Nefew
With the nucleus of Hip-Hop being centered around the US, how easy/difficult has your ascent on the music industry been?
Well, it has been a rather tough road, but not necessarily because of the music itself, but due to the fact that sometimes you just need to have the right people around you who know the ways of the industry and can guide you to that proverbial next level.
This was one of the biggest problems we faced in the past. As self managed artists you have to be able to do everything and cover all aspects in the creative and the business world, but you can’t be good at everything, that’s when you start neglecting important tasks, not because you want to, but because you just don’t know how to do them properly.
I’m not saying we didn’t achieve a lot in the past two years, we actually did, but we probably could’ve gone a lot further with the right set of people around us. And we have seen that happen in the past months, things are moving a lot faster these days and we got to see some great results.
It facilitates a lot when your music sounds great, but if you don’t have the means to get the exposure what good is a great song? With the oversaturation of music on the Internet I feel it is even more important to have key individuals that know how to work your music and make sure the right peers in the industry are hearing it.
Your music is quite uplifting and educational, is this intentional or are you just positive folks?
Oh we are very positive, music is a positive thing, it unites people, it brings cultures together, so why should we be negative? Why should we loose ourselves in egocentric lyrics about nothing when there are so many things that one can achieve with one great song? I seen politicians trying to do what music has done in the past decades but they were never able to give you that same feeling you have when you listen to a gil scott heron record or vibe to a tribe called quest & JDilla joint. That’s love and peace right there.
Besides, I believe that true artistry always comes with a sense of justice and responsibility. I don’t believe that there’s a painter, writer or poet out there who doesn’t care about giving purpose to his or her art. I read a book because I want to learn something, I want to be inspired, I want someone to give me new ideas and uplift my mind. If you have the gift to inspire people and spread hope, then you should probably do it. Because this is what art is all about. Unfortunately, today there are too many artists without purpose, doing things just for the sake of doing them, but I guess that would be a discussion for another time (laughs).
Who have your musical inspirations been?
We were raised on Funk, Jazz, Soul and Rock from the 60s & 70s. But I think we get our ideas from all kinds of musical genres. From Africa to Latin America and Asia, folklore, classical and even Pop, inspiration comes from everywhere. I’ve been listening to a lot of Fela Kuti’s records lately to broaden my knowledge.
>From a production standpoint I’d probably name Quincy Jones and Ennio Morricone as my ultimate sources of inspiration from the past. In hip-hop it would probably be No I.D., DJ Premier, Kanye West, Pete Rock and 9th Wonder.
How involved do you get with the production aspect of your music?
I’m a 100% involved as we both produce our own music and play all instruments ourselves. When I write lyrics I usually know how the music has to sound in order to give the verses the right feel. Sometimes I get the music first and I write the lyrics to the music, but often I write the lyrics first and produce the music after.
If you were to study for a degree in Hip-Hop do you believe you would pass and if so why?
(Laughs) Well, I think it depends on who the professor is. If I was to attend classes at “Gucci Mane’s University” I’d probably flunk all courses. But If I was to take classes at DJ Permier’s or Jay-Z’s University I would probably get my degree with a summa cum laude. Just because their values in terms of hip-hop culture would be a lot closer to my values and how I see hip-hop.
What would your dissertation be on as you study for that degree?
I would probably try to find a connection between the diminishing sales in hip-hop music and the music itself. Because from here it looks like no other genre is suffering as much as hip-hop does. I don’t see other music being leaked as much as hip-hop music. It seems like consumers are not willing to pay money for something they already know it will disappoint them, again. So they consume music on the fly because they can’t get their money’s worth out of hip-hop music. I might be wrong, but I’d have to find out, right? (Laughs) This is what research is all about, falsifying stuff.
How did you relationship come about with Puma?
A few months ago a Puma representative approached one of our team. They wanted to set up an informal meeting with us to discuss a potential partnership. They’ve been looking for artists to collaborate for quite a while now, but it was important to them to work with artists that were up-and-coming. As you can imagine, Puma could’ve had any a-list artist for a partnership, but they wanted to have artists that were on the verge of gaining global appeal. We met them a few weeks later at their Swiss headquarters to discuss the whole endorsement in detail. I think they were really into our fresh, humble and positive music. Plus, they were very keen to enter the urban lifestyle market again and felt that our music would match perfectly with their new fashion line.
Is it vital for artists/entertainers to have relationships such as these today?
I think artists should really try to think outside of the box, especially in regards to the very difficult market environment. One of the most important resources today is promotion and marketing. The easiest thing to do is release new music, there is iTunes, Napster, and many other digital aggregators.
