[MP3] #TBT: Way To Go – Fever (Extended Mix)

Used to love this way under-appreciated classic from the legendary Tommy Boy record label (aka where I used to work) back in the day. Perfct track for a #TBT post. Enjoy….

[MP3] #DK11 Project Interview with Keita Juma – YRWEONTHISBEACH?

I’ve been a fan of Toronto-based rapper, Keita Juma (fka KJ) forever or more accurately since I moved back from NYC in ’09. He was one of the first of the new wave of local acts I got put up on after I came back home. I was super psyched when he agreed to be part of my This One Goes To Eleven… 11th anniversary compilation album. If you haven’t checked out his previous albums, Water and The Headphone Album, you need to rectify that immediately! KJ’s music is some of the best, most creative stuff happening in hip hop anywhere. Anyway, I was also happy that the homie agreed to answer a few questions about his music and in particular, the track, “YRWEONTHISBEACH?” that he gave us for the #DK11 album. Read on for what he had to say…

DK: You’re from Bristol, England originally, home of Massive Attack, Portishead (kind of), Roni Size, Smith & Mighty etc. How does being from home town of that incredible musical legacy inform your music?

KJ: I only recently went back and listened to a lot of those artists and found the similarity and was shocked initially. It wasn’t my intention to make a certain kind of music, only to make music that I felt reflected my personal experience. My memory of music in Bristol as far as that sound was at St. Paul’s Festival and through pirate radio stations. The hard part about that was I never knew any of the artists names, just the sounds. Upon reconnecting with these artists music now it makes complete sense why my sound is the way it is. To add to that, my favorite jungle song when I was younger was Shy FX and UK Apachi, “Original Nuttah,” such a big riddim. I think that was around the time I left England.

DK: There was a lot of great music dropping around that time (ed note: mid 90’s). I first got up on you though from the amazing one-take “Repeat” video which I loved. The track was from equally good The Headphone Album which is 5 years old now. What’s your thoughts when you think back on making that album or listen to the music now?

KJ: I just remember being super-inspired and it all happening in my bedroom in a short span of time. I had a lot of fun doing that record, thought I was going to take over the world. It’s crazy to hear the differences now though. I think that’s why I still love that album so much. It tells a few stories, mine as a producer, a rapper and a engineer. Everything is so different, the mixes were weak (laughs), the production was very raw and the lyrics were me at that time. I’m fine with that though, nobody has been able to rush being a good/great artist, it’s a process.

DK: Talk about the progress you made as an artist and/or person from doing The Headphone Album to recording the Water album

KJ: The Headphone Album was a happy accident. I felt a vibe and made a bunch of songs and they worked together. My understanding of mixing was very basic at that time because it was before I went to school, so I wasn’t able to sonically put it where it needed to be. Water was me understanding my process, creating and writing songs how I wanted to and in a way that I was comfortable with. I engineered that album but didn’t mix it, Noel Cadastre mixed and I watched & listened. That was a huge step for me in terms of learning, learning to create on a technical level as much as being creative in production and writing. After that I felt like I knew what I wanted to do and set out on that path and that’s where Chaos Theory comes from

DK: Speaking of Chaos Theory, which is your next project, can you talk about what that’s going to be about?

KJ: Chaos Theory is about the now, but my version of now, through my eyes. This is my masterpiece project, but to be honest I felt that way about Water. I guess the major difference with Chaos Theory is that I produced, wrote, engineered, mixed and mastered the entire project. That’s the first album I’ve done that with. The funny thing is I set out to collaborate more with this project but it just didn’t turn out that way.

DK: You’ve moved as of late to recording more EP length projects (the Peephole / Beach EP & Chaos Theory) rather than full albums. Why?

KJ: Well Chaos Theory is an album now

DK: I stand corrected

KJ: Well it’s an album now because its 9 songs and could easily be 10. I like EP’s though. I’ve had ongoing convos with friends about how people don’t listen to albums and we should just slow the releases down and keep them smaller and as far as the independent scene, it looks like its happening. I like flowing projects with themes but to wait a year to put out a project nowadays is too long plus you go to the soundcloud and the first song has the most plays and the last song is just out here looking grim!

DK: You’re a bit of a left-leaning rapper in general but your track on the comp “YRWEONTHISBEACH?” is even unusual for you. It seems to be exploring themes of identity and belonging but can you talk about the inspiration, meaning and process behind the track?

KJ: Peephole/Beach was loosely based on me going to Jamaica and “YRWEONTHISBEACH?” was supposed to be about getting lost on a beach in Jamaica. I didn’t get lost on a beach in Jamaica but it made me think about experiences feeling lost. It actually turned to be about being in cottage country and feeling like you stepped in a time machine because there aren’t any black people out there. Where does one go to find the Black people when you’re up north.

DK: You’re a frequent collaborator with Brendan Philip who’s also on the This One Goes To Eleven… album. Wondering if you can talk about why you guys click so well and maybe offer your perspective on his track on the album which you produced (called “Look”)

KJ: Brendan is my brother. I’ve known him since I was 14 and I’ve grew as an artist and person through our conversations and we’ve also been making music since back then. He’s one of the few peoples whose musical opinion I trust ‘cuz he’s been up on most of the music I’m just taking in now. A lot of it I made fun of him for listening to when I was younger and now I’m like “Damnnn B, I was sleep back then.” Brendan’s naturally ahead of the curve/times though, I think that’s his X-men type gift and now he can control it and is aware and about to take sh-t over. “The Look” is just a beat I sent him and Jahmal for us to work on. I ended up getting all the vocal stems back and put the mix on it.

