X:144 and SPS are one MC and one DJ, walking in the footsteps of greats such as Guru and DJ Premier, Eric B and Rakim, KRS One and Scott LaRock, or even not-so-greats like Dendemann and Rabauke. Despite being long time veterans in their hometown Hip Hop scene of Orlando, Flordia, they are still under the public radar. Best kept secret? Next big thing? Oh yeah. Expect very, very big things.Which music / scenes did you grow up with? What made you decide to play music yourselves? X:144: Well, my family came here directly from Egypt, Africa, so I'm first generation "American". Hip Hop has always been a fascination with my family, and has been my passion since I could remember - being that we were Africans straight "off the boat". Being born in New York, my first influences were a lot of music from my home country, where the bands backing up the singers were orchestras, like Abdel Halim Hafez (known to this generation by Timbaland's contribution in his sampling for "Big Pimpin'"), or Oum Kalthoum. Hip Hop took place in my life through b-boying, and of course the music: Run DMC, LL Cool J, X-Clan, Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, The Native Tongue Family, etc. Then grafitti art became something I pursued, and after this I wanted to be a deejay. Then low and behold, I heard DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, and for some reason something inside me clicked. I looked at my mother and said, "This is what I want to do when I get older", and I did.
SPS: I grew up around all kinds of music while growing up. I am a military brat, born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and lived all over the place, so it was inevitable to cross all types of music. My biggest influences in music come from all genres. Most of my listening years happened when I lived in Berlin, Germany. I was surrounded by alot of electronic music, Hip Hop, techno, and classical music, so it all was welcoming to me. Hip Hop was more my speed, because it was so raw and to the point. After going to a Hip Hop concert in Germany and witnessing a deejay do a 15 minute scratch solo, I was sold and knew that's what I wanted to do.
How and when did you meet and start making music together? X:144: I have been a part of the Orlando Hip Hop scene for about 15 years now. I've watched the scene grow, and its community change from one extreme to the next. People swearing that they wouldn't sell out I've seen sell out. This created a small tight knit community of "true school" Hip Hop practitioners. I myself was in a group named after my production company, TDP, which stands for Transparent Dark Productions. My rhyme partner at that time was telling me that we needed recruite SPS as our deejay - only to find out he had already started something with a crew called Andromeda. Years later, after all groups and crews disbanded, Nonsense Records was building up their roster, SPS and I included. We were both solo at the time, until conversations arose between myself and Kelly Shockley (CEO of Nonsense) of wanting to up my game. I then heard SPS' track on the Nonsense compilation, Community Service Vol. #1, and got extremely excited. I knew that this is what I wanted in a DJ. Kelly then suggested that we hook up. Unknowingly, he had already mentioned this to SPS - and bloaw! - X:144 and SPS were born.
What do your (almost sci-fi like) names stand for? SPS: Mine's easy...
X:144: SPS is rather simple and to the point: "Second Place Sucks" - named appropriately for his turntablist battles. X:144, well in short: everything is based on numbers and mathematics. The English alphabet is coded in multiples of six, A=6, B=12, C=18, etc... X=144 - 'X' represents the Xth Generation, '144' is the 144,000 recognized by the Ancient Egyptians, Mayans, and "Christians" as sacred number - hence implying that we, the Xth Generation, are the 144,000th here to create a beneficial change in this world. We just so happen to do it through Hip Hop.
Why did you decide to go for the classic one emcee / one deejay formula instead of having your huge ass "crew", like everyone and their neighbors seem to do these days? X:144: Well, I believe the formula of a larger crew was tried by the both of us and by many around us. Two turntables and a microphone is bringing it back to the fundamentals of what inspired us both to be what we are today. It pays respect to the pioneers of Hip Hop music, and maintains the integrity of what we believe is lost. Our intentions is to bring forth an elevated status of the relationship between the deejay and the emcee, so that Hip Hop does and feels a progress and re-evolution in itself. What we do now can only pave the way for the future.
SPS: In addition to that, deejays, in Hip Hop music today, are often slept on when it comes to performances. Keeping the liveliness on the turntables with live cutting and scratching is the core essence of this music. Much of this is lost now, and needs to be preserved. Less can be more, and effective when it comes to the formula we have. The typical entourage of dudes on stage can sometimes lose or bore a crowd.
