picked “Da Beeper Record.”

This is 2007. This is second time. You’ve got Traintogo, and you’re still giving them the same version?

Same thing but tweaked. I got that “Rock N’ Roll” shit, we still couldn’t get rid of them and “Amalance.” We just kept those records, tweaked them, and just did more shit. We just kept on recording.

I can tell you a funny story about “Da Beeper Record,” man. People don’t know. So we get there, I go to record with Pharrell. This is the second time around. We recording on the beach, shit is lovely. We do some records. We actually do three records. I was there for two days.

This is out in L.A.?

This is out in Miami, on South Beach. We’re out there for two days, and this is the last day. The Neptunes don’t record late, so by 12 a.m., they out of this mothafucka. They don’t usually record like that. It was around 12 a.m., and I made like three records, and everybody loves them. So I leave out, and I’m playing “Madden,” and I’m so happy I have these records to take back, and I hear Pharrell in the background making another song. I just assume he’s producing something for somebody else. So he bust in there, and he’s like, “Come listen to this shit.” So I go in, and it’s “Da Beeper Record.” I thought it was cool, but I didn’t really fuck with it. I was like, “It’s aight. It ain’t really for me.” But he was so adamant. I’m like, “Man, this dude crazy as hell.” He was like, “Man, lay this record down. Please.” So I end up playing with the record, like, You want it, I got it. You need it. / I said you gotta come see it. I’m fucking around with it because I know for a fact I’m not keeping this record. I ended up doing like six or seven bars of that shit and hoped that I would never hear the record again in my life.

I leave and I go home with my record, and a week passed, and Pharrell was like, “Yo, we got a meeting with Jimmy tomorrow in L.A.” Pharrell asked me, “What happened to ‘Da Beeper Record,’ did you ever finish it?” I was like, “Yeah, I finished it.” I just lied to him. And he was like, “Cool, because I want to play it for him.” I was like, “Shit, why is he still on this fucking record?” I ran to the studio and finished it up with the engineer. I had two hours to record that shit.

It had that “Walkin’ on the block with life in my pocket” – that part was already on there before you hopped on?

Yeah, we had all that up there before we left Miami, and I had some parts of the first verse. My mentality was when the rest of the labels hear this shit, they not going to want this record, so I was just doing this record to satisfy him. I got to Cali the next day and I’m recording with Three 6 Mafia, and the dude said, “Why don’t you play them your shit so they can see where you at?” It just so happens that the engineer who burned the CD put “Da Beeper Record” as the first shit. So it comes on, and everybody in the studio is going off in the studio like, “What is this?” And I was like, “Yo, that’s nothing.” I skipped that and started playing some other shit, and they like it. I walk back in and everybody was like, “But yo, what was that first record?” I just played it down like, “Man, it’s just ‘Da Beeper Record.’” Pharrell comes in and says, “Man, I’m telling you, that’s the shit!” Six or seven other people in there are saying that’s the record! I said, “I don’t really fuck with it.” This guy named Big John, who’s a friend of all of us, pulled me to the side and said, “Yo, Fam, I heard these types of stories, like when Biggie Smalls wanted to go with ‘Machine Gun Funk’ instead of ‘Big Poppa.’” So I’m like, “Cool, if the whole room says you’re drunk, then you’re drunk.” They was like, “We’re taking this to Jimmy tomorrow.”

We took it Jimmy, and he loved it. He loved the record, and he was like, “This is what you need to go with.” So once again, déjà vu – I leave Interscope with a plan. I got a plan. I got a record. I got a date for the video. Then, same shit. Time kills. As time went by I got a date to shoot the video. I go back to my hood again to shoot “Da Beeper Record.”

Directed by Hype Williams.

Nah, see, this is what people don’t know. Somebody else shot the first version. By this time, people was like, “Don’t fight it, man. We gonna shoot it out here.” But I’m fighting to do it back in Virginia, in my hood. Hindsight is 20/20. I should have listened. But everybody was like, “Don’t shoot it there. We’ll shoot it here.” We tried to get Dianne Martel. She’s a friend of ours and she wanted to do it, but time conflicted so we had to get someone else to do it. Long story short, we shoot the “Beeper” video and it’s the worst shit I’ve seen in my life. We got that shit back and it was so boring, man. It’s the worst shit ever. Hopefully nobody ever sees that video.

