originally posted @blog/LP33

Lyrics Born is an artist that’s hard to nail down.  His music has moved across the musical landscape traversing hip hop’s classic boom bap style, residing in pop, then moving to 80′s funk and electro.  Also as I found out, the same goes for getting him on the phone.  Not by any fault on his own, the man is on full assault mode for his recent Decon Records release As You Were, and the accompanying tour that kicked off this past December; Lyrics Born is not slowing down.  Add to that the iffy reception the mountains of Colorado can bring, we were at this for the better part of 3 days.

We linked up with him though and I got to talk with LB about his influences, life, and just what makes Lyrics Born so elusive.

“To be honest with you, I had ADD before they even had a word for it.”

BJ: Where you at right now?
LB: Right now in Vail, Colorado.

BJ: You a skier or anything, or is it just another tour stop and you keep it moving?
LB: Ya know, we’re playing tonight in Vail, but hopefully I’ll be able to do some night skiing, that’ll be fun.

BJ: On the tour, is there a spot in particular that you’re looking forward to hitting?  Any place that holds any crazy memories for you?
LB: I’m really looking forward to hitting the midwest again.

BJ: What about those spots really get to you?
LB: I just haven’t been to the midwest in over a year, so I’m really looking forward to that part.

BJ: What cities do you think give you the best reception, the crowd’s really into it, and pushes you?
LB: So far or just in general?

BJ: In general.
LB: I don’t know man, I don’t really get a bad response to be honest with you.  I just feel like, some nights are better than others.  We generally get a good turnout and a good response.  I think I’m appreciative of that, but I’m definitely looking forward to some of these places I haven’t been to in a while.

BJ: You have any interesting/crazy road experiences? Whether at the venue or not, but just while you’ve been on tour through the years?
LB: Oh man, bro I’ve been doing this for fifteen years there’s been so many, I don’t even remember them anymore.

BJ: *Laughs*
LB: You know what I mean, its kinda like . . . there’s so many.
BJ: Yeah I wouldn’t doubt that after that many years, it just adds up.

BJ: You’ve been on the grind for fifteen years, from Quannum up until now, has any of that kinda changed the music for you, both musically as well as the business side of it?
LB: Hopefully, I’ve never been one to sit still, or make the same album over and over again.  To be honest with you, I had ADD before they even had a word for it.  Its just easier for me to keep changing than it is to stay in the same lane.

BJ: Do you think that comes from the influences you had growing up through music, or you personally like to do different things?
LB: I think that’s just the way I’m wired; I just get bored easy, ya know.  I’m always looking for new inspiration, new stimulation. After a time things can just get stale.

BJ: What’s kinda kept you writing and creating?
LB: I don’t know.   I just have a lot of curiosity and i have a lot of drive.  I just feel like I’m always chasing something.  I can’t really explain it other than that, i just feel like I’m always chasing something.  If I have a great show then I want to have another great show; if I have a bad show then I want to have a great show, ya know.

BJ:  . . . Always looking for that motivation and that push, and its there its always there for you.
LB: If someone says something bad about me, then I want to prove them wrong. If someone says something great about me then I want to prove them wrong, *laughs*. Its just the way I’m wired, I can’t really see myself doing anything else 10 years from now.

BJ: Speaking to your background, your Japanese heritage, were there any obstacles for you; getting into music, particularly in hip hop, any to go beyond or get past?
LB: I think that there’s no precedent for what I’m doing and its not like you can point to a long line of Asian Americans in the entertainment industry, that’s what I mean to say.  So a lot of times people, they maybe sometimes assume you can or can’t do what you do.  Just because they may not have seen anything like you do it before.  Early on I just chose to use that as motivation.

“I was really listening to a lot of Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Grace Jones . . . a lot of dance music.”

BJ: Definitely should.
LB: Its been like that ever since.  Like I said; I don’t know how to do anything else.