Tying in to what you just said about the relationship between the emcee and the deejay, I remember a quote from an interview where you said that this was not being utilized to the fullest - and I agree. Still, with the continuous advancement of technical possibilities, I find it hard to say whether or not the one emcee / one deejay - thing is, can, or even should be what "true" or "real" Hip Hop is all about. Any comments? X:144: There is no absolution to anything that grows. The emcee and deejay relationship was the core of Hip Hop music. What we're doing is paying respect to our ancestors and pioneers, while maintaining our 'Bushido' or what have you. Hip Hop has been mis-translated so much so that the culture is in a deficit, a "negative debt". So in order to balance our 'history books' or bring us back to a "positive balance", we have to give "credit" due to what once was. It's simple accounting in a sense... Ultimately we're continuing where I believe the fundamental values left off. So if an absolution is implied of what "true" or "real" Hip Hop is, it's not because of our formula, it's because of who we know ourselves to be.
SPS: This music was practically started in the DJ's hands... everything about Hip Hop stems from that. Change is not bad, but knowing the past is important. Knowing about breaks and digging for those loops and drums is another standard slept on in Hip Hop. Props to the DJ, it's long overdue. Respect the architect.
Let's talk about the "business" side of things for a bit. For most artists, music is something they love to do, but on the other hand, many of them are kind of hesitant to "sacrifice" everything else for their vision. That said, how "serious" are you about what you do? How real is the possibility for you to do nothing but create music, without having to work day jobs, etc? X:144: Well, we both work for ourselves now. SPS is still doing his DJ gigs, and I am still maintaining my studio work, but it's a diligent process. We just came off a 40 city U.S. tour called the "Quit Your Dead End Job Tour"... haha! I know we are living examples of our dreams. It isn't impossible to do what you love. All that's required is belief in yourself and your plan. Belief in the people who you would bring that very talent or idea to. If you don't have belief in people to believe in you, then your work is sabotaged before it's conception. I think that's pretty damn serious if you ask me, and you did. [laughter]
SPS: There's no turning back! We love what we do. This is who we are, and for so long, this is what we've strived and worked for.
You have released stuff on Nonsense Records for quite some time now, and it seems to me as if both the label and you have grown together, and very organically so. How do you feel about being on an independent label, as opposed to some major contract? Also, if someone came knocking with a "better" aka more lucrative deal, what would it take to convince you to leave Nonsense? Solillaquists Of Sound are now on Epitaph, hence the question. X:144: I'd run with the money! [laughter] Seriously though, what we and Nonsense Records are trying to create is a movement. Now I know that sounds cliché, because all labels start this way, and most fall short of their goal to "sell out" for lack of a better term, but it's true. It's common sense, think about it: if we went with a bigger label with a more lucrative advance - not deal, but advance - where would that leave us? In greater debt, making a smaller percentage, lack of control, lack of ownership of our music. With a label such as Nonsense, we both started at the same level, share the same ideals, and like you said have grown together. So as we grow, the label grows. Solillaquists were in a position where moving on to Epitaph was appropriate for their plan, and their longevity. As for us, we are eye to eye in size and growth with our label, so the bigger we get, the bigger they get. All in all, the plan is to create an in-house working icon that can revolutionize how this industry works and how community is defined.
M.E., the debut album from X:144 & SPS, is available from Nonsense Records. SPS only recently was the 2008 USA DMC Supremacy champion, and X:144 has a new website here.
Interview by Thomas Reitmayer • Photography by Mike Begonia
"Heavy Metal is the law that keeps us all united free / A law that shatters earth and hell / Heavy Metal can't be beaten by any dynasty / We're all wizards fightin' with our spell."
This is the best video on YouTube. Ever.
In case you don't know these lyrics or didn't recognise the Bröderna Hårdrock, you're pretty much a poser. Go and listen to Poison or Mr. Big or any of that girl crap, and let the rest of us bang our heads.
I never liked Lagwagon. In fact, I hated them with a passion that's reserved for Refused these days. Or certain "hardcore" bands from my city. Or your band. And no, I can never forgive Lagwagon for shaping that 90s "melody-core" sound. Not only did it spawn approximately nine gazillion faceless clone bands, nope... do you remember the fashion crimes back in the day? Baggy shorts with chain wallets, XL t-shirts, and backpacks. Ugh. Back in 1981, when he still went by the name of Henry Garfield, Rollins already said "I hate the kids". Where can I sign?
