For those who are Potholes regulars, the name The Niceguys is quite likely nothing new. This Houston-based quartet has been lighting up the scene with its electrifying live shows and fun, energetic brand of hip-hop. The Niceguys just recently released their new LP, The Show, for free download in order to spread the word about the hip-hop that they are capable of making. We got a chance to talk it up with some of the members of the crew, and they dropped knowledge on everything from stereotypes to their special online comedy video series.
Hit the skip to read what Free and Yves Saint from The Niceguys had to say.
Potholes In My Blog: What’s up? Thanks for dropping in to speak with us. How are things?
Free: Things are great, can’t complain. We just put the album out and it’s been well received so far. We’re all feeling really blessed.
PIMB: You guys are based in Houston. Many underground hip-hop heads have this idea of Southern hip-hop, which can at times carry negative connotations. How do you deal with these regional stereotypes and make music that breaks the mold?
Yves Saint: The best way to deal with regional stereotypes is to just not deal with them. We don’t validate or dignify them with a response. We aren’t trying to break the mold — we just inherently do things differently.
Free: Yeah, we just kind of let all of that stuff deal with itself. Hip-hop listeners love putting things into a box to help them understand it, I guess. We live in the South; that’s where it begins and ends. It’s not southern hip-hop, it’s just good hip-hop. No musical boundaries here.
PIMB: From what I understand, you’ve been able to perform alongside some of the biggest names in hip-hop, including Talib Kweli. Furthermore, your live performances have been key in helping you develop a strong local presence. How do you approach your live shows to ensure that the fans get their money’s worth?
Free: Our approach to live shows can be described in one way: fun! We just set out to have a blast on stage, and make sure we entertain the hell out of the crowd. We have lots of energy, we’re young, and we like to party, so we reflect that on stage. We’re not too cool or too good to wild out. We get on stage and let loose, so if you haven’t been to one of our shows yet, you are missing out!
Yves Saint: We imagine that each person in the audience used their last however many dollars to see us perform our music. We want the love and excitement with which we make music to translate to the crowd.
PIMB: There’s a bit of levity apparent in your music. What sorts of musical influences do you all have? Any particular artists?
Yves Saint: Our musical influences as a group are too vast. Really – too many to name. There are influences we aren’t even aware we are being influenced by.
Free: My main influence is soul music; the entire genre has influenced me more than anything. So each time I put a beat together, the main intention is for it to sound like soul. No matter what sample I use or what instruments or keys I play, soul is the goal. Haha, that rhymed…
PIMB: Let’s dig into your new album, The Show. Talk a bit about the process of making this album. How did things all come together?
Yves Saint: Even though The Show is our debut album it was a lot of trial and non-error; our listen and watch attitude in regard to the rest of hip-hop helped us avoid undesirable outcomes. Each song was made separately, tailored individually, then stitched together into the quilt. The feel comes first, then come the lyrics. Things came together the same way The Niceguys did: naturally.
Free: The original intent for the album was to be up-tempo, banger after banger, really high energy. That didn’t go as planned, though. Things happened in all of our lives – good, bad, and worse – so we felt obligated to shift gears and capture these moments in song form. We just kind of let things come naturally, the process took a year and a half to complete, but the time was well spent. We feel like we made an incredible album, and it’s something we’re all proud of.
PIMB: The album’s production sounds highly cohesive, as one track flows nicely into the next. Was this a difficult feat to achieve working with two producers (Cristolph and Free), or were you generally on the same page?
Free: Well, Christolph basically set the tone for the sound of the album and I just followed the lead. Every beat he was coming with was crazy, so I basically tried to match that feeling with my own interpretations of the sound. Another way we made things more cohesive with this album was with the transitions. We wanted to make sure the songs didn’t just end and go on to the next, we wanted to make it one cohesive unit that people could listen to all the way through.
PIMB: Do you have a favorite track, or a track that you think best embodies what The Niceguys is all about?
Free: I think the songs that best embody what were about are “Toast”, “Die Later” and “Cave”. They give a little bit more insight to our lives and who we are as people. But currently my favorite records are “Somebody”, “Contraverses” and “Curtains”.
Yves Saint: I do not have a favorite track. Although, I feel like “Curtains” may be the most important song considering its message and its transitional value to our next project.
PIMB: Talk to us a bit about Nice Shorts. (For those who don’t know, Nice Shorts is a running online video series that shows off The Niceguys’ lighter side.)
Free: The Nice Shorts is just a video series of us making random daily activity look cool. We really value having a sense of humor; we all like to laugh and make fun of ourselves and other people. So Nice Shorts is basically our chance to do that. We don’t put too much thought into it, we kind of just come up with an idea, and start shooting, and Danny Ocean makes it all work.
PIMB: What do you guys have on your plate for the rest of 2010 and on into next year?
Free: Lots of shows, traveling, more videos, continuing to push this album, drinking lots of beer and Jack Daniels, consuming lots of pizza, lots of things. No but seriously, we’re just going to continue to push this album, and increase this buzz, we want the whole world to know about The Niceguys and our debut album!
Yves Saint: Yeah, our plate is full of work, initiative, travel, promotion, creation and all of the other things artists are supposed to say. The clincher is we really are about to do all of those things. So let’s act like I never said it.
PIMB: Any final words for the fans out there?
Yves Saint: We have fans?!
Free: Go download The Show right now on iTunes or at http://TheNiceLook.com. Support good music! And make sure you also keep up with us on Twitter: @theniiceguys and on Facebook: Facebook.com/TheNiceguysMusic