I talked Pharrell into bringing the Enzo out to my neighborhood man! He done it. How could you fuck that up? How could you fuck that shot up? He brought the Ferrari Enzo to my neighborhood and they fucked that up. We had the Enzo in the projects! Come on, man! That’s another level. A million-dollar car. No power windows, nigga. It took him forever to agree to it. You couldn’t even tell it was the Enzo. We ended up throwing that in the trashcan, and luckily Hype was able to do it. I listened, my hands in the air now. I’m not fighting to shoot the shit in Virginia. I’m rolling with the punches. So we went to shoot it in Miami, and the video came out crazy in my opinion. I like the way Hype did it, and come on, it’s Hype Williams. So we had the Hype video, and people like the song. Here we go again. It was a lot of running around and a lot of bullshit. What killed me was the time. Labels operate on quarters, and all that. We shoot [the first version] and then it’s horrible, and then we reshoot it three weeks later. Time was passing. It was fucking me up. By the time we came back with the Hype version, the label wasn’t moving. The building wasn’t moving. I guess they was onto the next project. That’s where it’s been from here.

You would think, with backing from Pharrell of all people, that that man could do whatever he wants in the industry – if he could’ve put in the word to keep you off the backburner and make you a priority, he would do it.

That’s the million-dollar question that I’m confronted with everyday. It’s wasn’t like that, man. The majors is a monster. I got people that’s upset with him. They thinking that it’s him. It wasn’t him. I was there with him when he was fuckin’ flipping tables and screaming on them. It ain’t like that, man. The majors is a monster for the right people, but it can also just not work.

But Star Trak. It’s not even like it’s just you. It’s a trend. What is it about Star Trak that’s such a fuckin’ curse?

No one knows, man. I’m the type of dude that all that type of shit is taboo to me. Like they say “Oh, he’s with the Neptunes and he’s on Def Jam, he can’t lose.” Shut up! I don’t want to hear that shit. Don’t say that to me. I just hate that that’s how people think. And yes, that might be true. I did have the X-Men, I had Def Jam, and I did have Interscope. I was with two monsters, but when the building’s not moving, that shit is not budging, man. It’s a mountain.

So you’re saying regardless of whether you have the X-Men, or even if Jesus Christ is producing your records, when it comes down to it there’s just some idiotic humans just like it is for everything else?

Totally. I could have Jesus Christ on my records, produced by God. It’s just unexplainable, but these events, no one knows.

What’s different now? Now you’re independent, you’re completely done with your deals.

I just think it’s not for me. I went to the plate twice and it’s not for me. Now I’m just going independent and trying it out on my own. I feel like I’m in the best place ever right now. I feel so comfortable. And the shit that the majors would do for me, me and Shomi are rocking out. He’s a media monster. He shoots the video. I can just put shit out. I don’t have to have no three-day meeting. I don’t have to answer to nobody.

But the cool thing about it is that people still checking. And that shit is incredible to me. It’s totally a blessing. I don’t want you to get it twisted like I feel like I’m the shit about it, but it is. They still talking about Traintogo. That’s like six or seven years ago.

I gotta give credit to Tyler, the Creator though.

Yeah, no doubt.

The freestyle he did over “Strung Owt,” the “Splatter” record, that shit really put him on the map.

I just released a 28-second trailer for “Strung Owt,” and it’s all because of “Splatter” and the attention that Tyler gives me on Twitter. He was like, “Oh, this shit is so gangsta.” And mind you, “Strung Owt” is one of my favorite records of all time. And when [Pharrell] played “Da Beeper Record,” that’s why I was like, “I’m good, I don’t need nothing,” because I had “Strung Owt.” I had my Darth Vader shit right here. I’m Darth Vader with this.

[Pharrell] made that Darth Vader beat, and then he made that twinkly-ass “Beeper” beat.

Yeah man, and I just sat there and watched him make that Darth Vader in five minutes. I’m blessed that kids like Tyler and want Traintogo. He just randomly tweets me like, “Yo, where’s Traintogo?” I DMed him like, “I would love for you to have that record, but I don’t have it.”

Who has it? Call them up!

We got it. That shit is in the vaults somewhere. An engineer has it. I never listen to it.