So now, in 2008, when no one even gives half a shit about his crappy band anymore, Joey Cape does what every other aging punk rocker does: release a solo record. Yawn. Admittedly, there's a handful of people who can pull that off, but there's a whole lot more who just suck. Mister Cape is somewhere in between, with strong tendencies towards the latter category. Bridge is not quite as vomit inducing as I expected it to be, but it's still boring and stale like three day old beer. Seriously, some hippies with acoustic guitars playing "Rocking In The Free World" or even "Like a Rolling Stone" in the city center put more passion into their music than he does. If it wasn't for his Lagwagon, he'd be flipping burgers. Thanks, but no thanks.
ADOLESCENTS + WHITE FLAG Shows like this are the reason why I prefer old farts a hundred times over any hawdcoah flavor of the month. I don't want to listen to any of your youth crew poo poo on colored vinyl, when I can go and see the Adolescents. There has to be a reason why everybody still knows all their lyrics by heart and sings along, and the reason is oh so very simple: they kick ass. They kick so much more ass than your run-of-the-mill kindergarten band ever will. Try to write just one song like "Amoeba" or "Kids of the Black Hole" in your lifetime, and then we'll talk again.
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS Hands down the best punk (and related) show I have seen all year, and nothing else came even close. Off With Their Heads got it all right, both on record and on stage. From the moment they hit the first notes, I couldn't help but stand there with a big idiotic grin on my face. The entire Off With Their fucking Heads discography is hit after hit after hit, and they know how to deliver the goods live. If you don't agree, you've pretty been ruining everybody's lives and eating all our steak, just like Uncle Rico.
JAZZMATAZZ I was kinda skeptical about seeing Jazzmatazz in 2008, because let's be honest - Gang Starr was one of the best hip hop acts to walk the face of the earth e-v-e-r, Guru's solo records are still pretty good, but Jazzmatazz? Ok, their first album is brilliant, but everything that came after that... well, your mom would listen to it, 'nah mean? But I bow my head in shame and take back every word, because Guru still is the coolest motherfucker. This man is so bad ass, he didn't even sweat! I'm not kidding you, he either got his sweat glands surgically removed or he is as cool as ice. (On a sidenote, the trombone player looked a bit like Fabio, but I can see past that.)
SCOOTER Ok, no matter what you say: Scooter is the shit. Just like seeing a crust punk band from Poland, you know exactly what to expect, and you get it. And just like said crust band, Scooter are fast and dumb. For fuck's sake, they even had mighty Mantas on guitars in 2007 or something! I can't remember a show in the past five years or so with an audience this happy. A laser show and half naked go-go dancers, this is the kind of shit hardcore would need more of.
DÄLEK + RIVER FOR SALE I have seen Dälek at least ten times by now, and it's pretty safe to say that they never disappoint, but never before have I seen them play a better or heavier show than this, do encores, or Oktopus go off as if he was in a moshpit. They almost played only entirely new songs off their upcoming album Gutter Tactics, and if they sound anything like the noise they created that night, it's gonna be Dälek's Reign In Blood. The band that played right before them, River For Sale, might just be the best existing Czech band right now - so much better than the overhyped and overrated Lvmen.
Honorable mentions: The Rabbit Theory Off Minor Young Livers Hanson Brothers
(And I haven't even mentioned the best show of 2008 yet... watch this space.)
DER TANTE RENATE + SAALSCHUTZ I don't know how many times I've seen Der Tante Renate so far, but this dude cracks me up every time, no matter how bad I feel. Still, I can't get over the fact that he was in Loxiran - but maybe this is scientific evidence that your music gets so much better once you start drinking. I mean, just think of Poison Idea being a straight edge band... pheeew. I have picked this show as a particular outstanding one, because it was the first time I have seen Renate play his incredible cover of Slayer's "Raining Blood". Plus, Saalschutz also performed that night, added to the fun, and things went wild. Nice bonus.
OBSTACLES One of the two times that I've seen Obstacles this year, and one of the reasons why I started to develop a love affair with this wonderful band. Miss Cowcow and me travelled to the show for the sole reason that my friend Emil would fill in on bass for them on this tour. If you know Emil, you know how incredibly awesome he is. If you don't know Emil, at least make sure to check out the wonderful record label he runs. So, well... here I am at a show in a foreign country, not knowing what to expect at all, Obstacles get on the stage, hit the first few chords, and I am hooked. In a time when brain damaged art students decide to play instrumental post rock just because an Explosions In The Sky-reference gets you laid, Obstacles is a breath of fresh air. They r-o-c-k. Watch this space for an interview, dude.
