Our guy Sol is on tour in support of his new record The Headspace Traveler. He's a “welcome whenever” friends. So it was good to catch up. We talk about him moving into the studio where The Heist was recorded. He explains what it was like to watch a local friend become extremely famous. And he talks about moving to a cabin in the woods with no phone to help his writing. – Lee...
This felt like one of the best conversations I've had in a while. JMSN had just finished his record and was re-entering society after his self induced creative hermitude. There was next to no small talk and we dove right into anxiety, depression, and loneliness like we were old friends catching up (we'd never met). Even when I know better, occasional I make the mistake of assuming things work out immediately for talented people. When I first started hearing JMSN a few years ago I thought “hmm a ...
An interview with Adam22 long before No Jumper was a household name.
We talked to the man that helps it all happen for our 100th episode. Daddy Kev is a staple of the Los Angeles music scene. Bringing shine and helping artists in LA for over 2 decades. He's been hugely influential in pushing the boundaries of electronic music as the proprietor of Low End Theory. He's also released 100s of records into the universe as the proprietor of Alpha Pup Records. Furthermore Kev's mixed and mastered records you've surely heard as the owner of Cosmic Zoo studio. Not only ha...
Dizzy Wright's life has not been a cake walk. He understands what it is to struggle. Diz was raised by a single mother of five children while his biological father was imprisoned. Yet and still, his attitude is refreshingly positive and his work ethic extremely strong. He's mature far beyond his years. It's no wonder he's gathered such a huge following in a short amount of time. Wisdom and Good Vibes makes perfect sense as an EP title after hearing his life perspective. We're happy to finally ge...
Wiki Talks Growing Up In NY, Putting The Right Team Together, Misconceptions About Quakers and Performs “Seedy Motherfucker” Live In Studio I've wanted to interview our guest Wiki for a while now. The “Wikispeaks” video blew me away. It was so authentic, so New York, and seemed to come out of nowhere. The music was firmly planted in the now while still reminding me of music I grew up on. Fast forward 4 years, a few EPs, an album, tours, mixtapes, and Wiki is a grizzled veteran at 22. His work wi...
Prayers have become known as the originators of “Cholo Goth.” Rafael is quick to remind you the connection between dark emotional music and the Chicano community is nothing new. The connection is well established and widely known in Southern California. Rafael has been many things in his life. To date he's been a gang member, restauranteur, inmate, and now rock star. Prayers is clearly on a roll. They sold out the El Rey the day before this interview. Days after the conversation it was announced...
Brought my mom back in for the first episode of 2016. May be biased, but these are my favorite. We are ramblers, so we only make it through about a 6 year span in this conversation. Hear her talk about the birth of my brother, our move to Alaska, and give awkward shoutouts to family friends. – Lee
Wax put out a new record called Livin Foul . We've done a whole bunch of podcasts in the last 4 or 5 years, so this one breaks format and we essentially don't talk about anything. But that's cool. He definitely sings the Full House theme at some point. Go get that new album, I'm on a song. HAPPY HOLIDAYS HOMIES. – Lee
I was very excited to talk to The Grouch. He was the first “underground rapper” (read: independent artist) I heard of after moving to California. Living Legends performing at KAOS Network was the first underground rap show I ever attended. It was at the home of Project Blowed , before I even knew what Project Blowed was. He was the first artist I ever ordered online merch from. Also the first rapper I ever photographed at a show. Not to mention the first rapper that made me think “underground ra...
This week we sat down with friend of the show Busdriver. Been meaning to have him on since the release of his excellent new record Thumbs . Moments before we started I saw the video of Mario Woods being executed by a firing squad of police officers. This is another in a long line of video taped police killings. We discussed race and politics issues before we began recording. It carries over into this conversation. This episode is different than our usual direction. Bus and I explore opinions mor...
I met Illmaculate when he was 16 years old on his first trip to California. He was already getting flown out of state by promoters to battle in their events. The Portland bred rapper has spent half his life pursuing a career as a rapper. He started in middle school. It felt like he put the whole world onto our West Coast scene when he won Scribble Jam in '04. He's still considered one of the best working battle rappers a decade later. The current KOTD champion talks about dropping out of school ...
Nacho Picasso is a Seattle raised rapper. He's a clear alternative to what comes to mind when discussing “Seattle Rap.” Seattle is known for churning out safe, marketable, pseudo-uplifting, boom-bap inspired rap. Nacho's music lives in a dark world of gun violence, drugs, and sexual deviance. After talking to him it seems that art truly imitates life. I'm aware many of our listeners are quickly turned off by those tropes and themes in rap music. But Nacho's music is filled with layered lyricism ...
In our 90th episode we talked to Matt Martians and Syd of The Internet. Soon they're heading for a city near you on tour. Their new record, Ego Death , is a breezy dreamscape of a soul album. It finds Syd more mature, more comfortable, and more revealing than their prior releases. It's easy to pick up on why these two would work together creatively so well. Their energies almost seem opposite. Syd is laid back, cool and quiet, seemingly scoping things out. At the same time Matt is boisterous and...
When we last spoke to Milo he'd recently won the favor of his rap heroes and joined their team. At the time he was thinking of moving to LA. He eventually did, but things didn't go quite as planned. He's since moved back to Wisconsin and begun to regroup and rebuild. Hear Milo talk about record label woes, neighborhood threats, and the great tape debate. – Lee
This week we sat down with singer-songwriter Marc E. Bassy. Kendrick tweeted the link to his East Hollywood EP . Due to that I spent the afternoon listening to it twice in a row. The record is filled with vibey stylized pop music. Furthermore you can tell it was written by someone who grew up loving rap music. The tape seemed to come out of nowhere. But like any good music story, there were many years of hard work behind the scenes. He got signed after moving to from the Bay to LA a decade ago. ...