You could put any of those tracks out now, and it would still be some leftfield shit that people have never heard.

That’s amazing, man, and I agree with you totally. I was in a place that was very fun. It was a great position with some great people. What you just said is echoing Shomi and many others who say, “Man, that shit ain’t old. Just put it out.”

It’s really not old. Music doesn’t work like that.

I even asked [Shomi] is it too late to do a video for “Strung Owt.” I’m testing the waters. I got a plan where I want to release that album. I want to do it on my own.

But what about “Beach Cruiser” and those other new great records? Would you release two projects? You have Traintogo in the vaults. Do you view it at it as a closed chapter?

I honestly want to put it out. I feel like it’s unfair if I don’t. People still asking for it. That record [“Strung Owt”] I did in ‘05, I just released it yesterday. It was a 28-second trailer, and people are on it like it’s new. And people are like, “Ah, man, no, that’s ‘Splatter.’” Contrary to what they might think, that shit make me feel better. It make me feel good. I love it when people comment on the videos and argue back over whether it’s Tyler’s song or my song. I fucks with Odd Future, I fuck with all of them! He didn’t have to do none of this shit, he just keep it a hundred.

Have you ever met him in real life?

Nah, I never met him.

You need to get up.

Definitely. I just didn’t want to be like, “Dude, alright, damn, okay, let’s work. Word, let me holla! Where you been?” You know how that shit go.

True.

But if it happens, it happens. Hopefully it will. I get shit like that all the time. I’m a fan first. But I realized, nah, that ain’t how you really do shit. But listen, I wanna release that thing, man. I’m going through the logistics. I’m going to find out what I have to do. But I hear shit on the radio, that’s here today, gone today. I was kind of skeptical of putting it out.

There’s a few people out here that I run into that’s be like, “Yo, what’s up with ‘Amalance’? What’s up with Traintogo? What’s up, nigga. you need to drop that!” I be like, “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” or “That’s cool.” I’m not trying to beat a dead horse or some shit. I ain’t trying to squeeze blood out of stone.

It ain’t even like that!

I’m starting to get that. I’m starting to understand. I didn’t want to say it. I don’t want to sound like the old bitter guy. But I remember when I first got in the game, I was 23 and shit, and I heard older rappers be like, “Aw, what the fuck is this new shit? Y’all don’t know about real rap.” I never want to sound like that dude, but right now, man, what the fuck is going on? I got to keep it a hundred. C’mon man, not to say it’s no substance, but it’s no nothing!

But again, people like “Amalance,” man. Kids would come up to me like, “Man, yo, you don’t understand, I rocked ‘Amalance’ through my whole college shit, that was my shit! You changed my life in college!” And I’m like, “Wow, you hear these niggas? Wow, man.” I mean, kids of all colors man. I see an Asian kid, it be the same shit as a black kid. One day I’m out at the light, and an older white lady was playing “Fresh-n-Drivin’.”

What!

Yes, man! She had to be in her 40s. That shit was just like, wow. I was like, “Hold the fuck on!” It was so crazy. Like I said, I feel I’m in the best fuckin’ position ever. I got people fucking with me. I’m independent; I can do all this shit on my own. I can shoot videos for the whole Traintogo album. I been overseas with N.E.R.D. for the last three years.

That’s right. You were on the record with Santigold and Wayne. You leaked that shit!

I know better now.

Did you get in trouble for that?

Nah, I ain’t get in trouble. At least, not yet. [Laughs.] Anyways, we went to the four corners of the earth and people knew who I was.

Do you feel like the fourth member of N.E.R.D.?

Oh yeah, definitely! This is what you gotta know – all those records that he was doing, all those records of N.E.R.D., I was there when they recorded them.

And you was on the Glow in the Dark tour, too.

Yeah, they took me out. With that being said, this is where T.Y.B.O. comes in at. I took most N.E.R.D. records that didn’t make the album, that they overlooked. That’s what I’m creating T.Y.B.O. (Turn Your Brain Off) with. The first record I have was a N.E.R.D. record called “Side 2 Side” with Pharrell on the hook.

People were saying online that it was right before Nothing that they made that up and scrapped it.

