Kevin Gates update

Originally published at Passionweiss.

Kevin Gates is so good at rapping that the XXL Freshman ’14 cover could have been a close-up of his face. Few MCs combine lucid crime recollections, vulnerable introspection and speaker knockers quite like the Baton Rouge renegade. While the Passionweiss squad works on converting the site into an unofficial KG focus group, I’ve taken on the enviable task of sharing with you a few of his latest releases in the lead up to Luca Brasi 2.

Fellow Southerner Trae The Truth featured Gates on “Dark Angel,” and released the video last week. Despite a cameo from Lil Bibby instead of Jessica Alba and trying a little too hard to be cinematic, it’s worth a watch. KG starts off with a lengthy verse that covers more interesting topics in two minutes than many artists do on a whole album. Gates performs a soliloquy referencing belief in a higher power, struggles with drug use and trying to sate a mourning family’s loss with money. The 28 year old also boldly admits to sexual inadequacy, which is something even less heard in rap than stringed instruments. Although it doesn’t have the same emotional impact, Trae’s verse shouldn’t be ignored either. He does an admirable job of following up Kevin’s powerful testimony, delivering solid tales of struggle with his trademark rapid-fire flow.

Next up is the video for “Posed To Be In Love,” which was included on this year’s mixtape By Any Means and may or may not have been shot using an iPhone camera. Some listeners felt Gates’ decision to discuss domestic violence glorified spousal assault, but the track is more complex than the knee-jerk reaction it inspires. It’s fair to assume with an artist as self-aware Gates, that he includes nuances to the story for a reason. Kevin mentions stalking and an obsession with his female counterpart to cement his character as a deranged lover rather than someone to be revered.

While not the best decision to release visuals for a tale of battery when he could have chosen another single, the clip does further distance KG from the story. He’s seen as an observer in the video rather than the protagonist. Like many great artists his lyrics are capable of inspiring a range of emotions including shock, awe and sometimes revulsion.

Thankfully Gates also left us with a few gems before hitting the road and he’s yet to show any signs of creative burnout aka “Mixtape Circuit Syndrome.” Listen below for his menacing OG Bobby Johnson freestyle, the threatening croak of “Nothing” and finally the hypnotic “Cut Her Off” freestyle. You’re welcome.


 

Edit: Gates' new track with Lil Bibby included above. 

Don Trip - "Wake Up"

Originally published at Passionweiss

Don Trip’s latest single “Wake Up” was released the other week with minimal fanfare. Along with Starlito and Kevin Gates, he’s one of several young artists that dispels the conservative rap coalition’s claim that rap isn’t lyrical anymore. Like the aforementioned MCs, Don Trip also hasn’t fully made an impact with the kids. Despite appearing on the 2012 XXL Freshman cover and working with Dr “iRich” Dre, mainstream success eludes him for now. Luckily, this means we get to enjoy unfiltered street rhymes while bubble-gum rap fans are busy debating if Iggy Azalea writes her own music. This is an obvious blessing and the Memphis rapper has delivered a hustler’s dedication with bars upon bars.

“Wake Up” serves as both a motivational anthem and a forewarning for those who were sleeping on Mr Don Trip. The 26 year old spits over frantic production and sticks with his grimy drawl rather than jacking the Migos flow as per almost everyone else in the past year. The track’s hook sounds elementary on paper “wake up, wake up, it’s time to get me some money, got to get off my ass, you can’t get rich for me,” but it’s catchiness combined with the adrenaline pumping beat makes for wall-punching music. There’s not much here beyond moneymaking metaphors, but sometimes we all need a song you can frown and nod to. Now how about releasing that Step Brothers 3?

100s Interview

Originally published at Passionweiss

100s (pronounced “hunnids”) was born in the wrong era. The 20 year old has been fascinated by the ‘70s since being exposed to American Pimp, Iceberg Slim’s autobiography and nuclear levels of hair spray. His parents moved him to the Ivory Coast due to failing grades and his last two years of high school were spent in a three-bedroom house with 15 others. During this time, 100s heard Mac Dre’s “Gumbo” and decided to make music for pimps, pushers and paper-chasers.

Three years after returning home to Berkeley in 2010, debut album Ice Cold Perm was released. With the same stony-eyed stare and a cover inspired by Snoop Dogg’s Tha Doggfather, 100s embraced his influences with rhymes about running game, retro cell phones, Cali beaches and floor length jackets.

He quickly gained a fan-base and Fools Gold records picked him up after noticing the music industry was missing immaculate hair. Earlier this year, 100s followed his debut with the purple-tinted IVRY. The eight track EP focuses on retro R&B crooning and synth-heavy production, but still packs the essential freaky raps.

I spoke to the half Black/half Jewish rapper about whether he prefers The Mack or Superfly, his musical heroes and why he’s open about never actually being a pimp. Despite being quite reserved during our conversation, 100s mentioned his time in the Ivory Coast was one of his favourite things to discuss so we also covered topics including culture shock, catching Malaria, and realizing how lucky Americans were with their living conditions.

What made you decide to go a little more melodic with IVRY?

I guess, it’s just growth. I’ve always liked more melodic music than traditional rap so I guess it was just a matter of time. The more you do something, the better you get at it. There’s just different kind of songs that you learn how to do as you get better at what you do. I aimed to kind of do that [make more melodic music.] I have this whole concept behind IVRY. It was actually a concept album. I never really explained the concept.

Can you tell us a little about the concept now?

It’s kind of abstract of course, but it chronicles this person in this other dimension in the future or in a different time or whatever. It was meant to be almost like a story. If you really listen to it all the way through and you change the tracklist around it would have been a different story with different events in life. It just takes you to a place, to a time.

You were talking about a project named Sex Symbol, before IVRY dropped. Are they the same thing?

Nah, Sex Symbol, I need to chase down everybody I said that to. That’s no more, that’s not happening. That was just a phase. I was kind of hot off some shit, but that’s not happening. I guess, what it would have been is now IVRY.

You often collaborate with Joe Wax. Can you tell us about him?

He’s been producing for maybe five or six years. We went to the same middle school and we both got sent away at the same time. He got sent to some boarding school in the middle of nowhere and I got sent to Africa, so we bonded over that. Then we came back and started making music.

Even if he’s not necessarily producing the song or whatever, he helps me create. He’s my guide and my homie. He’s always involved in what I’m doing. He has really good taste.

You like to be heavily involved in the creative process?

Yeah, IVRY was the first time I’ve co-produced.

We’ve talked about some of your rap influences, but what about other artists that had an impact on IVRY? Prince?

Yeah, I love Prince. Hell yeah. Prince, Rick James, all of these people.

Rick James had quite a flamboyant style as well.

Exactly, he was a genius you know. If you really listen to his catalogue, the stuff that not everybody knows. If you really dig, he’s a genius. He probably played bass and fucking electric guitar and whatever, super talented dude.

What do you love so much about the 70s-80s? What exactly drew you to that era?

I don’t know, I don’t really think it was a conscious decision. Ever since I was younger, I was fascinated with that era and identified with it.

Do you prefer The Mack or Superfly?

Honestly, I would pick another one. I would choose Willie Dynamite. I really like Willie Dynamite. I guess after that film, I like The Mack better than Superfly. I’m a movie guy.

You’re influenced by people like Too $hort, Mac Dre, Snoop Dogg etc. But can you also tell us about Dre Dog?

I’m big fans of them. Dre Dog, who is now known as Andre Nickatina, he’s a Bay Area legend you know. I mean he’s a legend period. It’s hard to describe what he is and what he sounds like, you’ve just got to listen. He’s super different.

Have you met any of your musical heroes?

I met Andre Nickatina. I brought him out in San Francisco. That was some dream come true shit, know what I’m saying? [laughs.] I’ve been a fan of his since I was about 13 year’s old. I opened for Snoop one time but I’ve never met him, this was like a while ago.

You’re a comedy fan as well, who’s your favourite comedian?

Eddie Murphy. Well Eddie Murphy now, ahh you know… but Raw or Delirious Eddie Murphy, that Eddie Murphy.

Do you think your interest in comedy also effects the music? A lot of people said the video for “1999” was pretty tongue in cheek.

I guess since the music is a reflection of me. I enjoy comedy and that’s part of me, so maybe it does bleed into it, but I wouldn’t say I purposely do that. I take what do seriously, you know. It’s about perception, some people get the music and some people don’t.

As a 16 year old, were you scared when you landed in the Ivory Coast? That’s quite the culture shock.

Yeah, now that I think about it, it’s kind of surreal. It’s like, did everything happen? But it did. It was hard to adjust because it’s like night and day. When you’re over there and you think there’s this whole other world, it’s like another planet exists.

You had Malaria five times? What’s that like?

I probably had it more. When you’re from America or whatever, you’re fragile. You’re not conditioned for those types of diseases. Back there people are conditioned, but when you didn’t grow up with it, your body doesn’t know what to do. How I would describe is like you’re cold and you’re hot, your body aches, you have nausea, no appetite. It’s just like… shit. [Laughs] It feels like “this is the end.” It’s horrible. I feel like as you get it more you get over it faster though.

Did the Ivory Coast change your perception of the world? I bet you came back with an idea of how lucky you are with the living conditions in America.

