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ANT- Atmosphere, Rhymesayers Entertainment · Caught on the Mike...

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities today.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Representative listener discretion is advised.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: I just happen to have one half of that 12 command by the Name Most Anthony Davis, Morphus.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: Watch E will have his work on display with Brother Hall Leeds' upcoming release of Statisfied Soul as well as the 20th anniversary tour of Atmospheric Release.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: You can't imagine how much fun we're having.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited to welcome Ant to the show today.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Caught on the Mic.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Ladies and gentlemen, here we are, December 2024.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: Just last week, I got the opportunity to see some of my favorite artists in Omaha, Nebraska perform at the Reverb Lounge.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: I got to see Brother Ali and my next guest.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: He is one half of the legendary hip hop duo atmosphere and otherwise known as Anthony Davis.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: How are you doing, my friend?
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for being here.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for uh uh uh letting me download me the meet app or whatever it was.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, man.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Well, man, I I tell you what, it's that's just technology.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's crazy, man.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's always changing.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we're using an app called Riverside, and when it works, it works fantastically.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and the fidelity is amazing, but when it doesn't work, fuck.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: My only thing is like I'll just get used to one thing, and it feels like the next time I do something, it's changed.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, well, why?
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: What was wrong with you know what I mean?
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's all that's only thing, and that's the story of my life, you know what I mean?
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like uh nowadays with technology with your computers and stuff, when you do it, like doing the live DJ thing now.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like every time I turn around, there's some weird update or of it, otherwise my mixer doesn't work.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, well, why?
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: Well, brother, I gotta tell you, I want to share a little anecdote with you because I know uh fans will share stories on how your music has shaped their life or influenced their life all the time.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm gonna take a few moments and I do want to share a recent story on how atmosphere and your music in particular had a positive influence on my life.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh 2023 was a bitch of a year for me.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: Last year, it's almost two years ago at this point.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the new year happened a few weeks into the new year.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: My twin stepdaughters, who were juniors in high school, got into this horrific car accident.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: Luckily, they came out unscathed.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, a few days later, an old friend of mine, somebody I knew from the music business, um, took his own life in a very performative fashion.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, a week after that, a 17-year-old girl that worked for me also took her life.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: And it was a lot in a short period of time, and that was all by the second week of February.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: Whoa.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: February 22nd, uh, Atmosphere dropped the song Okay.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, I've always been a fan of your guys' music, you've always shined a light in my life when I needed it, whether it be through the best day, through sunshine, or a numerous other songs.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: But okay kind of became the theme song for my year, and it became my go-to song.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Anytime something kind of felt amiss or felt off, um, it just it was that song.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I I wish I could say that things got better beyond that point, but the same year my dad passed away.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: I had a couple of vacations get canceled, but I tell you, two years later, almost two years later, still to this very day, okay is my pick-me-up song.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's it's a song I go to anytime I'm having a bad day.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: And and I just want to thank you personally for putting that art out into the world because sometimes you never know the amount of impact it's gonna have on somebody's life.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's pretty wild because you know, in that in that area, those words, I didn't write any of those words, you know?
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I can't really take too much credit for that kind of thing.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: But the only thing I can take credit for, at least musically, with that, is I I uh I had that music for a long time, and when I when I presented it to um Slug, I was like, you know, I I don't know if you if you're gonna like this or not.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm pretty sure you will because it's pretty good.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, but uh it has, you know, I want to start the next album we do very optimistically because we've been doing dark stuff at the top for years.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, let's just start super optimistic and then we'll just go dark from there.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it but it won't it won't matter because that it sets a tone, and that's gonna be, you know.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so he wrote the words he wrote, and that and that I and of course I I liked it and I okayed it.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: You know, last night I was listening to um Collection of Sounds Volume 2.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sitting in my dining room.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: My wife and I are about to go to a high school basketball game, and I think that's the synchronicity of yours and slug's musical relationship is through your music and his words, you guys do a really great job of creating a feeling in a person, and it does lend to the name of your group atmosphere, it it sets the tone, it sends it it sets how somebody's gonna feel in that specific moment, and and I think that's a tremendous thing to put out into the world.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I appreciate that.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate all that.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: I I kind of agree.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: So you just wrapped up the satisfied soul tour with Brother Ali and D1.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, you finally get a little break, a little rest time before you go out on the road again.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so what's your state of mind right now, man?
