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DJ. WHOO. KID. . + Bad Lucc. + Byron Bank.. + Skippa Da Flippa. + HHB Artists.
R.O.T. Buggs Tha Rocka. Donny Goines. Ray Pearson. Dash Jordan. 1
#HipHopBreath
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Edito Ce nouveau numéro de HHB est fait d’interviews exclusives, réalisées par LadySu. On y retrouve en interview DJ Whoo Kid, Skippa Da Flippa, Bad Lucc, Byron Bank, et les artistes HHB. N’hésitez pas à partager, commenter !
@LadySuMusic @HipHopBreath
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Sommaire
Bad Lucc … P.6 Byron Bank … P.10 Skippa Da Flippa … P.16 DJ Whoo Kid … P.20
HHB Artists … P.25
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Bad Lucc Interview Hello Bad Lucc. For those who might be a little unfamiliar with the name, tell us a little about yourself. Who is Bad Lucc, where are you from and when did you start out in hip hop? Poet, Writer, Musician, your eye in the streets......... Born in Inglewood, Ca. Raised in Watts, Ca. My start in Hip-Hop was at the early age of 10 when my older Sister, a rapper at the time, wrote my 1st rap. Or, you could say when I got my 1st official rap dollar signing with The Great Snoop Dogg in 2007 with my group "Western Union" aka "Dubb Union" which gave me the opportunity to help with writing songs on Snoop Dogg's latter albums. However you look at it Hip-Hop has always been apart of my life..... How did you become a Diamond Lane artist. Can you tell us? I became a Diamond Lane artist some 6 years back. My brotha Problem was looking for another artist to rock alongside him with this new upstart indie label started by his long time friend "Brody".
Problem being a good friend of mine just asked me to be down. I thought it would be dope to start from the beginning of a new label especially one ran by my friends. Tell us about your debut album "Off The Porch". How did you decide on the title and also who you wanted to be the featured artists and producers? My Debut album "Off The Porch" is special to me. Its literally my thoughts, experiences, and life in these streets, as well as my views on the world as its viewed thru the mind of "Terence Harden" aka Bad Lucc. The man along with the Rapper. Hence, being Off The Porch. You can't see or experience any of this until you leave your front door and take it all head on..... As far as the features go, I wanted to keep it in-house for the most part. Problem & StoneyThaDealer ! Outside of that I have two beautiful singers who go by the names of Candice & Kay Cola. I wanted the listener to get more of 6
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me instead of cluttering an album with all these features, ya know. Producers I worked with is all about the sound. If its dope, I'm in. With Problem handling most of the production alongside Don Cannon, THX, E. Jones(The Soul Council), and a couple of other cats i've worked with on previous occasions. How long did it take you to make the album? What was the most challenging aspects in terms of putting the concepts and then recording? All my life, really ! This is my first REAL album. What was challenging was trying to take hundreds & hundreds of songs along with the new records I recorded for this album and breaking them down to fit what I was trying to convey in 15/16 tracks. The concepts were easy because my mind is always on what the project represented. The do's & don'ts of street life and an all around guide to being a stand up Man coming from the hood. Were there any particular inspirations for you in making this album, and in a wider sense, what else acts as your biggest motivational factors? Living life is enough inspiration for me when it comes to making any project. I've seen so much and I want to tell it all. Can't tell it all on one album so the fun part comes knowing I have so many more to
record for the listener. That would also be the biggest motivational factor when recording. Knowing that I have songs that can literally help save lives. Thats Deep! And so I record on....... Do you have a favorite track from the album? If so, which one and why? I don't have any one particular favorite. They all mean so much to me. I mean, you have more serious topics like "Mr.Officer" but is Mr.Officer more important than "4MyMomma" or say "Bobby's World" ?! Its a real toss up here. I Love them all From the days you started out rapping, which artists would you say you learned the most from, those who influenced you the most in developing your own style? Ice Cube..... Hands down ! His story telling was second to none. Taught me that you didn't have to be the killer. You just needed to be around the killers to tell that story with conviction. What has been your best experience to date in the rap game? There's so many to name. Im just glad that Im still here to experience the things that I have and to have met the Great people that I've been blessed to meet along the way. It really helps on this "Road to 8
4evereness" as I like to call it. The journey has truly been a blessing Anything else you would like to say to our readers in France? YES ! Tell all the promoters that I have yet to come to France and its a MUST that I rock the mic there numerous amounts of time before its all over. Oh, and I know the food is EXCELLENT! Lol! I'll be there soon enough‌‌. @LadySuMusic
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Byron Bank Interview Hello Byron. For those who might be a little unfamiliar with the name, tell us a little about yourself. Who is Byron Bank, where are you from and when did you start out in hip hop? I’m a hiphop lyricist and storyteller from Houston, Tx. I started rapping since the age 15 but started out in hiphop once I heard Tupac’s “Keep Your Head Up” and Notorious Big’s “Juicy”. You started rapping at fifteen. What made you want to rap? Everywhere I went I use to listen to a Sony Walkman and rap along in my head the lyrics to the songs. I thought it was cool especially when the instrumental came on after the song. I would challenge myself to rap the song all over again until I knew the song flawlessly. After getting good and freestyling with my cousins over a karaoke machine, I started rapping every chance I got.
