Part 2

What are currently developments and directions in hip hop or hip-hop-adjacent communities which you personally find interesting?

There is a subtle but significant shift occurring with the separation of activism and artistry in hip hop culture right now. While hip hop has always been rooted in braggadocious fun, there’s always been a balance of community and social justice amplification- there was “protest in the party”.

In fact, there’s a photo from the 1988 or 19899 Grammys where every hip hop sensation at the time bonded together and boycotted the Grammy Awards. They did this action in protest of refusing to air the Hip Hop category on television. Although Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff were winning the first Hip Hop Grammy in history- they put the community over capitalism.

Today, it’s quite the opposite. We are seeing our most “socially conscious” emcees collaborate with the same major athletic corporations that have historically mishandled and mistreated Black players and coaches.

We’ve seen our “legends”- Black men, specifically, who should be leading the charge on protecting our community- join hands and celebrate pedophalliac-rapist, men who have harmed black women, queer communities, immigrants and diversely-abled individuals. And it’s disheartening, but not surprising.

I find it interesting that a lot of them are doubling down on their behavior- misogynoir is not new in hip hop but it’s one thing to sit silent when there is a full on attack of Black Women in this country; it’s completely another thing when you openly support the attacker.

How do you see the role of sampling in hip hop today?

Sampling today is a lot lazier than it used to be.

I think the golden era of sampling came with RZA, Q-Tip and whatever they left on the “table” Kanye, Just Blaze and 9th [Wonder] swept up. (Can’t forget the works of Timberland and Missy.) During that time, it would take forever to find the original samples of songs. I remember reading liner notes, rewinding songs- trying to connect pitch tones- it felt like a “where’s waldo” of samples.

Today, producers can’t be bothered to even find the original sample- they are sampling the sample of the sample.

I’m real enjoying live music at the moment and originals (Doechii’s new album has some wonderfully produced records, DJ Mustard had a great year and of course Tyler always raises the bar.)



There has always been a close connection between hip hop and jazz. What role does improvisation play in your current creative process?

Syncopated improvisation is a core element of creation. The cypher is just that- rhythmic extemporization. Most emcees start out as freestylers. Before I was writing rhymes, I would freestyle them; and eventually try to memorize my lyrics. As I got older, I would write anything that I had trouble vocally expressing.

Now, for my creative process I still freestyle- I think of a lot of ideas when I’m driving or at the gym; so if I need to save a good idea, I just use voice notes since I can’t write anything down at that time.

It can sometimes seem as though, in hip hop, production is the main force of progress. Do you feel like there is still space for genuinely new ideas for lyrics and vocals as well? If so, what could these look like?

I think there is always space for novel lyrics and vocal delivery in hip hop. Those magical moments often happen when the industry least expects it.

For example just when we were mesmerised by the smoothness of Rakim, we were given Nas; and just when we were enamored with the animation of Busta Rhymes, we were given ODB; when we thought that Tribe and De La had done it all we got Little Brother; after MC Lyte and Latifah had show us the lyrical excellence, we were given Lauren.

I think that now we are seeing a restructure in the balance of hip hop because for one of the 2nd times in history, both men and women are having their voices amplified in the space- I don’t think we’ve seen something like this since “Self-Destruction”.

To have Kendrick and Doechii both have big historical moments for hip hop on music’s biggest stage is truly impactful. I’m excited to see what Gen Z and Alpha Gen bring to the table next.

For many artists, life-changing musical experiences take place live. How do you see that yourself?

Live performances can be spiritual exchanges. I think that the life-changing element occurs because the source (the artist) and the receiver (the listener) coexist in the same space where souls meet (the art). I don’t think this happens as much as it used to, however.

The flower children in the 60s may have been the ones to fully experience such an occurrence. I think digital tools (phones/the internet) can often interrupt human connection.

It’s almost refreshing when we can escape the interruption known as the internet. I recently DJ'd an event at a very prestigious museum and people were dancing freely and laughing with friends- it felt like old New York, again. The night was so exhilarating. It was such a nice break from events filled with people dancing in front of their cell phones - selfie style.

For me, I’ve had at least 3 performances where I’ve cried on stage. I truly felt one with the music. And I’ve fallen off stage twice (yes in the same performance) because I instinctively wanted to be closer with the crowd.

How would you say are your live performances and your recording projects connected at the moment? How do they mutually influence and feed off each other?

I think that I always want to try something different when I’m performing live. The album is like the finished canvas and with the performance, I get to recreate sketches of the finished piece.

With that idea in mind, I like to take full advantage and enjoy the live aspect of adding to a creation. I guess the way that they feed off of each other is in the constant evolution of a recorded piece. I am naturally a perfectionist- so I’m always thinking “how can this be better”, “how could I have said that line better”, or “is there something that I could do with my voice or delivery to emphasize what I’ve said”?



Are there approaches, artists, festivals, labels, spaces or anyone/-thing else out there who you feel deserve a shout out for taking hip hop into the future?

I’m not sure if I’m the best person to answer this question because I’ve been so out of the scene since 2020.

I think there are so many movements occurring right now that are vital to hip hop’s future- Camp Flog Gnaw, TDE, Femme it Forward, Dreamville, Ladies of Hip Hop, the “Old Brooklyn” (SouthPaw, Public Assembly, Galapagos, Sputnik, The Knitting Factory) and I think honorable mentions would be hip hop adjacent communities such as Soulection, Everyday Ppl and Soul in the Horn. Spaces like the aforementioned allow for community building, fellowship and joy - which is a form of protest.

I think the future of hip hop is ingrained in the ability to grow freely across genres- hip hop has had its respective jazz, rock, electronic, afrobeats and country inspired eras; I think we will see more experimentation in classical music, meditation/ambient and LoFi songs. I also believe that there’s always room for a double back to the origin.

But for the future, I also think the framing will be key- the Black Femme Future is here. I truly hope that we see more queer musicians, more trans and nonbinary artists express themselves in the hip hop space. Maybe that will help to usher in a new sub-genre of Broadway musical theater.

Before Hamilton there was Carmen and before Carmen there was the Lyricist Lounge TV show- I would love to see the kids reprise a new version of those hip hop classics. Imagine Doechii, Tyler and Tierra Whack in a room creating a hip hop sketch comedy with Gambino as the producer.
 
From Star Wars via The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to the Fifth Element, there have always been amusing sci fi ideas about how music could look like at some point. For a not too distant future, where do you personally see it going?

I spent a good year studying the works of Terrance Nance, Solange, Sun Ra and so many others. I’ve been so inspired by sci fi, speculative fiction and afrofuturism.

I think in the not so distant future we will continue to see an annex between creatives and AI on one hand and a complete separation on the other - technophiles and purists. This is not so absurd- we see if now with DJs - I still know selectas, now, to this day, who won’t even touch Serato- they play purely vinyl, only.

And we have to respect that. At the same time, as a millennial there’s something natural about growing with technology. There’s an urge to learn it and master it in hope to a.) not get left behind and b.) not be replaced.

As we grow with technology, I think that we will see more adaptive art. A painting may change your visual experience based on your mood. Music will react to your sensory input, songs will be heard differently based on where you stand in a room (I think this is already happening with spatial audio). I think we as humans will become one with the music- maybe synesthesia will be something we all can experience if we have the right VR goggles.

I don’t know- I’m just speculating. Perhaps we can join in with the creation of a song from our favorite producer in a massive virtual jam.

The possibilities are endless- it’s exciting and terrifying at the same time- and I can’t wait to see it all.