Yep, one hundred percent. One hundred percent. I tell my friends that all the time and I always try to get that across. The same way that Jewish people have a birth-right to go back to Israel. I think African people should have that too. It gives you a wider understanding of what’s going on and makes you realise that all the petty shit that you worry about or deem important really isn’t.

I’ve heard there’s a lot of internalized racism over there and white people get special treatment over their own culture.

Definitely, of course. That’s just part of it. I don’t really know what it stems from, but you always see that. It’s maybe because they were colonized by white people or whatever. Some African people think that white people are better. It’s really insane.

How long did it take you start making music after you returned from the Ivory Coast?

When I came back, I wasn’t really fucking around you know. I had so much time to think and visualise what I wanted to do when I was there, that when I came back I didn’t waste my time.

Have you been back?

Nah, I want to go back. I want to go back soon. Hopefully I go back soon. I think there’s a festival over there next year so I’m going to try go to that.

You’re proud of your African heritage, are you equally proud of your Jewish side?

Yeah. I would say that I’m not as in touch with my Jewish heritage as my African, but I am proud of it.

Ice Cold Perm was a reasonably polished project. Were you working with labels behind the scenes at the time?

Hell no! [laughs] It was me, my friend Joe and our friend Oliver, who is Joe’s big cousin. He has a website called dreamcollabo.com, which initially put it out. Me and Joe just recorded it in his bedroom. We would all talk about what would make it and what wouldn’t ya know, and then we just dropped it.

What made you decide to sign specifically to Fools Gold? I’m sure there were also other labels that approached you.

I just liked what they had going on. I knew that I was moving towards that kind of melodic sound, at least at that time. It felt like a good fit.

Were you nervous about performing on some of your earlier tours? You gained an audience quite quickly.

Not really. I recall I was nervous the first show I ever did. After that, once you kind of realise that this is your passion, everything comes out on stage. As soon as you touch the stage and you realise that this is your time, you forget about everything.

I know you’ve toured Australia before, how was that?

It was amazing. It was weird for me to just see that I had reached people out there and they embraced me. It was super cool, I loved it and would love to go back.

Where do you see your sound going next? Maybe into Funk?

Ah… no. I guess that will all be revealed in time, but I am working on new things. I’m working on a lot of stuff. I’m not going to talk about specifics, but it is coming and you’ll see.

Have you collaborated with Danny Brown?

No, it hasn’t happened yet.

You’re in an iPhone 5C commercial. How did you get involved with that?

My friend the same guy who put out my mixtape, Oliver, he was doing the casting. I wasn’t going to do the ad. I was trying to help him find people to do it. I think it was last minute and he was like: “Dude, I can’t find anybody. Just send me a picture of you or some shit. “ So I sent him a picture and they liked me, so I did it. It was fun.

When did you start growing your hair?

Shit, I would have been 10 years old or something. It was Fifth grade.

Why did you do it?

I don’t really know. A lot of the people I was fans of had long hair. Whether it was from rock music or whatever. I used to really like wrestling when I was younger and all these old wrestlers had long hair, so that’s what I wanted to do.

How would you rate your hair in comparison to DJ Quik’s on Rhythmalism?

Ah, I don’t know if I’ve seen it on that particular album cover. He’s got a hell of a perm or whatever it is [laughs.] I mean it’s nice or whatever, but I like mine more.

I watched some of the Hollywood Shuffle film you sample on “My Activator.” What’s your favourite type of Activator?

[Laughs] I don’t even know any different types. I don’t know shit about them. I just love that movie.

You obviously like the 70s look and you’ve got the hair, did people ever call you gay?

Of course [laughs]. Of course. Yeah. I’m not an insecure man. I’m chilled. I don’t get caught up in that shit. If you want to call me gay or whatever you think, that’s your opinion. I can just be me. I keep it moving. I don’t think anybody necessarily is meant to be understood.

I heard a rumour that some classmates of yours claimed you were pimping girls at 16 years old at Berkeley High?

Ohhh no. No, what the fuck! [laughs] See I didn’t even go to Berkeley High.

Sorry I’m asking some tougher questions.

No, it’s all good. I like these questions. I get tired of the weak-ass ones.

You’ve also said previously when you’re talking about “hoes,” or whatever, that doesn’t necessarily translate to real life and real people. Can you tell us about that?

To me it’s clear, but I’ll explain it. Not every record is necessarily about a pimp and a hoe or whatever people think it is. It could be anything. It could be a metaphor, it could be taken however. That’s why I said it’s not meant to be taken literally. If I’m talking about that, it could be something else. It could be what’s going on in my life or whatever. It’s just abstract as it comes. When I’m writing I’m not always thinking about that type of shit.

You’re pretty open about admitting you have never been a pimp and you’ve never claimed to be one. What do you think about people who criticise your authenticity?

It’s only an issue of authenticity, if you view it as one. If you view it as expression and it’s not meant to be taken literally, there’s no issue of authenticity. When it comes down to people judging it as if it’s meant to be taken literally, then yeah the issue comes into play. If it’s pretty much any genre other than rap, then people know not to take it literally. It’s just an expression, you don’t know what the fuck they [the performer] are talking about. On some level, I would compare it to that. Of course I’m open about it [not being an actual pimp], because I don’t want you to take it literally.

You see yourself as a performer and musician first?

Yeah, one hundred percent. Honestly, I have two projects out and I’m always growing and doing stuff, so people will see what everything turns into.

Jeezy ft Jay Z - Seen It All

Originally published at Passionweiss

Presidential parties, museum tours and marriage ensure we won’t be getting ‘98 Jigga bars anytime soon, but in 2014 “Seen It All” is as close as it gets. Jay-Z shunned Kanye’s wedding to the Kardashian dynasty last month, so there’s a chance Jeezy may become his new best friend. They’ve worn matching pleather jackets, they knew Pimp C but probably locked their car door when talking to him and they’ve been collaborating since Jeezy’s 2006 single “Go Crazy.” While this evidence may be circumstantial, the duo has a solid track record and the rap Proleteriat needs a break from Jay’s rhymes for the 1%.

The Snowman will never be a lyrical scientist. He’s found his rap formula, which is strictly limited to raspy boasts and A-grade adlibs. No matter how many water features Jeezy adds to the mansion, he’ll never stop rhyming about selling drugs. “Seen it all,” delivers accordingly and Jeezy’s biggest decision is whether to blow the cash at Atlanta strip-club institution Magic or at the mall. His verse is nothing special, but most of us clicked play to hear his guest feature verse anyway.

Then it happens, Jay swoops in during the 1.30 mark and it’s tough to believe these bars came from the Magna Carter Holy Fail sessions. There’s no blatant flow jacking or overdone Basquiat references, just tales of his dope-boy past life over a melancholic instrumental. Jay-Z excels on this track because unlike Jeezy, he refers to specific experiences as a felon. There’s drug connects in Saint Thomas, expanding his fledging empire to Maryland, his uncle’s stabbing and more memories that make you thankful you weren’t Shawn Corey Carter before the fame. Despite snubbing DJ Khaled’s crew for the “They Don’t Love You No More” shoot, he might even attend the video for this one. While no one is proclaiming this as Mr Beyonce’s comeback, Jay can still deliver.

Undergravity - Believe Me (Paystyle)

Originally written for Passionweiss

Along with Passionweiss’ favourite Dixie trippers The Outfit, Tx, Undergravity are moulding a sound outside of trap’s limitations. Earlier this year, Atom Bomb and Mastermind After Cash released Southern rap throwback “The Freshest MCs” with fellow Houston MC Dante Higgins. The album featured summer-time production as well as fun rhymes for those of us who prefer car stereos and barbeque sessions to MacBook speakers and screen glare. This time around however, the duo issues a more serious statement of intent.

Despite being purveyors of the vintage Southern sound, the underdawgs show their versatility by ditching the organs and giving funk a quick breather. Instead they rhyme over the sparse drums of Lil Wayne’s attempted comeback track “Believe Me” featuring your favourite Canadian child actor. They’ve dubbed it a “paystyle” rather than a ”freestyle,” to let you know their focus is on the cash. As long as it’s better than the original, they can call it anything they like.

“You already know who you ain’t fucking with, manoeuvring in the coupe, sitting crooked like the government.” Undergravity rhyme with furrowed brows and vehement brags. M.A.C plays quarter back like Any Given Sunday’s Willie Beamen and Atom Bomb is getting picked like a plum tree. Undergravity knows they’re overlooked, but they’ll keep working without your consent.

Interview with Kyle "KP" Reilly of DatPiff

By Jimmy Ness and written for Passionweiss

Since Datpiff was founded in 2005, mixtapes have evolved from compilations traded on street corners to a career necessity for any rapper without Jay-Z’s Rolodex. Datpiff were among the first to pioneer digital mixtapes and took some of the distribution power from labels. This helped artists to freely share music online, whilst gaining new fans and satisfying old ones.

Datpiff has worked with superstars, helped thousands of careers, hosted over half a million projects, and permanently altered the music industry. But if you’re a rap fan who likes free music, you knew all of that already.  

As a prelude to his June speaking engagement at NXNE Festival in Toronto, I quizzed Vice President Kyle "KP" Reilly on how Datpiff got started, which careers he helped launch, and if they let labels buy views. We also covered Lyor Cohen making him remove thousands of Gucci Mane tapes, his relationship with DJ Drama and his part in helping Meek Mill sign to MMG.

How did you and CEO Marcus Frasier start Datpiff?

