|
 |
| |
We try to sign artists that have their own identity. I don't even want to sign an artist that sounds like any other artist on Quannum, let alone another artist that's out there in the world... I also want to sign an artist that I feel I'm going to be inspired by.
-LB on signing artists to Quannum |
|
|
| |
|
Be it with your more recent solo albums and the stuff that you did back in the day with Latryx and whatnot, it's pretty transparent that your music kind of goes beyond the domain of what is merely hip-hop. It's kind of like this Old School meets New School of funky grooves, R&B and soul dynamics.
Lyrics Born |
I would definitely say that is accurate. I really do wear my influences on my sleeve, and I'm a hip-hop artist at heart but I think that sometimes I make soul music and R&B and funk music. For whatever reason, that's what I've ended up doing, fusing all those things be it funk, soul, rock, hip-hop or R&B. As long as it's good from whatever criteria I have for what a good song is – if it's meeting those things - then it's time to put it on an album and put it out.
When you play live, you, and the whole band really, get the crowd moving and the asses shaking. You're in some way whipping the audience up into frenzy and feeding off of them. Is that accurate?
Absolutely. You don't want to feel like you're playing to a wall. I think that our live show is as interactive as it should be. Any artist that plays live will tell you that the best shows are the ones where the crowds go nuts because it's sort of a circular feed. You feel like you're giving the crowd something that's making them go crazy and them going crazy is the gratification for what you're doing. So it goes back and forth and it's the best feeling.
You've played in many corners of the globe, and I'm not going to ask you if one place is better than the next, but is there any place where the reception is kind of special to you?
I like Australia a lot. That's where I recorded Overnite Encore. From day one they've always been very supportive, and it was the first foreign country that I went to where they really lost their minds. That has always stuck with me, so I have a soft spot for Australia.
Speaking of Overnite Encore, throughout the whole history of live albums, the vast majority of them basically suck. Any concert where an album is recorded is most times a fun concert to actually be at but getting that feeling on tape is a feat that eludes most live records. Yet, Overnite Encore actually captured it. Did you choose Australia to be the place where it was recorded for that specific reason?
Yeah. Like I said, they've always been so supportive and enthusiastic. I didn't want to do a live one in San Francisco or New York just because it's been done before, particularly when you're talking about a hip-hop record. I can't think of too many hip-hop albums, even live hip-hop, that have been recorded abroad. I can't think of too many live albums period that have been recorded in Australia. So, I think that's what I was trying to do, as well as knowing historically how great the crowds in Sydney and Melbourne have been. It made a lot of sense for me to do it there. It also shows listeners the blitz and scope this music has. A lot of people think that hip-hop is just a regional thing or a national thing but it's not. It's a global thing and that's really evident when you listen to the album. They know all the words and they're halfway around the globe.
The album was from a two-night stand, right?
The main set is in Sydney and the encore was in Melbourne.
Of all the years that you've been with the Quannum crew stretching back to when it was just Solesides, would you say the artists that were a part of it influenced each other creatively?
Lyrics Born |
I think so. One of the things we do is try to sign artists that have their own identity. I don't even want to sign an artist that sounds like any other artist on Quannum, let alone another artist that's out there in the world. That's first and foremost, and I also want to sign an artist that I feel I'm going to be inspired by.
With a lot of your songs you have this knack for telling a story and really getting deep with these very in-depth, intricate details.
Generally, I try not to tell a story that's been told before because you really want to give people a unique listening experience.
Word has it that you got a part in an upcoming movie. Are you getting a bit of the acting bug?
That was fun. It's called Finishing the Game and it's mockumentery about the casting call for Bruce Lee's movie Game of Death. It was really fun. I played a restaurant owner. Meanwhile, there is a serial killer on the loose and the restaurant owner's business has been affected by the killing.
Any plans on the horizon to get into more acting after this?
I definitely would like to try more. Absolutely. I had such a great time and it was so inspiring. It's like using a different part of your brain.
How are things going with your eagerly anticipated next album?
I'm working on it now. I'm somewhere about eight to ten songs in, and I think it's going to surprise a lot of people. It is different than Later That Day, Same Shit Different Day and Overnite Encore. No title yet. I got a few that I'm throwing around.
JamBase | Bay Area
Go See Live Music!
| 