ISSUE 11
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ISSUE 11
06 SMINO 18 SWEETIE 22 GALLANT 32 J.COLE 40 BUDDY 42 LUTE 46 TOMMY NEWPORT 56 AQUIHAYAQUIHAY 62 RYAN LESLIE 80 wolf tyla
SMINO photos by Abdi Ibrahim
I got the chance to speak to the incredibly talented Smino on the phone earlier this July. He was dining at a local black-owned restaurant talking with me in between bites of spicy catfish. From what I heard, it sounded like it was pretty good, as Smino himself jokingly put it “sorry if I sound like Rick Ross”. The Missouri rapper is a strong believer in supporting black-owned businesses. He voiced to me his hopes that fellow rappers will follow suit and spread their wealth across these establishments in their own communities. Maybe his community-first mindset stems from his heritage. Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1991, Smino was raised in a strong family foundation that taught him to appreciate his culture. In fact, music was in his blood; his father is a talented keys player, mother is a singer, and even his grandfather played bass for hall of fame Blues musician Muddy Waters. Although very talented, they sacrificed careers in music in order to be more present in their son’s life. Despite their musical ability, Smino appreciates that they didn’t force him into music. Describing the impact of their sacrifice Smino said, “It definitely allowed them to be there with me to help me find my passions. They were really able to focus on me and give me wisdom. They never forced music onto me; they let me do whatever I was into at the time. My passion ended up being music anyways, and then it was cool because they got to be like ‘oh this is what you love great let me show you all this dope shit’. So yeah, them sacrificing that is something I’m beyond grateful for”.
interviewed by Tyler
More than just his family life, Smino also felt his surrounding hometown environment impacted his growth into who he is now as an artist. He spent the majority of his adolescence in Ferguson, Missouri. Ferguson is a town many recognize from headlines a few years back after a black man, Michael Brown Jr., was cruelly murdered by a local police officer. When I inquired of Smino whether he perceived racial injustices growing up and if so, how that affected him. He answered bluntly, “Shit I experienced them yesterday. You know what I mean? You’re not a black man but all of us know some of the same phrases. Things like ‘always bring your ID’ or ‘look for a badge number’ that I could tweet right now and everyone would be like ‘yeah my mother told me that’- things that are just part of everyday life for us. We know how these motherfuckas feel about us and what they’ll do to us. So yeah, of course it affected me”.
The adversity he and far too many alike faced, while unfair, did give him good perspective as well as develop important traits like perseverance and awareness; traits that have aided him on his ascension in music. It also created a driving desire to be able to take care of all of his family in the area. It’s this desire that drove him to leave home to attend Columbia University to study media management. When I asked Smino about his time at Columbia he just laughed and told me, “Man I ain’t use none of that shit” he began laughing but continued, “that’s just not where I chose to get my knowledge from ya feel?”.
Regardless of where he acquired his knowledge, he clearly is utilizing what he has learned well. Having dropped two albums, “Blkswn” in 2017 and “Noir” late last year, Smino has already garnered the support of both his fans and peers alike. He’s a versatile artist who seamlessly blends his Jazz and Soul roots with modern HipHop and RnB sounds. He truly embodies what it means to be a creator; as anyone who has heard his albums can understand, it is nearly impossible to pinpoint any singular artist he sounds like. His talent transcends only music too, as Smino is also a gifted performer. Somewhat of a tour veteran for such a young act, he has already accompanied established artists SZA and T-Pain on tour as well as headlined a 34 show tour around the county. When I asked him why it’s so important to him to be on the road he said, “I just love it man. Being on stage has always been my thing. I love recording and rehearsing and then being able to perform it in the same room as so many real people. There’s a connection that happens during that, when you’re in the same room with fans. That’s what’s real in all this. That’s how my fan base keeps growing, and I can’t wait to keep doing it more and more”.
Despite his large tour presence and commercial success, Smino still remains an independent artist. In an era where rappers are getting signed to a major label before they get their high-school diploma, his patience in this area stands out. When I asked him what the reason was for staying independent he proudly told me “I’ve always been kinda doing my own shit. I never had any major co-sign from any rapper or any connections that got me on. So that’s no different when it comes to owning my shit. I own all my shit, masters and all, and I’m doing what I want when I want on my own terms. That’s really dope to have so early in my career”.