Marcus is a coder and programmer, and he had the idea of putting together a site like Datpiff to share mixtapes with his friends online at a time when that was kind of impossible unless you physically burned them a copy of a mixtape that we would buy on Canal Street. He was looking for someone that would operate it and fill it with content so I came in right in the beginning. I started running the marketing and content side of things and getting artists on board by getting them familiar with what Datpiff is.

Google wasn’t really prominent at that point, it was more Yahoo. People were “Yahooing,” for lack of a better word, the terms “mixtapes” “free mixtapes” “buy mixtapes” etc and they just kind of stumbled across us. So we started seeing 50, 100 people on the site each day and to us it was crazy because we never really thought about that. We just wanted a site that we could show to our friends, promote on Myspace, and yeah so we started progressively seeing the growth and the potential for what it could be.

You guys didn’t think the mixtape industry would change to where it’s an essential element of almost every rap artist’s career?

I didn't. I hoped for it, especially as our platform grew. I had hoped that at one point we would grow to become a platform that could help artists that really didn't have the resources of those that were signed to major labels. I had always hoped it would get to a point where it would be what it is today where it's the standard. If you have a mixtape, it's got to be on Datpiff.

How did you convince people to give you their music? I'm sure you've heard how DJs used to have to do a lot of favours to get new songs and some of them nearly got killed in the process.

It was a lot of begging and persuading more than anything cut-throat. In the beginning, people didn't know what Datpiff was. Back then we had to sell people on what we were doing and why it was important to give away your mixtape online for free at a time when that wasn't what people were doing. People weren't giving away music for free, that was stupid. Why would they give away something they had worked on? People didn't realize the power that the internet could have, like it could open up doors for world tours. Wiz Khalifa was really the first major artist that blew up from Datpiff, where people realized you can profit very handsomely off giving away free music.

What are your main sources of revenue? Is it advertising?

Yep, it’s absolutely advertising. We have a company that we have worked exclusively with for about six years. I would say close to 60-65%.

When Meek Mill’s Dreamchasers 2 came out people accused Datpiff of allowing MMG to buy views and downloads as it was a surprisingly big launch. Is that something that you guys do?

We really pride ourselves on keeping everything 100% authentic and we’d be contradicting ourselves if we allowed that to happen because we ban users on a daily basis for manipulating their stats or paying third parties to do it. Our system actually scans and audits these mixtapes daily to flag fraudulent IPs or ones that hit our server 100 times in a couple minutes.

As far as the Meek Mill thing, I know exactly why it was such a big project. We’re a Philadelphia based website that has established our reputation here. I’ve worked with Meek for years before the MMG deal, before he had any mixtape. So the reason he did so well - it was a combination of Datpiff being more relevant and hotter than it ever had been, Meek Mill having a couple of songs on the radio at that time that were huge. So it was a combination of the push we gave it, our number one demographic, Meek Mill being the top MC in our area. A bunch of things working together to make a really really successful mixtape that was yeah, to an extent unbelievable.

Are your server and bandwidth prices crazy?

Absolutely, we’re talking north of about $70,000 a month. We have a library of about 450,00 mixtapes so you do the math.

How many takedown notices do you receive?

I would say maybe 1-2 a month tops, sometimes none. One thing we do now is work very closely with the label, which is funny because around ‘07-‘08 labels were at war with mixtapes because they hadn’t yet embraced what they could do for artists. Now a lot of our takedown notices have slowed down because with our relationships with the labels they are able to say “hey we really don’t want this out yet, would you mind pulling it and I’ll let you know when you can put it back up.” That’s really how the takedowns work now. We don’t get a lot of official ones.

A lot of artists will sign production deals with a random manager. When they start getting bigger and bigger, a few years later they sign a major label deal and forget about that production deal and that manager they had. So what happens is the guy sees the artist has a free mixtape on Datpiff and they sold it on iTunes. So they’re going to go and sue all of them because they were profiting off material that they own. That gives you an example of what the takedown notices usually are about now days. It’s somebody that’s bitter and claims to own the rights to somebody else’s music. It’s never really the label anymore. We take a lot of steps to make sure we’re good in that regard.

Do you think Datpiff is becoming more influential to the point where they have launched whole careers? I've read you had a lot to do with the success of Wiz Khalifa, Chance The Rapper, Mac Miller and more.

Yeah, I never used to say that myself until I saw others publish it. Until Wiz came to me and said "I owe you guys so much for everything." I would never have said, "we helped break them" because they're the artist and they make the music. We're just kind of a host of music, but yeah definitely those guys and others we helped catapult and propel their career to a new level. Meek Mill is another one, like I told you. He was really big in Philadelphia, but he had no presence on the internet. He didn't have a Myspace page. He didn't have anything. His manager was Will Smith's old manager who was very old school minded where if you have songs on the radio locally where you’re able to sell 100,000 mixtapes in the street, why do you need anything else? That was basically a win, that's all you need in life to be successful. So I went in and kind of had to tell them and beg them to listen. Forget about Philadelphia. What about winning fans in the UK? What about Meek winning fans in California, Texas, Detroit and Hawaii? You could do those kind of numbers. It's about getting your music out there and letting people hear it. You can continue being successful in Philadelphia for as long as you want, but why don't you think bigger? That's when I got him to do a project called Mr Philadelphia. I basically put that whole project together. I got the DJs on board and we did a big internet release for it and from there that’s where he signed to MMG and became what he is today.

Who do you think were some of the first artists to embrace the digital mixtapes?

Wayne and Drama, with the Gangsta Grillz they were doing. I would say Jeezy as well. Mixtapes have been around for a while, but at one point they were just compilations of what was hot on the radio. They basically were just a DJ remixing or scratching or having their drops and that was a mixtape back then. As far as rappers noticing that mixtapes are a body of work like a single project, I think definitely Wayne, DJ Drama, Jeezy. DJ Whoo Kid for sure, doing the projects he was doing with G Unit in the early 2000s. Projects like G-Unit Radio, those were projects that had exclusives from 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, Game. Those guys were the ones that made it something more than just a mixtape on Canal Street that had radio singles on it.

When you think about the relentless release schedule of artists like Gucci Mane who puts out a tape every other week, do you think the South was ahead of the curve in embracing the mixtape culture?

I would say they totally were. New York was really the first to embrace the mixtape in general just because of the amount of DJs they had there as the origin of Hip-hop. So they were the ones who put mixtapes on the map. As far as having the bigger projects and artists putting out a free solo album, the South were really the ones that embraced that through DJ Drama, T.I, Young Jeezy and Lil Wayne. Even then, they were selling them. It was still a retail project, but it was still a mixtape of original music that evolved into what it is today.  

What do you think of artists like Jay-Z or the TDE roster, who don’t really focus on mixtapes?

I think with Jay-Z it’s a little bit different. He comes from a time where artists didn’t really do mixtapes as albums.  They weren’t going to the studio and putting together a body of work and saying “this is going to be my mixtape.” That was never a thing at that time. So it’s hard for someone like him, because he doesn’t know any better. Eminem doesn’t know any better. To them, they still look at it like “why would I give free music away? That doesn’t make sense.” They’ve never had to experience that learning curve of what a mixtape can do and how beneficial it is. But I can guarantee you, if Jay-Z wasn’t in the position he was in today, he would be putting out mixtapes. I can assure you they would be a lot more open and adaptive to putting out a mixtape.

You can fault them [TDE], because when an artist is at their peak it’s hard to say “ok, let’s give away free music and grow a little bit more.”  Because you know on the flip side, you can put out an album and the same amount of people will buy it and you make $8 a pop. A different example I can give is someone like Wiz Khalifa, who we are doing a brand new mixtape with in about 20 days. Wiz knows that his fanbase loves and expects mixtapes from him every couple of years. He doesn’t necessarily want to put out a mixtape or think it’s the best idea, but he cares about his fans. Let’s give them what they want, they buy my t-shirt, they spend $60-70 to come see my concert. Let’s give them something for free.

You work a lot with Don Cannon and Dj Drama? Drama is from Philadelphia too.

Yeah, Don Cannon is as well. In 2011, we were thinking why don't we just sign the DJs who are hosting these projects so we can be involved in the process from the beginning instead of artists saying "hey I have a mixtape coming out, what can I do?” By having the DJs on our side we're involved from the beginning. When an artist says “hey Drama I have a mixtape coming and I want it to drop next month,” he comes to me and says “hey KP, so and so hit me up he has a project coming. I want you guys to get on the phone and hash out the details and the plan for it.” We have Don Cannon, DJ Holiday, DJ Drama all signed to us so basically all of their projects have to be distributed through us exclusively. That's the deal we have.

So what they get through that is they have a lot of independent hosting where an artist will pay them $5000-10000 to host a project and what we do in turn is host that project. We give a little bit of social media push, we in turn help them with the smaller projects which makes them hotter because kids know “ok if I work with DJ Drama he'll host my tape and also get me a good placement on Datpiff.“ We work very closely with almost any and every project they’re involved with.

Does Datpiff have a lot of security so you don’t get hacked and have mixtapes stolen?

Yeah, now it does. In the beginning we were just using Gmail. What would happen is we would have competitors that were very computer savvy and they would just get in and there was really nothing that I could do about it. There are people overseas you can pay to get just about anything. If I wanted to get every spreadsheet off your computer right now, I could get your IP address, contact a guy from Sweden and have all of the files off your computer within 6 hours.

