Iusse 8 by Hansum Magazine

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G Battles

HM: We’re here with G Battles, tightening up another one of his videos in Ventura. How’s it going man how you been? Life is really good right now and I got a lot of loved ones around me supporting me and I feel blessings coming forward. HM: How do you feel about the rap game today? I think it’s versatile, it’s a lot of different styles and everybody’s good at what they do you feel me. Whatever it is your style is everybody’s good at what they do. It’s a lot of criticism out there and its nothing wrong with constructive criticism. I think its some artists that are misunderstood, they deserve they proper shine and then you got a lot of artists that’s out there in rotation and you got to give them they shine too for their hard work so you

gotta find the balance between both of them. But I like how opportunities are being opened up for a lot of independent artists to come out shining and create in their own lane, that’s what’s needed, once you learn about your purpose you can hit the ground running. HM: Do you think it’s a lot easier for rappers to come out with their sounds now with all the different avenues? Its way easier, you can do it at home, and if you got a lil homie that’s really savvy with the internet and Facebook and Instagram they can help you build your file up. I seen my homies do it, shout out to my west coast villains. Gmade, the whole villain mob, lil mango, Josh, lil Nate Dogg and everybody who came out to support. HM: What’s up with this joint you just came out with today with lil Nate Dogg on it? 6

It’s called “Roll Up” it’s off my album “Underground Legend” I just put it out not too long ago and it’s the next thang up. We gone push this roll up and let them know we really gone bring the essence of the west coast bang, tryna remind people we part of this young generation but we still heavily influenced by the ones that came before us. HM: I see you’ve worked with Lil Nate Dogg Are there any other artists that you’d like to work with out there? It’s a whole lot of other artists that I’d like to work with, my style is real versatile so whoever approaches me like “I like yo hook, or I like yo verse or your energy” I’m willing to do something with them. I don’t really dislike nobody, I embrace everybody who approaches me because I feel like we got one life to live and you could learn from something from somebody you wouldn’t think you’d be able to learn from. Hm: Any other people besides Lil Nate Dogg that you’ve already worked with? I worked with some people from the outlaws, the rapper 4-Tay of course; I’ve worked with my homie London from Oakland, Dynamic Truth, lean kids. It’s a whole lot of artists I’ve collaborated with; I feel like I’m really tryna branch out and touch the older generations and the younger generations. If I can merge both of them together it’s gone be phenomenal HM: For the kids that’s trying to get into this rap game and get started, do

you have any advice for them on how to go about it. I think best thing for them to do is to read up on publishing and copyrights. Or at least publishing’s, it’s the most important thing for releasing your music, if you’re putting it out for distribution you want to register your music so you can get some back for it or at least say you’re out here working professionally. Anything can happen; sometimes people can try to take you for your songs you know? It’s a dirty game but at the same time it’s a blessing to be able to use your art and travel around the world. Hm: Do you feel like it’s better to be managed by a company or be independent? You know, I embrace all of it, any situation that’s gone help me grow and develop as an artist I’m gone be bout that you know? If it’s legit it’s legal and personally has my best interest then I’m about it, because it’s gone help you grow and sell more. If somebody willing to go and invest their time and energy and especially energy then you gotta be serious and you got to deliver and be focused on what you tryna accomplish. I think the more effort you put into the more things start to evolve for you, you just gotta stay down and stay faithful and don’t let situations break you. That’s why my name is battles because I’m still fighting everyday but I’m shining like jerry curl activator Eazy E.

HM: How did the 4-Tay “My Bitch” video shoot go for you?

HM: Alright, thanks for the time man. Video is out now !!!!