DK: Well it turned out dope so thank you! You and Brendan were also both part of the 88 Days collective which is pioneering the development of the black weirdo/black boho musical & cultural scene in Toronto. Talk about working with them and what you think they bring to the table musically here in the city.

KJ: 88 Days was something Toronto needed because through everything you always ended up at the art. We were just pushing our art and trying to be heard, nothing too complicated. We couldn’t get shows so we came together to put on shows wherever we could, backyards, basements, bars, did the sound ourselves. I vastly improved as a performer while we were doing our monthly/semi-monthly parties, I felt so much love and trying new sh-t was welcomed. It sounds like some cliche hippie shit but it really was about getting love, creating a safe space and being a part of a community.

Wanna hear more from Keita Juma on The Kitchen? CLICK HERE.

Follow Keita Juma online: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

[MP3 + Music Video] Interview with Emerson Windy – Black America

Emerson Windy is a new West Coast producer/MC who recently dropped the very respectable Herojuana mixtape album. I featured a few tracks from the album a couple weeks back here on the site and he just premiered a new video for another track from the album, “Black America” on HipHopDX. Windy agreed to answer a few questions for The Kitchen about the video and his album so peep game:

DK: Emerson Windy: is that your real name? If not, what’s the inspiration behind the name?

Windy: No, Emerson Windy isn’t the name my mother gave me. Part of it is though, Emerson is my middle name and Windy came from the street I was primarily raised. I heard that’s how a lot of porn stars pick their names so I tried it and it worked. As Austin Powers would say, “Yeah, baby, yeah!”

DK: You have a pretty impressive resume for a producer that many people are probably still getting familiar with. Your grind is seriously on point, no doubt. Can you talk about how you’ve managed to work with the producers and artists you have on your one sheet bio?

Windy: I had to build personal relationships with either the artist or people inside their camps in order to work with most of them, this industry is all about the relationships you forge. For my latest project, Trendsetter Sense from The Academy played the largest role in connecting me with the producers and artist featured on Herojuana.

DK: Weed and hip-hop have gone together since the beginning. Most rappers take on the half baked/stoner persona (Wiz, Curren$y, Snoop, Cypress etc.) in their music or talk about marijuana as being their stress medicine to relieve the pressure of the street life. You come at it from the persona of being the ‘Weed Man.’ How much of that is rooted in your real life or real experiences?

Windy: All of that persona is real, I became the Weed Man in college when my mother told me I needed to get a job in the off-season when football ended. I went hammer until I had a little run with the boys in blue and a few FBI agents mixed so I took it easy in the streets after that than they made it legal so I got involved in the dispensary game. Nowadays my view of the plant is so much different, it’s not a drug, it’s a medicinal flower and I’m making it my mission to change the perception of my beloved marijuana industry. I applaud states like California, Colorado, Washington and others that have recognized the benefits as well.

DK: You’re from the west coast but for the most part, except for track a like “Watching Me,” your sound feels more influenced by Trap and maybe even Drill music than traditional west coast sounds. Can you talk about your influences and inspirations as an artist and producer?

Windy: This project definitely has Trap influences, I came up a Trapstar so that type of music speaks to me as well. I loved Jeezy coming up so when I was sent trap beats, I fucked wit’ ’em but as I release more music the fans will see that I dibble and dabble in damn near every genre I can with integrity. I appreciate music, all music that speaks to my soul. If I’m inspired, I’ll create. It’s that simple. Pigeon holes are the birds, Windy flies where inspiration takes him.

DK: You just released a video for the “Black America” track from Herojuana. I’ve been re-watching The Wire and just finished the fourth season centered abound the kids at Tilghman Middle and then there’s the Mike Brown tragedy in Ferguson so your timing seems especially good. Can you talk about the song, which is a pretty strong indictment of both what’s wrong in Black America and America in general, and the video?

Windy: When I wrote the record, Mike Brown was still alive and well (R.I.P.) so “Black America” wasn’t inspired by that tragedy. The failing education system in most American inner city’s is where I drew the words from. I realized that educators are drastically under paid and so often not given the tools necessary to make a difference with children that are bombarded with imagery of drugs, guns, robbery prostitution and murder to name a few. Some schools districts which are primarily located in urban areas are so bad that teachers are struggling just as much as a family on section 8 and the only tangible evidence of financial prosperity those children may see is the D-Boy or the rappers they listen to talking about the dope game. You didn’t see Blacks killing Blacks in these numbers in America before the dope game, we fought for our rights and preached education. We were together then. I want to see us together again….

DK: Thanks for your time and for offering to do this, Windy.

Windy: Thanks for supporting.

Follow Emerson Windy online: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

[MP3] T.I. – I Do The Most Feat. Yung Booke, Young Dro, Spodee & Shad Da God

New track produced by the homie, S.I.D. (formerly of the legendary NJ old school hip hop crew, The Flavor Unit and the group, Sid & B-Tonn) and his son, Von. Heater status, no doubt!

[MP3 + Music Video] Saukrates – Kingdom Come

Lead single (produced by Snaz) from the just-released today Amani EP by veteran Toronto MC, Saukrates. This is his first official release since his Season One album which I really loved personally but which got a mixed response overall. This track should appeal to those naysayers who thought Season One wasn’t boom bap, hip hop enough. The Amani EP is also the prelude to his forthcoming Season Two album. Can’t wait….

Listen to Saukrates – Amani EP: CBC Music (premiere) | RDIO

Related:

Read an interview with Toronto Rapper, King Reign for the #DK11 Project where he talks about his long-standing creative partnership with Sauks.

Listen to an interview with Bigg Soxx on The Come Up Show podcast.