BJ: Its worked out quite well for you thus far.  15 years in most people get barely out 2 or 3.
LB: I could complain, but I don’t ya know what I mean?  Its like you said overall its gone exceedingly well.  It doesn’t mean in general, that the state of the business could be elevated, but that’s why I’m so proud when I see people like Justin Nguyen, or Sung Kang, or Far East Movement or Russell Peters, or Aziz Ansari; all these people making it.  Regardless of whether we do the same thing, its just nice to see these strides being made.

BJ: Where does it fit into the music with you, is there some bit of inspiration for your from your Japanese heritage?  Or something you’ve heard or seen or the stories you had.  Do you bring any of that with you?
LB: I think that for everybody, your experience is the prism you look through for everything.  Your experiences are the lense through which you view everything.  I think in some ways its overt and in other ways its a culmination of all my other experiences.  Ya know its a difficult question for me to answer.

BJ: You were one of those guys, at least for me, using live instrumentation in your sets.  Now tons of artists are doing it.  What was the change for you, what made you decide to go from the staples, an MC & a DJ, to live instruments?
LB: I’ve been working with the band since ’04 I guess, but I would still work with DJ’s periodically.  In so doing, both have strengths and weaknesses.  I think one of the cool things about this tour is that I finally get to combine both, the live band and the DJ.  Its just been cool, its a different sound and a different experience for the listeners.  I’m able to songs that I don’t normally do in either set.  It’s been really the best of both worlds as far as I’m concerned. It’s been a lot of fun.

BJ: What’s that process like in rehearsals?  you’ve done it for a while now but what’s that process like?  You’re there with the DJ in the sound booth doing your set versus live instruments.
LB: Everybody that I work with is extraordinarily talented.  You have to very competent and capable people around you to really get it done.  I work with all of the singers, and DJs, and musicians; all of them are very talented.  So a lot of the things some people may or may not get hung up on, we don’t.  Its more about  . .  . flow.

The best part about developing a set is the flow.  It really has to flow well.  What that involves is great transitions, great stops, tightness ya know.  That’s what we focus on a lot, once the song gets going,Cool.  But how do you get from one song to the next, does the set have progression, momentum or is there a slump.  Its like writing a book or watching a movie; its got an arch, a beginning, middle, and end.

BJ:  Yeah a sensical development of the music and time as you move through the set.  What was the process of making the new album As You Were?
LB: This album was more about  . . . I really wanted to discuss more of the personal things I’d been going through, and do it musically.  Paying homage to an era that has been really influential to me. That 80’s electro funk era.

BJ: haha thats right in line with my next question. . . Were there any places, album, artists, that you were really pulling from?
LB: On this album I was really listening to a lot of Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Grace Jones, The Gap Band, Tina Marie, David Bowie, Rick James, Africa Bambaataa, a lot of dance music, old and new. That’s really what it was.

BJ: Last few questions right before I close this out.  Were there any guilty pleasures, anything people would be surprised you love or geek out about?
LB: As far as . . .

BJ: Whether it be musically or someone just walks into your room and there’s like a star wars character on your shelf, anything like that?
LB: Right Now . . . furniture.  I really geek out on furniture right now.

BJ: Is there a new place; did you get a new spot now, and looking for new shit to put in?
LB: Just mid-century, anything from the 50s through the 80s furniture wise. I’m on Craigslist in every single city trying light shit up; or Ebay constantly.  My wife just started to panic a little bit.

BJ: To close it out, what’s an average day like for Lyrics Born?  Outside of the booth, outside of the shows, what do you do to relax to get out of that frame for a moment?
LB: Ya know what? I don’t man to be honest with you. I’m always in it.  The only time I’m not is when I’m with my family.  If I’m not in the studio, or not on the road, or not on the phone, my focus is pushing the stroller bro.

I’m not just a pretty face with dope taste; I do dope  interviews too.

Originally @blog/LP33

Having used his lyrical skills to move far and wide from Gary, Indiana, Freddie “Gangsta” Gibbs has created a name for himself solely on his own accord.  Forever repping Gary and his Indiana roots, Freddie has consistently dropped bombs on listeners’ ears with outstanding mixtapes and his most recent EP release Str8 Killa , hosted by the always on point Decon Records.  Freddie has had a road not unlike many budding artists out there: picked up by a label, ignored by said label, release/left said label, and back on the independent grind.  Unlike many of those deemed dead weight by their labels, Freddie didn’t rest and has been, for the better part of the last 3 years, assaulting your aural cavities with some Gary gangsta shit.