That was a blessing man, Bishop Magic Dan Juan came through and it was real hard. A lot of other people came out to support and I think it was good for everybody to come down to the LA area and get together and have a shindig like that. The crazy part was though, I wasn’t expecting to shoot that video it was a fluke but it was dope. Somebody as for a camera and that’s how it went down. HM: Where could our readers follow you and get your CD? They can follow me on Instagram @GBattles, on Twitter @ G_Battles, Find me on Soundcloud, Spotify, Pandora – GBattles, YouTube BlackRTP, I get around. I’m finna drop this shit man. Shout out to Thizzler for supporting the Video, shout out to Hansum Magazine for coming out and supporting me, we really out here in the Boonies. Hm: It was worth the drive man this video gone be turnt up, y’all really went all out for it. Yea man the video gone take you back but its gone have a fresh twist man, it’s gone be live.

INDIGO MONET 18

HM We’re sitting here with Indigo Monet how are you doing?

Probably around 6 years old. I’ve always loved music.

I’m amazing. Always blessed and grateful to be here with you guys.

HM Where does your music style come from?

HM You have been very busy this week?

Life. My many inspirations. I’m very inspired by Afro culture, the percussion and rhythms of African and Brazilian music, as well as old school Jazz, like Frank Sinatra & Billie Holiday. And the whole Neo-Soul, Afro-futurism movement is what I grew up on, so my style is very much a dope blend of all of those things.

I’m always super busy. Wether it’s shows, or rehearsals, or dance classes.. being in the studio, making show mixes, or teaching dance, there’s always work to be done. It’s like it never ends, but I always take time to reflect on my journey and regenerate myself and just appreciate the fact that I’m blessed enough to do this, and I love what I do so I can’t complain. HM Can you tell us more about your style of music? My style of music is very unique. And It’s ever changing. It’s really because I’m inspired by so many different things, and all of it is reflected in this sound that I’m creating and finding within myself. I listen to all types of music; Hip-Hop, Trap, Pop, Neo-soul, Rock, Afro, Jazz, Funk, House, everything.. so my sound is really just like a blend of everything I love. Everything that touches me. HM How long have you been into music? I honestly can’t remember a time in my existence where I wasn’t in love with music. I’ve been writing music pretty much since I learned to put pen to paper.

HM So you are completely independent? The driving force of Team Indigo is literally my creative director, choreographer, and best friend Durell Eason, my mommyger Vanessa McCullough, and myself. That’s it. We’re the holy trinity of the operation. No labels. No collectives. No endorsements. We do it all on our own, and we have a blast doing it. HM Can you tell our readers how hard it is to get into the music industry? It’s easy, and extremely hard at the same time. It’s really a relative situation. If you have connections, you can get into the industry no problem. If not, you gonna have to work your ass off, but anything you set your mind to you can do. Whether it’s music or anything else in life. The hardest thing though, is staying in the industry and staying relevant, while also staying true to yourself. That’s 19

HM Do you think it’s harder now then efore?

The people have to see you constantly, or it’s out of sight, out of mind.

would say that it’s harder now, just beause what I do isn’t just for fun anymore. It’s serious work. I don’t have ays off. It’s gotten to the point where when I get a day off, and I can’t even njoy it because I feel like I’m slacking. m very hard on myself, but it’s beause I’m a perfectionist. Everything as to be on point or I get stressed out. Because every time someone experinces Indigo Monet, I want it to be ne of the most exhilaating experinces of heir life. Something memorable nd magical. Something egendary.

HM Do you think the music site like (ITunes, Sound cloud, YouTube)etc. help independent artist?

HM How do ou feel bout using ocial media to promote music?

’s absolutely necessary. We live in a ast paced world. People want things to e at the tip of their fingers at any moment. When you’re in this game, you beong to the people. And if you wanna tay relevant and make some cream, ou gotta be heavy on social media.

Honestly, all social media is a blessing and a curse. The blessing is, you can be your own self driven force. You can be completely independent, play by your own rules, and still become successful. Your media can now be

streamed all over the world in just a click of a button. The curse? An oversaturated market. Since it’s so easy to do it on your own, everybody’s doing it. So that’s more competition. More people you have to outshine to get noticed.

HM So how did you (when are you) dropping your first single?

HM How do you feel about Internet radio stations?