While he may have never had a major rapper co-sign him while he was blowing up over the years, that certainly changed earlier this January. Smino fans were ecstatic when they saw him post his yellow invite to the ROTD3 recording sessions hosted by J Cole and the Dreamville camp. No matter how proud you are to not need anyone else to succeed it still feels good to get recognition from someone you respect. J Cole is definitely on a short-list of the most universally respected rappers. With the album being out now we know that Smino made the cut for the album, but before I asked him about that I had another question first. “What was it like to be in the room with so many talented, creative artists all trying to bring their best?” His excitement over the phone was almost contagious as he told me, “That was the craziest, most amazing experience of my life. For one, the energy was absolutely wild the whole time. But more than that energy shit those were some real people. Like real ass people, ya feel? Guapdad, JID, Bas, Earthgang, Mez, all those guys.. Some of them I was already cool with others I got to know but those are my brothers for real. I’d bring all of them home to meet my family on some real shit. Like we still gettin together and shit. Those sessions were incredible”.
From how highly he speaks of it you have to wonder if this recording scheme is one that will spread across the industry. There’s plenty of other “rap camps”, if you will, that could try to emulate the energy heard on the “ROTD III” album that I’m sure fans would be excited to hear. In fact, Smino already has the roots of his own such camp. Deemed “Zero Fatigue”, Smino’s musical collective has been developing since 2012 and officially was founded in 2015. I asked him what he envisioned for the groups future. He answered very matter of fact, saying “I just want to see all my guys living out their dream and happy! Like I want my boy to call me and it be like ‘yo you got the Bentley now get the Musain for me’ type shit. I just want all my boys to be taken care of and doing what they love for real”.
In order to make sure everyone is taken care of like he said, Smino is always thinking up new ideas to bring money in. As he says, “Anyone who knows me knows I’ve got a new idea for a business venture like every week”. A shining example of this would be the very popular line of hoodies he’s created called “Silk Pillows”. Now I would put a plug here and tell you to buy them, but they’re probably all sold out already, they’re that popular. The concept is pretty simple, but also kind of genius. It’s a hoodie, but the inside of the hood is lined with silk to preserve the waves in your hair like a durag does. When I asked Smino how he thought of this idea he told me, “Man, so I was on the SZA tour, right? And I was always wearing hoodies and stuff lounging around at late nights after shows and shit. But when I’d fall asleep with the hoodie on, my hair would get all fucked up. So I was always having to be wearing Durags with my hoodie. Then, one day I just thought ‘what if there was a silk lining in the hood!’... Lots of money later, here we are”.
This story’s a good example of how funny Smino can be, a fact well known to his social media followers. In fact, if you’d ask one of his followers to tell you something about Smino they’d probably either say that he’s very funny... that, or that he makes a LOT of music. He seems like he’s in the studio almost every day, and typically stays there pretty late. Since his last album was only last November, I asked him whether we fans could expect any more solo Smino music this year. He immediately said “hell yeah, like tomorrow”. I’m not sure he meant it literally, but he did double down and said we could definitely expect some more bangers this year.
This seems somewhat generous of him, after all he did just pop up on two of the better rap songs dropped this year. “Oh Wow...Swerve” And “Sacrifices”, both off of the aforementioned Revenge of the Dreamers 3 album, and both alongside J. Cole. “Sacrifices” in particular stuck out to me as a favorite, and Smino was especially poetic over that beat. I asked him to tell me how that song came about, and he gladly went into story mode for me. “Alright so let me tell you. Room 222, that’s where we were recording that. I was like the first one in there every morning, and I’d just start cooking up. Then other people would start filling in and making music off of what I’m doing and doing other shit etc. But this one day me and my boy Groove were in there and he made that Sacrifices beat. Long story short Saba, Johnny Venus, and I love it and we all lay our verses and we’re listening and we’re like wow this shits amazing. Then Cole comes in and hears it and he loved it, and he takes the beat to a different room to do his part. He brings it back to us later that day and he’s playing it for us and we’re all yeah that’s some Cole Jesus level shit. Then he’s telling us how he cried writing that verse. I’m like ‘damn Cole you be cryin?’” He says jokingly “But for real that was so cool to me. Like we’re the ones lighting that fire under his ass and inspiring him to tears on an incredible verse. That feeling is like indescribable, I love that song“.