As Freddie heads out on his Str8 Slammin Tour, hitting Chicago, Wisconsin, Indianapolis, St. Louis right out the gate,  I caught him for 15 minutes to lay through his life, music, the industry , and a few things unexpected; Check it below.

BJ: What’s it like going back home to Indianapolis on these tours dates, still a lot of love out there?
Gibbs: Its cool, its not like I’m never home; I go back home a lot. So it really isn’t anything new, just seeing the same people, ya know what I mean?  Ya know just basically trying to get it all on lock, develop the biggest fan base as possible.

B: Alright I guess jumping into this whole thing officially.   You’ve got the Baby Face Killer EP coming out. What can people expect?  Is it going to be more of the same Freddie Gibbs, coming straight at them, or are you gonna be doing anything a bit differently?
Gibbs: I don’t ever think you get per se “the same Freddie Gibbs” I think that I always evolve as an artist.  Growing up as a man, you have different things to talk about, different experiences.  You know as a musician I’m growing musically so there different things I’m trying.  But not stepping out of bounds; everything I’m doing is straight gangsta rap, I’m not about to do a mother fucking rock album or no crazy shit like that. (laughs) So its all good.

B: I saw that there is gonna be production by Jim Jonsin, Hi-Tech, and Ski Beats.  How’d that come together; did they just send you a couple tracks or were you able to sit with them in the studio?
Gibbs: Those are just guys I know in the industry, dudes I bump into & cool dudes.  I just like to work with regular ass people man.  They are people that we just meet up, link up, and do the record.  We cut all the politics out of it.  Fuck all the politics.  If mother fuckers want to send me through the ringer with the politics, I let them go by the wayside.  I just work with regular mother fuckers.  If you want to fuck with me I’m the most approachable dude you know. . . . until you cross me.

B: How much of the politics have you had to deal with in the industry itself? Any of that shady shit?
Gibbs: Oh hell yeah.  Especially being signed to Interscope.  Then with the people who managed my career, all them mother fuckers was assholes.  So it was like I was dealing with the fakest of the fake mother fuckers.  Ya know what I mean, it definitely made it political.

I was working on a solid project over there, you may not be able to tell, but a lot of the music I’m releasing right now, well in the past 2 years, a lot of it I did while I was there.  I felt like If I was one getting like “the shot”, and if I wasn’t getting played by all the mother fuckers around me at the time, this Freddie Gibbs shit coulda kicked off 2 – 3 years ago.
But I ain’t trippin’, ya know everything happens for a reason.   I’ve been able to go through all that experience to grow stronger.  So, ya know, in regard to the mother fuckers that were involved with my career at the time, each one, each and every different mother fucker down from the manager to the A&R can eat a dick.

B: Do you think they were trying to tailor you . . . . .
Gibbs: Especially my manager . . .all my old managers could eat a dick and you can print that shit!

B: Hahaha alright will do
Gibbs: Everybody that used to be involved in my shit that ain’t fucking with me now, Fuck Em.  I don’t fuck with em for a reason.  Ya understand mother fuckers don’t want to say I got a stigma or aura in the industry about me, like they know I’m about to get my shit, cuz they like you did right; cuz mother fuckers weren’t keepin it a hunnid.  If you don’t keep it a hundred, mother fuckers are need to get they mother fucking knees broke, they nose broke.  Some mother fuckers don’t understand shit else.  That’s just why I keep it how I keep it man.  There’s too much disrespect in this game, so you just got to be regular in it man.

There some mother fuckers who got jaw shots coming when I see they ass.  They better hope I don’t bump into them or get right into no industry party, none of that shit.

