via ACCLAIM MAG
What comes to mind when you think of Los Angeles? Sundrenched summer afternoons, gridlocked traffic, maybe Eazy-E’s scowl or B-Real’s nasal, spliffed-out cadence? Whatever it is, you’re unlikely to find two artists more enamored with LA culture than MC Killer Reese One and producer Troublemaker. From the city’s longstanding open-mic workshop Project Blowed, to its particularly virulent ‘90s gangbanging culture, King Fantastic have lived through all that – and they’re building on the city’s proud rap history in their own inimitable way. ACCLAIM caught up the duo to talk LA, their penchant for stomping, synth-heavy beats and their forthcoming album Death Of Summer.
You both have strong ties to LA, how has your connection with the city shaped your music? And the messages you want to get across with your music?
KRO I am LA – true LA. Not that Hollywood, monkey shit LA. I’m authentic LA. Everything I do is shaped by the city in some way. As far as trying to get something across in the music, I think we’re more trying to help you find a feeling you forgot was there.
TM Agreed. I love LA and all of Southern California. And it’s only because I grew up here that I found hip-hop via family, friends and K-DAY. Also, because of where I lived, or the schools I went to, I experienced gang activity and felt the ramifications of events like the Rodney King beating. It was a combination of those things, listening to Cypress Hill, Ice Cube and NWA along with future experiences, which led me to the music I make with Reese. Furthermore, now, as an adult, I understand the world we live in much greater than back then, and what was youth angst is now channelled directly into the music. We want people to feel the fight. Whatever it is, let it out. There is no reason to subject yourself to a life of passive politically correct pill popping. We don’t need sedate sheep, we need voices.
I noticed a tweet a couple of months back where you mentioned, “…from Project Blowed to the century club… I did allllll that.” Were both of you involved with Project Blowed? And could you tell us a few of your memories about it?
KRO I was a big fan of the Project Blowed scene, it was very similar to what I imagine the Harlem Renaissance being like. I was much younger than the architects of that time, but I was a little dude (9th grade) in there holding my own.
TM I was a partner in a record label called Celestial Recordings and a weekly called Konkrete Jungle. For a period of a year or two, nearly every Project Blowed emcee came through the studio or the weekly. P.E.A.C.E.’s voice is what I remember most. He has one of the best sounding voices in hip-hop, ever. Also, all the emcees we worked with would come to Konkrete and freestyle over drum and bass and hip-hop. It was a great time in my life and I will never forget it.
What kind of influence did it have on your development as artists?
KRO It was my introduction to underground hip-hop – independence. I saw niggas that would lyrically destroy my favorite rappers at the time. Some hip-hop gods came from that era. My passion for rap was born there.
TM Project Blowed, or better yet, the whole LA underground scene, was one of the major influences on who I am today. It introduced me to styles upon styles of music and music making. It also helped me hone my skills as an engineer and producer.
How much of a meeting point was it for LA hip-hop back in the ‘90s?
TM It was not only a scene, but it was a community. The one unfortunate part of our world now is that the ‘meeting point’ is online.
Are you a little nostalgic for those days?
KRO I’m nostalgic for the level of skill, originality, and authenticity of those days, but that’s it. Most of us were broke and care free, but you can’t feed the babies hanging out and battle rapping.
TM Yeah, it’s nice to reflect and think about those days, but I am incredibly happy with where I am now.
In Why? Where? What? Reese One, you state, “That LA gangbang culture is in us/started in the ‘70s and it ain’t finished.” How prominent, and how relevant, is that gangbang culture in West Coast hip-hop today? From an outsider’s perspective, gangsta rap seems to have waned from its ‘90s heyday.
KRO What I know to be ‘gangbanging’ is dead. The ghost it left behind still haunts, but it’s not nearly as dangerous. In the ‘90s, someone would have blown Lil Wayne’s brains out his head the second he stepped on Los Angeles soil for that bullshit flag waving he’s doing. As far as the music goes, times and tastes change. The city may have needed a break from the aggression. But, we don’t make gangsta rap, we make music with gangsta influences, because my former life plays a huge part in my creative process. It’s an interesting well of experiences to be able to pull from.
The days of sampling old funk and soul breaks seem to be well over (at least for the time being), but what made you embrace a more electronic, synth-heavy sound?
KRO Troublemaker’s beats are the shit! It was a no brainer. I wasn’t going to do music anymore until he spit his pitch and played those beats. I know when there’s a classic situation waiting to happen.
TM Wow, thank you Reese. Yeah, been there done that with the sampling. And you cannot make a living making music if you’re not actually making music and just sampling someone else’s. Plus, technology has given us such great gifts, why not use them to make your own music? As far as the sound goes, I’ve always been synth-heavy, and more importantly, girls love bass ‘cause it feels good in their special private spot, and that’s awesome.
You seem to have a strong presence online, how essential is that for an independent artist today in order to get ahead?
KRO Very essential and very nerve racking. You’re forced to navigate through assholes whose sole intentions are to be anonymous dickheads, when all you really want to do is shake the hands of the people who support you and keep them up to date.
TM Let me not be dramatic and say online is everything, but it kinda is. Look at how fast Facebook and Twitter have grown. That’s what we are doing. Obviously we will never be that big, but we can rapidly connect with our people with little help from the system. And, funny enough, now the system will not fuck with you unless your online presence is strong. See how that works? Bastards.
You’ve been quite prolific with your remixes too – has that been about pushing the King Fantastic name and gaining further exposure?
KRO That’s all Troublemaker. He introduced me to a new genre – dubstep – so he lines them up and I knock those motherfuckers down.
TM Definitely, along with showing people something different. It’s not often you hear someone like Reese rapping over songs like the ones we have remixed. That is our music taste – we genuinely like those songs and felt we could honestly contribute to them.
You’ve opted to release a lot of your music for free, what’s the reasoning behind it?
KRO To minimise any road blocks between a proper introduction of our brand and the music community.
TM Exactly. It runs congruently with the idea that online is everything. The best way to connect with people, who basically have no idea who you are, is to give them something for free. It doesn’t hurt that it is good as well (my ego weighs a ton). Those people, our first fans, our new friends, will be with us forever now because of that. All we ask them for is their ear. If they like it, we roll, and hopefully they come to our show, or buy a tee shirt, etc. This is how it works now. Power to the people and their good taste.
It seems, implicit in that decision, you’ve acknowledged that the industry has changed. How important is it for artists today to accept that and think of new ways to get their music across?
KRO I don’t know. This game has gotten out of control. One day you think you have a grasp on things and the next day you’re watching some no-talent powder puff being labelled the next big thing. But we make enough noise for me not to care about usurpers.
TM It’s very important. But unless you experienced how it used to be, you don’t know any different. New artists’ perceptions on how to promote their music are exactly what it takes to get their music across. Reese and I ride the ups and downs of this chaotic evolving business, but I often state how grateful I am to know how the system works, so we can work around it and with it simultaneously. There are tools anyone can use, like SoundCloud and Topspin, which are much greater and powerful than any record label employee who is sitting on Facebook trying to get laid. Once again, power to the people.
Have you approached recording The Death Of Summer differently to your first album? If so, how?
KRO It’s a short EP and it ain’t designed to be nice. It’s my kind of party.
TM Yeah, we went even harder on this project, so that sound changed some of the songs structure, which in turn has Reese and I doing some different things with his vocals. Most of the production on Finger Snaps and Gun Claps is minimal, Death of Summer is full and heavy.
What would you like people to come away with after listening to the new album?
KRO Euphoric fear.
TM Well said.
