Posted by How did you and Iron Mike Sharp link up for the project?
Instagram. For all the potential soul-sucking and algorithmic adjustments, I’ve found IG to be a dope place to connect and build with talented people, producers included. What’s bugged is I knew about his work and was a fan, then ended up working on a project with someone I met because of him (DJ Matty Lite, the Floodgates EP) before we ended up teaming up for an entire project. Iron Mike Sharp is mega prolific, I’m talking like a beat tape a month! Hit up his Bandcamp and you’ll see he got beats for decades. I think the reason we connected is similar to the way I build with most folks, there’s a mutual respect and a desire to get something accomplished.
Is it true you recorded all 8-songs in one day?
Yes. I was able to take the last of my personal business days, had the beats from Iron Mike Sharp set to go, dropped my sons off at school, came back home, got a bite of breakfast, sat down at the dining room table, hit play on the first beat and got to writing. Once I had seven songs written, I took my Chromebook down to the basement where my studio gear is set up, plugged it in, ran a soundcheck, and started recording what I’d written. I set up all my work in google drive and that’s when I realized there was one more beat I’d not written to, so I searched my docs for some unused work, found something to fit the beat, and recorded track eight.
Do you have a favorite song out of the bunch?
The epic horns of Jorge Campos Fits gives me goosebumps each time, especially when the song gets to “ripples when the butterfly begins to spread her wings” and that I got to reference two of my all-time favorite verses (Nas on Verbal Intercourse and Ice Cube on The Grand Finale) makes it all the more gratifying.
We had a blast at the “Iron Kofa Sharp” listening party. Is this something we could look forward to with other projects?
I didn’t even know setting up a listening party was a possibility until I was setting up the Bandcamp preorders and there was a prompt to do so. Releasing music is an ever-changing landscape and I thought it would be wise to give the listening party a shot and see how it’d work out. That it was essentially the album playing through once with a chat screen instead of a Zoom call was dope, kept things simple. Some folks got to hear the album for the first time that moment, and it was exciting for me as one of the creators to see their reactions in real-time. Definitely going to do that again. May even do an IG live with Iron Mike Sharp so we can answer questions about the release.
Will “Iron Kofa Sharp” be released on all digital streaming platforms, or will it remain a Bandcamp exclusive?
As with most of my music, I like to go physical first (shoutout to all the folks who sold out the tape on a pre-order basis), then Bandcamp, then DSPs. While I’m not in rap to make money, I’m sure as hell not in it to have some major corporation make any money before me. The entire project will go live on all streaming platforms on July 14th.
Is there anything else about the project you want to share with the people tuning in?
Soon as I heard the beat for Tomb of Colossus, I heard G Fam’s voice on it. Soon as I got my share of Demon Deacons done, I went to Chuck Brown, The Word Grave had to have my Silversmiths brother JON?DOE on it. Shoutout to Talirod, who engineered the project with the understanding we didn’t want sonic perfection, we wanted that audio rawness, that soul, that spirit, that feeling that doesn’t come from the pristine. As he is fond of saying, he understood the assignment. Peace to Greg Locke on the tape layout, dude is a crazily talented Swiss army knife of art-painting/film/photography/writing. Mega props to The Raw Remains, his cover art perfectly sums up the project because each time I look at it, I see something new. I have admired The Raw Remains’ work for a long time and I am incredibly thankful we had the opportunity to collaborate.
Peace to Iron Mike Sharp for entrusting me to be the first rapper he worked with on a full-length project. Thank you at Rap Olympus Media for the opportunity to get the music my friends and I make on your platform. We’re regular people doing exceptional things and don’t have the traditional promo connects to let folks know, so what you do is invaluable and greatly appreciated.
Support indie dope, support the folks you know doing dope things, give folks props, follow your vision, and take that time to see it through, the world is a lot smaller than you think and as long as you’re doing what’s in your heart, the rest is a bonus.
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