You had the opportunity to join the group Uppa Dek, can you tell us this story? Sure, why not?! I became a member of Uppa Dek after just randomly freestyling on the back of the school bus during my high school years. My friends always participated in the school talent show and I was asked to be apart of the show my sophomore year. I wrote my first actually versus and the rest is history. Let’s just say the show was great and after that the group invitation was accepted. We did amazing things, dropped our first album and I explored my musical abilities further by producing some of the songs on the album. Tell us about your last project "Change". How did you decide on the title, producers, ..? I decided to name the album Change because as an artist and a person I was going through a 10
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change. The world and life experiences taught me so many valuable lessons that I started looking at things with a new prescriptive. I’ve seen how people can get stuck in their ways and complain but do nothing about it. As an unsigned artist I’ve heard and seen so many things that I decided to show my creativity side and let the music speak for itself. I shopped around for beats from all types of producers because I wanted a different sound and style as you listened to the album in it’s entireity. If the track didn’t talk to me, it was on to the next one. How long did it take you to make the project? What was the most challenging aspects in terms of putting the concepts and then recording? It took me about a year to complete, “Change” if you factor in the mixing and mastering sessions, artwork design and etc just to get the album perfect. The most challenging aspects were finding the words to draft a catchy hook, overcoming writers block during the summer months and overall just getting in the studio. Between my everyday life and work, I had to
find a happy medium to get this project finished. Were there any particular inspirations for you in making this project, and in a wider sense, what else acts as your biggest motivational factors? My life was a big inspiration for this project. I didn’t rap about anything anyone couldn’t relate to. Every song was an experience, a lesson or a message that someone else needed to hear. I talked about relationships, goals, dreams, friends, life and etc. If it wasn’t real or heartfelt I didn’t let it cloud my creativity. Do you have a favorite track from the project? If so, which one and why? This is a hard one to answer because I have so many but I will have to say my favorite would be “Doubtful Ones”. I was told in so many ways that I will not make it, just wasting my time and should give up my musical dream. Hear this from friends and family was a hard one to deal with especially when my love for music is unconditional. This pushed me and motivated me to go harder and not
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limit myself to the point that I held a few notes on this song. lol We assume you working on your next project… can you tell us about? My next project is titled, “XChange” which is an addition to my last project “Change”. It will have between 5-8 songs that will definitely compete with the majors. Can’t give it all away but let’s just say I have some bangers on this one too! From the days you started out rapping, which artists would you say you learned the most from, those who influenced you the most in developing your own style? I’ve learned the most from Tupac, Biggie, Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, UGK, Scarface, Soul of Mischief, Nas and JayZ who also helped influenced my style along with J. Cole, Drake, Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco.