B: Yeah those type of people who just can’t come correct with the business side or appreciate what’s going on.
Gibbs: Yeah.  Grammy’s coming up and I live in LA, mother fuckers better keep me out they Grammy party, that mother fucker gonna get hurt, That’s what’s up.

B:  What’s with that, I’m just thinking like Interscope, the former house of Death Row, they’ve got 50 & Em on there.  You would think to some degree they’d understand it; see what you’re doing and not trying to push you in a certain lane.  Especially with their familiarity with a lot of the gangster shit.
Gibbs: Interscope wasn’t putting no shit out that wasn’t affiliated with one of they subsidiaries or none of they labels. Ya know what I’m saying like Shady or none of that shit.  When you’re just over there handling on your own, mother fuckers ain’t gonna fuck with you.

Mother fuckers at Interscope didn’t know the dudes that were signed to Interscope.  Dudes would see me and be like “Damn you were signed on Interscope, I used to work for Interscope.” And I’m like “Oh yeah?” For real, best believe it.

B: They just put you out on an island out there and fend for yourself?
Gibbs: They just put me in a room to get to writing, and when it wasn’t to their liking, and they said just fuck you dude.     So I said Fuck Them.

B: Well I think its been good for you, you’ve been putting out consistently tight mixtapes from the production definitely through to the lyricism, what pushed you? What were your inspirations to be able to put it like that?
Gibbs: (Garbled Connection) . .  . . The whole situation I went through. (Garbled Connection)

B: You’re breaking up.  What’d you say?
Gibbs: I was hungry ya know.  When mother fuckers played me like they played me, it took a minute, ya know it hurt, so I had to fall back; lick the wounds a little bit.  But after that got back on it, more vicious and more serious.   I can say I’ll never have the open attitude to the industry as I used to have.  Maybe that the thing, that’s just how shit is, for some pitbulls.

B: What’s surprised you?  You’ve been moving getting bigger and bigger features, a larger profile, and of course this notoriety for your ability.  So what have you seen that has kinda surprised you about it whether good or bad, what’s caught you off guard?
Gibbs: There are a lot of things I wasn’t expecting.  A couple things that I’ve gotten, like LA Weekly (garbled connection) the New Yorker piece; I wasn’t expecting none of that.  I just wanted to put it [music] out there and let it be, ya know, a slow burn.  I always knew, but I just needed the ears; I just needed somebody listen to what I had going on.  I knew one way or another.  I was surprised how quickly it started to roll.

I just made a dent, I still haven’t done what I’m about to do.  I’m still working on it.

B: Speaking to that, are there any milestones that you feel you’ve hit that you’re really proud of?
Gibbs: (Garbled Connection) It aint about some records, it’s about the riches.  Once I get rich off of this then I’m “Alright I accomplished a goal”.  Once I can buy my mom a new crib, and all that.  I don’t do this shit to be no . . . I ain’t really tripping over selling a million records or what not.  If I’m good and able to feed myself off of music for the rest of my life then shit I’m fine off of that.

B: Right now it seems like its all about that “what are your sales, who are you featured with?” as opposed to your actual ability and the quality of your output.  So its good and refreshing to hear someone like you whose open about wanting to do it independently as possible and still putting quality out.
How’d the Decon association come through?
Gibbs: Ya know we just did a project.  They were able to help put that project out and get it on the streets.  I ain’t really signed to nobody.  We did that project [Str8 KIlla EP] and that’s what it was; it was cool.

B: Thinking back to Indiana hip hop, what is there?  Do you feel any sort of pressure, that its completely on your back.  Cuz I’m thinking outside of Dayton Family and yourself . . .
Gibbs: There ain’t no pressure man, ain’t no pressure.  Pressure cuz ain’t nobody do it right.  You got guys who do their thing in that respect, but I think that I do something different than them all.  So ain’t no pressure I have fun with my thing, when you turn this shit into a job is when there comes pressure.