This one memory he shared serves as an insight into what I’m sure was as memorable a week as any for Smino and the other artists present. In fact, some of the artists bonded so well that they did not want to stop creating together when the ten days was finished. Thus, Zoink Gang was formed, an intimidating squad featuring Smino, Buddy, J.I.D, and Guapdad 4000. Now, I didn’t get a clear answer from Smino on whether we’d get a full album from the collective, but he emphatically let me know “it’s Zoink Gang bitch!” so fingers crossed! All joking aside, Smino is undoubtedly one of the most talented young artists rising on the rap scene. His family roots, impressive catalogue, performing ability, versatile sound, and support from his peers all combine to make him poised for both success and longevity in music and beyond. As a fan, I’m just excited to watch it unfold.
Sweetie Sweetie Sweetie
GALLANT shot by
Lamont Roberson II
How are you? How is your mental health and overall well-being? great man— happy that the album is fina never really had the voice for it until now
The current state of R&B...is the genre in a good place and describe your place in the current climate? i think its in a great place— I know when I was first putting stuff out online, hype machine and the whole m radio, and people like me in R&B who were doing something a little different felt like they had to wear tha
but now I think we’ve gotten so used to the multiple shades of R&B that it’s breathed new energy into the g
What has been more impactful to your career: the internet (social media blogs) or being outside (touri touring was crazy for me because i spent so long making music in isolation that it was hard to imagine a c and everything speak to— it made me realize that even if sometimes I feel like the black sheep in my neighb waiting for an opportunity to get together.
The first time someone you idolized co-singed your work...could you describe that moment? the first time i ever came to LA i went down a rabbit hole of real ambient shit— mostly older things I had s sufjan stevens had just put out a ridiculous album that wasn’t like anything else I had ever heard before...
after I finished the project I got an email from one of the people responsible for putting together his tour fo would fit with the all-sitting type of show he was looking to bring on the road. we met for the first time at t like that before being booked as his opener, so i didn’t know to expect. plus, I was in the middle of making than I think he was expecting, so I was almost in the back of my head thinking I might get kicked off the tou have imagined I would get from someone at his level. yeah, it was surreal. and to become friends after tha
ally out, proud that I was able to make the kind of music I’ve been wanting to make since I was a kid but
? How do you fit in amongst your peers and collaborators? music blog space were finally giving people an alternative to what we were hearing constantly on the at “alternative rnb” label to differentiate their sound from that commercial sound.
genre as a whole— i’m proud to call my stuff R&B— no ‘alternative’ needed anymore in 2019.
ing, interacting with fans)? crowd full of people who are coming from the same place musically that I am— who the lyrics and vibe borhood, or on my block, or in my city— there’s a world full of people who might feel the same way
saved like aphex twin but also a lot of new-at-the-time things like how to dress well— and I remember
or that new album— it was out of nowhere— they said they heard my song Manhattan and felt like the vibe this coffee shop outside of the first venue we played— I had never even, like, seen a tour bus or anything g my album Ology at the time and my show was way more high-energy with the new songs I was writing ur or something— but he was mad cool and gave me a bunch of positive feedback which I never would at and keep collaborating years after that tour... never would have thought that could happen.
New album man, what can you tell me about "Sweet Insomnia," not the content or inspiration the fans will listen to and hear it...I want to know 13 songs 35 minutes, why 13, and why 35 minutes last album was 16 and 53?man I just wanted to keep it short and concise. with my first album, there was a lot that after the fact i kind of felt might have been a little distracting. sometimes i think even if I were making ology again now I would have probably taken off ‘episode’ and ‘open up’ and ‘counting’...
short and sweet just felt right for this one. You studied music at NYU but went to the West Coast, from a musician standpoint, what does the west coast provide that the east does not and vice versa? for me, it was just a quality of life— when you’re struggling in new york to make things work, you’re REALLY struggling. being from the suburbs I was just more used to a way of life that let you take breaks, regroup, find your own space and do your own thing; LA and the west coast in general had more of that for me without sacrificing the connectedness that being in a big city gives you.