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's pretty good because I I've, you know, the last just two nights ago, I guess two nights ago was the end of the tour, and we ended at first AV, and uh, and it was really, really, really good.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: It was like probably one of the highlights of the tour for whatever various reasons, you know what I mean?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: But uh I think Ali was pretty nervous about it at the at first, especially when the first tickets first went on sale, it was like a couple hundred or whatever, and it just stayed that way for a while, and then all of a sudden it started boosting as it got closer.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: And that not not only that though, but there was just there's a lot to it, you know.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: But um so the show happened and it was we everything went without any real hitch, you know what I mean?
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: There was a couple things maybe, but there it was great.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um and now my I'm still kind of uh reminiscing about it in my head, but I have to kind of start focusing on the next tour that starts on uh the 10th.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: So everything's good.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like last night we had our first, at least my one of our first uh get togethers for the atmosphere tour.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: We just like, okay, what are we gonna do here?
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we did something right before I left to kind of get an idea because we're switching up the set pretty dramatically for this next tour.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know, my state of mind's pretty good.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm ready for whatever, you know.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm ready to go, you know, to a degree.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, yeah.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: Let's kind of just take a step back for a few moments and let's get into your origin story a little bit.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um you come from a military family, you've lived all over the place.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: How did you find music and kind of transform it into the way you perform it now?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: When I first started, let's say when I was like 12, 13 years old, 80 in 1983, my when I first started touching turntables and stuff, uh, and breakdancing and all the elements of hip-hop that were happening at the time.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: The one you know, I tried them all to make it short, I tried them all.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: I had the most success with the turntable thing, and it spoke to me the loudest.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Plus, I had access to things that normal kids didn't have.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: My dad was uh, you know, he he as a hobby kind of messed around with DJing with the disco days from the disco era.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: In the disco era kind of transferred into hip-hop, you know, that's the truth of that.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I I had access to stuff early, I figured it out kind of early.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: There wasn't a lot of videos to see, but I I kind of knew a guy, I knew a guy that did something, and I was like, oh my gosh, that was crazy.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: So anyway, I started the DJ thing, and then that transformed into production over the years.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: It was a slow, gradual process.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: But what I did do in my earliest years, I was DJing and started doing like I wanted to be like Grandmaster Flash or DST or Jam Master J, so from Ren DMC.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: So those three things were were the three people that I was emulating throughout the 80s.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now, that all went away from me a little bit as producing came into play.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Producing and making wanting to make records was my big deal, and as I that moved on, um, the DJing thing stayed away.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: When I started bringing live DJing elements to my life again in my middle 30s, it started coming back my old roots, and it really amplified this year when I did my own DJ set.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: I really tr transformed my brain, and DJing for Ali is a complete different thing than Atlas.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I transformed from my earliest time period, I applied all that uh ambition and love and all the things from my childhood into this year.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think I I think that's the best way to explain it.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, you know, having just recently watched one of your DJ sets last week, man, that was a lot of fun.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: And it was fun watching you get into it and kind of be overtaken by the music and the moment and the synergy that you were having with the crowd.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: What or who inspires you the most, like musically, whenever you are putting together a set or a track or I guess nowadays it might be a little bit of everything, uh everything throughout the years.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I've said this this has been my my go-to on on this answer, kind of too, is uh the acceptance thing, you know, like the desire to be accepted by who by the world or whatever, you know what I mean?
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's still or by your peers or friends and things like that.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: So there's that, that's that always is around or maintains in my life at some level.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, no no no, just now what I did, I f I I'm trying to be honest with you.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: I really there might be just a an element of because I hadn't done it before, but I've always thought I could do that.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about the opening of the DJ set.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: I've always thought I've always thought I could do it, and I always figured I would do it better than a lot of people.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: I just assumed it, but I never proved it.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: Now I just proved it.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's how I feel.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what that was.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when I was doing it, when I what I do for Ali, I'm inspired by Ali and the music we've made in the past.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what that is.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: When I'm working with Atmosphere and we're doing what we're doing, I'm working on what we have built together and what's my role in that, you know what I mean?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: And what's my character within within Atmosphere, you know?
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: So there that that's more the heavier inspiration is dealing with these people.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: But dealing with my own personal DJ set thing that I just did, I like I'm saying I had never proved it before, so I had to go and see if I could really do it.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: So it was more based than that, you know.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: This past year, you've kind of proven it in other ways through these uh collection of sounds albums.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: You've already released volume one and volume two.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, volume three is going to drop in January.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: What can you tell us about those three albums?
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: How are they each different from themselves?
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: And how to do they play into the bigger picture?
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it started off innocent enough in the sense that I just wanted to re release some stuff because I I just ran out of artists to work with, you know what I mean?
