What’s up homie, tell me about the past few months. Or rather, how long did it take you and Pajama Sam to spit this Flow Stimulus out?
Well the first song we made for this project was “Defective” and I’m pretty sure we made that in October of 2019. Our styles meshed so well that PJ sent me a big batch of beats. I then made the tracks “Flow Stimulus” and “Brief” over the winter / early spring of 2020. Then Covid happened and I wasn’t touring or doing any shows, so I pretty much locked myself in the studio and wrote/recorded the rest of the album.
What was the process like? Who’s idea was it? Pajama Sam laid down all the beats — were these created before the album was birthed, or did he make them up as you went along?
Most of the beats were created beforehand. PJ would send a batch of 10 or 15 and I would pick the ones I wanted. I think we went though like 3 or 4 batches of beats over the course of recording. That’s one of the things I love about working with him. He’s super prudent and he always hooks it up with large selections. I’ve worked with producers in the past that send like one or two beats and expect that I’m gonna love them, but that’s usually not the case. Being a beat maker myself, I tend to be real picky about what I feel like writing to.
I see you got Es-K to mix and master — what does he bring to the table that some people in the audience might not recognize - in that whole capacity of mixing and mastering?
Pajama Sam and I actually mixed it. He did the beats, and I did the vocals. I got Es-K on the master because, one: He’s the scientist and he’s amazing at what he does, and two: We have very similar tastes so I knew he’d understand the gritty vibe PJ and I were going for.
You also rip it up on the skateboard in the video for Defective. I’ve seen you skate in at least one other video — what do you love more, skating or rapping? Who’s the best skater in your crew? You or Nahte?
I don’t know if I can definitively say which I love more, but I will say - I’ve never broken a bone rapping … Regardless, I started skating before I was a musician and I would be a completely different person without it. And yeah, Nahte is definitely better than me, but I’ve got a better pop shuv it and he can’t inward heel for shit so fuck him.
I know a few of your top 5 rappers, because you list them out in one of your tracks. Slick Rick, Dell… who else really inspired you to rap? Do you draw from any of this when you’re making music today?
I grew up loving Hip-Hop thanks to my older siblings, but Atmosphere’s album, “Overcast” was probably the first thing that made me actually want to rap. Also, I found Edan’s music a few years back and that has inspired me more than probably any other music I’ve ever heard in my life. Q-Tip is also super influential for me. His style and voice are unparalleled.
What is your favorite part of making music, anyway?
Definitely the bitches and all the money.
You play guitar, make beats, scratch, rap decent enough ... any other instruments? Tell me about the learning process involved for each of these highly skilled trades … what’d you learn first, what’s newest for you?
I’m okay on a drum kit, but definitely not anything to write home about … Guitar is my first and main instrument, but I’ve been so focused on honing my skills as an emcee/producer these past few years, I haven’t dedicated much time to it. Eventually I wanna make some more guitar-oriented stuff, but I need to figure out how it will make sense in my discography. As far as scratching, I’m pretty trash, but I have a lot of fun doing it and I figure I’m at least good enough to punch-in simple cuts for songs.
Ok, do you get any breathing room now, or are you already in the middle of your next project/s? What's next?
Man, I’m currently running a one-man order-fulfillment center while simultaneously editing videos like a madman. Got at least five more vids from this album set to drop over the next few months. Once I’m done with those - I’m going to Disney World.
Awesome man, thank you so much for your time.
No prob man, love you