many major artists in my city but nothing tops performing at a music festival full of people from across all parts of the world. Anything else you would like to say to our readers in France / Europe / Worldwide? I first would like to thank HipHopBreath and LadySuMusic for taking the time out to interview me and asking great questions. To every reader, know that anything is possible. Don’t let a no turn you way from your yes. One day that no can turn into a yes and if you stop pursuing your dreams you will never know. Thanks for reading, listening and if you haven’t heard of Byron Bank then you’re missing out on greatness. @LadySuMusic
What has been your best experience to date in the rap game? My best experience to date would be having the opportunity to perform on 6th Street during SXSW. I’ve had the chance to open up for 14
http://www.illentertainment.net/
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Skippa Da Flippa Interview
Hello Skippa Da Flippa. For those who might be a little unfamiliar with the name, tell us a little about yourself. Who is Skippa Da Flippa, where are you from and when did you start out in hip hop? I am from West Palm Beach, FL but s/o to the Nawf they put me on. I started in 2013. Tell us about your last project "Flippa McFadden". How did you decide on the title and also who to have as the various featured artists and producer? The title came from my name, me playing football in high school and Darren McFadden was one of my favorite. There are no features and the producers on my tape are the producers I have worked with for a very long time. S/O Nas Moore. How long did it take you to make the project? What was the most challenging aspects in terms of
putting the concepts and then recording? It took me 3 days to complete the project. The challenging part was deciding what songs to put on the mixtape. Were there any particular inspirations for you in making this project, and in a wider sense, what else acts as your biggest motivational factors? I felt like I owed my fans this tape. My motivation is my daughter and my mom. Do you have a favorite track from the project? If so, which one and why? “Who fresher than me” & “How I’m spose to” These 2 are my favorite because its real. We assume you working on your next project… can you tell us about? 16
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Yes, “Still Havin� its going to be one of the hottest mixtapes, I feel like I am improving everyday From the days you started out rapping, which artists would you say you learned the most from, those who influenced you the most in developing your own style? Migos
What has been your best experience to date in the rap game? Traveling around the world, catch my Dab! Anything else you would like to say to our readers in France / Europe / Worldwide? Thank you and I love all my fans for the support, n stay tuned. @LadySuMusic
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New Mixtape Series
Get your slots ! #1 hstd by Tabius Tate / #2 hstd by Sy Ari Da Kid / #3 hstd by Buggs Tha Rocka / #4 hstd by Yukmouth / #5 hstd by Skippa Da Flippa
To be continued! Stay Tuned! 19
DJ Whoo Kid Interview
Hello Whoo Kid, We would like to talk a little to your beginning. We have seen that your name Whoo Kid comes from your father, is that right? Can you tell us? Yup! When my mom would take a shit my dad would scream out “whooooooo!” from the smell. So when I went to high school if anything would go down (i.e. a fight, seeing sexy girl, etc.) I would scream “whooooooo!”, so the kids would call me Whoooooo Kid. This then turned into my dj name because I couldn’t use my real name leaking these big records, it was sort of a mystery in the beginning. What gave you the desire to be a DJ? Growing up in Queens, NY I was influenced by DJ Envy and DJ Clue
who lived around the corner from my house. Once I saw DJ Clue riding around in a BMW I knew I had to be a dj! Do you remember your first mix? Your first mixtape? Who was / How old were you? First mixtape I remember was hosted by Busta Rhymes called “Going Platinum”, I had to be around 22 when that dropped. How did your meeting with 50 Cent and G-Unit? After 50 Cent got shot 9 times my cousin and 50’s manager Sha Money XL hired bed to be the mixtape and tour dj. 50 didn’t trust anyone at this point, so I was only hired because I was a blood relative of Sha Money XL.
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What obstacles have you faced and overcome in the music industry, to get to where you are? Back then DJ Clue reigned supreme over the mixtape market. I went through hell just to be big like him. Years of hardwork and creativity with help from my first boss Chris Lighty (R.I.P.), who ran Violator Records at the time. He led me to meet Russell Simmons in which they both taught me about the evil hip-hop industry! Since you started Dj-ing, What is your best experience? Deejaying in front of 60,000 people in Bulgaria. So CRAZY!!!! You are working currently with Waka (among others). Will there be a European tour? And with Young Buck? Yes me and Waka will be going overseas this year. And I’m currently marketing Young Buck back into the online mixtape circuit. We revitalized the “Ten-AKey” mixtape series. What are your next projects? Can you tell us? Next projects are running for the US Presidency with Waka Flocka. Also doing a big clothing line collab, and then have some BIG EDM records releasing soon, so definitely stay tuned!