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: I just you know slug can only ri rhyme so money, you know, do so much, and uh same with Ali.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: So and I have all this other music from over the years that I I wanted to show.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: So some of that started that off, and then um uh the uh when I came up with the idea of having the collection of sounds, I was more like, oh well, I have I wanted to do the cut there was a cover I concept I had, which of the physical album, which was a piece of art that connects them all.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of like this uh the record label Celluloid used had these records in the early 80s that were inspirational to my career, where there was a Futura had did this graffiti piece on the on four or five singles, and you put them together and it makes this cool thing.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: So it was loosely based on that.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: That was like one of the first things I thought of.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then I wanted the record, the front cover to all be something like a not blue note, but but but have like a very cool picture and like a very library library record kind of thing to it.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I had a concept for the whole cover thing that I wanted to do, especially if it's gonna be four and I wanted to tie them all together.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm all about uniform, I can't help it, yeah.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then the music was somewhat easy to, at least in my brain, I was like, well, I could make the first one just more like what what uh how I see rap.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what do I see with rap music?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: How do I look at that?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: The second one would be the kind of style I did what felt, so it's more more a little more happier or or funky type of a vibe for two.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's a little more like maybe it's even closer to what I I like the most.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Then I was like, three, I'll do like more my uh dub reggae influence thing.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I've because I've done that over the years, a lot of it kind of, but I've it's barely been out.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: It just sprinkles here and there.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I and I've always thought that I should do one of those.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I and I wanted to do one during the pandemic, but I couldn't get no one to rap on them.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like I had this, I had like these five dub song things, and and uh, but nobody really wanted to do it.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, everybody rapped on all the beats, but then they didn't want to do the actual project.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's you know what I mean?
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't want to to do uh just that sound.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought that was a heartbreaker thing.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, why'd you guys do use all these beats?
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: So they used them all and then they went all over the place.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: But anyway, so I was like, all right, well then I'm gonna just concentrate on doing it like this.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: And now when I look at three, I'm like, dang, I didn't go far enough.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: I should have gone for harder and further with the dub thing.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: I just whatever though, what you gonna do?
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then the fourth one, um, I thought I was gonna go real, like a real dark area.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's like is this the darkest thing I can make?
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: But as I was doing it and put compiling things from over the years and putting new things together, I was like, oh, as a standalone piece, I don't I didn't like it that much.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I started brightening up brightening it up at the end of it.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so it's so I did I started thinking, oh, I these are four pieces in a larger picture, but I tried to individualize them each too, you know what I mean?
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, yeah.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: So that's that's the thing.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know how people will perceive those and and see if they could even know that there's a difference.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: I think the average people they don't think about it like that.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: They just go, oh, that's a good beat or not, you know what I mean, or a good song or not.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: They don't care.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: But that's what I have I have to do with stuff like that to make it work.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: So when you're thinking about things in terms of putting together an album, are you do you envision things as a full total concept from start to finish, or do you look at it as it's individual pieces?
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uh start to finish, I already know.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like uh at least these definitely these days, because that's the that's how where I've evolved to because it used to be where I would just make songs and as the as it went, the songs just revealed where what it is.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: Not anymore.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: I I I present an album when I'm starting to work with somebody, like, okay, this is what I this is the sound I think is gonna be the best.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if I know the person.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I know I mean I I've been in atmosphere for 30 years.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: I know what we've done, you know what I mean?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: Know what we're kind of capable of, I know what we need to try harder at.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: So it's easy for me to have a basic idea of what we should do next to as to change to kind of have an uh so the audience doesn't actually know what we're about to do next, you know.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't like the idea of somebody putting in the record being like, oh, I know what this is gonna be.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: I they should have an idea of some kind of comfort, knowing that it'll be you know done at the the best it can be done, and then have a certain kind of sound to it, because we're not gonna change who we are, you know what I mean?
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: But maybe maybe the the experience will be a little different than your last one you heard, you know, or better, hopefully better than the last one, you know, but yeah.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I I got like I walk into everything like that.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: Dude, I love that because we are living in a world where people just consume in bite-sized pieces instead of like looking at the whole meal to a certain extent, you know.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: You look at release strategies that big major record labels have now, and they piecemeal release song at a time, song at a time, song at a time.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: And it's hard to see a concept in totality when they're putting out music that way.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: So it it's really encouraging to me to see that some of the people that I look up to are still looking at albums as a full concept from start to finish.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: I I think our label still does release piece by piece the songs.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, yeah.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's just marketing.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's just 101.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: But uh, but I never think of it in that way.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: I just I do what I do and I let them I let every department do what they're supposed to do.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: For sure, for sure.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I know this is like asking a person to pick their favorite child, but do you have a project that you've done, whether it be a an album or with an artist or somebody in particular that sticks out to you as being one of your most favorite things that you've ever been a part of?