So this stuff has happened to you?

That has happened hundreds of times, not just a couple. People are able to download music from the back end of Datpiff before it’s even released to the public. We take many precautions and we fix something whenever we get penetrated, but the kids always one-up us. There’s always a kid that’s always smarter than us. Now we have a process where if I have a file with a mixtape it’s password protected, the password is texted to me so you have to go through three or four clues to find the actual link.

Wow. 

We had to do a lot of that with how popular we've grown and how popular some of these releases have grown. We had one point where we were releasing Lil Wayne's Dedication 5, and all of my personal emails were inaccessible in a way because people were changing my passwords, people were logging in and that was my personal email not even my @datpiff email address. My wife was receiving spam messages just from being associated with me and there's definitely kind of a community of hackers every time we have a major release that are doing everything and anything they can to try get the file. 

What have been your most hyped mixtape to date?

I'd say Dedication 5 and Dreamchasers 3.

I see Future's Astronaut Status currently holds the record for most downloads with almost 500,000?

Yeah, that one has been more of a stretched out build up.  When I say Dedication 5 and Dreamchasers 3 were the most impactful, that's because of the immediate buzz or attention on the day of release and the day after. Future's mixtape is really popular, but that came as he started getting bigger and people came to the website searching for that. That has grown as Future’s grown.

The amount of rookie rappers spamming you on social media must be crazy.

It's funny because I always joke with the guys who work in my office or people in the industry. It's an internal joke at my office. The best Tweets we get are "Follow back, so I can DM you." It's the artist asking you so they can get the follow and then DM you about something THEY want. That's usually always the case and that's funny cause I get those the most and laugh at those now.  “Follow me so I can DM you about biz.” It’s funny cause my email is in the open, we have contact forms on the website. You can tell me what you want, but you’re tweeting telling me to follow you. Yeah I absolutely get spammed a lot, on Datpiff it’s borderline impossible to keep up with the mentions feed. That’s part of the nature of it. With anything that people can promote you’ll get spam. I think I have close to 600 people blocked on Twitter just for that. We actually got sued by the New York City Sanitation Department.

What!!!?

I’ll tell you why. This kid was going around with stickers that had the Datpiff URL for people to download his mixtape. The sanitation department found all these stickers and pulled them down. They went after him and they went after us because we were the URL on all these stickers across New York City. Now obviously we had nothing to do with the spamming of those stickers, but we got involved because this kid was spamming all over New York.  

What do you think about artists becoming creatively burnt out? They’ll have a great run of mixtapes, but their debut album will be mediocre because they’ve ran out of ideas.

You know what it is, artists really prefer making mixtapes to an album. I would say 70% of them would tell you that and it’s true because of the creative freedom they have.  For example Schoolboy Q, when he put out Oxymoron he wanted that to be a mixtape and the label kept saying “no, we need an album from you.”  Then when it came time for him to turn the album in they said “this sounds like a mixtape, we need at least two or three radio records and Schoolboy got so furious that he was saying “this is what I hate about labels making me do this stuff, I don’t do this for radio singles I do it for my fans.” I think that sort of mentality is common, obviously they respect the label that’s why they signed a deal with them in the first place, but they don’t like to have their creative freedom stripped.

When artists do mixtapes, the label has a lot less control?

Yeah. In a lot of cases they have no control. For example when we do a Chief Keef mixtape, the label never wants a Chief Keef mixtape out and I go in knowing that. Interscope is one of the labels I don’t have a relationship with so I don’t care what they think. Chief Keef will say “I’m putting out a mixtape, the label doesn’t care and they won’t support it, but I don’t give a shit.” So labels really don’t have any say unless there’s some of deal the artist signs where they have control over every aspect of their career. They do have a say to a point, but the artist can do a mixtape whenever they want.

Is Interscope slightly old fashioned in the way they perceive mixtapes?

They are, and they have a lot of pop artists. Atlantic, Warner, Def Jam they get it so much because of the urban roster they have. They have a bunch of artists that this can be of use for. Interscope they have a few, but a lot of their roster is superstars so they don’t really have a need to put out mixtapes or do anything like that. They don’t agree or think they need it. When Lyor Cohen was running Warner that’s when we had the biggest fight because he did not like that when you would Google Gucci Mane one of the top 5 search results was his free mixtape on Datpiff. So Lyor Cohen in 2008/2009 went on a rampage. We had to remove every single mixtape that had Gucci Mane’s name or song of his from the site. We are talking about probably 30-40,000 mixtapes.

Wow, that’s insane. Mixtapes shaped his career.

Exactly, and there’s a reason he’s not on Warner anymore. They eventually adapted and now we work closely with them. It’s funny because Lyor is now running his own label called 300 Ent. and we just released a project today for one of his artists. Lyor, who was our biggest enemy in 2008, is now asking us to help break these new artists on his label and it’s funny how that stuff goes full circle.

How do you stay competitive with all the other options available? Why do people still come to you?

I think people that know about this stuff, know us as the innovator and the originator of digital mixtapes. Obviously, there were mixtape websites before us that would sell mixtapes as physical copies, which we found out was very very illegal. There was stuff like that, but I think people recognize us as the first to really do what we do. We’re very hands on with the projects, almost every big release that we do I spend hours and hours on. I work with that artist and their management team throughout that time period. So I'm very hands-on with the project.

So you're involved in the campaign behind the mixtape as well?

Exactly, yeah. Think about YouTube. We kind of operate like that, where we allow the users to upload their own videos and share but we also do a lot of premiers. That's kind of how we operate. YouTube has tons of competitors. I could create a website tomorrow that does the same function as YouTube, but there's a reason that YouTube is YouTube. They’re the original. They’re the standard and they have great content from regular Average Joe users to artists. No matter how many websites come along throughout this time period, Datpiff will be thought of as the originator and as the key source.

It’s really all about staying ahead of the curve. We paved the path for this, we know what we can do to grow things even more and take things to a new level. We’re launching Datpiff 5.0, the new version of the site in probably the next three months or so and we’re incorporating all of the things we’ve learned in the last four or five years.

T.I ft Young Thug - About The Money

Written by me, originally for Passionweiss. 

Septum piercing and distinctive squawk intact, Young Thug assists T.I on a track that may end up on the latter’s ninth album Paperwork. While “About The Money” is technically T.I’s song, he allows the 21 year old’s lean-addled antics to dominate. The duo works surprisingly well, despite one being a staunch family man and the other flamboyant enough to make Andre3000 blush.

Thug employs his signature frantic ad-libs, sing-song raps and whimsical rhymes over stunted church keys. He drops lazy bars like “smoke way more weed than a guy in LA” whilst his unintelligible yelp swirls in the background. A thousand upset backpackers rush to the Okayplayer forum every time he rhymes, but his charisma is difficult to deny. If you came here for a solstice from the typical rap tropes you’re in the wrong place.

While Gucci Mane was innovative enough to tap into the popularity of young rappers like Migos or Young Thug, it’s surprising more veteran Southern rappers haven’t caught on. T.I has struggled with mediocre album singles, so it’s good to see he’s finally used his guest’s magnetism to benefit the music.

T.I often operates best in a supporting role. He’s not a boring rapper per-se, but his understated presence and delivery stands out when he rhymes a snappy guest verse. See his verses on “Rack City,” “Big Beast” and the “Plain Jane” remix for further proof. On this track, the Trouble Man mainly sticks to hook duty. He still finds time between a few quick bars to shout out UGK’s classic “Pocket Full Of Stones” and that’s all we need.

Thug’s the rap oddity of the year, you either love or hate him. Either way, it’s tough to deny his persona on tracks like this. Scuuurt!

New Album 'Paperwork' OUT NOW. Get it here: iTunes: http://smarturl.it/PaperworkDLX Google Play: http://smarturl.it/PaperworkGPDLX Amazon: http://smarturl.it/PaperworkAmazonDLX "About The Money" Featuring Young Thug available Now! Get it here: iTunes: http://smarturl.it/ATMSingle Google Play: http://smarturl.it/ATMGooglePlay Amazon: http://smarturl.it/ATMama Stream on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/ATMspot

League Of Starz Interview - Tavon "Pun" Alexander

By me and originally written for Passionweiss

From LA to the Bay, multi-platinum production team League Of Starz are helping to define the new sound of West Coast rap. Since being assembled just four years ago, the collective has been fundamental in the new generation’s popularity, releasing hundreds of records along the way. Their discography includes E-40′s “Function,” Problem and Bad Lucc’s “Like Whaaat,” as well as a growing list of work for 2 Chainz, 100s, Ty Dolla Sign, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, T.I, and Game.

Passionate and determined, Tavon “Pun” Alexander founded the group after noticing the overlooked potential in local producers and scored major placements within just weeks of bringing them on-board. It’s no overstatement that Pun has the potential to become a mogul in the making. League Of Starz began as a modest conversation between friends and despite becoming a million dollar business, they remain independent and focused on the success of the team as a whole.

Between handling the affairs of seven different beat makers, Pun also manages Problem, King Chip and Bad Lucc. He rarely gives interviews, but blessed me with a lengthy conversation where he energetically discussed his introduction to music, E-40 giving him life changing opportunities, receiving a surprise call from Snoop Dogg, and his plans for global success.