I just dropped a song called Phoenix, which is the first single off of my upcoming EP dropping this summer called BleuDreamZ. I’m uber excited for the tape to drop and for my new sound and vibes to be released into the universe. It’s definitely a whole new feel. You get more of a sense of who Indigo really is.

They’re great for upcoming artists like myself. They give you great exposure; exposure that you wouldn’t normally get on your own. If you’re talented, they will put you on the air, and you will be heard, unlike your usual radio stations that only play mainstream artists. So I love them, and I appreciate them.

HM We get a lot of questions on how artist should put their music out, what would you say is the best way to go about it? Put it out everywhere. In as many places, and in as many forms as you can. I would never confine myself to one medium. Make CD’s. Put it on the internet. Make stickers promoting yourself and your music and just stick them everywhere. On the subway, bathroom stalls, whatever. Just be visible. That’s the key.

HM Can you tell us about the shows you been doing? All my shows are mini goddess level concerts. You come to one of my performances, and you are guaranteed to be entertained. And all the shows I’ve been doing lately have been to promote the EP coming out, so they’re like exclusive listening sessions for the new project

HM Who are some of the artist you would like to work with? Erykah Badu for sure. Andre3000, Kehlani, Kelela, The Internet, SZA, Pharell, MajidJordan, and Frank Ocean if he ever decides to come out of hiding. HM How can our readers find you? If you go to my website at www.indigomonet.com you can find everything you need for all your Mama Dingo needs right there. HM Thank you for the interview.

CERTIFIED BOUTIQUE 30

HM We sitting here in Certified Boutique, really nice clothing store man, how’d you get started in all of this? It started with music, this all came from music, and we were a group called Certified Hustlers. It was five of us, me, my brothers, and my cousins. One of us died in a car accident, so it’s four of us now, that was about five years ago, and we just took it to a whole different level. We used to perform in these t-shirts all the time, and everybody was on them, they ask us where they could get them from. So I decided if I build my own store and put my shirts in it with some new brands that everybody rocking I can get my sells off. I started in the swap meet, did that for a whole year, sold about two thousand Certified Hustler shirts for twenty dollars a pop. Now we here, about three to four months into the New Year, this where we at right here, takin the brand to a whole different level. HM So it’s not just a store, you own your own line. Yea it’s a whole umbrella, Certified Ave, is just the umbrella, but everything falls under it. From clothing to music, we even got the models out here going stupid crazy, we got the clubs, and even got our own night

club, Certified night club for the strippers, so yea it’s going crazy. HM So how do you feel about the clothing line and the brands? That’s where fashion and everything is going right now with the Instagram and the social media. Everybody is rocking things one time and throwing it away, because you can’t take pictures in the same thing twice with this social media, you feel me? So I jumped and tapped into that, and I always been a fashion guru since I was a little boy. I always wanted to be fly and stay creased, so from there I took my dreams to another level and certified my hustle. HM So tell us about some of the stuff you have in the store today? Well we do a lot of underground, so that’s what makes us big, we do carry True Religion, and Rick Ross, but we really like messing with the locals, the underground that got that super-duper fly stuff that nobody is really catching. So we bring it here and really just bring a whole new sense fashion to the city, because Vegas is really slow on their clothing and everything.

HM How do you get into the underground clothing? Well right now I’m on the social media crazy, so everybody is following the store. I believe I have about twelve thousand followers, so I think I’m popping up on everybody timeline who’s into fashion. They’re seeing how dope the store is and a lot of them are reaching out. I have a lot of people from California, my boy Calibunga is stationed out here in Nevada in the air force, but he’s been deported and brought his stuff down and wants me to push it for him. I have the Severals out in Long Beach, Rick Ross, Tilly, Bape, Certified, and I even got the stuff for the ladies, can’t forget about the ladies. HM So you’re saying most of it is pushed through social media? Yea, this whole brand. From the music we already had the name, but it

wasn’t taking off, so I took the clothing on its own streak and it took off. HM You also said you do photoshoots in here sometimes? Is that true? Sometimes? Man I’m talking about two to three times a week; we bring all the beautiful models in here. We have that on lock too man, that’s why I say when you come to Vegas, you have to stop on the ave and get certified. It’s crazy. HM So how is the girls fashion going for you? I sell more ladies stuff than men’s clothing. The men they come in and get a shirt for the weekend or something. The ladies though, they come in and get a shirt for the day, and that’s every other day. So I got to keep the ladies flavored, plus I got a good team of ladies right now keeping me tuned into to what’s fashion and what’s right, right now. 35