The hardest part is to have good marketing behind the product. This is where you spend most of your money on. Having a partner like Puma is almost the same thing as having a big label promoting your music. They have their press offices, marketing companies and even music placement services. And there are many other ways to raise awareness for your products, even if it’s just a free album or mix tape.
Sometimes you just need to be creative from a business perspective. The Puma situation opened up a lot of doors for us. Not only do we get to perform at their events and wear some of the hottest gear, but they can also give our music a huge exposure.
What is your ultimate goal with your music career?
For now, our biggest goal is to work with as many artists as possible and be able to live off our endeavours without having to compromise our music. And of course, we want to get that Grammy statue as the first urban acts outside of the US (Laughs).
In the future, we’re definitely looking at having our own recording company where we can support our own artists. But first we have to make sure we can get into a good label situation for our new album. We’re taking baby steps on this one, there is still time to conquer the world (Laughs).
Most invaluable lesson you have learned or person you have met thus far.
If you can’t afford it, DO IT YOURSELF!
Projects coming up?
We’re releasing our first official US Mixtape through Okayplayer’s 2DopeBoyz and Puma International in March. This will be a very important project for us as it might lead to a lot of great opportunities.
Then, god willing, we’ll be releasing our sophomore album “The Antihero” in Q3/Q410.
With the nucleus of Hip-Hop being centered around the US, how easy/difficult has your ascent on the music industry been?
Well, it has been a rather tough road, but not necessarily because of the music itself, but due to the fact that sometimes you just need to have the right people around you who know the ways of the industry and can guide you to that proverbial next level.
This was one of the biggest problems we faced in the past. As self managed artists you have to be able to do everything and cover all aspects in the creative and the business world, but you can’t be good at everything, that’s when you start neglecting important tasks, not because you want to, but because you just don’t know how to do them properly.
I’m not saying we didn’t achieve a lot in the past two years, we actually did, but we probably could’ve gone a lot further with the right set of people around us. And we have seen that happen in the past months, things are moving a lot faster these days and we got to see some great results.
It facilitates a lot when your music sounds great, but if you don’t have the means to get the exposure what good is a great song? With the oversaturation of music on the Internet I feel it is even more important to have key individuals that know how to work your music and make sure the right peers in the industry are hearing it.
Your music is quite uplifting and educational, is this intentional or are you just positive folks?
Oh we are very positive, music is a positive thing, it unites people, it brings cultures together, so why should we be negative? Why should we loose ourselves in egocentric lyrics about nothing when there are so many things that one can achieve with one great song? I seen politicians trying to do what music has done in the past decades but they were never able to give you that same feeling you have when you listen to a gil scott heron record or vibe to a tribe called quest & JDilla joint. That’s love and peace right there.
Besides, I believe that true artistry always comes with a sense of justice and responsibility. I don’t believe that there’s a painter, writer or poet out there who doesn’t care about giving purpose to his or her art. I read a book because I want to learn something, I want to be inspired, I want someone to give me new ideas and uplift my mind. If you have the gift to inspire people and spread hope, then you should probably do it. Because this is what art is all about. Unfortunately, today there are too many artists without purpose, doing things just for the sake of doing them, but I guess that would be a discussion for another time (laughs).
Who have your musical inspirations been?
We were raised on Funk, Jazz, Soul and Rock from the 60s & 70s. But I think we get our ideas from all kinds of musical genres. From Africa to Latin America and Asia, folklore, classical and even Pop, inspiration comes from everywhere. I’ve been listening to a lot of Fela Kuti’s records lately to broaden my knowledge.
>From a production standpoint I’d probably name Quincy Jones and Ennio Morricone as my ultimate sources of inspiration from the past. In hip-hop it would probably be No I.D., DJ Premier, Kanye West, Pete Rock and 9th Wonder.
How involved do you get with the production aspect of your music?
I’m a 100% involved as we both produce our own music and play all instruments ourselves. When I write lyrics I usually know how the music has to sound in order to give the verses the right feel. Sometimes I get the music first and I write the lyrics to the music, but often I write the lyrics first and produce the music after.
If you were to study for a degree in Hip-Hop do you believe you would pass and if so why?
(Laughs) Well, I think it depends on who the professor is. If I was to attend classes at “Gucci Mane’s University” I’d probably flunk all courses. But If I was to take classes at DJ Permier’s or Jay-Z’s University I would probably get my degree with a summa cum laude. Just because their values in terms of hip-hop culture would be a lot closer to my values and how I see hip-hop.
What would your dissertation be on as you study for that degree?