Throughout the years, Brooklyn, New York has been the birthplace of many of Hip-Hop’s greats. From Jigga Man hailing from the Marcy Projects, to new legends in the making like Joey Bada$$ from Flatbush, BK is the closest thing to a Mecca that Hip-Hop has. Though the roster has been dense, stylistically, most of the BK greats were known for having a “Golden Age” sound — aka a more lyrically driven record with soul samples. Now, a new wave of synth driven, drum heavy, new age music is swarming in from the borough. Stars like Bobby Shmurda and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie have made it a bit more acceptable to go left, sonically, and that’s exactly what Goldwood and Max Gertler have decided to do with their new collaborative project, Di$ney.

Meshing crooning melodies with trappy lyrical content, the duo has emerged as a couple of internet favorites. Standout tracks from the tape are the viral hit, “Harambe Memorial Track“, “Space Mountain” and the self titled, “Di$ney” which is a personal favorite. Hailing from the collective, Delivery Boys, Goldwood and Gertler have been making music for sometime now. RESPECT. Mag had a chance to chop it up with the young duo about everything from starting out in Brooklyn, to early influences and Disneyworld. Check it out below.

RESPECT.: Where are you guys from?

Goldwood: I am from Brooklyn, New York.

Max Gertler: I’m also from Brooklyn. We actually grew up on the same street.

RESPECT.: What type of artists are you guys?

Goldwood: I am a Hip-Hop artist with some extra­-musical qualities.

Gertler: I don’t know if I’d consider myself a Hip-Hop artist. I make rap music, but I see rap and Hip-Hop as two completely different things. I just try to make hauntingly beautiful music, sh*t that gives you the chills.

RESPECT.: What made you guys fall in love with music?

Goldwood: I think it was around my 12th birthday or something. I came to this sudden realization that the majority of my time was spent listening to music. It was during that moment that I realized I love this sh*t. After that, I really started living and breathing for music.

Gertler: I don’t think I truly appreciated music until love started getting involved. Once I realized a song could make me feel some type of way about a girl it changed everything. Plus there’s that element of nostalgia.

RESPECT.: What made you guys fall in love with Hip-Hop?

Goldwood: My brothers. Since I was a toddler they were playing Hip-Hop music for me. It was just everyday sh*t it was a part of my life.

Gertler: I actually hated Hip-Hop until high school. I didn’t like rap until I heard rap that I could relate to. Once I felt a connection it was game over.

RESPECT.: How did the idea for Di$ney come about?

Goldwood: (Laughs) Well, the idea came from Max. He had a rough breakup, took an impulse trip to Disneyworld and dyed his hair. He hit me up when he got back and said he was trying make a concept album where we go to Disneyworld and die… Pretty clever, huh? Obviously the project changed a lot since then but that’s how it came to be.

Gertler: What’s wild is the project completely changed meanings as we were making it. At first it was about that girl, but that was silly because I was the one that broke up with her. It was more like ‘you don’t make me happy so I need to go to the happiest place on earth’. My boy Evan got me in for free and we just went around EPCOT getting turnt. But as we were making the project, “DI$NEY” started to symbolize the idea of making it as an artist. We were putting everything we had into the project, because the idea was we were gonna go to Disney and never come back. Everybody thought we’re just on this vacation, but the goal was to do what we loved professionally. If you’re doing what you love it’s almost like you’re not actually working, so the goal was this never ending vacation.

Goldwood: People can expect some big things from us. Expect more music from me and Max, more music from the Delivery Boys. I’m coming out with a tape with the producer team 2Eleven. Tyrin‘s tape is coming out soon. You can expect some big name features and big name producers. We’re also doing a few college shows, so college people you better pop out. Oh and of course we have some music videos in the works.

Gertler: I got a solo EP dropping hopefully within the next month. It’s called Paper Route. We got a song with Black Dave dropping soon.

RESPECT.: Who are your inspirations?

Goldwood: Oh man, so many, but I definitely started rapping because of DOOM. There was a 2 year period in my life, like from 7th grade to 9th grade where I deadass did not listen to one other artist than DOOM. So I guess you could say he’s my biggest inspiration.

Gertler: I started rapping because of Eminem when I was 14. Tyler, the Creator inspired me to be creative. My musical taste has expanded greatly since then. But truthfully, I had to completely shut rap music out of my life while making this project. I was trying to make something that no other rapper has made before, so I didn’t want to be hearing what anyone else was doing. I wanted my experiences to my my inspiration.

RESPECT.: How did you guys start making music? What’s one time you wanted to quit, but kept pushing?

Goldwood: Man the first song I ever wrote was to the “Earl” beat and it was all about cutting up bodies and sh*t. I was hella into Odd Future. But I wrote a few songs after that and this dude Hugo had a mic at his crib and that’s how I recorded my first song in 9th grade. I can’t really think of anytime that I wanted to stop. There was a point my senior year of high school where my mind was in a drought and I couldn’t get anything down for months. That sh*t was wild frustrating. I guess I almost quit back then, or I told myself to make other music like punk sh*t. But that didn’t last long.

Gertler: I made music as a joke for a long time. I would make beats and just record freestyles on them with my boys. I did that for like four years, pretty much every day. Then at a certain point I realized I might as well do it seriously, because I obviously cared about it. For the past year I haven’t gone a day without making something new.

RESPECT.: Where can people keep up with you and your guys’ music?

Goldwood: You could follow my soundcloud (soundcloud.com/xgoldwoodx) , that’s probably the best. Follow my Instagram (@xgoldwoodx). Find me on Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal.