I don't want to take away the importance of a full project, but is there a specific
song on the new album that means more to you than the others?
for me ‘hips’ captures that east coast autumn feel— and a more lo-fi angle sonically that i’ve been wanting to get into for a while... and I wrote it about a girl from my childhood back in maryland... if there’s a song on the album that’s there more for me than for anything else, it’s that one.
1. The difference between a debut album and sophomore album? I
feel like you have your entire life to write your debut album. But the second album; that's the real challenge, wow write about everything that has happened since. Did you face this difficulty?
I got in my head about it for a bit and then realized how quickly thinking like that derailed the entire process. I’m glad people connected with my first album but that was just the first thing I put out there, so to put it on a pedestal as if it’s the greatest thing in the world is completely counter-productive... and it limits yourself right off the bat... so when I tried to write what I thought people would want to hear based off my first album I knew I couldn’t put it out there; i didn’t connect with it at all.
when I got back with stint and just started basically from scratch around November of last year I was in a much better space to learn from the mistakes of my past few attempts and write something that made me feel complete regardless of what anyone else thought— the same feeling I got when I was working on my first album—
as a result a lot of the older ideas and songs I had lying around couldn’t be a part of this album, but I got something that I could stand behind that helped me through 2018 and 2019 personally the same way my first album helped me through ‘15 and ‘16.
I hate to do this to you because lists are annoying haha, BUT since it went viral on twitter, I have to ask, greatest R&B singers who are your top 5 no order necessary. Phillip Bailey, Bilal, Maxwell, Curtis Mayfield, D’Angelo, Babyface, Usher man so many—
J.COLE
BUDDY BY ANTHONY SUPREME
LUTE BY ANTHONY SUPREME
tommy newport photos by 12am interviewed by Derrius Edwards
1. Tommy Newpo and will do anythi play music and th
2. Wichita is a be of people and thin bored easily and distracting city bu community of mu people who love local gigs.
3. When I’m at m into a memory an moment in time m basis for the begi help them get thr
4. I choose the so if they ow well to a song sit for mon an album becaus
5. The Newport n he would come h do smoke a cigar
6. There are no li when all is said a goes out. But whe boundaries and y
7. I think just bein videos and record small artist. The u your life to it if yo life. But good con
8. The future is b to build a legacy presented to the
ort is an indie rock and roller who has a dream and no limits. No fears, no rules no guidelines ing he has to do to get the world to hear his message and music. He just wants to make and hat’s his sole purpose on this earth.
eautiful small town in the Midwest with limited forms of entertainment. In a big city with tons ngs to do I don’t think I wound have written half the songs I have now. Being here I get when I get bored I write music for hours and hours. I owe it to Wichita for not being such a ut a place I can get my priories in check and spend too much time making music. The usicians here is quite large for the same reasons. I am surrounded by song writers and music because there’s not a lot to do around here other than going to all of your friend's
my lowest point I can always rely on my instruments to capture a moment in time and turn it nd something I can look back at and move on from. A physical piece of art that embodies a makes it easier for me to let those emotions go. My emotions help me be creative and have a inning of a project. They help me make something other people can relate to and hopefully rough their issues.
ong based on what sounds right together and what the stories in the songs speak about and ogether. I am very quick to want to release music as soon as I’ve made it and it’s hard to let nths to a year but sometimes that’s when you get the best collections of songs for an EP or se then each song is from a different time in my life.
name came from the brand Newport cigarettes. The darts my brother always smoked when home from university and he would lend me one and smoke it with me outside. So anytime I rette it’s a Newport with my brother.
imits. That being said I like to make indie rock and I want my discography to be a certain way and done. Once it’s out it’s there forever until the end of time so I am particular about what en writing music there are no limits I love making all kinds of genres and pushing the you can hear that in my music. Every new song I put out is far from the last.
ng a young buck with a small fan base can get you at times, seeing people doing big budget ding at abbey road and having endless amounts of outlets to push their music is tough as a uncertainty of ever succeeding like my favorite artists have is scary and you have to dedicate ou want to go that far and it’s a scary process. Never knowing if you can really make it your nfidence will sort that out.
bright, I will continue to push the boundaries and make the music I want to make and I hope and follow the footsteps of my favorite artists. Much more music to come and more art to be world.
AQUIHAYA
AQUIHAY
RYAN LESLIE
WOLF TYL
LA
WOLF TYLA