Hm: So if some of our readers wanted to start a clothing line, what do you say would be the easiest way for them to get started? The first thing you need to do is get yourself branded, if you’re serious about taking off and taking it to another level, the first thing is get your label or your logo certified. I’m not talking about certify your hustle, I mean certified as in your paperwork so once you do start them footprints everything will already be copyrighted, you’ll be good to go and not have to worry about nothing. From there you get, a few designers on your team, get a few pieces, and get you some pop up stores. Keep them tuned into the city, you have to keep the traffic coming through. Hm: After you started and got your footprint started, you had to build a team of designers? “Simplism” that’s how it goes. It not what you wear, it’s the statement. Because everybody is a certified hustler, from the man picking up trash, to the cat in the back flipping burgers. If you’re getting a check at the end of the day, you’re a certified hustler. Hm: Is it hard to get the graphic designs and stuff put on the shirts?

Naw, not really, nowadays everybody is starting their own line. Nobody is going to the big name brand designers anymore because the prices are too high, and plus they aren’t supporting what we are trying to do. So everybody is doing it their own way and there are a lot of cheaper ways to do it. Once you get your stamp, and you have your brand and your designer, put it on about twenty shirts and see if it moves. Once it moves, take what you made off the twenty, keep that, double it up and go get your forty. Ain’t no change in the game, it’s the same thing. Hm: So would you say it’s a little bit easier now coming off the footprint that you landed? Easier to start your own line? It’s easier now, but back then though, the footprints was better without the social media. Pulling up and popping the trunk, or what I mentioned earlier how we did the shows and people would ask where we got our stuff from. That type of movement makes an impact you feel me? Every day I have my brand on, it’s a statement. But it’s not hard, nothing is hard if you certify your hustle. If it’s something you really want to do, you’re going to do it, and you can’t put ten percent and expect to get one hundred.

HM So would you say, start with the wholesale license? Well I had to get the license for the store, then I did my LLC and my whole brand with the corporation as far as the clothing. From there I had to get my admissions license, tax, make sure they get their cut off, you know how America is. Hm: Okay, okay. So for all our readers, is there anything you would like to tell them? Certify your hustle, and if you come to Vegas, make sure you stop by the Ave. That's 5650 W Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, Nevada 89146. Check us out on Instagram and Facebook @certifiedaveboutique. Website: www.certifiedave.net and whatever you do just make sure you certify your hustle. HM That's it you heard it from the source. Thanks for having us.

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JEFE MULA

HM We here after the Radio Show at

It’s called Vida de Finura, life of fi-

RMC Media and we have Jefe Mula in the house

What’s good man, I’m feelin good man, it’s a beautiful day out here in LA, I like this.

nesse it speaks for itself. Basically we all was friends of course way before we started the music industry. Then it started, Swaray started rapping, A1 Juice started rapping, Praise Luciano started rapping, and they came with that fire, now we in the music industry.

HM That’s cool, that’s cool. So what’s

HM can you share with our readers

going on man, tell us how you got started in this industry?

how is it to get into the music industry. Is it harder now? How many years you been in the game?

HM What’s going on how you feelin?

Basically, my man Swaray he started the whole rap movement, him and A1 Juice, they came out and dropped some songs. I’m like alright bet this is a sound I like, and basically my man Swaray he kept forcing me in the booth to make a song, so I made a song, and then praise Luciano he just came out here being great. So once the team was solidified as established vicious artists then I just went from there and started putting the managerial sense to and then that’s how we’re here. HM tell our readers where you from? Shout out Jeff road man, Jeff road 3604, Maryland 301 what’s good, Landover what’s good man. HM Alright alright, now that everyone knows where you’re coming from. Now tell us about this team that you guys got built.