In all your songs, have you a favorite song? Which one? “Toast” with Waka Flocka, Wiz Khalifa, and EDM powerhouse Borgeous. We shot the video for that at a bunch of different festivals and venues across the country. Pacha was definitely the most fun out of all those parties! Turning to recent high profile cases of racial tensions in the United States, particularly involving the police and the black community, do you feel artists in the States should address this more and speak out more openly and publicly? Or is it your opinion that many of the well known artists there already take a strong stance against what is happening? Do you have any thoughts on how these problems may be resolved? Many artists have stood up publicly and on social media against police brutality. I say it on my popular Sirius XM show, on Eminem’s Shade 45, whenever there’s a huge issue. All lives matter, police should never abuse the power with the people they're enlisted to protect and serve. But this is no new issue, NWA was definitely one of the first groups to publicly speak on the issue. Anything you want to say? DEEEEEZ NUTZ — GOT EEEEEEM! @LadySuMusic
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For Submission
hiphopbreathe@gmail.com
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HHB ARTISTS #HHBARTISTS
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Ray Pearson Rising Hip Hop Rap Artist born out of the South Bronx of NY. Born Raymond Pearson was the 2nd oldest out of 4 kids. With music in his blood Ray would pick up the pen in 1998 to start pursuing his passion. He built a reputation for battling other local artists along his journey. Ray takes personal issues and inner emotions to motivate him to write music. He hopes to share his gift with the world painting images of his life through the punchlines he writes in his music. Twitter/Ig: Officiallyrp
R.O.T R.O.T (Revenge of the Truence) is a New York City Duo comprised of Lyricist MuGGz and Lyricist/Producer Tay Dayne (LTY Music). Together they bring a fresh and authentic brand of street science to the New York hip hop sound. The Dirty Duo goes in on each and every track, reminding you when NY ran Hip Hop.
Facebook / Instagram ROT4Ever Twitter @LiveThruYours
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Dash Jordan Dash Jordan was born in Detroit Michigan on September 7,1987. Most of his childhood was spent on the east side and west side of Detroit,every two years he would move from his mother house to his father house. Although he had a skill for writing stories,his heart was always in writing rhymes. He loved rapping so much that every time between classes he would write a few rhymes inside his notebook,and study on mastering his sound. Growing up in difficult
circumstances didn’t stop him from chasing his dream,in the year 2010 Dash Jordan was shot in the chest after a show at a Detroit local club. Between 2010 and 2011 Dash Jordan released his first Mixtape Titled Pre-Season Warm-Up. He then release his record « Outta This World »which got good radio play in also on the mix shows. Dash Jordan eventually released his second Mixtape in 2014 titled Born-NSeptember,which open up a few eyes. Some of his musical inspirations include Nas,Big Pun,2Pac,Biggie,Jay-Z,AZ,and Big L. @DashJordan86
Donny Goines Donny Goines is a well known musician from Mew York City. He already has many critically 27
acclaimed albums and has worked with Bun B, Killer Mike, Brother Ali, Just Blaze, Dame Grease and Statik Selektah to name a few. He’s performed all over the city and country thousands of times already and has massive amounts of prestigious press under his belt. He’s currently working on his next album titled « The Guggenrhyme » which will be released in early 2016. @DonnyGoines
tha Rocka has reinforced underground hip-hop with his eccentric lyricism and versatile flows. Buggs was raised in a full house of family in Cincinnati, Ohio. He began rapping at age of 6, soon after purchasing his first rap album, “Life After Death” by Notorious B.I.G. Buggs’ earliest recordings told stories and demonstrated wordplay with a clever mix of hip hop and rock. Also drawing inspiration from artists such as Andre 3000, Q-Tip, Missy Elliott, Pharrell, and jay-z. Buggs enhanced his skills to exude a smart and stylish sensibility. He ultimately developed a niche for pairing eclectic samples with amusing and conscious rhyme schemes. Twitter / Instagram @BuggsThaRocka
Buggs Tha Rocka In resistance to commercial gangsta rap, Buggs Tha Rocka performance of shrewd and cultured rhymes maintains golden-era techniques while carving a creative outlet for the succeeding hip-hop generation. Hailed by his peers as a “rapper’s rapper”, Buggs 28
Thank you to support Hip Hop Breath.
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