I don’t know how they know that! Yeah man, they have a fucking vault. [“Side 2 Side”] was from that era. I don’t know how that person knew that! They have to be somebody that’s close. But they have a whole vault of that. Once they changed their direction and got off to Nothing, I was like “Hold up, what you doing with those?” They was like, “Oh, we scrapping them.” I’m like, “No you’re not! Let me get those.” [Laughs.]

That’s what I’m gonna use for T.Y.B.O. (Turn Your Brain Off), and then I’m doing this shit with Nana [Rogues], whos is a fuckin’ incredible producer. That kid is incredible! You’ll definitely be hearing about him in the near future.

You have the “Beach Crusier” joint too. Is this all gearing up as one project?

Yeah, I’m putting a EP together called Playing with Fire. It’s pretty much done. I just gotta tweak a few records. We putting that out within the next couple of weeks.

“Trust me on this one.” [Laughs.]

[Laughs.] For the first time, you can actually trust me. I know my credit is fucked up with that type of shit. I got like a 500 credit score when it comes to putting shit out late. I’m trying to build my credit back up with the people. But this is definitely coming out.

How do you feel about Pharrell giving you the same beats as multiple artists? Wasn’t there drama behind “Wamp Wamp?” and “Mr. Treat Ya Nose” with Boo Bonic?

Any records that we want, we get. Pharrell don’t be like, “Oh, this is so-and-so’s record.” Like for instance, “Head Bussa.” First of all, when Pharrell made that record, it was for the Clipse. They didn’t use it. Then it went to, I think, Jadakiss. He put down verses to it, but he didn’t use it. Jay-Z had it, he laid verses down to it, but then at the end, he didn’t use it. So you know me, I’m sitting around; If I like it, I want to take it. If they don’t want it, let me get it. So I ended up recording it. I feel like it was a monster in my opinion. I think I did well on it.

It’s a couple different versions, right? We heard the record before, and then it came back out rebilled as the Shark City Click.

OK, now that’s another thing. Shark City Click was actually going to be me going out with a band. I was doing Traintogo live, all live shit. I had a band, Spymob, do it over. I still have these records, man! “Strung Owt” is live, “Beeper Record” live, “Amalance” live, all those records live. We were gonna record the whole record live, and I’d go out with a band.

Like how N.E.R.D. did the digital version in Europe and the Spymob version over here?

Yeah, exactly. That’s what we did. But again, it’s always time. So we recorded it and did it all live, and it woulda been some new shit, a rapper going out with a band. Then, people got wind of this shit. People started getting their own bands. So now it ain’t different for a rapper to go out with a band.

That shit’s played now.

But at that time, with N.E.R.D. and shit, I woulda gone out with my own band and killed it. I have those live records still. In my opinion, some of those live versions are way better.

You think so?

Yeah it’s a few of ‘em. “Strung Owt.”

How would you even do that record with guitars?

They done it man! Listen, it’s crazy!! [Imitates the beat.] The guitar, man, I don’t know what type of shit they did to it. But they done it like N.E.R.D. We did it live, and then Pharrell and Chad did what they had to do over it.

So these records actually exist?

Yeah, it’s done! The whole album.

You also had a bossa nova album at one point. You had a record called “War Zone.”

Oh, man, you know what’s crazy? I just listened to that record the other day. I was gonna be a guy called Dirty Way. I was rhyming over Fela Kuti shit. And it was dope, man. I did like four of those records too, man. You gotta hear them.

It’s only two tracks that exist off it online.

Actually, it’s four. But the other two, they still ain’t done. But the two that I put out… Man, that was my shit!

That was some leftfield shit right there.

I was ready to do it man, I was wit it! But listen. In a perfect world, all I would have to do is rap, man, make music. If a mothafucka was like, “All you gotta do is make records. Lay ‘em down. Don’t worry about nothing else; don’t worry about no digital shit, no marketing. You write this music,” I would be the happiest nigga in the world. I’d also be rich.

But don’t you feel like the whole industry is heading in that direction anyways?

Yeah, definitely. The old grandfather way is crumbling. That shit is going. All that I’ve went through has been a gift and a curse. I could’ve been limber and shit, but now, I’m well, I’m free, I’m where I wanna be. I can put this album out, I can do it. And it’s still relevant. I always tell Shomi that I’m getting off the milk carton the right way.