What neighbourhood in LA are you from?

Compton. I went to high school in Long Beach. I didn’t take up college. I pretty much took the street route after high school and did that for a while. Eventually I got into music through a friend, Glasses Malone, who was signed with Ca$h Money at the time. He kind of took me off the streets and put me into the music game underneath him.

Do you still keep in touch now?

Yeah, that’s my brother. That’s my boy, so we still talk and we still hang out from time to time. I did his new record that’s coming out actually called “Step” produced by League Of Starz. So we still working, we still cool. Everything’s still good.

How did you get the nickname “Pun”?

[laughs] Oh that’s just from the streets man. My mom named me Punch as a kid. I used to be a little local kid that was in the neighbourhood and any of the older or younger cats that had a problem, you know they would come get me for the younger cat. They used to call me Punch because I would fight a lot. As I grew up man, the homies started calling me “Big Pun” or “Punisher” so Pun is more friendly and the ladies like it too. They could call me “Punny” or “Pun.” The ladies like it so I just roll with it. [laughs] Yeah, I just rolled with it. I don’t wanna scare nobody.

Tell us about the discussion that first inspired the creation of League Of Starz. It was in your house?

Yeah, it was in my living room with two of my buddies, we were just chilling one day. When I was working with G Malone, I would talk to a lot of producers because he used to have them send beats to my email. I was listening to hundreds of beats everyday and building relationships with these unknown producers. Then eventually, I was telling my boys one day like “yo, I want to start me a production company man. Just get a gang of dope producers and just shop the beats to the relations I’ve built like with E-40 and different cats I’ve met along the way with G Malone.” I targeted the Jerk movement, all the producers who had that going, and that’s where all my producers come from. There were more at first, but it didn’t work out so it ended up only being seven as it is right now but at first it was like 12 -13 producers total.

That’s like the Wu Tang of producers.

Haha yeah! That’s what it is man. You know what I’m sayin? I’m going to keep it going, my plan is to get 6-7 at a time and get them all to the point where they’re popping then go grab more and I’m just going to keep doing it. I’m going to have a whole roster of them motherfuckers man, dope producers. I still got a way to go with these so I’m not moving right now on that.

Did you have any contacts in the industry at the time or were you doing it on your own?

I pretty much did it all on my own. I didn’t have no major Rolodex. I had a couple here and there. I really built it up as I went along. The biggest contact I had at the time through G Malone was E-40. I used to just send him beats. He picked two of the first beats I sent him “My Shit Bang” and another on his album called “Gunz.” From there, “My Shit Bang” opened up doors with other artists reaching out. It was a domino effect from there. Even when I got with Problem we were building him from the ground up, with that more connections started coming when I went along. We built it from scratch.

How did Glasses Malone introduce you to E-40?

I was with him and he was on a Tech N9ne tour, which had him, E-40 and Jay Rock. That’s when Kendrick Lamar was Jay Rock’s hypeman. From that tour I met E-40 and did like six or seven shows with G Malone. Jay Rock has always been a homie of mine too. He [E-40] was asking me to send him beats and beats.

E-40 must be a cool guy to ask you to send him beats, as you weren’t well known at the time. That’s pretty humble of him.

Yeah, that’s E-40 though. That’s my big bro. He’s cool like that, he’s not cocky. All he wants is you to have the beats. If the beat slaps, he’s going to fuck with it. He doesn’t care if you’re a new producer, A-list or unheard of. That’s one thing – he gives all unknown producers opportunities, still to this day. His last single that’s out right now “Episode” is with a producer from Inglewood called Disko. He’ll give anyone a shot.

How did it feel when he chose “That Shit Bang” and it was successful? That must have been an amazing moment.

Still to this day, I look at it like there’s work to be done. Over here, you can’t get comfortable. We still have to out work the competition because we’re still independent, we don’t have a publishing situation where these motherfuckers are putting us in the studio with these artists. It’s like 10 times harder because with a lot of these situations they just put you in the studio with these artists and they get you placements, but nah we’re going against them. I have yet to get a placement with my producers. All my placements I’ve never went through an A&R. We had to go through the manager, or the artist directly.

Do you still have to force your way into the industry a little bit?

Yeah, yeah, still. You can’t let up, cause there’s always a producer out here trying to replace you. If you get too comfortable you’re going to have a situation where one of these new motherfuckers come in kicking the doors down. I tell my producers every day man, keep them beats coming. Don’t get lazy. We got to keep this shit going.

So you have to be determined to put yourself out there?

Yeah, you got to be man. The thing about this business is nobody believes in the beginner. They all hop on your dick once you take off like “I knew you were gunna do this!” and it’s like – no you didn’t motherfucker. Nobody believes man, so I’m out here pushing a lot. Like I tell my team, you gotta be humble but you gotta be cocky at the same time. It’s just crazy, nobody believes bro. Like with Problem, everybody just wanted him to do hooks. I was like “yo, his verses are sick. let him put a verse on there” and they’d be like “nah we just want him for a hook.” Then as soon as they start putting Problem on their shit, now you see Problem is snapping. So everybody is like “give me a Problem verse, give me a Problem verse.” But now I’m like “I don’t know, I’ll let you know.” So you gotta kinda stretch your shit and let a motherfucker know that what you got is quality A1 product. So I hit these A&Rs up like “who you working with?” Then I’ll pop my shit like “Ok, I’ll just go to him directly.” Yeah, I be fucking with the A&Rs man and let them know because some A&Rs act like their shit don’t stink. But much respect to all the great A&Rs out there man, shout to Jeff Vaughn at Atlantic. That’s my boy man, Jeff holds us down. But I don’t know, it’s cool man. It is what it is.

At the moment, you guys are focusing on West Coast artists. Do you plan to expand eventually?

Yeah, that’s the plan. I have more West Coast connections because that’s where I’m at, but we work with South artists. We’re working closely with T.I, we have a new song on his album coming out. We are working with Trae The Truth. Ludacris just reached out for some shit, Jeezy just reached out for some shit. As far as the East Coast – Jim Jones, Fred The Godson. I would like to work with the A$AP Mob, I like the work they are doing especially A$AP Ferg. French Montana, I send him beats all the time. I have his direct email so we’re going back and forth. It’s building man. We’re actually going to take the producers down to Atlanta for a week. DJ Drama wants us to come down there, he has his studio down there – Mean Street Studios. He’s going to bring artists in to work with us so that’s the next play we’re going to do.

Why did you name your production group League Of Starz?

I wanted to take people with talent that nobody believed in, who everybody was overlooking. Like the whole Jerk movement, as much of an impact as those dudes made for the West Coast, they still never got the credit they deserved. They literally brought back the West Coast. You can say whatever you want but that’s where YG sprung from, that’s where a lot of the club music is from. You would never have heard any of that shit on the radio at the time. You would never have an artist outside of Power 106 going crazy, because they weren’t playing any of our music. The Jerk movement came along and they brought back the West Coast fun side, in the clubs. Everybody was against it because these dudes were wearing skinny jeans and all that shit, but fast forward now and everyone is wearing skinny jeans. You know what I’m saying? They really brought this shit back. But they never get the credit. So I’mma take these dudes who nobody believed in and I’m going to turn them into stars, then I’m going to put them together so there’s a league of these motherfuckers.

I want to find talent that no one else believes in, that’s with everything I do. Even when I got with Problem that was someone who everybody counted out, but he was one of the dopest rappers on the West Coast. I knew that. Nobody believed it because he had a song in 2006 called “I’m Fucced Up” and after that you really didn’t hear much from him, but that was my boy so I was like “what I’m going to do is put you with my producers and ya’ll going to build each other up.” Therefore you got Mollywood 1, Mollywood 2. The Separation. Million Dollar Afro with Iamsu! If you look them up, they’re produced mainly by League Of Starz and some production by Problem. We just wanted to keep it in house and fast forward to now and you see where Problem is at. He’s being labelled as one of the dopest on the West Coast right now. That’s what I’m saying. I see a star in these motherfuckers and I’m going to bring it out and put it in front of the world.

You told them to give you one year to prove it could be a success?

Yeah, it was like I know my hustle so that’s what I was telling them. “Just give me a year and see what I can do. Give me a year and watch me work, just give me what I need and in a year ya’ll can have it cracking.” So I got with Tone Bone and he got a placement in his first two weeks with E-40’s “My Shit Bang.” That was his single and my first placement ever. From there I found Dnyc3, and the whole “Faded” situation came along and that went platinum within his first four months with me. Then so on and so forth. Trend had “Function” with E-40, then Dupri started coming along with Tyga records like “Hijack” ft 2 Chainz. Different shit started coming along and now it is where we do a lot of stuff for these artists. We got one on T.I’s new album coming out. Dupri has “Walk Thru” with Rich Homie Quan and Problem, Dnyc3 has “Good Day” with Tyga, Meek Mill and Lil Wayne. We got records in rotation, and we still working.

Is there a lot of competition between the producers?

Nah, they work good together. That was another thing that I had to make sure of – that they all got along. They all knew each other from the Jerk movement. I had to make sure they were all cool with each other. I didn’t want to have two enemies. We have sessions where I’ll bring all seven of them at the same time and work on beats. Right now we’re working on a new project called Respect The League and it’s production where they are all collaborating. It’s not a single producer, it’s all of them on one beat or like three or four of them on one song.

