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
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