Bleubird
BLEUBIRD + AUDIO88 Oh, praise the glory of independent hip hop! And no, you idiot, I am not talking about Anticon... if this is all you know, you just have not been digging deep enough. Monsieur Bleubird has a free download EP available here, do yourself a favour and check it out. So, well... me and Mieze Medusa spent the day with these two distinguished gentlemen over coffee, and then witnessed a show later that night which left us both speechless. Audio88 dropped a lot of words that didn't even rhyme (Literature anyone? Do you still know what that is, in times of teh intOrwebz?) over beats that would have made El-P proud, and the 'bird just went crazy. And when I say "crazy", I mean ker-razy in an HR kind of way, including backflips and everything else that hurts backs and muscles. That night, a handful of people with a clue saw two of the best contemporary hip hop acts, while you were probably sitting at home and downloading G-Unit and Kool Savas tracks.
JACK TERRICLOTH This man can do no wrong. I mean it. From the criminally underrated Sticks & Stones all the way to The World/Inferno Friendship Society, Jack Terricloth is the man. He can wrestle with words in a way that's both punk and literature at the same time, he is one hell of an entertainer, and... oh, the voice! (And by the way, while you're at it, check out his book The Collected Cloth. One of the best reads in a long, long time). So, anyway - the reason I picked this show in particular over the W/IFS show a few months later was because (a) it was at a squat, (b) intimate and charming like a candlelight dinner, and (c) J.T. played "Theme Song For Nothing", which is one of my all time fave songs.
I never quite got all the buzz that surrounded the "noise rock" genre. There was never enough noise for me, and I'd rather have my rock straight forward instead of relying on technical proficiency and art school drop outs wanking on guitars. And fuck yes, both the Melvins and Sonic Youth might be the most overrated bands out there, ever. Now that we've got this out of the way, let's have a closer look at this record.
Liquid Limbs are a - for lack of a better term - noise rock duo from Gainesville, FL. Here's another thing that bugs me: what's it with all these two piece bands? Ok, Vaz are (were?) fucking incredible, and so are Dead Prez - but seriously, what's the point? Are they all lacking in the social skills department, like a Rainman for the indie scene? Don't they have enough friends to form a real band? And who the fuck cares?
Like every other noise rock band, Liquid Limbs have a horrible band name and godawful cover art - but, whoah... do they rawk! The guitars are wonderfully distorted and downtuned in that sludgy post-Sabbath way, the drums get beaten like Ivan Drago and Clubber Lang got beaten by Rocky Balboa, and the vocals are even in tune. I'm sure these two gentlemen have both done time in a couple of bands whose records I own, but what really matters at the end of the day is that Orquid is a damn fine record that stands on it's own. The fun thing about it all is that you can easily spend a whole afternoon listening to these tunes, trying to come up with all kinds of influences and cross references. My first pick would be Floor (or rather Torche, since the Liquid Limbs have a far more poppy approach) high on crack, trying to cover Cave In songs circa Jupiter after having spent all day listening to the more feedback-driven Velvet Underground tunes.
Does anyone remember the band Planes Mistaken For Stars? I loved them to death, in a way that was almost bordering on obsession. But (with a capital B), for whatever reason, they were quite often referred to as "emo", for the fact alone that their first EP was on Deep Elm. That's like calling Anthrax hip hop just because they released the I'm The Man EP and played "Bring The Noise" together with Public Enemy, or calling David Schwimmer a good actor. I mean, how emo schmeemo are record titles such as Fuck With Fire, We Ride To Fight, Up In Them Guts, or (my personal favourite) Fucking Fight? Yeah, right.
(Having mentioned Fucking Fight, this record was their finest moment. Short, sharp, to the point. You drop the needle on the vinyl, the songs explode in your face, and - blam! - before you even know what the fuck is going on, it's all over. Steve Aoki released this EP on his Dim Mak label at a time when he still put Black Panther references in his records, long before he became "Kid Millionaire", started to suck the cock of Vice Magazine, and even before his ugly bitch sister thought she was an actress.)
But what the fuck does my rambling have to do with Git Some? The two gentlemen that handled the bass and guitar duties in Planes Mistaken continue to bring the rock in Git Some, that's what. You can still easily hear that, just like you'll always hear Frankie Stubbs in whatever it is he puts his hands on. But oh well, I have ambivalent feelings about Git Some. Cosmic Rock is pretty good for what it is: a loud, heavy, ugly, distorted rock album. It's just that I have the feeling they could do so much better than this. Just one example: the vocals are just there, it's just something. Sure, they're ugly, and they add to the whole fucked up-ness of the record, but at the same time they make me nervous and annoy the shit out of me.