I've known Sahtyre for almost a decade now. We've never been close. If anything there's always been a strange tension between us. Because of that learning about his background during our discussion was a bit of a mind fuck. His childhood was tumultuous to say the least. While I'd heard murmurs about his upbringing, hearing the extent of his family's dark moments directly from the source was moving. We came to realize our past differences probably stem from similarities in our character. This was...
This week we sat down with Rome Fortune. The Atlanta rapper was in LA to escape for a bit. But he ended up in a few studios, like any hard working artist would. Sometimes it's just harder for artists not to work. To be honest I'd labeled him a “fashion rapper” in my head. In my bias I feared he would be snobby or overly egotistical. He proved me very wrong. Rome Fortune is jovial, warm, thoughtful, skilled and humble. He's a true student of the game. He's a rapper not afraid to experiment, and s...
pennybirdrabbit was our sixth episode ever. Her performance went a bit viral. It was our first to hit a hundred thousand views. Major life changes have taken place since we last spoke. It was high time for a catch-up conversation. We talk about her new motherhood and how she balances it with music. We also discuss maneuvering through the music industry. – Lee
We're happy to welcome Danny Seth to the show. He's been back and forth between LA and London working hard. He's collab'd with the likes of G-Eazy and A$AP Ferg. In addition to being a talented lyricist, his live show is electric. But he's working diligently on an album that will show he's a very well-rounded artist. He further proves that heartfelt song he performed. Listen to us talk about a miserable mushroom trip and being detained for 9 hours in an airport. We also discuss having the foresi...
This week we talk with saxophonist, composer, and jazz aficionado Kamasi Washington. His latest record The Epic is a 3 hour dreamscape through the mind of a master craftsman. LA's jazz scene seems to revolve around a group of friends who've been playing music together since childhood. For example Kamasi has known Thundercat “since he was in his mom's belly.” The players–Kamasi, Terrace, Thundercat, Ronald, Miles, Ambrose, etc–have been getting a lot of shine lately. Many of them worked on Kendri...
Daye Jack recently moved to LA. Born in Nigeria, raised in Atlanta, and schooled in New York. Consequently his music is as eclectic as the places he resided. He represents a new breed of rap artists as comfortable singing as they are barring out. Comparisons could be drawn to previous guest Pell . Listeners will appreciate his dense lyrics and ear worm melodies. Listen as we talk about leaving NYU, his first show 6 months ago, and his surprising love for John Mayer. – Lee...
I enjoyed Marvel Alexander's last project Don't Die Yet . It has avant-garde sounds from the likes of Sango, Kaytranada, and features from Wiki and Hodgy. There's a lot of great self-production as well, and it turns out he's also behind the scenes making hit records as a producer. I had no idea. Really fun conversation with a perfect stranger, the dude can spin a yarn. Hear us talk about basketball scholarships, his friend Dennis' advice on getting girls, and waking up in the hospital with shave...
We always love when we get to link with an artist you guys request. POS gets requested a lot. He's been a road warrior for a long time. So of course we caught him as he traveled with Doomtree in support of All Hands . Listen to us talk about touring at the tender age of 14, why Minneapolis has such a strong history of music, and how the video for Guns N' Roses “Paradise City” changed his life. – Lee...
This is the 2nd time I've interviewed Kreayshawn . We did a podcast with her 4 years ago the same week that “Gucci Gucci” blew up. She was only 21 years old then. One of her first songs had become a smash hit. Is anyone is ever ready for that? A lot has changed since. She got signed, she toured, put out an album, became a media punching bag, got dropped, became a mom, and has been out of the public eye for a bit now. But here's the thing about Kreayshawn: she wasn't cool because she had a hit re...
This week we talk to Long Beach native Boogie. Found out about him last year when our old pal Clayton started tweeting out his songs and vids. I knew listeners needed to hear Thirst 48 when it dropped last summer . The tape lays his cynical outlook on the social media generation over soulful, summery beats. Littered with production and features from former Kinda Neat guests, it's the perfect soundtrack to your next long drive. Listen to us talk about singing in church, raising his son, and the d...
Mr. Muthafuckin Exquire had a palpable buzz in 2011. The video for “ Huzzah ” was so raw, grimy, and stylized. It skyrocketed him into the limelight of every major music publication. Every rap fan I knew was excited by his potential. Then, somewhat surprisingly, he signed with a major. Things seemed to get a bit quieter. From the outside looking in it seemed like the label didn't know what to do with him. Eventually he announced he was no longer signed to Universal. I find the early 2010's to be...
Michael Christmas joined us on this most fitting of occasions. The 20 year old Boston bred emcee recently moved to Los Angeles. He's already being talked about in all the right circles. He started gaining traction last year with videos like “ Michael Cera ” and “ Daily ” before releasing his Is This Art? mixtape early in 2014. If you don't already love him you will after listening. We talk about his early aspirations of being the next Soulja Boy, watching his dad and step dad play Madden togethe...
Father was our 75th guest. My favorite tape of the year might be Young Hot Ebony . The project is filled with infectious hooks, a cohesive sound, and clever wordplay. It's no wonder the Atlanta rapper was able to kick the door down after his frequent collaborator iloveMakonnen got his foot in it. We discuss his self-inflicted isolation as a youth, and meeting the Awful Media affiliates in college. We also talk about the whirlwind life has become since the rest of the world found out about their ...
My main hustle is photography. I travel a lot with my best friend and photographer Dominic Cooley. This is our first non-music guest. But his story of hard work and perseverance is going to inspire you to follow your dream whatever the dream may be. I love this guy like a brother and respect his hustle and work ethic. We talk about being a social chameleon, raising a son with autism, and why our rag tag crew of knuckleheads keeps getting hired on photo jobs. – Lee...