Do you also send multiple producers when working with artists?

Sometimes in sessions I send like two or three producers. I don’t want to send seven because it’s kind of hard for an artist to work with seven producers. The only one is Game. I sent like four producers with him at one time. With Game we ended up doing like 22 songs. He’s put out about four of them so far. We got some crazy shit with him, but he’s one of the few that can adapt with so many producers in the studio at the same time. He’s like a machine, you load up a beat and he’ll go straight in the booth. Then you have artists who will take all day with one producer so I don’t want to send all seven there.

Did you ever produce or have you always stuck to managing?

I actually produced on Problem’s first project Mollywood. I did the “Foolies” record on there with him, Skeme and Bad Lucc. But nah, when I was younger I wanted to produce when I was 14-15. My older cousin used to make beats and I used to go over to his house and he had the MPC. You know I really didn’t take it serious, I was just doing it because I saw him doing it. I always loved production though. From day one, I was a Dr Dre fan. When I was a kid, my momma will tell you, she would say “who do you want be a – firefighter, police?” “Nah, I wanna be be Dr Dre.” I always looked up to him when I was a kid. That’s a true story. But I never had the time to go through beats, that was frustrating for me so I was like fuck it, I’m going to get in one way or another.

People describe your music style as Function. Can you describe the sound?

The content of it is Ratchet, what people talk about, I get it. But our shit from day one, we just started to call it Function music because that’s the music that you can play at any party, you can play at any function, you can have fun with it. Now what the artists choose to rap about when they get on there, that’s on them, but we’re going to make sure even if it’s an R&B beat you can play it at the club. That’s just our thing. We don’t really sway away from it. We still do that, but it’s something they can do with their eyes shut. Right now, we’re just showing ya’ll a different level. Like the Rich Homie Quan “Walk Through,” – we’re going to show some other sounds. It’s not trap, it’s not West Coast club, it’s still Function, but everyone was trying to say we were one-dimensional and all we did was stuff that snaps and claps on the one BPM. We’re independent so it’s going to take a longer time but they’ll see real soon. We’re working with a lot of artists this year.

Is there one of your records that you’re particularly proud of?

All the records are cool to me man, but I have still yet to find that one that amazes me like I’m happy with all of the records that come out, but we still aren’t at the point we need to be at. All of that is cool, but I need that motherfucking top 10. My goal is to see three top 10s on the Billboard 100 at the same time. That’s my goal.

Internationally successful?

Yeah, yeah man. I need that, you feel me? It’s going to be ten times harder but that’s the job we signed up for, we ready man.

How did you start working with Snoop Dogg? That must have been a big moment.

Yeah, you know, that came from the “Function” record. E-40 called me one day like “hold on, I got someone on three way” and then he clicked over and it was Snoop Dogg.

Wow.

Yeah [laughs]. I was like “Oh shit!” He was like “What’s up nephew! I need some of that heat.” So I was like “Oh shit yeah man, whatever you need. You’re Snoop Dogg…” Know what I’m saying? Ha ha. He was like “matter of fact, what ya’ll doing on 420? I was like “nothing man we chilling.” He was like “I want ya’ll to get your producers and spend 420 with me.” We ended up spending the whole 420, all day, with Snoop. He had a BBQ, we smoked, we made beats. We recorded records. It was fun man and that came through E-40 man. Shout out to E-40 again. He’s a humble dude, E-40 always looked out for us from day one. I always say that all the time, I always thank him all the time, like E-40 never changed man and he looked out for us. That’s one dude who wants to see the West Coast win. All the West Coast acts wherever you are, Snoop the same way.

You’re also a manager, how do you find the time? Your schedule must be crazy.

Yeah… [laughs]. It’s crazy man, but shit you know I can handle it and that’s what keeps me moving. I wake up every day for this shit. That’s what I do. I wake up at seven o’clock every morning and get straight to work. I’m making these calls, seeing what Problem’s up to, see what these producers got going on, what they wanna do. Shit, we got to keep this going man. It’s a hustle and I love it. I had a job before where I used to wake up and dread every morning going to that motherfucker to check in.

What job?

I used to do security man, for like a year. It was the worst shit. I’d wake up like “awww fuck.” I didn’t want to go bruh, ugh. So now with this, I wake up and it gets my blood rushing. It’s good when you sit down with your team, you plan something out and you see that shit come to life with the world respecting and talking about it. That’s what keeps me pushing. Right now with Problem working on his album, we know what’s going to happen. These records he’s working on here are crazy, the world has yet to hear it but I know when the world hears them it’s going to be fucking crazy. Problem is going on some next level shit with his new album and it’s definitely going to shock the world with what he got. Even the producers with this Respect The League project, it’s on some whole other shit.

Did you research moguls like Diddy, Clive Davis, Russell Simmons etc and take inspiration from them?

I didn’t want to copy anyone’s blueprint. I know their stories, I’ve seen and read about it but I wanted to be original and do it my way. I wanted to come with a whole new approach to the game. So this is really me with my story. If you look at Russell Simmons, how he built Def Jam, and then look at Pun, how he built League Of Stars – I didn’t really copy nobody else’s shit. I was inspired by it, I loved seeing them like yo that’s what it takes, the hustle and the ambition. That’s what I took from that, that’s what I need. The hustle and ambition that they had. That push they have for their shit, that branding for their shit. Know what I mean? Like Diddy still to this day, he makes what ever he will touch feel like it was elite.

Do you hope your story will be one like Diddy’s or another mogul who people will look back on one day?

Hellllll yeah bruh, I aint gon’ lie. I want to be legendary you know? I’m trying to show that I made the impossible possible because I didn’t come in this shit like everybody with a musical background or with connections or my mom or dad is this or that. This is straight organic shit from the streets, you feel me? That’s why I’m hustling and building up as I go along. I just want to show motherfuckers it’s possible, because a lot of people don’t believe this shit is possible. They feel like “I can’t make nothing happen in the music business.” But you can get in this motherfucker and change the game. Anything is possible, you just gotta believe in yourself and your team. We push independent. We ain’t got no major support, we ain’t got no one helping us, but we’re making some major moves. Like Problem is on records with some of the biggest artists and he’s independent as a motherfucker. We ain’t got no one helping us and at the same time we ain’t looking for nobody to help us. These labels come at us all the time. Everybody has come at League Of Starz trying to sign us, but we cool, this is what we do and we’re going to keep on pushing. This is what is going to make our story better than motherfuckers that are popping right now – we’re independent as fuck.

Kevin Gates - By Any Means review

By me and originally written for Passionweiss

Heavily inked, emotionally scarred and fresh out of the slammer, Kevin Gates returns with 16 bi-polar bangers. By Any Means is less personal than last year’s Stranger Than Fiction and The Luca Brasi Story, but the Louisiana’s rappers remains one of the best young gangsta rappers this side of the Mississippi. Gates has the hooks, the singing, the story and the passion. Of course, it helps that he’s been blessed with the rare combination of versatile vocal chords and awareness of how to use them. From his threatening croak on standout “Homicide” to the palpable sincerity on “Movie,” KG is as far removed from one-dimensional MCs as it gets.

The 28 year old also defies the tradition that rappers need to be invincible. His willingness to showcase flaws is a large part of what makes his music compelling. Gates covers depression, anxiety, self-doubt and a slew of other pitfalls rarely touched on in rap. Add in his penchant for including vivid real life details from his turbulent past and you’ve got a killer combo. Whether it’s because he’s attempting to make a mainstream friendly project or because he’s saving material so that the relentless mixtape circuit doesn’t end in creative burn out, these details aren’t quite as apparent on this record as they were on his 2013 output. There are no epic tales of attempted murder by best friends like “4.30am” or cinematic true-life tales of crime ala “iHop” on here. You’ve got to listen a little closer, but it’s worth the effort.

 Gates adds humanity to what could have been a generic hustling theme on “Wish I Had.” Instead of lazily attributing his motivation to the American Dream aka wanting to get rich, he phrases the chorus in a more relatable way and it takes on a redemptive quality. “Out my window, I see everything I dream about and wish I had.” During the song, he also acknowledges his self-consciousness at being a two-time felon, desperately wanting to write a hit and being a good person that can transform in the wrong circumstances.

Later on “Sposed to Love” there’s more mention of this duality of character and the imperfection he’s willing to display on record. Gates is passionately in love and deeply offended when his partner doesn’t answer the phone, but he’s also bordering on the obsessive and admits to hitting her in the heat of the moment. The realistic portrayal of domestic violence undoubtedly makes it the most divisive track on the album. Some listeners may feel he’s condoning this behavior as he comes across as cocky rather than apologetic, but references to Chris Brown, stalking and jail make it clear he’s aware of his moral wrongdoing.

Musical psychoanalysis aside, this tape is also trunk rattling. Get Em Gates understands the quandaries presented by turning down for no good reason. As one of the chosen few who isn’t overshadowed by Juicy J and 2 Chainz on his own jams, he can rap with the best from planet Versace. Despite his currently unproven mainstream appeal, “Don’t Know” and “Arm And Hammer” have the type of hypotonic hooks you’ll find yourself accidently reciting during work meetings or on the subway. Along with his chameleon vocals and a healthy dose of neuroticism, part of what makes Gates listenable is his varied delivery style. He’ll switch flow several times, moving within seconds from Migos inspired double-time to shouting threats down your ear canal.