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, I've all I've said uh I've said you can't imagine how much fun we're having.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: I've said that uh for years.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: And it was most it's mostly been true.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um and um, but uh you know, you catch me on a certain day, I might say the realities record from a few years ago.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because that thing is uh pretty great.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then uh yeah, I don't know, you know what I mean?
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's it changes here and there depending on the day, but so yeah, there it's it's a little tough to say, but there's definitely moments where you're like, oh, I d I did that.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: I tried this and it worked f for me.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like sometimes the the day before Halloween record, you know, was uh was uh was great to that we did that.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: I you know what I mean.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really proud that we even did that.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: It had that sound and it we went there.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: We tried that.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: And the audience you know, the people that did like it liked it.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: And the people that didn't just ignored it.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: And that's fine.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's fine.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't you know, it's quite all right.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if I'm ever sitting around the house and I'm having people over and we're like playing cards or something, and I want to turn their heads, I put on the Felt 4 record.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: Oh man.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, you because you you mentioned that.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_01: You mentioned the the how Felt was really close to what you were into.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: And you actually played a track live uh last week from it, and I was like, oh, I recognize this.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: Hell yeah.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that the Felt 4 is uh was great.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: And two, I did I did Felt 2 as well, and that had a similar vibe, you know what I mean?
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's that was that that's that sound that is that's probably closest to who I really am.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: Where did the influence for that sound come from?
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's my dad.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: My dad was big into that kind of sound, yeah.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: And my uncle, you know, those guys, they liked um they liked the Minneapolis sound, you know, they're originally from here, that was their big thing, and so that whole era, and they're big into certain like jazz fusion of the 70s and and just stuff like that, and 70s music in general, like funk and soul, they're big on that, and so that's my take on early 80s soul RB and soul, which I was into as well as a kid, right?
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: I I loved Ready for the World and Zap and Roger Troutman and all these things.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: I loved all that stuff, Keith Sweat, everything.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: So that the felt stuff, that sound was my take.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how I saw when when when Merce and Slug were together.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: I don't that's not the sound I hear when I mean and Slug are together.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when me and Slug are together, I I hear a different it's more of a definitely more of a art a different art, a different artistic way.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: But when I seen them two together, I was like, oh, this should this sounds like this.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: It sounds like a little bit of Minneapolis, a little bit of LA.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: And a little more on the funner side of Minneapolis and LA sound, you know what I'm saying?
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: I aimed toward that, you know.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: With all the work that you've done as far as production goes and and putting together your own art, do you ever separate yourself and what are your personal listening habits like outside of the stuff that you create?
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: Man, I I the one of the biggest things I probably do is I have this uh, you know, a Shazam playlist and that just random songs from all over the place, and things I've shazamed at home just to have them in my phone real easy.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm on the point, and I travel a lot.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm on planes or whatever, and blah blah blah.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm constantly just listening to that.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: So it might be a that might be a Phil Collins song right next to Eric being Rock Him, right next to some weird elevator music thing that I I just heard, right next to some radio head junk.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: I you never know, you know what I mean?
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like random things that I'm just kind of listening to that's that sparked my interest when I was somewhere, you know what I mean?
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's probably one of the bigger things I do.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: But when I'm at home around all my records, like I just skip around things so fast, and uh I just need to hear like a certain amount of bars or something and then get in the mood to make my own stuff, you know?
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so that's kind of my my thing me lately, you know what I mean?
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I like to try to listen to whole albums that have just come out if I can find time somehow, but it's the finding times really tough these days.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and I think it's tough for everybody, and so uh it makes me sad for and you know, like I don't know who's who the hell's gonna listen to my whole album now?
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: I still haven't met I still haven't even made it through a whole new Kentrick record.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: I may made it to four or five songs and I got distracted with something and I didn't even go back to it yet.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just like so good.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's crazy.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm constantly like yeah, it's it's like it's a busy world, man.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: Is there an artist that you haven't had the chance to work with yet that you would like to work with in the future?
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: There's millions of artists that I haven't been able to work with.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, but uh I would um my door is open to whatever, but I just yeah, I haven't there's no specific person, oh I wish I could do that.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there used to be, but that's changed.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of those guys are older and my ideas have changed and how and I've I used to have this big thing where oh I think if I could do this sound with so-and-so, I could maybe change a bunch of stuff.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: But now I don't I don't know if that's true anymore.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: For from what I do, you know.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I I I can now.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I guess uh I just I'm hoping the door stays open and whatever happens, happens.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: So you're about to embark on the uh 20th anniversary tour.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: For it's the Imagine the Fun tour for the album You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um What can you tell us about that?
