Interviews

After wowing listeners with her angelic vocals on Bonobo’s Black Sands, Ninja Tune songstress Andreya Triana returns this summer with her proper debut album, Lost Where I Belong. Andreya has an assured sensibility about her, yet there is an underlying frailty that creeps into her music, making it all the more emotional and authentic. She tends to get highly introspective, so we figured that we ought to catch up with her for an interview to dig just a bit deeper into her thoughts. Hit the skip to read what Andreya has to say about the driving forces behind her music and her philosophy on living well.

Where have all the storytellers gone? It seems like the narrative, conceptual side of hip-hop has been swept under the rug to make place for a boatload of braggadocio only to appear sporadically. Luckily, we have Ghostpoet here to fill the void. The 24-year-old rapper-producer from across the pond has a knack for crafting one hell of a tale with his lyrics, which he put on full display on his fantastic The Sound of Strangers EP. And, according to the man himself, it looks like that won’t be the only project of his we hear this year while a full-length is planned for 2011. To learn more about Ghost, just hit the skip and get to readin’! 

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I personally believe that Moe Pope is the most talented rapper in Boston. Now, there are plenty of fantastic artists in Boston, many of whom receive shout-outs from Moe himself below, but there is something so pure about Mr. Pope. He’s brash yet collected; energetic yet composed; intelligent beyond measure and street-savvy. We took the time to talk with Moe about his new record, Life After God, being from Boston, and – you guessed it – chocolate-covered bacon. Hit the skip to read what he had to say.

Buggs Tha Rocka is a relatively new name to me, but the budding emcee has been collecting some serious accolades of late. He’s been on tracks with members of Little Brother and Tanya Morgan, and he’s got a unique flow that perhaps hints that he may be the next rapper in line for the title of Native-Tongues-revivalist. Hailing from Cincinnati, Buggs follows in the tradition of rich Ohio hip-hop history. Hit the skip to find out what he’s got on his mind, how he feels about radio rap, and to learn a little comic book nerdery.

Those who have been following Potholes should be quite familiar by now with the name Trek Life. The up-and-coming Los Angeles emcee has outrageous talent and is proving that for once, good guys can finish first. After releasing a steady stream of music over the past two years, Trek is preparing to release his latest LP, Everything Changed Nothing, produced by Oddisee. We got a chance to catch up with Trek for a nice chat about the new album, his inspiration and his unfailing optimism. Hit the skip to read his thoughts, and to get a never-before-told story:

I became familiar with Detroit producer Apollo Brown through his work on Finale’s incredible A Pipe Dream & A Promise, which is one of the best rap records of the past few years. But Brown had been putting in work prior to his appearance on that project along with maintaining a strong work ethic since then. He recently put out the solid remix compilation The Reset and has several more projects lined up for 2010, such as an album with up-and-coming spitter Boog Brown.

Looking for so more insight into his creative process and overall mentality, I sent some questions over to the producer and you can check his answers out after the jump.

So one fine Thursday afternoon I’m sitting at work when I get an abrupt Twitter message and subsequent e-mail from producer Willie Green. You might know the name from his solo instrumental projects …Of Heroes and Villains and Dirty Jordans, or from his work with Super Chron Flight Brothers and Vordul Mega. Anyway, Willie decided to show up in Boston and asked for an impromptu interview to which I gladly obliged. After making him pay for my coffee so that I could stay awake long enough to get in some quality questions, Willie dropped some knowledge on just about everything music related. Literally. Hit the skip to find out what he thinks about major labels and what’s missing in hip-hop these days.

Just like any other genre of music, hip-hop has a passing of the torch from one generation to the next every now and then. While some proclaim that hip-hop is dead, there is a generation of emcees, producers and DJs who believe that hip-hop is still very much alive. At the forefront of this new generation is rapper/producer Oddisee, who by now needs no introduction.

The resident DMV artist gives hip-hop a soulful touch while maintaining a hard, neck-breaking thump. Coming off of Diamond District’s outrageously successful In The Ruff, Oddisee is poised for an all-out takeover. We got to catch up with him (no easy feat – he really is a traveling man) for some questions. Read on as Oddisee details his Odd Seasons EPs, thoughts on DMV hip-hop, and more.