B:  Before I let you go one more question.  Whats a guilty pleasure or yours, something people would be surprised to know you like/love?
Gibbs: OH DAMN, I’ve been waiting on someone to ask me this question (laughs *hard*).  You know what dude Cassie, that “Me & You” track.  I be singing that shit in my car.  *Sings Just Me & Youuu* People be in my car and shit comes on and people be giving me looks (laughs).  That’s my jam though.

The art collective Carnovsky, consisting of Francesco Rugi and Silvia Quintanilla have done a series of some of the most interesting pieces I’ve seen in recent memory with their RGB set, which at its zenith is able to transform whole rooms into  a intense sensory experience.

They were kind enough to answer a few of my questions, that I hope will be part one of  more discussions with the busy pair.

Where did you individually study?

Francesco Rugi: I’m an art historian and I studied in Bologna (Italy) and Silvia is a industrial designer, she studied in Bogotà (Colombia). we met at Domus Academy in Milan, where both graduated in design.

Was there a moment when you believed the art world was one you wanted to enter into?

Not really a specific moment, maybe we both have always been interested in art, and in particular in the contaminations between art, design, and other worlds.

Was there a piece or artist that you remember that intently put you on your paths?

Hmm, diificult to answer there are too many…

Favorite mediums to work with?

We don’t think to have a favourite medium to work with, but we are actually really fascinated with all the print techniques,  or better, with all the image reproduction techniques, antique and new, and in different media, from tapestry to inkjet… and we also love working with paper and cardboard.

You came on the scene for me with the RGB Wallpaper and after some time as a collective you’ve created a larger number of works; Artificialia, Love ’60, and your design for the band “3/4HadBeenEliminated“.

Actually the works that you mentions are previous to RGB. You know, the problem with a website is that you have to keep it update and it takes a lot of time: we have many other works we haven’t yet published, some because we are still working it, others we are just looking for the right way or right time to show.

Where did the concept for the RGB Wallpaper come from?

We start thinking on RGB since two years: RGB come from different inspirations and ideas: experiment with lights and colors, to create surface that could mutate and interact with different chromatic stimulus and a reflections on ancient frescos and how it could be possible to make stuff like that in the present time, and so we came up with the wallpapers that for us is not only home decoration but at the same time should refers to narrative and paintings. It takes lot of time to develop the graphic language of RGB either in terms of research of the sources that we use either in terms of design process.

Your projects with 3/4, how did they come about did the band contact you randomly or was there a personal connection there?

We really love to work with musicians and do graphics design in the field of music like CD cover. We think this is a field where you have a lot of freedom to experiment which is difficult to find when you do graphic design for big companies. In the specific case of the 3/4 we are good friends with the band, and also big fans of their music, so we are always happy when we have the possibility to create some artwork for them.

Okay when I first saw and listened to this I lost my mind. Other than the infectiously bounding beat, I though hell had frozen over and 3Stacks had given up any artistic integrity and/or is broke.

Thank god I listened a second time.

As Andre is prone to doing he hops on an otherwise innocuous track, annihilates it, drops some gems on the listener to think about (*See Unk – Walk It Out Rmx for example), and cashes his check .

He does the same here when linking up with Ke$ha on the remix to her track “Sleazy”.

Andre speaks to the broken home, particularly the lack of a responsible father figure, that often is a catalyst for let’s just say “Sleazy” behaviour.

We started out so cute in our baby pictures
That mommy shot for our daddy so that he wouldn’t forget you
He forgot anyway, but hey, one day he’ll remember
If not he’s human, I’m human, you human, we’ll forgive him
God gives him his ultimatum, can’t see how momma hates him
He’s such a cool ass guy, then wonder why she date him
I’m only 8, I’m not old enough, guess it’s complicated
Two parent dwellings, expelling have got so underrated
I only say this in cadence so it don’t get negated
I was gon’ save it for later but later look like maybe

Sleazy (Remix) – Ke$ha feat. André 3000 by HDMI44

2010 was solid across the board in what it offered hip hop fans. There was the emergence of future stars and pure talents in J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa, and Curren$y amongst others; as well as the old heads claiming true to their spot and releasing top quality work. I was enthralled by what came through this year.