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_01: Who all is gonna be on that tour?
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: And how excited are you guys for it?
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um Dibs is gonna be on it, and um Sage Francis, and um they're both obviously really dope.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't seen Sage perform in a long time, but I know he's still great, he's always been great.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um I toured with him once before, years and years ago, and yeah, he was a hilarious guy, um, very smart, genius type guy.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of that's the thing about a lot of these these, at least these underground rappers that I've known over the years, they're all so they're so smart, it's fucking ridiculous, man.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: Dude, dude, that is so funny.
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_01: You say that.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_01: I so I'm in a chat group and you know, a group of friends, I'm kind of the resident hip-hop head in the group, all these other guys.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: We we've all played in rock bands in the past, right?
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, yeah.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, but I'm I'm I'm kind of the resident head of the group, and I'm like, and you know, they're like, So, so who should I be listening to?
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, okay, you need to be listening to Atmosphere.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: There's a group called These Hands that you should check out, which is MERS and Grouch.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: You should check out this artist, this artist, you know, check out Ali.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_01: And they're like, Well, uh, you know, I I hadn't heard much of them.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: I go, that's because commercial radio hasn't shoved it down your throat.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: But I will tell you, it is the most intelligent hip-hop out there, period.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's crazy.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: But it goes to exactly what you were saying.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: Some of these indie guys are just genius, genius, specifically with wordplay.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's pretty crazy.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, cra crazy, crazy smart guys.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_01: So, man, I'm not gonna hold you up too much longer, but uh my favorite wrap-up question, it's kind of complex, but it kind of goes back to the whole term, the whole thing about being okay.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: And uh my question is, is what's Ant's advice for making the world a better place tomorrow than what it is today?
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: You have to start inside.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: I would it's the it should be the uh thing we focus on first.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: Change your inside and how you approach other people and how you treat other people, it's something I've had to learn how to do.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still not great at it, you know.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: But I think you start there and uh if you could just learn to just uh treat yourself more kind and then you treat the next person like you want to be treated.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's all that's classic cliche, goofy things you've heard all your life, but they just they're true.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: Cliches are they're just true.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: You're right, dude.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: You are right, and you gotta give yourself a little bit more grace and credit, man.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: When I saw you last week, there was not a single person that you turned away.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: You were shaking hands with every single person that approached you at the show, before the show, after the show, during the show.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, I think what if people don't already know this about you, they're gonna learn this from listening or watching this.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: But everything you just said is absolutely the truth, and it's something that you live with.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I I believe in it.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, dude, I love this.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: Ladies and gentlemen, make sure you are giving all advanced projects a follow on social media.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: Check out uh Brother Ali's new album, which is about to drop, Satisfied Soul.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: Valentine's Day, yeah.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_01: Dude, I love handwriting.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: That song is so good.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, man.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I totally agree.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, it's it's so far.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: That's my favorite one of all the new tracks.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: Dude, it's it's it's up there.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I won't even lie.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: I love it too.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: And if you get a chance to check out Atmosphere or Ant Solo or however you can see this man in person on tour, do yourself a favor and do it.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's a treat.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_01: Ant's new album, Collection of Sounds, Volume 3, drops in January.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_01: Look for that release.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, brother, thank you for doing the show, man.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: Oh man, thank you for having me.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm glad we're connected now, and I'm glad to call you a friend.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: The world's a much better place with you in it, my guy.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: You're too kind, man.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: It was a very pleasure talking with you and meeting you the other day, too.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_01: Dude, I know, right?
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but in case anybody's watching this that are wondering, this dude acts the same way in person.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's just the same sweet guys that you're seeing right here.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's the same exact thing.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, dude, that means the world to me.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you very much, my friend.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thanks, my man.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_01: I want to thank my friend Ant for joining me on the show today.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure you keep an eye open for his new album, Collection of Sounds, Volume 3, dropping in January.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_01: Brother Ali's album, Satisfied Soul, dropping in February, and catch atmosphere when they come to your town, whenever that may be.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: While you're on social media, make sure you search Rhyme Stayers Entertainment and give them a follow.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: Tons of great artists on that record label, one of my most favorite record labels.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're being generous with the follows, search out Caught on the mic on all social media platforms, or visit me www.cotonTheMic.com today.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_01: If you have been a long time audio-only listener to Caught on the Mike, just so you know, all episodes are now in video form, available on YouTube.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_01: Just subscribe to the channel, and I appreciate you being here.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_01: This has been Caught on the Mic.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Michael Clark.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, thank you.