Gertler: You can peep all my sh*t on my soundcloud too (soundcloud.com/maxgertler) . All of my social media accounts are just (@maxgertler)

Check out the project, Di$ney, below and be sure to keep an eye on the east coast duo.

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The post Happy Music, Happy Times: Goldwood + Max Gertler Talk Humble Beginnings, Disney World + More! appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Yesterday, our nation mourned in unison in remembrance of the men and women who lost their lives 15-years-ago in a terrorist attack against the U.S. Whether you believe in one the many “conspiracy” theories that have been conjured about about 9/11, the fact is that many people lost their husbands, wives, sons, daughters, friends, sisters, and brothers that night and our condolences are out to the families that lost a loved one. But it wasn’t all bad that day, Hip-Hop received not one but two classic albums that day in Jay-Z‘s Blueprint, and Fabolous‘ Ghetto Fabolous… Okay just one, but “Trade It All” was my sh*t — shoutout Jagged Edge — and it was the debut album that would introduce Fab to the world, which is notable in itself. Before any of your young homies come running up to you on some, “Check out this Jigga track, “Song Cry“, Super slept on!” ish; peep out these 5 tracks that are actually slept on and are soon to blow.

Ankhle John – “Lil’ Booties Matter (RAW)”

One of the casualties of today’s hyper-sexual, video-vixen driven culture has been the defamation of the normal everyday body. Women have been racing to their nearest surgeon in hopes of being made into the newest carbon copy, with ass shots being the number one inquiry. D.C. native Ankhle John is here to tell you guys’ that won’t be necessary. Meshing golden age like cadences with a lyrical exploration of the body that Akinyele would blush at, John showcases his vast creativity. “First time we linked up, she showed me she’s a snorter/ Shorty ghetto smart, sent to Georgetown to be a lawyer/ I keep it cool, I peep the coke in her nostril” rhymes John in the midst of his lyrically dense tale. Check out, “Lil’ Booties Matter (RAW)” below and be sure to keep an eye on the D.C. native.

Max Gertler – “Grammy (Feat. Flahzi)”

Happy music has been popularized now more than ever. No more are the days of struggle tales and come up raps the industry darling; nowadays the Lil’ Yachtys and D.R.A.M.’s of the world have made happy pop rap the new trend. This is the lane that Max Gertler and his wavy, synth heavy track, “Grammy” drive in. Though old heads may be disgusted by this — which confuses the sh*t out of me — I love it. “When I win a Grammy, I’m gon’ rock it on my wrist” raps Gertler repeatedly throughout the track, which is full of aspirational conquests and leaves you feeling ready to conquer the day’s troubles. Check out the tropical new track, which is sure to blow, below and check out the Brooklyn native’s new tape, Di$ney, which is out now.

Tate Tucker – “Roll With Her”

Everyday when I get up in the morning, I do three things. First thing I do is get up and brush my teeth, the second is check my email and the third is thank the music gods for sending us Anderson .Paak and his groovy, unconventional style. Thanks to the great reaction to his latest project, Malibu, more and more artists have been finding more success being themselves and adding a little funk to it. One of those artists is Los Angeles rep Tate Tucker, whose ability to seamlessly switch from qualified wordsmith to on-key vocalist is a feat that is not to go underappreciated. On the track, “Roll With Her” Tucker exhibits a smooth, suav demeanor that serves to make him a favorite among the female listeners. Check out the swanky track, “Roll With Her” below and be sure to keep an ear out for the City of Angels native.

Rossi Rock – “That’s My Lady”

This weekly list was comprised to highlight both music that is on the cusp of blowing up, and music that is really good and going under the radar. San Diego native and TanBoy rep Rossi Rock and his infectious track, “That’s My Lady” is exactly the type of track we had in mind. Produced by Chris Romero, “That’s My Lady” is a fun bouncy track that finds Rossi effortless flowing about everything from 8 Mile, Jermaine Dupri, and of course his lady. Over rapid hi hats and a faint horn bouncing in the background, Rossi exhibits the lyrical qualities that have him buzzing in circles all throughout the industry with his fantastic tape, Agassi, which is the only tape to have two songs featured on With All Due RESPECT. Check out the bubbling track from the TanBoy below and get yourself acclimated now before the bandwagon is full.

Rob $tone – “Meetings (Feat. Denzel Curry)”

There have been plenty of winners and losers throughout the duration of 2016 — America being the biggest loser — but I’m not sure anybody has had quite the year that San Diego native Rob $tone has had. After moving back west from Atlanta and really putting the full court press on his music career, $tone carved out one of the years biggest underground in “Chill Bill” with his 1207 crewmates which saw him sign a contract to RCA Records and burst out as one of the year’s breakout stars. Out to prove that he’s more than just a one hit wonder — and that song is a HIT — $tone dropped his second mixtape, I’m Almost Ready, and first since signing to RCA. He failed to disappoint. Though there are a few bonafide bangers on there — see “Don’t You Dare” and “Rolling Stone” the track that will sure have everybody buzzing — as evidenced by this tweet — will be the groupie banger “Meetings” featuring one of the year’s best guest verses from Denzel Curry. Just like we called “Chill Bill” and Dae Dae‘s “What You Mean“ before they hit the Billboard Top 100, we’re calling this one as well. Don’t sleep, get hip now. Check out “Meetings” below.

There you have it! Let us know how we did, did we get it right? Are we still sleeping on your favorite local artist? Let us know in the comment section below!

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The post With All Due RESPECT.: 5 Songs You’ve Been Sleeping On (9/12) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.