So, well... Black Flag were a fucking amazing band before Greg Ginn took way many drugs and went all free jazz. If this is Git Some's Process of Weeding Out, I just hope they will release a Damaged record sooner or later. Ain't nothing wrong with a little regression when it comes to rock music...
If you are looking for xmas presents, look no further. I recently published my first photo book, and it would make one hell of a gift for all your friends and enemies, lovers and haters, parents and kids.
The book is called Listen To Your Heart, because this is what it's all about at the end of the day. It's a hand-numbered limited edition (200 copies only!) spiral-bound 50 page photo book printed on high quality 300 gram paper stock, showcasing independent artists (in alphabetical order) like:
The 101, Against Me!, A Painted Mayor, Baroness, Bleubird, Brutal Knights, Burial Year, Champion, Chang Ffos, Client, Converge, Cursed, Dälek, The Deep Eynde, Die Unsichtbaren, Dimitrij, Division of Laura Lee, Dominic, Doomriders, The Feelers, GodSentUs, Hanin Elias, Hezekiah, I Walk The Line, Modern Life Is War, Mr. Lif, Nikad, Obstacles, Overmars, Paint It Black, R'N'R, Sage Francis, Song of Zarathustra, Strike Anywhere, Suma, Ted Leo, Texta, Tiger Lou, Tragedy, Transistor Transistor, Unsane, The World/Inferno Friendship Society, Worlds Between Us, Yaphet Kotto, and The Yellow Press.
Nate Newton and Jeff Caudill wrote intro texts for the book (or rather outro, because it's in the back). They create some truly amazing music and have been supportive beyond the call of duty. Thanks bros!
The book is 12 Euro from hand to hand, it's 13.25 Euro postpaid in Austria, 15.70 Euro postpaid in Europe, and 17.45 Euro postpaid in the US of A. If you like convenient online shopping, this is your best guess.
"All we loved we cannot hold for long / The waves that collide they double in size / Are perceived from the pier by four adjusted eyes / That had widened in time in the darkness of night / But the energy augmented soon must subside / It was gone in that moment we tried to hold tight."
All right, everybody knows that I am a sucker for catchy punk rock with a folk/country twist. Enter The Riot Before, and I'm a happy camper. Fists Buried In Pockets isn't the kind of record that sets new standards when it comes to originality and innovation, but if I was looking for these things in the music I listen to, I'd have dropped out of punk rock long ago. Even though the band name, the album title, and even the cover image would suggest something angry, The Riot Before are more about making it through another day in a miserable life than throwing rocks through bank windows and instigating revolution - which, if you ask me, is at least as valid a topic to write about.
The Riot Before are from Richmond, VA. That would have been my second guess right after Gainesville, FL. Does that give you an idea about how they sound? Yeah right, pretty much like the early Against Me! material with hints of the other big A's like Avail, Ann Beretta, and American Steel. If this doesn't sound like a fucking wet dream, you should go read Pitchfork Media and jerk off to your Japanther records.
"So I'm sorry mom, I'm sorry dad, I really want you to be proud / Don't want to disappoint you all, don't want to let you down."
Dear people in The Riot Before, Fists Buried In Pockets is an album you can be very fucking proud of.
Punk Planet is no more. Boardstein has ceased to exist. Slap is no longer a print magazine. GLW/DRK, well... GLW/DRK is on holidays. Or something.
When the Slap staff decided to go all online, Lance Dawes said, "...our favorite thing was trying something new, experimenting, failing miserably and sometimes doing something cool that no one else had done yet."
Well, GLW/DRK was never about innovation or doing particularly new things, but since we haven't published a new issue in well over a year, it's about time to put on our shitkickers and kick some shit again. Blogging, oh how very modern. Stay tuned, motherfuckers.
Which music / scenes did you grow up with? What made you decide to play music yourselves? 
Tying in to what you just said about the relationship between the emcee and the deejay, I remember a quote from an interview where you said that this was not being utilized to the fullest - and I agree. Still, with the continuous advancement of technical possibilities, I find it hard to say whether or not the one emcee / one deejay - thing is, can, or even should be what "true" or "real" Hip Hop is all about. Any comments? 