Man look, we probably been in the game strong a year and a half, so it’s not hard. It’s like this mane, if you got something different, if you original, keep striving and it's gone pop, it’s gone pop son. One thing since DJ Holiday, they hosting the mix-tape “Life of Finesse Volume 1”, they was tellin us, y’all stay true to who y’all is that’s why y’all even here right now. That’s what I tell everybody. Words out of Holiday mouth “don’t worry about what nobody else doin, don’t worry about anything anybody else is doin, just focus on what your movement is and you gone be great”.

HM So how did you guys drop your first mix-tape? It ain't drop yet, we dropping it this fall, it got pushed back a little bit because we doing everything right man, when you coming out in this game first impressions mean a lot. You know? It’s a lot of people that know us and it’s a lot of people that don’t. And the people that don’t we want to give them the right sound, want to have everything right. The mix-tape is done, it’s all now on production and marketing. HM Ok, so you also say you do a little bit of managing, how does that work out in the program? Alright well, since I been managing my life for 22 years now, it’s pretty easy. But I know a lot of people who start rapping and might blow up and

they just put they friend as manager. But nah you gotta really have skill, as my team would tell you, I got good managerial sense I know how to calculate profit. That’s what I’m here for to calculate profit. HM You have any upcoming shows? Or anything people might be able to come check you out at? We gone have a couple shows in Atlanta, we got a show in North Carolina ANTG. We had a couple already at shows at UMES, shout out UMES for having us at homecoming. We had a show at Apache Café in Atlanta and we had a show at the kickback in Greens borough. So we got shows lining up, we’ll probably run through them spots again and see what new come in, we had a show out in DC to man. 64

HM That’s wassup, I get a lot of questions on how artist should get their music out, what would you say is the best way to get it out? I always say man, if somebody can see it and they can feel it then that’s the best way to go. So I recommend videos, because anybody can listen to music and say this a coo song, but when they see you and they see the truth in the music, then they gone gravitate to it, “who is this, let me follow him on Instagram, let me see what else he got”. So I always tell artist if y’all want to do something visualize it, so I would say YouTube is the best. HM So how can our readers check you out and follow you? @JefeMula and you can also follow the brand page @Vidadefinura. HM So y’all a full brand out there, you guys coming out with any clothing lines? Yea we got shirts and all that, sorry I’m not in one today, but we got shirts, cups, lighters, bandanas whatever you need. That’s what I’m saying we gone drop everything with the mix-tape, we gone come out the right way, we also got the

blog that’s gone come out too with the tape, just our whole Atlanta adventure. HM So you guys are coming out of Atlanta not Maryland? Alright look, funny thing about my area man, I don’t want to say it’s a lot of hatred. In Atlanta let’s just put it like it’s a lot of love, not saying it not love in Maryland, but people that’s from there they know what’s up, everybody out there for personal gain. Atlanta opened they arms up to us so we gone roll you feel me. We always putting on for our area but it’s just a lot of hatred back home in Washington DC. Maryland area, PG county, people from out there they know it ain’t really easy. The next man always hating on the next man, but in Atlanta it seems like all the niggas on the same team. Everybody linked up, they got they sound in Atlanta booming. One day I really hope that our area get it together because if everybody was together it would be a whole nother sound in this world. Everybody from my area know ain’t nobody ever seen no real live PG DC niggas man, that’s just what it is. We got authenticity, that’s that word man originality. 66

HM Alright man, well thanks for giving us this interview and spending some time with us. We’ll definitely get back witcha. Oh yea yea man, let me get some shout outs out the way man. Like I said shout out Jeff road 3604, shout out Swaray, A1 Juice, Praise Luciano, Shane Cojoe, Jeff, what’s good man, shout out the whole Vida de squad, Christian Cash man what’s good man. Thank y’all for having me though man. HM its 100

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