This post was gonna start as a retrospective but fuck that everyone is doing that, I could talk at length about GOOD Fridays and how its made an indelible mark on hip hop merging old and new traditions, My Dark Twisted Fantasy, 50 Cent’s menacing of Twitter and the internet at large, Cudi loosing his shit again on stage (but still releasing an outstanding album), Eminem’s phoenix like return, or 9th Wonder’s chokehold on underground hip hop, but instead, here are videos to a few of my favorite songs by a small piece of the young hip hop artists that are breaking on the scene.

Curren$y

Stalley

Wiz

B.O.B

Donnis

Skyzoo

J Cole

Yelawolf & CyHi Da Prynce

Theophilus London

Tiron

Feeling the groove and mood this video sets & CyHi Da Prynce is one of the cats I’m looking out for, of course he’s from the A.

From the keyboard of director Decatur Dan:

There is always an interesting story behind every music video I shoot. About 8 hours before he wants me to board a plane, I get a call from Cyhi’s manager Mike telling me he wants to fly me to Miami to shoot a video with Prynce. After we came together on some simple terms, I was off to brainstorming ideas. After Mike told me the set up down there, my picks where between ‘Living Wonderful’ and ‘Can’t Wait’. When I arrived I met with Prynce and we locked in for Living Wonderful. You could call this video a documentary style, being that this all really happened, very natural, nothing was staged, I just told a story of Prynce living a wonderful life. Almost like Big Pimpin’, if I would have thought about it, that is the video I would have referenced. Anyways, thanks to my boy Craig Sprecher who put his touches on the color grade. Press Play.

Oh here is a fun fact, the first video I ever shot was exactly a year ago, with guess who? Cyhi, funny how shit works out.

Grab CyHi’s Royal Flush Mixtape here or here.

Coolest dad. PERIOD.

According to the father, “My 3yo son asked to be Deadmau5 for Halloween after seeing him live at the Treasure Island Music Festival. How could I turn that opportunity down?”

Although I’m not sure why you would bring your 3yo to a Treasure Island Music Festival, I’m not going to judge.  So dope, and the mini-mau5 can get down too.

Great footage shot by my man Chachi @At The Mercy of Artists, during the 2010 A3C (All 3 Coasts) Hip Hop Festival in Atlanta, Ga.  We were able to grab great access during the festival and can check out some of my interviews for LP33.tv, def check them out.

On top of watching this cute, crazy, violent video, the video and 3d model inclined can download the models and make your own video for “Kill Your CO-Workers” from Flying Lotus’ Pattern + Grid World EP. After your video is done, join the Flying Lotus Vimeo group, here, and upload.

Taken from Pattern+Grid World EP

Download all 3D character files free at beeple-crap.com/​resources.php

Upload your own works using them at vimeo.com/​groups/​flyinglotus

I spent my formative years in Atlanta, thus Creative Loafing was required reading, f0r those that don’t know, think of it as the Atlanta equivalent to LA Weekly, but better.  So before you made your way down to Little 5, The Tabernacle, or The Underground, you knew what was going down.

Long story short I often hit them and Maurice Garland regularly to stay up on the latest happenings in the city thats got my heart.  Every year they put together an excellent issue dedicated solely to the music emanating from the city.  The latest was no doubt one of the magazine’s strongest.  Atlanta has been bubbling over with new talent recently that are now gaining public awareness and Creative Loafing did a great job of bringing it all together in this year’s edition.

Dropping Links to all the choice content:

The Making of Outkast’s Aquemini

Black Lips’ Jared Swilley with Waka Flocka Flame

Constellations’ Elijah Jones with Dreamer of Hollyweerd

Who’s Got Next from the ATL?

Those Bubbling Out of the ATL Underground

Cody Chestnutt

Another great discussion.  This is one in a series of 9th Wonder and Mark Anthony Neal’s “Sampling Soul.”  They bring in Harry Weinger, Vice President of A&R for Universal Music Enterprises for this discussion on sampling and the Motown catalog.

I’d love to give exerpts, but again that wouldn’t do this justice. Enjoy.