With a hulking audio presence, Gates doesn’t need to rely on features and thankfully he hasn’t succumbed to this cheap tactic. For the most part, the guests are used sparingly and fit in nicely. The late Doe B in particular shines with his effortless flow during “Paranoid,” making it all the more obvious the world was robbed of the 22 year old’s potential. Then of course, there’s Plies. He doesn’t quite ruin “Keep Fucking With Me” by spitting a marble mouthed verse, but he definitely comes close.

 Being locked up on a three-year gun charge partially derailed Gates’ career during the mid-2000s. But he also claims long periods in jail gave him the opportunity to form his unique rhyming style. In an interview with HipHop Dx, he said prison changed his attitude toward music too “I want the Rap game when I come home. You never know how much something means to you until you can’t do it. “Personal issues have made him both great and imperfect. Few have a darker past than Kevin Gates, but few have a brighter future.

Eiffel 65 Interview

I interviewed Eiffel 65 famed for their hit “Blue (Da Ba Dee)." Why? Because it’s funny and also because it’s interesting to see what happens to artists after a brief run of success. A lot of people known for being one hit wonders become public laughing stocks. They'll do multiple trips to rehab, appear alongside other lesser life forms on reality TV or wallow in obscurity. Often it seems like it's better to have no hits than one, which is weird considering it’s a form of success many underground acts strive toward. Of course, it doesn't help the music is frequently terrible and their success is often accidental. Lead singer Jeffrey Jey seemed like a pretty nice guy though. Read the full interview here. 

Dante Higgins and Undergravity - The Freshest MCs

Written for Passionweiss. 

Introducing Undergravity, the self-proclaimed “funkiest duo in Houston” consisting of Atom Bomb and Mastermind After Cash. The Space Jammers recently joined forces with local freestyler Dante Higgins, who you’ll recognize by his higher vocal pitch. In the process, they released a video for “My Town” the other week, which drew my attention for several reasons: the jammin’ beat, catchy sung hook and thanks to M.A.C. the most fun line I’ve heard all month (“You might find a n*gga on a horse, you might find a n*gga in a Porsche.”)


Excellent equine references aside, their throwback Southern sound is a welcome oasis from trap’s current bass-knocking dominance. On first listen the trio may draw lazy comparisons to 3rd Ward alumni UGK and while neither residing at that level or sounding identical, it’s a safe bet they’re fans. “My Town” comes from last year’s mixtape The Freshest MCs which features Atom, M.A.C and Dante trading bars over soulful or funky beats with horns and keys to drive slow to. 

“Goin Live” boasts more fun lewd raps, with Higgins again proving that the collaboration was a good idea. His imaginative nurse fantasies detail why having a medical expert involved with your escapades is a safety conscious decision. (“She hooked me up to a jumper cable, pulled out a defibrillator, Looked at me and said don’t be scared, I’ll shock your ass if your heart ain’t stable.”) A luxurious saxophone similar to a La Musica De Harry Fraud beat plays throughout and between songs like this or the 2Pac-sampling “Yellowstone B,” you can tell these guys are sure-handed at selecting their production. 

The Freshest MCs serves more as a taste of the group’s versatility than a complete album. That said, it’s strange to hear lines about having no money during the humble “Fly On The Wall” and then braggado directly afterwards on the unimaginative “Did You Miss Me.” The bottom line is that these guys rap well, their music is solid, and they’ve got chemistry. If they don’t ditch Dante and keep rapping over funky beats, they’ll keep rising.

Winter Playlist Series

Written for Passionweiss. I organized this feature and there's plenty of other great sounds ranging from Blaxploitation soundtracks to electronic so check them out. 

This mix defines my winter tastes pretty well – grumpy old and new raps combined with soul and funk. While I’ve been listening to beats and rhymes since before the Willennium, booty-shaking riffs and smooth grooves are something I’ve only properly investigated in the past few years. However one has inevitably led to the other – Kanye is a big Curtis fan, Three-6 Mafia put me on to Willie Hutch, and RZA blessed his crew with several Stevie Wonder samples.

Many of these classic tracks contain some form of social commentary relevant to whatever era they were recorded in. This makes them both uplifting and gritty, which is a lot like the season where you are just as likely to spend all night in a toasty bar as you are to get hail flying diagonally into your face on the way home. Push play and pray for summer.

Also as per last season’s mixes, thanks to BJ Beatson and Aaron Frank for helping me put these together. Link after the jump. 

Download here. 

Tracklist:

1. Big L – Danger Zone

2. Vince Staples ft Schoolboy Q – Back Sellin’ Crack

3. Joey Fatts – Picture Me Rolling

4. Jay Z – Can’t Knock The Hustle

5. Boldy James – Optional

6. The Beanuts ft Big Pun and Cuban Link – Off The Books

7. Elzhi – Memory Lane

8. Big Pun – Punish Me

9. Droop E ft Nite Jewel and J Stalin – ‘N The Traffic

10. Willie Hutch – In and Out

11. Curtis Mayfield – Wild and free

12. Stevie Wonder- Living For The City

13. The Manhattans- New York City

14. Marvin Gaye – What’s Happening Brother

15. Curtis Mayfield – We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue

16. Kool and The Gang – This Is You, This is Me

DJ Paul Interview (Three 6 Mafia/Da Mafia 6iX)

Written by Jimmy Ness and originally published at Passionweiss

DJ Paul and Three 6 Mafia’s influence on modern rap music is more prominent than ever. From “Street Goth” being the latest fashion trend to rappers liberally borrowing the Mafia’s iconic rapid-fire flows, screwed vocals and purple drank obsession. Of course the Memphis legends weren’t the only ones to drink cough syrup and rhyme over dark production, but they undoubtedly played a huge role in putting Tennessee on the map and bringing the South to the mainstream.

Founding members DJ Paul and Juicy J helmed an empire after rising from humble beginnings slanging tapes at local stores and schools. The pair met while DJing in local clubs and later brought Lord Infamous, Koopsta Knicca, Crunchy Black and Gangsta Boo into their crew. Paul Beauregard used his passion for horror films to inspire the group’s trademark menacing sound that included references to the occult, heavy violence, drug use and all of the other cool stuff that would make a conservative’s head spin.

Thanks to lucrative distribution deals they released dozens of albums, kick-started several solo careers including that of Project Pat and Lil Wyte as well as making films and clothing. In the mid 2000s members began going their separate ways, which Paul attributes to their sudden fame at a young age, excessive drug use and money disagreements. One of the most classic chapters in Three 6 Mafia’s history is the group beating Dolly Parton to win a 2006 Academy Award for their song “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp” off the Hustle and Flow film. They are the second rappers in history to win the award after Eminem. Seeing the awkward expressions on a mostly white audience and hearing the group shout out George Clooney for showing them love is PRICELESS.

After their win the group featured on Jackass 2, Paris Hilton’s New BFF and also had their own successful reality show Adventures In Hollywood, which wasn’t renewed. Around 2009, Juicy J and DJ Paul went their separate ways to concentrate on solo work. If you’re reading this article it’s fair to assume you already know Juicy’s affiliated with Taylor Gang and has rebranded himself for the tripster generation. DJ Paul’s not slacking either, he’s releasing three projects within just weeks – the Clash Of The Titans mixtape with Drumma Boy, the joint Black Fall EP with Yelawolf and the Mafia 6iX mixtape, featuring a re-formed Three 6 Mafia sans Juicy.

I called DJ Paul while he was running around preparing for a well deserved week trip to the Caribbean island Aruba. He was kind enough to give me almost an hour of his time despite there being a million more questions I could have asked. He also seemed more humble and friendly than a lot of other less successful artists I’ve spoken to. Instead of talking about his relationship with Juicy, which you can read about in every other recent interview he’s given, we chatted about his musical beginnings, flamethrowers at The Gathering Of The Juggalos, Pimp C, getting five members of Three 6 Mafia back together and him not knowing what an Oscar was when he first heard the news of their nomination.

Three 6 Mafia is known for rapping about darker themes like horror and the occult, but you actually grew up performing in the church.

Yeah, I did actually (laughs). I used to play church music on the organ like Amazing Grace and different stuff and Lord Infamous would sing it.

Was your obsession with horror films a rebellion against your Christian upbringing?

No, no, no. Hell no. I just liked horror movies. It was nothing rebellious. I just liked horror movies and horror music. I guess everybody does when you think about it. I just probably liked it a little more than other kids.

What made you get into horror?

I don’t know, just as a kid with my sister and family watching Jason and Friday the 13th and all those movies growing up. We never know how we get into that kind of stuff, it could be friends, parents and older brothers and sisters, whatever. My older sister, I know for a fact, was always into scary movies cause we used to watch them a lot with her.

How did your family feel about the dark content matter? Juicy J’s dad is actually a preacher isn’t he?

Yeah, he’s like a missionary so he goes to different countries to preach. But nah, our parents didn’t trip or anything because they know how they raised us. They knew that we weren’t devil worshippers. They knew we were raised good. It was just a show you know, like Robert Deniro or Al Pacino or something like that. Well maybe Robert Deniro, Al Pacino might really be bad (laughs). But you know it’s just for show man.

Were there any protests or people trying to stop your shows because of your demonic lyrics?

No we never had a problem with any of the weird shit that follows with the cult or any of that. I guess the people that are into protests and stuff like that never got a wind of us or our songs because our songs that are on the radio that every person hears don’t have anything like that. Those are the album cuts.