But I never really wanna feel like I’m reaching. “Listen homeboy, it’s over. Go to UPS, it’s over for you.” And it could be just me coming up being tutored by these guys, man. We always was on some music shit. What we were doing man, I look back on it now and I realize that shit was magical, bro. I’m so blessed to be a part of it. I learned so much from them guys. I easily can go try and make a song and conform.

I know you might not be the best person to ask about this, but are Pharrell and Chad still fucking with each other?

Of course.

But in the “Strung Owt” promo video, it said produced by Pharrell, not produced by the Neptunes.

That’s off. I needa correct ‘em on that. Every beat that I’ve ever done, Pharrell and Chad have collectively worked on it.

But “Beach Cruiser” is just Chad.

The thing about that is, Chad and another guy was working and he just gave me a beat. Chad and this dude named E.J. from here, he’s from the beach. Chad will work with anybody. He’s got a few underlings, people that he’s working with. They just doing side shit, working on Kenna shit or whatever. And I just so happened to be in the studio that day, and he passed me that beat. I’m like, “Cool, this is it, this is going to be on some T.Y.B.O. shit.”

Yeah, it’s got that little shuffle.

It’s got a hell of a bop to it right? Everybody that heard it did that dance we did in the video. We shot a cool video out on the beach. We had girls and beach cruisers, which was nice, and I put it out. In my older days, I would had to had two fucking meetings before we even recorded it, and then two more… You know? That shit just feels good.

Now that you’re independent, do you have to pay for Neptunes beats? Is that how it works? [Laughs.]

Nah, man, I don’t. They’re my brothers, man. I’m always screaming Star Trak for life. Always, always. They birthed me man.

So Star Trak is not dead?

As long as I’m alive, that shit will never die man.

But on the flipside, are you looking forward to working with more diverse producers, like Nana Rogues or whoever?

Totally. You know where Nana’s from?

Where?

He’s from London, England, bro. He’s dope. There’s a few other people – of course I’m gonna work with Lex Luger. He’s a beast. We have a small history, but yeah, he’s taking over right now. We just discussed… We working it out. I’m putting out an EP, volume one, the whole shit produced by Nana Rogues right now. That kid is incredible. Wait till you hear this shit.

London is where it’s at right now, let’s be honest.

All across the board, let’s be honest, London is where it’s at.

I mean shit, Canada is taking over with Bieber and Drake. But you gotta embrace that.

That’s what I’m saying. You can’t cut yourself short. It’s music, man. When I get records from this dude, it’s reminiscent from how it was when I worked with the Neptunes. The way I record, I let the music write for me. It’s pretty much fill-in-the-blanks for me.

How can people reach out to you and get you beats? Are you looking for that?

Of course. Hitmybeeper@gmail.com. I don’t give a fuck where you from. You don’t even have to speak English. As long as you speak the universal music language, man, I’m rocking with you.

I’m not sure how clear it is to the people that you’re independent.

A lot of people don’t know. And people might think I’m somewhere just mad as shit at the Neptunes. I speak to Pharrell at least three times a week. And I run into Chad at the club on any given. They my brothers, man.

What was Star Trak in the beginning? Was it a label, was it a movement, was it a bunch of friends making their music? That shit has never been clear in the first place.

That was the problem. It was everything. It was a label, it was friends, we all hung out. And normally on a label, you don’t really get to call the boss when you got a issue. I was on Interscope, I can’t just call Jimmy phone or show up on his house. And I can do that with Pharrell and Chad, they’re my bosses, but they’re my brothers. So you can make decisions emotionally rather than business wise. We all could have done things differently, but that’s life. It’s shit Star Trak could have done, shit I could have done. I could go on all day with that. In closing, bruh, I can either do that, or I can I come up with my own ideas and keep going forward. ‘Cause I’m still in a great place. It’s crazy.

The post Online Exclusive: “Still Trained to Go” – Fam-Lay Talks His Career, From Star Trak to Tyler, the Creator appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Promoting his recently released mixtape, Savage Journey to the American Dream, Stalley has new visuals for the Chad Hugo-produced track “Everything New.” Ironically, nothing in the video or the song is particularly new. From the verses to the cadence to the flow, everything is classic Stalley. On second thought, that car probably wasn’t around until he signed with MMG.

The post New Video: – Stalley — “Everything New” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.