Did you ever get curious and actually experiment in the occult?

No, we just made those songs about it, but it was nothing that we were into. We weren’t devil worshippers or anything like that for real. We just made records.

You were DJing around local places like Club 380 and that’s how you met Juicy?

Yeah Club 380 and some other places, that’s the first place I DJed at back in the day. He was a DJ as well, in some of the other clubs around Memphis. I didn’t want to be a DJ, I wanted to be a producer but to get into production I had to start Djing first to kind of learn the ropes on how to use the equipment and work from there.

For those who don’t know, tell us about the influence of DJ Spanish Fly?

DJ Spanish Fly was a big influence, him and the late DJ Sonny D who just passed away from a car accident about a month ago. I still talk to Spanish Fly a lot, that’s like my brother – we got the same birthday as a matter of fact. He was a huge DJ in Memphis, he’s been super super known. The thing that made Spanish Fly stick out so much is that he was the first DJ in Memphis to mix in his own songs, so that’s what made him so popular. That’s how we all got started. We would mix in our own songs in the club, especially with me. We would take our songs and mix them in between other people’s hot songs so I would play NWA, DMC, Public Enemy whatever and slip in one of my records.

Why did you decide to pursue music?

I grew up with it in the household and my family. My uncles had a popular gospel group and they used to teach me a lot about music. I was just always a fan of it, you know Michael Jackson, Prince and all that. Then earlier rap like Public Enemy, Eric B and Rakim, LL, 2 Live Crew, Geto Boys.

How were you getting your music out there early on?

I was selling cassette tapes at high school. Selling a whole lot. We were making thousands. We were selling them for nothing but $4.00 but we were selling so many of them. Selling thousands and thousands of tapes and making a lot of money. Then we took that money and put it behind going into the studio to make a real album and we put it out through Selekto, and that was Mystic Stylez.

I heard you have quite a broad taste in music.

You know being a producer and a DJ, you have to listen to everything. Especially being a producer, you got to have a broader ear with your production so I listen to everything. A lot of 70s, a lot of 80s and even some 60s. I listen to a lot of techno, EDM, dubstep. I love dubstep. I don’t listen to a lot of rap that’s the funny part about it. I listen to a lot of rock as well. Duran Duran is my favourite band.

You also sample Portishead on a few songs?

Yeah, I listen to everything man. That’s a great band.

Willie Hutch is another one of your favourite artists, plus you got to work with him?

Yup, we actually brought Willie Hutch to our studio back in the early 2000s. We redid one of his songs called “Mark of the beast” and we never put it out, but it was a great record though man. We got the chance to work with him and shoot the shit and we sampled him a lot throughout and paid him off the records. We probably sampled him on two records off every album we made and the one that hit was “Stay Fly.” He passed away like five days after that record came out and that record was huge. I had two samples from him on that album as well. That song sold I don’t know, maybe 3-4 million copies or so.

What is the music that people from Memphis refer to as “Pimpin?”

Pimpin is the 70s music, the soul music and all that. That’s what all of us grew up on, we call it “Pimpin’” in the south. That’s the straight good stuff.

How is it playing at the Gathering of the Juggalos?

Is that a crazy place to perform? Hell yeah! Craaaazy. Mad house. I love it though, it’s fun. Man I saw a guy in the audience with a flamethrower shooting fire in the air. It was fucking crazy. I was like “what the hell!” I got a little nervous man.

You’ve hung out with the Jackass crew and filmed a few skits with them. What was that like?

They are my guys man. They are just practical jokers. They some wild dudes, I like hanging with them. I was asleep and knocked out drunk, and they walked in with two trashcan tops and started banging them together. I think I didn’t wake up straightaway, but after a while I finally did. It was funny. It’s on Jackass 2.5.

Why did you decide to make the movies Choices 1 and 2?

We did it just for the fun of it. We wanted to make something like Death Row’s “Murder Was The Case” but funny, not super funny, but a little funny. We went in and made a 20 minute version of Choices and it came out good so we started thinking “man we ought to make a full movie out of it. Let’s put a little money behind it.” So we went on and made the full length one and it came out and it was double platinum in DVD sales and it did really great so that’s when we decided to make Choices 2 and go from there.

You’re also quite into cooking. Did someone teach you?

Nah I just learned it when I moved out of the house and started living on my own. I had to learn how to cook because I didn’t have my mama cooking for me anymore. So it was cool man, just having a chance to do that.

How’s your range of BBQ sauces and seasonings going?

Yeah, it’s selling pretty good. It’s not even in stores, but we sell a lot of it online. We’re trying to get it into stores once I can sit down and have a chance to focus on it a little more.

Tell us about the Sizzurp drink company you’re involved in?

It’s a liquour. It’s Sizzurp liquor, but yeah I’m part owner of that.

Does it taste similar to the real thing?

Oh nah, it doesn’t taste anything like it. One of them is a purple wine, one of them is purple champagne, one of them is a purple brandy.

Cam’ron and Jim Jones are also involved?

Well what happened was we made the song “Sippin on some sizzurp.” Then Cam’rom and Jim Jones went to a liquor company with the idea then made a liquor called Sizzurp. That lasted a couple of years, then the company went out of business because I think some inside guys weren’t getting on or whatever. They closed it down for about a year, then when they brought it back they asked me to be a part of it and I came in. I’ve been knowing them for a long time, they real good guys.

Speaking of “Sippin’ on some sizzurp,” what was Pimp C like in person?

He was the best. He was super super cool man, and a real real good guy. Rest in peace to him you know, he was my brother. We did a lot of stuff together back in the day. He was real funny man, he spoke his mind about everything. He wouldn’t hold nothing back, everybody knew that about Pimp C. He specialized in that.

When he passed away, did that put you off drinking lean?

Well you know it was never proven that was what he passed away from, but I had already taken a break because I had seen a lot of people that was getting sick from it.

You’ve said that drugs and all of you being a young age was part of the reason Three 6 Mafia broke up the first time around?

Between being young and making so much money at once and drugs and alcohol. Man that’s an explosion just ready to happen so it was bound to happen that way.

Do you still party as hard?

I party from time to time. But not like THAT. That was ridiculous. I still get down. Back then it was seven days a week. It hasn’t been seven days a week for a while.

Wow, did you feel permanently hungover?

We weren’t even really that hungover because we never went to sleep. We just stayed awake so when you stay awake you don’t get hungover.

How hard was it getting everyone back together for the Mafia 6iX project?

It was easy man, all of us were still friends for the most part. The only people I wasn’t really talking to were Gangsta Boo and Koopsta Knicca, but I had talked to Crunchy Black and Lord Infamous is my brother for real so we were in touch with each other. He was talking to Koop and Crunchy was talking to Boo and I just told them to get in touch. We talked on the phone and we just hit it off and were laughing together straight away. We went in the studio and did like 40 songs in three days.

You’ve been really busy lately. Da Mafia 6iX project, the EP with Yelawolf and your joint mixtape with Drumma Boy. Do you have anything else coming up?

Oh yeah, we released the Clash Of The Titans mixtape, which is doing real good so make sure you all check that out. Everybody loving that and um… in music there’s nothing else I’m working on. Shit I just did three projects in a couple of months that was a lot right there. Actually Clash Of The Titans I’ve been working on for a long time but I’m releasing all three of them in a month so that was a lot of work. I’m going to take a break for a week then go in and start working on this Yelawolf album. Trying to get that tight, as tight as I can get it, then after that I’m going to start working on Da Mafia 6iX full length album.

You recently released a five track EP with Yelawolf called Black Fall. Why did decide to work together?

We got connected when he came to do a feature with Da Mafia 6ix for the single “Go Hard” and he was listening to some of my beats that I was playing in the studio that had rock music in them. He was like “I always wanted to do a project with classic rock mixed with rap, and I think you’d be the perfect person to do that with.” I was like “cool, let’s do it. “ So I started sending him tracks and he knocked them out in like three days, the whole project.

Are you guys going to work on a full length?

Well, he’s got an album coming out next year called Love Story and I’m going to do some production on that.

When you won an Academy Award in 2006 you weren’t even sure what an Oscar was?

Yeah I wasn’t. It was early in the morning and Juicy woke me up and told me we were nominated for an Oscar. It was so early I was just like “oh really, ok cool” and went back to sleep. Then I was just lying in bed thinking “what’s he taking about?” Then I Googled it and I was like “oh shit, it’s the gold man” and that’s when I called him back. We were still living in Memphis at the time and we went to LA and had the meeting with the Academy. There are so many rules that they make you learn before you can even take your place in the Academy Awards.

Like what?

One is if you win, you can’t sell the award. If you do sell it, you have to sell it back to the Academy. I think it’s worth like 2 million dollars or whatever. You have to sell it back to them and it just goes back in the museum.

You damaged your Oscar statue?

I was partying and I bumped heads with Frayser Boy’s one. So now mine has a little scar on its head, it’s real small and if you look closely you can see it. I’m probably the only person with a Scarface Oscar (laughs). 

I bet you partied hard that night. 

Actually to be honest with you, I didn’t party hard because I was too nervous I would drop it or something because I didn’t have a bag to put it in. I didn’t party too hard, I just had a couple of little wines and that was it. I wasn’t on my usual vodka and all that man.